A faint refraction hit the windows of the hotel's glass, illuminating the area with a warm, tinted glow. Specks of dust floated around in the hotel lobby, dancing under the yellow light.
"Say, Hikaru, do the higher-ups really care about those dumb high schoolers? I feel like if they care about them that much, they should just, like, lock this place up."
Sun Myung drawled in a lazy tone. The two of them were currently taking the stairs to the fourth floor, where the stairwell was. Sun Myung was weaker and far more frailer than the average agent, so he stopped and bent over, gasping for air. Hikaru looked at his junior, reconsidering the decision to vouch for him to become an Operator. If he knew he was this weak, he should've been an Investigator, damn it!
Opening his briefcase, he took out a donut and started munching on it, and went down the stairs at a steady pace, lugging Sun Myung by the waist and carrying him up. As they passed more flights of stairs, the junior suddenly spoke up.
"Hey Hikaru, mind if I have a bite?"
"Get lost, I'm your mentor for now, treat me with some respect. Besides, you're vegan."
"Oi, who said vegans can't eat eggs and drink milk? Sweets are like one of my only pleasures in life. That's the only thing we have in common. I think."
Hikaru looked down at Sun Myung, his donut almost finished. With a quick gulp, he swallowed it down his throat. As they reached the doors of the fourth floor, they suddenly heard a loud crash coming from beyond. Looking at each other, they silently agreed on something, as Sun Myung was put on the ground.
"Should we tell Xien-pai?" Running through the corridors, they nearly tripped a bellhop as they ran past him. "Already on it. It's likely a Level 3 event."
"Level 3!? Isn't that reserved for people with special capabilities!?"
Reaching the emergency exit, the two of them set down their briefcases, taking out what seems to be a gun, sleeker and more futuristic, but with no magazine or hammer.
"Xie's got cameras inside. Turns out that the teenager has powers too. Damn it, they're sending back up in thirty minutes. Hold your ground if the target is hostile, but if they're willing to talk, talk. You handle the talking part."
"Me? Aren't I just a trainee!?
"Well, it's not like I'm one of the most socially capable people in Section 7, so I'll send you in; you're better at talking, right? Just think of it as training. Besides, if we die, we'll know who to blame."
"That isn't funny!"
Pushing Sun Myung inside, Hikaru stayed out of the stairwell, just in case.
"Hey, if you make it out alive, I'll buy you a volume of Kuroko!"
As the door slammed shut, Sun Myung lay flat on the ground, with only his buttocks sticking up. As Gojo was about to do another attack, holding his finger up, he stopped as he noticed the newcomer. "Oh, nice ass."
"What?"
Quickly standing up and picking up his weapon, he frantically aimed it at Gojo. "Hey! Hands down, we're SPID! For violating Clause 16, Article 9 of the Paranormal uhh... Paranormal Threat Management Code, you are under arrest!"
Gojo held a hand to his mouth, trying not to laugh. This one is clearly a rookie. Seems like he doesn't recognize the Gojo Clan's heir huh? And besides...
Looking at the uniform of the young man holding that futuristic gun-like weapon, he noted his uniform, his badge, and his weapon. Since when did the government ever make a task force for the supernatural? And that weapon... Nothing of that modernness could pass those conservative elders' sights.
Holding his hands up in mock surrender, Gojo squeeled. "Oh, how scary! Mr. Policeman, don't shoot me, I'm innocent!"
"Like hell you are! We got cameras inside! You trespassed onto restricted property and tried to subjugate a Quarter Noise!"
"Huh, aren't they Cursed Spirits? Quit yapping around. Anyways, I'm the heir of the Gojo Clan. Just run that up there with the higher-ups, and you'll get a response."
Tightening his grip on his weapon, Sun Myung shouted, his voice cracking. "Stop trying to deflect me! There's no Gojo Clan, and there's no Cursed Spirits! Only Noises are here!"
Gojo looked at him, hooking his glasses down, revealing his sky-blue eyes, emanating with a dazzling radiance, as his face wore a cold expression. Sun Myung felt entranced by his eyes; those jewels, resembling the ocean's waves, seemed to call to him.
"Hey, stop joking. The Gojo Clan. Go-jo. One of the Three Big Families. The clan descended from Michizane Sugiwara. That Sugiwara? We've been exorcising Curses for centuries now. Don't act like you don't know me."
Snapping out of it, Sun Myung backed off and grabbed his radio, still pointing the gun at Gojo. "Hikaru, this teen is making some bullshit up! Open the door for me if I don't come out in a minute. Over." Hooking it to his waist, he stared at Gojo once more. "If you just didn't know the terms of all the supernatural phenomena and just started calling them Cursed Sprites or whatever you're calling them, then you've got it wrong. What you call Cursed Sprites are called Noises. This has been recognized by the Japanese Government, Italy, and China."
As Gojo was about to speak, Sun Myung interrupted him. "And don't try me with that Gojo crap. There are no Three Families you've been talking about. All I see here is a chuunibyou to deep in his own fantasies."
The dim LED Lights in the stairwell started to flicker, their shadows spasming under the blinking, cold lights. Gojo took off his glasses and stored them in his jacket pocket. Looking at his hand, he found it slightly shaking. No way...
Still looking at his hands, he asked Sun Myung a question. "Hey, rookie. Let me ask you a question. Is there a cult named the Star Religious Cult? It should be a little famous, but it got destroyed years ago."
Feeling sweat drip down his forehead, Sun Myung answered. "No. There is no such cult called that."
Closing his hand, Gojo let his hair fall over his face. Ah damn. Smashing his hand against the wall, a faint crack spread from his fist. Holding his head with his other hand, he didn't even notice Infinity deactivating. Hey, the one who made me come here, the one who transported me here, where the hell am I!? He noticed it. He noticed the Cursed Energy being weirder than normal. He noticed that Chinatown didn't have the density of Curses fitting for the area. He noticed his Cursed Energy being suppressed. He noticed that there weren't even Flyheads around.
Hearing the noise, Hikaru suddenly opened the door from outside, holding a sleek futuristic gun, the size of a thermos with a flared head. "We will be using restraining force!" Pulling the trigger, a cone-shaped frequency came out of the gun, locking Gojo's body in place. He struggled to look up, seeing the silver-haired man holding the weapon.
"Hikaru!"
"Spare me the thanks for later. Right now, we've got to move this guy to HQ. Sun Myung, get up here, don't wanna waste time for the backup."
"Yes sir!"
Quickly moving, Sun Myung went behind Hikaru, holding the door open, as Hikaru was holding a pair of handcuffs. Gojo glared at him with those sky-blue eyes, but it didn't affect him in the slightest. "What now, you're gonna throw me in jail? How original."
"Nah. Most likely case is that you're gonna get questioned and registered in the database for possessing a Record-like ability."
"A Record, huh... Hey, is it like a supernatural ability?" As the cuffs clicked into place, Gojo tested them out, the chains clanging together. "Mostly like that, yeah."
Gojo looked at the man, speaking into his radio and giving orders to Sun Myung, his mind still elsewhere.
After Hikaru finished his business, he noticed Gojo staying silent. Weird. Most captured kids usually try to explain themselves and beg for release; this one is surprisingly silent. "Hey kid, what's got your mind rollin'?"
A tick formed on Gojo's head. "I'm 29."
"Heh, says the one wearing a school uniform."
"Whatever, don't believe me."
"You sulking?"
Gojo stayed silent under his gaze, while Hikaru just laughed it off.
As Hikaru quieted down, he crouched, reaching nearly the same eye level as Gojo. "Hey, friendly advice here. When a guy with long hair and glasses walks into the interrogation room, be friendly. That's the Section 6 Head, he's the most friendly out of all the nine."
Gojo glanced at him, his clothes stained brown. "And what if I don't?"
"Eh, nothing major happens, you'll just get locked up for thirty years."
"Thirty?" That's crazy.
"Don't be so tense! That was just a joke!" Patting Gojo's back with a few quick taps, he stood up, stretching his waist side to side, with audible pops of bones being cracked hanging in the air.
"Why can't I move?"
"Secret~. That's one of the things us agents aren't allowed to tell anyone."
"What's the deal with that red-haired, black-haired brat?"
Hikaru let out a small chuckle. "Calling someone older than you a brat is crazy. That kid is Sun Myung, a Trainee Operator of Section 7."
"As I said, I'm 29."
"Sure, sure."
Feeling a bitter feeling inside his throat, Gojo decided to keep his mouth shut.
"Hey, why are you answering all my questions?"
Or maybe not.
Hikaru looked at Gojo, with Hikaru fiddling with his uniform's various straps. "Well, you seemed rather lonely. Most kids who get caught usually panic and blurt out everything once cuffs reach their wrists. You're silent. So I concluded that you're feeling sad."
Gojo scoffed, as the notion of him being sad is ridiculous. "Me, sad? You must be joking."
"Well, in my view, you seemed sad."
Gojo stayed silent for a moment, looking at Hikaru. "Hey, can I have a donut? I smelled something nice coming from your suitcase."
Hikaru looked at Gojo, impressed with his sense of smell. "Nah, you can't. The donuts are for me only."
"Pretty please? Aren't I sad? Come on now!" Wiggling in his restrained state, Gojo seemed to resemble more of a worm than a human.
"Guh, I thought you were one of those brooding types, turns out you were one of the shameless."
"Hey, just one! Weren't you comforting me earlier? I'm all depressed right now, so I could use some sweets to cheer me up! Kikufuku would be nicer too."
"No."
"Yes."
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Yes! Wait, what?"
Hikaru looked at Gojo, then looked at his arm. Damn. Hikaru sighed, then went up to his suitcase and tossed Gojo a strawberry donut. "Here."
"Yay!"