First Day On the Job

Barwyn Cleo gazed up at the shiny chrome building, feeling apprehension worm through his gut.

This time yesterday, he had been on his usual routine: fumbling himself out of dangerous and terrifying straits trying to deliver a package to Sunset Shrine, all the way up in the mountain ranges of Mt. Morimori. He had been on his way back to his favorite thinking cliff after a particularly loud scolding from his supervisor at the post office when Dr. Tanoshiku had stopped him, and he was alerted to his needed presence at the City of Keikaku. To say he was confused and a tad unnerved was an understatement; because really, since when was he so important?

Either way, he was still struggling to comprehend what the key lime scientist wanted with the scrawny, clumsy, chronically anxious him enough to bring him all the way to a city he’d been much too scared to enter, much less to the front double doors of one of the most notable government offices in the world.

But that was neither here nor there as the doors to the Study of Irou opened automatically, giving a small gust of cold, clean-smelling air as they swooped open in a display of alluring dramatism. Barwyn chewed on his lower lip as Dr. Tanoshiku beckoned him to follow her into the lobby.

And what a lobby it was. It was a gigantic round room, extending all the way to the top of the facility and lined with the many railed floors of libraries, offices, dorms and laboratories. White sunlight streamed across the glassy, polished stained marble floors and made the neon silver accents around the stairs and doors glint and wink like stars. The glass ceiling gave way to look at the partly cloudy azure sky, giving Barwyn the vague feeling of glimpsing into Heaven as he looked up through it (actually, he probably was, Aozora was above Keikaku, wasn’t it?). The entire facility beamed of progress, knowledge, and magic, making Barwyn feel even smaller in its presence.

It took him a second to notice Dr. Tanoshiku was talking to him throughout his moment of inspection. “What?” he croaked, giving himself a mental slap. Now isn't the time to sound like an idiot, Cleo.

Dr. Tanoshiku was none the wiser, however, and she simply smiled at him. “You haven’t been in Keikaku before, have you, Mr. Cleo?”

Good to know he was so transparent. “I, uh--no. Never before, Dr. Tanoshiku,” he said, getting to grips with his vocabulary.

That seemed to be the right answer, though, because her smile turned into a grin. “Well, then I wholeheartedly welcome you to our facility! And please, call me Sekai. Allow me to show you my office.” Then she turned and began to walk towards one of the corridors, her milky white high heels clacking on the floor. Barwyn took one last look around the impressive lobby, and followed.

The hallways were a bit more compressed, and more futuristic than the main hall. The hallways were coated in a cold, cyan light, accentuated by the glowing electronic lines streaking across the hallways. They passed by several doors, most of them being metallic gray and others being an inviting brown, with some bearing caution signs and others bearing names that Barwyn didn’t recognize. The more lab-like environment gave him chills, but it didn’t last as they exited the hallway and came to a sort of bridge, which he could see was overlooking a massive library positively stuffed with books, scrolls, and knick-knacks he would probably be able to see if they weren’t so high up.

This time, he was much more mindful when he realized Sekai had come to a stop, and he looked up as he realized she was talking to someone.

The “someone” being one of the most extravagant someones Barwyn had ever seen (and he’d seen a lot). It was a woman, though not a very tall one, with the longest and brightest vermilion fire-red hair pulled into the longest, most flowing twintails by a pair of girlish red bows. She was dressed to the nines in a frilly, elaborate dress, adorned in a similar red with orange lace and pink puff sleeves with a lace yoke, although Barwyn couldn’t help but wonder why she had paired it with a pair of large, blocky (if matching red) combat boots. (Then again, he wasn’t a total fashion guru himself.) She looked fiery yet extremely feminine, though it contrasted with her strong and stacked frame and the stern look on her face.

“I got a report back from Commander Vega,” she said in a strong, dominant voice, “She says that she did see something approaching the stratosphere, but it’s still too far away for us to really do anything about it. Plus, apparently they're busy taking care of a breach case, so we'll have to hang tight until they get more info when everything settles.” She crossed her arms. “But I still don’t think sending the kid up to Lunar City is going to do much for us,” she said pointedly.

“It’s more for the sake of her getting a learning experience,” said Sekai. “I haven’t sent her there before, and you’ve trained her well. I think that even if we don’t get anything back from the Task Patrol, she’ll do fine.”

Barwyn was almost certain they forgot he was there. He didn’t mind that much, though--he wasn’t sure he wanted to speak to the new, frighteningly-red woman. She looked as if there was an equal chance she would invite him out for tea as she would to crush his head underneath her boots.

But his luck must have finally run out because after a few more exchanges he heard the red woman say, “Also, who the hell’s this?”

Barwyn flinched at her rough tone, but soon Sekai was gently placing her hands on his stiffened shoulders. Unperturbed by the woman’s gruffness, she said as sunny as ever, “Oh yes! Vermillion, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Barwyn Cleo. He’ll be joining your work squad.”

Barwyn decided to worry over the words “work squad” later as he gave a wavering smile to the red woman, who was apparently and appropriately named Vermillion. “Um...hi?” He took a quick, shallow breath and let Sekai release him so he could extend a lightly quivering hand to her. “I’m, uh, Barwyn. C-Cleo, I mean. Barwyn Cleo.”

Vermillion stared at his hand, and then back up at him. Now he could get a better look at her face; it was heart shaped, just like the symbols and buttons on her outfit, and carried a pair of sharp, hot pink eyes that seemed to worm into him. They were narrowed and cold like steel as they scanned him from top to bottom, and Barwyn was starting to sweat bullets as the seconds ticked by.

Then, she spoke. “Vermillion Harte, army commander in chief. Pleasure.” She certainly didn’t sound pleasurable. But nonetheless, she took his hand--he resisted the urge to squeak at how hard she gripped it--and gave it a firm shake. He hoped she didn’t notice how quickly he snapped it back to his side as soon as she released him.

Going back to Sekai, she said, “I'll be in the west wing, then. Got some things to take care of.” Only sparing Barwyn a glance, she walked past them and into the previous hallway.

Barwyn gave Sekai a look that read please explain. Sekai gave a light, dainty shrug. “She is our commanding officer for the militia, so she's a bit hard-edged sometimes. She’ll warm up to you plenty, though. You're a good person, Mr. Cleo.” Then, giving him a sweet smile, she turned and started walking again.

Barwyn stood behind for a while, the gears in his head turning. How in the world would someone like Miss Harte grow to like someone like me?

He decided he’d make himself crazy over it later, and bounded after Sekai.