Chapter II-B: Purpose

2

“So then what are you guys? Lone mages.”

“Aaaaa good guesssss, but no, we work for the world government. Fearsome agents that hunt down rogue and, or, dangerous mages like yourself. We are considered a necessary evil to them, a force they would rather dead, commonly referred to as…” 

He added a pause for dramatic effect.

“The Disposables.”

A morbid name for earth’s protectors, but an accurate one that even Jonah could not deny.

“Yep, right on the money Roa. We’re effectively government workers, but we get paid pretty well so it’s not that bad to be fair.” Angel added lazily, sitting himself up and wiping his eyes like an undignified cat.

“Hmmm.” Gemini haughtily added a final sense of confirmation, as if it was a simply accepted fact.

“So am I just some sort of target on your list then. ‘The immortal assassin, Nife’. An infamous glory hunt, or somethin’ like that?”

“You could be, but that depends on your next few choices.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Roa smirked. “Whaaaaat I mean is that you were never the main target of this operation, are intended target is none other than the organisation you work for.”

“The Kagekai.”

“Precisely.”

“But why would you care about them, you're not the police?”

“True. But put two and two together, kid.” Angel corrected.

“Theirs…. No way, theirs more mages in the Kagekai?”

Roa nodded before continuing. “Yes indeed, four more to be precise. The main boss that runs everything, Genzo Ryusei, known by his more fitting title: The Shadow Dragon. And his formidable attendants, his intelligent right hand man from Italy: Anthony DeLuca, otherwise known as The Ant. His left hand man on the ground: Kanzaki Kurabane, The Fearsome Feather, and finally his treasurer, known only by his codename: Mono.”

That would be the perfect cutscene for an anime.

Jonah could already imagine a cool slideshow of notorious gangster villains. But for now, all he could say was: “Except for the main boss, I’ve never heard of them before.”

“Of course not, you were never that deep into the criminal underworld to hear of them, you were nothing but an effective lackey for them.”

Jonah couldn’t disagree with Roa’s analysis of the situation, he didn’t care to be anything more to them in the first place. All he cared about was to do the job, take the money and leave not-so-happily, afterall.

“You likely were being watched closely though, your skill would have gotten Genzo’s attention and when you were old enough he would have raised you up the ranks to be one of his personal men.” A scary but real thought, if Genzo had planned what Roa had declared, there would have been no way of escape from the Kagekai. Even if he tried.

“Luckily for you, we found and captured you beforehand.”

“I wouldn’t call that ‘lucky’ if were being honest here.”

“Shoo, shoo, shoo away those useless thoughts.”

“Don’t patronize me, dammit.”

“He can do as he wish.” Gemini interrupted, enforcing their difference in rank and situation.

Jonah simply clicked his tongue. She was right afterall, he couldn’t do much even if he wanted to. He was completely helpless and practically mortal before the jester's hands.

“Geeeemini, do not interrupt so rudely. I hope not to remind you again?” Roa warned, his words laced with authority.

“Apologies master. I will not do so again.” She bowed apologetically, his words had clearly struck a chord in her. Even Jonah was surprised by her readiness to submit. She’s almost… loyal to a fault.

“Good, now back to the urgent matter at hand.” Roa regained Jonah’s attention with a sharp clap before continuing. “Orignally I was going to send you to the world government and have you strung up and experimented on as long as you lived for your crimes against humanity.“ His words held no lie, causing Jonah to gulp again.

“But you poor boy, when I saw you drop that knife in front of me. I thought: ‘maybe theirs still some good in him yet’ so now I ask.” 

The tension was so thick you could slice through it with a knife.

“Do you wish to make penance for your actions? To kill for the good of mankind and wash away the blood of your sins. To live for a purrrrpooose bigger than yourself.”

Roa reached his hand out, like a priest anointing his flock. His mouth curling in a devilish smile.

“Do you wish to become a temporary Disposable?”

3

“Why temporary?” Jonah asked hesitantly. Are they gonna kill me after the job or something?

Roa smirked. “Do not fear, I will not betray you. Simply put, I see that you are still a young man with a full life ahead of you — I am merciful, if you complete this mission I will tell my employers that it was false and that you could die, allowing you to go free if you so choose. Evidently I cannot sense your magic gene, so you are not a proper mage anyway.” He held his hands above him, palms open casually.

“And what if I decide to refrain from joining your merry band of misfits?”

Roa didn't waste a beat. “Theeeeeen I will have to go back to my original plan and send you back to the scientists in HQ. I suppose I can ask them to be gentle but I doubt they will oblige…” His tone betrayed his ‘merciful’ proposition.

It was clear now, Jonah didn’t have a choice in the matter, kill no people and become a lab experiment or kill people and possibly go free. It’s a no brainer, but…

“The same knife that can end a life, can just as easily give one.”

Those words echoed through his brain like a drum, reminding him of his last promise.

“I seeeeee this is a difficult decision for you, maybe you need a stronger incentive. So be it then, ask me and my crew for anything and we will provide.” Roa really wanted him on his team.

Jonah looked upwards, doubting the truth behind the noble clown's words. “Oh really.”

“Yeeees, really.”

Jonah looked at the trio, scanning them from head to toe. He had many ideas on how to test that promise; money, power, influence, etc but one idea planted itself even stronger. There was no way they would agree to something like that.

He looked towards Gemini, scanning her figure from head to toe. Her crimson eyes looking into his eyes with an aggressive sense of caution and warriness. He had decided, speaking boldly:

“Gemini, right? If I do this, go on a date with me!” 

Her eyes widened, surprised by his daring nature. Angel let out a full body belly laugh, wiping his lazy tears with joyful glee. “Kids got guts, y’know. I love you already, bro!” He giggled out, finding the situation way more amusing than it intended to be.

Roa looked at Gemini, holding a hand to cover his own smile. “My, my, how daring. My hands truly are tied, I wish not to take a woman's consent in this matter. So what do you say to that request my assistant?” Roa’s emerald eyes carried a sense of playful curiosity, excited to see her response.

“.....” She held her chin in thought, scanning him up and down with a level of vulnerability he had not seen before. 

“I suppose it is okay, if only for a single date. While he may be a criminal, he is not an evil mage at least.” She whispered shyly, averting her crimson cheeks away as she tried to rationalise her decision. It was pragmatic, if they could achieve the mission more efficiently for nothing more than a date, it was clearly the best course of action.

Jonah’s cheeks only blushed, not expecting her to agree to the surprise request as even Roa was quite shocked by her agreement. But Roa would not waste another moment further, coughing gently to focus his crew back to the matter at hand.

“Soooo, you have got your incentive, have you not. A date with a beautiful young woman and your freedom, many mages would dream of such a fate. Let alone a young man such as yourself, Nife.” 

Jonah stayed in thought a moment longer. I may as well, what point is their promising to live a life worthy of making her proud, when I’ll be unable to live properly anyway. Plus I guess this technically counts as killing ‘bad’ guys anyway, is that not something she would be proud of…

“I’ll do it.”

“Good boy.” Roa patronized, rubbing the top of Jonah’s curly hair like a stress ball. Jonah bit upwards in response, hating this feeling of forced submission under a man he held no respect for.

“For now you will work with Gemini rather closely, she will guide you on your next steps.”

“And what are those next steps?”

“You will be staying as a member of the Kageki as an undercover Disposable.”

Roa could sense Jonah’s hesitance. “Fear not, it will not be for long and you will not have to kill innocents or bystanders in this conflict. All we need is information on their base in Tokyo and then we will descend on them with the utmost fury. Until then you will be my apprentice, there is much to learn my boy.”

Jonah simply nodded, he had no desire to become this clown's apprentice but left with few options; he had to humble himself and submit for his ‘salvation’.

He was now a Disposable and he knew to survive this, he had to act like one.