After Miyuki left Logan behind, she followed the labeled halls to the outgoing missions office. She clenched her jaw as once again her pattern was thrown off by another mission. She opened her folder again and read the assignment. Just as she feared, she was on shit duty. Her next few missions would be a pain in the ass all because of some stupid girl and her damn curiosity.

  She took a deep breath. She knew it wasn’t really Sarah’s fault. She was just annoyed at the stuff she didn’t know, and was severely jet lagged. She had jumped between massively different time zones multiple times over that last week with only a handful of hours between them. If she didn’t think she’d risk losing a few ranks she would burn the papers and fall asleep for the next three days.

  The mission was going to be much hotter and wetter than she would prefer, and not in a good way. There was a magical abnormality detected in the western Peruvian Rainforest. Such abnormalities were common enough around the world for there to be well-established procedures and countermeasures. The Scout Classes that were sent on the mission were able to narrow down the area to a few square kilometers, but something spooked them enough to fall back. Since she was a Scout-Class before upgrading to Hunter-class, she knew how much it took to scare off a professional scout. Since it was deemed highly dangerous, an experienced Hunter-class would be sent.

  It would be a slog, but it wasn’t the first time she visited the home of lazy sloths and hungry piranha. It said she would have a local guide to get her near the zone and wait for her return. For resources and travel plans she would need to go to the offices directly for more information.

  She was relieved upon second reading when it would take a full day for the plane to be refilled and sent back out. That also meant she would have to spend ANOTHER day flying before being able to remain on dry ground for more than a few hours. Her jet lag was already bad, this would just make it worse. She wanted to slug whoever chose her for this bullshit.

  It didn’t take much longer to reach the office. The inside was like human offices just with ancient architecture and the lack of cubicles. The normal menagerie of beings moved through the office as Miyuki approached yet another elven receptionist.

  It is generally accepted that all elves looked extremely similar to each other. The only difference Miyuki could see is a slightly different tilt to the ears and a slight lowering of their cheekbones. It was theorized that such a lack of distinction is because elves do not identify each other with looks but with their innate ability to sense another being’s mana signature. As such they are notorious for not being able to tell humans apart from each other unless they look significantly different. This also forced them to either go through specific training to differentiate voices through communication devices or go through identification verification whenever you talk to one. It could be aggravating but they are usually good at their jobs.

  “Hello,” the receptionist said. “How may I help you, Young Miss Kuzunoha?”

  Again, they used Young Miss. Miyuki was praying for the day she could be separated from the overhanging weight of her mother and family. With a strained smile she placed the folder on the desk between them. “I’ve been assigned a mission and want to know more details.”

  “Of course,” the receptionist said while retrieving the folder. She opened it and started entering some information into the computer.

  As she waited for the elf, Miyuki let her mind wonder. Half of her thoughts were on her mission and the other half was on Logan and his situation. He was being benched and put on teacher duty. She wasn’t sure if this was to keep him quiet or to save him for something they didn’t want to talk about yet. At least it wasn’t the worst case scenario with him being demoted. The worse that’ll happen is probably dropping down a few ranks at the yearly evaluation.

  As she was waiting for the receptionist, her mana senses screamed an alarm. She acted on her training and launched to her right while drawing her left revolver. She infused her magic into the two runes on the grip. One was to turn the chamber to the aspect she wanted while the other charged the mana-bullet. She chose lightning and only put enough power into the bullet to equate to the average stun-gun. When she turned a large shadowy form loomed over her previous position. She recognized the creature but still had to resist firing. With a sigh she relaxed, drained the mana from her weapon and holstered it.

  “Lilith, what do you want?” Miyuki didn’t even try to ask how she was there so quickly. Every conversation with her was like trying to untangle a pile of snakes while avoiding all the teeth.

  The shadowy shape condensed into a smiling Lilith. She still wore the same too-tight suit as in LA.

  “Oh, don’t be like that,” she said with a sly smile. “I just wanted to come say hi.” She looked around herself without dropping her smile, “where’s Logan? I thought he would be with you.”

  Miyuki rolled her eyes, “he’s got his own shit going on. I thought it was weird my headache was following me around the world, but here you are.” She said in an attempt to be catty. Needless to say, it was never her strong suit.

  “Is there anything else?” she asked, “I would prefer to get back to anything other than talking to you.

  Lilith’s smile shifted from sly to amused. “Not really, I was just curious that’s all.” She turned and started walking out of the office. “Oh,” she said as if she almost forgot something, “and let the kitty know that I’m looking forward to her growth. Two training courses at once won’t be easy.”

  Miyuki was going to stop her and demand how she knew about Sarah’s situation but was stopped by her returning to a shadow form and disappearing into the dark. Miyuki’s blood pressure rose dramatically. Every time she saw that woman the urge to blast her head off rose. That woman always knew too much while being wherever she thought something “interesting” was happening.

  The woman had the perfect tool set to be a hunter while being conniving enough to be able to take on the most delicate of missions. She had a near perfect record since her manifestation and ascent. When Miyuki was still scout-class she had actually looked up to her as a goal. She still remembered when she first met the top ranker. She was still barely a teenager when her mother brought her to the first time she saw a full council.

  It was back when she was barely a teenager and was the first time she had really seen the outside world. She was unfortunately born just before Japan entered World War II and because of this spent her first years locked inside her family’s hidden compound outside Kyoto. She had been protected from seeing the horrors of the active war but when the doors opened to her she was met by a destroyed country trying to pull itself back together.

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  The meeting was also held in Los Angeles and was about the recovery efforts after the largest war in human history. From what little she remembered from the meeting was a mess with a three-way deadlock. The angels were demanding additional presence to help humanity, the demons and undead were pushing for less, while the cursed beings and her mother wanted to keep it at the current level. It all went over the young girl’s head but was still an important experience.

  She first met the top ranker after the first of three days of discussion. After the mother-daughter duo left the chamber her mother was pulled aside by Beelzebub leaving Miyuki behind with her mother’s old bodyguard.

  Miyuki instantly recognized Lilith as she strode toward her with the same smile as ever. The young girl was scandalized by the dress the woman was wearing. It was a black cocktail dress that acted as a perfect contrast to her alabaster skin with a sweetheart neckline showing a field of cleavage for anyone to see. Miyuki had only worn and seen the conservative and restrictive kimonos and yukatas that her family and servants wore.

  Since Miyuki could understand speech, she was taught about being politics and their main players. She was tutored by the best teachers her mother could find and a good way to keep her occupied was to tell her true stories about the adventures Lilith and others went on. To say the young girl was starry-eyed was an understatement. Not only did the woman act as a mental role model, she was also showing the westernized freedom Miyuki had only dreamed about.

  “Are you the little kit here for experience?”

  Miyuki nodded open mouthed. THE Lilith was talking to her. Even though it was painful, she was so thankful that she got the translation tattoo before they left Japan.

  The woman laughed. “Aren’t you adorable.”

  Miyuki shivered when she heard her laugh. She felt accomplished that she was able to somehow make Lilith laugh. They only exchanged a few more lines before she left for whatever reason and Miyuki returned to her mother.

  While still suppressing her anger she returned to the receptionist. “Anything yet?” she asked through lightly gritted teeth.

  The obviously anxious receptionist stammered, “ah, yes ma’am.” After a few more clicks on the computer a printing sound came from under her desk. She retrieved the paper and handed it to her.

  “Here you go ma’am, listed here is the assigned support agent, initial travel plans, and other extra information we have.”

  Miyuki retrieved the paper with a grunt and looked at the names and information. She sighed and accepted her fate. Maybe a ride through the Amazon wouldn’t be so bad.

  She had a few hours to burn before bed and an urge to eat anything other than blue ration bars so she went to the cafeteria set up for anyone working and staying at The Temple. The open room had lines of bench tables with a smattering of beings. What was unique was that almost all of them were eating completely different meals. For example, an elf was eating some sort of natural salad and meat combo while a goblin was tearing at a massive smoked turkey leg.

  She joined the line leading to a dumbwaiter door that each being would lift and pull out whatever they were craving most while also being nutritionally balanced. It took her a while to get to the front but the fragrant bowl of ramen made every second worth it.

  The only reason she could enjoy such a gift was because of the brownies manning the kitchen. No, not the desert but the celtic household fae. They were some of the best chefs and housekeepers in the world with the ability to instinctually know what those under their care needed. Their origins had them paid for their services with food and cream, nowadays they preferred paychecks. They were still extremely shy and only showed themselves when they absolutely had to, thus the separating door.

  She sat as far away from everyone as possible and dug into the flavorful meal. It was like her worries faded away with every spoonful of flavorful broth and every perfectly cooked noodle. By the time she was done with her meal, it was like the last few days never happened.

  With a calmed mind and new determination she returned her tray and bowl and left for the visitor rooms. Logan must love how they set them up. All it had was a bed, a desk, and a standing wardrobe. The bare minimum. She couldn’t wait till she could spend a week back in her LA apartment. Nice and high up, fellow beings as neighbors, and a view of the ocean. With dreams of becoming a glutton down at the boardwalk with all the different seafood she disrobed, hung her clothes in the wardrobe, and slid under the smooth sheets for a well needed sleep.

  ********************************************

  She had to physically drag herself out of bed the next morning. She spun together a quick healing spell and cast it on herself to get rid of her sore muscles and headache. The miracles of magic showing itself once again. She breathed a sigh of relief as her body recovered and her headache disappeared. After getting up she put on her perfectly clean clothes, thank you brownies, and went to a perfectly cooked breakfast.

  As she took another bite of fluffy omelet she started putting together what she wanted to do that day. There wasn’t much in terms of entertainment available at HQ for beings like her. Sure some of the best meditation spots in the world were within walking distance, but doing that was boring as hell. She would be doing plenty of that on the planes to Peru, so that was out.

  As she couldn’t think of anything she did the next best thing and began wondering. Maybe something interesting would stand out if she looked for it. As she walked the halls she reflected on how strange her normal was when comparing it to what Sarah must have been going through. To her, seeing such a menagerie of different species of beings was commonplace.

  It was especially apparent there since none of them had to try and hide their true forms. Like her, most beings had a way to disguise themselves to fit in among the human population. These included illusions, shapeshifting, making it so even though they are seen they are never noticed, or whatever other technique they prefer.

  Maybe she was spending too much time among humans. She hadn’t retracted her ears and tails since getting on the supply plane so having them out and free for so long was nice. Instead of focusing on the boardwalk it might do her some good to hop the being spots hidden across LA.

  As she decided this she was exiting The Temple and looked out on the vast valley laid out before her. The clean mana-saturated air filled her lungs as she relaxed further. The more she took in her surroundings, the nicer a simple walk sounded. And like that she spent the next two hours on a meandering stroll down the roads.

  When she eventually returned to The Temple her mind was in a great place. So what schemers were working behind the scenes? That’s nothing new. Logan being put on the backlines? He’ll be brought back fast enough. So she was going to the Amazon, big whoop. They might have had good fish dishes there too.

  With a smile she started looking forward to the next few days. The Amazon’s weather shouldn’t be too bad, right?

  *******************************

  Damnit Miyuki! Why did you have to open your fat mouth! As soon as she stepped off the puddle jumper she had taken from Kuzko to the small airport on the edge of the rainforest, she was hit by the worst weather she could think of. She was apparently in the middle of the “dry season.” That meant she wasn’t just dealing with humidity that would make Florida jealous, it was also about 32°C making the humidity feel even worse! And to top things off, the piranha filet was dry and flavorless. Oh, AC’d apartment, where art thou?