All-seeing

“Why are you still here?” Shinichi asked.

“I need your help.” Himeno answered.

They both sat atop a bench at a public park, fitted into their work attire. Shinichi watched in silence as families waltzed by, others with animals, others with their significant others.

He took a deep breath, “What is it?”

“The location of their current base, where is it?” She asked bluntly.

Shinichi turned to her with wide-eyes.

“Are you serious? I can’t tell you something like that.”

“Why not?”

“You’ll get us both killed.”

“Be honest with yourself. If I’d have fled Japan like you suggested, would we both not be at risk of dying anyway?”

“You’d at least have a chance.”

“They’d hunt me down until I couldn’t run anymore, and you’d likely be under investigation.” She crossed her arms.

“What do you plan to do with this information?”

“We’re going to kill the spies, it’s a huge gamble but it’s one we’re willing to take.”

“That won’t be possible.” He stated bluntly, “Not with him here.”

“Him?” She repeated.

“The current holder of the all-seeing. He’s here with them, the strongest member of Watchful Eye.” She could almost hear him shudder.

“I don’t know what the hell the all-seeing is.”

“You don’t want to find out.”

“I do.”

Shinichi sighed, standing up. “I’m trying to protect you! Why aren’t you listening to anything I’m saying?” His sudden outburst caught the attention of multiple people. “Keep it moving.” He spoke to them bluntly.

“You wanna protect me so bad? Give me the location, because I’m not leaving Japan.” She too stood, her arms still crossed.

“You’re going to get yourself killed.” He grit his teeth.

“There’s a chance of that either way. Location. Now.”

“Fine, but if you’re going to do this, we’re doing it on my terms. I’ll swing by your apartment tonight, be prepared.”

|

Night had fallen, Himeno and NN sat silently within her apartment. A sudden knock at her doot caught their attention.

“It’s me.” Shinichi spoke from the other side.

Himeno stood to open the door, but NN stopped her.

He unholstered a gun from his hip, approaching the door slowly and peering through the peep hole. On the other side stood a distorted blob that appeared like the man who once attacked him. Short spikey hair, average height, lean build. He opened the door, still holding the gun at his side.

“A gun?” Shinichi remarked.

“Desperate times.” NN remarked back.

The two of them stepped inside, shutting and locking the door behind them.

Shnichi approached Himeno with a piece of paper and handed it to her, “The address is on there, it’s an old abandoned dock. There are exactly fourteen agents stationed there including myself, each and every one of them highly skilled fighters.”

“Are you and the wielder of the all-seeing among those fourteen?” NN asked, to which he nodded.

“So what Himeno told me was true, he really is here.”

“I don’t get what’s so important about this all-seeing, I’ve never heard of it.” She chimed in.

“That’s only natural. Not much is known about the Watchful Eye, at least not to the general public. We at the international level have collobaorated with them from time to time, and though few of us have encountered it directly, the all-seeing isn’t a force to be messed with.” NN holstered his weapon.

“What makes it so special?” Himeno asked.

“From what I’m told, the wielder of the all-seeing is given the ability to see into the immediate future, and alter its course. The ability is always given to the youngest member due to the price of such an ability, that price being the life-span of its wielder. What makes the ability so scary isn’t the ability, rather, it’s the fact that it’s nearly impossible to get rid of. So long as there are members of Watchful Eye, it won’t disappear, and if the current wielder dies, it will simply pass onto the next vessel.” NN finished, turning to Shinichi, “Do you know if any of the other eleven are a vessel?” He asked.

“I don’t, and that’s what makes this even more impossible. If another vessel happens to be there, killing the current wielder will only cause a second user to appear.” He answered.

“So we kill the current wielder last, problem solved.” Himeno stated plainly.

“It isn’t that simple. Beating a wielder of the all-seeing is already a near-impossible task in itself, trying to keep him alive long enough to rid him of any other possible vessels…” He paused, searching for the right words, “It’s suicide.” He settled.

“Who’s the current wielder?” NN asked, ignoring his previous comments.

Shinichi pulled another paper from his coat pocket and uncrubmeld it, handing it to him. It was a file, the picture of a man appearing to be in his mid thirties at its center. He had short blonde hair and a beard of the same color, his emerald green eyes devoid of any soul.

“This is him?”

“Yeah, he’s the current wielder. Eighteen years of age, five nine, one-hundred eighty pounds.”

“Eighteen?” Himeno peered over NN’s shoulder and down at the paper.

“Yeah, this is the price he spoke of earlier. It eats away at your life-span in the form of rapid aging. Using their power causes their bodies age to accelerate raidly.” Shinichi took the paper back from his hands. “He’s one of the more skilled wielders. Before inheriting this power, he was already a talented user of magic.”

NN’s face contorted with a mix of intrigue and confusion.

“Something the matter?” Shinichi asked.

“A lot, actually. The nature of their being here makes zero sense to me. If Sasha really believed us suspicious of harboring Sylvie, she could easily confirm these supiciouns herself.”

“Sylvie?” He asked with confusion.

“The monster.” Himeno answered.

“From our stand-point, her logic has several holes.” NN continued, “She assigned a major spy orginization to find the creature when she could simply ask. Given the nature of her ability, that would be the easiest method in finding its location. Not only that, she assigned you to their team. Why?” He mumbled to himself with confused frustration.

“I’ve been her lap-dog for several years, she trusts me.”

“No, that can’t be it. None of this makes sense to me.” He sighed, “It makes no sense. No sense. No sense.”

“Listen, I can’t stay here much longer. If you’re really planning to go through with this, tonights the night.”