I was shocked that I was able to keep my flames to myself during our conversation. The thought of humans selling out other humans felt like worms crawling under my skin. It boiled my blood, and the fact that it was common practice fumed me even more. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking if one of my classmates at school was a monster associate. I wouldn't stop blaming myself for not knowing, and I’d feel ten times worse if they got to Mom, Sophie, or Chen.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. Getting worked up now wouldn’t help anyone. I needed to put all of that in the back of my mind and focus on my next mission. Another contract, another chance to prove to Hunter Corp that I had what it took to make it.

After I washed up, my mood changed. Even though I wasn’t official yet, I was still making a difference out there for the better. I went to the meeting room for a briefing. Hayashi mentioned this contract being a lot different than the two before, and he wanted to make sure we understood our assignment fully. When I opened the door, I expected to find Naomi and Reina waiting there, but what I found instead were Gun, Ash, and Felix fixing the hole in the wall that my team created.

I scratched my head at the sight—Ash on the ground playing with an assortment of nails with a hammer on her head, Felix chopping down wood with an axe and his wind-infusion, and Gun scaling down other pieces of wood with a power tool.

“Heh, now I feel even more terrible for what happened here, seeing as Hayashi is making you fix the room up. I’m guessing it’s because my team and I have a contract tonight?”

Felix smiled. “Don’t feel bad, Nero. It gives us something to do until it’s our turn. Besides, I see this as part two of my training.”

“It’s so damn tedious,” Gun sighed taxingly. “As boring as raking leaves. I’m about to lose my mind if I don’t get some p—”

“I found another worm!” Ash cried out gleefully, interjecting Gun.

She held the little critter at the bottom as it curled upward, Ash giddy at the sight of it.

And here I thought she was playing with nails…

I turned my head to Felix. “Wait a minute, you didn’t get your attribute point with Hayashi?”

“No, not yet. But I’m being a good sport about it. Don’t worry! I’ll get it in my next session.”

‘You’re a wet, slippery one, aren’cha?” Ash giggled, letting the worm crawl up her arm. At the tail end of her giggling, I heard the front door creak, and when I turned around, I saw our mentor walking in with Naomi and Reina right behind him.

“The three of you are dismissed,” our mentor ordered. “You will pick up your work after our meeting.”

“Come on cute little wormie,” Ash said as she got up, taking the jar of more worms with her. “You and your friends can bunk with me.”

Felix followed her, Gun did too with his arms behind his head. He turned to Reina and gave her a wink before he left, the girl rolling her eyes at his flirtatious gesture.

“Nothing like feeling the brisk spring night’s air along your skin,” Sensei said as he gestured for us to take our seats, standing behind the head of the table. “I have the biggest window I could ask for to enjoy this refreshing breeze.”

I cleared my throat with a face of guilt and shame, trying not to look directly at him.

Reina sat on a seat closer to the door, while I took one across from her, where that lovely breeze could hit my back. Naomi took a seat right beside me, the three of us eager to hear our next mission.

“Your next assignment will be more complex than your first two, which is why we are meeting like this for the first time. This is a covert termination mission, involving a criminal chain operation in underground Utoro. Compound 7 is a nationwide drug in the black market that has reared its ugly head again in Japan. After the wave over a decade ago, it’s returned to full fury, with a modified recipe. The ringleader of the movement is a man by the name of Katsuro Shimadora. And… he is not a man to be taken lightly,” Sensei warned.

“Katsuro Shimadora… why does that name sound familiar?”

Reina scoffed. “Oh please! You’ve been in Japan for a mere few days. How would you possibly know this man?”

“No, seriously. I’ve seen him before. A round pudgy man, he wears these tiny round glasses and a bowtie... Oh right, when we were coming back from the noodle shop last night. His face and name was on a poster plastered on a bus stop shelter.”

“He is a very popular business man in Utoro. Owns a chain of high-end sushi restaurants called The Golden Koi, frequented by the city’s greatest and richest. He maintains a pristine public persona. However, our confidential sources have revealed his involvement in this illicit drug trade.”

“Sounds like the plot for a bad crime movie,” Naomi said, biting into an apple she had plucked from underneath her long sleeve.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“The plot thickens, because the delivery of this special version of Compound 7 is being pumped into Golden Koi’s so called fresh fish, turning patrons into unknowing test subjects.”

“How horrible,” Reina muttered under her breath. “Why would a man with such status do something so revolting?”

“Because he isn’t a man. He’s a shadow walker.”

“Well, there goes the spoiler,” I said, expecting the twist.

“Katsuro is ruthless, clever and incredibly dangerous. He’s known for his unpredictability and extreme caution. But tonight, he is attending a banquet event in Shinzeno’s Mansion. It’s a hall in downtown Utoro. The event is a contribution to a charity organization, Youthful Kids, which supports anti-trafficking of minors. But for Katsuro, it’s a facade to mask his true intentions. We suspect he’s using it as a cover to meet with his associates and finalize plans for the distribution of Compound 7.”

“Wait a minute, I’m assuming the raw fish that he’s injecting with Compound 7 has undergone multiple rounds of variable interferences within his unknowing test subjects. Side effects have been recorded with the untampered drug, and since he’s done modifications, I’d suspect that there are even more changes. How is he collecting these people for further research?”

“He is having them kidnapped.”

I dropped my shoulders down. “Seriously? And to plan this all out in a Youthful Kids, anti-trafficking charity event is really a fucking shot to the face!”

“His victims are mostly minors, but they come in all ages, genders, and ethnicities. Utoro is a melting pot of people from around the world, opening its arms to other cultures. Which makes this the perfect place to harvest guinea pigs.

“I don’t care how ironic this situation is. The man is evil, he does evil things, and he must be stopped,” Reina said with hard determination.

“I’m glad you feel this way, Reina,” Kenji Hayashi said with a slight smirk on his face. “Because you will be one of his escorts.”

“I’m one of his what?!” she screeched.

“Reina, you’ll be one of his escorts,” Hayashi repeated, for sarcastic measure.

Heh, Kenji Hayashi was a petty man….

“The man loves his women, and ironically enough, you’re his type. His associates arranged him an escort tonight, someone outside of his litter, and we arranged that special someone to be you.”

“I refuse! Absolutely, positively refuse!” Reina protested repeatedly. “I am a hunter, not a spy!”

“It goes hand in hand.”

“An assignment of this magnitude requires hunters of skill and clean execution in the art of deceit!” she defended. “If you want this to be done right, I am not the right candidate for it!”

“Well, there is Naomi, but I am afraid she would bite the guy’s head off prematurely.”

Naomi nodded comically.

“And, he isn’t into mean and nasty.”

Naomi tossed Hayashi a wow, seriously, look that got me chuckling softly.

“He’s into those delicate types: petite, thin, feminine, and most importantly, demi-human.”

“I am not a collectable item for his eyes to devour!” she retorted as she snatched her fluffy fox ears.

I snorted. “You’re lucky it’s just his eyes!”

Reina cringed. Her arms reached in and hugged herself as she had chills. The poor girl snapped her eyes shut, revolting at the idea. “Eww, I can’t imagine being with someone who looks utterly appalling!”

“What do you mean? You haven’t even seen him yet,” I said.

“With your description, he sounds like a creep!”

“It’s a few hours of your life, you’ll survive,” our mentor said, opening the manila folder on the table. Inside of it was a picture of our target, and he did in fact, as Reina described him, look like a creep.

That smile alone would have had me running for the hills.

“The objectives are simple—Reina will find out where he is hiding the kidnapped subjects, and the location of his main experimental hub. Once she extracts that information, you will make sure he and his associates are dead.”

“Sounds easy enough!” I beamed.

Reina scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Maybe for you.”

“It’s important that you also take his phone, Reina. Shave the skin off his thumb, it’s print sensitive.”

“I don’t know where you get off expecting such creativity from me!” Reina cried.

“Execute this mission flawlessly and you may change my mind about you yet.”

She rolled her eyes.

“It is important to extract as much information as possible before you’re sent to a private guest room.”

“What happens in the private guest room?” Naomi asked. I felt like she had an idea what would happen behind closed doors, but she wanted it said aloud to spook Reina.

“She will be handled and then disposed of.”

“Disposed of?” I raised my eyebrow, not expecting that part. “You mean, he’s going to off her?”

“Well, eat her, to be more precise.”

“That’s a ballsy move with all of those people around.”

“He will not get caught. The one special that we know he has is poisonous kiss. It immediately renders his victims motionless. Paralysis enables him to get away with a quick kill. Where the only concern is his associates getting rid of what remains of the body. No fuss means no exposure.”

“All of this while making sure he doesn’t kiss me?” Reina cringed again.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, he won’t try until he brings you into a private room.”

Naomi stifled a reaction, Reina turning her head to glare at her.

“I’m soooo glad you think all of this is funny!”

“Egh, maybe a little bit,” I teased.

“While Reina is gathering intel, Naomi will be outside of the function, playing lookout. And you, Nero, will be working within the function as hired help.”

“Hired help?” I grinned. “Oh, like a waiter?”

“Why does he get to have the simplest task in the world?!” Reina hollered.

“I am utilizing your strong points. From what I’ve gathered, you are conversational. Naomi is quiet and therefore can be stealthy, and Nero is good at thinking on his feet. Putting him in a broader environment would be beneficial for the both of you.”

“So, to summarize, Naomi’s positioned outside of the building, while I am inside. Reina is big daddy’s play pillow, chatting him up so he can spill juicy secrets. I can find them in the dining hall at a special table with his associates—”

“Three of them,” Hayashi clarified.

“Right, three other shadow walkers in disguise, and our cue to take him down will be Reina being escorted to a private room to do the nasty?”

She squinted. “Please don’t say that…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. To get disposed of?”

She glared at me. “All of you are just rotten.”

“That’s correct. Spare the casualties, perform with stealthy execution. Do not mess it up. There’s more information within the folder to help streamline the process. Your ride and equipment will be arriving shortly.” Hayashi narrowed his eyes and added. “Go out there and make sure he never sees the light of day again.”

I smiled. “Then let’s not waste any more time. We have a banquet to crash!”