A small speaker broke into their conversation with Corvo's flat, cold drawl. [b]'Student number 01856-24, Cromwell. Your friend can wait outside for a moment boy, but you and I need to have a little chat. The door is open.'[/b] The line fell silent and the door unlocked with an audible click. Once Syrus stepped inside, he would find himself in an oddly unembellished office lined with computer terminals and filing cabinets. There were enough security monitors to cover the entire school grounds from here; Corvo undoubtedly had a formidable intelligence network. The Head Instructor waved him toward a seat to one side and begun talking regardless of whether Syrus took it. [b]'... You may not know much about me boy, but I know more about you than anyone else in this country. I know all about your... gift. [i]And[/i] I understand why you would want to keep it hidden.'[/b] He leaned forward across the desk, chin resting on steepled fingers. [b]'However, you are an asset to this Garden, an investment. I have poured more money into your education since coming here than most SeeD contracts earn the company. Do you understand what I mean, boy? [i]You owe me.[/i] And with God as my witness, I shall see a return on my investment.'[/b] The old man's eyes drilled into Syrus, unflinching and unsympathetic. [b]'So the next time you feel like running away, spare a thought for me and the lengths that I will go to to ensure your loyalty. Am I understood?'[/b] Another member of staff might have tried to camouflage Garden's intentions regarding the world's first Sorcerer, dressing them up with pretty words; Corvo did no such thing, laying the truth of Syrus' relationship to the organisation out bare. He was an asset, one paid and cared for by Garden; in return for that support, he was to do as he did best and fight. [b]'... I have high hopes for you within SeeD. Do not disappoint me. Now... please send in that young lady.'[/b]

---

[b]'Man... soldiers are assholes. This one guy nearly cut off my arm, ya know?'[/b] The warm sensation in his chest mumbled something in reply and Kein sighed. First thing he had done on return to Garden was set out to find this girl, but naturally she had found him first. To be exact, she had tazed him and dragged his unconscious body back to her dorm. When he awoke, Kein had been bathed, dried and was resting on someone else's bed in a bathrobe... He had long since stopped being surprised by his girlfriend's antics though. [b]'He didn't cut anything important.',[/b] the mumbling voice replied. One eye poked up from under the covers, giving Kein a cheeky smirk. [b]'I checked.'[/b] A playful giggle soon erupted into raucous laughter, enough for the neighbour to hammer on the wall for quiet. The girl stood, revealing a prim and proper SeeD uniform with an instructor's badge marked Yoko Ono. [b]'Come on, oh mighty conqueror. Let's get some dinner.'[/b] As Kein got dressed, he spared a thought for those in Dollet, the innocents who had lost their lives, the comrade that he had never known, even the soldiers he had fought. He was starting to understand why Yoko was so flippant about death... laughing made it so much easier to deal with. [b]'I'm leaving without you!'[/b] Kein stumbled over himself running for the door.