The concrete walls and reinforced windows of the Headquarters was a welcoming sight to Zeref as he made his way to the front door of the building. Before reaching the door, he pulled out a blank card designed in red and black. He swiped it across the reader, and he stepped into the cool air of the compound.
Today was a very busy day, seeming that Zeref's compound wasn't the only one that had been overrun. He noticed other low ranked Slayers as well as their supervising officers scrambling to get supplies backed up. A few children of the moon were being escorted to the East Sector, bound in chains and shackles.
"Have you suffered as well?"
Zeref recognized the voice that he hadn't heard in weeks. It belonged to a night dweller, given the name of Braden. As Zeref turned, he was struck by the familiar moon white hair, and the soul piercing scarlet eyes.
"They actually let you out of the East Sector?" Zeref questioned, checking around for guards to be running towards them.
"Yes, since I am helping them organize new safe houses. I can offer them the sight they need to map out new ones." Braden said, a sigh of relief washing over Zeref. His friend would not be heading back to the East Sector any time soon.
"Would you mind trying to get me one close to here? I was too close to the Zoha Sector that time for comfort." Braden nodded and headed off.
Not spending another second in the main room, Zeref headed off to the North Sector, also known as the Housing Sector. It was where all the Slayers were assigned rooms based on skill level, weapon choice, and who their commanding Slayer was. Being the Zeref was of the highest skill level, varying in weapons, and being commanded by the highest ranking Slayer in the Headquarters, he got to stay in the very far back of the Sector.
It was the farthest away from everyone else, and everything they fought for.
It was far enough away from reality for comfort.
Then again, reality wasn't too far away from his door. Housed next door to Slayer Phoenix didn't make anything easy. Think about sleeping during the day, she'd drag Zeref out for more training. Think about sleeping during the night, she'd keep him awake with her endless partying. She wasn't a Head Slayer for nothing.
The one good thing about being next to her though, was just getting to see her so close, which not many others got to do. Zeref could never deny that he had some feelings for the fire-tempered killer, whether they be physical or emotional, and those feelings in the end kept him feeling like he was human and not like one of the monsters they fought against.
Reality struck him all too soon as he heard the sound of wood breaking and his reflexes kicked in as he managed to nearly avoid a door flying in front of him and crashing into the wall next to him. A familiar face soon followed the door, crashing into the same wall.
"Where were you two hours ago?!" Zeref heard the familiar yelling of his commanding officer, and tried to step around the fighting and get to his room.
"I told you I was trying to help your little trainee!" Zeref snapped his head around and nearly collided with Slayer Nova, who the words that made his blood boil had came out of.
"I. Am Not. A Little. Trainee." Zeref spoke those words slow, trying to get every word across without putting a knife through the man.
Nova detached himself from the wall, towering over Zeref who was not the tallest Slayer in the compound. Zeref could see the claw marks barely hidden by the fabric Nova called a shirt. She was in one of those moods again and was taking it out on her punching bag. Zeref pitied the man that stood before him, but also felt anger for how he talked down to him.
"You don't seem so big when I stand up." Nova said, giving Zeref a smirk of confidence as the two glared at each other.
"I bet if your handler came out here you wouldn't seem so big either." Zeref said as soon as his commander stormed out of the open room, planting her foot in the middle of Nova's chest, which pushed him back against the wall. She was in her combat gear, weapons and all. This did not look good for either of the boys. Zeref took this opportunity to duck into his own room, but not before whispering the last words that needed to be said.
"Told ya." Nova was too preoccupied to even mutter anything.
Discarding all his bags as soon as he shut the door, Zeref collapsed on to the welcoming carpeted floor. Even the floor felt more comforting then the bed in any safe house he had been assigned. The purple flooring mixed with a hint of black let him know he was really back. The matching walls gave him the same feeling, and he managed to let all of his guard down as he made his way through his quarters.
He put up a majority of his weapons, replacing the broken chains with new ones around his wrists, and changing out the ammo in one of his pistols before placing it back at his waist. It was still expected of Slayers to have some weaponry even in the compound. There was no actual record of how safe or durable the entrances were, and they never knew if one of the captives would escape.
Three knocks on the door signaled for him to come out in the next five minutes, and four minutes later after a change of clothing, Zeref was greeted outside his door by the Slayer again. Compared to his jeans and violet shirt, she may as well not be wearing anything at all. Her combat gear had been discarded, and she was now in her usual outfit of too short jean shorts and a red top. Spiked combat boots that appeared to have just been cleaned caught his eye and he made sure to make a mental note to not accidentally step on her foot.
"Before we head off to training for today, I would appreciate it if you took your assignment to the Leader. He was asking for it personally." She spoke and then turned, heading off toward the South Sector, where all combat training was to be taken place.
Zeref sighed, making sure he had the orb and sheet and made his way over to the main room once more. There was an elevator made into the middle of the four wing room, and he swiped his card before stepping inside. Everywhere the Slayers had to go in the compound they had to have their key card for it. It was just another safety measure to keep the captives from getting too far.
It wasn't too long of a ride to the top of the compound, where the long hallway leading to the Leader's office greeted Zeref. How they managed to find so many framed oil paintings for the hallway still didn't make sense to him. Even the doors were a dark oak that were unlike the other doors in the building. It was as if the Leader refused to be up to the times in his own personal space, but wanted everyone else to have the top technology.
Zeref pushed open the heavy doors, and took a seat in front of the massive desk. The Leader turned around in his chair, greeting Zeref with a smile.
"I assume you have what I want." The Leader stated as Zeref pulled out the orb, sliding it across the desk. "Excellent." The Leader discarded the orb into a locked drawer that Zeref could only assume was filled with more like it.
"Is that all you wanted from me?" Zeref asked as he started to stand up.
"Actually it is not." Zeref immediately sat back down. "I have another assignment for you in the compound. It has to do with a half being we are training." The Leader slid a folder across the desk and Zeref reached out and picked it up.
He had never seen any Slayer information before, not even his own. Opening this and seeing the typed pages were a shock to him, as we began to realize just how much they had them monitored, how much they were studied. It took him minutes to realize just exactly who he was looking at.
"Does Slayer Phoenix know about this one?" Zeref asked, slaming the folder back down on the desk, jumping to his feet.
"No, she does not, and she must not know." The Leader stated, calmly handing the folder back to Zeref. "Our inspectors managed to gather enough information about this one to know that it was a danger to both of them if either found out about the other. That is why I want you to train her and not Phoenix."
Zeref opened the folder once more, staring at the picture long and hard before looking at the information listed.
First Name: Scarlet
Last Name: Unknown
Gender: Female / Male / Unknown
Origins: Night Dweller / Child of the Moon / Hell Child / Human
Assassinate: Yes / No
Train: Yes / No
Assigned Slayer: Slayer Zeref
Additional Information: Possible relation to Slayer Phoenix, to be trained under secret.
Zeref sighed, closing the packet of information. He had no choice in reality to train this girl, but a part of him wanted to hand the folder back and say that he could not do it.
"I'll train her."
Zeref rushed out of the office as soon as the Leader nodded in approval. Zeref had a lot of work to do, and he needed to get to the South Sector before his commander did.