Chapter 3 - Fist Day of School and a City Encounter

The next day came rather quickly. The Titans were dressed in their school uniforms—Shudai Middle School: a white sailor suit complete with a blue ascot and navy blue skirt for girls, and a white dress shirt with navy blue pants for boys; Ten'nosei High School: a white and blue shirt with a red tie under a blue vest and navy blue skirts for girls, and a white and blue dress shirt with a red tie under a blue vest and navy blue pants for boys. They walked together as a group with Kenji and Bensaru leading the way. Richard guarded the rear. Kenji and Bensaru had happy smiles on their faces with the former walking with his arms swinging up and down like a toy soldier.

"I'm pretty nervous," Hina spoke out loud.

"Don't worry!" Kenji called back. "You'll be fine!"

Shun placed his hand on Hina's shoulder and flashed her a comforting smile.

The Titans had finally arrived at their destination. Hina and Kota hesitated parting ways with the others. Richard came up to them and offered to go with them. The twins exchanged glances. "I promise you you will be okay," Richard told them kindly. The twins nodded and went off with Richard across the street to their school.

"Have fun, you two!" called out Kenji like a parent seeing their child off to school for the very first time. He waved wildly after them until they entered the building and Richard came back by himself. He turned his attention to the other Titans and had tears streaming down his face.

"What's wrong?!" asked Hanzo in surprise.

"It'll be so lonely with you guys gone, even if it is for only eight hours every day!" Kenji sobbed miserably. Richard handed him a handkerchief, which the doctor gladly took and used.

"Now remember," began Bensaru, "smile and be friendly towards others. A good way to establish a relationship with others is by grooming their heads. It shows that you are a caring and responsible person."

The Titans didn't know how to respond to this. "They're not monkeys, you know!" Kenji answered for them in an annoyed voice.

"Grooming is essential to establishing friendship!" the monkey argued, crossing his arms in a show of defiance.

"Just do your best," Richard told them.

The Titans nodded and walked off to begin their school life. As they left, Kenji waved wildly behind them just as he did before and cried out wishes of good luck. Many of the other students around them looked at the crazy doctor with worried expressions. Once inside, the group split into their respective grades and went off to find their classrooms. Among the second-year Titans, Shun, Airi, Hana, and Ryo were together in the same class while Kaito, Mari, and Hiro were together in the same class. Shun and his group entered classroom 2-B and was greeted by the teacher.

The Titans' entrance caused quite a stir. Upon seeing the Titans for the first time, the other students whispered amongst themselves about their new classmates with comments ranging from surprise ("Are they new?") to intrigue ("They look like foreigners.") to complementation ("Her purple hair is really cute."). The teacher quieted down the class and said, "Please introduce yourself to the class."

"Hello, I am Shun," Shun introduced himself.

"Hello, my name is Airi," followed Airi.

"Hello, I am Hana," Hana introduced herself happily.

"Hello, I am Ryo," Ryo muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Do you guys have a last name?" asked the teacher.

"Last name?" Shun asked with a puzzled expression. He thought for a moment but couldn't make sense of the question. "We're currently living with Dr. Kinoshita Kenji," Shun told the teacher.

"Are you his children?" the teacher asked.

"He's our guardian," Shun answered.

"Then, Kinoshita," the teacher said. "Would that go for you three too?" Airi, Hana, and Ryo exchanged confused looks before nodding slowly in answer. "Are you all siblings then?"

"In a sense," agreed Shun. "Nonetheless, we're family."

With their introductions through, the teacher turned to the class and called out, "Is Hoshino Yosuke here today?"

A brown haired boy with glasses stood up and announced, "I'm here!"

"Can I trust you to show the Kinoshitas around school and get them accustomed to their new environment?" the teacher asked.

"Yes ma'am!" Yosuke replied.

The teacher then told the Titans to sit in the back near Yosuke. Shun sat down right behind the boy. Yosuke turned around and held out his hand. "Hello, I'm Hoshino Yosuke. Nice to meet you!" Hoshino Yosuke was an average boy with average looks. His brown hair was wavy in the front and curly on the sides. His small rectangular glasses framed his dull but warm brown eyes and exuded a friendly atmosphere that was almost too impossible to not acknowledge and bask in. Everything about him said, "Your average friendly guy", with average being the major selling-point. Though he wasn't particularly popular, he was well known enough by the entire sophomore class as a reliable guy who did little to create a big presence for himself.

Shun hesitantly grabbed the boy's hand and shook it. "Um, yeah," he grunted.

Meanwhile, in class 2-A, Kaito was basking in his sudden popularity as the new guy in class. Though Mari was tempted to smack him back to his senses, she held it in so as not to draw any attention to herself. In a way, using Kaito as their poster-boy benefitted her greatly by drawing away unnecessary attention and allowing her to settle in her new environment peacefully. Hiro didn't mind saying hello and acknowledging his new classmates, but he was worried of his inexperience with society and so tried to keep his conversations and contact with others to a minimum. Kaito, on the other hand, enjoyed all of the eyes and ears focusing on him. After introducing themselves, the three Titans took their seats at the back of the class. The teacher had assigned a student next to them, Yoshikawa Fujiro, to be their school guide.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Fujiro introduced himself to the Titans. "I'm Yoshikawa Fujiro. Please ask me any question on your mind about the school at your own convenience." Yoshikawa Fujiro was a handsome boy with short brown hair and glistening brown eyes. He also had the clearest skin tone of all the boys in class and could pass off as one of those teenage models you would find on magazines in a girl's locker room. He was also a very popular boy known throughout the entire school, well regarded by many for his friendly attitude and kind nature.

"Nice to meet you!" Kaito said with an impish smile on his face. "Say, wanna have a challenge after school?"

"What kind of challenge?" asked Fujiro awkwardly.

Mari smacked Kaito behind his head and said, "Please don't pay any mind to his stupidity."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Fuji-san!" said Hiro with a salute and a small chuckle.

"I see what you did there," awkwardly laughed Fujiro.

Mari twitched at the idiocy of the comment and stomped on Hiro's foot, causing the latter to whimper in pain. "It's rude to make fun of people's name. And that joke is not funny at all, you boor."

"Yes ma'am," whimpered Hiro.

"It's really okay," Fujiro said with an awkward smile. Right now, he was more scared of Mari than anything else. But because it would be rude to have it shown on his face, he simply laughed awkwardly to show that there was no hard feelings.

A floor below them, in room 1-C, Hanzo, Nao, and Rei had introduced themselves to the class and silently took the back seats. Hanzo was weary of the eyes that were following his every step to the back. Nao didn't pay any attention to the class and happily skipped to her assigned seat like a child. Rei, on the other hand, covered her face with her hands and shuffled rather loudly to her seat. When she was midway to her seat, she peeked through her fingers and saw the legion of eyes boldly staring at her with laser-sharp focus. Subconsciously, she began to manipulate the molecular density of her body and willed the molecules to separate and encompass more volume while keeping her mass intact by forcing her molecules to occupy a localized pressurized form. This sudden change caused her physical body to slowly fade into nonexistence as a result of her subconscious bodily change from a solid to a gas.

Hanzo saw her transformation and quickly grabbed her hand before she became completely invisible and whispered into her ear, "You're just drawing more attention to yourself!" Rei quickly stopped and her form became solid once again. Her face was now beet red with embarrassment. Hanzo led her to their seat and announced to the class, "You see, my sister is very shy. What you just saw was a magic trick she learned to help cope with her shyness. It's nothing more than a magic trick." The other students exchanged looks of curiosity and amazement. Along the way to her seat, Rei apologized profusely to everyone and no one in particular. She sat down in her seat and quickly hid her face behind her arms on the desk. Hanzo breathed a sigh of relief.

In the front of the class, the teacher called for a student to serve as the Titans' school guide. The boy the teacher called was Uehara Shiro. Shiro stood up and saluted like a soldier tasked with an important mission. He had straight black hair and light brown eyes like almonds. On his uniform was a pin with a picture of an anime character. Shiro was well known throughout the school as a shameless otaku and a self-proclaimed expert on everything otaku. He turned to Hanzo and said, "Nice to meet, my good sir! I am Uehara Shiro and I shall assist you and your siblings with your quest to become acquainted with our wonderful castle of learning!"

"Sure thing," Hanzo said half-heartedly, his eyes were turned towards the window and he had his face leaning on his hand.

"It's very nice to met you too!" Nao happily told Shiro with an enthusiastic grin.

Hanzo didn't pay any more attention to his surroundings and just let it all fade into nothingness behind him as he drifted into his happy place—a daydream of joining his favorite hero, Kemono-Sama, the titular character of the popular action anime Legend of the Beast King: Kemono-Sama, on a mission to save the kingdom of Mythril from enemies. He didn't care much about school or getting acquainted with strangers whose motives were too ambiguous to discern. He couldn't bear getting too close with strangers on the very first day. The beast inside of him must first get used to the sights, scents, and motives of the newcomer before showing vulnerability and accepting their friendship. It was all calculated to assure for the greatest chance of survival—the law of the jungle as one might say. As such, Hanzo's daydreaming tactic is a way for him to put his mind at ease and slowly get acquainted with his new surroundings. Just like any animal, he must first feel comfortable before accepting his new habitat, for better or for worse. He was enjoying this new carefully crafted adventure before hearing the very first sentence to ever tame the beast inside of him so quickly—Nao was asking Shiro about the anime pin on his shirt and he replied, "It's a pin of Sir Leo from Legend of the Beast King: Kemono-Sama." He immediately awoke from his daydream and stood up.

"You watch Legend of the Beast King: Kemono-Sama?" he asked Shiro a little too excitedly.

"Of course!" Shiro said. "It's only the hottest action anime right now whose target audience are boys seven years old to sixteen years old," he said with a smug smile.

Hanzo suddenly had stars in his eyes. This was the very first time he had ever felt close to someone else. Discarding his animal intuition that had saved him so many times before, Hanzo held out his hand and said, "I think we will be very great friends!"

"Of course!" Shiro replied, taking Hanzo's hand.

Across the street from the high school, Hina and Kota were introduced to the class of B2. Kota, his eyes sparkling as his curiosity of the outside world overtook his entire body, eagerly introduced himself and blurted out his plans of learning about the outside world, eliciting a few giggles from the class. On the other hand, when Hina introduced herself rather demurely, the entire class all 'oohed' and 'aahed' breathlessly as if they were in the presence of a princess. The teacher asked them to take their seats and began to write on the board.

Both Kota and Hina took their seats at the back. "Did you see that, sis? I made the class laugh!" Kota said in a triumphant tone. Hina simply nodded in reply. "By the way, the entire class were pretty speechless when you introduced yourself," he commented. "They all looked at you like your were an angel or something."

"I wasn't that impressive," Hina mumbled quietly.

"I think Shun-niisan would be proud of you, sis!" Kota told her with a smile and thumbs up.

Hina suddenly perked up at the mention of Shun and said, "Really?"

Class quickly passed and soon lunch arrived. Hina and Kota took out the lunches prepared for them by Kenji and Bensaru out of their backpacks and ate together. A group of three girls suddenly walked over to their table, whispering amongst themselves with awkward giggles. Kota saw this and excitedly whispered to Hina, "Maybe it's the start of what regular people call their 'popular phase'!"

One of the girls were pushed forward by her two friends and fidgeted with her fingers for a few seconds before speaking. She was a cute girl with chocolate brown eyes and smooth black hair with a pink bow headband. She stepped up closer to the table and gushed out, "I really love your hair, Hina-chan! Are you a foreigner by any chance?" She quickly caught herself and said, "Is it okay if I call you Hina-chan?"

Hina was speechless, as was Kota who wasn't expecting this to happen at all. All of the attention he thought was for him was nothing but wishful thinking. His sister was completely stunned by the girl's compliment and flurry of questions. "Uh-uh-uh," stammered Hina, whose face had suddenly turned a bright red. She glanced at Kota with a distressed expression. Kota sighed and gestured with his head for her to speak to the girl. Hina quietly let out a small whimper before taking a deep breath. "Thank you!" Hina said aloud. The sudden loud comment surprised Kota and the three girls beside their table. Hina noticed this and immediately lowered her voice to more bearable level. "I-I-I'm not a foreigner," she told the girl. "It's complicated."

"Oh," replied the girl. "Well, your hair really is beautiful," the girl told Hina sincerely. "It's like a crown of sunrays."

"Thank you," Hina told the girl. "Also, I don't mind you calling me Hina-chan."

"Really?!" the girl asked excitedly. She told her two friends behind them and they clapped giddily.

"Me too?" asked one of the other girls.

"And me?" asked the third.

Hina responded to their inquiries with a simple nod.

"I'm Morishima Karen," introduced the first girl.

"I'm Nagasaki Rin! Nice to meet you!" introduced the second girl. She was a bit shorter than the others and wore her light brown hair in twin tails.

"I'm Manabe Yuuna," introduced the third girl. She had her hands clasped in front her while swaying bashfully. She was a bit fleshier than the others and had a cute but chubby face that was even more pronounced with her shoulder-length mousey brown hair serving as a frame.

"I hope we can be good friends, Hina-chan!" Karen announced. The other two nodded in agreement. Hina blushed a deep scarlet color and slowly nodded in acknowledgement. Even though Kota would've preferred to have the attention focused on himself so he can freely integrate himself with modern society and satisfy his curiosity of the real world, he was glad for his sister to have made friends on their first day.

Back in Ten'nosei High School in class 2-B, Shun, Airi, Hana, and Ryo ate lunch together as a group in the classroom. Yosuke walked up to them and kindly asked, "May I join you all for lunch?"

Hana quickly stood up and accepted his request. "It'll be nice to have someone who is familiar with this school to join us!" she added kindly. The other Titans knew exactly what she meant by those words. Shun and Ryo simply exchanged reluctant looks and nodded. Airi quickly put down her chopsticks and left the room. Yosuke and the others were quite surprised by her sudden departure.

"Did I do something wrong?" Yosuke asked apologetically and waving his hands wildly in front of him.

"Just give her some time," Hana kindly told him.

"Oh, of course," Yosuke said with an awkward chuckle and his hand thrown behind his head.

"Hey, Yosuke!" called a voice from behind them. A boy with spiky yellow-tipped light brown hair and piercing reddish-brown eyes approached them with a friendly smile on his face. Around his neck was a silver necklace with a bat pendant.

"Manabe!" Yosuke called the boy. "This is Manabe Akira," introduced Yosuke.

"Yo! I'm from the class next door, 2-C," Akira told them.

"Hello! My name is Hana, pleased to meet you," greeted Hana warmly.

Akira's eyes quickly settled on the skull pendant necklace around Ryo's neck. "That's a cool necklace!" he said. Ryo held the pendant in his hands and nodded in agreement. "Are you a fan of the Black Skull Bats?" Ryo shrugged in reply.

"Isn't that the band you listen to all the time?" Yosuke asked.

"They're coming out with a new album soon," Akira announced. "Say, are you a rock and metal fan?"

"I'm not sure," Ryo replied monotonously.

"Please stop trying to shamelessly recruit new band members from the new kids," Yosuke said, shaking his head.

"All right, all right," said Akira with a laugh. "Well, I'll see you guys later." He began to leave before turning back and added, "Oh, yeah, Yosuke, you said that you'll come see us rehearse our newest song, right? It's gonna be a banger!" Yosuke nodded in assurance. Akira left the classroom with devil horns in the air.

"Akira's a member of a local heavy metal band," Yosuke told the Titans. "Anyway, will Airi be okay?" he asked them in a concerned voice.

"She'll be back in time for class," Hana reassured him.

"She's not exactly a people person," Shun added. Being one of the few close enough to Airi to know how she thinks, Shun was inherently worried about her. He knew what she must be thinking about. He truly wants to help her assimilate into the real world and dispel her illusion that isolation is best. Out of all the Titans, Airi was the one suffering the most in every aspect. "But she'll come around," he wistfully added in a quiet voice.

In other room, 2-A, Kaito was enjoying talking with his other classmates—he was an original Casanova, drawing in both girls and boys. He especially loved the attention he was getting from the girls. "Please don't hold back with your questions," he announced for all to hear. "Especially the ladies," he added arrogantly.

"Disgusting," muttered Mari under her breath.

"Um, excuse me, Mari," spoke a voice beside her. Mari turned to see a skinny girl with glasses and straight black hair. Her dark brown eyes darted to the left to avoid eye contact.

"What do you want?" Mari asked coldly.

"Um, I wanted to ask if you wanted to be friends," the girl asked meekly.

Mari couldn't help but see Rei in this girl—everything about her seemed weak and frail. "What's your name?" Mari asked.

"I-I'm Oda Ai," introduced the girl with false confidence.

"So? Why do you want to be friend with me?" asked Mari suspiciously. After using her ability to peer into the minds of more than half of the class, Mari could care less to acquaint herself with idiots, perverts, and airheads. With a sample size this big—about fifteen people or so—Mari could already calculate just which group this girl belonged to. According to Mari's predictions, the girl was more-or-less an airhead who just wants to ally with the new kids in an attempt to elevate her own personal standing with the school and surround herself with false friends. The girl's innocent act was nothing more than an act to elicit empathy. As if Mari could fall for this. Even without needing to read the girl's mind, Mari knew exactly just the type of person she was. "Well?" Mari pressured.

"I saw that you were by yourself and I was wondering if you would want to be friends with me," Ai answered. "I don't have many friends myself. I'm a weak and lame person, so not many people want to be friends with me. But since entering high school, I made a promise to change myself and put myself out there to make real friends!" The girl's confidence surprised Mari greatly. Ai's expression was genuine and her words were sincere. Still, the only way for one to truly know a person's true nature is by peering into their mind—the one place where they can be their true self.

Mari closed her eyes and focused her powers to peer into Ai's mind. Inside she saw a stream of images detailing Ai's younger years and her loneliness, as well as her sincere determination to change herself for the better. Mari could hear her thoughts and could tell just how sincere and pure they were, free of malice and darkness. The thought that resounded the loudest was: "I just want to make a friend." Mari opened her eyes and saw Ai with a determined expression on her face. With a scoff, Mari simply said, "Sure, do whatever you want."

"R-Really?" stammered Ai in surprise.

"I guess I'll be fine with one friend," Mari said with a false scowl. Ai thanked Mari for her kindness and went back to her seat.

Hiro appeared beside Mari and said, "Feels good, doesn't it? Being nice?"

"Shut up, idiot!" Mari snapped. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment. Still, she felt a little peace seeing Ai with a happy smile on her face after making a new friend.

In class 1-C, Hanzo was engaged in one of the most heated battles in his life. "No, no, no!" he argued aggressively. "Beast King Barbaros was the best father figure to Beast King Kemono-sama!" he declared.

"Beast king Barbaros was nothing more than a foolish geezer whose only redeeming quality was his moral character," Shiro argued back. "I still say that Cavalier Alpha is the best father-figure to Beast King Kemono-sama. Unlike Beast King Barbaros, who despises war and has an unhealthy dependence on treaties, even if they were harmful to the kingdom, Cavalier Alpha was a true hero and patriot. He was the only one worthy of being Beast King Kemono-sama's mentor."

"But Cavalier Alpha was a brute who didn't understand a single thing about resolution and compromise!" said Hanzo. "Beast King Barbaros was a king who cared for his people and did everything he can to protect them from harm!"

"What are guys arguing about?" Nao asked curiously.

"We're just discussing who in the entire universe of Legend of the Beast King: Kemono-sama is the best father-figure and mentor to the titular character during his formative years in the first season before eventually succeeding the throne and defending his kingdom from the invasion of the Inzekt Lords!" Hanzo explained in one breath.

"You know, the anime isn't everything," Shiro told him. "I have the actual manga if you want to borrow them sometime."

"Manga?" Hanzo wondered.

"The manga of Legend of the Beast King: Kemono-sama," replied Shiro. "It's what the anime is based on after all." With a smug smile, he added, "I have the entire series! Twenty-five volumes in all!"

"Ooh!" oohed Hanzo with sparkly eyes.

"I'll lend them to you if you want," Shiro said. Hanzo nodded and smiled.

School had ended for both the middle school Titans and the high school Titans. Shun grabbed his bag and followed behind his friends out the classroom. He was about the cross the doorway when he knocked into someone coming in. Both parties fell down and rubbed their heads. The person who he had knocked into was a girl from his class. She had beautiful soft dark brown hair and comforting bluish-brown eyes. She had fair skin and wore a golden chain locket around her neck. The girl quickly recovered and bowed down. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized.

"It's fine," Shun told her. He got up and held out his hand to her. The girl slowly took his hand and he pulled her up to her feet. Without a thought other worry about a possible injury, Shun placed his hand on her forehead and asked, "Are you okay? There's no injury is there?"

The girl's face quickly became red and she said, "I-I-I'm okay." Her eyes met his and she stood very still. His heterochromatic eyes captivated her like the bright colors of flowers would a butterfly. Shun took his hand off, snapping the girl back to reality. She quickly looked down and sweat began to form on her forehead. Seeing that the girl was honest about not having an injury, Shun walked around her and marched on to join his friends. "Miku!" she blurted out after him. Shun stopped in his tracks and turned around. "My name is Makino Miku," the girl told him. Shun didn't know why, but the Miku's sudden introduction sent a bashful feeling through him. His cheeks reddened a bit like strawberries. He simply nodded his acknowledgement and held out his hand in a goodbye gesture.

Outside the school, the Titans all gathered by the gate and was met by Kenji and Bensaru. Richard was walking over from across the street with Hina and Kota. "So how was school today?" Kenji asked curiously.

"It went well," Hana reported happily.

"Yup!" agreed Hanzo.

"I-I guess," muttered Mari bashfully.

"All the girls totally want me!" Kaito declared.

"I'm glad that nothing out of the ordinary happened," Kenji said.

"Well, actually, we almost had a little incident," Hanzo said while twiddling his thumbs. Rei shrunk behind the others upon hearing those words. "But the crisis was averted and cleverly disguised before something major happened," he reassured them.

"Great!" announced Kenji. "Now, how about we all take the day to go out together and do some shopping?"

"As a group?" asked Hina.

"Of course!" Kenji assured her. The other Titans were a little anxious about going out into the city for the first time. "Onwards!" announced Kenji like a pirate captain. The group walked from the school and entered the city. Tall skyscrapers populated the skyline like massive castle towers. People scurried about the streets and sidewalks like armies of ants out hunting for food; everyone was hungry for consumer goods. "Welcome to Ichikawa!" announced Kenji grandly. The Titans were captivated by the hustle and bustle of the city, the brightly colored billboards and street signs, the shiny buildings and enticing shops, the chatter of people and the grinding of the railway—everything was so new and provocative.

"What do you kids want to do first?" Kenji asked. With the enthusiasm of a child, he started to list all of the possible things they can do on their first outing together. "Shopping? There's this new store I've heard about that sells some of the latest fashionable clothings from America and Europe! Or how about eating out? There's this new restaurant that had just opened that does fuses traditional Japanese cuisine with Indian and French! Or maybe sightseeing? There's a zoo that we can go check out or perhaps an aquarium."

The Titans were all speechless—they felt overwhelmed with the many possibilities the city has to offer, causing them to doubt the sanity of their guardian and the general public. "Perhaps we can take this in stride?" offered Richard. "It's only fair for them to first get used to the city and experience it for themselves firsthand at their own pace."

"True," said Kenji with an awkward chuckle.

"How about we split into three groups?" suggested the butler. "That way you kids don't have to worry about getting lost in the big city."

"Great idea!" Kenji applauded. After some discussion, the groups were decided. Kenji would leading a Group A: Hana, Hanzo, Rei, and Hiro. Richard would be leading group B: Mari, Ryo, Shun, and Hina. Bensaru would be leading group C: Kaito, Nao, Kota, and Airi.

Kaito wasn't too excited about having a monkey as their leader. "I know that I'm not used to the outside world, but is it really okay for our leader to be a monkey? Aren't people going to ask questions?"

Bensaru jumped atop Kaito's shoulders and pulled on his face again. "Do you think that i'm not as competent as humans? Is that supposed to be a jab at me just because I'm a monkey?" accused Bensaru.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" pleaded Kaito. Bensaru jumped off of Kaito's shoulders and crossed his arms in displeasure.

"Don't worry about Bensaru," Kenji reassured the Titans. "This city is well aware of who I am and who he is. I mean, you should've seen the people's faces the first time I brought him to the city. It was hilarious, their reactions!" Kenji laughed and wiped away a tear. He cleared his throat and reached into his lab coat to produce a small stack of bank cards. He handed each of the Titans one. "These are your debit cards. I opened joint accounts for each of you. On these cards are your allowances, which I will deposit into each of your accounts every month."

"How much?" asked Kaito with a shameless smile.

"115,000 Yen," answered the doctor. The Titans couldn't believe just how much money was given to them. Though they didn't have any personal experience with money and buying products, they could tell that the amount held in their cards at this very moment is indeed very massive. The doctor reached into his lab coat again and handed each of the Titans a black wristband. "Wear this at all times," he told them. "The only way for you all to carry out your missions out in the daylight is by having your identities obscured from the public, correct? Therefore, if any of you ever feel the need to use your powers out in public for whatever reason, just press the button the wristband and whatever clothes you currently have on will transform into combat suits similar to what you'd wear on your patrols while still with Justitia. Once you press the button, a thin layer of pre-programmed nanotech particles will encase the clothes on your body and transform the very clothing fiber into your combat suits. The suits are thin to provide for breathing room but possesses the tensile strength of steel for durability and endurance. The nanotech particles are made of unstable molecules so your powers will not be hindered in any way and are easily manipulated to blend in with your abilities. Lastly, the suits are all a slick black color to provide the best cover with style."

The Titans took the wristbands and wore them. "What about our faces?" asked Mari.

"I pre-programmed a set of nanotech particles to create a visible black veil around the lower portions of your faces. You'll be just like ninjas!" announced the doctor with a thumbs up and a wink. The Titans all groaned. "To release the particles back into the wristband, just press the button again."

"Thank you, doctor," said Shun sincerely.

"I told you to call me Ken-san," sobbed Kenji to himself. He shook his head and announced, "Now, off we go!"

Group A, led by Kenji, began their city adventure going into a bookstore. Hanzo immediately left for the light novel aisle and gleefully browsed the various titles on the shelves. He was instantly taken by the bright cover illustrations. Never in his life has he seen something so vivid and so enticing; they were calling to him like the song of a siren, begging him to turn their pages and become entrapped within their stories. He picked out one book from shelves at random. On the cover was a handsome teenage guy in black knight armor holding a giant sword with two girls on either side, a brown haired girl with wolf ears and a black haired girl with cat ears. The title of the book was 'Living Life as a Savior of Another World'. Hanzo opened the book and glanced over a random page. ""So you are the Black Knight!" accused the evil dark lord Nefarious. The Black Knight Kuruko raised his sword and chanted the mystical spell to empower his dark blade with the power to vanquish evil," read Hanzo under his breath. He quickly closed the book and glanced over at the bookshelf the book was from. On the shelves were a total of eight volumes. He quickly grabbed all eight volumes, including the one currently in his hand, and joined up with the others to report on his desired items of purchase.

Hana purchased three books on botany and gardening. Rei bought a shoujo manga about the romance between a high school jock and a shy girl-next-door. Hiro picked out two books, one on Earth materials and a joke book. Hanzo was really giddy about his purchase and couldn't wait to read his treasures once they get back home. Once they were satisfied with their purchases, Kenji led the group on further adventures throughout the city.

Group C, led by Bensaru, began with a stop at a clothing department store. Bensaru, who perched atop Kota's shoulders, browsed the baby section for clothes befitting his small size. Kaito was drawn to the bright styling of a section of designer jackets. He quickly glanced to his left and right before taking a whole row of them off of their hangers. With thee jackets, his popularity would skyrocket off the roof for sure. Nao, who felt like a kid at a candy store, happily browsed the aisles for clothes with dazzling designs, cute pictures, and eye-catching flair. She noticed Airi skimming over the clothes with a disinterested expression on her face. Nao walked over to Bensaru and asked, "Can we try on these clothes in the store?"

"There are changing rooms in the back," Bensaru told her.

"Roger!" she thanked the monkey. With a smile, Nao quickly grabbed a few cute clothes off of their hangers and grabbed Airi's wrist. Before Airi could respond, Nao pulled her into a changing room with her and said, "Let's try these on!"

"W-Why?" Airi asked.

"Because these clothes are cute!" answered Nao childishly. "Besides, I think these clothes would cute on you too. I'm sure Shun would think so too!"

Airi's face suddenly turned a bright red. "W-W-Why are you s-s-saying that?!" Nao simply responded with an ambiguous giggle.

In the end, Bensaru bought a bag of clothes. Kota purchased some T-shirts while Kaito bought the entire row of stylish designer jackets. Nao and Airi also bought some clothes, though the latter only did so because of the former's incessant urging. After completing their purchase, Group C continued on with their city adventures.

Group B, led by Richard, started their adventure at a music shop. Ryo casually walked over to the guitar section and saw an amp on sale. He bent down and carefully caressed it. The object's glossy black color was eye-catching to say the least. Richard approached him from behind and asked, "See something you like?"

Ryo stood up and lowered his head. "I'm fine," he said.

"If you want, we can have that delivered to the mansion," Richard told him. "That is, if you see something you like." He left Ryo to his amp and walked over to skim over a collection of classical music albums. Ryo took one more look at the amp and for the first time in his life since long ago a small smile appeared on his face.

Shun nonchalantly browsed a collection of anison albums, the first thing that caught his casual eye. "Hey, it's Kinoshita Shun!" called a voice from beside him. Shun turned to see Hoshino Yosuke, Manabe Akira, and Makino Miku approaching him as a group. "Are you here buying some music too?" asked Yosuke.

"Not really," answered Shun. He noticed that Miku was avoiding his gaze with flushed cheeks. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked her.

"I-I-I'm okay!" she told him in a flustered tone. "Hey, Manabe, let's go check out that new album you were talking about," she urged Akira.

"You're going to love it!" Akira assured them. The trio said goodbye to Shun and walked over to the rock/metal aisle.

Shun walked out of the store without buying anything and leaned outside against the shop's window. He casually watched the hustle and bustle of the city—people rushing here and there to buy whatever they need or want, cars stampeding through the streets to get from one destination to another. No matter how many times he came to the city during his one free day a week while being holed back in the warehouse, Shun still found himself captivated by the freedom regular people had to act without a care in the world and just focus on their own personal wants, desires, and lives.

The store door opened and Ryo came out to join Shun outside. "I bought the amp," he reported straightforwardly.

"Good for you," Shun told him kindly.

"Do you not like any of the music selections they have?" Ryo asked.

"I just don't feel like shopping for music today," Shun replied. He glanced at Ryo and noticed a bag in his hands. "What's that?" he asked, gesturing to the bag.

Ryo lifted the bag up to his face and said, "I met one of classmates and he recommended me this album. Apparently it's very good and a masterpiece in of itself." With a nod he added, "I shall see for myself why this album is considered as such."

"You always speak what's on your mind, don't you," said Shun with a laugh.

"Only if I feel it necessary to be said," Ryo replied. Suddenly, something caught his eye and he pointed for Shun to turn and take notice of a scene that requires their intervention. A girl in a white flowery dress was being approached by two burly men dressed in black. Both Titans could tell trouble was brewing. Shun nodded to Ryo and the latter took his free hand and flicked the air. The action created a chain reaction of vibrating molecules that manifested into a straightforward burst of air aimed straight for the two men. The arrow of molecules struck the two men in the back and forced to fall on their faces. The girl turned to see the men on the ground and took a step back in apprehension.

Shun moved forward and took the girl by the hand. He was about to escape with the girl when the two men quickly regained their composure and picked themselves back up. Shun stood in front of the girl to guard her from harm. One of the men took out a gun and pointed straight at him. With quick reflexes, he knocked the gun out the man's hand and broke the man's wrist with a simple side-hand chop. He kicked the first guy and tripped the second one in a chain attack. He grabbed the girl and escaped with her. When he passed Ryo, he gave him a nod. Ryo stomped on the ground and sent a crippling vibration through the earth. A focused shock wave sent the men flying into the air before falling back down on their heads, thereby knocking them unconscious indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Shun and the girl escaped into a nearby alleyway. He let go of her hand and asked, "Are you okay?" The girl didn't look fazed one bit, causing Shun to question whether she was still in shock over what had transpired. She had short lilac hair with a front tail to the left and a white daisy worn on the right. Her white flowery dress had a distinctive European or American design to it. Her skin was clear and paler than any girl Shun had ever met before. She had big reflective purplish-blue eyes that evoked a calming coldness that both comforted and distanced others. Shun could tell from one look of her face that she wasn't from Japan. He cleared his throat and attempted to speak English. Back when they were still homeschooled by privately hired tutors, the Titans were taught rudimentary English as part of their curriculum. "Are you okay?" he asked her slowly in an effort to pronounce each word carefully and correctly.

The girl slowly nodded with the same unfazed expression on her face. "Can you help me?" she asked him back in fluent English. "I'm lost. I came here with my guardian but we were separated." Her voice was soft and devoid of emotion.

Shun couldn't keep up with the conversation well enough to understand each and every word, but he was able to pick up the fact that she was lost and needed help. "Sure," he said. "Follow me. I take you to my adult." He peeked out to see whether or not the men had left. Once he was sure they were okay, he led the girl back to the music shop where Ryo and the others were waiting for him.

"Are you alright?" Richard asked Shun.

"Yes," Shun replied. "I saved this girl from two men who attempted to harm her. She says that she's lost and needs help."

"Oh? Are you okay miss?" Richard asked the girl.

"She doesn't speak Japanese," Shun told the butler.

"English then?" Richard asked the girl in fluent English. "Are you okay miss?" he asked her again.

"Yes," replied the girl.

"Do you know why those two men were after you?" Richard asked.

"Maybe," the girl answered cryptically. "I was separated from my guardian when we were attacked by a group of men like the ones who attempted to harm me. Can you help me find him?"

"Come with us," Richard told the girl. "We'll help you look for him. For the time being, you should stick close to us. I can assure you we're not bad people." The girl nodded and stayed by Shun's side the entire time. As the group continued on with their city adventure, the girl followed closely behind Shun and grabbed onto his shirt sleeve. Soon, all three groups finished up their shopping and met up together at a restaurant. Kenji had called up one of his people and had them take all of their shopping back to the mansion. Richard and Shun explained the girl's situation and Kenji happily accepted her as part of their group. Kenji rented out an entire dining section for them and had the employees put together table fit for sixteen people (including Bensaru, who was given a high chair for his own convenience). Everyone seemed to have enjoyed their day and happily engaged in conversation about the things they bought and the experiences they had on their adventures through the city. Shun was truly happy to see his friends enjoying themselves.