Thanatos System

Suna finally received the letter from Gavin as her carrier pigeon neatly landed on her arms.

Oliver was obviously making a mean face, attempting to scare the bird away.

"Are you mean mugging the pigeon, Oli?"

Yin asked with a slight chuckle.

Oliver did not respond and only continued on grinning angrily at the bird.

Suna's carrier pigeon's eyes met with Oliver's.

The bird flapped its wings elegantly, and turned its neck away from the baby panda. As if to make fun of Oliver.

"Now, now, Oliver, you have got to make an effort to get along with my pigeon. Her name is Pratty."

Suna crouched down and leaned her arm which Pratty sat on towards Oliver.

The baby panda and the carrier pigeon's reactions did not change, it was as if they hated each other at first sight.

Yin had to get in front of them to prevent an all out animal clash.

Zachary and Yin gathered towards Suna.

"Who is the letter from?"

Yin anxiously asked.

"Take a look at the mail closely, Yin. It has a green snake stamped right on it, who do you think it comes from?"

Zachary, who was obviously sarcastic in his tone asked his fellow rookie, who was still puzzled.

Yin thought long and hard.

"Crap, I have got no idea, how about you guys?"

He said after a minute of thinking about an answer.

"My god, are you kidding me?" Zachary planted his palm on his face as a symbol of disappointment. "It is obviously Gavin, why does it seem like I have been here longer than you?"

Just as Yin was about to retort something back at Zach, Suna opened it.

The sound of the mail opening ceased their bickering.

Both of them rushed in to read it.

Suna stopped them right in their tracks.

"We can read this without you guys getting so rattled, seriously, can you calm down?"

Suna asked.

"How can I calm down? What if my conquest deployment instructions are here?!"

Zach exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah, I am in the same boat as well! I have to get my ranks up or I will not be able to join the Slayer tournament, you know?!

Yin followed shortly after.

Kai just looked at them and blinked his eyes in disbelief.

"Hang on, you brats. Especially you, Yin Sohaya. Are you telling me you want to make it to the Slayer Tournament?" Kai Xin was surprised, as if the look on his face did not give it away. "You do realize it is for B and A rank Slayers only right? They are the only ones who are qualified to join, just thought that you should know."

Yin shot a glance at Kai.

"Yeah, I do know that, Kai. That is why I must be deployed as soon as possible. I want to be able to acquire enough experience on the field and to see other Slayers and how they move in the battlefield as well."

He answered in a deadpan voice.

"Hey, is this kid for real?"

Kai thought to himself.

"W-Well, it is certainly not wrong to have a goal or to dream of accomplishing something like that, and trust me, I believe that you are strong enough, but you should not rush it. Nobody has been able to climb the ranks in such limited amount of time, well, nobody but the current Commander, that is."

Kai said to Yin, careful as to not crush his spirits or his dedication to his duty as a Slayer.

"I know that, Kai. But the longer I get promoted, the longer I can get on more missions. The higher your rank is, the more you are in demand for deployment, right?"

Kai Xin simply nodded.

"What are you getting at, Yin?"

Zachary asked him as well, he himself was curious.

"I want to go out there as soon as possible and as often as possible. I've watched every single Slayer in me and Suna's group of friends as a kid get deployed, marching through the opening of the Outer Gates, and never coming back alive." Yin composed himself, he was shaken up remembering so many faces go out through those gates, and having almost all of the ones he knew as monster or Angel fodder. He clinched his fist in disdain.

"I do not want that to happen as often as it does, to be honest."

"So, you would think it is better to offer your life instead of the lives of others, instead?!"

Zachary exclaimed.

Yin was silent.

"Are you taking the easy way out, Yin?"

Kai asked him.

"No. I am not going to be deployed into conquests and missions just to come back in a body bag or with pieces of my hands. Trust me, my will to live has never been stronger than it is right now."

Yin said sternly.

His voice was shaky and he was obviously scared.

Kai remembered something he read in the newspapers about a few weeks ago.

"Wait, this kid was one of the five survivors of 'that' incident? The Outer Gates tragedy? I remember Ignis tell me something along those lines but I did not really pay attention to him during that time. Shit." Kai realized something in the deepest recesses of his mind. He gazed at Yin's eyes. There was no mistaking it, Kai had seen these eyes before, these eyes were the ones glinting on many Slayers. The eccentric and strongest ones. "This kid has already gone through hell and he wants to jump right back in?"

Zachary did not say a word.

Although he admitted several times that he really does hate Yin's guts, this time, it was different.

"Whatever, I do not really care."

He dismissed everything that he said.

"Good, and the same goes for me to you."

Yin retorted.

Both of them glared at each other ominously.

"Will you guys just cut it out?"

Suna was full of it.

She had sat down in front of the two of them so that they may read the letter as she does.

After reading it, she took a pen from inside the hideout house in order to send a letter back to Gavin, to assure him and the Commander that the hideout was fine.

"So, what should I say in the letter about Kai Xin's 'visit' she squinted at Kai."

"O-Oh, I-I do not really think that my presence is that important. Trust me, you can probably fit more words or say a lot more things if you just resorted to not mentioning me ever in that letter!"

He said nervously.

"Err, Suna, if you can, you should include updates about my deployment, do not forget about it."

Yin added.

"Please include mine as well, I would like to know too. I have not been on a conquest and I really do not wish to be deployed on the same squad as this doofus simpleton right here."

Zachary added while hurling a slight insult at Yin.

"What did you say? Say that to my face, coward, do not whisper it under your breath!"

"Did you not hear what I say, you mongrel?!" Zachary slicked his hair back, as several strands were now intruding on his face. "I would much rather be deployed with Gavin or Kai Xin than you. I would have a much easier time not worrying about my survival rate."

"You talk big for someone who has not had real experience, Zach, have you forgotten who has actually exterminated an Angel between the both of us? That is right, it is me." Yin grinned. "Oh, and do not forget that I did not only kill one, no, but two Angels!"

Zachary scoffed and his eyebrows were wrinkled.

"Tch. Are you kidding me? Did you not basically just steal Commander Luken's target? I asked both the Commander and Gavin about what happened that day, straight from the mouth of the horses, you better humble yourself."

Suna stood up and stopped writing the letter.

"What is the matter, Suna, are you finished writing? That was awfully quick. Do you mind if a have a quick glance at your letter? I am just going to check if you did not mention me at all and stuff, nothing else, also I –"

Kai was interrupted by her stomping her foot on the ground.

She dashed towards the location of both Yin and Zachary, who were so invested in their argument that they did not notice Suna coming straight at them with both fists raised up.

Suna passed by Kai, who just side stepped in order to dodge her way.

"Yikes. If this does not shut you both up, then I do not know what will, honestly."

He said to himself.

Suna moved at the speed of lightning, seemingly, and hit both of them in the head.

Both Yin and Zach squealed.

Oliver, on the other hand still has not broken his never ending gaze at Pratty, Suna's bird.

"Will you both shut up already? I have already told you to cut it out earlier, didn't I?"

"…"

Yin and Zach were silent.

"That is more like it, now then, to get back to writing our response."