The pace she kept as she exited the office wasn’t fast, although everything in her screamed to get out of there as quickly as possible. Having her back exposed to Greystone was something that put her even more on edge than facing the man directly. Her body thrummed with the need to act instead of waiting for something to happen. The many encounters with Greystone had taught her that nothing good ever came from it.

Even when she closed the office door, her body was still tense. Taking deep breaths as she walked down the empty corridor, she waited for her still racing heart to calm down. It could have been way worse than a few simple slaps.

Most researchers lived at the Redwell Research Center, and each floor had a few washrooms. Aki didn’t make her way to the one nearby and instead chose one further away. It was a simple room tiled in white, with sinks and a few mirrors lining one side and toilet stalls on the other. When you walked to the back, there was a door to the left of the window. It led to some shower cubicles, curtained with waxed fabric to allow the occupants a bit of privacy. Since it was the middle of the day, all the researchers were still busy at work, for which Aki was more than glad. 

She picked a cubicle at random and stepped in. There was a hook on the right wall to keep the clothes dry, but Aki didn’t bother with it. She stripped and, after a moment of hesitation, went out of the stall and simply tossed the bundle of dirty clothes into the trash. She didn’t want to touch them again after getting cleaned up, and there was nobody here anyway. There was another clean set of clothes in her space ring. Some of her missions had made it very clear that it was better to have a second set ready.

Getting back into the shower, she hung clean clothes onto the hook. She grimaced when she realized there was no towel, but damp clothes were still preferable to being filthy, since she wanted to visit Maya.

The floor and ceiling were marked with a string of runes, Aki was familiar with some of them. She could read the one for water, warmth and space but didn’t know the others. The runes on the ceiling connected to one of the large water basins that were build near the facility, from which it drew upon. The ones on the floor then gathered the liquid and sent it to another basin, which gathered the wastewater and was equipped with purifying runes. 

Aki stepped on the runes on the floor to activate the cycle and began scrubbing herself clean with a rag and piece of soap she had on her. The cut on her lip stung as she washed her face.

She didn’t like to visit Maya with an obviously visible injury like that but even as an Enhanced it would still take two days for it to fully heal. She wasn’t quite clear how long she’d been gone, but however long it was, it was too long. Last they saw each other, she had told Maya before leaving that it would be a quick and easy mission. Instead, she had messed up big time. 

Doing missions on her own was fine with her, but having a scout with earth affinity would let her avoid ridiculous accidents like that. It wasn’t that she was particularly opposed to working together with others. Just that, ever since she officially joined the Redwell Guild and got a room of her own there, people had been either avoiding or mocking her. 

Of course, she knew the reason for that. Since nobody had seen her before, despite all coming from the same place, there were bound to be rumours. She had spent all her time inside the Redwell Research Center, while all the other orphans were educated inside the training facility before being sent to the Redwell Guild. 

Not only that, but she had also joined the guild after everybody else her age had already been active for around three years. There was no way around attracting attention, whether she wanted to or not.

The most popular rumour was that she was the illegitimate child of Greystone and received special treatment. It was obvious from her ability to do solo missions that Aki had received training as well. The only explanation for the other Enhanced never having seen her before was that she had received private training, which was true. Although reality and rumours differed greatly in some aspects, there was enough truth to the matter that it was impossible to simply deny.

It wasn’t ideal, but as long as it didn’t hinder her daily life, she didn’t mind letting them talk however they wanted. Everyone had been dealt shitty cards by life to have ended up here. Nobody was in the Redwell Guild because they wanted to.

Moving away from the runes on the floor, the water stopped. After donning the trousers with a slightly loose fit and putting on the simple shirt, Aki belatedly realized that she had no socks or shoes. Both had been thrown away together with her clothes, and those had been her only pairs. The shoes and socks had been just as filthy, soaked through and mouldy. The trash was engraved with a combination of space and time runes as well, every few minutes it would automatically empty its contents. It was a genius use of runes and also meant that she would have to go barefoot. She grimaced.

Leaving the washroom, Aki had barely taken two steps before she saw another Enhanced come her way. The clothes he wore were similar to her own. Trousers with a slightly loose fit that didn’t restrict movement in a fight, sturdy boots and a simple dark shirt. She remembered that this washroom was relatively near the front entrance of the facility. His face looked familiar, there weren’t that many people in the Redwell Guild after all, but she didn’t know his name. 

The slightly curly hair was greyish white and longer than her own, and his eyes pale. Typical features of the Enhanced, herself included. A bored researcher had told her about it once. Something, something, melanins reaction to the implanted blood crystals and subsequent process of mutation. She hadn’t particularly cared about it at the time. 

His jawline was sharp, the nose straight. Together with his expressive brows, Aki had no doubt that he had an easy time gathering intel. People tended to share more information when they found the other attractive. 

She raised her index and middle finger in a quick greeting. The Enhanced raised his eyebrows in surprise, seemingly not having anticipated the sudden meeting either, and mirrored the gesture. He seemed slightly ill at ease, although he covered it quite well, but the slight shaking of his hand didn’t escape Aki’s eyes. It was unsurprising that he would be uncomfortable inside the facility. Few Enhanced ever went to the Redwell Research Center again after they made it out alive. 

“There are rumours that you fucked up your last mission big time since you disappeared for quite the time, but,” he paused and looked me up and down, eyes shortly lingering on Aki’s split lip, “I didn’t expect you to become unable to afford shoes or a towel.” 

His deep voice was tinged with fake mirth, and Aki only smiled wryly. She wanted to ask how long she had been gone for, but that would just arouse suspicion. Her short hair was still dripping water, and she slicked back her wet bangs to avoid getting any in her eyes.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, the guy obviously waiting for her to say something in return. When it became clear that Aki had no intention to continue the conversation, he finally revealed why he had talked to her in the first place.

“Do you know the way to Mr. Greystone’s office?”

Aki tensed at the sudden mention of the name, but immediately forced herself to relax her muscles.

“A guard should’ve let you in, why didn’t they show you?” she questioned him, sounding slightly unhappy. She had just left that bastard’s office and had no inclination to go anywhere near it so soon.

“Said his shift was almost over. He gave me vague directions, but the corridors all look the same to me.” The guy shrugged helplessly and gestured at the barren walls. It was true that the facility could be a bit of a labyrinth if you didn’t know your way around. It had most likely been designed that way.

After hesitating for a moment, Aki finally sighed softly in resignation. 

“Fine, I’ll show you.” 

“Thanks,” he replied and raised his hand, a small ball of water forming inside his palm. 

Aki grabbed his wrist without even thinking about it, keeping her face expressionless as she squeezed it in warning. Unsurprisingly, the wrist was too big for Aki to wrap her hand around fully. The guy was tall, at least a head taller than Aki, with an athletic build that displayed regular training without looking too buff. She might be shorter than the guy but just like every other Enhanced, she had also got a basic muscle strengthening. It would be easy for her to leave him with some bruises.

The guy made an ah sound, obviously just registering that Aki had misinterpreted his gesture.  He made no move to free his hand, signaling that he meant no harm. Only his brows furrowed slightly in disapproval. 

“I don’t have a towel, but I can heal your lip.” He let the small water ball drift upward, where it hovered in place. Pale eyes watched Aki closely, and he lifted a brow in silent inquiry. 

“Healing abilities are rare,” Aki commented, and reached out her other hand to touch the sphere. It was warm to the touch, and she could feel it radiating condensed vitality. Aki let go of his wrist, but still kept up her guard, she didn’t know the guy after all. A friendly face had an easier time burying a knife in your back.

He let the transparent sphere float towards her lips slowly, making them feel slightly tingling and itchy when it touched. The sting of the cut was gone after no more than a few seconds, and he let the ball of water vanish. 

After mumbling an apology for his wrist, Aki turned around and walked in quick strides towards Greystone’s office. She wasn’t good at interacting with the other Enhanced. The guy easily kept up with her pace, his big build next to her making Aki more aware of her sorry looking and shoeless state. The bare feet made her feel vulnerable and Aki didn’t like it. 

Neither of them said a word until Aki stopped and pointed at a door up ahead on the left.

“This is the one, there’s his nameplate next to the door.”

As the guy walked towards the office, she saw his broad back for the first time. There was a white nine stitched onto the back of his collar. Squad nine.

Greystone’s sentence about having her join a squad came to mind, and Aki had the uneasy feeling that she knew the reason the guy was ordered to come here.

It didn’t matter if she made a bad impression on random Enhanced, but if that guy belonged to the squad she had to work with… 

Aki decided not to worry about it. It was already over and done with. As for whether she had successfully reinforced the negative opinion most had about her, there was nothing she could do about it at the moment.

Notes:

Author: what are your thoughts on what just happened?

Aki: walking barefoot in a communal washroom? really disgusting

Author: no, I meant about the guy from squad nine…

Aki: being able to control water is so practical, I’m jealous.