Mikey

Slayer Kurāken is the head of the demon research department of the Slayer Organization. A mysterious lady who's name is unknown even to Nick, who seems to be uncomfortable around her. And quite frankly, I don't trust Kurāken myself, either.

After Mikey finishes taking out every last demon and Pro Slayer in the arena, he turns savage, and begins scorching up the surrounding area with a rush of flame ,demanding more action.

"Nick, dear, can you please wrangle up your student? The exams are complete and he's just been blowing up the area for the last half hour now. I need to save them or those demos for my research. It's quite troublesome," Kurāken asks.

"Yeah, yeah," Nick sighs as he moves to press the button for the loudspeakers. "Mikey, the exams have been completed. We've sent some medical layers to your location to escort you out as well as treat your injuries."

Mikey's response is a giant explosion from the center of the arena.

Nick stands up and sighs. "I'll go get him," Nick says as electricity begins crackling around his body, before entering the arena. A couple seconds later, Nick exits the arena, carrying a kicking, screaming, and flailing Mikey like a mama cat carrying its baby in one hand, with his other hand still in his pocket. It's amazing how Nick can be so lax yet still wrangle the feral Mikey up.

"Hey, let me go!" Mikey snaps as he squirms under Nick's grasp, attempting to break free but to no avail. Mikey is covered in blood and scars.

With a sigh, Nick drops Mikey to the ground and says: "Well, you passed the exams. You destroyed it! Both literally and figuratively that is. You'll need some work if you want to become a good Pro Slayer."

"You, boy!" Kurāken exclaims as she rushes over to Mikey, sparkles in his eyes. "Please let me dissect you! Your body...it's amazing! How did you become so strong at such a young age? And why do you use guns instead of just using fire?"

"Huh?!" Mikey recoils. "No thanks, not interested in old ladies."

Mikey attempts to walk away from Kurāken, but is interrupted when Kurāken shouts: "Old lady?! I'll have you know that I am only classified years old, thank you very much!"

"Whatever," Mikey sneers, before turning to face Nick. "Old man, take me to my new house."

"Uh, sure..." Nick grumbles, before leaning into me. "This new kid has no manners! You're definitely still my favorite!" He whispers.

"Uh…thanks?" I awkwardly reply.

***

"Oh kids, get down here!" Nick calls to us.

Currently, it's two days after the Pyromaniac Mission, and Mikey is now living with us. As expected, he just sort of...brought the entire mood of the household. Always angry, always grumpy, plus he used the training area a lot, meaning I might have to go find a new place for me to train. Mikey doesn't socialize with me, nor the others, and always keeps to himself whether it be eating or training. I can already tell that living with him is not going to be pleasant.

"Are they here?!" Grover excitedly exclaims as he teleports directly in front of Nick, causing him to recoil.

"Yup!" Nick answers as he reaches into his suit jacket's pocket, pulling out six plastic cards. "What I am holding here…are your Pro Slayer licenses!"

Grover and Jamie cheer.

Ella fidgets nervously.

Austin does the anime glasses guy thing again and smirks.

Mikey simply crosses his arms and lets out a dissatisfied grunt.

As for me, I gulp nervously. Starting today…I am officially officially a Pro Slayer.

"So basically, these licenses officially recognize you kids as Pro Slayers, allowing you guys to use your Cursed Abilities in public to fight demons, even when not on a mission, no questions asked. Plus, you get no charges from any sort of public services, such as healthcare, or free bus fare or plane fare, and you don't even need a passport. You're also allowed to buy any weapons that you want, from guns to swords, which you are also allowed to use in public," Nick explains. Nick then hands each one of us a plastic card, one by one. "Keep that card safe. If you lose it, I am not entitled to get you a new one and you will be suspended from duty until you retake the Slayer exams. Though I can just as easily get you a new license. Now…enjoy!" Nick plops his butt down on the couch and watches us with a grin on his face and sad eyes, like he's remembering the past.

I glance at my Pro Slayer license, which has all of the usual information. Name, age, height, weight, squad captain, blood type. And of course…my Cursed Ability. Wind Control. Looking at my weight and height, it seems like I've bulked up a bit since joining the Organization.

And that brings us to the coolest part of my Slayer license, written in bold letters directly underneath my name. You know how every Pro Slayer goes by some sort of codename? Nick is Slayer Hachi, and then there's Slayer Kurāken and Slayer Haraki? Well, right there, underneath my name…

Reads "Slayer Fūjin."

"Slayer Fūjin, eh? That has a nice ring to it!" Grover says as he walks over to me.

"What's your's?" I ask with a smile.

"Well I'm glad you asked!" Grover replies with a smirk as he places his hands on his hips and clears his throat. Oh no. Here we go again. "BE PREPARED, WORLD! BECAUSE YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE FUTURE CHAIRMAN OF THE PRO SLAYER ORGANIZATION, GROVER BRADSHAW, SLAYER MIDORI!" Grover booms, causing me to cringe.

"Slayer Midori? Fitting for you. Well I'm Slayer Gorira!" Jamie says as she approaches Grover and I.

"Yeah, cause you are a gorilla!" Grover laughs.

"Well that is what Jamie was called in middle school," Austin adds as he strolls over to us as well.

"I…don't think that's a compliment…" I reply with an awkward chuckle.

Jeez, if I took a middle school insult to be my codename, I'd be called a "Cat-Eyed Freak."

"So who are you, Austin?" Jamie asks.

Austin smirks as he does the anime glasses guy thing. "I'm Slayer Takoname. Named after my hawk-eyed vision!" Austin answers. "But not only that, my codename refers to how I'm going to soar through the ranks of the Organization!" I'm not used to Austin being so lively.

"Hey, Ella, what about you?!" Grover exclaims as the four of us turn to face Ella, who's standing, with her hands trembling and an ecstatic, nervous grin on her face, as she stares at the plastic card in her hands.

"Oh, me? Slayer "Hīrā!" Ella answers.

"Healer, fitting," I reply.

"Yeah, I want to heal people!" Ella replies with an excited, cute smile, causing me to blush.

"Hey, Mikey! What's your codename?" I call to Mikey.

"Eh?! None of your business," he sneers.

I smirk at Grover, who smirks back, before using his Wormhole to teleport up behind Mikey and snatch the plastic card out of his hands.

"HEY!" Mikey booms as he spins around to grab his Slayer License back, but he's too late, and Grover teleports back over to me, and holds the card up for the two of us to read.

"Slayer Kaen? That's boring!" Grover teases, causing me to laugh.

Mikey stares at his feet as his face flushed red. "I…I just thought it sounded cool…" Mikey stammars, reminding me that he's just a nerdy teenager like the rest of us.

"Hey, Grover, maybe we should-" I begin to say, trying to make amends with Mikey, but I'm interrupted when Mikey marches over to Grover and I and snatches his Slayer license out of Grover's hands.

"Guys…stop bullying Mikey!" Ella wines. "He just joined this squad, you know!"

Mikey turns away from Ella and blushes. "I don't need your help, cute girl in pink…"

"CUTE?!" Ella whimpers.

"Ah…I see how it is…" Jamie comments as she crosses her arms with a small smirk.

"So he still doesn't know Ella's name…?" Austins mutters to himself as he raises an eyebrow at Mikey.

I flush red as well.

D-does Mikey…

HAVE A THING FOR ELLA?I

"Give me that!" Mikey snaps as he storms up stairs towards his room.

"Aw man, what a downer!" Grover wines, as we hear a door slam from upstairs.

"Meh, let him be," I reply. "He's not too fond of this whole Pro Slayer gig."

Slayer Fūjin, eh? I like the sound of that!

Sounds like a good title for an action story.

***

"It's been a long while since you've been here, Ace, hasn't it?" King asks with a hearty chuckle as he shows Ace around an elaborate, magnificent Church.

"Hmm…it has been," Ace answers as he looks around. "It hasn't changed much."

"Is that a good thing?" King laughs.

"Very much so, yes," Ace answers with a small smile.

"You've spent years in the Lincoln Correctional Facility, haven't you?" King asks.

"Yes, but I didn't mind," Ace answers. "With your Black Prism, you could have broken me out the second you needed me, which you did. Even without your Cursed Ability, mine alone would allow me to break out with ease."

"Speaking of "Cursed Abilities," you didn't even use yours against the strongest Pro Slayers!" King booms.

"No, but against Slayer Hachi I was forced to use my Cursed Power, which is more than most of my opponents can say," Ace replies.

"I hope that your time in the Lincoln Correctional Facility was at least valuable towards our goals," King continues.

"Not particularly. I just figured that the type of person we'd be looking for for your goals would be the type to get sent to the Lincoln Correctional Facility. Not a child."

"Yes, Luis Tramontana will prove to be a crucial piece for my plan later down the line," King replies. "But that's enough chit-chat for now. Would you like to go see the others?"

"Yes, let's go."