["I am coming to you. You, who will be reduced to ash like me"]
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Y/n's POV

Waking up today was easier than the previous day. I released a yawn and stretched on the bed. The cold breeze that blew across my body made me realize that I didn't have my blanket. I opened my eyes and glanced around my bed, but my bed covers were nowhere in sight. Luckily, the clothing I wore was enough to keep me warm.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE—*

The alarm informed me of the time hitting 7:00. I got up and ready for the day, completely ignoring the missing blanket as I knew who had it. It was only after my shower and eating breakfast did I remember something important.

The fact that I could remember.

I remembered the entirety of yesterday and the note I made at the back of Angela's. I checked just to make sure that I didn't just dream it and quickly found my handwriting on it. This only further confused me on why I couldn't remember the events of two days ago but I brushed it aside to focus on the pills.

Finding myself curious, I took a pill out and popped it's casing to see the contents of it. The blue and white ends split apart and revealed some reddish powder inside. I needed to test the effects of this pill to make sure if it's legitimate or a placebo. I stored a few pills into the pocket of my suit and was planning on leaving my room.

*Knock Knock Knock*

The sound of someone knocking on my door stopped me in my tracks. My mind quickly started processing who could be on the other side. Either it was BongBong returning my blanket, Angela informing me of sudden changes to my assignments, or Malkuth trying to continue what we did yesterday. She was persistent like that.

"Who is it?"

I made sure to make my voice sound as stressed and tired as possible. This would make it seem as if I'm busy with something.

"Hey Bestie~ Mind if I come in?~"

I breathed out a sigh of relief. It was only Shina, someone who I could trust with just about anything.

"Oh Shina! Sure, come on in."

I relaxed my posture and prepared some coffee as she walked in.

"So? What brings you here, Shina? I don't think there will be any rogues for a while and I certainly doubt you came on a whim."

She gasped dramatically and draped herself over the dining table.

"What? Can't a friend just visit her Bestie to see how they're doing?"

I turned and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What really brought you here?"

She stopped her dramatic act and straightened her posture.

"You're stressed as hell, Y/n."

The coffee machine stopped and I poured it into 2 cups for her and myself. I brought it to the table and placed one in front of her, who gladly chugged it even though it was boiling hot.

"Aaah~ That's the stuff! I really love your coffee, way better than the piss they usually give us."

"Shina.....it's just regular coffee..."

"Not to me it isn't~"

" *sigh* Well thank you for the compliment. Back to what we were talking about. Elaborate."

She quickly lost her devilish smile and stared at me .

"You've been getting worked to high hell ever since you entered the Control Team. Honestly, I'm not surprised that you've been letting them grind you to dust with paperwork, it's just the way you are. But it doesn't mean it sits alright with the rest of us."

I sipped my coffee as I pondered what she said. Of course I knew what she was talking about since I'm the one doing the actual work. Though, it will all be over once I rotate into the Information Team Department......okay maybe it won't.

"But what can I do? Not like I can neglect my duties for a day off. Angela and Malkuth would have my neck if I did."

Shina's expression darkened.

"I'd like to see them try~"

I sighed and flicked her forehead.

"Stop it. Remember what I said about your habit?"

"Yeah, yeah......vent it off when I work."

"Good," I turned to look at how much time we have which was a good 36 minutes, "so anything else you need to talk about?"

"Hmmm.....Honestly, nothing much. Renold is still managing and assigning the clerks from a couple of days ago. He's been real busy lately so I haven't been able to check up on him."

I nodded my head, the man liked to work too much. Which makes me wonder why he isn't the Captain instead of me.

"I passed BongBong several minutes before coming here. She was wearing a makeshift cape as she ran passed me, you know?"

I chuckled as I imagined it. "Well I guess I know where my blanket went." I nudged my head in the direction of my bed.

She turned to look before she smiled.

"You really spoil her, don't you? Well, not that I can complain, you spoil me too~"

"I sure do, don't I? I gotta fix that."

"Yeah, no~ I prefer having my privileges please~"

I shook my head before getting up and grabbing our cups before leaving them in the sink.

"Let's go. I've got to submit some things for the Manager that Malkuth forgot to do before the shift starts."

Shina's expression faltered a bit when I mentioned the Manager. I guess she's uncomfortable being near him.

"It's fine if you don't want to."

"No, no, no, it's fine! I'll come with! Let me carry some of it for you."

She grabbed a portion of the stack on my desk and waited by the door. I followed her with my own stack in my hands and we both left for the day.

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Shina's POV

I walked side by side with Y/n while carrying some of the paperwork that they dumped on him. I felt my anger rise when I thought about how everyone who tossed their work at him had expected it to be finished the next day. It would've been easier to just get rid of the problems rather than sorting them out in documents. But then again, that's just my way of thinking, Y/n always tells me to keep my extreme acts on the low.

The previous stress reliever died way too quickly to my liking. I thought he was from the Backstreets where they did everything to survive. It seems like things have changed. When I was fighting to survive, it took a lot more than a few missing limbs to put someone down. Either the Backstreets mellowed out, or the guy was just lucky to have not experienced it. Well doesn't matter now that he's dead.

Y/n walked ahead of me as we exited the elevator. I reluctantly followed behind. It wasn't that I didn't want to come with him, it's more of where we are going that irks me.

The Manager's Office.

The place where he resides and watches us fight for our lives in the comfort of his chair. No matter how long we spend in this hell hole, nothing fills me with more anger and hatred than seeing him.

"Put that away, Shina. You're gonna hurt yourself if you space out like that."

His words broke me from my thoughts as I looked up at him. I blinked and looked in the direction he was looking at, which was my hand, and noticed I had subconsciously pulled out my knife.

"O-Oh, u-uuhhh, sorry sorry~ Kinda let my mind go wild for a second there~." I put the knife back in its hidden sheathe within my suit and cursed myself for even getting embarrassed. Even though Y/n accepts me for the way I am, I still get nervous sometimes that I might've gone too far or accidentally unnerved him.

"Hey, it's fine alright? I was just worried you would've gotten hurt. But come on, let's get this over with so I can help Malkuth."

I nodded my head and let out a sigh of relief.

No matter how many horrible things I've done or how many times I let loose, I'm glad that he never changes or treats me differently. Renold could care less as long as results are produced and it is beneficial to us as a whole. BongBong can't even comprehend the things I do and just treats me as she does Y/n.

That didn't mean I didn't care about them, I would gladly slaughter anyone who thought of harming them. Abnormality or not.

However, only Y/n was the one who accepted me as a whole and more. Never shying away when I bring up the subject of giving someone a quick shank or two. Always thinking of a way to alleviate my urges, which resulted in me being an Enforcer. Best idea he's ever had!

Too bad he doesn't remember it.........yet.

Though, everyone seems to think I'm just stab first think later. It's not like I'm always craving to stab somebody.......well maybe when I'm bored. But that's besides the point! I only really stab the ones I'm allowed to anyways!

Of course, this early on, there is barely anyone bold enough to go rogue or resign. Maybe I shouldn't have used up the stress reliever so early.

"What will you be doing today, Shina? I doubt you wanna do any paperwork or help BongBong train the new agents."

Y/n suddenly asked, seeing how he's ahead I jogged a bit to catch up to him.

Once I was shoulder to shoulder with him, I pondered for a bit.

That is true, I wouldn't be comfortable doing paperwork and the agents BongBong is training certainly won't be glad to see me.

Plus they've been getting kinda bland for me.

I guess I took too long to answer as Y/n playfully shoved his shoulder against mine.

"Hey, don't think too much about it. We've barely had the new Manager for a couple of days, so it's fine to lay back for a bit. You could hang out with me and teach the Manager's agents some stuff."

That certainly sounded pleasing. I haven't hung out with Y/n in a while, plus 'teaching' some of the Manager's agents meant that he would be watching. Although I prefer he didn't, it would be great to inflict some fear into him this early on and while I still could.

Ahhh~ Just imagining the fear in his eyes is making me excited!~

I felt a sudden pain on my forehead and turned to the perpetrator who flicked it.

"Focus. We're almost there."

True to his word, the room to the Manager's Office was just up ahead.

——————————————————————————
X's POV

I sat at my desk while zoning out whatever Angela was saying. At the moment I couldn't be bothered with whatever theatrics she was spouting as I tried to think of what my future had in store for me.

Which didn't mean much since anything could happen if what I've read from the manual was true.

It seemed like a pattern was in play: wake up, meet with Malkuth, go back to my office, answer a vague question from Angela, listen to her ramble on about something, then start the day and hope for the best.

A simple, yet stressful pattern.

One reason for the stress was that Malkuth was once again praising me for work I didn't know I did. She even asked me about my opinion on her submission of a "TT2 Acceleration Protocol". Having no idea what she was talking about once again, I merely answered her with a "It was informative" and a "It was helpful". I didn't know what her issue was, but all of this was just making me question if she was even competent for her role as Sephirah.

Not that I would voice it out loud.

Another thing causing me stress, or more like a headache, was Angela and her typical vague speeches. I don't remember, nor care, what she spoke about at first but she soon asked me a question of whether I wanted to bring prosperity to the company or achieve spiritual maturity. I wasn't a fool, the obvious answer was the one I went with, "Prosperity for the Company." Her words yesterday still stirred in my mind and they eventually forced me to choose that answer.

There was no other option than that.

Because that was what my role entailed.

I mentally grimaced as I stared at the middle monitor on my desk. Even through the gray filter that covered the screen of the facility I could see the miniature figures of clerks and agents walking about. Though only Malkuth's department was visible enough for me to see.

On the left monitor were the agents in my command, Y/n's profile now had "Temporary: 2" on it. The most logical thing it could be was the number of days left that he would be in the Control Team.

Speaking of the Control Team and my agents, they seemed to have progressed in terms of growth. It seems the cameras around the facility record and evaluate the agents in real-time as they work. How this was possible was something that I don't even know if it had an answered. Why it was being done was something I could only guess on. Most likely it was for my sake, or more like for whoever was Manager, to help us understand how our employees fair in comparison to the others.

However, there was one suspicious thing, and that was how Y/n's "Stats" and many other things were blank or labeled as "???". Angela brushed it aside as if it was normal, which irritated me to no end, but stated that it would be better for me to focus on my other agents than him.

"There is no need to improve something that is already quintessential" is what she said.

Mysterious kept piling up on themselves as the days went on, and at this point I didn't know if I would ever be able to answer them all.

Moving on from that, the other agents have shown some changes in growth, due to me focusing most of my attention on them.

Dana had an increase to her morale compass, or "Justice" as it was labeled, and her work efficiency, or "Temperance". Both were now ranked II while "Fortitude" and "Prudence" were still I.

Mike had an increase in his mental fortitude, "Prudence", and showed more confidence in himself by the end of yesterday, which would probably be "Fortitude". They both ranked II while his Temperance and Justice was I.

Roxie was the one who showed an exponential amount of growth. This was likely due to me sending her on constant runs into One Sin's containment. I evened out her work and it seemed that it paid off as all of her "Stats" were now ranked III. Making her the most "experienced" agent in my command.

Though, how it was possible was something I still was confused on. She was blind after all.

I was so caught up in thinking, that I didn't notice that Angela's rambling had ceased and the sound of someone knocking on the door replaced it instead. I took a glance at Angela from the corner of my eye and saw her simply standing at attention at the side of my desk. I fought the urge to click my tongue in annoyance and instead voiced out to whoever was at the door could come in.

Not a moment later, the door opened and the laidback Y/n walked right in along with a woman I've never seen before right behind him. They continued their stroll up to the front of my desk. Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to analyze the unknown woman.

Her purple hair was tied in a ponytail while her front bangs hung and covered one of her eyes. Her lone visible crimson eye seemed to have a glow to it as the contrast from the dark made it stick out, giving it an ominous effect. She had a grin on her face that gave me all the more reason to never associate with her.

We made eye contact, and even though she had a grin, her lone eye narrowing just slightly with a hint of hostility was all I needed to know that I should just get this over with and start the day.

"Y/n......what brings you here today?" I asked after I diverted my attention back to the man. He just lazily shrugged his shoulders before placing.........a stack of papers on my desk.

'God dammit! How much paper work is he going to keep bringing me!' I had to fight every urge within my body that wanted to strangle the man in front of me. 'Don't tell me this is gonna be a daily occurrence!'

Not noticing, or probably not caring, about my internal struggle
Y/n walked back to his spot by the woman as he nudged her shoulder. She merely gave him a nod and then started walking towards me. As she did so, her grin seemed to widen as her eye showed a glint of something within them.

I merely stared at her, but then a loud sound of something being smacked exploded in the silent room, causing me to jump just the slightest bit and make my eyes rapidly glanced around the room. My heart was beating quickly as I tried to find the source, I was thankful for being able to keep my cool outwardly. Inwardly, I was frantic as I tightened my hands hold of each other. Suddenly I froze as I noticed the new stack of papers on my desk, a snort came out of the woman in front me.

The snort then turned into the sound of laughter as it erupted from the woman as she walked back and leaned on Y/n who playfully rolled his eyes. I could feel my eye twitching in annoyance as I glared at her, but she merely smiled back with amusement while wrapping her arm around Y/n's shoulder.

"Did you see that, Y/n?! Ahahahahaha! He was so scared!"

Y/n merely shook his head as he tried to keep her from falling onto the floor.

"Shina, try not to give the Manager anymore reasons to be stressed."

The woman, Shina, merely clicked her tongue after her laughing fit stopped.

"Oh, come on! He sits on his ass all day, I was just doing him a favor and getting him to stretch a bit." She said as she waved her hand at me to show that I was indeed sitting down. Though I would have preferred that she kept her comments to herself.

Just as I was about to ask them to leave, Y/n turned his attention back to me.

"Sorry about her, Manager. She didn't mean any harm......"

He glanced at Shina seeing her devilishly smile back at him from the corner of his eye before looking back at me.

"....probably. Anyways, I finished up finalizing Malkuth's submission of the TT2 Protocol. It should be on the top of one of the stacks. I barely did anything except correct some stuff, Malkuth did most of it."

"Ah.....I was wondering where it was." I said as I looked between them and found the sheet. I'm starting to think that Angela was correct when saying that Malkuth was going to be the most troublesome Sephirah to work with.

"Well, looks like we're done here. Come on, let's get to work Shina." Y/n said as he gently pried her off of him and walked towards the door with his hands in his pockets. He stopped, however, when he noticed Shina wasn't following him.

"Shina?"

She stood where she was as she glanced over her shoulder at him. Her only visible crimson eye looked at him with a mischievous look.

"You can go on ahead, Y/n~ I've got some business to bring up with the Manager that I just remembered~"

Both Y/n and I raised an eyebrow before Y/n simply chuckled and lazily waved his hand up and down, as if he was swiping away smoke.

"Fine, fine, just don't take too long alright? See you later, Manager. Bye, Angela."

Angela, who had yet to say or do anything upon their arrival, nodded her head in his direction before facing Shina.

The door closed with a *click* as silence then occupied the room. No one said a word as we merely stood/sat here. The ticking of an imaginary clock echoed in my head as I tried to keep myself from becoming uncomfortable. Shina hadn't moved from her spot, and Angela hadn't stopped "staring" at her either.

"What business do you have with me? I hope it's not another act to amuse yourself." I said after a few minutes of nothing. I would have read the TT2 Protocol to keep myself occupied but in all honesty I couldn't care less.

Shina didn't say anything as she simply grinned from the other side of the office.

3rd POV

The Manager was in the dark of what was going on between the two other occupants of his office.

Angela waited patiently as she played out thousands of scenarios in her mind. Those scenarios all resulted in the same result, however depending on which one played out, there would be some dire consequences.

Shina, on the other hand, merely kept her gaze on the Manager, but that didn't mean she ignored Angela's presence. She kept her figure in her peripheral vision as she slowly moved her arm into her coat. The handle of her knife was in the grasp of her hand.

Shina waited for the right moment, and not a second later it came. The Manager blinked, and that's when the sound of something whistling through the air resonated throughout the office.

The Manager snapped his eyes open and came face to face with with the tip of a blade just an inch away from between his eyes. His eyes widened a large margin as he stiffened up and his eyes followed the arm that held the handle, keeping it from piercing his skull.

Angela merely held the knife with her hand clamped over the handle. She opened her eyes and stared at Shina.

"What do you think you are doing, Lieutenant?"

Shina's grin never left her face as she continued to stare into the Manager's fear-filled eyes, completely ignoring Angela. Even if his face hadn't showed it, his eyes and body told it for him.

The bead of sweat that slowly dropped from his forehead, the way his throat constricted as he held his breathe, and the way his eyes constantly eyed the knife as if it would continue and finish the job.

All of this showed just how much he was hiding underneath that facade, and Shina was enjoying every second of it.

"Kekeke~ Ahh! I just love that look on your face~" She said as she giggled to herself.

Angela, however, found no amusement in her actions.

"I hope you understand the implications of your actions, Lieutenant. Since I am merciful, the consequences won't be as severe, but if another attempt is made, I will personally see to your punishment." Though, it seemed as if she was indifferent, her voice did have a little anger in it.

X, however, was too busy trying to comprehend how he almost died if it wasn't for the AI next to him.

"Yeah, yeah, I knew you would have caught it anyways Angie~"

"I would prefer if you didn't address me so causally, Lieutenant."

"Ooooooo~ Someone is getting a feisty~ What would Bestie think if he saw you getting mad just cause of a little nickname?~"

Angela said nothing as she flung the knife in her hand towards Shina. The knife instantly traveled across the room and nearly lodged itself into Shina's head if it wasn't for her two fingers catching it mid-air.

"Thanks~ I was wondering if you would give it back or not~" She said as she hooked it back in its sheathe. Shina then turned towards the door and waved back at them as she walked out. "Thanks for entertaining me, Manager! I'll make sure to come back again!~"

*Click*

Once the door closed, X let out a breathe of air as he slumped back in his seat. Angela didn't say anything as she closed her eyes and went straight to her desk on the side.

It was only after a few minutes when he finally got his nerves to calm down.

The Manager just wanted to go back to bed already.

——————————————————————————
Y/n's POV

I patiently waited for Shina to arrive in the Control Team Department. Sitting with a cup of coffee in one hand and my pen in the other, I diligently worked down the first few sheets of my work. I had yet to see Malkuth, making me wonder if she was busy with something else.

Mike and Dana had passed by for a chat a few times before getting themselves ready for the day. Our talk was mostly me just asking if they were adjusting or if they had any complaints they wanted to voice out. Mike was very insistent on getting more work that didn't involve walking up to the Abnormalities, I merely answered that it wasn't up to me.

Dana was the same cheerful person, but her eyes showed that something in her changed. It wasn't something ominous or dark. it was more like her window to the world was opened just a tiny bit more, and now she was feeling the slight breeze that came with it.

Long story short, she's maturing mentally.

Glancing at my watch, the time was 7:57, only three minutes till the start of our shift.

Just as I was about to get up and fetch Shina, she suddenly appeared and walked into the room from one of the hallways.

"Heya, Bestie! Didn't make you wait too long did I?~" She cheerfully asked as she skipped her way to my table.

The employees dispersed once they heard the click of her shoes against the floor, while the clerks lowered their head and tried to seem as small as possible. Neither she nor I minded as it simply gave us a quiet environment to talk in.

"No, Shina, you didn't make me wait. But your coffee certainly got cold with how long you took." I said as I indicated the coffee mug patiently waiting in front of me. She took the seat in front of me and pushed the mug away from herself.

"Don't worry. Like I said this morning, it probably taste like piss anyways!~" She intertwined her fingers together before setting her elbows on the table and setting her head on them. She seemed happier and more energetic than when I left her.

"What's gotten you in a good mood?" I asked as I set my work to the side and leaned back.

"Oh nothing~ Just had some fun with the Manager~" Her eyes showed the same mischievous look that said all I needed to know.

"*Chuckle* What did you do this time? I doubt Angela let you go too far."

She pouted before she crossed her arms.

"You're right about that! I could've enjoyed myself a little longer if she wasn't there. Honestly, must she always ruin my fun?"

"Come on, don't be like that. It's her job to keep us in check. I don't know what you did but I doubt it was as productive as Angela liked it to be."

She merely nodded her head as she leaned on her hands again. She then smirked as she looked me in the eye.

"Y/n~ What did I say about talking about other women whenever it's just the two of us~"

I was about to say a teasing rebuttal before I paused and genuinely thought about it for a minute.

'What exactly did she say about that? It feels like I should know, but I'm coming up with blanks.'

Seeing my confusion, Shina sat up straight on her seat and gave me a concerned look.

"Y/n, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I've having a hard time remembering things lately, so I think I might've forgot. What exactly did you say about that?" I said as I tilted my head to the side.

Shina looked like she had been struck as her face had a hint of hurt on it. But before I could address it, it went away as she put on a smile that I knew was fake.

"N-Nothing! It was just.....n-nothing." She avoided looking into my eyes as she said that. She stared intently at the table as her fake smile faded and turned into a blank look.

I called out to her on multiple occasions but she simply sat there as if she couldn't hear me.

Seeing this, I merely sighed and got up and brought my seat next to hers.

——————————————————————————
Shina's POV

My mind had long came to a halt once he said that. Nothing seemed to be worthwhile anymore, the previous excitement I had for the day was all but drained away. The only thing that continued to plague my mind was the dreaded question that most of us ask on a daily basis within this hell hole.

Why was this happening?

......

Why was this happening?

......

Why was this happening?

......

WHY was this happening?!

Why WAS this happening?!!

Why was THIS happening?!!!

Why was this HAPPENING?!!!!

Every time it happens, I feel myself become more and more worthless.

Was it impossible to prevent it from happening?

Was it inevitable?

I feel so powerless and numb whenever he says it.

Those dreaded words that can crush even the most strong-willed people within this facility......and I wasn't an exception.

"I forgot"

Two words that many wouldn't think twice about. A phrase that showed one's own carelessness in disregarding something.

Usually people wouldn't think too much about it.

Usually those same people weren't part of Facility X-394.

Here.......

Those two words could make or break someone in this place.

Especially if they came from the man in front of me.

I, myself, am surprised I'm even sitting on this chair calmly and not TEARING THIS PLACE APART!

Though, it probably had to do with the fact that Y/n was still here and my promise to keep myself in check.

Although the dread in my mind didn't leave, I still felt comfort knowing he was still here.

Right in front of me.

Directly in front of me actually.

Gazing into my eyes with his own gray ones that were filled with concern.

That alone caused me to forget all about my previous thoughts as a warmth spread throughout my body and onto my face. He had a small reassuring smile that, combined with the way he had lifted my head by my chin to directly look into his eyes, just made me feel like pudding.

I subconsciously leaned into his touch, something that he didn't seem to mind. I felt my mind clear up as his warmth continued to smother my cold and dark thoughts. When I felt him about to bring his hand away from my chin, I quickly grasped it and brought it up and on my cheek as I tried to savor it.

Funny how even though this wasn't the first time he's forgotten, it never once got easier to get used to. But I'm thankful, because it just further intensifies this amazing feeling within me.

The deeper I fall into the depths of insanity......

......the more I start to appreciate these moments of contentment.

......the more I just....

.....don't.....

.....want.....

........to....

........let....

.........go.

Truly he spoils me too much.

'Y/n~ I don't care if you remember or not anymore~ I'll just use it to get an upper hand on the others~'

I felt myself get lost in his eyes, and soon I could feel a dumb giddy little grin form on my face.

'I don't care if you love me as lover, or as sister, or even as a friend, I just want you to love me~"

In my head, the same phrase bounced around over and over again.

'Love me, Y/n~'

——————————————————————————
3rd POV (Manager's Office)

The Manager stared at his screen in confusion. Just a second ago he had received a notification indicating that Shina's mental corruption had reached 100%. He was expecting to see her miniature model running rampant throughout the facility while leaving a trail of bodies behind. If what the manual said was right, then he should've seen an insane person by now.....well an even more insane person.

Imagine his surprise, however, when the notification disappeared and her mental corruption dropped back to a stable 0%. After a minute of looking, X found both hers and Y/n's models sitting next to each other in the Control Team Department as if nothing happened.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary and chalking it up to one of the mysteries of the company, X simply shrugged his shoulders and clicked the button to start the day.

Unbeknownst to the Manager, Angela sat in her chair with her eyes open. She glared harshly at the monitor in front of her, though if one were to look at it they would only find reports on the facility on it.

In actuality, however, Angela stared at the two Reserve members through the cameras that acted as her second set of eyes. Her grip on her desk increased as she saw Shina's face of contentment turn to obsession. Even though she's seen it many times, she never seemed to be able to get used to it.

The Manager looked back at her when he heard the sound of the desk threatening to break. When he saw the glare she had, he felt a shiver run down his spine before he decided that he was too tired to deal with that and turned back around.

'It seems a more severe punishment needs to be carried out, and I will personally see to it.' Angela darkly thought as she continued to watch through the cameras.

——————————————————————————
(Control Team Department)

Shina seemed to have cheered up a bit, if the goofy smile on her face was anything to say about it. Y/n just rolled his eyes before playfully smacking her cheek with his hand trying to bring her back to reality.

"Oi, real world to Shina. Come on the shift started already."

It took some time, but Shina slowly lost her dazed look before blinking and looking around. Although, the employees kept their distance from them, more specifically her, they were already diligently working and going in and out of the room. Several clerks typed into their computers while others walked around with clipboards in their hands.

Seeing that she was back to normal, Y/n got up and moved his seat back to its original place and started working on his work. Shina, with nothing better to do, decided to enjoy one of the privileges of being part of the Reserves: Watching Y/n.

She leaned her head on one of her hands as it rested on the table. She simply stared at him as he worked and occasionally would release a sigh of content.

Y/n would occasionally stop writing and look up. They would make eye contact and then he would simply smile at her to which she would offer a giddy grin back. This cycle of looking up, making eye-contact, smiling, and then going back to work, lasted for a good 10 minutes before a loud disturbance interrupted them.

*Bzzt* *Bzzt* *Bzzt* *Bzzt* *Bzzt* *Bzzt* *Bzzt*

Shina's watch began sounding notification after notification of assignments, causing Y/n to look at her in confusion before she waved it off. He gave her another look asking if she was sure, to which she nodded and then he went back to work.

'I'll murder whoever is interrupting our time together!' She mentally snarled as she glanced at who's department she was being assigned to work at.

She became confused when there wasn't a designation of who assigned her to these hundreds of tasks. But that look of confusion became a look of realization before she glanced around the corners of the room.

Soon she found what she was looking for, a security camera that was looking directly at her.

'You conniving, selfish, robot bitch!' Shina mentally cursed the AI watching her as she bolted from her seat, gave Y/n a quick bone crushing hug, took in his scent, and begrudgingly dashed straight to her first assignment.

Y/n blinked, looked at the direction she left in, and then shrugged.

'I was planning on introducing her to the Control Team, but I guess she's needed elsewhere.' Y/n thought as he sighed a bit before getting up from his chair for some more coffee. 'Well whatever, there's always tomorrow I guess.'

——————————————————————————
Renold's POV

The recruits were disappointing.

Three days of training, and only a few clerks were qualified to be able to work here. The rest were would either be best used as fodder for the Abnormalities, or just expendable numbers.

I sighed as I glanced at the struggling recruits who could barely process the information that Hod was trying to give them.

Hod was being too soft on them.

Her counseling, while a good idea for negating some effects of working here, is too lax and time consuming. Rather than focusing on fighting their inner demons, we should be having them focus on the outer ones that could kill them with a single glance.

Abnormalities don't care about your personal struggles, and neither should we.

"If you have any issues, please come to me for help! There is also a Counseling Program that is always available that I highly recommend!" Hod spoke in a reassuring way.

It would have been helpful if she didn't already give them a huge bundle of information that they needed to have memorized by tomorrow. Some were already going pale as they realized their dilemma.

I sighed once again as I crossed my arms and walked to Hod's side.

"That's enough for today." They all turned to me as I spoke to them. "By tomorrow, you should have all of this memorized, if you don't then expect to be Abnormality food."

Hod gave me a judgmental look to which I ignored as I continued to address them.

"If any of you are unqualified to work here by tomorrow, I'll personally feed you to the Abnormalities. So either get to work or start practicing how you want to die." The recruits immediately left to their quarters in a hurry.

The clerks and agents of the Training Department were the only ones left within the room as they worked.

Hod silently walked up to me.

"You could've said that better, Renold." She said as she gave me a look of disapproval. "Scaring them like that isn't going to help them."

"It wasn't supposed to." I said which caused her to frown, "It's supposed to tell us who's up to the task and who's going to end up dead." I turned around and walked towards the door.

The first few days are my most unproductive ones. Once the Captain reaches the lower Departments I'll be able to focus on more important tasks, but in the meantime I'm stuck with this.

"Renold, I think it would be very beneficial if you also took part in my Counseling Program." Hod said as I was about to leave.

My feet came to a stop as I merely stood with a stoic face, not letting any of my anger be shown.

"I-I think that all of this is causing you to act ou—"

"Do not patronize me, Sephirah Hod." I cut her off as I gave her a stern look over my shoulder. "Your counseling is far from what I call beneficial to me. So I suggest you drop this matter at once."

Hod's figure shrunk under my gaze as she struggled to say anything back. The employees of her department watched us from a distance to see what was going on, making me turn my glare towards them.

"Is there something the matter?" I raised my voice out as they all shook their heads. "Then why aren't you working?!"

They all ducked and soon the rapid sounds of keys being pressed resonated throughout the room.

I turned back to Hod who had finally worked up the courage to say whatever it is she wanted to say. Though she could barely keep her eyes on mine.

"I-I s-still think that y-you should at least try it." She fidgeted with her hands as she looked down. "Y-Y/n said it was very helpful and that everyone should try it at least once..."

"The Captain is the Captain, he may think what he wants but the fact of the matter is that I will receive no benefits from it."

The truth was the truth, nothing could change that.

"And do try not to rely on the Captain so much. You are his Superior and any actions that damage your image within this company will damage his as well."

With that final statement, I put my hands behind my back as I walked out of the Training Department.

My destination at the moment is the lower Departments. Much work needed to be done before the Manager could gain access to those floors. Although it was early, the E.G.O. equipment needed to be put under maintenance and be in pristine condition.

Just as I was about to reach the stairs that led down, a blur ran out of the stairwell and tackled me. Though it was fast, there wasn't any strength into the tackle which let me hold my ground and see who it was.

I shifted my eyes to look at the perpetrator and mentally fought the urge to sigh.

"Bong!" The child of the Reserves simply hugged my midsection as she looked up at me. She had a cape around her neck which was actually a blanket now that I looked at it closely.

"Lieutenant BongBong, what exactly are you doing?" I tried to pry her arms off of me but she had a firm grip.

"Bong Bong! Bongbong!" She said as she glanced over her shoulder and back at me.

I didn't actually understand her like how the Captain could, but this was an obvious message of her being chased. With that in mind, I quickly shifted her so that she was directly behind me.

'Is the Manager even doing his job?! Why aren't the alarms notifying us?!'

I didn't know if an Abnormality breached or if it was just something else, but I needed to know the entire situation.

"Information now!" I demanded of her as I readied myself for a confrontation.

BongBong then stopped hugging me as she walked to where I could see her and made a square figure with her hands. I raised an eyebrow since that usually wasn't what she would do when an Abnormality broke lose or foreign entities materialized.

"Anything else?" I asked after she didn't do anything else except make more square shapes with her arms and hands.

She then started moving slowly and stiffly with her arms and legs.

"Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong!"

She repeatedly said as she moved each limb. It made her seem as if she was a role playing something.

But before I could ask what she was doing, the sound of footsteps came from the stairwell. Seeing that I didn't know what I was dealing with, I dragged BongBong behind me and got my radio ready to report to the Captain.

Just as I was about to call for assistance, the silhouette of Malkuth running into the hallway made me stop.

"Where are you?!" She shouted as she looked side to side before looking in our direction. "There you are!"

I could feel BongBong flinch behind me, making me breathe out a sigh of relief. It seems that I was misunderstanding something. I mentally scolded myself as I remembered that it was only the third day, nothing serious would be happening for a while.

"BongBong!" She tried to run but I quickly took a hold of her shoulders as Malkuth approached.

"Stop trying to run, Lieutenant BongBong! Give me that blanket right this instant!" She said as she gripped the makeshift cape and pulled.

BongBong quickly latched onto the other side of the blanket as she pulled as well.

I merely watched on, unamused that such a ridiculous situation was actually happening. Not wasting anytime, I immediately put my hands on their shoulders to calm them down. Luckily, it seemed to do the trick as they both stopped and faced me.

"This is ridiculous, Sephirah Malkuth, please cease this charade at once." Malkuth looked at me with a glare before taking a deep breathe and calming herself.

"Fine! However, she needs to hand over that blanket. It's distracting her from working." She said as she pointed to the cape.

"Bong!" BongBong shook her head vigorously before trying to run again. I sighed before forcibly taking it off her and handing it to Malkuth. BongBong tried to snatch it back but was too far to get it.

"Lieutenant BongBong, your duties come before pleasantries. I will report this to the Captain if you do not cease this at once."

BongBong hung her head low before nodding and walking away. Though it did cause me some slight regret seeing her disheartened, I shook it off.

'It's for her own good.' I thought.

I turned back to Malkuth who was staring at the blanket in her hands.

"Sephirah Malkuth."

She jerked her head up and straightened up.

"Y-Yes! What is it Lieutenant Renold?"

"I believe that it belongs to the Captain. If you would like, I can hand it over to him by the end o—" before I could finish, Malkuth interrupted me, much to my annoyance.

"It's fine! I am fully capable of completing this very important task!" She said as she nodded her head in agreement with herself.

"I.......see. Well then I shall leave you to it. Do try to head back to your Department, however, the day-shift has long been started." I didn't bother trying to understand her weird antics.

She nodded her head as I walked past her and headed straight for the stairs. I heard the soft sounds of something breathing in through their nose repeatedly. I would have checked in on what exactly it was, but I was already late in attending to the E.G.O. equipment so I ignored it.

——————————————————————————
Mike's POV

Today's been a long day with nothing of note to mention. The new Abnormality that we were now in charge of was pretty stressful at first, but once the Manager figured out what to assign us, the work became easy.

Dana was the first to be assigned to it, the name "Scorched Girl" was what she came up with. And fitting to that name, the Abnormality was just that, a scorched girl.

My thoughts were halted, however, as an alarm blared through the intercoms as red lights starting flashing in the hallway I was in.

"Warning: Qliphoth Meltdown in Progress!"

I looked around in confusion, but no one was around for me to ask what was going on. I vaguely remember what a Qliphoth Meltdown was but I wasn't entirely sure what I was supposed to do.

Just when I was going to leave for the main room of the Control Team the feeling of my watch buzzing caught my attention.

I looked at it and saw that I was being assigned to Scorch Girl again today. Something was different, however, a counter was above her name as it ticked down from 60.

57......

56......

This brought to the forefront of my mind an important detail regarding Meltdowns; there was a time limit to them. If they weren't finished within the time limit then who knows what would happen.

I immediately ran down the stairs and onto the floor just below the Control Team. It was pretty lonely, the hallways were mostly empty aside from the occasional clerk running by. But even then, they focused more on their work than whatever was happening around them.

The containment for Scorched Girl was just up ahead, but before I could get the cleaning equipment for my work, the sound of multiple footsteps echoed through the hallway I was in. They sounded frantic and chaotic.

I glanced left and right and saw nothing. I shrugged my shoulders and was about to head into the containment, but the door at the end of the hall was slammed open causing me to jump. I turned and face the direction of the more audible footsteps.

"RUUUUUNNNN!!!"

"SHE'S COMING! SHE'S COMING!"

"I WANNA GO HOME!"

A whole group of clerks and agents I didn't know ran towards me as they frantically tried to get ahead of each other.

My eyes widened before I quickly slammed my back to the wall as they ran past me.

"THE DEVIL IS COMING!!"

"I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

Tears fell from their eyes, making me wonder if the Meltdown had already failed in another part of the facility.

*SLAM*

I quickly turned to face the end of the hallway that they came from. There standing, was a woman I've never met with purple hair. She had a snarl on her face as her body heaved up and down. I didn't have long to take in her appearance, however, as she suddenly dashed in my direction me.

All rational thinking went to the back of my mind as I did the only logical thing anyone would do.

I fucking ran.

I ran as fast as I could trying to tail the other group and follow the crowd.

I ignored the ticking of my watch as I tried to run to safety.

——————————————————————————
Manager's Office

'No! No! No! No! What the hell is going on?!'

X mentally raged as he was staring at his middle monitor with a calm look. He had sent his agents to deal with the Qliphoth Meltdowns that were occurring. Thankfully only two of the three Abnormalities were under Meltdown. Another thing was that one of them was One Sin, meaning there was nothing to worry about, he left that in the hands of Dana.

The other, however, was the new Abnormality "Scorched Girl" who he had sent Mike to deal with. But for some reason, his Sanity Level was dropping rapidly as he ran through the facility in the opposite direction of Scorched Girl's containment. Clerks were also running chaotically throughout that side of the Control Department, making X wonder what exactly was causing this.

He checked the right monitor for any news of breaches or a possible drill that they were doing.

However, just as he turned, Shina's miniature figure dashed through the hallway Mike was in and disappeared as she ventured further into the facility.

Seeing the his notification screen empty, he grit his teeth before looking back at the middle monitor.

'Dammit, just gonna have to suppress them in the mean time!'

X then ordered Roxie to suppress the panicking clerks and agents while he sent an order to Y/n to deal with the Meltdown. The countdown for the Meltdown was 35 seconds left, X really didn't want to know what would happen should it reach 0.

Angela merely sat in her desk with a barely noticeable smug smile on her lips.

——————————————————————————

Y/n causally walked through the hallway as he headed for his destination. He appreciated the opportunity to stretch his legs, working all day on a chair was really starting to hurt his back. He checked his wrist and saw that the Qliphoth counter was at 19 seconds. He looked back up and saw the containment just up ahead.

He didn't see the point in rushing at the moment, so he made sure to take his time once he got there and skimmed through the reports the other agents made on the Abnormality. The flashing red lights made it kind of hard for him to see what was written, but he could make out the gist of it.

'Insight work it is then.' He thought as he fetched the appropriate cleaning equipment: a pair of thick leather gloves, a metal sweeper, and a metal dustpan.

5 seconds left on the Qliphoth counter.

Once Y/n opened the door to the containment, the red flashes of light throughout the hallway were simultaneously turned off. He nonchalantly walked into the containment room and saw a small figure walking towards him, or more precisely the door behind him.

Y/n raised an eyebrow as he watched the little charred figure of the Abnormality try to walk past him to the door. But before it could, Y/n flicked its forehead with enough force to cause it to fall and roll back. It's match that was in its abdomen burned dimly as smoke continued to rise from it.

"And just where do you think you are going?" Y/n asked as he covered his mouth to avoid breathing in the ash in the air.

The Abnormality, obviously, didn't respond as it stood back up. But it remained standing where it was as it stared at Y/n with its eyeless sockets.

Seeing that it wasn't going to try again, Y/n began cleaning the ash that began to build up throughout the room. He began to hum an unknown tune as he moved from corner to corner with the broom. The ash began to become a pile as he gathered it all together.

Occasionally the sound of sobbing would come from the Abnormality as it sat in the middle of the room. Y/n glanced at it as he swept the floor before looking away and resuming his humming.

The heat was building up causing Y/n to feel uncomfortable as he glanced around the room to see the ventilation clogged up by ash. He sighed before using the broom to reach and knock most of the dust away.

*Vrrrrrrrrmmmm*

The fans' spinning became audible as the smoke began filtering out.

*Sobbing*

The sound of sobbing was heard right behind him. Y/n causally turned and saw that the Abnormality was an inch or two away from him. It had its head tilted upwards as it looked directly at him with the occasional sob, he just stared at it back.

The flame from the match that was stabbed through the charred girl seemed to burn more brightly now, something that Y/n immediately noticed.

"Don't tell me, you were gonna leave because you were dying out?" Y/n asked as he pointed to the burning match.

Scorched Girl didn't say anything as it simply sniffed its none existent nose and turned to walk away. It then stopped in the middle of the room once again and just sat on the floor with its legs spread out.

After no movement for a couple of seconds, Y/n shrugged his shoulders and used the dustpan to gather all of the ash.

"Now just gotta wait for the door to open." He said as he sat, with his legs spread out, directly in front of Scorched Girl. He checked his watch and saw that it was 6:48, just another hour till the shift ended.

'I was able to finish all the necessary paperwork today......but I haven't seen anyone for a while now. I wonder how Renold is doing?' Though it was pointless to think such thoughts, Y/n couldn't help but let his mind wonder to his fellow members of the Reserves.

'Shina seemed to be occupied even though today was her 'day off' , I haven't seen BongBong since last night, and Renold has yet to report to me.' Y/n let out a sigh as he leaned back, used his two arms to support himself, and looked at the ceiling. 'Only two more days in Malkuth's Department. Speaking of her, I haven't seen her all day, I wonder why that is?'

As Y/n began to think of things as he waited for the door to open, Scorched Girl had shuffled forward towards him.

Noticing the increase in heat, Y/n tilted his head back down just enough to see that it had indeed got closer. When Scorched Girl did nothing but sob, he turned his head back to the ceiling.

A few seconds went by when the heat increased again.

He looked back and saw that she was closer once again.

'I'm getting a sense of deja vu here.' He thought as he eyed the Abnormality. 'A child? Check. Can't communicate? Check. Childishly thinks I won't notice it asking asking for attention? Check.'

It was extremely familiar to him as he mentally compared it to someone he knew.

'God dammit.' In the end, he simply couldn't resist anymore.

"Hey, I don't care if you get close, but be careful with that flame of yours. It's already making me sweat from here." He nonchalantly said to it as he looked back at the ceiling.

Not a second later he felt some weight get added to his left thigh. He looked down and saw Scorched Girl sitting perpendicular to his lap, the burning match away from him. It simply stared at him as it sobbed quietly.

Noticing that his thigh wasn't that hot, Y/n made a mental note to add to the report he was gonna write that the extreme heat was coming from the burning match and not the charred body itself.

Neither said or did anything else after that as they simply sat there in silence.

——————————————————————————
Manager's Office

'What the hell am I looking at?' X thought as he watched Y/n's chibi model sit in the middle of Scorched Girl's containment with it sitting on his thigh. Though that was shocking and extremely disturbing, what really was making his mind go blank was the other thing.

'Why the hell isn't it finishing?!'

The PE Boxes that were supposed to be received a while ago were simply frozen. The gauge that represented the PE Box amount was stuck at 8 and hadn't moved ever since it reached that number.

'Quintessential my ass, Angela! He can't even finish work on an Abnormality!'

The stress of the whole day was beginning to weigh on him as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was also at this time that he discovered the true cause of the panicking clerks and employees: Shina.

He didn't know why the woman was running throughout the facility, but Angela had told him that she was taking care of it so he could only be grateful that he didn't have to come face to face with that woman again.

Roxie was starting to become his saving grace as she not only suppressed the panicking Mike, but also the other employees as well before any injuries could be caused. She would be his top priority starting now.

Dana had been assigned to both Beauty and One Sin as she needed the improvements while X had left Mike to recover.

X frustratingly sighed as he waited for Y/n to be done so he could end the day.

——————————————————————————
Dana's POV

I tiredly made my way back to the Control Team Department after I finished another assignment of Repression work on Beauty. Really proud of myself that the Manager decided to use the name that I gave for the new Abnormality, but just thinking of that poor little thing made my heart ache.

These Abnormalities are supposedly just monsters. No matter how human they may seem, they were just creatures of the unknown that could slaughter any amount of us with no remorse.

But......

But just remembering the sounds of it's sobbing and crying made me feel conflicted with myself. Talking about it with One Sin was helpful and made it weigh less on my shoulders, but the thought of it was still in the back of my mind.

The sight of the doors leading into the Control Department made my those thoughts fade away. Entering it, I quickly noticed the figures of Roxie and Mike occupying a table. The tiredness I felt seemed to suddenly be cleansed off me as I entered. With a small skip to my step, I walked up to them and sat on one of the two remaining chairs.

"Roxie! Mike!" I called out, but quickly noticed Mike was sleeping on his chair.

Roxie gave me a wave to which I gave one back.

"What's wrong with Mike? Is he feeling well?"

Roxie shook her head, to which I frowned and was about to voice my concern, but Roxie then gave a thumbs up.

"Oh! So he's just tired then!" I asked to which she nodded making me breathe out in relieve.

"Well that's great!"

"Uuughhh, keep it down would ya." Mike suddenly voiced out as he wiped his eyes.

"Hey there sleepy head! Did you have a good nap?"

"No actually, that was one of the worst ones I've had. It was almost.......as.....if.....I....." His voice trailed off as a frown started to form. That frown was quickly turned to panic as he rapidly glanced around the room.

"Where is she?!" He suddenly shouted, as I looked at him confused.

"Where's who?"

"The purple haired woman! You know, the one that was chasing me?!"

"Uuuuhhh? I think you might need some more rest, Mike." Roxie nodded her head in agreement as we both stood up and gently got him to sit.

"Nononononono, nuh-uh, I'm not staying here! I gotta leave before she fin—!" He was abruptly stopped as Roxie smacked him with her cross shaped weapon from One Sin and knocked him out.

"Roxie! You didn't have to do that!" I scolded her before giving her a thumbs up. "But good thinking!"

She smiled before giving one back.

We both sat down with the unconscious Mike as I talked to her about whatever came to mind. No new assignments were being given and it almost seemed as if nothing would happen.

That was until a sudden gush of something seemed to pass through me. I wasn't the only one who seemed to have felt it as Roxie herself had a confused expression and some of the other clerks tripped or ran into their desks.

After a moment, the feeling went away and everything seemed to go back to normal.

'I guess it was nothing'  I thought before resuming my talk with Roxie.

——————————————————————————
3rd POV                   

  Manager's Office

"When were you going to tell me the purpose of the TT2 Protocol?" X asked Angela as he tried with all his being to not let his anger out.

Angela didn't bother to turn from her desk as she continued looking at her monitor.

"When you would finally read the document provided by Y/n." She cooly responded.

X's eye twitched at the name, he was already having his patience tested with him taking forever on the Abnormality, he certainly didn't want this machine testing his patience as well.

Without another word, he merely turned around to his desk and used the TT2 Protocol to speed up the day. He grabbed the document regarding the Protocol and skimmed through it.

There were three distinctive pieces of information that he found.

1: It affected every part of the facility aside from his office and the hallways around it.

2: The TT2 Acceleration Protocol could speed the flow of time of the facility to up to half of the time it would normally take.

3: The other purpose was that it could rewind time outside of his office by 24 hours, a day reset basically. It was highly recommended for when shit hit the fan.

Though there was the limitation of ONLY 24 hours and no more.

X sighed for the hundredth time today and mentally cursed the AI in his office for not telling him about a vital tool in their arsenal. He didn't have to spend as much time as he did if he had used this from the start.

'God damn AI!'

——————————————————————————

Y/n was brought out of his thinking when the intercom came to life.

"9 PE-Boxes Acquired"

"Looks like that's my cue to leave." Y/n said as he was about to get up but Scorched Girl stopped him by holding out something with her hands.

"Hmm?"

Curious, Y/n looked at what she was holding out and saw that it was a small match that was barely the length of his index finger.

"Is that for me?"

Scorched Girl simply sniffed as she held it to him as she got up from his thigh. She stared down at him with her white eye sockets as her match burned brighter.

Y/n stood up as her head followed his as he moved. He eyed the match before chuckling as he grabbed it from her tiny hands.

"Thank you for the gift. But I think it would better if you held on to it for me."

He then struck the match under his feet as it ignited to life.

"There! I don't necessarily need a match but since you like the heat, how about I just turn mine on for you?"

Y/n then handed the burning small match back to her as she stared at it. She turned around and went back to the middle of the room and sat down with her legs out once more. Never once had her eyes left the little flame in her hands.

Y/n chuckled once more before grabbing the broom and dustpan and leaving the containment room.

 

"Announcement in Progress:
The day-shift had ended,
thank you for your hard work."

 

Y/n pulled out a blank report form from the side of Scorched Girl's containment and started writing.

 

Scorched Girl
—————————————

Classification: TETH

Observations/Tips:

"Insight work is highly recommended as foreign substances, Ash, accumulated within the room. Highly recommend checking the ventilation for any clogging or damages. A PE-Box amount of 9 was generated when smoke was cleared from the room.

Heat does not radiate from the charred figure but rather from the Match itself. Highly advise future personnel to avoid any contact with it.

The Abnormality would occasionally emit sounds similar to sobbing or crying, personnel are advised to ignore or resist attaching themselves due to this action.
—————————————

Once finished, Y/n walked towards the Control Department to fetch the work that he had completed and left there. The halls were now barren as the day shift employees left for the night.

Y/n entered the room and was surprised to see that Malkuth was there working.

"Malkuth?"

She immediately turned her head to his direction and waved him over.

"Y/n! Why where have you been?!"

Y/n raised an eyebrow.

"I believe that's what I should be asking you. Where have you been Malkuth? I haven't seen you all day?" She seemed to have stiffen up before trying to play it off. Y/n, however, saw the whole thing and mentally chuckled in amusement.

"W-Well I was completing work worthy of my position! O-Of course, for someone as capable as myself, I am always scheduled with loads of work!"

"I see......well impressive as always Malkuth, good job." He gave her a pat on the head before fetching his work and started heading out. He ignored her dazed look as he walked past her, and even ignored her calls for him as he left through the door.

'I gotta find BongBong and get my blanket back.'

It was only a few minutes before he reached his room. And just as he expected, Angela was just to the side of the entrance as she patiently waited for his arrival.

"Angela, I hope I did not make you wait too long now?"

Angela turned and faced him with a slight smile on her face.

"Y/n....It is fine, I had just arrived here myself."

It was of course a lie, she had been patiently waiting every since the Manager had left his office for the night making sure a certain woman wouldn't come by.

Which was 20 minutes ago.

But Y/n didn't need to know that.

"I see. Well if you would like, I can give you my reports for today right now as I have them all completed at the moment." He said as he showed her the paper work in his hand.

"Of course. If it does not inconvenience you, we could discuss this in your quarters." She said as she stared at him in the eyes with her gold colored ones.

Y/n felt a premonition. Was it good? Was it bad? He didn't know. But what he did know was that he was sleeping without a blanket since BongBong would be in bed by now if she was following the sleeping schedule Y/n made her follow.

"*Sigh* If you think that is best then please be my guest."

"It would certainly be for the best if we did."

Y/n just nodded his head before opening the door for her. He followed right behind her as they both walked into the dark room.

Angela had already memorized his entire room's layout and had no trouble navigating through it. Though she also had her cybernetic eyes that could see in the dark, but she liked the idea of knowing his room better.

Y/n stumbled before placing the paperwork on his dining table and turning on the lights. Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he moved and slowly took off his coat and other items on his personnel.

Angela was once again experiencing one of those moments where being able to perceive things slower was a blessing. She watched from his bed as he slowly removed the coat from his sweaty body. The white shirt clung to his body as it showed a little see through due to his trip in Scorched Girl's containment.

Another blessing of her eyes, the almost see-through shirt did nothing to hide what was underneath. The way the beads of liquid dripped from his neck down to his chest. The way he started to slowly unbuckle the belt to his pants as he maneuvered his way around the table in her direction.

Truly, Angela would count these moments as one of the only times she wished that she could perceive time even slower.

But alas, time waits for no one and continues on as his voice suddenly brought her back to reality.

"Would you mind waiting for a few minutes? I would prefer not talking in these clothes." He indicated to his dress shirt and pants.

".......Of course, take your time." Angela had to reboot her systems just to avoid making a fool of herself.

Y/n offered her a thank you before heading into the showers with with a pair of new sleeping clothes.

As Angela waited, she decided to look around the room that Y/n lived in. It wasn't of the quality she wished for him to live in, but it would do. She eyed the pill bottle that stood at his nightstand and opened it to check its contents.

'32......several are missing.' Angela thought as she mentally calculated scenarios that would result in several going missing.

In the end, she arrived at a small deduction of 279 scenarios in which she would be 100% certain to have happened.

She then noticed the note that she left with the bottle. Picking it up, she turned it and as expected, found Y/n's message.

'89 possible scenarios.....'

Y/n wasn't a fool that many would end up thinking him to be. But since Angela knew that then she also already knew what he did.

'15 gone for experimental use.......15 employees to have panicked....'

Angela's eyes glint in amusement as she connected the dots. Even with her being connected to the cameras of the facility, she had failed to notice him. Truly, he was far more than she had ever thought him to be.

Hearing the sound of the shower being turned off, Angela carefully placed both the note and the bottle back to their original positions. It was almost as if nothing moved them.

Once done, she looked down at the bed she was sitting on and remembered that Malkuth was in possession of his covers.

'Maybe I should keep him warm for the night?' She playfully suggested to herself.

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