Beast Safety Control Headquarters, 6:44 PM. Shiro is walking out of the building after a good talk with Yoriha. It's night, the city lights and stars are out tonight as it's pretty cold out.
He walks out of the Headquarters with a tired face as he's ready to go home and get some long rest for the night.
Suddenly, he sees Reiwa on the side, who was smoking and sitting on a bench beside a trashcan. Reiwa notices Shiro as she calls him over to sit beside her by waving at him.
Shiro approaches Reiwa and sits beside her.
REIWA : "You must be Shiro~"
- She said in a mischievous voice.
SHIRO : "And you're- Rei?"
REIWA : "Ooooh I like that nickname though~"
- She said teasingly.
REIWA : "But no! It's Reiwa~"
- She holds up a peace sign with her hand.
SHIRO : "I think I'll prefer calling you Rei."
- He calmly said.
REIWA : "Eeeh? But No one's called me that."
- She said while tilting her head sideways.- Shiro had a blank tired face looking at her.
REIWA : "What're you doing here at this time…?"
- She said before she dragged her cigarette.
SHIRO : "Was at Yoriha's office."
REIWA : "Doing what…?"
- She curiously asked as she leaned closer.
SHIRO : "A report, I guess."
- He spoke with a tired voice.
REIWA : "I heard you fainted on the middle of the street not far from your scouting zone~ Is that true?"
- She asked teasingly.
SHIRO : "Yeah, I tend to faint after using my abilities in a fi-"
Suddenly, He was cut off by Reiwa calling Amuro over, who was walking out of the headquarters.
REIWA : "AMURO!"
- She yelled, as she waved at him.
Amuro walked over to the two of them who were sitting on a bench as he stood and lit up a cigarette for himself.
He took a long hit on his cigarette before blowing it. He looks tired, but keeps up a firm face while smoking.
Shiro looks at both of them smoking at the same time.
SHIRO : "Smoke break?"
- He asked.
REIWA : "More like dinner~"
- She said teasingly.
Shiro looks at both of them with concern, but maybe it's the norm to smoke as a beast hunter, as it's a way of coping or taking out stress, seeing many people or comrades die.
"Maybe this is how they relieve their stress after a day of killing beasts that were once human."
AMURO : "Shiro."
Amuro suddenly calls out Shiro, after blowing some smoke.
Shiro notices and looks at Amuro.
AMURO : "Be early tomorrow."
- He said calmly.
- Shiro had a shocked face from the sudden words.
SHIRO : "Huh…?"
- He was confused.
AMURO : "You're working with me tomorrow, alongside our mentor, Zaki Hoshiro."
SHIRO : "For what..?"
- He was still confused, wondering why their mentor would need to join them.
AMURO : It's a simple investigation, but it's a danger zone."
SHIRO : "Danger zone…?"
Shiro's eyes widen slightly from hearing 'danger zone', knowing he's only a newbie, why would he be working in a danger zone so early?
REIWA : "Isn't kinda early for him to be working on something like that…?"
- She asked with concern.
AMURO : "It's the Cross Safety Leader's request, since they have a lot on their plate tomorrow, so they asked us to do some."
SHIRO : "Cross Safety…?"
AMURO : "They're a team in the Beast Safety Control who handles investigations and clean-ups after a tragic incident."
"Investigations and clean-ups… so they were the ones who investigated my apartment."
He thinks to himself.
AMURO : "I'll be going, be here tomorrow at 8 AM."
- He walks off after throwing away his used cigarette into the trash can.
REIWA : "Hey! Wait for me!"
- She yelled, but Amuro didn't reply and kept walking.
REIWA : "He's so hot-headed."
- She looked back at Shiro.
REIWA : "I'll be going now~ See ya~"
- She said before walking away and waving goodbye.
Shiro stood up from the bench and decided to walk back home as well.
"What did he meant by danger zone…?"
"I'm weirdly nervous, but I hope my ability is enough to handle that."
…
…
The next day, Chiba's Beast Safety Control Headquarters, 7:45 AM. Shiro and Kui are walking by the entrance path Shiro was at yesterday with Reiwa and Amuro.
KUI : "Danger zone…?"
SHIRO : "Yeah, apparently I'll be working there today with Zaki and Amuro."
KUI : "You'll be working with THE Zaki Hoshiro?!"
- He said with excitement and surprise.
SHIRO : "Y-yeah, what's so crazy about him…?"
KUI : "He's THE 'V'! The strongest and the trump card of Beast Safety Control! He's literally THE Strongest hunter!"
Shiro didn't listen to a word Kui said, as he was staring at Yoriha, who was feeding some cats by the bench where he had sat with Reiwa and Amuro the previous night.
Yoriha was feeding and petting some stray cats while she was sitting on a bench.
YORIHA : "Hehe~ You're so cute~"
- She said playfully while petting a white stray cat who was sitting beside her on the bench.
Shiro continued to stare at her. He was amazed by how pretty she is and how much she enjoys the company of cats.
"Just like Sheena, Yoriha also loves cats."
He thought to himself.
…
KUI : "Are you even listening?!"
All this time, while Shiro was staring at Yoriha, Kui had been talking about how strong and amazing Zaki Hoshiro is. Still, Shiro wasn't listening as he was admiring Yoriha from afar.
Shiro snapped back and realized Kui was still talking.
SHIRO : "Sorry! Yeah, my bad."
KUI : "Anyway, like I was saying, Zaki literally can kill the higher-ups, but he chooses not to because he's not using his strength for evil!"
Shiro kept looking back at Yoriha. She notices this and waves at Shiro.
YORIHA : "Goodmorning, Shiro!"
- She waved at Shiro.
Shiro waved back before looking back at Kui, who was still talking.
KUI : "Zaki is also an amazing mento-"
- Shiro cuts him off.
SHIRO : "Okay, enough fanboying. Give me a moment, alright?"
Shiro ran off, heading towards Yoriha.
KUI : "Wait! I'm not done yet!"
Shiro went up to Yoriha, who was still playing and feeding some cats.
Yoriha notices that Shiro is in front of her and greets him.
YORIHA : "Oh, hello there~ How's your morning doing, Shiro?"
- She said while looking at him, having a cat sitting on her lap as she pets it.
SHIRO : "It's been great so far, just waiting on Amuro and Zaki for an investigation."
- He said calmly with a smile on his face.
YORIHA : "Ah yes, I've heard you're going to Katori?"
- She said while petting the cat that was sitting on her lap.
SHIRO : "Ka- Katori…?"
- He said with surprise.
YORIHA : "Yes! Did Amuro not tell you?"
SHIRO : "N-.. No I wasn't told of the location, just that it's going to be a danger zone."
"What? Katori…? Why there? I went to Chiba to escape my memories of Katori, but now I'm going back there for a mission?"
He thought to himself.
YORIHA : "Well, Katori is a hotspot for people mutating into beasts. It's weird, we don't know the causes of it, but it seems that the casualty rate there has increased this past month."
- She said calmly while throwing some treats to the cats.
"Casualty rate increasing in Katori…? Is my home town just cursed now?"
He thought to himself.
SHIRO : "That's-… certainly odd."
Suddenly, a black car arrives, in which Zaki steps out.
YORIHA : "Oh? That must be your ride."
- She said after looking at the car that had pulled up.
SHIRO : "Yeah…"
Amuro comes out of the headquarters and sees Shiro with Yoriha.
AMURO : "Let's go."
- He said calmly while looking at Shiro from afar.
Shiro sees this and stands up.
SHIRO : "I'll get going now."
YORIHA : "Stay safe~ Report to me later!"
- She said with a smile while petting the cat on her lap.
Chapter 12, End : Danger Zone PT.1