Kirunax

Dysfunctional (Chapter 8)

A/N: Double update today. Don't forget to check out chapter 9.

Sitting on the couch in the main room of the Wards quarters I was silently fuming.

Turns out our little dispute in the training area was very much against the rules.

According to the handbook, spars between Wards were supposed to be conducted in full gear, masks included, and only in the area specifically ...

Dysfunctional (Chapter 7)

Brushing his teeth, Emiya glared into the mirror, his reflection glaring back at him—a face he despised with every fiber of his being. It was perhaps the greatest source of discomfort in his current predicament. Not the experience of being trapped in a child’s body with the mind of an adult. Not the condescending treatment from people far younger than him. Not even the disorienting diminish...

Dysfunctional (Interlude 3)

Emily looked closer at Calvert’s files. As a PRT Consultant, he didn’t exactly have a strict schedule, the time he spent at the PRT HQ being only nebulously outlined in his contract. However, Emily decided to call a review on him, to determine if there was perhaps an excuse for a pay cut.

She threw his folder onto the pile of other files, belonging to people she wouldn’t mind donati...

Dysfunctional (Chapter 6)

Finishing my morning routine, I looked at myself in the mirror one last time.

Yesterday didn’t go as well as it could have, but overall, I did everything I could to create a favorable first impression. Aegis made his expectations clear, and I intended to deliver. Thankfully, I was an old hand at that by this point. I did it as Salaryman, I did it as Tanya von Degurechaff, and now I woul...

Dysfunctional (Interlude 2)

“Where are they?” Missy asked for what felt like the tenth time, tinted with impatient annoyance.

Dean really didn’t fault her. They were called for a meeting with new Wards that had supposed to happen at 12 pm. It was close to 5 pm now.

“Shut up already, pipsqueak! This is the tenth time you’ve asked!”

Sofia, tired of waiting, decided to ditch the meeting and retu...

Dysfunctional (Chapter 5)

“You really should read this, brother.”

As we flew to our destination, I was reading through Ward’s handbook.

Engagement protocols, chain of command, procedures. These are all important things to know for our new occupation.

Ideally, I would have preferred to avoid joining the Wards altogether, but now that we were drafted, it was important to put our best foot forward.<...

Dysfunctional (Chapter 4)

These weren’t the worst accommodations, all things considered. Bright lighting, smooth white walls, clean bed, clean toilet. The last one was a bit puzzling, given that his hands were covered by these weird manacles, limiting his ability to interact with it. Perhaps it was here to tempt him.

All in all, he’d had worse.

“Kid, please, just give us something.”

In all hone...

Dysfunctional (Interlude 1)

Armsmaster was always prepared.

Taking into account how prepared one could reasonably be in this line of work, of course.

As such, Armsmaster was used to being blindsided. The reactive nature of national parahuman law enforcement agency meant that its members have to constantly contest with one crisis or another. If they are lucky, the disaster is only one in the making and not acti...

Dysfunctional (Chapter 3)

I chewed on my nail, watching the torn remains of Jouster’s signed cards go down the drain.

The worst thing is I wasn’t sure if that was enough. It could be the simple act of touching them put trackers on us, if not a whole slew of sensors sending readings directly to Protectorate.

Perhaps I gave myself away by immediately getting rid of them. Perhaps it was wiser to pretend lik...

Dysfunctional (Chapter 2)

Emiya

What a joke.

Emiya looked at an advertisement under the roof of the bus they were riding in. An advertisement for the very same event Tanya was dragging him into.

Teenagers in silly costumes, wishing to be heroes. Enabled by the government, propped up by the PR machine, sponsored by taxes and merchandise. Envied by other stupid chi...

Dysfunctional (Chapter 1)

Damn you Being X!

Damn you, damn you, damn you!

I stood up from my chair and started pacing around our small living room.

It was worse than I thought. The world economy being in recession was only expected when the shipping lanes are almost non-existent due to sky high insurance rates was expected. But losing THREE cities a year for the last 10 years on sched...