An Assassin's Respite

A Spy Among us

Kazuna walks into class the next day after the weekend and Kagura hands him a sheet of paper.

“And this is?” He asks.

“The last pairings for the training camp. I finished them last night.” She answers.

“I see.” He says as he looks them over.

“Mhm, no complaints from me.” He says as he takes a seat at his desk.

Kagura sits at her desk with a proud look on her face. Ms. Saugoma walks in shortly after and starts class.

“Alright class, there’s just one more thing we have to go over in preparation for the training camp. So, with that being said, has anyone heard of a mutation?” She asks.

“I’ve been able to learn some things, but nothing definitive.” Akeno answers.

“Of course you have.” Ms. Saugoma says.

Kagura gives Kazuna a look, but he seemed to be unbothered by the comment although that wasn’t saying much. She decides to keep quiet about what Kazuna told her and just listen.

“Anyway, a mutation is someone whose body has been distorted due to their power.” She states.

“So like my arm blades?” Emiko asks as she demonstrates.

“Not quite. You see, you can choose whether your blades are visible or not, but a mutation’s distortion is permanent. If their power was arm blades, their blades would always be showing.” She explains.

“What does this have to do with the training camp?” Shiba asks.

“Good question. The answer is that there will be a special agent who is a mutation on the island.” She answers.

“How come we’ve never heard of these mutations?” Haruna asks.

“That’s because they are a closely guarded secret.” She replies.

“Why?” Chiyo asks.

“That’s because throughout history, whenever their existence is brought to light, it leads to chaos. WW2 is a good example of this. The governments of the world weren’t 100% truthful about what caused that war.” She states.

“But how do they keep something like that secret for so long?” Haruna asks.

“You’d be surprised how much they keep from the public,” Kazuna says.

“But why tell us about it and not just say that he’s actively using his power?” Haruka asks.

“Good question. Usually, this information is only available to more renowned agents, but due to the unique circumstances surrounding this year’s camp as well as speculations as to what any intruders would want, they decided that this was the best course of action.” She answers.

“I see, so both me and the mutation will act as decoys all but guaranteeing that Zer will make a move. So Yuu, what’s your plan? How do you plan on staying informed? I doubt Zer will make it easy for you to get wind of an attack.” Kazuna thinks to himself.

“I’d love to ask them a few questions.” Akeno states.

“Please control yourself.” Ms. Saugoma asks.

“Anyway, I can’t go into any more detail about them so that’s all on that subject.” She finalizes.

“Why did she tell us about mutations if that’s all she was going to say? They definitely could have gotten away without any explanation. Are they really going to try and slowly integrate them into the world? It would make sense to hit two birds with one stone.” Kazuna wonders.

“Kazuna?” Kagura whispers, snapping him out of his daze.

“Are you alright?” She asks as he looks over at her.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” He assures her.

Kagura decides to leave it. If there’s one thing she’s figured out about Kazuna, it’s that if he looks lost in thought then she should definitely be worried. She turns her attention back to Ms. Saugoma who was now starting their lessons for the day.

After school that day, Kazuna decided to stop by Yuu’s office. 

“What do you want now?” Yuu asks as Kazuna walks in.

“There’s something I want to discuss with you.” He answers.

“And what’s that?” Yuu asks.

“There’s going to be a mutation on duty at GA’s island during the training camp. Did you know about that?” He asks.

“This is the first I’m hearing of it. Where did you hear it from?” Yuu asks.

“I saw him in the listing of special agents that were going to be on the island. But what really prompted me to come here was Ms. Saugoma informing everyone about the existence of mutations. They could have easily hidden the fact that he was a mutation but they decided to not only include him in the island’s security but actively inform even the students that he was a mutation.” Kazuna explains.

“What’s the agency board and GA plotting here?” Yuu says almost to himself.

“I could only think of two options. Either they’re planning on using him as some extra bait, or they're planning on slowly revealing the existence of mutations to the world by starting with the youth, or possibly both.” Kazuna states.

“It isn’t a bad idea to reveal the idea of mutations to the youth since they’re generally more accepting of new things and are still developing their own opinions of the world. But even so, it feels as if they’re biting off more than they can chew.” Yuu adds.

“My thoughts exactly.” Kazuna agrees.

“But my biggest worry is a possible spy among the agency board members,” Yuu says.

“Seriously?” Kazuna says in surprise.

“It’s a possibility that I’ve been considering for a while now. It would explain how Zer has been able to stay seemingly one step ahead at all times as well as having confidential information at the ready.” He replies.

“I had pondered on the possibility of a spy, but for it to be someone directly from the agency board is much more serious.” Kazuna states.

“I noticed suspicious activity around the time you appeared in Japan,” Yuu says while glaring at him.

“So you think that they turned spy because of my appearance?” Kazuna states more than asks.

“Why wouldn’t I, although it may partially be my fault as well. I warned them about you and the threat that you pose. Of course, someone of my standing calling anyone or thing a threat would drive anyone to action. Maybe I could have avoided this situation if I had kept quiet and approached you right away.” Yuu says while staring out his window.

The pair were silent for a while, both thinking about what they could have done differently to avoid this situation and what they could do to create the best possible outcome. 

“You know, there’s a world where the two of us could have been friends,” Yuu says, finally breaking the silence.

“Huh?” Kazuna chokes in surprise.

“Nothing, anyway, I’ll do some digging on the agents who’ll be on the island and who recommended and approved them. Why don’t you focus on keeping those kids safe.” Yuu says.

“Right,” Kazuna says a bit confused as he gets up to leave.

"One more thing, that little girl, Kari you have me watching while you're gone. She seems to have a pretty high opinion of you. Don't disappoint her." Yuu says.

That was the first time a conversation between them ended without one storming out or them glaring at one another. Maybe the time Yuu and Kari had spent together improved his opinion of Kazuna. Maybe he was realizing that Kazuna was going to be a necessity for keeping the world safe. Maybe he was just starting to understand him. In any case, there was definitely some development between the two of them and that was something that they were going to need for the future that was in store for them. 

Kazuna walks into his house and lets out a labored sigh.

“Are you ok?” Kari asks as she peaks into the opening hallway.

Kazuna gives her a smile as he kneels down and places a hand on her head. 

“I’m fine, just thinking. How are you and Yuu getting along?” He asks.

“He’s pretty nice, but I don’t like the way he talks about you.” She answers.

“Although I'm glad that you have a high opinion about me, he’s not judging me harshly for no reason, so try and cut him some slack, okay.” He states.

“Okay.” She pouts.

Kazuna heads straight for his room, sits at his desk, and begins to toil over all the information he had.

“First, there’s the fact that we’re going to be on a secluded island where outside help would take hours to arrive barring any help from Yuu, and even if he’s able to help we have to hope that they don’t have a way to stop us from communicating with him. With the knowledge that there very well may be a spy among the board of special agents, it’s very possible that they could stop us from contacting him. So, the key player will be the mutation. Was he put there as extra bait, or as part of the spy’s plan?” Kazuna thinks to himself.

“It’s tough to make a decision when it’ll be based on speculation. Do I play it safe and assume that the mutation is a spy and keep him close to me? Or do I have him watch over my classmates? The second option would put them at risk if he turns out to be a subordinate of a spy.” He ponders as he leans back in his chair.

“What would you do, grandpa.” He whispers as he raises a hand towards the ceiling.