(Disclaimer re a well-deserved telling-off I got for being inappropriately flippant and for which I have apologised; military personnel of any nationality are not automatically assholes. Pretty much every military is likely to have some guys who will be assholes, but most aren't really that bad. These specific characters, however, are. "Chon", if I've been informed correctly, was a Japanese term of abuse directed at Koreans. Also, if you've heard of the place mentioned near the end, that will provide a spoiler/warning for what happens in the next chapter. Be careful when Googling, if you don't know. Sweet dreams.)
The streets of Shanghai were fairly crowded even late in the evening, full of noise and smoke. Two men, dressed in nondescript long coats and both chewing cigarettes, ambled through the night, one grumbling continuously. A close observer would have seen the bulges of shoulder holsters concealed beneath their coats.
"Can't believe it, the higher-ups must just be trying to keep us occupied or something. Remind me why they said we have to waste our time looking for some government bastard's chon servant boy?" Saito, the complainer, said in an undertone, carefully ensuring he'd be drowned out by the crowd's chatter.
Tanaka flicked his cigarette butt into the gutter. Saito had been more or less talking to himself, but Tanaka answered anyway. "The kid's got important family ties back in Korea, apparently. I thought Honda-san was holding him for ransom or something, but rumour has it he got attached to him. Not like that, he's not doing anything to him, far as I know - man's too damn uptight for that. No, he's sort of adopted him. Don't know why he bothered, the boy's half-crazy by all accounts. Talks to himself, and I talked to one of Honda-san's neighbours once and he swears the kid's hair is haunted."
"What?" Saito said aloud, dropping his own smoke.
"Yeah, I didn't get it either. I think that guy was drunk."
"So why are they telling us to look for him here? Wouldn't he have gone back to Korea if he ever made it out of Honshu?"
"His family apparently has contacts in China, so he might have come here for sanctuary and hoped nobody would look for him here," Tanaka explained. "Boy's smarter than he seems, but then from what I hear I suppose he'd have to be."
"Eh." Saito shrugged. "I doubt he's here, but at least we get some fresh air while we're looking. Or as fresh as it ever gets in the middle of this damn city-"
A cry of "Stop, thief! echoed through the street, and a skinny rag-clad figure in a floppy hat cannoned into the two, scattering rice everywhere as the sack in his arms exploded.
"Ah! Sorry!"
"Hey, what the fuck?"
At this point, Korea's luck gave out, and his hat fell off, exposing his face and his distinctive curl. The two mens' eyes widened as they saw it, instantly recognising him from the photos HQ had handed out. Korea dropped the torn sack, turned on his heel and fled.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
Korea was faster than a normal human, but the crowd blocked his way and he didn't know the city well, and was soon cornered in a dead-end alleyway. He glanced around for an exit, found none, and tried to scramble up the wall as his pursuers rounded the corner. The faint sound of metal against leather announced that Saito was drawing his gun, and Tanaka turned and grabbed his arm.
"No, don't shoot him, you moron, they wanted him alive!" He tried to wrestle the weapon away, but accidentally hit the trigger. The bang was followed by Korea's scream as he fell, blood soaking his shredded shirt. He sprawled on the floor, breathing heavily as the two men ran up to him, unsure what to do. The bullet had struck him directly in the spine, there was no way he'd survive long enough to get him back to the base ...
Even as they watched, the exit wound in his chest healed up, leaving smooth skin. His breaths steadied, cold sweat still rising on his brow.
The two looked at each other, Saito staring, his hand trembling as he kept the gun pointed at the boy. "Okay, that was fucking weird."
"Wait, let me try something." Tanaka drew a knife.
Korea opened his eyes just in time to see the blade come down. He had time to scream once.
Slowly, the wound in the now-unconscious boy's throat sealed up, blood pooling around him. The men watched, faces white and hands shaking.
"Now I see why it was so important we find him," said Saito, looking down at Korea in disgusted fear. "What the hell is he? I figure a demon would put up more of a fight and he bleeds a lot for a ghost."
Tanaka wiped the knife and tapped it on his teeth thoughtfully. "Hmm. You know, I've heard all sorts of funny rumours about Honda-san. I met the guy once, and he looks too damn young to be so high-up. I mean, nepotism or genius are one thing, but he looks like he just turned twenty and he's already working personally with the emperor. Nobody seems to know what he actually does all day, but everyone knows it's something important. And some guy at work said they saw someone who looked exactly like him about ten years ago."
"Might have been his father."
"No, I said exactly - unless his parents had him when they were ten, that's not very likely," Tanaka explained, and poked the unconscious boy. "Think Honda-san did something freaky to this kid? Made him this way?"
"Maybe. Might have always been this way, maybe he was like that when Honda-san found him - maybe that's why he wanted to keep him. Two of a kind? Whatever the hell he is?"
"Guess it doesn't matter." Tanaka idly cut off one of Korea's fingers and watched it seal rapidly back on. "Hey, this is kind of fun."
"Quit it! That's disgusting. You could catch something from him."
"Ah, you wuss." They undid Korea's belt and tied his hands behind his back with it. "Guess we should take him back to the base and tell someone."
"Mm." Saito examined Korea's unmarked skin curiously, and whispered "They did say he's already been missing for two months, right? So they won't miss him for a while yet. And I know a guy who knows a guy in the research business - there's a place up at Pingfang, they'll probably pay better money for this kid than Honda-san will, and if he heals up from everything they can always give him back when they're done ..."
Tanaka hauled Korea up over his shoulder and carried him out with ease; the boy was lightly built and had lost a lot of weight in his wanderings. He carried the limp form out of the alley mouth, Saito following. The crowd must have heard the gunshot, but they guessed the two must be involved with the occupying military, and all took pains not to look in their direction. It was easier that way.