"Alright then. I'll see you again, my friend. Thanks for the fixes." Kaito stood in front of Yamako, a smile on his face. His guns rested on his hip, jacket and jeans his usual fit. Yamako wore his apron, which was stained. "I hate to say it, but don't die again, got it? Anyway, if you do, make sure to come back. Discounts on me." A slight smile accompanied his words.
Yamako stretched his hand toward Kaito, and Kaito grabbed his fist. "Deal." Kaito stepped back, and the door shut. "Idiot," Yamako whispered, a slight smile of concern on his face.
Kaito turned and looked ahead. The alley was dark, but moonlight reflected everywhere. The shining stars in the sky were clear to the naked eye. Kaito started walking. His motion felt calm, and his eyes held a shiny reflection. He looked excited, a smile on his face as he walked with joy. Each step felt like a newborn's. Inside his mind, he was going wild with his thoughts.
"Finally, I got it. The license is up, and I got a bunch of toys. All I need is to crack a deal. My first job as a rookie. Or at least a retired rookie."
As he walked through the black market alleyways, he saw everything as if it were his first time there. Neon lights around the shops. A crew of local Wingmen with their ride were waiting. A bunch of girls gossiping while drinking beer. A huge cage was being transported on a truck. Inside was a cybernetic bear, its claws made of cybernetic modifications, one eye modified. It looked straight at Kaito. As Kaito walked and enjoyed the vibe, his walking speed suddenly shifted. He slowed down. With each step, his happy vibe faded away. His smile wiped off, and he stopped completely.
"Hey, you." A voice came from behind. Kaito's eyes went wide as soon as he heard it. "That voice," he whispered but didn't look back immediately. His forehead was suddenly sweating, his eyes wide, his heart rate increasing. "Hey, you. The one with the arm." The voice again.
Kaito slowly turned his head, only to be surprised. He turned back, and his eyes almost popped out. His heart was going sky-high. "How is he here?" His whispers were his only support.
Michael Cade. Rank S2. A black neon-stripe jacket, a gun resting on his hip. A long bandage covered his arm, and his hair waved. "Are you a local?" Michael stepped forward and asked him. Kaito was too shocked to answer. "I'm talking to you. Are you a local Wingman?"
Kaito was sweating. His breathing was heavy, and his heart was racing. He simply looked at him with fearful eyes.
"Did he really track me? Is he playing? No, he wouldn't waste a single second. He would've killed me. I wasn't keeping my guard. I was wide open."
Suddenly, Michael stepped forward again and put his hands on Kaito's shoulders. "If you're a Wingman, I'd like to hire you. You got a license?"
Within seconds, Kaito calmed himself down. He looked calm now. "What's your name?" Kaito spoke up. He stepped backward and slid Michael's hand aside.
"Michael, it is. What's yours?" Michael smiled and said it out loud. He put his right hand in his pocket and leaned forward.
"Ken. My name is Ken Arikawa." Kaito took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes. His tone was deep and carried a chilly sensation.
"Nice to meet you, Ken. How about we talk some business?" Michael smiled. Not a friendly one. A predator's smile.
A local bar. Filled with punks. Mohawks, cyberpunks, and criminals. Neon lights everywhere. Bartenders serving, soft spotlights throughout. In a corner, a bunch of cybernetic limbs hung. A holographic projection of city news. A chaotic environment.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" Kaito, now known as Ken, asked. Michael sat right next to him, holding a glass. "Relax for a while, hotshot. Let me finish my drink." He sipped while Kaito sat quietly.
He finished the drink in one sip and slammed the glass. "Damn, I missed that," he sighed. "You're not from here, are you?" Kaito asked, looking at him. "Neither are you," Michael hit him with a big one. Upon hearing it, Kaito looked a bit awkward.
"To be honest, I am a Wingman as well." Michael was looking ahead as he said it, his tone soft and deep, his eyes relaxed. Kaito looked at his gun and said, "Really? What's your modification?"
Michael looked at him, a side-angled glance. He lifted his hand and stretched it forward. Suddenly, his forearm gave a golden glow, and a bunch of codes ran across his skin. "X-grade bone modification. One hit, one kill." Michael looked at him while saying it.
Kaito, unhinged inside, had to give a surprised expression. "An X-grade. You're one of the Hexagon, then. Only S-Ranks receive X-grade modifications. Dude, what's your rank number?" A playful act. He acted naturally, but inside his mind: Show-off.
"It doesn't matter. I'm on vacation, so I won't share anything. But you know something? You look very familiar." As soon as Michael said it, Kaito sat up tightly.
"Well, I'm a local after all, so you might've seen me." Kaito looked ahead, avoiding eye contact. His hands were crossed, and he looked natural, but Michael was looking straight at him.
"You're not a local Wingman, right?" Suddenly, Kaito looked at Michael, and they locked eyes. "Your modifications are completely new. Freshly built. The most familiar thing is that you look very much like a friend of mine."
Kaito looked calm and natural on the outside, but inside his heart was racing, his legs under the table were tense, and he gripped his fist too tightly. "A friend, huh? What's your friend like?"
Michael smiled slightly and said, "Well, his hair is different, both his arms are modified from the inside, and his eyes as well. But your freshly modified arm, your eye-port modification, and your one crimson and one black eye look a bit odd, no offense." His tone was playful, and he sounded judgmental. Was he really acting? "So what happened to you? Did you get this on purpose, or what?"
Kaito looked at him and said, "Well, I kinda wanted to be a Wingman, so I guess I had to get myself patched, right? And again, what happened to your friend?"
Michael looked at him and tilted his head. A slight smile played on his lips. "Oh, I killed him. I killed him with my own hands."
Kaito got instant goosebumps. His eyes went wide, but he looked unhinged. He trembled inside but didn't express it. He looked shocked. Michael looked completely unhinged and didn't even flinch. "Why would you kill your best friend?" Even in a state of shock, Kaito spoke up. He didn't flinch while asking it.
Michael leaned backward and sighed. His tone was playful and calm, his body movement unhurried. "Well, I had to, you know."
Kaito slammed his fist on the table. The glass almost fell. Michael looked at him. "Why would you kill a person if he is your best friend? Answer me."
"You're just like him, Ken. Just the Kaito I remembered." Michael said it. Kaito's eyes went wide. His fist grip tightened, and he looked at him with an angry glare, his eyes filled with fury while Michael looked unhinged and smiling.
"My best friend is dead, and that's it. The reason I'm here is to meet the ghost he is now." Michael smiled while saying it.
Suddenly, Kaito snapped. He lost his cool. He grabbed Michael by his collar and pulled him. The glass fell and broke. "How did you track me, you bastard? If you want to pick up from where we left off, let's take it outside then."
Kaito's eyes looked furious, angry, and frustrated. His tone sounded furious enough to go for a kill. The people around them looked, but no one stepped up. "What's wrong with you, Ken? I don't know what the hell you're saying. I would strongly suggest you let me go because this outfit is my favorite, so don't ruin it." Michael was smiling, completely normal and unhinged. Even with Kaito grabbing his collar, he didn't even engage. Kaito looked shocked. He let go of his collar and put his hand on the gun on his hip. Michael fixed his collar and said, "I don't know what's gotten into you, but let's talk about the job."
Michael put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a square-shaped, flat card. He put it on the table and tapped it. Upon his tapping, a photo appeared on the slate. As Kaito saw the photo becoming visible, he looked shocked.
The photo was no ordinary picture: Michael and Kaito standing together side by side. A photo that reflected their bond. "This was my best friend, but since I killed him, this is the last photo I have of him. I want you to find his ghost, which is wandering around, and put an end to his wandering soul."
Kaito didn't speak. He didn't react. He simply sat there, his hands numb, his eyes calm yet reflecting sadness. "What do you want, Michael? If you want, you can kill me. I'll give you a fair fight," Kaito said, and Michael looked at him.
"I don't know what you're saying, Ken. I gave you a job. You finish it, and I'll pay you with whatever you want. Deal's done." He got up from his seat and turned back. "But remember one thing, Ken. I will be watching you. I will always see you. If you don't finish the job... I will." He looked back one last time before walking away. Kaito sat there, completely empty. He watched him walk his way out. Michael didn't look back, and Kaito didn't say a word. The picture lay on the table as proof of the moment.
"I welcome you all to this meeting, ladies and gentlemen." Tor was sitting, his hands on the desk, his fists closed and crossed. His suit reflected his higher authority and control over the conference room. A stretched, long table. The people were no strangers.
Right next to Tor, Vox sat. In front of Vox, Roth, and at the very end of the other side of the table, was Ross. The people between them were the most precious and valuable assets of the Hexagon.
Mira Tor and Yama sat next to each other. Mira had a bandage on her hand, and Yama looked annoyed as usual. Right in front of them, V and Ren sat next to each other. V was patched up, bandages and surgical stitches under his sleeves. His katana rested uselessly next to him. Ren looked unhinged, not giving much attention. Her cybernetic arm was on the table, fist closed, looking outside through the windows. The atmosphere was tense and cold.
"You all are summoned here for a special and classified purpose," Tor said, but upon his words, Yama raised his hand and said, "Where's Michael?"
"Mr. Michael couldn't join us due to his injuries from the last battle. He has sent his regards to you all." A man spoke who was sitting next to Ren. He wore a neon jacket that reflected lights, had blue eyes, and silver hair with purple stripes on the edges.
"Who the hell is he?" Roth leaned forward and gave a filthy look. "My name is Tio. I am Mr. Michael's apprentice."
"Now that everything is settled, I would like to have all of your attention." Tor leaned forward and said it. The huge screen behind him glowed and turned on. Upon turning on, a picture of Kaito Yashima popped up—an old picture of him sitting inside his car. The legendary Wingman and his legacy.
"It's been almost a week since Kaito Yashima decided to turn on us. As we all know, after the incident in the lab, we lost track of him—thanks to Miss Ren." As Tor finished his sentence, he looked at Ren with a side-eye that almost pierced through her soul.
"Whatever," she made a couldn't-care-less face and gave a dismissive hand wave. Mira smiled slightly.
"Since you all tried your best to track him, I appreciate your efforts," Ross spoke up. His glitchy voice echoed through the conference room. His mask always looked mysterious and confusing.
"With all due respect, Director Ross, fuck you. You were the one who kept the truth hidden for years and then deployed a Flasher on your own men," Mira spoke up. She looked dead calm and unhinged while saying it. She smiled and said it without hesitation.
"Miss Tor, with all due respect, we are a necessary evil. We are not heroes, neither protectors. We balance the scale between destruction and harmony," Vox spoke up.
"Care to explain in detail, Miss Director?" V, the gambler, spoke up. His playful expression was on point.
"The records were the only thing that controlled every Wingman in this organization. If the outside world finds out that the records are gone and we are operating blindly, then the government and the underworld will come for us. Initial conflicts will be the first thing to break out," Tor spoke up. His higher authority was everything. He made the rules and wiped them as he wished.
"We can go rough as well, can't we?" Yama spoke up. Mira smiled, and V slightly grabbed his katana and leaned forward. Tor didn't lose his cool. "What my partner is trying to say is, why are the higher-ups informing only the S-Ranks of this?" Mira slightly kicked Yama under the table and defended his statement.
"The S-Ranks are the organization's greatest asset. A B-rank or below is an expendable asset. We can't afford initial conflicts. That's why we have a task for all S-Ranks and our selected A-ranks," Ross spoke up, making sense.
"You all are going to operate under our commands from now on. You all can freelance for your clients, but your primary objective is to capture the ghosts: Kaito Yashima and the great Ghost of Axiom."
As soon as Tor spoke up, the whole room went to pin-drop silence. Ren looked down. Mira didn't make any eye contact. The newly appeared Tio didn't look anyone in the eyes.
"And how can we trust you?" V looked at Tor. "What do you mean?" Roth spoke up. "Isn't it obvious? You all deployed a Flasher which damaged one of my crewmate's modifications, and it tried to kill us. We were lucky enough to escape, but what's the guarantee it won't happen again?"
Ross stood up and said, "Like I said before, we are a necessary evil. We couldn't afford a breach, no matter who it was. I take full responsibility, Mr. V. So, if you plan to breach any of our facilities or hidden properties, please inform us so we can show you the front door next time." Ross's glitchy voice pierced through everything. His motives were clear. He would do anything to keep the truth hidden.
Mira and Yama stood up. "Fine then, it's settled. We hunt the ghost, and you morons don't get in our way," she said, looking at Tor. Without another word, Mira and Yama walked away without looking back.
"Fine then. Game on," V smiled and leaned back. Ren stood up and walked away as well, leaving no sign of cooperation. "I better inform Mr. Michael about it," Tio jumped up from his place and pulled out his screen—a high-tech, transparent slate. "Game begins," Tor whispered. The hunters were ready and deployed, waiting for the prey in the shadows.