[ Mission SPARTOI ] File: 002
FILE: 002
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the weirdness that spawns in Microsoft Word.
SPARTOI Living Quarters
Liz was still wondering how their new team line-up was going to work as the large group shuffled through the doors of their private dorm. Though, “dorm” was probably an understatement. It was more like a high class boarding house mansion. There were two wings: one for their group, and the other for the other half of the SPARTOI team, Team B. They were Team A. If Liz remembered correctly, the Team B members were out on a mission somewhere in Australia. Honestly, she wished she was there instead of having to go out in the middle of nowhere in some Canadian forests.
She watched as Patti laughed at something Black*Star said-probably something stupid like always. As everyone else passed through and headed to either their rooms or somewhere else in the dorm, Liz pulled Tsubaki aside.
“Hey, Tsubaki…do you think they’ll be okay?”
“Hm? You mean Black*Star and Patti?” the other girl asked as she looked at the two in question. Patti had started to build a giraffe with Lego’s and Black*Star was challenging Soul to some video game. “I think it should be fine.”
“Are you serious?” Liz turned to face her fully, eyes widening. “They’re like the two most explosive people in this group! You know Patti specializes with explosives,” which most would consider wrong on its own, but Liz did not seem to see a problem in that regard, “and I seriously don’t want to know how Black*Star would be like around those.” She sighed and leaned against the wall behind them. “Seriously, what are they thinking? This is supposed to be a recon mission, right? Kid is already against Black*Star even going along.”
As she spoke, her eyes wandered to where her usual partner in question was going down the hallway that led to the small, private library. Typical.
But at her words, Tsubaki just gave a small, nervous laugh. “Yeah, Black*Star doesn’t do very well on recon missions, but I think he’s getting better! Still…I do wonder what they’ll be doing. I tried to ask him if his file said anything, but he only said that it was the usual boring stuff.” She shrugged. “What about Patti?”
“I read it over, but it only mentioned the usual small discharges to get through the barred vents and stuff,” Liz said as she twirled a lock of her hair. “Black*Star is supposed to spot for her while she sets it up and then that’s it. But it doesn’t really make much sense. Wouldn’t it better if it was with you?”
“Mm, maybe, but I’m supposed to be with Soul and Kid helping with the overall surveillance. Oh! That reminds me that I need to look up which weapons and accessories you will need. You’re with Maka, right?”
“Yeah. I’m helping with the disguises like usual, except I’ll be with her.” She frowned. “Honestly, I don’t know why I have to come with her. Not that I mind, but doesn’t she usually work alone? She seems like she can handle it by herself just fine.”
“I’m not sure, but it does seem like it, doesn’t it? At least with the missions so far. Even the ones before we all got together.”
“I mean, I don’t mind working with her. I just don’t want to be so involved.”
Tsubaki giggled and gave the blond a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Liz just returned with a wry grin before pushing off the wall. “Want a drink? I make a mean tropical fruit smoothie.”
SPARTOI Computer Lab
“So….what am I doing again?”
Soul sighed as he continued to unravel the bundle of cords in his hands. “Just take that long, black cable and figure out a way to make it reach the other side of the room. Should be long enough. And make sure it’s not in the way.”
Black*Star just frowned as he stared at the cable in his hand and turned around to see where it was supposed to go. “Dude, I thought we were going to do something cool. Not mess around with cables.”
“Hey, this is not uncool. There’s an art to wiring computers and electronics.”
“Weird art,” Black*Star only muttered as he tried to crawl under a desk and loop the cable through one of the various holes made especially for them. “So what is all this for anyway?”
“For the new computer system I specially ordered,” Soul said a little too happily as he unraveled the last cord and set them aside for later. “Faster processing speed, LED monitors, better audio and graphics cards-”
“Soul,” Black*Star looked over the desk, a dry expression on his face, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and you sound like some geek.”
“Shut up.”
“Just sayin’.”
“Try saying that once you try playing your games on ‘em.”
To that Black*Star grinned. Now there was something he could get into. The image of him shooting down virtual zombies with the best possible visuals was a pretty sweet idea. “Let’s just hope your computers will be able to handle me.”
“So long you don’t slam your fist into the screen again.”
“Hey, that was-”
“Sooooooooooul! Black*Staaaaaaaaaaaaar!”
Soul slammed the top of his head against the bottom of the desk while Black*Star fell backwards in surprise when Patti suddenly shouted into the room.
“Jesus-Patti!? What the hell, man!?” Soul hissed as he rubbed his head and leaned out to look at the girl just waving cheerfully at them.
“Have either of you see my coloring boooook?”
The two simply stared. “Your coloring book?” Soul repeated.
“Yeah! You know! The one with giraffes!”
“They all have giraffes in them,” Black*Star said, exchanging glances with Soul.
By now, the two boys had gotten used to Patti’s eccentric behavior. Black*Star found it more amusing than the others and the two usually hit it off well. But there were times, like now, when even he thought it weird.
“It’s not here, anyway.” Soul was now standing. “Did you try the living room?”
“Yep! Checked under the seat cushions and didn’t find anything.”
“Your room?”
“All of them!”
At that, the two boys froze.
“Wait…you went through everyone’s room?” Black*Star stammered.
Patti tilted her head. Why was his voice higher than usual? “Yeah. Couldn’t find it.”
“Shit-Patti you-just don’t tell anyone what was in there!!” they both shouted as they suddenly scrambled and ran out the door.
The girl just watched wide-eyed as they tore down the hallway. “Huh…I wonder what got into them. Oh well!”
And with a cheerful skip and a hop, she went down another hallway.
SPARTOI Private Library
As Kid pulled out one of the few novels he had yet to read, the frown that had formed since they left the Grim Reaper’s office finally disappeared into something more of resignation. As much as he opposed and was disgusted by the thought, it was clear that he would have to put up with Black*Star.
But why would Father pair him up with Patti? he thought, a now more perplexed expression spreading across his face. Although he had found the Thompson sisters earlier that year, Kid had gotten to know and understood the two girls well enough. Though Patti was the harder to understand, he knew well enough that combining the loudest and technically the most explosive of the team was far from logical.
I’ll need to go over the files again later, he sighed as he flipped through the pages, eyes already flying over the words. But our mission aside, what could KiSHIN be up to? Large machine parts…could this be some kind of factory? And if it is, what could they be building? The unanswered question was an unsettling thought. Were they really that far behind? How many more of such secret bases lay hidden from them?
As these questions and more continued to fill his mind, Kid leaned against the bookshelf, the book he had picked out now long forgotten. Was it enough? Couldn’t they do more? Couldn’t he do more? Absentmindedly his hand reached up to brush his left bangs where the odd half stripes were as he thought of his team.
Despite whatever complaints he may have on certain members, he did have great respect for them. In fact he was actually quite glad that he could work with them. Working with Soul and Tsubaki would be a change, but he could handle it. What kind of agent would he be if he could not work with different partners? Perhaps that was the type of exercise his father was trying to give them.
The mission had confused him before, but now he tried to cool his mind and work through it again. This time without the confusion and doubt. He knew that he would be a valuable asset in running the surveillance and helping Maka and Liz through the compound. While Soul would do the tech work and Tsubaki would figure out the best locations to plant the cameras, he would be in charge of marking out the path along with alternative routes in the case things change. He would also need to choose the appropriate spots for Patti to plant the explosives and where Black*Star would have to wait and take out certain key lookouts and guards. Black*Star would also be waiting to help Maka and Liz out once they were finished. Being the fastest as well as the strongest of the group, it made sense.
Kid reopened his eyes. It all made sense after finally thinking it through. This was certainly the type of mission Team A of the SPARTOI group could pull off. If they are successful, they would be able to retrieve the important information that would hopefully answer all those bothersome questions.
He stood there in silence until a loud, high voice broke the otherwise peaceful silence and threw all of his previous thoughts out the proverbial window.
“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid!”
An eyebrow twitching, Kid turned and stared hard at the girl waving her arms happily by the doors. “Patti, I’ve told you several times that you can just knock-”
“Do you know where my coloring book is?”
You are almost sixteen years old. Why do you need a coloring book? These were, of course, useless thoughts, and he was by now used to Patti’s rather underaged activities. “Have you checked your room?” Even though he knew the answer to this.
“Yeah, but I couldn’t find it,” Patti answered with a slight pout as she hooked her hands behind her back.
“Liz’s room?”
“Nope!”
“And it’s not in my room.”
“I even checked under your bed!”
Kid stared. “You went through-”
His only issue with Patti going through his room was not whatever had freaked out Soul and Black*Star. No, it was the inevitable mess that would await him later. Just the thought made him want to run to his room and fix everything. Possibly Liz’s and Patti’s as well. Patti normally respected his odd quirks, but she also enjoyed tormenting him with her sister. However, cleaning his room would have to wait until Patti found her coloring book. Otherwise, she would make a mess of things in her search, and it would save him both time and headache if he just went ahead and helped her.
“Can’t Liz help you?” he pleaded in a last attempt to hasten the clean up.
“She’s making smoothies with Tsubaki.”
Rubbing his temple, Kid let out a frustrated sigh before looking back at the girl. She was just smiling and looking like a child about to go to the candy store. Sometimes he wondered if she actually planned her random acts of absurdity just to drive him insane.
“All right, where did you last see it?”
“Ummm.” Patti looked up thoughtfully, tapping her chin. “I think the game room?”
“Then we will start there.”
And without another word, he brushed past her and quickly walked back toward the living room, Patti giggling and skipping behind him.
SPARTOI Kitchen
“…and then you add the pineapples last. I find that makes the flavor really stand out,” Liz said as she dumped the diced pineapple into the blender before letting it do its thing.
“Wow, I had no idea that putting in the ingredients in a certain way could change it that much,” Tsubaki marveled as she watched.
“I didn’t either. Dumb luck really,” Liz laughed before she noticed a pair of pigtails flash by. “Oh, Maka! Want one? I made plenty.”
Hearing her name, the girl stepped back and poked her head through the entranceway. “What are you making? A smoothie?”
“Tropical fruit ones.”
“Sure,” Maka grinned as she walked in. She set down the notebook and files she had in her hand on the nearby table before approaching the two older girls.
“Already hard at work, huh?” Liz commented as she glanced over at papers.
“We only have a week, and I wanted to look over everything as soon as possible. We’ll also have to go over our plan later, Liz,” Maka added as she pulled her own glass from the nearby cabinet.
Liz groaned. “Can’t we wait until like, I don’t know, Wednesday? Or at least not think about the mission for a while?”
Maka started to say something, but seeing Liz’s expression and giving it some thought, she said in stead, “Well…I guess you’re right. We just got back so we should have a little break every once in a while.”
“Thank you,” Liz sighed as she poured them a glass of the smoothie. “Seriously, I’ll be hearing enough of it from Kid. And I promise I’ll meet with you to talk about it later. Just. Not now. Maybe not even tomorrow.”
Tsubaki laughed as she took a sip of the smoothie, enjoying the burst of flavor. Liz had been right-it was a lot more distinctive than normal ones. “So, what would you like to do instead?”
“Party like there’s no tomorrow!”
Maka giggled as she took her own sip, also appreciating the drink’s flavor. “I guess one couldn’t hurt. When was the last time we had one?”
“Um, I think probably after the first week we all met,” Tsubaki answered after a thoughtful pause.
“Oh man,” Liz laughed, “that was great. I swear Black*Star got drunk off of soda.”
Tsubaki could only give a light, almost nervous laugh at the memory. “I think he was just excited.”
“It’s still hard to believe it’s already been over a month, though,” Maka added with a thoughtful look on her own.
Ever the one to go down memory lane, Liz leaned against the counter and sighed. “Yeah…”
The Grim Reaper’s Office, approx. 1 ½ months ago
“Hello, hello, everyone!” the oddly dressed man exclaimed with his arms spread wide. “It’s so good to see your youthful faces together!”
Crammed into his office were fourteen teenagers, each one holding similar expressions of confusion as they glanced at one another. While they had all shared the same class together and were familiar with one another, missions had prevented them from really socializing with one another.
“As you know,” the Grim Reaper continued, “Shibusen has been fighting against KiSHIN for quite some time now, and the agency helps to train young special agents like yourselves to help fight against its evils. But now it looks like KiSHIN has finally decided to make its move, and we unfortunately don’t have enough of our current elite agents to send out for certain missions.”
“That’s where all of you come in,” Elite Special Agent Spirit said as he picked up where his boss left off. “All of you proven extraordinary performance on your missions. Of course, not as great as my Maka,” he added, giving the girl that doting father look that made her want to cringe and pretend he never existed. “So we have decided to create a special group of young, elite agents for these specific special tasks: SPARTOI. There will be two main teams.”
“Team A,” the Grim Reaper now continued, “will be comprised of Maka, Soul, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Death the Kid, and the Thompson sisters. Team B will have Kilik, the Pot twins, Kim, Jacqueline, Ox, and Harvar. Living accommodations have been made for all of you, as well as other monetary compensations.”
There was a moment of silence before there was a collective “Huh!?” from the group. Even Kid had been surprised since his father had not told him of this plan.
“Wait a minute,” Kilik started, “so we’re all part of some elite special agent group?”
“Bingo!” the Grim Reaper said as he gave them all the peace sign.
“But-we’ve only barely interacted with each other and we’ve never been on a mission together,” Liz added. “How do you know we’ll even be able to work together?”
“I’m sure you kids will figure it out,” the Grim Reaper just happily replied, which made them all feel even more uneasy. While it was true that no one particularly disliked one another-
“Do I seriously have to work with that weirdo!?” Kim exclaimed a she pointed at Ox. The boy in question looked absolutely thrilled at the prospect of working with the girl.
-much, being on friendly terms and being able to work with someone on a professional and usually life threatening mission was a different matter all together.
“Ah ha ha!” Black*Star laughed. “I hope you guys can keep up with a big guy like me! I’ll be the one who will surpass God!”
“Surpass God?” Kid only repeated with a slight arch of the brow. “I’m surprised you surpassed elementary school.”
As the room suddenly clamored with the teenagers’ voices of confusion, protest, and some thoughtful acceptance, Spirit carefully leaned over to the Grim Reaper.
“…Do you really think this is a good idea?”
The agent had no idea what the Grim Reaper’s expression was due to the mask, but for some uncanny reason he had a feeling it was probably nonchalant and in fact amused.
“Don’t worry, Spirit,” the Grim Reaper said in his usual jovial tone, which only proved Spirit earlier suspicions. “It’ll work out just fine.”
SPARTOI Kitchen, present
“…Yeah, it’s pretty amazing,” Liz said, still marveling at how they managed to get through it all with that kind of start.
“Well, once everything settled down and we got to know one another, you would think we had always been friends,” Tsubaki said with a smile. “I’m actually rather glad we got to team up together like this. Usually it was just Black*Star and I going out on the missions, and we never really had a chance to meet and talk much in class.”
“I knew Black*Star since childhood, so I already knew plenty,” Maka sighed. “But I agree. It’s nice being able to just hang out like this.”
“Whoa, whoa,” Liz interrupted. “You knew Black*Star since childhood? I am so sorry.”
“Haha, it’s okay,” Maka just laughed. “I was pretty surprised to see him here, too.”
“I know I would be,” Liz laughed. “Anyway, let’s ask the others if they want to go out-”
She was cut short when she heard a sudden crash followed by running footsteps. She was just about to walk outside when a gasping and frazzled Kid suddenly ran into the kitchen.
“Liz, will you please do something about your sister!?”
Authorward: If one were to ask me what this chapter was about…I could only hold up my hands in the air and admit that I am not really sure. It definitely sounds more slice of life and less secret agent-y, huh? But it does lay out a bit of the backstory as well as give a hint at how the characters have changed. I tried to spread the spotlight around evenly, though I think Liz somehow got a lot more of it and Maka didn’t get as much screentime. This should change in the next chapter or so. Also, if the writing style and format looks familiar, that would be because I’m following another author’s style. If you can guess whose it is, or at least the series, then I’ll find some way to incorporate your username into the fic. Most likely random cameo codenames for agents, but hey.
Oh, and, uh. I am only used to writing Liz and Kid, so if the others sound…off, I sincerely apologize.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the weirdness that spawns in Microsoft Word.
SPARTOI Living Quarters
Liz was still wondering how their new team line-up was going to work as the large group shuffled through the doors of their private dorm. Though, “dorm” was probably an understatement. It was more like a high class boarding house mansion. There were two wings: one for their group, and the other for the other half of the SPARTOI team, Team B. They were Team A. If Liz remembered correctly, the Team B members were out on a mission somewhere in Australia. Honestly, she wished she was there instead of having to go out in the middle of nowhere in some Canadian forests.
She watched as Patti laughed at something Black*Star said-probably something stupid like always. As everyone else passed through and headed to either their rooms or somewhere else in the dorm, Liz pulled Tsubaki aside.
“Hey, Tsubaki…do you think they’ll be okay?”
“Hm? You mean Black*Star and Patti?” the other girl asked as she looked at the two in question. Patti had started to build a giraffe with Lego’s and Black*Star was challenging Soul to some video game. “I think it should be fine.”
“Are you serious?” Liz turned to face her fully, eyes widening. “They’re like the two most explosive people in this group! You know Patti specializes with explosives,” which most would consider wrong on its own, but Liz did not seem to see a problem in that regard, “and I seriously don’t want to know how Black*Star would be like around those.” She sighed and leaned against the wall behind them. “Seriously, what are they thinking? This is supposed to be a recon mission, right? Kid is already against Black*Star even going along.”
As she spoke, her eyes wandered to where her usual partner in question was going down the hallway that led to the small, private library. Typical.
But at her words, Tsubaki just gave a small, nervous laugh. “Yeah, Black*Star doesn’t do very well on recon missions, but I think he’s getting better! Still…I do wonder what they’ll be doing. I tried to ask him if his file said anything, but he only said that it was the usual boring stuff.” She shrugged. “What about Patti?”
“I read it over, but it only mentioned the usual small discharges to get through the barred vents and stuff,” Liz said as she twirled a lock of her hair. “Black*Star is supposed to spot for her while she sets it up and then that’s it. But it doesn’t really make much sense. Wouldn’t it better if it was with you?”
“Mm, maybe, but I’m supposed to be with Soul and Kid helping with the overall surveillance. Oh! That reminds me that I need to look up which weapons and accessories you will need. You’re with Maka, right?”
“Yeah. I’m helping with the disguises like usual, except I’ll be with her.” She frowned. “Honestly, I don’t know why I have to come with her. Not that I mind, but doesn’t she usually work alone? She seems like she can handle it by herself just fine.”
“I’m not sure, but it does seem like it, doesn’t it? At least with the missions so far. Even the ones before we all got together.”
“I mean, I don’t mind working with her. I just don’t want to be so involved.”
Tsubaki giggled and gave the blond a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Liz just returned with a wry grin before pushing off the wall. “Want a drink? I make a mean tropical fruit smoothie.”
SPARTOI Computer Lab
“So….what am I doing again?”
Soul sighed as he continued to unravel the bundle of cords in his hands. “Just take that long, black cable and figure out a way to make it reach the other side of the room. Should be long enough. And make sure it’s not in the way.”
Black*Star just frowned as he stared at the cable in his hand and turned around to see where it was supposed to go. “Dude, I thought we were going to do something cool. Not mess around with cables.”
“Hey, this is not uncool. There’s an art to wiring computers and electronics.”
“Weird art,” Black*Star only muttered as he tried to crawl under a desk and loop the cable through one of the various holes made especially for them. “So what is all this for anyway?”
“For the new computer system I specially ordered,” Soul said a little too happily as he unraveled the last cord and set them aside for later. “Faster processing speed, LED monitors, better audio and graphics cards-”
“Soul,” Black*Star looked over the desk, a dry expression on his face, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and you sound like some geek.”
“Shut up.”
“Just sayin’.”
“Try saying that once you try playing your games on ‘em.”
To that Black*Star grinned. Now there was something he could get into. The image of him shooting down virtual zombies with the best possible visuals was a pretty sweet idea. “Let’s just hope your computers will be able to handle me.”
“So long you don’t slam your fist into the screen again.”
“Hey, that was-”
“Sooooooooooul! Black*Staaaaaaaaaaaaar!”
Soul slammed the top of his head against the bottom of the desk while Black*Star fell backwards in surprise when Patti suddenly shouted into the room.
“Jesus-Patti!? What the hell, man!?” Soul hissed as he rubbed his head and leaned out to look at the girl just waving cheerfully at them.
“Have either of you see my coloring boooook?”
The two simply stared. “Your coloring book?” Soul repeated.
“Yeah! You know! The one with giraffes!”
“They all have giraffes in them,” Black*Star said, exchanging glances with Soul.
By now, the two boys had gotten used to Patti’s eccentric behavior. Black*Star found it more amusing than the others and the two usually hit it off well. But there were times, like now, when even he thought it weird.
“It’s not here, anyway.” Soul was now standing. “Did you try the living room?”
“Yep! Checked under the seat cushions and didn’t find anything.”
“Your room?”
“All of them!”
At that, the two boys froze.
“Wait…you went through everyone’s room?” Black*Star stammered.
Patti tilted her head. Why was his voice higher than usual? “Yeah. Couldn’t find it.”
“Shit-Patti you-just don’t tell anyone what was in there!!” they both shouted as they suddenly scrambled and ran out the door.
The girl just watched wide-eyed as they tore down the hallway. “Huh…I wonder what got into them. Oh well!”
And with a cheerful skip and a hop, she went down another hallway.
SPARTOI Private Library
As Kid pulled out one of the few novels he had yet to read, the frown that had formed since they left the Grim Reaper’s office finally disappeared into something more of resignation. As much as he opposed and was disgusted by the thought, it was clear that he would have to put up with Black*Star.
But why would Father pair him up with Patti? he thought, a now more perplexed expression spreading across his face. Although he had found the Thompson sisters earlier that year, Kid had gotten to know and understood the two girls well enough. Though Patti was the harder to understand, he knew well enough that combining the loudest and technically the most explosive of the team was far from logical.
I’ll need to go over the files again later, he sighed as he flipped through the pages, eyes already flying over the words. But our mission aside, what could KiSHIN be up to? Large machine parts…could this be some kind of factory? And if it is, what could they be building? The unanswered question was an unsettling thought. Were they really that far behind? How many more of such secret bases lay hidden from them?
As these questions and more continued to fill his mind, Kid leaned against the bookshelf, the book he had picked out now long forgotten. Was it enough? Couldn’t they do more? Couldn’t he do more? Absentmindedly his hand reached up to brush his left bangs where the odd half stripes were as he thought of his team.
Despite whatever complaints he may have on certain members, he did have great respect for them. In fact he was actually quite glad that he could work with them. Working with Soul and Tsubaki would be a change, but he could handle it. What kind of agent would he be if he could not work with different partners? Perhaps that was the type of exercise his father was trying to give them.
The mission had confused him before, but now he tried to cool his mind and work through it again. This time without the confusion and doubt. He knew that he would be a valuable asset in running the surveillance and helping Maka and Liz through the compound. While Soul would do the tech work and Tsubaki would figure out the best locations to plant the cameras, he would be in charge of marking out the path along with alternative routes in the case things change. He would also need to choose the appropriate spots for Patti to plant the explosives and where Black*Star would have to wait and take out certain key lookouts and guards. Black*Star would also be waiting to help Maka and Liz out once they were finished. Being the fastest as well as the strongest of the group, it made sense.
Kid reopened his eyes. It all made sense after finally thinking it through. This was certainly the type of mission Team A of the SPARTOI group could pull off. If they are successful, they would be able to retrieve the important information that would hopefully answer all those bothersome questions.
He stood there in silence until a loud, high voice broke the otherwise peaceful silence and threw all of his previous thoughts out the proverbial window.
“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid!”
An eyebrow twitching, Kid turned and stared hard at the girl waving her arms happily by the doors. “Patti, I’ve told you several times that you can just knock-”
“Do you know where my coloring book is?”
You are almost sixteen years old. Why do you need a coloring book? These were, of course, useless thoughts, and he was by now used to Patti’s rather underaged activities. “Have you checked your room?” Even though he knew the answer to this.
“Yeah, but I couldn’t find it,” Patti answered with a slight pout as she hooked her hands behind her back.
“Liz’s room?”
“Nope!”
“And it’s not in my room.”
“I even checked under your bed!”
Kid stared. “You went through-”
His only issue with Patti going through his room was not whatever had freaked out Soul and Black*Star. No, it was the inevitable mess that would await him later. Just the thought made him want to run to his room and fix everything. Possibly Liz’s and Patti’s as well. Patti normally respected his odd quirks, but she also enjoyed tormenting him with her sister. However, cleaning his room would have to wait until Patti found her coloring book. Otherwise, she would make a mess of things in her search, and it would save him both time and headache if he just went ahead and helped her.
“Can’t Liz help you?” he pleaded in a last attempt to hasten the clean up.
“She’s making smoothies with Tsubaki.”
Rubbing his temple, Kid let out a frustrated sigh before looking back at the girl. She was just smiling and looking like a child about to go to the candy store. Sometimes he wondered if she actually planned her random acts of absurdity just to drive him insane.
“All right, where did you last see it?”
“Ummm.” Patti looked up thoughtfully, tapping her chin. “I think the game room?”
“Then we will start there.”
And without another word, he brushed past her and quickly walked back toward the living room, Patti giggling and skipping behind him.
SPARTOI Kitchen
“…and then you add the pineapples last. I find that makes the flavor really stand out,” Liz said as she dumped the diced pineapple into the blender before letting it do its thing.
“Wow, I had no idea that putting in the ingredients in a certain way could change it that much,” Tsubaki marveled as she watched.
“I didn’t either. Dumb luck really,” Liz laughed before she noticed a pair of pigtails flash by. “Oh, Maka! Want one? I made plenty.”
Hearing her name, the girl stepped back and poked her head through the entranceway. “What are you making? A smoothie?”
“Tropical fruit ones.”
“Sure,” Maka grinned as she walked in. She set down the notebook and files she had in her hand on the nearby table before approaching the two older girls.
“Already hard at work, huh?” Liz commented as she glanced over at papers.
“We only have a week, and I wanted to look over everything as soon as possible. We’ll also have to go over our plan later, Liz,” Maka added as she pulled her own glass from the nearby cabinet.
Liz groaned. “Can’t we wait until like, I don’t know, Wednesday? Or at least not think about the mission for a while?”
Maka started to say something, but seeing Liz’s expression and giving it some thought, she said in stead, “Well…I guess you’re right. We just got back so we should have a little break every once in a while.”
“Thank you,” Liz sighed as she poured them a glass of the smoothie. “Seriously, I’ll be hearing enough of it from Kid. And I promise I’ll meet with you to talk about it later. Just. Not now. Maybe not even tomorrow.”
Tsubaki laughed as she took a sip of the smoothie, enjoying the burst of flavor. Liz had been right-it was a lot more distinctive than normal ones. “So, what would you like to do instead?”
“Party like there’s no tomorrow!”
Maka giggled as she took her own sip, also appreciating the drink’s flavor. “I guess one couldn’t hurt. When was the last time we had one?”
“Um, I think probably after the first week we all met,” Tsubaki answered after a thoughtful pause.
“Oh man,” Liz laughed, “that was great. I swear Black*Star got drunk off of soda.”
Tsubaki could only give a light, almost nervous laugh at the memory. “I think he was just excited.”
“It’s still hard to believe it’s already been over a month, though,” Maka added with a thoughtful look on her own.
Ever the one to go down memory lane, Liz leaned against the counter and sighed. “Yeah…”
The Grim Reaper’s Office, approx. 1 ½ months ago
“Hello, hello, everyone!” the oddly dressed man exclaimed with his arms spread wide. “It’s so good to see your youthful faces together!”
Crammed into his office were fourteen teenagers, each one holding similar expressions of confusion as they glanced at one another. While they had all shared the same class together and were familiar with one another, missions had prevented them from really socializing with one another.
“As you know,” the Grim Reaper continued, “Shibusen has been fighting against KiSHIN for quite some time now, and the agency helps to train young special agents like yourselves to help fight against its evils. But now it looks like KiSHIN has finally decided to make its move, and we unfortunately don’t have enough of our current elite agents to send out for certain missions.”
“That’s where all of you come in,” Elite Special Agent Spirit said as he picked up where his boss left off. “All of you proven extraordinary performance on your missions. Of course, not as great as my Maka,” he added, giving the girl that doting father look that made her want to cringe and pretend he never existed. “So we have decided to create a special group of young, elite agents for these specific special tasks: SPARTOI. There will be two main teams.”
“Team A,” the Grim Reaper now continued, “will be comprised of Maka, Soul, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Death the Kid, and the Thompson sisters. Team B will have Kilik, the Pot twins, Kim, Jacqueline, Ox, and Harvar. Living accommodations have been made for all of you, as well as other monetary compensations.”
There was a moment of silence before there was a collective “Huh!?” from the group. Even Kid had been surprised since his father had not told him of this plan.
“Wait a minute,” Kilik started, “so we’re all part of some elite special agent group?”
“Bingo!” the Grim Reaper said as he gave them all the peace sign.
“But-we’ve only barely interacted with each other and we’ve never been on a mission together,” Liz added. “How do you know we’ll even be able to work together?”
“I’m sure you kids will figure it out,” the Grim Reaper just happily replied, which made them all feel even more uneasy. While it was true that no one particularly disliked one another-
“Do I seriously have to work with that weirdo!?” Kim exclaimed a she pointed at Ox. The boy in question looked absolutely thrilled at the prospect of working with the girl.
-much, being on friendly terms and being able to work with someone on a professional and usually life threatening mission was a different matter all together.
“Ah ha ha!” Black*Star laughed. “I hope you guys can keep up with a big guy like me! I’ll be the one who will surpass God!”
“Surpass God?” Kid only repeated with a slight arch of the brow. “I’m surprised you surpassed elementary school.”
As the room suddenly clamored with the teenagers’ voices of confusion, protest, and some thoughtful acceptance, Spirit carefully leaned over to the Grim Reaper.
“…Do you really think this is a good idea?”
The agent had no idea what the Grim Reaper’s expression was due to the mask, but for some uncanny reason he had a feeling it was probably nonchalant and in fact amused.
“Don’t worry, Spirit,” the Grim Reaper said in his usual jovial tone, which only proved Spirit earlier suspicions. “It’ll work out just fine.”
SPARTOI Kitchen, present
“…Yeah, it’s pretty amazing,” Liz said, still marveling at how they managed to get through it all with that kind of start.
“Well, once everything settled down and we got to know one another, you would think we had always been friends,” Tsubaki said with a smile. “I’m actually rather glad we got to team up together like this. Usually it was just Black*Star and I going out on the missions, and we never really had a chance to meet and talk much in class.”
“I knew Black*Star since childhood, so I already knew plenty,” Maka sighed. “But I agree. It’s nice being able to just hang out like this.”
“Whoa, whoa,” Liz interrupted. “You knew Black*Star since childhood? I am so sorry.”
“Haha, it’s okay,” Maka just laughed. “I was pretty surprised to see him here, too.”
“I know I would be,” Liz laughed. “Anyway, let’s ask the others if they want to go out-”
She was cut short when she heard a sudden crash followed by running footsteps. She was just about to walk outside when a gasping and frazzled Kid suddenly ran into the kitchen.
“Liz, will you please do something about your sister!?”
Authorward: If one were to ask me what this chapter was about…I could only hold up my hands in the air and admit that I am not really sure. It definitely sounds more slice of life and less secret agent-y, huh? But it does lay out a bit of the backstory as well as give a hint at how the characters have changed. I tried to spread the spotlight around evenly, though I think Liz somehow got a lot more of it and Maka didn’t get as much screentime. This should change in the next chapter or so. Also, if the writing style and format looks familiar, that would be because I’m following another author’s style. If you can guess whose it is, or at least the series, then I’ll find some way to incorporate your username into the fic. Most likely random cameo codenames for agents, but hey.
Oh, and, uh. I am only used to writing Liz and Kid, so if the others sound…off, I sincerely apologize.