The sound of a loud voice broke through the peaceful, dreamless sleep of the young woman who laid half-covered on the firm bed. Mei groaned as the voice continued, dragging her reluctantly into reality. She had gotten precious few hours of sleep the previous night, but then again, it had been worth it. She didn’t often find herself with a day off, so she had taken advantage of it, allowing herself to indulge in whatever pleasures she saw fit.<br/><br/>She felt a slight heading blooming in the back of her skull, the pulsing growing steadily stronger with each grating word that was yelled through the door. “Alright, alright! I’m up!” she called back, groaned as she forced herself to sit up and turned so that her legs dangled off the edge of the bed. She felt some relief when the footsteps receded, telling her that the catalyst for her growing headache had gone.<br/><br/>Reaching her arms above her head, she stretched, rolling her shoulders, and manipulating her arms to loosen up her muscles and wake her body up. From there, she stood and cross the room, opening a drawer and pulling out a bottle, dumping a few pills in her hand before stowing the bottle back in the drawer. She tossed the pills into her mouth and swallowed before retrieving some water to further wash them down.<br/><br/>The last thing she needed was to go into a mission with a pounding headache. She needed to be focused, and that was particularly difficult when your brain was wracked with pain. It seemed that she didn’t have time to dawdle, so she hopped in the shower only briefly, both to wash off and to help her wake up. She then dressed in her uniform, tying her long brown hair back and pinning it into a bun.<br/><br/>Satisfied that she looked presentable, she gathered her things and headed out the door. If she felt any further lingering side effects from the previous night’s adventures, she didn’t show it as she took on her usual air of calm and collected. On her face was the nonchalant smile she almost always wore, softening what might have otherwise been a stoic expression.<br/><br/>It was not often that she was the last person in the room, but it seemed that today was one of those rare days, as she looked around to see that everyone else had already taken their seats, their attention turning to her as she entered the room. Given that she had already been told that the others had been up for an hour, this didn’t surprise her. Another person might have felt embarrassed, self-conscious, or perhaps a bit uncomfortable in this situation, but she had never been one to indulge such silly emotions, so she appeared entirely unbothered as she took her seat, leaning back in the chair to wait for the briefing to begin.