Everyone knew they existed, but only those a part of the agency itself knew who worked there.
Named after the founder and chief himself, Shining Saotome, S.H.I.N.E carried out the 'dirty work' for the government. Their intel consisted of specially trained assassins and spies, all in which could handle weapons that ranged from tazers and pistols, to lazer guns and bombs.
The line of work was no doubt dangerous, but since it paid well, those given the rare opportunity to work under S.H.I.N.E often immediately jumped at the offer.
Within the organization were a number of fully qualified individuals, but even under a label such as 'secret agent', there were those who stood out.
For S.H.I.N.E, that group of people happened to be four young men, all in which Shining Saotome had taken a liking to personally.
Starting off, there was Tokiya Ichinose. Code name: Perfect Diamond.
Being a quiet observer, Tokiya had been labeled as the team's 'operations manager'. His intelligence and strengths weren't needed in battle, but rather, behind the scenes. He could hack even the toughest of firewalls and, in Shining's opinion, was the most skilled in the nation when it came to handling technology.
Next, there was Camus Cryzard. Code name: Majestic Spade.
Camus had something the other three members of his team did not-royal ties. Coming from the wealthy kingdom of Permafrost far up north, the blond had cash to bathe in. Not only this, but the royal upbringing gave Camus a strict, cold exterior that was necessary to keep the group on track during a mission.
Then there was Ren Jinguji. Code name: Tricky Heart.
Ren was-...well, he was something. Despite growing up higher class, the ginger didn't seem to be any wealthier then his follow agents. No matter, however, Ren most definitely had something to bring to the team that no one else did; he was a ladies man. You wouldn't think such a thing would be something secret agents needed handy, back in fact, it was. Undercover work was becoming increasingly difficult as time passed, so having a way to make the work even slightly easier was something Saotome found a feat.
Finally, there was the last member of the secret agent quartet; Ranmaru Kurosaki. Code name: Spiky Club.
Ranmaru was nothing but a foul-mouthed, reckless spy with aggressive tendencies and anger issues. Hell, even Saotome hated him at times, but alas, all of this made Ranmaru a fighter, and while his fellow teammates were, yes, trained to protect the government and fend for themselves, Ranmaru had these skills naturally. He was the most qualified out of the four of them to be out on the field.
Not a single one of these boys could complete a mission properly without each other. Their team was like a clock-it needed each and every gear to keep ticking, and this was what made them such a well-functioning group. This is what made them a team.
"I have an important mission for you." Saotome's loud, gruff voice echoed throughout the meeting room of S.H.I.N.E's main helicarrier, his shoes clacking against the tile as he strode around. In the center of the over sized room sat the four key agents, a round table being the only thing separating them.
"Yeah?" Ranmaru lifted an eyebrow, propping his feet up on the otherwise clean table. Tokiya shot him a displeased look, more or less for his poor choice of posture.
"Don't you always~?" Ren couldn't keep from chuckling softly, his periwinkle gems shining through his sun-kissed orange bangs.
Shining nodded repeatedly, cackling softly as he stopped in front of the table to face the team of four. "You're as sharp as ever, I see. I do, but I've never given you four a mission like this before." Humming and tangling his fingers together behind his back, Saotome laughed once more, his unseen eyes glinting from behind his shades. "I need you to seek out and disperse a growing terrorist group."
Ranmaru scoffed, "Nothing we can't handle."
"Of course it isn't, but this terrorist group isn't anything like the ones you've encountered in the past, Mr. Kurosaki. This one's much different," Saotome reached out and hovered his hand over the table, a hologram materializing before him. The hologram played news reruns and other recordings pertaining to the terrorist organization. "unlike the others, they mean business. They've attacked government officials and hijacked cargo ships transferring weapons and other supplies to Honolulu." Four sharp pairs of eyes focused on the recordings as the chief spoke.
"And why exactly are they doing that?" Camus grumbled bitterly, folding his arms over his chest. "Clearly they're as you say-a terrorist group, but how in the world could they even possibly believe they'd get away with this?"
"I agree entirely, Cryzard. They're not the smartest, but I'm also using the word 'terrorist' loosely."
"What do you mean?" Tokiya spoke up for the first time that day, genuinely puzzled for once.
"Their motives still aren't clear. Whether or not they want the president's blood is unknown; it's just clear that they're willing to kill to get what they want. I want that stopped at all costs." Saotome waved his hand through the hologram to turn it off.
"So they actually know what they're doing..." Ren idly twirled a strand of his ginger locks, crossing one leg over the other as he slouched back in his chair. "That's a first."
"Yeah." Tokiya mumbled quietly in agreement.
Saotome nodded briskly. "Right you are." Facing away from the group and gazing out the window that made up the back wall, he continued on; "They call themselves 'Angels'."
"Angels my ass." Ranmaru snorted.
"Language, Kurosaki. As I was saying, they call themselves 'Angels', and each member is marked by the number symbol."
A brief pause took place.
"...You mean a hashtag?"
Camus smacked the back of Ranmaru's head with his royal cane. "Shut up! Don't you bring our generation's horrible excuse for slang into this!" He snapped. Ranmaru screeched in pain and grabbed at his throbbing head, glowering at Camus. "You fucking-!"
"Language, Mr. Kurosaki."
"I swear to god-"
"Even a supreme religious figure can't save you for that one."
"Shut up, Tokiya!"
"As I was saying," Saotome continued on once again, "those with the symbol anywhere on their body-"
"Hashtag."
"Cryzard-"
"Okay, okay, I'm done now. I swear."
"-those with the symbol anywhere on their body are considered a part of the terrorist group."
"So anyone could just draw a hashtag on their body and call themselves an Angel?" Tokiya inquired.
"The news claims that the hashtags are-"
"Oh, so Tokiya says it and now we start using it."
"Ranmaru, shut up!" Camus hit the silverette with his cane once again, the bejeweled surface of the stick leaving a bruise behind.
"Agh-! Ow!"
"-...The news says that the hashtags are typically tattooed on."
Ignoring Ranmaru's distressed sounds of pain, Ren, Tokiya, and Camus perked up. "Tattooed?"
"Yes, according to the news anyway. Sounds like a good way to tell who's the real deal and who isn't in my opinion."
The room fell quiet.
"So how exactly do you want us to take care of these guys?" Ren asked with a gentle hum. "I doubt they're herded together like sheep just waiting for us to come find them."
"Right you are, Jinguji. They're spread out pretty sporadically across the nation-"
"-So you gotta' locate one group and smack 'em around for information. If they're real Angels, then they'll know what's up." A voice none of the four agents had heard in the past filled the room even before the double doors snapped open.
In stepped a silver-eyed brunette clad in all white. His suit was clean-cut and hugged his frame perfectly, his chocolate tresses wavy and shoulder length.
He crossed the room swiftly, the heels of his boots making more noise against the floor then Saotome's had.
He dropped a beige-coloured folder on the table and the contents spilled out for everyone to see: pictures, descriptions, and various profiles.
"Syracuse. There's a big group of them there." The brunette used two fingers to flip his hair over his shoulder. He then rested a hand on his hip and settled his mercury eyes on the group of agents presented before him.
"So this is just a suggestion, but I think that's the best place to start." He grinned widely, showing off his pearly whites.
Saotome gestured to him. "Agents, meet your new temporary spy, Reiji Kotobuki."
Tokiya, Ren, Camus, and Ranmaru all let out choked sounds of surprise.
"T-Temporary spy?" Tokiya looked between Reiji and Shining Saotome quickly, shock clear in his voice. "Shining, we don't need help."
Camus didn't hesitate to nod his head in agreement. "Yes, exactly. We've never needed it before."
"Yeah! And we certainly don't need it now." Ranmaru huffed.
Reiji tilted his head, eyeing the four agents up and down before focusing his gaze on Ranmaru. "...Sure you do.~" He chimed.
Ranmaru's heterochromatic eyes narrowed in a cold glare. "No, we don't."
"You'll lose your heads without me."
They never once broke eye contact, but despite that, all of a sudden, Reiji had a spoon hanging loosely between his fingertips and Ranmaru had an open wound on his neck, the crescent shaped cut seeming to flow open and spill out blood.
His fellow agents froze up just as badly as he did, their eyes wide.
How did he...?
"H-...How did you-?"
" 'Temporary spy' doesn't translate to 'rookie-who-doesn't-know-what-he's-doing.' You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, sweetheart."
Ranmaru's surprise was quickly replaced by anger, but the painful throb coming from his throat kept him from getting up and punching the coy brunette in the face.
"What a wonderful start, indeed." Saotome nodded approvingly and clapped his hands together. Instantly, a pair of metal, arm-like machines came down from above with a first aid kit clad in their grasp. They set to work on cleaning the blood from Ranmaru's neck and went as far as to wrap his tender wound up in gauze afterwards.
"Mr. Kotobuki is a retired agent of S.H.I.N.E. T'was my best worker at the time."
"Retired?" Ren blinked, clearly startled by the statement. "But, he looks-"
"I'm twenty-five."
Ren was taken aback, as was Tokiya and Camus. "That's...even more odd...Why did you retire at such an early age?" Early retirement wasn't something that was common with a company like S.H.I.N.E.
"Hmm...It just wasn't my sort of work. I didn't enjoy it all that much." Reiji shrugged and lifted his arms, crossing them behind his head. "But Shining called me in for this one, and he bribed me with so much loot that I just couldn't say no~! So here I am." He chuckled. "But that's enough about me. It's wonderful to meet you guys!" He smiled so sweetly at the group it was almost considered dorky.
How could a doofus like this have Ranmaru's neck sliced open in the blink of an eye?
"...Alright, well...What's your code name? If we'll be leaving out to explore the field with you soon, you have to have one." Tokiya mused, pushing away from the round table and standing up.
"Oh, he's already got one." Saotome laughed loudly, resting his hand on Reiji's shoulder.
"After all, a suit of cards always needs a Joker."
Wow, I bet you guys thought I was dead, but that's alright, I sort of felt like I was for a good while.
Hey guys, It's Alex, and it's great to be back! So many things contributed to the reason why I abruptly disappeared and went on such a seemingly-endless hiatus, but I promised myself I'd never be that guy. e-e So, here I am.~ c:
Hope you all have been doing well! Thursday night, I finally got to watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Friday evening, I got to see Avengers: Age of Ultron, so you can sorta' see where I got this idea. Not only that, but I'd been wanting to write an AU that tied into Joker Trap for the longest while, so this is a win-win.
Unlike my other stories, this one is entirely planned out, so I'll almost never have writer's block. Thank god. So updates will come often. u3u
For those of you following my other stories, such as The Year Everything Changed, I will say now, I don't intend to leave those stories blank; I fully intend to give you all some sort of closure on them. I will most definitely finish my CSI-based two shot at some point, as well as Another Cinderella Story. I'm just not sure how or when I'll finish those.
So yeah.~ I'm super excited about Agents of S.H.I.N.E, and I hope you guys are too! Chapter two will be up soon.
Reviews are rad.~ (Especially since my other stories are pretty horribly written compared to this one. UvU;;)