As they walked, Taki felt a burning sensation on his forearm. He looked down and noticed a bright iridescent marking forming, like a holographic tattoo, on his skin. It was the number three.

That was new.

"Anybody else have one of these?"

"Yo!" Benzo held his arm up, with a bright # 2 on it.

"Yep!" Sakura held up hers. "My mom is going to be pissed that I have a tattoo." She giggled.

"I do as well..." Natsuki declined to show hers. The group seemed to understand. There was no real explanation any of them could think of for why she hadn't leveled again. Taki had died and gained a level, for crying out loud.

"This is all just so weird," Taki murmured.

"Well, I hope we figure this out and kill some monsters fast. I want to get home to my family," Benzo sighed.

Just then, there were screams up ahead. It sounded like children.

"Let's go!" The group broke into a run, passing under the arching sign for Kaimono-Machi, the main street of the market district.

As they rounded the corner, the group was greeted by an unexpected surprise. Every monster in this area was already dead - alien bodies lay about the street in various states of disarray and dismemberment. A boy with long blonde hair was helping a young girl up - she looked like she had been attacked by the creatures but was no worse for wear. Just some bruises and a scratch. The boy was in a similar school uniform as theirs, though he wore no armor and seemed to have no weapons.

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The blonde boy turned to the interlopers and grinned. "Oh, Taki, it's you." He looked down his thin nose at them. "I thought I smelled something weird."

"Daisuke." The group was immediately on edge. Daisuke was Taki's least favorite person and the feeling, it was abundantly clear, was mutual.

Daisuke stretched as if he were about to run a race. Three other boys hovered nearby, all athletically built and blandly attractive. They were relatively familiar, but Daisuke was the only one that C-Team actually knew and had a history with. "Yeah, we're team A. I guess they knew we were the best when the assigned us the slot. We're actually on our way to clear out city hall - that was our assignment - but we figured we could take out some monsters along the way."

"Fuck you man. You're no better than us!" Benzo was incensed.

"Aren't I, though?" Daisuke pulled up his sleeve, baring his forearm. A bright number 9 shined there against his pale skin.

"You're already a level 9!? How can that be possible?" Sakura squeaked.

"I just adapted, I guess. I've already learned how to kill these things easily. Honestly, I'm hoping that city hall will be a challenge. It's getting...a little boring." He swept a hand through his hair and tossed his head, a smirk playing on his face. "Anyway, you're welcome for making your job easier. If you want, you could start clearing the bodies - that's part of the job too, you know. I would stay and help but...I've got better things to do." Daisuke's cronies chuckled and they shuffled off down the street.

"Later, losers," Daisuke waved dismissively behind him as he strolled away, the other hand tucked lazily in his pocket.

Taki's face was burning with anger.

"Fuck you!" Benzo threw a rock after the arrogant teen. It bounced harmlessly on the ground a few feet behind him.

Daisuke didn't even turn around.