Kaitansha HQ—-
Hayate shuffled through a mound of papers while Marin frantically paced back and forth in front of him.
"Hmm. Yes. All the Omariro Nyugawa files are gone. But why? Why would they need them?"
"Nyugawa is a very powerful individual. And seeing now he can revert to his prime state, seemingly at will, tons of enemies may want to capture or destroy him," Marin explained.
"What did that guy look like?" Hayate asked. "The one who stole the files."
"Average height. Young. White hair. Had a bit of a tense look in his eye, crazy, even. Shion, is the name he called himself."
Hayate tapped his chin. "Shion…I think I remember that name."
"You do?"
Hayate began typing away at his computer, pulling up a feed. "Yes. He was employed by the Kaitansha years back. But years ago, something happened that caused him and his entire division to disappear."
"What was it?"
"I don't know. Only Omariro and a select few do, and they've kept it close to their chests. But Shion's always been a wildcard. If he's back now, then something isn't right."
"So," Marin remarked. "We've got him and that damned Huntress to worry about."
"Indeed. It's a hard task, but a task nonetheless we can trust Nyugawa with."
Marin scoffed. "I guess."
"Speaking of, can I trouble you to inform him of the situation?"
"Me?"
"Yes. I think it'll be good for you two to catch up a bit, don't you think?"
"Whatever. I will be right back after briefing him on the situation."
She turned on her heel and left, leaving Hayate alone to stare at Shion's file. "Shion…what happened…and how are you back?"
Meanwhile, Shinkaidan Mansion——
Omariro watched Nonoka train against the clones, briefly pausing between sips to analyze her movements. After unleashing a wind burst, Nonoka dropped to the ground, exhausted.
"Sir…" she admitted. "Kinda drained…break, please?"
Omariro stood up. "Girl skilled."
"Yeah. My dad taught me."
"Hmm."
Nonoka got up, quickly clearing her throat. "Atsushi, of course. Though he moves with power and force, he's surprisingly agile."
Omariro stared at her a little longer, sipping his coffee. Nonoka awkwardly looked around. "So…anything more you want me to do? Or can I join the team?"
KNOCK.
Omariro pointed his staff at the door. "Go tell tax men go. Taxes still not due."
"I—-will go do that."
Nonoka exited through the hallway, opening the front door, where she found Marin and a few Kaitansha agents hovering behind her. As soon as Nonoka opened the door, Marin gave a curt wave.
"Hello. Is Omariro here?"
"Uh, yeah! Do you need him?"
"Yes. I'd like to talk with him, however brief."
"Sure, I guess. I'll go get him."
Soon after, Omariro used his stick to get to the front door, where Marin was standing, looking away.
"Ayase," Omariro recognized.
Her eyes immediately refocused on him. "We're not strangers, you know. You can call me by my first name."
"What does woman want?"
"Nevermind. You should know some shadow infiltrator stole a bunch of files related to you out of our HQ."
Omariro drank some more of his coffee. "Woman speak uselessness."
"Excuse you—-do you not care?"
"Files irrelevant."
"Dismissive as ever," Marin scoffed. "Just like you."
Nonoka looked between them. "Uhh…do you two have history?"
Marin's face turned red as Omariro calmly stood there. "Woman former partner."
Nonoka's face turned red as well. "Wait, like, dating—-?"
"Woman still in love. Woman bitter now."
Marin glared at him. "I am not! I am the Vice-Director! I don't have time to fawn over you, you—-old news!"
Omariro turned back inside, heading for the kitchen. Nonoka stayed there, still stunned.
"So, that's all it takes to date the strongest guy in the world?" she thought. "Be a suit with some attitude? Wow…"
Marin waved off her agents. "Excuse me, you can head back. I'll be there shortly."
Marin watched as Omariro grabbed some more coffee from inside his fridge. "May I come in? I have much to tell you."
The man clapped his hands, appearing on his couch. "Woman do what she wishes."
Marin stepped in, closing the door. "Gosh, I'd better not regret this."
She sat on the chair beside him, rubbing her arms. "I appreciate you letting me get out of the cold…Omariro."
"Woman heart racing."
"It is not!"
Nonoka sat down next to Omariro. "Sooo…how long have you two known each other?"
Omariro simply watched his TV as Marin hesitated to answer. "Around…25 years?"
"That long?"
"Well, he is 97 years old, so it's probably not that long to him."
She glared at Omariro, who continued watching his show. "Not that he cares."
She shook it off. "Either way, past aside. The Huntress. Do you have any plans to deal with her? She is after you, after all."
She bit her tongue. "Can't believe I'm saying that."
Omariro cracked his back. "Lion woman irrelevant."
"She hijacked our entire Division Raid Tournament, nearly killed most of our Kaidanchō, and pitted you against Atsushi in a brutal fight! And you call her irrelevant? We don't even know what Jugen she has!"
"Irrelevant," Omariro affirmed.
Nonoka raised a hand. "I think I can track her."
Marin shifted her eyes over to her. "Hmm? You can?"
"Yeah. I have a tracking buff. If she's somewhere in the city, I think I can find her. Then, boom. No more Huntress."
"That's pretty useful," Marin remarked. "What is a suitable location for you to use this ability?"
"I'll need to be high up, like the center of Tokyo."
"We can oblige," Marin confirmed. "Let me step out a moment to speak with Director Hayate."
As her heels clicked toward the door, she turned back to Omariro. "Aren't you at least going to hold the door open for me?"
Omariro snapped his fingers, and a clone appeared, casually opening the door. Marin shook her head. "Ridiculous."
Nonoka watched as she left, before turning back to Omariro. "Sir, she's not going to be here long, is she?"
"No."
Meanwhile, Shikōki Island—-
Han, Sōshin, and Hakuryū all tried to keep their balance as the ship got dragged further underwater.
"More crap!" Han shouted. "What's got us now?"
"A kraken," Hakuryū explained. "Large sea creature. Very intelligent. And deadly."
"Yay!" Sōshin cheered. "A battle!"
"Not yay," Han shut down. "This is a race. Kid, try moving this piece of junk!"
Sōshin threw out his hand, but nothing happened. "I can't!"
"Then we're sitting ducks—-!"
BOOM.
Water began filling the bridge, as Zaria, Rei, and Rika slid inside, completely drenched.
"My hair…" Rika moaned.
"Girl, forget your hair," Zaria replied. "We're about to be food!"
"Well then what's the plan, fearless leader?"
"Uhhh…I dunno! Let's check if it's a softie!"
The kraken's full body came into view, and when it spoke, a male voice came out. "Ah. Humans, swimming in my waters."
"It talks?" Zaria questioned.
"How cute!" Rei commented. "A talking squid!"
Rika got up, waving. "Hey…could you please let us go?"
"Silence, human."
"Eek! Yes, sir!"
The kraken drifted around the ship, still keeping a tentacle wrapped around it. "The noise of this vessel is incredibly irritating. I believe I'll destroy it."
"You lose 40 points if you let this Kraken destroy the ship," Hakuryū warned.
"Seriously?" Zaria groaned. "Could you give us a minute, guy?"
"How about you let us go?" Han interrupted. "And go on about your day."
Zaria, Rika, and Rei all waved an X with their arms toward Han, who was seemingly oblivious to them. The kraken remained quiet for a long moment before bringing the ship close to his eye.
"I require a trade."
"Trade?" Han repeated. "Like what?"
"For me to overlook your trespassing, you must give me something of value. Something useful."
The group all shared a look.
"Like, money?" Zaria proposed.
"I have no need for your human currency," the kraken shot down. "Something of use to me."
Zaria motioned to the group. "Let's huddle up again, peeps!"
"He says he wants something of use," Rika noted. "But what? What do we have we can give a kraken?"
"A good fight?" Zaria shrugged.
"NO."
"What if we give him a gift?" Rei suggested. "Using our Jugen Powers!"
"That's not a bad idea!" Zaria agreed. "You think he'll take my spear?"
"Probably not," Han scoffed.
"Maybe I could hand him a sigil," Rika volunteered. "Krakens can use those, right?"
"Yep!" Sōshin nodded. "Almost anyone can!"
"Good! Now, let's get his attention!"
Sōshin waved to the big kraken. "Mr. Kraken! We have something for you!"
"What is it?"
"A magical item! Here, Big Sis Rika will show you!"
Rika held out her hand. "Jugen-Kaiseisha: Chiyu no Shirushi."
A sigil formed in her palm, floating just above it as the Kraken watched, curious.
〈Sigil Created: Absorption. Absorb 100% of all incoming ATK Damage and channel it as Regeneration for 10s.〉
"Can we keep that one?" Zaria asked.
"I wish."
The Kraken narrowed his eyes before reaching a tentacle inside, taking the sigil from Rika. After staring at it, he tossed it aside.
"Useless."
"W—what?"
It began squeezing the inside of the ship, staring deep inside it. "I would like one of you instead. Specifically…"
He pointed to Zaria. "The hot-tempered one."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Zaria refused. "Hard pass."
"Well, he's stated his terms," Han scoffed. "Let's toss him Zaria and get moving."
"Han! I don't even LIKE seafood!"
"There is a Plan B…" Han mused.
"Like what? I'm open to anything else!"
"Sōshin, start the boat. Rei, get ready to blast that thing."
Both of them nodded. "Right!"
The walls began to groan as they squeezed in on each other, and Han quickly snapped his fingers. "Now, now!"
"Jugen-Sōunsha: Densō—Dai-ni Giyā!"
The boat lurched forward, and as the kraken jerked back, Rei fired a powerful blast at him, causing him to briefly let go.
"Nice work, team!" Zaria cheered. "Now drive, DRIVE!"
The boat quickly rose to the surface and began speeding across the river as tentacles reached out, lashing at it.
"I think we made him angry!" Rika realized.
A tentacle slapped the side of the boat, and Hakuryū took note of it. "3 points off for the bumpy ride. 73/100. Barely a B-."
"Be serious, dude!"
"I am. Another for talking back. 72/100."
Sōshin pointed in the distance. "Hey! Everyone's far ahead! Now it's a real challenge!"
"That kraken crap cost us," Zaria moaned. "Okay, listen up! We need to get a large burst of speed! Everyone, put your heads together and let's get this shit moving!"
"I won't be much help with that," Rika sighed. "My power's already draining."
"Me either!" Rei added. "Speed isn't my strong suit!"
"Han?" Zaria questioned.
"I can boost this thing, but you're not going to like it."
"What do you mean?"
"Launching you like a slingshot. Using my wires. Do it too early, you'll miss your mark. Do it too late, you'll be stuck here with the kraken."
As Zaria analyzed the waters, she turned back to Han. "I'm in! Whatever it takes to win!"
"Okay then. Come on."
They both headed for the upper deck, and then the back of the ship. Han immediately summoned his watches, firing two wires into the sides of the ship.
"So, how do I do this?" Zaria wondered.
"Use your leg strength to jump off, then swing back in and kick this thing as hard as you can. Hold on tight, though, or you'll be lost in the waves."
"Right. With that…thing."
Han watched as she steadied herself. "Ready?"
"Ready."
"Then jump, woman!"
Zaria jumped into the air, using the strength in her legs to propel her upward. "Now, I just gotta…"
Gripping onto the wires, she swung forward faster than the eye could see. "KICK!"
Charging forward with a burst of speed, she kicked the back of the ship, causing a massive shockwave and sending it flying forward.
"AHHH! Too fast, too fast!"
As the boat disappeared, the kraken watched briefly, a disappointed look in his eye.
"Poor girl."
Then he sank beneath the waves.
"Your father will not be pleased."
——