The alleyway was filled with screams and gut wrenching sounds. Mordred watched the spirit known as Nightmare—Kurumi Tokisaki. Or, as fans called her, the best girl of the series. Getting back on track, Mordred watched as Kurumi lured some thugs into an alleyway, and watched as she devoured them, leaving nothing but remnants of blood.
"Honestly, was tearing them to shreds really necessary? One clean shot would've done the job, and left something worth looting."
She then looked into the distance. Seeing the distant silhouettes of the AST, flying their way here.
'I should be in season 1 of Date A Live. Shido- or I mean Shiori, should be meeting Kurumi about now, I think? How many spirits has she sealed now? I think it was two at this point in the anime...'
Her thoughts were broken at the sound of combat. She looked down to see a blue-haired girl, engage in combat with the Kurumi clone.
'Mana, I think that was her name. I didn't really pay attention to her in the show. But, I think she's dying because of the modifications made to her body so that she can be a wizard. It was something like that, don't know if she ever healed.'
Mordred watched as the Kurumi clone was quickly cut down. The other AST members quickly cleaning up the scene before they all left.
'Well, they are certainly efficient in cleaning up messes. They finished before Shiori even showed up'
...
Shiori arrived at the destination, yet there was nothing here. No evidence of a spirit being here.
"Dammit, did Nightmare already flee?" Kotori yelled.
Shiori examined the alley as well as the smaller alleyways, trying to find a clue of where the spirit went, but it was in vain.
Kotori let out a sigh. Nightmare has been on her radar for a while, yet the spirit always disappears before they could show up. "Onee-san, just head home for tonight. We'll continue to search for the spirit, and hopefully get some results."
Shiori nodded her head. She turned around to walk in the direction of her home, but stopped suddenly.
'Tohka and Yoshino probably haven't eaten dinner yet, same with Kotori.'
She changed directions and walked to an open grocery store and grabbed some ingredients. She had to grab extra for Tohka's abyssal stomach, this resulted in her having too many bags to carry home.
...
Mordred sat on the edge of the roof, watching with amusement as Shiori awkwardly carried the bags.
"You aren't hiding very well, Nightmare."
The sound of giggling somehow echoed in the air. A familiar figure emerged from the shadows.
"How did you know I was here?" Kurumi asked with curiosity. She hasn't run into anyone or anything that was able to detect her like this, not yet at least.
"Like I said, you weren't hiding very well." Mordred had long detected Kurumi watching her. She was made aware of Kurumi's presence by her instinct skill. Mordred didn't have good detection skills, but her current ability was enough to locate Kurumi who was in close proximity. "So, what brings you here?"
"Hehe, I simply wish to be acquittanced with the newest spirit that showed up, and reduced the numbers of the AST by half."
'Was she nearby when I arrived in the world?' Mordred asked herself. 'Since my instinct didn't act up then, she was probably passing by when it happened.'
"Well, I must go now, I am a busy woman after all." Her body began to descend into her shadow. "I hope we become more acquainted in the future, Knight"
'And she's gone. Now that I think about it, where am I going to stay tonight? I also need money...' She stood up and stretched. 'Time to do what I do best' Clarent appeared in her hands. "The local yakuza will do, they should have plenty of money for me."
....
...
----Remnant----
Violet sat in her office. It wasn't a big office, quite cramped, with a single desk, and some filing cabinets, but she wasn't complaining. A new office building was being constructed, so the office within the factory would no longer be used.
In front of her was a stack of resumes, she had spent most of the day going through interviews. One of the tasks that Mordred had left to her was to find a weapon designer to hire. So, Violet had released many advertisements of the position, and of course, many applicants applied. This would be good, until she took a closer look at said applicants, using her information network she had made when this group was still a gang or just the internet to search their background. Many of these applicants either had no experience, little skill, or were sent by rival companies, some even from the Schnee Dust Company.
Searching for a new hire was difficult. she grabbed the next resume for the applicant that would soon enter for an interview. Her lips frowned as she read the resume.
"Ruby Rose, 15 years old, self taught, and asking for... a part time position. Didn't I list this as full time?"
~Knock-Knock~
Violet looked at the watch on her wrist. "Well, at least she knows how to arrive on time, not like half of these applicants..." She muttered to herself. "Come in"
The door creaked open, and in stepped a girl far younger than Violet expected, even with the resume in front of her.
Ruby Rose walked in with a bounce in her step, clutching a folded-up piece of paper. She wore a plain black hoodie, red accents on her sleeves, and scuffed combat boots. Her silver eyes sparkled with barely restrained excitement.
"Hi! I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose!" she said cheerfully, stepping up and standing stiffly in front of the desk, like she was reporting to a general.
"...You're aware this isn't a school internship, right?" Violet said.
Ruby nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! I'm fully self-taught, already designed and built my own weapon—Crescent Rose! I can show you! I even brought it!" She motioned toward the large, cloth-wrapped item slung across her back.
Violet raised a brow. "You brought a weapon to a job interview."
"Well, yeah!" Ruby looked puzzled. "It's kinda like bringing a resume, but with firepower!"
There was a beat of silence. Violet took a slow breath through her nose.
"…Show me."
Ruby lit up. In one smooth motion, she unslung Crescent Rose and pulled back the wrapping, revealing the massive red-and-black high-caliber scythe. The weapon gleamed even in the dim light, pristine and deadly. With a practiced flick, Ruby extended it to full length, its mechanical joints clicking into place with satisfying precision.
She showed off its scythe form before having it shift in its dedicated gun form. "Its also a gun!"
Violet's eyes narrowed, she had to admit, she was impressed. The craftsmanship was far from amateur.
"I made it at Signal Academy. I'm currently training to become a huntress, though I do admit, I kinda went overboard with the design. But you know what they say, there is no kill like overkill, am I right!"
"You made this alone?"
Ruby nodded eagerly. "Yup! Took me months, but I loved every second of it. Though I did have financial support from my dad."
"And you requested to work part-time, even though we listed the position as full-time."
"Yep, I kinda need to start saving up for Beacon next year… and also snacks. Plus, my dad wouldn't let me get a full-time job, it was already hard enough to convince him to even let me get a part-time"
"Aren't you a little to young to be designing weapons?"
"Yes, yes I am." Ruby stated without hesitation.
'Normally any sane company wouldn't hire a child for weapons designing, but this company isn't normal since most of its employees are formal gangsters and criminals who got beat into submission by Mordred. Well, there shouldn't be a problem with hiring her, Vale's laws on child labor are quite loose, mainly to encourage them to seek out hunter professions and go into one of the many combat schools.'
"Very well Miss Rose, you pass this interview." Violet stated which caused Ruby to try and resist the urge to jump up and celebrate. "You'll work under supervision. One week probation. We'll also need to discuss your schedule, you mentioned beacon? So, does this mean you are a student?"
"Not yet, I plan to attend next year since there is an age requirement."
'Beacon has age requirements for students? Yet, companies can hire children to work on weapons?' Violet shook the thought out of her head, instead of thinking about how weird the system is, she should be thankful that it allowed her to find a great recruit, Mordred would be happy with this result.
"I look forward to working with you, Miss Rose."