"Megumi-chan~!" Gojo yelled out, holding a piece of paper in his hands, catching the attention of the man he had called out to.
Megumi was sitting on the wooden guard rail of a bridge that overlooks Jujutsu Tech College's river.
"What is it, Gojo-sensei?" Megumi turned his gaze before speaking out, "gonna ask for another favor?"
Honestly, his sensei asked for way too many favors, even for the most mundane and useless tasks that could be done in like... A few seconds.
"Yes Megumi-chan~, I need you to cut up this piece of paper for me," Gojo was immediately in front of his face after taking one step.
Megumi wasn't too surprised, already experiencing his speed for what was nearly a decade now, "seriously? Can't you do it yourself?"
"Eh~, too lazy," Gojo nonchalantly waved him off. "Besides, it's pretty important for later-"
Megumi snatched it before Gojo could complete his speech, the white haired man blinking owlishly... Or what Megumi assumed he was doing, if he didn't have that blind fold on.
Grabbing the portion that was meant to be cut in half, as there were dotted lines aligning it, Megumi tore it in half with his fingers.
SHRRK!
It was with great speed and precision that it tore it in half perfectly, and as effectively as any tool could provide.
"Oh wow, Megumi-chan, you got straight to the point, huh?" Gojo tilted his head, finding the scene... Curious for some reason.
"...Why are you looking at me like that?" Megumi handed the two pieces of paper to Gojo, the latter analyzing them with his Six Eyes.
"Really precise~, good work Megumi-chan," Gojo grinned, looking to see if there were any slight discrepancies between the two sections that were torn in half. It was a perfect and clean severance. "Why'd you use your hands?"
"Because it's the most effective?" Megumi replied in a dull tone, "it's better to just rip it in half than find a tool, right? It also efficiently saves time."
"Hmm~," Gojo had a contemplative look on his face, before a smile came upon his face, "most effective and efficient, huh? That's so~ like you, Megumi-chan," the teacher laughed.
The high sun of the afternoon bore down on the two, a warm temperature not too hot or too cold, a perfect weather for anybody.
Megumi stared at the man, finding his weird antics to be far more interesting than watching the stagnant river flow.
Not that he would ever admit it.
"Oh, by the way, it's the end of the semester, wanna go celebrate it? Just the two of us?" Gojo pocketed the two separated papers, before asking.
"Huh? Well, I don't mind?" Megumi shrugged, "I'll give my sister a call, and if I'm free... I guess we can go..."
"Ah~, that's perfect, I even know the best place we could visit!" Gojo smiled widely in response.
***
"Woah, you actually drank that?" Gojo looked at Megumi which, surprisingly, the latter was absolutely out of it. "Ya' know, the legal drinking age is 20, right?"
"Ah-damn, what the hell..." Megumi was tripping over his steps, having to grab the bar table to keep his balance. "I-I didn't know it had alcohol!"
"How'd you not know it had alcohol? Haha~," Gojo patted his stomach while leaning back, "wow, you're way~ more of a lightweight than me!"
"This isn't... A l-laughing matter, Gojo-sensei..." Megumi clutched his head, seeing two Gojo Satoru's when he kept his gaze on him. "I just... Broke the law."
"Eh~, if they don't find out, then you haven't broken the law, right?" The white haired man propped his hand on his chin while leaning on the table.
"Agh, I can't..." Megumi winced his eyes, a headache reaching his head, "what is this...?" He wondered how people could even handle alcohol.
Gojo, letting his intrusive thoughts pat Megumi on the back, "ah, get over it, you'd reach the legal age in like 2 years, it's no biggie~!"
Megumi looked like he was reeling back from it, the alcohol invading his senses made the feeling far worse than anybody could anticipate... And perhaps Gojo was inducing far too much force.
With his senses failing and body falling weak to the effects of being a lightweight, Megumi relied on the one thing he knew he could always bet on.
"WITH THIS SACRED TREASURE..!"
Hei brought his arms together, pupils dilating from the force.
"Eh? Megumi-chan, wait-!"
.
.
.
.
.
Gojo had to knock Megumi out before he could summon 'it,' and brought him back home to his fuming sister.
What was The Honored One's response?
"Worth it!"
***
Megumi opened his eyes, blinking a few times to get rid of the drowsiness from his small nap.
'How long... Was I out?' His vision was blurry, so the man took a second to have it clear.
When it cleared, there was...
A blonde haired woman right in front of his face.
"Huh?" Megumi pulled back his head, eyelids twitching when he came to his senses.
"Oh, Saria, the handsome guy's awake now~!" The woman smiled, calling out to the other woman behind her.
Thankfully, Megumi had gotten over his habit of being too defensive when being woken up abruptly, so he didn't show any signs of lashing out. But a question lingered in his head, 'handsome guy..?'
Shaking those thoughts off, he turned his gaze away from the blonde haired... Elf? She had pointy ears, so that was the only thing he could assume about her race. 'Are they even called Elves here?' Aside from that, his sights landed on a horned woman with white hair.
Saria, from what the 'Elf' had named, was staring at him with what he could only describe as a disappointed expression.
'...She seems like a rather analytical person,' Megumi turned away from her, and back to the blonde woman. "Hello? Are you..."
"That is the Head of Ecology Muelsyse, and I'm the Head of Defense, Saria," Saria pointed towards the Elf girl and then to herself.
"You seemed to be having a nice nap," the white haired woman commented, closing her eyes and crossing her arms as she did so.
"Pfft~," Muelsyse tried her best not to laugh, seeing how passive aggressive the words of her friend seemed to be. She felt slightly bad for what she assumed to be a mercenary newbie.
"...I understand," Megumi tried his best to ignore the comment, and the other insensitive person who was giggling.
The Elf lady seemed to have noticed his annoyed reaction, so she tried to relieve it, "ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to~, it's just that..." Muelsyse waved her arms in front of her, while still fighting the urge to laugh.
"...Muelsyse, that's enough," Saria patted her on the shoulder and turned to Megumi, "you're the hired mercenary for security, correct?"
"Yes, I am," Megumi spoke with a curt nod, before standing up. 'I need to look as presentable as possible... And fix that terrible first impression.'
"My name is Zen'in, pleased to meet you," Megumi kept a stoic face and held a straight posture, extending his hand for a shake.
That was when Saria noticed something unnatural about him, completely different from when he was sleeping... 'Is he a corpse?'
Muelsyse seemed to have noticed it too, the woman tilting her head with a slightly surprised expression, the tone he gave off earlier was completely gone, 'oh? Is this an effect of his Arts?'
Another thing the Elf kept a peculiar note of was his lack of animal features, unless they were well hidden, then it was a complete mystery to her what his race was...
Saria needed to reevaluate him, she had at first thought the man was a 'newbie mercenary,' but perhaps he was tired from an extraneous mission and took a calculated and planned nap... 'There's no logical explanation for a new mercenary to possess... This sort of feeling to them.'
Megumi stood there, head outstretched for what seemed like an eternity now... 'Are they not going to shake it?' They've been staring at him with paused expressions, much to the sorcerer's discomfort.
"Excuse me..?" Megumi spoke out, hand still outstretched. 'What's going on with them?'
"Oh, my apologies," Saria snapped out of her stupor and immediately took the hand, far too fast for Megumi's comfort. "I was merely... Assessing your abilities." She shook his hand firmly.
"Well~, I'm glad we could clear up that misunderstanding, right~?" Muelsyse chirped in. "Besides, Zen'in, we were curious as to why you would take a commission such as this?"
"My reason?" Megumi tilted his head, 'well honestly... I had nothing else to choose from that didn't look shady.' He made up his mind, "because I was interested."
"...Could you elaborate? Why was it so interesting?" Saria let go of the handshake, the two participants lowering their arms as they did so.
"Just because," Megumi shrugged, before he realized what exactly he just said. 'Was that the best reason I could give..?'
Saria stared at him with a complicated look, not knowing how to take the words he just spoke.
Muelsyse interjected, "well, mercenaries are all free birds most of the time, are they not~? I'd assume you decided to take it on a whim, hm?"
"Even if that is so, then I'll still try my best," Megumi responded, "I believe I'm capable enough for a security shift during the late-afternoon to early-night."
"Oh, isn't that quite a good mindset?" Muelsyse placed a hand to cover her mouth, her eyes smiling.
Saria let a tense breath leave her nose, barely audible to the two, "alright then, I'll guide you to where you're supposed to be stationed."
"Straight to the point already~?" Mulesyse leaned towards Saria while asking the question. "But shouldn't we spend a bit more time-"
"I don't mind," Megumi interrupted before shrugging, "lead the way."
"Hm, alright then," Saria started walking, Megumi following right after. The two wanted to get this over with.
Mulesyse puzzlingly watched as the two started to move away, "H-hey! Wait for me!" Before running up to them.
***
"So~, where did you get that outfit, it looks pretty nice~," Muelsyse spoke, all the while the group of three were touring the building.
"I don't know," Megumi blandly replied. Honestly, he didn't really like the outfit much, and only wore it because it at least looked presentable.
"Huh? Really?" Muelsyse continued analyzing him while asking questions, "but it looks quite fashionable, no~? I was thinking you could give me a few tips in regards to them."
"You wouldn't get any good advice from me anyways," Megumi was never one to care much for fashion anyways, considering he just wore his school uniform everywhere.
"Oh? Was it a gift to you then?" The Elf girl continued to press on the matter.
"...A terrible one, I'd say," Megumi showed his first reaction during the conversation, his eyes narrowing in slight anger, 'from the worst person imaginable, too...'
A brief silence followed, Saria and Muelsyse could feel the silent anger boiling within him.
"My apologies for bringing up bad-" Muelsyse shook her hands, attempting to relieve the situation.
"It doesn't matter, they're gone now," Megumi cut her off, "it no longer bothers me."
Saria wondered if the many were implying that he killed the person who gave him the clothes. 'He works in the line of mercenaries, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise.'
"I see... Then shall we steer the topic elsewhere~?" Muelsyse tried her luck on more time. "We're still quite a bit away from where Saria wants to go," the woman looked at a passing map of the building structure.
With a short contemplative look, Megumi decided to humor her, "sure, what do you want to know?" His gaze turned to Saria for a second, noticing how the white haired woman hadn't spoken at all, letting her Elf friend do all the work.
"I'm quite curious about what race you are, after all, I don't see any features on you~," Muelsyse took her shot.
"Huh?" Megumi paused his steps, the other two doing so too and looking at him. 'Oh... Right, everybody I have met so far has had animal features or some trait...' He was attempting to come up with the best excuse he could.
Seeing their gaze, the black haired man felt a slight pressure, pushing him to come up with hsi answer, "I don't know."
"Hah~?" Muelsyse held an exasperated expression? A little disappointed he didn't answer. 'Hm~, so he doesn't want to know... Is he the only one of his... Just like how I...' For some reason, she felt a small connection between her and the man.
The three began walking once more.
"Muelsyse, it's not respectful to push matters if they're not comfortable with it," Saria finally spoke up. Although she had some reservations with the mercenary who had an intimidating presence, she felt the need to point that out.
"It's fine, I don't feel disrespected, but that's the best answer I can provide," Megumi shrugged. 'It was an honest answer anyways, I don't know what they would call me here.'
"Ah~, no, it's okay~," Muelsyse waved them off, having already come to her own conclusions. "Back on the topic of fashion, you wouldn't mind if this girl invited you to try out some clothes, would you~?" She couldn't help but ask. 'After all... Aren't you quite an interesting person? Even you give off a terrifying presence.'
"Yes," Megumi bluntly replied. 'I do mind.'
Saria felt a slight smile forming on the side of her lips at his response, 'I've never seen somebody reject her so coldly.'
"H-huh? Is that yes to my agreement, or yes to that you do mind?" Muelsyse asked, feeling a slight pang of... Rejection?
"The latter," Megumi had no hesitation in his response, "I don't have much time to spend outside of... Work, he elaborated further. "Besides, we've only met each other today."
"...Wow~, you're just like Saria, you know that?" Muelsyse interchanged a gaze between the two, trying to recover from his inconsiderate response.
Megumi didn't know if that was supposed to be an insult or a compliment... Or both?
Saria took a second to steel her expression, before assessing what she knew of 'Zen'in,' 'so he doesn't seem like the type to establish relationships... Even if it's with a Head of one of Rhine Lab's Sections.'
Seriously, hiring a mercenary was a terrible idea, considering that the company wouldn't know about their background or past. She'd keep having to deduce if he'd be a good temporary 'employee' to keep around.
'I hope you were right in your decision, Hensonn,' Saria mentally sighed. "Muelsyse, you shouldn't keep him from his... Professional matters. Save discussions such as those for later."
"Eh? But isn't it a good idea to build good relationships with your workers~?" The woman playfully responded back.
"But I'm not..." Megumi wanted to say his stay was only temporary, but was elbowed by the Elf, forcing him to keep silent.
Honestly, when Muelsyse elbowed him and saw him visibly jolt, it slightly worried her if he were going to lash out at that. No thanks to his aura.
Saria was about to respond, but stopped when they had arrived at their destination. "Ah, here we are, this is where you'll be patrolling," the Vouvire pointed out.
Megumi tilted his head, analyzing the scene, there were about 5 doors which each led to different rooms. "So, just this area, correct?"
Saria shook her head, "let me explain, you will be patrolling between the 5 doors, and then take a turn over this hallway," before walking forward.
Muelsyse and Megumi followed after, taking the turn of the hallway. The both of them saw the hallway was aligned with even more doors.
"And right here, you can take another two more rights and loop back to the other 5 doors I had pointed out earlier, any more questions?" Saria finished, "this will be your routine in... About an hour and a half."
"No questions, ma'am, I'll do my job," Megumi shook his head.
Muelsyse decided to speak up this time, closing her eyes happily as she did so, "oh! Since you still have much time left, why don't I show you other places-"
Saria cut her off for the umpteenth time, "I don't believe so, Muelsyse, I still have something else I wish to ask him."
The Elf woman was left frozen, hand in the air and a stiff smiling expression still present. It just wasn't her day, was it?
Megumi gave the blonde woman a glance, not really caring much for her overreaction, and turned back to Saria, "what is it?"
"I would like to assess your abilities," for some reason, a low glint seemed to come from the woman's eyes.
***
Saria didn't know how powerful the person in front of her was, and she believed herself to be a good judge of other people's capabilities. 'His physique looks well trained, but nothing too impressive... But what comes off as unnatural is his strange aura.'
She was in a white top and black shorts, having switched out of her defense gear and wrapping bandages around her arms. When Saria asked if the black haired man wanted to use pure fists or punching gloves, the man replied with the former.
'So he's used to having standard fist fights, whether it be from training or from battles he's experienced as a mercenary,' finishing wrapping her right hand, she began with her left.
Saria watched on as the man seemed to be doing the same thing on the other side of the arena. Every Rhine Labs building usually had one of these for members of the Defense Section, and built specifically to withstand the force of her own Arts.
Muelsyse was watching from one of the stands, slightly disappointed if her pout was anything to go by... 'But this should be pretty interesting, no~?' Although she didn't like combat that much, it'd be interesting to see what Arts the black haired man possessed. 'Tthat strange energy he gives off... It doesn't feel like it's influenced by Arts at all.'
The Elf had done a better analysis of the man, and had concluded his strange presence was nothing related to Arts at all, considering how much experience the woman had with it.
'Unless he actually has that much blood on him... Which is quite concerning, then there's something else influencing him...' Muelsyse continued staring at Zen'in, 'it's like it's clinging onto him rather than him emitting it... Yeah, that's the perfect analogy~!'
Saria stood up, having also come to about the same conclusion as Muelsyse, and stepped into the arena. "Are you ready?"
Megumi nodded, taking off his black haori and settling it on the chair where he sat, before lowering himself and going under the arena ropes to get through. "Yeah, I believe so."
The only thing he had on was his white martial arts gi, the one Sukuna wore during his battle with Gojo.
"Do you want this to be with Arts, or no Arts?" Saria asked. Usually, those who knew what her Arts were would immediately deny it, considering it proved extremely powerful in hand-to-hand combat-
"I don't mind," Megumi immediately replied. 'Arts, I can mask my Cursed Technique as Arts, yeah?'
Muelseye felt a bit shocked at his words, but decided to cheer him on anyway, "Good luck Zen'in~! I'm sure you'll need it!" She honestly felt a bit of pity that he didn't know how strong Saria could be, especially with her Arts.
Megumi just gave her a glance and a nod, before turning back to Saria.
"The fight is over when one of the combatants is on the ground, knocked out, or taps out, is that clear?" Saria stretched her arms while speaking. Her tail moved along with their movements
"As clear as it can be," Megumi prepped into a combat stance, 'now would be a good idea to see how far I've gone...' He was a little bit hesitant to accept the woman's request, but decided it would be the best for trust and seeing how much progress he had made.
"Alright..." Saria got into her own stance, what looked like to be a boxer's guard, "...Begin!"
Immediately, the woman shot forward, the sound of her speeding up was audible as she weaved left and right in a Dempsey roll.
'Oh...' Megumi immediately guarded his left, feeling a blow land on that area, Saria having struck with her left fist. 'S-she's strong!' He took the opportunity to twist his body to the right, alleviating the force and lashing out with a forward right kick.
Saria caught it with both her arms, noting the rise in strength and... How he looked like he was shrouded in vantablack flames, the outlines of his eyes being pure white and leaving a trail.
It looked as if it promised the purest form of visceral bloodshed.
Megumi took the brief moment of how the woman seemed to have her pupils dilate and freeze up, spinning while his right leg was interlocked in her arms, and doing a left high kick. Because her grip was way too strong on his leg, Megumi's body didn't even fall down, even when his left leg had stopped making contact with the ground.
Saria snapped out of her stupor, before a left foot slammed against her cheek, forcing her to step back and recuperate.
'What was that?!' Her instincts flared up, still feeling the presence the man gave off, 'is he a monster? How can he be human?'
'The amount of killing intent that he had given off is not normal by any means...' Saria had fought many people, but never had seen even from the most atrocious of people giving off an aura like this. 'Is it his Arts..? No, it doesn't feel like Arts at all...'
It was then Saria decided that she wasn't going to hold back, once more seeing the man in a new light, 'I can see why he's a mercenary, then!' Honestly, he was far above that occupation in Saria's opinion.
But she'd still restrict her Arts to see how far the man could go-
Shadow Extension: Divine Dog: Totality
A black claw seemed to have formed on the man's right hand, before he rushed forward with a sonic boom.
Megumi slashed forward, Saria guarding against it and activating her calcium Arts to enhance her arms.
SLASH
It scraped against it, sending heated sparks of all things as Megumi moved past her and slid to a stop, placing his left hand on the ground to regain his balance.
'...Shadow Arts?' Saria wasn't particularly sure what that claw was, but it was very powerful.
Megumi rushed forward again, he hadn't used his Shadow Extension as he had named it to the fullest, considering he didn't want the two residents to see him grow wolf ears out of nowhere.
Saria enhanced her arms with calcium, blocking two more blows from Megumi's assault, while being slightly pushed back. Shockwaves emanated everytime they made contact.
When Megumi tried a third one, Saria used her right forearm to parry and redirect it, reeling her left fist to aim at her opponent's right liver.
Megumi raised his right knee to block it, but winced when the impact came, causing him to skid back and leave a mark on the ground, 'even with Totality's extension, her Arts is overwhelming.'
Saria rushed forward again, this time in a straight line, but when Megumi raised up to block it, she maneuvered to the left and spun around for a roundhouse kick.
Megumi was quick enough to react and block it, before Saria instantly pulled back and got back into a boxer's stance, delivering a quick jab with her right fist.
The black haired man had to lower his guard again, blocking the blow as Saria unleashed a blinding fast flurry right after, interchanging between both her arms.
Watching what seemed to become a hypersonic barrage forming made Megumi strain his Cursed Energy reinforcement as he worked on the defensive to block all of them.
'Change of plans!' Megumi came up with a different solution to this, but didn't want to reveal it too much.
Shadow Extension: Nue: Totality
The briefest flash of purple electricity occurred when he caught both arms of Saria, canceling his previous Shadow Extension and coursing electricity through them.
Before Saria had used her Arts, Megumi was restraining form using Nue's Extension, considering they might be able to connect it back to Nue Totality incident back in District 9.
'However... I'm confident they wouldn't be able to see it if I executed it fast enough!'
Within a millisecond he had executed the electricity, the force of Nue's city block destroying lightning was still potent even if being released for such a short period of time.
Saria felt a jolt in her arms, like when she had accidentally shocked herself when she was a child. Electricity nowadays wouldn't even make her flinch.
But this one... Was an exception with how powerful it was.
Her form was open and unguarded, leaving Megumi to switch back to Totality and deliver a forceful palm into her stomach.
Megumi felt it impact it, but Saria had used her Calcium Arts to reinforce it in time, 'did my blow get weaker?' The Ten Shadows user noted out.
He didn't know the specific science, but it seemed her Arts was emitting into the air and into his body too... Weakening him by changing some chemicals in his body. 'RCT it is then...'
Shadow Extension: Round Deer
The best part about Shadow Extension was that he didn't need to learn RCT at all if he used Round Deer's Extension, but the amount of Cursed Energy was costly.
'It helps me get a better feel of RCT in general, too,' Megumi smirked as he saw Saria give a few hops to reignite her fighting spirit.
She came back into a combat stance, this time different from a boxing one, her eyes narrowing at Megumi. 'What is that green steam forming around him? I thought he possessed shadow abilities?'
Unbeknownst to the man, he forgot to take into account that the residents of Terra can see his Cursed Energy if potent enough.
'I can only use one Extension at a time, so I'd better make them count,' Megumi lowered back into... Gojo's combat stance this time.
Saria stomped the ground circling around Megumi to the right.
The man fauxed a surprised expression, before his next plan came into fruition.
Shadow Extension: Rabbit Escape
Saria's fist shot forward, a great pressure of air coalescing from it.
BOOM!
If it had impacted a building, it was most likely it would completely collapse. But the arena they resided in was far more enhanced than a normal building.
The fist blasted through Megumi's form, but much to Saria's surprise, it had turned into black shadow-like goo.
Muelsyse looked the most interested at the scene, 'wow~, is it like my Arts...?' Considering how she could make water clones with her water Arts, what Megumi had done had made her compare his abilities to her.
A bigger sense of connection seemed to draw her to watch the scene with more vested interest.
The Elf took a look around the stand she was in, more researchers and Rhine Labs employees seemed to have gathered because of the fuss this fight had caused. 'Ah~, well, they are putting up quite a show.
Back to Saria, she felt a tingle in her back, making her turn around and duck, finding a black claw swiping at where her head was.
Her hair fluttered down with her, reeling back both of her arms and forming her hands into palms while kneeling down.
Megumi moved his arms to block it, and letting his next course of action play out:
Shadow Extension: Piercing Ox
He ran forward, meeting it head on. Megumi felt the blow land on his arms, rattling his bones. "Ugh!"
However, he continued pushing through, trying to gain as much power as he could.
Saria widened her eyes, attempting to push against him as he started to become... More powerful?
The further she was pushed back, scraping her foot against the ground and denting it, the more she lost in the contest of strength. 'What is this now..?' Saria noted how Zen'in's hands didn't look like they had the shadow-like claws anymore.
BAM!
Her back impacted the arena ropes, which were reinforced and flexible steel alloy that weren't meant to break easily...
SNAP!
But under the two's force, Saria found herself blasting through the ring, and slamming against the arena's walls, the structure cracking and straining. 'Seriously... Are these even Arts?" Saria had to question.
Although she was being pushed against the wall, and having it on the verge of collapse, she stood form and outputted her Arts to greater lengths-
"Stop!" A loud voice caused the two fighters to pause.
Saria looked past Megumi, the latter turning back to regard who had called out.
The Vouivre woman in particular knew who the man was, "Hensonn?"
"Ah, what are you two doing?! You're gonna raze the entire building to the ground at this rate!" The normally lax man was waving his arms, while the spectators from the stand glanced at the wall where Megumi and Saria were pushing each other at.
There was a considerable dent now, cracks and debris dropping from it.
"Ah... My bad," Megumi stopped pushing against Saria and let go of his Shadow Extension, scratching the back of his head. His expression was still neutral, but the bead of sweat traveling down his cheek gave away how he felt.
"Ah, sheesh you two, is that the new guy we hired?" Kyle attempted to steer the conversation elsewhere, watching as the two fighters regained their bearings.
"Yes, it's the one you hired," Saria noted out, slightly shaking her arms a bit to relieve it of tension, 'he's powerful.'
He was quite honest, and seemed reserved, but what worried Saria the most was that presence of his.
'...It's back to normal?' Saria narrowed her eyes, watching as the man placed a hand on his shoulder, rolling it back to get rid of the tension in his joints. '...What are you?'
Megumi's presence had leveled back down to that of a corpse, rather than a cascading mountain of them.
"You're really strong, Saria," Megumi couldn't help but compliment.
"...You too," Saria nodded, accepting it without so much as a hitch.
"Well, it was worth hiring him, then?" Kyle Hensonn spoke up from the stands, smiling and waving at Megumi as he did so.
The recipient simply waved back.
Saria didn't know how to reply to Kyle, considering the black haired man in front of her was way too much of a mystery to accurately judge.
"Wow, that's the first time I've seen somebody push Saria back like that~!" Muelsyse jumped down from the stands, landing with a soft thump. "You were so scary back there too, Zen'in~, was that your Arts..?"
The Elf woman walked up to the two, holding two towels in each hand as she tossed it to them.
"Uh, yes, I have diverse Arts..." Megumi quickly spoke out, wondering how he would explain all of the different abilities he had shown... 'Damn, I got too excited...'
So his method was to shift it to Saria, "What about you, Saria? Your Arts were pretty impressive too."
"Hm?" The white haired woman wiped the sweat off her body, before turning to him, "thank you for the compliment, it's calcium."
"Ah, I see..." Honestly, Megumi wished he could explain his ability to her and get a power boost off of it, but it would raise too many questions. 'Calcium though... Are they that powerful? It also weakened me considerably if I didn't have Reverse Cursed Technique from Round Deer to rely on.'
"Look at you acting so nonchalantly~, you've done quite a big achievement, you know that?" Muelsyse winked at him, before motioning to the stands.
Whispers between the spectators composed mainly of researchers and off-duty security guards were the most prevalent.
Megumi ignored them, focusing on cleaning himself off, 'it should be the late afternoon now, right? So my shift starts soon.'
"Ah, come on, don't ignore me~," Muelsyse pouted, before softly punching him on the arm, "besides, I didn't know you could make a clone of yourself," before the woman shifted the topic back to his abilities.
"I'm quite curious, Zen'in, what were those abilities?" Saria spoke up, placing the towel between her neck.
"Well..." Megumi tried to think up the best explanation, knowing he was most likely forced to answer it due to him being a temporary employee... Even if he was a mercenary. Actually, was that how it worked? He wasn't too informed on how mercenaries are considered in a workplace environment, this was his first ever mission where he had to act as a security guard after all.
"...It's shadow based?" Megumi questioned, more so than asked, which was a fumble on his part.
"Is that a question, or an answer?" Saria crossed her arms, keeping a neutral face
"Ah well~, I guess I can see how it can be shadow Arts," Muelsyse agreed, but shot Megumi with an all knowing playful look. 'It's not Arts at all, is it? I'm sure Saria has already deduced~.'
Indeed, the feeling his 'Arts' gave off was completely from the Arts that the two have experienced.
"It's time for my shift right? It's best if I get going," Megumi moved away from the two, moving to grab his black haori, "it was a nice match."
The two watched in slight surprise at how he quickly and nearly frantically left the training room.
A brief silence followed, as spectators on the stands started to depart after Megumi had left, conversing with each other as they did so.
"Wow~, he was quite the match-up, right?" Muelsyse commented, "you have the same idea as me, right~?"
Saria stared back at her in silence, before letting out a sigh, "of course..."
The Elf smiled brightly in response.
***
Megumi stretched his arms for a bit, using Shadow Extension like before was useful... But he didn't want to rely on it completely. Honestly, he'd rather summon Shikigamis to jump the enemy with him, and saving one of them for Shadow Extension.
It suited his style much more.
'...But I didn't want to reveal I could summon Shikigamis... It might cause complications,' Megumi continued walking back to the area where he was to be stationed. 'It's just a security guard job, so I won't have to worry about much... Rhine Labs is a large company anyways, who's stupid enough to target it?'
Placing his hands in his pockets, Megumi continued on surveying the place, still dutifully analyzing every part of his path to make sure there were no discrepancies.
'Even if it's a simple job, I won't half-ass it...' Like how he half-assed his efforts back in his previous world.
***
Saria was back in her office, now back in her work uniform as she sat back on her chair.
'What a strange man... I hope this doesn't backfire on us,' Saria rubbed her temples, recalling the sparring match she had with him.
Skilled, resourceful, and utterly murderous, the last part was what worried the woman the most. 'Hopefully he won't become a danger...'
Saria then moved to type something onto her computer, accessing the security footages of the arena. 'It should have recorded it...'
Not only did she wish to rewatch the fight to get a better understanding of Zen'in, but the Vouivre also had suspicions about something else...
'There it is, around this mark...' Saria leaned forward, analyzing the scene where he had parried her blows... 'No... Not there...'
She kept replaying the scene, lowering it to the slowest replayability that it possibly could. 'There!'
Her eyes widened, seeing a brief spark of purple electricity from between his hands as it made contact with her arm. 'So, that's what he used to stun me that one time...'
It was also very potent, something Saria kept note of. The color was the most eye-catching part of it, making the woman recall a certain Chimera Bird that had the exact same electricity/lightning color.
'Is it too much of a coincidence?' Saria crossed her arms an leaned back. 'His abilities are definitely not Arts, that much I can confirm...'
A worrying thought came to her, but she shook her head, 'I'll see soon for myself, won't I?'
With those thoughts, she stepped up from her chair, making her way out of her office..