***

In a tiny room, a metal door suddenly slid open, and two men entered a dark room. Clicking started randomly, and a light flashed onto the two of them.

A man's voice echoed from the shadows.

"So, how have things been, you two?"

"Good, lieutenant."

"Fantastic, lieutenant."

The man started to laugh.

"Fantastic? Tell me about it."

"We've got intel regarding Doc's death."

A skeptical look appeared on the lieutenant's face.

"Lay it on me."

The two men looked at each other, and one began to speak.

"We found the kid from the footage."

He started to laugh again.

"That's great! Now, what else?"

"Well, there seems to be a problem, the NPA. seems to be protecting the kid."

A loud bang could be heard from the direction of the Lieutenant's voice.

"Fuck! Does that sound fantastic to you?!"

"No sir."

"Give me more, how are they dealing with this kid?"

"After spying on the kid's movements, we noticed one of the NPA's agents accompanied him."

"Which agent?"

"After doing some research we found out the man goes by the name 'Anderson Brighton,' he works directly under Marko who is responsible for the NPAs investigation unit."

"The investigation unit?"

He laughed again.

"Haha, that's perfect, it's not a combat unit, so I might not even have to get involved."

"I should warn you lieutenant, the feats of the investigation unit far surpass those of their combat units."

The man reached into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette along with a lighter, he slid one end in his mouth and brought the lighter close to the other. He rolled his thumb back, and the room suddenly became bright. He was wearing a green uniform, barely holding on by its buttons. The man was big, he had no hair on his head, just a gray beard on his face.

Smoke appeared in front of his eyes and he grinned.

"Then let's attack while they're down!"

His laughter suddenly became louder, echoing through the empty room.

***

"Hey kid, wake up."

Len sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"It's almost time for class."

Len looked puzzled.

"c-class?"

"Yeah, class. You should probably wash up and eat something before we leave."

"Are you coming with me?" Len asked.

"Yes, just for the first day, I want to make sure you get there safely."

Len jumped out of bed and headed straight to the bathroom, bringing his uniform along with him. He turned on the shower and the water was freezing… He quickly washed up, then quickly put on his uniform.

He got out of the bathroom, and Anderson looked towards him.

"You're looking sharp, kid!"

Len wore a white shirt, covered with a royal blue jacket, and a black tie to finish the top. On the bottom half he wore matching pants and black shoes to go with the tie.

"Seems like you're ready to go, take this."

He threw something at Len, he caught it. It was a sandwich tightly wrapped in plastic.

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"You should eat it on the way there."

Anderson swung the front door open, and the two headed around the corner, stopping at the bus stop. The two sat on the bench, waiting for the bus to arrive. Len unwrapped the sandwich and put it up to his mouth, tasting something tangy. A man with long hair suddenly approached the bench from the other side, he sat on the opposite side of the bench, closer to Anderson. The man bent forward and glared towards Len.

"Ah, so you're a student at the academy," he said.

The two looked at the man.

"Y-yes." Len said hesitantly.

The man smiled.

"My son goes there as well!'

Anderson opened his mouth.

"He must be pretty talented then."

"He sure is."

"What year is he in?"

"He is currently in his second year, but he should have skipped a year. He's been telling me that school is too easy for him and the results he's shown so far, prove it."

Anderson chimed in.

"Even though this is his first year, Len here will also be in the second year, maybe the kids are in the same class."

"Maybe."

He glanced at Anderson, examining his body.

"If you don't mind my asking what is your son talented in?" Anderson asked.

"He excels in mathematics and science, he's always telling me he wants to become a surgeon!"

"That's a tough job, he must be pretty good with his hands and his coordination."

"Yeah he is, he definitely takes after his father."

Suddenly, the man reached into his pocket, he smiled. Anderson quickly noticed something was off. The man flipped a knife out his pocket and lunged it towards Anderson's neck, he quickly lifted his left hand up, and the knife became stuck. Blood dripped down onto the bench below. He threw his right hand towards the man, grabbing his neck, he stood up, lifting him from the bench.

"Who are you?"

The man stayed composed, quickly reaching into his pocket again. He pulled out another knife and threw it to the far right of Anderson.

"You missed."

The man smirked, the knife wrapped behind him, slicing across Len's chest, tearing his shirt. Anderson quickly glanced back and saw a string attached to the knife's handle. The man dropped the string and put both hands in his pockets, using his right hand, Anderson grabbed the man's right arm, stopping it. However, his left arm was still free. The man quickly pulled out a knife out of his left pocket and slammed it down into Anderson's forearm, causing him to release his grip. The man shuffled back looking at Anderson, he was gasping for air, the man looked towards him, then at Len. An identical man suddenly appeared to his right and darted towards Anderson. Anderson swiftly lifted his right leg, kicking towards the man's chest, seemingly making contact, but the man was gone. He glared towards the man in the back. The man slowly opened his mouth.

"I'll see you again soon."

The man suddenly disappeared into thin air…

Anderson sighed. Blood started dripping everywhere. Lens' face was shocked. Anderson turned around and looked at Len.

"Len, take my phone, it's in my front left pocket."

Len walked up to him and reached into his left pocket taking out a silver phone.

"Click on the green square at the bottom of the screen, and click on 'Team Leader'."

The phone started ringing, and quickly it stopped.

"Who is this?" A voice came from the phone.

"It's Anderson, listen, the kid and I were attacked."

"Where are you at?"

"We are just in front of the bus stop near my house."

"That shitty place."

"Just hurry up, I've been injured, I've already lost a lot of blood."

Anderson suddenly felt dizzy and his body collapsed.

"What was that? You there Anderson?"

"h-he fainted."

"It's you kid. Just watch over Anderson for a bit, don't worry, people are already sprinting over. Anderson will be okay."

***

Anderson woke up, he looked around and saw white walls around him. He looked down and saw Len at his feet, sitting there, staring at him with worry on his face. He reached over towards him, patting him on the head.

"You seem to be alright."

Len's eyes darted to the corners of his eyes.

"yeah."

Anderson started laughing.

"What are you so worried about, kid? I'm alive, be happy!"

Suddenly a knock came from the door.

"Come in."

A whisper could be heard outside.

"he's awake."

The door quickly opened and both Marko and Pline entered the room. The Team Leader spoke first.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine." Anderson responded.

"So what exactly happened?"

"Did you ask Len yet?"

"Yes, but it seemed like he didn't want to talk."

"Alright then, I'll explain, so here's what happened."

He explained what happened at the bus stop, explaining that a mysterious man had attacked them, then suddenly disappeared.

"It's probably 'them' again. Do you think he was after something?" Marko asked.

"The man seemed like he wanted to kill Len." Anderson responded.

"So they know of his existence, they might even know his powers. Things might start getting hectic for you from now on. Are you prepared?"

"I don't know if I am cut out for this, I mean look at me, a single man did this to me."

"Don't put yourself down Anderson, you said he used knives right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well it seems like this was not our first time encountering that man."

"Huh, when?"

Marko began to ponder, trying to remember when exactly the man appeared.

"About two years ago I think it was."

"That was when the first combat squad was abandoned!"

"Yes, and we believe the man that you encountered two days ago to be the reason. The whole squad was nearly wiped out by him, only Morlin survived that incident."

"The detective was a part of the first combat squad?"

"Mhm. He was a fine warrior, but chose to stop acting in the frontlines after seeing his team get dismembered in front of him."

The room went silent.

"If I may interrupt."

Suddenly, Pline interrupted, thinking about Len and the academy.

"Ah Pline, I almost forgot you were here, what do you need?"

"Well it's about school, we noticed Len didn't show up and we came to visit you, but you weren't home, then we went to your office and they told us you were hospitalized."

"So Len didn't attend?"

"No, apparently he's been by your side for the whole time."

Anderson looked at Len and gave him a smile.

"I don't think it's a good idea for Len to go to school anymore, he might be in danger and the other students could potentially be at risk as well." Pline said.

"There is a problem with that. Len was wearing his uniform when we were attacked, and the man instantly noticed which school it was a part of." Anderson responded.

"So you're saying…"

"Yes, the whole school might already be in danger."

Pline became worried.

"That's bad!"

"Yeah, it is. We might have to increase the security around the school just in case."

Pline nodded in agreement.

"That would be a good idea."

"Yeah, it also helps ensure Len's safety a bit more."

"So you still want him to attend school."

"Yes, there are still many things he needs to learn, and going to school will help him."

"It's a tough decision to make, but for the protection of the students and Len, I think it needs to be done."

"Team leader, it's up to you."

He sighed.

"I'll ask the higher ups."