The "Shadow" of Phoenix

[Time: 12:30 Midnight ]

Ichiro and his men arrived at one of the Yoshima clan's safe houses located just outside of Pearl City.

"Sir, we're here."

"Okay then, secure the area. We'll stay here for the night." Ichiro slowly stepped outside the car while still carrying the girl.

"Hey Ichiro," Yamada called out.

"What is it, Yamada senpai?"

"I need to talk to you for a second."

"I see." Ichiro handed the girl over to one of his men.

"Go ahead without us." Everyone else then went inside the house.

"What's the matter?"

Yamada faced Ichiro with a bothered look on his face.

"Ichiro, are you not worried at all about what your father said?"

Ichiro responded with a disgruntled expression.

"Listen Ichiro, I've known Master Yoshima for so long and I know for sure that he wouldn't say anything unless there's something wrong."

"What are you suggesting then?" Ichiro responded with an irritated tone.

"Maybe having this girl is too dangerous for us-"

"We're not leaving her behind," Ichiro interrupted.

"At least try to hear me out-"

"We are the Yoshima clan! We are strong enough to defend ourselves." With a proud voice, Ichiro said this to Yamada.

"sigh, Alright then. I'll leave the girl to you." Yamada then turned his back on Ichiro.

"What is everyone so worried about?"

As Ichiro entered the house, one of his men approached him.

"Sir, the girl is awake." The guard whispered to Ichiro.

"I'll go check up on her. Make sure the whole house is secure."

"Understood sir."

"Call me if there is anything suspicious."

The guards then went outside and surrounded the house.

"Hey Ichiro, your girlfriend is looking for you," Yamada said.

"Stop with the teasing already, Yamada Senpai. It's getting annoying."

Yamada smiled.

"I know, I just like messing with you a little. Haha! Oh well, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

The girl was still dazed, but as soon as he saw Ichiro, her blank expression turned into a smile.

"Wait, was she always this cute?" Ichiro told himself as he was blushing after the girl smiled at him.

"Uhm... so, Uhm... What's your name?" Ichiro said awkwardly.

At first, the girl hesitated to answer back. But through to her ability, she knew Ichiro could be trusted.

"Uhm, my name... I'm... people refer to me as 'Experiment 143," She answered with a shaky voice.

...

"Wait, what do you mean 'Experiment'?" Ichiro was a little confused.

The girl didn't answer back.

Ichiro noticed that the girl might have felt uncomfortable answering.

"Then, where are your parents? Maybe we can contact them and tell them you're alright?"

The girl's eyes suddenly wept as tears dripped down her cheeks.

"I see. Well then, you should probably get some more rest. If you need anything, my men are just outside-"

"Wait," the girl grabbed Ichiro by his hand.

"Can't... can't you stay with me for a little while more?" The girl asked Ichiro in a very gentle tone.

"Don't worry, you're safe now. You don't have to be scared. I will just be outside. get some sleep."

The girl nodded then released Ichiro's hand.

"Uhm... thank you for saving me. I knew you'd come." The girl said as Ichiro was closing the door.

"Why does she keep on saying that? 'I knew you'd come.' What is with this girl?"

Ichiro left the room with a ton of questions in his mind.

"Experiment 143? What could that possibly mean?" Ichiro thought to himself.

"So, did she tell you anything? You know, about who she is?" Yamada, who was waiting outside the door the entire time, asked Ichiro.

"Well... she didn't talk much, but she did give some details on who she is."

"Did she tell you her name?"

...

"She... she didn't answer me properly."

"What do you mean-"

"She said she's 'Experiment 143."

Yamada suddenly turned quiet.

"Hmm... No wonder your dad doesn't want her around," Yamada said in a solemn tone.

"What do you mean?" Ichiro asked.

"She's a 'War Weapon' subject."

"Uhm... a what?" Ichiro was confused for he didn't know what Yamada meant.

"War Weapons, they are the result of the government's initiative to create superhumans using experimentations."

"You mean like... Supersoldiers? Created by the government?"

"Yes. I learned about this Back when I was still an agent for the Crystal Falcon. The government had this crazy idea. A plan to create superhuman weapons by giving them certain abilities to help fight against the growing numbers of organized crime syndicates such as the Mafia and Yakuza."

"So you're saying... that the girl we just rescued is a government weapon? Do you expect me to believe that?"

Ichiro was skeptical about everything that Yamada said.

"I know it's hard to believe, but those kinds of experiments do exist, and she's a result of them. We don't know how dangerous she is. It could be the reason why the Nakamura clan wanted to get their hands on her in the first place."

"Fine, let's say that what you're saying is true. What should we do with her then?"

"We have to give her back. Surrender her to the Crystal Falcon. I'm sure the government will not be pleased once they find out we have the girl they've been trying to protect."

"We don't know that for sure," Ichiro retaliated.

"Please Ichiro, listen to me. The government could already be looking for her as we speak. The Crystal Falcon is not something to be messed around with." Yamada said as he tried to reason out with Ichiro.

"Sigh. Fine, I'll think about what you said, Yamada senpai. For now, let's just settle down for the night."

"Then you should go ahead. Get some rest, Ichiro. I'll go check on the men."

"This kid. How stubborn can he get?"

Yamada then went out to check the area.

However, as soon as he stepped outside, there was no one guarding the house.

"Wait, where are those guys? They were supposed to be guarding the house!"

Enraged, Yamada took out his phone to try and contact the missing guards.

"Those irresponsible fools! Don't they know that our lives are at stake right now?!"

"Ring Ring" No one was answering the call.

...

...

"Those bastards! They better be dead by now for not answering!"

...

...

Meanwhile...

"Bzzzz Bzzzz," An indistinct sound of vibration was emitting from a cell phone that was left lying on the ground. It was covered in blood.

"Ugh... help..." lying next to the vibrating phone was one of Ichiro's men that was sent to stand guard.

" Ugh..." With blood dripping down his neck, he desperately tried to reach out to answer the call.

"Hello! what took you so long! Do you know how long-"

"Sir..." Yamada was interrupted by the guard's weak voice.

"Si...sir, we're... we're under attack. We've... been ambushed." The guard managed to utter these words despite his situation.

"What are you saying?! where are the others-"

"Whoosh!"

With a sharp whistle and a gentle wind, a sword blade suddenly appeared out of nowhere and slashed the guard's head clean off. The blade was from a Katana sword.

"Hello! Can you still hear me-"

Yamada's call was cut short. He can hear nothing but the shattered sound of a broken phone.

Still in shock, Yamada realized the situation they were in and knew he had to act fast.

"Shit!" He tried to rush inside the safe house to warn Ichiro.

Suddenly...

"Whoosh!" Like ghosts in the middle of the night, thirteen robot-like men appeared from out of thin air and surrounded Yamada.

Their bodies were covered in black mechanical gears that looked similar to ancient samurai armor. Their faces, masqueraded by "Somen" demon masks.

Yamada pulled out his Katana.

"Scanning for Identification," one of the robot-like men beamed a red light towards Yamada.

All of a sudden, everyone aimed their weapons towards Yamada.

"It's nice to see you again, agent 'Moonlight'."

One among the thirteen surrounding Yamada said this.

"It's 'Yamada of the Yoshima Clan' now," he responded.

"Well then, Yamada of the Yoshima Clan, Allow me to introduce myself," The One talking to Yamada said as she removed her helmet and thus, slowly revealing her long, beautiful brown hair and her elegant face to him.

"I am Agent 'Nightingale', commander of the Shadow Unit's Cyborg Division."

"Why am I not surprised?" Yamada slowly took out his katana.

"I expected the government would send its finest agents to go against the Yoshima clan, let alone me. Now, why would they send a young girl such as yourself?"

*shing* Agent Nightingale pulled out her sword and pointed it towards Yamada.

"Be careful who you call 'little girl' Mr. Yamada. This little girl might be too hard to handle even for the once-great agent 'Moonlight' of the second division."

"Hah!" Yamada burst out a huge laugh.

"You might be surprised to know, but being with a strong clan made me an even better fighter than I ever was as an agent. The 'Yoshima Clan' has nothing to fear!" With a proud voice, Yamada yelled out these words.

Even so, the girl agent showed no signs of fear. She merely responded with a smirk.

"You don't really believe that your clan could stand a chance even against the 'High Phoenix' now, do you?"

Yamada's eyes sprung.

"Wait... The High Phoenix!?"

Yamada's expression suddenly changed. He was stunned by what he just heard.

"What do they have to do with anything?!"

"Hmm, you seemed worried there all of a sudden, Mr. Yamada of the 'Yoshima' clan. I thought your clan had nothing to fear?" The girl said this in a provocative tone.