The four roommates and Jelavic were standing outside the training center.

"Where is he?!" Jelavic checked the time again, "It's been almost half an hour!"

Finally, they say Karasuma approaching.

"I'm sorry that I'm late," he said stiffly. There was a large bulge in his coat. Haven could swear she heard a slight whimpering from it.

"Mr. Karasuma, what's in your coat?" Nagisa asked. Suddenly, a furry head with floppy ears peeked out from Karasuma's coat collar.

"Is that a puppy?" Fia shrieked and ran over to Karasuma, beginning to fawn over the golden retriever puppy that had just crawled out of his coat.

"Tadaomi!" Irina exclaimed angrily.

He cleared his throat and looked away embarrassedly. "I couldn't resist her," he admitted as Fia stole the puppy.

"Looks like you have competition, Ms. Bitch," Karma smirked as Jelavic became angrier.

"INTO THE CAR, NOW!" Jelavic yelled and pointed to a nearby van. They all loaded up. Jelavic was in the driver seat with Haven next to her, whereas the three men, Fia, and the puppy were piled in the back seat.

"Did you seriously bring the dog along?" Karma sweatdropped as he watched them.

Haven pinched the bridge of her nose. "Mr. Karasuma, you told me not to bring any of my computer supplied with me. What will I use?" she asked.

Finally, the man snapped out of his puppy-induced haze. "The back of this van is equipped with all of the supplies you will need. Behind the curtain, you'll find all of your computers, weaponry, and any other items you might need for your mission," he explained. "We're driving to an undisclosed location where men from our department will be posing as your targets. Jelavic and I will help guide you through if you need it, but our involvement will be minimal. This is about seeing how you work as a team. Here are the files about your targets and other information you'll need," he handed each person a file.

"The first person out will be Fia. Her primary task is reconnaissance, setting up the hidden cameras, microphones, and trackers that are necessary. While she does this, Haven will gather all the other technical information and perform the hacking necessary. After Fia returns to the van, Karma and Nagisa will head out. Keeping in communication with Haven, they will take out the target. Fia will keep Haven covered here. Are there any questions?"

Fia paled and gingerly closed the folder in her lap. "Just one… What is Ms. Jelavic going to force me to wear?"

The blonde woman shot Fia a devilish smile in the rear-view mirror. "You should probably change now~."

She sighed and made her way into the back of the van, holding onto the seats to keep her balance in the moving vehicle. Shortly after she disappeared behind the curtain, Fia sighed very audibly. "H-How is this p-professional?! Aren't I supposed to be a secretary?!"

Jelavic frowned. "Call it the attire of a 'personal' office assistant. That's from my personal collection, so stop complaining."

"I-If you say so…" Fia came out from behind the red curtain with a blush rushing to her cheeks. She pulled down on the slitted white short skirt and pulled her white jacket tighter over a lacy black undershirt. "Is this necessary?" she asked timidly.

Everyone but Jelavic sweatdropped.

"Wow, you're filling that out almost as well as I did," Irina smirked as she looked at Fia in the rear-view mirror, "I was your age when I wore that."

She smiled bashfully. "U-Um… Thanks? That doesn't explain why everyone is staring at me though…" Fia subconsciously crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Isn't that…?" Nagisa started.

"Yep. It's Ms. Bitch's outfit from when she was our middle school teacher," Karma confirmed.

The color drained out of Fia's face and Karasuma sighed as Jelavic began laughing. "You'll just have to educate the boys on how much you've learned under my care!"

Soon enough, Jelavic made a sharp right turn and pulled into the parking lot of an office building. With the tires screeching in protest to her rough handling, she brought the car to a stop in a more shadowed area of the lot. Karasuma passed out com units to each of the housemates. As Fia finished equipping her com unit and allowed her hair to hide it from view, Karasuma nodded at Fia and handed her a purse packed with the gear she would need.

"Does everyone remember their code names?" Karasuma asked.

"Nope!" Karma laughed.

"I'm Ice Queen," Haven piped up from the front seat.

"I thought you were Wall," Karma smirked, "'Cause you're as flat and as dense as one."

Haven shot ice daggers at him with her eyes, "Whatever you say, Mr. President."

Fia groaned. "Which one of you guys suggested Thyme?"

"I thought it was Jela-Junior," Karma teased.

Nagisa looked curiously to Haven. "Weren't you calling him Satan before?"

"Yeah, but he lies like a politician," Haven replied.

Fia blushed. "Wait, was Romeo and Juliet supposed to refer to Karma and I?!"

Haven whistled innocently.

She sighed at her roommate. "But who am I supposed to be…? Romeo was the one who poisoned himself. Juliet had his dagger!"

"Juliet, obviously!" Haven replied.

Fia beamed. "That makes me the badass one! In your face, Karma! Or should I say, Romeo?"

"Seriously, just say your code names," Karasuma sighed.

Nagisa shook his head. "Notebook."

Blushing, Fia muttered "I'm Chem."

Haven sighed. "I already said Ice Queen."

"Mr. President," Karma smirked as he locked his hands behind his head.

"Still gonna call you Satan," Haven grumbled.

Karasuma nodded in approval. "Remember, I'm Chief and Irina is - "

"Hella-bitch?" Karma suggested with a smug grin.

"HEY!" Jelavic angrily turned in her seat and tried to yell at the arrogant boy, but she stopped herself when Karasuma put up a hand.

"Irina is Monroe," Karasuma said sternly. "This mission has to begin. Place bugs in the most crowded rooms and put a tracker on the target. Haven will hack into the security cameras," Karasuma requested as the door closest to Fia opened.

"Good luck, Tsu-chan~" Haven called.

Fia sweat-dropped. "I-It's Chem…" With that, Fia hopped out of the van and began walking towards the elevator. The clicking of her heels faded as she disappeared from the sight of those situated in the van. From somewhere in Karasuma's jacket, the puppy whined slightly.


"Ice Queen, go to the back and start working," Karasuma said, "You'll find all of the equipment you'll need back there." Haven crawled to the back of the van and into the curtained off section.

"This'll be perfect," she called as she opened the curtains. She was seated on a swiveling stool. Behind her was a matrix of about twelve screens, a keyboard and a mouse. Haven turned to face the screens and started typing furiously. "Just an FYI, I'm introducing Wally to these computers!" she said before giggling sinisterly.


Fia was surprised by how easy it had been to pick up a stack of papers and a coffee from a random desk. It certainly had made her look more natural in this office setting. She was grateful to fit in. It had made bugging the last couple of open locations easier.

Glancing quickly at the room numbers posted to each door as she walked down the hall, she located Meeting Room 3. Fia peered inside and found that it was empty so she quickly slipped inside and stuck a mic to the back of the presentation board like she had been instructed. She quickly walked out and moved down the hallway as she searched for their target's actual office.

"Excuse me, Miss."

Fia turned around to see a large man approaching her. "C-Can I help you?" she asked tentatively as she slipped a hand carefully behind her. Fingering the lining of her hidden garter for her weapon of choice, Fia smiled innocently.

He raised an eyebrow. "I haven't seen you around here before."

She forced herself to become flustered as she strategically placed a hand over her heart. She knew these guys were trained to be particularly observant, and she hoped it would work to her advantage. Fia watched his gaze follow her hands and she smiled inwardly. Externally, she gave the larger man a bashful smile. "I'm new, actually." Approaching him, she continued, "Today's my first day. You're very observant… I like that in a man," Fia placed her hand on his chest.

"Flirting isn't permitted on the job, Miss," the embarrassed guard grumbled.

"It's not flirting if we go all the way," she whispered seductively as she ran her finger along his lip.

A short time later, a panicked Fia struggled to drag the paralyzed guard down the hall without being noticed.

"I didn't know!" she protested quietly into her com.

Jelavic sighed. "You can't just go knocking people out all willy-nilly. If you can manipulate and get away, then do so."

"O-Okay…" Fia opened a storage closet and struggled to push the much larger man inside. She had to use her back to shove him into the cramped space and her heels slid against the tiled floor as she pushed. Finally, with a great heave, Fia was able to slam the door to the closet shut. She brushed off her hands and turned to leave with a satisfied smile when she heard a creak. Suddenly, the man's heavy body fell on her. Startled, frustrated, and flattened against the floor, Fia shrieked.

"Calm down, Chem! You're going to attract attention!" Haven worriedly warned.

A small crowd of office employees gathered in front of Fia. Sweat-dropping, she leaned against the heavy closet door to keep it shut and, more importantly, keep its bodily contents out of sight. She laughed embarrassedly. "I'm sorry, I-I thought I saw a m-mouse," she apologized quickly, trying to ignore all of Karma's snickering that could be heard over the coms.

Most of the people in the crowd were good-natured about what happened and left without a second thought. As soon as there was no one else left in sight, Fia pushed hard against the closet until she was satisfied that it was shut. Concerned about the mission's time constraints, she quickly scurried off. As she rounded the corner, however, Fia heard the familiar, dreaded squeak of the closet door and a substantial thud.

"Oh, fuck it," she muttered as she hastily searched for the target's office. Fia found the office deep within the building and rushed towards it, only to bump into someone hard at the entrance. "Ow!" Fia cried as she hit the floor. She looked up and sweat-dropped. Of course, with her luck, the person she ended up running into was their target.

The man extended his hand to Fia. "Oops, I'm sorry about that."

Fia carefully took his hand and stood. "N-No, that was my fault. I shouldn't have been running." She blushed and straightened her clothes out.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

"H-Huh?" Fia realized that her bee-lining for the office was a major red flag. She chastised herself in her mind but put on a worried face. "Yes, Sir." Fia placed her hand on his back and pointed down the hall. "A man just collapsed over there! I was looking for a security guard." She wore a flustered and concerned expression. "Please, help him!" she begged.

The man was taken aback but he nodded and motioned for some people to follow him as they went to investigate the hall. Fia exhaled slowly in relief and prayed that the tracker she put on the back of his collar would stick. She also hoped that the man by the closet wouldn't have too much of a concussion by the end of the day.

"Tracker has activated," Haven reported.

"Got it, Ice Queen," Fia whispered as she slipped down an empty corridor and made her way back towards the van.

Fia threw herself into the vehicle with a loud huff. Her gaze fell on Karma first.

The redhead smirked. "A guy just collapsed down there, huh?"

Her cheeks flushed. "Sh-Shut up! Just get moving a-already!"


"Mr. President, turn right," Haven said calmly.

"Nah, I think I'll head left." Haven could hear the smirk in his voice.

"MR. PRESIDENT! That will get you caught. I did not put the video feeds in that section on loop," Haven gritted her teeth. This was the third time he had failed to follow her instructions.

"But isn't it your job to keep that from happening?"

Fia sighed from where she was sitting next to Haven. "Mr. President. I hate to inform you, but I do know where you stash your weapons of mass torture. Please, just listen to Ice Queen already. How are you holding up, Notebook?"

"It's a little hard to focus with the bickering over the coms," he admitted with a dry laugh.

"You're still a ways from the target, but he should be in the office on the next floor. Just get up the stairs without being noticed and you're home free. The staircase is to the right. Also, there's a bug on the cabinet to your left. Get it."

"Got it," Nagisa replied through the coms and his tracker began moving towards the stairs.

Haven sighed. "Why can't Mr. President be as cooperative as Notebook?"

"You know, I can hear you, Ice Queen," Karma grumbled in annoyance.

"Yes, I know perfectly well," Haven replied.

Fia sweat-dropped. "Mr. President is cooperative only when he really wants to be, but he can be a good teammate!" she protested. The stress caused by their bickering could be heard through her shaky voice. "Can you please not go out of your way to prove me wrong, Mr. President?"


Karasuma nodded as Jelavic drove the car out of the lot and back onto the busy highway. "Not bad for your first day," he commented. "We still have a lot of work to do, but with more training, I think you'll be ready to perform on actual missions soon enough."

Jelavic frowned slightly. "Fia, you have a LOT of work to do. Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're Felicia's sister. But…" She smiled more softly. "That wasn't an atrocious job for someone with your level of anxiety."

Fia sighed in relief and sunk into her seat. "Got it…" She noticed Karma's blatant smirk. "What's that face for?" Fia grumbled.

He stuck his tongue out. "We could hear everything you told that guard~."

Her cheeks reddened. "Don't eavesdrop!"

He laughed. "It's kind of hard not to! How'd you knock him out anyway?"

Fia kicked her shoes off and rubbed her blistering feet together. Shooting him a fairly irritated glance, she pulled out a small jar from her garter. "Do you really want to know?" Fia unscrewed the lid and the faintest scent of cherry floated through the van.

Karma laughed. "Is that lip balm? What do you do, kiss your victims to death?"

Extremely irked by his commentary, Fia elbowed him. "I'm not feeling up to this today, so I'd appreciate it if you'd just be quiet." she muttered.

"I'm awfully fascinated though," Karma began. "How do you get anything done in this line of work, Tsu-chan?" he teased. "You're turning red even now!"

Jelavic's eyes met Fia's through the rearview mirror and the teacher nodded. Fia grabbed the back of the seat for support and swung herself onto Karma's lap.

"What are you doing?" Karma would have taken the opportunity to tease her if not for the fact that he knew Fia had some form of poison on her body and the fact that she looked uncharacteristically irritated. Before he could say another word, he felt a finger running along his lips. Realizing his mistake, Karma tried to push Fia off but she tapped his mouth in a way that made him accidentally touch his tongue to his lips.

"I told you not to mess with me today," Fia huffed as she returned to her seat.

Karma held his hand over his mouth and moved to retaliate but his vision blurred. As his hand fell away from his face, he slumped over, unable to move or keep consciousness.

Karasuma looked to Jelavic. "Irina, when did we authorize her the use of unknown substances?"

Jelavic shot him a look. "I did, while you were prancing with your puppy. Where is the damn thing, anyway?"

Nagisa sweat-dropped as the puppy yipped from atop his head. "I think she's here…"

Karasuma's face became scarily stern as he tried to restrain himself from petting the puppy. It only relaxed once Nagisa handed him the dog with a wary laugh.

The bluenette looked from Karasuma to Fia, crossing her arms and staring out the window, to Karma. "Is he going to be okay?"

Fia nodded. "It's just a paralytic," she grumbled. "Sorry for acting out…"

"It's not like Akabane didn't have it coming to him," Haven replied.

Nagisa smiled wryly. "Are you alright, Fia? You seem really tense…"

She rubbed the back of her head. "I could have done a lot better today… I know it's a learning experience in preparation for the real deal, but Karma just really wouldn't quit it!" Fia groaned in frustration. "Since the New Year, it seems like he's going out of his way to annoy me! It's been a month and I guess I finally got fed up…"

Karasuma sighed. "Do we need to complete some cooperation and trust exercises?"

The three conscious people in the back seat sweat-dropped and shook their heads together.


Carrying Karma on his back, Karasuma entered apartment unit 1-11. "Where do I put him?"

Fia pointed to the couch. "He spends a lot of his time there, anyway." She turned into her room to change. It didn't take her long at all to return with Jelavic's clothes in hand.

Nagisa sighed softly. "It just occurred to me that this is one of the longest amount of times we've gone without some form of harassment or arguing."

"That's because Akabane is out like a light," Haven said flatly.

Karasuma placed Karma on the couch and Fia draped a blanket over his limp body.

"That's some powerful chemical, you have there," Karasuma rubbed the back of his neck. "Our science department could learn a thing or two from you. Needless to say, you must be careful with that."

Nodding in understanding, Fia pocketed her lip balm. "Of course."

Haven shook her head slightly. "Maybe we should just use that every time Akabane acts out."

"Maybe we shouldn't," Nagisa laughed with a sweat-drop. "We would have to keep him knocked out around the clock."

"I will see you at the next training session. Good work today." Karasuma opened the front door and paused. "Try not to kill each other before then," he added before the door swung shut with a loud thud that echoed throughout the hall.


Karma: (Rubs eyes groggily and sits up slowly)

Fia: Morning, Sleeping Beauty…

Karma: (Crankily) You know, I'm getting real tired of being called that.

Haven: Maybe you've finally learned not to mess with Tsu-chan too much, Akabane.

Nagisa: I somehow still doubt that. Maybe we should have taken Karasuma up on his offer.

Fia: (Smiles knowingly at Haven) I have a better idea!

Karma: (Dark smile) Does it involve payback for knocking me out?

Fia: N-Narrator!

Narrator: Sorry, not sorry. You had it coming. In the next chapter, please expect lots of earnestly-made puns and a roaring good time!

Haven: Also just in case they ask, the neighbors think you passed out because you got drunk.

Karma: THEY WHAT?!