The Debriefing

Kai awoke to the sharp jab of something poking him in his rib. He rubbed his eyes hastily and sat up, annoyed at whatever had woken him. Kai blinked away his fatigue, only to find Iris standing in front of him with her umbrella settled on her shoulder, as usual.

She had offered him a place to sleep in the guild headquarters the day before, telling him that it was a "bonus for having been able to defeat her in the test." Kai had accepted her offer rather hesitantly, yet unbeknownst to him, her 'luxurious guest chamber' was not as great as she'd made it seem. When Iris had opened the door to his room, he was greeted by a simple space, with a tiny bed tucked in the corner of the room and a small table next to it. Bookshelves lined the walls, with stacks upon stacks of books shoved onto them in a seemingly rushed manner. The floor was littered with loose paper and books, making it rather hard to take a single step anywhere, without stepping on something.

Iris had apologized for the messy state of the room the day before but did not give any further information of the person who had inhabited this room prior to him.

A second sharp prod jolted him back to the present.

"Hey, you ignoring me?"

Kai blinked in confusion, realizing that Iris had been explaining something to him. Noticing his evident lack of attention, Iris rolled her eyes.

"I'm only going to say this one more time. You, assigned. Come, office."

She spoke slowly as if trying to teach a toddler how to speak. He- in this case, being the toddler.

Kai stretched his arms above him for a moment then stood up, exasperated. He silently gestured for her to lead the way, still feeling groggy after being so forcefully woken up. Especially after his duel with Iris yesterday, he was even more drained than usual. The places where she had essentially "stabbed" him with her umbrella were still sore.

Kai's whole body ached, but he had no right to complain. Endure and persevere. That's what he needed to stay true to if he was to find Rin.

Iris led him out the room, back into the long winding halls of the guild headquarters. This side of the guild was fairly quiet. There were no other people walking around, nor were there any other sounds. The two of them were simply filled in a sea of silence, with only their voices echoing around them as well as the occasional bird chirp from outside.

These halls were awfully too familiar to Kai, considering how he had gotten lost in its winding twists and turns just two days prior.

'It's only been two days, yet it's already felt like two months.' Kai thought to himself rather sadly

The face of his sister's melancholic smile still hung in his head. Had he hurt her when he'd spoken harshly to her in the past? Why was she the one who was taken? Where did she go?

If only he'd been stronger.

If only he'd been faster...

"Alright kiddo, we're here." Iris's voice promptly cut through his thoughts.

Kai looked up quickly, not realizing that he was unconsciously glaring at the floor. The two of them were standing in one of the narrower halls, feeling more like a tunnel at this point, with faint candlelight as their only source illuminating the dark.

"This place is as eery as ever," Kai muttered under his breath.

Iris smiled. She was a lot more accustomed to the intricate maze that the guild was.

"It's easy to get lost in here, considering how dimly lit and complicated these halls are. That's why the villagers never wander very far inside." She glanced over her shoulder at Kai for a moment and smirked. "Clearly you didn't get the memo, did you?"

Kai ignored her, although she was right. He'd never been the type to know about these kinds of things. He didn't talk much with the other villagers, often avoiding them completely if he could. He preferred sinking into the comfort of his own company with a good book.

"But anyway, step forward." Iris beckoned to him with her hand.

Kai arched his eyebrow uncertainly. Forward was only darkness. Honestly, why was her office so hard to reach? But nonetheless, Kai stepped forward.

Suddenly, the ground beneath him gave way, plunging him into darker darkness than before. However, it did not last long. Kai heard the sound of a trapdoor open, and he was greeted by a swathe of light. With a faint "Oof," he fell into a softly cushioned surface, swallowing the impact of his fall.

A bean...bag?

His wonder was cut short as Iris came plummeting through the trapdoor a moment later. Yet instead of falling on her posterior as he had, Iris gracefully landed on her tiptoes, striking her umbrella into the ground before her, stopping her momentum.

She's clearly done this many times. Which makes sense- considering it's her office. She brushed off the non-existent dirt on her ruffly dress for a moment, then turned to smile at Kai.

"Welcome to my office!"

The room was rather spacey, with taller ceilings than he'd expected, however despite its size, the room felt like something out of a little kid's bedroom. The walls were painted in a pastel blue color, with fluffy snow-white clouds scattered onto them. A long rectangular mirror was situated in the corner of the left wall, adorned with stickers and pictures of all sorts taped to the side.

A large white desk sat at the far end of the room, with nothing more than a simple pastel pink lamp on it, along with a few books and messy pieces of paper scattered on top. Similar enough to his own guest room, long bookshelves lined the back wall behind the desk. The only difference was that these shelves were massive. It looked as though they held hundreds of books, each one organized by the size and thickness of the book. Larger, wider books sat at the top of the shelf, while medium to smaller-sized books inhabited the lower shelves.

However, one thing that immediately caught his eye was none other than a ginormous plushie of a red panda. It sat by the left wall, poised towards them as if it were listening to their conversation.

Iris's office was not very grand or packed, but it did seem rather comfortable. Fluffy white rugs were placed on the ground, covering the cold cement underneath. There was even a little umbrella stand to the left of him, however, he doubted that Iris used it very often.

The area was well lit, with four bright lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling, one at each corner of the room. It was a simple, yet fairly beautiful design.

Iris slid her umbrella into the umbrella stand and settled into the seat behind her desk. She laced her fingers together into an arch and met his eyes.

"You might be wondering why I brought you to my office, instead of simply telling you back in your guest room." She started.

Kai leaned into the beanbag, shamelessly enjoying its soft material. He gave her a slight nod, urging her to continue.

"I wanted to ensure the utmost privacy regarding the matter of your mission. There are ears everywhere, eyes everywhere. You never know who might be watching."

She chuckled lightly, seeing the intense, focused look on Kai's face.

"Just something I've learned in my years of experience."

She flicked her shimmering black hair behind her then continued.

"The king wants Sir Hideaki dead. Apparently, he knows about classified information which he should not know about. Keeping him alive would only bring potentially disastrous issues. Well, that is what the king informed me."

Upon hearing the name "Hideaki," Kai's eyes widened in surprise. He'd heard that name somewhere before.

"Isn't Hideaki one of the nobles that serve the king? I think I remember hearing about the house of Hideaki somewhere."

Iris nodded, surprised that Kai knew about him.

"The house of Hideaki is a rather small family, with Hideaki Naoki as the current head. They have not made any notable contributions to the kingdom, however, they still maintain their noble status because of their connections with Katsu."

That made sense... the nobles nowadays were really nothing special anymore. They simply clung to their titles because they were somewhat friends with the king. It was pathetic, honestly.

"But if the mission is just to assassinate someone, why would it be a rank 7 mission? I'm sure this task would be a piece of cake for other experienced guild members." Kai asked, curious.

"That's true, however, this is Hideaki we're talking about. The Hideaki family is well known for their skilled hand with the lance. If an assassin or skilled fighter were to try to kill them, the Hideaki's would undoubtedly get the upper hand in the end, no matter their disadvantage."

Kai put his hand on his chin, thinking.

"I've heard they had a reputation for being notoriously strong... however without their lance, they should be powerless, should they not?" Kai asked Iris briskly.

The doll-like girl shook her head in response.

"Even without a weapon, they are still quite the formidable enemy. I've had the privilege to duel Hideaki Naoki head to head long ago, and I do not jest when I say that he was a strong opponent. Yet that is not the only reason why many people do not even try to lay a hand on him. The sole fact that he is of a noble bloodline, would mean that killing him is treason."

"But-" Kai started, however, was cut short by Iris.

"Yes, it's true that the king himself requested the death of Hideaki Naoki, however, letting the murderer of a noble run free without punishment would certainly bring trouble to Katsu. This mission is meant to be top secret, which is why I needed to go through the process of selecting each person who would be allowed to take this mission, myself."

A brief silence ensued between the guild master and rookie. They were both lost in thought.

"However, despite all the precautions and their skill, Hideaki is not invincible," Iris said, breaking the tension. "If you are a hunter hunting their prey, you must think like the prey, not like the hunter."

Iris's deep purple eyes seemed to bore into him as the ominous message loomed over his head. He would need to find a way to kill Hideaki Naoki... with the mindset of Naoki himself.

"However," Iris piped up in a more cheerful tone, "There was someone else who I've selected as a worthy person to take on this mission as well."

Kai stared back at her uncertainly. Another person...? He had definitely not thought about other people being potential candidates for this mission. Although, maybe having someone else would be beneficial to him. It would mean easier methods of collecting intel, and that meant a higher chance of success.

"His name is Glen. He's been a longtime member of the guild, specializing in the art of poisons and toxic substances. He's kept his head down low during his time here in the guild, however, he is certainly skilled in his work and not to be underestimated." Iris took a moment to prop her feet onto the table, acting the least ladylike she's ever had and continued. "Given his experience, I think having Glen as a partner will prove to be helpful for you. You might learn something useful about this field of work."

She winked at Kai, giving him a sense of artificial comfort. This 'Glen' person was a seasoned killer... and soon, he'd be the one helping him commit this terrible crime. The air around Kai seemed to grow a little heavier.

"Well, now that I've given you all the information you need for the mission, you have no need to stay in my office any longer." Iris spun around in her chair once, then stood up quickly, pretending to be unbalanced with dizziness. She approached Kai loftily and booped him on the nose. "Now get out of my office and start working, rookie."

The air around them seemed to change as Iris's tone suddenly changed to a serious, all-business-sounding voice. Kai stood up slowly from the beanbag, taken aback by the sudden change. Iris leaned towards him and gave him a faint smile. He studied her for a moment, noticing the hundreds of different hues of purple dancing in her eyes. It was a symphony of color... reminding him of his sister's own brilliant speckled green eyes.

Kai forced himself to look away, and asked, "Where's the exit?"

Iris made a little 'ah' sound and beckoned for him to walk to the back wall of the room, behind the desk. Kai walked towards her, noting the giant bookshelves situated there. Iris darted her hand into a hidden spot in the bookshelf and nicked something inside. She smoothly pulled her hand out, and the bookshelf began to turn, revealing a hidden exit.

He felt the small hand of Iris gently push him into the empty space where the bookshelf used to be. Darkness engulfed him once again as he stumbled into yet another tunnel in the maze. His only source of light was from a faint white smudge down the tunnel.

It felt so far away.

He was getting used to this feeling.