Finally, he spoke, his voice measured but heavy with the weight of his message. "JEO is planning a full ambush."

The room went deathly quiet. Liza's calm façade faltered, her hands clenched into fists at her sides as she processed the news. Her eyes flashed with barely contained anger, though she struggled to maintain her composure. "What?" she whispered, her voice trembling with disbelief.

Kagaro lifted his gaze, meeting hers with a look that conveyed the gravity of the situation. "They're coming for the Jenemes. All of them."

EPISODE SIX
UNDERTOW

Liza let out a weary sigh, placing her hand lightly on Kagaro's shoulder, hoping to ground him for a moment. But he reacted sharply, turning around and brushing her hand away without hesitation, a defensive glint flashing in his eyes. She sighed again, almost used to his perpetual guard but still disheartened by it.

“Well,” she said with a touch of exasperation, “you tell us, then—how exactly are they planning to find our hideout, Kagaro?”

He looked at her briefly, then nodded. Stepping past her, he made his way behind the reception counter. The receptionist, who had been watching him warily, quickly stepped away, taking exaggerated strides to stand beside Liza, a cautious distance from Kagaro. Ignoring them both, Kagaro sank into the chair behind the counter and stretched his legs out, crossing them at the ankles atop the desk. He leaned back leisurely, folding his hands behind his head. The chair gave a faint creak under his weight, but he seemed unfazed, staring up at the ceiling as he began to speak.

“Commander’s orders are to send us out in teams,” he began, his tone casual but laced with a sense of fatalism, “to comb through all the suspected areas for Jenemes. I don’t know what tipped them off, but it seems those areas they’re targeting… a few of them are our hideouts. They’re bound to find us if they keep up this search.” He paused, letting the gravity of his words sink in. “Orders are to eliminate any Jenemes on sight.”

A new voice interrupted, cutting through the tense silence. “Why the sudden action?” It was Yuzu, sliding down the staircase’s handrail with practiced ease before landing on his feet, his movements fluid and showy. He began to walk over, his eyebrows raised in curiosity as he looked at Kagaro.

Kagaro shot him a brief, indifferent glance before looking back at the ceiling. “That I don’t know,” he replied, his tone neutral.

Before anyone could say anything further, another voice rang out from behind Liza, colder and sharp with suspicion. “Or maybe you do know… maybe you’re actually a double agent.”

Liza and the receptionist turned to see Hito approaching, his eyes fixed on Kagaro with a hard intensity. The Jeneme soldiers stationed on either side of the reception desk shifted at his arrival, taking disciplined steps back to clear a path, their eyes snapping into focus as they stood at attention. It was as if an invisible red carpet had unfurled, and Hito was the guest of honor striding down its length.

In a single, fluid motion, Hito reached the desk and slammed his fists down on the counter. The impact echoed, reverberating through the room, and his hood slipped back, revealing a face twisted in barely restrained fury. His eyes blazed as he glared at Kagaro, and yet Kagaro seemed completely unbothered, not even bothering to sit up. Instead, he merely scoffed, the sound low and dismissive.

Liza sighed, glancing between the two of them. She was trapped in a room full of people primed to resolve their issues with fists, not words. Her tone turned placating as she tried to de-escalate. “Come on, Hito. Relax. Kagaro-san isn’t a double agent—”

“Kagaro-san?” Hito cut her off, his voice dripping with scorn. His gaze flicked back to Kagaro, his lips curling into a sneer. “Is that so? Seems to me like he’s managed to brainwash everyone here. Huh,” he scoffed, eyes narrowing. “What else could explain how cozy you all are with him?”

Kagaro’s gaze shifted toward him, his eyes cold and calculating. “And why exactly would I do that?” he asked, his voice level, though a hint of danger threaded through it.

“Why else?” Hito replied, his voice rising in intensity. “So they’ll do your bidding, kill each other off for your sake—”

But before Hito could finish, Kagaro’s hand moved with startling speed. He reached behind his head, pulling something hidden from his hood—a small, gleaming needle—and in one swift motion, he tossed it. The needle flew past Hito’s face, barely missing his eye, and struck the floor behind him with a metallic clang. The sound echoed sharply in the still room.

The soldiers around the desk immediately snarled, their hostility now focused on Kagaro as they moved in, their stances tense, preparing to encircle him.

Kagaro sat up slowly, swinging his legs down from the counter and leaning forward, his face hard and unyielding as he stared down Hito. His voice was ice-cold, each word measured, heavy with a promise. “If I wanted to kill you all, I wouldn’t need anyone’s help,” he said, his tone chillingly calm.

Hito flinched, a flash of shock crossing his face. The needle throw had caught him off guard, and his heart hammered in his chest as he struggled to maintain composure. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he stepped back, retreating from the counter, his clenched fists relaxing as the fear from Kagaro’s sudden display of skill settled in.

Kagaro took a measured step forward, moving to the front of the desk with a look that could pierce steel, his gaze locked on Hito. His cold intensity didn’t waver, even as the Jeneme soldiers around him began to growl, their hostility escalating to an explosive degree. In a single fluid motion, they lunged at him, but Kagaro was ready. Without hesitation, he raised one arm to the side, his hand stretching and expanding until it was an enormous force of destruction. His transformed hands swung down, effectively smothering the soldiers beneath their massive weight.

Liza and Yuzu had stepped back just in time, narrowly avoiding the impact of his transformed hands. Hito, still standing directly in front of Kagaro, was safe for the moment, protected by their standoff. Kagaro’s face remained impassive as he continued, effortlessly holding the soldiers under his colossal hands. With another swift motion, he lifted them, gripping the soldiers securely in his oversized palms before flinging them across the room like weightless objects. They crashed into walls and furniture, scattered in a chaotic tumble before slumping to the floor, groaning.

As the tension settled, Kagaro’s hands shrank back to their original size, morphing back seamlessly. With an almost casual air, he placed his hands behind his back, exuding an air of control as he began to walk past Hito, his calm in stark contrast to Hito’s heaving breaths. Kagaro’s steps were steady as he moved toward the main door.

“Captain,” Yuzu’s voice called out, breaking the silence. His tone was steady, his hands casually tucked into his pockets. “We don’t doubt you.”

Kagaro stopped, letting out a resigned sigh before turning to look at Yuzu. But Yuzu wasn’t where he’d expected; in a blink, Kagaro whipped back around just as Yuzu appeared right in front of him, teleporting with a speed that left the air charged. Yuzu’s form hovered, one leg slightly bent as if caught in mid-air, while the toe of his other foot barely grazed the ground, giving the impression of a hovering stance. His hands remained in his pockets, and he offered Kagaro a calm, knowing smile.

Kagaro shook his head and scoffed, though there was a reluctant respect in his eyes. “That you do,” he replied with a nod.

“But you should know,” Yuzu went on, his tone laced with something more serious. “It eats at us to be kept in the dark. Not knowing what’s going on.”

Kagaro narrowed his eyes, studying Yuzu with a guarded expression. “What do you mean?”

Yuzu’s face remained neutral, though his voice carried a hint of frustration. “Firstly, you told us to attack the Shinjuku School of Science and Technology. Why?”

Kagaro’s gaze flicked over to Yuzu, his eyes briefly shifting to catch Liza’s watchful stare and the tension in Hito’s stance behind her. His jaw tightened for a moment before he began walking past Yuzu, his expression hardening. “That,” he said coldly, “you don’t need to know.”

With that, he turned on his heel and exited the building, his footsteps echoing in the silence he left behind, leaving Yuzu, Liza, and Hito standing in the heavy stillness, each of them now more uncertain of Kagaro’s true intentions than ever.