Two teenagers walked down a sidewalk. Nothing they did seemed any different than any other pair of teenagers. Just a boy and a girl being friendly to each other. The boy smiled but kept composure as the girl spoke to him, going on about the day's events and how fun it was. They came up to a door and knocked on it, waiting for an answer. Part of the door slid open to reveal two black eyes with red irises.
"What does this world have to offer?" The man at the door asked the two.
In unison,they looked up, flashing the same eyes as the man, and replied, "Nothing but death to feed us and our cause."
"Come in, you're late." The door opened and the two stepped inside. No one wondered what just happened. A lot of things happen in the underbelly of American cities that no one wants to question. The two followed the man down a hallway, and were lead into an elevator. "Have a safe trip down. Although, I'd be more worried about what might happen to you at the bottom." The man said.
"Don't worry about us, we can handle it." said the boy, his voice calm and fluid.
"That's right Joseph, We're the best don't you know." The girl responded before pushing a button on the elevator. "See ya later Ben." The doors closed the connection between them and the pair rode the Elevator down.
"I can't wait to change out of my civs, they're just so uncomfortable." Joseph said.
"I know right? I just feel like taking them off right now. They're all itchy." said the girl.
"Don't do it Tessa." Joseph looked away. "You'd have to walk through the facility naked, and that would just add to the bad marks we have just from being late."
"Awe loosen up will you? I'm just trying to have fun. Geez brother, get a sense of humor." She leaned against the wall and pouted.
"It is true that we regard each other as siblings even though we have no blood relations, but calling me brother doesn't change the situation. We'll meet with the boss and then change into our normal clothes. We don't want to mess up any more than we have already." Joseph stood up straight as the elevator slowed down.
"Alright grumpy puss, but you owe me big time for today." Tessa followed Joseph's example and stood up straight, as if at attention.
The doors opened to a room that looked not unlike a cubicle office. The two walked down the aisles to an office at the far side of the room and stopped. They gave each other nervous looks as they knocked on the door in unison.
"Come in." Said a deep voice, and they opened the door to pass over the threshold. Once inside, they both stood at attention, small beads of sweat forming on their brows from the stress they created in their minds. "Where have you two been?" The deep voice said from behind a chair.
"We have been tracking the one you told us about sir." Joseph responded, his voice calm despite the worry radiating off of him.
"And? What did you find?" The voice asked.
"We found him sir. However..." Tessa's voice trailed off.
"However, what?" The chair turned to reveal a large man. He radiated power, as if he were the sun personified. He folded his hands in front of him and waited for a response.
"I underestimated him sir. He was far more skilled with his Kagune than I anticipated. He may be a cannibal, but he's no joke." Joseph stood ready to take any verbal abuse the commander would have of him.
"I may be mistaken, but are you not the Blue Phoenix and Feral dog, the team known as Heads and Tails?" The commander asked.
"Yes sir." They both replied in unison.
"And isn't it true that you have hunted down countless cannibal ghouls and, in turn, feasted on them?"
"Yes sir." They replied again, although with less strength in their voice.
"So am I to understand that two well trained cannibal ghouls cannot go against a lower class cannibal ghoul who has little to no fighting experience?"
"We still haven't mastered our mutant Kagune yet sir." Tessa blurted.
"Let me ask again. Am I to understand that two well trained cannibals cannot take down a lowlife cannibal out in the streets of America!" The director was shouting at them now, but neither flinched.
"No sir." They replied, knowing there was no way to explain the situation they just went through.
"Good. I'm glad we understand each other." His voice lowered a bit. "I'll put Chameleon on watch for him while you, recoup from today's bout. I expect you to succeed this time. If not, well you know the consequence. Now leave." The two started to leave and then the director said. "And Joseph, get that wound checked." Joseph nodded and they both left to enter the elevator.
Once they were inside the elevator, Tessa looked at Joseph and said, "How did he notice? We made sure not to get any of our clothes bloodied."
"I guess I showed a bit on my face." Joseph replied, lifting his shirt to reveal a bloodied bandage wrapped around his abdomen. "It isn't that discreet anyways." He touched it and winced.
"What you need is a good drink. I'll buy you one after we get changed." Tessa waited at the door as the elevator slowed to a stop. They left the elevator, going down what looked like a hallway of hotel rooms. When they reached their room, Tessa swiped a card key and opened the door. "You take a shower. I'll get changed and get you some coffee." Joseph nodded and headed into the bathroom and turned on the water for a bath. He took off his clothes, making sure to be sensitive around his wound. He unraveled the bandage to reveal a three inch deep gouge out of his side. The wound was already repairing, but not quickly enough. He would have to eat soon to speed up the process. By the time he was undressed, the tub was full of warm water. He gingerly slipped into the undisturbed surface of the water, wincing at the pain of the heat on his wound.
When he was finally relaxed in the water, Tessa knocked at the door. "Coffee up!" she exclaimed.
"Go ahead and come in." He replied, "My blood is already covering up anything embarrassing anyway." She opened the door and stepped in, coffee in one hand and a bathtub tray in the other.
"Well isn't that fabulous. A phoenix taking a bath." She teased as she set up the tray on the edges of the tub and set the cup of coffee in front of him.
"I always seem surprised when you take a bath." He retorted.
"Hey, dogs love getting clean, they just like to be dirty beforehand." She sat on the lid of the toilet, resting her head on her hands. "How do you feel bro?"
"Like absolute crap. But I've managed a lot worse." He took a sip of the coffee and sighed. "How much food do we have?"
"You hungry already?" She said surprised.
"No, I just need a snack to help me heal." He touched his wound, now numbed by the heat. "I'm so glad I'm not a human. Otherwise I'd be dead right now."
"Yeah, no joke there. How many times have we been so mortally injured that we would have died if we weren't ghouls?"
"Countless." He said, taking another sip of coffee.
"What happened today? We were doing fine until something came out of nowhere and gouged out your side."
"I don't know. I just know that I tried to get close and I was suddenly blindsided."
"He's not a speed type, that's for sure." She said, thinking. "Maybe it has something to do with his mutation?"
"No, we already saw his mutation. The attack was different. Maybe a second assailant?"
"That could be. I was on his tale the whole time, they could have been waiting for an opening. Hmm. But why would he hire help?"
"To protect himself. Or maybe he's running from the second assailant. He does have a history with the criminal organization "Underground". " He swirled his coffee in his cup.
"How does the populous not know about this organization or the underground ghoul crime syndicate? I mean, they kill people and we kill people."
"They mark it as cannibalist activity. The underground organization is marked as a cannibal cult and the people accept this. Americans may have the right to know what's going on in their country, but they have no control over if they get the real story or if they get something the government knows they'll accept." He sipped the last of his coffee and set the cup on the tray. "Alright, get out. I'm done with the bath."
"Alright bro. Not like I haven't seen it before." She winked as she left and closed the door behind her. "And make sure to wash that blood off of yourself!"
"Alright." He slid underneath the surface of the bloody water, enveloping himself in the red darkness for a few moments before pulling the plug and once again turning on the water. After drying himself off, he stepped out of the bathroom and dressed himself in a pair of loose fitting shorts and wrapped a bandage around his abdomen, which had stopped bleeding finally. He slipped in his bed and relaxed, letting sleep engulf him as it already did his sister.