The President of the Hunter Agency along with his secretaries and staff read daily Hunter reports. They're required to inform HQ about any suspicious activity and areas where vampires are likely to be active. The President personally reads the reports coming from Odd Jobs, so he read about their run-in with 10 vampires. The most important detail was that one of them had a barrier curse. It shouldn't be a surprise if other vampires have the same or similar ability. In the past few months, there's been a slight increase in vampire incidents in the 3rd and 4th districts. Comparing this to charts from the last few decades, it can be assumed they're planning a large-scale assault soon. They've already been making preparations for the 2nd Alter World Expedition in March of next year, now they have more things to worry about. So until then, 1st Rank Hunters from much less active areas are being sent to these 2 districts. The Hidden District is coming back into the picture now as well. The next several months are going to be hectic, and Odd Jobs will be at the center of it.

  ***

  Kagura and Shinatsu are on patrol. Besides that one time with Chifuyu and Ariel, Odd Jobs has been doing their patrols without running into anything. Since Kagura has her license, she chooses to drive while on duty. The number of Hunters who drive or are on foot during patrol is actually about evenly split.

  "It's been about a month since you joined, Shinatsu. How ya liking it so far?"

  "It's alright I guess."

  That was a lie. She's surprisingly enjoying the time spent at Odd Jobs. Shinatsu's a bit of a tsundere, so she'd rather not admit it.

  "Being bashful, are we? I can see you blushing a little."

  "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Heh. Whatever you say."

  Kagura pulls into a parking lot so they can patrol a shopping district on foot that's bustling with people and heavy on traffic. Hunters have a tag on their license plates, allowing them to park in any parking lot even if it's restricted at any time. As they're walking, Kagura is greeted by a lot of people. She's been a Hunter longer, so she's done dozens of patrols in her area and has been helping around even before Odd Jobs started.

  "Well, aren't you Ms. Popular?"

  "Hehe. I do get along really well with the locals. Even as a Hunter, I love helping out people with normal things."

  "That's why you started an Odd Jobs isn't it?"

  "Yep. So it makes me happy that you and the others joined."

  "Stop, I'm gonna cry," Shinatsu says sarcastically.

  Kagura's taken a particular liking to Shinatsu. Maybe it's because they've had some great chemistry since she joined or that personalities bounce off of each other well. Perhaps it's both. It's more or less the same for Shinatsu. Out of everybody, Kagura is the one she tolerates the most and often talks to when seeking a normal conversation. What Shinatsu doesn't realize, is that Kagura's cheeriness always lightens up her mood, even if it's just a bit.

  "HELP! SOME MAN STOLE MY WATCH!"

  "Oh."

  An old lady shouts out in distress which gets the attention of everyone around. They're currently on the busiest Street in this shopping district with the sidewalks packed. The people are looking around for this thief.

  "A robbery in broad daylight? He's blending in with the crowd."

  "I think I see our guy. 10 o'clock. Wearing that hat and hoodie, with his hands in his pockets."

  "He's across the street. Do we just rush him or try to…"

  Before she finishes her sentence, Kagura runs into the street sliding over the hood of the cars going a few miles per hour. Shinatsu sighs and runs a different way. The man sees Kagura and immediately takes off, pushing civilians out of his way. He didn't see the girl with twin tails who was running down the opposite sidewalk. Sprinting across the street in no more than a couple of seconds, Shinatsu hits the thief in the back of his neck with her scabbard. He stumbles a couple of feet forward and nearly falls to the ground before he catches himself. The people on the sidewalk keep their distance as they watch. When Kagura catches up, the man pulls out a knife.

  "Get back you brats!"

  "Oh no, a knife! Those are super effective against me, it's like my kryptonite." Kagura puts her hands in the air acting as if she's scared of some petty thief. The two girls slowly approach him from both sides, making the man panic. He turns around to Shinatsu and puts his entire arm into swinging the knife that is dodged with zero effort. Continuing from the motion of evading, she kicks his arm hard enough for the knife to fly away and hit the wall. Kagura then grabs him from behind and uses an absolutely nasty suplex on him. The thief is out cold. The people around clap and cheer.

  "Wasn't that a little excessive?"

  "Not at all."

  "Yeah, you're right."

  The man got what he had coming to him. Shinatsu reaches into his pockets and finds the watch.

  "This watch is easily at least 30k. I see why he stole it."

  "Oi!"

  "Just saying."

  They return the watch to the old lady and wait for the cops to arrive, since it's their job to arrest criminals. They arrive fashionably late as always.

  "It's our boys in blue, the ones everybody likes! Take him away fellas."

  "Let's go, Kagura."

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  It's rare for Hunters to stop criminals since their job is to hunt vampires, but it does happen every now and then. After a few more hours, their patrol for the day is done so it's time to head home. No report needs to be written since nothing involving vampires happened.

  "Say.. I've been waiting to say something, but do you wear any other clothes? All I see you wear are your Hunter and Cafe uniforms."

  "Is there something wrong with that?"

  "Shinatsu, you're not serious are you? I hope you haven't been wearing them to bed this whole time…"

  "I have been. That shouldn't be a problem, should it?"

  "Of course it is! It's a major problem!

  "I wash them every morning."

  "That's not the problem! A girl's gotta have a nice wardrobe, with several different outfits for any occasion!"

  "Uh.. For real? Sounds like a hassle."

  "This is unbelievable! Quite frankly my mind has never been boggled so much before."

  "I think you're exaggerating."

  "Trust me, this is a normal reaction. And we're not going home until you get some new clothes."

  "Eh…"

  With that, Kagura takes Shinatsu shopping. She tries on a variety of clothes she's never dreamed of wearing. Kagura makes sure to have her share of fun by putting her play doll in eccentric clothing such as a Gothic Lolita outfit and first-class frilly dresses that cost way too much. By the end though, she does leave with several new pairs of clothes that look great on her.

  "That was fun, wasn't it?"

  "Teh. It was."

  Shinatsu scoffs with a little grin walking back to the car as she carries 6 huge bags. A female who was reading a novel sitting on a bench watches the two Hunters walk away. This person had very close ties to one of the girls she's currently scrutinizing. Closing the book, her mouth warps into a twisted smile.

  ***

  "Welcome."

  "Hey, come in Patrick."

  "Good afternoon to you all."

  A man wearing a classy dress shirt and expensive jeans brand along with shining dress shoes walks into Odd Jobs. Everyone seems to know him.

  "Same as always?"

  "Yep, the usual black tea if you would be so kind."

  "On it."

  This customer is no human. He's a vampire, one of the strongest in the upper echelon of the Slayers. He'd been planning to make contact with Chifuyu the half-vampire, and it's been about a month since he's done so. Patrick became a regular at Odd Jobs Cafe, to get close to his prey and because Kagura's tea brewing skills are superb. He's gotten close to Chifuyu, always talking to him when he comes as well as Kagura since she's so social. Patrick along with other vampires have blended in with Shioto. He owns a multi-district company running luxurious suites and selling mansions. It's known as the Augustus Company. He has several contributions to neighborhoods all over, nobody could ever suspect he's a vampire.

  "Thank you, Ms. Kagura."

  "Enjoy."

  Taking a sip, he notices something different about the tea.

  "Hm. Did someone else make this?"

  "Wow, you really noticed. It was me!" Chifuyu is the culprit.

  "Splendid. You've gotten noticeably better, the taste isn't too far off from Ms. Kagura's."

  "Looks like you've got some competition," Shinatsu gets out her mocking line of the day.

  "Ho? I won't lose to you, Chifuyu."

  "Bring it on."

  "Then.. if you guys don't mind, I'll try both of your black teas." A young lady who is somewhat of a regular joins in.

  "You're too generous. This'll be on the house, I'll make the best tea you've ever had!"

  "Hey, I'll have one too."

  "Me as well!"

  Other customers hop in on the fun.

  "Still wanna make these on the house," Shinatsu says with a sly expression.

  "Black tea on the house for everyone right now!"

  "Wooooo!"

  "Sorry Kagura, is this fine?"

  "Haha, sure. We can do this every once in a while."

  "Unbelievable."

  ***

  "You ready?"

  "'Course."

  Kagura is waiting outside of Odd Jobs with someone. Who could it be? Slowly opening the door, she peeks her head in. It's the time in the morning when everyone's getting ready. They walk through the lobby to the door that leads to the living room. Opening this one slowly as she peeks her head out again. The others look at her confused.

  "What're you doing?" asks Chifuyu who's eating a bowl of cereal on the couch.

  "I have a surprise."

  "It better not be something dumb."

  "Show us what it is!"

  "Yeah, don't keep us waiting."

  "Okay. Hehehe." Kagura slowly draws her head back behind the door, waiting a few seconds to fling it open. "Tadah!" The surprise is revealed.

  "This guy?" questions Ariel.

  "Diego?! What're you doing here?"

  "Sup man, I was hired."

  "Hired? I said to come visit us, didn't think you'd be working with us. Wait, I thought only Hunters could be members?"

  "Me and Ms. Ina discussed it with Diego, and we made an exception."

  "For real? That's great! Welcome to Odd Jobs."

  "Thanks. I'm glad I ran into you a month ago."

  "Same here."

  "Welcome."

  "Welcome aboard Diego, a friend of Chifuyu's is a friend of mine."

  Iris and Ariel welcome the 6th member, meekly and brazenly respectively. "Well don't just stand around newbie, the bathrooms need a cleaning." Shinatsu welcomes him not so warmly.

  "Um… I don't think we made you clean anything when you joined."

  "Be quiet Iris!"

  "Ahem. I am somewhat of a handyman. So if anything breaks down in here, I'll try my best to fix it."

  "Oh, cool!"

  "Oh, I see the skills with a knife isn't the only thing you picked up in the past few years."

  "Ha. I could say the same to you."

  "What do you mean?"

  Diego goes up to Chifuyu putting his arm over his shoulder and proceeds to whisper. "You were never good around girls besides Roxy, especially when they hit on you."

  "Actually, I've leveled up a bit. I'm just not good around girls when they're flirting and stuff now." Chifuyu whispers back.

  "In any case, what do you have going on here? A harem?"

  "No bro! Also, relax when you're here. Don't try to hit on any of them."

  "Don't worry, I know not to do that."

  "So, what do you think dumb and dumber are whispering about over there?" Shinatsu asks Iris.

  "No idea.."

  ***

  Chifuyu is out on one of his early morning runs. He exercises and does his practice swings at different times according to the day. Mornings for days he has to patrol, and in the afternoon or evening for every other day. The others join him when they can. On his run today, he runs into a friend he's made recently.

  "Hey, Patrick!"

  "Oh, good morning Chifuyu. Do you run around this park's trail often?"

  "Yeah. Every day I can."

  The vampire was aware of this.

  "What're you up to?"

  "Just enjoying this nice morning with a tea."

  "You're not busy with work these days?"

  "I'm having my trusted staff oversee things and report to me. Once you've set the foundations for a successful company, you hire competent minds to ensure that those foundations stay strong."

  "I see.." Chifuyu replies while scratching his head.

  "I must say, I admire what you're doing. Becoming a Hunter at a young age and carrying out Odd Jobs to help people out in different ways."

  "Haha. Thanks, means a lot coming from a person such as yourself."

  "Hm. By the way, I have a question I'd like to ask of you."

  "What's up?"

  "What do you think of the current state of Shioto?"

  "The current state? I guess it's as good as it could be considering we have vampires in our world."

  "That's a good answer. The world is mostly at peace, even though there's the presence of vampires who claim at least a few lives each week. You could say it's too peaceful considering."

  "Well, we have the Hunters to thank for what peace we have. Right?"

  "I don't like it. This false sense of peace."

  "Hm?"

  Those words threw Chifuyu off, but it somewhat flew over his head.

  "We know the vampires are possibly planning large-scale attacks soon, some people probably feel what you're talking about. A looming imminent battle with the peace of the world at stake. So we'll be ready for them."

  Patrick laughs, "I sure hope so. My life is in your hands, dear Chifuyu."

  "I'll do my best!"

  "Your words reassure me. You'll have to excuse me now, I'd almost forgotten I do have something to attend to."

  "No problem. See you later."

  Chifuyu continues with his run as Patrick walks in the opposite direction.

  'How naive, they have no idea what's to come.'