Chapter 22: Mirror

"Rise and shine, Doctor Shino."

A new female voice this time.

My phone was taken from me and they've kept me in the dark, traveling wise, so I've attempted to keep track of my travel time myself. I would say that based on my body clock and when I get tired, as I visualized my work day upon getting up, it's approximately six days since I've been taken.

Must've moved me in my sleep, though. As I feel around, I'm definitely not in the vehicle I was stuffed into.

The blindfold over me is pulled off. My eyes quickly dart around, looking at the place. I'm definitely in some facility; white walls, floor, and a glass wall rather than jail bars. Wonderful. I appear to be in a cell, though there's a door inside of it which is curious enough. And it's… spacious, too.

My sight is drawn of course, to the next biggest elephant in the room.

"It's an honor to meet the fabled Galen Shino himself."

A blonde woman, with matching golden eyes. Her posture screams power, control, that she's the one in charge, radiating an aura of confidence I'd expect from a CEO walking into a business deal where he's got all the leverage. She's wearing a lavender dress, something fairly low cut, definitely not at all business savvy, but wouldn't be out of place at a ball or some red carpet event. Her hair spills out to perhaps around her waist area, and she runs a hand through it as she adjusts her seating position in the chair in the room.

Behind her is a woman dressed in a suit, with reddish-dark-orange hair and brown eyes. While she looks professional, her emotions are on full display. Disdain, deception… there's definitely an aura of "looking down upon". There's even a flash of anger as I make eye contact with her for a second.

"A man of few words, are you?"

She extends a hand, though I'm far from her to actually be able to shake it. There's a solid few feet between the bed I'm on and the table. Thus, the only person who was able to take off the blindfold was the person moving to lean on the glass wall.

A younger version of Chifuyu, to put it bluntly. She looks like she's maybe fifteen, sixteen, tops. Maybe around Orimura Ichika's age.

"What's there to say?" I ask, not getting up from the bed. It's likely a show of power, who has control in this situation. Forcing me to get up from the bed is a gesture that she's the one that will be puppeting me.

She puts her hand down, resting it along with her other on the table.

"I suppose that's the case." She says with a small smile. Confidence again. Lots and lots of it. "But I wanted a chance to meet the illustrious Shino Galen in person."

A lot sincerity with that statement, actually. The use of that word was genuine, surprisingly enough.

"You should have just arranged a meeting with my secretary."

"You don't have one, though."

Alright, that gives me a baseline for her expressions so far. Plus it shows me another aspect in how far they're in with watching me.

"Why do you insist on playing this game, Squall?" The suited one asks. "We already have him. We should just kill him, no one will ever know he's really dead."

The callous mention of my death gives me pause for a second. I glance at the suited one and see an increased amount of aggression. She's ready to pounce right now. Definitely not the kind of person I want to be alone with.

"Autumn."

The suited woman stops in her tracks at the mention of her name.

"You forget who's in charge here. I'd rather not make our guest uncomfortable, so please make yourself scarce."

Autumn, the name of the suited woman, gives a "hmph" before exiting through a door that's almost invisible in the glass wall, which fortunately seems to have air holes in it.

"Squall Meusel. Charmed to meet you, Galen Shino. Or is that Doctor Shino?"

"It's whatever you want to address me as."

"Then, Galen. I'm not a huge fan of being so formal." She says, leaning back in her chair. "And I believe you're already acquainted with M."

The Chifuyu lookalike simply scoffs.

"Regardless, do enjoy your stay here. Through the door here you'll find some additional facilities for you to use, and I've taken the liberty of providing some reading material for you." She says, gesturing to the shelf.

I have to say I'm utterly bewildered by this, so it somewhat unconsciously comes out when I ask "Why".

"Well, Galen, there's no need to be so harsh." Squall says with a smile. Her apparent complete sincerity, to the point I'm not detecting any microexpressions on her that indicate deception, keeps throwing me off. "After all, we have you right where we want you, and that's all we need. Do try not to cause trouble? Come along, M."

With that, M stops leaning against the wall and begins to follow Squall out. However, Squall stops at the door.

"Oh, and Galen? Do try to fix that nasty habit of reading people."

Before I can open my mouth, she cuts me off.

"Confusion, likely by my sincerity. Worry, anxiousness, a bit of fear probably from Autumn's display. Do I need to cite the muscle groups?" She only smiles as I pause. "I can turn off my need to read others and have disciplined myself to be able to not read people, so do try to learn. I'd like to be able to have a civil chat without us constantly trying to say things based on the other's emotions. A genuine conversation, really."

She leaves before I can formulate a good reply. So she's aware of microexpressions as well. Terrifying. My prime strength and ace card can be matched.

I decide to walk around the area they have for me. There's a bathroom, at least, with some privacy, along with a washer and dryer. They've even prepared several changes of clothes for me, which is scary as they know my size, and it's even all clothes I would've bought myself.

"I don't know if I feel comfortable with how they even know my underwear size…" I mumble to myself as I continue to look through, though there isn't much else after that. The shelf in my room contains indeed, plenty of reading material. Most of the latest issues of journals dealing with psychology and a few published papers as of late, combined with a large selection of classical literature… I'd say it's impressive if it wasn't downright terrifying they had all of this prepared.

The last bit is a small cabinet tucked away in the corner. Inside are several boxes of Pocky, along with about sixteen different brands of cigarettes and four lighters. Now that is mildly unsettling.

I still have to question what exactly this "Squall Meusel" is after by keeping me in such a condition. Are they relying on Stockholm Syndrome to kick in...? I'd have to gauge whether or not they'll be conducting psychological warfare, but it's entirely possible considering her knowledge of microexpressions.

Fortunately, there's a clock in here, so I have some semblance of the time. I'd have figured they'd want me to lose sight of the passage of time but that doesn't seem to be the case.

So, I sit down at the chair Squall was at, and simply phantom write; that is to say, I go through the motions as if I was writing reports by hand or something like that, signing off papers and whatnot. I can at least try to keep to my normal routine if that's the case.

I'm fairly certain they're watching me, too. Wouldn't put it past them to have me in observation. At this point, though, I just have to hope that they haven't found the tracker and hold out until IS Academy can locate me. Assuming the tracker is even capable of sending a signal here.

Well, time to simply wait. Wait and hope.

Day four of captivity, day ten overall.

"Do you mind?"

I look up from my desk, which now is filled with silly doodles as Squall apparently was fine giving me papers rather than just letting me read the whole time, so now I spend my time writing comments and papers on the books I've read. Funny, I hated writing papers in college and yet here I am doing them to kill time.

I raise an eyebrow at her as she's carrying two trays of food as she enters the room. Looks to be some kind of meatloaf with gravy, a side of mashed potatoes and green peas, paired with a glass of water.

"I give you permission to read me, as well."

"For what purpose?"

"So that way you can trust me when I say that this food has not been tampered with in any way."

"If it was made with the intent of slipping something in, is that therefore not technically tampering?"

"Hmm, I suppose. Very well, I will say that this entire meal set was prepared as if you were preparing it in the safety and comfort of your own home with the intent of eating it yourself."

Nothing in terms of microexpressions to indicate any sort of deception on her part. I've been suspicious they're drugging my food with something, but I need to eat in order to keep my strength up. Fortunately most of the things I've been given are all packaged food items that tend to have tamper proof seals. I'm not sure what their capabilities are though, so, you know.

"This is a break in the usual pattern."

"I wanted to simply have a chat with you. Is that so wrong?" She asks, setting down the two trays on the table, which can easily accommodate the trays and the papers I have strewn about.

"I don't believe I have anything valuable to say. Isn't my value simply being here, after all?"

"There isn't anything I'm looking to get from you. I really, really, just wanted to chat."

Complete and utter sincerity. It's… by far the strangest thing. I suppose it's also strange that we're chatting, but she's being civil with me, so I can at least return the favor to see if I can't use it to my advantage later.

"I can tell you're confused."

"I know you know."

She smiles as she offers me a fork and knife. "Well, I can stop any time you'd like me to."

"It's not a bother."

"I suppose." She says with a pause as I unwrap the fork and knife from the shrink wrap. "I suppose that when you've read people all the time, you can't really hold it against anyone."

"I like to live a principled life."

"And so honest, too."

"It's a new policy of mine. Radical honesty." I say with a slight bit of sarcasm.

Squall laughs before I give my thanks for the meal, mostly out of habit.

"Why do you want to talk with me, anyways?"

She tilts her head. "Am I not welcome here?"

"I think you own the place, so I'm not really in any position to say."

She gives another laugh, waving me off. "Well, to give you the truth, I am slightly curious about you, Doctor Shino. You and I come from… similar backgrounds."

I merely raise an eyebrow, clearly not buying it.

"If anything, you already live a radically honest lifestyle compared to me."

I only scoff at this, which gets another chuckle out of her. "And you're sharing this with me why exactly?"

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't exactly get to have normal conversations around here."

"And you expect to get one from me?"

"It's about as close as I can get. And before you ask, no, I didn't kidnap you just to talk with you. But it certainly helped in taking the assignment."

"Right…"

"Hmmm… you still don't trust me, do you?"

"Do I have a reason to?"

"I suppose you don't. But the way you're keeping yourself guarded is… it doesn't feel unnatural." She hums to herself before smiling. "You're kept in the dark all the time, aren't you? Oh, shock. That's a bingo there. I imagine you were told about Phantom Task recently."

"I'm surprised you'd give up the name so easily."

"Maybe I'm trying to live a radically honest lifestyle as well."

I narrow my eyes at her, but Squall only laughs.

"But I assumed you were already told about us, so the name is hardly a trifling matter. Would it help if I gave you the grand vision speech you're likely expecting, and then we move onto casual conversation?"

"You're the type to do whatever they wish, so it's not like I could stop you."

"Ha, true. Well, do have a bite to eat before it gets cold. This might be a long monologue."

I suppose I could do it to humor her. The amount of sincerity in her voice and on her face is just so baffling to me that I figured it was worth the risk. While I know people can sometimes disguise body language, microexpressions is something that's fairly involuntary. It's almost impossible to fake, thus training to fool me with microexpression reading would be something indicating they're well ahead of the rest of the world in that research, which I doubt would be the case.

"I'm fairly certain you've been told we're probably 'the bad guys' in all of this. I'll admit that our methods are rather unsavory at times. But if you were expecting some grand sweeping vision, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. Well, I suppose it's only natural to suspect such a thing, but truthfully Phantom Task's goal is the amassing of political power. For me, though, I'm just a means to an end. I don't really have any particular stake in all of this." She pauses, laughing. "I hope you didn't suspect that I was the leader of Phantom Task."

"Not at all. I'm more suspect of the fact that you're telling me all of this."

"Well, I'm sure you were told we're the evil ones here. But there's no good or evil between us and the Sarashikis, Doctor Shino."

"And so where do you fall on this?"

"Didn't I say it? I'm just an arm they use. A means to an end. I don't hold anything against the Sarashikis or consider myself morally superior to them. If you'd like an apt comparison, consider us two rival companies in the fast food industry, and we're simply employees of each one."

"I see."

"Something tells me you don't quite believe me."

It's just a gut instinct, I think. While her microexpressions aren't giving off any red flags, I still find myself doubting my skills when it comes to her, considering how she seems highly capable. But there's also...

"What was the purpose of kidnapping my friends, then?"

She sighs, perhaps having anticipated this question.

"It was the cleanest and most efficient path to take."

The reply is cold, icy, even. While she's cordial, it's a reminder to me that she's still cutthroat on the inside. But it feels rehearsed, almost, because maybe I was right in how she anticipated this question.

However, to my surprise, her look visibly softens with a second sigh.

"I apologize for exploiting your survivor's guilt."

I glance at her face, reading a bit of guilt, anxiety, and regret.

"Can I ask what you meant by us coming from similar backgrounds?"

"Let's leave it at that I floated around the same field you do. I'd like to eat, so I'll answer questions later."

I assume that's a definite 'I won't be going any further today'. Seems like she's on a tight schedule, anyways.

We keep mostly in silence after that, mostly avoiding eye contact with one another, leaving me to stew in my thoughts. Though, we do finish up rather quickly, almost as if we wanted to talk more with each other before the time allotted wrapped up.

Meusel opens her mouth to speak, but before she can continue a watch beeps. Seems like it's hers. "Why, look at the time. I've got to get going for now. Perhaps we'll continue this conversation later."

With that, she gets up, taking her tray. "Are you finished, Doctor Shino?"

"I'll finish it now." I say, gesturing to the small bit of mashed potatoes I have left over.

"I see. I'll have someone collect it later. Farewell."

It's about eight in the evening now, and I am still utterly confused about Meusel. I've been trying to put all the pieces together in my head, sorting out the mystery behind her.

I've mentally replayed our conversation in our head again and again, but I find nothing that really gives me the "key" or so to say, to really get into her head. The complete sincerity in her statements, it was almost mind-boggling. It's almost as if she truly, truly craved something that wasn't in Phantom Task's environment.

...but what if that's the truth, though?

I mean, it doesn't take someone of my skills to know that I clearly have some trust issues when it comes to dealing with people like this. Hell, with the situation in general. I'm apparently some pawn in this political war between super NGO conglomerates or something like that. I'm not even anyone important, and I'm more just annoyed that they won't stay out of my life and just let me do my job. Meusel's sincerity is throwing me off because of that, though, because frankly it's ironic that this secret organization has been seemingly more honest to me than IS Academy.

At IS Academy I was simply "denied information" for vague wording that would vary based on the emails I sent whenever I requested information to do my job, especially for Orimura Ichika. Hell the "secret organization" that came after me in Germany was mostly glossed over and I never found out anything more. I was just told that yes, they'd beef up security for me, and that was it.

Meanwhile, Meusel has basically, assuming she can't fake microexpressions as that would put her leagues ahead of any current research being done right now, let me know whatever I wanted. I've just been afraid to ask bolder questions since she might become more guarded, but then again if she's in the same field as me, then she'll know I'm biding my time.

It's almost like trying to beat yourself in chess, if I was any good at chess, anyways.

Regardless, if Meusel is really, truly after something that isn't in Phantom Task's environment, it would explain a lot of her behavior. I'm something that comes from the outside, something unnatural to her; in a secret organization full of lies, deception, and her admittedly dysfunctional teammates, having an ordinary salaryman of sorts must be a blessing for her. It would explain why she wants me to stop "reading" her. It's difficult to have a genuine conversation when you can both see what the other person is saying straight off the bat. You lose all the nuance of conversation, things like white lies, being able to smile and say it's okay when it's not, and a distinct feeling of trust, when you can simply see a single muscle twitch and know they're lying right off the bat.

Of course, there's the fact she could be playing a game of misdirection with me, or if she's telling the truth about just being an "arm', it might be possible that she simply doesn't know the full truth and is giving me only what she does know. There's only one thing to do, then…

I won't deny that I'm scared, though. I'm scared out of my mind. Frankly I think it's only the fact that I keep thinking about that there's still hope for me to get home, that there's people waiting for me back home, that's keeping me focused.

I close my eyes and try to think of Alicia, Ralph, Ushio, and Madeline, but as I breathe to calm myself down, I can feel the weight of the Pocky box I was snacking on rising up and down on my chest.

Goddammit, get it out of your head, Galen. But then again, I basically committed there, didn't I?

Well, I guess it's not a bad thing to have going forward. If anything, it's motivation for me to keep going. But really, could the timing have been any worse? Soldiers who confess their love right before they get deployed always die in the movies.

Granted, it seems like they're intending on keeping me alive… for now.

I reach down and grab another piece of Pocky, biting off part of the chocolate to once again, get the color ratio to be like a cigarette. As tempting as it would be for me to go back while under all of this stress, it feels like… it's a defeat on my part. I've been tempted to go back many, many times, but I won't allow myself that defeat this time around. Not ever.

But, the motions, the memories, and now the slight… emotion that's associated with it. It brings a strange comfort, with the Pocky. I suppose it just wouldn't be the same with a cigarette anymore.

Geez, Orimura. Really done a number on me, haven't you? But hey, if you want to pay me back, just… find me before them wanting to keep me alive changes, alright, Orimura? I'm counting on you.

The next few days pass by without much incident. Meusel rarely joins me for breakfast, about fifty-fifty chance for lunch, but almost always makes dinner. I suppose it is those morning hours when you have to deal with whatever was happening while you slept.

"And that's another one."

I then set aside another stack of papers, having written a twenty page paper on The Count of Monte Cristo in order to kill time. Or perhaps, written again, considering as that would be my 'final draft' copy. I've already written the first draft, then two more after proofreading, just to pass the time.

Meusel occasionally asks for them, and I'm not really in any position to say no. One time I did, just to see what would happen, and she respected my decision. I do plan to offer her my final draft, though.

I already had one written up that she's currently reading, based on a snippet of The Iliad, one of many classics left in the room. They come up during our meals, where Meusel proves to be just as well read if not better read than me. Not as long as twenty pages, but somewhat lengthy.

Really it's more just to pass the time. It's just that it's at least using my brain power rather than just letting me waste away here. Meusel also asked whether or not I wanted to receive news reports, but I thought it was better that I didn't know.

It takes a few days as well, but eventually I gather the courage to ask:

"Is there any particular reason you want me to stop reading people?"

I decide to cut to the heart of it, when Meusel is here eating lunch with me.

She pauses in her miso soup, putting her bowl down.

"Call it a regret of mine." She says after a few seconds of thought.

"Care to share?"

"You could say that you'll never have anything genuine if you don't."

"This again?" I ask, putting down my own set of chopsticks.

"Well, for someone who mostly deals in business transactions and deceptions, you might say that having something 'real' in a sense would be my forbidden fruit." She admits with a if somewhat bitter chuckle. "You're getting better at it, though."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not reading me right now, aren't you?"

"You'll just call me out if I was. It's still annoying how you can do that."

"It's nothing more than using reading to figure out that you're reading. For example, if I were to say 'good morning' to you, but you read me and figured out I was strained or some other non-positive emotions, and I read an emotion that responded in kind to my true thoughts, it's trivial to figure out that you've read me. It's always been your trump card though, hasn't it?"

I elect to stay silent to that, causing Meusel to chuckle again.

"I suppose you just haven't been around anyone who's also capable of reading others in a long time. Your associate posted at the Academy might be a good therapist as well, but she can't scan and read people like you, can she?"

"That's not really for me to say."

I know there's really no point in saying much, as Meusel can read any deceptions.

"Good answer."

"Can I ask a question in return?"

"Sure."

"It's about M."

"My, my. While I knew you were close with Orimura Chifuyu, is she perhaps too old for you?"

I roll my eyes at the obvious bait. "Just who is she?"

I see Meusel pause, closing her eyes and glancing away. "Why do you want to know?"

That in turn, causes me to pause. I'll admit it's latent curiosity, but also on the off-chance I'm freed or broken out, I can report back to the Academy or try to use it to figure out what the deal is that links this M to the Orimuras. At the same time, though, there's… she's clearly not like Meusel or Autumn. She's a child, assuming she's as young as she looks. Considering my work at the Academy, I've been developing a definite soft spot for child soldiers.

"There's a lot of reasons."

"Can you name one?"

"How honest do you want me to be?"

"I'll know how honest you're being."

"She's a child soldier. And I just want to know she's okay."

I see Meusel open her eyes, giving me a piercing look that makes me almost gulp. "Even though she is your enemy?"

"For all I know, no one's my ally and everyone's my enemy. When I started working at IS Academy, I didn't care about global conglomerates and secret wars. I cared about people. Maybe it's the wrong thing to do, maybe I'm just an emotional sucker, and maybe I'm just dancing to your manipulations, but I'd have a harder time sleeping at night if I just let her go."

There's a slight twitch of a smile as she speaks back to me. "I see. You really a bleeding heart, aren't you?"

"I think 'has a soft spot' is better. I'm not so naive and dangerously softhearted."

"Of course, my apologies for insinuating as such."

"It's fine."

The rest of the meal is eaten in silence. I occasionally glance up, finding Meusel thinking about something, or at least she's got that kind of expression on her face. Maybe she's thinking about the response she's going to give to me regarding my inquiry into this 'M'.

"Thank you very much for the company. Excuse me." Meusel says as soon as her food is finished. "I'll have someone collect the trays later."

With that, she leaves the room, not saying anything else.

Despite her sudden exit, I can't help but feel like… something changed.

The days after that, Meusel doesn't come around to eat with me, almost as if she's deliberately avoiding me. I don't think I said anything to really set her off, though.

Approximately five days after that incident, at dinner time, Meusel walks into the room with a strangely clearly not handcooked dinner. It's a medium sized pizza box along with what smells like buffalo wings, plus a full roll of paper towels.

"Lazy?"

"Not in particular."

Maybe they're just running low on resources or something. I don't know the full mechanics of everything here, but it feels doubtful that in this facility, it's only those three.

"It's nice to see you again."

"Geez, you must give the women at IS Academy heart attacks like that if you talk that way to them." Meusel says with a small huff as she sets the box down on the table.

"I didn't take you as the type to get so bothered about that."

"Hmph. Besides, I'm sure you enjoyed the peace and quiet. It's not hard to tell that I've been putting you on edge."

"Well, I get kidnapped, then you come here and have friendly chats with me for a while. Of course I'm confused." I say, sitting down at the table. "So, to what do I owe this occasion?"

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted to resume our conversations."

"Is having something 'normal' so important to you?"

"You could say it's everything to me." Meusel mumbles, glancing behind her. Does she not want the others to know…? "For the one who has always been with Phantom Task, especially."

I want to say it's absurd to think that she's grown up with them, but then I remember that two students at the Academy went to attack Odama. If they got their hands on them as low as fifteen years old, it's entirely possible they've gotten their hands on younger people.

"There was once a girl who forgot where she belonged."

I almost say something, but the look in Meusel's eyes tell me to keep quiet.

"For a while, she thought she was going to be a doctor. She quite liked children, too, working as a camp counselor when there was downtime. However, she was quickly reminded of the place she belonged to. Her skills at manipulation and drawing out things from others, made her quite a formidable manager. No usual tricks could escape her eye. Thus, it fell upon her to watch over two rather unruly employees."

It's not like she was being subtle about it. She must have been raised outside of Phantom Task's influence at first, or at least ignorant of it. But it was on her like a shadow from the beginning.

"By chance, how did the girl forget where she belonged?"

"It simply drifted from her mind, as the years went by. Being a doctor soon took the forefront, with only her mother reminding her of the life she was expected to lead later. But eventually, that mother succumbed, and so the girl drifted under a loose collar, only to be yanked in at the most inconvenient of times."

"I see."

I think I can see the picture now. Meusel's mother was a member of Phantom Task. She was raising her child to be another member within it when she died, perhaps in the field. Thus, Meusel was freer to grow without her mother's influence badgering her. However, they kept an eye on her from the shadows, ready to activate her when necessary. And just when she thought she would be making it, they came for her. It seems to fit their MO so far. Phantom Task doesn't seem to make a habit of big, public events, unlike the Sarashikis who are very much out in the open. Even the whole thing with Sullivan… she really did come out of nowhere. They're basically in your own shadow.

"So, why now?"

"Well, for once in my life, I wanted to be, say, 'radically honest'."

"Is that so?"

For once in her life… does she anticipate dying, soon? There must be something happening soon, then. But even so, does she not consider that time before she was dragged into Phantom Task as genuine…? No, I see how it is. She might have been living 'honestly', but part of her knew there was always something in the background.

However, acting now, as the manager of the ones here, telling me this so I know, without any strings supposedly attached, she can admit her past to me, and perhaps be truly honest about it. So, that's how it is, huh?

"So, dinner?" She asks, gesturing to the pizza. "It's going to get cold, otherwise."

"Sure."

"I wasn't sure what you preferred, but I figured that pepperoni was a safe bet."

I nod as she opens up the box, indeed revealing a full pepperoni pizza.

As we eat that, along with the other box that has wings in it, I can't help but wonder…

...is something about to happen? Regardless if it does, I can't help but feel as if there's a bigger picture here. I've been told so far Phantom Task are the bad guys, but I think I'm missing context here. It definitely isn't Stockholm Syndrome, though. I still want to get out of here and feel a need to return to IS Academy, but with all this knowledge of the shuffling going on in the world, I can't help but think that there's definitely things being hidden from me on all ends.

So, in the end, I'm just going to do what I normally do, then. Continue onward, day by day, and just try to do what my ethics tell me is right…

Wheeeeee.

Sorry for the slight 1 day schedule slip. I had a tabletop game last night, which is why I missed it.

So, that was fun. Mostly a Meusel oriented chapter, obviously, and I tried to write her as kind of a foil to Galen. I didn't want to make her the leader nor someone who was evil, as I thought it was better to have her just be an arm of Phantom Task. Both of them amusingly seek the truth, albeit for different reasons.

I did enjoy the irony of the situation, too, wherein IS Academy has constantly kept Galen in the dark, but here comes Meusel from a secret organization who basically just spills things to him if he asks.

I don't know if I'll have one more chapter with Meusel as a focus though, or if I'll just move along in the plot. I feel like this chapter characterized her enough. She's a member of Phantom Task, but clearly has doubts about being there and seeks something outside of it—or perhaps, to escape it if you read into her dialogue that way. Galen provides then, an out or a catalyst for her actions, depending on how you look at it.

I did also like giving Meusel the signature thing that Galen uses, i.e. microexpressions, really just to add to that 'foil' mechanic of hers. Sort of in a 'not so different' way, which you could make the case for is the dynamic between them.

Review reply time, go!

UserShit: Yeah, I can see what you mean by Sullivan's thing going by too fast. I think I could have expanded it to be a whole chapter, but something about that itched me the wrong way. I also wanted to avoid switching Point of Views from here on out, so that's why we're focusing on Galen. I'm glad that you enjoyed Chifuyu and Galen's relationship, though. Thanks for your time!

Kerlongsj Evert Orlejov: I found that scheduling helps me keep on track, such as "I should write today" rather than "Naaaah next week". Also hahaha, I'm glad that was the reaction. I had way too much fun with writing what was a confession scene but without either of them uttering "I like you". Also I would agree Galen's making a bad choice, but I thought it spoke more to the fact Galen was pushed to make an irrational choice when his friends were on the line. Thanks for reading!

Neovilus Alpheim: Welcome back! And haha, the office drama has been fun, but I think I just wanted to take a small detour from it. Plus, this'll fuel a lot of office drama if Galen makes it back successfully. Also I feel that Chifuyu would be the former, not really making romantic gestures in public and trying to look professional, but in private would be a little bolder. However, I think it was also done in response to their situation; Chifuyu was cognizant of the situation and doing anything too bold would just stress Galen out more, so she went for something more subtle. Thanks for dropping by!

Anyways, I don't have too much else to comment on, but let me know what you think. See you all next time!