Kibishi's POV

  It took some time, but we were finally there.

  We were all standing in front of a building. It seemed to be the right pce due to it being a part of an organization to protect the human race.

  You could say it looked like those scary organizations' buildings in those superhero movies. That, or a corporate building that made people shake in their boots.

  Yup. That was it, alright.

  "Damn, it looks like those shady corporations that do some illegal stuff. Are you sure we're at the right pce?" David bluntly stated as he pointed at the building.

  "That's not very nice to say out loud, David..." I sweated and ughed nervously.

  "He does have a point, though..." Riley added while pcing an index finger under her chin.

  "Why is everyone being so blunt today?" I thought while feeling my face pour down more sweat.

  "Alrighty, it's time to set you guys up for each department. Kibi and Tao, you'll be following me while Dav and Ril will follow the soldiers to the other department," Akuma announced. She then pushed a button, and a couple of seconds ter, the two doors opened on their own.

  That was the moment we all entered the building.

  Once inside, the AC brushed on our skin as if it was welcoming us to the location. From the inside, it seemed like a typical worker's office. There was the door staff worker, some janitors, and even some workers for the building themselves. I was sure they all had a role in all of this.

  The other thing that made it different from a normal office was that people looked a bit more lively.

  And it wasn't long before David and Riley had to separate ways. Only Tao and I were left following Akuma. Before that, though, there was something that David said to me that would most likely stick with me all through my time there.

  "Don't forget. You're never alone. If you're in trouble, remember that we'll find a way to help you no matter what. And if we can't be there for some reason, remember that you always have us in your heart! Us and the people you'll meet in the near future."

  Those words were like my scars from my back to my chest.

  Buried deep inside of me. Like the skin getting bled out after opening, and the blood poured out as a reaction to those actions. I honestly didn't want to see them go, but there was no other way. At the very least, I had Tao by my side.

  At any rate, Akuma gave us a brief tour of the building.

  First, we visited the kitchen and then the cafeteria. After that, she showed us a library, a gym to work out, a pool, and even a garden. There was a lot more, but it was all a blur due to how quickly we had the grand tour of this pce.

  Akuma saw that I wasn't capturing all the information she was providing us and said that it was fine that I didn't understand all of it right then. We had plenty of time on our hands, so there was no need to rush and try to learn everything in one day.

  Anyway,

  The next stop was a doctor's office.

  Once we entered inside, we saw a man with green hair in the shape of a ponytail, a b coat, a stethoscope that he was wearing in each of his ears, a dark green shirt, white slick pants, and white shoes. He was sitting in a chair next to a girl with green hair with twin phony tails, blue eyes, a long white dress like you wear in a hospital bed, and some pink slippers.

  The man with green hair turned around and looked at Akuma with a warm smile. He seemed to be doing a check-up for that girl on the bed.

  "Ah, welcome back, Akuma. I assume these are the two that you went to retrieve?" the doctor asked Akuma curiously as he took out the stethoscope from his ears.

  "Hey there, Mato, Jir!" Akuma greeted the two of them.

  "Welcome back, Kuma," the girl who was named Jir responded to Akuma, along with a light nod and a hint of blush.

  "So? The results from the mission? Obviously, it was successful due to you getting those two here, but I'm more into how you managed to get them to our side." The doctor who was named Mato asked.

  "It's a long story but..."

  A few minutes ter...

  And so, Akuma expined the events so far. It was so detailed that I was surprised since I didn't know she had paid so much attention to us. Then again, I bet this mission was important to them, so there was that.

  It did raise more questions than answers, but I would keep that to myself for now.

  Once Akuma was done expining some things, Doctor Mato nodded to himself and folded his arms.

  "I see. So you found more than one person who has the potential."

  "Potential?" Tao's brows raised.

  "Ah, right. You probably don't understand any of this." Mato scratched the back of his neck. "As much as I want to expin it to you two, I can't do such a thing."

  "Why is that?" I asked with my left brow raised.

  "It's not like I'm trying to hide it from you—it's basically information after all. But I'm following orders from The Founder." Mato deeply sighed and shook his head.

  "That's not reassuring at all. How come you're hiding such information if it's basic knowledge around here? Seems suspicious to me." Tao bluntly stated while pcing her index finger under her chin.

  "That is a very valid opinion there, Taoreta. I, too, would be asking the same thing in your shoes." Mato sweated and ughed nervously.

  "But there's a set of rules we must follow. If you can't even get that, then you two are hopeless..." The girl named Jir bluntly stated while narrowing her eyes at us.

  "You didn't have to say it like that, you know...." I stated, sweating a bit as I tried to crack a smile to show that I was trying to be thoughtful and not rude with my opinion.

  "Kibi is right! You should learn to be nice to those who are an ally to us, Jir!" Akuma pointed at Jir. It was almost as if a mother was scolding a daughter.

  "I-I was only trying to be honest, g-geez!" The girl Jir blushed madly and then looked away.

  "Still! You should at least try to word it nicely! Don't, and you'll never have a boyfriend, Jir!"

  "Who cares about getting a boyfriend?!"

  "I do, Jir!"

  And so, Akuma and Jir continued their argument without taking notice of the rest of us. Due to this turn of events, Mato deeply sighed once more and then looked at Tao and me with a small smile, yet having a worried look.

  "Er, anyway. I suppose I should reintroduce myself." Mato scratched the side of his face. "The name's Mato Williams. A part-time Doctor who's nothing and can't stand out from the crowd. I'm also into tinkering with machines and technology, but my main field is mythology!.... Or, I want it to be."

  "Ah, I see. My name is Kibishi. Pleased to meet you, Mato!"

  "Likewise," Mato nodded to me.

  "Taoreta. Pleased to meet you, Mato." Tao gave Mato a warm smile.

  "Now that we've got that out of the way, how about I introduce you to my patient?" Mato gestured his left hand towards the green-haired girl. "That girl who's arguing with Akuma is named Kujira. Just like Akuma, she's also a supernatural."

  "She's a supernatural, too?" I raised my brows as I took a step back.

  "Indeed, she is." Mato nodded.

  "..." Tao seemed to be thinking intensely. Not that I could bme her or anything. Two more supernaturals back-to-back was crazy. Not to mention, we also were supernaturals as well. The question was, how DID we become one?

  I pondered about this new discovery as I pced my hand in front of my chin.

  So much for them being rare, huh. To me, they were popping up like rabbits coming from many barrels underground. More importantly, how did they know we were one of them despite us not knowing ourselves? Did the forbiddens do something to us to gain these supernatural powers? Where did mine come from? What did those fmes represent? What was Tao's supernatural power?

  So many things didn't make sense to me right then. I supposed it would get answered as we stayed in this cursed world.

  "So what type of supernatural are we?" Tao asked with a straight face.

  "Yeah, I would like to know, too." I pced my hands in my jacket, furrowing my brows with determination.

  "We have an idea, but for now, we should continue the tour, you two." Akuma intervened with a small smile.

  "And why can't we get our answers now? You're not trying to hide anything, right?" Tao pced another finger under her chin. "Based on the information we received so far, I think we have the right to know, don't you think?"

  "Sheesh, good grief. This girl is full of it, ain't she?" Kujira rudely stated while narrowing her eyes at Tao.

  "F-full of it?!" Tao sweated intensely at Kujira's statement. That expression alone that Tao was making made me a bit angry due to Kujira's rudeness to my best friend. Normally, I would've jumped on her case—being an annoying prick whenever someone hurt Tao—but I halted myself due to the fact that I didn't know her very well yet. Thinking logically, shouting at Kujira could also upset the people in here, so I'd better py smart and cool.

  If only I was like this all the time whenever Tao and the others were in danger, but there wasn't much to be done at that point about that fatal fw of mine...

  "Kujira, don't you think you went a LITTLE too far with that comment? Let's say, for example, if a child is asking you questions about a new cool-looking zoo that's been released to the public, and you're one of the employees who know all about the animals, right? Wouldn't it make sense that they'll ask since they don't know anything about that pce?" I suggested, giving a warm smile to show that I was trying to respect her as a human being.

  "If they want to know so much, why don't they ask the manager and be done with it?" Kujira bnkly stared at me while answering me cold-heartedly.

  Right. I'm about to leave this pce before I lose my mind and do something that will get me and Tao in trouble.

  "Please excuse me," I coldly stated back at the sender who gave me the cold shoulder with her rude response.

  "W-wait, where are you going, Kibi?!" Tao swiftly grabbed onto my hand warmly, which made me halt.

  "I'm going to take a breather outside so that I can cool my head for a bit. I'll be back, I promise." I smiled at Tao.

  "We can't have that. You both need to continue the tour before you're free to move around by yourselves." Akuma added while folding her arms.

  "Any real reason for that, or is that an order from the higher-ups?" I asked in a sarcastic way.

  "If you have time to be sarcastic, then you have time to follow the rules and instructions from the people that are trying to help you. I understand you're mad at Jir for being sometimes blunt and a bit cold to new people, but you barely know her yet." Akuma's intense look lowered when she gave a warm smile and offered her hand to me. "You can't cross the road without looking both ways, so what do you say?"

  "..."

  I deeply sighed and shook my head. I turned back around with my hands still in my jacket and smiled back at Akuma. "Fair enough, I suppose. Maybe I was a bit too emotional just now. Forgive me for that, everyone."

  "Nah, I get it. And Jir," Akuma looked at Kujira with a serious look. "I know you're not good at meeting new people, but try to work on that from now on, okay? I'll even help you if you want."

  "R-right... I'm sorry, Kuma. I'm sorry...Kibishi. For my rudeness, I mean..." Kujira slowly stood up and bowed to me. Her fingers trembled against the hem of her hospital gown before she quickly clenched them into fists.

  "...Y-yeah." I nodded, suddenly feeling like I'd kicked a puppy.

  ...Well, I guess that worked. Maybe I was being too rash when it came to Kujira. Though it was justified, since what Kujira said was kinda unnecessary. However, I would keep that part of my opinion to myself and not share it out loud.

  Whatever the case may be, I would follow along for now.