Agency politics

Zeke shot up screaming, looking around frantically and terrified, accidentally tossing Red across the room. She hissed scurrying across the smooth tiles, her claws clicking and clacking on them, before leaping under the bed covers.

"FUCK!" Moon shouted.

"What!? What!? What's wrong!?" Zeke asked frantically looking around.

"YOU-" "SHUSH!" The nurse shouted, scowling at them. "THIS IS A HOSPITAL!"

The two of them shrunk in bowing their heads. "Sorry." They whispered.

Red peeked her head out, doing the same. The nurse walked off shaking her head.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Zeke hissed.

Red leapt onto his lap, crossing her arms at Moon, frowning at her.

"What's wrong with me!?" She hissed back. "You bonded with the Grimoire!"

"Not on purpose!"

Moon threw her hands up in the air frustrated and annoyed.

"You can't even read Quenderin." "Drowis-" "Don't you dare." She growled. He threw hands up.

She took a deep breath composing herself. "Okay. Has the Grimoire settled?"

Zeke took the Grimoire off the ground, flipping through the pages, showing them to Moon. Each one showed the exact same image of the map.

"What the fuck is that?" She snapped.

"It's a map, and we need to return this Grimoire to someone called Violetta." Red nodded standing on her hind legs, pawing at the cross.

"Of where!?" "Huh? What do you mean? It's a map." Zeke said. "Of what?" She said through her teeth.

"Well...it's a...huh." He trailed off, scratching his head, leaning it to the side. "You know, I don't know. They didn't really say."

Moon rolled her eyes, groaning and falling face first onto the bed. "Let's just get some sleep, we'll discuss this later."

"You're not gonna randomly scream are you?"

"I might, if you do some more dumb shit." "Like bond with another Grimoire?" He joked.

She tossed her pillow at him. He snickered, standing up to give her the pillow back.

"Doctors, said you need to keep your head up." "You shouldn't be using that thing as a pillow."

"It's fine. You know I don't feel anything anyway." He said stretching and lying on the ground, using the Grimoire as a pillow.

Red leapt up onto the bed, snuggling into Moon's chest. "Get some sleep Moon. Hopefully this is our chance to stay within the agency."

The two of them were violently woken up by a deafening ringing alarm. Red curled up, covering her ears, and hissing.

Moon rolled over covering her ears, frowning and cringing. Zeke groaned, reaching and pawing for the phone vibrating on the table.

"How are you two still asleep!?" Edelgard shouted.

Both shot up, with drowsy and weary expressions, and Red followed staring at her. "Get up! The both of you!" She yelled, clapping her hands. Shaking and shoving them.

"What the shit, Edelgard?" Moon said. "Why are you in a such hurry? It's only 7am."

"IT'S 12:30 IN THE AFTERNOON!" She shouted, opening the curtains.

"WHAT!" The two of them shouted. The three of them sprinted out of the hospital, in a frenzy, with Moon sprinting in her gown, and Red clinging onto her back holding it together.

They entered into a black Cadillac sedan and sped down the roads, weaving in and out of traffic.

"Surely, Seiros or Athena could get us there faster." Zeke said, in the driver passenger seat.

Edelgard held the horn down, equally as hard as the gas pedal. Moon was thrown from side to side in the back seat, trying her best to get dressed, with Red squeaking and hissing as she held on for dear life.

"They aren't suited to fly with more than one." Edelgard said, slamming the horn. "GET OUT OF THE WAY YOU FUCKING DUMBASS!" She shouted, dangerously weaving through the traffic.

"Also it would mess with how great my hair looks right now."

Zeke slowly turned, shooting her a concerned glare from the corner of his eyes. Reaching the airstrip in record time.

The three slumped onto the seats of the private jet, letting out a relieved sigh, as it took to the skies.

Red snuggled into Edelgard's lap, enjoying her gentle strokes. Moon wore a black pencil skirt, and white blouse, while Zeke continued to wear his ragged clothing.

"Alright, now before we talk with the Head of the Agencies, I want you two to promise me something." The two of them lurched forward.

"You two will let me do the talking, and not do or say anything dumb."

Moon and Zeke shared a look, before looking back to Edelgard. "We only promise to try."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Good enough."

The three arrived at the Head Agency building at 2:50pm. They operated out of a large steel domed building, patrolled not by soldiers, but by B and higher ranked Hunters. Wearing nice black suits and ties, their familiars stood by their sides, and weapons at the ready.

The three reached the front gate. The front guard was a sleazy bald man in a suit and his familiar, a giant blood red pelted hound, with a silver lance in hand.

"We're here to see the Head of the Agencies." Edelgard said. "I.D." He said, leering at Edelgard and Moon, with a seedy smile.

Zeke clenched his fists. The three of them raised their marks. "Go on." Moon and Edelgard went in first.

The guard spun his around to leer at them from behind. "Eyes front asshole." Zeke growled.

"What'd you say to me!?" He said grabbing Zeke by the throat. The hound sat up snarling at Red, sitting on his shoulder, who snarled and hissed back.

"You tryna pick a fight with me? Huh?" He said squeezing Zeke's throat, to no reaction.

"No. Just a chink, telling a dipshit how to do his job, and look at the right thing."

"Oh yeah?" He tried to squeeze even harder, not even feeling Zeke's throat give any budge.

"We can stay here all day, you're not gonna do anything to me. Now fuck off and do your job." Zeke growled, pushing his way past the guard.

He looked at his hand, before grabbing one of the steel stanchions, and crushing it to scraps.

He felt a shiver down run down his spine, before looking back to Zeke disappear around the corner.

'Just what rank is that kid?' Sweat beads formed on his forehead. Did he just assault a higher rank Hunter?

Zeke caught up with Edelgard and Moon waiting outside a set of white double doors. "What took you so long?" Moon asked.

"Had to use the toilet." Red nodded, changing the shoulder she was perched on.

Edelgard took a deep breath composing herself before opening the doors. It was a barren room, with no furniture other than one office desk and a chair.

The room was painted completely white, with scorch and slash marks littered across, and several fist shaped craters scattered around.

Except for the ceiling painted a striking onyx black with golden accents. Zeke and Moon followed Edelgard inside, looking around the empty room concerned and confused at the decor.

Edelgard cleared her throat, bowing at the turned chair. "Chairman Weaver. I'm here with the two that brought the Grimoire and took down the Colossal Centipede."

The chair spun around, with a lean statured man dressed in a dapper blue suit, holding a tablet. His mahogany hair slicked back, he looked at Moon and Zeke, glaring at them with his angular face. He smiled at them.

"I must apologise about the room. Hunters tend to become hostile, when they are laid off. After the tenth renovation, you kind of just stop caring about the decor."

He flicked through the tablet, glancing up at and Moon and Zeke every now and again. The two leaned in close to whisper to each other.

"This is the Chairman of all the Agencies? I was kind of expecting, someone way more menacing." Zeke whispered.

"I know, I could probably take him. Should we test him?" "Maybe?"

A vein bulged on Edelgard's forehead, listening to their conversation, and she clenched her jaw.

Timing it with Chairman Weaver looking down, she quickly spun around striking the both of them on the head. "Stop being stupid!" She hissed. "He's a S grade Hunter, he'll kill you both!"

"Something wrong, President Edelgard?" "Nothing at all!" She exclaimed turning around with a smile.

He stood up stretching, and paced over to them, tablet in hand. Standing head to head with Moon, he looked at her up and down.

"Moon Kim. 17 years old. Affected by green Rift Mana. Kinetic manipulation. C grade Hunter. Hmm roughly 180cm?"

"183." Moon corrected. Edelgard glared at Moon's response. "Sir...."

He walked off to inspect Zeke, looking down at him. "Zeke Chen. 17 years old. Red Rift. D grade Hunter. Quite short aren't you?"

"I'm just below average." He remarked pouting.

The Chairman snickered. "Your report is quite extensive Edelgard. He is sensitive about his height. It is impressive."

"Thank you sir." She bowed.

"However, I can't seem to understand your documentation of his Mana manifestation? It just says Durability?"

"Well, that's all he has, Sir." He stroked his chin, walking around Zeke. "Also says you've never activated your Demon's Blood." "Never learnt how to...sir."

"That does pose a problem. Who knows how much power you're not tapping into." He let out a sigh. In a flash, before it even processed in their minds.

Zeke crashed into the ground shattering it apart. Moon and Edelgard were blown back the sheer force from the attack.

Chairman Weaver's chop hovered over where Zeke stood. Staring back with unblinking eyes, Zeke panned over to Moon and then Edelgard, before standing up confused.

"Did you just hit me?" He asked at a loss.

"Did you not feel it at all?" Weaver asked stunned.

'I didn't even see him move. That's an S grade Hunter's speed?' Moon's thoughts raced about the difference in power level.

"Remarkable! That is indeed a different kind of durability you possess." He said sauntering off.

Zeke rubbed his shoulder. "When did he hit me?" He whispered to Moon. She shrugged completely confused.

"Please raise your barrier." Weaver asked, walking to his desk. Moon raised her left hand. In a blink of an eye, he appeared lunging at her, fist inches from her face.

She leapt back startled, Zeke instinctively tried to tackle him. A long line of webbing shot out from the ceiling, stringing both his arms out.

Weaver pulled back, straightening his suit. "Impressive as well Miss Kim." She stared at him breathing heavily, her heart pounding.

"That barrier really is something, I could feel it draining the strength of my attack."

'He definitely could have hit me if he was trying.'

He strolled over to his desk. Zeke was left trembling, and curled into a foetal position, with Edelgard covering his eyes. "Zeke, what's wrong?" Moon asked.

She glanced up to the giant Golden orb Spider, attached to the ceiling, waving back at her. Eight obsidian pearls stared back with its golden and onyx skin shimmering.

"I do apologise, I know you have a phobia of spiders, Mr Chen." He held his mark out, summoning a green rift allowing his familiar to skitter through.

Zeke's whole body shuddered, tensing and contorting, as his skin crawled.

"I see it's really bad." "Yeah...he doesn't do spiders. Everything else he can handle, just not spiders." Edelgard said, patting his head.

He stood up stretching his back out.

"I'm fine...just wasn't expecting to see one that big today."

Weaver slumped into his chair, kicking his feet up. "I do hope, I proved myself." Moon and Zeke, cocked an eyebrow.

"You two were planning on 'testing' me weren't you?". "Whaaat...Noooo." Moon's voice cracked. "We would never do something..." She trailed off seeing Edelgard glare at her.

"You two have quite a record. Worked at multiple agencies. A total of 22 violations. 20 of which belong to you Miss Kim." She cringed, shying away.

"You on the hand Mr Chen, seem to have a good track record, only being brought down by her actions. I must ask, why not go to separate agencies?"

"We stick together. Regardless of consequences. That's what I promised her." He lurched forward.

"A man of conviction. I like that. Miss Kim, do you share the same sentiment?" "I do." "An inseparable duo. Just as Edelgard said."

He flicked through the tablet. "You two have caused Edelgard some grief. May I ask why you were suspended from entering green Rifts?"

"I struck an Elf." "By Elf, do you mean the Elder of the village?" "...Yes." "Why did you do that?" "He tried to kiss me." He nodded at the fair response.

"Mr. Chen, why were you suspended?" "He wasn't suspended, it was just me. And he refused to go without me." Moon said.

"Actually, Miss Kim. A suspension was also placed on him." She looked at Zeke confused. "What did you do?"

"Well....When you told me what happened...I may have went for a run, with my fist out, and he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"When!?" She exclaimed. "We left at the same time."

"Actually you walked off first." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Yes, tell us why you struck him, Mr Chen."

"Because he was a seedy old fuck, and I would do it again, if I saw him." The room echoed with Edelgard's face palm. "Ha! Well said. Mr Chen."

He placed the tablet down. Clasping his hands over the table.

"I can see why, Edelgard has been trying so hard to keep you two on. You are both very capable and loyal." Moon and Zeke lit up with joy.

"Does that mean, we get to stay in the Agency?"

"No." Their joy disappeared instantly.

"Unfortunately, with the amount of violations, and past discretions, letting you two stay would only create and set a downward precedence. The Citizens trust rating with us Hunters, is at an all time low. If you two go unpunished, it seems like we're just covering for our own. As much as it pains me, that I cannot make an exception for you two, I must do what is best for everyone."

The two of them dropped their heads.

"Cheer up, the two of you, have a very important task now." They perked up.

"When the next green Rift, opens up you two will be notified, and return that Grimoire to its rightful owner. You two can keep everything and anything you bring back with no taxes paid." The three of them gave him a confused look.

"Wait, what?" They said in sync.

"What's the catch?" Zeke asked.

"When you return that Grimoire to its rightful owner or to Violetta, simply let our liaisons take over."

"That's it?" Moon asked. "That's it."

"Why do you need us to go?" Zeke asked.

"Hold your hand out, and think of the Grimoire." Zeke hesitantly obliged, holding his hand out.

The Grimoire materialized out of black smoke into his hand.

"AH! What the fuck!?" He exclaimed dropping it to the ground.

"That Grimoire is masterfully made, and its bond to you, makes it impossible to transport it, without you. And since you're a packaged deal, you'll both be going."

"Sir, is this wise? They're weak low grade Hunters." "Thanks Edelgard." Moon said annoyed.

"Do not worry, Edelgard. They'll be accompanied by a convoy of B and A grade Hunters." He clapped his hands together.

"Until then. Both of you wait for the call, accommodation will be provided. Edelgard, your office is being rebuilt, you'll be on light duties for a week. You'll be returning to regular duties afterwards, your flight is waiting for you. Goodbye."