Chapter 4 - Agent K and the Mysterious Kidnapper

The Titans were amazed at all of the delicious food they had never experienced before until this night. Kenji helped them with their orders and the entire ordering process, serving as an intermediary between the inexperienced Titans and the restaurant servers. Hana ordered a tofu salad with seaweed, blanched snow peas, shredded carrots, peanuts, fresh lettuce, and sesame dressing. Hanzo had an eight ounce Kobe beef steak done medium well with a side of rice and pickled daikons. Hina ordered a seafood soup with shrimp, tofu, scallops, and vegetables. Kota requested the spicy chicken ramen soup. Hiro got a plate of spicy curry and rice and a small bowl of miso soup. Mari went with the simple order of fried rice with pork, beef, scallions, and ginger. Ryo had the cold soba noodles with natto and oroshi. Rei settled on a basic pork cutlet bowl with a side of pickled vegetables. Nao ordered a bowl of okonomiyaki with a filling made of scallops, pork, scallions, carrots, and cabbage, and topped with Japanese mayonnaise. Kaito went for the most appetizing food based on looks alone and ordered the gyudon topped with soft poached eggs and served with a bowl of miso soup. Airi ordered a bowl of seafood ramen and a side dish of pickled daikons. Shun got the bowl of curry udon. The girl whom he had saved previously from harm got the same thing as him. Kenji ordered a bowl of spicy beef ramen with tempura toppings and a side of pickled vegetables. Richard ordered a simple bowl of rice and beef with cucumbers and lettuce. As for Bensaru, Kenji asked for a bowl of fresh fruits.

Before digging in, everyone at the table made sure to savor the food in all its glory, from their rich colors and distinct textures to their fragrant smells. Everyone joined together in the age-old custom of declaring thanks for the meal, except for the new girl, who was more or less confused and unfamiliar with the strange custom. They dug in and enjoyed their meals.

"Oh, we forgot to ask the lady her name," Kenji realized. He cleared his throat and asked in clear English, "What is your name, sweetheart?"

The girl took a pause from eating and answered, "Erica."

"Nice to meet you, Erica," Kenji said kindly. "It was a faux pas on our part to forget to ask for your name upon our first encounter."

"What's a faux pas?" Kaito asked Mari, who was sitting right next to him.

"Any tactless act or remark in regards to a situation," Mari answered. "Basically your entire existence could be called a faux pas," she added with a cold smirk.

"I'm kinda surprised that the doctor can speak very good English," Kota whispered to Hiro next to him.

"Impressive," Hiro agreed.

"Can you tell us anything else about your guardian?" Kenji asked Erica.

"He is a very tall American man with neat blonde hair and bright blue eyes," Erica told him.

"We will keep an eye out for him, then, dear. Thank you very much, Erica." Erica gave him a small smile and resumed eating her dinner.

Once everyone was finished with their meal, Kenji paid the bill and the group left the restaurant. Outside, the moon was raining down silver rays and covered the entire city in its metallic glow. The stars were beginning their ascension to the heavens. Kenji took a look at his watch on his left wrist and commented, "It's well past 7:30. We should get home soon. You kids have school tomorrow." He turned to Erica and said, "Why don't you room with us for the night? We can look for your guardian tomorrow." Erica didn't like that idea and hid behind Shun. Kenji noticed this but could only smile in reassurance.

Just then, a voice from behind them said in fluent English, "Erica! There you are!" Kenji turned to see a tall man with pale skin, bright blue eyes, and neat blonde hair walking up to them. He was dressed in a coffee brown pinstripe suit and black tie. The man bowed and said in fluent Japanese, "Thank you very much for looking after my daughter. I am truly sorry for any trouble she might've caused." Everyone was genuinely surprised by the man's expert pronunciation and eloquent articulation.

"Uh, it's no trouble at all," Kenji told the man with an awkward laugh. "So she's your daughter, huh?"

"Yes, she is," the man replied. He stood back up and beckoned for Erica to come. She obeyed and walked over to join him.

Suddenly, from behind them, another voice called out in English, "Erica! There you are, sis!" A girl the same height as Erica arrived by her side. She had long pinkish-orange hair and big orange-colored eyes. An orange Persian buttercup flower adorned her hair on the right. She wore a salmon flowery shirt and a dark orange knee-length layered skirt. Besides the different hair and eye colors, both the girl and Erica looked exactly the same. The girl noticed the Team Titan and bowed. "Thank you for taking care of my sis," she said happily in perfect Japanese.

"Oh, please," dismissed Kenji with an awkward chuckle. "To be honest, we were just talking about finding you," he told the man.

"I thank you for your kindness," said the man. "May I ask, what is your name, kind sir?"

"Kenji!" Kenji answered the man, "Kinoshita Kenji."

"Well, I'll be," said the man in English. He quickly switched back to Japanese and said, "I am Arthur Killian. But you may know me better as Agent K."

"Well, well," Kenji said with a surprised smile. "If I may, would you all like to spend the night in my mansion?"

"Thank you for the invitation," accepted Arthur.

Back at the mansion, Richard showed Arthur to a guest room and had set up a double room for Erica and her sister, whose name was Terry. The Titans all gathered in Shun's room. They were plagued with many questions regarding the relationship between their guardian and the American man. There was no doubt that something bigger was in play.

"Who do you think the American is?" asked Hanzo suspiciously.

"What do you think they're talking about downstairs?" added Hana.

"This doesn't make any sense at all!" whined Kaito. "Why do they like to keep us in the dark? I don't get it!"

"This is no different than when we were living at the warehouse," Airi pointed out. "Adults are scary and untrustworthy."

"They always seem to have a hidden motive for everything little thing they do," Mari said with disgust.

"Maybe the American is from some sort of secret agency like Justitia?" offered Hiro.

"True," agreed Hanzo.

"That's not far off!" said a voice from the doorway. The Titans turned to see the two sisters standing at the doorway. Erica stood bashfully behind her sister. Terry, on the other hand, waved to them with a friendly smile on her happy face. "May we come in?" she asked.

"Of course!" replied Nao cheerfully.

Both sisters walked in and sat down with the Titans. "Our father works for an American security and intelligence agency," Terry told them.

"Just like Justitia," concluded Hanzo with a scoff.

"The American company is also under contract with the United Nations as the premier global security and intelligence agency," Terry added.

"What is the company's name?" Hiro asked.

"That's a secret!" Terry replied childishly with an innocent smile.

"What do you think the adults are talking about?" wondered Kota curiously.

"I got an idea!" announced Kaito. "Rei, why don't you turn invisible and eavesdrop on them?" Rei replied with a squeak and her face turned a deep red.

"Ooh! Ooh!" cried Nao, raising and waving her hand wildly, "Let me do it!" she offered.

"As if," scoffed Hanzo. "Once you teleport yourself downstairs, the first thing you'll do is blow your cover. You and your big mouth will only get us in trouble." Nao sat back down with puffed up cheeks in a show of infuriation.

"How about you, Mari?" suggested Kaito with an evil grin. "You can just read their minds, right? All you have to do is focus and you can see exactly what they're talking about."

"You're seriously asking to die," Mari replied with glowering eyes.

"Just kidding!" Kaito quickly corrected himself with an awkward laugh.

"Let's not think about that anymore," Shun told the group. "We should get some rest for school tomorrow." And with that, the Titans dropped their curiosities for better or for worse and shifted their focus to tomorrow's schoolday.

Downstairs, Richard had served both Kenji and Arthur tea in the living room. He then took his leave and led Bensaru to his room. Arthur took a sip of the tea and finished with a sigh. Both men basked in the silence for a few minutes before engaging in conversation. Kenji was the one to start. "So you have two daughters I see."

"I actually have a few more back at home in the US," Arthur told him. "I've adopted them ever since they were young."

"Then I guess we're more alike than we think," Kenji said with a laugh. "I've recently adopted the kids you saw with me too. I've always lived by myself with only my butler and pet monkey as companions. One thought that has always intrigued me was the idea of becoming a father. I'm always busy with work so I never had the opportunity for a long-term relationship. So instead, I decided to adopt my own children."

Arthur looked at Kenji with amazement. 'So this is how rich people think,' he thought to himself.

"Anyway, I spoke with Black Star yesterday about you," Kenji said, changing the subject. "Although I was totally caught by surprise with your sudden appearance here in Japan."

"I apologize for not getting in touch sooner," Arthur apologized sincerely.

"She told me that you don't use the Internet at all," Kenji told him.

"My agency is weary about using the Internet," Arthur explained. "Instead, we rely on using tried-and-true methods from our predecessors. One such method is communicating through mail by using encoded messages in junk mail and coupons."

"Just like in spy movies!" exclaimed Kenji like a child.

"I was prepared to send you a letter, but felt it might be better to make an appearance instead," said Arthur.

"So I guess you weren't in Japan on vacation then," joked Kenji.

"As you know, our agency is dedicated to capturing all forms of criminals," Arthur said in a serious tone. "The most despicable of all crimes are those dealt against innocent people against their will. To be honest, we have been wary of Justitia for a while now. Despite being started a little over ten years ago, they have done well to decrease Japan's crime rate greatly below the national average. Although it may seem like a good thing to the public, one must question the methods they used to achieve this goal."

"And one of those methods would be to use human laborers against their will," Kenji finished for him.

"Just a theory," admitted Arthur, taking another sip of his tea.

"Tell me, Mr. Killian, or should I call you Agent K?" asked Kenji.

"Either works fine," replied Arthur.

"Tell me, Agent K," began Kenji again, "have you ever been face-to-face with genetically altered humans before?" Arthur looked at the doctor with deadly eyes. He was obviously not amused by the idea. "Looks like I hit a sore spot for you," said Kenji in an attempt to diffuse any unease between them.

"I can't say that I have," Arthur answered in a distant voice. Kenji noticed a glare in the agent's eyes that told him something else. But he decided not to act on this instinct lest he lose himself an ally. "Tell me, doctor, did you work on genetic experiments for Justitia?" Kenji stayed silent and took a sip from his cup of tea. "Genetic experiments on human test subjects is the worst crime against humanity one can commit," declared Arthur.

"I guess the topic of stem cell research isn't up for discussion then," said Kenji half-jokingly. "Have you ever heard the name of Tagami Kosuke before?" he asked the agent.

"Tagami Kosuke," repeated Arthur thoughtfully. "He's one of Japan's premier geneticists and biochemists, as well as a leading expert on biophysics and developmental biology."

"He was also a deranged otaku obsessed with superheroes," Kenji added. "His obsession eventually gave birth to one of Justitia's most successful projects—Project Titan."

"We've received word from previous moles and informants regarding Project Titan," Arthur revealed. "If I remember correctly, it's a project meant to create products to fight crime using only the most advanced of scientific principles."

"You're not entirely wrong," Kenji told him.

"So Justitia was working on human experiments," concluded Arthur. He shook his head and scoffed in disgust. "I knew those bastards were the lowest of the low." He turned to face Kenji and said, "Well? Did you want to meet with me to expose those bastards too?"

"Actually," began Kenji, getting up from his seat and standing right in front of Arthur with his hands behind his back, "I want to make a deal with you."

"Deal?" inquired Arthur.

"I want you and your agency to destroy Justitia," Kenji answered straightforwardly with a child-like smile. "Burn it to the ground. Destroy those bastards once and for all. Ruin their reputation as much as you can. Expose them to the world as the devils they really are."

The idea elicited a chuckle out of the American. "I always heard that you were twisted, but I didn't realize you were this demented at all! Your reputation precedes you, Devil in Human Flesh!"

"Huh? Where did you hear that nickname, I wonder?" asked Kenji.

"Kinoshita Kenji, also known as the Devil in Human Flesh, a ruthless scientist who doesn't think twice about using human subjects for his own experiments," summarized Arthur.

"Well, you got me there!" said Kenji with a laugh.

"So, what will you do after Justitia is defeated?" asked Arthur.

"There are bigger things in play," Kenji announced. "Justitia is just the first piece of the puzzle." With a soft smile, he continued one, "For example, the men who chased after you and caused you to be separated from your daughter."

"Upon arriving in Japan, I felt that we were being watched by an unknown enemy," Arthur admitted. "Who knew that the enemy was ready to ambush us from the start? I fought against them as much as I can, there were four of them. Two of them tried their hardest to keep me occupied. Terry was right beside me while Erica was cornered herself by the other two. I told her to run and she did, which led to our split." He looked up at the doctor and asked, "Can I assume that they were Justitia's men?"

"And why would you assume that, I suppose?" wondered Kenji.

"Maybe Justitia somehow knew about my presence in Japan," suggested Arthur.

"But are you well known enough to be considered a threat by the agency when the agency has never crossed paths with you before?" reasoned the doctor. "Even if you are one of the best agents from your agency, to assume that they would know of your identity wouldn't make very sense, will it now? Otherwise, you're either a very conspicuous agent or you're pretty inept at what you do and your position reflects your tenure with the agency rather than as a an acknowledgement of your skill."

"You're right," admitted Arthur sheepishly. "Your deduction skills are truly on a another level. To be honest, I've never been a fan of mystery works and tend to overthink every little detail."

"So I see you're more of a field agent than anything else," realized Kenji.

"True, I prefer to be in the field and leave the mysteries and science to the experts," Arthur agreed. His face shifted to a ponderous frown and he sighed. "So, who do you think they might be working for?"

"Well, lately there's been global recognition of two other security companies," offered Kenji with a nod. "The north European company Valhalla and the Middle Eastern company N.I.L.E."

"Are you saying they're following in Justitia's footsteps in producing super soldiers?" Arthur asked suspiciously.

"Justitia wasn't the first," Kenji revealed. "If I remember correctly, there was actually a weapons company in Italy that was alleged to have been participating in human genetic experiment to create the world's first super soldiers over ten years ago. Of course it around the same as Justitia's experiments, but they've succeeded in completing their project before we did." Arthur's left eye twitched at the mention of the Italian company. With a cruel smile, Kenji continued, "I heard that they showed off their products to militaries and security companies around the world by hosting an underground viewing party under the noses of the United Nations."

"But the Italian company has been inactive for years now," Arthur said.

"True," agreed Kenji with a nod.

"So who were those men in black working for?" Arthur asked again.

"Some sort of crime syndicate formed by corrupt security companies focused on using human genetic experiments to make money and advance their position in the world," suggested Kenji half-jokingly.

Arthur pinched the bridged of his nose and lightly rubbed his eyes. "This is too much to take in," he declared. He stood up and announced his leave for bed.

As he was walking up the steps, Kenji called, "Why don't you stay here a few days? You don't have to get back to your agency any time soon, right? Maybe all three of us can meet up and solve this mystery together." The third person was in reference to their mutual colleague, the one responsible for allowing this meeting to occur.

"Thank you for your offer," accepted Arthur with a yawn.

Once the agent had gone up to bed, Kenji sat back in his chair lazily. "This game just got interesting," Kenji sighed happily. "To think that there's something bigger in play. Of course it would only make sense." He yawned and went off to bed. As he walked off to his room he had an epiphany. "Well what do you know," he muttered to himself with a smile. He went inside his roof and decided to keep the idea at the back of his mind for now till tomorrow's conversation.

During lunch the next day at school, Yosuke and Akira came to join Shun's group. Airi immediately got up, but Shun was quick to grab her arm and asked her to stay with pleading eyes. She reluctantly sat back down and continued to eat her meal. Yosuke invited Miku to join and she accepted the invitation with a bashful face. When she came to the table, she avoided eye contact with Shun, though not out of malice or arrogance.

"Did you guys buy any new music yesterday?" Akira asked the Titans. "I have some recommendations if you want to hear them out."

"I have yet to listen to your recommended album," Ryo told him. "But if it is the masterpiece you claim it to be, I hope it will meet my expectations."

"Of course!" said Akira. He received a notification on his phone and took it out to see what it was. "Oh, sorry about this guys, but I gotta go meet up with my bandmates." He got up and waved goodbye, taking his leave.

"So he is a part of a musical group?" asked Hana after Akira had left the room.

"Something like that," answered Yosuke with an awkward smile. "They're actually a popular local band. They're called the Dark Saviors."

"Cool," commented Ryo.

"I never really got a chance to ask yesterday, but you guys are living with Dr. Kinoshita Kenji, correct?" asked Yosuke with sparkling eyes. His face showed no shame in conveying his obvious curiosity about the doctor and the Titans' lifestyle.

"Yes," Shun answered simply.

"So do you guys like live in a giant mansion or something? I mean, Dr. Kinoshita Kenji is well known for being one of the most wealthiest residents in this part of Chiba," Yosuke explained. "He's one of the research heads for Nippon Biological Medical Group, a member of the city's Health Department, as well as a consultant for the W.H.O.! I heard that he's currently one of the leading experts on biochemistry, developmental biology, and molecular genetics." Yosuke said all of that with twinkling eyes and an expression of reverence.

"Do you perhaps idolize the doctor?" Hana asked kindly with an awkward smile.

"My dream is to become a geneticist one day and help others," Yosuke said with child-like innocence. "I'd be lying if I said that I've never followed the doctor's work my entire life."

"That's nice," Hana said with a kind smile.

"How about you guys? What are your dreams?" Yosuke asked casually. The Titans resorted to silence as their answer and simply looked down with downcast eyes. Immediately, Yosuke waved his hands in front of him in apology and said, "Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to say anything weird."

"It's complicated," Shun told him. Yosuke nodded in acknowledgement and left it at that.

Meanwhile, in the next room, Kaito flaunted his new jacket and received a myriad of oohs and ah's from the class. Mari decided to let the idiot advertise himself and be the center of attention so that she herself won't have to deal with prying questions and false kindness. She ate her lunch in peace without any distraction. The peace was disturbed when one of her classmates, Oda Ai, the same girl who sincerely requested to be her friend, timidly took a seat right across from her. Mari simply looked up at her with cold eyes and an expressionless face built on intimidation. Ai had eyes downcast and her cheeks were redder than strawberry jam. 'Rei 2.0,' Mari sighed in her head.

"N-Nice to make your acquaintance, M-Mari-chan," Ai stammered.

"Sure," Mari abruptly answered back. She focused on her own lunch and paid the girl no mind. After a few bites, Mari looked up at the girl and asked in an annoyed voice, "So?"

"Yes?" Ai asked in return, not sure what Mari meant by her comment.

"Why are sitting here with me instead of joining those fools over there?" Mari asked the girl, gesturing to the giant crowd around Kaito.

"I'm not one who enjoys being a part of big crowds," Ai revealed with a cowardly smile.

"I don't know if you're a bigger idiot than the rest of them or actually one of the only sane people in this class besides me," Mari announced with a dry chuckle.

"Thank you?" Ai said with a confused smile.

Mari cleared her throat and said in an arrogant tone, "I guess you're not all bad. Maybe you'll be good company after all." A huge smile formed on Ai's face upon hearing the compliment. Mari quickly added in her own unique arrogant way, "Not that I needed company in the first place. I can be perfectly fine by myself too." Ai nodded in acknowledgement with the same smile. Mari couldn't help but to smile herself, albeit a small one, and accept this girl's sincere friendship.

Lunch quickly passed and soon school ended. Back in class 2-B, Shun was called on by the teacher to bring some papers to the staff room with Miku. Once everyone left, Shun and Miku went up to the teacher's desk and took the two piles of papers to the staff room. While walking down the hallway, Shun noticed that Miku was walking one step behind him. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'm fine!" she said, faking a smile.

"It just seems like you're not feeling well," he told her. "If you want, I can take care of this myself."

"No, I can't let you do this all by yourself!" Miku exclaimed loudly. "After all, I was called upon to help you. It's my duty to help you see this through."

"Really, then," Shun said with a smile.

"Thank you." Miku suddenly blushed a deep shade of red darker than wine. She could feel steam coming out of her ears as her face burned with embarrassment.

Both students finally arrived at the staff room and went inside, setting down the papers on their teacher's desk. When they got back out, Miku found herself bumping into the school's nurse, Obe Hisako. "I'm sorry!" she immediately apologized with a bowed head.

"It's fine," said the nurse. "It's my fault for not paying attention. I was too focused on a meeting I have later today and I guess I got tunnel vision." Obe Hisako, the school's nurse and respected medical professional, was a young woman whose elegant look makes her true age too ambiguous to discern. It could be safe to assume that she was a woman in her mid-late twenties. She had soft honey-brown hair that stretched down to her waist, sultry hazel-brown eyes framed inside long black eyelashes, and perky naked lips thinly veiled in sparkling lip gloss. She was a rare beauty who didn't need to rely on makeup to enhance her own natural appearance. She was a tall woman with slender legs and arms, but her bust was the envy of every female faculty member. Personality-wise, everyone agrees that she's a kind and caring woman with a slight cheeky streak. She was dressed in black pants and a black blouse with a white coat. She also wore purple frame glasses and a small silver barrette above her left eye.

"Excuse us," said Shun with a bow. Both he and Miku quickly walked off to leave school for the day.

Behind them, Hisako looked at the pair with a smile and mischievous eyes. However, her main attention wasn't directed at Miku but at Shun. "I see," she said to herself. "Let's just hope days like this lasts forever."

The Titans were picked up by Richard after school. Upon coming back to the mansion, they saw Kenji and Arthur relaxing in the living room and engaging in friendly conversation like old acquaintances. Bensaru was playing cards with Terry on the coffee table in the living room. He seemed to be annoyed at the prospect of losing while Terry had a triumphant smile on her face. The Titans walked up the stairs to their rooms to lay down their bags and change into everyday clothes.

In their room, after changing, Ryo plugged his guitar to his amp, which had arrived this morning, and played at a moderate volume with light distortion. He played some chords and riffs from songs he had heard before on the TV they had back at the warehouse. Shun glanced at his roommate and was happy to see his friend engaging in something he loves; Ryo had a happy expression on his face that wasn't as visible as a normal person's, but the feeling was nonetheless there. Leaving his friend to his activities, Shun exited the room and walked down the hallway with nothing particular in mind. A beautiful voice suddenly caught his attention, captivating his ears like the haunting sounds of an angel. It was soft like the wind, clear like glass, and beautiful like a canary's; a voice that can only be summed up as heavenly and inhuman. As Shun trudged on forward, the voice got louder and clearer. He came upon a balcony and saw Erica standing outside and singing with her eyes closed. He walked outside and simply let himself be immersed in her angelic voice.

The melody that she was singing was a simple pentatonic three note progression followed by a conclusion on the fifth above the root. It was a mystical tune that enchanted the ears of all who listens. Both the melody and her voice was transcendent. When she finished her singing, she turned to see Shun standing there listening and jumped back in surprise. Her face quickly turned a deep shade of red.

"That was a beautiful song," Shun told her sincerely in English. Erica nodded with her eyes focused on the ground. She then excused herself and went back inside. After hearing that song, Shun somehow felt more refreshed and calm than before. He went back to his room and found Ryo playing a brand new melodic progression. "Is that a new song?" he asked.

"It just came to me," Ryo told him. "I thought I heard a strange melody playing in my mind and this just came to me as an accompaniment for that." Shun couldn't tell him that the melody he heard was very much real and not in his mind at all. Ryo's concentration on playing this new piece and Erica's embarrassment at being found out made him decide to just let this be.

"Sounds good," Shun complimented him.

Downstairs, the doorbell rang and Richard went out to fetch the visitor. He arrived back with Obe Hisako, the school nurse of Ten'nosei High School and the mutual colleague of Kenji and Arthur. She was still dressed in her school outfit—black pants and a black blouse with a white coat. The butler led her to the living room where she was warmly greeted by both Kenji and Arthur.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" welcomed Kenji, feigning arrogance.

"It's great to meet you again," Arthur said with a nod.

"It's been a while since I've been here," Hisako said.

"Why don't we take this out to the patio? We'll have more privacy to talk there," Kenji suggested. The other two agreed and the group left for the patio in the backyard. They sat down at the table in the middle of the cement circle below the stairs. "You know, you never did tell me when you and how you guys met," Kenji told them.

"It was a little over a year ago," Hisako began. "After years of gathering all the necessary details I could about Justitia, I needed to find some way to expose them. It was then that I came across the agency Arthur works for and got into contact with them."

"It was a huge help," Arthur agreed. "Our agency has been after Justitia for some time now ever since their third year in operation. The way they've been able to lower the crime rate of Tokyo well below the global average doesn't make any sense at all. I mean, everyone wants to live safer lives and a low crime rate is something we should strive for, but the unnatural numbers they produced begs the question of whether or not the methods they used are more problematic than the crimes themselves."

"No matter how pure you may think you are, everyone always have room for corruption," Kenji said philosophically with a sagely nod. "Speaking of," he added, "last night I received an epiphany that I would like to share with you both."

"And what may that be?" asked Arthur.

"You've been wondering why and how your arrival in Japan drew the attention of those men in black, correct?"

"Of course," said Arthur.

"You've been attacked?" Hisako asked him.

"It was an ambush," answered Arthur. He looked at Kenji with pleading eyes.

With an arrogant smile, Kenji revealed the answer like the insufferable genius he is. "It's because you have a mole in your agency!"

"Mole?!" Arthur and Hisako exclaimed in unison.

"Of course!" Kenji told them. "It only makes sense! Your agency must have someone who is either on Justitia's payroll or working under a syndicate made up of corrupt agencies. That's the way only those men could've known you would be in Japan that day. Someone close to you must've known about your decision to come to Japan and contacted their superiors to have those men sent after you!"

"Sounds like something from a movie," dismissed Hisako with a chuckle.

"Call it what you will, but it's the only logical solution," Kenji said with a shrug.

After some thoughtful consideration, Arthur nodded and agreed. "I'll look into it when I get back," he told them. He then looked up at the both of them and asked, "I get the feeling that you two are old acquaintances." Hisako and Kenji looked at each other and smiled. They simply nodded in answer to the question.

Just then, a piercing scream caught their immediate attention and forced the trio to stand up and turn their attention to the second-floor windows. A mysterious figure dressed in a white surgical mask and silver-white coat appeared on one of the second-level balconies with Erica over his shoulder, gagged and tied up. He jumped down and gracefully landed like a ninja. Arthur stepped up and angrily called to the mysterious man, "Let my daughter go!" The man glanced at the agent and simply gave an insulting chuckle.

Up above in the balcony, Shun appeared and quickly jumped down without hesitation. He braced for impact and took the pain of landing in stride. The man reached inside his coat and pulled out three throwing knives. Even with a person on his shoulders, the man threw the knives with prodigious accuracy. The knives struck Shun's legs and right arm before he even had time to evade. Blood leaked out of the cuts and formed an ever growing pool below him.

Arthur quickly reached inside his suit and pulled out a gun. He took aim and was ready to fire when Kenji reached out and placed his hand on the weapon. Arthur didn't know what the doctor was thinking but he saw a sparkle of intrigue and determination in his eyes. Before he knew it, he lowered his weapon and resigned to watch the battle instead.

Without as much as a grunt of pain, Shun simply pulled the knives out of his limbs. His wounds promptly healed and became new. He clenched his fists and his eyes quickly shifted into that of a bloodthirsty warrior. As quick as the wind, he rushed forward to the man and struck him square in the jaw with a punch. The force was enough to knock the man back and throw Erica into the air. Shun's attention switched to the now falling girl. He was about to jump and catch her when a crack in the ground formed and quickly expanded to create a pathway for a green vine to rise and sprout. The vine was thicker than three feet and grew until reached higher than three meters tall. Purple flowers bloomed as the vine grew into its current monstrous form. It reached Erica and did something no one would expect a plant to do—the vine grabbed onto Erica and tightly wrapped itself around her waist. It then safely brought her down until she was safely on the ground on her own two feet. Shun then quickly ran over to take off her gag.

"What—?" Arthur was speechless at the sight before him.

From behind him, Hana, Hanzo, Ryo, and Airi ran up to join him. Ryo held out his hands and caused the molecules in the air to ripple in a chain reaction, creating a slash of air that sliced away the ropes binding Erica's body. "Thanks guys," Shun told them.

The man seemed to have regained his consciousness and twisted his neck in preparation for combat. He brought down the mask on his face to reveal a pair of black-stained lips and a black-inked chin tattoo of a crown. He inhaled and breathed out a mysterious green cloud. The green cloud touched the ground and immediately killed the nearby grass with its poisonous touch, sucking them of their life and turning them a horrible black like the ashen leaves of dead trees. Shun and the others observed this scene with horror in their eyes.

"Interesting," commented Kenji with grim eyes.

Before the gas could touch them, Ryo stepped up and put his hands out, increasing the vibration speed of all the molecules in front of him to send out a burst of wind. It successfully cut through the toxic gas and forced it into dissipation, clearing the air around them once again. Hana then stepped up and manipulated the vine that had saved Erica earlier to capture their enemy. The man possessed quick reflexes and breathed out a cloud of toxic gas that caused the vine to wither away into nothingness. Ryo then stomped his foot on the ground and forced the vibration to reverberate at a higher frequency, sending out a shock-wave that forced the man to fall down.

Hanzo quickly took this chance to transform into a giant green python and slithered to the man, wrapping himself tightly around the enemy in a death hug. "Be careful!" shouted out Shun. The man, whose expression conveyed his deep irritation with the current situation he was in, turned to face Hanzo in the face and blew a concentrated mist of the toxic gas. Hanzo was forced to let go and transform back and leap away from the gas.

With no regard for his own safety, Shun ran up and threw a kick at the man. The man managed to block the attacked and countered with a mist of his toxic breath. Shun defended with his arms crossed over his body. The toxic mist was quick to burn his arms straight through the last layer of skin. He let his arms fall limply to his sides as he focused on rushing the target and unleashing a spin kick.

Behind him, Arthur watched with amazement at how quickly and inhuman Shun's arms healed to the point where they looked just as healthy as before with no scars or any other signs that they were harmed in any way. With accusing eyes, he turned to Kenji and demanded, "You must tell me the meaning of this once this battle is over."

"Ah, you caught me!" Kenji said in childish defeat with a mischievous smile.

Shun's spin kick was quickly evaded by the man, who countered with an elbow jab to the stomach. "He's fast," Shun groaned under his breath. The two combatants traded blows like professional fighters in a ring. From outside the fight, Airi used her ability to scan and analyze the situation. Her supercomputer calculation provided her with more than fifty viable solutions to quickly put an end to this fight.

Erica looked at Airi with scared eyes. The Titan knew that the girl was afraid for Shun's life, a feeling she herself knew too well. Using the plan developed by her processor, Airi held out her right arm and said, "Mode 8." The back of her hand opened up and revealed a small horizontal metal rod with two prongs, reminiscent of a tuning fork. It quickly powered on and an arc of electricity formed between the two prongs. According to her calculations, the toxic gas emitted by the enemy possesses high concentrations of hydrochloric acid. Since hydrochloric acid becomes a great conductor of electricity when coming into contact with water, the enemy's toxic gas, when hit by an electrical shot, should act as a giant lightning rod after coming into contact with the water vapor in the air. "Shun!" Airi called over to him. Shun turned to see her armed and ready. He saw her determined expression and nodded in acknowledgement, jumping away from the battle just as the enemy unleashed another cloud of toxic gas. Airi took that moment to shoot out a bolt of electricity straight for the gas. The electric bolt struck the cloud of gas and caused a massive explosion. The smoke quickly cleared and the man had disappeared. This was the end of one battle and the beginning of a war.