—5years ago—

  The waiting room of the HAS central headquarters was quiet in a sterile, uncomfortable way.

  It was a quiet that weighed down on his soul like lead. He simply could not stand it,

  The world outside the window didn't quite fit his internal world, it was bright, sunny, not a cloud in the sky.

  Nagul corveau sat alone on a long white bench, posture immaculate, though, it was easy to tell that he wasn't okay. The tremors in his hands, the way his eyes flicked to the slightest sound, the scars.. they were telltale signs that he was not okay.

  Across from him, a silent television displayed international news footage on loop.

  Flames swallowed entire districts. Buildings collapsed inward like dying lungs. Helicopter footage showed black shapes moving between streets faster than the cameras could track.

  “The French Sin Defense Bureau, known as the JDPB, has officially collapsed after catastrophic losses during what officials are calling the largest coordinated Sin outbreak in European history. It's undoubtable that this will be a dramatic loss for not only our nation, but the entire world, a scar that we may never recover from…”

  Corveau had been staring at the screen for an hour while he waited for his admission to finish processing.

  After all how could he look away. These were people that he trained with, fought with, shared laughs and smiles with. They were really strong… but clearly not strong enough.

  He had been holding his tongue for the past ten days, those few higher ups that managed to escape the carnage, he had to hold his tongue around them, so as to not say what he really thought.

  Those old men and women were the reason the organization fell, because they refused to adapt and change and grow. Had he sat in one of those seats, things would be much different, he wouldn't have been so… so…

  What was the word?

  It was right on the top of his tongue yet he had to dig through his mind to remember exactly what word he was looking for.

  Inefficient

  That's what he meant.

  Inefficiency is what got the JDPB slaughtered.

  Everyone had figured this was coming, with the hellish conditions that come with being a sin hunter it was only a matter of time before the countries defenders would turn into it's destroyers.

  Everyone's realized it by now, sin hunter organizations are actually breeding grounds for sins, the harsher the workdays, the more likely a contract is to be signed and all one can really do to prevent contract signing is hoping and praying. Yet nothing was done about it, because those old hags just wanted to keep the status quo.

  “Um, nagul corveau? They're ready for you” a woman said, coming out of the office door next to him

  “Yes thank you ma'am” he pushed past her into the room. The office of the director, muinichi, takeda

  —2 years ago—

  The sky wept.

  Rain pattered relentlessly against the towering black monolith that was the HAS headquarters. On the inside it sounded like drums beating against the walls, tho nobody would've known. Because no one was actually in the building

  Instead, in a large chamber 300 feet below ground, all the hunters of the HAS stood in chamber was circular, carved from a black stone that could only be obsidian. Hundreds of names were etched into the walls.

  However on the ground there were graves, much more important than the names on the walls. These were the burial sites of all the previous directors in HAS history.

  The scent of incense lingered heavily in the air.

  “We gather here today in loving memory of Muinichi Takeda, our former director,” the speaker intoned, voice resonating through the vaulted chamber. “He passed peacefully at the age of ninety-six, he was an incredibly strong man who paved the path to where we are now. And while we can't be sure how much farther that path will lead us, we can forever be grateful to him for it.”

  A quiet ripple of grief moved through the assembled divisions.

  Takeda had served thirty-three years as director. Long enough that most of the hunters present had never known another leader. To most, they never actually thought they'd see the day.

  But even stone erodes.

  Several agents bowed their heads deeply. Some stood rigid, fists clenched at their sides. A few made no effort to hide their tears.

  Near the back, Division 13 was a mosaic of reactions. One man pressed trembling fingers to his eyes. Another stared forward blankly, jaw tight. Someone sniffed quietly.

  Ash did none of those things.

  He sat with his hands resting loosely on his knees, gaze unfocused, waiting for the ceremony to end.

  He wasn’t bored. Not exactly.

  He just didn’t feel what everyone else felt.

  To his left, Kiyohime sat unnaturally still. Her long dark hair fell forward, partially veiling her face as her head remained bowed. Whether she was praying, grieving, or simply thinking, Ash couldn’t tell. Which was a first, he was usually pretty good at reading everyone in division 13

  “You can at least bow your head.”

  Ash turned slightly. Nagul Corveau sat to his right, posture straight despite his age. The older man’s purple-threaded hair was tied neatly at the nape of his neck, and deep lines carved his stern face. His voice had been low—respectful of the solemnity.

  “Why?” Ash asked quietly.

  Corveau’s eyes narrowed just a bit, though not in anger. More in curiosity.

  “Are you not in the least bit sad about his death?”

  Ash considered the question.

  The speaker at the dais continued recounting Takeda’s achievements, negotiated truces, containment victories, reforms that had strengthened the HAS from within. Applause rose briefly, then faded again into silence.

  “I mean… not really,” Ash replied. His tone was pretty matter of fact. “I don’t see the point in crying over someone who’s moving on to a better place.”

  Corveau studied him.

  “You’re certain there is one?”

  Ash shrugged faintly. “If there isn’t, then what use is crying about it? He lived a long life and fought great fights, in my opinion he lived a pretty great life.”

  The older man exhaled slowly through his nose. Not quite a sigh.

  “... He was like a father to you wasn't he? During your time in the orphanage?”

  Ash tilted his head slightly “well I mean yeah but-”

  “Would you two shut up already? We're in the middle of a funeral in case you've forgotten.” Kiyohime spoke up from next to ash, staring at the two with a gaze that could pierce the heavens

  At the front, a ceremonial flame was lit. A fire of about medium sized, maybe just a bit bigger than a head, burned inside a crystal dome. As tradition dictated, it would burn for thirteen hours.

  Thunder rolled faintly overhead.

  Kiyohime finally shifted. Just barely. Ash noticed the subtle tightening of her fingers in her lap.

  The hall grew quieter still as the final words were spoken.

  “Muinichi Takeda devoted his life to safeguarding humanity. May we honor him not only in memory-but in our every action.”

  The gathered hunters bowed as one.

  Corveau bowed with them, as did kiyohime, with ash the only one not bowing.

  —

  Kiyohime and Corveau stood side by side before the crescent-shaped council table. The chamber was smaller than the Hall of Remembrance, but no less imposing. Frosted glass walls diffused the gray daylight into a cold glow, and the long obsidian table reflected the faces of the HAS’s highest authorities.

  “With Muinichi dead, someone will need to take up the role of director,” the eldest council member said. His voice was raspy and high,. “And as you may already know, we’ve been eyeing you two.”

  Corveau, stood as the perfect image of poise and composure, posture immaculate, chin level. Meanwhile kiyohime crossed her arms, her long black hair rather unkempt, there were noticable bags under her eyes.

  The elder leaned forward, fingers interlaced. His sharp eyes moved between them.

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  “Muinichi saw potential in you two. He would never stop going on about how he saw you as the only ones capable of surpassing him in leadership.”

  Corveau spoke first. “thats very high praise coming from him, he wasn't exactly well known for admitting himself inferior in anything.”

  “which is exactly why we will be taking him at face value,” another councilor replied evenly.

  Kiyohime finally raised her eyes. Her tired. Lifeless eyes. “im sure that we're all thinking it, but what exactly will we do to address the fact that there's two of us? There can only be one director right?” The woman asked.

  The eldest member nodded faintly. “Miss juryoku speaks the truth. There can only be one director so how will we come to a vote?”

  “The same way we always have. An election” one of the other members said, tho corveau butted in.

  “If I may. I would like to do this another way. Those elections, while yes, are tradition. They're very inefficient. Taking days upon days to come to a conclusion? Count me out”

  “Do you have any other ideas?”

  “Yes”

  —

  A contest of leadership had been declared.

  It wasn't a debate, nor a vote. No it was a trial by fire.

  It had been decided that they would both lead a team of senior division members. Nobody from division 13 had been chosen in this team of assorted members, to make sure they had as little synergy as possible.

  It had also been decided that corveau would be operating in a different city than kiyohime, just to ensure no funny business ensued. They were pretty thorough in ensuring this was fair

  Corveau had been sent off to Sendai, his team was… less than savory, people who had no right to call themselves sin hunters, they were a pathetic, weak and cowardly lot. Though there had been one that stood out to him in this rough patch.

  A man who seemed nervous, but more than ready to fight for his country, though there was something off about him. Corveau couldn't quite put his finger on it though.

  The mission that they'd been tasked with was a simple one, capture and incapacitate 100 sins. Whoever could do so with greater leadership would be selected to take the directors exam.

  A simple enough task really, it only took 2 and a half hours to incapacitate 52 phase 1’s. There were some phase 2 encounters that could not be contained and had to be killed and those were regrettable. his thoughts drifted to that other team. with kiyohime on that squad, there was no doubt that they had finished in record time, however he was not too worried.

  The time limit was not what he cared about, if he could lead his squadron efficiently enough, they'd see him as a more capable leader.

  What had caught his interest though was the man who seemed nervous. He had been watching the man for a good amount of time. But something about him didn't seem right.

  He was way too strong to be just a regular senior division member. And he never seemed to take any battle damage despite getting beaten up a lot.

  He pulled the man into a tent just outside the action.

  “Would you like a drink? You've been doing a lot out there, I'd say you deserve it.” The man offered.

  “No thanks you sir, I'm plenty hydrated.” The younger man said.

  “Kisuke kuwada”

  “Huh?” The boy looked up at his name being called.

  “That's your name right? I read your file during the past 2 hours. You're a 21 year old who joined a month ago after getting layed off from your animation studio. This is your first major mission and you have no real training since you weren't apart of the junior division. Is all of that right?” Corveau asked the man now known as Kisuke.

  “Um, yes more or less… where are you going with this sir?” Kisuke asked, he really could not predict the flow of this conversation.

  “Where I'm going with this, is that that doesn't make much sense. You only joined 2 months ago yet you're strength and speed surpass people who've been wearing those exosuits for years.”

  The man started sweating profusely, “i was uh, pretty strong before this, so I guess that just trickled out into my exosuit haha”

  “I don't doubt you were strong.. but that's not how the exosuits work. The exosuits can only output more power when you train in them. Any outside training doesn't work to make the exosuit stronger. And as the icing on the cake… you're not wearing an exosuit.” the man said. All exosuits reached up to a certain point on the neck no matter the model or generation, and the man wasn't wearing a tall enough collar to conceal the fact that it wasn't there.

  “Um I can explain.”

  “All hunters wear exosuits under their clothes, infact it's the only piece of mandatory clothing next to an official badge. And there's not much reason to take it off unless it didn't work for you, like if you were an angel gear or.. a sin”

  Kisuke stepped back, away from the man in front of him, suddenly extremely terrified.

  “you wouldn't be the first sin hunter to become a sin, nor will you be the last. Every sin hunter who turns sin is classified as a traitor, and hunted like a wild dog.”

  The silence inside the tent was absolute, save for the muffled thud-thud-thud of distant heavy artillery and the patter of rain against the canvas.

  Kisuke’s hands were shaking now, terrified

  “I’m not… I haven’t hurt anyone,” Kisuke whispered, his voice cracking. “i just wanted to help people, I have never hurt anyone and I will never hurt anyone. You have to believe me.”

  Corveau didn’t move. He didn’t reach for a weapon, but his presence seemed to expand, filling the small space until the air felt heavy.

  He believed the man, from everything he's seen, the man was likely just not strong enough to keep up with the people around him so he made a deal.

  The more and more corveau thought about it, the more sense it made to him. Why exactly did he have to kill the man? Why couldn't he make use of him like every other soldier?

  In fact employing sins seemed a lot more efficient than wasting human soldiers.

  The rain continued to hammer against the tent’s canvas, a rhythmic, suffocating sound that mirrored the drumming of Kisuke’s heart. He looked like a man standing on a trapdoor, waiting for the lever to be pulled.

  Corveau, however, remained a statue of calculated calm. He didn't see a monster; he saw a way forward.

  “The HAS is built on a foundation of rigid binaries,” Corveau said, his voice smooth as polished stone. “Hunter or Sin. Protector or Prey. But binaries are for those who lack the imagination to lead. Muinichi Takeda understood the world was gray, though even he might have balked at this.”

  He took a slow step toward Kisuke. The younger man flinched but didn't run. There was nowhere to go.

  “You say you haven’t hurt anyone. I believe you. A Sin with your physical output and lack of restraint would have left a trail of gore across Sendai by now. But you're showing a level of restraint I didn't think was possible for sins. Normally all sins have their negative emotions enhanced to the point of madness, but some have the willpower to resist, though there hasn't been a single sin on record capable of resisting the urge to complete their contract. But that can be.. fixed.”

  “What? What are you saying?”

  “im saying that you could help me change the world.”

  —

  The bar was dimly lit, the low hum of conversation and clinking glasses filling the air like a distant storm. Smoke hung in lazy spirals from a corner ashtray, and the scent of cheap whiskey mingled with fried food. Corveau sat hunched at the counter, a half-empty glass of amber liquid trembling in his hand.

  Ash slid into the stool next to him, ordering a drink for himself but leaving it untouched. He had never been much for bars, didn't really get the appeal.

  “why did you buy that? You're not going to drink it. After all, it's a known fact that you angel gears can't handle alcohol. Ultralightweights, isn't that what you're called?” corveau turned to ash, who had his Sake just sitting there on the table.

  “Well I mean, it'd be kinda weird to come into a bar without buying anything.” Ash stated, his reasoning as simple as expected.

  “Kiyohime… she’s been instated. Effective immediately. Director of the HAS.” the older man said, drinking his troubles away

  Ash exhaled slowly, unsure where to even start.“You… uh…” Ash began, scratching the back of his neck. “I mean… congrats to her?” his words came out unconfident, which was a surprise to corveau.

  “You sound like you're against her winning? Why do you sound so unsure?”

  “Oh no I'm really happy for her. I'm just… what's the word… consorted? No. Con..”

  “Conflicted?”

  “Yeah, that's the one. I'm conflicted. I mean, sure she became the director and all, but that also means that you didn't, and I'm not sure how to feel about that.”

  Corveau let out a quiet huff of amusement at that.

  “Conflicted,” he repeated, rolling the word around like it had flavor. “That’s a polite way of putting it.”

  He swirled the whiskey in his glass but didn’t drink. The ice clinked softly.

  Ash leaned back on the stool, glancing sideways at him. “You’re taking it pretty well.”

  “Am I?”

  Well… you’re not flipping tables.”

  Corveau chuckled under his breath.

  “Tables are innocent, Ash. No reason to punish furniture… but to be honest, I'm actually not as distressed by this as you think I am. Disappointed, yes, but I'm fine with it. If anyone could surpass the old director it's her… but I have a question for you ash”

  “Huh, ask away”

  “How far do you think we'll be able to go like this?” The older man asked which confused ash,

  “What do you mean?”

  “Keeping up the status quo I mean. How long can we go on like this. People aren't strong enough to keep this up. We're only human at the end of the day, if you ask me, having to work seventy two hour shifts multiple times a week while getting paid in peanuts, those aren't exactly humane conditions. Those conditions cause people to make contracts with sins, which makes the HAS lay them off which then leads to more sins to deal with. If you ask me, that's just inefficient”

  “Well I mean when you put it like that I guess I get it. But it's not really like we can do anything about it”

  “Oh no, there's a way around it, it's just that no one is looking at the obvious solution, "Corveau said, not yet drunk. As a proper frenchman he couldn't allow himself to fall drunk in a random Japan bar

  —

  “What is this?” Kiyohime’s voice cut through the sterile light of the operations room like a blade, her eyes were focused on the visage of the suited man before her. Every line of her posture screamed disbelief.

  “These are the preliminary plans for the sin conversion unit.” Corveau said with a straight face, looking her dead in the eye, leaving no room for misinterpretation.

  Kiyohime’s contempt deepened. “Sin Conversion Unit?” she repeated as if giving him a chance to rethink what he just said. When he looked to stand resolute, she began to lay into him. “Are you insane? Sins are monsters! They are not people. They are not allies. They kill indiscriminately and have no choice but to. We kill the bad ones and cure the ones that aren't too far gone. That's how we do things. under no circumstances can we ever keep a sin alive and unaccounted for”

  Corveau stepped forward, calm as ever. “Kiyohime I-,”

  “We are not on first name basis.” the woman interrupted.

  He cleared his throat “juryoku, I understand that emotionally you are in a very fragile state right now. And your very instincts recoil at the thought, however I simply could not wait any longer. With all due respect.. the entire system of sin hunters is incredibly inefficient. The working conditions are a breeding ground for sins and our strength as humans won't be able to cut it. Even with our exo suits we can only reach within the realm of a phase 2, any phase 2 sin requires conductor level battle intelligence that most lack”

  Kiyohime’s glare sharpened, slicing through him. “And you think letting them operate as hunters is the answer? You’re suggesting we arm the very things we’re supposed to eliminate. Do you understand how reckless that is?”

  “I do,” Corveau said quietly. “And that’s why it’s structured. We wouldn’t hand control over to them blindly. They’d operate under strict supervision, tracked constantly, and any breach would result in immediate neutralization. But think about it. They have enough strength to save money on exosuit, they don't need doctors, they don't need breaks. And eventually I'm sure we could train them to take on phase 2’s just as, if not more efficiently than any human. It's the most efficient way.”

  Kiyohime’s hands clenched at her sides. “Efficiency? You think efficiency justifies compromising our morals? We exist to kill sins, that's the sole purpose of the HAS. If we welcome a sin with open arms we lose the right to call ourselves the shield of humanity. We become their shepherds. You talk about efficiency like we're not humans with moral compasses!”

  “If my moral compass gets everyone I know and cared about slaughtered again, then it's a faulty compass.”

  Kiyohime didn’t respond immediately.

  For a moment the operations room fell into a suffocating silence, broken only by the faint hum of fluorescent lights overhead.

  Her eyes searched his face as if trying to find the point where reason ended and madness began.

  “And what happens,” she said slowly, “when one of your efficient tools decides it no longer wants to follow orders?”

  Corveau didn’t hesitate. “Then we destroy it.”

  The bluntness of the answer made something in her chest tighten. “You do realize you're crossing every moral boundary possible right?”

  “With all due respect, the director of the HAS is in no position to talk about morals. Aren't we still recruiting teenagers to groom them for war?”

  “Like I've already said countless times. I'll do something about about it when I get the chance.”

  “But you won't disband the program, will you?” He asked.

  “You know damn well why I can't do that.”

  “ is it because of those seven children who've yet to learn their destinies? Cause there are other ways around that, more efficient ways, yet you seem to be ignoring that” he said, though he quickly noticed the flash of annoyance in her features.

  Suddenly he felt an incredible pressure pressing down on him. It felt like the weight of a planet pressing down on him and only him.

  “I think you should leave, corveau.” The woman said, opening the door with a snap of her fingers “in case that wasn't efficient enough for you… Get Out”

  –

  The man sat, slouched on a worm wooden couch in arashiyama, he wasn't really here to look at any of the sights, even though it was beautiful.

  He dug deep into his mind, trying to figure out some way to make this plan work. He'd grown to like the people in the HAS.

  Footsteps crunched softly on the wet gravel path, and he glanced up to see a figure approaching. The face was almost unmistakable.

  “Miss Graves, what exactly are you doing here?” He asked the woman, who sat on the bench next to him.

  “Lovely place isn't it?” the woman seemed to have ignored his question completely. “It's quite a shame that someone like you had to come here, with such worry on your mind”

  “Hm? What are you talking about?”

  “You argued with your new director recently didn't you? A little birdie told me.” she said, looking at him with a smile that he could just tell was condescending.

  Miss Graves folded her hands neatly in her lap, eyes drifting lazily toward the bamboo grove swaying beyond the garden wall. Wind rustled through the leaves in a soft, endless whisper.

  Corveau watched her carefully.

  People didn’t just find him like this.

  “You seem unusually well informed,” he said evenly. “I don’t recall telling anyone where I’d be today.”

  Her smile widened slightly.

  “A woman must always have her secrets.” She said. “But I must say, your secrets in particular intrigue me. A man who wants to form a division of purely sins, why that's so absurd I could die laughing.”

  “Yet here you are,” she continued, her tone smooth as sulk, “the only man in the entire HAS hierarchy willing to say it out loud.”

  Corveau didn’t respond immediately. The wind moved through the bamboo grove behind them, a soft, hollow sound like distant breathing.

  “You speak as if you approve,” he finally said.

  “Oh no,” she laughed lightly. “I think it’s a terrible idea. And carrying it out would be impossible with that…. Thing.. as your director.” the woman said, referring to kiyohime.

  “You should be careful how you speak about the director of another nation’s defense organization,” he said calmly.

  Miss Graves didn’t even glance at him.

  Instead, she plucked a thin bamboo leaf from the bench beside her and rolled it between her fingers.

  “Should I?” she said lightly. “From my perspective, she’s not fit to hold the title of director. Forward progress isn't possible under a person like her, it's undoubtable that she'll run the HAS into the ground”

  Corveau’s eyes narrowed slightly.

  “That’s a bold prediction coming from someone who doesn’t even belong to this country.”

  Miss Graves finally turned her head toward him, her expression amused in a way that made it difficult to tell whether she was mocking him or simply entertained.

  “Oh please,” she said softly. “Nations are lines on maps. Sins don’t care about borders, and neither do the organizations that fight them, we just pretend that we do so we don't draw the wrath of other countries.”

  She leaned back on the bench, looking him dead in the eye. “If I'm being honest, as far as organizations go. The HAS is starting to become… inefficient. I hold great respect for the directors of the past who molded the HAS into what it is today, but I must admit, it's become nothing but a sin breeding ground.”

  Corveau leaned back against the bench as well studying the woman beside him.

  “You say that as if you’ve already solved the problem,” he said.

  Miss Graves chuckled.

  “Oh no,” she said. “If I had solved it, the world would look very different right now.”

  She flicked the bamboo leaf away.

  “But I do admire people who try.”

  Corveau’s gaze hardened slightly.

  “Then you didn’t come here just to mock my proposal.”

  “Oh no I did. But I have a proposal of my own” the woman said.

  “... I'm listening.”

  “I personally don't believe in your way of doing things. However I do as well hate inefficiency. So tell you what. If you can somehow manage to prove that sins can be made into an effective combat unit, then I'll change my way of going about things, and I'll convince the rest of the directors to change their way of thinking as well. But I do hope you know that's not something you can do underneath that… director, of yours” she said the word director through gritted teeth.

  Corveau didn’t answer immediately.

  Instead, he studied her.

  People like this didn’t approach others without already knowing the outcome they wanted.

  “You’re suggesting,” he said slowly, “that I remove the obstacle.”

  Miss Graves smiled.

  Not kindly.

  “More like. Move on to a different track.” She suggested.

  She picked herself up off the bench, and began to walk away. “Think about it”

  Corveau stayed seated for a long moment after Miss Graves disappeared down the winding path of Arashiyama. The bamboo leaves whispered in the wind, carrying her words with them. He closed his eyes and let the drizzle patter over his shoulders, feeling the tension in his muscles slowly unwind, but the gears in his mind kept turning relentlessly. Removing Kiyohime was not an option. Even if he had the capability to do that, he simply held too much respect for her.

  However he could not abide by this status quo any longer.

  So maybe it was time to make a new status quo.