End of the Line [Night: Bad Girl Cadet Mission]

As Susan would clench her fists, tap her foot, and wait very impatiently for her turn to make a difference Seshat would remain on the other side of the train and lumber forward through the din of combat. It approached Serah and once again drew a sigil of light over her to dispense supernatural aid before evaporating into a black haze.

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It was a quiet thing to fall. At least, it would've been had not Taraka gave one last heave and roar before finally dissipating like blown away dust. The same could be said of the viridescent miasama earlier. The train finished passing by, and when it did, so did the dust that was once the demon. The moment as it all happened, Serah collapsed to the ground motionless. Maria hurriedly approached the civilian and took a look at her as Lisa followed behind, coming out of the sidelines. The Princess' expression was a mixture of annoyance mostly due to just watching the battle, but also of concern for  Serah.

The businesswoman took a few long-count breaths as she awaited the train to pass. She had lost her temper again like she promised she wouldn't, though she was not the only one to have done so. It was frightening to think that officers of the law (to include herself) could allow anger to cloud their judgement so readily. Nearly everyone had given themselves over to adrenaline and let it carry themselves through the evening. Susan pursed her lips as she thought. This would not do. They could do better than that. With nothing better to do with her time Susan would sigh, let go of her anger and turn to thinking up ways this could be remedied.

When the train cleared so did the green haze and she could see Hatsuhara and Jackie standing tall as Serah was collapsed on the ground, sans devil. Most of the team rushed to her side as did Susan, though admittedly she was a little slower than the others so all she could do is step back out of the way and wring her hands. Her heart stopped for a few seconds as Maria tended to the girl.
Please don't be dead please don't be dead please you can't be dead don't be dead please for the love of God please...
They had completed their mission so victory was assured. No innocent bystanders died on the tracks that night, at least not from the train. Officer Hunt had insisted the Serah herself was an innocent victim as well. Susan concurred in a moral sense but not a literal sense, it was not Serah's fault that she went through a rough time and fell into radicalism though as evidenced from the battle this was not purely the case. Obviously Serah was being possessed and controlled, the one thing her report was missing. She would need to follow up on that line of thought as soon as she could in order to have all the facts available. But that was less important right now than the safety of the suspect. The fight was over and Susan had made a promise she would be found, though when she made that promise she meant found safe.

The nervous woman let out the breath she didn't know she was holding when Maria gave her positive report. Susan could tell that she was just as nervous as herself over the entire thing, for obvious reasons. In hindsight she really could not have blamed her for being overzealous and opening fire carelessly when she herself had let her anger take control several times.
"*haaaa...* ...well, it seems there is nothing more I can do here so I will get out of your way," she announced. It was true, she was no medical specialist, hers was information and there was nothing more that could be learned until Serah was conscious. Besides, she was incredibly exhausted and it was very late. Aside from the Cadets she had work in the morning. But before she departed Susan would hand out her business card to those that did not already have it.

"This is my personal contact information in case anyone needs to get ahold of me for any reason, please send me yours so that we may maintain open lines of communication. I will be writing an after-action summary of the events of tonight by tomorrow or so. I would like to invite everyone to join me so that we may collaborate, though I would also like to think of it as a team building exercise. I am sure everyone is familiar with everyone else but I am unfamiliar with all of you. I implore you all to come, I will be making cookies~" Susan would tempt the other Cadets with sweets with an equally sweet smile though her tone would change when she reached Hatsuhara with her business card. Her smile would falter into a shy grimace, her face would grow red, posture scrunched and shivering as she handed it out for him to take.
"I-It would m-mean a lot to me i-if you... i-if you were there..." she would mumble to the talented entertainer, casting her gaze away from him. Susan stepped away and cleared her throat to gain her bearings. She would flip out about this later.
"*Ahe-hem!* ...I-if you are interested please text me and I will reply with my address and time, but I really must be going, I have work in the morning and it's late as it is. Goodnight, everyone."

With her farewell Susan would make the long, lonely walk toward the train platform. That was an expensive briefcase and she would need it back for future operations. Then it would be another lonely drive home in the dead of night but she was used to those. Late nights at the office. Perhaps she would stop for coffee on her way home, she would need the pick-me-up. It was beginning to look like an all-night affair.

It was nearly an ass-clenching moment as he watched the rest of the Cadets battle it out. Each attack and maneuver had suspense and it made him wonder if they'll be able to pull through. The most surprising thing out of all this was how insane was Class Two Maria's physical prowess. Joseph believed and had confidence in his own power, but this just made him immensely inadequate all of a sudden. Out of all this, it was clear Maria never skipped leg day. Most importantly, this was the standard for the Cadets. Maybe climbing up that ladder wasn't going to be as easy as he once thought.

In the end, everything was dealt with and it all ended well. Joseph had a tad sour taste about the battle. Instead of participating himself all the way through, he just ended up warming the bench. But it meant this was his first successful mission. Baby steps turned into full and confident steps over time. He silently accepted Susan's card before pocketing it. He wasn't going, even though he should start to network. But his will to just mope alone was greater. And speaking of moping, he began to give a bow towards the Class Two Cadets.

Around the time the demon disappeared and the girl was free from it was about the same time his persona released him from the strange fusion they had been in. Being released, he already felt the heavy blow of fatigue and even a headache from it all; however, unlike the girl he kept to his feet and forced himself to stay awake. In a slight daze, he would look over at the girl as Maria and Lisa drifted over to her. He was concerned about her, but after the examination was over and they all got the thumbs up that the kid was okay and they had done a good job, the idol nodded. Good. It had all ended well despite how annoying that one was to bring down.

With the girl in safe arms, the idol would turn his attention to Susan as she spoke about meetings his brain taking a moment to process it all before she was standing before him. He would blink as she spoke to him stammering and being nervous once more as she held out a card to him. He would look at the card for a second before looking back up at the woman and giving her a small smile. “Thanks. I'll consider it,” he would say as he took the card from her and just held it in his hand for now as he listened to her finish up before bidding them good night. He would give her a wave before watching her disappear as she went her way.

After Susan was gone, he would glance over to see Joseph moping and apologizing for his actions. He would’ve said something, but he figured the two ladies with him would be the ones to deal with it. With a light shake of his head, he’d bid the remaining folks good night as he placed the card and his hands in his pocket and began his own trek not necessarily home, but to a safe place nonetheless.

Maria began to stand up while shouldering the unconscious Serah over her shoulder while still grasping Andraste by its forward harness. The girl was light to her, but she wasn't handy enough to carry around easily. The promise of food was tempting to her as Susan gave an offer to meet up. It was almost a month since even tasting a half of a raisin cookie. After so many days of grueling work, it challenged her self-control. However, Maria had to decline as she shook her head at Susan. "I'm afraid I have some work to do the next day. But you can count me in for the next meeting if you so wish, Susan."

"Count me out. I have important things to do than play tea party," Lisa sniffed at the new recruit. Really, cookies? Being a Cadet wasn't supposed to be some kind of dainty gathering of demure women to begin gossiping behind people's backs. But she found herself adding something else as Maria shot a disapproving eye. "Good work, anyhow. Keep it up. But you..."

She glared at Joseph. The guy who hit Serah and risked the entire operation. He was a new guy, that was for sure. While a tongue-lashing was about to be dealt out, Maria broke in, "You're only a new recruit. There's bound to be some accidents. We're lucky nothing happened. But I expect you to perfect your skills and your judgement the more you stay within the ranks. Understood?"

Lisa bit her lip in displeasure, but rolled her eyes at it all, washing her hands of the matter. If Maria wanted to play the role of a 'mom' in the Cadets, she could have it. But the Princess wasn't going to let it ruin her own success. She simply gave a curt nod at the recruits and a stink eye at Joseph before leaving herself. Maria sighed as she left. The same brash behavior was going to be the death of her. But she had some time to improve and hopefully warm up to everyone else. Though that's probably asking too much at this point. "His Majesty has a training exercise planned for us. I'll see you all tomorrow, please get all the rest you need. I'll handle the report to him. Good night."

With these words, Maria also left with Serah.

Takeru nodded and noted all of what was going on. He took the business card from Susan and texted her his contact information.
He said his goodbyes quietly before leaving.
Once he was out, and nobody was able to see and hear him, he slammed his fist into a wall.
"God f*cking dammit!" he roared in anger to himself.
Once again, Takeru had been merely witness to events at hand. Never directly involved when it mattered. Just there for the ride.

It sickened him.
The worse thing in his mind was that for the life of him, he had a feeling he knew exactlywhy he wasn't selected.
The reason why In his mind was, simply put, he had literally nothing to offer to the team.
He knew he would get his chance one day, but...

He just couldn't help but feel jealous at how everyone else would get the glory, and all he got was a footnote.
It just felt wrong.

Exit.