Novels2Search

Proud Crusaders

At a late hour the following night, the heroes boarded their flight. Mia & Aimee were sitting near the front, their heads laid against each other, sleeping, as were most of the other passengers. Makoto & Matoi were at the center.

In the back row, Marisa & Saya. The medic was sleeping, and Marisa sighed as she tapped the screen of the next seat's back.

'Ten dollars for a soda. Eighty dollar internet, seriously?'

The bathroom door opened behind, and out shuffled a Chinese man with a red braid. He stopped near the front row, and as he turned his head back -

- a green mist erupted from his nostrils & eyes, coiling as it filled the fuselage and passenger's nostrils. The mist traveled down the aisle towards Marisa & Saya, and as the medic fell silent beside -

- Marisa ripped Boudoir's fabric out to form a gas mask. Putting it on as groans filled the fuselage, she stood up, and heard her foe grunting as green mist shimmered in the corridor, sparse enough that she still saw his silhouette ahead.

She swept her gloves forward; a set of bullets erupted out of them -

- but the mist swallowed the projectiles, throwing them back towards her -

- and softened as they hit her throat, fashionista only lightly gasping as she trudged forward with sword-in-hand; another set of bullets erupted out of her sword -

- but were just as quickly thrown back at her again, and as she swept underneath -

- the mist behind threw it right through her back; pain staggering for a moment, she stumbled forward, realizing that his mist didn't give him vision of every projectile she had shot -

- but the mist below started biting at her ankles, and as more green clouds filled ground-level -

" - Boudoir!" she shouted, aiming her glove up&forward -

- and a strand brought her as close as she could get to the ceiling, starting her swinging over the mist below, eyes on her foe ahead. She sighed as she saw a column of green envelope him ahead, but another set of bullets erupted far to his left -

- and his mist didn't bother moving as her softened set hit the back wall; below, more mist started shooting towards her, tendrils growing from out of the green -

- and ripping her gas mask clear off; a green blade grew from out of the fog and slashed at her chest -

- but a final set of bullets erupted out of her gloves, mist filling her nostrils as the projectiles hit a softer sister she had shot earlier in to the mist -

- and ricocheted right back in to the man; a dozen bullets entered his chest, and his mist retreated as he turned staggering -

- and Marisa's blade cleaved him vertically in half in the next as the fashionista leaped down, halves of gore spraying left & right as she hit the floor. The mist disappeared, and she nodded sluggishly as she rose, then winced as she heard the civilians awaken from their slumber behind.

"… ah, crap." mumbled Marisa, assuring her balance against a blood-soaked seat. "They're gonna freak -"

- and their terrified screams filled her ears as they saw the grisly carcass & enactor.

"Urasaria, Urasaria…" mumbled Marisa, holding out her badge.

◆◆◆

The plane had been forced to make an emergency landing, and the six decided to stay overnight in a hotel with their pairs, on separate floors.

Makoto leaned back in her bed. Matoi was hunched over on the other and facing away, her hands moving between her thighs. Makoto watched her place her hand on her shoulder; a missile burst out, and she crushed it between her fingers, setting to unseen work with the rest.

'This chick is super autistic.' thought Makoto. She dipped her headphones below her ears. "Uh, what'cha doing?"

"Attempting to form a gas mask." said Matoi, metal scraps in her hands & chunks on the floor. Clearly frustrated, she caught her missiles again and smashed two together.

"Uh, how are you gonna wear it without slicing your face up? Or the filter?"

"The pain is irrelevant, the filter's the only difficult part." Wedding's lasers welded the scraps to a jagged sheet.

"You'd have to have some weird material like Boudoir. I dunno if your Revenant can do shit like that."

"If I can't stand alone, that will be the day I die." Matoi grunted. "I don't -"

- a knock came at the door, and Makoto went to answer. She opened the door and found Mia stifling a yawn.

"Aimee's sleeping, and I wanted to find something to snack on." said Mia. "Will you be my night buddy, Makoto?"

"Uh, you already have a girlfriend." said Makoto, chin held high despite Mia's foot on her. "No night buddies. No snacking on me, Miss Schultzy."

"I was talking about finding a convenience store." groaned Mia.

"Sure you were. That's why you came to me."

Mia closed her eyes. "Makoto, I'll be honest: you're not my first choice. Marisa and Saya were sleeping."

"I'm feeling pretty sleepy, too."

"Please."

"Gonna beg? Ooo. That's weird, since Aimee always talks about how good your pu-"

" - spare - spare me." panted Mia, blushing. "Would Matoi like to come?"

"Busy!" shouted Matoi.

◆◆◆

In a gas station parked near the outskirts, Mia & Makoto stepped inside past a stand of lottery tickets, and turned right at the front counter to go down the aisles of snacks.

"Ooo." said Makoto. "They've got those spinning hotdog rollers. It's like a metaphor for getting friend-zoned."

"What?" said Mia, peeking to that corner there to see those spinning hotdog rollers.

"They're constantly moving towards you, but never getting any closer."

"I should have begged Matoi to come instead." murmured Mia, pulling a bag of pretzels off the rack.

"Uh, at least I actually talk. She's weird as shit, though. I'm pretty sure she's autistic. Legit."

Used to Makoto's offensive jokes, Mia only groaned as she continued.

"She was trying to form a gas mask or some shit."

"With Wedding?"

"Yep." yawned Makoto, taking one bag of chips and huddling behind Mia as they went to the register. The cashier was frail with black hair & a vest with a plaque that read 'Lao'.

"Find everything you need? Will you be buying any lottery tickets tonight?"

"Who would waste their money on that?" murmured Mia, fingering her pockets.

"There's a three for one special this week." he droned, gesturing to the stand near the door.

Mia glanced back and saw Makoto drawing up to it like a conductor charmed. She swiped three scratch-offs from the rack and returned as Mia paid for her own snacks.

"It's your money." muttered Mia, having her change returned to her.

"Sure is." grinned Makoto, smacking the trio on the counter and searching her pockets for payment. "Just gotta, uh…" She frowned.

Mia closed her eyes. "Don't tell me."

"You two friends?" said Lao, glancing by the door. "Got your badges on. Must be pretty far out on something."

"We are not friends." said Mia.

"Can I borrow three bucks?" said Makoto.

"Six when we get back." sighed Mia, shuffling through her pockets.

"Schultzy Moneybags." grinned Makoto as Mia paid for the tickets no one would waste their money on.

"Gonna scratch them here?" said Lao.

"I suppose." muttered Mia, passing one to Makoto and two to herself -

" - would you mind if I scratched one? I've never done one before." said Lao.

"Er, I suppose." said Mia, and the three set to work.

"Well, I suppose I should rephrase that." he said. "I've gambled - just not in this country. Somehow, things always seem to work out in my favor."

"Fifty dollars?" said Mia, and frowned at her own. "Zero on mine."

"Zero for me, too." grumbled Makoto.

Lao held his hand out for the tickets, paying out his winnings to them.

"Let's buy some more shit with this." said Makoto, and before Mia could stop her, she was down the aisle again; Mia went after her sighing.

They reached the end of the store, and as Makoto turned to the hotdog rollers, they heard a rustling from the front counter. She turned -

- and a throwing knife entered her chest in a burst of blood; Mia turned, Lao at his same position with a set of knives in his hands -

" - o-ow - what the fuck!" stammered Makoto, staggering behind an aisle for cover; Mia swept to the one adjacent, their backs covered as their Revenants formed, sword & trumpet in hands.

"You have a Revenant and a death wish, then?!" shouted Mia to the other end.

"I can promise you, it's nothing personal!"

"This isn't personal either, bitch!" shouted Makoto, aiming her trumpet to the ceiling, and as she blew in the mouthpiece -

- a note like a hundred nails entered Mia's ears; she staggered to her hands & knees, hands defiant against her ears -

- Makoto paused and stared stupidly at her, eyes even more confused on the unharmed man on the other end. "Uh - what the fuck -"

- another knife flew towards them from the front counter, and as it hit the back wall -

- it ricocheted back, and impaled clear through Makoto's lips - " - mmf!" - she yanked it out in an arc of blood, throwing it back to its wielder -

- and as it hit the wall behind Lao, it fell limp to the floor.

"P-Probably his Revenant." winced Mia, dragging up again. "Why - why did Symphony attack me?"

"It's gotta be his Revenant -" - Makoto wiped her bloodied mouth with her uniform - " - or some shit -"

- another knife came from the other end, ricocheting as it hit the wall, aiming towards Mia now; her sword blocked and threw it to the floor -

- and it bounced & pierced through her throat; gasping as she yanked it out, she set it by her side far more carefully.

"Can't stay here." winced Mia, turning the corner up, shield of ice forming as she ran forward, Makoto huddling behind. Her frozen guard blocked the next flurry of knives, and as the two came past the center line -

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- the two tripped and smashed their faces against the floor, wrists cracking as they hit the pavement, wincing as they rose again.

"You're more durable than what I'm used to." said Lao. "There was a labor strike recently back home - the organizer caught a prion disease. How horrific."

The women stumbled to their feet; Makoto stepped forward again, but tripped again, face & nose streaming blood as she rose up again -

- and finally succeeded, cursing as she stumbled to Mia's back -

- who'd figured the trick sooner. Four scarabs burnt the bottom of their shoes to the ground, attempting to melt their step to the ground -

- but a gust of wind burst through the gas station's doors to snuff her fire out, a stream of bad luck on a winter night -

" - I - failed to melt our shoes to the ground - but we have enough traction for now." said Mia; renewed stability, the two rushed up the aisle and past the counter, veering left and to the doors. Another set of knives flew towards them -

- but they burst out the doors just in time to avoid it, Lao's car parked ahead, gas pumps ahead; they heard him in pursuit as they rushed past his car -

- the gas tank's door burst open as if pulled by the wind, oil leaking directly in to their path, and before they could react -

- they stumbled and slid right in to the tanks of petrol ahead, gasoline dripping as they tried to stand again -

- and slipped right on each other again, Mia's sword disappearing to keep Makoto safe as they staggered and tripped -

- and saw Lao only twenty feet ahead, stomping up closer.

"It'll be another death to Ante-Up, if you'd like to try your fire scarabs again, Swarm!" he said, gesturing to the tanks of petrol.

"H-Hey, Mia." whispered Makoto, thumbing through Mia's pocket. "You got a coin?"

Lao swept his knives back again -

- and a single note from Makoto's trumpet blew his head open in a shower of gore; a second blew his heart clear out of his back -

- and the heartless man fell rigid and dead. The women stood up, and were no longer stumbling, smelling & dripping of gasoline.

"Niiice." grinned Makoto, tapping the freshly scratched lottery ticket she'd swiped on the way out. "Won a hundred bucks."

"…and no one to redeem it." muttered Mia. "We should return to Aimee, before any more show up."

"Uh - no, now we can steal shit without anyone bitching at us. Probably destroyed his Revenant with that shit, too."

"You're still stealing at three-star?"

"Uh, with legal immunity?" said Makoto, already walking back in. "Fuck yeah I do. You don't get an award for being a goody-two-shoes."

Mia frowned as she followed her. "I'll take a few snacks and hot sauce for Aimee. That's all."

"Ooo, ten dollars of junk food. You're one of those people who always tips fifteen percent, aren't you?"

◆◆◆

Aimee wrapped her arms around Mia as she sat down on their bed, Makoto sitting across. "Figures. Probably tracking me, like always."

"Yep." chimed Makoto. "Lotta cucks wanna kill the Mad Dog."

Mia had heard that term from Makoto before; she never dared ask what it meant.

"One way to put it." muttered Aimee. "If it's more than a few guys, probably somebody tracking us. Might run in to more before we get to Lanacca."

"What's our plan, then?" Mia yawned.

"No more planes."

"You know, we learn this lesson every year." yawned Makoto. "What's the definition of crazy?"

Aimee shook her head. "Guess we'll rent a van to take us the rest of the way. Might be a week before we get there. Um." She rubbed Mia's back. "Can tell you're tired, so I'll handle reporting it and all that. Any idea what his Revenant's name was?"

"Anti-up." said Mia, and Makoto laughed.

"No, doofus. Ante-up."

"That's what I said."

"Sure you did." said Makoto, metafictionally. "The gambling phrase. Ante-Up."

Aimee paused, thinking it sounded familiar.

"Is everything alright?" said Mia, and Aimee nodded.

"Uh, nah, it's nothing."

"It gave you bad luck." said Makoto, relevantly. "Through lottery tickets."

Aimee nodded. "Uh, just stay here until I get back. Won't be too long."

◆◆◆

The following morning, Mia awoke to an empty bed and a knock at her door from Marisa. She told Mia that Aimee has gone to talk to Makoto before they headed out, and when Mia searched for her to ask if all of her clothes were packed, she accidentally eavesdropped on her & Makoto talking about keeping something hidden from her. This snippet of conversation travelled with her as the six left, and began weighing her mood in the passenger's seat, as Aimee made no indication of what it was.

In a Kansas barn, five men & two women were sitting down, when their female medic came in with a leviathan of a white man.

"(Rejuvenation will take effect in a few days.)" she said in a foreign language. "A day. (Vortex, where are your hats?)"

"(They're already placed.)" said one of the men, wearing a straw hat for a straw man. He let his bitterness with her show in the tone he took; it was distasteful to take orders from a woman, much less one unmarried.

"(I understand you're not pleased to work with him, but his Revenant needs time to regenerate.)" she said. "(After we're finished, I don't care if you use him for target practice.)"

Instinctually he almost felt some sympathy for Eternity, then mustered some anger within himself to compensate. As the youngest of the group, Vortex's racism still had an excitement that had not yet dulled in to the prejudice the others simply carried. They felt no need to show their disgust in being forced to work with Eternity; they had worked under their employer long enough to exploit any advantage, however personally distasteful.

Back with the heroic six an hour later, Aimee's driving of their minivan has reached a clearing of red dirt & cliffs, and Mia's ice scarabs had compensated for their air conditioning failing three hours prior.

"Y-You're not gonna run out, right?" panted Marisa in the second row, wiping her forehead with an ice scarab.

Mia laughed, but she was still thinking about earlier.

"Splat." murmured Makoto, crushing one between her fingers -

- and shrieking as her entire thumb froze solid -

" - I told you not to do that." groaned Mia, fire scarab flying back to melt it, Saya healing the wound -

" - I didn't know it's - shit." winced Makoto.

For a second, Matoi thought about asking for more to train ice resistance. Revenants sometimes grew where pushed, though Wedding hadn't developed anything nonlethal when she needed it back in Japan, and now she didn't care if it did.

"Don't have too much fun back there." chimed Aimee. "That guy still following us?"

"Looks like it." said Marisa, glancing at the rearview. "Uh, maybe he's just avoiding traffic, but…"

"Do you need me to blast his car off the road?" said Matoi.

"Sounds good to me." said Makoto. "I could use with seeing some blood."

"Uh, let's not." chimed Aimee. "Could just be a civilian. Figure out some way to just… slow him."

"I have an idea." said Mia. "Though I need to be closer range for it."

"Schultzy coming up…" murmured Makoto, shuffling to the right as Mia crawled back to the third row.

"Told you - only I get to call her that."

"…precisely." muttered Mia, thinking of the secrecy. "I need to break the rear windshield for this."

"This is way more complicated. I wanna see Matoi blow his ass up." groaned Makoto.

Saya shook her head. "I shall fill it back up, afterwards. Go ahead, Swarm."

Medic's approval given, Mia threw her shoulder against the rear windshield, and it shattered in a shower of glass. The mystery sedan was only a few seconds behind.

"Worldwide!" shouted Mia in to the wind, and a swarm of ice scarabs flew against the current -

- and froze the sedan's tires to the pavement, stopping it in an instant. Mia crawled back to the front row, Saya's fog stretching behind to fill the windshield with new glass.

"And it'll melt in an hour in this heat." chimed Mia. "Nothing to be concerned about."

"Yeah." said Aimee. "Just gotta, uh… Shit." She groaned. "…I forgot to make hotel reservations -"

- the vehicle filled with the same groan -

" - it's fine, it's fine - uh - one of you just - call ahead or something. Not like we'll have to stay somewhere with rats, right?"

"You motherfucker." said Makoto plainly.

Aimee rolled her eyes, and caught Mia's corner in the rearview. A bit of displaced guilt seemed to shift her eyes as she reached over to Mia's hand.

◆◆◆

They had to stay somewhere with rats.

Lathusser wasn't known for its cleanliness. A sewage leak a year back had driven out most of the residents, and the flurry of sold homes sucked up all the state's poverty.

Fortunately, the lack of watching eyes proved useful for two women.

"Again." Matoi impaled her right palm with her blade and yanked it out, then leaned against the side of a dumpster at an alley's center.

At her side, Saya nodded. Streams of black fog filled Matoi's wounds with new flesh & blood. "Thank you, Rain-On-A-Wedding. I've needed a bit of practice."

"Of course." said Matoi, dragging a wound down her arm, skin peeking back. "T-The pain doesn't matter. Urasaria has no room for weakness."

"Are you saying that because it helps the pain?" said Saya, filling Matoi's arm again.

"'If I cannot stand on my own, that will be the day I die.'" muttered Matoi. A woman with pink hair & black streaks passed by the alley ahead, but Matoi's badge made her nod as she left.

"…I only now realized how this may look." frowned Saya and Matoi shrugged.

Many a student had left carcasses on street corners; not out of forgetfulness, but out of the mistaken assumption civilians enjoyed the show when seen personally & not only on a screen.

"Go ahead." said Matoi, extending her wound again.

"You're very determined." said Saya, streams of fog healing it. "I don't think anyone comes in to the infirmary more often than you and Samuel."

"When Aimee graduates, I'll either be president or dead."

Saya nodded. While she did not enjoy that Matoi was violent, even for Urasaria, she knew this exaggeration reflected her being an exaggerated woman. She heard footsteps at one end of the alley, and peeked across the dumpster -

- and her eyes widened as she quickly healed Matoi's sounds; at her side, Matoi shot up to face the figure staggering towards them twenty feet away. His right arm was missing & he wore a tattered coat, shambling forward with blade outstretched. Saya closing her eyes at her back, an imminent heat grew from Wedding's eyes -

- and a swift sweep of lasers carved the man in to burning cubes; Saya's eyes opened -

" - Matoi - turn -" she panted, and as Matoi turned back -

- she saw another figure, headless & feminine & rushing towards her faster than the last; Matoi surged forward with blade outstretched -

- and two sweeps cleaved the woman's arms clear off her body; Matoi spun back -

" - another!" shouted Matoi, another familiar figure stumbling on broken legs ahead -

- and the point of two knives entered her back; barely wincing, her blade carved through the two figures behind her, Saya huddling against the wall, eyes slamming shut at the violence. Matoi realized the Revenant as she saw the two corpses; a married man & woman, holes burnt clear through their hearts -

" - t-there's more of them, Matoi!" panted Saya; Matoi shot off to another three at her back -

- and her dripping blade spattered blood as she left three writhing figures behind her; she surged back to Saya to slice to bits another four, missiles erupting from her shoulders and blasting to pieces more stragglers behind - but the horde kept growing. Dozens of figures stumbled down the alley, all wounded and some copies of others, and as the two walls started closing in -

" - Saya - fill this after we go through it!" shouted Matoi, turning to one literal wall adjacent -

- and she dragged Saya right with her as her lasers carved an entrance through the wall, fog refilling the hole with steel as Matoi rushed through the lobby inside, chairs & tables, chamber wide with only one front door.

"P-Please keep me safe." panted Saya, huddling against one nearby pillar, eyes flashing closed & shut.

"I recognize these people." muttered Matoi. "Scum I've dealt with - that I've murdered. We'll have to find the host."

The front door burst open in a shower of rubble, and Matoi knew the next horde awaited her there as she rushed back through the lobby, lasers & missiles & sword screaming, blasting & slashing & hacking through the next dozen, slashing a red carpet through the next dozen figures that'd come through the entrance.

"Saya, call the others. There's a chokepoint for -"

- one corpse reanimated below and threw her to the ground, and as his blade pierced her neck -

" - Wedding!" she grunted, a dozen explosions claiming her body -

- and more chunks of gore erupted out of the smoke as she rose to her feet again, more & more figures bursting through the doors and rushing to meet her. Sword drawn, she slashed through the next three -

- and swept back from the next six strikes seeking her, more and more flooding in. Inch by inch, the pressure of their strikes forced her further back. Another wall was approaching her back -

- and a swift missile blasted her path back out, knowing Saya beside would be safe as she swept through the hole again -

- but Saya filled with fear as she saw a woman peel off from the horde, pink hair with a black streak rushing towards her; underneath one dagger's strike Saya dodged -

- and the second slashed her left arm; unfamiliar pain staggering back, she shrieked as her foe drew her blade back -

- but streams of black fog filled the woman's throat -

- with a dozen knives that burst out in a dozen rivulets of blood. Her foe gurgled as streams of black fog flew behind her eyes and filled them with razorblades, white & crimson dripping out of the tunnels to her skull as Saya beat her fists against the bone, shrieking as more black fog filled her foe's ears with a dozen blades, a red haze filling her sight as she screamed.

Once she saw the corpse again, she sank against the wall, shaking as her eyes closed. Tears were in them until she heard Matoi come back.

"…ah." said Matoi. "Her Revenant was destroyed. I assume this was a woman."

Shaken, Saya's expression clenched as she stood up. "P-Please. B-Back to our hotel."

Matoi nodded, leading her back. "I miscalculated. I… thought the host wouldn't have risked themselves." She glanced back in the direction of the corpse. "I never thought Blackburn could kill so quickly. You would have made a good student."

Set off, Saya said: "I am not some f-fucking *student*, Matoi!" She wiped her face with her hand. "…I-I'm sorry. I-I need to speak with A-Aimee, and…"

Matoi had seen nothing that should have ruffled Saya like this: there were uglier corpses than that. Hell, she had made a few of them. "…alright."

On the way back, she noticed that Saya was bleeding from her left arm: if she realized this she did not show it. After they came to their hotel, Saya spoke privately with Aimee, who called a meeting of the six after. Saya had asked them to split in to trios so she would not be forced to fight again, and Aimee assigned her own trio of Saya & herself & Mia.

◆◆◆

Makoto stopped their van at a diner an hour from Lathusser. She stepped out with Matoi & Marisa, checked the area, then watched as Saya's outline inside the van made some gesture to Mia & Aimee that caused them both to step out. They waited for her to finish talking with Luna, then stepped inside as six and ordered their meals without drinks.

Halfway through, Makoto handed Saya her empty glass across the table and grinned. "They're gonna kick us out if we keep doing this."

"Yeah, right." laughed Aimee. "Probably the most customers they've gotten in a year."

"B-Blackburn." said Saya. Streams of fog filled it with soda, her reminder of Blackburn's less violent usages calming her. "T-Thank you, Symphony."

"Sure." said Makoto, taking it back over her soup. "Hope you're feeling better."

"…s-somewhat." she mumbled, her bowl of soup untouched. "I-I feel as i-if I might v-vomit."

"I'll hold your hair back." said Marisa, standing up, and the two went off.

"…pretty rough." muttered Aimee. "Make sure she doesn't have to kill anyone again."

"Hey, Schultzy." said Makoto, offering her soda. "This is too warm."

Mia sighed and dropped a scarab in it. "There."

"Thanks." chimed Makoto, and took a sip -

- and immediately spit it in to her soup - " - ow ow ow fuck fuck! -" - she fanned her tongue at desperate pace -

" - now it's really too warm." droned Mia.

"I - I should sue you!"

"Wouldn't be a bad scam to run if you were unregistered." laughed Aimee. "Maybe that, uh - lady with the hot coffee lawsuit just had a Revenant."

"Don't be ridiculous." smirked Mia.

"You know, she just wanted them to, uh, pay for her medical bills at first. Coffee got served at like, two hundred degrees.

"Yep. She got third degree burns all over her pussy." chimed Makoto, and the three winced. "Half a million dollars."

"And I underwent it for zero." muttered Matoi.

◆◆◆

The six would leave again the following morning, and two flush women laid in bed that night, as the rest of the journey wouldn't allow them another chance.

"…y-you know how to hit that switch." murmured Aimee.

"Apparently." Mia smirked, tapping Aimee's still-wet lips. Aimee laughed and laid her head next to Mia's.

"…mmm. Still, gotta get our rest. Leave tomorrow morning, same time…"

"Did you remember to make the reservations?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

The two kissed and Aimee closed her eyes. "Love you."

"I love you too." said Mia. "I… did want to ask something, however."

"Mmm… What's up?"

"Is there some reason why Makoto isn't in our trio?"

"…mm?" Aimee's eyes opened. "What do you mean?"

"We have experience fighting with her. Wouldn't it, er - be better to have her?"

"…oh. Um. Wouldn't be able to, uh, keep… Saya safe, then."

"Then … why doesn't Makoto replace me? I can fight with Marisa."

Aimee closed her eyes. "Nnn… asking a lotta questions."

"…sorry. Er, I was curious."

"No-no, it's alright. Schultzy. Just figured … one three-star to each trio. That's all."

"Of course." muttered Mia. "I love you."

"Love you too."