Chapter 336: Team Alpha’s First Field Trip
The word hung in the air between us. Carn let out a low whistle and took a strategic step backward, probably preparing to dodge the inevitable explosion.
But the explosion didn’t co.
Natalia held my gaze for a long, dangerous second. I could see the wheels turning behind her eyes, could feel the cold fury radiating off her like winter frost. The white streaks in her purple hair seed to glow faintly, a warning sign that her power was responding to her emotions.
Then she nodded.
"Fine."
I blinked. "Fine?"
"You heard ." She stepped closer, close enough that I could sll her shampoo, feel the heat of her body despite the chill her power generated. "But tonight, you’re mine. And I expect you to have recovered your stamina by then."
Her hand found my chest, fingers pressing against the fabric of my shirt right over my heart.
"Don’t keep
waiting, Satori."
She stepped past
and continued down the hallway, hips swaying with deliberate provocation. I watched her go, equal parts relieved and terrified.
Carn let out a breath. "Kids these days. In my day we just repressed everything until we developed an ulcer. Much healthier."
"Your day was like six years ago."
"And in those six years, I’ve developed three ulcers." She patted my shoulder with exaggerated sympathy. "Good luck surviving tonight, kiddo. You’re gonna need it."
Braxton’s office looked like a bomb had gone off in a betting parlor and nobody had bothered to clean up the debris.
Stacks of racing forms covered every horizontal surface. Cold coffee cups ford a small cityscape on his desk. Weapon parts, so of them still crusted with monster gore, lay scattered across the floor like landmines waiting to claim an unwary ankle.
The man himself sat behind his desk, synth-cigarette dangling from his lips, looking like he hadn’t slept in a week and couldn’t rember why that was supposed to be a problem.
"You look like hell," he said as I walked in.
"Thanks. So do you."
"Fair." He gestured at the chair across from him. A pile of old case files occupied the seat. "Shove those on the floor. Everyone else does."
I did, dropping into the chair with a wince that I couldn’t quite suppress. Braxton’s tired eyes caught it imdiately.
"Ribs still bothering you?"
"A little."
"Liar." He held out his hand. "Give
the roster."
I handed over the datapad with Team Alpha’s composition. Braxton scrolled through it, his expression shifting from boredom to interest to sothing that might have been concern.
"Clockwork Arboretum," he read aloud. "C-Rank Standard. Team composition: Nakano, Kuzmina, Williams, Aoyama, Amane, Von Astrom." He looked up at . "You sure about this, kid? You and Kuzmina took a beating in the Necropolis. Healing magic fixes the flesh, but it doesn’t fix the fatigue."
"I’m good, Braz." I leaned back in my chair, projecting confidence I mostly felt. "Better than good. I leveled up."
He snorted. "Everyone says that after their first real fight. Then they walk into a D-Rank gate with too much swagger and get their head bitten off by sothing that looks like a giant cockroach."
"I’ve been bitten by worse."
"Have you now?" His eyes narrowed, studying
with that lazy intensity I’d co to recognize as his tell. The man saw more than he let on. Way more. "Sothing’s different about you, Nakano. Can’t put my finger on it."
I shrugged. "Near-death experiences do wonders for the complexion."
"Uh-huh." He didn’t believe , but he also didn’t push it. Instead, he pulled a pen from sowhere in the chaos of his desk and scribbled his signature on the approval line. "Fine. Mission’s greenlit. But rember: Open Season ans other guilds are out there. If you run into the Sentinels..."
"Play nice?"
"Or at least don’t get caught playing dirty." He tossed the datapad back to . "Gate opens at 1400. Bus leaves from the main terminal at 1230. Don’t be late. And for god’s sake, eat sothing. You look like you’ve been living off spite and energy drinks."
"Those are my two primary food groups."
Braxton almost smiled. Almost. "Get out of my office, Nakano. So of us have important work to do."
"Like what? Picking tomorrow’s winners?"
"Like picking tomorrow’s winners." He waved
toward the door. "Now scram."
The bus stop near the main terminal served as our eting point. When I arrived at 1200, most of Team Alpha had already gathered.
Monica stood slightly apart from the others, clutching a potted plant to her chest like a shield. She’d changed into the standard Onyx combat gear, but she looked like she was wearing a costu rather than a uniform. Nervous energy radiated off her in waves. The plant she held was a small fern, and I had a sneaking suspicion she’d found a use for the Bag of Infinite Fertilizer already.
Jacob paced back and forth, datapad in hand, muttering statistics under his breath. "...optimal pathing suggests left fork at the first junction, but if we account for random spawn variance, the probability of encounter shifts by 12.7%..."
Emi sat on a bench, humming to herself while she organized a truly impressive dical kit. When she saw
approach, her entire face lit up like I’d just made her day. "Satori! I made the protein bars! They’re crunchy but nutritious!"
"Thanks, Emi." I took one of the offered bars. It was approximately the density of a brick. "I’ll... save this for the dungeon."
And then there was Skylar.
She leaned against a lamppost, a clove cigarette burning between her fingers, looking everywhere except at . When I walked past her, close enough that our shoulders almost touched, I caught the slight hitch in her breath. The faint flush that crept up her neck.
Our eyes t for exactly half a second.
She looked away first, taking a long drag of her cigarette.
I kept walking, hiding my smirk.
Natalia materialized at my side the mont I stopped moving. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Her presence alone announced her claim to everyone with eyes.
"Everyone here?" I asked, doing a headcount.
"Present and accounted for," Emi chirped.
"S-statistically speaking, we’re all within the designated arrival paraters," Jacob added.
Monica just nodded, her knuckles white around the pot.
Skylar blew out a stream of smoke and gave
a thumbs up without looking.
The bus rumbled into view, a modified transport vehicle designed to ferry Hunter teams to Gate sites. It was painted black with the Onyx Hounds’ logo on the side, a three-headed dog with shattered collars.
The doors hissed open.
I stepped on board first, turning to face my team.
"Alright, people." I cracked my neck, feeling the anticipation coil in my gut. "Let’s go do so gardening."
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