The moment the black car came into view, Shin Natsume's expression darkened unbearably.
He shoved the car door open and leapt out, slamming it shut with such force that the entire vehicle rocked.
"Someone's in a foul mood," Fumonshichi muttered, likewise exiting from the driver's side.
As Shin strode towards the boot, its lid swung open of its own accord.
Lying atop an arsenal of firearms, Maya Natsume found herself staring into her brother's thunderous face.
"..."
Maya's expression froze momentarily before she raised a hand in a deliberately oblivious greeting:
"Yo, Shin. Fancy meeting you here... also getting guns?"
Those words ignited Shin's temper.
"Get the hell down!" he roared.
Cowed by her brother's fury, Maya hunched her shoulders and scrambled out.
Fumonshichi ambled over, leaning against the car as he regarded Maya with a tsk.
"Now now, little Maya. This is downright reckless."
"Shin and I are here on official business. What's your excuse?"
Though the Bujin-shū had indeed taken interest in the anomalous abyssal phenomena in Itō City, their initial mandate was reconnaissance.
Shin and Fumonshichi served as the vanguard for this preliminary investigation.
Shin, wielder of the supernatural Dragon Eye, possessed limited precognitive abilities.
Fumonshichi, though self-taught, was the rarest of martial artists—a versatile all-rounder with excellent adaptability to any environment.
Their numerous successful joint operations against near-impossible odds had earned them the Bujin-shū's internal designation as the "Golden Duo."
But now this golden partnership included Maya—a variable that not only destabilised Shin's composure but would likely require protective babysitting. The complication factor wasn't incremental; it was exponential.
Yet in response to Fumonshichi's reasonable concern, Maya snapped viciously:
"Shut it, stinkyman."
"St-stinky?!"
Fumonshichi's expression twitched unnaturally, his face darkening.
"Shin. Send. Her. Back."
"Screw maintaining appearances in front of the SDS about internal discord. Dump this idiot girl home now."
To Fumonshichi's astonishment, Shin hesitated visibly before rejecting the suggestion outright.
"Fumonshichi. Let Maya participate."
"Wait, wait, are my ears functioning properly?" Fumonshichi tapped his ear, incredulous.
'Since when did the sister-obsessed Shin willingly endanger Maya?'
Then he noticed it - the faint reptilian slit in Shin's right pupil.
'The Dragon Eye? Has Shin foreseen something? Was that why he changed his mind?'
Realisation dawning, Fumonshichi shrugged.
"Fine. You're the team leader. Your call."
Maya, who'd fully expected dismissal, lit up with glee.
"Really? You're actually letting me join a mission?"
"Shut up. Just this once, damn it."
Shin growled, fishing out a cigarette pack. He shook one loose and clamped it between his teeth.
"Move out. Keep your mouth shut later. Watch yourself around the SDS."
"The SDS?"
Maya Natsume turned her head at the words, immediately spotting the car that had already pulled into the parking area.
Seeing this, she quickly strode over to Shin Natsume's side and lowered her voice:
"Shin, who's being sent over from the SDS?"
Before Shin could respond, Fumonshichi, who was chewing on a cigarette nearby, chimed in:
"Probably those two crazy apples, right?"
"The elite operatives from the SDS Operations Department... if I recall, they're called Takina Inoue and Chisato Nishikigi."
"That Chisato Nishikigi girl isn't so bad, but the other one... hmm..."
"During the joint operation before last, I almost got mistaken for a target and taken out by machine gun fire."
"Er..."
Hearing this, Maya's mind conjured up an image of two muscular women wielding machine guns, laughing maniacally as they sprayed bullets everywhere.
"I thought SDS personnel were supposed to be highly professional? How can they just gun people down like that?"
"Highly professional doesn't mean they don't play rough."
Shin, puffing on his cigarette, offered an uncharacteristic explanation:
"The opponent's marksmanship is extremely precise. Even with machine gun fire, they can accurately hit their target. Fumonshichi only got caught in the crossfire last time because he happened to be between her and the target."
Hearing this, Maya Natsume's expression subtly twisted:
"Machine gun fire can be controlled like that?"
Maya tried to imagine herself wielding a machine gun with Fumonshichi standing in front of her and the target behind him. She was certain she couldn't control her firing precision to only hit the target without harming Fumonshichi.
She strongly suspected all her bullets would end up riddling Fumonshichi's body, turning him into a sieve.
Standing nearby, Fumonshichi suddenly shuddered, glanced around, then scratched his head:
"Strange, where's this sense of danger coming from?"
Just then, the car ahead came to a stop.
The doors opened, revealing Takina Inoue in the driver's seat and Chisato Nishikigi in the passenger seat as they both stepped out.
Seeing this, Shin Natsume's eyes flickered as he prepared to step forward and greet them.
However, at that moment, the rear door opened, and a young man in a fitted black suit with a somewhat boyish face emerged.
Maya couldn't help muttering:
"Huh? Why is the SDS bringing along a kid?"
When she finished speaking, she noticed neither Shin nor Fumonshichi responded. Instead, they were frowning, their gazes fixed intently on the figure who had just exited the car.
"This is troublesome..." Fumonshichi murmured under his breath.
Confused, Maya blinked: "What's so special about that guy who looks about my age?"
Fumonshichi gave a dry laugh:
"Of course he's special. So special my legs have gone weak, and I want to go home to rest."
Meanwhile, Shin bit down on his cigarette and explained gravely to the unaware Maya:
"Luo Shu, head of the SDS's Hidden Management Department. A man whose only recorded action is genocide."
Only genocide in his record?
Maya's scalp prickled at the words, and she immediately stopped any thought of calling him a kid, quickly hiding behind Shin.
Right then, Luo Shu across the way seemed to notice the trio and shifted his gaze toward them.