It was really a nice day that day. For once, you could see the other side of town. Maybe it was a good omen. Hidetoshi thought so. At least the sky was still blue, he thought. He made his way to his little kitchen. Living in his own place was new to him so he still had those little nervous feelings.
"My first day on the job," he said to himself. He gave a slight smile. The doorbell gave a rang. He walked to the front door.
"Well, well," the girl with the long black hair said slyly. "You are up and early. All excited about today, I gather?"
"Good morning, Min," Hidetoshi said, as Min walked in. "Gonna start busting my chops right off the bat?"
"No," Min said as she sat down next to Hidetoshi's kitchen table. "Just surprised, that's all. I always had trouble waking you up in the morning." She started to look around.
"I remember," Hidetoshi said as he started up the gas stove. "All in the past."
"Yeah," Min said softly. "The past."
"I wonder what time the STN-J starts their day?" Hidetoshi asked aloud as he flipped over a huge pancake.
"Did you ask you cousin Robin?" Min asked back.
"Don't remember," Hidetoshi responded. "But I'm sure she would have called to let me know if they have set hours or something."
Without warning, the phone by the living room table started to ring.
"Uh, oh," Min said.
"Being late on the first day," Hidetoshi said as he and Min ran up the stairs from the subway. "So much for the good omen."
"They probably don't sleep much," Min said as she looked at her watch. "Chasing witches and things. Besides, were only forty-five minutes late."
"Only forty-five minutes late?" Hidetoshi asked, a bit sarcastic. "And what does that mean? That they will only fire us?"
"Relax," Min said. "Geez, you are so wound up now. You weren't like that before."
"We weren't a lot of things before," Hidetoshi said as the two of them stood at a street crossing. "But you're right. I shouldn't worry too much."
Hidetoshi and Min continued on their way and, at last, arrived at STN-J headquarters. And waiting right outside the front gates was Sena Robin.
"Hey, Rob-chan," Hidetoshi said.
"Good morning, Hidetoshi," Robin said, her arms crossed. She was wearing her usual goth-like dress and her hair was all knotted up in her bike handle special. "Good morning, Minami."
"Good morning, Robin," Min responded. "Sorry we're so late and all."
"Don't say it to me," Robin said, gesturing behind her with her left hand. "Say it to him."
Walking out of the front doors of the old building was a slighly older man, at least slightly older than Hidetoshi, Min and Robin. He had long black hair, and expression-less face. He was wearing a long, black duster. In fact, everything he was wearing was black.
"I want you to meet Amon," Robin said. "He's sort of like the second-in-command here."
"Good to meet you," Amon said, giving a slight nod of the head. "Welcome."
"Nice to meet you," Hidetoshi said, bowing. "My name is Miyazawa Hidetoshi."
"And my name is Kinosaki Minami," Min said, bowing as well. "Nice to meet you."
"How old are you two?" Amon inquired.
"We're both eighteen," Min answered.
"We didn't used to be," Hidetoshi muttered.
"What was that?" Amon said, a bit taken back.
"Pay no attention to him, sir," Min responded. "He just likes to point out that I'm a few months older than him."
"I see," Amon said with a small smile. "And please. Don't call me 'sir'. Call me Amon like everyone else."
"C'mon, let's go inside," Robin said. "The morning meeting is awaiting."
Robin and Amon began to walk towards the front doors as Hidetoshi and Min followed. Once inside the old church-like building, Hidetoshi and Min see a man seated, reading a newspaper. He looked and gave everyone a nod. The group continued to walk as they soon reached an old-style elevator gate.
"What an awesome place," Hidetoshi said, looking up at the high ceiling.
"Bit creepy if you ask me," Min said.
"You'll get used to it," Robin said, her eyes closed. "There are a lot of cool places hidden in here."
With a slight thud, the elevator finally arrived. The gate opened and the group walked in.
"Cool," Hidetoshi said as they entered the main operations room.
"Is that all you can say?" Min said, giving Hidetoshi a shove from the back. "Cool?"
"What do you want?" he answered back, regaining his balance. "For me to talk like a Valley Girl? To the max? Gross me out?"
"Alright, you two," Robin said, standing between them. "Enough of your outdated Americanisms. Time to meet your boss."
"So these are our new recruits, Robin?" a short, bald moustached man asked as he walked towards the group.
"You got it, boss," Robin answered. "This is my cousin Miyazawa Hidetoshi and his, er, friend Kinosaki Minami."
"A pleasure to meet you, sir," Hidetoshi said. "Please be kind to us." They both bowed.
"I'm Kosaka," the bald man replied. "I'm the head of the STN-J. But you can call me chief. Or boss like Robin does."
"Let me introduce you to the others," Robin said as she motioned to Hidetoshi and Min to follow her. "Sitting behind these computers is our resident nerd/hacker/know-it-all Michael Lee."
"Very funny, Robin," Michael said as he adjusted his glasses. "Welcome aboard. Good to have you."
"Thanks," Hidetoshi said.
"And sitting over there going through old files," Robin continued. "Is Miss Karasuma Miho. She's the toughest one here."
"Not true, Robin," Karasuma said as she got up. "We're all tough here. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here."
"Isn't she awesome?" Robin exclaimed, her eyes all wide. "She always has the right words to say."
Karasuma sighed.
"Alright, everyone," Amon said as he walked up behind Michael. "Time is wasting. Let's get the meeting started."
"So, to begin," Kosaka started. "We have two new recruits: Mister Miyazawa and Miss Kinosaki. They are here to replace Mister Sakaki and Miss Dojima, who are receiving special training at STN central. So, if we haven't said it enough, welcome!"
Everyone sitting around the large conference table, except for Hidetoshi and Min, clapped.
"Thank you, everyone," Hidetoshi said, blushing a bit. "We're happy to be here."
"Yes," Min said with a sheepish smile. "Thank you."
"Now to business," Kosaka said, adjusting his seat. "Amon."
"Yes, sir," Amon responded. "Our next case: Asakura Yoh."
"Asakura Yoh," Robin said slowly. She looked up from her computer monitor and looked at Amon. "Where have I heard that name before."
"He is the current winner of the Shaman Fight, a spirit tournament that occurs every five hundred years."
"That's right," Karasuma said. "He won the tournament five years ago."
"So what is this Shaman Fight?" Min asked, looking at Robin.
"The Shaman Fight determines who becomes the one who can speak to the Great Spirit," Robin answered. "Or so they claim."
"The Great Spirit?" Hidetoshi asked. "You mean God?"
"Yes," Amon responded. "But STN has learned that this spirit is not Him. It is something else. And the world is in danger."
"Is that all?" Robin said, grinning. "So what else is new?"
"Robin," Kosaka said emotionlessly.
"Sorry, boss," Robin said. "So we have to find Asakura, right?"
"Actually, we know where he is," Amon answered. "He lives in an old temple up by Sapporo. But we have to do this carefully. He has immense power and many strong allies. He's so-called Great Spirit may not be the real deal but pretty close."
"But we have a good chance, right?" Hidetoshi said, looking at the computer screen. "According to the records, he's only a teenager, like most of us."
"No," Amon said coldly. "He's a king."
"Bugger," Hidetoshi said.