Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

Yesu got to her feet.

Her squad mates reached desperately to grab her.

Too late.

She was already out of the bushes.

James fell flat.

"This will not end well."

Yesu advanced towards the tree.

Towards 11-A’s Scale carrier.

"Yesu, get back here!" Carrots hissed sharply, trying hard not to be loud.

Yesu ignored her completely.

"Hey."

She called out casually, with ease.

Apollo’s eyes found her instantly.

For some reason unknown to her, Yesu slowed down a bit.

He didn’t seem startled or surprised to see her at all. Neither did he seem alarmed that a member of 11-D was approaching.

He just simply stared with that blank look on his face.

Yesu soon reached him.

They held each other’s gaze. An awkward silence followed.

Then Yesu managed a friendly smile.

"Hello there..."

The smile widened.

"Again."

That got him.

Apollo blinked, completely caught off guard.

Again.

That was definitely not what he was expecting.

Yesu’s eyes wandered to a corner.

There was a rope formed from two vines lying idly.

The last rope left from the ones Heidi had made.

Yesu went over and picked it up, flexed it to test its strength.

"Well, what do you know?"

She was pleasantly surprised.

"Nature does help out after all."

She coiled the rope neatly and returned to stand before Apollo.

Her attention drifted to his left foot.

"I see you’ve gotten rid of that strap thingy." She remarked. "Is your foot better now?"

Apollo’s gaze flickered to his foot, then back up.

Yesu was swinging the rope this way and that.

"I know Ranks are supposed to be daring and all, but that doesn’t mean you have to do dangerous stuff all the time. One should always try to be careful."

Apollo went still.

He automatically glanced at his foot again.

A quiet huff escaped from him.

"Careful?" He said under his breath.

What irony.

He raised his eyes back to her.

And frowned.

Yesu leaned closer in surprise.

"Whoa. Is that a facial expression?"

Apollo looked away.

"What do you want?"

He was back to being his usual uninterested self.

Yesu glanced at the rope in her hand.

"To capture you." She replied breezily. "And collect the Scales you’re carrying."

Apollo stared at her.

How could someone be so devastatingly straightforward?

And yet clueless.

"I don’t have them." He said simply.

Yesu clicked her tongue, shaking her head in disappointment.

"I suspected you might say something like that. But unfortunately for you," she tapped her ear. "My squad mate could hear them jingling from a mile away."

"You mean the ones hiding in the bushes?"

Yesu paused for a second.

Then nodded confidently.

"Yes. And not hiding, surveiling."

Apollo was unbothered.

"Surveiling for ten minutes." He gave a tiny nod. "Very strategic."

Yesu frowned at the sarcasm.

Carrots and James reluctantly came out of hiding.

But they kept a reasonable distance.

Yesu lit up as they emerged. She faced Apollo again.

"See? You’re outnumbered. Surrender yourself or the Scales."

"Yesu." James called with a sharp breath.

Apollo studied the two of them behind. They were both visibly injured.

James and Carrots shifted uncomfortably.

Yesu stepped in front of him, blocking his view of her squad mates.

"Surrender."

"I don’t want to."

It was plain. Simple. Effortless.

Yesu let her arms drop. She studied him from head to toe, a bit puzzled.

"I’m not really a fan of violence." She admitted. "So I’m going to give you one more chance."

Apollo let out a tired breath, looking away.

"No."

Silence settled between them.

Yesu sighed.

"Hey," she pointed the rope at him. "Can’t you see I’m trying to be the bigger person here?"

No response.

"Fine then."

She stooped down to his level and grabbed one of his arms.

Apollo stiffened.

She took his other arm.

And began tying both hands together with the rope.

James gasped.

Carrots dragged a hand down her face.

"Nope. I can’t do this." She said and turned to walk away. "I’m done."

James held her back.

"We can’t just leave her." He said helplessly.

Carrots glanced back.

Yesu was diligently tying her proclaimed captive.

Apollo remained stiff.

His eyes lowered to the rope around his wrists.

Then slowly brought his gaze back to Yesu.

And...

Stared. Just stared.

Dumbfounded.

Yesu tied the last knot securely.

She smiled in satisfaction at her work, dusted her hands and looked up at him.

"On your feet."

No response.

Carrots leaned closer to James.

"Let’s leave now while we still have the chance." She whispered.

James couldn’t get himself to move.

Yesu waited patiently for a reaction.

Nothing.

Apollo was still staring.

"On your feet." She repeated. "Soldier." She added as an afterthought.

There was a slight shift in Apollo’s demeanor.

Not particularly hostile.

Something between intrigue and annoyance.

"Make me."

His tone remained calm, not particularly bothered.

Yesu nodded. Absorbing the new challenge.

"Okay. But just so you know..."

She pointed a thumb in Carrots’ direction.

"My squad mate over there has Super Strength. I just watched her uproot a tree not too long ago and hurl it at some members of your squad."

Carrots’ eyes shone. She waved both hands in denial.

"No."

Yesu continued regardless.

"She’s done other really cool stuff too. There was this one time she lifted up a whole building..."

James gasped again.

Carrots’ mouth flew open.

"... clean off the ground. Not to mention that huge fight she had two weeks ago. Twenty-five to one. She beat them all."

Carrots clasped a hand to her chest in shock.

"So I wouldn’t mess with her if I were you." Yesu concluded.

Apollo didn’t budge.

"You’re bluffing."

Yesu made a face.

"Well, according to the rules of the Directive, bluffing is allowed."

"Believable bluffing."

Yesu rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah. Smarty-pants. Just give us the Scales and we’ll stop bothering you."

Apollo glanced at her squad mates.

They shrank backwards.

"I don’t think there’s a we." He said in observation.

At that moment, he also observed that Yesu had not tied the rope properly.

Some knots were a bit loose.

Yesu opened her mouth to say something in return—

Screech.

The walkie talkie in Apollo’s jacket cracked.

"Apollo."

Mahirah.

"Apollo, do you read me?"

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