"Hmm... Ren Kitsuko, Kitsune, age 21, has mastered the art of electro magic and is one of the top graduates of the Knight training academy. Seems like you're more suited for the defense or the attack agency, are you not?" A tall female cyclop, the receptionist of the intelligence agency, says as she stares at Ren with her single, green and humongous eye that stands vertically across her face which contains no other feature beside it. Her medium length black hair is styled with straight bangs just like those stereotypical assistants from movies. As her eye narrows at a faint breeze coming from a desk fan, she crosses her arms as she waits for an answer.

The fox she's talking to can only chuckles awkwardly, glancing around as sweat drips down his forehead, "Well... I... It's my choice, I guess," Ren says, rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes glancing at the cyclop's name tag attached to her shirt pocket.

At his laid back response, the cyclop, Cathy, sighed before averting her eye to her computer, "In this agency, we do not tolerate those that don't have the qualities needed, say; intelligence, or confidence, or even a proper negligence to the dress code."

Well, Ren certainly has all three, though he is still waiting to see if his new uniform fits him or not. But this sheer douchebag aura the cyclop is emitting is arguably too much to handle.

However, Ren doesn't intend to back down. He didn't come this far just to get turned down by a sassy, one-eyed woman, "Hmm, are you paid to turn down people without actually acknowledge them? Cuz, from what I know, that's not what receptionists are supposed to do. That's what assholes do."

She slams her fist on the table before standing up, her eye glaring at the fox as she tops it off with a passive-aggressive head tilt.

Ren senses an immediate aura of danger surrounding the cyclop; black-ish, green and menacing, fiendishly surrounding her like a torrent of flames. It sends shivers down Ren's spine, causing his ears to flip down and his tail to spike.

Yet, she only sighs before sitting down, then she rubs her forehead as she closes her eye, "Guess you could fail only once, huh? Go to the 9th floor. Left, right, and then you'll see the chief's office. Also, please do change your outfit soon. It is not pleasant to look at."

Catching her words, Ren smiles. He mutters a quick thank you before he walks towards an elevator just a few steps away from the admin's table.

The fox waits for it to arrive and when it does, he lets out a deep breath before walking right towards what they say is the magnificent chief of the intelligence agency.

-----

In a cramped office, the floor marbled with black and white diagonal patterns and the dry walls are tainted with weird, ominous stains. With piles of documents messily put on the racks standing on the side of the room, and with no furniture other than a vintage table and two wooden seats, Ren sits, clutching his fists on his thighs as his lips quiver.

Across the table sit the chief; a seemingly human woman wearing a combination of a black formal suit and a gothic jester costume of some sorts. Her figure is thin and tall and her black hair is tied to a pair of Harlequin-like curly twin tails with a small accessory of the sun and the moon adorned at both of the twin tail's' end. Though, what really makes her distinguishable is the white theatrical mask she wears; it is adorned with pitch black eyes decorated with a single tear underneath both's corner, complete with an empty mouth that is smiling sinisterly wide.

"Now, let's begin. Hand me your profile," The chief says with a buzzing voice just like that of an old radio, distorting her voice to the point that she sounds like she just came straight out of a timey, black and white TV show.

"Ah, o-okay," Ren says, complying with her words.

Just a second later after what seems to be a glance to his document, the masked woman turns to Ren, "My name is Faust, but you may simply call me Chief. You may now ask three questions first regarding me or this agency before I'll begin testing you," Faust introduces herself as she puts the paper down.

The pressuring tone the chief is using is quick to overwhelm him and her suspicious aura is not helping either. Thus, he quietly sigh to himself, his inner voice mentally noting that everything is going to be fine and dandy.

"Well, first off... How are you doing?"

Faust takes a glimpse at Ren's blue eyes as she tilts her head, "I'm fine, thank you."

"Same here..." The fox slightly smiles, albeit nervously, "So uh, what's up with that mask?"

The chief falls silent for a moment like an AI computing its answer, "I'm a doppelganger. Shapeshifters that can imitate any living being that we've seen. This form you're seeing? It is based on a character from an opera show. There's nothing more than that."

Ren's suspicions were correct then. There's always more than what meets the eyes in this world. And that could mean both ways, "Can you tell me more about, uh... The things we'll do here?"

"For starters, this agency has many branches. You'll be assigned to one of them if you pass. They work at different cases at different times, depending on the presence of criminal cases to work with."

"So can we propose new cases ourselves?"

"Well, you can. But you have to gain validations from fellow members of your branch and from me."

"Huh..."

"Since you're out of your three questions, let's move on, shall we?"

Well, I technically asked four questions, but go on.

"Now, tell me more about you; your background, your capabilities, your hobbies... And most importantly: Your reason for joining the Knights."

The chief crosses her arms, leaning on her chair whilst looking down at him with the same empty stare.

Ren takes a deep breath as he closes his eyes, repeating a calming mantra in his mind, before he opens them up again, "My name's Ren Kitsuko... I am a Kitsune born in Mount Inari in Sylvae. I'm 21 years old. And I'm currently living in an apartment alone," He put on a faint smile, "I got homeschooled until I was seven. Then I went to public schools and after that I graduated from the Sylvae Knight combat academy."

"And what can you bring to the table here?"

"Firstly, I'm capable of hand to hand combat. Although I'm not really that experienced with guns, I'm skilled at thunder magic to compensate for that," The fox answers before a spark of faint blue lightning suddenly cascades across his arms, "My father is the one that taught me how to use elemental magic... Basically, he taught me... Well, everything about me. But he's rarely home now. Too busy with work outside of town, I suppose. Heh, fathers, am I righ-"

"I don't need your personal dilemmas. Now, get to the point."

And there goes all of his respect for his potential boss.

Though her rudeness might have thrown him off, Ren just sighs before continuing, "He also taught me that us Kitsunes can see other's auras, even through solid objects. Magical X-rays, as I like to call it."

The blank eyes on the chief's mask somehow raise themselves up in wonder as she tilts her head curiously, "Oh? Can you demonstrate?"

With a nod, he closes his eyes as his mind focuses to channel his own aura onto them. Feeling a refreshing surge of coldness caressing his eyelids as if he's standing in a winter's outdoors, he unravels them, revealing them glowing bright blue like a pair of mystical moons.

The world he sees turns dark blue as if he's deep within the open ocean, every single inanimate object turning transparent with only their outlines visible as light blue lines. With his enhanced eyes, he could see a cloud of black mist-like aura surrounding the chief, flowing calmly around her.

"Your aura... It's kinda creeping me out, but it flows around you normally."

"Hmm? Why is that?"

"Well, I don't really know. Usually, when you're calm, your aura just flows normally like that. Although, when you're distressed, it will surround you like a flame."

"But what creeps you out?"

"Oh... I... Your aura, it's kinda unsettling. Black and misty. Kinda like ghosts from horror movies."

The chief momentarily pauses as she lean back in her seat, "Hmm... Interesting," She flick her fingers before pointing at the wall behind her, "Well, can you see anything behind me?"

At that, Ren's ears perk up, his glowing blue eyes flicker as they dim out, "Oh, I-I need to put in an extra effort for that, so I'll try."

He once again put in his mind and thoughts to activate his power, the world turning blue once more.

This time, the walls become transparent with Ren being able to see the auras of the people on the same floor and the floor underneath and above him. He sees different colors of silhouettes of different races, doing all sorts of activities. He sees a yellow silhouette of a centaur sitting at his desk doing nasty amounts of papers, the rainbow coloured silhouettes of a group of mantis-like aliens eating lunch and more. Though, the ones further from him only appear as tiny dots of colors.

From the chief's specific request, behind the masked woman, he sees a pair of silhouettes of human-like figures, one golden, buff and tall, the other small, pink and feminine, on top of each other. The latter doing quite an unorthodox rhythm of movement... In... What seems to be... A bathroom stall...

"Uh... I think there's people... Doing that. Right behind you," Out of surprise and embarrassment, Ren deactivates his vision with an awkward smile.

At that, Faust takes a deep breath, "Tch, typical," She pulls out an intercom mic from under the table, "Amura and Kai, I'll cut your salary for two months."

The chief breathes loosely, putting the microphone back to where it came from afterwards. She then snaps her head at the fox, catching him off guard, "Hmm... What's your name again?"

"Oh its-"

"Ken. Let's see..."

Without a word, the masked woman grabs his document, beginning to once again skim right through. Moments later, with a snap of her finger, she crumbles the paper and throws it under the table.

"So Ken."

"It's Re-"

"It seems that your qualities, as your document described, are slightly above average. But, from my perspective, you are simply too much of a... Jack of all trades, per say."

"See, in this agency. Everyone has a specialty of their own. For example; tracing pheromones left by insectoids, detecting a fraction of unique sound waves emitted by only a certain type of aliens, or even... Say... Just a minor knowledge of the spirit realm, or 'the other side,' as most would call it. Those minor advantages could easily be impactful in the long run. In this city, you never know what to expect after all, so something that's different from others is always preferred here."

"But you... Well, your x-ray eyes could be a huge asset for us. But... We already have plenty of those x-ray glasses that people use for their perverted desires. So, you won't exactly bring anything too special to the table," The chief's words are like arrows piercing through Ren's heart. Maybe it's because of his own expectations, or maybe it's due to her harsh words. Perhaps it's better to have lower expectations for most cases.

But well, there are always other agencies he could try, so this is not the end of the world for him. Maybe it'll be easier to be in the same agency as his friend, Niz. That lizard seems to already know a lot about his job anyways.

Nonetheless, disappointment is always inevitable when failure comes. Slumping his tail and ears low, Ren lowers his head, sighing to himself.

"Well, excuse me then..."

Standing up, Ren bows down to the chief formally, muttering a quick thank you before he turns around to face the door, ready to exit her office.

"I've never said that you're not accepted. Come back here."

Ren's ears perk up as he glances back to see her empty stare once more and it sends shiver down his spine, though he keeps his courage as he sits back with a wagging tail.

"Usually, I put new recruits to a branch to see how well they would perform. But with you.. I'd like to do... Something else," She conjoints her fingers together as she leans her elbows onto the table, "Considering how easily you could thrive at the other agency, it is bizarre that you chose to be here. Someone sane would chose to walk the stable path. And as for that, your reasons are atypical to others, yes?"

An utmost silence possesses the fox, allowing her to continue.

"But as of now, that is not my main concern," She crosses her arms as she causes her seat to slide back, "However... There is one thing I like to do when people like you came to my office,"

Then she pulls out a dice, staring at it, "Have you ever heard of silver bullets?" Her gaze stiffly and suddenly jolts at Ren, "Of course you did. Everyone here knows what they are. They are... Lethal to everything and everyone. Not excluding Kitsunes, like you."

Her words trigger a memory from one of Ren's lectures of his college years. Anti-magic bullet, or widely known as silver bullet, is a type of weapon ammunition widely used around the globe. It is used for both military and illegal activities due to its capability to bypass many kinds of magic. It is so powerful that even with just a light touch, it can burn and cause serious injury to magical beings, including Kitsunes.

At Faust's re-briefing, Ren's ears perk forward, him feeling something, a tingle behind his neck, a hint that this would soon turn to the worse.

"What do you mean?"

Faust raises her right palm like a waiter carrying a tray of orders to their customer. Then, suddenly, out of thin air, a revolver pops directly into Faust's raised hand. She swings it back and forth for a moment, admiring Ren's concerned stare before she aims the gun to his forehead. Its cold tip touch causes beads of sweat to drop down as Ren's body paralyzes out of shock and surprise.

She lets out a little giggle as she tilts her head, "Let's play a game of Russian roulette, shall we?"

At that, Ren's eyes widen, "You're joking... Right?" Ren says, lips quivering in an unsure smile.

As a response, her sinister mask widens its smile.

Ah, good ol' russian roulette, a life or death game that has existed ever since the reign of man.

"You're really... Joking... Right-"

"!!!"

She fires one round right above his head, In between his fox ears, putting a clean hole into the concrete wall behind him, from it flies out a fresh and faint trail of smoke.

And that definitely answers Ren's question. With a bang.

"Let this be a test of your will. Are your reasons that important for you to risk your life? Or would it be the other way around?"

"Of course, you can just walk out of the room and act like nothing had happened, but, if you accept, then you'll immediately be put in the top branch of this agency all with equal footings with your peers. If you don't die, that is. How does that sound?"

"Wha?! Are you out of your mind?!" Ren retorts as his body slightly flinches in panic.

"I am. You can't tell?" She says in such a nonchalant way as she pins her gun at his forehead.

With her proposal and the tension raising tenfold in this tiny little office of hers, the fox finds himself puking internally, not even knowing what to do. Choice A or B, safely halt at yellow or risk for the green light. A normal person would definitely struggle, especially with a gun pointed directly at their head.

"If I do accept, then what if I die? What do you gain from this? Would it be worth it?"

Ren keeps telling himself that this is a joke, that she's not serious. Even after that literal loud bang, there could be no bullets left in there for all he knows. And surely people in the building have ears and would come here sooner or later, right?

But then, he remembers a certain guide that had said if a newbie needs him, all they gotta do is say his name five times.

"Vivie Vivie Vivie Vivie Vivie."

Suddenly, a dot of green appears right beside Ren's head before it grows larger in size, until it forms what is known as Vivie the Wisp, the magical Knight's department guide.

"Eh, Ren? Chief? Wait... w-what's happening here..?"

"Vivie! I need you to-"

"!!!"

A quick bang from the chief's gun cut off his words, though the one she aimed for was not him. It was Vivie.

In a blink of an eye, just right after the Wisp had appeared, he once again, pops like a balloon, this time literally.

Faust giggles, an expected response from a person that proposes a gamble on another's life.

Ren agapes his mouth at what's left of Vivie's remnant; a small lingering glow of green energy, floating right beside him as it slowly disappears into nothingness.

Ren grits his teeth as he furrows his brow. With clenched fists, he turns to the chief, glaring at her.

"Heheh... You see, before I got recruited here, I lied for a living. I've dominated the gambling world as both the king and queen. And from that, I've taken a lot from other people. Their money, their treasures, their sanity... Their souls. How did the Knight Overseers recruited me, you ask? Well, that's another story to tell. One we don't have time for. And getting some games here and there is what I would call... Fun."

At that, he growls, his pupils changing into a pair of deadly, animal slits as his furs straightens. The fact that she said nothing right after she shot Vivie, the fact that she even dared to explain her pointless reason is beyond him.

"Oh, be careful with your aggression trainee. I'm still the chief here and there won't be any consequences for me, but there will be for you if you don't act accordingly," Her mask widens its smile as she presses the gun harder onto Ren's forehead.

"You're a lunatic. You know that?"

"I've been called worse."

Faust rolls the cylinder and puts it down on the table before sitting back nonchalantly, "There are 2 silver bullets in the cylinder. Feel free to grab the gun and start anytime."

He is already waiting for people to barge right through the door to inspect the loud bang, but the fact that it has already been minutes since the gun was fired and no one has arrived raises some questions for him: Does it normally take that long for sound to travel? Is this room sound-proof? Or do these people in the building lack ears?

Nonetheless, it seems if he runs out with panic and starts to throw around 'accusations', people would side with the person they already know and trust (somehow), that is the chief. Even if he backs out, this masked woman seems to be the type to manipulate scenes behind the curtain. There's no telling of what power within this organization she truly holds as the chief of the intelligence agency. Perhaps she could manipulate his data or documents and such to target him. He could be a victim that escaped her lust for entertainment.

So either he likes it or not. He is already in too deep within this.

"You do realize the consequence of your little game, right? If I die, then what?"

"I have my own ways," The pure, casual tone she speaks with causes Ren to sharpen his brow. Still within his own internal struggle, he scratches his head in frustration as he looks for his answer.

A chance to reach his goals with the slight possibility of death, or a guaranteed chance to save himself. It's all up for the fox to choose.

As the room's clock ticks, after what feels like hours of silence, Ren settles with his answer.

He'll do it.

It all feels... Surreal. Does he really want to do this? Is this what she would want? Frankly, he feels nothing stopping him from reaching out for the gun; no fear, nor stress, nor excitement.

Without any words, with a face as blank as Faust's, Ren grabs the gun, catching her attention.

"Now... choose... Your hopes and dreams? Or your despair?"

He lets out a shaky breath as he points the gun at the side of his head. A brief silence momentarily pauses his fingers as closes his eyes, preparing for nothing but nothingness.

It's all for you... Aza...

And so, without any struggles, he pulls the trigger.

-----