"I'm sorry, little girl, but you cannot see Tasha Emerald River. You need to find your parents and stay with them whilst here on the university grounds."
The undersecretary of the College of Mana Delving felt inordinately uncomfortable in front of this girl and her piercing eyes, and her even more piercing knowledge. How did she know about his affair?
She neither responded to his statement, nor moved from in front of his desk, simply staring at him as if he hadn't spoken.
"I really must ask you to leave, young lady, I'm sorry."
The girl nodded solemnly, briefly holding her ground, still. But eventually, after a drawn out moment, she rolled her eyes and began to walk away.
"I'll be back, Dai," she said over her shoulder with a jaunty, sarcastic wave. "We can do this for as long as you like."
Dai felt his blood pressure rising as the girl walked away. The nerve!
Unseen by both parties, a woman stole away from where she'd hidden behind a pillar, following after the little girl.
---
Six hadn't thought this through, she realized belatedly. It was much too late to have second thoughts, after she went rogue and destroyed her BPG bracelet. She'd thought that perhaps people would be more likely to trust a child, and that she'd chosen an age high enough to avoid this exact sort of nonsense. But apparently she would've been better off with a slightly older body.
Too late now... much too late. This was her form forever, now, and she would grow old and die just like any other person. But all of that knowledge HQ had gifted her would not go to waste - her blackmail data against Dai rolled around in her mind, and she would keep at him, feeding him dribbles until he cracked. He was her only way to Tasha, and Tasha was vital to her plans.
Or was he the only way?
Six sat at her table at the al fresco cafe on campus, having a snack. When the eyes on her back finally became annoying, she called out to the nearby table.
"I know you're watching me, you know," she said. "You might as well just come on over and we can talk."
"Gah," she heard a woman say, as the woman strode over to Six's table and sat down across from her.
Six waited her out in silence, until the woman gave a solid tsk and finally started talking on her own.
"I can see why Dai is annoyed with you. But I'm too curious to let it go."
"Knowledge is a virtue," Six responded around a straw, bringing another scowl to the woman's face.
"Maybe this was a bad idea."
The woman began to rise, brushing non-existent dust from her red Initiate's uniform, and flicking back turquoise hair that was not actually in the way of her face.
"Wait, wait," Six said, holding up a hand and speaking candidly for the first time. "I'm sorry, Tasha, I just... I've built up such a wall, and it's so hard for me to be honest with people. Sit, please."
If Tasha Emerald River felt surprise that the girl knew her name, she didn't show it as she nodded curtly and sat back down at the table, the metal of the chair scraping on the pavement.
"So," Six said with a sigh. "I'd like you to delve me. You're looking for a particular thing that's out of place."
Tasha's turquoise eyebrows raised in doubt. "What am I looking for? If you have a disease, you'd be much better off just going to a doctor."
Six laughed, a tinkle of silver bells rolling across a floor.
"No, I'm not here for that. I want you to examine my vertebral arteries, near the subclavian. Fine details. This is just to save us from a lot of convincing so we can get to the fun stuff."
Tasha closed her eyes, and a light breeze seemed to waft around her chair, even though nothing physically moved. The fallen leaves of a nearby tree rustled slightly as they shifted in the non-existent wind. Suddenly, Tasha's eyes shot open.
"Impossible!"
Six smiled winningly at her, and said, "Yes, yes it is. That's why I put it there. Can we skip the preliminaries now and talk about the thing for which I came here?"
---