章 49: Chapter 49: Ah Yes, The Negotiator
"Ugh…"
Ryouko blinked groggily as she slowly sat up in a bed, trying her best to ignore the pounding headache. The morning sun shone from the window, blinding her temporarily. What the hell happened last night? I was finishing up paperwork, I think. I found some sort of bar, and… ah, right. That damn Spirit.
"Hey, you. You're finally awake." The last voice she wanted to hear echoed from behind her. What? [IX]?! Why is he in my apartm- wait, where am I?
Quickly rubbing her eyes, she finally took notice of what she was sitting on: a fold-out bed in an unfamiliar living room filled with stacks of manga and light novels. No… don't tell me… "Hey, [IX]-"
"Call me Kyo, please." The Spirit in question walked up to the bed, holding a steaming cup of something out to her. "Drink this."
"I- you- where-" Ryouko stammered, unable to process the situation. Does [IX] not have casual clothing? He's only ever worn that one suit every time I've seen him. I mean, I guess it makes sense that a Spirit is always in their Astral Dress, but I swear [Sister] was wearing casual clothing last night…
"This is the apartment Nia and I share," Kyo shrugged, "and you are currently in my bed."
How are you acting so nonchalant about this? Ryouko screamed internally. "But- why?!"
"Because I could not for the life of me get a coherent answer as to where you live last night, and I wasn't about to pay for a hotel room for you," he responded, rolling his eyes as though it were obvious. "Don't bother overreacting- I didn't sleep with you."
"I…" Ryouko clutched her head.
"Like I said, drink this. It'll probably help with the hangover." Kyo shoved the cup into her hands and walked off.
…I guess it can't hurt to try. If he wanted me dead, he'd have done it far earlier… Ryouko gingerly took a sip, sighing as the taste of honey, citrus, and black tea slowly abated the pain in her head. "Hey, this stuff is pretty good. What is it?"
"My own blend," Kyo responded blandly. "And frankly, with the amount of times I've had to make it, I'd be worried if it wasn't good."
"What-"
"Kyoooo~" A silver-haired woman wearing baggy pajamas burst out of a doorway, clutching onto the wall for support. So she has casual clothing. Why not [IX]? "Help meee~"
"Yeah, yeah. I've got you." He walked with another cup, which she snatched up and chugged down.
"Ah, that's better." She slowly shook her head, handing Kyo back the cup with a thumbs-up. "You're a lifesaver, Kyo."
"I… sure." He pointed at Ryouko, who was doing her best to stay unnoticed. "By the way, I brought a guest. Say hello to the captain of the AST."
"Er, hello…" Ryouko waved awkwardly. Wait, you never told her I was here?!
"Oh, Miss Kusakabe!" Nia's eye sparkled mischievously as she turned to Kyo. "Wow, I never knew you were into forbidden relationships like this. All that noise from last night suddenly makes a lot of sense!"
"What?!" Ryouko's cheeks immediately reddened. "You!"
"Joking, joking!" Nia laughed, nudging Kyo's increasingly darkening face. "But seriously, why is she here?"
"Uh, I may have planned an impromptu alliance with her last night," Kyo scratched his cheek while looking away, hiding his expression.
"Uh-huh…" Nia turned to Ryouko with a knowing look. "What did he really do?"
"He gave me the option of either joining under some sketchy Spirit-sealing organization or face the annihilation of my entire squad," Ryouko muttered flatly.
"..." Nia slapped her forehead and groaned. "Is it too late for me to go back to bed?"
"I'm not gonna stop you," Kyo agreed with a short nod. "Anyway, Ryouko. I spent last night constructing multiple plans for 'convincing' those higher-ups you cussed out last night, and I think-"
"Maybe I should stay." Nia tugged at Kyo's ear lightly. "Just in case this guy thinks of something crazy again."
…I think I have to agree. Ryouko approved silently.
————————I am the dividing line that skips time————————
Deep within the AST compound, three men and one woman were seated facing each other at a desk. The woman, Ryouko, gulped nervously. Alright, don't screw this up.
"So what exactly have you called us together for?" One of the men, the balding General Kiritani, demanded impatiently. "To use the highest level of alert on such short notice, it'd better be something worth my time."
"While Kiritani could have phrased it more politely, he is not wrong," the hawk-eyed man, General Iwatsuki, agreed grimly. "What do you have to report?"
"..." The final man, the grey-haired General Yousuke, simply trained a silent gaze on Ryouko.
Ryouko took a deep breath, bracing herself for what was about to come. Here goes nothing. "I am pushing for the AST to disband-"
"WHAT?!" General Kiritani screeched, sending spittle flying all over the room. Yep, as expected.
"-and for us to join together with Ratatoskr," Ryouko finished loudly, glaring into the eyes of the three generals.
"...Ratatoskr does not exist," Iwatsuki said, his stoic face emanating an air of finality. "I don't know who managed to convince you of such lies, but-'
"If you want to join that shabby group of Spirit-apologists, feel free to!" General Kiritani scoffed. "But how dare you waste our time with such nonsense like 'disbanding the AST!' Tch, I knew I shouldn't have listened to DEM's little Adeptus dog and fired you last meeting!"
"Enough, Kiritani." General Iwatsuki slammed a fist on the desk. "You've said far too much already."
"So all of you did know Ratatoskr existed!" Ryouko accused, standing up and slamming her fists down on the table. "Why the hell were we sending soldiers to their deaths?!"
"Ratatoskr has existed for as long as the AST has," General Yousuke explained, resting his chin on his hands as he finally broke his silence. "And since their inception, they have not produced any better results than your squad has. Furthermore, after the Nanko District Fire Incident, we abandoned all contact with that organization."
"..." Ryouko's eyes narrowed. Then [IX] didn't necessarily lie. There's a five-year gap in which Ratatoskr could have subdued those three Spirits he talked about. "And what about now?"
"Now? I doubt those soft idiots are even afloat!" General Kiritani scoffed. "In fact, I-"
"For fork's sake, General, would you just shut up?" A fifth voice filled with annoyance called out from seemingly nowhere. Dammit, [IX]! This isn't part of the script! Ryouko groaned internally as all three generals immediately turned in unison towards the sound of the mockery, General Kiritani sputtering angrily while doing so. On her left, Kyo slowly faded into view, hugging a giant sheathed katana to his chest.
"What the- [IX]!" General Kiritani jumped out of his seat, grabbing a pistol from his belt and pointing it at the Spirit's mildly amused face. "Kusakabe Ryouko, what is the meaning of this?!"
"Why don't I explain?" Kyo offered politely. "You see-"
"I wasn't speaking to you, filthy Spirit!" As Kiritani moved to pull the trigger, the Spirit's figure blurred and the pistol seemed to disintegrate into countless motes of dust within his hand. "Wh-wha…"
"Yeah, that's exactly why I'm here." Everyone in the room stared in horror as Kyo suddenly reappeared behind General Kiritani and grabbed his head, slamming it down onto the table and leaving a face-shaped impression in the wood. "Just in case you needed a little display of power."
"[IX- Kyo, calm down." Ryouko stood up, sweat forming on her neck as she glared at him. Stick to the plan, dammit.
"I'm plenty calm. I just got tired of hearing his voice," Kyo said, a small bit of electricity sparking from his eyes. "Carry on, oh designated negotiator."
…ugh. There's really no turning back now. Ryouko shook her head, gathering up her thoughts before addressing the two still-conscious generals, who were both carefully eyeing Kyo. "Neither of you could even see him move, right? That's what the AST is up against."
"...duly noted," General Iwatsuki nodded slowly. "But even so, that doesn't explain why you're working with [IX], nor why you've suddenly brought up Ratatoskr."
"News flash, old man," Kyo impatiently cut in. "Ratatoskr has been more successful in the last few months than the AST has ever been in all of its history."
"...and you have proof, I assume?" General Yousuke crossed his arms. "How many men have Ratatoskr lost in action?"
"None," Kyo assured.
"Yousuke, surely you aren't seriously considering this proposal?" General Iwatsuki asked in shock. "Even if what the two of them are saying is true, there's no way we can-"
"And why not?" General Yousuke gestured towards Kyo, who raised an eyebrow. "You and I know better than anyone else that nothing DEM has ever offered us can even begin to match the speed [IX] just displayed."
"Even so, the principle-"
"Wow, your urge to uphold the 'principle' sure is strong." Kyo smiled mockingly, leveling his katana at his face. "I wonder how it'd hold up against my blade."
"..." With a constipated expression, General Iwatsuki slowly shut his mouth.
"And here I thought I was the negotiator," Ryouko said irritably.
"Oh, you're definitely in charge of working out the finer details of our happy little cooperation," Kyo agreed happily, handing her a cell phone decorated with anime stickers. "Ratatoskr should be calling in at any moment now, so you all can have fun discussing to your heart's content."
——————I am the dividing line that shifts perspectives——————
On the Fraxinus, Kotori's eyes were twitching uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, are you telling me that not only did Kyo reveal Ratatoskr's existence to the AST, but that he's currently recruiting them to our cause?"
"Uh…" Nia scratched her head, chuckling nervously. "Yeah, and he should be expecting you to call them at any moment now, so if you could maybe do that…"
"Ugh, what is happening right now…" Kotori frowned, clutching her head in confusion. "Tch, whatever. Reine, could you take up communications with the AST?"
"Oh, sure…" The ever-tired Analysis Officer slowly input some commands into the console in front of her.
"Oh, just call my phone," Nia clarified. "You have my number, right?"
"Mmhmm." Reine continued to input commands before suddenly stopping. "Hm. The signal is being jammed, so the call isn't connecting."
"Ah." Nia froze. Right, secret military base.
クリエイターの想い 
Falling_Mountains
Falling_Mountains This one thankfully only took one draft. Yay.
Anyway, if you believe you've found an error or typo, please comment and I'll do my best to remedy it. Thanks for reading!
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