3: THE OTHER DIFFERENT HUNTER

Neon tried hard to mask the disbelief and anger on his face as he stood before the Board of Directors and received instructions for his next mission.

He could still hear Mikai's words in his head, and now that these people sitting before him gave him his new assignment, he was sure it wasn't just a rumor anymore.

His brother was back.

When he left the hall, he let out a harsh swear word, surprising a couple of Workers who were passing by.

Mikai was already walking up to him.

"Lords, would you look at your face? What went on back there?"

Neon blew out air through his lips and headed for the water cooler.

"Nothing much," he said, filling a plastic cup, "I turned in my report, and then they debriefed me on my next field mission. Normal procedure."

"Okay. Doesn't explain the shit look you're wearing now."

Neon swallowed the water in one gulp. "Well, they assigned me a partner. They know I work alone, I made it pretty fucking clear since I joined the Order. But no, they went right ahead and gave me a partner."

Mikai shrugged. "Maybe, the situation is worse than they thought."

Neon shook his finger. "Oh no, no, no. No, this is some kind of punishment for my hard work. You should have seen the look on Tadori's face when he told me I'd be working with someone on this case."

"How about Norrie? She could have said something…"

"Not when the four of the others had already made a unanimous decision."

Mikai rubbed his brows. "Uh, they didn't tell you who your partner is, did they?"

They exchanged a knowing glance. "I have a hunch."

As if on cue, a sudden hush descended on the office as someone stepped into the hallway.

A tall, slender man with a well-defined build was walking towards them, turning heads as he approached.

His long golden hair fell in tousled waves around the angles of his face and his eyes were a sharp hazel color. His hands were tucked into the pockets of a white coat with tawny lapels, the sleeves just high enough to reveal his amber tekhans.

"I know this goes without saying," Mikai whispered, "But your brother is one hot dude."

Neon didn't reply. He had his gaze on the man like a cat on a snake until he came to a stop in front of them. It was like staring into the mirror, but staring at a brighter, classier version of himself who went by the name of Hikaru Rudson.

"Lords, this place does not get old," he said, clapping his hands lightly. He gave his twin brother a wink. "Hello, Renny boy."

"Do not call me that," Neon said quickly.

"Right, sorry. I guess it's one of those little privileges that's reserved for those who matter, eh?" He turned to Mikai, and his brows shot up slightly. "Mikky! What's up, old boy?"

Mikai opened his mouth, stole a look at Neon, and closed it again.

"Seriously, you should be getting a promotion any day now. Can't believe those asses still keep you on 19th Floor."

Mikai scoffed. "Thank Lords, you noticed. I'm pretty sure they're aware of that, but you're right, they're giant asses…"

Neon gave him a side glance and he trailed off immediately.

"I'll leave you two to it."

"Not really. You're still needed," Norrie said, walking towards them.

They all turned to stare at her, and she paused momentarily when she spotted the twins.

"Well, well, if it isn't my brother's heartthrob," Hikaru said with a soft smile, "You look ravishing as always, Norrie."

"That's Director to you, Hikaru," she said sternly, though the hints of a smile played around her lips, "Mikai, I need you to see these two gentlemen to the Review Department. After that, the real adventure begins."

"I just got here," Hikaru groaned.

"You guys go along, I need to have a word with the Director," Neon said.

Mikai nodded while Hikaru gave him a roguish grin as they both stood aside.

"You okay?" She asked.

He shrugged and twirled the water in his plastic cup. "I'm about to go after an unspecified Entity in uncharted territory with my former Rogue Hunter brother. Sure, I'm great."

A squeal to his right distracted them, but it was a couple of female Workers who were taking pictures with Hikaru.

Norrie smiled lightly and adjusted his lapels. "You'll be fine. You always are. Besides, he's got experience out there. You know, former Rogue and all."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Looks like I'm gonna be late for dinner again."

"That's gonna be double the bill, honey," she whispered and dropped a peck on his cheek, "Now come on, get going before Tadori shows up. And take it easy on him. He might have been Rogue, but he's still your brother."

He leaned down, dropping a full kiss on her lips. "The only thing you should be worried about is what we'll be doing after our next dinner."

Her eyes widened slightly as he drew back. He had never gotten this intimate with her in office before, but he didn't care at the moment. The Workers whispered about it anyway, his affair with the Director was a public secret.

Hikaru still had the sly smile on his face as he rejoined them both.

"It's warming to see you still sweet as ever, Renny."

"You call me that one more time, and I'll crack your jaw," Neon snarled.

"I'm just messing about. Take a breath, brother."

Neon turned slightly. "That's all you do, isn't it? Mess about."

"Well, believe it or not, it is nice to see you too, Reon."

They walked into the elevator and he turned to find her watching him. She waved at him with a half smile, but as the doors closed, he thought she looked sad.

They took the elevator to the third floor, the Review Department. It was basically a store for Hunters, where they came to get reinforcements for field combat and the latest updates for their tekhan wristbands.

"You guys gotta check out these latest upgrades," Mikai said, leading them through the screen walls, blue holograms and masked lab technicians in-between.

They stopped before an array of wristbands on a broad glass desk. But as Mikai could reach out to touch one, the air beside him shimmered and a lady materialized into view.

"Keep those rodent hands to yourself," she said and slapped his wrist.

The woman frowning down at him had the characteristic wild curls, large goggles and white lab coat of a lab technician.

"Ow, Dori, what the hell?"

"You stole one of those last week, don't think I'd forget."

He pursed his lips. "Believe it or not, it's for the greater good."

"Mm hmm. You're not even a Hunter." She turned to the others. "Who are your…?"

She trailed off when her eyes fell on Hikaru. He grinned smoothly and waved at her.

"Hello, dear. Gotta tell you, I love that little vanishing trick you just pulled off. How did you do that?"

"Well, uh…" she stared down at her tekhan, "It's a little thing I've been working on for a while now. I call it Shimmer."

"Brilliant. And you made all these?" He said, waving a hand on the wristbands on the desk.

"Well, they're actually prototypes, but…"

"I need an upgrade for my stunners and nano repair system, if you have those," Neon cut in quickly.

She shifted her gaze to him, and her lips fell into a thin line.

"Here. Should be able to increase your energy output," she said, handing him a chip from one of the wristbands.

He slipped it into his tekhan with a frown. Neon had never really been a fan of the wristbands, which were basically systems created to help Hunters channel their mage energy. He thought they were restricting.

Each tekhan was specific to each Hunter, and they were made from pure gems and precious stones. Neon was the only one who possessed a crystal tekhan, owing to his unlimited range of mage energy, so his required a constant update.

Of course, the same could be said of his twin, a fellow Alpha-rank Hunter, though he had chosen to customize his to amber.

"Ooh, what do these do?" Hikaru asked, swiping a chip off the table and slipping it into his tekhan.

"That's Sonic Wave, generates a wide range blast to take down an Anomaly of any size."

"I'll take it. And this?"

Dori pulled a duck face, tilting her head to the side uncertainly.

"That's…like I said, most of these are prototypes, but that's my latest. That's Shimmer."

Hikaru slipped in the chip and almost immediately, he vanished.

"Impressive," he muttered as he shimmered back into sight.

"Knock it off," snapped Neon, "We've got work to do."

"You haven't upgraded your tekhans yet," Mikai pointed out.

"No time for that."

"No, no, I mean, you HAVE to upgrade your tekhans. That's why the Directors had me bring you down here. There's a worry that the Entities and the Anomalies could have leveled up."

Neon clicked his tongue again. But then he rec

alled the Horned brushing off his stun bolt and the flaming Entity that had bursted out of that inn.

"Alright. Five minutes. We have to be in the city by noon."