-1: 38
Mustang- No. Hanson looked at Hoopa and Anis, keeping up the facade while also analyzing both.
'She's happy.'
That was the first thing that Hanson noticed.
When he saw the pictures of Anis being swept off her feet and carried through the Ark, Hanson just had to see it for himself.
Because the Anis in that picture wasn't the one who demanded to head to the surface. Instead... although dimmed, it was the Anis he remembered. The shining star that still existed in his memories.
It didn't take long to track both down. Setting aside the Underworld Queens and their connections, Talentum practically ran the Royal Road through their investments. So anything that went through there, Hanson knew about.
Which led to the present.
Him, walking into the restaurant and catching Commander Hoopa not only blatantly seducing Anis, but SUCCEEDING at it.
Anis, the brokenhearted young woman who had felt betrayed by the entire world. The one who swore there wasn't anyone worth saving in the Ark.
She had been staring into the commander's eyes with not just hope, but genuine trust and love.
It was too much for Hanson to handle. So, against his will, he reflexively defaulted to Mustang's mannerisms...
And now he was stuck like this, improvising.
Of course, improvising was his forte. He'd been doing it for decades now as Mustang, after all.
So...
"Commandant!" Hanson shifted his gaze to Hoopa and said, "I'm hurt! I gave you my personnel number and you haven't called me once! This will not do, non!"
He flubbed it a bit just now, but neither of them noticed. Good, good...
Hoopa blinked and then said, "...Wait, you mean it was fine to just text you out of the blue?"
Hanson blinked too. Then his eyes widened with genuine interest. "Mon commandant... Do you mean you wish to converse with me? Truly? Mon dieu!"
"Well, yeah. I have a lot of questions about all sorts of things..."
Anis climbed back up onto her seat and said, "Boss. Can you just go? We were having a moment..."
Hanson laughed. "Very well. I simply came because I heard there was entertainment... but also because I wanted to see with my own eyes." Reaching up to take off his glasses, Hanson looked into Anis's golden eyes and said, "My pop star. Are you happy right now?"
Anis froze. Her eyes welled up a bit and then she glanced away. "...What does it look like, Boss. Of course I'm happy. Ugh..."
"Then it's fine." Hanson smiled and put his glasses back on. "Very well!" He spun around and then did an exaggerated bow to Hoopa. "Mon Commandant! I bid you, adieu!"
With that, and one final glance at Anis, Hanson- No, Mustang headed off again.
But just before he left the restaurant, he turned back and said, "Just one thing. Anis, my pop star. When you have time, come visit. There is something I want to show you."
"Huh? Uh... sure, Boss."
Mustang nodded. "With that, adieu!"
===
As I watched Mustang leave, I muttered, "So that's what it's like having a real life random encounter, huh?"
It was completely out of the blue.
...Well, I guess not completely out of the blue. Mustang DID give me mafia boss vibes from the start. And since Anis called him Boss, the guy probably kept tabs on her.
Considering I paraded through half the Ark carrying Anis in my arms-
Wait.
I paused and remembered the fact that Mustang was DEFINITELY carrying an extraordinarily heavy disco ball on his back everywhere he went.
...What the heck were people sussing me out for if a guy like that was CLEARLY superhuman-
Oh, wait.
Right, CEO of Tetra Line.
Probably proprietary tech or something.
Darn.
...Maybe I should double down on my hostility with Missilis and do a takeover...
...No, that'd cause too much chaos.
Definitely needed to look into being a manufacturer of my own though.
Maybe I could call it something like 'Abnormal' since it was nonstandard Nikke tech.
I mean, I was planning to make Reploids from Megaman if I could, so it would DEFINITELY be Abnormal.
All I needed for that was a proper energy crystal and schematic.
Schematic was mostly done. Just needed to grab a blueprint of a Nikke from somewhere or an empty shell of one.
As for energy crystal...
I was thinking Rapture cores, but considering the world, there was bound to be something better.
Maybe I should take the squad and do some adventuring. Reclaim a bit of the surface for humanity while we were at it...
Anis sighed. "...Well. Boss ruined the mood. Wanna just grab some beers and head home?"
"Home?"
Anis blushed. "I-I mean the Outpost, duh. Not home. Though... it... I mean, I guess it kind of... is...?" She trailed off, her voice going soft and vulnerable.
I smiled and said, "Yeah. Let's grab some beers and go home, Wifey."
Anis shuddered. "Don't call me that! I-I'm not prepared! Also, Mari will kill me! Like, literally!"
"Oh, true." I nodded. "She is the type to really want that title."
"Yeah! Rapi too! So don't call me that!"
"Huh? Really now... good to know. I'll have to try it on her to see how she reacts."
"...Oh, you're a goner."
"What do you mean?"
Anis looked smug. "I dunno~ How about you call her that and let me know after, 'Hubby'~"
"Sure thing, Wifey~"
"Grk! How are you this shameless?!"
"Gotta commit to the bit, Anis. Your boss clearly knows that."
"Ugh... Whatever. You're paying, dope."
"Obviously."
===
A secure Missilis research facility.
Holding a clipboard in hand, a certain woman with lilac hair and a few black strands hummed while she examined a secure load of cargo boxes wheeled in. Glancing over at a glass-wearing Nikke with bobbed black hair and a white labcoat, the woman said, "You've confirmed then that these are the remains of Chatterbox?"
The Nikke... Mana, nodded and said, "Yes. We've confirmed it multiple times. But it's interesting... take a look, Miss Jien." After saying that, Mana held out a data pad.
The woman with lilac hair, Jien, hummed and took the data pad from Mana. "...My. How thorough. It seems No. 8 exceeds expectations."
"...Yes." Mana nodded. "Chatterbox was de-limbed, dismantled, subject to heavy concussive force, then the remains shot through with a high-powered shotgun at close range. But even so... well."
The cargo boxes on the wagon suddenly rattled, sliding together as if trying to reassemble.
Mana adjusted her glasses and said, "...As you can see, it appears that even without a core, the Rapture is still alive."
"Interesting." Jien stared at the cargo and said, "I wonder how No. 8 was aware of it? His actions showed a clear understanding of this one's biology..."
"We're unsure." Mana hesitated. "...Despite our best efforts, all we could find about No. 8 is that... Well, he is No. 8. No data, no traits, no logs... nothing."
"...I see. And even among the D.E.E.P. records?"
"Yes."
Jien was quiet. "...Hm. Well." A smile crossed her face. "Shall we see how capable he is then? My dear sister has been quite put out with Wardress. And they WERE originally ordered to capture this Rapture..." She chuckled. "Shall we see how they fair? If they fail... Well." She tapped her clipboard and said, "...We could always use more data on Rapture and Nikke hybridization."