Chapter Seven: Gray's First Mission

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"Wait, really?" Gray sat dumbfounded as he shifted his gaze between the piece of paper and the cobalt eyes staring him down.

Sighing from growing irritation of his comrade, the rosette muttered once more: "Like I keep saying, I think you're ready to take on a mission..."

"A-and the tar-target is..." His voice trailing off as his onyx lowered onto the large black print at the bottom of the page, "Purehito Hades, he's the politician that running for office right? Why is he a target?" The raven glanced up in curiosity.

A moment of silence then: "Dunno... Levi or Lucy should be able to tell us," Natsu shrugged his shoulders before heading over to the info brokers' office whilst motioning for the other to follow, which Gray did obediently.

"Hey, anyone here?!" The moment they entered the white-walled office, the rosette called out loudly in case either of the girls were in their bedrooms; both of them had insisted that it was better to have their office and bedrooms connected in case of all-nighters.

Stumbling out of a room to their right was the petite blue-haired girl Gray had met his first time here, Levi glared at the tanned male before biting out a response: "I swear if it wasn't for the fact that I love you like a little brother, I would have shot you many times for yelling like that,"

Flashing a wide grin that caught the raven off-guard and left staring until it disappeared, the petite girl sighed before walking over to the stack of papers on her desk, "Here," as she held them out towards them.

"I take it this is your first mission, Gray" She smiled warmly at him before continuing on: "Well, in case this idiot hasn't told you... I'll also be tagging along. You'll learn that on any mission you go on that someone from either the branches of the intelligence will tag along, though since the 'info-broker' branch I belong to doesn't have much physical training - we usually stay in a well-hidden location. The other branch specializes in infiltration and,"glaring at Natsu, "despite what he wishes to believe... he's not a part of it,"

"Hey... We both know I'm just as good as them," lowering his voice to a whisper, "...if not better," causing a small smile to soften the girl's features as she nodded her head in response: "I know, Natsu... and by the end of the month, Gray will too~"

Finally deciding to voice his question: "So then what branch of this crazy organization do you belong to?" onyx eyes glanced over to his roommate; he never figured there was more parts of the organization than those who gathered information and ...the killers?

"Reconnaissance... once your skills develop you'll be placed in a branch as well," At this point, another person chimed in that the raven instantly recognized as Lucy: "Although considering who has been training you, you'll likely be in recon with Natsu,"

"Who else is in this branch?" Gray spoke up.

Counting on her fingers, both girls began naming off members: "Let's see... there's Natsu, Ultear, Hibiki, Jenny, Eve, Gajeel..." at the mention of the last name, the raven immediately felt the atmosphere in the room grow heavy.

"W-was he the one who...?" Gray began with uncertainty that was absolved when he felt a firm grasp on his shoulder, Natsu slowly nodded his head: "Yeah, he's the one who disappeared... and whose coin you picked up..."

When the rosette mentioned the coin that began it all, he asked: "So what's the reason behind the coin?"

Lucy answered with a bright smile: "Its so that members never forget that they always have a home to come back to,"

"Speaking of which," reaching into her pocket before Levi held out her hand, "here you go, this is for you"

Onyx eyes watched as a piece of silver the size of a nickel fell onto the palm of his hand; opposed to the other coin that led him here, the silver piece in his hand clearly showed the kanji for home. A small smile spread across his face as he thanked the petite girl for the coin, who merely smiled back before the trio started debriefing on the target.

"So mister politician is undergoing heart surgery at the elite Grandeeney Medical Center tonight," Levi began as the both males' eyes scanned over the pages taking in as much info as they could.

Before either of them could speak, the info broker continued: "Despite all the smiles and heart-winning speeches he gives, Hades has a hand in the black market-"

"Black market, huh? Which sector?" Natsu interruption earned a very hard glare from her, who sighed before muttering: "Medical... Organs,"

Unsure what or even how to react appropriately, Gray was surprised when the rosette suddenly scoffed: "Lame... Don't wanna," before tossing the file on top of the stacks upon stacks of files on a nearby desk.

The next thing the raven knew, Natsu was nursing his head from a possible bump that would appear while Levi stood over him, angered holding a rolled up newspaper that seemed to have magically appeared; "I don't care if you think its lame, idiot! A mission is a mission and you two," switching her glare onto the innocent newcomer, "are gonna do it, ya hear?!"

"Yes," The rosette sniffled in defeat while Gray nodded his head in agreement; he hadn't expected the petite girl do a complete 180.

For the rest of the day, the rosette explained to him what is needed on a mission as the two were packing for theirs tonight: "Alright, now since you're new... we'll just do a quick checklist,"

Inhaling before his mouth began listing off things, leaving the raven little time to actually check: "Gun,"

"Check"

"Medical scrubs,"

"Check,"

"Knife,"

"Check," The list continued on as his partner listed even the smallest of things; when their stuff was ready, both changed into the scrubs they had 'borrowed' from the hospital their target was staying at. With his shirt still off, Gray waited as he felt Natsu behind him attaching his gun holster - his finger occasionally brushing against his skin burning each spot they touched. After the rosette was done, he could still feel residual heat at his lower back; pushing the feeling aside, all that was left was to head out with Levi on their tails carrying only a small bag. When they reached the garage where all the cars of the organization were parked - his own Honda parked with a new paint job to cover the mess Natsu had made when he was discovered bleeding. Deciding it was less conspicuous, Levi slid into the driver seat as the boys sat in the back; once they were on the road heading to the hospital, the petite info broker spoke: "There are transmitters in the bag," tossing the bag she had been carrying in the back, "make sure you put one in your ear so we can stay in touch at all times... and the other one is on the nametags I forged for you both... make sure you take the right one,"

Natsu handed over one of the badges as the raven handed over the other earpiece; flipping the nametag over he saw the word 'medical interims' in red letters. The thoughts of his failure came rushing back in a flood that would rival even Noah's Ark and just like back then, warmth stopped the dread as the rosette squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.

"Alright, here's the quick run-down," Levi began as she continued making her way down the darkening streets, "you two are medical interims who are simply checking in on patients... but your primary objective is the assassination of Purehito Hades, understand?" A sharp glare back forced a united 'understood' to slip out both males' mouths.

Pulling to a stop on a barely-lit street, both Natsu and Gray hurried out of the car the moment it stopped; the raven followed closely behind his comrade as they casually entered the hospital. Swiping their I.D. badges, they made it past security without any issues; adrenaline was pumping through Gray's system leaving him on a bit of a high - never before had Gray felt so light and free; his body felt unstoppable...

"Stop it" The two stood alone in a corridor wearing blue scrubs; Natsu peering over the corner to take in the security surrounding the door that held their target behind it.

The raven watching, in case any of the hospital staff started heading their way, muttered a quiet: "Stop what?"

"Playing the Mission Impossible theme song in your head,"

Snapping his head over to his partner, he stuttered: "H-How did you-?"

"You're moving like you are,"

Before Gray could try and defend himself, a soft grumble of: "Boys..." whispered through their ear pieces. Levi.

Cobalt eyes watched as a pair of doctors exited the room, discussing amongst themselves as they headed in their direction; turning so he appeared to be reading a chart, he waited until the doctors were out of sight to enact his plan. A gentle tug on the raven's scrubs was his signal to follow, Natsu calmly walked down the corridor towards the body guards before posed the question: "Can we help you?"

"Yes, We're interims with Dr. Wakaba and we were sent to take some blood from the patient for testing" Gray couldn't believe it; the rosette was unnaturally amazing at acting - standing behind his comrade with a blank expression on his face as he held the bag they had swiped from the nurses' station, the raven waited and hoped things would go well.

Scoffing one of the body guards muttered, "Make it quick," before opening the door; both of them stepped inside and the door was shut behind them.

"Do it, Gray" Hard cobalt eyes stared at his partner, who swallowed the lump in his throat; the key detail that wasn't brought to his attention until it was too late - Gray would be the one to kill the corrupt politician.

Grabbing the gun with the silencer he had hid inside the swiped bag, the raven walked over to the unconscious elder as his heart beat loudly in his chest like a jackhammer; cold sweats breaking out all over his body as he lifted the metal machine and aimed it at the decided point of entry - his head. Index finger on the trigger and licking his suddenly dry lips, onyx eyes narrowed as he tried to clear his mind much like he had been told constantly. All he had to do now was squeezed back on the trigger, keeping his arms slightly bent to control the recoil and then slip away with Natsu by his side...

BEEP! BEEEEEEP! BE-BEEEP!

Panicking Gray froze in his spot as he felt his body rushed through the doorway before being quickly lead away from the scene; he hadn't been expecting that the noise from the heart monitor would be so deafening. He was barely keeping up with Natsu, who wasn't worried as he simply explained that his friend almost fainted from the blood they had taken.

"Gray! Snap out of it!" Natsu's yell fell on deaf ears as the raven slowly sank to his knees a mile away from the hospital; he couldn't believe it...

He just killed someone...

Him, a former doctor...

Bile rose from his stomach and painted the grassy area beneath him; onyx eyes burned with tears that flowed rapidly down his face - he can't do this...

He was no longer worth living...

Killers don't deserve to live, right...?

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Csilla: Action is so freakin' hard but so exciting to write C:

CLIMAX!

Gray has killed someone, will he be able to handle the sin? Or will he wish death on himself and eat a bullet?