The skies above were a soft blue, with not a cloud in sight. Felix made his way through the terminal, coffee cup in one hand and a suitcase in the other.
Maria stood in front of the jet with arms crossed.
"What a beautiful morning." He said outloud.
He took his sweet time walking, pausing to sip every three steps, then enjoying the cool morning breeze.
She grumbled and began tapping her foot.
Felix spent nearly two minutes walking, and when he finally made it to the jet's entrance, he crushed the paper cup, "Oh… what a shame. I ran out."
Maria placed her hand on her shoulder, "I won't be there to take care of you, okay? No one's gonna be there to pick up after your mess, understand?" Her voice dripped with condescension, her dark eyes full of pity.
His eye twitched, but played along, "You don't have to worry about me, I can take care of myself."
"Did you bring a jacket? A grappling hook? What about communication devices? We both know how much technology hates you."
"I actually brought two, in case one explodes again." She shot back.
"Hope you do a better job body-guarding this girl than you did with me. If you want my advice, just try not to let her get shot."
A vein pulsed on his forehead, unable to retort, "I'll... try my best."
"You grow up so fast." She teased, placing her hand on Felix's cheek with a teary, mocking smile on her face.
Overcome by his annoyance, he grabbed her cheeks and stretched them out, "What is wrong with you?!"
"Ah guwayt— menny thi— s-stahp it!" As she tried to whimper out her response, he pinched her cheeks tighter.
He sighed and let go before looking at her with a serious look, "You want me to get you an autograph or something?"
"What, you thinking of taking a photo with idols or something? I hate idols. I'm more of a rock kinda girl." She answered in an oddly triumphant tone.
Felix raised an eyebrow, "Huh? You hate idols?"
"I dunno. They always seem so upbeat and overly cheerful. Always ecstatic to make fans happy. It all seems so fake to me." She said in a sharper tone, dripping with petulance as she looked away.
"Harsh... Alright, if that's it, then I'm going—" Felix replied, taking a step forward.
"Actually," Maria's tone shifted again, more serious now. "There's something I wanted to ask."
"Mhm, what is it?"
"What is it that's bothering you?"
"— nothing's bothering me." He hesitated.
"Don't lie to me, you've seemed different since this morning." Her dark eyes narrowed slightly.
"Like I said, it's nothing."
"It's about Jackal, isn't it?"
"Huh?"
"I saw you smirk when you heard his name."
"Hm… right. I'm just… we finally get a trail." Felix had a twisted smile, "We finally get to find him."
"Right… Good luck, and leave nothing to chance, as Chief Vivian would put it."
"Thanks."
As he was about to walk past her, however, Maria grabbed him by the shoulder again, "You may be the first esper, or the professional masked assassin, or whatever people expect of you… but at the end of the day, you're still just you. Resident dumdum and... my irreplaceable friend. So, tread lightly. Don't bite off more than you can chew."
"Don't worry, I'll be okay." He replied as he placed his hand on her head.
"Go, protect the peace or whatever."
From inside the jet, Felix saw Maria waving at him. He waved back, and caught a glimpse of the silver-haired woman and the blond young man from earlier, stepping out of a black car at the agency's entrance.
With his cheek resting against his hand, he continued to gaze at them until they became dots too small to observe.
As the engines hummed, the world began to shrink. Felix leaned against the leather chair and closed his eyes.
*
Alone in the dark, Maria sank down on a leathery chair, staring at the screen full of windows. At the very top were four labels, ASTRAEA, CHIMERA, HERCULES and THESEUS.
The one she was scanning through read out, "Project CHIMERA."
"So that's what it is… Poor furries." She mumbled, her fingers tapping on the transparent keyboard, "How about…"
Slurping on the soda, her continued, typing the words on the bottom of the name, "Homo Lucerna".
"New Homo Sapien, Light of man, artificial human evolution… Here I thought we lost our humanity, but the furries have it way worse."
Several profiles appeared, and as she clicked on some, Felix was listed at the very top, followed by other names such as David, and Anastasia, Jane, Maria, among several others.
"Where's that Isa girl…"
She clicked on the one that read Zephyr Clan, only to be followed up by the word Redacted on every profile. "Not here…"
The dark-haired woman sighed, reading the names again, where one in particular caught her eye.
"This must be his mentor…" Maria hovered the cursor towards the one called Luna Aster, "No pictures, huh? Ugh…" She sighed.
**
"Implementation…" Felix muttered drowsily, his forehead pressed against the window.
Visions of the past flashed in his mind — fragmented memories replaying as dreams.
Where his younger self stood atop a podium. Children lined up beneath the yellow and red Golden Lion banners.
An announcer's voice blared from the microphone, but the words melted into a distorted blur. Only two cut through the noise: "proud" and "the implementation."
Swarms of black cars appeared. Men in dark suits and blurry faces then herded the children inside.
When he stepped out, warm, stiff air greeted him. Under the clear blue sky was a white facility — A building that felt long abandoned, it's corners crumbling, it's white coat faded with age, peeling off.
His eyes met with the other children, one of which with gold hair.
Not one of the children stepped forward, senses screaming not to enter. So the men in suits dragged them inside one by one.
One the children bit his handler's hand, and they all watched as he bolted.
But when he slowed down to squeeze between the buildings, the hand-bitten handler lifted a gun.
Felix's eyes jolt open and gasped.
He gulped as his heartbeat raced. He looked out the window and saw the city was rapidly approaching, "Already here…"
As the plane touched down, he was greeted by a breath of cool, crisp air, relieving the tension left from the nightmare. He was swiftly ushered to the city by a car with Obsidian Industries logo, taking him to the building where the heiress was residing.
At the front of the building were three bars, one taller than the next, encased in two triangles. The logo of Obsidian Industries.
Felix entered the corridor at the highest floor, his footsteps creaking softly as he headed to the heiress' apartment, where a group of teenage girls clustered in front of the entrance.
"Um…" He muttered.
Startled, they slowly shifted their gaze to him.
"What's with his eye?" One girl spoke in Japanese.
"Chuunibyou?" Another commented.
"You girls wouldn't happen to be Starry Sweethearts, would you?" Felix tilted his head, trying to sound casual.
One of the girls stiffened, her expression flustered. "A-ah, yes!" she stammered.
"Um, are any of you girls Yumiko Sakurazawa?"
The girls looked at him with an uneasy expression.
"A-are you Yumiko's new bodyguard?" One of the girls asked hesitantly.
"W-wait, Ayame-chan." Another girl from behind her tugged her sleeve.
"Yes. Is there something wrong?" His eyebrows furrowed.
Somehow, I feel relieved they don't speak English perfectly.
"She's… waiting for you." The girl, Ayame, stammered, looking at the door with weary expressions.
The uneasy atmosphere hinted at him to proceed with caution.
But as he looked at their faces, he suddenly found himself thinking about a woman with silvery hair patting him on the head.
Maybe I should try to ease their worries, the way Luna used to do for me. Now what would she do… How should I handle this?
The ecstatic, orange-haired woman from earlier suddenly flashed in his mind, asking for his autograph.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. With a gulp, he forced out a smile.
"Sorry if I was weird, I'm um… I'm actually a fan… your music is really good." A bare-faced lie to ease their nerves, "would it be alright to take a picture?"
Their eyes lit up slightly as they replied in a livelier manner, "Y-yes!"
One of the girls nudged the one standing in the center, teasing, "Ayame-chan, won't your boyfriend get mad if he saw you with another guy?"
"He, he's not my boyfriend!" Ayame yelled softly with bright red cheeks, her voice high-pitched, "Anyways, let's take the picture!"
"Alright, thanks."
The camera flashed with a snap as all the girls posed, their tension dissolving.
Felix felt an odd sense of relief and comfort. He had hoped this simple act would calm them, even by just a little.
"It was… nice to meet all of you." He said stiffly.
But as he waved them goodbye, Ayame caught his sleeve and whispered, "Be very careful… There's… more to this than you know." Her tone was suddenly much clearer.
His eyes sharpened, and he faked a smile, "Right, thanks for the warning Miss Ayame."
He offered her a handshake, but her face shriveled in panic.
One of the girl's then grabbed Ayame by the shoulders, "Don't worry about her, she just doesn't do handshakes."
"Ah, my bad." He waved them goodbye.
Cheerful, upbeat girls who would be ecstatic to make a fan happy… Idols sure are a strange bunch.
"Might as well send this to Marie, tell her I've made it." Felix tapped on his phone, sending the group photo.
His then reached for the knob, mumbling to himself, "More to this than I know…"
The savory scent of sizzling meat hit him immediately. Inside, a thin young girl in a white tank top stood by the stove, tending to a pot with a pair of chopsticks. Her blonde ponytail swayed with each movement.
"Are you my new bodyguard?" She asked, not even sparing a glance. Her English was clearly fluent, a sharp contrast to the girls he had just spoken with.
He stepped inside and scanned the dimly lit room, but it was clear how spacious it was. The entrance was a kitchen with apricot-painted walls, and faux-decorum such as a marble counter-top connected to a marble pillar.
"I believe so."
The stove clicked off, and the sound of sizzle grew silent.
She turned around and eyed him down, "Moody, broody, and covered in all black. You must be the agent papa sent for."
"That assessment is… harsh." He dryly remarked, placing his belongings by the door, "So, that means you're Yumiko Sakurazawa, or should I call you Natsumi Sakurai?"
He opened his luggage with a click, his pistol, and other gear.
But just as he turned to face her, his mismatched eyes met with muzzle of a gun. And just as suddenly — she pulled the trigger.
~