As they walked out of the alley's shadows, Carmen tugged lightly at Ren's sleeve, reminding him to report what had happened. With any luck, they could earn a bit of money from it. About fifteen minutes later, they finally reached the gates of PAACC Academy.
Just beyond the fenced yard, a girl in a pink fox onesie was rolling around happily in the grass.
"ZEE!" Carmen shouted. "I missed you!"
At the sound of her name, the pink-haired girl with big pink eyes shot upright—and immediately bolted past Carmen. She slammed into Ren instead, wrapping her arms around his stomach and knocking the air straight out of him.
"W-why me—" Ren gasped. "Go to your friend, Zee."
Zee let go and crossed her arms with a dramatic huff. "FINE. She's better anyway." She turned to Carmen, suddenly energized. "Why did it take you so long to get here? Oh—but before you answer, look what I found! A BUG!" She crouched suddenly. "Also, why is Ren so mean? He never hugs me back."
"Zee—" Carmen tried to interject.
"You guys are like total opposites," Zee continued.
"Zee," Carmen tried again, firmer this time. "Did you run into trouble on the way here? You probably did, or else it wouldn't have taken so long."
"ZEE!" Ren and Carmen shouted at the same time.
She froze.
"Do you remember why we were told to come to the Academy?" Carmen asked.
"Yyyyyyeeeah," Zee replied slowly. "Koco wants us to complete a mission in the middle of Sector Three."
"Yes," Ren added, "but he said it's intel gathering."
"Which is super weird," Carmen muttered, "'cause Zee isn't exactly stealthy."
"H-hey!" Zee protested.
"And Koco's the laziest person anyone knows," Ren continued. "It's honestly concerning how strong he is."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Zee said, already strutting toward the Academy entrance.
"Well, let's get a move on," Ren huffed, following.
"Y'know," Zee said as they walked, "PAACC Academy isn't just for teaching abilities. It's also for research—and actual education. Not to mention it's the main headquarters for bounty hunting and the sector captains."
"Zee," Ren said flatly, "why are you yapping about things we already know?"
As the three of them made their way through the massive halls of the Academy toward Koco's office, they nearly collided with Professor Marshall—one of the only known individuals with absolutely zero PAACC. Despite that, he was a master of combat and assassination training, and had personally trained six of Gigatara's Captains, excluding the General.
"Well now," Marshall said in his deep voice, "what brings you three here?"
"We were requested for a stealth mission," Ren began, then added under his breath, "with Zee."
Marshall chuckled. "You know, if Koco wasn't so lazy, he might've already caught the White Reaper."
"Maybe," Ren said, serious now. "But he's dangerous. Even at full power, me and Carmen couldn't beat him—not yet."
"Well," Marshall said with a grin, "right now you're some of the most requested bounty hunters around." He laughed again. "Anyway, I've got a class of newcomers to beat into shape."
"Alright, you do that," Ren said. "Let's go, girls."
"K," Carmen and Zee said at the same time.
As they walked away, Carmen frowned. "Hey… don't you think that was kinda weird?"
"Weird how?" Zee asked.
"That he brought up the White Reaper," Ren replied.
"I don't think so," Zee said casually. "He's super nice, and you guys are highly ranked bounty hunters. Makes sense."
"…Yeah," Ren said after a moment. "You might be right."
They stopped in front of massive doors resembling those of a cathedral.
"Well," Ren said, "looks like we've arrived."
The doors slowly creaked open—just wide enough for a person to pass through. From the darkness beyond stepped a lean, muscular man with pink hair and blue eyes.
"FATHER!" Zee shouted, rushing forward and hugging him tightly.
"You know I haven't adopted you yet," the man said calmly, "so for now, please just call me Koco."
"Okay… Father Koco," Zee replied, her voice slightly disappointed.
"Koco," Ren said, "can you give us the details on the mission?"
"Yeah, yeah," Koco replied, turning back toward the room. "Come on in."
All three followed him into the darkness beyond the doors.