Night Forty One
Age 1991
Oleander City...
The Master's office...
Katrina folded her arms as she stared at the old man. "Why did you call me up here now? I should be checking on the new Recruits, but here I am with you..." She questioned raising an eyebrow curiously as the old man who eyed her up and down. She folded her arms slightly as she inched back away from the old man's perverted gaze as her eyes narrowed. "Eyes up here Master Storm..."
"Why did you pass those kids?" Master Storm questioned curiously as he raised an eyebrow as he forced himself to look up and not down at the gorgeous woman's bountiful... Spirit. Let's go with spirit. In front of him. "Don't get me wrong. I am glad that Squad six has finally felt the need for some new Recruits but you have never taken anyone on? Even those who have passed your test? And these students... I'd hardly say any of them are qualified to be Enforcers on Squad Six? It's true on other Squads they could do really well but Squad Six is..."
"I didn't let them onto the Squad." Katrina sighed. "I told Dawson to judge them himself. Even if they failed the test and couldn't beat him, or stand their ground, it was up to him on rather he saw the need for them to be in our Squad."
Master Storm let out a bit of a sigh as he nodded his head. "I... I see..." He said. "Is that the only reason?"
"Of course not."
"Oh good, there's more." The old man said sarcastically.
Katrina scratched at her chin sheepishly for a moment as she went deep into her thoughts. "I had my own reasons of course... All Five stood out to me... Irene Glacious, twin to North Glacious, and based on her written test she stated she wanted to kill every Bestia Macht in this world, Light, a blind boy with an Equation I recognized, Kitsune Nine, a Noble from the family of Nine, and younger brother of Jin Nine, who was one of our best Enforcers back in the day, Ken Red, is part of the Church working as a Red Sister and is just weird, and then Hero... Sweet, innocent Hero... Where to begin. His last name is Law, the same as 'that' man's name, his first name is the same as another one of the greatest Enforcers we had, he's a Transformation Type, which is one of the rarest, and he claims he knows Okami Otoko before he died. Every one of those kids has something that makes me want them."
"Uh Katrina... They're all under aged-"
"Not like that you foolish old man. To put it simply... Their eyes," Katrina said simply. "I've seen that look in all of their eyes..." The Noble Woman said nodding her head. "Every single one of those kids, baring Light for obvious reasons, has seen some things in their lives... Even that asshole Noble boy!" The girl's smile faded though as she crossed her arms. "Anyways. It really doesn't matter too much. I got squad members. I put Jackson in charge of them too. Now. Why exactly did you ask me up here? I doubt it was to simply talk about my recruitment choices, as strange as they may seem?" She questioned.
Master Storm let out a heavy sigh as his electric blue eyes shined slightly. "Right well... I have a mission for you Katrina, and it's sort of a covert mission so only tell one Squad Member who you feel like you need. I'd take Dawson if I were you..." The man said reaching into a drawer. "Two missions in fact. That boy... Hero Law was seemingly attacked by a group, and saved by Jackson Storm at the last second... A group we have heard of a few years ago?" He slowly pulled out a very fancy ruby ring as he slid it across the table and over to Katrina. "You have two missions. The first mission is to protect this ring. The second is, I will be stationing you down in Dandelion, for a solo mission... I want you to gather information while you are there. Also you need to keep that ring out of the hands of that group..."
"I see..." Katrina said picking the ruby ring up slowly. She let out a gasp when she felt how warm it was. "But beg my pardon, sir? Wouldn't it be a better idea to keep this ring locked tight somewhere? You know instead of on my finger?" She questioned. "I don't know what this is exactly but I feel just giving it to me and not keeping it with you, one of the strongest people in the world, is a bad idea."
"Yes, that would be the smart thing to do." Master Storm stated nodding his head.
"...But that's not what you're going to do is it..." Katrina said with a deadpan expression.
"Nope! From now on it's your responsibility. The game wouldn't be fair, if the bad guys didn't have a chance to get it. There are Five in total we have two, they have one, and two others are somewhere else in this world. Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Amethyst, Diamond, the five keys to the Steps under Oleander. They could unlock the First Womb. Oh, by the way, don't let the enemies get their hands on that ring it could quite literally result in the end of the world."
"Wait!? What!?"
"Anyways I gotta go now-"
"Now hold on! You can't just-"
'Crash!'
Katrina stared slacked jawed when Master Storm quite literally threw himself out the window. "Remember! Protect the ring!" He yelled out as he fell down the tower... "It's very important- Oh shit the ground!"
'Bang!'
The sound of a thousand year old body smacking into the hard stone floor echoed out as Katrina stood there for a few moments in shock before she let out a heavy sigh and slipped the ring on her finger. Her eye twitched as she shook her head. "What the hell is wrong with every Enforcer... This is the reason HR is screwing with us, cause our leader does the stupidest shit-"
The door to the office burst open as Ward rolled into the room, still with his blank look on his face as he looked around. "Allen Ward, one of the Four Sacred Beasts here, where's Master Storm, he has a ton of paper work to do!" He said it in a stern tone but still lacked any emotions on his face.
Katrina let out a small sigh as she slowly reached up and pointed out the broken window. "He went that-"
'Crash!'
The second window exploded as Ward jumped through his own window and dropped down. "Master Storm you must do your- Oh shit the Ground!"
'Smack!'
Katrina slowly stood up and walked to the door as she ignored the two moans of pain that were coming from the window.
"I should get back to work..." She sighed.
***
Meanwhile At The Squad Six Building...
"It's been less than two hours and he somehow already installed a flat screen T.V and is watching more of his weeb crap..." Hero sighed as he looked into the Squad Six recruits room. His back was pressed against the wall next to the door as he peaked into the room he would be sharing with everyone. Inside of the room Kitsune was staring at a T.V watching some anime. "What a nerd..." Hero sighed reaching into his T-shirt and pulling out a comic book.
It was pretty late at this point so all the recruits went to the shower room one at a time and got dressed in their simple Pajamas as they got readied for bed. Kitsune was wearing a pair of long pants covered in various anime creatures, as well as socks, covered in anime characters, and a short sleeved shirt covered in various anime weapons. Meanwhile Hero was dressed up in the only the coolest outfit. He was in a golden wolfs onesie pajama with the hood pulled up so only his face could be seen. It looked like it would be hot to wear.
"Uh Hero what are you wearing..."
Hero jumped slightly looking up and seeing Irene. "Oh Irene it's just..." He stopped an stared at the girl blinking a few times. "What are you wearing!"
"What?" She asked. She was dressed in simple sleep wear, which was just a white buttoned up long sleeved shirt, and her hair was still wet showing she just got done showering. "Why are you staring at me..." She asked shooting him a weird look. "It's my sleep wear-"
"Did you forget the rest of it?"
"I don't see what the big deal is? I wore this around my siblings all the time when we had to snuggle for warmth-"
"Maybe you wouldn't have to snuggle if you were wearing more than a shirt-"
"Will you shut up!" Kitsune called out from the room. "I'm trying to listen to the OP-"
"What the hell is an OP?" Hero and Irene asked.
"Opening..." He called back. "It means opening..."
"What a nerd..." Hero sighed raising his book up and using it to block out his view of Irene.
"Yo Big Brother this is just like in the old days when we had to sleep in the same bed, and you'd snuggle with me!" The voice of Light called out as Irene and Hero turned to look at him.
"I recall no such memories..." Hero said flatly. "Also why does everyone insist on nearly being naked! Go full or go home!"
Light was in his boxers. Just his boxers. He did a little pose for a moment. "So what do ya think-"
"I need to call HR..." Hero sighed. "You two are perverted..."
"What's wrong with the way we dress?" Irene asked. "It's better than what you're wearing?"
"Ahh is Hero wearing that wolf outfit?" Light asked cocking his head to the side. "I got him that for his birthday."
"I don't recall that either..."
"Yeah it looks good on him." Irene nodded.
"Hey guys." The voice of Ken called out.
"Ken I swear to God if you're just naked than-" Hero looked up and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good. She's dressed like a normal person." Much like Hero Ken was in a onesie outfit, but her outfit was of a black cat instead of a golden wolf.
"I always wear this when I go to bed." Ken asked innocently. "And... Irene Light why are both..." Her face became red as she stared at Light's bare chest, and Irene's long slender legs. She jumped hiding behind Hero as she peaked out over his shoulder at the two barely dressed kids. "You two are sinful..."
"I agree..." Hero nodded.
"I still don't see whats wrong with this?" Irene shrugged.
"Pants. That's what's wrong with this situation. Pants!"
Irene rolled her eyes as she grabbed Light and began to drag him into the shared room. "Whatever. It's time for bed anyways."
"Oh hey, Light, Irene- What are you two wearing!" The voice of Kitsune could be heard.
Ken sighed as she folded her arms. "I'm getting pretty tired. I think I'm gonna got to bed now." The small girl said stretching out her body.
"Oh yeah I'll join you guys in a second." Hero nodded as Ken entered the room. "I'm waiting on someone..." Hero turned away and stared down the hallway as he waited quietly for a few minuets.
"Did I keep you waiting?" A voice asked curiously. A pair of legs dropped down through the ceiling as in it phased through the ceiling. Seconds later Hannah Law, dropped down landing next to Hero. "Hey there little Row!" She smiled patting the boy on the head as he smiled.
"Big Sis-" She stopped him from finishing as she cut him off.
"Shh... Let's talk somewhere else." She said grabbing his hand and dragging him away from the common room. They moved down the hallway standing away from all the doors as she folded her arms and looked Hero up and down. "So... You're going by Hero?"
"I mean that's my name?" Hero said frowning.
"What happened to Row?"
"Who's Row?"
Hannah sighed as she karate chopped the boy over the head. "Right... Memory problems. Alright I need a quick catch up, what memories do you know and what don't you know give me a quick run down?"
"Oh uh?" Hero shrugged. "I grew up in the lab with you, and Vil, my little brother, there was that pretty woman with long silver hair, and Piero my dad, who burnt down the lab and killed everyone but you escape with your ability, we grew up in that village with Mary for a little while, and than me and you went to go fight those bandit people but we got captured by that leader, and that guy threw us both into the black waters, and we nearly got eaten by that Bestia Macht but you managed to activate your Transformation Type Cursed Life Technique and saved me, than Okami saved us but was injured and later died, but as he was dying he gave you his badge, than Piero came and we left, and than you left."
Hannah stared at the boy for a moment as she let out a hum. "I see... It's been a while hasn't it Ro err... Hero?"
"Why do you keep calling me Row?"
Hannah sighed pressing her back to the wall. "It's complicated. Row was your name though."
"What? Since when?"
"Since before that bastard Piero wen't off the deep end and started calling us Hero because he went insane."
"I don't r-"
"Remember that? Yeah I'm not surprised... Honestly I'm more surprised you remembered me when you saw me. I almost didn't recognize you." She pulled the boy in for a hug as she brushed her hands through his hair. "You've gotten so tall, I'm so happy you were able to become an Enforcer. It's been so long since I last saw you Row..."
Hero stood there not moving as he was unsure what to do. "I..." His voice quivered for a moment. "It was hard... When dad died I was all alone. And then the Master found me, and that was awful..."
"You must have had it rough huh..." The girl cooed rubbing her hands through the boys hair. "Hey Row. I have one last question."
"Y... Yeah?"
"That Blind boy... That was Light wasn't it."
"Y... Yeah." Hero nodded. "But he's very different. I remember him being older than me, and not being Blind, and being a lot stronger."
"That makes sense." Hannah nodded. "After all he was the one who took us back to the village after Okami was hurt. At first I thought he might have just had the same Equation. After all when a person dies, their Equation teleports to another part of this world, and can bond with someone else, but he has the exact same styled weapon, and the same exact, name... Only difference is his age, appearance, and the fact he's blind... Still it's strange he doesn't remember me but remembers you? He was like a big brother to us both."
Hero frowned slightly. "That doesn't make any sense?"
"I think I already figured it all out." Hannah smiled rubbing her hand through Hero's white hair. "I have to go now... We'll talk later."
"Okay..." Hero frowned. "I'm very lost."
"Don't worry." Hannah smiled. "I'm sure you'll find out. I'm sure..."