"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho Marx

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Alard let loose a scream that was less manly than he would've liked as the group went down some sort of tube. It took some real will for Alard to angle himself so he wasn't tumbling head over heels repeatedly anymore.

As he managed to transition to an upright position, the scenery changed, a strong light temporarily blinding him before his eyes adjusted unnaturally quickly. Looking over, Alard was amazed to see that the tube was carrying them through different floors, featuring people sitting down in office cubicles handling paperwork. He could tell from the way they moved that they were humans.

Again, the backdrop gradually started to change as the office cubicles were replaced by what looked like a bar with a pool table in the back. Another floor offered a golf course and basketball court and finally, a lounging area where eyes turned to scan the newcomers.

Serpentine eyes.

Loud bangs from the tube temporarily drew Alard's attention away from the hard staring as Alard looked for the source of the noise and found Hayaka, still unable to get himself upright, tumbling to and fro above him.

The boy looked so uncomfortable and mildly scared that Alard couldn't help but laugh and karma - rearing its ugly head, caused him to slam into the side of the tube as it split into multiple, flipping in mid-air and going headfirst as it ejected him to the waiting ground below.

Alard got up just in time to see Hayaka land in a similarly awkward position from his own tube. The others landed elegantly, shooting amused glances at the pair.

"Did no one care to tell me we were going to be traveling through a death trap?" Hayaka whined from his position on the floor.

"You'll get used to it kid," Kenneth said, not bothering to hide his laughter.

Alard helped up Hayaka and the two hurried to fall in step with the group. They walked down a long hallway with Marked bystanders staring like they were watching Jesus walk on water. Alard finally realized that most of the stares weren't directed at the whole group; they were directed at the person walking ahead of them with an energetic pep in his step.

Purple Suit.

Some watched in wonder but more than a few showed disgust or anger upon seeing him. He sure was popular but probably not the good kind.

As they reached the end of the hallway and entered an elevator, Hayaka let loose a loud sigh. "Why was everyone staring at us?" He asked.

"That's the price of traveling with me," he said as he clicked the lowest floor, "I'm a bit famous, you see."

"For all the wrong reasons," Jarek added.

"Of course! Who wants to be seen in a good light by the majority and experience fake love? That's plenty boring, I say!" He flashed a wild grin as the elevator started to move. "Hatred is much more pure and real."

One thing was becoming certain the more time Alard spent with this Purple-Suited man. He was borderline crazy and that might be putting it mildly.

The elevator doors opened, revealing a receptionist's desk and a long couch in a nice tidy, welcoming room hosting a door in the back with the name Mr. Dawkins stenciled on top.

Purple Suit sauntered up to the receptionist. "Miss me?"

"You were gone for like four hours," She replied without looking up from her paperwork. "If anything, I wish it was eight hours longer."

"Such harsh words," Purple Suit replied theatrically. "I see through your attempts of nonchalance. Your soul brightens from being in my presence."

"Quite the opposite I'd imagine."

"Enough of this," Jarek barked. He walked up to stand next to Purple Suit. "Stacey, we were summoned here if what this clown has said is true. Could you check if Dawkins is ready for us?"

Stacey had quite a different reaction to Jarek talking to her. Her eyes traveled up his muscular build hungrily and stopped to linger on his sharp features longer than necessary.

"Oh, of course. I'll go and check quickly," she said, finally remembering that she had been asked a question. She hurried to the door and opened it, leaning in and saying something in a hushed voice, which of course, didn't stop any of us from hearing her tell Mr. Dawkins who was outside his door.

Purple Suit shook his head distastefully at Jarek. "Tryhard," he muttered.

The lady turned back around. "Jarek, Mr.Dawkins will see you. The rest of you are welcome to have a seat and wait here or help yourselves to the fun activities HQ offers while you wait."

Purple Suit bounded in front of Jarek, walking to the door as if his name had been called. Stacey blocked his way, "He only called for Jarek, Akuma."

"He just forgot to call my name, don't worry yourself." Purple Su - Akuma said, patting Stacey on her shoulder lightly. Although he talked and moved as carefree as usual, there was a certain sinister undertone to his words, a neatly packed warning to not upset him.

She smartly moved out of his way.

Jarek shook his head and followed him inside. Behind him, Kenneth and Nessa were already debating which floor to go to and Aura seemed to be listening to the discussion intently.

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As the door began to shut behind them, Alard felt the now familiar sensation of his Parasyte making a connection to speak to him.

'Behind those doors, they aim to decide your future, to use you as a pawn with no say in the matter. You have your own goals and aspirations, do you not? If so, why are you allowing yourself to be shut out of your own future?'

As usual, the Parasyte's words rang true. He hadn't even begun to consider if what they planned to discuss would derail what he aimed to accomplish. He shouldn't wait outside like some obedient child while the adults decided what was best for them.

He moved, dashing through the closing door and into the room Akuma and Jarek had disappeared into.

A man sat behind a big oak desk and Jarek and Akuma were in the process of sitting across from him when he entered.

"My, my. Seems like we have two uninvited guests, Jarek." Mr.Dawkins said, his serpentine eyes observing Alard's entry.

"I merely rescheduled my appointment date for our convo about my stake in the matter," Akuma said innocently as he lapped his foot.

Mr. Dawkins' smile never faltered. He wore a sharp blue buttoned-up blazer with a white dress shirt peeking out from underneath. He was the exact image you would expect to see displayed next to the term 'businessman'.

"And you?" Mr.Dawkins asked with a nod in Alard's direction.

"I a-"

"This is Alard, the rookie in question. I believe if he wishes to be a part of this meeting he should be allowed to. He is quite literally the subject of this, after all," Jarek stated.

Dawkins nodded. "Very well. Have a seat, Alard."

Alard obeyed, looking at Jarek in surprise. He hadn't expected the man to stick up for him at all after pretty much ignoring his existence before today.

"Now, it seemed like the cat is already out of the bag, so to speak, so I'll get straight to the point." Dawkins leaned forward, "Naturally, a rare parasyte user has much more potential than the average Marked and Alard is the first human under twenty to survive such a merge. This, of course, raises the question of whether his potential is even more boundless, and as such, we should be taking steps to maximize this hypothesis as much as we possibly can."

"Meaning?" Jarek asked.

"Meaning, we should look into providing Alard with a more suitable mentor." Dawkins finished, his creepy smile never breaking shape.

"Suitable mentor here, at your service," Akuma said, offering a small bow.

"Of course, you are among the list of prospects, Akuma. However, we're currently leaning towards handing him to Cong-Min."

"Don't be stupid, Dawkins," Akuma said, his face darkening. "That old fart is more ready to crawl into his casket than properly train someone."

"If it's a matter of qualifications, Cong-Min far surpasses any prospect," Dawkins said, taking on a diplomatic tone. "And it would be appreciated if you treat our senior members with a bit more respect."

"I'm just saying, Dawkins, that geezer doesn't have what it takes."

"I'd have to disagree," Jarek suddenly announced.

"With Akuma?" Dawkins asked.

"With you. I believe Alard will reach his potential in our team without any outside assistance just fine."

Akuma roared with laughter, holding his sides as he laughed as if Jarek had said the funniest joke of the century. "I'm...sorry," he managed in between guffaws, "it's just...you say that but the poor kid doesn't know the first thing about using his parasyte properly."

Jarek was unruffled. "When I say meet his potential, I mean in terms of strength not the lunatic teachings on parasytes swirling around in your head."

"Now, now," Dawkins said. "Let's keep our discussion respectful. Jarek, though I understand your concerns, I think it's crucial we try a different strategy when dealing with such a unique situation. I don't think what you suggested is the best use of our resources."

Jarek looked away, unable to argue with the man's foolproof logic. Alard couldn't help thinking that Dawkins resembled more of a politician than a Marked.

Akuma suddenly stopped laughing, his expression turning eerily serious in but a millisecond. Alard shuddered involuntarily as Akuma leaned forward. The man's ever-changing emotions felt unnatural and made him feel like he was in the presence of an unhinged psychopath.

And a very dangerous one at that.

"I'm going to give it to you straight, Dawkins." Any playfulness in Akuma's voice had vanished. "I'm the strongest Marked in existence, you know this but I'll be plenty happy to prove it if you wish." He paused but Dawkins said nothing, though his smile still stayed glued on. "Thus, I only think it makes sense that I be given such a responsibility to produce another Marked comparable to my ability. Your goal is winning this war in a timely fashion, isn't it? Then the solution is dangling right in front of your face like an obnoxious chain. You have the power to snatch it or watch it go."

Dawkins propped his head on his folded fists, appearing to be thinking. "How do I put this, Akuma? That's exactly why we're hesitant to make you the mentor. We've seen how a solitary powerful Marked such as yourself bends or simply ignores the rules he is given. We don't seek a repeat of that, which is why we aim to keep Alard amongst a team where he values teamwork and following instructions."

Akuma laughed harshly. "What, you mean another puppet like Jarek? Don't be scared to say it."

Jarek stiffened slightly but ignored the jab. "I have a solution. I'm willing to let Akuma train Alard with my team's supervision and the promise that he will not be taken off of my team and sent to another, as well. This way, Akuma gets to train Alard as he wishes and Alard stays within a cooperative team as you wish."

Dawkins nodded. "What do you think of that, Alard?"

Alard didn't have to think long. Although Akuma seemed a bit on the crazy side, he had seen how the people they were fighting had retreated just from his presence alone. He wanted that power. "Sounds good."

"And you, Akuma?"

"I'm not done," Jarek announced, cutting off Akuma's response. "The last condition is Akuma allows the participation of our other rookie, Hayaka, in the training."

Alard's eyes widened. He had thought Jarek to be heartless and strictly mission-oriented, but here he was trying to put both of his rookies in a good position.

"Absolutely not," Akuma spat. "I don't train normal parasyte users, that's your job. They can't keep up with me."

"Should he be unable to keep up with the training, you can kick him out," Jarek said, his eyes gleaming with determination. "Though I am confident he will not want to be left behind by Alard and will surpass what little expectations you have of him."

Akuma hummed to himself, seeming to consider it. "Sure, why not. Breaking him does seem like fun."

"If you're half the trainer you think you are you should be able to get results from a normal parasyte user as well," Jarek said.

"And if you were half the trainer I was you wouldn't have such an impressive history of dead rookies."

The agonizing sound of a chair scraping against the floor attacked the strained serenity of the room. It took Alard a moment to realize what had occurred.

Jarek had his arm outstretched to where Akuma had previously been on his right and Akuma now sat a good distance away, idly picking his teeth with a toothpick.

Jarek had attempted to grab him by the neck.

Akuma stood suddenly, clapping his hands together. "I think that's the cue that the meeting is over huh?" He said to Dawkins whose smile now looked extremely stretched and forced. The thought of those two titans fighting in his office was bound to stress out even the coolest of heads.

Akuma stopped at Alard's chair, winking at him. "I look forward to showing you just how much power is dormant inside of you, boy."