9 Intermission: The Desert's Shadow

Among the shade casts by the urban buildings, two silhouettes are hiding within. One of them is peeking from the corner, keeping their target locked in their vision.

His partner is busy on his phone, searching for necessary info for their assignment. After a while, he put away his phone, nodding.

"Yup, he's our man, alright. Just like the other in 'that' group, his history empty. It's like this Fuji Masamune guy just popped out of nowhere."

"Relation to that group?"

"Confirmed. The exact relation is unknown, though. Boss just told us to follow 'im for now."

Nodding, both of them moves out of the dark alley into the sea of people. The dim evening ray falls on their face, revealing two male teenagers.

They look just like any other teenagers, though the tattoo on their neck identify them as part of an underground society. One of them has an ear full of piercings, while his partner green has a messy head of green hair. Though, with so many people mutated due to quirks, not much attention are given to them.

As they slowly heads closer to the target, they noticed that the man has started to rise from his seat in the cafe. His leisurely movement shows that he has yet to notice that he's being tailed, which let the two teens let out a relieved breath.

Chasing a man amidst a sea of people is trouble, after all. Seeing that the man has started to move, they hurriedly follows.

As the sun slowly sets, the man's destination become clearer. He's now in a sparsely populated residential district, probably his home.

"Hey, can't we just capture 'im? He's not looking that tough anyway. Just your random office dude, should be easy with ma quirk, you know?" the teen with green hair suggested, his fingernails starting to grow longer, the metallic sheen gleams threateningly.

"...Lot of us been missing starting last month, tho. Especially those who tailed them," his partner replied, not too keen on the idea.

"Che. Those missing were tailing their core members, 'aight? We just gonna snatch an office dude, the fuck can he do, man?" the teen insisted, dismissing his partner's worry.

"Unfortunately, he's not just 'an office dude'."

Those voice coming from behind them shocked the two teens. As they about to turn their head, the female voice continued.

"Cooperate, please. I don't want blood on my clothes."

Feeling 'something' slithering on their neck, the teens froze. Especially the green-haired teen, as he feels a small cut squeezing a drop of blood from his neck.

"I'll let you guys meet that 'office dude', okay?"

*****

As the night falls, a man donning a black-and-white suit walks out of the underground basement together with a lady with waist-length ash-blond hair. A hint of blood is coming from the basement, though the two doesn't seem to care.

As they walked out, the basement entrnace started to shrink, until there's no trace of it.

"They don't know much, huh," the man muttered, a bit dissapointed.

"Well, they stopped sending anyone with valuable intel after us a while back," the lady said, unconcerned.

"Anyway, why did you come, Niina-chan?" the man asked, remembering that the lady isn't so free to run around without a purpose.

"Stop it with the -chan, Fuji. And I came here to ask if you have anything to say to the Boss. Other mostly request customized unit, though," the lady, Niina, said.

"It's not time for report yet, right? And why you're the one here? It's supposed to be someone from Envy, right?"

"Well, Shichika got an urgent request for Boss, so we brought forward the date this month. And Envy's mobilized to find the head of Pride and the head of Sloth," Niina said with a hint of pity.

Hearing that, Fuji too pays his condolences.

Pride is just underground. But the head of Sloth... is the only one that can be indiscernible to everyone, saves for Boss.

"Sloth, huh. We've only seen that guy once when Boss introduced him, didn't we?" Fuji said, remembering the guy whose order is to integrate among human and do... nothing. Just be among them.

Head of Sloth is also one of the rare few avatars whose acting is on equal level as the Boss. But even among sand-avatars, acting is a trait rarely found. While sand-avatars can sense each other, Sloth can also hides from his own team, giving them a headache.

" Even Envy with her 'sense' needs days. That's why she brought all of her units. So... here I am."

"Uh-huh. Well, I don't have any request to Boss. It's for you guys. When can we get real ID? This fake ID can't be used for any big deals," Fuji said, a bit sad remembering all the business opportunities he missed.

"Two more days," Niina said, before taking out a piece of document. "Pride have secured 19 channels, just settling some security concern right now. Priority order is the Unit Head then Vice Head, then underlings. For units, first will be your Greed, the Pride, Sloth, my Lust, Gluttony, Shichika's Envy, and Wrath."

"I see. Wrath's underground. Envy's hidden. It's based on the societal exposure level, is it?"

"Mostly. But money is the key to start, so you're above Pride for now. When Pride's climb high enough, his units' priority will be above yours," Niina explained.

"No issue with that. For Greed, we only need a few guys with complete past. But..." Fuji paused, pondering. "Do we really commence that plan now? We haven't fully conquered the underground yet, isn't it?"

"Nah, only three more. Most are already cleared. Some's our subordinates, some's cooperate," Niina said dismissively. "The issue is making it untraceable, else Envy gonna clear them in an hour."

Nodding, Fuji agreed with that assessment. Hell, any of them can clear those pests in hours. If Wrath's the one taking action, it'll take minutes at most.

"Ah, about Wrath. Why not get some of his kids to the surface? For security," Fuji said, suddenly remembering his underground comrade. Underground, in a literal sense of meaning.

Raising her eyebrow, Niina asked, "Security? You think Shichika's Envy is not enough?" At the end of her sentence, her eyes narrow, a dangerous glint flashing in them.

While she didn't doubt his loyalty, him questioning the Boss's trusted subordinate's capabilities is unforgivable. If his answer isn't to her satisfaction, then...

"No, no. I mean, a businessman needs bodyguards for the public image, you see? Envy's best stays hidden. Pride's gonna go a high position, so why not establish our own security teams right now, is what I thought," Fuji hurriedly explained.

He can almost imagine cold sweats running down his back. While he too is a head of a unit, their difference in ability is like the difference between heaven and earth.

'Urgh, scary. They said the earliest four are the most loyal, but to get this angry over something like that...'

Hearing his answer, the pressure dissipates like the wind. As if nothing has happened, Niina put a finger on her chin, thinking.

"Hurm, it's true. But no need to create a company just yet. Hire a few bodyguards, then create avatars with their face. For now, an authentic identity is needed for the units' heads, security is not yet a concern."

After a short pause, she flashes him a brilliant smile. "But it is a legitimate concern. So, good job," Niina said, patting his shoulder.

"Ahaha, n-no problem." Scratching the back of his head, Fuji calms his unease.

Ichi, Nii, San, Shi. The first four avatars named after numbers.

Ichiro of Wrath, made with Zircon flour. Inherited and evolved "the perfect body and mind for martial arts". Staying underground and solely focusing on combat techniques, without rest, for close to 8 years. A perfect combination of talent and effort.

Niina of Lust, made with the finest Dune sand, allowing her to change her avatar even after summoned, a shapeshifters. She perfectly inherited the "acting" trait, and evolved it, making her a master of disguise.

Sangaku of Pride, made with iron-sand. Inherits the "obsession" of the Boss, using every means to achieve his goal. Due to Boss shaping his obsession in the early days, he starts to crave for different kind of attention, which can only be satisfied with authority and high position.

Shichika of Envy, made with glass sand. Received the "sand-sense" of the Boss, and evolved it. Probably due to glass sand, she can turns invisible. Always hidden, her unit is tasked with espionage, surveillance, and assassination. Also, interrogation.

Each with different path, but if there's one thing in common, it's their fanatical worship of the Boss.

'And all of them are monsters,' Fuji added in his mind.

Also, each of them represents a part of Boss. Ichiro, the genius. Niina, the actor. Sangaku, the obsessed. Shichika, the predator. And they evolved.

Fuji is the head of Greed. He, too, inherited everything from the Boss, but what stands out is "obsession" and "perfect mind". Even then, they are way inferior compared to the original. Also, there's a mutation, as his "obsession" is for money, while his "perfect mind" is suited for business instead of martial arts.

Looking at Niina who's busy talking, he suddenly feels grateful that he is born as the Boss's avatar. So, he doesn't have to stand against her, or worse, them.