"Hi, Hazel."

Anna sat beside Hazel, the young man still in a medically induced coma since the Rajang incident. It had been a few weeks since the incident, and she was just about finally getting her feet back under her. Her confidence was finally building back up and, with permission from the Commander, she was finally allowed to hunt on her own again. Joe still found it necessary to follow her depending on the target, but being able to clear out pests by herself was a good first and second step to getting back into regular hunting. As Hazel lay peacefully, Anna slowly laid her head down next to his, hoping to elicit any kind of reaction from him, even though she knew the chances were slim to none. All she could hope for, all anyone could hope for now, was for him to miraculously wake up on his own.

"I'm…I'm sorry. It...it should've been me," Anna mumbled, feeling her face begin to grow hot again, the emotions slowly beginning to resurface. While she tried to play the incident as cool as she could, anytime it was brought up, it would always bring up a sore spot, especially if someone were talking down on her. It even led to an incident with Joe getting into a fight trying to defend her. It even got to the point that Reiya, who had only been passing by, ended up joining in as well, to which they beat the man half to death. The memory fondly festered in her mind, a smile gracing her face as she then said, "You should've seen Joe and Reiya. They're both so tough."

"At least I won't have to worry about anyone being a coward on this trip," A voice said behind Anna and Joe as they walked by toward the Astera gates. Anna in particular perked at the statement; there had been word that she had been a coward who had left her partner, Hazel, to die. Joe immediately took notice, about to reach an arm around her to pull her away until the voice continued to speak, stating, "I heard she froze in fear! What a useless hunter. Why bother becoming one in the first place if you're gonna cower in a corner while your fellow hunters are beaten to death? The nerve."

Anna felt a nerve pinch, her fists clenching tightly. Joe glanced back to look at who it was that was speaking; a hunter that was visiting from the mainland. It seemed like there were more mainland hunters who were coming over, though they always chose to leave on the first ship out. Well, all except for Alice, who was still in the New World.

"And what are those supposed elite hunters doing, anyway? Can they really be elite? What a joke, thinking they're the best of the best on a continent that isn't going to amount to much, anyway. How did they ever botch something as simple as clearing out an area of high-level monsters so no newbies get hurt? The one called 'Sapphire Star' doesn't deserve their title, whoever the hell that is. She's just as accountable for this happening."

Two strides later, Joe's fist met the jaw of said hunter who was talking down on Anna, Joe, and at this point, Reiya. His eyes narrowed angrily, Joe wasted no time in walking over and kicking the man in the chest as he attempted to sit back up, immediately getting pinned down as Joe began to rain punches down on him. A small crowd began to surround them as Anna finally worked the courage to turn around and look, seeing Joe grabbing the man's collar and looking him straight in the eye, eyes narrowed angrily as he said, "Who the hell do you think you are!? Coming into OUR home and talking down OUR hunters! Do YOU deserve to be here!?"

Joe pulled his arm back to punch the man again, only for someone to catch it. Instinctively, Joe let go of the man and stood up, other arm reeled back in case it was any of his buddies that might've tagged along. To his surprise, however, it was only Reiya, albeit with a rather annoyed look on her face like she had just had the worst day of work ever. She didn't say anything, in this situation she didn't need to. Joe knew full well what she was going to say, relaxing his body as she let go of his arm. With a scoff, Joe began walking away, Reiya leaning down and extending an arm out to help the man. However, Joe immediately stopped when he heard the man say next, "The nerve! Do you know who I am!? I can do a MUCH better job at hunting than you morons–!"

Joe turned back around, about to race back and slug the man in the face again. However, when he turned around, he witnessed the rare sight of Reiya taking a swing at the man, nailing him square in the jawline where Joe had just nailed him. The man fell backwards, stumbling around as he tried to keep his balance. The crowd began to mumble as Reiya took her longsword off her back, throwing it back to Joe without even looking. The man caught it, of course, out of instinct as he watched her stomp her way over to the man, throwing another punch at his jaw and hitting him square again. This was immediately followed by a kick to his knee, dropping him, followed by another punch square to his cheek. This time, the man didn't get up, his eyes glazed over as he laid there, twitching and stiff.

"I just had a really, REALLY bad day, so do me a favor and sleep so you don't piss me off anymore," Reiya spat, stomping back over to Joe and swiping her sword away from him. The man watched in awe, having just witnessed the scene of a lifetime. The normally composed and in control Reiya actually snapped. Granted, he didn't think her punishment would be that severe, being the Sapphire Star and with all the witnesses clearly seeing that the man was instigating everything by talking down on them, but it was still the sight of a lifetime.

Anna, meanwhile, watched the whole thing as well, jaw practically on the ground at the display. Whatever sadness she had felt earlier was gone by now, replaced with awe, just like Joe. Never in her life did she ever think she'd see anyone stand up for her in this situation, even if it was Joe and Reiya. But seeing them both stand up for her, AND themselves, against a complete stranger who was just visiting the New World, it inspired her a bit. So much so that she snuck her arms around Joe's arm and quietly pulled him away from the scene to finally get on with their hunt. For the record, they succeeded with flying colors, as per usual.

"If only you could've seen it," Anna cooed out, smiling as she recounted the event to the still unconscious Hazel, "They're both…so cool."

"Anna?"

Anna was quick to sit up, turning back to look at the door. There stood Lys, the handler walking up to her and shooting a glance at Hazel. Of course, nothing had changed, the hunter was still unconscious. Lys's attention then turned back to Anna, who was still seated, but attentive to the handler.

"Reiya's getting grounded for a few days as punishment for knocking some guy out. You know what's up with that? Why did she get into a fight like that, anyway…," Lys stated and asked, her face furrowed with concern. Anna giggled, recounting the events to Lys, who blinked, then sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as she then said, "...of course it's some idiot from the mainland…I swear…."

With another sigh, Lys pulled her book away from her side and opened it up, writing a few things in it before placing it down in front of her on Hazel's bed. Anna's eyes were drawn over to the book, seeing a quest, as well as Joe's name on it as Lys then said, "With Reiya being suspended, the brass is wanting you to take Joe on a hunt. Well, I guess this could be considered HIS punishment, as well. Nothing too difficult…I would hope."

Closing her book, Lys would look at Hazel again, then back to Anna before saying, "Now hurry up. I know he's still hung up on that fight, so don't keep him waiting. He's really cranky when he's stressed out."