Exodia 218: Float like a Butterfly (1)

5 days later, Kuroha revisited Amamiya's workshop in Shibuya after receiving a phone call from him. He had finished her exclusive magimech prototype.

"I call them the Nightstalkers."

They were two gauntlets. At first, they seemed large for Kuroha, however, as she put them on, they adjusted their size and perfectly fit her forearm.

"They enhance mana potency and explosive power and they're sensitive to the mana particles in the atmosphere."

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning that you can absorb mana from the atmosphere far easier with them on. Let's test them in the testing range."

They walked past the workshop and into a large area which looked like a shooting range but seemed like a training area. It was filled with different sections but the duo went straight to the dummies.

"Just give the dummy a single hit. It doesn't have to be powerful."

Amamiya smiled as he looked at the dummy.

Kuroha assumed a fighting stance before she launched her fist at the dummy. As it made contact, the dummy bounced backwards, shocked by black lightning.

"Huh? What is this?"

"A special feature of the Nightstalkers. The harder you hit your opposition, the more likely black lightning is to shock them. Of course, this is only something that happens by chance. There is a way to guarantee the effects of black lightning. A weak hit will guarantee its effects."

"That's quite contradictory, isn't it? Wouldn't that mean that the harder I hit, the less likely black lightning is to work?"

"I worked past that part. This is why it's a prototype. The complete version will make it so every attack you land will shoot out black lightning. For now, you'll have to bear with it."

"It seems better than the pair that I asked for from my other magimech technician."

Amamiya curled his brow.

"Who did you have before?"

"Darui Renka."

"Oh, him. His works are fragile, although their power overall is stronger than mine. My work is more versatile."

"I guess I'll be off."

She retracted her gauntlets—they transformed into two black wristbands. With the flow of mana, she would be able to activate the Nightstalkers at any given time.

"Have a safe trip."

Amamiya sent her away and waved bye before closing the door to his workshop.

·———·

"Good morning, Leader!"

The next day, Kuroha arrived at her office early in the morning to get some of her paperwork done. At around 9 am, three hours after she had arrived, the first person in her team showed up at the office.

Yuzuha Momogami. She was a bright girl at the age of 19, only one year younger than Kuroha. She had pink hair that flowed down beyond her waist. Her eyes were green, resembling a green flame.

"You're here early, considering how you're almost always late."

Kuroha spoke, typing, not taking her eyes off the computer screen.

"I wanted to try something different for a change."

"So you're arriving late on purpose. I'll keep that in mind!"

"No, I'm not! Please don't reduce my salary, Leader!"

She cried, setting her bag down on the desk in the far corner. Yuzuha turned on the computer and logged into it.

"What should I work on today?"

"Research about the man with the kanji for dignified on his back."

"Oh, you mean the Shadow?"

"Hm?"

For the first time today, Kuroha glanced over at Yuzuha. She rose her brow, slightly confused. The pink-haired girl decided to elaborate.

"The Shadow is what they call that guy. He dresses in all-black and is always surrounded by a hazy, dark mist whenever he's caught on camera. That's why we can never see his face."

"Yeah, that guy. Medovukha asked me to kill him as a part of an execution mission."

Yuzuha shivered.

"Hah? Why? I know Miss Medovukha is the top brass at the SSB, but I think the Shadow is doing good."

The young woman spun on her chair to face Kuroha.

"He may not be doing it subtly but he's taking care of all of the groups of evil. Yakuza, mafia, drug cartels. There are some even we can't find."

"No, that's the problem. It's because he is taking care of them."

Kuroha said.

"Sure, they are morally 'evil,' however, all the people within those groups are normal. It's clear that the Shadow is a Streia."

Yuzuha still felt uncomfortable about how the SSB would be handling the situation.

"But if the police can't deal with them, then someone must. It's like Batman!"

"Batman was a vigilante. An unauthorised 'hero' who acts on his own sense of justice. He's fictional, although, I will admit he is badass."

"That was only at first. Still, I don't think the Shadow deserves to be persecuted for his activities."

"That's your opinion. I'm sorry to say, but, if your opinion and my opinion mattered in the SSB, we wouldn't be doing a lot of things."

Yuzuha wanted to speak but she swallowed her words. Without another word, she carried on with her computer work.

·———·

"We're here!"

The duo, who was two hours late, finally entered the office. Renya Shirogane and Takuya Mitogi arrived at the office at noon. They were supposed to be at the office by 10 am.

Renya Shirogane was the white-haired man. He was a handsome man who could capture the heart of almost any woman. ALMOST any woman.

He had white hair and slanted eyes with yellow, feline, irises. Renya had the aura of a genius about him.

The happy and idiotic one was Takuya Mitogi. His hair was navy-blue and so were his eyes. He often messed around which would cause him to be on the bad side of both Yuzuha and Kuroha. He acted more like a kid than any kid could.

Kuroha stood up from her seat and punched the two of them in the face. They stumbled backwards, trembling from Kuroha's punch.

"You're late!"

She growled.

"W-what's wrong with that?! Yuzuha is always late!"

Takuya rebutted, pointing at Yuzuha, who appeared to be working like a zombie.

"She's ten minutes late at most. The designated time to enter the office is 10 am. What's the time now?"

"12 pm..."

Renya muttered.

"So, you knew, huh? I hope you two are ready for what I'm going to do to you."

"Wait, Leader, I don't—RRRRYAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"Please, Leader! I'm not like this idiot! He's the one who—AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

"You idiots get what you deserve."

Yuzuha uttered in the corner.