Shin Kratos woke up with a slow stretch, his muscles still slightly sore from the previous day's activities. The silk sheets clung to his bare skin, cool against the warmth of his body. He sat up in his bed and looked out the window. Today is a pretty nice day, he thought to himself as he felt his instincts tell him someone was coming.
A soft knock came at the door before it opened with a quiet hiss.
Doctor Yuna entered, sharp and composed in a dark olive blazer, her glasses perched neatly on her face. Behind her trailed her familiar faint scent of mint and jasmine. His intuition was right. She always manages to dress so professionally and seductively at the same time, he thought to himself as he raised his eyebrow.
"Get dressed," she said calmly. "You're not heading to class today. You're heading to breakfast with me, where you will meet up with your other attendants. Then we are headed to somewhere extremely important. I will explain more during breakfast."
Shin raised an eyebrow. "That so?"
"Trust me. You'll want to eat first."
Shin got up from bed and got dressed. They then headed out of his penthouse and to the café.
The café was quieter than usual. Early enough that the halls of Hano Medical hadn't fully woken up yet. Shin took a seat by the window, sunlight spilling across his table as a tray of fresh-baked pastries and protein-rich fruit dishes was set down by some cute servers.
Doctor Yuna sat beside him, sipping black coffee with perfect posture. Rei and Misaki arrived minutes later, both in sleek UW regulation attire, which included fitted black tops and pencil skirts. They slid into the booth across from him, each nodding respectfully to Shin and to each other.
Shin was halfway through a buttered croissant when Yuna finally spoke.
"We have an interesting situation and a good opportunity."
She slid her holographic iPad across the table. Shin tapped the screen.
An image flickered to life: Code Number 5 – Riku Kanemura.
He looked a bit younger than Shin, with wild brown hair and sharp green eyes. Athletic, lean. He was still fairly skinny. His Code Number tattoo marked his collarbone. Behind him in the photo stood several women. That was his harem, no doubt about it. They were attractive, confident, and all dressed in various UW-affiliated uniforms.
"His handler reached out to me after learning a fragment of what happened with Code Number 3," Yuna continued. "Apparently, Riku is growing wary of some of the other Code Numbers and is worried some of the future numbers might threaten him."
Shin swallowed some food. "So he's trying to build alliances."
Yuna nodded.
"Exactly. Thanks to some leverage and fast paperwork, I convinced the UW Japanese Branch to authorize a confidential, face-to-face meeting. Officially, this meeting doesn't exist. The UW World Headquarters won't even know about it."
Shin leaned back, studying Riku's photo.
"Does he know about me?"
"Only that another Code is active. That's it. He doesn't know your location, identity, or your harem structure. He does know, though, according to rumors, about how strong you are. Most of the Code Numbers know that you, Code Number 6, have one of the largest harems. You are very popular, after all, with all the Japanese ladies. Only reason you aren't more popular than Reito is because the UW World Headquarters doesn't know of your existence yet."
"Interesting," Shin said as he finished his meal.
After breakfast, the team moved swiftly through the lower halls of Hano. At the main entrance, a bulletproof, blacked-out UW limo idled by the curb. The tinted windows gleamed under the rising sun.
Inside, four elite female bodyguards in sleek matte-black suits awaited them. They were armed, stoic, and clearly trained to kill. Shin climbed in first, followed by Rei and Misaki, with Doctor Yuna taking the seat across from him. The moment the doors shut, the limo rolled forward.
"Destination is classified," Yuna said. "We'll arrive in just under an hour. It's not on any standard map. The UW uses it for sensitive negotiations and containment."
Shin sat back in the plush leather seat, gaze turning to the window as the city passed them by. What he saw wasn't the polished steel of Hano. It was the real world. The deeper the limo moved into the city, the more the streets seemed to decay.
Collapsed buildings. Shattered glass. Empty, burned-out vehicles. Ragged laundry hung between windowless homes. Women in worn-out clothing stood on corners. Children played in rubble. Not one man in sight. Eyes hollow. Mouths tight. Some of the women stared at the limo as it passed, but they couldn't see in. Couldn't know what was inside. Just another silent ghost on tinted wheels.
Shin's eyes furrowed in quiet frustration.
"They keep them out here to keep the illusion intact," he said quietly.
Yuna met his gaze. "Yes. They hope we never ask about them."
"Too bad, then, that I have taken notice of it."
The limo finally slowed, pulling down a long, narrow alley surrounded by broken warehouses and rusted freight crates. The air grew cold. They stopped in front of a massive, abandoned warehouse, its gates sealed with new locks and a visible UW scanner panel. Several black SUVs were parked out front.
The moment the limo doors opened, a group of armed guards stepped forward. All of them were very serious women. They gave Shin and his group a quick, discreet nod before standing down. Tension still thick in the air. Doctor Yuna adjusted her glasses.
"This is it."
Shin stepped out first. His boots hit the cracked pavement. The smell of oil and dust lingered in the air. From the far side of the lot, the warehouse doors slid open. Inside, figures stepped into view. They were silhouettes at first, then they became clearer. Code Number 5, Riku Kanemura. He was flanked by five women. Four of whom were armed, the other holding a tablet.
Riku's green eyes locked with his cold mysterious gaze. Shin's own bodyguards flanked him as he and Code Number 5 approached each other. The tension in the air was fierce it made both of their bodyguards nervous of each other.
Riku smiled nicely as he stuck out his hand.
"So... you're the infamous Code Number 6. It's a pleasure to meet you."