Best mission ever, thought Red as he stirred on a deck chair in an attempt to find the most comfortable position, the piece of beach equipment squeaking slightly as it tried to support Red´s well-built, seven feet frame. It was hot and the sun was shining, only occasionally obscured by a wandering cloud.

He sipped his daiquiri and continued to watch over the objective of his mission, who was currently swimming around in the azure sea. He ran his left hand through his spiked up hair, feeling the heat accumulated in the dark blue strands, covered with streaks of lighter blue scattered here and there. The black guildmark on his left forearm was clearly outlined on his tanned skin that was disrupted by minor scars.

The said objective was Mariko, more affectionately dubbed Marimari-chan by her fans. She was a woman of unparalleled beauty, her straight violet-pink cut fashionably short and her bright green eyes always smiling above the small nose sprinkled with a light dusting of freckles. She had a fit, delicate figure and perfect porcelain skin without blemishes. With looks like these, it was really no wonder she chose swimsuit and underwear modeling to go along her career as a singer.

Red watched Mariko come out from the water and make her way across the white sand, shaking the excess water out of her hair. He resisted the urge to whistle appreciatively. With every day spent at the beach, the young singer whipped out a completely new model for each day.

This was the sixth day of their mission and Mariko outdid all of her previously-worn models with the intricate tangle of vibrant yellow strings that that safely hid everything important yet appeared very revealing.

"Will one of you boys help me spread the tanning lotion over my back?" Mariko called out playfully with her angelic voice to the three Moondrop members stationed around.

Red lowered his sunglasses, revealing his striking electric blue eyes, and cast a lazy look to the other two. Jackson, standing behind him, didn´t look like he would leave the spot from which he could observe the entire area. How the hell does he not swelter in that attire.

Indeed, Jackson Evans insisted on wearing his usual attire consisting of dark gray dress shirt, black vest and tie, long black pants and black shoes. The young man decided to forgo comfort in place of professionalism, despite their employer´s casual attitude.

Jackson was the youngest of them three at 17 years, two years younger than Red himself. He was no shorty for his age, but Red still towered over him ten full inches. He was well groomed, with neat brown hair shaved short on the sides and the rest of the hair brushed to the right side. His brown, monolid eyes were calmly scanning the area.

The remaining man did not lose any time in taking up the request and with a friendly grin, as he briskly made his way to the waiting Mariko. "Anytime you call, my dear angel."

"Cassidy, you huge flirt," Mariko purred, but she was already lying down on her belly and the man called Cassidy started working on untangling the strings that her bikini top consisted of. They quickly came undone. He obviously was not new to this.

Cassidy was the oldest of them three at twenty-eight years. He was very attractive, with his slender build and shorter height at five feet nine. With refined features and fair skin he looked as if he was brought to life from any girl´s dream. His smoky, pale blue-grey eyes were radiating nonchalant confidence. His thick hair was a shade of reddish brown. They were short and well groomed, as he got a new haircut only recently before accepting the mission.

A complicated tangle of tattoos spread across his skin, going around the occasional scars that crisscrossed the man´s body as well as the black guild mark on the left side of his chest. Element-themed tattoos covered his left arm and a mighty mural of mythical creatures meshed with technology spread over his back, stretching as he reached for the bottle of lotion.

"I wish my skin wasn´t this pale," Mariko complained to her pillow as Cassidy squirted some of the lotion into his palms. "I tan very poorly. Unless I´m careful, I burn rather than tan. I don´t wanna go to the next photo shoot and blind everyone with my skin. And all these other models in my line of work have beautiful, sun-kissed skin. And then I come along and it´s as if you slapped cookie dough on a pile of fresh, gold-baked cookies."

"Well, I don´t know anyone who didn´t try to stuff their mouth full of cookie dough when their mom wasn´t looking," Cassidy quickly retorted, going along with Mariko´s strange comparison as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Mm," Mariko thought about his comment for a moment while his hands continued to work on her back. "You might be right."

Their exchange was halted when the sound of barely-audible humming reached them. A small black drone was maneuvering in the air, trying to position itself above the residence. A small camera was attached to it, the objective extending and shrinking as it tried to zoom in on the people on the beach.

Mariko cast a glance upwards and then turned back to lay down. "Leave it be. It´s just paparazzi. Or more like parasyzzi – like parasytes. Won´t give you a minute of time for yourself. You go out with your guy friend you haven´t seen since your childhood and next thing you know, you´re reading tabloid sensations speculating if you´ve finally found your soul mate or even if you´re hiding pregnancy. I tried to resist at first, but it´s no use. You only get used to it," she grumbled. "Oh, and you guys should prepare for that too now. The underwear model Marimari-chan is spending a week full of burning passion in a seaside residence with three handsome studs."

"I don´t think I would mind," Cassidy said, spreading the rest of the lotion.

"No, that won´t do for the guild´s reputation," Jackson called out from the top. He turned and walked inside the villa only to return with his custom-made compound bow and one arrow. With a well-rehearsed move, he set the bowstring into the groove and adeptly trained the bow onto the invading drone.

"Permission to take down the spying apparatus trespassing on private property?"

"Affirmative, corporal." Mariko mock-saluted from her lying position and Jackson smiled and released the arrow. With deadly accuracy, it pierced the drone, and continued its flight until it sank into the floor of an inflatable motor boat. The fat guy who operated the drone abandoned his goal and floored the gas pedal in an effort to get to the shore before his boat deflated.

"Thanks! You´ve spared us from the rumor mill for now. Had I known, I wouldn´t´ve wrote send your most handsome guys into the mission request when I filed it in."

"If you did that, you wouldn´t enjoy your holidays as much as you do, now would you?" Cassidy retorted.

"Ah well, that´s true. By the way," Mariko turned her head to look at Jackson. "Who in this age of modern machinery has a bow as their weapon of choice?"

"A quality bow can have many surprising uses compared to a standard firearm," Jackson said as he walked onto the little private beach. "It´s completely silent, portable, you can reuse the arrows, you can use it in close ranged combat, you can use the parts separately as blades, or the bowstring to start a fire..."

"Ah, I see," Mariko said, "that does make sense."

"Jack also uses a sword," Cassidy added his two cents. "And Red has daggers."

"I have no excuse," Red called from his deck chair. "Daggers are cool. And easier to use in close combat."

"So you guys literally bring swords to a gunfight, huh?" Mariko laughed.

"There´s more to it than that," Jackson said. "Our guild unites both those born with and without magic, if they have the abilities to back it up. Some mages carry weapons as a backup to their magic, those who can´t use magic are either weapon experts or use weapons as complements to their abilities."

"So if I, let´s say, was able to sing the high C and be able to shatter glass with my voice, I could join your guild?"

"It´s not as easy," Jackson replied. "Several more factors come into play. If you actually were able to do that, that´d mean plus points for you, but to what it really boils down in the end is how well you are able to complete a mission with or without this ability as well as certain personal factors."

"So you´d let basically anyone join?"

"Mostly yes, if they´re able to do missions." Red unwillingly rose from his deck chair to join the discussion below. This revealed the huge demon bat tattoo depicted on his back. "Our Master has a weak spot for people. She doesn´t care about power all that much, what really matters is that the guild is one big family."

"That sounds nice." A distant gaze appeared in Mariko´s green eyes for a moment. "Your Master must be a very kind woman."

"Well, she´s kind of... How can I put it..." Red started.

"Peculiar?" Cassidy offered.

"Yes, something like that. You´d have to meet her to understand."

"Who knows, I might stop by in Eraklyon on a tour one day. Perhaps I could meet your Master then." Mariko paused for a while, then she turned to Jackson. "Could you bring me another Caipirinha? With lot of honey in it? These vocal cords need soothing before I start using them again tomorrow."

"At it, right away," Jackson said and hurried away to prepare the beverage. Mariko let out a breath and relaxed onto the deck chair.

Mariko however wasn´t allowed the luxury to savor her drink outside as the few clouds in the sky ganged up and big, fat raindrops began falling all around the three people. Mariko held her bikini top firmly pressed to her chest as the trio retreated into the villa to seek refuge from the sudden tropical storm.

"...and so she´s all like: if you accept the Yay Boy offer to go nude, I´ll have no choice other than shoot everyone involved before the photographs see the light of the world," Mariko laughed, finishing her anecdote.

It was evening and the four were currently seated around a table in the small but luxurious dining room. The dish of this evening, salmon with sweet potatoes, laid eaten in front of them, only bones remaining on the plates. Clanking of kitchen equipment was heard from the kitchenette where the private chef, who was included with the housing, was cleaning up after himself.

"I didn´t know you have a twin sister," Jackson remarked.

"It´s not a very well-known fact," Mariko explained, "she´s not the type that likes attention and publicity. Either way, I haven´t seen her since she ran away from the orphanage. I wonder how she´s doing now, but I have no way of contacting her."

Red found himself liking the young woman more by the minute. When they accepted the mission, he had no expectations of how their employer would turn out. He imagined she´d be spoiled and bossy, like most young starlets tend to be, but upon meeting her closer, he found that she actually was a pleasant company.

The two bottles of fine red wine from X1208 were slowly being emptied and the evening was progressing pleasantly. With Jackson refusing to join due to being underage ("and have you forgotten that we are on a mission here?"), it was only up to Mariko, Cassidy and Red to make good use of the wine.

The mood was becoming more relaxed as the last rays of sunlight vanished behind the sea. Jackson soon excused himself from the table, to make the rounds, as he said, leaving the three to each have their last toast.

"For Moondrop! May your magic stay strong and your weapons sharp! And all your guys be handsome! Cheers!" Mariko raised her glass.

"And babes! Don´t forget the babes!" Cassidy chimed in. The three clinked their glasses and sipped the wine.

Red was absentmindedly playing with his glass, swirling the bloody red liquid and watching it glisten in the light of the light bulb above them. He could feel the alcohol seeping into his mind, coating it with cotton-like feeling, lulling it into a relaxed state, but he was far from drunk. He just grew quieter and preferred to observe what was happening around him.

The same couldn´t be said about Mariko. Although her eyes weren´t clouded by the liquor, her soft giggling was filling the air as Cassidy was whispering something Red couldn´t make out into her ear. Red eventually started feeling like a third wheel and excused himself from the table as well.

As he rose up from his chair and was walking past the two remaining occupants of the table, he noticed that Cassidy was softly stroking Mariko´s thigh, and that Mariko was leaning closer to Cassidy. Last thing he saw before leaving the room was Mariko laying his hand on top of Cassidy´s and smiling. Then the doors closed behind him.

Jackson returned from his perimeter check into the room the three of them were assigned to sleep in during the course of their mission. He found Red packing his things for their journey home tomorrow.

"Wha..." he started, too indignant to ever properly finish a sentence. "Are you serious?"

"What, why?" Red asked, not even turning from where he tried to unsuccessfully close his bursting traveling sack.

"Those are the shower gel bottles that our bathroom was provided with. And shampoo. And shaving foam."

"Hey, this stuff is for us to use. If we haven´t used it during the week, it´s okay if we take it home with us. It´s free," Red grinned.

"I have no words for you," Jackson stated, still unbelieving. "I´m going to shower before I take the first night watch."

"You might not want to walk too near around Mariko´s room tonight. You might hear thing you don´t want to hear," Red warned with a cryptic smile. "Besides, I´m sure her room will be very guarded this night."

"What´s what supposed to mean?"

Red left the question unanswered, turning his attention back to his sack. Jackson decided to let it go, shaking his head and walking towards the bathroom door.

After a few minutes, the sound of shower ceased and sound of the shower screen opening could be heard. What came next sounded like a beautiful song in Red´s ears.

"HEY! WHERE ARE THE TOWELS?"

Red whistled innocently. He pushed his new towels deeper into the sack and was finally able to close it.

In the following morning Mariko´s short vacation ended. A black limousine arrived to pick the young model up. Mariko was just bidding goodbye to the trio of adventurers.

"What if I requested you three to watch over me next year, eh?" she asked as she hugged Red and gave him a light peck on the cheek. "I was thinking of Espero. I´ve heard they have the best nightclubs in the entire Alakitasia."

"Why not? We´d be glad to go anywhere with you," Cassidy gave her a smile, just as she moved in to bid her farewell to him as well.

He and Red now wore their usual clothes. Cassidy wore a plain white shirt with his sleeves rolled up and black jeans. He didn´t part with his well-worn dark brown work shoes. Red was dressed in an open black leather jacket with an undershirt underneath, a pair of jeans an high-collar leather boots.

"Thank you so much for everything. I had a fun week," Mariko lusciously smiled at Cassidy. Then she turned to all three of them. "If I ever have a concert in your area, just contact my manager, give her your names and you´ll get free VIP tickets." She smiled for the last time and turned to leave. "Well, till then!" and then she was capering away towards the waiting limousine.

A big, bald man in a dress suit with black tie and a pair of shades, who was obviously a bodyguard, opened the backdoor for her. His employer just greeted him with 'aww, John, look at you, even you tanned more than I did during your break,' and then the door closed and Mariko vanished out of sight behind the tinted glass.

The man nodded in the Moondrop member´s direction, acknowledging their services during the week, got into the car on the position of the driver and the limousine took off. The back window opened and a pale hand appeared, waving. The three waved back until the luxurious car disappeared from the driveway.

"Well that was a surprisingly uneventful mission," Jackson remarked once the car was out of sight.

"True, but well paid," Red replied. "It´s not every day that you´re offered a mission that pays 250 000 crowns each for basically lazing around on a beach for a week. Can´t complain."

"And she was a babe too," Cassidy said, his eyes still watching the driveway.

"Yeah," Red laughed, "besides, it´s not like every mission degenerates into a fight. We got a royally payed vacation."

The other two nodded. The mission was over, there was nothing else to be done. They gathered their belongings and set out to the nearby city to book bullet train tickets back home to Eraklyon.

Credits: Ambrosia Vivian – LightningPanda

Milo Reeves – Mary Allen (me)

Reddim Lee Nocturne – Kive660

Jackson Evans – Deniable0712

Cassidy McCauley - AltairaMotives

AN: Did you just read a chapter where nothing really happened? Yes, yes you did. I never thought I was capable of creating something without action, light-hearted banter only, and yet here I am. I have a few things I wish to say.

One: I am apologizing for lateness. And I apologize for lateness in advance. I won´t apologize again, but this might be a common occurrence in the future. I´m in my last year of high school and the work load is just insane, and it hasn´t even begun properly yet. So you´ll probably we waiting a while before you see another chapter, but it shouldn´t stretch for months. I literally have to bring my notebook to school to write this because at home there is only time for homework.

Two: English isn´t my first language and neither it is my beta´s. So I´m sorry if there are any grammar errors and similar. On this note, I would like to thank my beta and my best friend at the same time, scarlet the hunter, for proofreading the chapter (ya took damn too long ya fat bitch. Love ya).

Three: I don´t consider myself much of a writer, so any kind of constructive criticism will be very appreciated. That includes the three I wrote this chapter as well as those whose characters haven´t appeared yet.

Four: That´s about all I can think of now. Huge thanks to everyone who submitted, the spots filled very fast and are not open anymore. There are a few who haven´t sent me a character yet, namely RedMoonRabbit, KingKatsu, Dreadburner94 and PainX65. I´m not pressuring you since I know you are the types that take longer. Just take all the time you need.

I´ll see you next time!