[August 17th, year 2063, 7:30 AM]

Half an hour later after his conversation with Diva, Shindo was already zipping towards the HOC center. He regretted going to Third Rail instead of Ruby's Bagel Shop since the people there wouldn’t stop looking at him. He still couldn’t get used to the people serving him quickly for having a hero costume. It only made his meal more awkward when people started whispering and fawning over him! Why can’t one man eat his food in peace?

At least there was a good side to this: he had already eaten breakfast. He wouldn’t dare skip breakfast, especially with this physically demanding job. He had learned this the hard way when an empty stomach cost him a very embarrassing defeat against Lighteater.

Musings about breakfast aside, he was running late. Even the unfortunate privilege of being a hero hadn’t spared him the fate of waiting in line. Still, he couldn’t do anything about that, except pray that Lozen wasn't a demanding boss.

Speaking of Lozen, Shindo’s-boss-to-be seemed like a decent person, at least compared to other heroes. Not only did she take time to guide him and answer his questions, but she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. She also acted level-headed when he incited the heroes on his post-exam meeting. However, he couldn’t get those grateful eyes out of his mind. He spent the whole weekend thinking as to why she felt grateful instead of cursing him out, yet that wasn’t the worst part. What confused him the most was that she reminded him of both Ben and Lighteater.

Maybe that’s the reason Shindo didn’t want to meet her at first. Her body language and her fighting style vaguely reminded him of Lighteater's more precise gestures, yet the way her emotions flashed through her face, the way she wore them on her sleeve made Lozen similar to Ben. And that a was thought that neither helped nor made Shindo feel any better.

It also didn't help that the dream was still fresh on his mind, especially that godforsaken song. He was sure he had heard it before, but he couldn't place his finger on when. Yet for better or worse, that song was ingrained in his head.

As the song looped once more on his head, Shindo regained his focus, having finally spotted a suitable space to land in front of the HOC building: an open place with no people in its vicinity. Shindo dove towards his destination, preparing himself for landing. In a few seconds, Shindo roughly landed near the entrance of the HOC building, brushing a bit of dust off himself, and holstering his grapnel gun. He then stared at the entrance before fixing his jacket and checking everything was in place.

As he took in his surroundings, many heroes were entering the building to start their day, and it was about time he did the same.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Just like last Friday, the HOC building's lobby was full of heroes. Unlike that day though, when he set foot in the lobby, Shindo felt immediate hostility. For fuck’s sake! This was only his first day here and everyone started acting like a pack of hungry animals!

Rippling with alertness, he scanned the area around him and found it distressing that people were already talking about him. From what he could hear, some made snide remarks about his person, something about him being "One of the assholes", or "Fitting that someone dressing like a villain joined them".

Others criticized Shindo's choice of gadgetry, mainly his usage of a string visor or downplaying the capability of his controllers. He quietly took note of those heroes' costume colors and faces. From his expirience in the gadget bussiness, those were the type to bring trouble out of jealousy and greed.

In his eyes, these heroes were acting like cowards. They mainained distance and spoke behind someone's back, which made them more pitiful than Batoon or Yata. At least those two took their problems directly to Shindo, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

In the oend though, Shindo could only sigh. As idiotic as this felt to be at the recieving end of this hostility, who was Shindo to stop their talking? As long as they knew not to mess with him, Shindo would go on about his business: get to Lozen's office as fast as possible.

With that goal in mind, Shindo made his way to the front desk of the lobby.

"Good morning," He said to the clerk on the table. This time it was a smartly dressed young woman with dark brown hair and matching round glasses. The dark frame of the glasses also contrasted nicely with her dark blue eyes. The tag on her shirt showed that her name was "Matilda". If he remembered correctly, this may be the assistant that registered him for the hero exam.

"Good morning, how may I help you today?" She asked politely with a bit of professional etiquette. She seemed indifferent to his appearance, something which Shindo was thankful for.

"Do you have any maps on the center's offices?" Shindo asked.

Matilda nodded and started rummaging under her table. Shindo took this chance to give another scan to his surroundings but was sorely disappointed to see that it was the same glaring and trash talk.

"Anything wrong?" Matilda's voice caused Shindo to turn his head towards the clerk.

"I'm just a bit anxious. You know, first day as a hero and all that stuff." Shindo gave her a small grin as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, so you're new here! How was the exam last Friday?" She asked, a hint of interest in her voice.

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"I barely passed," Shindo tried downplaying it a bit, "It was lucky enough that a team even wanted me!"

Matilda giggled again as she leaned forward, her eyes showing a glint of interest. "And what team chose you?"

"Well I'm not sure about the name, but my new boss' called Lozen.” He replied, trying to be respectful to Matilda, “Since I'm still not familiar with the center, I came here to ask for directions to her office."

The woman's eyes flashed in worry. "Lozen? You mean The Cold Strategist?"

Shindo almost raised his brow at that. Cold strategist? What's with that title?

"Yeah, I was hired by Lozen," Shindo said, oddly intrigued by Matilda's reaction. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, nothing's wrong." She said, her voice seeming a bit higher than before. She seemed distressed. "Here, let me tell you where to go."

Matilda brought his attention to a map that showed the center's offices.

"The center's offices are located on floors twelve through fifteen." She said while pointing to a red-colored cube divided into four sections.

She then gave him another map showcasing floor 13. It was divided into many small cubes and hallways. Matilda then circled one of the squares, which had the number "786-09", and then pointed to an elevator door behind her. "Take that elevator to floor thirteen and when you step out of the elevator, take two left turns. You will encounter a large hallway with a lot of team offices. The Col-, ahem, Lozen's office is on the left. You cannot miss it; it has the letters TCN engraved on the door."

"Many thanks," Shindo said as he took the maps. He gave her a thankful smile before hurrying to the elevator.

The ride was the most awkward part, though. Everyone in there was either glaring or ignoring him, which was starting to grow annoying for Shindo.

When the elevator reached his floor, Shindo made a quick getaway, following both Matilda's instructions and the map she gave him as he tried to avoid more unnecessary attention.

Thankfully, there weren't a lot of heroes on floor thirteen, which allowed the former villain to calm himself. The hallways were similar to the ones on the day of his exam: twisting and claustrophobic. Yet, now that he felt more secure on where he was going, he managed to find the office.

The first thing that Shindo noticed was that the door looked worn down. The letters in the door seemed faded, oddly reminding him of Unwin's washed-up shop sign. A flash of Ben and Angela’s eyes crossed his mind, but he quickly shook his head, dispelling those thoughts.

He immediately knocked on the door, but, to his surprise, no one answered. He waited for a few minutes before knocking again. Yet, no one answered. Growing impatient, Shindo inspected the door handle and found it unlocked. Since no one was answering the door, he might as well invite himself in.

Shindo was welcomed by a simple but warm room. The comfy sofas, the small table with a stack of magazines, and the slight blue color on the walls gave off a calm mood. In front of him was a wooden door, which had a plaque that said "Team faculties. Only team personnel allowed." To his left, there was a similar door, but this time, the small plaque that said "Offices". Only team personnel allowed." On his right was a coat hanger, which had a familiar grey, sleeveless hoodie hanging from it.

Seeing the coat hanger, Shindo decided to hang his jacket there, and then he curiously explored the room he was in.

Shindo had to admit that he liked this simplistic room. Not too decorated to seem overbearing and not as imposing as the Assembly Hall. It was calm enough for Shindo to momentarily forget almost all of his problems. Almost all, except for the new ones to arrive.

"Ah." Someone let out a surprised voice to Shindo's left. Shindo turned towards the sound and saw Yata coming out from the door with the "Offices" plaque. The cat hero had his hoodie off, showcasing a tight-fitted black under armor, his blond hair, and his well-toned arms.

An awkward silence ensued between them, as both men sized each other up, the memory of last Friday’s exam fresh on both men’s minds. Yata quietly studied Shindo, trying to figure him out, while Shindo couldn’t help but smile wryly at his cursed luck. Still, endless glaring wouldn’t get him anywhere.

"Morning," Shindo greeted, surprising the cat hero.

Yata did not greet him back, looking skeptically at Shindo.

"Is Lozen currently available? She told me to report to her today." He pressed Yata, irked by his rudeness.

"She's in her office." Yata relented. "The boss has been expecting you for a bit now."

Of course Yata was salty. And it was pretty obvious too. His eyes flickered with annoyance, while his gestures closed more and more as time passed. Shindo could call him out on his shit, but right now he had more important things than insulting a pitiful idiot.

"Hm, right," Shindo said, ignoring the cat hero's annoyance, "Would you mind guiding me to where Lozen is? I’m still not sure where to go."

Yata glared at Shindo for a bit before turning around and opening the "offices" door. He motioned with his head for Shindo to follow. Shindo followed Yata through the door, entering a hallway with doors on his left, and a glass window on his right.

He found this to be an interesting design choice, as the window showcased a big open room with two thick-looking walls on the sides and another window on the far back. The window on the back gave a backdrop view to Vermillion Blue City's skyline. Yet, the beautiful backdrop contrasted with the scratch marks on both the walls and the floor. What the hell happened there?

Wanting answers, Shindo tried to close the distance between him and Yata, but he immediately stopped his actions when he noticed Yata tensing up. He raised his shoulders, while his hand went straight to a sheath on his back. Ok then, it seems like Shindo’s questions will go unanswered for now.

This is when Yata entered the first door to his left. Shindo followed him and entered a workspace filled with a few desks. Most of them had one or two stack papers on the side, but Shindo noticed that there were two empty desks in front of him.

On Shindo's right, there was a stained-glass door at the back of the room. It displayed the name "Lozen'', and under the name, Shindo saw the same three letters that were on the team's office entrance: TCN. However, the engraving was more maintained, as if recently cleaned.

Yata knocked on that door, before opening it and peeking inside.

"Boss, Wattz has arrived," Yata announced in a neutral tone.

"About time," A familiar female voice said, "Come on in Wattz. You too Yata."

The two men entered into a simplistic, small office with a brown wooden table stacked to the top with papers. A familiar figure dressed in a blue and white hero costume was sitting behind it. She sighed in relief, as if she had been spared from doing more paperwork for a few minutes.

"Good morning, Lozen, sorry for being late. Wattz reporting for duty." Shindo greeted Lozen. He stood in attention, almost as if he were in the military, but his face remained neutral.

"Morning Wattz, I was just about to contact you." She grinned, however, Shindo didn't smile back. It was best not to react, as she was as interesting as she was dangerous.

Lozen then stood, extended her hand towards Shindo which he promptly took. As they shook hands Lozen started to speak. "For starters, let me re-introduce myself to you. I'm Lozen, a heroine and the leader of team 786-09, better known as The Crisis Nemeses. From now on, I will be your teammate and leader. I hope that we can both work well together for the safety of Vermillion Blue City."