"Hey there, kitten."

"Quit it! I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Awh, look, he thinks he got claws. Gonna be the next Captain Rosso, Mittens?"

"Watch me. And Seriously, stop with the names or I'm telling Sergeant Faraday!"

If you thought bullying and workplace teasing were a thing of the past, you are sorely mistaken. It's one of the few evils, albeit lesser ones, that carried over through humanity's near-downfall and recovery.

Seems that it's in our blood.

Even the overachievers are often teased for being so, seen as making a futile effort at becoming the next legend themselves, since Loyd Rosso's legacy goes far beyond just his rank as a Captain, as everyone knows – especially anyone who signs up to the anti-demon police force, with most at least being inspired by the man's historic contribution.

He's not commanding anyone anymore these days, though.

Sergeant Sofia Faraday is one of the most renowned in her ranks within the Las Flores police department. While being small in stature compared to the average physique of most other men in the ranks below her, she exudes confidence backed up by skills only matched by few, that makes her presence impossible to ignore.

Which is why our poor, feline-equated Private is so certain in calling up on her to ward off his bullies.

Private Lionel Young is one of those over ambitious people in the force. While not the most recent one to complete his academy training and join the ranks, he was still new enough to get picked on for his ambitions. Perhaps it's the fact that he doesn't seem to have anything but extraordinary determination to back it up, not having particularly noticeable achievements in the academy and not having any background or family history to give him unique skills or taught ideology.

The only thing in his file that seems to even tie him to such a potentially dangerous line of work is records of him moving with his family to Las Flores when he was a little kid, after their family home was destroyed with many other properties in their old hometown of Taevas, in the wake of a rampaging exiled demon. These events are not unheard of, but are definitely rare. Sadly, in smaller towns where defending units are smaller and resources or manpower might be lacking, there's bound to be more damage should a rampage occur, compared to other big cities like Las Flores.

Taevas of course was rebuilt and restored since, but at that time the damage was so extensive that Lionel's family had no choice but relocate, and Las Flores was their safest bet in getting both a job and decent housing, but even with the compensation they got for the demon-related destruction of property (which became a standard form of insurance with time) for a while they could still only afford residence in the mixed district – which looking back, was almost insulting. Lionel was terrified of going outside at first, but his parents would sit with him at the window watching the street, pointing to the police patrols going by every hour like clockwork, and assuring their only child that these people make sure that what happened in Taevas won't happen again. Not in this district and not anywhere else in the city.

With permission from his parents, Lionel was sitting on the steps leading to the street almost every evening, waiting for the patrol to come by and excitedly greet them with a wave, and even cold drinks on hot summer nights. He'd do it so frequently that different patrols came to recognize him, waving back and asking how his parents are and how he's doing at school.

He even got to see a patrol breaking up what could've escalated to a fight among two groups of exiled demons under disguise, diffusing it with non-lethal means and not having to draw a single ADA weapon against the group, despite being outnumbered. It was since then that Lionel's little heart was resolved to become part of the Las Flores police force so he can protect the peace among humans just the same, and expose disguised demons before they can cause chaos and destruction.

Lionel's family eventually moved away from the mixed district once his parents both got promoted in their jobs, and with Lionel starting a new school it was his opportunity to pursue his new ambitions to become a policeman. Mostly excelling at sports, Lionel's greatest merit wasn't in his grades or his book smarts (although they were above average), but rather it was his determination and eagerness to help that really shined through among his friends and peers.

Taking some time to improve some grades and study enforcement laws history towards the police academy's written exams, Lionel passed them on the first try and went ahead with his official training period in the academy, lasting two whole years and including both theoretical aspects like deeper look into the laws, ethics, and mental preparations for the job, as well as practical aspects like an all-encompassing ADA training with all types of anti-demon weapons, fitness and close combat class, and both basic and advanced first aid administration, for injuries caused by man-made object and – perhaps even more importantly – injuries directly caused by demons.

Making up for his slightly above-average grades, Lionel – as his last name fittingly suggested – being the youngest in his class also clocked him as the most spry and having the most stamina, proving him fitting for field work. Which was convenient, really, as all of his placement preferences pointed towards street patrols and potential crowd control when needed.

Our story is not one of a police academy either, though. Believe it or not, the demon part added to the police protocols didn't make much of a difference compared to how training and qualification were handled before, besides taking longer and having a higher bar. Just pick your favorite police academy movie and crank it to eleven.

A more pressing, and perhaps more relevant question, is why poor Lionel is getting teased for his ambitions and triumphant achievements? For being a slightly-above-average cadet and later a decent officer, surely he's not a threat for anyone's position or outshining the current star-studded officers. Then why is his ambition so ridiculed?

The short answer is that...people are just mean, as they always have been, as it's been established.

And at first it really was more of a general jab at him as a cadet, but upon becoming an officer and joining seniors in their patrols, it became clear that Lionel has honed a particular skill. Once hitting the field, it turned out that Lionel had a talent to spot disguised demons, both those who simply put on a costume and sometimes even those using a disguise spell. What looked like just a unique talent at first slowly turned out to be more of a fixation, albeit a useful one, with the newly inducted officer sometimes being hellbent on exposing disguised demons.

Using a disguise spell was considered a misdemeanor among demons unless they were permitted to use it and carried an ID or permit identifying them as such, but as time passed since it was coined into federal laws the enforcement of the law became more lenient, as demons still faced some discrimination in public, and some have testified to really only use it to not be approached while minding their business. Of course, that meant that a demon committing an offense while disguised would face harsher punishment, it also meant that field patrols performed less and less random checkpoints to find disguised demons.

Furthermore, due to the Stellar Guardian, officers weren't allowed to bother individuals for their ID to prove they're disguised only based on a hunch, unless they have a legitimate reason to identify them. It was this that ended up getting Lionel an earful from Sergeant Faraday, after working on a hunch to try and 'expose' demons hiding their features. Despite correctly identifying most of them, enough to be noted, Lionel was made clear that he is only allowed to do that if there's a legitimate suspect that needs to be identified as a demon, for the sole purpose of preparing the team for possible escalation.

While taking his commander's criticism to heart and changing his behavior, his penchant to signaling out demons wasn't forgotten by his peers, who mostly saw his efforts as an attempt to 'uncover all the treacherous fiends' by cataloging every tell-tale mark that no spell or make-up aid can hide, and having it named after him.

And sure, he still had to be kept in check at times, but other than wrongful profiling, Lionel has never took off in the direction of armed threat against innocent individuals - which is ground for dismissal in the force - which bought him enough credit with his superior to be met with understanding and some more lenient handling, as long as he doesn't step too much out of line.

Speaking of which...

"You wanted to see me, Private Young?"

Keeping a respectful demeanor, Lionel nodded and stood at the door for another moment before taking a step forward towards Sofia's desk. His straightened posture and pressed uniform were an interesting contrast to the softer features of his face, which did nothing to combat the teasing referring to his young age, and befitting surname. "I hope it's not a bad time."

"It's as good of a time as any," Sofia smiled and gestured to him to sit down across from her. "Unless it's about your team members teasing you again."

Lionel paused, briefly hovering over the seat on the other side of the desk before letting himself drop with a groan. "Sergeant—"

"I've told you before, Lionel, I can't force them to stop. All of you are grown men, and you gotta be acting like that," this wasn't the first time her most ambitious officer came to her with this grievance, and she knew it wouldn't be the last. "It's the fact that you're showing them that it's getting to you that encourages them, you know."

Lionel's jaw set and he slowly inhaled, carefully rethinking how he wanted to convey his thoughts. "Sounds like I'm not the one that needs to be a grown up about it."

Sofia laughed, shaking her head. "Yes, you do too," she insisted, "but maybe you just need some more stars on your record for them to drop it. Your unit has a Tar heist planned next week. We got tipped off about some smuggling and are currently confirming the location of where it's all being held."

Perking right back up, Lionel's eyes already turned wide with anticipation. "Tar heist? There hasn't been one in over a year..."

"Exactly. We believe that smugglers have just been operating slowly and on an extremely low profile, which is why we've seen even less rampaging incidents than usual, recently," she explained, leaning back in her chair, "which is why we must nip it in the bud. If this Tartarus thing gets out of control here, it might get traded to smaller towns in the vicinity." Sofia wasn't surprised to see Lionel tense up again, appreciating that he kept himself leveled. Small-town rampage incidents were an understandably sore spot for him. "You'll get the details along with the rest of the unit tomorrow, and will receive whatever information that surfaces in the coming week as soon as we have it to get you prepared for it as best as we can. So, don't let some petty name-calling get to you, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am. Crystal clear," Lionel stood up and saluted, turning around to leave the office while dismissed with a salute back.

This was the real deal, and he knew it.

Not only to make a good impression, but to finally make an active contribution to protect humans even outside of Las Flores. He knew he had to get this right, so no one would have to lose their house and be forced out of their hometown, or worse, lose their lives to an exiled demon who thought too highly of themselves.

It was his chance to make things better.