Under The Moonlight

Chapter 9: Additions

            "How was the mission?"

"Not as horrible as expected."

"What did you think of Major?"

"He's," my voice trailed off as I tried to locate the word I wanted to no avail. "He's intriguing." Ace raised a single eyebrow, hoping to get something of more substance. "He's still young and wild, but he's intelligent and has a wonderful battle sense."

"As wild as you were?" I laughed, thinking back to when I was first hauled off to the organization.

"No, no where near. He's wild in the sense of his strategy. It works wonderfully for him, though."

"Do you think he'll be a valuable addition?"

"If you doubted his abilities, you wouldn't have sent Hayden and Katsumi for him."

"I want your opinion." It had been two years since I was briefly kidnapped by Ryker and Jackson. My position in the Keepers has escalated quite rapidly in that time. I had become Ace's right hand, working with him much more closely and frequently on gathering intel, assigning missions, and finding new members. I was rarely granted permission to go out on assignment, having become far too valuable to Ace on multiple scales for him to risk something happening to me. I would join a team that was debuting a new member, to asses their skills and compatibility with their temporarily assigned partner. It was also my duty to decide if the person would even be valuable to the organization.

"Yes, I believe he'll be a fine member."

"How did Neo seem to do with him?"

"Combat wise, they worked well together and seem like a perfect match. But you know how Neo is." A loud commotion from somewhere deep in the normally quiet base caught our attention, ending my report on the newest Keeper. Ace sighed, standing up from his desk with a knowing expression. We made our way to the center of the base, finding the rose-gold haired man squared up to Katsumi. "Maybe I spoke too soon about how wild he is," I said with a sheepish laugh. Ace glared at me, cueing with his eyes for me to get involved. "Major!" I yelled, walking out of the mouth of the hallway and pushing through the crowd that circled the two men. The other members split apart as I stormed the scene, keeping a safe distance away.

"Oh, he's in for it now," I heard Hayden snicker from somewhere in the back. Major looked over at me as I came closer. His eyes seemed to calm in my presence, but his face remained twisted in fury.

"There's no fighting other members."

"He's the Devil!" Major shrieked, pointing an accusatory finger at the shark demon. "He didn't give me a fair fight!"

"Major, you're already here. You went on a mission; you have a partner. Isn't it a little late for this?"

"I want a fair fight!"

"There's no such thing as a fair fight with him. Look at him," I motioned my hand at Katsumi, going from his head down and back up. "He's a fucking tank." I had slowly been creeping closer to the two, neither seeming to notice my positional shift as I was now placed between them. "If you would like the opportunity to exit the Keepers, I can make that happen. But you wouldn't be fighting Katsumi." He scrunched his lips together, carefully debating the opportunity.

"Who would I have to fight?"

"Me." Major grumbled something under his breath before submitting, knowing the stories he had heard from the other members. He walked away in silence, at least being sure to shoulder check his demon enemy.

"I don't fight fair?" Katsumi beamed at me; his lower lip puffed out.

"Fucking tank," I repeated, looking the giant up and down.