Yael put on a soft smile as he walked in, Nolan leading the way. They sat on the two singular couches that were in front of Sergei's desk, a small coffee table between them. Yael slightly observed the place before he sat down, shooting Nolan a glance before his eyes landed back on Sergei. Aware that he has caught the attention of the two, he wasted no time.
"A pleasure to meet you, Sir Yael. Quite an honor, too, I've listened to a few of your songs in the past." Sergei said as he extended his hand for a handshake. Yael quickly responded, swiftly shaking his hand before he talked.
"The feeling is mutual. I'm just happy you saw me worthy enough to trust me with such secure info such as this 'gang' thing." Yael smiled smugly as he talked. Nolan on the other hand, with a dull expression, his eyes only shot between the two as they took turns talking.
"Hahaha, do not mention it. Regardless, you can call me by my name directly if you'd like. We can drop the formalities, given we'll be very much in touch from now-" Sergei spoke before he was cut off.
"Ah-ah-ah. I have to remind you there, I never said that I've agreed just yet. I only came to...See how it works around here. You know what I mean, surely?" Yael spoke, the smug smile on his face never faltering, maybe hiding the darkest thoughts.
"...Yes. My apologies for jumping to conclusions. Regardless, you can still drop the formalities. What would you like to see?" Sergei spoke, trying to choose his words carefully and using the kindest and nicest tone he could. He didn't want to startle Yael and scare him away, no, that was the last thing he wanted. Meanwhile, Nolan wasn't showing it, but he was caught off guard with the gentle tone of his boss's voice.
"Hmm." Yael hummed to himself before speaking. "I dunno. Like... I was just wondering if you knew a woman. Brown hair blue eyes, kinda thin with a not deep nor high pitched voice." Yael smiled, awaiting an answer.
"I'm assuming you asked Nolan first, considering he is how i got in contact with you in the first place. Since he's new, it's normal if he said he doesn't know. I'll ask the reception." Sergei said as his hand reached for the phone. The phone seemed to instantly connect to the reception, so he spoke once again.
"Mira, can you search if there's any female working here that has brown hair and blue eyes? The description also includes her being thin and her voice being not deep or high pitched." He placed the phone back in it's place.
"Now we wait. I'm sure Mira will find if we have anyone matching the description soon enough. Though back to the topic at hand... Yael, we'd love to have your powers in our team. If it is money you're worrying about, you don't need to. We believe your concerts will also provide opportunities for us to complete missions, so more reasons for us to want you in our team. So i ask you, what do we need to do?" Sergei spoke, his tone still as gentle as ever. Yael let out a content hum.
"Mmm~ Honestly, i don't know myself. How much can i trust you if you hired someone like Nolan, who seems to have been here for only a short while?" Yael asked, his smug smile never faltering as he spoke. Sergei smiled at his question.
"We've made Nolan go through numerous tests and exercises before hiring him. We were aware his abilities would do us good, and so we made sure he was 100% safe and reliable before we hired-" "So where are my tests? You hired him after tests and exercises, but here you are, revealing it all right before me, without any kind of precaution. Is it because I'm not a newbie, or is there something i need to know?" Sergei spoke, but Yael cut him off. Sergei was caught off guard with the question, his smile faltering for only a second before being replaced with an even bigger one.
"Let's just say i know what kind of a person you are. I specifically informed my people to not test you." Sergei chuckled. "But i assure you, we test every employee before they're hired." Sergei added, with a bit more seriousness in his tone. Yael nodded subtly at his words, hand on his chin as he thought a bit more.
That was, of course, before he was interrupted by the phone ringing. Sergei picked the phone up.
"Mhm. Okay." Sergei typed something on the laptop that sat before him.
"Thanks, Mira." He placed the phone back in place.
"Sir Yael, is this the woman you're asking?" He turned the laptop towards Yael.
The woman on the screen matched Yael's description, so he started reading on the womans personal information before pausing himself.
"May I..-" "Go ahead." Yael asked and Sergei quickly responded. Yael gave a subtle nod before turning his attention back on the computer. It went like this...
Name : Kazue
Surname : Takanashi
Species : Kitsune
Age : 23
Short Description : Brown hair, blue eyes, fair skin tone
Ability : Kazue can use her soft and calm voice to mentally control one. She can play with their emotions and make them believe something they don't, for example. If applied to for a long period of time, she can hypnotize said person.
Weakness : She has to be close and speak directly to the person in order for her ability to work. On top of that, if the person realizes they're under her influence, or if they have a strong will, the effect will lessen or they will even become immune to her ability.
...Yael was pretty sure this was the woman he got attacked by. Her appearance matched, and so did the description of her ability.
"Okay. I'm sure Nolan told you this already, but let me go over it once more." Said Yael, starting to explain everything to Sergei. The day he got attacked in full detail.
"And she dropped *this*, too." He added as he placed the badge earlier on Sergei's desk. Sergei observed the badge as he took it in his hand, letting out a thoughtful hum.
"Kitsunes aren't really known for craving power, assuming you didn't do anything to her for her to want vengeance. She most likely is being ordered by someone. Someone that is not us. Here, if i open the list of how long people have gotten an off day..." Sergei paused as he clicked a few things and opened a list, showing how many off day's each and every employee had. Sergei pointed at Kazue's name. She had 25 days off so far.
"And if you compare hers with everyones, it's unusually high. Even weirder considering we reset the off day counter a month ago. So going off that, she's only come to work 5 to 6 days. What I'm trying to say is, she's already fired and is prohibited from coming back, even if she's not informed about it in full detail except a simple email stating so. Dorian, a techno-mage working here performed brainwash on her after she didn't check in for 10 days straight without reporting any kind of reason. Dorian is able to create such machines and perform brainwash even if the person isn't near him. But it takes him a lot to recharge. It's expensive and not to say requires too much energy. He passed out so many times while trying to recharge it for Kazue..." Sergei explained, looking at Yael the whole time. Yael gave a subtle nod every now and then as Sergei spoke.
"So...She doesn't work anymore, nor did you send her to me." Yael's thoughtful expression turned into a jolly one, his smug smile returning. "I suppose that clears out any suspicion i had. It's very interesting how you have a thing for every circumstance, i like it a bunch. And i guess since you're somewhat of a fan of me, i won't turn down your offer. But to add, i don't really want to have boring missions. I want to have fun, you know? Don't make it bland for me, will you?" Yael chuckled, smiling. Sergei's serious expression fell as his lips slightly curved upwards.
"Hahaha. However you wish, then, Sir Yael." Sergei said, before exchanging phone numbers with Yael. Nolan, who was only there and has only listened to everything that went on, remained expressionless as he watched the two exchange numbers, yet he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction, knowing if it weren't for him, they wouldn't be hiring Yael. After they got the paperwork done, Yael got up with Nolan, leaving the office as they waved bye to Sergei. They left the building also, and as soon as they did, Yael spoke.
"This should be entertaining for as long as it may go on. Right, Nolan?"
"...Sure."
