Steel Conference (Seth & Umiruka)

"Come to the Branch Manager's office. Asap."

His cold fingers slid on the screen of phone like a recently mopped floor. The message vanished from his screen as he let out a large exasperated sigh while slipping his phone into his back pocket. Seth's footsteps echoed throughout the aquatic halls of Magallanica, his snowy white hair covering his face, his eyes, and even his sharp white fangs; trying to avoid staring into the eyes of anyone who might've looked at him funny. Embarrassed? Ashamed? He didn't feel any of these sheepish emotions. All he could think about was how he was crushed and defeated at the hands of some pompous figure who was anything but supercilious. Her heel drilled into the ground asserting herself as a wall that Seth had no way of overcoming and her enjoyment of his situation, borderline sadist. The calming blue atmosphere of the ocean life was being diluted by a fervent obsession to beat Chris and anyone else who opposed him and to prove that he was strong - strong enough to fulfill Mystozan's destiny.

"Probably some self important official wanting to see me about what happened." he said imagining a suit standing before him, arms folded, ready to give him a slap on the wrist with a reading of the branch's "code of conduct" or something. "Wouldn't be here if she had just accepted my rematch... or better yet if I had won in the first place." he said before letting out a small "Cocky bitch" under his breath and kicking the floor. Seth's head looked up at the door, his hair split evenly across his face as he stared at the black and purple flag of his branch. His hand gently raised and his index finger bent. Two loud knocks at the door, scaring away the schools of fish behind the glass. He waited a few minutes, thinking whoever was behind was finishing up cleaning the premises. He got annoyed and grabbed the handle of the door and to his surprise was able to turn all the way.

"Might as well." Seth thought as his cold hand pushed open the door, flying on it's hinges.

Umiruka sighed, sitting in a comfy, black cotton chair in her personal office. It was a very cozy-looking place, decorated like a ship cabin with fine, sturdy, and thick wood... or rather, it was painted to look like that. The golden brown walls were adorned with various pirate flags, some bearing the typical skull and crossbone design while others had either Granblue's clan insignia or Magallanica's symbol drawn on. She had her own aquarium to her right, with her prized, runic cutlass hung up on the left with numerous other weapons utilized by Nightmist's crew. The homey-feeling of it was captured by how compact the space was, decked out nicely with a smooth, red carpet. Tables took up some room with varying pirate-themed souvenirs and a framed picture of a beautiful, red-haired woman with a scar - almost like stitches - which must've been a story of its own. At her desk, an association-provided computer sat at the side, numerous papers on another, and a black name plate with her name. Behind her at the center wall was a large map of Magallanica - seemingly the actual nation itself and not the branch building.

The pirate woman was a little upset, if she had to be honest. Her huffing and pouting made it obvious... She had gotten word from Zoo about one of their registered fighters "causing a scene" with one of their employees. While she had some words about Varess and his understudy... Rikuto's a good man and he wouldn't hire any delinquents for his branch. Which meant it was probably one of her own that was the offending party. Umi kept her position of leaning back, bringing a hand to run up her soft cheek, coming to press lightly through her pretty hair as she nursed a headache.

There better be a good explanation for this.

Hearing footsteps, she didn't bother to address the eventual knocking on her door as she mentally prepared herself. Making sure she had a drink on her desk ready in case of a flood of foolishness, she let the coming party open her door.

... And it was Seth. With how impatient the snowy haired lad was, she had a feeling this would happen sooner or later... Just not this soon.

"Alright, start talking." Umi spoke, still slumped back a little in her chair as her tone was a little tired and sarcastic. "I heard something went down?"

"Oh. It's you." Much to his surprise and disappointment, thinking it'd be someone else in her place. However, from the atmosphere to the tone of her voice and her gesture, Seth knew that Umi wasn't here to offer him a plate of hot chocolate chip cookies. They both knew the purpose behind this meeting, which is why Seth wasn't too surprised to see her anyways. He wasn't sure how to begin his explanation because at the end of the day, it all resulted because he lost his fight.

"I got into a fight because my opponent wouldn't give me the match set." he said with his eyes staring at Umi's for a moment before darting to the side, avoiding eye contact.

"What, I'm not good enough?" Umi raised her brow, joking with her question in response to the disappointment in Seth's voice. He should be thankful it's her and not someone who would yell at him. That aside, the woman returned to her neutral expression, seeming to be pretty comfortable in her seat as the boy summarized what happened. As she rested her arms at her armrests and leaned a cheek to her knuckles, she noted that he was avoiding eye contact. It was a bit akin to a child, having to tell their parent what they did wrong at school after a call from the teacher.

Unfortunately, she wasn't the boy's mother. "Match set, huh? Was this for the event at Zoo or something else?" Umi knew the entire story, of course, but she decided to let him explain his whole side of the story. "And how did you get into a fight over a match set?"

"Yeah, at the Zoo event." he said just before she asked how he got into the fight.

"My opponent was... being highly arrogant after she took a game off of me and didn't want to give me the match set, kept putting me down and I ended up grabbing her hand and she 'restrained' me." Seth grabbed a seat and held his head down in his head.

"She was just so full of herself and I didn't want her to end off like that. But I didn't mean to grab her, it just happened."

"Well, buddy," Umi fixed her position, sitting upward as her hand rested itself upon a mouse, bringing up information on the Zoo Branch event. "I'm not sure if you were aware, but... In the rules, it states a fighter must win a game against... one of the gold card holders I'm reading there." Admittedly, her tone was a bit condescending, but that was because the boy should already know he was in the wrong. While she had plenty of blame to sling at Chris for her arrogant personality, it still came down to... "A game, singular. Not plural." The pirate woman spoke sternly. "I'm pretty sure they even explained this." Varess may have been a lazy asshole in her eyes, but he still did his job.

Even so, the Megacolony Clan Leader loved to instigate fights, making it her goal to upset people in varying ways and degrees. Umi couldn't entirely hold it against him for becoming as frustrated as he did. "Chrisaline Egao's not the most pleasant person to be around." She gave the name of the person he had got into it with, leaning back in her chair. "Though, there are still rules and guidelines that were given to you. She was under no obligation to give you a full set, and she can get away with calling out physical contact. A little devious minx, but..." Lord only knows how she "restrained" him. The branch director can't exactly call out brutality if Seth grabbed her first. They would argue into the ground it was justified self-defense against a hostile individual, so she couldn't back him up if he wanted to deliberate the issue further.

"... You weren't allowed to gain any points toward your FICA score because of the disqualification. This has to be a lesson of learning how to cool it."

"I was being cool." he said as he stood up.

"Besides, the rules of the event aren't the rules of the game. I play this game seriously to get better and improve, so my patience for arrogant people or self important names and titles is very short as it is. They need to either put up or shut up. She should've played the match set if she felt she was superior to everyone instead of being a cu-."

Seth's phone buzzed cutting off his sentence prematurely, although for the better. His temper spilling into his words like an oil rig over an ocean. He checked it but wasn't anything important and set it to vibrate to prevent further interruptions.

"I'll just play in the next event, provided I don't see her smug face and if I do, I'll just beat her easy." He spoke confidently although still annoyed. "So we finished here?"

"... Alright, maybe I wasn't clear enough." Umi took a moment of pause before speaking. If this was how he was going to respond, then he was only more likely to get into even more trouble at future events. She sighed, clearly irritated as she was either dealing with a brat or a delinquent. How did Jellal Kisaragi handle this...? There wasn't exactly time to ask, but Jellal made her come up with an idea. His 'journey' involved finding other Aqua Force users, and all their personalities didn't exactly mesh well with them. However, if he wanted to realize the destiny of his avatar, he would have to learn patience, understanding, and make adjustments to his behavior in order to do service to Mystozan.

"Match rules don't apply to every event, every tournament - things are done differently. And for someone who wants to play this game seriously, you're going to lose your chance at getting anywhere if you can't control yourself. And you definitely won't be able to defeat Chrisaline with that attitude. So, I'm gonna assign you a chaperone, and if you keep acting like this, I'll call them your babysitter." Umi started sternly, then her tone became much more cocky as she was driving home that he was acting out. She pulled out a pen from her desk drawer, taking a spare sheet of paper and writing down a message: 'Watch over this young man and assist him in his journey. You are the most fitting to do so. -Umi'. Tearing it away from the rest, she slid it toward him across the desk. "There's someone who can help you and play you, tough guy. Her name is Aoi Undyne, one of the names I mentioned to you before. I've heard from one of our clan leaders she likes to hang out at Card Capital Two. You don't have to go, but I suggest you do, because if I hear about you in trouble again..."

The pirate woman used the armrests as support, getting to her feet and glaring at the runt with a menacing glare. "Walkin' the plank be the least of ye worries, understood?" Her seadog dialect returned, her voice threatening as her hair cast about a violent shadow over her eyes.

"The hell is this?" he said taking up the note before him and reading it through after hearing that he'd need a chaperone. He sighed as he folded the paper into a triangle and sat it back down on Umi's desk.

"No offense, because I understand what you're trying to do but I can take care of myself." he said in a particular tone of defiance. "No parents and Jellal is hardly around, it's always been me. I doubt someone else will make a difference."

"I'm capable of bailing myself out of situations, so I'll just do better next time." Seth turned away and headed for the door, grabbing hold of the handle. "Oh and I'll try to stay out of trouble."

"Come back here and take this paper." Umi took her seat again, folding her ams and speaking a command in a way that conveyed she'd likely nail it into his hand if he didn't. "Whether you can take care of yourself or not, you're a member of this branch and you're my responsibility. No parents and Jellal not being around is even more reason for me to look out for you. Besides, it'll be good for you to make a friend."

"Never had a friend. Certainly not desperate enough to want one either." he turned around letting go of the handle and approaching to Umi's desk. Just what is her deal? What's in it for her to be invested in Seth's well being? The reputation of her branch, the feeling of being able to boss and discipline people, or perhaps it was a favor to look after the cold child? She's just a Branch Manager with others to worry about, whom were worth more and had less trouble to deal with. If it were a certain someone, said person would've just let Seth gone into the wind and leave him to lick his own wounds, or so the white haired boy thought at first. However, hearing that Umi considered him as a member and the fact that she went out of her way to help him and talk to him, he decided to not betray the hope she had placed onto him.

"But, I'll go meet this person only for my objective and to see if they're a good fighter or not." Seth approached and his hand slipped on the paper handed to him by Umiruka. The thought of this person being anything relevant to him - let alone a chaperone - was the last thing on his mind. Getting better and doing better at this event was his focus.

"I guess I'll head off then if I don't have any punishments." Seth said with his hand gently waving behind him at Umi before walking out the door. "I'll pay Card Capital 2 a visit then but if they're anything like that other girl at the event then...can't help you." After closing the door gently behind him and showing the note he had, Seth leaned his back on it while lifting his head upward.

"Thank you." The words were as soft and fragile as a snowflake, as well as the whisper. A smile ran across his face both because of her kindness and of the thrill of a chance to redeem himself. A new challenge.

Next stop, Card Capital Two.

Umi was stern because she cared, having room for her heart for every last person in Magallanica - every last member of her crew. As the leader of the greatest band of pirates in history, Seth was as important as the others under her banner. So, like a good mom, she wasn't going to be deterred by his rebellious phase. Instead, the woman did what she thought was best: show a desire to discipline and offer a solution without coddling. Aoi Undyne was a ridiculously spirited young lass from the bits she learned as the gumball registered to the branch from overseas. That, and Hana - Bermuda Triangle's Clan Leader - had nothing but good things to say. Thus... A problem child making friends with a little ray of sunshine should help immensely. "You won't regret it." She was glad he listened.

Punishment wise, he was only getting a warning and losing out on the event FICA, which would set him behind. Even so, he may be able to catch up if he makes progress for his goal. So, Umi remained in her chair as he was leaving, sighing contently in knowing she made the right choice. He would come to appreciate it later, not knowing he already appreciated it now.

"... Do you think I've done good, Ceres?" The director spoke somberly, getting up to take the framed photo in hand. Her expression was pained and sad, painted by a weary smile as she looked toward the bottle on her desk. "I'm gonna need a drink..."