First Cooperative Task
Fox stared at the president still, exchanging eyes before stepping backwards twice. Nodding a bit, he prepared to depart, having no more words or anything to exchange with this president. He walked a few meters away before Luis raised his voice, “You will adhere to these instructions, would you not? Special agent Fox?!”
Step. “…” Fox stopped. His sudden halt was eerie. His head slightly low. He turned around, wearing a cold expression that could be anything but impassive. With quick steps, he returned to Luis’s desk, arriving there rather fast.
Roam stepped in, or tried to, but Fox smoothly pushed him away, not exerting any strength on his palm. Fox bent over the desk, supporting his body with both palms atop it, and looked at Luis straight in the face.
Luis might’ve been startled, constricting his pupils, when the polycoria-eyed Fox walked back to him without receiving a response first. But as Fox lowered his face to stare off into his eyes, Luis felt his balls and buttcheeks man up. He sat with a straight back and moved not an inch backwards, unknowingly forming a stern gaze to back to Fox.
“…” - “…”
“Nothing,” Fox spoke after a while. It was easily a tense moment where Roam almost genuinely fell to his knees in weakness. His brows wrinkled his glabella, and his fangs, ordinary yet, were shown. “Nothing ever makes me do what I don’t want to. Not a civil war, not the gripping death as my limbs break and melt from the inside, and not my dying body, worse than a branch already turned into dust.”
“If you look forwards to see me with an obedient face and lapping my tongue in the air, I invite you to line up. Beware of the stains of blood and organ meat on the floor, don’t trip after taking your place. At least reach the steps others did when they connived to put a leash around my neck.”
Step, step, step, step. Fox straightened his back and walked away, leaving those 2 behind him. Luis continued his stare, unchanged, even before Fox turned and walked away. But as Fox was halfway to the exit, his face faltered, opening and relaxing, unable to move his eyes away.
Slam. The doors were almost slammed close. Luis suddenly sucked air into his lungs and managed to move his eyes away, tearing up a little as Roam tried to help, but a hand stopped him. Luis couldn’t want something like help in these very moments.
“I… ah, that ingrate…” Luis recuperated his breath after a few more seconds. He cursed as he stood up. The sweat and heat of his skin had him unbutton his collar, and take his tie and jacket off. Roam lowered his eyebrows with his head already low, trying to say something with a low tone, “Don’t lose your temper with him, sir. It’s… been a rocky situation that meri-”
“It’s not rocky! He’s the issue, any trouble and situation is him!” Luis bashed out verbally. Roam closed his eyes, taking the toll indirectly. With Luis walking around, circling nonstop, finally going after some coffee; Roam exhaled a short sigh and articulated. “Sir, if it’s him leaving this project, and not having to worry about him any longer, I…”
“Why would I do that?” Luis lifted his head to stare out the wide window, serving himself some warm water first. He put the jar down and slowly expressed, “So he can slip away, and this time, see the entirety of Lýmoca as a whole new enemy? A little bit of luck, and he could selectively target any country ‘hostile’ to us to also ‘serve’ for his egotistical benefits.”
“Sir, do you intend to keep him?” Roam asked as he opened his eyes, lightly surprised. Luis turned his head, just about to pour actual coffee on a disposable mug. Roam jumped, even if just a bit, when seeing that face on Luis. Luis’s words were hushed, “No. The moment the fox was trained how to upgrade his every talent and passion was the moment we became slaved to his being.”
“Then… you don’t want to keep him, but you must? To ensure no actual enemies are made for Lýmoca that can threaten our nation?” Roam further asked. But Luis shook his head and blinked before saying, “That moment came because I allowed it, or he would have never turned into a possible enemy in such a likely scenario. If I did it, other than particular reasons, it is because Lýmoca does need him. At least someone like him. But now… he’s tempting me…”
Luis downed the warm water before taking a few sips from his coffee. Turning around, he voiced to Roam as he walked past him, “No more disposable ones. Let’s use plastic or glass from now on.”
“Oh… yes, sir…” Roam looked at the disposable mug with a slight twinkle in his eyes before agreeing. Luis walked to the doors to probe them with his left foot, checking in case it broke or was jammed. He drank more from his coffee before opening the doors. Then, he closed them without the force Fox used before.
As he did, he stated in a darkly voice. Unknown if it was to the air, Roam, or to convince himself. “Besides, he is a Ly… whether he wants it or not.”
. . .
At night, past 12 AM, HQ.
Fox walked into the Plastics Recycler Factory with the workers’ uniform on. His face was impassive, as always, but it had a notorious heavy weight on it. He didn’t have the pulling need to come here until it was late at night, and after going to therapy once he closed the boutique.
The night had just started, and Fox wanted to get into the workshop, all to spend the entire time making some extra money. He still hadn’t readied the good quality bions to sell, as he needed PSD’s help with that. But he suddenly felt like not doing anything to get an approval, at least for now.
“Hey, mate.” A voice called out to Fox when he was just walking into the reception, taking his working cap off. He had seen the person’s eyes on him before, but had ignored it. Now, Fox kept walking at a slower pace but turned his head a bit to see who it was.
It was a tanned young man with a ‘military’ afro and light brown hair and eye color. He was tall and muscular, with a charming, resting smile on his lips at the moment.
Fox felt he was being called not for no reason, so he gradually stopped, still looking back. The young man stepped towards him and extended his right hand, “Nol, I’m a Red Blood. Like you, champ.”
Fox looked down at the hand with a bandage partly covering the lower sides of the thumb and another coiling its tip. Then, he looked up at the young man, calmly moving his lips, “Fox.”
“Mhm,” the young man pressed his lips. Every move of his had a charm, even if it was just a little. He stepped backwards and stood before Fox before saying, “You see, my Captain’s team is a little short of everything. It would be good if a free spot could be emptied, but we aren’t moving with outsiders, not even if they are from the same Blood as us.”
“Care to join me?” Nol proposed, lifting his left eyebrow. Fox thought about it. If that was true, then seeing this fellow’s charm, it made sense he was ‘out there’ recruiting someone. But something like this wasn’t meant to work on him. Regardless, Fox didn’t turn the opportunity down right away, and if something fun could take his ‘wasting time in the workshop’ away…
“What do you propose?”
“We have a little assignation tonight. You’d have to work hard all night, though. Also, keep up with the rest. We’re not slowing down so you can acclimatize.” Nol grinned and elaborated a bit. He took his WID out from his abdomen under his shirt and sent Fox a bell sound to his before leaving with a few more words. “If you are interested, oh, and the pay is good, we’ll wait at that address until 12:40.”
Fox looked at his WID, taking it out from below his left ribs with a frown. He read through a pin left behind by Nol, most likely, as there was no ‘address’, which he had to accept to receive. After doing that, Fox read the contents. A brief resume of the task tonight, and the meeting location.
Walking into the HQ, his eyebrows knitted a bit, but he was no longer reading the pin’s message. Slowly, Fox lifted his head, and his eyes showed a shining determination in all currently 8 pupils-irises; his impenetrable black pools.
Then, he focused and went further inside, looking for the showers.
… After showering and picking a set of bions, Fox grabbed a small case with a strap to hang it around his lower stomach, with the case remaining behind him. He exited the HQ again and headed to the accorded location.
There, he saw a group of 5 waiting in the corner of a street, which looked like a construction that was supposed to happen but never was, or where a building used to be. Now, it was just an empty space with walls in 3 directions, but it didn’t cover every meter, leaving space for some narrow alleyways.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Other than the young man, Nol, Fox found the other 4 to be female, all looking like they were just young folk about to spend the night doing nothing but relaxing with liquor and company.
“Oh, hey. New kitty did come! Alea~, pay Lyan~ up!” A young woman lying her back on the ground, with her pitch-black, medium long hair spread, spoke without looking at him. Even from this angle, Fox could tell she had Dawn aesthetics, but smaller and more finite than Yue, Armando’s wife.
Before staring at the owner of the voice again, Fox looked at the back of a blonde who sat on the edge of a building’s rooftop, on the opposite side from where everyone else was, facing another street. This was the only one Fox felt significant threat from the moment he caught sight of them.
“…” - “…” After spouting those words, the young woman on the ground arched her neck to stare at Fox with her face in upside down, revealing her features. She had matching, phoenix eyes, had milky white skin, and was tall. She looked very slender.
With her words, two young women sprung to motion. A red-haired with orange hair walked to a beautiful ebony lass. The redhead had rosy white skin, large gray eyes, and her orange hair was of a light tone. And she was a shortie with freckles all over her face, hands, wrists, neck… maybe everywhere.
On the other hand, the lass was a bright ebony young woman, barely taller than the redhead. She had chestnut, smooth long hair and intense black-brown eyes. Unlike the redhead’s notoriously small proportions, the ebony had childbearing hips and perky, ‘semi large’ breasts.
With that, only the blonde, whom Fox felt danger from ever since he showed he was willing to join them, at least for tonight, was left outside his eyes and slight comprehension.
“Here you go,” the redhead expressed to the ebony, whose eyes brightened when she received coins that could be exchanged for 60,000 credits. Fox’s forehead creased, wrinkling with reason.
However, the ebony’s excited eyes didn’t seem like so because of the money, but because of winning some bet. Fox didn’t inquire about it and walked near Nol, the only one he had met with before, as the redhead returned to a wall with a pout.
As both young women ignored him, and the one on the ground just looked at him with playful interest like going to a zoo, Fox met up with Nol. Nol, of course, faced him and smiled with arms crossed. Fox actually extended his right hand to greet him this time. It was the second time they met, that meant they were no longer completely unknown, right?
“Oh, hey,” Nol exclaimed after further smiling, shaking Fox’s hand. He gestured to Fox’s cheeks. That’s when Fox noticed something. This wasn’t just a team assignation. Everyone but him, and who knows if the blonde on the rooftop, had red painting on their faces, skin, clothes, and hair.
“You forgot to put it on? Aww, man. Let me help.” Nol grabbed from his rear pocket. Fox opened his mouth, feeling… a bit embarrassed, “I-… this is my first time.”
“Yea, don’t worry. I’ll be gentle,” Nol didn’t miss the opportunity to speak such words, leaving Fox mouth agape. With these happenings, the only one watching with a salivating mouth was the one lying on the ground, with who knew what and how much passing around her head, seeing Nol’s smooth, charming ‘moves’.
However, before anyone on the ground could react, Fox didn’t even notice, but a harsh whooshing sound blatantly echoed. Someone appeared before him with a speed he never experienced before.
There it was, someone rushing to and standing before him, with her left hand pushing Nol’s pocket painting away from Fox and to the side. With everyone’s eyes reacting, they watched as a blonde, the one who was on the rooftop, came down and faced Fox.
Her face was just in front of his; the red did nothing but accentuate her countenance’s celestial touch. Fox was startled. His lips opened a bit, showing his teeth pressing against each other out of reflex. But next, as his polycoria eyes took in her visage and body image from up close; gentle, cold fingertips touched his face.
This young woman had goldish-pale, white skin and gray, light blue eyes. Tall, indeed. Although her body didn’t seem much on her front, it looked slender yet toned. Her hair was a short mushroom with femininity, exotic, and slightly seductive; of a golden blonde color.
This was the ‘specimen’ Fox met in the coffee shop before he went into Mona’s office. The beauty and reason he was half banned from it until he returned from his first assignation. Fox was left speechless. He knew he’d met her eventually, but like this?
“You have to put these on when you go out in tasks, or at least when you get into action. Honor your color, your blood, lye!” The young woman already had painting on her yolks, which she put all around his face, gnarling her last spoken word from the throat, sounding like a small creature berating with scolding.
She even hooked her lips upwards, showing her fangs, appearing… attractive, indeed. Fox blinked a few times, trying to amplify his eyes’ image and quality as she painted him. The notion of her touching his face was long thrown away from his worries. If anything, it was comfortable.
“So very beautiful indeed…” Fox spouted rapidly. Not even he realized until 2 second after he did. She stopped moving her fingers on his skin, and the others looked at him, all too silent.
“Oh, is that so?” The young woman slightly lifted her eyebrows, kept her eyes at a rest, and tilted her head as she asked. Then, she continued painting him, this time around his jaw and neck before outlining his collarbone with his thin uniform. Next were his clothes. She formed irregular lines, sometimes with slopes or sharp ends, tips, and arrows without widespread similarities.
She got creative, in short. At last, she painted his firearms and case, which only showed to the trained eye even when light directly fell on them, or on his skin, for that matter.
In the end, Fox was a painted black fox with unnatural red everywhere. But it looked hella good. When she was finished and gave her artwork a look, the young woman nodded in satisfaction. Then, her eyes shot up to meet his, cold and indifferent.
“I meant under the night. To my eyes, everything looks in better dimensions and shows me the visual truths that are… very beautiful; gracious.” Fox spoke just then, salvaging his previous moments. The others relaxed, returning to laze around, but the young woman crossed her arms slowly, aloofly staring at him with drooped eyelids.
“Nala Loba, I’m this team’s Captain, and the Red Blood representative Captain. You listen to me tonight, as you would whenever you’re not at rest. You’re my pawn of sorts, do you understand?” She said, introducing herself and consolidating her status.
Fox didn’t have to wonder why she was doing this. His past known achievements and the most recent one not even 72 hours ago are more than enough to have any leading figure concerned, let alone a global leader from a hoog’s internal faction.
“I do… of course I do.” Fox lowly muttered, lowering his head in a slight nod. The young woman pierced his eyes with her gray, light blue ones a few more seconds before releasing her arms. She nodded, pointing to Nol, who had stepped back a few times by now, tranquil.
“Aliases, Wheel.”
“Fox,” Fox slightly jumped his eyebrows before introducing his. Nala Loba snapped her head to face him and gestured him to stop with her right palm, lowering her perfectly carved, slightly small nose a bit, “No. You will wait your turn.”
“…” Fox felt like a puppy shouted a ‘no’ or to ‘stay’. He remained quiet as Nala Loba pointed at the others, naming those he couldn’t have known before. Her rebuke didn’t interrupt the serenity with which she introduced the rest.
“Akina, White Stone.” Nala Loba gestured to the young woman lying on the ground, still looking at hm with her face upside down. Fox looked at her briefly, in which she added, “They had Moon, Soft White, Tender White, Downmoon, and even Pale Moon. So…”
“…” Fox blinked. Just as he thought White Stone did match with her.
“Lyan, Bloodycoon.” Nala Loba offered no reaction to their exchange and continued, pointing to the beautiful, bright ebony young woman. Lyan looked at him and waved, smiling brilliantly and looking quite precious.
“Alea, Oragem.” Nala Loba gestured to the redhead next, and then turned around without a care, walking to the center of this open space. Alea turned her head when she was mentioned. She supported her chin with her right palm and waved with her left hand, looking at Fox with curiosity.
With one look, Fox could tell she was no Túacan redhead, but one of her parents could have come from there.
“The instructions are clear to my team, follow and do your part. You’ll get paid if you stand out from mediocrity,” Nala Loba said without facing anyone, but these words were clearly for Fox. She lowered her face, simply looking wonderful. “We’ll wait for Colmillo’s transport. Rest until then.”
Then, Nala Loba turned to the small building whose rooftop she was on top of before. Fox stepped forth and loudly asked. “Captain, your alias?”
“… Loba,” Nala Loba said, stopping her steps and turning her head halfway before rushing back up the building, eluding Fox’s every sense. He lifted his eyebrows in response. Her speed was too exaggerated.
“Why is her… last name also her alias?” Fox looked at Nol before asking, returning to stand at his side. Nol, or Wheel, looked at Fox, still getting used to the softness and brokenness of his voice. “Mhm, nah. Don’t ask that unless you want to get it. Just because you did ask just now, and I brought you here, I think I’m getting beaten soon.”
“…” Definitely, Fox could not comprehend. Feeling the atmosphere growing awkward, though he was fine, Fox asked again, “Is she supposed to paint me red… for me?”
“Oh no. mess that up, and you can even get excluded from half the Blood. And no, she doesn’t help others get painted. You see, she investigates someone first before allowing us to look for ‘random’ applicants. She didn’t let you into our team just because you’re almighty in the news. In fact, I think I’m more in trouble for saying all this myself. Yeah, now I’m definitely getting it, sigh.”
‘Are colors that important? Really? It’s just colors.’ Fox affirmatively doubted what he was understanding, or thought he understood.
Before Fox could breathe the cold night in and out, recently showed, making the sensations even better, Nol spoke again.
“Tell you what, if you can get me to see a nice beauty, to hit it off good, you know. I would be very contented even if I get beaten afterwards.”
Fox: “…”
Looking at the tanned young man, Fox thought of how charming this fella was used to be, maybe since he was a little Nol, quite the talent. And with that thought, a question arose in his innocent mind. He stared at Nol, both not knowing the latter was being sentenced.
“So, why don’t you with the Captain?”
“!!” Nol looked at Fox like he had just caught him trying to steal the sun. He began trembling, and before Fox knew it, Nol turned vicious as he looked up at his polycoria eyes, swearing. “I will beg that your turn for torment comes soon— with but all of my rage!”
Fox only had a hunch and a thought form in his mind, ‘Oops?’
…