umisabaku:

Sayuri spends a lot of
time observing the mutant children when they first start living on the base.
She, like all of the humans on this base, wonders a lot about their past, and
what the scientists were thinking when they created them.

For one thing, she
wonders why so many of them are male. Was that a preference of the scientists?
Or—and she shudders to think—did the women just not make it out?

She wonders why the
only girl who made it out clearly isn’t a soldier, like the rest. She wonders
if that was sexism on the part of the scientists—did they not think women could
be soldiers?

And she wonders what
the boys think about this lone girl in their company. What is she to the
others?

*

The first time she
catches one of the other Privates eyeing the thirteen year old girl in a
distinctly leering fashion she’s about to deck the man without warning.

Blue (literally) beats
her to it, as in a bright blue flash the man goes flying, and there’s a
snarling teenage boy glowing in bright lights saying, “Look at her again and
I’ll snap your neck.”

“Blue,” the girl
chides.

Sayuri makes a mental
note, and continues to observe.

*

It’s not just Blue,
later named Aomine, although he is the most vigilant. Midorima will help her
move heavy objects, Kise can be just as watchful as Aomine, even Murasakibara
will sometimes position himself as a shield between Momoi and what might be a
threat.

Is it because she is
“the girl?” It is disappointing to Sayuri, although she’s not sure why she
would expect human experimentation scientists to be a little more progressive
when genetically designing superhumans.

*

“Momoi-san, I do not
think it is a good idea for you to venture out at night,” Sayuri overhears
Kuroko say one day. (Kuroko, who of all the Miracles, is not the most
athletically inclined).

“Tetsu-kun! Not you
too! Don’t be so paranoid.”

“I am sorry,
Momoi-san. Old habits die hard.”

“Well, it’s not the
same anymore. We saw to that, remember?”

“Yes, I know.”

“You’re not in danger
anymore,” Momoi says.

“Yes,” Kuroko says.
And leaves it at that.

Not the same, Sayuri repeats in her mind. You’re not
in danger anymore.

*

There’s a time to be
devious when trying to wheedle answers out of the Miracles, and there’s a time
to be blunt. She eyes Aomine and says, “Why do you protect Satsuki?”

“I protect all of
them,” Aomine snarls. And Sayuri nods once, allowing for her error. Asking
Aomine was a mistake. He does protect all of them.

So she asks Midorima
next, because he is the most likely to give her a straightforward answer.

He pushes up his
glasses and doesn’t look at her when he says, “Because she’s our control
tower.”

Sayuri thinks through
this and says slowly, “Your data analyst.”

And it’s more than
that, she realizes.

In chess, the king is
a largely stationary piece. More useless than a pawn. But if you lose the king,
you lose the game.

You’re not in danger
anymore.

Old habits die hard.

“Without Satsuki on a
mission, you could all die.”

Midorima doesn’t
confirm this, but Sayuri thinks about how occasionally, they’ll talk about a
mission where Satsuki got bad information and not all of them made it back. How
terrifying it must be, for them to venture out without any information at all.

“I see,” she says.

A/N: ahaha, sorry this
took so long, friend! And that it went in a somewhat completely different
direction than you were probably imagining. It was an interesting concept to
explore, though, so I hope you enjoyed! =D