"Sir, there's a call from a Tokyo Daily Press Journalist, they're asking for your words regarding the incident in -"
"No, I'm busy. Tell them I'm busy -"
"Sir, The Ministry is pressing for a press release fro -"
"I'll get to that later, I need to go. And, darn it, I told them that needs to be postponed last night! We can't do anything while the kids are still out!"
"Mr. Banks! Thank goodness I found you, Sir, but there are people waiting for you in the lobby, claiming to be correspondents from an American news outlet -"
"Good God!! I said no!! Can you look at me and see that I am busy?? I am walking - out! I have somewhere to be, and I know these are important but I have other pressing matters to attend!" Arilio Banks finally snaps in the middle of the hallway of his floor. The thing is, he knew the moment he left his office, he would have his staff barraging him left and right. It's a shame, really; his office is only a short walk away from the elevator, but perhaps his employees have been eyeing his door since he locked it this morning and make the short journey a whole battlefield.
He watches the faces of his employees one by one. The tense exchanges of looks they share are quite telling. They, too, don't know how to handle their predicament. And Ari thought he could be someone they depend on in the most difficult of times - no matter the fact that he is their newly appointed foreign boss.
But look at him; snapping at them the moment they need his guidance the most. This can make the cultural gap even worse. Yes, the Japanese people have collectively evolved into a different society since the Battle of The First Awakened decades ago; they are more diverse, in many aspects, more westernized, and are conscious of the need for countries to work together to face the unknown. However, in essence, they are polite, honest, and reserved.
Sometimes, Ari forgot he was no longer in The States. Here in Japan, he needs to be more considerate and communicate himself differently.
He takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he bows a little awkwardly and smiles the smile that got him far in business, "I understand everyone is under great pressure right now. I feel you; I feel the same way. But in times like this, we all need perseverance". He eyes them one by one, noticing how each of them now lowers the documents they're carrying with them. "The kids are still out. We are all waiting for their return. Until then, there will be no updates from YES. Tell them what I have told you the night before - and tell them what I am telling you now. Be. Patient". Silence. "Am I clear?"
"Yes sir!" The three employees bow and return to each of their stations. For once, the coast is clear for Arilio Banks, the General Manager of the newly established Esper Bureau in Japan for young aspiring espers, Young Esper Society, also known as YES. He enters the elevator and pushes the button for the basement parking ground while internally questioning his decision to join this bureau.
He indeed has years of experience in the same field back in America, but in the 7 years he spent there, he was more involved in policy-making than direct managing of a bureau. He's hitting 50 for God's sake; he could do well just staying behind the desk and shaking hands with bureaucrats. So why did he say yes when a child came calling him all the way from Japan?
Was it because that child was nice? Was it because he inertly lost all the passion he had for his job?
Was it because he sought that thrill of being a part of something that would one day be big enough that Ari's name would probably be permanently etched into history?
Ari watches the light go down on the buttons, from 12, slowly to B2, while silently comparing it to his own life. His decision to move to Japan and lead the management of this barely-a-baby organization might as well be the downfall of his career. It all started with that call from an unknown foreign number. He didn't know what pushed him to pick up the call - he's quite important in the business, and so people don't get to just call him without going through the hard work of finding his number from the right people. The first thing he heard was a youthful voice - one he did not expect to hear from his private phone.
"Hello? Is this Arilio Banks?"
The words were said with just a hint of an accent.
"Yes - who is this?"
"Ah, pardon my rudeness. My name is Sora. I am an Esper from Japan".
Even in America, that name is widely known and adored. In fact, this guy - a young guy; a boy - didn't even need to run his resume on Ari because that name alone rings many bells. Nowhere else in this world is there an esper so young and thriving but in Japan. Sora is only in his mid-teens, and already he is present in many victories against the monstrous beings the world now dubs as 'mutants' or 'anomalies'.
Their first conversation on the phone lasted an hour - just enough to get Ari to lose concentration at work come morning. In just a week's time, he mentioned leaving his job to his colleagues; and in two months he packed his stuff and left for Japan. He soon found himself speaking to not one, but three teenagers with S-Class status, at a quaint little Cafe near a train station. Not long after, he speaks to many Government officials, discussing and learning confidential matters. Only a month into his move to Japan, he spotted himself an office in the National League of Espers Headquarters in Central Shintokyo along with a whole team to call his own. They put him on stages, in front of cameras, to announce the formation of YES. Soon, more and more people joined their team; and now they are at 80-people big of an organization, not counting their trainees and young espers.
His new job may not be that much different from his old one. It involves a lot of hand-shaking with old gentlemen, paper-signing, and talks over coffee; however, this one involves a lot more strategizing, danger, and a whole lump of secrecy
It was smooth sailing for a while. They're currently building a massive headquarters with top-tier technology somewhere on the outskirts of Shintokyo, and they already gathered a team of trainers, educators, managers, and youths as young as 18 already trained and ready to face mutants. What's left is an actual team.
A core team.
Any Esper organization has a core team consisting of their best with a minimum of 4 members. They have teams now consisting of dozens of Espers; but nothing close to a core team. It's not like they can't form one. They can do that any day. But Sora, the lead figure of the Organization, envisions something more.
He only wants a team of all S-Class Espers. And S-Class individuals are extremely rare. In Neo Japan alone there are less than 50, ranging from age 5 to their late adulthood. Among them, only a handful are in the age range of YES team; and among that handful, not all of them are willing to be Espers. Well, to be precise, not all of their parents are willing to let their children be Espers. Most teenagers salivate at the rewards promised to an S-Class Esper. But parents know better. They can see what they are risking by allowing their S-Class sons and daughters to be one; their lives.
It's a year after announcing itself to the world, and YES still has no core team. They already have three S-Class Espers. They only need 1 more. A year ago they thought they had that 1 person in their grasp, but, unfortunately, things didn't go their way. It's the parents. Always the parents.
And now they are facing a scandal over a newly opened portal at a high school. This school is YES' first official portal discovery. People are highly keen on this case because, not only are the victims young, but the espers handling the portal are also young. Almost 100 people, mostly students, are still considered missing within the school building.
And just days ago they found 2 bodies at the school.
He knew people would be highly critical of their team of very young Espers, even with Sora involved; but that on top of having to handle the pressure of being in charge of many young lives? YES might be terminated before even becoming a fetus.
The elevator stops with a ding. The door opens to reveal a mostly empty parking place. Ari half-runs to his black sedan - a different car from the one he usually drives. He hopes no one from the press recognizes him in this car, especially if he leaves the building in the middle of the scandal. Words of the discovery of the two students, in bloodied condition, have probably reached them and, naturally, they want answers. Even the government is chasing Ari for updates on this portal. Apparently, they too don't fully believe in this team of young Espers that they themselves funded to go to these portals.
And does Ari believe in them? That's a difficult question to answer only because there are many ways this can be answered. Does he believe in their skills? Yes. But an Esper does not strive on skills alone. Behind a prospering S-Class Esper is an effective team. And YES, even in Ari's experienced hands, is still a seedling. A scandal will not do it any good.
Yet here is Ari, leaving the headquarters' ground. Why, you ask? Well, he just received a text.
A text that might save this young organization.
And oh how true his guess is.
**
On the way to the hospital wing he's summoned to, Ari recognizes the Government personnel loitering around posing as patients. Each of them subtly notices him back, but otherwise makes no move to acknowledge him directly. Good.
The text instructed him to go to the VVIP ward and to bring a bouquet of yellow-colored flowers. The nurse at the front desk did not ask him questions, but was quick to direct him to go to room 207, in the hallways to his right.
Ari knocks. When no one answers, he opens the door slightly.
"Hello?" He calls. He can hear low mutterings in the back, and then that voice answers him, "Yes, come on in".
Ari enters the lounge room reserved for the patient's family and guests. Across from him is an opened double door leading to the patient's room. Ari walks closer, and as he does, he finds the tall slender figure of the man who summoned him to this room. The man has his phone to his ear, and as Ari is about to enter the room, he hears the man say:
"Yes, tell the Prime Minister we will see him as early as tomorrow morning with all our experts and legal team".
The second he hears him mention the Prime Minister, Ari stops and steps back. When a man of this caliber mentions someone so high up in the government, it is only polite to look down and not listen in. After all, it could be something he is not entitled to listen to.
The man finishes his call with a thank you to the other person on the line, and soon he calls Ari. "Right here!" Ari pokes his head to the room with a grin, "Oh, and I brought the flowers".
The woman standing next to the man; his third assistant if Ari is not mistaken; takes the bouquet from Ari and walks off to the bathroom, probably to move it to a proper vase. Ari, in the meantime, pulls his best businessman persona - all toothy smile and loud laughter. "Fancy that you ask to meet at this hospital because, heh, we've got two patients on the upper floor!" He points his thumb upwards - then realizes that this man, who is probably one of the most respected people in the industry, is probably well-informed of the latest development. There are literally tens of Government personnel walking about this building. Of course, this man knows of the two students they just found in that school.
He's Segawa Yasuo; the face of Neo Japan's Guide Association and an important member of Neo Japan's Guide's Protection Council. No matter what rank Esper you are, a guide is, to a lot in the industry, a position more powerful than you. And no Esper has had the power to fight the seduction of Segawa Yasuo. Many Espers have fallen into his control and influence. After all, guides can make Espers dance in their hands so easily, let alone one so powerful.
"So, this is not your son. That's good!" Ari lamely notes after checking the clipboard on the patient's bed. On the large bed is one small person. Ari does not know who he is or why he is there, but he knows 'Hinata Ren' is not the name of any of Segawa Yasuo's children. "And he looks quite all right. It's a gift to be alive, isn't it?" He keeps his upbeat tone, but deep down he cringes at his own words. It brings him back to last night when he sees those pictures of the students they found at the school; bloodied and left to die; faces barely recognizable under the thick of their own blood.
Ari coughs then forces a chuckle. Segawa Yasuo barely moves. He just stands there next to the bed; hands crossed and eyes pointed at Ari. "So who is this?" Ari asks instead.
"It's one of your so-called patients".
"I'm sorry?"
"You heard me," Guide Segawa turns to the patient and takes the limp hand in his own.
Ari frowns and stares at the face of the young patient. Sixteen years old, the clipboard says. Despite all the machines hooked into this boy; he still looks too healthy; too alive; to be one of the two students they found at the school. In fact, if you ignore all the cables, the beepings of the machines, and every medical paraphernalia in the room; the boy looks like he's just peacefully asleep. It's a far cry from the two students whose pictures Ari saw last night. One has already been declared dead. As for the other one; considering how he was found, there was no way he would last another night. "No, that's not our patient. They're on the upper floor as I've told you. And I would know if they're moved to this expensive room - oh, trust me I would. I'm the one signing the bills and writing the permits".
The Guide seems rather disappointed. "Oh, Mr. Banks, you're not telling me you didn't read the victims' student profiles, are you?"
Ari falters, "I...," he forces another laugh, but it falls flat, "I stopped after seeing the first few photos".
In the years of working in the Esper business, Ari has never stepped into the battlefield. He's more the man behind the scenes - or, in this case, behind the Espers. He doesn't see mutants - actual mutants - and he absolutely has never seen the pictures of its victims. Last night he spilled the contents of his stomach into his toilet after he opened the envelope containing the report from this portal, which was why he stopped inspecting the files inside. Otherwise, he was sure the student profiles of the two victims were in there.
"Understandable" Segawa Yasuo flatly mentions, "However, if you read their files thoroughly and see their pictures, you'll find that one of them is right here," the man turns his head to the sleeping boy, "Breathing and, according to the doctors, healthy".
The smile left Ari's face minutes ago, "No, I was told that the doctors claimed he was not going to last the night. He was already brain-dead".
Segawa Yasuo looks like he's only half-listening as he drags a chair closer to the side of the bed and takes a sit. The man looks as calm as ever. He crosses his arms and one leg over the other. "Starting today, Hinata Ren will be in the care of the Guide's Protection Council. We will take care of all his medical fees and his transfer afterward. We moved him to this room and he will be guarded by our agents," The guide explains. Ari checks the clipboard once again.
"W... why?" his jaw stays slack, "He's a Class F".
Class F is even rarer than Class S, yet it is on the opposite spectrum of human's awakened abilities. Their rank refers to their lack of super potential; with 0% ability in their system. An F-Class has no place in any institution related to Esper conducts; except maybe as an administrator of its lesser offices. And so it puzzles Ari how someone like Segawa Yasuo, and the entire body of the Guide's Protection Council, care about this boy.
"Ah, Mr. Banks, for someone so fluent in our field, you sure are clueless. You should have known by now this industry keeps many secrets?" the Guide hums. Ari, mouth still somewhat gaped, nods. It's an area tightly connected to the nation's security and the safety of its people. So, yes, this business keeps much information confidential from the public and, sometimes, from its own people. "You've never heard of an F-Class Guide?" the Guide continues.
The mere implication that such a person can exist is baffling. One cannot have the ability to guide unless they have an ability, meaning a class E and above! "No," he dumbly responds. However much he believes in the prior, he is also speaking to a decorated guide; one who is a lot more fluent on the topic.
"There are only four of them currently alive in this world today; two are over their productive age to be in the industry, one is a 50-year-old woman in India. And Hinata Ren," the Guide allows his hand to land on the boy's limp hand yet again, "Is the fourth".
Ari admits he's a little slow, "... and... what does that mean?"
"That means, soon the World Guide Association will be alerted, all executives of Esper Bureaus around the world will be discreetly informed, and the Prime Minister will have his agents stationed in every corner of this hospital. Soon, you will not see the hair of this child again. He is an important asset in the dark world we live in today, and it is crucial that he's placed in the right hands".
"I... okay?"
"Do you follow what I'm saying? I want you to tell Sora of this boy's existence".
"I... well, but Sora -"
"I will give you anyone of my sons," the Guide disrupts, "to YES, as long as you make sure that this boy is in your care, in YES".
Ari closes his mouth. He's hardly following where this is going. A year ago, Guide Segawa was adamant that none of his sons were going to follow in their mothers' footsteps of being an Esper; which is how YES ended up not having enough members to form a core team. Guide Segawa's oldest son is, after all, the person Sora has planned to join his team of all S-Class Espers.
"I - You - Ugh, oh my God. Look, Mr. Segawa - Segawa-san, sama, I -," Ari stumbles over his Japanese as he tries to form his words, "You see, by the end of this, it might be too late for YES. We're barely a team, and this scandal... I don't know if the team can survive through it. People are watching us with critical eyes because our Espers are so young compared to the other Espers. Now we have this school with many still missing to this day; and now we found these two students, technically slaughtered to bloodied pulps! You and I both know that is hardly the team's fault, but the people would only know that it is the team's fault because our team is young and inexperienced".
Ari shakes his head, "YES may be no more by the end of this month unless we can save the rest of the students from that school. And I don't know if we can save them because, honestly speaking, the way that portal behaves is a mystery to all of us!"
All the while, Guide Segawa watches him. He doesn't show any emotion at the implication that YES is currently struggling.
"The Government, I believe, will sweep the details of this portal under the rug".
Ari blinks, "I'm sorry?"
"They will push back against the press and stop any coverage on this case".
Ari chuckles, "I don't think so. You don't know this, but they've been breathing down my neck ever since the public started an outcry for them to move the handling of this portal to a different team. They thought the public would love a team of all young espers just because we have Sora with us, but now that the public is against us, they want to get rid of us!"
"I meant the Prime Minister himself will make sure no one in the public hears about how we found this boy. That's a security risk, Mr. Banks," the Guide remarks, "And with that, all details about the students - their information and their status - will be hidden because in no way the man will let anything about this boy out to potential enemies".
The Guide stands up to his full height. He approaches Ari, towering over him and staring him down. "Now promise me, Arilio Banks, that Takenouchi Sora will hear about this boy".
Ari swallows hard. For a guide, Segawa Yasuo can be intimidating. "I-I'm not sure Sora is even interested in recruiting guides right now; especially anyone who is below B-Class. His vision is to have a full organization of only Class B and above".
Guide Segawa scoffs, "Oh, trust me, I know that child. The moment he lays his eyes on this boy, he will do anything in his power to have him," he turns to the boy tucked under the thick covers. The way he's sleeping, you'd think he's far from this conflict. His head is slightly tilted to the right; one hand forming a fist next to his head while the other, the one Guide Segawa was holding, is left outspread to the edge of the bed.
"Honestly," Guide Segawa continues as he now moves to the window, "I think Takenouchi Sora is the only person who'll figure out a way to keep this boy to himself. Knowing that child, he would form a plan right away and he'll be brilliant at it".
Ari is now left to stare at the patient in his bed. He can't help but feel bad. Here, the boy is peacefully asleep while two adults are conspiring for the future he doesn't know is now set for him. He's only 16 - and there are many kids that age who swim in the harsh water Ari and Guide Segawa are also swimming in; Sora being a good example. However, this child lived 16 years of his life being an F-Class. He wouldn't know any better.
"I'm surprised you offered your own boys for the good of this boy," Ari points out, "Last year when I came to you, you were hellbent that none of your children would become an Esper".
He sees the shoulders of the Guide shaking in silent laughter. "You're truly clueless, Mr. Banks. What I'm protecting my children from is the eventual insanity S-Class Espers are subjected to the moment they become full-pledged Espers - that is, unless they find a good Guide".
He turns around and gives Ari a haunting smile, "And trust me, no Guide can effectively stabilize an S-Class unless they are an F-Class. If anything, Mr. Banks, what I'm doing right now is securing my sons' future, not this boy's".
**
To be Continued.