Authors Note: I just want to say, I am actually really excited for this story. I am constantly thinking about it and hopefully, you guys will come to enjoy it as much as I am currently. Also, shout out to Grammarly for catching all of my dumb mistakes and making my life 100x easier. But I say that and then it manages to annoy me. If there are grammar mistakes here my apologies, the constant strain of red under my protagonist's name is killing me right now.


Obligations

If nothing else, one thing was clear, neither of them wanted to be here. Both Initiator and Promoter laid slumped, spread eagle on opposite couches with bored and irritated expressions on their faces.

Doug leaned back in his chair and tried to stifle his laughter. "What the hell is this?" he asked, slapping his thighs. "You guys are already perfectly in sync! It's like a match made in heaven!"

"With this punk? My ass we do, man." Nico sighed in exasperation, "She's like a goddamn mute, too! How the hell am I supposed to work with this?" He very animatedly pointed a finger across the room.

Unimpressed with Nico's outburst, Nina stared back blankly, not moving even an inch of her body from its comfortable sprawled out position.

Looking on completely amused, Doug nodded his head vigorously with a grin, "I'm sure you two have your own thoughts, but I think this is gonna turn out to be a great partnership." His words were met with silence and a scoff. "Anyways..." Doug began gripping the stress toy on his desk, "What do you plan on doing after this, Nico? It's not like I have any assignments for you today."

"Beats me, I've got the whole day freed up."

"In that case, you should buy some clothes for lil' Nina over there. I mean look at her, she's still wearing the rags from the facilities."

"I barely have enough cash for food, let alone buying clothes for a kid."

Doug, as always, was not so easily deterred. He rummaged through his desk drawers and tossed something at Nico. "Consider this an advance on your pay. Now go buy something that makes it so she doesn't look like she just came out from working in the mines."

Nico groaned as he caught the wad of cash. He shook his head in disbelief and then rose from his seat. "Yo, Nina. Let's go."

She remained spread on the couch, as if she hadn't heard him. The young girl yawned and sank further into the cushions.

"Oh! I forgot," Doug spoke up suddenly, reached into one of his desk drawers and threw a pair of old, beaten up sneakers at Nico's feet. "Can't have her walking around barefoot either.".

"Why do- Nevermind… Let's go." He grabbed the girl by the edge of her robes and pulled her off the couch, forcing her to quickly adjust onto her feet so that she wouldn't fall. Her hand balled into a fist and struck at Nico, but her Promoter was already halfway out the door. Reluctantly, shoes in hand, she followed.

With the nearing winter, the morning streets were cold and chilly. Nico was dressed for the weather, but Nina had only a set of rags to cover her. Although she tried her best to hide it, Nico noticed how every now and then Nina's small body would shake and shudder.

Nico's eyes searched the street, but he wasn't confident he was going to find any clothing stores within the nearby area, and the street vendors weren't going to be out during this time of day, especially in the cold season. Yet, Nico's attention was drawn to something. It was a thrift store, presumably new, as he had never seen it before. He grabbed Nina's hand, which was already freezing cold, and dragged her into the store.

A blast of hot, warm air welcomed them. He let go of Nina's hand and turned to her, "Okay, go around and find a few clothes you want. Stick to warm and cheap, aight?" Without even acknowledging him, and much to Nico's exasperation, the little Initiator wandered off on her own.

"The young ones are always a bit troubling, are they not?" said a voice behind him. It sounded old and gentle, but the unexpectedness of it startled him. "My, my, sorry to scare you like that."

It was an old woman, no older than eighty, but no younger than seventy, Nico thought so at least. Silver hair trailed down from her head like overgrown vines left unkept. Her face was defined by wrinkles and spots, but her smile had a tranquil, comforting nature to it.

"To have a daughter at your age, why I hope you're ready for the challenge ahead." Her tone of voice seemed to lecture him, disagreeing completely with the plastered smile.

Taken aback by her sudden remark, Nico was audibly stunned for a moment. "Umm, she's not my daughter," he somehow managed to fumble out.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The old woman looked around briefly as if she were checking that no one was around and then continued. "Some women these days! Sleeping around and then forcing the baby onto another man, and at your age too! But it's great of you to take on that responsibility, sweetheart."

Nico was at a loss for words. The assumptions this crow kept making left him speechless. He didn't even think he looked old enough to look like a dad. Fortunately for him, her attention suddenly shifted focus from the flabbergasted teen. Nico felt a tug on his pants leg and he looked down to see Nina holding a bundle of clothing.

"My, my, aren't you adorable?" The old lady approached Nina, attempting to pat her on the head. But Nina swatted the hand away. She responded with a gasp, clearly shocked that any child would act in such a manner. Her smile disappeared completely and a scowl formed on her face. She seemed on the verge of scolding Nina, but Nico quickly cut in.

"Why don't you just ring us up now?" While Nico tried to suppress his laughter, an ill-mannered grin spread across his face.

Grumpily, the old lady walked around the counter. She reluctantly checked out the clothes that Nina had given to Nico.

"Wow, these are pretty cheap aren't they?" he said out of surprise. Nico knew he had told her to watch the price, but he didn't expect a little girl to thrift so well. "Is this like one of your hidden talents or something?" he chuckled mockingly and turned to Nina. She wasn't there. In fact, the young girl wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Your total is $20.78…" The old woman clapped her hands against the counter, her already short supply of patience running dry.

"Ah, right…" Handing over the money, Nico grabbed both bags of clothes and hurried out of the store, believing that Nina had headed out before him. Nina was nowhere to be seen.

"She better not have run off…" Grumbling, Nico hoped he hadn't managed to lose track of his troublesome partner.

Moments later, Nina peeked her head out of the store, locked eyes with Nico, then quickly strolled out towards him in a sort of fixed, stiff motion. There was a slight urge for Nico to question her, but figuring she wouldn't answer anyway, he ignored it and started back home.

As soon as they arrived back at the apartment, Nina locked herself in the bathroom with her new selection of clothes. Nico had no complaints, happy to have some time to himself.

"If there's nothing else to do today…" Nico murmured, walking into the kitchen and peeking into the fridge. He saw enough inside to make a basic meal for two. Laying out a head of broccoli, some packaged meat, and half a carrot on the counter, Nico washed down a knife and went to work.

The smell of a faint fire coming from the kitchen caught Nina's attention when she finally left the restroom. Curious, the Initiator made room for herself on the kitchen counter, observing as her new Promoter uneventfully watched over the boiling vegetables. The boiling of vegetables being a task that required little attention, Nico took a moment to look towards Nina, wondering about her new look. Instead of her tattered robes, Nina was now wearing a dark red sweater and sweatpants. "Looks like you're wearing a jumper," he commented.

From her lackluster reaction, different from her usual lack of reaction, Nico figured she didn't quite understand what the word meant. Before he could explain, the alarm on his cell went off. The sound was distinct from when someone called him.

"Don't touch anything," he told Nina as he went to check on his phone.

Somewhat irritated by his tone, she felt an impulse to mess with the stove. Her hand reached for the heat knob but she was startled by Nico's sudden voice.

"Turn the stove off and put lids on the pots, we need to be somewhere, now."

Although she had already been planning to turn off the stove, now that Nico wanted her to do so, Nina felt reluctant. But the urgency in his words managed to sway her.

Before Nina had managed to even slip into her shoes, Nico was already halfway out the door. "Hurry up!" He barked at her.

Nina wondered how long they'd been running. While she could easily keep her current pace for far longer, she was impressed with how Nico was holding. Although it was obvious some faint fatigue was beginning to set in, his strides did not break.

Nico pulled out his phone, something he had done several times since they left the apartment, and glanced over the screen quickly. "After this corner ahead of us, get ready." His words were breathy, but his tone got through to Nina. As soon as they turned the corner, the young Promoter switched his grip from his phone to the gun holstered on his belt.

The duo happened to turn onto an empty street, but they did not relax. Nico scanned his surroundings, his eyes darting back and forth. While there seemed nothing suspicious with the immediate area, he observed that the end of the road, the street split off left and right, a tall concrete wall blocking any area straight ahead. With tense steps, Nico kept forwards with Nina at his back. It seemed he didn't need to tell his new partner how to proceed, she was experienced after all. Further ahead, a sound similar to a car being crushed caught Nico's attention. "Up ahead!" He sprinted towards it.

If he had run any slower, he would've been dead. Nico's swift reaction threw himself into the wall in front of him. He barely made out what previously was the hood of a car whizzing past his ear. While it hurt to throw oneself shoulder first into a solid concrete, it was obvious to him having one's face decapitated would hurt far more.

Quickly readjusting his eyes to the situation in front of him, Nico tensed. It hadn't noticed Nico's sudden tumble, but standing plain in view was a deer Gastrea, mutated several sizes larger than that of a regular animal. The beast's fur was tangled and overgrown as if shrubbery covered its exterior flesh. Its antlers were larger, edges seemingly far sharper than its regular counterpart. Instead of piercing or cutting him, if those things made contact, he knew they'd cut him clean apart. From how quick the car's hood flew at him and the size of its legs, there was no doubt in Nico's mind that a solid collision would be nearly fatal. For some reason it was already bleeding, several small bullet holes puncturing its thick body, but none in meaningful places.

A temporary sense of relief swept his body, but when he realized what the mutant had fixed its gaze on, the tension and adrenaline returned. Back against the remains of the wall, bleeding from the stomach, and clutching what was left of his left arm was a person, a male. From a glance, he was certainly older than Nico, and his wrangled blonde hair was stained with deep red blood, different from that of the Gastrea's. To Nico's surprise, the man sat there with a wide, almost delirious grin on his face.

Instinctively, the promoter's arms rose, finger smashing into the trigger. A gravelly whine reverberated through the air. A dark purple liquid splattered and dripped against the ground, blood from a freshly formed gash across the mutant deer's temple.

The young Promoter knew it was only a matter of time before the Gastrea's focus would shift towards him. While the Gastrea thrashed its head and neck about, Nico rose to his feet, holding a steady aim on the beast. He started to inch closer, but before Nic could take another step, a slight figure flew in between the Gastrea and the wounded Promoter. Like flames, her hair waved in the air as she swooped down from the roof above. Even from this distance, Nico could see the red glare in her eyes, but instead of the anger and irritation, he was so familiar with, panic and distress framed these eyes.

A swift kick came down across the snout of the already upset Gastrea, but it was apparent that close quarter combat was not this girl's forte. While her kick seemed to daze the deer temporarily, she landed far from gracefully, flat on her back, completely exposed to the Gastrea along with the man beside her. That was when Nico realized she was an Initiator, and the man most likely a Promoter. The Gastrea stomped the ground, pummeling the concrete beneath it, and lifted a leg towards the now defenseless Initiator.

Nico shot and shouted. The sound of his firearm already muffled his words, but "Nin-" was all he managed to say before a gust of wind caught his face and a blur of red dashed out of the corner of his eye.

With her foot splitting the concrete, Nina launched herself shoulder first into the lower side of the Gastrea's gut. The unexpected collision sweep the unbalanced deer Gastrea off its feet, Nina's power and momentum taking it crashing down onto a nearby pile of rubble. Not letting a second to waste, Nina reorientated herself mid-air, smashing a leg down on the Gastrea's body and springing back to safety. Her eyes were a fearsome red, and her breathing was heavy.

Nico cut in between the toppled over Gastrea and the Promoter and Initiator pair that Nina had just saved. "Get him somewhere safe!" His voice was harsh, hesitating so close to the beast was not an option. He fired into the Gastrea's exposed neck, which caused the body to jerk violently, legs swinging in every possible direction. Debris nearly hit him, but Nico was reacting well. He trusted that those two had managed to flee somewhere safe, solely focused on the danger in front of him.

"Nina!" He called out, but she was already on it. The Initiator brought down ferocious power, driving a bone-shattering double-legged stomp into the Gastrea's hind legs. It's deafening whines echoed out in shattered breaks, legs and body gradually losing responsiveness.

Even through his clothes, he could feel the hot stench of the Gastrea's breath run between his legs. It's glaring crimson eyes blinked, fading ever so slightly in color, as Nico approached the beast. A faint whimper fell from its snout, followed by the crackle and lingering smell of gunpowder.

"Nina." The young Promoter turned to find his Initiator stood atop a hill of rubble, staring intently at the fallen Gastrea. "Come on, we're going to search for those two."

"Over there," mumbled Nina, eyes still glued on the monster, but pointing to the exposed wall of a nearby building.

Nico huffed, a sort of tolerance directed at his Initiator, and went ahead.

Corridor after corridor, hallway after hallway, Nico searched until he heard their panicked and sharp breathing. He sat against the wall, hand clutched to his side while she fixed together a makeshift bandage. Nico saw him put his hand out towards hers and shake his head.

"It's too late for that now," the grimaces from the pain betrayed his soft tone. The older man reached into what appeared to be a holster by his back. He pulled out the gun and handed it to the red-haired girl. The brave ember eyes from before were now a smothered out black. Hesitantly, she grabbed onto the gun, clutching it clumsily to her seemingly fragile chest.

The man choked out a laugh, a splutter of blood following out of his mouth. He smiled and readjusted the gun in her hands, aiming it at himself. "There's not much time left, hurry," he pleaded, still smiling.

Having seen enough, Nico stepped forward, but the patter of footsteps was already ahead of him.

The girl shook, her arms shook, her legs shook, her knees buckled. Her eyes snapped shut and she turned away. But before she pulled the trigger, the gun was snatched from her trembling hands. Nina growled, jamming the barrel of the gun against the man's head. Her eyes the color of his leaking blood. He looked past Nina, her furious eyes, and the gun, prompting Nina to push harder, smashing his dome against the wall.

"Enough," interjected Nico, grabbing onto his Initiator's firing arm. "Give me the gun." Her finger remained latched onto the trigger. "Give me the fucking gun." Hostility and anger spilled out with each word. He yanked the gun out of her hand, Nina relenting.

"Get her out of here," he motioned at the red-haired girl, crumpled on her knees.

Nina tugged at the girl's shirt, but she wouldn't budge. "She won't move," spoke Nina matter-of-factly.

"I'm not repeating myself again, GET HER OUT OF HERE." Plainly, Nina picked up the still and inanimate girl, turned towards a window and made her own exit out of the building.

The man, ragged in cloth, face, and body, looked up at the young promoter. "So you'll be the one, huh? Either way, you better hur-"

Bullet shells had already hit the floor. Purple blood oozed down from his wounds, overwhelming the small pool of red.

"I fucking heard you the first time," muttered an exasperated Nico, collapsing against the wall behind him. "Kids shouldn't have to deal with crap like this."