Walking up to his room, he reached to grab his pack of cigarettes as they fell out of his hand, right before the new leader’s door. He frowned when he heard muffled voices.

Youji leaned closer to the door, trying to hear what his new teammate was saying to Manx.

“Thanks Manx. You couldn’t have picked a team with a different name? Very kind way of Persia to show his displeasure at my leaving Kritiker.” Whoa, the sarcasm in the new guys voice was pretty thick. And why hadn’t Manx said anything about the man being in Kritiker before?

“This is the only team that had a place for you that met your specific needs.” If this Aya-person was sarcastic then Manx certainly sounded bitter.

“Oh fuck off, Manx. Should you have my gratitude for dragging me back and not telling me in the beginning? How much say did you actually have in this Manx?”

“You listen to me, Abyssinian. Persia might have a soft spot for you because he feels guilty over what happened to you and yours but I certainly don’t. Kritiker chose your placement—“

She was interrupted harshly, the most emotion in Aya’s voice than Manx would ever hear again, “After having a nice consultation with their lovely psychiatrists, I’m sure.”

“Yes, after speaking to them! Why wouldn’t they, there certainly isn’t any other way to figure out how the fuck your mind works!” Youji almost gasped in shock, in all the time they had spent together, he had never heard Manx loose her cool like this.

“And they would know to, what with their of so subtle attempts at brainwashing.”

Manx gasped but didn’t deny it. Aya walked to the door, needing to get out, wishing he could get right back out of the organisation he had just walked back into. He might have done so, if they didn’t already have his sister…

He swung the piece of wood open only to have Youji, who had been leaning on the door slightly while listening, fall into the room, having lost his balance. Aya didn’t look back as he stated, “Then thank Kritiker for me instead Manx, for placing me in my new team.” He placed a large amount of scorn on the word ‘team’.

Manx started slightly as they heard the front door close, with a little more force than necessary. She looked at Youji, who was still sitting on the floor, though he was now leaning against the doorframe and smoking a cigarette. The handler sighed; there was a reason why ‘Aya’ knew about Kritiker’s psychiatrists, he had been required to visit them when the first Weiss had been destroyed. He had dealt with them, well, more like evaded them, until Rook was almost back to full performance and then he disappeared. But Kritiker, for some reason, had been adamant in retrieving him, not even Persia knew why they were so hard pressed to pull him back into their ranks. Yes the man was good, and quite capable of working on his own, if their informants were correct. They always were. He would do good work on private missions, needing the extra money for his sister. Manx pushed the thoughts aside, she’d think about it on some rainy day, but now she needed to have a little chat with Youji. ‘Let’s see how rusty your PI skills are Kudou,’ she mused.

“Youji, I want you to do something for me.”

He grinned obnoxiously, “hey, babe, I don’t mind doing favours for you. There's even a bed conveniently beside you. Gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘handler’, eh?” He turned a bit more serious at the look he received (he hadn’t had a much practice as he would in the future with death glares) and asked, “What is it?"

“Watch R…Aya. Tell me if his moods change suddenly, how he acts on missions, if he sleeps and eats properly, I want to know everything.”

Youji looked at her oddly for a moment, pensively, she supposed. He stood up, eyes narrowing slightly, but he agreed. She walked passed him, leaving what was now to be Aya’s room. He watched her go, with a frown, wondering if he was going to regret the decision he just made…

He turned his eyes towards the room, taking in the sparse furniture and the small amount of neatly labelled boxes. How would this man change the group that he had started to consider family?

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