Chapter 2 - A New Home

A month had passed since the incident. The Titans exited a black van and stood before a metal gate. The silver steel gate looked like something straight from a fairytale, complete with statues of silver cupids fixed on top. Behind the gate was a giant green lawn populated with topiary bushes in various animal shapes. Looming over the green field was a giant white mansion—the Titans' new official home. It looked like a castle with white sandstone walls, arched paned windows, balconies decorated with flower garlands, and shiny oak doors. Everything about the building says majestic and grandiose.

Yesterday, the Titans were called up to meet with the agency heads. They discussed the doctor's will and his future plans regarding the Titans. Apparently, Dr. Tagami had prepared a contingency plan for if his death were ever to occur. According to the plan, guardianship of the Titans would be transferred to Dr. Kinoshita Kenji, a trusted colleague of his. The plan had already been approved by the agency years before as one of the doctor's conditions on continuing work for the agency. The Titans could tell that the agency heads didn't like the idea at all and weren't ready to hand them over so easily. However, knowing of the Titans' own familial relationship with the late doctor, the agency heads went through with the plan in an attempt to not alienate their products. However, one condition imposed by the agency was that the Titans must still continue their nightly patrols and fight crime as members of Justitia. Both sides came to an agreement and the Titans now find themselves being handed over to a new stranger whom they had never met before.

"Who's this guy again?" asked Hanzo with a groan.

"Kinoshita Kenji," answered Mari matter-of-factly. "He used to be a colleague of Dr. Tagami."

The mention of the doctor's name brought back painful memories of his death a month ago. Shun's expression had remained dark and unchangingly grim ever since that night. He distanced himself from the others to protect them from his unstable emotions. Anger, fear, and despair all boiled inside him like a toxic cauldron.

The gate to the mansion opened and a tall man dressed in a tuxedo appeared. He had salt-and-pepper hair, jaded brown eyes, and a scar running down the left side of his mouth. He wore a plain serious expression devoid of frivolous emotions and unnecessary thoughts lest they would distract him from his duties. He bowed before the Titans and said, "Greetings, young masters. I am Richard, Master Kinoshita's personal butler and valet. It is my pleasure to be serving you all as new residents of the master's household."

Kaito stepped forward and said with a proud smile, "Take us inside, my good sir!"

Mari quickly smacked him behind the head and said, "Die idiot!"

"Please follow me," Richard told them. He led the Titans through the gate and into the mansion. The interior of the mansion was a bright ruby red from the walls to the carpets to the ceiling. Following the foyer were two upward curving stairwells with the same ruby red carpets and polished wooden railings. In the center of the stairwells was a marble statue of the Greek god Apollo. "The master will be here soon," Richard told the Titans.

"Here I am!" shouted an excited voice from upstairs. The Titans looked up and saw a young man dressed in a grey kimono under a white lab coat waving happily down at them. On his shoulder was a black capuchin monkey wearing a collar and dressed in a black T-shirt and white mini-lab coat. The man slid down the railing like a little kid and landed down with his arms outstretched like an Olympic gymnast who had stuck his landing. He looked no younger than a man in his mid-twenties. He had soft brown hair, brilliant garnet brown eyes with a mischievous twinkle in each, and an overall warm disposition. He walked over to the Titans and bowed grandly. "Pleasure to meet you all, Titans! I am Kinoshita Kenji, the master of this mansion." With a friendly smile, he added, "You may call me Ken-san if you so choose."

"Pleasure to meet you, Ken-san!" Kaito said with a haughty salute.

Again, Mari caused him to fall down by psychically sweeping his feet out from under him. "Die," she added darkly.

Hanzo approached Kenji with a curious smile and asked, "And who is this?"

"This is Bensaru," Kenji told him.

"Pleasure to meet you," spoke a voice that seemed to have come from the monkey. Bensaru bowed gentlemanly before the Titans.

"I'm not going crazy, am I?" Kaito said in surprise. "You all heard the monkey talk, right?!"

"Of course," Kenji said. "Bensaru is capable of human communication. The voice you all heard was none other than Bensaru's own."

"Does that collar allow him to do that?" Hanzo asked.

"Yes, it does," Kenji answered with a nod. "Bensaru is one of my prized research subjects. Upon discovering that animals which possess a higher intelligence capacity closer to that of humans can process sounds and other forms of communication mentally like humans, I found a way to allow for interspecies communication. Monkeys are capable of hearing our words and reproducing them mentally as well as learning and adapting the things they learn like us humans, such as learning new words and using them to form sentences for conversation. With that in mind, I created this machine to analyze his thoughts and project them out auditorially to allow for the communication between both species."

"Cool," said Hanzo with twinkling eyes.

"Can he say banana?" Kaito asked mockingly.

Bensaru immediately jumped from Kenji's shoulder and grabbed onto Kaito's face. He pulled on the Titan's cheek and said, "Was that a jab at me just because I'm a monkey? How idiotic of you, boy."

"Please stop! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Kaito begged. Bensaru released Kaito from his punishment and hopped back onto Kenji's shoulder. The monkey crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue in a diss.

"Maybe you should be the one to stop monkeying around," Hiro joked. The other Titans groaned cringingly.

"Well, Titans, may I ask you all to introduce yourself? Kenji asked kindly.

The Titans all exchanged worried expressions. They didn't know if they could trust this strange man whom they had just met for the first time today. They shuffled uneasily as they contemplated on what to do.

Shun steeled himself and said, "My name is Shun, codename: Kronos."

The other Titans were surprised to see him reveal everything about himself before a total stranger.

"What the hell, Shun?" Hanzo asked him.

"My name is Mari, codename: Mnemosyne," introduced Mari next.

"You too?" Hanzo asked her.

"We can trust him," Mari told him.

"I am Hiro, codename: Hyperion."

"I am Airi, codename: Rhea."

The other Titans followed suit: Hana, Ryo, Nao, Hina, Kota, and Kaito.

"I-I-I am Rei, c-c-codename: Themis," stammered Rei embarrassingly.

"Nice to meet you, Rei," Kenji said with a kind smile.

The only Titan left was Hanzo. "How about you, boy?" asked Bensaru, scratching his head with a finger.

"Stupid monkey," Hanzo muttered grumpily.

"What was that?" taunted Bensaru, holding his hand to his ear.

"Yeah, yeah," Hanzo loudly said in a dismissive tone. "I am Hanzo, codename: Crius."

"Nice to meet you, Hanzo," greeted Kenji kindly. "Now that we are all acquainted with each other, how about you Titans get some rest? You all have nightly patrols soon, correct?"

"Thank you, doctor," Shun said.

"Call me Ken-san!" Kenji declared. The Titans ignored this and were led by Richard to their rooms. As they were going up the stairs, Kenji added, "Don't stay up to late! I have a surprise for you all tomorrow!"

The Titans were separated into roomed pairs of the same gender. Shun with Ryo, Airi with Hana, Hiro with Kota, Mari with Nao, Hanzo with Kaito, and Rei with Hina. Their rooms were furnished with two desks and two dressers, a twin-sized bed for each occupant, and two personal closets. The Titans didn't bring much with them since they didn't really have any personal belongings to begin with save for a few clothes. As the Titans got acquainted with their new rooms, Richard and a group of workers brought the Titans their belongings.

Ryo received his black Stratocaster guitar and sat down on his bed, strumming the strings and playing chords. "What do you think he means by a surprise?" Ryo asked.

"I'm not sure," Shun answered honestly.

The next day arrived and the Titans were called down to breakfast by Richard. They entered the kitchen and greeted by Bensaru and Kenji cooking in the kitchen. They sat at the long wooden dining table at Kenji's request and watched with amazement at the sight before them. Kenji and Bensaru were in sync cooking eggs and bacon while putting on a performance like that of a circus': ceiling-high flipped eggs, high-arching sauce shots, acrobatic plating. Once they were finished, the presented their finished product before their audience.

In front of each of the Titans besides Hana was a plate of fried sunny-side up eggs and bacon and a glass of orange juice. For Hana, there was instead a plate of vegetable okonomiyaki. "Enjoy!" Kenji and Bensaru said in unison.

The Titans exchanged glances and hesitantly dug in. After the first bite, the first person to offer a comment was Hina. With twinkling eyes, she declared satisfyingly, "Delicious!"

Kenji and Bensaru exchanged smiles and a thumbs up.

"Doctor," Hanzo called.

"I told you to call me Ken-san!" Kenji said disappointedly.

"What do you mean when you said you have surprise for us today?" Hanzo asked.

"Of course!" Kenji clapped his hands and called, "Richard!" A few minutes later, the butler came into the kitchen with a school uniform in his hand. "You will all be starting school tomorrow!" Kenji announced. The Titans were truly blown away by this revelation.

"Why?" Hina asked.

"You kids need to learn how to function properly in the real world," Kenji explained bluntly. "You need to be exposed to society and see what life is about with your own eyes."

"But we're not regular people," protested Hanzo.

"Besides, we still have night patrols," Mari added.

"On the weekends only," Kenji amended.

"Come again?" Hiro asked.

"I had the agency come to an agreement regarding allowing you to live a normal life while being away from the agency," Kenji told them. "Of course you would still have to fight crime whenever it appears, but your nightly patrols are being taken care by the agency's own experienced officers and personnel." He let out a scoff and added, "Though the agency believes that you guys aren't capable of fitting in, they decided to take on this bet with the deal that if you all fail to do so, then I will surrender my entire wealth to them and exile myself far away from Japan for the rest of my life."

"What?!" the Titans exclaimed in unison.

"Seriously, those bastards never know when to give up," Kenji concluded with a disapproving shake of his head.

"That's madness!" Hanzo said.

"This is what Dr. Tagami would've wanted too," Kenji said in a soft voice. "He would've wanted you all to live happy lives as normal kids."

Those words brought back the very last wish the doctor had asked of Shun: "Enjoy life with whatever time you have left." Shun stood up from the table and said, "I'll do it." Before the other Titans could protest, Shun added, "This is what the doctor wished for us. Before he drew his last breath, he told me that he had always wanted us to live our life to the fullest. Therefore, to honor his memory and to satisfy his wish for us to try our hands at living normally, I will accept this proposition and try my best to live up the expectations of society and that of a normal life." The other Titans remained silent. After some hesitation, they rose up from their seats and confirmed their compliance with the proposition. Kenji smiled and thanked them for their consideration.

"Now I already enrolled you all into your schools for you," Kenji told them. "Hana and Kota will be attending Shudai Middle School as second-years. The rest of you will be attending Ten'nosei High School. Shun, Airi, Hana, Hiro, Mari, Ryo, and Kaito will be enrolled as second-years, while Hanzo, Nao, and Rei will be enrolled as first-years. Both the middle school and high school are across the street from each other, so you all don't have to worry about the distance between the two schools. Both schools are also only fifteen minutes away from the mansion, so you kids are free to walk to school if you so choose. Everything is close to home for your own convenience."

"Thank you, doctor," Shun earnestly thanked Kenji.

"Now, now, there's no need for formalities you know," Kenji said with an awkward laugh.

Upon finishing her breakfast, Airi stood up and asked, "Is there anyplace we can use for training?"

"Of course!" Kenji answered ecstatically. "You are all welcome to use the backyard for training. You all don't have to worry about disturbing the peace at all since we have no close neighbors. I own the entire twelve acres of land."

The Titans all left for the backyard together after finishing their breakfast. While outside, the Titans all decided to explore the property and their newfound training area. The backyard was indeed very vast, stretching as far as the eye can see on all sides. The grey steel fence surrounded the field at the extremities. Near the mansion just below the stairwell connecting the field with the outside patio was a small circle of cement that housed a wooden table with an umbrella attached in the center. A few topiary bushes in creature designs from Greek mythology populated the field on both sides a few feet away from the porch. After that, the rest of the field was nothing but bright green grass evenly cut. The vast open field gave many opportunities for different trainings to take place.

While the Titans were left to explore the grounds on their own, Kenji ate his breakfast with Bensaru and Richard back in the dining room. The doctor glanced at his butler and could tell from the man's hesitant expression that something was bothering him. "What's on your mind, Richard?" he asked the butler.

"It is nothing, master," Richard simply answered. Yet his tone conveyed something other than "okay". There was something bothering the butler deeply indeed.

"Come on," Kenji urged the butler, "out with it."

"It is not my place to say," Richard answered.

"Your mouth says one thing, but your face says something else," Bensaru pointed out rather smugly with a lazy expression.

Richard gave in and heaved out a sigh to signal his surrender. "I fear for the children's' safety," he said. "Are you sure it is alright for them to attend school tomorrow? Do you not think that it is too soon? Why not first give them time to fit in and adjust to society?"

"I have a feeling it's not the idea of school that is bothering you, is it?" said Kenji grimly.

"Yes, you are right," Richard answered with his eyes cast down.

"Those bastards from the agency will just have to deal with me when the time comes," Kenji said. "I'm not going to let this chance to help them escape fail," he said seriously. "Not again," he added in a whisper.

"If those bastards from Justitia try to take them away, I'll just have to take them on myself!" Bensaru offered while making a scary face.

"And what are you going to do, my child? Scratch their faces and fling your poo at them?" joked Kenji.

"Don't underestimate a primate's ingenuity!" Bensaru announced while wagging a finger in Kenji's face.

"I too will offer my life for their safety," Richard said. He touched his heart in a gesture of sincerity and servility.

"I thank you for your support, Richard," thanked Kenji with a smile. "But you guys don't have to worry. I've been preparing myself for this moment a long time ago. I surely won't let Dr. Tagami—my mentor's last wish be in vain. If Justitia will harm them in any way just to facilitate their goals, they'll have to go through me."

"It won't be soon before that time comes," Richard pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right," Kenji acknowledged with a nod. Suddenly, the memory of his meeting with Justitia last night replayed in Kenji's mind. He had called up the agency on his computer and requested an audience with the agency heads. Since he is now the guardian and caretaker of the Titans, Justitia were forced to keep in contact with him at any and all times. Kenji met up with the agency heads and proposed his plan, which was already five years in the making. He was able to force them to play straight into his hands by playing the family card—the bond between Dr. Tagami and the Titans. Both parties were aware of Dr. Tagami's personal opinion on the matter, so it was rather easy for Kenji to get his plan approved with little resistance. Kenji had made his move; now it was Justitia's turn. "Let's just see who'll get checkmated first," he said quietly to himself.

Outside, after taking a look around the massive green backyard, the Titans all loitered around the porch. Everything that had happened the past two days, from moving to a new place and getting acquainted with a new setting to receiving news of their enrollment in school, weighed too much on the Titans' minds. So much so that training was discarded out the window in exchange for a moment to discuss their new lives with each other.

"What do you think school's going to be like?" asked Kota. "I hope it's fun."

"It's a place where you go to learn new things, right?" inquired Hiro.

It wasn't the Titans' fault that they were unfamiliar with the concept of school. Back when they were still living at the agency's warehouse, the only education they received were from hired tutors. They were taught a curriculum a little more advanced than those of typical classes with a heavy emphasis on mathematics and the sciences. Meanwhile, their skills in literacy, history, and art was more or less rudimentary at the very least. Education only took no more than three hours a day every day of the week; most of the time was spent on training and cultivating their skills to better serve the agency.

"Maybe we'll be able to make friends," suggested Hana wistfully.

"Don't get your hopes up, sis," dismissed Hanzo.

"It'll be very nice to make lots and lots of friends!" squealed Nao, ignoring Hanzo's comment. "We can talk together, walk together, laugh together….I can't wait!"

"But isn't it scary to meet new people?" Hina asked in a fearful tone.

Leaning against the railing of the porch by herself, Airi anxiously thought to herself how she will survive another new environment so close to normal society. She wasn't the least bit normal at all. Unlike the other Titans who can more or less pass off as normal humans, she was the least worthy of making friends with real people and pretending to be normal. What would happen if they found out about her true self? She would be treated as a monster. She hugged herself with downcast eyes. The only way she can survive is to distance herself as far away from others as possible. She couldn't bear to adulterate any normal relationships.

"Are you okay, Airi?" Shun asked her.

"I'm fine," she answered in a soft voice.

"I-I-I don't think I can survive in a room with s-s-strangers," mumbled Rei.

Kaito gave her a pat on the back, causing her to let out a surprised gasp, and said with a confident smile, "Just think of it as being in a room with monkeys."

Rei imagined walking into a room of wild primates and having all of their wild eyes focusing on her. "No!" she screamed loudly with her face flushed red.

Mari caused Kaito to fall on his face. "Just die already, idiot!" she threatened him.

"We'll be the real monkeys starting tomorrow," Hanzo said. "We've never gone to school before." He rolled his eyes and added sarcastically, "I just can't wait to make a giant fool of myself tomorrow."

"But this will be out first chance at seeing how the real world works!" said Kota with twinkling eyes.

"I'll only say this once," Hanzo began, "The real world is a bitch!"

"That can't be true!" Kota argued adamantly.

"Huh? You wanna start something, brat?" threatened Hanzo.

"You're just a sourpuss who thinks the world is out to get you," Kota mocked, sticking out his tongue.

"Why you—" Hanzo began before being interrupted by Kota's inquiry for Shun.

"The real world isn't that bad, right Shun-niisan?" Kota asked Shun.

"The best to find out is to see it for yourself," Shun answered objectively. The Titans spent the rest of the day outside talking, laughing, and sparring. As for school, they will just have to find out for themselves how the real world works.

Night had arrived and the Titans all went to sleep. Meanwhile, Kenji was in his office working on his research for his day job as a medical scientist. He was busy analyzing the data from a previous experiment when his phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it came from one of associates. "Hello there!" he greeted upon picking up.

"Tomorrow's the big day," the voice replied.

"Of course," Kenji agreed. "I truly hope you'll do your best to help them as you fit."

"Who do you think you're speaking to?" retorted the associate jokingly.

Kenji laughed and said, "Of course, I would never underestimate your abilities nor your determination in this matter."

"Have you received any word from my contact?" the voice asked.

"Not yet," Kenji told them. "I haven't received any emails, texts, nor phone calls."

"He's not one to rely on the internet to convey information," the associate explained. "He's wary of worldwide web."

"So he's one of those guys," laughed Kenji. "So how do you keep in contact with him anyway? Telegrams? Messages in a bottle? Skywriting?"

In a serious tone, the other voice asked, "How about the enemy?"

"Ah, they haven't made a move yet since yesterday," Kenji answered. Suddenly the sound of scrambling footsteps caught his attention. They sounded like they came from the living room area. "I'll have to talk to you later," he told his associate. "I have some guests to entertain." He hung up and moved close to the wall of his office with his back to the door. Judging by how the footsteps were moving rather quickly, it could be assumed that whoever they were, they were trying to quickly finish what they were sent here to do and leave. Obviously it was not the calm pitter-patter footsteps of an ally; meaning it couldn't be any of the Titans, who were all now in their rooms. And since Kenji's office was downstairs, if any of the Titans were to make their way downstairs he would've heard them doing so. This person was someone who had somehow found their way inside and was trying to be as discreet as possible to complete their mission successfully. "Sadly, this mission won't fare well for you," Kenji muttered to himself. He quietly stepped out of the office and walked to the living room while keeping his back to the wall.

In the living room was a burly man clad in a black uniform and helmet and mask. Kenji couldn't tell for sure if the man was sent from Justitia or another agency, but there was no doubt that he was the enemy. Using the element of surprise to his advantage, Kenji quickly turned on the living room lights and announced his presence with, "I applaud you for breaking in, my friend, but this is the end for you." The man, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the mansion's master, quickly turned around in a fighting stance. "Who sent you?" Kenji asked the man.

"Kinoshita Kenji," spoke the man through his mask, "I am here to eliminate you. You have saved me the trouble of finding you."

Appearing quietly from the darkness behind the man was Richard holding a cocked pistol. Kenji noticed this and knew for a fact that he won this battle hands-down. With a confident smile, he said, "I have a few questions for you, my good man, but first why not take a little rest?"

"What are you talking the about?" the man asked. From behind him, Richard fired the gun and a dart struck the man in the shoulder. Before the man could react, everything around him went dark and he quickly fell unconscious.

Richard, unperturbed by the man's appearance, said with a deadpan face, "I heard some footsteps in the living room and thought that an animal had broke in."

"Well you're not that far off, Richard," laughed Kenji. They placed the man in a chair and tied him up. After ten minutes had passed, the man regained consciousness. "Looks like you were right, Richard," Kenji said once the man came to, referring to their discussion this morning during breakfast. "Those bastards will stop at nothing to get their way." He waved his hand in front of the man's face and asked in an impertinent manner, "Hey, hey! Are you with Justitia?" The man didn't answer and just stared at Kenji coldly through his orange visor. "Black is such a common color among agencies. I can't really tell whether you're from Justitia or not. Tell me, who are you affiliated with?" The man still didn't respond.

"Please answer my master's questions," Richard threatened.

"Richard, you have experience in getting information out of your enemies, correct?" Kenji asked.

"Ten years worth," Richard replied.

"You hear that?" Kenji asked the man. "My butler here possesses skills, skills that will both blow your mind away and leave it scarred for life. He can pick away at your brain with various methods both humane and criminal. So if you don't want to suffer any pain, I suggest you tell us what we want to know." The man's eyes suddenly became plagued with fear. His entire body began to shake in terror at the words that had been spoken. With a smile and childlike attitude, Kenji said, "Man, playing the villain is fun! We should do this more often!"

"I was sent here by Nike," the man told them.

"Nike?" Richard asked Kenji.

"Nike is one of Justitia's top divisions," Kenji explained. "They specialize in reconnaissance, assassinations, and sabotage. They're one of the most contracted division of the agency, usually to intelligence agencies, militaries, and national governments." He turned his attention to the man and asked, "Now tell me, what does Justitia intend to do with the Titans after I've been killed?"

"Do you think I'll tell you?" the man responded back nastily.

"Are you certain that a man of his stature could possess such knowledge?" Richard asked.

"Only a handful of divisions within the agency's hierarchy are trusted with top secret and sensitive information. Nike is one of them," explained Kenji. "How else would a division dedicated to achieving quick victory act if they do not have access to the necessary information to complete their mission? Never doubt the power of human curiosity. Even if the division is content with completing their mission without ever needing the complete story, the only way for you to truly establish trust is to quench the curiosities of your allies and build a strong relationship based on the bare truth. And Nike is no doubt a necessary close ally that the agency is intent on keeping under their control. Why else would the agency spend so much money and focus on establishing a division to do the world's dirty deeds if not to use the division themselves to achieve your goals? If perhaps the agency is intent on keeping their motives a secret, even the tiniest bit of secrecy can sever the thread of trust and push the necessary ally away and keep them at a distance."

"I see," acknowledged Richard with a sagely nod.

"Who the hell are you?" the man asked in fear and disgust.

"I'm an old friend of the agency's heads," Kenji said with a fake smile. "Have you ever heard of the one they call the Devil in Human Flesh?"

"Devil—no it can't be!" the man exclaimed in fear.

"I may seem like a nice guy, but I can assure you that I am twisted as they come. A Devil in Human Flesh," Kenji told the man. "Well, I will say that I've mellowed out somewhat since leaving the agency. But that doesn't mean I lost any of my edge from five years ago."

"I don't know anything, I swear!" the man squealed in fear.

"Richard, can you go into my office and bring the vial marked UM?" Kenji asked the butler. Richard bowed and left to fetch the vial. He brought it back and handed it to Kenji. The slender vial had a viscous black liquid inside. "Want to know what UM stands for, my good man?" Kenji asked sadistically.

"Please, let me go! I'll never come back, I swear!" the man begged.

Kenji opened the vial and a musky aroma quickly infiltrated the room. "UM stands for Umor Mortis, Latin for "liquid of death"," Kenji explained. "You see, I've been working on a serum to counter various biological toxins, such as reptile venom and the like. A popular method for fighting venom is with venom. You know how people use snake venom to create an antidote for the very same venom that is responsible for causing bodily harm and injury? Well, I have recently engaged myself in an experiment to create the ultimate venom antidote. If I can find the one common molecule responsible for the biological generation of toxins in organisms, than I can use that knowledge to create a cure-all for all forms of poison. You see, I have succeeded in isolating the proteins responsible for completing my formula." As he was explaining, he taunted the man by putting the vial right under the man's face. The man tried his best to look away. "And I intend to use the age-old method of fighting poison with poison and use these isolating proteins to develop a cure-all antidote. Knowing that what I have in my hands right now is pure poison really makes this situation all the more dangerous, doesn't it?"

"Please," the man begged lamely.

"Makes sense why I named this vial "liquid of death", right?" Kenji said with a smile. He tipped the vial slightly and a drop of the liquid burned right into the man's thigh. The man screamed painfully at the pain. "Shh!" Kenji told the man with a finger to his mouth. "The Titans are sleeping. We wouldn't want to cause more trouble than we should, right?" The man let out a painful groan in acknowledgement. "Now, what do the agency heads hope to accomplish with the Titans once I'm dead?" repeated Kenji.

"I'm only a second-level agent," the man pleaded. "I really don't know anything. Only agents with fifth-level clearance have access to that information."

"He is telling the truth, master," Richard said.

"Really?" Kenji asked Richard like a little child.

"The man's eyes are telling the truth," Richard concluded with a nod.

"Well, I can't argue with your experience," Kenji said with a sigh. He pouted like a little kid and added, "And I was having so much fun too. I finally had a willing test subject for my experiment."

"Maybe you should just stick to computer simulations," Richard said with a raised eyebrow. They let the man go out through the front door and found that the enemy had entered through a hole in the window made with a laser glass cutter. The man was more than happy to be free and quickly ran away once he was out the front door. Kenji had already replaced the vial's cap and tucked it in his pocket. "I'll call the window repairers tomorrow," Richard told Kenji regarding the hole in their window.

"Hey, Richard, do you think that I'm a good guy?" Kenji asked the butler seriously.

"Well, you gave the Titans their new home, you adopted Bensaru as your own, and you've given me a respectable career and an opportunity to live a normal life," Richard replied. "I think that more than reveals just how good a person you are."

"But I'm more twisted than you would think," Kenji added with a cruel smile. "I'm not a good guy but a person playing the good guy. I'm more of an anti-hero, to be honest."

"An anti-hero is still a good person at heart," reasoned Richard.

"Well, I guess the Devil in Human Flesh is no match for the the Grim Reaper," Kenji said with a normal smile. Richard too expressed a small smile. The men said their goodnights and went off to their rooms. Kenji placed the vial on his dresser and sat down on his bed. To be honest, he was unsatisfied with getting no information out of their enemy. But the thing that irked the most was the fact that the agency had sent out a low-level agent to carry out this mission. "Am I really such a small fry?" he asked himself with a dismissive laugh. "You better not underestimate the Devil in Human Flesh next time."