Kira is Kage

Lacus is Hikari

Except when they're together.

I'm BAAACK! GEEZE! It's been a period of crashes these days. First my CPU crashed, then my Hard Drive crashed, and then even MY OWN BODY CRASHED – AKA – the worst cough and fever I've had in years… Sorry it took so long… I hope I can update the next chapter faster…

NOTE:

"Doryaaaaaaaaaa!": normal talking

"Charge!": special case

'Darn!': thoughts

GWA HA HA HA! : Giant creature speech

Another reason I'm using Mass Effect characters… well… in the game, they're aliens. In here… they're simply different kinds of people, with different races and nationality, religion and beliefs… That's what I'm trying to emphasis: the Alliance is an army of various kinds of people… multinational, minus the Advanced. I like differences and varieties. If you guys have a better idea on a better nationality for each of them, I'm all ears.

This chapter had to be split because it gets too long. I've learned that too long of a chapter is not always good.

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!

Please… read and review

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Chapter 46:

Shadow's City

Part 1

Present day…

2 o'clock in the dead of an early morning…

Which means, after the shit they went through yesterday, the Shadowguards had only got less than 2 precious hours of hard to get rest before Kage called them in for a meeting. He just finished debriefing them when Toudou and his shiseiken came.

Without saying anything, Kage showed them the thing that Kenji gave him. The small ceremonial katana dagger on white casing and sheath. Toudou's eyes widened in disbelief. He drew the dagger slightly out of the sheath to study it. The kodachi's ownership history immediately crossed his mind as he noted every detail. But that list of ownership grew blurry at the end as he was confused as to how it ended up in Kira's possession. "Where… did you get this?"

"A yakuza boss if you wish to believe it."

"Yakuza?"

"By the name of Himura Kenji."

As if the shock of that dagger's presence was not enough, at the mention of that historic and illustrious surname, Toudou looked in horror at Kage, asking if he's joking. Because if it is, it's not funny. But one look at Kage's dead serious eyes, and he realized, this is already past the realm of jest and jokes. Toudou sighed. "A long time ago… 15 years ago, in fact, an entire regiment of Samurais defected from Orb and joined the Alliance. They formed a squadron of their own and served with the regulars for some time."

"15 years ago…" Kage immediately caught on. "The Archangel fiasco… and that squadron is…"

"It was numerically named the 105th. Harlbarton's old unit before he became a captain." Toudou returned the dagger back to Kage. "This was Harlbarton's kodachi. Given to him as a sign of his command of this detachment."

"Given by who?"

"The Supreme Councilor Attha himself."

Kage's eyes rolled at Toudou. His eyes initially rive with confusion, but a person as smart as him immediately put two to two together in a heartbeat, and now there's only shock and awe.

Toudou nodded, confirming Kira's line of thought. "Yes. It was never a defection. Harlbarton and that detachment only pretend to defect in order to secure one of Orb's greatest creations. The Archangel. I think you should realize by now, Orb take ship building very seriously. It wasn't a fiasco. Outwardly, they tried to build a ship that seemingly will never sail, but… as you yourself can testify, the Archangel is a fully functioning and powerful ship. Very powerful, if she's well handled."

"Harlbarton stayed in his position to keep the Alliance from figuring out that the Archangel is not a faux ship." Kage nodded in understanding. "Well, seeing I just sail aboard it and crashed it down into the city for everyone to see, I'd say there was no longer any need to keep it a secret."

"…" Toudou and the Shiseiken were not amused.

"It's irrelevant, I tell you. A smart commander would immediately notice how impractical this thing is. Even if they know this thing can sail, no one would show any interest in it." Kage snorted. "My question is how did a Yakuza get his hands on Harlbarton's dagger? And why give it to me? Who is this master that is so keen to see me?"

Toudou understood immediately what Kage asked of him. This matter concerns Orb to some degree, but it also relates to the time when Harlbarton was in command. "Harlbarton came to China 8 years ago. Perhaps he gave the dagger away to someone at that time. I had a guess… but I'll see what I can find out."

"I see now that there's more to this… yakuza thing." Kage glanced around a bit. Looks like their course of action is set. He first looked at Tolle and Milly. "You two, go to the Shepards, and do as we have rehearsed. Join their ranks, and try to steer them clear of the Yakuzas."

"How do we do that?"

"…here's what you can say." And Kage taught them what to say.

Once that was done, Kage looked at Gino. "You… are NOT exactly a shadowguard, but I guess it's best if you act like it, for now. Go with Toudou-san and the Shiseiken, dig up as many as you can about this Yakuza master. Maybe then, you can get a bit closer as to what ails Karren into quitting my division."

One last look around to see if they have any questions, and none raise a hand.

"Everyone clear? Okay then. Move out."

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Several hours later, the sun is already up and about.

"And that's how it is, you fuckers." Canard, now a lieutenant of the 7th division, shouted. "Anyone caught participating in the Challenge Game, they must, and I quote, first learn the art of living without their guts. You SOBs FUCKIN' got THAT!?"

"Sir, yes sir!" All soldiers of the 7th division roared in unison.

Canard smirked and then he gestured at the other Juppongatana behind him. "Toudou and his team had already gone ahead on a special assignment from the captain. You lot should also spread out and start recruitin' allover Shanghai. I'm stayin' here and start breakin' these newbies." Canard gestured at the newly arrived mob soldados, sent over by their new Mob boss.

"Roger that." Lockon nodded. He then paired up with Prayer and Setsuna.

"Hrmmm… gathering recruits… huh…? I've never done this before…" The blind swordman muttered.

"Don't worry. We'll show you how." Prayer smiled.

"Understood." Sven went by on his own.

"This one will do so." As do Mr. Bushido.

"Okay!" Kamina nodded and left with Simon.

"A… anoo…" But before the departure, Simon timidly asked. "W…Where's the captain?"

"Huh? Why didya ask?" Canard snarled.

"W…Well… Mr. Murdoch and I had been spending some time with the Archangel and… and…"

"The Captain left this very early morning with Hikari-sensei." Prayer answered. "Seeing that yesterday the good Doctor had gotten the Genesis to join in, he went there to inspect them. He also said something about inspecting the people of the city, personally."

"I… I see…" Simon suddenly blurted. "What for?"

"What for… well… how did he put it?" Prayer shrugged.

Flashback:

Kage's 6 o'clock morning meeting with the Juppongatana…

"If Shanghai is to be our foothold in the coming battle, we need to make sure we are internally safe first. And that means we have to see the people, talk to them, make sure that they will remain calm, especially under these dire circumstances. Shanghai may well fall under siege for days or weeks… and you'll be surprised on how quickly people turn against you in a siege."

"The people of this city are already against us. They've already seen how injured you are, they've been itching to put a bullet in your cold black heart and/or cut off your head." Canard snarled.

"Let them try." Kage growled.

Flashback Ends…

"That's what he said." Prayer smiled. "Don't worry. Our captain is really, really hard to kill. The whole island of undead had tried that for a week, and he's still here. I doubt a city full of headhunters can do much!"

But no sooner than he said that, a scream can be heard…

"GANGWAY! GANGWAY!"

That scream came from Hikari and Simca… who were running as if their lives depend on it, with an also running and roaring mad Kage right behind them. Hikari in particular is carrying Kage's Shiki in her hands.

"GIVE ME BACK MY SWORD, WOMAN!" Kage roared.

"NO!" Hikari shrieked back. "Have you forgotten that you're still in quarantine? (Koff) You're not allowed to fight for any reason! (Koff)"

"Not even when they try to put bullets in my head!?"

Prayer and Canard, both are caught between confused and understanding that this kind of routine is no longer surprising. Nevertheless, they asked anyway. "What happened?"

Simca took over the explanation in place of the arguing couple. "As soon as we place one foot on the streets of Shanghai we caught at least 6 Snipers and three whole bakers of headhunters gunning for Kage Honey's head. Honey tried to fight them off… but then Hikari-nee-sama objected and grabbed Shiki and most of his combat equipments. After that, a dog (headhunters) and cat (Kage) and mouse (Hikari) chase ensues until we barely managed to return here."

"Oh." Prayer rubbed his temple. This was just that one case when too much fame is bad for one's health. In particular when one's health is also in critical condition.

"As far as I'm concerned, compared to all those headhunters, YOU are the one closest to kill me today!"

"I DON'T CARE! (KOFF!) I'D RATHER KILL YOU MYSELF RATHER THAN LET YOU KILL YOURSELF! (KOFF)" Hikari roared back. "There's no more room for compromises! (koff) No more room for allowances! (koff) This is to the death! (koff) LITERALLY! (KOFF) You fight… and YOU. WILL. DIE!"

Kage gritted his teeth as his eyes narrowed and ferociously met with Hikari's behind her helm. For a moment, everyone see an angry Kage… for a moment they expected him to slap her or worse. A silence… and then… "Okay." His paced breath finally began to slow as his temper mellowed, followed with calm understanding, and in the blink of an eye the anger was gone. "Okay. Your way." Kage sighed. "Always your way."

"A… Anoo…" Simon timidly raised his voice. Enough that Kage turned his attention to him. "Yes?"

"U… Umm… anoo… Mr. Murdoch wanted to see you… about the ship… Archangel."

"?"

In short order, Kage, Hikari, Simca and Canard went down to the heart the ship. The engine. There, they found Murdoch, George and Murrue as well as Natarle.

"The engine was a mess." Murdoch bluntly stated. "And that's just putting it kindly."

"I've been making ships for decades. Modestly speaking I dare say I made the best ship in the whole Alliance." A man stated. He was George's chief shipwright that George tasked to tackle Archangel. Alas, the Archangel is just beyond him. "I… We don't even know how this thing can float much less move. As usual, Orb's ship engineering is truly a wonder to behold."

"So what you're saying is you can't fix it."

"If it's just the matter of fixing the damage, we have very little that needs to be done. Your ship is very sturdy, captain. Despite the rough treatment it had endured it's hardly damaged at all. But…" the engineer looked at the engine. "It's insides had been nearly melted to slag. And without an engine…"

"This thing is just a floating iron hunk of junk. I get it." Kage crossed his arms.

"Quite frankly, I don't think there's anything in this world powerful enough to move this thing." The Engineer glanced at the remains of the steam engine. "This steam engine… you salvaged it from Zaft, you say? Amazing. They can create a steam engine that powerful. Are they really that much ahead of us?"

"It wasn't exactly what I would call stable… or reliable." Murdoch moaned. "Damn thing so temperamental, nearly killed me and my crew many times. It's a miracle we managed to get this far."

"Miracle, or good leadership." George grinned, giving some credit to the captain as well.

"Well… if nothing else, Mr. Kage, sir, you can strip the metal and use it for parts-"

"Over my dead body." Kage cut the chief engineer short, the man shut up instantly. "This may be a piece of junk, but only I have the right to call it so. The most important thing is, this thing still floats." Kage shrugged. "And though it's no longer mobile, it's still a base. If nothing else, we can use it as a shield for the city and bombardment support when the battle came. Speaking of bombardments…" Kage glanced meaningfully at Murrue and Natarle.

"It's okay." Murrue smiled. "As the captain of the 12th division, I can requisition enough ammunition to resupply every piece of artillery aboard this ship. Even for the Lohengrin. It should be ready to fight when the time comes."

"Good. That's good." Kage nodded. "Call Captain Houston, ask her if she can be kind enough to tow the Archangel. We need to turn it around. Point the biggest boomstick to the right direction."

"Yes sir." Natarle saluted.

"And…" Kage frowned. "I had a favor ask of her… it might be a bit hard of her to accept it, but…"

"What do you need?"

And while Kage explained a few points to a listening Murrue and Natarle, Hikari looked at the messed up engine of the ship. She had seen it several times… in Veia's ship, the Aquarius. And it was in a much better state then. "Don't you and your girls have something tucked somewhere in that gunshop of yours? (koff)" Hikari looked at Simca.

Simca raised her hands. "Lord help me, no. If we're talking guns and medicines, I'm game. But energy business is out of our scope."

"Still… that doesn't change the fact I still need to inspect the Genesis workshop…" Kage groaned as soon as he's finished talking with Murrue and Natarle, who immediately left. "But all these headhunters… this mask is just too famous for my own good."

"Send someone else then." Canard replied. "Someone you can trust to inspect. It doesn't have to be you, yes?"

Kage rubbed his chin as he looked at Canard, then Simca… and finally to the deviant Hikari. "Yes… yes you're right. I don't have to go." Kage turned back to Simca. "I'm gonna send someone else. He's one of my most trusted comrades. In fact, I trust him so much… I hope you would treat him as if he was me in person."

"Oh." Simca blinked in excitement. "And… who might that be?"

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When Simca and Hikari returned back to the streets, coming with them is the one person everyone knew Kage would trust above all others.

"This is ridiculous, you know that? (koff)" Hikari whispered.

"This is called hiding in plain sight." Kira stated as he calmly walked the streets of Shanghai in his civilian clothing, no mask, no black garments, no nothing. Without his battlesuit weighing him down, Kira can walk calmly as if his leg wasn't injured at all. "And given the fact we just passed three blocks without a single sniper lurking around… I'd say it's working very well."

"So you're Kage's brother. Wow. You're quite a looker." Simca chimed in. "The girls will fawn all over you."

"Oh yes. (koff) I think we're about to witness the rebirth of Kira's Fanclub. (koff)" Hikari groaned.

"Give them a week and they'll disband I assure you." Kira chuckled. "That's what happened to the last one anyway."

"The last one?" Simca looked at Hikari, who merely scoffed.

Soon, the Genesis Workshop was in sight. It's as messy as ever. There waiting by the door are Simca's subordinates… and Xingke.

"Good morning, Dr. Hikari, Simca… and who is this?" Xingke's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the brown haired boy. His figure is strangely similar with that of Kage's…

"I'm Kira. Kage's brother."

"Oh!" As soon as that was said, Xingke's suspicion vanished and he immediately stretched out his hand and shake with the boy.

"He had delegated me to say… he's indisposed. Dr. Hikari has uhh… quarantined him to the inch of his life. I'm sent here to act on his behalf. I trust… that would not be an issue."

"No. No, I don't think it will. Not to me anyway." Xingke nodded. "But… I was hoping Kage would say a word or two to the girls."

"Oh." Kira looked at all of Simca's subordinates. Call it weird, with oil smears and coal marks on their being, but with their surgical apron on their chest, they looked like a cross between Nurses and Engineers. With some bits of soldiers in there, and that doesn't surprise him none. "…well, if you don't mind, I'll do it on his behalf?"

"You sure you can?"

"My brother would not send me here otherwise." Kira sighed as he took the stage… though he also managed a mutter: "Though… I did throw-up the first time I did this kind of thing." And then he stood there, in front all the girls. As expected, as soon as they get a clear look on his face, many blushed furiously and gave the boy undivided attention, one way or another. "Well… what I can say is… well… in case you haven't heard, due to some circumstances, your squadron is under new management. But by no means does this mean things will be different. Quite the opposite actually. I know my brother. If he knew half the things you girls knew about what you're doing here, his head will explode." That was not entirely a lie… Kira was never that much of a tech savvy person.

The girls snickered.

"Quoting from his girlfriend… He's a very… very troubled person. With a very ill temper. He can be really unpleasant, rude, ridiculous, ignorant and an all around obnoxious arsehole anyone ever had the misfortune to meet… IF they do something that warrants such treatment." Kira glanced to Hikari. "At least… that's what I figure every time he and Hikari had their daily harangue." He turned back to the Genesis Tools Tul To Girls. "At any rate, he conveyed to me that, seeing he's stepping into an unknown territory, he has no intention to disturb the powers that be. You all still work under Simca. The only difference now is that Simca will work under Hikari and Kage… and uh… seeing Kage likes to learn new things every day… expect him to come down here from time to time to sate his curiosity of the unknown if he had the luxury of free time to do so. And don't worry. As you can see from his choice of clothing and fashion sense, he doesn't bite. Much." Everyone immediately burst out laughing.

He then nodded to Simca. The Master Tuner immediately took over as she clapped her hands. "Right! Back to work, girls!"

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Surprisingly, it wasn't hard for Tolle and Milly to find their way back into the Shepards. They ran into a familiar face on the way to the market.

"Maria-san!" Milly cheered and waved her hand at the blue haired woman.

"Milly-chan? Tolle-Kun?" Maria, on a little errand of buying some chow for her crew, blinked in surprise as she noticed the familiar faces she met just yesterday. "Fancy meeting you two here. What happened?"

"Well… we have a problem."

"What is the problem?"

"Our boss is now out for your blood as well."

Maria's smile vanished at Milly's answer. "Your boss? Kage?" The two nodded. "And why do we owe the pleasure of being hunted down by the most dangerous man alive this side of the earth? Especially after we rescued you two?"

"Nothing personal I assure you." Tolle stated. "It's just… the situation calls that he had to run a tight ship. The thing about our captain… when he runs a tight ship, he can run it real tight."

Maria frowned. "Oka~ay…" She nodded. "This is something we have to talk about with my brother."

Not long after, Tolle and Milly endure the familiar treatment of blindfolding and getting dragged across lord knows where, until they finally returned to that sewer docked battleship, the Normandy.

"What we can say is… Kage took it very seriously." Tolle continued. "He's been told of the incoming attack by Zaft, and he automatically knows that Shanghai will be his foothold, and he needs to secure it. And he considers your activity as… disturbing."

"Disturbing eh?" Kyle shrugged. "Why are you telling us this?"

"Returning a favor." Tolle replied easily enough. "You saved my life yesterday. And quite frankly, we don't agree with what he's doing. You two are doing the right thing the wrong way, doesn't mean it's completely wrong."

"You're disobeying a direct order." Maria replied. "If he finds out what you two are doing, he's well within his rights to hang you both."

"He won't if he doesn't know what we're doing." Said Tolle. "He trusts us. He trusts our judgment."

"What's the proof?"

"Kage commissioned a task force to hunt you guys down."

"And?"

"Three guesses on whom he tasked to do the job."

The Shepards rolled their eyes at the two Shadowguards. "You two." Maria blinked in confusion, but Kyle narrowed his eyes in skepticism. "He really sent you two to do this job? How could a man of Kage's caliber not know that you won't try to warn us about this?"

"I had a feeling he does." Milly piped in. "Right after we left, I spied his office and found he assigned a second team. So yeah, maybe he doesn't trust us that much."

"But we know, for a fact… that this second team is being focused on the Yakuzas." Tolle stated. "After what happened yesterday, it's small wonder really."

Kyle immediately smiled meaningfully. "So he sent you here… he wants me to take you in… so that you can spy on us."

Tolle merely smiled. Things are going EXACTLY as Kira had predicted, so far. "Yes. He did." As Kira had said, no need to hide their intention, this Kyle is a lot smarter than he lets on.

Kyle smirked. "I get it. Alright then. We'll steer clear of the Yakuzas, if you say your captain is taking them on. Maria, call Jack and Kasumi back. With the mob are out of the picture, we're concentrating on the Triads from here on out."

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Kira quickly get a brief breakdown on the way Simca's squadron works. Though fall under one squadron and one leadership, there are in fact two sub-teams within.

Tools Tul To is the team that mostly responsible in the handling and maintenance of firearms. They provide service to Troopers' firearms: cleaning, repair, tuning up, or customizations, depending on the trooper's needs. And from this observation, Kira also gain insights on the tools of the trade used by the Troopers of the Alliance, their use, and therefore their role in combat. He's already familiar with the Dagger Assault Bayonet Rifle. But using that as a basis, the Dagger was modified into various kinds of variants, for various situations. The Mobius, a wide barreled blunderbuss shotgun with an Axe as a bayonet, used to break through barricades in close quarter combat, and then there's the Agni Sniper rifle, a one shot reload musket rifle with armor piercing bullets. And then for dealing with heavy units are steel tipped Helldart rockets, mounted on either the Hellfire mortar, shoulder mounted twin barreled bazooka, or under-slung launcher attachment on other gun variant. Their newest addition are the Helldrake flamethrower, an offshoot of the Mobius shotgun, only instead of shooting shrapnels, this one spit out a mixture of molten tar and boiling hot oil, on fire.

Of greater interest, their work is not just limited to the smaller hand held guns. They also perform maintenance on the larger artillery equipments. Some of these girls are somewhat petite and seemingly frail and yet Kira saw them handle shells the size of a full grown man's waist and even went inside Gottfried cannon barrels to clean it up or inspect flaws on each barrel of an Iggestellung Gatling gun. Bluntly put, the Tools Tul To seems to deal with the Hardware aspect of a trooper.

Right now though, the girls seem to be in overcapacity. With the battle nearing, work flood in faster than their ability to handle them. "IS THE SNIPER BARREL CLEANED YET?" "WHERE'S THE AXE FOR THIS SHOTGUN!?" "GUNPOWDER COMING UP!"

Shouts like that echoed over and over across the Gun workshop. The girls are running around here and there, carrying wrenches and belts of bullets as they handle the requests coming from the troopers waiting by the counter.

"Normally, we're not this busy." Simca explained. "But… with the battle on the horizon and all… things have been getting a little bit hectic around here…"

"More like you girls seems to be pretty understaffed." This is the first time Xingke had also seen of this. "Shouldn't you draw in more?"

"Give me a break. My girls are on demand by every squadron around the world. Even with this many, I'm quite grateful-ah?"

Suddenly, a commotion emerged on the counter.

"Like I said! The Sniper rifle's range is no good! I can't shoot shit with this thing!"

"It's not the fault of the gun!" The girl serving the counter was on the verge of crying. "It's just you who can't use it right!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU BITCH!?" The Trooper banged the counter table.

"Aaahhh… another one? What's worse, this one is a bit drunk." Simca shrugged upon seeing the amount of beer the trooper is guzzling. "It's one of those guys. They kept complaining about their gun, stubbornly thinking we did a bad job servicing them when it's their own skill to blame." The girl quickly added. "That was just an excuse to try and meet me and ask me out on a date though… Tee-hee!" Simca chuckled sweetly.

"Do we really have time for that nonsense?" Kira groaned. Back in the ramen bar, he faced this kind of customer before. Most of the time, they really don't know what the hell are they complaining about either.

"No. We don't." Xingke groaned.

"Let's put a stop to this."

Kira immediately took action. "Alright that's enough!" He immediately went to that counter and stood before the frightened girl and the Trooper. "If you got time to flirt, spend it on shooting range! Leave her alone."

The Trooper glared at the boy. "Or what tough 'girl'?"

'Girl!?' Kira twitched, but he quickly held back his anger. "Or… I'm gonna force you to leave."

"I'll leave…" the trooper splashed his beer on Kira's face. "When I'm good and ready, pretty boy!"

Another jab about his face, another level of corrosion to Kira's supposedly Buddha-like patience. Kira tried his damndest to just suck it up and remain calm. "You're troubling the others. Please. Leave. Now."

"Make me, Princess!"

At that point, it seems only the drunken trooper who had yet to realize just how much murderous aura Kira was emanating. The Tools Girls had all stopped working, the troopers in front of the counters had stopped chatting. And Lacus was rather glad she's holding on to Shiki.

"Don't… don't… call me that again." Kira was trying. Trying so hard.

"Don't call you what sassy girl?"

Kira's knuckle slammed the table, causing to crack. "Call me… girl… one… more… time…" His bloodshot eyes glared at the trooper. "And I swear to God… I'll turn you into one."

The Tools Girls scurry back in terror, some even dropped their tools in horror. The queuing troopers left the lone trooper alone to his horrible fate. This time however, the trooper became sober enough to realize he's a breath away from hell. "Sheesh. Fine. Fine. I'll leave. Just don't forget to service my rifle properly this time!" And the trooper finally left. He mounted his horse and prepared to leave, still a little tipsy.

At that, Kira calmed down considerably and anger seems to die down. He then looked at the girl he just helped. A light brown haired Korean girl. Her eyes were wide in shock and fear. "You're alright?"

"Y…. Y… Yes…" The Korean girl gulped. "K… Ka…"

"Ka?"

Just as the girl is still struggling to reply, the troublemaking trooper, now on horseback has one last laugh. "See you around, pretty boy!" And as a final insult, he throw his near empty mug to Kira's head. The boy managed to duck beneath the counter in time but the trooper quickly rode off.

"Why that son of a…!" the other girls screeched in anger.

When Kira rise up again, he only say four flat toned words: "Give. Me. The. Gun."

The girl immediately gave Kira the sniper rifle. Brandishing it, Kira walked out the shop and start aiming at the runaway Trooper.

"Kira-shan, I understand your anger, but if you shoot him-"

"I'm not aiming at him." True enough, Kira aimed upward. And while the soldier is still wondering what the boy was aiming… he already fired a shot.

The bullet travelled a great distance away and hit one of the ropes holding a signboard, it swing downward, hit a person who's carrying a pot full of boiling hot spicy mapo sauce right at the back of his head. The pot flew, and landed right on top of the runaway trooper's head. His screams of horror were muffled beneath the pot, and he lost control of his horse. The horse ran rampant across street, heading towards the railings of a bridge, AKA dead end. When the trooper finally removed the bucket, the dead end was in sight and the horse took action without the rider's consent. He suddenly stopped. The rider was thrown off the saddle straight into the river to join the fishes. Or he should've… but a well timed boat suddenly appeared right beneath him and the fortunately blunt tip of the main mast is right in front of the flight path of his groin area.

CRUNCH.

With a permanent damage to his manhood assured, the man figuratively died… and after a whimper of pure agony, he fell into the cargo of the said boat: 2 tons of pig manure.

The whole Shanghai winced.

A much calmer Kira smirked in satisfaction as he tossed the sniper rifle to a horrified Tools Girl. A new rule was quickly made: Do not call the new watchman of Tools Toul to with the G-Word, or other words of similar breath and meaning. Break this and say goodbye to heaven and welcome to hell.

"Anyway, it looks like you can leave this to Kira. (koff) Come on Simca. (koff) We have other things to attend to right?"

"Ah, right!" Simca clapped her hands. She looked at Kira and gave a cute salute. "I'm counting on you! Okay?" And soon Simca and Hikari left the well controlled gun cage counters, and the two went deeper into the shop.

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Meanwhile, the Juppongatana are busy recruiting allover the city of Shanghai. As requested by Kage, they have to pick an even more specific choice from a large pool.

"But truly… I really don't know how to do this kind of stuff." Setsuna moaned.

"That makes the three of us." Lockon chuckled.

"Eh? Neil-Senpai? Aren't you the veteran here?"

"That we are… but this is the first time the Captain asked us to filter recruits." Prayer explained calmly. "Back in the time of Harlbarton he accepted everyone."

"That being said… what sort of standards should we used to filter them?"

"Hmm… I have an idea…" Prayer smirked.

Soon, they arrived at a Recruitment Outpost… there they saw tons of recruits in droves of hundreds all gathered in a mess in a field. Even the Outpost officers were having trouble to manage them all.

"Yoosh. Well done." Prayer quickly relieved the overwhelmed officer. "Now let me take it from here."

He stood in front of the mass, everyone looked at him. And then… Prayer started… singing.

"O Lord bless my Country and My Emperor! Let it stand strong and great for forevermore!"

Setsuna gaped, and Neil gulped. "Wait… what song is that?"

"Bless the Oni Gods who gifted our blood! Bless the proud ancestors for their heritage of pride and honor!"

Suddenly, one of the recruits among the masses shouted angrily: "THAT'S ZAFT NATIONAL ANTHEM!"

In less than a second, the hundreds of the Advanced hating Recruits glared angrily at the singer, pulling up dagger, swords, salvaged sidearms and all other weapon or objects they can find to put a hurt on these bunch of Zaft A-Holes sympathizers.

"RUN!"

A moment later, Prayer, Neil and Setsuna were running away for all their lives worth, ahead of literally a whole army of angry mob, all out for their blood. "How is this, in the name of Shanks with the Long, a selection process?" Neil roared as he dodged a gunshot by a hairbreadth.

"We'll just have to outrun them! If they can catch up with us, that means they're physically qualified!" Prayer replied as a spear nearly gut him in the head. "And seeing that there are some of them who are aware of that song, that means some of them are intellectually qualified… to a certain extent."

"B… But if they catch us they'll kill us!" Setsuna noted that not only the new Recruits behind them, he also sensed some other angry sounds coming from other directions, all out for their blood. "Aren't we supposed to be on the same side!?"

"This is what they call occupational hazard!"

000000000000000

The second Subteam, the Genesis, is a subteam that generally focused on the human aspect of the trooper. However, in combat capacity, they are 10th division's exclusive army medic, but with limited capacity. Their role is an interim in-between a full-fledged surgeons like Lacus and professional troopers. Their limited skills, which also defines their job, is only enough as to keep wounded troopers alive long enough for proper surgeons to do a better job. But they also carry enough firepower (an Axe shotgun and a thick shield) to be a genuine threat in the battlefield. That being said, Genesis is also responsible for training Tuners. People who are supposedly partnered with the technicians of the Arsenal Five. As the team name implies, their main task is to replenish the ranks of the easily burnt roster of Tuners by recruiting and training new recruits that showed enough aptitude and talent for the job. But other than that, they are also involved in researching drugs for use by the army. Lacus told him that its members were mostly former junkies. Simca took them in so that she can rehabilitate them and then train them. At the moment, they're mostly concentrated on a certain branch of medicinal making: narcotics.

"You said something about making a drug that will make an Addict rehabilitate easier." Hikari pulled out a bottle. "You're in luck. I'm putting you halfway there now."

"What's this?"

"The drug that you wanted." Simca looked at Hikari in gleaming eyes of disbelief. "It's not perfect yet, though. I worked on this a few years back. I hit a roadbump and haven't continued it again since. But I kept it around, just in case."

Simca looked at the bottle with glimmering eyes, as if looking at an elixir of life. "But you said it's not perfect?"

"Yes." Hikari began explaining. "As you know, Opium, when processed into Heroin works by sending impulses to the brain nerves that governs pleasure. In medical use, controlled usage numbs most if not all of our other senses, more importantly, it numbs pain. It prevents shock in patient, one of the causes of death in operations. But abuse of the substance and it'll give you a sense of relaxation and pleasure… but it also damages your nervous system. Leaving permanent scar. And then, with each usage, the feeling of euphoria grew less and less each and every time, forcing the user to abuse, increase frequency of usage. From there we get our addict." Hikari tapped the bottle in her hand. "This drug works by simulating the euphoria effect, minus the damage to the nerve system, thereby lengthening that period of pleasure to unbearable period."

"I… don't get it. What do you mean unbearable?"

"Do you know the theory of Consumer Satisfaction Declination theory?" Hikari went off topic a bit. "Say you're thirsty. You're so very thirsty and someone gave you a jug of water. The first time you drink it, you can finish an entire jug in a heartbeat, and that felt like the best drink in your life. Then you were given a second jug right away… you probably could barely finish it. The third and fourth jug would be more like a torture at that point."

"So… you want to give the junkies the same kind of feeling? To make them so bored and so sick of the euphoria caused by the drug they stopped using?" Simca nodded. "But… isn't there a risk that they might abuse it even more?"

"The drug is made from a Virus that eats opium. First use and the Virus had already inoculated themselves inside the patient, and subsequent use during that period of fading euphoria, the Virus will eat most of the opium away, multiplying in the process. They won't be able to abuse." Hikari rubbed his temple. "The problem is, I can't extend its effect any longer than two weeks. The Virus died out after that period. The patient will only suffer a slight diarrhea and after an hour in the toilet the Virus will be flushed clean."

"And after that period of 2 weeks…. they can abuse again. Assuming they still want to…" Simca immediately saw the problem with this wonder drug. "Any junkie with any sense of rationality will immediately recognize the problem. So this drug didn't exactly cure them… simply make them use opium more rarely."

"And another problem…" Hikari sighed. "This drug needs Opium to work. So, yeah, it still has a lot of problems. This thing is more effective when used in a controlled environment."

"…I see…" Simca's eyes suddenly twinkled with mischief. "He… Hehe! I got an idea!"

"I'm listening? (Koff)"

"Lately, those damn drug dealers had been lacing medicinal herbs with opium as a way to smuggle their stuff in." Simca grinned evilly. "Let's do unto them what they've done unto us!"

"You mean… lace opium with this drug, huh? (koff)"

"We already have the drug distribution network." Simca grinned. "The Winters have their network. We can contact Setona and Nahe, ask them to use their old network to distribute a new drug!"

"Hoo. Interesting plan." Kira suddenly join in. "And the price? What are you two going to do about the price? You do realize, if your product is too pricey, others wouldn't want to buy it?"

"Well…" Simca chuckled. "How much do you think this is going to cost, Hikari-chan?"

"There… I was afraid someone is going to ask that. (koff)" Hikari chuckled. "The price for all other ingredients is cheap, almost negligible… (koff) but to culture the virus… (koff) if I say it won't blow a hole in an army budget, I would be lying. (koff)"

"Have you seen our accounting book?" Simca smirked. "If I wrangle it a bit, you'll be surprised on how much we can make do. I've been doing it for years to get some funding on this little pet project of mine."

"There's one more thing you can do, if the idea is to combat all the drug dealers in this city, we can do that by hit them hard where it hurt the most. Their wallet." Kira noted. "Whatever your losses, you have to sell beneath the average price. Do that, and the other parties will be forced to lower theirs as well. Making massive losses while the market is decreasing thanks to your… wonder drug."

Simca nodded. "Nice plan… but it's gonna cost a fortune with all the losses we will make."

"Whoever said fighting crime is easy… or cheap?"

"Hear, hear." Simca nodded.

000000000000000

It wasn't hard for Murrue and Natarle to get what they needed. While the Archangel is essentially property of the 7th division, with their rank as the Captain and Lieutenant of the 12th division that commandeer the artillery, the cannons of the Archangel were immediately resupplied and maintained. The process was made easier with the integration of Genesis into the 7th division's fold.

Now, they're on their way to the harbor to ask help from Jane Houston to tow the massive ship around. It was during that trip they ran across a peculiar commotion.

A bunch of soldiers of the 7th division get into a confrontation with a small group of Troopers of the 11th division over a few sacks of rice. The troopers were trying to take them away, and the 7th division soldiers were trying to prevent that. The Soldiers outnumber the troopers three to one, but the troopers are more heavily armed. Hence the soldiers seem somewhat reluctant to take any drastic actions.

"You can't just take that away! These are our rice! Our food!"

"Wrong. It's the army's food. And in truth, it's ours. Long ago your captain and our captain had an agreement and entered a challenge game. Your captain lost a challenge game with ours, and we're allowed to take one tenth of your provision by their mutual agreement."

"What?" The Soldier gasped. "We've never heard of this?"

"Well, you can go and check that with your captain."

"That doesn't make sense! Our captain never participated in any Challenge Game! He just arrived here yesterday!"

But the trooper didn't seem to care as they smugly smirked. "Like I said, you better go and check with your captain. Until then, we'll be helping ourselves with our share."

"You're not taking them, pal." A soldier with more clot in their guts stood firm in front of the heavily armed troopers, preventing them from carting the rice shacks away.

The troopers glared at the gutsy soldier, but the soldier didn't budge.

"The boy got guts." The troopers chuckled with one another. "The boy got guts!" They snickered. "You challengin' us troopers, soldier boy? Wanna play a game?"

The Soldier glared in silence. "Why should I play?"

"Because that's the way things work. You wanna get something here, you gotta play."

"P…" The Soldier frowned. And for a moment, he looked he's about to say yes, until suddenly one of his teammate hold him by the shoulder. "Wait. Don't."

The soldier looked at his teammate. He shook his head with a stern look at the gutsy soldier. "You remember what the captain said? We play the game… he'll pull your insides out."

"But that's…"

"A couple of shacks of rice, bud. Not worth it. Totally not worth it."

The soldiers relented, and the troopers gloated. "Hah. So much for your guts." The gloating troopers turned around… only to come face to face with a very less than pleased Jane Houston. Upon seeing his actual superior, the Marine Troopers sang a completely different tune. "Ma'am!"

"What the hell is going on here?" The Captain growled. "Are you robbing other division's supplies again?"

"Um, no Ma'am, we-" For that lie, Jane butt him in the face with her head, breaking his nose and sending him to the dirt, while the rest of the Marines winced and scared shitless.

Jane glared angrily at the troopers under her command. The captain of every division is responsible to have their own supplies to feed the mouth of their own warriors. But every now and then, there are some unscrupulous bully troopers under someone's command who feel they, undeservedly, earned more than they need, and so they often tried to weasel some from the underdogs. 7th division being easy picking are the favorite choice. Such acts are strictly prohibited of course. But here in China with that Challenge Game thing, the rules can be really lax. And Harlbarton… well… he had his share of defeats in Challenge Games. Defeats that costs him. And often, those defeats were misused even today. "That deal with Harlbarton was off the moment he croaked." She looked at the soldiers of the 7th division. New faces all around. There are always new, inexperienced faces in the 7th division, making them easy picking for the veterans. But what surprised her, is that the new faces now show some backbone. "I had a challenge Game with Harlbarton some time past, and yes, he lost. But that was a long time ago. You understand? Don't go around playing the game, boys, especially if you can't step up."

"We won't ma'am." The soldiers nodded in relief. "Captain's orders."

"Indeed?" Jane smirked. "What did he say?"

"He said if they accept or participate in any Challenge Game… they have to first learn the way to live without their insides." Murrue and Natarle suddenly join in on the conversation.

Jane chuckled in pleasant surprise as she looked at her fellow Alliance female officers. "HE said that?" Murrue nodded with a smile. "Well what do you know… and you obey him?" Jane turned back to the soldiers.

"No disrespect ma'am, our captain is a man of his word, Ma'am." The Soldier replied. "What he says he'll do, he'll do it. Haven't met anyone alive who says otherwise. So far. Ma'am."

"Is that right…?" Jane nodded in admiration. And they obeyed him. That's what really gets to her. A Captain can't be everywhere every-time, which is why insubordination and disobedience of stated orders can happen from time to time when the Captain or officers aren't there to enforce it; the 7th division, most of all, due to the… supposedly undisciplined state of their militia soldiers. "Well, well… Different Captain, different division altogether." Jane chuckled. Then she looked at her bullying Marines under her charge with the look of disgust. She kicked him up by the butt. "Get your ass up back in the line."

The Trooper quickly stood upright, ignoring his hurting and bleeding nose.

"Put them food back where you found them. If I hear any of you lit'l shits pull stunts like this again, you're shark baits. Are we clear?"

"Yes Ma'am!" The Marines answered in unison, and then they began to do as they're told. The soldiers gave the helping captain a small salute, and then they turn around to make sure the troopers did the job right.

"Interesting. Truly interesting. He led them for only less than a few weeks, and already his men looked like they're ready to follow him into the jaws of death itself. Harlbarton really picked one hell of a successor." Jane smirked at Murrue and Natarle.

"He certainly did." Murrue chuckled. "The boy had this… something… that makes people wanted to follow him."

"He backed it up with his skills and genuine bravery." Natarle followed. "But… it's not just that… Even… even us, the more seasoned officers felt compelled, inspired even, to follow what he has to say."

"Wow." Jane rolled her eyes. "When you put it that way, even I feel like I want to follow him."

"Speaking of following… he had a favor to ask of you. It's a really big favor."

"A favor?" Jane looked at Murrue incredulously. "He… wants to ask a favor of me?"

"Before you ask, he knows it'll be hard to ask this of you, and he understand if you're reluctant."

Jane chuckled. "Really… Let's hear it."

000000000000000

Simca sighed. "Oh well… I'll see what I can do. Speaking of which… how's things up front?"

"Messy. But manageable. The other 'customers' had learned to behave. It's okay." Kira chuckled. "Kinda nostalgic."

"Nostalgic you say? You used to work in gunshop?"

"Close. I used to live a workshop. The atmosphere is… way worse than this mess."

"Worse than this?" Simca made a note on how this place is incredibly messy. Half disassembled guns piled together in barrels, bullets and shells rolling on the floor, and more dangerously, the smell of Gunpowder were thick in the air. There are traces of black dust, gunpowder layering almost every inch of the floor… this place is literally a powder keg. One spark of fire and… boom. "We probably blew things up 5 times a week!"

"5 times a week?" Kira laughed. "The workshop I used to work with blow things up at least three times a day."

Flashback:

Zala Invention no 02003: Cotton harvester

BOOM! And a buzzsaw landed inches away from Kira's neck.

Zala Invention no 72340: Self propelled Passenger Transporter

BOOM! Kira was thrown all the way across the courtyard until he smashed through a window and landed inches away from a fireplace, grinding the floor with his face.

Zala Invention no 23098: Dragon Chimney

BOOM! BOOOM! Kira ran across the hall as a wall of fire is right up his ass.

Zala Invention no 34565: Automated Tree leaf burier

BOOM! BOOM! CRASH! It took a whole day before Kira was pulled out of his impromptu burial site…

Flashback Ends…

"The workshop was owned by some nutjob inventor. Compared to what I've went through, this place is easy." Kira calmly crossed his arms and smiled, as if enjoying a blissful relaxation. 'The best part is… no Athrun to watch out for. I can relax and take R&R. This is Nirvana…'

Simca and Hikari sweatdropped. 'A gunshop that's prone to exploding any moment is easy?'

"Anyway, that was in another life." Kira laughed calmly as he scanned all this mess around him. "It's all in the past now. I must say though… you really need to improve on your… your… cleaning… detail." Kira trailed to a stop when he noticed a blast from the past. In fact, his complexion became so pale, he looked like he just saw a ghost. Fortunately the back of his head is facing the other two, so they cannot see his dreadful expression.

"No kidding!" Simca laughed. "But every time we-"

Kira didn't catch Simca's next words. His eyes were suddenly fixed on an object, and his mind was suddenly driven back to a certain memory of his childhood.

"Athrun! Calm down! If they say no, it must be for a reason!"

"It can work Kira! The theory's solid!"

Kira gently moved through objects, removing gunbarrels and bent pipes to reach the item that draw his attention… all the while hoping it was just a coincidence. Until he finally placed his hand on it, and all his worst fears are realized.

"Athrun… the metal… I think there's something wrong with-"

"Not now Kira!"

A sphere. A heavily reinforced metallic sphere with gauges and what looked like a valve to an exhaust vent. The shape has been greatly altered. He could even say it was a vast improvement over an earlier version that he remembered. The version that very nearly killed him.

"ATHRUN!"

"KIRA-what… NOOOOOO!"

But as memories of the past haunts back to him, Hikari called him, dragging him back to the now.

"Kira-kun? (koff)" Hikari frowned. "Are you okay?"

Kira immediately calm his nerves, but in a half a second, his Advanced prodigal mind deduce the situation before him. Did Simca made this? No Wait. There's a strong possibility that she doesn't even know what this is. If she knew, she would not have placed something like this amidst all this mess. So someone else put it here. Someone under her command perhaps? He steadied his breathings and turned around smiling innocently. "Kinda weird stuff I see around here." To make his point, Kira playfully tossed and turf the sphere in his hands.

Upon seeing that relaxed attitude, Simca's tenseness also went out in thin air as she chortled. "Well, sometimes when they're off duty, the girls cobble stuff up just for the sheer heck of it. Of course we ensured that they don't interfere with the day to day job."

"I see." It took every ounce of self control that Kira had just to smile in a reassuring way. "And I suppose you don't oversee what they were making?"

"I don't see what for…" Simca sighed. "I know my girls, and everyone make sure to put their duty first and foremost. As long as it's not dangerous or get in the way of duty, then they can make whatever they like… I do keep a close watch on who make what."

"You do?"

"Yep." Simca smiled poked her head. "Like you, Kira-san, I also have an excellent memory. Every single thing on this workshop, I know who owns it and who builds it."

Kira immediately put it to the test. "Okay… who build this?" He pointed at the sphere in his hand.

Simca smiled "Ah. That? Well, that was owned by a new girl. We found her stowaway on a supply ship. You've met her already! She's that Korean girl you helped… ah there she is!" Simca pointed to the door, where the Korean girl stood stiff by the doorframe.

"I want to thank… you…" She gaped and her words trailed to a squeak. There, Yoon Sefan stare wide eyed at Kira… whose glare turn red with anger, and then to the Steam Sphere in his hand. A look of recognition flashed in Kira's eyes as he looked at the object in his hand. That's when Yoon realized… somehow, someway Kira knew exactly what that object is. And what it can do. As soon as she stopped talking, she turned tail and run.

Yoon had never been this scared all her life. For weeks she had managed to keep the rest of the Tools Girls in the dark about what she had went through and what she brought with her. Yoon broke through the front door and quickly ran for all her life's worth, under the bewildered gaze of everyone.

Everyone became even more bewildered when Kira suddenly burst out of that same door like a hound out for blood. He looked around, caught sight of his quarry and gave chase. "STOP HER!" Losing all composure, Kira screamed. Carrying the steam sphere with him, Kira quickly chased after the wayward Ex-Orb engineer.

00000000000000

Bushido calmly walked along the streets, heading straight towards the post office.

"This one needs you to send a message. Right now."

"That's 50 cent, and no sooner than 2 days, unless you want some special delivery?"

Bushido paid him 3 dollar.

"Special delivery it is. Name of sender… and to whom am I sending this for?"

"Mr. Bu…" Bushido rephrased a bit. "Sender name: Graham Aker. Sending it to Billy Katagiri. In Beijing."

"Message?"

"Rise up the flag in Shanghai."

00000000000000

Kira's purple eyes wildly looked around across all these people walking across the streets. The street is hustling and bustling with people, noises, chattering, new smell in every corner. And there are lots of types of people here: Caucasian, Oriental, African American, loads. Looking for a single Korean in the midst of all this multiracial crowd would be a feat. Even with someone with Kira's ability, he'll need some dumb luck.

"You know…"

Kira gasped and turned around, meeting face to armored face with Lacus.

"For a master tactician, you're not a very good liar. (koff)" Lacus chortled childishly. "…Then again, it's me we're talking about here… (koff) Tee Hee…"

"What are you talking about?"

"You can't lie to me, Kira. In fact, it's almost impossible to lie to a Clyne." Lacus smiled wide. "You try to keep calm and flat, but I can hear your heart-rate spiked. You saw something in that mess that got you really spooked didn't you? What was it?" Lacus asked out of genuine concern.

"The most dangerous thing ever created by a man of science." Kira growled with paced breath. "Something that should've never existed in our time."

"Ki… Kira… God… I'm sorry… I… I…"

"A… Athrun… for the love of God… Athrun… don't you ever try to remake that thing…"

"I… I promise… no… I swear… On my mother's life I swear…!"

"It should've never existed, and yet here it is right in front of my nose." Kira groaned. "The girl knows about it. She knew what it is. She knew that I knew, that's why she ran… I need to find her before she attracted more attention to herself."

"And what are you going to do once you found her?"

"Question her. I need to know where she gets it."

"And after that… what? You'll kill her?" Lacus scoffed.

"Bad idea. Not in these circumstances." Kira shook his head. "Dead people get listened to. I kill her, people will start sniff around. And then they might pick up on this technology. No. I need to question her to see how far she had gotten. If nothing else…" Kira blinked and looked at Lacus. "You once said you can mindwipe people?"

Lacus blinked… and then chuckled. Seriously, despite the fact that they're one and the same, Kira and Kage's course of action seem to contrast one another like night and day. The only point of similarity is that their choices are always well thought out. "Need help?" Lacus sharpened her hearings, listening to voices coming from the whole city. At first it was a mess. Chatters and sounds, howls and whispers, echoes and noises… all bombarded her hearing senses. However, she quickly began to narrow her search, filter the noise in search of her target. She remembered the girl's voice… remembered the tone of her words… the characteristics of her vocals… the timbre of her sound…

CRASH! TINKLE!

"KYAAA!"

"Found her." But that smashing and stuff breaking… trouble screamed with a capital T.

Kira followed Lacus as she chased that voice and turned around the corner… where they saw a rather messed up situation. The Korean Girl, lying on the floor. Next to her, a Chinese Lady, dressed in red Cheongsam and an apron. In the middle, is a broken clay-pot. Its content sprayed allover the two. More importantly, there are also three troopers who are also smeared in all that muck to a much lesser degree… but they sure looked a lot more pissed off than the other two.

"You shitty bitch! Look at all this mess!" One of the trooper growled. He's a young man in his twenties, with his wild blue hair is somewhat long, reaching slightly beneath his neck. He's carrying a rather large sword on his back, a pair of sidearms on the waist and a lot of knives allover his dark orange flak jacket as well as his long extended orange side skirt. One knife was already halfway out of the holster.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Yoon apologize incessantly. But the trooper hardly cared.

"Sorry is not gonna cut it at this point!" He menacingly glared at her. "You sprayed allover me and my brother and sister! I need more than a sorry!"

Kira immediately intervened. "WAIT!" He ran and stood between the two. Hikari also stand before the downed Yoon, holding her back. "Wait. The girl's innocent. It's not her fault, it's mine. I was chasing her, see." He raised his hands in front of the angry trooper.

The first orange Trooper seem unwilling to relent, but fortunately, another trooper who seem to be more senior and thus more level headed than the first intervene and rein the temperamental trooper by holding him back by the shoulder. His hair is dark green and straight. His young but older face somewhat resemble the first, suggesting some familial relation. Unlike the first trooper, he's wearing a dark brown Kevlar jacket, and a massive sniper rifle at his back. "Why did you chase her, may I ask?"

"She…" Kira looked at Yoon and chose his words carefully. "Took a little something she shouldn't have. So I chased after her."

"What did she take?"

Kira think quickly. He knelt down in front of the downed Yoon… a quick jab into her coat and he pulled out… "The recipe of my secret sauce for today's lunch." He showed a small piece of paper he slipped into Yoon's jacket pocket within moments. He's not going to tell any Alliance trooper of the true reason. Not yet. Better yet, not ever.

"Ah…" The trooper blinked in amusement. "You're a cook?"

"A passerby." Kira shrugged. "Didn't expect her to be that… panicky. I guess it's my fault for being a bit… overzealous?"

The senior soldier nodded. But the younger one seems dissatisfied. But the senior soldier sternly held him back. "Michael, that's enough. He already apologized."

"But, big bro Johann!" The Trooper, Michael, balked.

"I'll handle this." The elder brother, Johann step forward. "Very well. We understand and we accept your apology for this smear on our clothes. However… I'm afraid things will not be that simple."

"I understand." Kira looked at all this spilled food allover the streets. "Food shouldn't be wasted." He looked at what he assumed the waitress, the Chinese lady. "Miss? Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Are you burnt anywhere?" Hikari added.

The Waitress shook her head. "No. I'm okay. But the soup…"

"I'll pay for it."

"It's not the matter of money." Johann interjected. "That soup is due for this evening's dinner, for my employer, who wishes to impress some important guests in a very crucial meeting."

"Uhh…" Kira nodded in understanding. "Okaay…" That complicates the problem a bit. Kira looked at the leftovers of the soup. The contents were sprayed out everywhere: black chicken, ginsengs, shark fin, pork ham, sea cucumber, abalone, swallow's nest… all of them are high class ingredients. Definitely VIP material.

"C… Can't you just remake the soup?" Yoon flabbergasted.

"If it were that simple, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Johann replied.

Kira plucked a finger into some of the leftovers of the soup and taste it. He closed his eyes, savoring the rich taste of the soup. "Oh… I see… it's the Fo Tiao Qiang… also known as Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."

"Huh?" Yoon and Hikari blinked.

"It's a very luxurious and delicate meat soup. So delicious they say Buddha himself will jump over the wall to taste this dish. It's filled with various kinds of luxurious ingredients… which you have to boil continuously for three days straight in order to get the deep rich taste."

"The dinner is TONIGHT!" the third trooper, the youngest of the three, a girl with red hair chirped. She also wears a matching Kevlar jacket with her comrades, but hers are colored in magenta red. She smiled sinisterly at the cause of the trouble, Yoon. "How are you gonna make up for this, huh?" The red haired girl approached Yoon and gave her a kick. But Hikari caught the foot.

"That's enough. (koff)" Hikari gently, but firmly pushed the girl back, even sending her almost flying off the ground, back to her siblings. The red haired girl opted to charge back but Johann immediately held the girl down before she does further harm. "Nena, cut it out."

"Humph!"

But Kira take another lick of the soup, he closed his eyes, concentrating on his tongue, tasting each flavor. After a moment… "Okay… Okay. I get it."

"?" Everyone looked at Kira.

"I'll remake the soup." Kira declared, much to everyone's amazement and surprise. "I'll remake the soup… No… If I can make something more delicious than this soup… will you forgive her?"

"Hu~Uh?" Michael looked skeptically at Kira. "Oi, oi… the dinner is tonight not tomorrow, not three days after!"

"Get me to a kitchen and I'll make a dish that will not bring shame to your employer."

"Interesting." Johann smiled solemnly. "…but if that is your proposition, then this concerns more than just my employer. This also concerns the reputation of the one who made that soup."

"…who might that be?"

00000000000000

"There used to be three major forces controlling Shanghai: The Triad, The Yakuzas, and the Mob. If you include the army, that would be four. But most of the time the fourth forces aren't even considered to be in competition. Because all three considered the army can be bought whenever they like. They're not wrong in that respect." Garrus explained. He seems to be the most knowledgeable regarding the matters of a metropolitan's underworld. "The triad is the biggest and most powerful criminal organization in Shanghai. They can win against Yakuza or the Mob one on one. Now I emphasis: One on one. The Triads can't stomach both Yakuza and Mob working together. Fortunately, so far, the Yakuza hates the Mob and vice versa, enough that they'd rather shoot themselves than working together."

The crew of the Normandy, plus two, is now standing in the meeting room, facing a whiteboard with the map of Shanghai plastered on it. The map was written with various kinds of strike targets, supply routes, and strategic assets. It also depicts the various spots and places the team had attacked, and many more that they will strike next. The whole city of Shanghai was divided in three areas denoting who is in charge of which territory: Red for Yakuzas, Blue for Mob, and Green for Triads. The Triad territory covers slightly less than half of the city. From here, one can see that Triads can be overwhelmed if Yakuza and Mob are to work together.

"The Triad is a conglomeration of various kinds of gangs. Three gangs stood up above all others, leading the Triad, hence the term. The very top of the list is the Axe Gang." To make his point, Garrus put an axe on the table. "Yes. Named so due to their inclination to use axes to hack whoever stands in their way. Extreme violence is their trademark."

"But the worst problem is their leader." Wrex added. "He's called Master Bull One Eye."

Tolle and Milly looked questioningly at the red haired large man.

"The Kung Fu Masters of China were given an animal title to denote their rank. Sometimes it also represents their characteristics and their personality." Maria explained.

"Master?"

"Yes." Kyle nodded. "The head of the Axe Gang is one of the Masters. The Master's titles were given based on skills. Sadly it took not much consideration on their personality. The guy is a bit… off… in here." Kyle pointed his head. "His only redeeming quality is he's a good cook… a really good cook, but a mean son of a bitch to go with it. His restaurant, which also doubles as the main base of the Axe Gang, is a five star Chinese restaurant called:"

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Somewhere in a secluded area inside the Five Star Restaurant: the Drunken Cattle…

"You tasted this?"

The trembling cook nodded.

"No, you didn't. Taste it again."

The cook squealed as the Axe Gangsters shoved a still flaming meat straight into his throat. The Cook screamed, or he would've, but the Gangsters clenched his mouth and kept the burning meat inside his mouth.

"There. You taste that fat from the meat melting into your tongue as it burns? That's what it means for something to be cooked." The Master Bull One Eye is an elderly man with whitened hair, wearing a white business suit. This makes him stand in contrast with the rest of the Axe Gang gangsters, all of which are wearing a uniform black tuxedo, with an axe tucked beneath the coat. Another striking feature of their boss is the three strands of scars running down across one of his no longer functioning white eye. And despite his obviously ancient age, he's very well built… though his swelling girth also matched his muscles. "So you remember that taste the next time you dare serve raw meat in my restaurant."

The fumbling cook no longer screams or squirms. The Axe Gangsters looked at the cook… and realized he's dead. Well… that is to be expected…

The Master looked at the now dead cook and shrugged. "Oh well. Get rid of him." He grabbed his white butcher knife, still dripping with the blood of the poor cook when the master chop his arm off, cook it, and force fed him with it.

He handed the knife to one of his men. "Clean it. Thoroughly. Now…" He looked back and saw Johann Trinity looking at him with a stern and apprehensive gaze. "What is it?"

"Master Bull… we have a problem."

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When Kira and Yoon was brought before the master, he was clearly less than pleased when the Trinities showed what was left of his masterfully cooked dish. He looked at Kira with intense glare. Normally, he would've just cut their heads off and be done with it. But Johann had also told him of Kira's absurd claim of making something even more delicious than what he had cooked up. And that, for a master chef like him, simply will not do.

"I'll take full responsibility… heck you can cut me down where I stand if it's not up to standards." Kira confidently stated as he bowed his head low beneath the One Eyed Bull's gaze as a sign of respect to the elders, but no trace of fear, unlike Yoon.

"20 years." Master Bull growled. "20 years I perfected that dish. And you said you can make something more delicious than that in one afternoon?"

"…yes." Kira stated.

The Axe Gangsters gulped at the balls of this passerby cook. The Master closed his distance with this boy. "Look at me, boy." Kira raised his head and came face to face with the elderly but fierce eyed cook. Again, no trace of fear in Kira's gaze as their eyes locked one another. Yet, the master also didn't sense any arrogance either. Only complete confidence in oneself. The Master smirked. He can't recall the last time any youngster would dare to look at him in the eye fearlessly like that. "…interesting. Very well then. If you can make something better, do it."

Kira sighed.

"However…" The Master suddenly stated. "You dare say that you will make a dish that will taste better than what I've made. That… little boy… simply will not do by me at all. No. It will not do at all."

"…then… what do you suggest?"

Master Bull looked at the Trinity. "Tell your boss… there will be a special show on tonight's dinner. This will be a competition, boy. In fact let's make this a challenge game. You and me will make the best dish, your boss and that Wang Girl can be the judge. That's my rule."

Kira blinked. "Wait, no! I'm not challenging you!"

"Oh, but you are." Master Bull grinned sinisterly. "You dare to make claims that you will make something that tasted better than mine. I have my pride as cook, and I will not allow such bigotry to pass without me saying anything about it!" The Master growled at Kira. "You're a cook. If you're in my position, you would not refuse such challenge, would you?"

Kira frowned. And then he looked at Yoon… and then he nodded. "Very well. I will participate. If you win, you can do whatever you want with me. But if I win… you will leave me and this girl alone. Agreed?"

Master Bull grinned. "Agreed." And they shake hands to seal the deal while Hikari glared in disapproval.

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"A while back, our resources are quite limited because we're divided into fighting all three. But with Mob out of the picture and the Yakuzas are being tackled by Kage, we will now focus all our attention on the Triads." Kyle motioned Garrus to lay out tonight's plan.

"Tonight in the Drunken Cattle there will be a meeting. All three leaders of the Triad will be there." Garrus stabbed a dagger at the restaurant. "Security will be tight, but it's not unlike anything we've faced before."

"That, and we'll be focusing all our efforts on this one." Kyle looked at his team. "We'll be splitting into teams."

Tolle and Milly quickly learned how true professional troopers prepare themselves for the task ahead, in comparison to the undisciplined and untrained Militia. There used to be three Squadrons of the Cerebrus Pack, but Kyle decided to assimilate the recently wrecked team, the Spectre, and merge its members to the remaining two teams, Lazarus, led by Maria and Reapers, led by Kyle.

The two squads were further divided into strike teams. Smaller teams geared to do certain task, each named in accordance to their role and class.

Infiltrator team, led by Garrus, was tasked to take on strategic points on rooftops: if the said points are occupied, snipe them off and take over. After which they are to give cover and pinpoint long range fire support. Sentinel team are tasked to secure the perimeter, catching up strays and runners. Their duty is to bunker down on certain points, setting up traps, laying down suppressive fire with heavy guns… Anyone get to a certain distance had to be turned back or turned into beehive. Not so surprisingly this was given to Wrex… whose team of bodybuilder-esque troopers is perfect for the job. Vanguards, led by Kyle, jumped straight into the frying pan. Shock troopers: They search and destroy, up close and personal. This is the most dangerous of jobs. Messy and very high risk, but very high gain role. Commandos, led by Maria, are the versatile unit. They go where they are needed, providing extra firepower to either teams, depending on the situation, defense or offense. In this case, what is important is maximum firepower. They had to hit hard and fast. So they'll be geared to extreme offense. Engineers are pure support team. Led by Tali, this particular team of specialists stays behind the scene. They don't fight head on per se… but it is their job to maintain equipment. Sometimes, if things went so bad, they might have to do that on the field, right in the middle of gunfight. Other than that, their expertise in explosives and ordnance also play a critical role. And finally… Field Medic. The way Engineer deal with guns, Medic deals with human body. These battle ready doctors who go to battlefield not only bringing scalpel, bandages and medicines… they also bring a rifle or even a heavy weapon if needs be. This team is being led by Mordin.

Milly was quite impressed with how organized and disciplined the Troopers are. Unlike the Militia soldiers who can still find it in them to play around cards on the eve of battle, Troopers hardly waste their time on such activity. Vega and Taylor doing pull ups, Liara and Samara meditating… Garrus spend his time disassembling and reassembling his sniper rifle. Calibrating it, so he says.

"Umm… Garrus, sir?"

"Yes?"

"I… your face…"

The American snickered. Of course, Milly wasn't revering to his obliterated right cheek. "Ah… the question that has been hanging on the tip of our tongue ever since we first met. Why do I have facepaints, right?" The Monocled sniper chuckled as he gestured the blue markings on his nose and his un-ruined jawbone as Milly blushed sheepishly. "Father's a native American. Tribal chieftain. American Natives marked their face with paints as way to show their marks of distinction and honor, for ceremonies, decorations. We believe certain colors will grant us the aid of the spirits when you go into battle. Blue color… means wisdom. Confidence."

Tolle and Milly nodded in amazement. This is the first they heard of the culture from a country halfway across the world. Now that they noticed it, Shepards' team is a conglomeration of various kinds of people, not just Caucasian. Liara and Samara was Indian, as do Doctor Chakwas, Tali was of Arabic descent, Mordin was German, Miranda a British… and many more. Seeing he piqued their interest in the multinationality of their little army, Garrus motioned to another tribal man. "Wrex here also has his tribal markings, right Wrex?"

Wrex, the large and tanned man smirked and showed the two the markings on his lower jaw. Unlike Garrus' colorful facepaint, his was a uniform black color, but they have an intricate design. "It's called Ta Moko. It's Maori. My mother was a New Zealand Native. Father's an Aborigin Tribal chieftain… which… reminds me…" Wrex gruffly mumbled as he shrugged at the two Shadowguards. "Pass on my gratitude to your boss."

"Our boss… as in Kage? Gratitude for what exactly?" Tolle replied.

"For taking care of Veia."

"Veia? Goud Veia?"

"During the early stages of the war, 70 years ago…" Maria came in and explained. "New Zealand and Australia were the first battlefields where first shots were fired in-between Zaft and Alliance. The Maoris and the Aborigines fought bravely alongside the Alliance."

"We aren't exactly pro Alliance… at the time…" Wrex gruffly stated. "We just don't want those Zaft freaks on our soil."

"Things went well for the Alliance… until Goud Veia enters the fray." Garrus followed. "His immortality is just… cheating."

"Many Maoris and Aborigines were killed in that incursion. Nowadays… there were so few of us left, scattered across the wind around the world." Wrex mourned. "Last we checked… there may well be less than a few hundred thousands of us left… plenty enough though… to curse the name Goud Veia till judgment day."

Tolle and Milly can easily sympathize with Wrex' plight… but they know for a fact that Kira doesn't take any joy in his victory against the immortal Hakutenkun.

Kyle had also assigned the two Shadowguards, based on their skills. Milly was positioned together with the Infiltrators to snipe from high ground, and Tolle the frontline fighter, was placed as the Vanguard together with Kyle.

"During the first stages of the operation, stealth is paramount." Kyle started. "So we're gonna be real quiet."

To signify this, Garrus distributed a special type of Sniper Rifle to all members of the Infiltrators. This rifle shoots gas propelled arrow instead of gunpowder bullet. When he handed the Arrow Gun to Milly, the Archer shook her head. "I brought my own." She brandished her bow and arrow.

"Okay." Garrus nodded.

Tolle sharpened his Skygraspers. "When we get in… and the fighting starts… how… are we going to fight the Master? I'd imagine he's quite powerful?"

"Truth be told I'm not expecting to get him." Maria smirked. "Bluntly speaking, he's the muscle. The most dangerous of the three by virtue of his martial prowess alone. I for one do not entertain the idea of fighting him. Our targets… are the brains of the operation."

"The other two leaders of the Triad… who are they?"

"The Wang Clan is more concerned towards information gathering. They're information broker. They have agents all across China, both on the surface and its underworld." Kyle continued. "They say knowledge is power… well, if that's the case, the head of the clan would easily be the most powerful person in China's underworld… second to the Empress anyway."

Tolle and Milly whistled in awe.

"Which is… shocking… considering she's 17 years old." The two listeners, both on the same age group, had their eyes widened. "She's the prodigal head of the Wang Clan … One Ms. Wang Liu Mei."

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Inside a special dining room for the VIP, a strikingly beautiful Chinese lady in her teens sat calmly at the table, sipping tea calmly. She's wearing a magenta pink backless cheongsam that accentuated her sizable busts and her dark teal hair is bundled together in a pair of white buns.

Every waiter can't seem to keep their eyes off her. But the young girl simply received all this attention in her stride. As she took a seat, a waiter immediately cater to her need and bringing her a drink and a plate of snacks. "Xie-Xie." The girl smiled sweetly. And the waiter blushed even more. "Don't stare too much, Mr. Wu. Your wife might not like it." She chortled. The Waiter, Mr. Wu, gulped. Despite the playful tone used in that one simple statement, the words used carry far greater weight. She knows all there is to know about him, down to the last detail. And if he had learnt anything, is to never wonder how Wang Liu Mei, the young but prodigious head of the Wang clan, know things without even being told. She knows. She always knows. That is her business.

Behind him stand a young man wearing a simple blue dress, standing guard. Unlike the girl's sweet and calm disposition, his was cold and taciturn. "Milady, aren't we a bit too early?"

"Well that's fine." Wang Liu Mei chuckled sweetly, earning more blush from the other waiters. "I can wait. Ah!"

The door opened and another expectant guest came in.

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"The other one is the brain behind the business activity of the Triads." Maria continued. "They focus on the monetary side of things. Money laundry, funding, trade, and also keeping watch on the legal side of things. The family is a financial powerhouse who runs various kinds of firms and business not just her in Shanghai, but also across China, running enough money in circulation to buy a small nation, using various methods legal and illegal. In fact… he has ties to the Logos."

"Logos…"

"Yes. That's why he's also the most troublesome. He was a former Sergeant who… literally, fought himself to glory. Using that, he secures close ties with the Logos, becoming a member, making him an economical powerhouse. He established his business empire through monopoly and amass exorbitant amount of money… and power that the money buys."

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As the door opened, a young gentleman in his thirties walked in. He has a light brown hair, sleeked back, safe for a pair of long bangs extending down from the sides framing his face at neatly equal length. His longer back hair is tied together. The man is wearing an elegant light red business suit. He looked at Wang Liu Mei sitting on the table and smile elegantly. "Oh my… and they say it is a woman's prerogative to be late."

"Some woman prefers to be ahead of schedule… if nothing else, to force men to apologize to them."

"Congratulations, Lady Wang. It worked." Alejandro Corner bowed down apologetically for making the lady wait.

"I'm looking forward to this evening."

"As do I. My trusty aides informed me that the chef is preparing something of special magnificence." Alejandro took his seat, and as if rehearsed, maids walked in and poured wine into his glass. "Regrettably, he refused to divulge the details to me… wanting it to be a 'boom surprise'…"

"I'm very excited now…"

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An hour before the time of the match, the siblings brought Kira and Yoon to the kitchen of what seems to be a luxurious five star restaurant kitchen to prepare. Inside the kitchen, ingredients that Kira can only dream of were spread before him. "You can prepare yourself here." Johann stated. "But we will come back to pick you up in an hour."

"Try to burn the place in your desperation please." Michael chuckled sadistically. "It'll be my pleasure to cut your head off for arson." The three siblings left, with Michael chuckling sinisterly.

"This is Shanghai. We got the most exotic ingredients you can ever think of to reproduce the soup. All in good supply." The Waitress from before explained. "How you cook it though…"

Kira scanned his surroundings quickly. His head is already listing the ingredients and what he needs to do. "No." Kira muttered. "This isn't all of them."

"What?"

Kira grabbed a piece of paper and immediately listed the ingredients he's missing. He handed it to the waitress. "Get me all this stuff, ASAP."

The Waitress looked at the list and gaped. "Wait the sec… these ingredients are-"

"I'm not just reproducing the soup." Kira stated coolly. "I'm improving it. But we don't have much time now, do we?" Kira had already put on an apron and start with the ingredients at hand. "So stop asking question and hop to it."

The Waitress looked dumbly at this comprehensive list, but she wandered away and started gathering anyway.

Now that they have a moment for themselves, Kira glance a damning eye at Yoon. "What's your name?"

"Y… Yoon Sefan."

"Alright. Ms. Yoon, I don't have much time, so I'll be blunt. I don't need your gratitude. I saved you because I have some questions that need honest answering, and I won't stop until they are answered. But now is not the time. So if you try to run… no matter where you hide, I will find you… and then you'd wish you're still at that knife man's mercy. Are. We. Clear?" Kira hissed.

"Y… yes."

"Good. Now make yourself useful and help me clean up this mess you made!"

Yoon jumped to it.

Meanwhile, Hikari immediately hissed. "Kira… (Koff) what are you doing? (koff)"

"What I had to."

"I thought you said you're going to pull the guts out of everyone who dares to participate in a challenge game? (koff) And while, technically, you are not Kage but his brother right now… (koff) don't you think you should follow your own 'brother's' rule? (koff)"

Kira chuckled mischievously. "If we're going to get technical… I'm 9thdivision's army cook. Kage's rules only apply to 7th. I'm outside his jurisdiction."

"Kira, this ISN'T funny!"

"When did I ever say it's funny?"

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As the hour approaches, the Shepards began their assault.

The Triad posted dozens of snipers on the rooftops around the Drunken Calf Restaurant. The whole building was completely shut off for Triad use only. Civilian and non triad members were forced out of the premises. Every road was filled with Axe Gang members, all wary and alert. Some gang members also put on a disguise. With everything that has been going on: the Mob taken down, Kage showed up and all this sporadic attack on various Gangsters' facilities… three top dog of the Triad meeting under one roof is like putting all the big fishes in one barrel.

A barrel that the Shepards are eager to swim in.

The pair of sniper relaxes their vigilance for a while so they can spend some time smoking for 5 minutes before they returned to their duty. And then one of them noted: "Gotta take a leak." The sniper quickly ran out of view, leaving his friend alone. 5 minutes, and they're supposed to be back on duty, but his friend had yet to reappear. "Wong? Wong? We gotta go back on duty!" The Sniper chased after where his friend disappears to. What he found was his friend sitting stiff with his pants down… and an arrow nailed him to the wall by the head. "Oh shi-" Another arrow punctured his throat before he can scream for help. Another arrow was fired, this time with a cable tied to it. And then, sliding across the cable was the shooter, Thane.

One by one, the Infiltrator teams dealt with each and every strategic point, sniping the snipers posted on each point and then took over. Milly aimed her arrow carefully and sniped a sniper right at the back of his head, the arrow pushed through his mouth from behind before he can scream to alert the other sniper, who wasn't aware of his friend's death until Milly planted another arrow through his ears. Like the rest of the Infiltrators, Milly shot another rope linked arrow, hang and then slide across the rope until she landed on the roof without a sound. She looked around and saw all Infiltrators had successfully take over their designated targets. Garrus finished last and had just landed on his spot when Milly noticed… their intel missed another spot with a pair of sniper right on a building next to her. And the sniper noticed Garrus and he was aiming him…

Until Milly shoot an arrow through his throat. The other sniper was alerted and immediately turned his rifle at the archer. Just on time, his scope was staring straight at an arrow already being aimed at him from Milly's bow. That was the last thing he saw before the arrow pierced through his sniper scope into his eye and finally his brain. "Wow… The girl's a natural…" Garrus looked at the downed sniper and waved his hand in gratitude and awe to Milly. Milly nodded without a word.

And not just the rooftops…

A Triad was walking calmly in the alleyway totting guns… when a lithe hand grasped his mouth and a dagger slit his throat, and Tali walked out of the shadow. Soon, many corners of the street suffered the same fate. Within moments all triad forces didn't realized that all road and pathways are now being taken over by a small army of highly trained elite professional troopers.

Kyle and Tolle walked out of the shadows as the Shadowguard pulled out his blood soaked Skygrasper from a dead Triad gangsters's heart. Tolle swiped the blood away without even a blink. Kyle rolled his eyes seeing the boy's callous disregard of the gore of his action. "Well… you're quite… stiff, Tolle-kun."

"…I've seen enough to get used to it." Tolle frowned. Truly… to think a few months ago seeing a man eviscerated by the stomach would shook him enough to the point of paralysis and now… just a bit… He's starting to understand why Kira became so dark and grim when he put on that mask. "What now?"

"Now… we wait for a go ahead from the infiltrators. Once either of the Infiltrators confirmed the targets are there, they'll send the signal, and we execute the operation."

"Uh… what's the signal?"

"Well… it'll be one of them… blowing any one or both of the primary targets' heads off." Kyle quickly added. "On the latter case, our mission will change to a tactical retreat."

"The master?"

"On his own, Bull One Eye is less of a threat. Those two are the brains the masterminds. Without them the Triads will disperse on its own."

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Unaware of what's happening outside, the event inside the restaurant unfolds.

Master Bull and Kira, the latter followed by Hikari, Yoon, the Waitress, all entered into what looked like a gladiator ring. Up above is an overlooking hanging balcony where the VVIP table were situated over a glass floor, allowing its occupants to oversee the events occurring down below. The center is two kitchen stands facing one another, encircled by pantry racks of ingredients and various kinds of spices.

Upon seeing this glamorous arena in such setting, Kira immediately understood. "You've done this many times, haven't you?"

"Hmh." Bull merely smirked. "Let me introduce you to the judges. Ms. Wang Liu Mei head of the Wand Clan and Alejandro Corner, head of the Corner Family."

Kira looked up and saw the two elegantly seated guests of honor up above. "Wait… two people… I thought Challenge game needed odd numbered judges?"

"Interesting." Wang Liu Mei suddenly chortled. "So this is the one who says dare to challenge master bull in a cooking match. At first it has been a foregone conclusion… but what I find interesting is that the master of the Mob also chooses to grace the match with her presence."

All eyes suddenly turned to Hikari. Hikari blinked in surprise. And then she remembered… she took down the mob and installed a puppet boss… on all accounts, she is the true master of the Mob.

Upon seeing the leader of one of their greatest enemy is right in front of their noses, all Triad gangsters pulled their weapons and aimed it at the armored doctor.

"WAIT!" Wang Liu Mei raised her hands, the gangsters stopped. "We… have brought a wolf into a flock of sheep. The entire Mob had tried… and failed. They tossed her in with an enslaved Sacred Beast from the Forest… and she brought everything down… single handedly. Aided by a Sergeant of the Alliance yes, but… really… she can kill everyone in this room and none of us would be able to stop her."

"You sure know a lot? (koff) Ms…?"

"Wang Liu Mei, at your service." Wang chortled. "Please. What kind of question is that? If I don't know something as big as that happening right at my front-yard, I'll be out of business. It is my business to know, Miss Hikari." The Chinese lady smiled pleasantly.

Alejandro Corner also elegantly bowed. "I'm Alejandro Corner, pleased to make your acquaintance Dr. Hikari. Now… as the cook had mentioned, we're one judge short out of a proper judge panel for a challenge game. You will honor us… if you are willing to be the third."

"Ms. Wang… If your job is to know… (koff) then you know that if I go up there… (koff) you will all die by the time I finished my first mouthful. (koff)"

"Relax. We have prepared a place at a proper range." The Chinese Lady showed a vacant seat for Hikari right in the middle inbetween her and Mr. Corner. The other two are well within safe range.

Hikari reluctantly looked at the vacant seat and then to Kira. Kira frowned in deep thought… but then, he nodded to Lacus, wordlessly telling her to do it. The sooner they're done with this nonsense the sooner they leave… hopefully without further fuss.

Hikari nodded. Before the Axe Gang 'escort' her up, Hikari already jumped to the balcony and landed gracefully in front the two gasping audience and then silently took her seat.

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At that exact time, Milly and Garrus were aiming their crosshairs at the two main targets. Garrus has Wang Liu Mei, and Milly has Corner in her sights. They were but a finger flick away from taking the shot… until Hikari took her seat right in-between the two.

Milly nearly let go of her arrow out of shock. "What the-!?"

On the other position, Garrus too recognized the now infamous girlfriend of Kage and hold his fire. "What in the name of spirits is she doing in there!?"

"W… wait…" Milly frowned. "If she's here… don't tell me…" Milly looked down… and to her horror, he saw Kira and a girl she doesn't recognize standing right in the middle of the area. "Oh my God…"

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Kira then looked at Master Bull. "Well then." The Master nodded. "Now that we have our judges, I'd say we can start the match right away. We'll both have an hour cooking time. But…"

Kira twitched… and he immediately grasped what the master was asking. He spent his earlier time preparing for this soup… "You're asking me to prepare a second dish right here and now?"

"You can't be seriously expecting our guests to wait for one hour starving without some appetizer, no?" To make his point, Master Bull had already prepared a massive red snapper fish hung on the hook. He grabbed a pair of chef knives… and his hands blurred. In mere blinks, the fish was completely stripped apart all the way to its bones, not a scrape of meat remained. And on the plate, raw fish slices made of four different parts of the fish: cheek, stomach, belly, and tail. At the center, strapped on miniature iceberg, are slices of the fish. A shashimi set. All in a matter of minutes. "This is my appetizer. Mixed Red Snapper shashimi."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Yoon snapped. "We only agreed to cook for one dish-hmM!" Kira immediately clenched her mouth shut.

"No… that's a fair assessment. We mess things up and delay the lunch. Customers don't like to wait when they're hungry." Kira took a stroll on the tools pantry. He grabbed a chain linked kunai… and a giant chef knife.

Carrying both tools, he went to the fish tank. He eyed his ingredient swimming in the tank. He briefly took aim… and throw the kunai in, striking bullseye. Kira spin the chain several times, ringing his prey's neck until it was tied tight. Kira grunted and roared as he pulled the ingredient out of the fish tank: a 12 feet long Sturgeon. While the fish is still in the air, Kira grab hold of the giant knife and cut the Sturgeon's belly midair. When the fish landed on the table, it no longer moved, seemingly dead. A plate was made ready and Kira opened the cut belly. The roe poured out into the plate. "Fresh sturgeon roe. Not yet salted, but they taste better than Caviar."

Everyone snickered. The chef kid only used the eggs in comparison to their master who used the whole fish.

Kira ignored the snicker and closed the cut belly. To everyone's shock, the cut vanished as if it had never been cut before. Even more surprising, Kira pulled the knife out of the Sturgeon's forehead. Moments later, the fish sprang back to life and jumped away from the table back into the tank.

Everyone stopped snickering and start gawking.

"Now… if I've proven myself enough, can we just get this done?" Kira groaned as he grumpily walked back to his station under everyone's bulging gaze.

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"What in the name of Great Spirits is going on?" Garrus had rendezvoused with Milly and he too was immediately made aware of the situation. He shifted through his special monocle until he got a close up view on Kira. "Who's the girl-faced kid?"

"I strongly encourage you not to say that to his face." Milly gulped. "That's Kira… Kage's brother."

"Brother!?" Garrus gaped. "I thought you said Kage won't go anywhere near the Triads yet!"

"No… no it's… a bit different… errh…" Milly struggled as she's trying to come up with a reply that will not expose the secret. It's not easy when Kira's action doesn't make any sense, given the situation. "No… there must be something. Kira would never do this kind of thing on a whim. There must be a reason. A strong reason."

"What are you going to do? Get in there and ask him?"

"…" Milly looked at the restaurant… it's a good vantage point and she can see everything… lipread what they're saying. "Gimme a minute to figure things out."

"Whatever you had in mind, take your time, girl." Garrus quickly lit up a special lantern and send a morse code to the other team, telling them to hold fire and stand their ground. "But do it quickly. I doubt we can hold this position for long."

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All this conversation reached Lacus' advanced ears. She shrugged as her ears start to filter the noise around the perimeter of the entire area surrounding the restaurants. Using the sound emitted by people as sonar, she mapped the whole area in her head, detecting and locating every living thing in it. She easily began to differentiate those of the Axe Gang members, Kira's Shadowguards… and… a whole army of professional soldiers. Troopers completely surrounding the restaurant, all guns aimed at them. Lacus frowned.

"Kira?"

Kira nearly gasped in shock when he heard Lacus' voice in his ears.

"Don't panic, don't say a word… I'm sending my voice directly into your eardrums. Now… listen carefully… we had a situation."

"…shoot." Kira whispered almost inaudibly.

And as the appetizers being served before the three judges, Lacus explained the situation to Kira without anyone can hear a word out of her helmeted lips.

"Oh my… this is… splendid!" Wang Liu Mei tasted the shashimi. "The fish felt like it's alive in my mouth!"

"As expected of master Bull." Corner also tasted the sturgeon egg. "Though… the boy cook's sturgeon egg is also exemplary. I've never tasted fresh fish roe straight out of living fish… it's… exquisite."

"Indeed…" It was then Wang Lie Mei noticed Hikari just sit still and didn't touch her food. "Ms. Hikari?"

Hikari jerked and looked at the Chinese Lady staring at her. "Is the food not to your liking?"

Hikari looked at the food before her. She removed the mouthguard portion of her mask and plucked the shashimi. "…delicious." And then she tasted the egg, likewise, she muttered a half hearted. "Good." But… really? Her mind is not even anywhere near this match. "…yes… both are good. I guess these appetizers do justice to explain the skills of the cook… if we weren't competing for our lives here…"

"I heard that it was your party who started the mess."

"That we did. We apologize for what Yoon did, and if you recall, we were eager and willing to take responsible but no~oo…" Lacus growled. "You lot had to overcomplicate things with your damn penchant for game of challenge and taking hostage of me and everyone else. What is it with men and pride!?"

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Milly caught every single thing Lacus said via her lip reading. From there she grasped the situation completely. First: Lacus is aware of the situation. Second: She knew the archer's watching. Knowing that, she purposefully unmasked and explain the situation vocally through her grumbling in full view, allowing her to lip-read her, thus giving her a clear understanding of the situation based on what she said. Thirdly: the reason why all this is happening. She made it clear and simple.

"So that's how it is." Milly explained to Garrus. "I'm guessing that girl next to Kira was the cause of this mess. Kira was trying to rescue her and so he agreed to this cooking match."

"Cooking match… okay… that truly complicates things… a bit…" Garrus can't even begin to start on how to explain this to the Shepards… but his lantern start sending the message anyway…

A message caught by Kyle, Tolle and the rest of the team. "Well, that's just swell…" Kyle sighed. "We may never be able to get all three of them together in one place ever again."

Tolle bent his head in regret. "I'm sorry… I truly am sorry about this… do we abort?"

Kyle shook his head. "If nothing else… your friends might need an extraction when this is over. If he's as good as he claims, I don't think the Triads likes to lose."

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"Well then… I suppose we can start the match. COOKS! START COOKING!" Mr. Corner started. The gong was rang, signaling the start of the match.

And the two cooks began cooking in their station.

Funnily enough… while Kira were supposed to remake Master Bull's Fo Tiao Qiang which was supposed to be meat centric dish… one can see a LOT of vegetable on his side. Mushroom, celery, spinach, lettuce, bamboo shoots, broccoli, a whole onslaught of vegetables. He also asked the must have for every noodle dish: flour. He already remade a new batch of the Buddha Jump the Wall soup and left it to boil in a claypot and start working on the vegetables. He finely cut every vegetable he get his hands on, he completely ground them all until they became glittering green dust, all poured in the basket. Added some water and flour, they turned into a green paste. Leaving that behind, he started working on the flour. Water, egg, flour, all rolled up, kneaded… and then he poured the green vegetable paste into the dough, turning it green and then he kneaded and turned it into dough. Emerald green dough.

Meanwhile, Master Bull is also preparing his dish. His main ingredient… a living BULL! Which he violently yanked and bisected in half. Mimicking Kira out of pride and spite, he did so midair. A brutal act which Hikari scoffed. And then, he crushed the bull's meat to a bloody red paste. And then… he kneaded the meat… turning them into… noodles. Noodles made of bull's meat… to counter Kira's vegetable noodle.

"Oh my… so this will be… a noodle battle… exquisite." Corner clasped his fingers. But his eye looked at Kira intently. "May I ask… where did you find this cook, Ms. Hikari?"

"Not my cook." Hikari answered short. "He's an army cook."

"Army cook!?" Corner's eyes widened in surprise. "My goodness… if the Fish Roe I ate was any indication… that is some lucky army."

"Sir, you have no idea."

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The Shepards' team immediately restructured their strategy and equipments given the new development in the situation. If before they're geared towards kill everything in their sight, they now realized they can't just do that… not with someone to rescue in there.

It was during this preparation that suddenly, Garrus caught another lantern Morse code from Thane. "Watch out… incoming… from… the… sky?" Garrus looked up… and lo and behold he saw… "Kage!?"

"WHAT!?" Milly gawked. "That's impossible!" She looked up… and her eyes widened in disbelief.

'Kage' is jumping from rooftop to rooftop… unnoticed by everyone… everyone except the whole of Shepards' infiltrator teams. If they're still any Triad sniper scouts left… they would've noticed, fortunately, the Infiltrators had cleaned house. This Kage then climbed to the top of the highest pagoda… by firing a cable linked arrow from arm-mounted apparel. The cable then rolled in and carried him up. As soon as he reached the top of the pagoda, the fake Kage seem to engage in some kind of activity… and then he jumped down.

Mid fall, his arms suddenly stretched out and a pair of massive bird-like glider wings sprang out. The Kage's fall was halted immediately as the glider caught the air and lifted him up slightly. The fake Kage immediately swoop down in a controlled descent and he finally landed soundlessly on the restaurant's rooftop completely unnoticed by everyone but the Infiltrators.

From this alone, Milly immediately knew that's NOT Kage. Kira would never bothered with ropes and climbing apparel with wall walking and shunshin… and what need of he of flying apparels like gliders when he can just fly in with Kurenai Shiki? "That's definitely NOT Kage."

"A copycat?"

"Clearly."

"Great…" Can't this night get any messier? "Gotta report this to Kyle…!"

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Meanwhile, the clock ticks as Kira and Master Bull continue to prepare their dish, unaware of the event happening outside. Kira cut the kneaded dough into noodles. Soba. Green soba. Bizarrely, as soon as the noodle was made, Kira began to knit with it, turning into a half ball basket made of green noodles. He made a pair of them. And then he turned to Yoon. "Okay Ms. Metallurgist… I hope you're as good as you said you are."

Yoon gulped as she timidly showed what she had made when she mentioned she's the one who made the shell for the Steam Sphere. Two woks reforged so that they can connect with one another into a single metal sphere, with cranks on both sides. Kira immediately heated the two woks on a large fire until they are glowing fiery red… and then, with his bare hands, he plastered the Soba basket to both of the wok surface. The hissing sound when the fiery wok cooked the green soba, frying it until all the water contents was burnt out, thus making the soba crispy and crunchy.

On Bull's side, the master chef also showed his skill by first pouring oil into the fish tank and then torched it. The fish pool immediately turned into a fire pool. The water boiled instantly and the fishes inside it jumped out in panic as the water is cooking them alive. Using the fire from the pool, Master Bull began frying his meat noodle as well. Strands of noodles inbetween his hands dance and weave amidst the bursting bonfire. Other than that, he also prepare eight types of soup on eight separate claypots.

"I see… I see…" Wang Liu Mei nodded in great interest as she can finally read what the cooks were trying to make. "The Boy Cook is trying to make the fried crisp soba that will be served with thick rich soup of the Fo Tiao Qiang. Master Bull's creation on the other hand, is a luxurious beef noodle with seafood sauce."

"My mouth waters just hearing it." Mr. Corner nodded.

Hikari looked calmly at Kira's performance. "I can hardly wait. (koff)" But her ears also continue to follow the development occurring outside. That being said, she too had been made aware of the copycat.

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"So… how are we going to do this?"

"Lord knows what that Copycat is going to do… so we have to get in there and stop him." Garrus and Milly finally rendezvous with Kyle and Tolle.

"How are we going to do that?"

"Hey, we're called Infiltrators for a reason." Garrus smirked. Out from the shadow, Tali and a Japanese girl wearing a hood, Kasumi Goto walked out, bringing a briefcase.

Moments later, Tolle, Kyle, Milly, Garrus, and the other two walked out of the alleyway, all dressed up as Axe Gang members with the black tuxedo and the top hat. They easily mingle among the crowd, and without anyone can stop them, they walked into the restaurant.

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Lacus immediately informed Kira of this development.

"They're inside the building."

Kira had also been briefed by Lacus of the escalating situation. He immediately whispered. "Somehow… can you tell them to go check… the foundations of the second floor?"

"Foundations of the second floor?"

"To be specific, the foundations of the floor right above us." Kira whispered as he marinated and kneaded a mass of grounded beef with a plethora of spices. "If I'm a vigilante who wants to deal a blow to the Triad by taking out all its leaders, that's where I would go to cause maximum amount of damage."

To other people, Kira looked like he was mumbling inaudibly to himself as he, and Master Bull continues their cooking preparation, bamboozling the audience, distracting them from noticing Lacus' silent and concentrating figure. Of course the mask also makes it hard for people to notice what she's doing beneath that helmet. "I got it." She nodded. "Let's see…" She took a deep breath…

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Like all first timers, Milly also gasped when Lacus voice reached her ears.

"Don't panic. It's me, Lacus. I'm speaking directly into your eardrum. You can whisper your reply as if my ears are right in front of your lips."

"Lacus-chan?" Milly paused as she whispered. "How…"

"This is my bloodline limit. I'm a Logia of sound remember? I can manipulate sound as if they're extensions of my own body. As you might've guessed, I know about you and that team of troopers. I've been following your every move with my ears. I also know about the infiltrating Kage copycat. Now… listen very carefully."

And Lacus explained Kira's theory to Milly, who nodded in understanding. The other team members looked at Milly's stunted figure curiously. Suddenly he hoped back at them, and her eyes gleamed. "Guys… I just had an epiphany."

"Yes?"

"If I'm a copycat vigilante who wants to cause as much damage as possible… I would target the triad leaders… That's also what we're trying to do, just a little earlier right?"

"Yeah? And…?"

"This is just a theory, but if it were me, I would try to bring them all down in one fell swoop. There's one place I can target for maximum damage…"

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Meanwhile, half of the cooking time had passed. Kira start plastering paste of marinated meat on the pressed noodle on the wok. He continued until he covered the surface of the two woks. Once he felt the time has come, Kira grabbed the two woks, and in a show of acrobatic, he lifted them both and clasped the two woks together into a single metallic sphere. With incredible speed, he glued the seams of the conjoined woks with flour, and then he hanged the sphere on a pair of chain. And then, he immediately placed the metallic sphere right on top of the roaring fire. "Okay… let's start spinning it."

"H… Hai!" Kira and Yoon each hold a crank and start spinning the sphere atop the fire.

"W… What?" This attraction easily draws everyone's attention, even Master Bull's. "That metal sphere… he's cooking the noodle like that?"

"What's the point of using that kind of wok?" Corner blinked.

"Normal Wok only cooks food using fire from below. (koff)" Hikari easily explained. Corner and Wang looked at her. "However, that Spherical Wok is different. (koff) By spinning it like that, the fire encapsulated the sphere, cooking the food from every direction. (koff)"

"Oh my… I don't recall Master Bull have something like that in his pantry…"

"Of course not. (koff)" Hikari shook her head. "They made it on the spot. (koff) Just for this match. (koff)"

"Oh my… To go that far…" Wang couldn't help but to react in awe. "It's just cooking right?"

"Well of course he would. (Koff)" Lacus smiled seeing how Kira was clearly enjoying this. "It's precisely because it's just cooking… because he love it so much… he would go that far."

Master Bull finally understands just how committed Kira was in winning this. He should've seen it coming at the way Kira would unreservedly burn his hand just to fry his soba to perfection. "Okay… okay! LET'S DO THIS KID!" He finished frying the beef noodle and then steam it and he immediately dice cut bamboo shoots to elegantly small and yet uniform cuts. Even with his large and hulking body, the Master was able to produce delicate and elegantly shaped cuts.

The match is reaching its climax. Both cooks are really giving it everything, hold nothing back; this is to the death!

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Meanwhile… at the place that Kira VIA Lacus VIA Milly had mentioned…

"Wow… remind me to never challenge you on a gambling match…"

There, strapped on the foundations that supported the second floor, right above the first floor where the cooking match is being commenced, are enough explosives to level an entire block. Barrels filled with gunpowders were tied to the foundations, all of them are linked with one another by long interconnecting fuses.

"Oo~okay…" Tolle looked at all these barrels of explosives. "I don't get it. If the idea is to kill the Triad Leaders… why place the explosives here?"

"The bomb is placed on the critical foundation that supported the second floor. If they're destroyed, the whole upper structure will collapse under its own weight and crushed the lowest floor." Kyle explained. "Whoever's doing this… he's got a solid understanding of explosives and structural engineering."

"Not the work of your every day joe." Garrus whistled in awe.

Just then, Tolle noticed movements to his left. "Who's there!?"

Everyone turned and aimed their weapons at the location… and there they saw it.

Cosmetically, he looked quite similar with the Shadowguards. With a mask and a headband. Of course, one quickly noticed that unlike the shadowguards, the headband lacks a forehead protector. He also wears a black Kevlar jacket with stripes of red on the chest. But the most noticeable feature of his being is a pair of enlarged mechanized gauntlet in his hands, each bear different weapon sets. The one on the right has a pair of katana attached into a retractable claw, and the left one has a pair of Dagger rifles built in on top. Of interest, both gauntlets also possess a pair of identical under-slung compact crossbow sporting a rope linked grappling hook. The glider was nowhere in sight, but the copycat Kage bears a long cape at the back.

"Who… is that?"

The Copycat's eyes were in a state of shock. Apparently, he didn't expect anyone would be here. His eyes immediately narrowed upon seeing their outfit… all Axe Gang member outfit. So naturally, he immediately assumed he had been made. Before either Tolle or Milly can explain, the first thing the Copycat Kage did was raising his twin linked rifle and fired.

Tolle and Milly ducked down in time, but their top hats were holed.

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By coincidence or providence, at the exact same time as the bullets flies out of the twin gun barrel, the gong signing the end of the cooking time also rang, thereby masking the sound of the gunshot.

At about the same time, both Kira and Master Bull had also finished cooking and the Waiters immediately went to the front presenting their dish to the jury on the plate.

First, was the dish of Master Bull… and he presented… a normal plain looking fried noodle. The noodle was thick and large… and that's all. There's nothing else. No garnishing, no sauce or any other topping, just noodles. "That's it?" Mr. Corner was somewhat disappointed.

"Where are the soup and all the seafood?" Wang plucked two strands of the thick noodle with her chopstick. She eyed the noodle… it was thick and that's it. "?"

Lacus also studied the thick noodle. She blew it several times to slightly cool it off before she finally tasted a strand. The other jury also tasted the dish… and the moment they took the first bite…

"GYAAAAAAAAAA!" They all screeched as their tongue felt they just ate molten lava.

As the shock subsides, they looked at the noodle and behold: it was hollow inside, and hot thick syrupy soup is pouring out of the hollow part.

"My… Haochi!" Wang tasted the dish. "This soup… it's inside the noodle… it contains… flatfish, red snapper, sea cucumber, seaweed, clam, vermicelli, sea bass, scallops, even lobster! My! It's a seafood soup! I can taste the entire ocean in here!"

"So many differing ingredients packed inside this dense and hot soup… and yet they were tied together… what exactly that ties all this different ingredients together?"

"The noodle." Lacus immediately figure it out. "The noodle was made of that bull meat… the bull meat has a very dense and strong taste. It unites all the seafood ingredients in the broth together. The broth enhance the flavor of the bull noodle. Impressive."

The jury obviously gave the noodle very high marks. The maximum mark is 10. Wang gave 9, Corner: 10, Lacus: 10. 29. Kira needs perfect score to win.

The crowd, most of them obviously root for their boss, cheered.

And now… it's Kira's dish's turn. And everyone expected him to fail.

The dish had yet to be revealed when suddenly…

"Hey… was that gunfire or is it just me?" Mikhail frowned.

Now that all the noise and hullabaloo of the match was over… everyone's ears can start hearing the chaos happening up above. The noise also grew louder by the second, denoting the escalating intensity of the chaos.

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"Look! We just want to talk!" The reply for Milly's request cut her short as it came at muzzle velocity.

The Copycat kept jumping from cover to cover, running in panic as he kept shooting allover the place while Tolle, Milly and the Shepards team are struggling to fight back without returning fire. Really? A copycat who tried to do what they're trying to do is essentially a friend. Enemy of my enemy. Right?

"Oh that's it!" But Tolle was finally fed up and removed his restrictive axe gang tuxedo disguise, revealing his ninja suit underneath. He pulled out his Skygraspers and charge forward. "COVER ME!"

The Shepards team finally takes action and start firing back, laying down suppressive fire. The Copycat immediately duck and take cover behind one of the pillars. In the mean time, Tolle quickly close the distance and reached the Copycat's hiding place as the Shepards stopped firing. Upon hearing the cessation of gunfire, the Copycat jumped out of the cover only to go face to face with an angry Tolle. He aimed his twin rifle but Tolle immediately slashed it away, disorienting the Copycat. Thinking quickly, the Copycat jerked his right hand and the two katanas on his hand extended out becoming a twin bladed claw. The Copycat swing around and send a roundhouse backhand slash at Tolle. Tolle easily parry the slash with one sword and slash at him with the other. The Copycat immediately blocked it with his other gauntlet.

"STOP! We're not your enemy!" Tolle roared in front of the copycat.

The Copycat looked at Tolle… and then his weapons… tilting his head as he studied his features. Now that the disguise is off, he can finally see who he really is. "You… You're Saber Shadowguard!?"

Suddenly, everyone can hear more noises from their back. Kyle looked back and… lo and behold… a whole army of angry Axe Gang members charged in, screaming murder and intruder, carrying axes and some carrying rifles. "CONTACT REAR!"

The Shepards team immediately changed position and redirected their guns at the incoming stragglers and open fire, killing several of the incoming enemy… but more kept pouring in. They immediately take cover as the Axe Gang start opening fire as well.

Tolle and the Copycat looked at all this coming hostility and everyone realized their time's out. Tolle and the Copycat looked at each other for a few seconds… and the Copycat quickly cease hostility and back away. "Saber! Listen! You gotta get out of here! This place is going to blow!" As he said this, he pulled out a match and lit it up before he threw it at the interconnected fuses.

"Wait! About that!"

Alas, before Tolle can say anything, the fuse has been lit and the whole network of fuses began to burn rapidly. Meanwhile, the Copycat had already made a run for it. "WAIT!" Tolle immediately gave chase. However, the Copycat had already made his way to the edge of an opening leading outside. Tolle halted some distance away from the copycat… who seems getting ready to make his exit. "Who are you!?" Tolle yelled.

The Copycat turned around and Tolle can make out a smile behind that black mask. "Tell Kage… Shadow Raider says hi!"

"What?" Tolle gasped.

The Raider pointed his gauntlet and with bang, shoots his grappling hook to a tall pagoda tower. The rope winds in and pulled the Raider up into the night. Tolle run to the edge of the opening and saw the Raider's silhouette in the night as the rope pulled him up… and then, just moments before he reached the top the hook disconnected and suddenly, the pair of bird like hang gliding wings sprang up from the Raider's back, and the Kage Copycat glides away from view, quickly disappearing behind a building, under the cover of night.

"…Okay… who the heck is that?" Tolle gaped. But then, as the hissing sound of the fuse burnt out reached his ears, he remembered he had a more crucial problem happening around him. "Uh… Houston? We have a problem!"

As it stands, more and more Axe Gangsters are pouring in. A gangster even screamed hysterically as he charged right at the front, carrying a pair of axes… until Maria planted a bullet right in-between his eyes. Alas, the Shepards are steadily getting pushed back. But they too finally noticed the lit fuse.

"Oh, shit… I hope your friend noticed all this noise and catch the drift!" Kyle fired his shotgun sidearm rapidly, producing a lot of noise.

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Truth be told, Kira and Lacus had more than noticed. Everyone in the arena had. "That's a lot of gunfire…" Lacus gulped as he put back her mouthguard. "Can we get out of here? (koff)"

"Right." Corner gave the Trinity siblings a look, and they already went way ahead of their boss. Johann immediately escorted the Gentleman out of the VVIP room. Hong Long, Wang Liu Mei's bodyguard immediately made way for his mistress. "And it was such a wonderful evening…" Wang lamented as Hong escorted her away.

Lacus looked down below… Kira looked at her, holding Yoon tightly, protecting her. Hikari nodded and jumped down from the balcony and reached the two. "Get her out of here." Kira shoved Yoon to Hikari's hands.

Hikari nodded. "W… Where's Master Bull? (koff)"

"What would you do if someone started shitstorm in your restaurant/house?"

"I'd probably throw a fit. (koff)"

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Suddenly, smashing through his useless subordinates to stand before the intruders, is the master of the house… Master Mad Bull One Eye.

The Shepards hold fire for a moment to register that the most dangerous of the Triad Leaders had arrived. Kyle and Garrus opened fire with their rifle, emptying every barrel. The bullets landed on Master Bull's chest… sank in by a few millimeters… before they dropped down harmlessly. The only thing they managed to hole is the Master's expensive white tuxedo. Maria responded by lighting up a helldart rocket and fired the rocket right at the Elder Master. The Master simply slapped the rocket away like swatting a fly. The spiraling rocket stabbed an Axe Gangster by the stomach and harmlessly exploded. Harmless except for the poor gangster that is. Master Bull smirked as he pulled out his white axe.

Upon seeing that, the Shepards came to two simple conclusions… one: the damn raging bull is bulletproof… and two: they're out of their depths.

"PULL BACK!" Kyle roared. The two teams immediately start pulling back, laying down suppressive fire. "EVERYONE PULL BACK!" Kyle and Maria immediately start covering their rear as they open fire at the approaching master while Garrus, Kasumi and Tali immediately retreated to secure an exit. Milly saw the situation and immediately followed the three as well; no one seems to notice the Shadowguards amidst all these gun totting troopers.

They all approached the opening where Tolle was standing. Apparently, this is also the Shepards' team exit strategy. "Out of the way!" Garrus and Tali raised their rifle, aiming the underslung rocket launcher.

Tolle quickly clear the way as the two launched their rocket, making an even bigger hole. Kasumi handed Milly a special crossbow with rope linked arrow. The two ran to the edge of the bigger hole, take aim and fired the crossbow, launching the arrow, towing ropes to the other side. "Rope ready!"

"That's our exit!" Kyle emptied his gun one last time at the master's head as Maria bolted off. Tolle and Milly jumped out first, holding on to the rope with a prepared sash and slide down to the next building. Followed swiftly by Tali, Kasumi, and then Garrus. Maria hold on to the rope, waiting for his brother. Kyle realized he's the only one left, and the Master is right in front of his nose. Before he can do anything the Master swings his axe. Kyle managed to block it with his rifle. The force throw him back, destroyed his rifle, but he managed to survive. Kyle gasped in pain… but he was thrown exactly where he wants to be. A few steps away from the exit. "Enjoy the Fireworks asshole." Kyle quickly got up, grabbed a sash and hang by the rope, immediately slide down with his sister, away from the soon exploding building.

It was then that the Master noticed all these lit fuses… and all these explosives ready to blow in less than 10 seconds.

"Oh… crap."

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"Get her out of here!" However, contrary to where they're supposed to be going, Kira ran back to the balcony where his dish was left behind.

"And where are you going!?" Hikari shrieked at Kira.

"My dish!" Kira screeched as ran as fast as he could towards the balcony. "I can't just leave it behind to be blown to bits!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? (KOFF) THIS PLACE IS ABOUT TO COLLAPSE! (KOFF)"

But Kira ignored Hikari's warning of the obvious and made straight towards the balcony.

And Hikari… she just couldn't leave the "HALFWIT COOKING MANIAC!" alone. And contrary to what she was told, she chased after Kira as she grabbed a light blue Haro. "Rift of Dew, rift of Rain, rift of tears… Rift of the Undines, bring forth the mistress of your sisterhood… their songs be your voice, their screams be your might…I pray thee come forth… Baghiennic, the Siren of the Undines!" Lacus throw the light blue haro Ghienny, and like her other kin, her voice echoed: "I… am the Siren of the Undines… by my covenant with this pure one, I shall bear the force of her will and that of my sisters unto those whom this one consider my enemy. Let them break and drown in the furious voice of my sisters… I… am Baghiennic, the Undine Siren."

The Haro swelled… and then sleek elegant mechanical parts burst out of the soft membrane of the Haro, turning into a shape of an urn. The Urn was small. A normal sized metallic urn with the face of a maiden carved at the front. Lacus grabbed the urn, and opened the cap. An unearthly huge amount of water burst out, more than what the small urn could've carried, and yet they overflow endlessly from the small urn, creating small waterfall that extend from the urn to the ground.

At that exact moment, the ceiling exploded… followed swiftly by a rain of cascading rubble and ruin.

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On the outside, shortly after a series of explosions in-between the first floor erupted, the whole multi storied Drunken Cattle restaurant from second floor up collapsed and crushed the bottom floor almost instantly. Subsequently, the shock of the destruction cascaded upward and every floor crumbled down into blazing ruin in a blink of an eye.

The Gang Members looked in horror at the ruins of their base. Wang Liu Mei and Alejandro Corner also looked on from outside. Their escort managed to get them out of the restaurant in time. But… the Master is still inside… and so is the boy cook.

However, as the Axe Gangsters trudge through the ruins… a cracking sound can be heard… an a large figure burst out of the ruins. It was a slightly charred but still alive and kicking Master Bull, kicking some the rubbles out of the way.

The Axe Gangsters cheered upon seeing their boss is alive and well. But Wang and Corner doesn't seem to be surprised, as if already knowing the Master will survive.

"Phew… that was some blast." The Master merely swept the rubble off his shoulders as if cleaning up a sweat.

"Them again?"

"Yes. Those damn do gooders troopers… but this time… they came in force." The Master groaned. "Blowing up my restaurant like that… It looks like the indications really fulfilled your suspicion, Ms. Wang."

"Ah, I see."

"Suspicion?" Corner looked at Wang.

"Remember what happened yesterday? Kage's underlings, the Shadowguards were nearly killed during a shootout with the Yakuzas. Last I checked, Kage doesn't take too kindly when one of his own is endangered. One can expect a thunderous response from the Black Devil to the Yakuzas." Wang Liu Mei reiterated calmly. "That is the purpose of this meeting. With Yakuza will undoubtedly get their hands full by being on the receiving end of Kage's retribution and the Mob is out of the picture, these vigilantes will undoubtedly escalate their attention to us. We're supposed to be discussing that… but I think we just saw the actual circumstances first hand, yes?" The Lady gestured at the burning ruins of the restaurant.

The owner of the said restaurant merely snorted. "I'll give them credit for having the idea to bring down the building like that right on top of me… But that's not gonna be enough. Restaurants I can rebuild. The cooks, I can train new ones."

For someone who just get blown up head on, the Master seem to be in a good mood. "You're not angry?"

"Well… not really… I was having fun a little earlier so…"

"Ah… which reminds me… what happened to that boy cook?"

As if on cue, the Axe Gangsters found a very bizarre scene. Everything on the ground zero is on fire. No mistake. They got blown up, and it's a restaurant where there's plenty of flammable material for cryin out loud. And yet… there's one are that is not only is not on fire… it's damp. As if it was submerged in a flood. As the gangsters trudged through the damp wet wreckages, one peeked into the darkness of a shaft beneath the wreckage… To his horror, a pair of blue eyes stared back at him from the depths.

Suddenly, a giant splash of water burst forth from every nook and cranny of that damp wreckage. The gangster ran away as the ground shook and geysers of water bursting one after another… until finally a towering explosion of water erupted, blasting away the wreckages. At first, covered by the sprinkles of water droplets, everyone thought, as unlikely as it could be, a giant fish will appear and rise up from all that water… they thought wrong. The water pushed the rubbles away, scaring the Gangsters away… and finally the water merged together, forming a gigantic arm made of water.

And then, with a swipe of that arm, the rubble was blasted away, revealing what's underneath.

The mass of water converged and then stood up LITERALLY. The water sprinkles cleared away, revealing a giant woman form, composed entirely of water, her skin made of flowing water, but gave a definite shape of a beautiful and alluring woman. Armor parts, made form the enlarged and expanded pieces of the urn, covered segments of her body, such as the elegant metallic head crest that covered her near transparent watery forehead, decorating her immensely long hair, reaching from the top of her watery head to the ground, made of cascading waterfall. A few other metallic pieces of the urn had also expanded and enlarged; segmented pieces of the urn's handle turned into arm guards that covered her lithe forearms and palms, the rest of the main body covered her waist, turning into a armored skirt that covered her lower half, nothing but a cascading water that flows continuously, turning into a skirt of waterfall. Beyond that, the creature was practically naked but the Water giantess was massive. Far larger than even the tall and hulking Master Bull.

However, standing beneath the massive watery titaness, are Kira, Yoon, and finally, the master of this elemental giant, Hikari.

"Heavens above…" Wang gulped. "So the rumors weren't exaggerating. A greater daemon. That Doctor is a summoner magus…!"

Corner looked at Wang, the one who supposedly knows everything. "I've heard of it before." Wang nodded as she looked at the armor doctored standing calmly beneath the towering wrath of nature embodied. "She is what they call Summoner witch. Brokering a contract with a creature of incredible power, they can summon them to battle on their behalf. From what I read in the history, they used to be quite common back during the Great Crusade but…" She frowned. "Their number decrease over time, particularly during the Foundation War. Mostly, apart from being killed off during the Holocaust, because there aren't many people who can conjure enough strength to form the pact… or so I've heard."

"My Goodness…"

"MASTER… I DON'T LIKE THIS…! THE WATER'S DIRTY…" Baghiennic moaned.

"Yeah… (koff)… I know… (koff)… Thank the stupid idiot who forced me to do this… (koff)" Hikari was holding on to her knees, heaving and panting. A rushed summoning always eats her stamina like crazy. She lifted up her hand, and in an instant, the giant watery woman splashed down and shrank, it's armor pieces also folded in, until they merged together into the urn, sucking all the water back in. The urn landed on Hikari's hand and as soon as the last water droplet flowed in, the urn's lid sealed it shut.

Kira sighed. "Well… we're still alive… that's the important bit." Kira tapped to the gasping and panting Yoon. He then looked at the three triad bosses.

"Still alive eh?" Master Bull smirked. "Well… congrats. Is what I would like to say?"

"Like to say?"

"Yes." Bull shrugged. "We don't get to taste your dish. This is not your idea to prolong this match and get a second chance to cook something different, are you?"

Kira scoffed. "Oh really? I could say the same to you. Your dish get tasted, mine had yet to be tasted when the ceiling collapse right on top of us. How do I know that's not your trick to win by default?"

"Enough!" Wang stopped the argument. "How about this? Let's do a rematch. Both you and Master Bull get to cook again."

"No." Kira stated as he turned back and start digging on the charred earth. "That won't be necessary." Momentarily, he unearthed a charred ash black ball. "My dish is unharmed and ready to be served." He placed the black ball right in front of the judges.

"What is this?" Corner frowned in confusion.

To answer him, Kira lifted his hand… and then he start bashing the black ball again and again until it finally break apart, revealing a steaming hot claypot inside. "Before the ceiling collapse, I have just enough time to cover the claypot of my dish with flour and mud, and then bury it into the earth. It's the same principle with the beggar's chicken." Kira took out the claypot from the rubble. "The fire kept it warm. Enjoy." He finally opened his creation for the judges, and Master Bull to taste.

When he opened the bowl, the first that welcomed the judges are the spectacle of rising steam, filling their view. And then, as the steam cleared, they saw a green ball right at the center of the empty bowl. "What… is this? A ball shaped crisp fried noodle?" Master Bull glared in suspicion at the ball. That's no simple noodle dish…

And then suddenly, a sharp hissing sound can be heard as the ball start to tremble. The hissing sound continue to increase in pitch and volume… until finally, it began to die down… and then…

Cra… CRACK!

The Crisp Noodle ball broke from the inside and its content spilled out. A piping hot and extremely vagrant soup poured out and flooded the bowl.

"Oh!" Wang clasped her mouth in surprise.

Corner also breaks into a pleasant smile. "My, my…"

Master Bull however, was hardly impressed. "If I didn't see you preparing this dish from scratch, I would say you're trying to copy my dish… in a very poor and pathetic way."

"That was coincidence. Really. I had no idea you would make your dish as to also have the soup in the noodle… though… I took it in a different direction. In more ways than one."

Master Bull looked at Kira in confusion. "What do you mean… more ways than one?"

"MY! HAOCHE!" Wang actually shrieked in delight upon tasting the soup. "What is this? The soup is exploding with flavor!" Corner's opinion also said the same.

The restaurant owner also took a sip of the soup first. His eye widened when his tongue tasted an onslaught of flavors. It has a strong taste… each ingredients can be clearly savored and yet they do not overpower one another. They all meld together in harmony. "Amazing… what a rich soup…" He sipped the soup several times… but his brows remained knitted. "It tasted wonderful… I'll give you that boy… but… how long did you boil the soup?'

Kira smirked. "A bit over 2 hours."

"I thought so." The owner smirked. "It tasted good. I'll even say it's quite close to matching our Fo Tiao Qang… I'll give you that much boy. How did you manage to bring out such deep taste in such short time?"

"The Noodle Ball." Kira pointed at the crisp noodle bowl. "I put the soup inside the noodle ball. And then I deep fry the whole thing with hot oil. The Noodle Ball works like a pressure cooker, keeping the heat inside, cooking the soup a lot faster and also to concentrate the flavor even more."

"I see. You put the soup inside the ball… condensing the flavor… how do you prevent the hot soup from spilling out of the noodle ball during cooking?" The Owner nodded.

"See those meat pieces? I glued the noodle ball shut with marinade grounded beef from inside, rendering it airtight. This not only kept the soup locked inside, it also adds more flavor to the soup itself."

"I can certainly taste that… and as a final touch, you flambéed the whole thing with sake. With the alcohol burnt out, I can taste the mellow sweet taste of the sake as a secret flavor." The Owner glared at the cook. "But I'll say it again… its close… but not quite matching up to our Fo Tiao Qang. You didn't boil it long enough. You should've done it for another hour."

"Quite true." Kira chuckled. Behind him, Michael is preparing his Buster Sword. But Kira remained calm. "I already knew I didn't have enough time… which is why… I'm asking you now… to eat the noodles, the meat and the soup together."

The diners blinked and they looked at the dish before them. "Right. Let's try that shall we?" Ms. Wang was the first to do so. Followed by the gentleman in black, then Mr. Corner… and the still skeptical Master Bull One Eye. As soon as the meat, soup and noodle entered their mouths… their eyes widened and all stunned in silence.

The first to break the trance was master Bull One Eye. "W… What!?"

"I… I think my cheeks are going to fall off!" Ms. Wang grasped her blushing cheek.

"This… what an explosion of flavor… This is even richer than the Fo Tiao Qang!" Mr. Corner also couldn't contain his reaction.

The other diner was rendered speechless.

The Restaurant Owner immediately understands the cause. "The noodle… this… emerald green noodle… they're vegetables?"

"I know a soup boiled intensely for a mere two hours won't have as much kick against a soup boiled for three days." Kira calmly spoke as he glanced triumphantly to a sulking Mikhail, knowing his head is safe from decapitation. He looked respectfully at Master Bull. "You used various seafood ingredients in your soup to enhance the beef flavor of the noodle. Mine however, is subtraction. I used plenty of carefully selected mountain vegetable: mushroom, spinach, lettuce, onion… ground them all to paste and then mix them into the noodle dough. The contrasting vegetable dish will elevate the meat taste on the soup, making it more of the star of the show. They say flowers need grass and leaf to be beautiful, yes?"

"It's not just the noodle…" The amazed Mr. Corner continued by plucking a meat and taste it. The first that hit him was the spice. "Hrmmph!" Mr. Corner gasped. "This… spicy tingling on my tongue… this… no… it can't be…" the businessman looked at Kira. "Boy… the spices on this beef… could it be… Garam Masala?"

"Garam Masala?" Ms. Wang gasped. "As in, the Garam Masala found on Indian Curry?"

Kira nodded. "Well… I'll be damned. You've eaten curry before, yes? That's right. To further enhance the flavor of the overall dish, I marinade the ground beef with Garam Masala, just a bit, a pinch, to further increase the umami of the meat. The vegetable on the crisp noodle, the rich flavor of the soup, and the spicy tinge of the meat. Enjoy."

Japanese Wide Cut Noodle, Chinese Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup, and Indian Curry seasoned meat… three cuisines from three distinct civilization, all fused together in one dish. The four main diners, and other participants of the meeting looked in awe at the young Japanese chef responsible for this magnificent dish.

'Incredible… what a cook…' Ms. Wang's eyes widened in awe.

'So flexible and unfettered. Easily integrating various kinds of techniques from all across the world to improve one another…' "But… this is not… Chinese food isn't it?" Mr. Corner suddenly commented. "If anything this is… fusion dish… aren't you sidestepping the competition?"

"Strange." Kira smirked. "Last I checked, this competition is about who can make the tastier dish. It never said anything about it having to be purely Chinese. Besides… what's wrong with Fusion? I mean… where are we?"

"China?"

"Specifically, we're in Shanghai." Kira spread his arms to gesture the whole of Shanghai. "This is an international harbor. Various kinds of people come and live here: Caucasians, Indians, Orientals, Arabic… a cook must adapt with the environment and provide happiness in their food to all facets of people around. A lot of different kinds of people had lived here and some even proudly called themselves Chinese when they're not Chinese themselves. That's what my dish represents: a Chinese dish that is not limited to a singular concept of Chinese."

"True." To the shock of everyone, it was Maser Bull. He's still tasting and enjoying Kira's dish. "This is Chinese, but not quite Chinese… but that was never the theme of the competition, right?" He smiled calmly at Kira. "I'm a conservative Chinese cook. I don't like fusion dish, because in my opinion, those kinds of dish corrupt one another, thinning the pure essence of traditions packed inside… then again, the fusion dishes I've tasted were made by idiots. So I can't really say anything."

"Idiots?"

"Yes. Idiots who simply slap together ideas they thought were good into one dish. They forget the fundamentals of the age old basic cooking techniques, disregarding the why and how and ended up degrading the dish. But this dish…" Master Bull took another sip. "…I can sense it. You hybridize various cooking techniques, but you do not forget the fundamentals and the foundations. I may not be a fan of fusion dish… but I know delicious when I taste one. And that's what this dish is." Master Bull nodded in approval. "If I'm going lodge one formal complaint to you boy… is that the only part of this dish that has a weak foundation… is the soup. The Fo Tiao Qiang soup."

Kira laughed. "Oh dear, you really are a master cook. You noticed that huh?"

Master Bull snorted. "Somehow I can understand. You're a Japanese cook, but you never learned how to cook Chinese dish, aren't you? You have no strong foundation of skills to make a soup this rich. It shows in the taste. So…" Master Bull smirked as he narrowed his eyes inquisitively at Kira. "So you put some of my OWN soup into the broth, didn't you?"

"That's right." Guilty as charged, Kira laughed. "I poured some of the stock from the original batch to enhance the flavor before I steamed them all together."

"Then… doesn't that mean he's cheating?" Mikhail snarled.

"If I have to go head to head with you in Chinese food, you'll steamroll me in an instant." Kira nodded. "I'm sorry. It's just… I tasted the original soup… and I can't believe how delicious it was. After that I think… a good dish like this shouldn't just be thrown into the trash can… so I cheated a bit, yes."

"Hogwash!" Master Bull barked at Mikhail and Kira. "As long as the end results produced happiness to the eaters' tongues, all is fair in love and cooking!" he looked at the Judges. "I think the result speaks for itself." The Master glared at Kira. "Though I will go ahead and tell you that you just barely pass by a skintflint, young man."

Kira clasped his hands together and bowed in respect and gratitude for the Masterchef. "Your approval of its deliciousness is enough for this lowly chef, Master Bull."

Ms. Wang also nodded in agreement. Corner began clapping her hands, followed swiftly by everyone. All applauded the young chef's effort that managed to get this far under overwhelming circumstances.

Upon seeing this, Hikari and Yoon breathes again. It finally ended with everyone get to keep their necks.

But then, Hikari saw Corner closing his distance to Kira and already she smells another trouble. 'Sheesh… did he gave his personal address to all the trouble in the world or something?'

"My, my… truly a splendid match. And yet… I believe I did not catch your name?" Corner stretched out his hand to Kira to shake his hand.

Kira looked at that hand, and call it an unusually correct prophetic gut instinct, Kira felt he shouldn't shake it. "I'm just a passing by Army Cook." And so Kira ignored the hand, much to everyone's bewilderment.

Corner retracted his hands and smiled. "So I've heard. Just… I felt that… a cook of such skills shouldn't be buried in an army's pantry. If you're willing, won't you name your price and come work with me?"

Bingo. Kira chuckled. "My skills are not for sale either. So sorry, I have to decline your generous offer. Being buried in the army's pantry isn't so bad."

"Do you know who I am?" Corner asked.

Kira narrowed his eyes, then he looked at the Trinity siblings. "…you're mingling with gangsters and triads and yet you bring Regulars as bodyguards… All three of them, judging by their heavily customized and brand new equipment, are sergeants…" Kira only knew one class of people would receive such elite protection. "My guess is, you're a member of the Logos foundation."

Hikari and Yoon's hearts skipped a beat.

"Not just a master chef, but a keen observer as well… I like you more and more, boy." Corner then properly introduced himself. "I am Alejandro Corner, head of the Corner Family. And you are?"

Once again, Corner is asking his name, but somehow, Kira had a feeling he shouldn't answer. "I'm the Army Cook." But he bowed respectfully nonetheless.

Once again, the Army Cook dodged the question, and as expected, Mikhail was the first one who began to lose his temper. "Oi! He asked you a question twerp!" But Johann immediately stopped his little brother.

Corner remained calm. "Well, this makes it easier then. From which division are you from?"

"…9th." Kira frowned. They should be arriving any moment now. "But… I'm afraid that won't be much help."

On cue, there's a commotion amongst the Axe Gangsters. They immediately break apart to make way for three Alliance soldiers leading a small army of Troopers. The three leading alliance Officers are Saber Shadowguard, Archer Shadowguard… and Li Xingke.

Master Bull's one eye immediately locked on Xingke. "Master Tiger."

"Master Bull." The two Masters saluted one another.

"What business have you with me?"

"Not with you, I'm afraid." Xingke gestured at the cook. "I'm accompanying the Shadowguards. They would like to have a word with him."

The Crowd gasped upon hearing the name Shadowguards, the personal guards of the Black Devil. They frowned upon seeing the grim look on the Shadowguards, knowing something bad will happen. The Saber Shadowguards immediately approached Kira. "Cook?"

"Saber."

The Saber Shadowguards looked at the dish on the floor. "So… the tip wasn't wrong. You WERE participating in a Challenge Game?"

"…yes." Kira nodded.

"You DO hear this morning's announcement?"

"Yes."

"You of all people." Saber sighed in sorrow. "…then you know the consequences, right?"

Kira nodded.

"Put your hands behind your back, cook. You're under arrest." Before anyone can say anything, Saber put Kira's hand in the back and tied him up.

"E… Excuse me?" Corner quickly approached the scene. "What is going on?"

"This is an arrest. He had broken army discipline, and he must be punished under martial law." Xingke explained.

"M… Martial law?"

"Yes. Early this morning, it is announced that participation of Challenge Game by anyone of the 7th division is forbidden, under the penalty of death." Archer darkly stated.

"Wait… if that's the case, Mr. Cook has been operating well within his rights!" Corner is trying to stop his prize from getting away. "He's a 9th division Army Cook. The rules of the 7th shouldn't apply to the 9th, should it?"

"…with all due respect sir…" Saber growled. "This is a family matter."

"Family matter?"

"The one who announced such rule is Kage, Captain of the 7th division." Xingke calmly stated to the shocked audience. He tapped Kira's shoulder. "And as it so happens, this cook is his brother."

And now, everyone's jaw dropped. At this point, Corner also had to rest his case and can do nothing but watch as the Shadowguards dragged Kira, Hikari and Yoon away. Xingke opted to stay to supervise and getting a debrief of the event from Master Bull.

Once they reached a certain distance away from the ruined restaurant. And that was when Tolle dropped his façade. "Good lord, Kira… you really gave us a heart attack."

"It's out of my hands. Sorry." Kira sighed. But he then he glared at Yoon. "I've endured all this for you… if you try to run again, I will kill you."

"R…Right." Yoon mournfully nodded. "I won't run."

"Still… who was that?" Kira turned back to Tolle and Milly. "The guy who blew up the ceiling? Hikari told me, he's a copycat?"

"But this one is quite unlike those pathetic copycats Kage scared off earlier. He's heavily armed, equipped with some serious hardware like gliders, grappling hooks and even arm mounted guns and switch talons, and he really knows what he's doing."

"Did he?" Kira frowned in deep thought. Gliders? Grappling hooks? How unconventional… and Tolle said he knew what he's doing… all indication directed towards a professional elite sergeant…

"And uh… he called himself… Shadow Raider."

"…you must be joking." Kira winced. Some people just have the worst sense of naming… like he's one to talk…

"At any rate… thank you Dr. Hikari, for giving us this idea of a safe extraction." Milly smiled happily at Hikari. "When we get there the atmosphere doesn't seem to show that they'll let you walk away safe and sound."

"That wasn't my idea… (Koff…)" Awkwardly, Hikari grumbled angrily. "And it's not over… right, Kira!? (koff)" Hikari growled at Kira.

"Eh?" The two Shadowguards looked at the angry Hikari… and then to Kira.

"That's right… it's not over." Kira smirked. "You've arrested me… now let's finish this all the way."

"All the way… as in…" Tolle and Milly halted their pace as they stared in horror at Kira. "Kira… you can't be seriously thinking of…"

Kira merely smirked as he kept walking under everyone's horrified gaze.

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That night, Yoon was dragged from the brig to the captain's office. There she was seated before Kage, and next to him, was Hikari. In his table… was the metallic sphere… and to her horror, the book that Athrun had wrote: the blueprint of the Steam Sphere. After that incident, Kage ordered all of Yoon's effects in the Genesis workshop stripped clean and brought to him for study.

"My brother told me anything. Who are you?" Kage started. "And how did you get your hands on this? And don't lie to me. I know you didn't make this. This is not something you can make on a side-job." He gestured at the Steam Sphere.

Yoon nodded. After everything he went through, she wouldn't dare to lie. "I didn't make it. Someone else did. I only helped along the way."

"Indeed? The sphere's shell I presume?"

"Yes." Yoon nodded. "I'm a metallurgist. He gave me the specs… I built the shell based on that spec."

"I see…" Kage touched the shell. "I hate to say this… but you've done a poor job. This thing… is a bomb. And a live one."

"What?"

"There's a flaw in the steel." Kage pointed at a certain area of the sphere. "Right here. The Steam Sphere metal shell is unforgiving. A single weak spot… and if you use the sphere… it'll start a chain reaction that will soon lead to a cataclysmic detonation. I knew this. I saw it happened once before."

Yoon's eyes widened. "Oh my god… Y… You're telling me I brought the FLAWED one!?"

And the Korean girl fainted right on the spot.

Hikari shook her head. "You know… (koff) you really should learn a lesson on tact and grace when talking to woman. (koff)"

Kage however, couldn't care less about his tact and grace. What Yoon said horrified him greatly. "Wake her up! NOW!"

"Give her time! (koff)"

"NO." Kage growled. "She said… the Flawed ONE!" Finally, Kage grabbed a jug of water and pour it right on top of Yoon to wake her up. "Wake up! I still got a few more questions for you young lady!"

Yoon spurts and flabbergasted as she came to. Kage's angry bloodshot eyes terrified her even more and she nearly fainted again. But Kage hold her tight. "Don't you dare faint on me again young lady! You just said the Flawed One! You knew it was flawed didn't you? You purposefully make it that way? Why? And you said one… means there's MORE than one? How many more did you and Athrun have made? Answer me!" Kage frantically asked all these questions in somewhat panicked and angry tone.

"Kage calm down! (koff)" Hikari grabbed Kage's shoulder. "Give the poor girl some time to breathe for god's sakes! (koff) Give her a chance to answer and explain! (koff)"

Yoon weakly took a seat. "…okay… okay… I'll explain everything." And so Yoon told Kage everything. Of her little adventure when she was captured by the alliance, brought into their secret facility in the Krakatau island, her meeting with Athrun, his creation of the three Steamspheres, the purpose of the intentional flaw on the sphere's shell, their eventual escape, and, to Kira's eternal relief, the destruction of the two Steampheres, as well as how, to Kira and Lacus' horror, their destruction took Krakatau Island down with them.

"So this is the only Steam Sphere left in the world. Yes?" Kage shook his head. "…and it's a ticking, live, and fully armed bomb… great."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I erased the number to mess them up but I didn't know which is which afterwards…" Yoon fretted… but then she looked awkwardly at Kage. "But… you know? You can tell?"

Kage nodded. "Athrun told you about a friend of his who helped him create the first prototype?"

Yoon's eyes widened. "Lord… that was YOU!? You are Athrun-san's friend!?"

Kage confirm the answer with his silence.

"Oh my god…" And Yoon fainted… again.

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To be Continued…