Mita silently followed the man she had encountered in the snowy park. Despite keeping her guard up, she still didn't trust him entirely. 'Maybe he was just lying and made a phony badge to try and kidnap me.' They arrived at an astonishing building, and she couldn't believe her eyes. 'Hold on, am I seriously gonna be working here? If Yasashi gets me into high school, does that mean I'll be scoring gigs at the government spot? Sounds like an epic dream come true!'
As they approached the building, still several meters away, he suddenly veered off the path, leading them further away from the life Mita had been dreaming of. In front of them stood another drab, old building. Tekaru furrowed her brow, wondering what was happening.
"Whoa, hold up! This place is supposed to be, like, super-secret government cool stuff? No way! This looks like some seriously lame shit. What the hell!" Mita exclaimed, disappointed and frustrated by the appearance of the building.
He chuckled and responded with amusement:
"A top-secret government agency housed in a brand new building? Doesn't exactly scream `covert` does it?" As she pondered his remark, she began to see the logic behind the decision. He opened the door, allowing the girl to enter, eager to uncover what awaited her inside.
'Wow.' She retracted her initial judgment as soon as she stepped inside. The interior was simply stunning and incredibly spacious. Rushing towards the reception desk with Yasashi trailing behind, she encountered an elderly lady. Clearing her throat, she adopted her deepest, most masculine voice.
"The name's Bond… James Bond." The receptionist looked at her with surprise before flashing a playful smile and sharing a knowing wink with Yasashi. Gesturing towards a door labeled `James Bond`, she indicated where Mita should go.
Mita was too stunned to even lift a finger; 'Dude, the sickest spy ever is here in Japan, behind that door!' she was already loving her new gig... She reached for the door handle, ready to open it, but Yasashi grabbed her by the collar and pulled her away to another one. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips.
In a medium-sized room, a round table dominated the center. Business is business, so Mita, despite her lack of experience, dared to speak up: "Even tho I'm a total newbie, I totally deserve a promotion!"
"...I've been here for 4 years. Not once have I gotten a damn promotion! I sincerely hope you never get one either." Yasashi expressed his discontent with a long, muttered grumble, while Mita looked at him with amusement and confidence. 'Am gonna snag that promotion!'
After recovering from his burnout, he sat down at the table, tossing stacks of paper before declaring: "Okay, here's the contract for you to officially become a Venator. You can go through it all, but with 62 pages, it's gonna take a while."
'Whoa, 62 pages?! I hope there's nothing in there about having to do super intense training…' Yasashi indicated the places to sign, and as she signed, she caught sight of a word out of the corner of her eye. '[King]!'
"The contract lays out some serious training, globetrotting and national missions. First things first, we'll evaluate your skills to figure out which missions suit you or if you're even fit for missions at all. Any questions, feel free to ask."
'Oh my gosh, it's like way worse than I thought it would be!' Intense training plus international missions… "I don't wanna work anymore; too much effort." As the school-related anxiety crept in, angrily she wasted no time firing off questions:
"Wait what the hell do ya mean by international missions! How's that gonna work if I'm in school? Ya're gonna get me enrolled, right!?"
He replied succinctly:
"International missions will take place during school holidays, while missions in Japan they'll happen on weekends or during the school week if it's urgent. Also, after school each day, you'll be hitting up the agency for a 1.5-hour training session." Although she understood, she looked at him hopeless and whispered loudly:
"What, 1.5 hours of training? Ya nuts, old geezer!"
Yasasahi retorted with a smirk, laughing with a wide grin. "Either you get killed, it's up to you!" She had forgotten that this cult wanted her dead, aiming to make her cry just to open the gates of hell. Tekaru nodded slowly processing her new eventful life.
"So since you're half demon, you likely have some incredible abilities, so we'll run a few tests. Your training will start tomorrow, and the day after, you can head back to school." A faint chuckle of excitement escaped her lips at the mention of high school, she gave a thumbs-up.
"Self-healing!"
Mita had previously claimed to have a knife in her pocket, although that was untrue. However, Yasashi did have one. Using his knife, he plunged the blade deep into the palm of the young girl's hand. She stayed composed and stoic, likely displaying an elevated pain tolerance.
…..
…..
…..
"AAAAH FUCK IT HURTS, YA BIG ASS SON OF A BITCH, HEARTLESS DUMB SHIT, THE HELL DID YA DO THAT?!"
Or not. With Yasashi's strength, Mita's bone shattered into fragments beneath her skin, severing veins. Blood spills perilously; without prompt treatment, she'll succumb to hemorrhage. Yet, after a brief moment, the bone fragments unexpectedly expel from the wound inflicted by the knife.
He examined the wound closely and observed that the bone was regenerating on its own, which stopped the bleeding and indicated that the veins were also healing. After this remarkable process, only the skin remained unhealed. 'Interesting.' Thought Yasashi.
He pressed a button under the table, and after a brief pause, nurses arrived carrying a first aid kit. The presence of all these strangers made Mita extremely anxious. 'He fatally wounded me, then brought witnesses to claim it wasn't his fault, is that what's up?!' As she nervously thought.
Yasashi, sensing the distress in Mita's eyes, he assured her, his tone soothing and confident:
"Don't fret, these nurses will take care of everything and conduct a comprehensive analysis. Trust me, everything will be fine."
Two individuals carefully inspected her wound, jotting down notes on a chart, while a nurse cleaned the injury with alcohol to prevent any bacterial infection. Following the procedure, a cute bandage, decorated with flowers, was placed over her now carefully treated wound.
Mita was thoroughly impressed by the nurses' efforts; if she could give the agency a 5-star rating on Google Maps, she would do so without hesitation. So one of the nurses spoke up:
"Her self-regeneration process enables the formation of a cartilage scaffold that mimics bone structure and gradually strengthens. The extracellular matrix produced by her body's chondrocytes solidifies, creating a more robust framework. As blood vessels and cells infiltrate this structure, the core of the bone shaft is formed, replacing the calcified cartilage. With the chondrocytes dying off, spaces are left where primitive bone-forming cells, osteoblasts, move in and start laying down bone on the remnants of calcified cartilage. Subsequently, the newly formed bone undergoes remodeling by osteoclasts and osteoblasts to achieve its final shape and structure. Essentially, her body achieves an advanced form of endochondral ossification, surpassing that of humans." 🤓
Yasashi and Mita exchanged puzzled looks, not comprehending a single word, so the nurse interjected:
"She has a regeneration ability akin to that of a lizard, but her body prioritizes the regeneration of major parts, disregarding minor ones such as the skin. Consequently, her skin regenerates like a human's albeit vastly superior, but her wounds heal like those of a demon."
"Thank you, you're all set." Yasashi declared, and with that, they dashed off in a hurry. As soon as they were out of the room, Mita blurted out "Weezo." He nodded "Yeah, definitely a bit of a nerd. Alright, let's see what you're made of. Give that punching bag at the back of the room a good wallop." he ordered. She complied, and the punching bag soared 38 centimeters under the impressive force of her strike.
He stayed motionless, completely unimpressed, as if he had already encountered a power as remarkable as this before.
"Your demonic nature grants you a complex lizard-style regeneration, an overdeveloped strength. If I were crazy, I would have said that you're a reptilian. It's fascinating stuff, almost funny in a way… Tomorrow, I'm going to train you, and then we'll spar. With your insane healing, I'm not gonna take it easy. Come on, I'll show you your room at the agency. Of course, you'll have your own apartment, we just need to furnish it."
This analysis had boosted Mita's ego. She felt invincible! As she trailed behind Yasashi, every step exuded confidence, her gaze filled with determination. 'I'm not some weak chick; and I'm going to prove it to him. I'm gonna win, even if I have to kill him!'
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The special agent from the Jigoku division barged into the room where Mita was sleeping, abruptly waking her by vigorously shaking the mattress, causing her to tumble to the floor.
"Wakey, wakey. Wakey, wakey. It's time for training, come on man. Are you ready for training? Come on, let's go !"
Mita stifled a yawn, feeling the weight of fatigue, but she held back from cursing out Yasashi. "Hey, what's the time right now?" She asked.
"It's 7:10 in the morning." He replied. She sank to the floor, feeling betrayed.
"What's the fuss? I'm just doing you a favor by getting you up now. Since now you'll have to wake up at 7:00 a.m. for school, remember? Alright, come on, follow me." Yasashi persisted. All Mita wanted was to sleep, so she reluctantly followed without a word, even though she cursed him silently in her mind.
The two characters found themselves in a secluded corner outside the Venator agency building.
"Alright, let's kick things off with a warm-up, do some stretches, and then we'll do a bit of running around the area."
'Save me.' She started with warm-ups, including ankle rotations with 25 reps per ankle, alternating lunges with 25 reps on each side using the Samson Stretch model. Next, she did hip rotations for 60 seconds, 40 reps of squats, and 45 reps of Jumping Jacks. Finally, she finished with three minutes of jogging in place.
It was time for cardio; she ran two laps around the track, then took a brief 23-second break. After that, another lap, this time incorporating high knees, followed by a 17-second break, and finally a lap doing butt kicks.
Exhausted, she sank to the ground. Yasashi tossed her a water bottle, which she caught and took a long drink from. He added.
"Alright, now onto my favorite part: weapons!" As he unveiled his long coat, inside of which were various weapons attached. "I've got a khopesh, a katana, a shield, and even a pistol. We'll test them out one by one, and I'll hand you the one that, in my opinion, fits you best."
He hands her a pistol and sets up a can as a target. In three shots, she successfully makes it explode. Then, he offers her a katana. The finesse and lightness of the katana cause her movements to become too swift and imprecise, resulting in less accuracy in her attacks. However, with the khopesh, whose weight is balanced between lightness and sturdiness, Mita Tekaru handles it perfectly, executing fluid and precise movements.
"Okay, right now, it looks like the khopesh and the pistol are the best fits for you. You can get a shield too." The shield, while not a weapon per se, serves as a defense against both long-range and close-range attacks. Easy to wield and advantageous in battles, so it's a yes for Mita. "Now, it's all on you to choose from the three options."
"I'll totally take all three of them!" Yasashi, taken aback, nodded and stepped forward to fasten the holster belt around her. He positioned the khopesh horizontally for quick access and storage, then secured the pistol in the holster as well. Meanwhile, Mita strapped the shield to ropes on her back, like a backpack.
"Mita Tekaru, now that you're geared up, it's time to dive into battle! Face your destiny if you've got the guts." A radiant smile spreads across the young girl's face. It was her first time heading into battle, and despite the mounting pressure, she felt pure joy.
"I'm gonna win for sure, no matter what!"