[center][color=9966CC]Main Story — Oakridge Campus — Administration Offices[/color][/center]
Rui instinctively turned zher attention to the hallway when zhe felt a familiar presence approach Cid’s office. As if on cue, Dr. Edrik appeared from the corner and into the area, which Rui was waiting patiently in. Dr. Edrik —or Aethelberht Uisdean Edrik— was one of the key scientists of the Stigma Project and liaison between Oakridge Military Academy and Stigma Project headquarters. It was unlikely, however, that anyone knew about Dr. Edrik or his accomplishments without hearing about his family first: the House of Edrik was an influential family famous for putting their hands into just about anything, although they are primarily seen in the world of business and politics; they even had a seat in the Sanctum. With the name Edrik attached, no one dared to cross Dr. Edrik lightly—… except for Rui who just punched the man straight across the face the second he greeted zhim.

“87,” he said as he straightened himself up. He seemed to be waiting for the next punch to come within the next five seconds, but when the five seconds passed, Dr. Edrik’s eyebrow rose, “Are you done already? Seeing that you have 13 punches left, I thought you would have exhausted them to stop me from entering the room. You do realize this may be your last chance to punch me?” 
“That’s for me to decide.”
“Ah, I see: the illusion of choice. Well then,” Dr. Edrik fished out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped off the blood on his mouth, “shall we get this over with?” Dr. Edrik and Rui walked into Cid’s office and shut the door behind them. 

[hr]
“I don't like to keep my students in the dark, so I'll just tell you why you have been chosen. The reason is simple: all of you share a unique bond, a sense of trust that is difficult to create amongst students that have not known each other as you do, or been through the same hardships as all of you have.”

Dr. Edrick could just see the anger radiating off of Rui the more Cid spoke; he managed to press all the wrong buttons on Rui just by talking. It was a talent really. Or perhaps he was doing it one purpose? Perhaps it was both. Dr. Edrik did have to give credit where credit was due: Rui managed to keep zher rage contained successfully. He didn’t need another incident like the last one happening right now.

[center][color=9966CC]Some time before Graduation— Oakridge Campus — Dr. Edrik’s Office[/color][/center]
The doors went flying across the room when Rui barged zher way into his office, “WHY THE F**K AM I IN WARG WITH THEM, YOU MOTHER F******G S**M CHUGGER!?”

Unlike his assistant, who was absolutely mortified and ready to dive straight towards the panic button, Dr. Edrik looked at Rui with disinterest. He eyed the other scientist and shook his head, “No need. Leave us be.”

“B-but sir.”

As a laboratory that deals with both the Stigma Project and young Guardians, it was not rare for students go berserk. There was always security on standby for just such an occasion. Unlike other students, however, those who were second-class citizens and part of the Stigma Project were more likely to be put down at the spot or sent to a facility with maximum security where they will never see the day of light again. Dr. Edrik spent over a decade on test subject Rui, he would not have something like this end his work prematurely. “Do not worry, it is nothing more than a temper tantrum. I will be fine.” His assistant looked at him and then at Rui hesitantly. “You are excused,” he said sternly. 

After watching the scientist leave, Dr. Edrik continued his conversation with Rui, “I do not see what the problem is exactly. WARG is an elite force: you should feel honored that you were even considered to be a candidate. Are you aware how difficult it is for low lives like you to be in WARG?” 

“I get that I’m the equivalent to a condom to your people; use me just to throw me away along with all your little problems and dirty secrets. But that’s not what I’m talking about a****g! Why am I in the same team as [i]them[/i]?”

It took a moment for Dr. Edrik to realize that Rui was referring to zher childhood friends from Helston, “Well, I would have thought you would have been overjoyed by the news.” 

A good knuckle to the jaw told Dr. Edik that his assumptions were wrong. “80,” he rubbed his jaw, “congratulations, you now only have 20 more free punches before you are sent off to the pound.”

“They shouldn’t have to know about it! They don’t need to know!”

He was surprised that he didn’t laugh at the statement, “Do not tell me that you are afraid of them discovering how much of a monster you truly are? All, if not most, of your friends already know you are a devilish imp; I highly doubt their impression of you can get any worse… Or perhaps it will? Who knows, I am not an expert in human psychology.”

“Why did you put me in their team!?”
“I did no such thing. Administration made the final decision. I only provided the necessary information that was required from me.”
“Then why did they put me in their team!?”
“Because you are their ‘friend’.”
“B******t! That’s not the reason why!”
“I think you misunderstand me: they did not put you in their team out of generosity. They teamed you up with your friends so that it would be, theoretically, difficult for you to abandon them or outright murder them during a mission.” 

Rui stared at Dr. Edrik, speechless. But not for long. Soon, zhe started to burst into a maniacal laughter. “Seriously?” zhe asked no one in particular before continuing to laugh at an unfunny “joke.” The small student suddenly grabbed Dr. Edrik’s desk and flung it directly into the wall. The scientist sighed. Such a mess. “SERIOUSLY!?”

“We both know you would have attempted to escape the second the chance was presented to you. You cannot deny that the thought crossed your mind on multiple occasions.”
“So this is basically blackmail.”
“Oh please, you give yourself too much credit: this is not all about you. Unlike you, the other members of the team are not expendable. There were many other factors that determined the outcome of the Administration’s decision. Blackmail was only a fragment of it.”

Rui growled in response, but eventually fell silent and deep into thought. He wasn’t sure if zhe was listening anymore, “Think of it this way: you will be able to spend more time with your close friends and if you are lucky, you will die in their arms… or by their hand. You will not have to die in solitude… On the off chance that they decide to abandon you for what you are, then your belief about the world would simply be reaffirmed. You can die alone knowing that you were always right.”

[center][color=9966CC]Main Story — Oakridge Campus — Administration Offices[/color][/center]
“Now, you all know that I don't agree with most of Sanctum's decisions in this war, and I would never send newly graduated students to deal with them, but the Administration feels otherwise, and they think that this is a good opportunity for us,” he said and paused for a second. He looked at the Guardians to make sure everything he said sank in. When his eyes landed on Rui, he was met with a judging stare that said, “Excuses. All you have are excuses. You’re all the same” in silence. Cid didn’t let that stop him from finishing his briefing, however. 

[center][color=9966CC]After the Mission Briefing — Oakridge Campus — Administration Offices[/color][/center]
Dr. Edrik approached Olivia, “Ms. Celestine, may I have a moment of your time?” It was a rhetorical question of course. The scientist escorted the newly appointed leader into a room where he, Olivia, and Cid could sit down while having enough table space to show off important documents. “As leader,” Dr. Edrik began as soon as everyone sat down, “you have many responsibilities. You obviously do not need me to tell you this, however, I am here to tell you that you will have additional responsibilities that many WARG leaders do not have.” He opened the unusually thick file on Rui and selected specific documents for Olivia to read. “Before I talk about your additional responsibilities, I first must explain the current situation Rui is placed in. As you may or may not know, [b]it[/b] is a second-class citizen. As such…”

[hr]
The room was filled with silence. It was hard for Dr. Edrik to tell what Olivia was thinking or feeling as she stared at the documents that lay before her. Suspecting that she was not actually reading the papers anymore, he collected them and replaced them with a number of contacts that needed her signature. As he started to get ready to leave, he began to explain what the contacts were for, “You will need to read the fine print for the details, but the contract on your left states that you fully acknowledge your duty and that you promise you will keep the lab up to date on Rui’s condition. I know for a fact that Rui will not contact us itself, so it is vital that you keep record and report to us. The contract to your right basically grants pardon to any crime that you, and those under your command, do against Rui. It tries to avoid saying it outright, but it gives you permission to kill government property. So no charges will be pressed against you if and when you do dispose of Rui.” Dr. Edrik checked the time and gathered his belongings to leave, “Now you must excuse me, Ms. Celestine. I have other pressing matters to attend to. Please be sure to turn in the documents before you prepare for your mission. We cannot allow your team leave without them.” If Olivia said anything —protest or even a simple goodbye— Dr. Edrik did not respond. It seemed as though he would have left the room without uttering a single word, but then he stopped at the entrance. “I will not be surprised if you are hesitant to murder someone you consider a friend, but you will be doing the world and Rui a favor by putting it out of it’s misery. It is no coincidence that Guardians involved in the Stigma Project are prone to attracting ‘negative’ spirits. Ending Rui’s life will always be a mercy kill.” Then he left.

“Ethel, wait.” Cid chased the scientist, leaving Olivia alone in a room with pieces of paper that demanded her signature.

“You should know better than to be calling Rui an ‘it’ in front of Olivia, Ethel.”
“And you should know better than to be playing favorites, Cid. It is unprofessional.”
“I care about all my students.”
“There are exactly 195 ‘its’ in this academy alone. If you truly cared about them, you would have done something, anything, to change their situation.”
“Do you honestly think I agree with second-class citizenship?”
“You can talk about how much you disagree about it as much and as long as you want Cid, but actions speak louder than words. We had 215 ‘its’ yesterday and we still have 195 ‘its’ currently enrolled here; twenty of them officially graduated and are forever out of your reach. You had your chance since the very first second-class citizen was admitted to this academy, Cid. Stop pretending you care. At this point, you only come off as a hypocrite. Now that we have wasted enough of our precious time on a trivial matter such as ‘what pronoun should we call Rui,’ I must leave immediately or I will not have enough time to help [i][b]it[/b][/i] get ready for the mission. I am sure you have your own work to focus on as well.”

The two older men entered the waiting room where, true to it’s name, Rui was waiting in. “We are done here,” Dr. Edrik announced.

Rui approached him anxiously, “Does… does she know?”
“Yes.”
“Is she going to tell the others?”
“She will decide whether or not to tell the others… though I did advise not to. At least, not until the team gets used to their new position.”
“How’d… she take it?”
“I believe you will find out soon enough. Why do you ask? Are you finally going to use up your punches if she cried?”
Rui grinned, “I might do the exact opposite, actually.”
“I am not entirely sure if I want to know what the ‘opposite’ of a punch is. Remember, I only agreed to punches, nothing else.”
“I know,” Rui finally looked at Cid. Out of habit zhe was about to change to a blank expression, then zhe remembered what the meeting with Olivia meant. Rui smirked at Cid, “I suppose this means you finally got rid of me. Oh, you don’t need to say anything, old geezer; the feeling is mutual. I hope I never see you again. Goodbye, Headmaster. Cid. Dysley.” Rui presented a big authentic smile full of malice that managed to appear angelic. It had been years since Cid saw Rui smile at him. Zher last words to him were, “Thanks for nothing” before zhe stomped zher way out of the admissions department with Dr. Edrik tagging along behind zhim. Half way through, Rui snapped the Oakridge student ID card in half, threw it to the ground, and stepped on it for good measure.

Cid lost Rui’s respect ages ago; he betrayed any hope Rui had in him and “adults” in general. He had years to redeem himself and he failed. With Rui officially out of his jurisdiction and deemed “useless” by zhim, Rui was more than happy to say what he already knew to Cid’s face. He half expected Rui to brutally attack him. Then again, the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.