Meanwhile, Chloe scheduled a series of exhibition matches between the Nether Elite. She purposely paired off Kayla and Natalia to square off together. In the middle of the game, things were predictable and typical. Until Natalia countered Kayla’s Ninjutsu with a unique mixture of Bajiquan & Tai-chi.

Suddenly, it appeared Natalia snapped out of this trance and began to use an Orthodox boxing style of boxing. As they continued, this intrigued Dolph. Noticeably, everyone was paying attention to Chloe sitting in the exhibition matches. She sat there motionless, watching the game intently.

After the exhibition matches had been over, Dolph and Chloe addressed the women.

Dolph started first, “before we begin, I want to say all of you ladies have done well keeping yourself sharp and ready. I am so glad to see all of you here again under the same roof. Although we may not have the same luxury as we do now since all over the world needs our help now more than ever. Gratefully, we are answering the call.”

Then, Chloe spoke next, “under careful consideration with both parties, we have deemed all four of you capable of handling investigative duties. As of now, you are no longer ‘daemon hunters’ or the ‘Nether Elite’ but criminal investigators. You are to uphold the law like any other Interpol agents and abide by them to the best of your own abilities. This is not lip service or a security blanket to hide behind. Even though you’re given the same privileges as a full-fledged Interpol agent, you can still be disciplined like one. So, when you do get into a situation like you all did before, think about it and don’t be careless.”

A sudden hush filled the room as they all know who runs to show here. Chloe is in charge, and no one else, “We’ve already assigned a level of seniority and rank to all four of you. Both Natalia Silvestri and Ryoko Shimizu will the rank of Agent I. However, Kayla Anderson's leadership skills didn’t go unnoticed, earning her a Senior Agent rank. And Ayeka Junichi’s experience will make her the Junior Detective Constable and secondary leader of the group.”

Dolph almost visibly grimaced at the announcement as she desperately wanted to have Natalia be the leader. Sadly, so did almost everybody else.

“You will be all given your updated credentials tomorrow. On the way down here, Dolph wanted to speak with Senior Agent Anderson and Junior Detective Constable Junichi. He will like to see you immediately. As for the rest of you, you're all dismissed. Good day,” Chloe concluded.

And just like that, Chloe left the arena.

Immediately, Ayeka spoke to Natalia, “Natalia-Chan, I--”

“Congratulations, Ayeka! Or should I say, Junior Detective Constable!” Kayla openly mocked as she walked over to the three.

“Kayla-chan, you don’t have to rub it in,” Ayeka wondered.

“Like it really matters…” Kayla pointed out as she walked away from the two just as quickly as she met up with them, not even acknowledging Natalia’s presence at all.

“What is her problem?” Ayeka questioned Kayla’s behavior.

“It’s okay, really… What matters is that we have our jobs back,” Natalia philosophized.

“Yes, very much so,” Ayeka agreed. “I’ll go ahead and speak with Dolph-sama. I will meet up with all of you later.”

Natalia agreed as Ayeka try to catch up with Kayla, and the remaining three left the arena. As Natalia was leaving, Olivia stopped her.

“I’m sorry before you all leave, I need to speak with Natalia in private,” Dolph insisted.

This made Natalia a bit weary, “okay, sure.”

Their little meeting wasn’t too far; it was just in the other room where Chloe was in. Olivia and Natalia went into the room as Olivia shut the door behind her.

Olivia didn’t take long to talk about what was the topic of discussion, “we are putting you on a weekly therapy session schedule.”

This shocked Natalia, “what?!”

“We do believe you need something that is… Long-term,” Olivia clarified.

Immediately she paid her attention to Chloe, seething her frustration towards her, “what, all because I wanted to beat the living shit out of the guy who I accidentally fucked? I never gave a fuck about him, and he never gave a fuck about me! Yet you wanted to make it sound like I’m the crazy one?”

Calmly, Chloe rightfully defended herself, “if you can’t handle your own personal problems, then you cannot be a leader, and you cannot strive as an individual--”

“I WOULD STRIVE AS A LEADER AND AN INDIVIDUAL IF YOU AND YOUR LITTLE FUCK BUDDIES IN NEW YORK CITY STOP ACTING LIKE YOU OWN US!” Natalia shouted.

“We have agreed, Natalia,” Olivia endorsed. “We have all agreed. If you want to continue working here, you just gonna have to sit on the couch for a couple of hours.”

“Fine, tell Ellie I will see her tomorrow,” Natalia scheduled.

“It doesn’t work that way. And besides, she didn’t work here anymore and refused our offer,” Chloe corrected. “A therapist will be chosen for you.”

“You will be our therapist and our handler,” Natalia scoffed at the idea. “Isn’t that convenient.”

Agreeing with the terms, Natalia stormed out of the room. In the hallway, she met up with her friends. There are still waiting for her to come out. Seeing the frustration on her face, there were a bit worried.

“Natalia-chan, what happened?” Ayeka questioned.

“It’s nothing,” Natalia played it off.

“Weekly therapy sessions?” Ayeka guessed correctly.

“How did you know?” Natalia gave up.

“It was the part of the deal to have you rehired. 12 scheduled therapy sessions with the possibility of ongoing meetings, if necessary. They did that to me,” Ayeka explained.

Natalia shook her head in embarrassment, “this is insane.”

“It is, but you need to know one thing when you talk to her: she is not Ellie-san. She’s not going to be kind or gentle. She is going to be realistic about everything. It’s best to just let it all out and see what’s inside your soul,” Ayeka advised.

Hearing this made Natalia even more nervous. She has never been the one to talk about her feelings even to her closest friends. She has been a lone wolf all her life and kept most of everything in. Being in touch with their emotions, and her inner thoughts are both going to be scary and rewarding.