"I have been in the agency for more than a few decades now" - Yon
"I've learned a lot about their heroic deeds… and their atrocious blunders, kept hidden from the outside world" - Yon
"Ever since those monsters appeared, life had a complete turnaround for me. I remember it all… it was all so sudden, if it weren't for those abilities of mine... I would've never made it this far" - Yon
…
Somewhere in a town, a person wearing torn clothes, with dirt all over them was walking without a care in the world. They looked quite happy as they whistled around the streets.
*Whistling*
Suddenly, a nice aroma filled the air, quickly catching their attention. The aroma reminded the person of really good food and their nose didn't betray.
*sniff* *sniff*
"Waaw… that smells so guuud. I'm getting so hungry now" - unknown
The person keeps strolling along until they find the source of the smell, a chinese restaurant cooking many delicacies…
*Stomach grumbling*
"Awww, I want it so bad…" - Unknown
"..." - unknown, realising the alternative implications of that phrase
*Blushes*
"...That sounded so wrong" - Unknown
The person sneakily goes around the back door to enter the kitchen. They slowly push it open and move to where the pre-made food was located. While looking at the food, the person loses control and immediately starts to devour everything on the plates without paying attention to their surroundings.
"Mhmmm… sho guud" - Unknown
As the person was feasting, they were suddenly halted by an abrupt and fast tap on her shoulder. The person stops munching and slowly turns around… only to come in contact with a pair of eyes met that belonged to the chef of the restaurant.
"What do you think you're doing here?" - Chef
"... Nothing" - Unknown
The chef grabs the person's hand and pulls them to the storage room.
"What's your name, young lady?" - Chef
"H-huh?" - unknown
"What do they call you?" - Chef, replied firmly
"Oh... Hanigiri. Hanigiri Yon…" - Yon
"Okay, Yon, you mind telling me why you were stealing my food?" - Chef
"...I was so hungry sir and I couldn't the urge to jump and stuff my face" - Yon, looking away shyly
The chef looks at the apparel Yon was wearing. It was obvious she was a homeless person with the scruffy hair and dirt all over, but he had to ask to confirm his suspicions.
"Where do you live?" - Chef
"..." - Yon
The chef squeezes her hand tightly making Yon squeal a little and get teary eyed. She struggled to get out of his grasp.
"Ah, that hurts...stop" - Yon
"Then, answer my question this instant!" - Chef
"... I don't have a place to stay" - Yon
"I knew it!" - Chef, looking at Yon with a pitiful face, with a tint of guilt
*The Chef sighs*
"Look you can't just go around stealing food okay? Someone might throw you in jail if you keep doing this" - Chef, speaking the hard truth at the young woman
Yon looks visibly hurt, her eyes on the verge of tears and avoiding the chef's gaze. The chef couldn't bear such a view and a little pity filled his heart.
"I'll… let you off this time" - Chef
"Wait really!?" - Yon, with a sudden excitement in her voice
"HOWEVER, you'll be working here from now on and make food instead of stealing it" - Chef
"...okay…" - Yon, reluctantly
The chef lets Yon's hand go and she quickly starts walking away. While on her way out, the chef took a good look at the girl.
(Chef to himself) "If you look past all the dirt, she's actually pretty cute..."
"He-hey, if you want we can get something to eat one day!" - Chef
Yon looks back with confusion, then responds, completely thinking about the food she will get that day.
"Erm… sure…" - Yon
"Alright! Meet me near the park in a couple of days" - chef, screamed in excitement causing the others to look over for a moment
…
"Ma'am, are you alright?" - Jon, confused about his boss's distant state of mind
"Huh!... Uh yea fine. So, anyways" - Yon
"The agency were the first ones to discover that humans had been modified, whether you consider that fortunate or not is on you" - Yon
"They knew that chaos would rule the world if these humans were left out in the open to do their own bidding, so they sought help from the new military group. Their work together went all smooth… until the military decided to use those humans to their advantage. They claimed it would help in case the monsters decided to launch an attack against us…" - Yon
"Soon, the interest of the agency and the military differed, causing them to go their separate ways…" - Yon
*Yon sighs*
"Ma'am, would you mind if I asked a question?" - Jon
"Not at all, go ahead Jon" - Yon
"You do know that I'm familiar with the story right? I have been in the agency for quite a long time too…" - Jon
"Oh, you'll have to forgive me Jon… I get carried away sometimes..." - Yon
"We have to compile all the information we have on the group ma'am. It's top priority" - Jon, trying to put his boss back on track
Yon nods and gets ready to type the information she needs. Jon flicks through a bunch of papers in his hand
"Okay, first, how many beasts were involved?" - Yon
"Almost non. Except those crawlers we found consuming the babies" - Jon
"Ugh disgusting… Anyways, what were The Red Sect doing underground?" - Yon
"They were experimenting on human infants. It seems they had DNA supply from a large number of creatures" - Jon
"Hm. What about their boss?" - Yon
"We're not sure. The most fitting person we found was someone sitting at a bureau, already deceased" - Jon
"Ah yes! The cause of death" - Yon
"We found out that about 5 - 8 were shot, seemingly by a weapon of their own and the rest died by inhaling a lethal amount of knockout gas" - Jon
"Lethal knockout gas? That's impossible! In the surface area of the sewers, the gas would've spread evenly enough to NOT kill everyone, the only ones that could have died from that were the already injured…" - Yon
"Hmmm… peculiar" - Jon
"What could this all mean…" - Yon
Back at the sewers…
(Juro to himself)
"We couldn't find anything else here apart from data logs for the experimentation. The Red Sect sure is a careful group… makes me wonder how they were taken down by simple vigilantes"
"I guess we could call it a day. I'll have to send the team to ask about ZR soon…"
"Alright people, we're wrapping it up here. Good job everyone." - Juro
"Roger that, sir!" - Underlings
The team started packing their bags to move out of the sewers, everyone complained about the tiresome days and how they were hungry.
Somewhere outside of the city, near an establishment resembling a bar...
"...Hmm?" - Unknown
The person looks around
"Where am I?" - Unknown
"Is this a motel room? How did I get here? - Unknown
The person gets off the bed and heads into the bathroom. Soon, one of the detectives wakes up.
"...Ugh" - Denki
"...What time is it…? - Denki
Denki glances around; setting his eyes on the clock
"8 in the morning… I had such a bad night. I'm still lucky this place had 3 beds though" - Denki
The raging storm had passed but it was chilly, especially early in the morning. Denki rolls around for 5 minutes until he suddenly hears the toilet flushing. He immediately jolts up and looks around properly, finding one of the beds empty. The one where the woman was. Denki swiftly and sneakily grabs his weapon, moves close to the bathroom door. A few seconds later the woman walks out.
"FREEZE!" - Denki
The woman jolts backwards. Still silent, she gets into some sort of stance, seemingly martial arts.
"Who are you…?" - woman
"I'm not obliged to answer that" - Denki, picking up and showing his badge
"A cop… I didn't know I did something illegal recently" - woman
(Denki to himself) "Recently…"
"Well, you were pretty drunk yesterday" - Denki
"Oh, c'mon officer, I'm old enough to drink - woman
The woman switches to a sexy pose and winks at Denki, causing his heart to skip a beat.
*Denki blushes*
"...W-what's going on here…" - Ichino
Ichino's sleep is broken by the continuous noise and he adjusts his sandy eyes to the situation, seeing Denki pointing his weapon at a woman.
"Hmmm? Is that anyway to treat a lady, Denki?" - Ichino
*Weird Denki noises*
"Heh… You can lower your gun now. I can tell, she would woop our asses" - Ichino
"Good eye detective" - Woman
"That's captain to you" - Ichino
Ichino gets up from the bed and goes to shake the woman's hand.
"I'm Ichino Kakuse" - Ichino
The woman hesitates for a bit but eventually gives in.
"...I'm Mia. Mia Urazaki" - Mia
"C'mon now, Denki don't be shy" - Ichino
"Ugh… I'm Denki Minakami" - Denki
"Good, I guess we're acquaintances now, at least" - Ichino
"Soo… would anyone mind explaining to me what I'm doing here? - Mia
"Yea sure" - Ichino
After receiving a swift but comprehensive explanation, Mia takes her decision.
"Okay, I'm in!" - Mia
"What?!" - Ichino and Denki
"We can't let you do that, as officers of the law. It's a B rank threat after all" - Denki
"I'm a trained martial arts user. I think I meet the necessary requirements to defend myself" - Mia
"We're not going to in close ranged combat most of the time. You could get shot!" - Denki
"Denki, wait up" - Ichino
Ichino turns to Mia with a stern look on his face.
"Are you perhaps Ken Urazaki's daughter?" - Ichino
"That I am Captain. I'm happy my father's name has spread so far" - Mia, with pride
"You're a long way from home" - Ichino
*Mia sighs*
"...That's a long story" - Mia
"Anyways, does anyone want to grab a bite? I'm starving here" - Mia
"I think there is a snack behind the motel" - Ichino
"Pretty convenient, let's go" - Denki
The trio head out to eat.
Takeru was disoriented. His mind battled between strong emotions of rage towards those who wronged this world but also of an intense fear and repugnance towards past horrors and those still to come. He wandered aimlessly around his house and tailing him, was a speedy creature, probably fearful of Takeru's recklessness and danger to himself.
"Fuck off" - Takeru
Takeru takes a turn into the bathroom and slams the door shut. He walks up to the sink and is visibly shaken, shedding tears towards his own helplessness.
"I'M SO PATHETIC" - Takeru
Out of nowhere, a response echoes from outside.
"HELL NAW YOU AIN'T" - Reginald
"I TOLD YOU T-" - Takeru
Takeru was abruptly halted by Reginald's loudening voice talking over him.
"YOU! ARE ONE OF THE BRAVEST LIVING PERSON I'VE EVER COME ACROSS TAKERU! YOU CAN HAVE MY HEAD ON THAT!" - Reginald
"..." - Takeru
"You hatched a whole plan to take down those bastards in no time, I wouldn't even have given a single thought about it except how to escape any situation with them" - Reginald
"You went through it all even though you barely knew me and the great risks involved. You never gave up till the very end and all our efforts weren't in vain, we did it!' - Reginald
"..." - Takeru
"Look, man, I don't know what happened in there but guessing from the news and the way you're acting, it must be horrific to even think of. If I were in your shoes, I'd have never made it out" - Reginald
"... All I'm saying is… you're staggering Takeru" - Reginald
"..." - Takeru
"... I massacred them all, Regi" - Takeru
"I'm not one to praise… I'm just a murderer…" - Takeru
"I'm the one who pressed the trigger y'know. You're not the only one to blame" - Reginald
Following a moment of silence, Takeru comes out of the bathroom and walks past Reginald with an anguished look on his face.
The rest of the day was quite uneventful. Takeru and Reginald kept their distance, the journeying trio stayed on the road and the two girls were at home binging anime.