The message from HQ blinked onto his tablet.
> TARGET: Prof. Eizen.
LOCATION: University of Lynvia, Building C, Room 401.
CRIMES: Human Trafficking, Child Slavery.
ORDER: Capture alive. Minimal collateral damage.
Teji lowered the tablet.
University of Lynvia.
His old university.
He zipped up his black Detroit jacket, the thin red dog tag tucked safely beneath his shirt.
No emotion. No hesitation.
Just another mission.
Or so he told himself.
---
The front door of the lecture hall slammed open.
All chatter died instantly.
Dozens of students turned, silence flooding the air as heavy footsteps echoed against the floor.
Teji walked in, his jacket swaying slightly with each step.
Gloved hands tucked calmly into his pockets.
Wolfcut hair casting sharp shadows across his cold, unreadable eyes.
Without a word, he moved straight toward the front, toward the man standing by the whiteboard.
"Prof Eizen," Teji said, his voice low, crisp, undeniable.
"You are under arrest for crimes in human trafficking and child slavery."
Gasps rippled across the room. Confused whispers.
Chairs scraped against the floor as students shifted uncomfortably.
The professor blinked, feigning ignorance. "Who the hell are you? You can't just barge in here and accuse me of something ridiculous in front of my students!"
Teji gave a small shrug, almost bored.
"Oh. Right. Forgot to introduce myself."
He pulled out a thin red dog tag from beneath his jacket, letting it swing gently in the light.
Prof Eizen's face drained of color.
The students stared, wide-eyed, exchanging nervous glances.
Among them, Teji caught a flicker of movement —
A familiar figure seated near the middle; her long hair braided loosely over one shoulder.
Tamiki.
For a brief second, Teji's steps faltered — a mere ghost of hesitation.
But he pushed it down. Hard.
Now wasn't the time.
"Apologies," Teji continued, as if nothing had happened. "Also forgot to bring handcuffs today.
So please... follow me peacefully."
---
The professor's hand darted under his lab coat, drawing a sleek pistol, the barrel aimed squarely at Teji's chest.
"You know guns won't work on you, right?" Eizen sneered.
Teji's gaze didn't even flicker. "I know."
Eizen smirked wider. "Oh, it's not for you."
Before the professor could act, the muzzle pressed against his own temple.
"If I die, you get nothing. Haha... you'll just fail like the others."
Without a blink, Teji dashed forward.
His gloved hand slapped the professor's wrist, the sound sharp and final.
The gun flew through the air, spinning violently before clinking against the leg of a student in the front row.
Teji's boot caught Eizen squarely in the chest, knocking him backward to the ground.
The classroom stayed frozen, stunned into pure silence.
---
Teji stepped back, arms folded, eyes cold.
"I warned you."
Without emotion, he pulled out his silenced pistol.
The first shot tore through Eizen's right arm — a muffled thud of impact.
The second shot cracked into the left.
A third slammed into the professor's thigh, dropping him fully to the floor, writhing in agony.
Gasps and stifled cries broke out among the students.
Tamiki was still. Silent. Watching.
Teji holstered the gun smoothly.
He knelt, pulling out a small canister marked BZN, spraying it across the wounds.
The bleeding slowed instantly, the formula binding flesh and muscle with cold efficiency.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Teji muttered. "I'm not saving you.
I'm saving time."
He hoisted the professor over his shoulder like a sack of weightless cargo and turned toward the door.
---
Just as Teji reached the exit, a voice called out, shaky but stubborn.
"Hey, Teji... what about this gun?"
Teji turned slowly.
One of his old classmates — some guy he barely remembered — stood there awkwardly, clutching the professor's fallen pistol.
Teji's eyes darkened.
"I don't care about that gun," he said flatly. "It's not part of my job."
He stepped forward, his presence like a shadow swallowing the light.
"But if you point it at me..."
His voice dropped lower, razor sharp.
"It'll become my job to hunt you down."
The classmate stiffened, uncertain — but pride and fear fought inside him.
Then, stupidly, he raised the gun, aiming it right at Teji's head.
"I don't know what happened to you, but you can't just do that to our professor."
For one heartbeat, the world seemed to stop.
In a blink, Teji was there — too fast to follow.
He slapped the gun out of the boy's hand so hard that the pistol smashed halfway into the soft wall, embedded like a broken knife.
The room gasped.
Teji leaned in close, his voice a whisper of death.
"According to protocol," he said, "you just committed assault and obstruction against an active mission."
"I have valid grounds to end you right here."
His eyes narrowed slightly, the threat almost a promise.
"But since you used to be my classmate..."
He turned away coldly.
"I'll let it slide. Just this once."
---
Teji turned back toward the door, ignoring the murmurs behind him.
But the moment his hand reached for the doorknob—
He froze.
Something was wrong.
Prof Eizen, slumped over his shoulder, was smiling.
The next second, the front door exploded inward with a deafening blast.
Teji twisted midair, shielding the professor instinctively, landing smoothly even with the dead weight on his shoulder.
Smoke and debris clouded the hall.
From the smoke, dark figures in tactical gear and masks began stepping into the room, their weapons gleaming under the broken lights.
The students screamed, ducking under desks, chaos erupting instantly.
Teji narrowed his eyes, sharpening his focus.
He set the professor down gently and stepped forward, his hand drifting toward his holster again.
Did something big just begin?
Teji's cold eyes stared sharply at the masked intruders.
---
[End of Chapter 2]