Awaited Newcomer [Morning :: Plot]

Despite the night's respite, Maria felt herself barely energized from her slumber. That sudden visit in her dream left her more for wear, though then again maybe she was slowly becoming less of a morning person these days. How worrying. But duty wasn't going to wait for her to get ready. A bit of the daily freshening and tidying up and a brisk walk to the Academy was all she needed to get her going with a bite of that breakfast bar between street blocks.

It was an early morning as usual to avoid the most amount of people. But this morning seemed different from the rest as only the Prince was present. She blinked in surprise at how empty it was. Maybe she could understand Alex not being around since he never liked her generation of Cadets. Yet Lisa? She was usually so dutiful to show up. It unnerved her a bit. But nevertheless, the Cadet knew she had to keep moving since her coffin easily took up a good amount of space in the entrance. Yet she waited until the call ended for the Prince before announcing her arrival.


Maria's tone remained as respectful. She still had some misgivings about allowing that Psyche-Terrorist she captured yesterday to live. But it was ultimately his call and these were the orders she followed. The Cadet moved to a nearby seat to occupy to allow the rest of her peers to file into the classroom. As she did, the Cadet wondered who would be chosen for this little courier errand.

She froze first and then blinked in confusion. What exactly was Julius expressing here? His disapproval or was he being playful? Maria, up until now, acknowledged him as a very serious person. There wasn't much that gave her any reason to think otherwise. Now she was seeing another side to him and didn't quite know how to react to it. Then again, they've only met for a few days after all.


She had no problems with long sermons and whatnot. But the ones in Endymion stretched to an entire hour thanks to a priest who liked to try so hard to get in-touch with the younger generation of believers. And he was obviously failing when their heads were still bent over to hide their smartphones during his time on the podium. She remembered the look of despair and betrayal on their faces when the postulant had to confiscate phones until giving them back by the end of Mass. Which most probably wouldn't have minded much, but it meant she had to report it to their parents and it didn't exactly lend her a very close relationship with the youth as much as she wanted.


She continued to remain holding that appearance of professionalism and poise. But, she was still concerned and doubtful. Maria was rather surprised by the recent news nevertheless. But quietly nodded to show her comprehension of the events before remaining silent in thought. It made her wonder who this new Cadet was. Was that Takeru Kagemaru going to be presented before their eyes? Or is there someone else that she didn't expect to be recruited within the ranks? She was trying to wrack her brains about it, but there might be one who could be... But why him?

"Ah! Good morning, Shiina," Maria gave a light wave towards the Wild Card after being abruptly pulled from her reverie,  "I suppose. It's to be expected, most of us have some important obligations after all. How's your morning?"

Nebula’s breathing got sharper and sharper with every step that brought her closer to Classroom Zero, though each increase was lower than anyone would be able to hear except for her own, self-conscious self. Being a cadet was one thing, but this was the first actual Cadet meeting that the blonde cadet was attending (assuming you don’t count her awakening night test, as that was only a supervisor and an assistant there with her). She understood that the meeting was entirely optional and therefore it wasn’t very likely for more than a small handful of dedicated people to show up to it, but her mind still raced at the thought of the simple possibility of being in a small cramped room with lots of people. She had promised to come though, and had even postponed a specifically important other meeting to do so, so as much as she wanted to make the most out of the meeting’s optionality and stay at home, she had to suck up her fears and step inside of the room; and so she did, holding her sketchbook against her chest with both arms crossed.


To Nebula’s relief, there were only three people in the room as of now; and one of them, after much overnight deliberation, she had decided she was slightly comfortable around (Not to imply she disliked the other two, but you get the point). Greeting Prince Julius and giving a light nod of the head to Shiina, Nebula slowly walked over towards Maria’s row of seats and timidly sat beside her, looking down at the ground.

Soon more and more of her fellow peers would enter the classroom. It was a surprisingly small number compared to the earlier meetings, but it made the power of the word "mandatory" ever apparent from the difference. Regardless the case, Maria noticed a familiar blonde entering the classroom and greeted her with a friendly smile and a wave at her direction. "Morning, Nebula. How are you holding up?"

She was glad that her fellow Cadet was here. Maria wasn't completely sure whether Nebula would come or not, but it made her feel more at ease with more people coming in here. An empty classroom with just the three of them would've been rather empty. Then again, such things never really mattered when it came to working for the Government anyway.


When Maria folded her hands over the desk, she waited to see who this mystery person was. She wanted to remain calm and professional, since this was a newcomer. As someone with a rank, it seemed fitting to act her age and whatnot. But when she saw who it was, her eyes inevitably widened in shock at first while compromising her calm. Then it turned into suspicion from him to the Prince. The Cadet was displeased, mad. But she continued to look at Sera, observing him from head to toe. He looked the same, but his behavior... Was this what rehabilitation does? Change their entire personality as well? Certainly that could cut down on incarceration rates and upkeep. But... why did this feel wrong?


Despite all of this, Maria remained composed. She had half of a mind to impale Sera to the wall right now, but she knew it wasn't the wise decision. Surely the Prince isn't so foolish to take in someone who tried to kill him and put a hostage in danger under his wing, especially after laying mayhem on a District Head's domain? She already spared a Psyche-Terrorist who threatened to harm the people who lived with her in the Church because he wanted him rehabilitated instead. Now this...?

Yesterday hadn't been that great of a day for Cecilia and really who could blame her? The lack of breakfast, the shocking revelations of the meeting, the failure to find any information on the demon she had been searching for in Suzie Q... Overall it was safe to say that it hadn't been particularly enjoyable even if she did generally try to look on the bright side of things. So it wasn't too much of a surprise when she woke up groggy and uncertain of what life had in store for her, nor was it M. Night Shyamalan's next greatest twist that she ended up instinctively slamming her fist down on the snooze button for the first time in a long, long while. As a result, when Cecilia did finally come to her senses and arose from her slumber she found herself running late to today's meeting, something that wasn't too troubling considering it was optional and that she could always ask Maria to fill her in but still nevertheless a source of distress. While yesterday's gathering hadn't been that pleasant of an experience, it hadn't dissuaded Cecilia from attending them like it would have for most people... hell, if anything it made her more likely to go to them in a way.


The sound of footsteps following each other one after another in swift succession would echo through the hallway and into Class Zero to herald her fashionably(?) late arrival. Not soon after would the door swing open and the pink-haired Cadet make her comparatively quiet entrance with a quick, somewhat apologetic nod directed toward the group. "Sorry I'm late. I hope I didn't miss anything too importa---" Her sentence would be cut short as her eyes caught a glimpse of Sera standing in the middle of the room.


Needless to say, Cecilia was pleased to see he had recovered from the delusions he suffered while being puppeteered by that strange entity. It was clear just from the way he looked and his body language alone that he meant no harm to them, a stark contrast to the raving lunatic she had encountered on her mission. At the same time though, it was surprising to see him face-to-face soon, especially without the context that Maria, Shiina, and Nebula had just been provided. One would have to forgive the recruit for her confusion; after all, deductive reasoning could only get a person so far if one was to avoid leaps of logic.

And then in came Takeru, tactless and late to the conversation as ever.
Failing epically to read the room, he stroked in there with confidence....
Up until he saw the prince and Maria.
A.k.a, Master and the scariest nun he had ever met.
"Hey everyone! What's going on here...." he said, trailing off as the current situation hit him in the face like a sledgehammer.
This was a meeting that he had ever so rudely burst into.
A meeting he wasn't even sure he was supposed to be present for.
"Best to roll with it." he thought.
"Er... sorry for interrupting... um... hi new guy. I just joined too! I'm Takeru!" he said, nervously trying to keep as calm as possible.
He really prayed it didn't end with his head up on a platter. (In the figurative sense.)

Nebula stopped looking at the ground and turned to look at Maria once she addressed her, a heavy-lidded and bagged pair of eyes greeting the nun’s line of sight. “…I’m fine…” Would be the only response she would hear from the blonde. Needless to say, this wasn’t the case, but that that wouldn’t stop Nebula from going any lengths to relieve her friend of worry, or at the very least try. In reality, Nebula could’ve been worse off, but the combination of stress, depression and lack of sleep was starting to break her down bit by excruciating bit from the inside.






As soon as Nebula saw the reformed madman, she was left at a loss for words. The other night had been the only real chance she’d gotten to meet this child, but in their brief encounter Nebula could see in his eyes the same madness that overcame a certain man she once knew. No matter how much her fellow cadets tried to downplay him and demonize him in their minds, Nebula was already much too familiar with the scene to do that; an impulse, a lust for the immediate, a total lack of control: Insanity destroyed every semblance of the person that was left behind. Of course, if her cadet duty required fighting him, she would (reluctantly) fight him, but not for a second did her belief of Sera being the victim waver that night. So… was this what rehabilitation was? The power to bring back the person that was left behind? To cure insanity?

If Maria, being the closest in the room to Nebula, were to have paid attention to her reaction she would’ve seen her face quickly transfer from shock, to contemplation, to a longing, melancholic look as tears began to form at the edges of her eyes. She was so caught up in the wonder of this discovery that she didn’t even notice Takeru come in. She was so happy; so happy that such a saving grace existed… but she couldn’t cry. Not in front of her superiors.

"It's been fair, thank you," the postulant replied with a small grin. She expected Shiina to be here, since she seemed to be that dutiful and confident type unlike the rest of the Cadets. There was a kind of strength to her that many didn't have for this kind of work.

Maria then nodded at her fellow blonde Cadet, but had a small worried smile for her betraying a little bit of concern on her features. She realized early on that Nebula was a trooper when it came to trying to not get her friends and peers to worry about her. It was the same for her and the Cadet can sympathize with that, so she wouldn't say much right now. Besides, her attention was focused on a particular duo right now.


"Time? Blessing...? Um, wha...? Have we met before?" the boy raised an eyebrow at Shiina. He cocked his head to the side in confusion, not registering what she just said. Though he seemed more afraid of the blue-haired nun that didn't seem to receptive of his presence. Had he done something wrong? But he just came in here! Maybe being a Cadet was going to be tougher than he thought it would be.

If Julius was surprised by the lack of dissent in the classroom, barring Maria's, he never showed it in his relaxed features. This made things a lot easier than expected. He was going to address the question, but it turned out more people were joining the small event. Maria's glance even followed towards the arrival of Takeru, with a look of disdain before returning her attention to the Prince


"Please sit down, both of you," Julius addressed the duo near the entrance before continuing, "Like all of you, he's here after passing the test with flying colors. I see no reason to not let him under my wing. Everyone who is willing to work for us should be given an equal opportunity. And speaking of equal opportunity, Chee will open her services today. You would all be wise to keep an eye out for it."

Maria frowned at him, but bit her tongue at this explanation. At this point and time, she didn't expect anything more at the moment, only to brood to herself in her seat. But she was perceptive enough to notice there was something going on with Nebula. Regardless, Julius continued, "Since the majority of you have experienced your first mission, I expect you all to be aware of the challenges this job entails. I'll leave it to you to continue your work without my supervision and guide the new recruits until I call for the next gathering. This meeting will be adjourned today if there are no other concerns. Shiina, I would like to see you afterwards."

"Right. I gotta work hard for this one." Takeru thought. Failing to read the room of everyone's reactions, he decided to leave at that moment.
While he was curious about what Shiina was up to, he decided to nudge that thought aside for now.
Probably didn't concern him.

"Alright then. Goodbye sir." he said as he left the room. He had come just in time for the end of the meeting. Figures.
He was more worried about the upcoming training session though.

"Crap... i'm going to get my ass handed to me on this one. I suck when it comes to physical combat. " he thought.
He also figured he may as well try as hard as he could. Needed to make a good impression, after all.
Exit