He disconnected and imdiately dialed another number, this one answered on the first ring by a woman’s smooth voice that identified itself as Vance-Ishiguro Tech’s recruitnt division. Marcus smiled, though the expression held no warmth.
"Sandra. Marcus Valerius. I’m calling about the Nakano situation we discussed last week..."
Across the ocean in a penthouse suite that made Marcus’s office look like a janitor’s closet, Veronica Cabana stood at her window overlooking the Bermuda coastline while tournant footage played on multiple screens arranged across her wall. Her crimson dress matched her sister’s hair perfectly, and her amber eyes tracked every movent as Reyna and Natalia traded devastating blows.
"¡Sí! ¡Así se hace, hermanita!" Veronica punched the air when Reyna’s marionettes ford that killing lance. "Show that purple-haired princess what real power looks like!"
Behind her, three assistants exchanged concerned glances. The one holding a tablet cleared his throat nervously. "Ms. Cabana, the match has been called a draw. Both fighters are unconscious."
"A draw is a win for Reyna." Veronica spun to face him, her smile bright enough to blind. "That ice dragon was impressive, sure, but my sister matched it with ten marionettes. Ten! ¿Entiendes? That’s S-Rank coordination, and she’s only eighteen!"
The assistant nodded quickly, making notes on his device while his colleagues maintained diplomatic silence. They’d learned early in their employnt that contradicting Ms. Cabana when she was in full protective sister mode resulted in termination or worse.
Veronica turned back to the screens, rewinding to the mont where both fighters collapsed simultaneously. Her expression softened slightly as she watched Reyna’s chest rise and fall with the steady rhythm of unconsciousness. "She pushed herself too hard."
"Should we arrange dical transport? The Academy healers are competent, but our private physicians could—"
"No." Veronica’s voice cut sharp enough to draw blood. "Reyna stays exactly where she is. She wouldn’t forgive for interfering, and she shouldn’t need her big sister swooping in to fix her problems."
She pulled up different footage, this ti showing Satori absorbing Reyna’s electrical assault during their Crucible duel from days prior. The boy stood calm while enough voltage to kill a herd of elephants poured into his body, his expression suggesting mild amusent rather than mortal terror.
"This Nakano boy though. Este pendejo..." Veronica’s smile turned predatory. "He absorbed Reyna’s signature attack like it was a light snack. Made her look almost amateur, which nobody has ever done before."
The lead assistant consulted his tablet. "Our analysts believe he possesses so form of electromagnetic manipulation or absorption ability not listed in his official file. Possibly a secondary Aspect manifestation, though that would be unprecedented."
"Or he’s lying about what his real Aspect actually is." Veronica zood in on Satori’s face, noting the way his eyes tracked threats with the awareness of soone who’d been fighting far longer than six months. "Find out everything about him. Family history, financial records, dical files, girlfriend situation. Everything."
"Ma’am, the VHC has classified portions of his file under Level Seven protocols. We can’t access—"
"Then find soone who can." Veronica pulled up another screen showing Satori surrounded by five beautiful won, all of them watching him with varying degrees of obsessive devotion. "Look at this. The President’s sister hangs on his every word. That purple-haired telekinetic just declared him hers in front of the entire nation. He has an S-Rank potential, an illusionist, a healer who could charge a fortune for her services, and a chainbinder who cos from old money."
She tapped the screen where Satori stood at the center of his formation, bat on his shoulder and that infuriating grin plastered across his bloody face. "Boys like this either beco legends or they burn out spectacularly. I want to know which category he falls into before Reyna gets any more attached."
"Ms. Cabana, with all due respect, your sister fought him to a draw just now. That suggests rivalry, not—"
Veronica’s laugh cut him off, bright and sharp. "Mijo, you don’t understand won at all if you think that’s what I saw down there." She rewound to Reyna’s expression when Satori absorbed her lightning, the way her erald eyes went wide with shock that transford rapidly into sothing hungrier and more dangerous. "My sister has been looking for soone who can actually keep up with her since she was fourteen. Everyone else breaks or bends, but this boy..."
She let the sentence hang unfinished while pulling up betting statistics showing Satori’s popularity had surged another twenty percent after his victory over Julian. "Schedule a eting with Olympus Rising’s board. If Reyna won’t bring him in voluntarily, we’ll make an offer he can’t refuse."
In a modest apartnt in Veridian Hills overlooking the city’s southern edge, Luka Kuzmina sat on his worn couch with Kimiko tucked against his side, both of them watching the tournant broadcast with expressions that shifted between pride and terror. The coffee table held evidence of their anxiety—three empty mugs, a mostly demolished bag of chips, and Kimiko’s phone showing a paused video of Satori’s earlier match.
The broadcast replayed Natalia’s unconscious form being tended by dics, and Kimiko made a small wounded sound in the back of her throat.
Luka squeezed her shoulder gently. "She’s okay. Look, she’s already waking up."
"She created a dragon, Luka. Our daughter manifested a construct the size of a building and used it as a weapon." Kimiko’s voice shook slightly. "The mana expenditure alone should’ve put her in a coma for days."
"She’s strong. Always has been, ever since she was little and accidentally made all the silverware float during tantrums."
"This isn’t floating silverware." Kimiko gestured at the screen where Natalia sat up slowly, Emi’s healing aura washing over her in waves. "This is combat on a level I never reached during my active years. This is beyond what most B-Ranks can accomplish."
Luka’s expression grew distant for a mont, his veteran Hunter’s mind analyzing what he’d witnessed. "The ring helps regulate her output, sure. But mostly she just wanted it badly enough that her body bent reality to make it happen." He shook his head with sothing between wonder and concern. "She got that stubbornness from you, you know."
"I was never that reckless."
"You fought a Gate solo when you were twenty-three because your team abandoned you and civilians needed protecting. Don’t tell about reckless." Luka kissed the top of Kimiko’s head, his massive fra making her seem even smaller by comparison. "Natalia’s fine. Better than fine. She just proved herself against one of the country’s top prospects and held her own."
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