Chapter 3 - Chaotic Morning

"Ugh, I'm telling you! That [cantonese slur] never listens to anything I say!" A blonde tigress loudly complained as she raised her arm to order another one from the bar. 

"I getchu! I used to have a crappy boss as well," Raphael bounced off Swire's complaints as both became the only ones in the place. 

"Exactly! Exactly!" Swire physically hunched over and laughed as she hit her fist on the counter with a red face, "anyways, what time isss it?" 

"Boss! What time?" Raphael hoarsely asked the exasperated bartender. 

"It's six in the morning. Would you like to pay now?" 

"I should probably stop drinking. Once the IEDs are cleared, we'll begin our spearhead into the core pretty soon," Swire logically deduced despite her drunken state. The operation will likely go ahead within the next few days. 

"Will we be involved?" Raphael raised an eyebrow. The squad still needed some break time to assimilate into this new world. 

"You'll be with me on the main flanking manoeuvre," Swire replied as she hastily got up from her seat. However, due to her drunken state, she struggled to stay up as she swayed side to side, prompting Raphael to wrap his arm over her shoulder. 

It was quite fortunate that they weren't the vanguard spearhead, but they nonetheless held an important position in this operation. Hopefully, once the issue is settled, they'll finally have some peace. 

"Send the bill to the Schwire Holdings company!" Swire shouted as the two struggled to walk in a straight line to the exit. As the duo bumped into everything possible around Lungmen, they soon realised they had also forgotten their sense of direction. 

"Shit, I remembered the station was only a five minute walk away…" Swire cursed under her breath as she realised they were lost, "I should've called Hoshiguma to pick us up."

"Give me a moment, I'll ring up Hoshiguma," Swire stated as she stopped leaning on Raphael and collapsed against a wall. 

Raphael followed suit and leaned on the wall next to her. When he instinctively reached into his pockets for a cigarette, there weren't any, causing him to frown and turn to Swire. 

"Do you have a cigarette?" Raphael asked, looking at the feline who was struggling to find her phone.

"You smoke?" Swire paused and turned to Raphael. 

"Yeah, it relieves stress when I'm on duty. I know it's bad, but it's damn effective," Raphael responded. 

"That's no good… Alright, tomorrow!" Swire shouted with hands on her hips, barely standing without falling over. 

"Tomorrow?" Raphael turned his head to the side. 

"Tomorrow! Tomorrow we will find you a nice new hobby! They're the best way I know to relieve stress!" Swire cutely exclaimed before collapsing and falling asleep on the spot. 

"Raph?" A female voice suddenly called out from behind, jolting the troubled Raphael as he stared at Swire's corpse.

"Who?" Raphael quickly turned around to see a somewhat familiar red-haired girl with a halo over her head. 

"I'd never thought I'd see you here. It's me, Lemuel!" The girl stated as she approached the two, "I see that you've joined the LGD?"

"Yeah…" Raphael replied, feeling out of it. With Lemuel's arrival, a sudden sense of comfort arose as he too collapsed onto the ground, stacking on top of Swire. 

"Ah crap…" The Sankta girl commented, as Lupo walked onto the crime scene next to her. 

"Exusiai, what did you do?" The Lupo girl asked in a monotonous voice. 

"Nothing! It wasn't me this time, believe me, Texas!" The Sankta, Exusiai, frantically waved her hands.

"I guess we'll bring them back to the LGD?" Texas stated as she flung a pocky stick into her mouth. 

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As the sun was fresh in the morning, the doorbell to a certain Lungmen apartment rang, jolting its residents awake. 

"Urgh… so this isn't a dream?" Gabriel commented as she opened her eyes and saw the familiar ceiling. After showering last night, she still wore the same white shirt and work pants as before since they didn't have any other apparel around. 

"Uriel, can you get the door?!" Azrael shouted from another room, not wanting to get up. 

"Uriel's still sound asleep," Gabriel added as she looked at the couch opposing her that contained a burrito who was still sound asleep. 

Getting up from the couch, Gabriel reluctantly dragged herself to open the door, revealing a familiar green oni with their captain draped over her shoulder. 

"Corpse delivery! I've got your Sankta here, mind if I enter?" Hoshiguma greeted. 

Gabriel gave a prompt nod and wave before returning to the couch, intending to return to sleep. However, she paused in her steps midway, turning around 180 degrees and squinting her eyes at Raphael. 

"Was he drinking?" Gabriel asked with a frown, noticing the aroma of alcohol. 

"Oh yeah, he got blackout drunk with Miss Swire," Hoshiguma replied, ducking under the door frame to enter the apartment. Staring at Uriel's burrito position, she tilted her head, "don't you guys have four beds here?"

"Some of us prefer the couch for now. But, anyways, did I get that right? He got blackout drunk?" Gabriel questioned. 

"Yeah, is there something wrong?" Hoshiguma asked as she laid Raphael down on the couch where Gabriel was previously sleeping. 

"No, nothing." Gabriel replied, however it was clear that her tone contained some hidden emotions.

"Bastard told us to go ahead and then hogged all the drinks for himself," Azrael eavesdropped as he exited his room, "good morning Inspector." 

"Mornin'! Feel free to just call me Hoshiguma."

"Sure, just call me Azrael as well," Azrael added before standing over Raphael's body on the couch. 

"How about we do a little prank?" Uriel, who was thought to be asleep, suddenly shot her eyes open with a mischievous grin. 

"I'm not taking any part in this." Hoshiguma raised her hands before backing off to the entrance of the apartment, "anyways I have a shift coming up, so I'll see y'all later!" 

With that, Hoshiguma was gone in a flash. Those who remained had a devious- nay, bombastic grin appearing on their faces as they circled around the sleeping Raphael. They decided to send Uriel off to buy some permanent markers. Revenge was but a necessity.