Chapter Text
Finally, Barrett was asleep.
They settled in an empty freight container near the gates of what seemed to be the docks of the city.
They had arrived here early in the morning, the same time they left Fusion.
At the very moment she had first stepped in this dimension, her heart leapt with excitement.
This was a new place! And heck, it was much different from her home dimension. Not more preferable, but still she wanted to explore it.
She couldn't, though.
But it was fine. When the dimensions will be united one day, there will definitely be a time for exploring this one, granted a place for it exists.
For now, she was going to be a hunter—a predator in search of her prey, like the wild cats she's read about in books and watched in the few documentaries she was given.
And importantly, she was here to make the Professor proud.
And maybe— hopefully— he’ll let her fight in the frontlines.
Like a hunter, she had to be stealthy, crossing only alleys and assumed byways for her search.
It was midnight when she left, as Barrett himself had suggested to search during the evening.
But Serena also wanted to have a chance to do it alone. And now, it was past one, and she was on top of a three-story building, surveying the world around her.
Standard's sky had less stars than Fusion.
No, stop thinking about that.
She jumped off the building and continued her hunt.
After she had walked a while, she noticed a presence. She felt it before but had ignored it in hopes it'd go away itself, but…
It didn't.
She turned, and—
“Oh? Who do we have here?” a voice echoed.
She saw a silhouette. Around her, the walls echoed sharp clacks that seemed to come from the other’s heels.
Instinctively she lifted her left arm, ready to use her disk if need be.
Then, her stalker stepped into a gap between buildings, bathing themself in moonlight.
“Ah, it’s the Lady.” The figure bowed.
Her brows narrowed, and she held her disk higher. “ You… ”
He wasn't supposed to be here yet, according to the gossip she's heard from the students. So why? Why was he here?
Had the Professor somehow found out about her plans? Had Barrett betrayed her?
She didn't want to go back right now. She hasn't even found the defector yet!
He stood again. “‘You’? What do you mean by that: ‘You’? Have we even met before?”
“You know well we need no past meeting to know each other,” she growled.
Yuri. The Professor’s favorite weapon, she's heard. Even Barrett himself mentioned that.
Here he was, his right side illuminated by the moon and figure hidden by his immense, dark cloak.
“You’re not wrong about that,” he said back, kicking a small stone and taking a few steps forward.
His eyes traced back to her. “But let us proceed to a more interesting topic. Why are you here? How are you here?”
She moved to her left to avoid his slow gait, disk still raised. “What’s more interesting to me is why you haven't yet reported me, and even thought it a good idea to start a conversation.”
“I wonder, too.” He stopped walking and stared at the other end of the small alley. “But perhaps a reason why is because, like you, I am not supposed to be here. Though unlike you, I am only not supposed to be here yet .”
Slightly, he turned his head enough for her to only see the side of his face and one mischievous eye. “Otherwise, you would have been deported back by now~”
“Tch, then why don't you? Doesn't he like you?” She narrowed her eyes.
She saw him look away, toward the ground. She couldn't see his face, but for a moment she felt an air of sorrow wash over him.
That was something she had not expected from him before.
“Know the difference between hearsay and fact, Lady Serena,” he said, voice low. “I am not his favorite. Truthfully, that title belongs to you.”
“Wh—”
He faced her now, his hands seemingly held together behind his back. “Now I’ll ask again: how and why are you here? And there's no need for your disk. I have no plans to send you back right now. Though a fun, casual duel against you does sound nice, wouldn't you agree?”
She relaxed her pose and lowered her disk, though she didn't make it too low. Only her guard was still raised.
“I am here to hunt, capture, and card an Xyzian defector,” she said. “I have no intention to duel you.” No matter how interesting she admits it'll be.
A frown crossed his face.
“Well, that's unfortunate. Anyway, here I thought you defected.”
She felt insulted. “I would never—”
“One could say though that, like you, I am also here to hunt someone. I am not to capture them until someone else reports the signal to do so, but I was bored and decided to ‘help’.”
He walked away a bit and turned, in a way proving his boredom. “What do you say, we ‘hunt’ together for a while?” he suggested, smiling.
Of all the things she expected while she was here, this was an occurrence she never expected or thought of.
He frowned. “Ah, yes, you're here to prove your worth to the Professor. I get that. And I'll try to remember it. I will not hunt for now, and neither will I interfere with what you do. I shall merely follow you some distance away.”
“I feel like you have been doing that for quite a while.”
“I have.” His eyes seemed to light up. “Good you noticed.”
She rolled her eyes. “I expect, then, that you ‘saw how “weak” I was’, though my opponents weren't that big a trouble.”
He made a thinking gesture, making him look like he was deep in thought. “Hmmmn…”
Then, he looked at her.
“To tell you the truth, there are things you have yet to learn, as well as skills to polish,” he said with little nods, and when he drifted his gaze away it made her let go of breath she didn't know she was holding. “But I have a hunch that you can become more than even all the Obelisk Force combined. However, not more than me, of course. Never more than me.”
His gaze on her was sharp as he finished his statement. Those eyes caught the faintest light from the moon, and it made them look like they were glowing.
“But all in all, you’re strong,” he concluded, smiling.
Though he made it look that way, she could tell that there was none of his tell–tale teasing there.
Strong. She was strong.
Yuri thought she was strong. Not more than him—something she expected him to say, though she’s willing to prove him wrong—but close.
But no, that cannot be right, because if it is then—
“Truthfully, I cannot understand why the Professor hasn't given you a position close to mine or the Obelisk Force.”
Those were exactly what she thought. She herself did not understand either…
“Well, in his eyes I am still not enough. And I think I should continue on my way.” Distractions.
“So you won't take me with you?”
“I feel you'll follow me anyway. There's nothing I can do about that.”
Not waiting for an answer, she lithely hopped on the jutting ACs of the building they were passing through.
She heard swift, soft clanks below her, and to the right ears one can tell that the footing belonged to a well-trained Academian Soldier.
When he reached the top after she did, he said, “What if I take you to Xyz?”
The question surprised her, making her stumble slightly. “ What? ”
“You say you've always wanted to be on the front lines, yes? Well, why don't I bring you there? I promise it won't be long, and you can look for your defector when you get back.”
“When I go there, it's because I deserve it and because the Professor sees me fit.”
The mention of the front lines still excited her, though. The thought of doing it the right way was the only thing holding her back.
“Your optimism amuses me, but what if that never happens?”
Her heart dropped, and presently her excitement drained.
She had always thought that she would eventually have her chance, and one that was approved by the Professor himself.
But Yuri was right.
“I’m sure there's something you want from me in return if I were to accept,” Serena said, eyes narrowed and heart beating fast.
“All I ask is that you do not waste our time and never reveal any events that just occurred or will occur to anyone. Avoid any other Fusionists while we're there, too.”
As she thought, Yuri tapped a few times on his disk’s screen, and a small, blue portal opened.
“So?” he asked, smiling.
Serena took a deep breath and took a step forward.