'ιт тσσк σиℓу α мσмєит σf мємσяу вєfσяє ѕнє ∂яσωиє∂ ιи тнє тι∂є σf вℓυє σи¢є мσяє.'
She's over him. Right?
...
Not everyone can be an S-rank.
E-ranked Dae jong-in is the failure of her family. The younger sister of the 'ultimate soldier', she serves...
The plane was almost empty. The few people that inhabited the cabin were either reporters or hunters, and out of all of them, she was the only one not wearing a jacket.
She draped an arm over the empty seat beside her with a yawn, focusing on isolating the tiny, searing heat of that flame inside of her. It wouldn't do to go melting anything or anyone at the moment, so she contented herself with pulling away just enough heat from the pit of heat inside her to fill herself with a calm, sleepy warmth. She pressed her nose to the window and watched the ice crystals melt.
The runway was slick with a thin shell of ice, glinting in the fading sun. The plane skidded as it took off, and she noticed the hunter across from her flick a finger. The plane steadied.
Dae nodded at him with a smile, but he narrowed his eyes and leaned over the aisle. "You're Choi jong-in's sister, aren't you? An E-rank? You shouldn't be going to Tokyo- it's too dangerous."
Dae smiled. "I'm helping with the recovery effort." A lie, but a necessary one. "Please, call me Dae. It's an honour to be working with an A-ranked hunter such as yourself, Lee Min-sung."
Idiot. Made so much of a fuss over being an A-rank but doesn't even know how to use his power.
"Why thank you, Dae. Such a pretty young woman shouldn't be entering a warzone- would you like me to protect you during your... recovery efforts?"
He sounded very pleased with himself. She grit her teeth.
This was going to be be a long two hours.
☆★☆★
It was a wonder that Tokyo airport still was fairly undamaged, with only one wall torn out by the giants that were storming the city. The hunters were using the airport as a makeshift base, she noticed- a pair of hunters were drinking sake in one of the corners, and one was snoring away on a couch. She strode towards the cluster of S-ranks nonchalantly. "So. Where do I find the recovery team?"
A red-headed form turned, pushing his glasses higher up his nose. "This is not the inform-"
Jong-in paused, his eyes widening in something akin to worry. "Dae- you shouldn't be here."
She blinked, looking around as if in surprise. "Well, it seems like I am here. How odd. I thought my plane was taking me to the United States of America, not Japan! I've been fooled! fooled, i say!"
Jong-in watched her, unamused. One of his fellow hunters snickered, though, and received a glare that shimmered with irritation as hot as her brother's flames.
"Dae. Please. It's dangerous."
"And who said I gave a shit, Choi? Where's the recovery team stationed?"
"Inner city" A voice interjected. "Around the ruins of the Tokyo tower."
"Kanae," Jong-in snapped, "Don't-"
"I'll go with you," The dark haired girl muttered, gesturing over to two of her comrades. "We need to confer Sung-Jinwoo, and he'll probably be closest to the gate. We'll protect you until you get there."
Jong-in fell silent. Kanae gave him a smile that almost seemed sympathetic. "I'll look after your sister, Jong-in."
It took them half an hour to reach the tower. People bustled like ants around the ruins, carrying stretchers and supplies, conversing around tables. She noticed a hunter calming a family of dishevelled civilians, smiling as she healed the son's broken arm. A man carried yet another body to the deep pit dug behind the main area, his face set, dark bags beneath his eyes.
Dae nodded at the group of S-ranks and went to help him, taking his load from him.
"You can go and rest now, sir," She murmured. "I'll deal with this."
He was too tired to do anything but nod. She watched him pace away and took another limp body from the pile and dragged the two to the pit, watching them fall to the bottom.
She repeated the steps over and over, again and again until all that remained of the pile of dead was the blood they left behind.
As the last body fell, she felt something like fury raise from her stomach.
She would not let anyone she loved end up like this.
She would not.
And as she made her vow, she raised her head to the purple swirl that had torn the sky in two.
And in it, she saw hope.
Experiment one: Can you get stuck in a gate that isn't a red gate? And would it be suitable for life? And could you still communicate to the outside, no matter how high the gate was ranked?
She pulled a transmitter from her pocket and smiled.
