Kaen sat in the man’s car’s backseat. He didn’t know much about cars since they were a rarity underground, yet even he could tell that this was a luxury vehicle. The sleek black leather seats and spotless metallic exterior exuded wealth. They drove through the city streets with their bright neon lights and flashing signs. Kaen glanced over at the man driving, The dimly lit prison cell had concealed it before, but the man. Trying to recall his name from their brief encounter in prison. Was it Kenshin? Or something else? He had a giant scar that ran across his face. The mark started at his right cheek and traveled all the way up to his hairline. It was a striking white line that stood out on his dark skin. Kaen couldn’t help but think it was pretty cool.
The man must have noticed him staring because he looked back at him through the rearview mirror.
“Hey, what was your name again?” Kaen asked, hoping to start a conversation. “Agent Kenshin Kurokawa,” the man replied coldly. Kaen made a face at his long title. Seeing this, the man added,
“But you can call me Kurokawa.” Kaen nodded and settled back in his seat.
“So… where are you taking me?” he asked after a moment of silence. Kurokawa stayed quiet for a while before responding cryptically with,
“You’ll see.” Kaen groaned in frustration, realizing that he wouldn’t get any information out of this enigmatic agent.
The car was silent for the remainder of the trip. Kaen shut his eyes and almost dozed off until he felt the vehicle come to a stop.
“We’ve arrived,” Kurokawa announced, stepping out of the car. Kaen followed suit, opening the door and taking in his surroundings. They were in a crowded parking lot filled with identical cars to the one they had just left. In the distance stood a massive building, unlike any that Kaen had ever seen before.
“Whoa,” he breathed in awe.
“Let’s go,” Kurokawa snapped him out of his daze as he headed towards the building. As they approached, Kaen couldn’t help but feel increasingly uneasy. Standing outside the entrance were four guards, wearing helmets and uniforms equipped with various weapons. But more prominently, they each held a gun-like device that emitted a neon blue light. Before Kaen could examine them closer, Kurokawa grabbed his arm and whispered for him to stay close. Pulling out a key card from his pocket, that had his picture and his name on it. Kurokawa approached the doors and held them out. An automated female voice confirmed their access as the doors slid open.
“Wow, this is like something out of a mecha manga,” Kaen exclaimed as they walked through, with the doors closing behind them. The hallway ahead was brightly lit and lined with bare concrete walls. Kaen couldn’t shake off the feeling that he shouldn’t be here. As they reached the end of the hallway, Kaen could see a sleek elevator waiting for them. The doors slid open smoothly as they stepped inside, and Kaen’s eyes widened at the sight of all the buttons, from -10 to 15. “Whoa,” he exclaimed again, pointing excitedly at the rows of numbers. Kurokawa made a strange noise that sounded like air being let out of a balloon. Kaen soon realized that he was laughing at him.
“Don’t laugh,” Kaen protested as Kurokawa pressed the button for the 12th floor. Despite his nerves, Kaen felt a little better with the agent laughing along with him. But with a deep breath, Kurokawa pressed the button for the 12th floor. With a ding, a mechanical voice announced their arrival, and the doors opened onto a pristine white hallway. Everything seemed futuristic and high-tech, with strange devices lining the walls that Kaen had never seen before. But what caught his attention even more was the lack of people. It was eerily quiet. They walked through the empty corridors until Kurokawa suddenly stopped in front of a sliding door. He pulled out another key card and scanned it against a screen on the door, causing it to slide open effortlessly. Inside wasn’t what Kaen expected.
The room he entered was massive, with high ceilings and sleek, modern architecture. Walls were lined with screens displaying live feeds from all over the world - bustling city streets, serene landscapes, and even underwater scenes of vibrant coral reefs. He noticed a series of smaller workstations along the walls, each meticulously organized with more weird gadgets and monitors displaying complex data streams. The bustling activity of the room was undeniable; it was clearly a hub of high-level operations. And yet, it made no sense why he, a boy from the underground slums, would be here. What connection did he have to some FBI-level organization? The anxiety that had briefly subsided now returned full force to Kaen as he looked around. He usually wasn’t the one to get nervous but if any place would turn him into an experiment it was this place. Kaen started biting his nails, as he looked around again. The strangest thing in the room was the large, polished table made of dark mahogany at its center, but that wasn’t even the most peculiar aspect. Sitting at the table were other demons. Their hair colors were unnatural - white and blue, green. These weren’t human hair colors - on the surface, coloring your hair was forbidden so that it would be easy to distinguish demons from humans. Since demons were often naturally born with different hair colors than humans, he wasn’t one of those demons though. He had dark brown hair. Kaen counted four other demons, all about his age, sitting at the table with various expressions, while four agents stood guard in the corners of the room dressed in the same dark blue suit as Kurokawa.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Take a seat,” Kurokawa said softly before joining the agents in a corner of the room. Kaen sat down next to a boy with white and blue hair and a girl with a long silver braid down to the floor. She sat at the table, resting her feet on top of it. Despite their different expressions, they all seemed unnerved to be there. It was clear that none of them knew why they had been taken to this place. Without warning, the door on the other side of the room swung open, and a young woman came out. All eyes turned towards her as she made her way to the front. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt and a spotless white blouse, her expression stoic and slightly intimidating. Kaen’s heart began to rise, she was a little bit scary. She stood in front of them, about half a meter away,
“I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’re here,” she said, her stern gaze sweeping over each of them.
“Yeah, you can bet your ass we are,” spoke the girl with a silver braid, her voice surprisingly childlike for her demeanor. Ignoring her interruption, the woman turned to face the monitors behind her. With a remote control, she changed the display to show a city Kaen recognized as Hayanobe. It had recently been in the spotlight on the news but not for a good reason. It was not uncommon for riots and rebellious groups to emerge in the underground, each vying for power and to “reclaim” the surface from humans. These were just empty threats until recently when a rogue group called The Rebellion surfaced and killed 10 humans in an apartment building. The majority of underground residents rejoiced at this act, but Kaen couldn’t condone killing innocent people.
“I’m sure you’re aware of the recent killings in Hayanobe,” the woman continued, switching between different images of the city.
“Oh, so that’s what it’s about” A green-haired boy sitting a few seats away spoke up smugly,
“You think we had something to do with it?” The woman quickly replied, seemingly not wanting them to misunderstand,
“No, we do not believe you were involved which is why you are all here.” He appeared confused but remained silent.
“Let’s start fresh, shall we?” she sighed before addressing the group again.
“I am Special Agent Yaeko Ikemizu of The M.A Group,” Her eyes briefly landed on Kaen. They were a stunning, pristine blue color, and it felt like you could get lost in them forever - like a dark ocean that could just swallow you up whole. But something was off; the blue was too dark for a human, Kaen thought, but maybe it was just the lighting.
“You have all been brought here for a significant reason.” She paused and switched the images on the monitor to show an apartment building.
“The recent killings in Hayanobe were carried out by a rogue group known as The Rebellion” She pointed at the screen. The image showed a horrific scene - blood spattered across the walls and floor, chunks of flesh and bones scattered about like macabre confetti. Kaen felt nauseous at the sight, but it seemed like only he and another girl sitting next to the green-haired boy had any reaction. Her skin was almost as green as her bright pistachio eyes, and she was hunched over as if she might vomit. While it was only she and Kaen who had shown disgust, the girl with the braid seemed almost excited or was it aggravated? Kaen couldn’t tell. Yaeko continued,
“As you can see, these brutal murders were not carried out with conventional weapons like knives or guns. They were caused by demonic abilities” Kaen had already suspected as much. Fifty years ago, using demonic abilities was frowned upon and seen as lowly. Demons would try to conceal their powers or avoid using them altogether. But over time, it became more popular and even practical in daily life. For example, a demon with the ability to heat metal could make a great weapon craftsman. Kaen himself had never used his ability except to keep warm when he was cold. He could absorb heat from the surroundings, making himself warm but leaving the air around him chilly. Not exactly an impressive power, at least in Kaen’s opinion.
“Our goal here at M.A is to apprehend these criminals and prevent them from causing any further harm,” she turned off the monitor displaying images of the gruesome crime scenes.
“But these demons have established their headquarters underground, and we cannot reach them.”
“So you want us to catch them,” spoke the boy next to Kaen, his voice soft and gentle like a flowing stream. Yaeko nodded.
“Yes, we need your help to capture them. In return, we will not punish you for trespassing on the surface, and once the mission is complete, you will be able to return home.” Kaen’s eyes widened in disbelief; this offer seemed too good to be true. He had never heard about a human organization offering asylum for demons. But if it was real, it could be the best thing that had ever happened to him. He could work for them and complete his mission, all while potentially finding information about Asahi’s whereabouts and even locating him. The room fell silent as everyone processed Yaeko’s words, everyone clearly just as surprised as he was. But she continued on, unfazed. “Since they are skilled fighters, you will need training before the mission commences. We will also provide you with temporary living spaces and regular meals.” Kaen couldn’t help but feel eager now. Free meals? Count him in. He almost didn’t mind that he would actually have to work.
“Well, I think that concludes our explanation,” She didn’t even bother asking if anyone didn’t want to join, but it seemed stupid to refuse. Yaeko turned to Kurokawa, who had approached her during the silence.
“You are now a member of The M.A Group and part of the Special Defense Forces against rogues. Do your job well and you will be rewarded; fail and there will be consequences.”