Disclaimer: This chapter shares no relation to the Kyoto Animation Studio fire. I apologize in advance if any of the content in this chapter is sensitive to anyone.

 

I

19/08/955, 1715 hours, EGA Headquarters, Interrogation Room 3, Eden

In the headquarters of the Eden Government Agency, over 25 interrogation rooms were located on different floors of the building. Out of all of them, 5 of them were used for what the agents deemed as Class-2 threats: threats that were commonly seen as unpredictable, dangerous, hard to assess.

Among the list of Class-2 threats, there were the beings classed as Element Holders. Due to their ability to control a single element to their will, special contingencies were set up in Class-2 interrogation rooms to ensure that, in the event that an Element Holder was arrested for a crime, they couldn't escape until they could be properly locked up.

One of those rooms was currently being occupied by one of the Element Holders. To prevent him from using his powers, both of his hands had been covered and chained up to the ground, and a water dispersal device was set up to sufficiently weaken his control of fire by continually spraying water in the room at fixed intervals.

The prisoner was powerless now, and he knew it. He stayed silent, and rested his head on the table, not even bothering to react even as the door to the room opened, and two agents walked in.

"Ryobe Nagaoka," Kado addressed the captive prisoner, "Graduate of Eden University. Has a twin brother named Hyobe. Known Element Holder of fire. Any of that ring a bell to you?"

As he continued to lie his head on the table, Ryobe replied in a low voice.

"Yes."

"Very good, that closes the introductions. However, I seem to have missed a detail there which you haven't pointed out yet."

Kado walked forward and placed his hands on the table.

"You are being held guilty for the murder of Yukuwa Shigero, and the suspected murders of 3 other executives of Shunsho Corporation. Do you admit that you murdered them?"

Ryobe didn't respond to the accusation.

"I see how this is," Kado sighed and continued, "Unfortunately, you have backed yourself into a corner. While the Agency hasn't determined whether you did murder the executives, we have sufficient evidence that shows that you did try to murder Tsuda Kuniyoshi, another Shunsho executive, and tried to escape when that failed, killing a few of our agents in the process, so either way, you're still guilty."

"What would you have me do then?" Ryobe lifted his head up and finally replied, "What good is confessing now?"

"Taking the severity of your crime into account, you have already guaranteed yourself a trip to the Kaliga Detention Centre, which I hear can be pretty tough on Element Holders like yourself. Last I heard, the rate of survival there was only 58%, so I wouldn't count on you surviving if you keep up this attitude. However, confess now, and your sentence might just be reduced, so I suggest you tell the truth now before we force it out of you."

Seemingly to prove his point, the agent behind Kado pulled out an Anti-Celestial pistol and readied it threateningly.

Ryobe ignored the agent and continued to stare at Kado.

"You're tough, but I suggest you cut this defiance and give us what we want," Kado warned.

"What?"

"Information on who you're working for, and why you're doing this."

Even though he was chained up, Ryobe smiled and retorted.

"I don't know anything. You could force me to tell the truth, but I can't confess what I don't know. I'm not the one who knows everything. I just help out, even if I don't know everything. Is that good enough for you?"

"If you don't know anything," Kado leaned in and spoke, "who does?"

"I don't know."

"Very well then. I'll just have to find your brother. Surely he'd know something."

Ryobe's smile immediately disappeared as soon as it appeared.

"I told you. I don't know. And I don't think I wouldn't know my brother."

"It's alright," Kado replied as he removed his hands from the table and began to walk out of the room.

"Thank you for your time."

"Wait!"

Ignoring the prisoner's protests, the two agents walked out of the room.

"Contact the surveillance team," Kado addressed the agent with him as the door closed behind them, "and tell them to look out for Hyobe Nagaoka. Bring him here if necessary."

II

19/08/955, 1900 hours, EGA Headquarters, Cafeteria, Eden

Hide was sitting by one of the cafeteria tables, staring at the cup of coffee in front of him. He continued to stare at it even as the other patrons in the cafeteria began to move off to their respective assignments.

"Is something the matter? You haven't touched that cup of coffee yet," Azami, who was sitting next to him, spoke.

"Nothing."

"So why the long face?"

"I don't know. We've caught the perpetrator behind the murders, but it feels like we're still missing the bigger picture here. There's a mastermind behind this, like Chief Kawanari says, and now, for all we know, he's still active. He will probably not let this go without a fight."

"You sound really invested in this case."

"Of course, I'm invested," Hide retorted, "I'm in the Agency now whether I like it or not, so I have to make sure that I do what I should do as an agent."

"I like your attitude," a familiar voice behind him suddenly spoke. Startled, he turned his head around to confront his addresser.

He recognised the person at the front of the group standing behind him.

"Hide, and the girl right next to me is Azami. Nice to meet you, mister...?"

"Kurisu Hajime, leader of the Alpha Squad."

As soon as she heard the name, Azami whipped around and spoke in disbelief.

"Wait. The Alpha Squad?"

"The very same. Pleased to meet you, young lady."

As Azami squealed in joy only she felt, Hide stared closer at the group gathered behind him, recognising them in a second glance.

Kurisu Hajime.

Hunter.

Hitoshi Takanashi.

Hikari Takanashi.

He knew that these four agents were considered among the best of the best in the Agency, and were as a result singled out to form a squad vastly different from the others.

The Alpha Squad.

They were in charge of the people on top, and they were trained to deal with any threats that would threaten not just their safety, but by extension the safety of the three cities. Out of all the other squads, one could argue that their squad had the biggest responsibility of all: making sure the cities ticked as they should.

Suddenly, he understood Azami's excitement at seeing them.

"Your friend seems to be very...enthusiastic," Kurisu remarked as Azami continued to squeal, "is she always like this?"

"You wouldn't believe it, sir. She gets very excited about the Agency a lot of times."

"Heh. Hard to find this much enthusiasm in recruits these days. Good thing there's still people like you around."

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be..."

"State of emergency, as you know right now. First Element Holder we've caught in years. We're moving out soon to try to get his brother, who may also be involved in the attacks."

Azami had stopped squealing, and now she spoke in an excited tone.

"Is there a chance that I might join you guys?"

Kurisu chuckled at this and replied, "No on both counts. You're still a trainee, and Alpha Squad members are only picked out by extensive selection by Director Matsuta himself. Maybe you should try your luck at the other squads instead? Kado's Bravo Squad is pretty good as well, and Delta Squad can use the extra hands."

"Oh," Azami replied, her shoulders drooping.

"Don't worry, there's always a next time. Hide and Azami, was it? Have a nice day."

"Good luck," Hide called to them as they began to leave.

Kurisu turned around and smiled briefly, before he left.

"That was weird."

"I know, right? We get to meet the Alpha Squad!"

"Not that," Hide remarked as he watched the four elite members of the Agency depart, "it almost seemed to me like Mr. Kurisu's smile at the end was forced, like he was hiding something."

III

19/08/955, 1955 hours, Sector 12, Eden

In the advanced city of Eden, Sector 12, which was located at the border of the elevated island, served as the trade sector as it was the closest to the city of Terra below it. As a result, it was the largest sector in Eden, as it housed many warehouses and material development centres dedicated to advance its technological progress.

As it was commonly seen as the less stylish sector when one would compare it to the more prosperous sectors located near the center of the island, houses and apartments in the sector were cheaper, but were more populated with families and students who could afford the cheaper rent.

On normal days, it was not uncommon to see people regarded as strange or unusual in Sector 12, considering that it was the grounds for some highly suspicious people from dangerous groups like 'Scorpion' to roam around.

As a result, no one, save for a few people, bothered to focus on the hooded figure standing in front of the Shunsho Weapon Development Warehouses, nor did they bother to question why he was staring intently at the buildings within the compound.

"So this is it. Looks pretty small to me," the hooded figure muttered, ignoring the fact that the weapon warehouses were among the largest warehouses in the sector.

"Should I try to leave the people alone?"

The figure answered his question as soon as he posed it.

"No. We'll just take this as collateral. We do not need to worry about the process. We will only need to care about the reward at the end."

"Sir, are you all right?"

The figure turned around. A mother pushing a baby stroller was approaching behind him, and with a gentle, motherly tone, she expressed her concern towards him.

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter," the figure closed his eyes and spoke to himself as soon as he felt the innocence directed at him.

With firm, but trembling hands, he opened his eyes and removed his hood, revealing a tear-streaked face with orange eyes.

"Sir?"

The mother was right behind him now.

His hands clenched hard together, with a heat slowly pulsing out from them.

"It doesn't matter anymore."

A few seconds later, chaos began in Sector 12.

IV

19/08/955, 2015 hours, Eden

"...fire has broken out in Sector 12..."

"...multiple warehouses and houses have been set on fire..."

"...multiple people are now missing..."

"It's a disaster!"

"...the Agency must respond immediately if they are to rescue anyone still trapped inside..."

"...culprit still not caught yet..."

"...Forces are on the scene. It now comes down to the Agency..."

"You getting all this?"

"Yeah," Kawanari replied, as he watched the news reports with a grim expression on his face, "We need to move now. Get everyone you can. The enemy has retaliated."

V

19/08/955, 2025 hours, EGA Headquarters, Interrogation Room 3, Eden

As he heard the noises of rushing feet and shouting from his room, Ryobe lifted his head up.

Something's happening. Something big.

The door to his room suddenly opened with such force that the door slammed back against its hinges and swung back, and the two agents that had interrogated him before strode in.

Kado slammed his hands on the table and pulled him by the collar, such that he was almost face to face with the Element Holder.

With his face close to the prisoner's, Kado growled, "You knew this would happen, didn't you?"

Trying to keep his cool after the shock of Kado's action, Ryobe glanced into his eyes and replied.

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"There's a fire in Sector 12 right now," Kado shouted, "and your brother organised the attack. People are dying right now as we speak. You had something to do with this, didn't you!?"

To his surprise, Ryobe did not react as he expected he would to the sudden news. Instead of laughing maniacally or gloating about his victory, he simply fell limp against his grip, as though he had received a great emotional shock.

With a low voice, he stuttered, "He's in Sector 12, setting the fire right now?"

"Wait," Kado replied, confused by his reaction, "You're not aware of this?"

"No. We were only asked to give the Agency a warning by attacking their weapons supplier. We didn't intend to escalate the situation. He must be," Ryobe gasped, "he must be deviating off schedule because he hasn't heard from me. He's acting on impulse. He's taking revenge."

A moment of silence fell between the three people in the room.

"Let's go, Kado," the agent behind Kado eventually spoke, "we have to stop Hyobe Nagaoka before it's too late."

"Right," Kado replied as he let go of Ryobe's collar and turned to leave the room.

"Wait."

Ryobe's words, tinged with worry, reached the agents as they left the room.

"My brother must be stopped. I need you to bring him back to me, so that I can stop him."

As he opened the door, Kado shot back a reply.

"I can't make any promises. It all depends on how your brother decides to react."

With that, the door to the room closed, leaving the fretting prisoner alone once more.

VI

19/08/955, 2045 hours, Sector 12, Eden

As his hands gripped onto an Anti-Celestial pistol, Hide looked around the transport he was riding on.

Nervous faces, tinged with sweat, and glancing around in mild panic faced him.

The recruits had been roped into the operation to stop the perpetrator behind the attack, and unlike the previous operation, in which they only observed the action from a reconnaissance standpoint, they were now riding into the frontlines of a battlefield where the enemy was unpredictable and hostile, and where the probability of death was significantly higher.

As a result of this, the atmosphere in the transport was tense, and several of the recruits had started to panic.

"Are you sure we'll be alright?"

"I'm scared."

"I didn't sign up for this."

Were the words he heard that were floating around the transport, coming from the mouths of the terrified recruits.

Trying his best to conceal his own nervousness, he slowly muttered to himself, "You're going to be alright. You're going to make it through this."

...

With a grinding screech, the transport ground to a halt, and the doors slowly opened to reveal the hellscape waiting for the recruits outside.

In his opinion, the situation outside was a million times worse than the situation he faced in the burning building.

The Shunsho Corporation Weapon Development Warehouses had been set alight, and the fire had unfortunately spread to the houses next to it. Screams and cries for help could be heard alongside continual explosions coming from the Warehouses and the weapons stored in them. Around him, multiple agents in the armour of the Forces and the Agency all rushed to the fire in an attempt to put it out.

Standing amongst piles of rubble and small flames was Kado, who had been blackened by soot and ash.

"Recruits!" he bellowed above the din, "Your primary objective is to rescue any people trapped inside the houses and the Warehouses. If you see Hyobe Nagaoka, do not confront him directly. Come back and tell us, and we'll handle the rest of the work. Be safe!"

With that, he spread his wings and took off towards the direction of the houses.

"All right, recruits," the driver of the transport called out to them, "follow me. We stick in groups."

With hesitation, the recruits lined up in front of the driver, who had now become their commander, and collectively took off, following the driver towards the warehouses.

The chaos the recruits saw only got worse the further they went into the compound. It was dead quiet, with only the crackling and roaring of the fire blazing out of broken windows and doors, all while multiple explosions continued to sound off around them.

The close proximity of the explosions, coupled with the roaring din, caused some of the recruits to panic even more than they had before.

"I want to go home!"

"Can we go back now?"

"Do not worry!" the commander reassured the terrified recruits around him, "As long as we travel in groups, nothing bad will happen!"

That was the last thing Hide heard from him.

For as the group passed by one of the larger warehouses in the compound, an explosion went off behind them in very close proximity, and he found himself getting caught in the force generated by it.

"Arrrrrrghh!"

With a crash, he was thrown into a window in a nearby watchtower, where he hit a mass and landed on the hard concrete floor.

VII

19/08/955, 2115 hours, East Watchtower, Shunsho Warehouses, Eden

"Ow, ow, ow..."

Hide slowly got up to a sitting position from where he landed and assessed his condition.

Multiple parts of his body were aching, and bits of glass from the window had inserted themselves into his wings, causing him even more pain.

Deciding that pulling the shards out would be a bad decision, he slowly stood up and glanced around the watchtower he had landed in.

Large warehouses such as those belonging to the Shunsho Corporation normally had watchtowers for guards to keep a close eye on any intruders from a further effective distance compared to normal guardhouses.

As far as he could see, he was the only recruit in the group who landed in the watchtower. The others were nowhere to be seen.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" he walked towards the broken window and called out while closely watching the surroundings for any movement.

There was no reply. The only thing that could be heard was the roaring of the fire from the warehouses.

"If anyone's alive, please respond!"

...

As he kept calling out, a strange thought began to occur to him.

That's weird. The watchtower I'm in doesn't seem to be on fire while the others are, and it's not like it has been burnt.

It seems to have been untouched.

This means...

A realisation began to dawn on him as he recalled what had happened when he fell.

I had hit something. Someone is here before me, and probably still is.

There was only one person who would stay in such a place. In a watchtower, where one could observe and control the situation closely, and escape if he was spotted.

Bracing himself, he slowly turned around towards the room to confront the person.

...

The first thing he saw was a staff.

It was crimson red in colour, and adorned with exquisite illustrations of fire and dragons. To finish it off, the top of the staff was a dragon's head posed in a striking motion.

Beside the staff, the man, who had just stirred, got up with a groan and faced him.

A pair of dark brown eyes met a pair of orange eyes.

He gulped, and pulled out his Anti-Celestial sword hesitantly, pointing it at the man.

"Hyobe Nagaoka," he declared nervously, "you're under arrest."

Hyobe smiled in response. Throwing his head back, he began to laugh fervently.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

With the smile still on his face, Hyobe bent down and picked up the staff next to him once he had finished laughing.

"Try to arrest me. I won't go easy on you."

His warning having been made, he took a step back, and a ball of flames began to form in his free hand.

"Oh shit!"

Sheathing his sword, Hide turned around and jumped out of the broken window before Hyobe threw the ball, and it exploded near him.

Walking forward until he was standing near the broken window, Hyobe smirked as he watched the recruit fall onto the roof of one of the burning warehouses.

"Let's see how long you'd last against me."

VIII

19/08/955, 2125 hours, Warehouse E, Shunsho Warehouses, Eden

Hide had jumped before he had time to properly flap his wings and take off.

As a result, he made a rather painful landing on one of the burning warehouses' roofs, which were lined with sheet metal and were thus not the softest surfaces one would expect to land on.

Even though his body screamed with pain, he quickly got up and tensed himself up for his attacker's arrival.

Sure enough, with his staff in hand, Hyobe had leapt from the broken window to the roof in one quick movement, and landed a few feet away from him.

Gripping his Anti-Celestial sword tightly, he stood his ground and faced the Element Holder.

"You don't have to do this. There are other ways," he shouted over the roaring of the fire.

"What other way?" Hyobe shouted back, "This is the only way to let them see us!"

"Who? The Agency?"

"Not you. The people who have been convinced that right now, the rule they live under is just and fair! This action will make them realise how corrupt the system is, that it takes people they love the most, including my brother!"

Hide shook his head at the declaration.

"That's the thing. Your brother's still alive."

Hyobe had been building up a ball of energy to throw at him. At that range and distance, it would have been easy for him to score a direct hit.

However, Hide's words threw him into a state of confusion, and he hesitated in his movement.

"What?"

"Your brother's alive. He's with us. If you surrender now, we can take you to him."

"..."

"Please just let this unnecessary hatred go. It doesn't help."

"No," Hyobe replied, after a few minutes of silence, "It doesn't matter anymore. Even if my brother's with you, it wouldn't matter if I surrender now. We would still be imprisoned for the rest of our lives, and controlled like so many of the past Element Holders were before us. I started this. And now I'm going to finish it. Starting with killing you!"

With that reply, he took up a combative position and continued to build up his ball.

Fortunately, Hide had sensed that the response received would not be positive, and had begun to charge towards his attacker.

"Yaaargh!" he screamed as he swung his sword upwards towards Hyobe's head.

Realising the incoming danger, Hyobe immediately parried with his staff and stayed locked.

"What's the matter?" he taunted, "did you really think that this incident could be solved by talking?"

"Tsk," Hide muttered, as he pulled away his sword with one hand and pulled out his pistol with another hand and pointed it at Hyobe's waist region.

BANG.

"Too slow!" Hyobe crowed as he successfully pulled back and avoided the bullet.

At the same time, his free hand dispersed the ball of energy and grabbed onto Hide's gun-wielding hand. Within a few seconds, smoke had begun to appear, and Hide began to scream.

"You like that? Want some more?"

With his hand screaming in agony, Hide responded by kicking out his leg toward Hyobe. The foot connected with his staff and, with a surprising crack, it broke in half.

"Tsk. What a pain," Hyobe grumbled as he held the broken half of his staff.

"Looks like I'll have to do this again."

In front of Hide's shocked eyes, the other half of the staff moved up and reformed with the broken half such that it became whole again.

"So foolish."

Before long, Hide found himself being struck in the stomach by the front end of the staff and stumble backwards in pain, dropping his sword in the process, which clattered on the roof next to Hyobe's feet.

"Such a fool."

With his free hand, Hyobe bent down and picked up the dropped sword. In the next instant, the metal edge of the sword burst into flames, and Hyobe pointed the burning edge of the sword at Hide.

"Do you really stand a chance against me?"

In response, Hide bent down and drew out his Anti-Celestial dagger from its holster near his ankle. 

Daggers were known as the last line of defense for agents, and were thus only pulled out in the case that both the pistol and the sword were not available to them.

"No," he gasped out as he gripped the dagger in his hands, "I don't. But that doesn't mean I can't keep trying."

With a growing smirk on his face, Hyobe charged forward with the flaming sword pointed toward him. Hide's hand jerked up and parried the blow with his dagger, and with a yell of anger, he began to push Hyobe back.

Hyobe was not unfettered by the action. Gripping the staff unnaturally hard such that the end facing Hide now glowed ominously, he pushed it such that it made contact with his chest.

The pain Hide was feeling in his hand now spread to his chest, and he found himself beginning to falter and pass out from the pain.

"You don't have to resist," Hyobe crooned, as the staff continued to push into Hide's chest, "Just let me kill you."

"N-never!"

"Then it leaves me with no choice."

With deft movements, his hand let go of the flaming sword such that it fell on Hide, causing him even more pain, and built up another ball of energy.

He raised the ball of energy above his head, and spoke while he prepared to bring it down toward his defenceless body.

"Say goodbye."

Think, Hide, think! Hide screamed in his mind as he looked at the ball of energy that was raised above Hyobe's head.

Do something, do anything! Anything to stop this!

...

What Hide did next was surprising to both himself and Hyobe.

As the ball of energy was brought down towards him, his uninjured hand, which had let go of the dagger due to the intense pain, moved up and pushed Hyobe's hand, which had been holding the ball in suspension, away from him.

As a result, the ball of energy, which had been travelling downwards, was now pushed away and released prematurely, where it travelled in another trajectory and landed a few feet away from both parties, where it detonated.

As it detonated, Hide found himself being released from the agonising pain of the staff, which  was soon replaced by the force of the explosion. As he struck a different part of the roof, he slipped into darkness as the pain overwhelmed him.

IX

21/08/955, 2230 hours, EGA Headquarters, Recovery Room 9, Eden

...

"You're going to be alright. Help is here."

"Someone get him on a stretcher!"

"Is he going to l-live?"

...

...

...

"Are you awake?"

As Hide heard the question being spoken, he stirred and looked around him.

He was lying on a hospital bed. Several parts of his body, including his chest and hand, were swathed in bandages.

Around him, three people stood beside his bed.

The first person, who was Azami, immediately rushed forward to him as soon as she saw he was awake, and stretched out her arms in an attempt to hug him.

"Miss Okuda, please restrain yourself," the second person, who he had never seen before, but who he assumed was a doctor based on the medical cloak she wore, spoke briskly, and Azami slowly withdrew, grumbling to herself.

The doctor spoke again, but this time to Kado, who he could see had a bandage on his cheek and another one wrapped around his head.

"Please make it quick, Mr. Ichida. The patient needs his rest."

"Yes," Kado replied, before he began to flip through the papers he was holding in his hand.

"Mr. Sakakibara. What is the last thing you can remember?"

Trying his best to sit up and ignoring the stinging from his bandaged wounds, Hide replied.

"I-I remember f-fighting Hyobe Nagaoka. He had this ball of energy, and I guess I deflected it. I don't r-remember what happened next."

"We found you on top of the warehouse after we managed to extinguish the fire, lying next to a giant hole on the roof. Based on your answer, I can assume that the hole was caused by the explosion from the ball of energy. We picked you up, and sent you here."

"A-and what about the recruits I was with? Or Hyobe?"

Kado's expression darkened as soon as Hide asked the question, and he began to flip through the papers more fervently.

"The recruits are mostly fine," he answered in a grim tone without looking up from his papers, "some have minor injuries, but they'll recover. On the other hand, Hyobe's dead."

A hush fell among the people in the room as soon as Kado delivered the news. Even Azami's smile was gone from her face and replaced with a darker expression.

"D-dead?" Hide replied in shock.

"While you did manage to stay on the roof after the explosion, we believe that Hyobe fell into the warehouse. Once he fell down there, he was most likely killed by an explosion caused by one of the weapons inside that caught on fire. You don't need to know how we came to that conclusion."

Hide stayed silent as he processed the information. Inside his mind, the knowledge that he had taken a life, even if it had been unintentional, screamed out.

"That's all," Kado concluded, "I will pass this along to the Director. I would imagine he would want to see you, if you did engage Hyobe Nagaoka in combat. For now, just rest."

He nodded to the doctor to signify that he was done, and the three people left the room, leaving Hide alone.

As Hide continued to sit in silence, staring at the wall in front of him, the thought continuing to scream in his mind, his phone, which was lying on the table next to his bed, buzzed. The buzzing broke him out of his stupor, and he slowly reached out to his phone and read the messages that had been sent to him.

Hey! Sorry I couldn't see you today at the hospital, hope you're doing well! ? – Risa

Hope you're doing well, Mr. Sakakibara. – Mrs. Agasa

Brother, are you alright? I was so worried about you! Father is too! We'll come see you tomorrow. – Chinami Sakakibara

He put down his phone, and lay down on his bed again.

"Looks like I can't avoid it," he sighed, as he watched the light above him turn off and plunge him into darkness.

X

24/08/955, 1000 hours, EGA Headquarters, Director's Office, Eden

The director's office was located on the highest floor of the building located in the exact centre of the compound. That building was coincidentally the highest building in the Eden Government Agency Headquarters, which commonly led to speculations from the agents that the reason for the difference in height was so that the Director could see everything happening in the compound and ensure that no one was doing anything illegal.

As Hide stood outside the office, he could feel an unnatural heat rising up from inside him, and he could feel his sweat begin to trickle down his face into his shirt.

He took a deep breath, tried to stop his hands from shaking to no avail, and knocked on the door.

"Enter," a person from inside the room spoke, and with slow hesitation, he opened the door.

The first thing he noted when he walked inside the room was how remarkably similar it was to one of those principal's offices he commonly saw on television. It was intricately decorated, and yet it was not too grand-looking. Near the glass windows, a long table stood, with an office chair behind it, and a person sitting on the chair.

He noted that Chief Kawanari was also in the room, with his arms crossed over his chest, and with a frown etched onto his face.

As Hide stopped when he was a few feet in front of the table, Kawanari opened his mouth and spoke.

"Your orders were to find Hyobe Nagaoka and report back to us, not to engage him in combat. Despite this, you still fought him, and almost lost your life in the process. In addition, Mr. Nagaoka was killed, when the Agency's plans were to capture him alive. Normally, disobeying orders like this would result in your immediate dismissal from the Agency, maybe even a short term in the Kaliga Detention Centre."

Hide gulped and he opened his mouth, but Kawanari silenced him and continued.

"However, if we were to take the circumstances offered by your statement into account, you did not deliberately mean to engage him in combat, and even if you did, it was mostly in self-defense. Hence, we will be letting you off with a warning, but we'll be watching you closely. The next time you perform a stunt like this, it's an immediate trip to Kaliga."

It felt like a great weight had been lifted off Hide's shoulders, and he heaved a sigh of relief as soon as he heard the words.

"Director Matsuta, would you like to say anything to Mr. Sakakibara before he leaves?"

The person in the chair, who was only slightly older than Kawanari, with the greying hair on his scalp and the beginnings of wrinkles in his skin, leaned forward and addressed Hide with a bizarrely amused expression on his face.

"Yoshihide Sakakibara. What squad would you like to join?"

Hide felt like he had misheard the question. With a stammer, he replied.

"W-what?"

"You took down an Element Holder by yourself without losing your life. That action can easily get you into the Alpha Squad if you wish to accept. I am giving you an offer here. So, do you wish to join the Alpha Squad?"

There was a pause.

"Um, Mr-Director, I think you misunderstand," Hide replied after a hesitation, "I don't think I'm ready to join the Alpha Squad. The fight with the Element Holder, I just managed to pull through it. So, I'm sorry, but I think I'll have to decline. You don't have to give me an offer. Just assign me to a squad where I can fit in, and I'll be happy with that."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"If you have no other queries, you can leave."

"Yes, Director."

As Hide left the room and closed the door behind him, Kawanari walked closer to the Director.

"Director Matsuta."

"Yes?"

"By all means, should we control him? There's a chance he might repeat the same thing he did with Nagaoka."

"No," the Director replied, the beginnings of a smile beginning to form on his face, "he reminds me of someone. He has potential. Let's see where this goes."

XI

24/08/955, 1130 hours, EGA Headquarters, Interrogation Room 3, Eden

There was one more loose end left.

When Kado walked into the interrogation room, Ryobe Nagaoka raised his head slightly to look at him.

The stress over his brother was making its marks on him. His face was now decorated with severe eyebags and affixed with a worried look that stared back into Kado's eyes.

"Is-is my brother..."

"No," Kado remarked with a stern, yet sympathetic gaze, "he's gone. We couldn't do anything."

The room went silent. Ryobe lowered his gaze.

"Did you kill him?" he muttered silently.

There was no answer to his question.

"You will be escorted to Kaliga later. Please cooperate with us, or we will have to use force."

With that warning, Kado turned around and left the room.

As he closed the door, Ryobe Nagaoka began to scream.

The agents watching the room were unable to hear his grief, but they could see it.

Ryobe Nagaoka screamed for the loss of his brother, for his inability to do anything to stop it.

But above all, he screamed in silent anger against the Eden Government Agency.

 

Agency Files #4: Elemental Powers in Twins

While it is common for only one pure Celestial Angel to harness the powers of one of the Elements at any period of time, there are incredibly rare cases whereby the powers of one of the Elements can be wielded by two people, most particularly twins, at the same time.

The cause of this phenomenon is still unknown, but scientists hypothesise that it is due to the almost-identical genetic makeup that twins share that allows this to happen.