Idol and Agent part 1

Chapter 7
Idol and Agent

Bullets echoed in the suite. Felix dashed away as bullet casings clattered to the floor in rapid succession. Each shot echoed through the room, while his charge was the one holding the gun.

“What are you doing?!” He shouted, only to instinctively back away as he heard the next round fired.

He looked at his gear, his luggage caught between them, far from his reach. A bullet cracked the floor between them.

“Come on, why won’t it work?” He muttered as a bead of sweat slid down his cheek.

The agent rolled through the line of fire, grabbing his silver pistol. But even as she aimed at him, he moved faster, aiming the gun as soon as it was in his hands.

But she froze, and he saw her frightened expression.

Flashes of the heiress and the butler from his first mission flooded his mind, and his finger froze on the trigger.

Noticing him pause, Natsumi resumed firing, and he leapt out of the way, deeper into the suite.

Hiding behind the counter, he shook his head. But glanced back down and breathed to steel himself, but his gaze landed on the space where his bullet was, and he noticed — there were no bullet holes. No chipped pieces of marble. No damage in the room.

When the metal clanging stopped, the scent of umami was replaced with sharp gunpowder.

Felix stood up, and she frantically began to reload her gun. He then approached her, and without hesitation, she aimed and fired at him once again.

A loud bang rang, while the scent of smoke followed. He let out a cold, unfazed glare as he towered over her.

“You’re surprisingly calm. People normally panic after getting shot.” The girl’s voice cracked as she looked at his undaunted expression.

“…Great acting. Maybe I would have died…” He answered in a simmering rage as he grabbed her wrist and took the gun off her hands, “If this were real.”

Her eyes widened for a moment before letting out a relieved sigh, “…There shouldn’t be any way to differentiate a real one from a fake.”

“The difference is that a real gun destroys things.” Felix answered as he looked back to where he hid from her assault.

Natsumi’s hostile exterior shifted to a softer one as a nervous laughter escaped her lips, “Ah, I see.”

“I assume those bullets were holograms?”

“They were.” She cheekily admitted.

“Had me fooled with how realistic it looked...”

“It’s called Illusion Technology, courtesy of Brilliant Light. It’s still in the works, but they were nice enough to install a few prototypes.” She pointed to a projector on the pillars and chandeliers.

“They were pretty convincing when I could barely see the pixels. Now tell me, who are you?” Felix placed his gun against her head.

Her smile stayed sharp, hiding her shaking hands behind her, “I told you, my name is Natsumi Sakurai.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

“Mhm… Natsumi Sakurai, daughter of Takeuchi Sakurai of Obsidian Industries, incorporated. That introduction alone should be enough.” She assured him as she showed him an ID with Obsidian Industries’ seal on it.

Felix let out an exasperated sigh, “You gave me a heart attack…”

“I tend to do that. So you must be the Black Cat of Ruin, then? Elite Agents are really something else, aren’t they?”

“I actually go by Blue Phantom, now.” He corrected her, flashing his Golden Lion badge.

“Hm… So you really are the genuine article. Still, I think Black Cat suits you better.” She smirked and placed her hand on her chin.

“How many times do you intend to test me?”

“I’m done. You’re the real thing.”

“The glowing blue eye didn’t tip you off?” He snarked.

“Please, glow in the dark contact lenses are common in the entertainment industry.” She scoffed.

“What about you, are you really Natsumi Sakurai?”

“Sometimes, I wish I wasn’t.”

He rolled his eyes and replied, “Well, it shouldn’t be too long until security arrives and—”

“No worries, they know. The staff is currently under my control.”

Felix inhaled sharply and picked up his luggage.

“Flew half across the world for this…” He sat on the black leather couch in the living room, where moonlight illuminated through the glass walls. Natsumi looked puzzled as she watched him walk away.

“You’re not gonna ask why I shot you just now?” She followed him to the living room.

“It’s probably because you wanted me to prove myself, or perhaps it was to prove to daddy dearest that you can take care of yourself.”

“And you’re not mad?”

“Furious.” He flashed her an irritated glare, “I was all too ready to kill you if I hadn’t noticed the surroundings.”

“Your face doesn’t say furious at all.”

“I’d advise against doing that again, there are agents who would’ve killed you by accident for pulling a stunt like that.”

“That would’ve been bad, wouldn’t it?”

“I’d say that’s pretty bad.”

“Well, not much to lose other than my own life I suppose.”

Felix sighed and looked at her with a worried expression, “Your recklessness reminds me of someone. Still, I’m curious why a pop idol is carrying one in the first place.”

“I’m the CEO’s daughter, so I’ve had my own fair share.”

“This world really isn’t fair if an idol like you needs to be proficient with a gun.”

“Gross. What are you, some sort of therapist, too?” She sharply remarked, placing her elbows on the couch, lowering her head to her palms.

The luggage let out a loud click as Felix rummaged through his stuff. He pulled out a black-suit, a bullet-proof vest, ammunition, a small bottle of anesthetic with the Golden Lion’s logo, all in order to find his weapons. His silver pistol, as well as his energy gun, Ion.

He examined his gear under the pale moonlight that split the room in the middle, while Natsumi quietly watched from over his shoulder.

“Weird gun…”

“It’s to avoid killing people on accident. It’s what I should’ve used on you.” He dryly taunted.

“Ehe…” She laughed nervously.

Nearly a minute passed, and a few dust particles faded back into the shadows.

Yet as he rummaged through deeper, he found that on the other side of luggage was a pale mask, metallic and without any detail other than the dark eyes that contrasted against its ghostly white color.

Felix smirked softly to himself as he looked at it.

Natsumi inched her way closer from behind him, giving a curious stare, “A mask? I heard Elites tend to have gimmicks. Is that yours, mister Phantom?”

“Uh, yeah...”

She reached for the mask, gesturing for him to give it to her. Felix let out a heavy exhale and reluctantly gave it to her. In her hands, though, she placed it against his face.

Uneasy, he asked, “Hm? What are you doing?”

“Staring into the abyss.”

He awkwardly grunted. “Ah-mhm.”

Natsumi chuckled and teased, “Apparently, the abyss gets flustered the longer I stare at it.”

“Some pop idol you are.”

“An amazing pop idol I am.” She posed.

He returned the mask into the case and frowned at her, “What do you want?”

“I want lots of things.”

Felix let out a deep, guttural groan at her response.

With his dismay in full view, Natsumi nervously added, “Well then, you mind telling me why your left eye glows in the dark? Is that like your superpower or something?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Come on, tell me what you’re thinking, I wanna—” Suddenly, a soft growl escapes Natsumi’s stomach.

“Your friend has other plans...” Felix replied in a deadpan tone.

“Accompany me to the restaurant outside.” She ordered. Her voice turned commanding as she wrapped her hair into a side ponytail.

“You just finished cooking, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but the scent of gunpowder is kinda making me sick, so…”

“Right… Whose fault is that?”

“Mine, and?”

“Right, and you’re going to have to deal with that.”

“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” She spoke nonchalantly, averting her eyes.

“Why don’t you go with those other girls from earlier?”

“They’re already out in the city, and there’s somewhere else, and you’re my bodyguard so…” Natsumi mumbled as she put her on a large, loose black hoodie.

“You’ve got food right here, and my mission technically doesn’t start until midnight. So whatever happens before then...” Felix bluffed as he returned to polishing his weapons.

She pouted, “Wow, and here I heard you were gunning for number one... I’m going.”

The door shut with a loud thump, yet Felix continued to gaze at his mask with a faint smile. He took in a deep breath and exhaled heavily, placing it on the table.

He laid his head against the furniture, staring at the ceiling, until a faint ticking caught his ear — a clock was counting down. Its hands pointed to eight-thirty.

“… If that was a real gun, and I hesitated… would I have been able to stop the bullets?” He contemplated, his voice quivering slightly.

“I’ve been shot countless times, already. So there’s no point. But the problem is… every time I see them scared, I hesitate! I can’t afford to keep doing that! Arhg! What a bother!”

A beep snapped him out of it, a message returned that read, “u into idols now?”

He went through his contacts to reply. Though his expression changed when he misclicked, accidentally dialing the wrong number.

‘Why does technology hate me?’ He mumbled in disbelief, reaching for the cancel.

“Felix? Is there something wrong?” From the other end, a scruffy old voice asked with a worried tone.

“Nothing much, professor… I just accidentally um… yeah, um, about the gear you sent me.” He glanced over to the white mask.

“I take it you’ve seen the mask, is it to your liking?”

“It’s pale white.”

“Was that not your request?”

“I expected some decor, but… Eh, it’s not the worst thing you’ve made.” He paused, “I just… um… needed to ask if there’s anything I should know about it.”

“Hmm, well, it’s made with an alloy we’ve been developing called “Aestrellium”, roughly three times stronger than titanium, with only half the weight, and the development team are working on your new guns as we speak.” Though the old man spoke with pride, it all went out Felix’s other ear.

“Mhm, anything else?”

“I am a geneticist, not a weapon’s designer. Nothing I can explain to you in greater detail. Though they are the test models for your next ones.”

“Right. That’s all I—”

“There is a story about it that I’d like to tell you—” Professor Tetsuya answered in a proud tone.

“Thanks. But, perhaps another time. That’s all I needed.” He replied before he hung up and placed the phone next to his mask.

Stronger than titanium, huh?

Felix picked up the cobalt gun and swung it up and down like a baseball, but put it down when he saw the mask staring back at him. He picked it up. It was plain white, featureless besides the eye holes.

“Idol, huh? She’s wearing a mask, too…”

Moonlight spilled into half the suite, and the flickering lamp filled the quiet. The dish Natsumi prepared had cooled down, and the mixed scent of stew and gunpowder faded.

He reached to his chest and pulled out his pendant and stared longingly as it swayed back and forth. His iris radiated like a flower in full bloom, shining in the darkness, where neither the moon nor artificial light reach.

As the necklace dangled in front of him, he recollected the soft words spoken by his beloved mentor, “You’re a good, kind person, aren’t you?”

Swallowing his stubbornness, he closed the suitcase and stood, exhaling a long, irritated, “Haaa… fine.”

He steadily opened the door, letting out a creaked.

“You sure took your time, didn’t you?” Natsumi complained, leaned against the wall while staring at her phone.

With his hand still on the handle, Felix stared at her with an awkward expression. “You were waiting for me?”

“A frail, famous girl like me going out in the public alone at night? I might get attacked out there.” She feigned fragility.

“I get it. I’ll come with you.”

“I knew you’d come around. You’re about to go on a date with the Yumiko Sakurai, after all, so be grateful!” She smugly declared.

“Maybe I’d be more grateful if you didn’t do your little stunt.”

“Get rid of the sass.”

“Give me a minute to grab my stuff…” He sighed, walking back into the room.

~