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“I remember hearing about that; it was making headlines, even here in Japan,” Yuya spoke. He silently scanned the faces of those around him, from Himeno to Sylvie. Those two look eerily similar. He thought. Then he turned to Junepai, who had bloody tissues stuffed up his nose. Finally, there was NN, who was standing at the edge of the room with his arms crossed like he was a teacher, hovering over the small table.

“Yeah, it was a tragic event, but what’s that gotta do with us suddenly changing plans?” Junepai asked, his voice sounding muffled and stuffy.

“It has to do with the real reason I’m here, why I’ve temporarily sided with the Takeba group.” He approached the table, plopping down.

“That day, a distortion the size of Texas appeared in the middle of America, just under two million people lost their lives, and even more were injured or so mentally scarred they could no longer speak. Following that event, the fear of monsters all around the world skyrocketed. Consequently, appearances of the shadow beast became much more frequent.”

“Right, when a person is overcome with negative emotion, if they’re unable to control their magic properly, they release negative mana,” Sylvie added.

“Exactly, but even with the basic training schools give you regarding mana control, it would be near impossible for the average person to maintain control over themselves following such a large and devastating event.”

“What’s your point?” Himeno asked, impatient.

“My point is that was the shadow beast itself. It appeared in America.”

“But we’ve never heard of it appearing anywhere outside of Japan before. Why would it suddenly appear in America?” Junepai questioned.

“Allow me to get there.” He held up a finger before continuing, “Less than twenty-four hours before the event, it was noted that high-ranking officials from the Takeba group met with other high-ranking members of an American group. K-Corp International has reason to believe those two groups were behind the event that occurred not too much later.”

The group grew silent at this shocking revelation.

“What?” Junepai blurted.

“How did you come to that conclusion?” Himeno asked.

“I can’t disclose all of the evidence we have regarding that matter. What I can tell you is that the Takeba group has taken a deep interest in the shadow beast, and more than likely plans on turning it into a weapon.”

“A weapon? But why?” Yuya chimed.

“We aren’t entirely sure, we aren’t even a hundred percent on those being their true intentions. Regardless, we know that the Takeba group has some interest in the shadow beast that extends beyond simply taking it down. Ask yourself this: why is it that sometimes the shadow beast can abduct a hundred people without a trace, but other times it can only do as much as create an orange-level dungeon? And why is it that the one time it appeared outside of Japan, the Takeba group was right behind it?”

The group was silent.

“It’s experimentation, the Takeba group has some form of influence over it, and with that influence, they’ve been running experiments with the shadow beast. Coincidentally, the Takeba group has offered itself as the lead group in charge of its investigation and destruction, yet after twenty years, we have no leads. With all of these suspicions in mind, K-Corp International sent a spy ahead of me, and what they found solidified our theory regarding them having some influence over the beast. He found dates, times, and locations all across Japan. What intrigued us the most was the fact that America had been listed on their, and there were notes under the listing of the location. ‘Things went far crazier than expected; it shouldn’t have been that big.’ What put the final nail in the coffin is the fact that future dates and locations were listed on there, and sure enough, the beast appeared in all those locations on the same dates.”

The group was further stunned.

“Seriously?” Junepai stared at him in shock.

“If that’s true, then that means the Takeba group has been sacrificing millions for the sake of experimentation,” Himeno added.

“If you have that evidence, why not take them down?” Yuya spoke with enthusiasm and rage. “If it’s true that they’ve been using something like that to harm people, they need to be taken down.”

“Well, that’s because the spy rescinded his statements and claimed all the evidence he’d found was doctored. We suspect that the shadow beast’s powers were used to mind-control him.” He stood once more and began to stretch. “And that all leads to my being here, why I’ve decided not to kill the anomaly, and why I’m telling you highly-classified information. I am another spy sent in by K-Corp international to keep tabs on and infiltrate the Takeba group. I am agent N-one, four, four, six one, eight. I was sent on this mission not because of my espionage capabilities, but rather because of my special ability.” He pointed to his nose. “I briefly mentioned it to these two before.” He pointed toward Yuya and Junepai, “But this nose of mine always leads me to the best possible outcomes.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Come to think of it, you never really told us what that was about.” Junepai stated.

“It’s hard to explain; no one really knows how it works. To put it simply, if I follow my nose, I’m always led to the best possible future.”

“So you can smell the future?” Himeno sounded skeptical.

“No. As I’ve stated, it’s hard to explain, and I’m not even entirely sure where this ability came from. Regardless, K-Corp International is making use of this strange ability of mine. When I encounter something or begin to take a certain action, a powerful scent will fill my nostrils, and I’ll suddenly be taken over by a strange sensation. That lets me know that whatever I’m about to do will end up playing in my favor. I’ve been doing whatever my nose tells me for the longest time now, and not once has it ever led me astray, which is the reason I originally contacted you, Himeno Takeba.” He pointed to her.

“Upon arriving in Japan, I heard about rumors regarding a girl named ‘Himeno Takeba.’ According to the words of others, you were a powerful individual with possible ties to the head of the Takeba group. Upon hearing those rumors, that scent and sensation overwhelmed me. Then there was the contract floating around regarding the capture of a shape-shifting beast, and again, the scent came. When I decided to investigate, I called you in hopes of finding out more, but you refused. I knew you knew something, and the sensation on you remained powerful. So I decided to investigate without you and searched for freelance crawlers to hire. That’s when I first came across Junepai Nakamaru, and again, the scent and sensation overwhelmed me. I originally interpreted these sensations as me needing to find and kill the beast, but it told me otherwise. When I tried to kill her, it disappeared, and now that we’re all sitting here, the sensation is as intense as it’s ever been.”

Junepai suddenly raised his hand like a student, “I didn’t hear anything about Yuya.”
“That’s because I never felt that sensation emanating from him.”

“Seriously?” He seemed outraged on his behalf.

“It’s fine, Junepai.” Yuya chimed, “As I’ve said before, I’m not cut out for dungeon crawling business.” He turned his attention to NN, “So from what I’m picking up, this ‘sensation’ of yours allows you to make choices that lead you to a greater outcome. And because this sensation of yours is so heavy when it comes to Junepai, Himeno, and the monster-”

“Sylvie.” Himeno corrected.

“Right, Sylvie. They must somehow fit into whatever the best future looks like. Did I get that right?”

“Precisely,” NN answered.

“And I don’t fit into that Ideal future?”

“Yup.”

“So does that mean me being here is actively going against your sensation thingie?”

“Not necessarily, however, the fact that I feel nothing from, quite frankly, it just makes you a waste of space.” He spoke bluntly.

“Don’t talk about Yuya that way!” Junepai erupted.

“It’s fine, really. I can’t imagine myself being able to help out with any of this type of stuff. I’ve never been good at using magic, and I am pretty weak.” He spoke with a saddened tone.

“That’s crap! You’re strong in other ways!”

“Can we get to the point? Seriously!” Himeno slammed her hands on the table. “I don’t want to make assumptions, but from the way you were talking earlier, it seems like you want us to help you.”

“Your assumption would be correct.”

“And what makes you think I’d help you after you nearly killed us?”

“Simple. Because my scent said so. Whatever you’re after must intertwine with my goal, so working together would be for both our benefits.” He calmly stated.

She didn’t respond, though she looked like she wanted to.

“I don’t know any of you personally, but I can tell just from the sensation alone. You three would directly benefit from working with me.”

Junepai again raised his hand, “What’s the pay like?”

NN was slightly stunned by his question. “Hypothetically, if you three were to help me out as temporary agents, you could make enough to start a new, rich life in an entirely different country.”

Himeno's attention had been snagged.

“Is that so?” She spoke.

“Wait a second, damn it!” Junepai erupted again, “You said ‘you three,’ you’re cutting out Yuya again, aren’t you?”

NN started to look annoyed. “I refuse to let a civilian on board-” He stopped speaking, the scent around Juneapi suddenly disappeared.

“Yuya isn’t just some normal civilian, and if you can’t see that, I won’t work with you.”

“Don’t be childish. The entire world could be at stake here, and you’re worried about something so trivial.”

“It isn’t trivial to me.”

He sighed, shook his head, and pinched his nose. “Fine, he can join, but only because I need you.”

Junepai's face lit up, “Yes!” He fist pumped the air.

“What about you two?” He turned to Himeno and Sylvie.

“To be honest, what you said earlier was spot on. Our goals intertwine; not only that, we do need the money.” Himeno spoke with hesitation, her hand finding Sylvie's and gripping it tightly. “So I’m willing to join you.”

“Me too.” Sylvie spoke with conviction, “Once this is over,  Himeno and I can finally start over.”

“Great. Now that that’s out of the way, we need to discuss our current…” His voice trailed, eyes falling onto Sylvie, “Predicament.”

“Oh, yeah, what are we going to do about the contract?” Junepai asked.

“Nothing, they don’t have to know you let her go,” Himeno suggested.

“Not possible.” NN interjected, “Boss Takeba and his left-hand woman were just on my case, and since I’ve made a big deal of hunting her down, they’ll be curious about the results, and as someone a part of the Takeba group yourself, I’m sure you’re well aware of what ability she possesses.”

Himeno shuddered a bit, nodding her head.

“We can’t leave without evidence of Sylvie’s death, not only that, we’ll need to come up with a story as close to the truth as possible. Lying isn’t an option. There’s no doubt that we’ll garner some suspicion, no matter what story we spin, so we’ll have to lay low after.”

“As close to the truth as possible,” Junepai repeated under his breath.

“I’ve got it!” Sylvie exclaimed, “You can say I came to her in desperation, hoping to find safety. Himeno accepted and lured me into her mother's old home, where you ambushed and neutralized me.”

“That could work, but if we spun a story like that, there’s no doubt Himeno herself, as well as this house, would be under investigation. Sylvie wouldn’t be able to hide out here anymore. She’d need to be reallocated.”

Himeno and Sylvie turned to face one another.

“It would only be temporary, I’d need some time to contact K-Corp international and have them create a fake Identity for her.”

“How long would that take?” Himeno asked.

“I’m not entirely sure. The Takeba group has all of my devices tapped, so I’d need to wait for them to contact me.”

“Where would she go?”

NN turned to Junepai and Yuya.

“Hell no!” She exclaimed.

“It’s the only way.”

“Well, I can’t do it.” Yuya spoke, “My family visits all the time, and they’d definitely be confused about me having a random girl in my house.” The rest of the group turned to Junepai.

“What? Me?” He grumbled, looking at all their expectant eyes. “I mean, I don’t really have any family, and my place is pretty spacious.” He grumbled again, “Yeah, I guess I can take her.”

“Good.” NN stood, “Now all that’s left is for me to gather that evidence.” He drew his blade.

“Would you prefer your leg be cut off, or your arm?”

“W-what?” Sylvie hid behind Himeno.

“I need evidence. Leg or arm?”

Himeno's expression soured, but she knew NN was right.

“He’s going to need something, and you won’t be able to regenerate it until we’re in the clear.” She turned herself around to face her, cupping her hands, “It’ll be alright. Once this is all over, we can put this all behind us.”

“Alright.” Sylvie slowly stood, approaching NN.

“You can take a leg! I use both my hands to eat potato chips and stuff!” Her sudden outburst cast the room in awkward silence.

Sylvie exposed her left leg and plopped down onto the ground.

“Make it quick!” She turned her head away, the wind behind her whistling, the feeling of both cold and hot swelling around her leg.