It's a cold day in the forest. The rifle is heavy on her hands, and Izumi can't stop panting. She's cold, tired, and her arms hurt from carrying the oversized weapon for too long. She needed to be very quiet, but Izumi could only hear her heartbeat drumming into her head.

She yelped when she tripped on a branch and fell face first into the ground. There was some rustle in front of her, animals hearing the sound and getting away. That was no good. She had to get closer to them.

Returning with her hands empty wasn't an option.

Izumi forced herself to stand up, and put the weapon on her back for the moment. Her breathing was heavy and uneven, but she kept going. Izumi paid attention to her surroundings, trying to not step on dry leaves or branches.

Her small body ached and complained as Izumi forced it to keep going. She panted, her breath visible from the cold, teeth clacking and fingers numb. Izumi stopped for a moment, rubbing her hands together and blowing hot air into them. Her right hand was covered in bandages, caused by the knockback of the rifle weighing down her shoulder.

If only she had her father's quirk, maybe she wouldn't feel so cold.

Near her, some branches snapped. Izumi widened her eyes, and stood completely still, trying to not make any sound.

She slowly reached for the rifle, releasing her shoulder from its weight and bearing it with both her hands, ignoring how her right hand itched.

Izumi moved slowly, very slowly, in order to make as little noise as possible. She held her breath, tip-toeing around roots and branches. She could hear her heartbeat loud against her ears, distracting her, making her breath through her nose when she couldn't hold her breath anymore.

Thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb…

She was taking so long, Izumi feared that whatever had made that sound earlier may have already left. Thankfully, she made out the shape of a deer ahead of her.

Izumi bit her lower lip, making as much effort as she could to get closer without being spotted and dropping the rifle.

Thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb…

The kid finally stopped, hiding behind a tree a dozen meters from the deer. Izumi sneaked a peek out of the tree, to look at the deer. It was eating some grass, distracted. It was a perfect opportunity.

Thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb…

Flashes of blood and gore came to Izumi's mind, and she had to cover her mouth to stop herself from yelping or moaning. She blinked away tears and swallowed the bile on her throat.

She was over this! She had to do this! Failure wasn't an option!

Thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb…

Her hands were shaking, and Izumi had to hit them against her thighs to make them stop. She rubbed the tears off her eyes and raised the rifle, pointing it at the deer.

Thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb…

Her hands were still shaking, her heartbeat drumming inside her head and she was almost hyperventilating. Her right hand hurt as she gripped the trigger.

Thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb…

Her vision was becoming blurry, and she felt even colder than before.

Bang!

Izumi felt the recoil of the rifle before she registered the sound of the bang. She was thrown back, right hand and shoulder hot in pain. The deer groaned, and Izumi could see how it had been startled by the weapon, and that it missed the mark completely.

The deer kicked some ground, trying to run away, before a second bang ran through the forest, nailing the deer on the side and making it groan and scream, falling on its side.

Thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb-thumb…

Izumi panted, heart still full of adrenaline, trying to calm down. She stood completely still on the ground, where the recoil of the rifle had thrown her. She was paralyzed hearing the screams of the deer slowly quiet down, with less energy, becoming weaker, until they finally disappeared.

A man walked into Izumi's vision, and she finally managed to divert her eyes from the dead deer. She realized there were tears on her face when she looked up, and quickly rubbed them off her face, stopping herself from gagging.

The man looked at her with disappointment in his eyes, shaking his head slightly. He spit on the ground and turned around, walking towards the downed target.

He grabbed it by its head, and then grabbed it by both its front and hind legs, putting over his shoulders. Izumi managed to get up by the time he came back to her and lowered her head, not meeting his eyes. The injuries of her right hand had reopened, and her palm was dripping blood through the bandages, barely restrained by Izumi clenching her tiny fist.

"You're costing me bullets"

Izumi gulped down even though her throat felt dry and coarse.

"Don't have anything to say, brat?"

"Sorry"

He stepped closer, making Izumi step back.

"Sorry, what?"

"I'm sorry, sir"

"Better." He spit on the ground again, his spit sizzling against the leaves, and started walking away.

Izumi quickly followed him, stepping on the smoking leaves to stop it from catching fire.

"If this keeps up, you will never be good enough for the Order"

"Sorry, sir"

He didn't stop walking forward, making Izumi have to speed up to not be left behind.

"Actions speak louder than words. And your actions so far are just wasting my bullets and being a useless child"

Izumi swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Yes, father"

6 and a half years later

Izumi spinned the black knife in her hands. It was made from Kuro's feathers, heated up and then poured into a mold of a knife. The end result still wasn't as good as she wanted, with many impurities and with an edge not as sharp as she'd like it to me, as she still wasn't a very good blacksmith.

Something that wasn't a raw rod with a pointy tip or tiny and thin encasings for her bullets were easier than making a proper bladed weapon. So this prototype will have to do for the time being.

"Caw!" He's here.

Gorogoro told Karasu, as he landed next to her. Izumi peeked her head over the rooftop's edge, and saw her prey walking by, Bullseye.

She closed the visor of her helmet and pocketed the knife, grabbing her rifle and a Black Bullet.

"Well then" She breathed out, calming her heart. "Let's get to work"

13 - The Ways of the Order

Jikken Sagi had come very far into his career. He had come into power in the Super Animal Safety Commission in a period where the popularity and the social standing of the governmental agency had taken a massive hit.

After the majority of the population had become quirked, experimentations on quirks were seen under a darker, more scrutinized light. Even experimentation on animals was starting to be frowned upon.

The SASC had lost most of its funding, and it had been decades since they lost much of their researchers, suddenly abandoning the Commission for no good reason, leaving all further progress and research come much slower than it would have been had they stayed.

Still, he saw an opportunity with the rise of All Might, and offered a friend of his from whom he had bought his services before to eliminate his political opposition, a place. He was the de facto leader of the Order of Orion then, and right now stands as the oldest member.

It was thanks to that crucial piece of networking that the Order of Orion was saved from being purged by All Might, becoming officially employed by the SASC, allowing them to expand their reach and start gathering quirked animals like in the good old days.

Their constant slurpuss of animals, either dead or alive, further increased their research output. They still had a long way to go from the revolutionary discoveries this same agency made in the Dark Ages, where there was no control over quirked animal rights.

Not that animal rights meant anything to Sagi, he had employed that man after all. The further cover up of the existence of quirked animals would have been a success, and they would control the information regarding them perfectly, if not for the incident that let Nezu out.

As much as the SASC and HPSC were at odds against each other, they both agreed that Nezu being loose stops expansion of their agencies more than anything else. It was fortunate that Nezu merely made their jobs more annoying, instead of going after them.

Sagi had only seen Nezu a handful of times, but each time he felt like he was being observed and dissected, as if Nezu was questioning whether to ruin him right then and there. Nezu's experience with the SASC was concerning, he acted like he didn't mind them, but anyone who knew about the SASC's old and confidential plans knew that it was only a cover, and that if he had the power for it, the SASC would have suit down the moment he escaped from them and became a hero.

The president of the SASC entered his special key card on the elevator, bringing him to the confidential area of the headquarters of the Commisison. There, two bodyguards followed him as he went to the laboratory, passing through walls and walls of cages of different animals.

Glowing dogs, fire cats, a flying pig, a horse with laser eyes… Countless animals cataloged by quirk, species and heritage. He reached the laboratory, passing his key card over the door before entering.

Inside was the man of the hour, along with his team of scientists, dissecting the remains of a large bear.

"Dōbutsu-kun, is this the escaped specimen?" He said, getting close to the operating table and accepting a surgical mask one of Dōbutsu's men handed him, putting it on.

"What remains of it" He dropped the piece of claw he was inspecting and turned to look at Sagi. "Sagi, you need to control that little freak. She's been tearing apart all our specimens. I'm getting tired of having little to nothing to work with"

"Oh, don't be like that, we needed it dead either way. Diana is the cheapest and most efficient hunter under our employ"

"Efficient" He scoffed. "You mean fast. If I weren't retired I'd tell her a piece of my mind about doing excessive damage. Look, see this shit?" He grabbed what looked like what was left of the bear's skull, most flesh around its eyes missing.

"Ew, don't get it so close"

"I know the kind of damage that takes to terminate our specimens, and this kind of tearing and fissures in the flesh are done after the fact. It's as if she eats the fucking beasts raw after killing them"

"Well, I don't care what our hunters do after they do their job. We allow them to get pieces of their targets as trophies"

"Yeah, but forgive me if it doesn't sit well with me that she mutilates perfectly bred animals. This are pieces of art that I've created! And a lowly hunter from a has been order of assassins just does as she likes with them! I still can't believe you allowed that bitch to keep the hide of that amazing specimen!"

"Giran outmaneuvered me on that one" Sagi groaned, remembering the exchange. "We didn't specify that the hide had to be given to us until after the hunt was done"

"Hell if I care about that! That specimen belonged to me!"

"Now now, you don't have ownership over these assets. Please do remember that"

Dōbutsu clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes.

"My breed, my cattle, and that trophy whore took it from me!"

"Don't you have many other specimens with the Nemean Quirk?"

"Doesn't matter. You allow too much of that cheap bitch"

"Well, she is a cheap bitch after all"

"At least send her a fucking warning to not do this shit again"

"I'll forward it to Giran. Again"

"And the rest of the fucking hunters that destroy and desfigure my specimens! Wild and Ripper aren't that much better!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll also make sure the rest get it"

Dōbutsu groaned, pulling out his gloves and signaling the rest of the scientists to move on and leave them alone.

"So, what did you come here for? I didn't take you for someone who cares about the retrieval of a strength quirk"

"As perceptive as ever, my friend. I came to see how the production of thread is going"

The scientist smiled, showing many sharp teeth, and went over to machines on the other side of the lab, pressing some buttons. A compartment on the wall opened up, and a crystal box slid out from inside the wall.

The inside of the box was covered in thread, a pure white thread wrapping to the sides of the box, completely enveloping its inside.

"Be nice" Dōbutsu said, opening the box and grabbing a handful of thread. "Unstick it from the walls and get back inside"

Following his orders, the thread that was moments before stuck to the crystal walls as if it had grown from them, suddenly came off as if it had never been stuck to it in the first place. A spider crawled out of the thread in the scientist's hand, and got back to the box.

Dōbutsu closed the box again. The spider started crawling around the box, circling it over and over in every direction, looking for a way out. Seeing as there was no way out, it started spreading its web all around the box, regenerating the cocoon that had been ripped from it.

The scientist put the clob of spiderweb into a mechanical wheel and pressed a button. The wheel started spinning and wrapping the thread around itself, straightening up and pulling it against another wheel.

After just a few seconds, the balls of thread had been spread into neatly spread rows, tightly held by the machine holding the wheels. Dōbutsu then grabbed the scalpel he was using to inspect the bear, and stabbed at the threads. They didn't even bend from how tightly they were being tensed, showing their great endurance.

"Just look at this! Super thin and harder than any other thread! It puts every resistance and armor quirk in our power to shame!"

"I take it it's better than its predecessor's then?"

"Yes! It's by far the best spider I've ever bred! What a magnificent specimen. There's also some lingering shows of higher intelligence from the third generation present on it!"

Sagi furrowed his brow.

"Intelligence? I don't want another Nezu in our hands, Dōbutsu"

"Don't worry about that. It's just a lingering trait, like an emitter with a heteromorph body. It's quirk has been bred to completely focus on the manipulation of its thread. The intelligence is nowhere near human, much less like Nezu"

"Good, keep it that way" He looked at the box, which was quickly covered by thread again. There was a small opening where the spider looked at them. "What's it doing?"

"Covered itself up in a super sticky web. Probably looking at you to remember your face."

"It can remember faces?"

"Yes, that's how I realized it inherited some shows of intelligence, it quickly started recognizing me from the rest of the staff. Didn't like my quirk, haha! But there's nothing you can do about it!"

He tapped the box harshly, making the spider retreat inside the blanket of thread while hissing at him.

"Don't think I want it to remember my face"

"Don't worry, prez~ It's harmless with me around~ and you can get as much of its thread as you want~"

"Good. It is about time we upgraded our thread production. Malaysia had us beat on that for far too long"

"And you also wanted a new suit made of the stuff, right~?"

Sagi pulled his white suit tighter, smirking at his friend.

"Of course. This suit is nice and all, but I'm tired of going to every high class dinner with the same suit. It took many generations to create a specimen with a quirk comparable to the one that made this suit"

Dōbutsu smirked again, gloating to himself and putting a hand on the president's shoulder.

"I can assure you the one made with this thread will be even better" Dōbutsu grinned wider and looked at the crystal box. "I'll have K-124-13 keep producing more thread to weave it into the best fabric there is!"

Sagi put the scientist's hand away.

"Good. We'll be able to produce the finest thread in the world from now on." Sagi smirked, thinking of the profit he was going to make. "It was about time we developed some irreplaceable resource that even the Hero Commission will have no chance but to beg us for a discount"

The president's suit was made from the leftover thread of an old specimen of Joro spider with a quirk that strengthened its web. The SASC had frozen the remains of that specimen for many years, as the thread that they harvested from it had been a crucial component on some of the very first hero jumpsuits.

Now, with someone like Masuta Dōbutsu working for him, they were able to use the genetic material of that specimen and crossbreed it with multiple spiders until they reached with K-124-13, an even better specimen with a stronger thread control quirk.

"And that's not all. Imagine all the variations on the thread we'll be able to get once K-124-13 matures~" A sinister smile spreaded through Dōbutsu's face.

The spider sank deeper into its own thread inside the box, looking at the two men through a small opening it had opened in its thread.

"Granted, we'll have to stock a lot of thread beforehand. Female spiders are very unlikely to survive giving birth, so I'm sure that you'd like this one for all its worth, right?"

"You hit the nail on the head, my friend" Sagi smirked. What was a single spider but a resource to use and exploit? Every single animal here was theirs to use as they pleased.

The spider closed the opening when the unknown man looked at her.

Sagi's phone buzzed with a new message.

"Oh"

"'Oh'? What is it? Has someone found another quirked specimen?"

Dōbutsu's eyes lit up like a little kid looking up at sweet candy.

"No, not that"

"Ah. Then I don't really care" He lost all his interest immediately.

"Actually, you may." Dōbutsu raised an eyebrow at him, clearly not believing it. "The Order is having a meeting"

"Ugh, another one? That Bullseye talks too much shit for all the poor job he does. Entitled brat"

"That's the thing. It isn't called by Bullseye." Sagi showed his phone to Dōbutsu. "But Diana"

"Diana? For real? Doesn't attend any meeting personally and then calls for one?"

"Apparently so. This may be the first meaningful meeting they have in years. Tsuyo-san has told me he is expecting full attendance"

"The old bastard said that, huh. Then I guess it may actually be important. Or they all want to take a lot at Diana since she's been so secretive" He gave Sagi a knowing look, making him groan and roll his eyes.

"You know it's completely fair for the Order to keep to themselves as long as they don't break the law. It was part of the agreement I made with Tsuyo-san. The same one I made with you"

"Still, some of those fuckers return my specimens in a horrible state. So do me a favor and tell Panzerfaust to forward our thoughts to Diana, Wild, Whiplash, Ripper and Nedusa"

Sagi sighed, shaking his head dismissively.

"I guess it can't be helped, I'll forward it"

"Good. Speaks volumes how Pitcher delivers the specimens in a better state than them. Fucking freaks"

"There, there"

"But especially Diana! It's almost like she mutilates the specimens to piss me off!"

"Yeah, yeah, already sent the message to Tsuyo-san.

As the two men groaned to each other's antics, the spider looked at them, listening, learning.

There was someone that seemed to piss off and be an inconvenience to that horrible man.

Good to know.

The hunters of the Order of Orion came one after the other to their headquarters in Kyoto. It had been years since some of them attended a meeting, having ignored all the ones called by Bullseye after they figured he was just complaining about getting poor jobs.

Backfire was sitting outside the meeting room, a beer bottle in his hand. Boar saw him immediately, coming over to him and stretching his hand with Backfire's free hand.

"Long time no see, old bastard!"

"Ha! True that! You've grown since last time I saw you, Boar! You aren't the bulky brat you used to be, ha!"

"Oh, shut up! I can still do my job better than you!"

They glared at each other for a while, before breaking in laughter. Backfire got up and gave Boar a hug.

"Good to see you haven't changed much"

"Good to see you did, pigface! You got fat. Heard you got closer to the SASC, that right?"

"Yeah, got myself a fine business with them. And don't call me pigface, you walking corpse! I may be fat but I still can snap skulls with my bare hands!"

"Ha! Sure you can!"

"Can you boys take it down?" The soothing voice of a woman said, wearing an expensive looking dress, as she got closer to them. "You are always so loud~"

"And you always dress so classy, Pitcher." Backfire snapped back. "You going to a gala or something?"

"Good looks are important, you know~? Not that I'd expect you to understand~ oh, excuse me, that was rather rude of me~"

"That's just how you always are. Always venom in your tongue"

Pitcher smiled wide, her pale green wrinkled face showing playfulness even through her age.

"Good to see you again, Backfire. Boar"

"Ma-am" He grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Good to see you good and healthy again"

"My, my~ likewise"

"Ewgh, spare me that sorry display" A middle-aged man with white hair and wearing a scarf in the middle of spring said.

"Ah, excuse me, was that not to your liking, Pluto-kun~?"

"Actually, no. You can flirt outside. God, Boar, you really let yourself go, and now even hitting on hags, don't you have any self respect?"

"That's golden coming from you, asshole" Boar said, snarling and growling, showing his tusks.

"Pluto, if you are looking for somebody to fight with again now that Jupiter isn't here, you should forget it. It's been years, move on" Deathglare said, as he entered the room, third eye open, the other two closed, his palms close together in a praying pose.

"Shove your opinion up your ass, three eyes! Maybe there you'll find someone who cares!"

"Were you always this whiny? We already have enough with Bullseye, shut up, will yah?" A man with jet black skin and gray hair said, passing over the group and entering inside the meeting room.

"Huh!? Repeat that to my face, you coal addicted crack head!" Pluto said while following him.

"Pluto, please don't start a fight." Deathglare lightly bowed his head to the group, before following after the other two into the meeting room.

"I feel like Bullseye may have rubbed a bit on Pluto. He was never that childish when he fought with Jupiter" Boar said, grunting with his snout.

"He was equally as annoying, and Jupiter also didn't help." Pitcher looked around in the hall.

The other three 'rookies' were speaking among each other, having formed their own group after distancing themselves from Bullseye.

"Where is our host?" Pitcher said. "I thought she would be with the other rookies."

"She was the second to arrive." Backfire said, pointing at the meeting room. "Apparently arrived shortly after Panzer"

"So she actually showed up?" Boar snorted. "I almost half expected Giran to show up instead of her"

"That would have been very disrespectful. Thankfully she seems smarter than our current troublemakers." Pitcher noted, her smile widening and eyes narrowing. "I'll be going inside then. I ought to respond with the appropriate respect given~ Gentlemen~"

"Pitcher"

"Ma'am"

Despite her words, Pitcher's face had the look of a predator going to play with its new prey.

"Let's see if Diana doesn't get gobbled up after this meeting" Backfire chugged the rest of the contents of his bottle and got up. "Let's get going"

"After you, old man" Boar said, a glint of mischievousness in his eyes.

"Oi! Heh, it seems there's still some brattyness on you"

"Oh, I'm too old for that~"

"Sure thing, pig"

They went inside the meeting room, where Deathglare was trying to deescalate the argument of Pluto and Shotgun. Panzerfaust, Diana, Agent and Trickshot were already inside, each sitting in their respective seats.

The first thing that everyone noticed after looking at Diana was her age. She looked extremely young, or rather, was just small enough to look that way. The second was the smell of dry blood, and after looking at a small bag beside Diana, they could figure she must have come fresh from a hunt.

She was wearing black mountain gear and some short of bulky black face mask covering the bottom of her face. Her eyes were sharp, cutting through the grown men when she pointed them at them.

After looking at the new arrivals for a while, Diana's eyes moved back to Pitcher, who had been looking at her the entire time, not making any effort to hide her predatory gaze.

"Sweetheart~ aren't you going to blink~ Won't your eyes get tired~?"

"Aren't you?"

Diana looked back at Pitcher with the same intensity as the older woman. Her voice came out somewhat distorted. A voice changer? Some of the members of the Order concealed their identities, you just had to take a look at Agent, always wearing his jet black quirk over his body, hiding every inch of his body in a jet black body suit that seemed to match that of some heroes.

"Knock it off, Pitcher" Panzer said, as Pluto finally sat down, leaving Shotgun alone.

She rolled her eyes, finally breaking eye contact from Diana. The host of the meeting didn't break hers.

"Of course, of course~ Please forgive me Diana-chan~ You just looked so interesting I couldn't help myself~"

Diana didn't respond, but stopped glaring at the older woman.

"So feisty for a rookie~"

"Pitcher" Panzerfaust warned again.

"Alright, I get it." She said, showing the first sign of annoyance since she got to the headquarters. "It was just a compliment"

"Said to a predator lower in the food chain"

"Oh, sweetie~ I didn't intend to offend you~"

"Why would I be offended by an incorrect assessment?"

The others sitting at the table stopped talking immediately, looking straight at Diana, who didn't even flinch.

"Incorrect~ then please enlighten me if you feel so sure of yourself~" Pitcher tilted her head, her smile excessively sweet and her tone soft and kind.

"Pitcher-" Panzerfaust tried to intervene, but was cut off.

"Plants are nowhere near the top of the food chain. You shouldn't be so arrogant as to think yourself above me"

Silence filled the room.

"Oi, who do you think you are to talk to a veteran member like tha-"

"Hahaha! Oh my~ I guess you are right~ My apologies Diana-san~ You seem much more competent than the rest of the rookies~ I'll take your advice then~"

Backfire grumbled, and sat back on his seat. Bullseye (and Pluto lately) were idiots, but they knew better than to talk back to the veterans. But Diana considered herself good enough to put herself on their level.

It pissed him off.

"Ugh, what's that smell?" A man with a wolf's head said as he got into the room, scrunching his snout.

"That'd be Diana-chan's little souvenir, Hound~" Pitcher said while pointing at the bag beside Diana with her head.

Hound looked at Diana, then at the bag, sniffing the air and cringing at the smell. Diana raised an eyebrow, when Hound held eye contact with her for a while. In the end, he sighed and sat down.

"I see"

The rest of the hunters started coming in, the other three rookies besides Diana and Bullseye coming in next and getting on their seats. Diana recognized them from the intel she had gotten from Giran.

The first one was Shadowsneaker, his outfit seemingly similar to Agent's appearance, which judging by how Sahdowsneaker looked at him, was probably an intentional choice. Wearing dark clothes compliments well with his stealth based quirk.

The second one was Nedusa, who was wearing a skin tight jumpsuit similar to Midnight's, accentuating her curves and body. She clearly wanted to bring attention to herself, with some of the other men happy to oblige and enjoy the show. For a hunter specialized in getting animals for the commission, her looks and quirk suited more a femme fatale type of woman, which the Order have moved away from. Diana didn't think much of her.

The last rookie was Enharden, a woman who seemed stuck on her high school delinquent days. Her hair was styled into a mohawk and wore a leather jacket with spikes over her wrists and choker. She laid the bat with nails stuck into it she was carrying against her seat and made herself comfortable, putting her feet on the table, making a few of the other hunters groan.

The rest of the hunters of the Order of Orion came shortly after. Snaptrap, with a jaw that matched the 'snap' of his name; Trickshot, with the sleeveless military uniform that Giran have always described him in; Whiplash, pulling in Wild alongside her using her hair as a leash and Wild honoring her name, wearing only the hides and fur from her prey; Ripper, as broad man with a mask covering his entire face except from tiny holes all over it that were definitely too small to allow him to see properly, and lastly, Overkill, a large woman with four arms and four eyes, an eyepatch on one of them, wearing a simple but elegant yukata.

"You have to be kidding me, Bullseye isn't coming?" Backfire groaned after, looking at his empty seat.

"After all that he's bitched about Diana, I honestly expected him to pull something like this" Trickshot said while pinching at the bridge of his nose. "Sorry kid, he is an idiot"

"I know. Don't call me kid"

"You know? You haven't attended a single meeting. How could you know he is an idiot?" Nedusa said, with a condescending smirk.

"I may not have personally gone to any meeting before this one, Nedusa, but that doesn't mean I'm not informed of everything that goes on. Unlike you, I sent Giran on my behalf, and I'm completely aware on all the times Bullseye has humiliated himself trying to call in for favor from all of you to go against me"

Nedusa glared at Diana, her left eye twitching. Whiplash and Pitcher giggled in the background, which only made Nedusa to get angrier.

"You little-"

"Since it seems Bullseye isn't going to attend" Panzerfaust interrupted the rookie, "we'll start without him." He then turned to Diana. "I also apologize for his behavior, and can assure you that I'll let him know that his behavior isn't acceptable"

Diana looked at the oldest member of the Order for a while.

"Is that all?"

"All? What else did you expect? Your attendance isn't exactly perfect either" Overkill said, narrowing her three good eyes on Diana.

"As I said earlier, my attendance is perfect. I was told that sending in Giran in my place was perfectly reasonable and allowed. Or was that rule changed without me being informed?" Diana looked at Panzerfaust. Her expression was that of boredom, but her eyes glared daggers at him, as if daring the old man to admit that she was wronged and lied to if he decided to side with Overkill.

Panzerfaust sighed. "You're right. We allowed intermediaries to attend in the place of official members." Overkill glared at Panzerfaust, a look of utter disbelief on her face. "Our rules of attendance have been lenient these past few years, especially after how many non important meetings Bullseye has called, but I must also inform you Diana that you were also abusing your power to send your handler instead of coming yourself. I must insist that you use this current meeting as a step towards a face-to-face attendance for all future meetings"

That seemed to calm down Overkill and the other hunters giving Diana a bad look.

"Understood. I will take that in mind. The following meetings ought to be worth my time either way"

Hound choked on air, coughing against his fist. Others didn't take it much better.

"The fuck do you mean 'worth your time'!?" Pluto leaned over the table, glaring at Diana. His breath was visible as the air condensed in small white puffs over his mouth. Diana's breath was invisible under her mask. "Listen here, brat, maybe you haven't noticed it, but you are the member with least seniority in the Order, so you better respect your fucking elders before you start wasting our time like the other rookie Bullseye!"

Diana patiently waited for Pluto to go back on his seat, calming himself down and crossing his arms while puffing cold air from his nostrils.

"Are you done? Good. You talk about respect, but that's one thing that the Order has been very lenient for a long time. Bullseye's behavior, me sending Giran instead of attending the meetings in person, Enharden-san putting his feet on the table, the whole thing Whiplash-san and Wild-san have going on… should I keep going?"

"Hey, don't drag me into this" Enharden grumbled.

"My~ my~ you even reported your own lack of respect~ Quite bold~" Pitcher grinned, her smile splitting her face.

"Yes. I'm not stupid enough to ignore when I'm not being respectful" She looked directly at Pluto, the implication clear. "But my respect has to be earned. And the Order isn't what it used to be"

"And what is exactly what you know, brat?" Backfire glared at her, along with Trickshot, Overkill and Pluto.

"More than you think. I work with Giran, and information comes easy if you have good relations with him, something that Snaptrap-san, Deathglare-san, Pitcher-san, Boar-san, Jupiter…san and Panzerfaust-san are well aware of." The named members looked at Diana with different eyes, all surprised, some in disbelief. "You've made deals with him before bowing your heads to the Commission after all"

"You-! What did Giran tell you!?" Boar grunted, squealing like a pig and glaring at her.

"You should know better. He is an information broker. I bought the information."

"Which is?" Panzerfaust said, calmly. Diana pinned her eyes on him.

"About how the Order used do every hired assassination in Japan, until All Might appeared, and you all chickened out, went legal under the SASC and bowed your heads to them, becoming their dogs"

"If you think so less of us," Deathglare intervened, "then why did you join? You could have just as easily taken your own path away from us"

"I know what I am. A hunter. I hunt animals. Joining the group that is hunting the most interesting prey is the most logical thing to do. That doesn't mean I respect hunters that bowed their heads when a stronger predator came around"

Half of the hunters were glaring at Diana now, with Wild even growling at her, only being kept from jumping at her by Whiplash, who still had the other hunter leashed with her hair.

The other rookies, technically of the same status in the Order as Diana and Bullseye, couldn't do much but look at the exchange in awe. Bullseye had a big mouth, one that usually got him in trouble with the other members of the Order, and that had made them realize what not to say and how not to act around them.

Diana was the same in the complete opposite way. Instead of annoying the Order, she straight up antagonized them and showed her displeasure directly. It's almost as if the difference in status meant nothing to her, in a liberating and naturally confident way.

"Ahem! Getting back on track." Panzerfaust said, trying to move the conversation forward before someone's patience ran out. "Diana-san, I feel it would be best to move on to the topic of this very meeting"

She looked over at the other hunters. Some glared at her with clear disdain, Pluto, Backfire, Wild, Trickshot, Overkill, Nedusa, Boar… Others were amused by her attitude, like Pitcher, Whiplash or Agent, and then they were the ones that seemingly didn't care or showed any sort of opinion over her behavior, Panzerfaust, Hound and Deathglare.

Out of all of them, Diana knew that Panzerfaust and Hound were the ones that seemed to get her, and had decided to not create a conflict over her behavior. The others just stayed with their heads lowered, growling like wild wolves, but not acting out.

Disappointing. At least Bullseye acted more true to himself than these fools.

"Alright, since you have nothing else to say, I guess we can get started" She said, with a sigh that her voice changer made into an electronic buzz, as she leaned down to grab her bag.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?" Pluto glared at her, puffing small clouds of cold air. "If you got something else to say, oh please say it! Since you seem to not respect anyone!"

Diana put down the bag again to look down at Pluto directly.

"I haven't been shown any reason to respect you as a hunter. Some can at least act civilized while being criticized at least"

"Criticized!? You think because you get more jobs from the Commission you are better than any of us!? News flash, brat, you don't get them because you are soooo much better, it's because your territory is the Hyogo prefecture! Right where their headquarters are! Half the beasts they have us hunt down come from there!"

"Why do you think I don't know this?" She arched an eyebrow at him, shaking her head lightly as if saying 'are you stupid?'. "I work mostly in Tia forest, which is right on top of Konukoru, where the headquarters is. A lot of tracks come from there"

Pitcher and Shotgun let a giggle escape after that, making Pluto's veins pop up in his forehead.

"So what exactly makes us undeserving of your respect as a hunter, then?" Boar chimed in, glaring at her. "I don't exactly buy being under the employ of the Commission is a good enough reason. You may have joined later than after making the deal, but you joined because of the deal"

"I joined because I like to hunt. I don't care about the Commission. But the thing is, that all of you do, after all, what they say becomes law for all of you. Especially you Boar-san, isn't your day job literally working for the Super Animal Safety Commission directly?"

Some of the members turned to look at Boar, surprised. They were mainly the ones that weren't close with him, while the oldest members already knew that information, and didn't get that surprised.

"I didn't tell you that" Boar glared at her.

"No you didn't"

The rookies shifted uncomfortably. Diana was supposed to be their equal, yet seemed to hold a grasp on the Order on a similar level of the other veterans, along with knowing so much more than them about the veterans. Was having a good source of information like Giran that valuable?

"Do you think less of us because of our day jobs, Diana-san?" Deathglare looked at her with the eye in his forehead, without turning his head. "Because that was a common practice even before our deal with the SASC."

"Of course not. I also have another job. I was just highlighting how much your instincts have dulled that someone like me can figure out stuff like that easily. I mean, there's even a hunter going around all of Japan invading territories of the Order like its nothing and I've never heard a single thing said about it in any meeting"

"Huh? Another hunter? What the fuck are you talking about? We are the only hunters in Japan that the SASC employs!" Pluto slammed his fist into the table.

"Are you referring to Karasu? The assassin for hire?" Trickshot joined in, crossing his arms.

"If there isn't any other hunter that I don't know about, then yes. He is a villain that does exactly what the Order used to do, and is invading any territory as if it's nothing. Yet the Order of Orion, who values its members having exclusivity on their territories did nothing about it"

The silence after she said that was deafening. Even Pitcher, who had been playful to every comment and disrespectful remark frowned to that. The tension in the room was so thick it could almost be felt.

Shadowsneaker looked around, sweating bullets, seeing the people sitting on his sides with a genuine murderous glare on their eyes. Nedusa and Enharden were similarly intimidated, their previous indifferent attitudes smacked right off their faces.

Diana glared at each and every one of the hunters. She was calm, but ready for anything. She was confident that no one would jump at her, though, and was just being careful. Violence in meetings was forbidden after all.

Panzerfaust raised an arm, and the rest of the Order started calming down, leaning back into their seats, some more quickly than others.

"Watch your tone Diana-san, there's a limit to the amount disrespect that we will allow."

"A big limit it seems"

"You little-!"

It happened so fast that only the veterans managed to make it out. Pluto stood up, raising a foot over the table to jump at Diana, when a sudden white flash came out. Then, Pluto just stood there, frozen in place unable to move.

"Release me, Deathglare! I've taken enough insults!"

"I'm afraid if I do that I'll have to refrain from stopping Diana-san as well"

"Huh!? What are you talking about?"

Deathglare, his regular eyes now open, merely pushed Pluto slightly backward so he could see.

There, suspended in mid air, was a dart on fire, pointing directly at where Pluto's neck would have been if Deathglare hadn't used his quirk to stop him and the dart. The fire was so hot there were white flares coming out of it until they calmed into a more normal orangish flame.

Diana was twirling another un-flamed dart in her hand, looking straight at Pluto. The tip was sharp, and flight was of a deep white which clashed with the blackness of the rest of the dart.

Fire… and she aimed it at my neck! This bitch knows about my quirk!

"You all saw that it was self defense, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Backfire grumbled, as the other veterans nodded along.

"Deathglare, release Pluto-san." Panzerfaust said, while Deathglare released his hold on Pluto and the dart.

Pluto didn't try jumping Diana again, looking at her with different eyes. The dart that she had thrown at her dissolved in ashes before it hit the table.

She's faster than me? How? She's just a brat!

Diana's eyes never left his, unblinking, unwavering. The way she kept twirling another dart in her hand, as if to dare him to move.

"Pluto-san. Sit down." Panzerfaust demanded, with a stern voice.

Those eyes! She looks at me just like him!

Pluto clicked his tongue, averting his gaze from Diana, and sitting down with his arms crossed.

"Whatever, you aren't worth it"

"Quite the change in opinion"

"Diana-san. Don't antagonize him any further." Panzerfaust turned to look at Pluto again. "We'll talk about this later, Pluto-san. You know the rules"

"Tsk, whatever."

Diana sighed again, making an electric buzz in her voice changer. The dart on her hand seemed to vanish somewhere with a flick of her hand.

"This is what I meant. After almost attacking another member in the middle of a meeting, Pluto-san will only be scolded"

"Watch it, brat." Backfire spat. "You are giving us reasons to give you something harsher than a scolding with your attitude."

"Stop, Backfire. Even if her attitude isn't ideal, it's only that, attitude. A meeting hasn't ever resulted in infighting in the Order, and it won't be still. Diana-san hasn't breached any rules from the Order, retaliation isn't warranted."

Backfire gumbled, grinding his teeth together. He stroked his white beard, pulling on it to keep himself occupied.

"To answer your previous statement about that Karasu villain… Had the Order of Orion still worked on the assassination business, then yes, we would have done something about them"

"How? You didn't even notice when they breached into your territories"

Panzerfaust didn't respond, and neither did any of the other hunters. They could deny it, say that of course they would go after them if they were still in the business… But the truth was Diana was right. Someone was able to move around all of Japan and they didn't even notice until the news of an assassination in their territory had broken out.

"Either way… that's irrelevant." Snaptrap decided to say in the end, bringing attention to himself. "There may be someone outside of the Order carrying out assassinations all over Japan, but since that's not our business anymore… we don't have to respond to an outsider doing their business in our territory.

There were nods and hums of agreement between the other members. It made Diana sick, how they just brushed off their lack of vigilance and interest, making excuses to mend their wounded pride. They were hunters, they should think the same way she does… but it seems that the Order has stagnated.

Izumi didn't consider them true hunters. Even if they declawed themselves to survive in a post-All Might Japan, she should have expected some sort of defiance as Karasu from them. Instead, they got pissy when pointing out their faults and show how they are undeserving of respect, and make excuses as to why they did nothing to stop Karasu.

"I understand why you look down on us, honey." Pitcher said, not as sweetly as before, but still softer than some of the other hunters had been after Diana had repeatedly insulted them. "But we aren't killers anymore. We won't risk our position by trying to hunt down a villain"

"That'd be vigilantism." Trickshot joined in. "And your predecessor of the Hyogo prefecture got us already in enough trouble after continuing with his villain business after our deal with the Commission."

"He was a real piece of shit." Pluto snarled.

"That's why the Order's old ways haven't been… enforced that much ever since then." Panzerfaust added, rubbing his right fist. "Contact with intermediaries and brokers like Giran is the only thing we are allowed. Do you want to end up like your predecessor, Jupiter? He was a fool that continued his villainous ways and got himself busted. If it weren't for the police not linking him with the Order, he could have gotten our spot with the Commission taken."

"I'm notlike him" Diana said firmly, her first emotional response in the entire meeting. She breathed down, calming herself. "You merely just rationalized your reasons for cowardice. You all got too used to not being persecuted as a criminal, and your skills declined as a result."

"That is enough of you!" Backfire slammed his fist on the table. "Who do you think you are!? You haven't even lived how it was back there! You've only known the cozy life thanks to the deal with the SASC! You wouldn't be able to survive in the Order in the old ways! YOU SPOILED BRAT!"

Diana didn't react at all, knowing that if Backfire tried anything he would be stopped. She didn't even bother taking out her dart from wherever she had hidden it. As much as the Order had fallen, Panzerfaust and Deathglare cared about maintaining the rules, and that kept the meeting civilized.

"If you are done, Backfire-san, it is my opinion that in 'the old days' you had it easier." Diana raised a hand to stop anyone else from objecting until she made her point. "You got into the Order in the Consolidation Era, right? Hero presence wasn't as big back then, and society was still recovering from the social and economic decline of the Dark Ages. Sure, technology, life quality, education and so on has gotten better, but that time was when villains were at their most powerful. Didn't the Order accept the deal of the Super Animal Safety Commission after All Might's threat against organized crime had scared them into it?"

"You certainly know your history." Whiplash commented, as she tugged a growling Wild back using her hair-leash. "So what? You got something illegal going on and are frowning on us for not openly putting ourselves in front of All Might?"

"What I do outside of the Order is none of your business" Diana shot back. "Since the Order doesn't care about activities outside of it, as long as I don't jeopardize your job inside the Order, I can do whatever I want"

"You seem to be implying that you would invade our territories" Deathglare pointed out, for the first time in the meeting glaring at her with his third eye. "That is something that I won't allow, Diana-san"

"Exactly! You are crossing a dangerous line, brat!" Overkill shouted, pointing one of her four arms at Diana.

"Just get into my island, I dare you" Wild growled.

The rest of the hunters glared and said their threats. This was something they could actually fight back against, a threat of invading their turfs by a member of the Order. It wasn't an unknown like Karasu, but someone that was right in front of them. Being able to finally fight back against Diana's insults and criticisms against their egos as hunters finally felt good as well.

Even Panzerfaust didn't try to intervene this time, taking the implication that Diana would go as she pleases for what it was.

"So you still take invasions of each member's turf seriously" Diana stated.

"Yes. Even if outside the business of the Order you can do what you want, I must insist you know your limits, Diana-san." Panzerfaust said, dead serious. "Otherwise there would be consequences"

"Glad we are on the same page"

That seemed to stun Panzerfaust, along with the rest of the Order still mad at Diana.

Diana grabbed the bag from the floor, putting it on the table.

"Ew, it's bad enough you brought your hunt here, don't put it on the table now! It reeks of-" Whiplash stopped herself, eyes widening and mouth gaping open, as Diana unwrapped the bag to show her hunt.

It was the decapitated head of Bullseye.

There was silence in the room. Everyone stood in their seats, frozen, looking at the pale head and its glassy eyes staring into nothing.

"Diana… what's the meaning of this?"

Panzerfaust said, sweating bullets and looking at Diana with another eye. Previously he just thought of her as an extremely capable and prideful hunter, taking it out on them for how they admittedly had let themselves go the last few decades.

But now… the coldness in her eyes, as if the prospect of carrying a human head around meant nothing to her, and the level of mutilation of the body in order to show them the head… It reminded him of some of the most infamous and bloodthirsty members of the Order of old, those who were part of the Order in its bloody years, before they retired, got arrested or died.

Diana was certainly young, the youngest hunter in the Order of Orion if Panzerfaust was correct in his guess for her age. But the way she carried herself in this meeting, not bulging or flinching away at their threats, and treating the older members like fellow criminals that had gone soft…

They weren't dealing with a rebellious hunter like Bullseye or the new rookies, or moody and antagonistic overgrown brats like Wild, Pluto or Jupiter. No, Diana wasn't only a hunter, she was an assassin. Like the veterans had been decades ago.

It made his blood run cold at the realization that there was someone with the mentality of a member of the Order of Orion before All Might's debut… having been born in All Might's era.

"Well, he breached my territory a few months ago"

"A FEW MONTHS AGO!?" Deathglare jumped from his seat. "WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN US ABOUT THIS SOONER!?"

"I let it go under a threat of retaliation if he ever pulled a stunt like this again"

There was a long pause after that, everyone taking in what Diana had just revealed.

"And I assume that he did end up coming to your turf again" Pitcher said, the softness in her voice gone, a serious tone in its place.

"No, he tried to hire Karasu to kill me. Unfortunately for him, Karasu declined the job, and I learnt about it from my connection with Giran's information network"

"How do we know that you are telling the truth?" Backfire said.

"Exactly, you said that you were well aware of Bullseye's dislike of you if what you said of Giran telling you about the other meetings is true." Trickshot joined in. "How do we know it was you who suddenly decided to kill him just because. You haven't been present in any other meeting, forgive us if we don't take you at your word"

"Do you really think after what you've seen of me today that I would ever kill him without a reason, andthen call a meeting to give you excuses?"

Silence again. None of them doubted that Bullseye was stupid enough to try to get Diana taken out, but to receive this news so suddenly…

"You should have consulted us about it first." Panzerfaust said. "This meeting should have been about Bullseye's transgressions, and not about- wait, what did you call this meeting for?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's to show you that I still follow the Order's rules, and to let you know to not test me"

"Are you… threatening us?!" Backfire said, while the other hunters tensed up.

"I'm merely warning you. Thought it would be appropriate for you to know about Bullseye. Because I willbe enforcing the Order's rules about invading another's territory if I have to. I have no interest in threatening your turfs inside the Order unprovoked"

Diana said, putting the head back in her bag and standing up.

"Funny you mentioned, 'inside the Order'" Hound finally said, after not saying one word since the meeting started.

Diana smiled under her mask, and left the table.

"Gentlemen"

She walked towards the exit, no one saying anything or trying to stop her. They now saw her as deadly serious, the members remembering the old assassins of the Order knowing how to behave, having been thrown back decades from this experience.

"Diana-san" Panzerfaust said, when Diana opened the door to finally leave the meeting. "A message from the Commission. Please don't disfigure your targets before delivering them"

"Tell them they know that costs extra"

Diana waited a bit, to see if anyone else had anything to say, which Backfire ended up using to talk out.

"Since you talked down to us about not noticing Karasu getting into our territory… Did you kill him too?"

Diana's smirk behind her mask was noticeable to annoy the hell out of Backfire.

"Who knows"

And with that, Diana finally left the room and the rest of the Order alone.

Nedusa breathed in, heaving from holding her breath for too long, bending over. The other two rookies were similarly shaken, it was the first time they saw a true hunter of the Order act as such, but Nedusa had antagonized Diana at the beginning of the meeting, so she was understandably more shaken than the others.

"So, Bullseye is dead" Whiplash said, leaning back on her chair, "I say good riddance. He was always a pain"

"I agree, but his death could bring us problems. Diana may be capable, but she's still a rookie." Trickshot grumbled. "Whatever she's involved with outside the Order, she must be still inexperienced. I'll go ask her whether she disposed of the body properly. The last thing we want is bringing attention to ourselves again"

"Please do, Trickshot" Panzerfaust said, sighing.

Trickshot nodded, getting off his seat and going off to catch up to Diana.

There were three seats empty now: Diana's, Bullseye's and Trickshot's.

"Are you going to ignore the fact that Diana was actively disrespecting and threatening us!? You've seen what she did with Bullseye's head!" Boar shouted, sweating bullets. "She somehow ignited that dart she threw at Pluto, but the head had no scorch marks!"

"You haven't seen the state of some of the animals she's delivered to the SASC" Deathglare panned, having calmed down somewhat. "I've seen some of them when Giran was delivering them, and they are usually tangled and torn apart. Almost as much as Wild's prey"

"Something to say, three eyes!" Wild growled, showing him all of her teeth, before whining after being pulled back by the hair-leash on her neck by Whiplash.

"About that, the Commission also wanted me to tell you Wild-san, Whiplash-san, Ripper-san and Nedusa-san about delivering your targets in one piece"

"I can't help it much, you know about my quirk" Ripper said. "Though I'll try to be more careful"

"Oh, come on Panzer, you know how mutts are, sometimes they need a toy to chew on. Isn't that right sweetie~?"

Wild purred as a strand of hair from Whiplash rubbed her chin.

"Would you cut that out? It's fucking gross" Pluto complained, receiving a growl from Wild which he returned flipping her off.

"Did you know about it, Hound, you barely reacted when she revealed the head" Snaptrap said.

"I smelled it when I entered the room" He revealed, touching his nose.

"What!? Why didn't you tell us!?" Overkill slammed all four hands into the table, with Pluto also shouting his discontent after her.

"I figured the meeting would be about it, and let Diana reveal it as she saw fit.

"E-excuse me" Nedusa stammered, her face pale. "If the meeting is over, can we leave now?"

"As Diana-san was the one that called the meeting, and she has already left, yes, you are free to go" Panzerfaust said.

Nedusa nodded a thanks, and got up, followed by Shadowsneaker and Enharden, and after a while, Boar and Agent leaving without a word as well.

Shotgun sighed, lighting up a cigarette.

"Maybe Diana was right. The Order has lost its fangs. I had forgotten that we used to be like her."

"Are you for real!?" Pluto screamed. "She is fucking crazy!"

"Bullseye may have been a nuisance, but he was still a member of the Order!" Overkilled glared.

"Yes, but if Diana-san was being genuine, which I think she was, she was in her right to take retaliation on Bullseye"

"So you are saying that it's fine that Diana fucking killed a fellow member!? You stupid geezer!"

"Watch your mouth Overkill." Deathglare said. "It is part of the rules of the Order to use any force deemed necessary as retaliation from breaching one's territory or interfering with their business. We may not like how she enforced those rules, but as a member of the Order, we must respect that decision"

Overkill grinded her teeth, and got up from her seat, leaving the room just as Trickshot came back in.

"What's her problem?"

"You know her. Still thinks like a yakuza" Pitcher said, giggling at the notion.

"Thinking of the Order as a family, bah. Makes me sick" Pluto groaned.

"Because it'd make Jupiter your family~? I don't know, you acted like brothers, complaining all the time~"

"Fuck you, Pitcher!" Pluto flipped her off.

"Getting back on track" Panzerfaust brought everyone's attention back. "How come you are back so soon, Trickshot?"

"Diana said she didn't need my help or advice." He sighed, exasperated. "Apparently she has something worked around with Giran. Didn't specify what, and just basically told me to get lost, but 'nicely'" He made the air quotes with a frown in his face.

"Fucking brat" Backfire grumbled.

"Don't know, if you ignore the insults, she is quite charming~"

"Your definition of charming is quite skewed" Whiplash pointed out.

"Said the pot calling the kettle black" Hound added, making both women smirk.

Snaptrap sighed, rubbing his brows, tired.

"I'm getting old for all of this… Seeing Diana act like a true hunter should… made me really realize just how old we've gotten"

"Not you too!" Pluto shouted. "Is every geezer here really giving up just from something a brat said!?"

"Pluto-san, please relax"

"I won't relax, Panzerfaust! Did Diana scare you off that fuckign much!?"

"It's not about being scared, it's about acknowledging that the Order has changed. Look at the other rookies, they were shaking in their boots. Bullseye was an arrogant brat that felt entitled to more than he was worth. All the other members that kept to our old ways have either died, been arrested or just left. We aren't what we were before"

"Ha!? So you're saying that the fools that got killed, fled with their tails wagging in between their legs and got caught are better than us!?"

Panzerfaust sighed, the rest of them groaning. "I'm not saying that"

"Will you ever stop your dick measuring contest with Jupiter? He got caught because he didn't quit villainy. You are better by default" Ripper said, making a gesture of rolling his eyes under his mask.

"Better by default!? I was always better than him!"

"Yeah, yeah"

"Anyway," Panzerfaust cleared his throat, "what I meant, Pluto-san, is that we've lowered our standards. We barely get rookies anymore, so you've seen the level they are at. My generation is getting older and we can't accept all jobs like in the past"

"Oi, who are you calling old?" Pitcher said, with a low voice.

"You old farts may be getting rusty, but don't lump all of us in!"

"I'm not saying we are rusty." Panzerfaust said, calm. "I'm just saying that we can't do assassinations like in the old days… Our instincts may have dulled against other villains. Diana-san isn't entirely wrong"

"Are you planning on breaking the deal with the Commission?" Deathglare widened his third eye.

"No, of course not. Assassinations aren't doable in a world with All Might on it. I'm just thinking out loud."

"Keep your thoughts to yourself then" Pluto sneered, and left the room.

The rest took that as their cue to leave as well. Each hunter had their own thoughts about Diana's meeting, and her final proclamation, and the state of their skills and the Order.

But one thing they all had in common was this: Diana was as capable and ruthless as the hunters of the Order of Orion in the Consolidation Era, sixty-something years ago.

And that should Diana come after them for their turf, they would not let her get away with it.