WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS VIOLENT SCENES for the purpose of deepening the fic plot. You have been warned.
'Red Riding Hood'
You didn't know when it started, probably in your younger years when you started living inthe streets which you heartwarming call home.
Why Red riding hood? You don't know. The dirty rags that were once an overlarge hood are too dark to tell if its red or not. It's caked in mud, and its the most horrendous thing to call as clothes. Why keep them and not change into something much more appropriate?
You snorted at the thought. This is not your first clothes you have worn when you were still living in the streets. But as your fights keep getting more violent, messier, more beastly, your clothes began to absorb the blood of your enemies.
Hmm... Probably that's the reason why. 'Red'. A little girl shrouded with a veil of darkness waiting for her prey's arrival. Be warned, she will eat you alive.
Or... Something like that. You snorted again as you unwrapped the bandages on your arm. You're sweaty, your hair is in disarray making 'Apple-fucking-sauce' tease you for having a bird's nest as a hair. You trashed the bandages in your locker and proceeds to take your clothes off and throws them inside the steel compartment with a loud bang.
A glimmer of smugness erupted inside your chest as you remembered his face slowly twisting as your feet landed in his stomach during training. He's probably puking his breakfast by now. You smirked triumphantly and walk towards the shower room.
Thankfully, no one is there to bother you so you made your way towards the sprinklers and turns the knob. Warm water began to drizzle and spray your dirty naked body.
It's been almost 10 years when 'Katrine' 'picked' you up from the streets and starts training you like you're a fucking grown-up and not a 7-year-old child with a body of a skeleton with thin skin. It was not a happy cheerful childhood dream.
Then again, your childhood has been nothing but a nightmare. No, your entire life is a shitshow 'Katrine' likes to watch. Fucking psycho laughs at you every time your face hits the training mats hard.
Being a 'trainee' of something you like to call 'fairly popular among the law-abiding 'diplomats' Department', you have learned a lot of interesting things.
One, heroes sometimes get credit over crime to cover-up for the secret service. Doesn't matter who it is, their job is to smile and wave.
Two, as much as the government tries to hide it, they are experimenting on people. She had seen plenty of human experiment sacrificed, tested, played, dissected, studied, and even tucked in a small bubble for future analysis. The 'Upper Council' exist to cover up the Government's dirty little secret.
The government wants someone to be kidnapped to study an 'interesting' quirk, not a problem! Send the Secret Dogs of society.
Oh no! A politician is trying to uncover the shit his president is covering, who are you gonna call? Secret Service!
Country xxx is holding secret testing for a war asset! There's no need to fear! The Secret Service is here!
Three, Operators are trained to kill. Heroes exist to calm the citizens and pretend they are safe giving them a sense of security. If there's a crime, ask for a hero to save you. If you are committing a crime, pray to any God who will spare an ear to save you.
The 'Operators' as Katrine lovingly says it, are trained to bare fangs to those who interrupt the "Balance" as what 'Katrine' would quote. They are the fangs of the Government. They are shadow, they are death, they are merciless.
Death is natural and they are trained to love it. The lines of Heroes and villains are so blurred, you can no longer tell what to call yourself anymore. The longer you stay alongside these touche-starved, emotionally deprived idiotic barbarians you call co-workers, the more you lose your sanity.
Damn wretched psychopaths. 'Golden Bell' stabbed you too hard on your leg yesterday. And fuck 'Nightmare' for leaving the numbness of your leg behind when she nursed your wound. It hurts like a bitch!
Four, you haven't forgotten. Because morality is nothing but a decoration to the Secret Service, recruiting children and training them to become full-fledge Operators is a norm. The younger they are, the easier they are to discipline.
You remembered the day 'Katrine' brought you to the Honeypatch testing grounds. It's a graduation ceremony for little trainees and you aren't the only child participating in it. Some were crying, some were scared, others were normal, while the rest are maniacs, sick of waiting, wanted the game to start.
They only allowed 30 applicants. There's over 300 of you. When the bell rang, you remembered the floor giving out and dropped you in a hexagon room with large anger red buttons on each wall. The floor up to the wall was covered in honey. Immediately, you looked up to see a 'Honey Queen' hovering up from the testing grounds. The test has been made well. honey is too thick to move which limits your actions. If you need to survive, you have to brutally kill your opponent to make their dead bodies as a steady footing.
The goal of the 'Honeypatch testing ground' is to lessen the applicants by at least 1%. It means that only those who are willing to kill are the ones allowed to live.
You remembered dismembering a girl's body to make a bridge to cover more grounds. You killed so many, the golden-colored honey has turned nothing but into a large puddle of strawberry jam. The wails and cries of children, the smell of sweet honey, and patches of dismembered child body parts.
You don't remember much but, you survived the trial and moved on from the carnage. It took you so many nights to deal with PTSD and nightmares. The fear of the children you killed just to survive hell. Until now, you could still hear the pleas and cries of them asking you to spare them. But you can't. Because 'Katrine's life is on the line.
Every applicant has a person called 'Gardener.' You are the 'Seed' the 'Gardener' is cultivating into a fine 'Sprout'. If the 'Seed' fails, the 'Gardener' fails. Thus, if the 'Seed' lost, the 'Gardener' looses his/her purpose.
You can't have the 'Upper Council' kill, 'Katrine'. After all, she may be cold, calculating, brutal bitch, 'Katrine' has your loyalty. Granted you despise the hag but nobody sticks around you and made out alive. 'Katrine' is strong. Therefore, You have to be 'Katrine'. Somebody strong to protect yourself from the danger of society.
You sighed deeply as you run your hands across the strands of your hair. Undoing the knots and cleaning your scalp with your chosen Shampoo. Once you have rinsed out the suds in your hair and are satisfied enough to call yourself clean, you looked at the full-body mirror where your hands are leaning on to support your body.
Your eyes trailed the growing parts of your body from the blemished-free face down to your developing chest and hips. To your toned scar-free thighs and legs.
Seduction is a part of missions. 'Katrine' drilled it hard into your head how every inch of your skin must look perfect. Granted, you haven't fucked anybody yet, you were only 'taught' how to do 'it'. It is a requirement for future 'Operations' but as of now, 'Katrine' had made it clear to the 'Upper Council' that you are not permitted to participate in any 'Rabbit' visits.
You are a 'Wolf' category Operator. 'Katrine' made sure you are not allowed to do any 'Rabbit' visits.
It's not like you disagree but, your eyes landed at a small mark on your collarbone. Both you and you 'Katrine' thought it was just a birthmark until something changed when you were under testing trials for 'Rabbit' visits. Needless to say, it was not a fun memory involving ripping off someone's cock while giving a handjob.
After that, you had another examination. That was where you learned it was not just any kind of birthmark. It was a soul mark. Whoever your soulmate is, that person didn't like you 'touching' someone else. You have quite a possessive soulmate. 'Katrine' told you that.
"Possessive Bastard. The hell you're doing to me? You cost me a promotion." You glared at the mark on your collarbone and felt it burn a little. As if it was disagreeing with you. "At least I'll get some fun before I get to kill!" The soul mark flickered as if you angered whoever the person is on the other side of the stupid red ribbon of fucking destiny. "You're such a pain in the ass."
You tore your eyes away from your body and sprinted off from the shower room while flawlessly covering yourself with a towel before heading off to the sink to brush your teeth. You have to meet 'Katrine' for your next assignment so you needed to be presentable in front of her else, you'll see yourself get dragged again into the garden to do some 'gardening'.
You scoffed at a memory of one of her punishments. Sadistic bitch.
Once you have bathed, brushed your teeth, clothed into your Sprout Operator uniform, you made yourself towards her office. Since you have achieved quite a handful of successful missions, the 'Upper Council' has promoted 'Katrine' as a 'Florist Operator'. Why are the ranks has something to do with gardening? Who knows, everyone including yourself is whackos. Nobody gives a shit to gardening. Just don't say it infront of 'Katrine'. The sadist instructor of yours likes to grow plants.
Arriving in front of her door, you checked your appearance first before giving yourself a satisfied nod. You knocked on the oak door of her office. You waited for her signal to come in and opened the door.
Infront of you is a woman sitting on a leather chair going over some documents on her desk. Blonde hair neatly tied in a rolling bun and plain white opera half mask to cover the upper part of her face.
You walked towards her stopping not near but not too far from her desk and did your stance. "Sprout Operator of the Wolf Category, code name: Red riding hood, is reporting for duty for mission counseling. "
The woman infront of you nodded and lowered the papers she was looking into her desk. " At ease."
"Hah!"
"Heard from 'Applesauce' how you tackled him from the hallway and proceeded to give him flying kick to his stomach. " 'Katrine' looked at you with amusement dancing in her eyes. You don't know if it's pride or she's ridiculing you internally. After all, despite the teachings she force-feeds you, the woman still creeps you out. She's unpredictable and merciless.
"Not my fault for having a stupid face."
'Katrine's brow arched before leaning forward with her hands under her chin."...I see. Then let's go to the details of your next assignment."
"Understood."
'Katrine' shifted from her seat and pulled a drawer in her desk. Pale skin hands fished out a brown envelope and offered it to you. It has a big 'Top Secret' words stamped infront of the envelope. Unsure what it meant, you glanced at the woman infront of you and saw her hummed for permission.
You opened the envelope and pulled out the details of your mission. It has your birth certificate, legal papers, an apartment key, and a gold credit card. Going through the papers inside the envelope, one particular application form grabbed your attention. Your eyes widenas you gawked at the form in your hand as you carefully placed the envelope back into 'Katrine's' desk.
"UA application form?"
'Katrine' nodded grimly before wetting her lower lip. " The 'Upper Council' wants you to enroll UA Academy. You get the freedom to choose which department since it doesn't really matter which one. Your task is to aid UA on capturing a 'Person of Interest' and Data Gathering for the 'Upper Council' ".
You understood the assassination part quickly since it's your everyday job but...' What kind of information' you thought for a second before reading the application form in your hands. " Permission to ask for confirmation, Ma'am"
"Granted."
"What does the 'Upper Council'(the old farts circle) wanted?"
"... All might is teaching at UA this year. The old farts circle as you quote on quotetittle them wanted to make sure he doesn't break. They don't like the idea of their favorite 'toy' going to be discarded sooner. Also, there's another one."
You shifted in your feet. Double assignment. Really?
" Seems that 'Threadlink' managed to infiltrate UA. From our sources, 'Threadlink' had submitted a copy of one of his smurf identities. I have already informed the principal about this and we agreed to send support. Granted they can do this on their own but the 'Upper Council' pushed on getting the secret service on cleaning it up. "
You returned to your position arms tucked behind your back with a steer look in your eyes.
"Your mission is to assist UA in capturing 'Threadlink'. The 'Upper Council' wants is clean with no strings attached. " In short, the 'Upper Council' wants you to assassinate someone.
"Do you copy, Operator?"
"Hah!"
"Good. Dismissed."