In Yokohama , Japan , the city is brightened with flashing lights all around. There is chatter in the street , as people roam in their specialized garments for the coming festival , celebrating one of the ancient deities. There is laughter , there is partying , there are games and fun. In all , it seems as if humanity is enjoying their lives to the fullest. No hatred is harbored by anybody , for they are living in the moment. The blue moon shines brightly onto the streets above , its light only matched by the skyscrapers below it. Speaking of skyscrapers , there is one in particular , brightly illuminating. None other than the Communications Building of the Uzumaki Trade Center. A modern building to say the least , decorated with a tall pillar at the top , about 1,000 feet high in all. Standing on top of that pillar , but hidden in the shadow , we can see a person. A young girl , about 14 years of age , balances herself on the pillar while reading a book , dressed in a peculiar black and white kimono. She carefully takes the book off of her head, and opens to a benchmarked page. On the page , we can see something about ancient curses and sensing spiritual energy. She closes the book and clasps it in her hand. She moves her dangling white hair from covering her eyes , as it waves it the wind. Her crimson red eyes are revealed , as well as the stone gem earrings dangling from each of her ears. " When are they gonna get here ? This Mitsuya character sounded interesting , hopefully Casanova wasn't lying about him." The girl jumps off of the pillar to her feet and cradles her necklace in her hand. A phone lights up in her back pocket. She quickly takes it out and looks at it- " REALLY CASANOVA ? YOU EXPECT ME TO WAIT THAT LONG." She sighs - " I'll just read until then." Suddenly she hears something below the tower. HEr eyesight is keen , so she can quickly detect where it's coming from. " STOP IT !!! GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY." In the alleyway she can see a man getting robbed. As he pleads , he is being constantly punched in the face. THe girl looks on, then to the door leading downstairs. " I guess I can help him. Men these days , always so quick to violence." She rushes down the stairs to the elevator. Running passed executives who don't seem to notice her. When she gets to the golden embroidered elevator , she waits for 30 seconds , which she takes to wind her watch. The doors open and she rushes in , pushing the downstairs button as quickly as she can. She rushes past the auditors and security , stealing a piece of bread from the cafeteria along the way. " I'LL PAY FOR IT LATER" She smiled and ran out onto the street. She looks left , then right , and decides to take a left. As she enters the alleyway , the man is still getting punched. She walks up behind the person doing the assault and gently pats him on his shoulder. He turns around to her. "Excuse me, sir , but I don't quite understand the circumstances of this situation. But if you may , I would like for you to give him his money back." The man grunts at her and pushes her away - "Get away from here , little girl. This is none of your business. I suggest that you move before I have to handle you too." The girl observes his attire. A dark black suit , with shiny new shoes. His face looks to be around 40 years old or so. But what she notices on his blazer catches her attention- " I see that you work for the Stylings Group. You guys are a big gambling industry aren't you ? The third biggest one in Japan. Weren't you on the news for alleged human trafficking ? That's the place where those people went missing. I hear a rumor that you paid off a top government official to not prosecute you. If that's true , then you-" She is stopped by the man lunging towards her - " OK THAT'S ENOUGH YOU LITTLE…" The girl has a nonchalant face while she just stands there. " Oh , brother. I thought we could have a decent conversation." She stands very still while he is running , and closes her eyes. She puts a hand out, and seemingly grabs the air. The man instantly stops inches before her. She closes the gap by walking towards him and places her hand on his chest. " WHAT THE-'' She opens her eyes and the man is sent flying backwards. He falls on the ground , unconscious. " I may be a little girl to you , but I'm actually very cunning and meticulous about how I do things. You're unconscious right now , so I think this is a good time to explain without any interruption." The man who was getting assaulted looks at her and runs away. She yells behind him - " YOU MIGHT WANNA GET THOSE WOUNDS CHECKED OUT." She composes herself - " Spirit Magic. I've been studying since I was younger. It's common knowledge among mages that every person has these things called Spirit Threads , which are invisible representations of spiritual energy. But most can't see them. I'm an exception." Suddenly a crimson red thread appears in her hand. " Your mental state and physique is in critical condition. You should be glad that didn't hurt you very much." The man's eyes come back to normal , and he struggles to stand up , to no avail.The girl snaps her fingers and cuffs appear around his hands. " Remember the name. You've been defeated by the one and only Julianna." The man has horror in his eyes as she stands above him. Suddenly , they are surrounded by dozens of men in similar suits carrying guns , aimed directly at her. She reaches for her phone in her back pocket , her bracelet dancing in the wind. She clicks a button, and the phone beeps. " Well , I guess I can't dodge all of these bullets." She puts her hands up and walks straight towards the men , surrendering herself, " Casanova will understand".
Back in Tokyo , Mitsuya is lying wide awake in bed , reaching his arm towards the seal. He feels that something bad is about to happen , but doesn't know when , where or how. Anyways , he is conflicted about whether he should be concerned about his eye. He'll have to wear contacts from now on , according to Mayomi. In the palm of his hand , he forms a small output of wind , and releases it into the room. A gentle breeze touches his face as the window curtains ruffle. He tirefully stands up and rubs his eyes. " I'm probably the only one who finds it weird how I now have minimal control over Space and Time. What am I , a God ?" As he gets dressed , he begins to monologue to himself - " Not only that , but it's pretty convenient that I remembered that I could use ki at the exact moment that Casanova's clones came at me. And how I'm able to use wind magic without any repercussions. It feels as if all of these powers were given to me with a manual guide that I had already read. But this seems like too much. The only effect was my heart stopping when I accidentally stopped time. If that's the case , then I'll only be restricted to small amounts of time to perform actions against my opponents. So that would be about 30 seconds before I lose oxygen to my brain , and then I might go unconscious." He fastens the belt around his waist and continues talking to himself. " I wonder why I can't reverse time anymore. I was practicing when I was younger , but it doesn't seem like I can do it anymore. And… have I always had time stop ? I remember when those people tried to take Kaoru. I stopped time back then , but my heart didn't stop. What happened ? The closest explanation that I have is that I developed time stop while I wasn't using my powers , and then when I tried to amplify my magic , my reversal and stopping powers went away. Now after the deal with whoever that was , I only got Time-Stop back , but with a limit attached to it. I don't see how that's fair." He puts on his shoes , and brushes his hair. " I've finally gotten one step closer to achieving my goals. With Himura and Mayomi and Casanova , I can finally get my revenge on the Organization for abandoning me and Kaoru. And I have even more opportunity to find the one who killed my mother. When I do , I'll make them pay. And in the end , I'll kill him - for not being there to protect us." He pauses for a moment and looks at himself in the mirror. " When I have achieved my goals , I'll stay true to my promise. A revolution will come , and all ideologies will be wiped away in favor of a peaceful world that doesn't discriminate against certain individuals. It is up to me to change this , and prevent any threat from coming to this mage world of ours. If I can achieve this goal , then I will be able to destroy this world and its current ways , and make it anew. For the sake of the future generation- Kaoru , Arisu and Himura's child." He looks confidently at himself in the mirror , but then looks at his phone. " Why am I getting dressed at midnight ?" He would take a nap for the next 2 hours , until he woke up again. From that point , he would read some of Himura's old manga series , unsuccessfully meditate and play chess against opponents online. At 8:30 , Casanova would enter his room , only to find him in a tired state , half asleep. He walked over to Mitsuya and slapped him across the face. Mitsuya instantly jumps up - " WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR ?" Casanova smiles and looks at him awkwardly - " It's breakfast time. You look tired , but you're fully dressed. What happened to you ?" Mitsuya stands up and does a few jumping jacks. Oh Casanova , it's terrible. I've been playing chess against online opponents for the past 3 hours. I haven't lost one time. I've come to a conclusion , and I'm not happy with it." Casanova folds his arms - " Which is ?" Mitsuya stares at his left hand- " The only one who can beat me… is me." Casanova lets out a great sigh , then walks out of the room, closing the door behind him. He shouts from the other side- " EVERYONE ATE ALREADY. YOU'RE THE LAST ONE , SO YOU HAVE TO DO THE DISHES. WE LEAVE FOR YOKOHAMA IN 2 HOURS." Mitsuya groans and opens the door , only to see that Casanova is already gone. He rushes downstairs to the library , seeing Kaoru reading to Arisu. The baby is eyeing her in a peculiar manner , as if she doesn't understand why she was taken from her own room to the library. He slowly walks into the room , and the baby's eyes follow him. He pats Kaoru on the shoulder in the middle of her reading , which startles her. " Don't do that. You scared me." Mitsuya starts laughing , and rubs her hair. " Did you bring her in here ?" Karou shakes her head to indicate no - " I was in here minding my business , and then Mayuri told me to sing to her. I don't know why , but I have a feeling that she was recording me." Mitsuya laughs - " She probably already knew that you have the voice of an angel. Your pitch includes all ranges , and you can raise your voice however many octaves you want." Kaoru smiles heartfeltly , and Arisu begins laughing. Mitsuya prepares to leave the room , but is stopped by Kaoru. " Mitsuya- be careful in Yokohama. Don't get hurt." Mitsuya clenches her hand - " I'll be fine. Casanova will be with me." Kaoru looks to where she thinks he is - " Are you sure that Casanova is responsible ? He's been making a ruckus around the house." Mitsuya shrugs it off - " He's okay , I guess. We'll be back in no time." He prepares to leave again ,but is stopped. " Promise me." Mitsuya turns back to her and reaches for her hand. " I promise. Just wait a little longer , and everything will be back to normal. Count on me to fix it." Kaoru is reassured. Mitsuya looks at Arisu , who by now has fallen asleep again. His face grows solemn as he runs out of the room. Thirty minutes later , he and Casanova are on the patio with Himura. Their bags are packed.Himura confidently looks at the clear morning sky. " Okay , you two. Today is the day. Julianna should be waiting for you in Yokohama. Here," he hands them two train tickets. " You'll be taking JR East there. If you make it to the station by the time the train leaves , you should be there in around an hour." Mitsuya remains indifferent. " So why are we going there again ? And why are you sending us alone." Himura sits backwards in his chair and lights a cigarette. " Well , you see , spirits are a delicate subject for society. Few mages can observe spirits , but almost all can see spiritual energy. People like Kaoru are an exception because her magic depends on senses.Those with ki like Mitsuya and I can see them too. Julianna is one of the few people to make exorcising a spirit look so easy. But Julianna is gifted in other things , probably because she's one of the few mages who can actually see spirits and command life energy. That's what makes her special. And she has picked up numerous techniques in her study of exorcism and necromancy. She's been in Yokohama for the past 3 months , and currently there's talk of some paranormal activity happening in the area. Some say that people have been jumping off of skyscrapers , falling to their deaths. To the normal eye , it's an average suicide , but there's something more to it. In total 7 people have died , all between 14 and 23 years old. The thing is , they weren't last seen at the skyscraper. They were on some type of yacht , and found dead at the bottom of these skyscrapers. And now there have been rumors of these people showing up in areas in front of family members and close friends while they were alive , causing mass hysteria. The police won't handle it if they don't have any reason to do so , and on top of that if it's somehow related to mages. But there is growing fear among the public that they might be the next person to end up dead in an unsolved suicide. Paranoia is gripping the nation. So that's why I'm sending you two to help her. If Mitsuya can use that ki thing that his dear old dad just conveniently taught him , and can somehow manipulate shadow energy against the non-living , then it'll be case closed. Plus , you'll get extra practice before the Mage Exam." Mitsuya shrugs - " What kind of person is this Julianna ?" gives him a grin. " Oh , you'll find out soon enough." They both prepare to leave only to be stopped by Himura. " Wait , I'm about to send you a link. Julianna sent me a tracker. She might be in danger. When I was on the phone with her , she kept talking about this strange gambling group. " Casanova shakes his head in dissatisfaction- " No matter how nonchalant she acts , she always finds a way to get in trouble."
After narrowly catching the train , and both taking a short nap , Casanova and Mitsuya arrived in the buzzling urban area of Yokohama. To Mitsuya , the people here were no different from those in Osaka or Kyoto or Tokyo , but they all had their unique style. Yokohama is , after all , a center of economic and cultural development within Japan. Mitsuya wanted to get on with this mission , but Casanova chose to enjoy the city while he was there. " I don't care if we're spending 4 days here. I'm making the most of my time here before we go meet up with Julianna. I've never been to Yokohama. It's always been on my bucket list." For the next 2 hours , Mitsuya would tirelessly follow Casanova as he went to a movie theatre to see the new hit movie about two high school hero students against a guy who could control weather , surveyed the best chocolate ice cream in the city, and went sightseeing at the tallest public skyscraper. " Has it dawned on you that Julianna could be in trouble ?" Hearing this from Mitsuya , Casanova returned to attention . " She might have sent you a tracker for a reason." Casanova sighed. " You don't know Julianna, Mitsuya. I've known her since we were little. We both took martial arts classes occasionally at the headquarters in the district in American District in Chicago. She may seem a little witty , but she's actually very nonchalant. She often criticizes you for not making logical or rational decisions , and tries to act like a very cool and indifferent person. But be aware , her intelligence is her defining factor. Since she was young , she has garnered considerable She's the smartest person who I've ever met , who's my age at least. And her skills in martial arts are better than all others. The only bad thing about her is that she gets lazy when in dangerous situations , though her intelligent personality seems to almost completely stay intact. If she was confronted with 30 people with guns , she would easily give herself up rather than use magic on them or subdue them with martial arts. That's just her character." Casanova takes out his phone. " It looks like she's on that large ship that we saw after we got off of the train. I think it was called the Grand Orient Yacht or something. I wonder what she's doing there." Mmitsuya takes out his phone and looks up the location of the ship - " It's about 20 minutes away from here. You think we can make it by running ?" Casanova grins at him - " Of course. The question is , who will get there first. Let's make a bet. If I win , you have to fight the first spirit that we encounter." Mitsuya's condescendingly serious expression turns into a smile. " Alright , bet." They stand 3 feet away from each other , and take off running into the East towards the river.
At 10: 30 , they made it to the Grand Orient Yacht. Before them stands a humongous ship , about 190 feet and 1,000 feet wide. The outline of the boat makes it look like a small version of the Titanic , which Mitsuya takes note of. It is noticeable that the ship has more than 100 windows , a pool , and more than 3 noticeable dining halls from the outside. Casanova informs Mitsuya - " Welp , I just looked on the Wikipedia page. The Grand Orient yacht was created by a group of American businessmen a few years ago. Apparently , those businessmen were some executives of the Stylings Group. A gamblng group only open to the wealthiest of international society. They try to paint a good impression of themselves by donating to charities and forming negotiations with representatives. But apparently they've been in the news for a few years due to the fact that they were rumored to be involved in some human trafficking scheme. And after that settled down some people began saying that they paid off government officials in the United Nations and got a huge payoff from several lawsuits. Apparently , this is only one of multiple clubs of the Organization." Mitsuya looks at him condescendingly. " AND JULIANNA IS IN THERE !!! HOW ARE YOU NOT FREAKING OUT BY THIS ?" Casanova looks at him seriously - " Mitsuya , remember , whatever happens here stays here. Right now , our only objective is to get in and find Julianna , then get back out. She wouldn't have gotten captured for no reason. She could have easily escaped if she wanted to. She might just be gathering information. But for now , she has to get in and find her. Understand ?" Mitsuya hesitantly nods his head after several moments. " Fine. But how are we going to get in ? There isn't a way two kids could sneak into a gambling center without being noticed. I'm sure members or any wealthy person who just happens to stroll in would need some form of identification.And the poor people who try to come in hopes of winning money might be under constant suspicion and surveillance. So what's your plan , genius ?" Casanova shushes him and simply walks to the entrance of the boat. Mitsuya is flabbergasted. For what he sees is Casanova fiercely shaking the hand of the tall security guard standing there. Casanova asks him several things , and Mitsuya observes the one word responses. The man is clearly becoming irritated. In a few moments , Casanova runs back to him.
" As I was saying , it's quite simple , my dear Watson. We go in from the top. You see , but you don't observe. On the top of the ship , you can see an open deck. And we are mages after all. If you want to get into a place without anyone noticing , the only thing that you have to do is conceal yourself. That's why we have concealing spells." Mitsuya questions him - " But we're apprentice mages. Our concealing spells can't even last 5 minutes without breaking." Casanova sighs - " Would you rather go through the trouble of transmuting a tunnel through the ground ? I wouldn't think so. The plan is to get in and out as quickly as we can. It's basic knowledge that concealing spells can work on both magical properties and the person casting the spell. So that means that if I can use my shadow to fly us to the open deck after casting a concealing spell , then no one would notice. Then , we would have about 5 minutes to go find Julianna and any information." After Mitsuya somehow manages to agree to this plan , it is set in motion. Mitsuya casts a concealing spell on themselves. After a minute or so of Casanova meditating , his shadow is released , and forms the shape of wings. Mitsuya is angry by the fact that Casanova has to carry him , but he gives up and agrees to it. As they fly in the air , no one can see them. They land on the open deck in front of more than 50 people , still unseen. Casanova's wings dissolve. " See , that wasn't so bad. It says that Julianna should be a few feet away from here. Where do we go ?" Mitsuya thinks for a second - " Based on my research and analysis , if someone is taken prisoner , the person who kidnaps them usually hides them in a basement or a secret room or something. So our best bet is going to the lower deck before this concealing spell wears off." " I'm taking the elevator." is Casanova's response. " You really think that a high security yacht with what seems to be over 100 employees wouldn't notice if an elevator door opened , then went down to the basement , and closed again. And what if they notice buttons being pushed ?" Casanova's answer was that they would think it was a simple malfunction. " Quick , left or right." " Left." Casanova grins - " Okay , let's go." Next thing we know , they are standing before a golden embroidered elevator , with some fancy baroque Roman artwork above it. They wait a few seconds for it to open and rush in. Even though the ship only has 5 floors , there's a keypad and a scanner underneath the elevator buttons. Casanova pulls something out of his pocket. It's a keycard. Before Mitsuya can question , Casanova reminds him. " Remember when I was talking to that guy ? Neither of you noticed me going into his pocket." He scans the card , and a voice on a speaker is projected. Mitsuya is alarmed.
ACCESS TO THE SIXTH FLOOR , GRANTED. LEVEL 8 SYSTEM MANAGEMENT CONFIRMED. WELCOME BACK.
When the elevator opens , they are met with a dark , disoriented room. From what they can see , the basement hasn't been cleaned in about a few weeks. Mitsuya continues with his observations. " I'd say that this is the place where they keep all of the things that they don't want people to see. There are about 20 cells lining the walls , but besides that this basement is barren. I guess this isn't a regular gambling industry after all. There doesn't seem to be a sign of life anywhere. How can we know that Julianna is down here ?" Casanova thinks on it for a second before putting his hands in his pocket. " We can't. But shouldn't you know ? You have that kind thing right , that allows you to sense people." Mitsuya is nonchalant. " I don't know how to work that thing. My dad didn't teach me that much about it , so I'd say it only has a 30 % success rate. I can't activate it on command , and even when I do , it's at random. When I fought you it was a fluke. So it would be better suited for a person like Kaoru , who's magic actually deals with sensing people and other things. Plus , even if I tried to use it , it doesn't work on people who I've never met before." Casanova sighs - " So besides your space and wind magic , you're practically useless , right ?" Mitsuya becomes heated , but is calmed down. " Well , we can still check for something." Mitsuya takes the left cells , Casanova takes the right. Nothing on Casanova's side. But then Mitsuya calls out to him. " CASANOVA , I FOUND SOMETHING." Casanova rises across the hall , to see Mitsuya standing before a cell. He shines his light above it to reveal a person in it. " Well , I guess they were right about those human trafficking rumors ?" Before them sits a blond headed fair skinned child , looking to be about 5 feet in height. He wears shorts and a dirty white shirt held up by suspenders. His blue eyes stare directly at Mitsuya , and he brandishes a small scar on his nose. " Who are you ?" Mitsuya stares back at him. " We can ask you the same thing. How did you get down here ?" The boy stands up - " I've been down here for about 3 weeks. My name is Keiko Shimura , I am 13 years old.." Mitsuya responds - " I'm Mitsuya Nieto , and this is Casanova Vanguard. Were you involved in trafficking ?" The boy answers - " Yes , I was. I'm from Osaka. While my parents were out , me and my siblings were abducted. I don't know what happened to them. But I was brought here. They said that I was going to be sent to England to be adopted or something. There's nothing that I can do about that." Mitsuya talks back to him. " Keiko , has anyone else been down here ?" The boy thinks long and hard - " Last night , a girl was brought down here. She has white hair and crimson eyes. Dressed in a white and black kimono. But she's long gone." Mitsuya looks at Casanova , who is frowning with his arms crossed. " Yep , that's her. But where is she ?" Keiko answers - " The Grand Orient Yacht isn't only used for gambling you know. It's also used for fighting. I learned that a few weeks ago. But it turns out that wealthy people actually pay money to view illegal fighting of prisoners as a form of entertainment. And they bet on who they think will win. The battles usually end in death. It's an underground network designed to seek out the best fighters. " And where are these battles held ?" " In the area below us. It won't appear on any maps or elevator buttons. They call it ``The Hageshi Heya. I can take you there."
Simultaneously while this talk is happening , we can observe Julianna standing with her arms folded in a square ring , inescapable due to a cage. Her face is no nonchalant right now that it looks as if she's actually about to fall asleep. In the balconies are people dressed in extravagant clothing , their faces hidden by opera masks. They each whisper to each other. " Do you really think that that girl can win ? I'm betting 50,000." Across from Julianna stands a large man , seeming to weigh about 300 pounds. He stands about 3 feet above her , and looks at her with fiery eyes. He wields a large blade. Julianna sighs - " I came here to find spirits. I did not plan for this. I should get this over quickly."