As the two teachers exited the hall, Juri's skin felt slightly more agitated than normal.
A side effect from exerting so much energy all at once.
Her eyes remained fixated on the fire exit ahead as she finally broke the silence between them.
"You're breathing too heavily." She stated. "Are you not used to being around Essentials, Mr Graham?"
The blonde man struggled to catch his breath as his feet twitched along the edges.
He pushed his spectacles back as he slowed down to lean against the wall.
He didn't answer right away, only focused on stabilizing his breathing.
The older woman stopped a few feet away from him. She didn't turn back.
Didn't need to.
Her fingers played around with the sharp particle of dirt in her hands.
She waited for a response and for a long moment, only the sound of hushed whispers from the hall behind them punctuated the silence.
Whispers about annoying teachers.
Whispers about being treated as children who needed reprimand.
Whispers about—
"Thank you..."
Her mind's focus drifted back to the young man behind her.
"You don't need to thank me, Mr Graham, they're your students. I just..." her heel shifted, eyes peeking through the corners of her glasses, gray pupils locking onto young blue ones, "reminded them of their place in this institution. They're students. They will be treated as such."
The young man shifted to look at her shoulder instead.
Too intense.
"Yeah, well..." his voice lowered now. "Thank you. I'm not sure I could've...handled them on my own..."
Juri's gaze didn't leave him for a full three seconds. Then came a small hum of acknowledgement.
"Let's go. I called you here in regards to our student..." she said, already walking through the fire exit.
The young lad's hand tightened against the paint, knuckles white. "Akira..."
And while the two teachers had an urgent discussion, the hybrid woman they were trying to protect had now undergone some serious reprimands.
...
Tokyo, 10:55 AM.
...
"Your name is Akira Hashinada, correct?"
"...yes..."
"And you're 21 years old?"
"20. M-My birthday's in a couple months, so..."
The female officer-draped in an immaculate white gown, with two golden badges on the right side of her chest and a unique emblem blemished onto the crown of her headpiece-looked over her shoulder as her sharp green eyes assessed Akira's form.
Akira stood there, her eyes slipping away to the polished mantle beneath her bare feet as she felt the officer's gaze strip her body down.
Head to toe.
The thin fabric they gave her wasn't doing much to hide her shame, much less the "birthmarks" around her arms.
"Hmm..." the woman hummed. "Interesting."
"What do you see, Geisha?" A voice cut through from the walls.
A holographic man, probably another officer, walked through the confined room as he stood behind the short woman, tilting his cap out of unease.
"Think we can handle this?" His choppy voice stuttered as it lowered. "Think we need to hand it over to the Order?"
"No..." the woman waved, walking towards the quiet lofty girl in the room. "No, that won't be necessary..."
"But, Geisha, she's a—"
"You came to me and asked for my expertise on the matter, did you not?" the shorter woman interjected gently, never glancing back. "Then you'll leave the Ayanaki Order out of this."
She wasn't asking.
The hologram quieted, watching her assess Akira with small talk.
Then he bowed, hand over his heart.
"Yes, ma'am." he said with practiced respect before the hologram broke apart into particles of digitized light, leaving the two women alone.
Outside, from the observation room, three officers stood by, silver capsules in hand.
They watched the exchange through the hidden cameras in the interrogation room.
"Tch. No dice." One of the officers scowled, leaning closer to the monitors.
"Shit."
Another walked in, eyes resting on their tense expressions.
"She's so difficult to work with..."
"Yeah," one muttered, fixated on the exchange on the screens, her eyes wary and tired. "But she's our best shot at keeping all this under control."
The lass shifted, staring intently at the interaction between the two individuals on screen.
"After all..." her fingers knit together as silence settled into the room. "She's the only one in this part of the region who can take her down if it comes to it."
...
"You seem frightened..." Geisha said softly, her hands contemplating whether or not she should touch her.
Akira didn't look up. Her feet fumbled on top of each other.
"I'm...just trying not to freak anyone out..." she murmured.
Geisha's brows loosened. "Oh...you poor thing..."
Her hand reached out to touch her skin—
ZAP!
"GAH!!"
A sharp jolt of electricity streaked through the shorter woman's finger.
She immediately recoiled, her finger already oozing blood. "Shit."
Akira's eyes blew wide as she rushed forward. "A-Are you okay-!?"
The moment she stepped too close, a thick blue transparent barrier burst from the floor.
Akira didn't know it had appeared.
She only noticed the blue wall.
A bleeding woman's finger.
...and strands of purple hair on the other side of that wall.
"W-What the..." her voice trembled.
Her pupils shook as they slid down to her feet.
The doors on the other end flew open as three enforcers spilled into the room, their attention on Geisha.
"Ms Hoshinoi!"
"Are you alright!?"
"It's the hybrid, she's dangerous—!" One said, already preparing to take out his weapon.
Akira's body flinched as she immediately shrunk to the ground. "P-Please! I-I-I didn't mean to—!"
"Stop." A voice cut through, gentle and direct.
The bleeding ebbed as the exposed flesh dried up and the skin began to knit itself together, like spiderwebs being reattached to every pore on her finger.
The officer didn't let up. His gun, much thicker than his hand, remained pointed at the tiny threat boxed onto the floor.
Geisha placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine."
She looked at the other two officers. "Please leave us." She instructed.
Then to the armed one: "That was not her fault, it was mine. I knew the risks and I still took it."
"But Ms. Hoshinoi—"
"I am giving you a direct order." she demanded, immediate and agitated. "If you want my help, then at least listen to what I say."
He glanced at her hand.
Then Akira.
Her shaking palms, sweaty and already pale from fear, were wide and pleading for mercy. Her knees tucked deep into her chest, back hunched over.
And the faintest hint of lavender in the air, small and desaturated, almost like it was afraid of being noticed itself.
"Director..." Geisha murmured, trying to de-escalate the situation. "At ease..." she said, guiding his arm down slowly.
He held his gaze on the hybrid for a moment longer before setting his weapon down.
"Fine. But we'll be watching..." he said, leaving the room.
A soft clink.
And yet even that caused Akira's body to flinch involuntarily.
Her mind was throbbing. Blood rushing past her nerves as her pulse scurried into a frantic rhythm.
She tried to find something to focus on.
Ground.
No.
Too dangerous.
Walls.
Too foreign.
Hands.
Too shaky.
"Akira."
Maybe her heartbeat.
"Akira..."
Can't. Too frantic—
"Akira."
Warm hands.
"Hey."
In the other room, three officers stood in disbelief.
"What the—!?"
"She's too close—!"
But the green eyed maiden only kept one hand on her shoulder.
Warm palm met cold skin.
Geisha could practically feel the blood pressure beneath her skin.
"Oh, you poor thing..." she hushed, sitting cross-legged in front of her now.
Akira's hands slowly lowered as they slackened at her sides.
"I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hurt you..."
Her voice wobbled, barely audible.
"Hey now...none of that." Geisha whispered. "It was an honest mistake, no biggie." She shrugged.
Her eyes stung.
She peeked over her shoulder, the light temporarily hurting her eyes.
No officers.
No gun.
Just one face.
Small smile.
Pink lips.
No threat.
Safe.
Her eyes welled up instantly. "He...he was gonna—"
"No, I told him not to. He won't do it again..."
"H-How do you know?"
The young woman's eyes softened as she gave Akira's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"...how about we start over, okay?"
Akira swallowed, eyes still fighting the shadows behind Geisha.
"My name is Hoshinoi Geisha." Geisha whispered with a nod. "You?"
Akira took a moment.
Her eyes, when they finally met Geisha's, were shiny and unsteady.
"I-I'm Akira Hashinada...ma'am..."
"Good." Hoshinoi smiled faintly. "Let's start from there."