Chapter 23: Rank 1

Sector 13: In Front of Dragon Steam

“Do we all understand the mission?” Keiko whispered to them.

“Negotiations first- persuasive aggression second,” Aku rested her hand on the hilt of her sword that she had already pulled from the shadow beneath her.

“And if STAM show up- I shift to Mei Lin and cause confusion until we can escape in 2 teams,” Arisa could feel her heart racing. The three of them had never been on a mission together- and Arisa had a lot to prove this time around.

“Remember- if we can get out before STAM gets here that will be even better. We need to be fast,” Keiko looked at them seriously. Keiko was uneasy. She had gone on missions with Arisa before, but never ones where they expected to run into STAM. Arisa would be in direct danger tonight. Her palms felt cold and wet; she was nervous.

They both nodded before turning to the bath house and walking in.

It was an all wooden house, filled with dense steam and thick smoke. The whole building was just one giant room with several inground tubs that had steam rising from them. The room was filled with people, some in baths some just beside them- most smoking from long pipes.

As they walked down the center of the room they saw her. Mei Lin was a thin, pale woman. Her dark black hair was cut in a short bob and she wore only a thin, silk bathrobe decorated in dragons made of colorful smoke. She sat in a large chair with people to her left and right holding things for her. As her eyes came to see the three agents she took her pipe from the closest person and waved for them to leave, “Well if it isn’t MRPA- I wondered how long it might be before you found me here,” she inhaled from her pipe and blew large, thin smoke rings.

“We are here to take you into to MRPA custody,” Aku spoke- her hand still resting on her hilt.

“Isn’t that cute- you think I’ll just come with you?” Mei Lin remained calm- even with the top three agents before her.

Keiko suddenly turned her head to the far wall- there was a thick cloud of smoke over there- she thought she could hear someone speaking. Her focus was taken by that voice, she couldn’t turn away. She felt her feet move on their own.

“You don’t understand!” Arisa spoke up suddenly, “STAM agents are on their way right now! They are going to take this place down any minute!”

Mei Lin coughed out smoke as she laughed, “You think I would believe something like that?” the men in the baths laughed with her, “This bath house hasn’t been touched by the police for 3 years and yet they are going to be here in minutes? What a bold bluff.”

Keiko was only inches away from the thick wall of smoke when she could finally hear the voice clearly. It was soft and shaky and creaked with the dryness of age, “The true King will transcend onto the Queen Stone- and from their union shall the great evil finally fall….the true King will transcend onto the Queen Stone- and from their union shall the great evil finally fall….”

“This isn’t a joke Mei Lin-” Aku gripped onto the hilt tightly, “But if you insist to be taken by force,”

Keiko peered through the smoke and saw him; it was an old man, draped in thin fabrics, who spoke. His eyes were shut as he spoke that same phrase over and over again, “The true King will transcend onto the Queen Stone- and from their union shall the great evil finally fall...” he inhaled through his intricate pipe deeply before repeating the phrase, “The true King will transcend onto the Queen Stone-” his eyes suddenly shot open and stared at Keiko, “and from the union shall the great evil finally fall.”

The door suddenly slammed open, “STAM Agents! This bath house is now under the ownership of the police force- all civilians should put their hands behind their head and prepare to be processed,” Kyoushirou held his arm out in front of him and bent his elbow toward him. There was his anti-mutant weapon, strapped to his forearm.

Aku only had seconds to respond- she grabbed Arisa’s arm and pulled her under her coat- shielding them both just in time.

From the metal cross on his arm came a blinding light that infected every space in the room- all shadows were eaten- all smoke was pushed through: all enemies touched.

As the light faded Kyoushirou spoke again, “Is there anyone unaffected by that light?” he waited for a response, “If there is anyone able to move you are allowed to leave. We only want the mutants,”

“Woooooah, that’s quite the powerful weapon you have there,” Kenji walked past him and poked one of the men in the bath, “Full mutant paralysis huh?” he grinned, “how handy,”

Kyoushirou groaned, “You only have permission to go after Mei Lin, all the other mutants here will be brought back to STAM for testing,”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Kenji clenched onto his spear.

Aku was still under her coat with Arisa- they were both able to avoid the light, “Are you ok?”

Arisa nodded, “What about 013?”

Aku shook her head, “We have to continue the mission, shift into Mei Lin. Try and convince them that you are the real one,”

Arisa nodded and shifted to look like Mei Lin- yet her clothes of course remained.

Aku threw her coat dramatically and looked over to Keiko, she had been paralyzed. But from the looks of it she was able to shield herself from the full force. WIth any luck she would be able to join this fight.

“Ooooh Blue was right, the black agents are here,” Kenji licked his lips as he looked from the still Keiko to Aku. Aku didn’t waste anytime and lunged straight for Kenji.

Kenji blocked her attack with his spear, “Hey- that paralysis would be really helpful!” he screamed back at Kyou.

Kyou shrugged, “It’s got a pretty long recharge. You take care of her,”

“OI!” Kenji screamed as Aku went to chase Kyou. Kenji grabbed her ankle and threw her into the bath, “You are fighting me!”

Kyou ran to the back of the room to see Mei Lin frozen in place- when another Mei Lin suddenly stood in front of the frozen one, “And you are-” his own throat closed up as he saw the MRPA uniform- the double zero sewn into the chest-Arisa…

She took several deep breaths, Mei Lin wasn’t in MRPA’s database and therefor she couldn’t change her voice- she would have to try her best to deceive him….Kyoushirou…”Mei Lin,” her voice felt awkward and unreal- but she stayed confident.

Kyoushirou looked at her skeptically, “Then why are you in the MRPA uniform?”

Arisa glared, “To protect me- from you,”

Aku hated her luck- this bath was murky. Yet within the murk she saw it- a shadow she could use. Where she came back out from was Kenji’s own shadow. She grabbed his ankle and pulled him into the ground. As she came down with her blade she felt his spear connect with the side of her head and send her flying into the wall.

Arisa tried not to look at Aku or Keiko- even though she begged for their help.

Kyoushirou wasn’t sure what to do. He knew it was Arisa before him and not Mei Lin- he just knew deep down that it was her. His brain told him to restrain her- to do as his training taught him and capture the dangerous mutant. Yet his body and his heart cried out to protect her, to take her away from this dangerous place and make sure she was ok.

Aku held Kenji by the collar- her own eye swelling with blood. She punched him in the face over and over again- wishing he would pass out.

Kenji grabbed her fist and punched her in the stomach, but Aku tightened her grip on his collar and flipped him into the bath.

“Get away from them!” Aku wearily called out as she pushed her body toward Arisa, “Get away!!” she picked her katana up from the ground and pointed it at Kyoushirou.

Kyou stood in front of Arisa, who stood in front of Mei Lin, “Look you don’t have to do this,” he glanced behind her and saw that Kenji had resurfaced from the bath, his hands groping for his spear that was just beyond his reach, “We can work something out,”

Aku slashed her blade and gave Kyoushirou a shallow gash across his arm, “I said step away from her,”

“Ok, ok,” Kyoushirou stood a step to the side and saw that Kenji drew back his spear and threw it as hard as he could from the bath.

Aku’s senses pulled her to dodge the flying spear on reflex- even though she couldn’t see it.

Kyoushirou saw it- headed right for Arisa. He turned to her, wrapped his hand over her waist and pulled her over to him and to the ground.

Aku turned around angrily and was pulled back into battle with Kenji.

Arisa jumped up from the ground- unable to think about how Kyoushirou had saved her life- to see that the spear had gone through Mei Lin. Her body no longer still she fell to the ground, already dead. “No!” Arisa screamed and turned to Kyoushirou, “How could you do this?!?!” she knelt beside the dead Mei Lin, “HOW COULD YOU?!?!”

All of the steam in the bath house suddenly froze: Aku’s and Kenji’s clothes became rock hard in mere seconds. The water in the baths rose up in the air and swept up Kyoushirou and Kenji. They were pushed into the wall with a loud bang before the water froze, trapping them there with sharp icicles pointed at their throats.

“013!!” Arisa wiped away her tears as Keiko stretched her shoulder.

“Did ya miss me?” Keiko grinned, “You look like crap 014,”

Aku sighed as she sheathed her sword, “It took you long enough...water huh?”

Keiko shrugged, “Must have changed while I was paralyzed.”

Arisa looked at Kyoushirou, his body was frozen in the ice- his head forced still by sharp ice, it hurt her to see him like that.

“Lets get out of here,” Keiko looked to Arisa.

“But Mei Lin-” Arisa looked at Mei Lin’s body with regret filled eyes.

Aku laid a hand on Arisa’s shoulder, “We will bring all the mutants with us,”

Keiko sighed and looked away from the scene, her fist clenched, if only I hadn’t been paralyzed...I could have...I could have...

“HALT! You are not permitted to be alive. We have you surrounded!!!” from the doorway stood STAM officers- their guns pointed at them.

The three agents were trapped. Keiko glared at the officers, if Arisa wouldn’t have been here...if it just would have been Aku and her- they would have protected the mutants here. But with Arisa here-

Arisa knew exactly what Keiko was thinking- she is thinking about retreating!! Arisa couldn’t take it, she couldn’t allow Mei Lin to die and then lose all of the mutants trapped here in the bath house. She couldn’t. Arisa quickly turned away to do something to protect the mutants here- but Keiko grabbed her by the wrist and yelled, “014!!!”

Aku grabbed Keiko’s arm and pulled both of them through a shadow, Arisa screaming for them to stop as she too was pulled into the void.