Kuroko walked out of the building, which would look seemingly normal to any clueless passerby. Little did they know that one of the top assassin groups used it as their base.

"Ah, sorry," a deep voice grumbled as a tall figure bumped into him. Kuroko looked up to see a red-haired man, who stared at him intently for a moment. The man nodded at him before walking away quickly.

Someone had acknowledged him? Well, that was new.

Kuroko brushed the thought aside and started to make his way towards his destination. Anteiku Street. He boarded the bus, with a book in one hand.

Anteiku Street was, well, a very shady area. It was part of the red light district where you could find prostitutes and a murder happening on every other block. Kuroko didn't care for any of its "services" but it was the best place to get information for an assassination. The bluenette left the bus and glanced around the area before walking down the street.

"Why?!" a voice shrieked, catching the attention of Kuroko. He peered into the alleyway where the scream had come from, finding a woman sobbing as a man pointed his gun at her. His blue eyes narrowed at the situation, and Kuroko found himself taking out his own handgun.

"Sorry, hun. Your little friend wasn't cooperating with mah client, so I have to kill ya." the black-haired man smiled widely before pulling the trigger. Kuroko pulled the trigger at the exact same moment and watched as his bullet collided with the man's. "Oh?"

"Imayoshi-san." Kuroko said, glaring at the glasses-wearing assassin.

"Kuroko! Long time no see, eh? Wait a sec, lemme just kill her first." the bluenette looked away as he heard a gunshot. "Sorry that you had to see that. But as a fellow assassin, you should know not to interfere with my assassinations, right?"

"Yes, but I do not agree with your methods." he felt a bitter taste in his mouth while looking at the now dead woman, laying in a crumpled heap on the ground. Although he was merciless on his own targets, watching an assassination didn't feel that great.

"Hmmm? We just have different styles. I mentally hurt my targets while you do it physically. Either way, it's hurtin someone." Kuroko sighed at his words. But, Imayoshi wasn't wrong. They were opposite assassin "types." There were 5 main assassin types.

I. Co-op Assassins
These assassins are primarily used for information gathering, and depending on the assassin, may or may not kill their target. Will use a variety of methods including threats, hacking and/or personal introduction.
II. Central Assassins
These assassins are employed to force their target to do something or comply with their client. Since the client needs the cooperation of the client, the assassin needs to find various ways to threaten them. Central assassins tend to hold the target's family/friends as hostages and/or kill them to scare the target into complying.
III. Incognito Assassins
Incognito Assassins specialize in erasing any trace of their murder. Although all assassins know how to conceal their identity during an assassination, unless it is required, assassins will not clean up the scene of the assassination. Incredibly skilled Incognito assassins can erase someone's identity entirely.
IIII. Main Assassins
This is the most common assassin style and stays true to the fundamentals of assassination. Main assassins simply carry out their assassination by killing their target using wit and strength.
IV. Ruthless Assassins
Ruthless assassins will kill their target and anyone closely associated with them. Most are known for being cruel and committing needless murders, but are helpful when the government/police attempt to interrogate any associates.

Kuroko was what most would call a "Main Assassin" while Imayoshi was a "Central Assassin." Imayoshi was one of the few that knew Kuroko was the "Phantom", since they both worked under the same organization.

"Anyway, why ya here?" he asked.

"To get information for Shira-sensei." Kuroko told him.

"I see. Hey, did ya hear about those government officials goin' around?"

"No,"

"They're going around capturing assassins left and right. The most skilled lot I've ever seen. Mmm... There were two who stood out especially. A good lookin' fellow with black hair and a big redhead. They almost got Hanamiya, ha."

"Hanamiya-san?" Kuroko raised an eyebrow. Hanamiya teetered between being an extremely cruel Main assassin and being a Ruthless one. Nevertheless, he was a skilled assassin and almost as cunning as Imayoshi. Almost.

"Mhmm. I have to get going now, so I'll see ya later, Kuroko!" Imayoshi gave him a little wave before scaling the building easily and disappearing. Kuroko sighed and heard a little whimper coming from where the dead woman lay. He walked over to see the source of the sound and a little husky pup popped its head out of the handbag the woman had been carrying. It whimpered at Kuroko, and nudged its owner with its nose. The dog sniffed the woman and started howling, as if it had realized her death.

Kuroko sighed and turned around to get the information he needed, when he felt a tug at his pants. The husky stared up at Kuroko with light blue eyes, eerily similar to his own. The dog pawed at his foot and nuzzled against his leg. With an internal groan, Kuroko stooped down and picked up the dog. He couldn't leave it alone.

"Kuroko, do you have my stu- Why do you have a dog in your arms?" Shira said, frowning.

"I found him and I couldn't leave him behind." Kuroko told his mentor, handing him the documents. The dog ruffed happily in his arms, wagging his tail.

"He looks just like you." Shira muttered as the dog keenly stared at him. "Why don't you call it Nigou? It'll be short for Tetsuya #2,"

"Mmm... that's a nice name. Nigou?" Kuroko tried and the dog barked in response.

"Well, you'll be responsible for taking care of it." Shira said, looking through the documents. Kuroko nodded. "I heard you had a run-in with Imayoshi today,"

"Yes..."

"I know you don't like how he operates, but he's a valuable assassin for our organization. Anyway, how's your data on the GoA coming along?"

"Their personalities are a bit, how should I say, eccentric. But I should have a firm hold of their basic data by next week."

"That's good. Here, read this." Shira stood up and took Nigou from Kuroko's arms while handing him some papers. The bluenette looked down at the paper, realizing it was a profile.

Name: Kagami Taiga
Age: 21
Status: Government official [Employed for the SF (Special Force)]
Physical Qualities: Red hai-

Wait. Kuroko recognized this face. It was the face of the man that he had bumped into this morning. He skimmed through the rest of the list, which included his height, weight, etc. When Kuroko flipped the page, it described another man but had no accompanying pictures. On the bottom it read, "Close associate of Kagami Taiga."

The following page had a description of the SF.

Organization: Special Force, SF
Affiliates: Government
Purpose: Hunting down assassins and ending all underground organizations

None of this fazed Kuroko. The only thing he found unnerving about the SF was how similarly it operated like assassin organizations. The creation of the SF just meant a new enemy for him to be wary of- although the government had always been his enemy. His phone vibrated in his pocket and a message was displayed on the screen.

Akashi
We are gathering in two hours.
Do not be late.

A/N: Ohayo! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed!

theOtakuMageofAwesomeness, yes I do have some pairings in mind but I might use the reader's opinions to influence the pairings. Kuroshiroryuu and SilverSapphire34523, thanks for the idea! As you can see, Kagami ended up becoming a government official.

If you want faster updates, please review! ^^ Any guesses on who Kagami is working with? (I think it's pretty obvious, but~)