Volume Eight, Prologue:
In the outskirts of the Aomori prefecture, the Yonaguni Team are completing their mission. With a swing of his axe, Miyamura cuts down their target. Sat on top of a wall, Yonaguni sighs loudly.
“We sure did a lot of damage again. Toyotaro-kun will definitely be upset.”, Ninomiya says listlessly
“Who cares, Kazuya. I’m getting so tired of fighting these cowardly wimps.”
“Stop whining, Nariki. You should be happy that we don’t have to put any real effort in since you’re always complaining about having too much work. We should be more worried about the fact that there are people willing to cooperate with dangerous criminals just to earn some cash.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah….”
Shirogane chastises her Squadron Leader for his usual poor attitude. Miyamura wipes the blood off of his axe and smirks at his friend.
“Tsubaki just wants to get back to Naoya-kun as soon as possible, Nariki. Don’t mind her.”
Shirogane’s face immediately flushes at Miyamura’s remark.
“Eh? Why does she want to do that?”, Yonaguni asks, nonplussed.
“She likes him.”, Ninomiya says plainly.
“Ah, I see. WHAT?!”
Shirogane’s face is entirely red at this point, and her silence isn’t helping to refute what’s being said. Yonaguni stares in disbelief.
“Oi, Eiri! Do you know about this?!”
“Uh, yes.”
Sonoda’s small voice comes from his earpiece, confirming his thoughts.
“Damn it! How can both Mop-Head and Inko have more game than me?! I have to make sure that they never meet Moeka!”
“Ah, how is your sister-”
Miyamura starts to ask a question with a smile on his face, but the atmosphere of the scene abruptly changes.
“Hiyaaa!”
A youth with golden hair and eyes bears down on him with an ornate looking Bo staff. Miyamura blocks it and counters with a shorthanded swing. The boy evades it, but is unaware that the attack was a feint, leading him to get struck sharply with a kick to the stomach.
“Ha! Nice, nice!”
“⌈Iron Gauntlets.⌋”
With an Incantation applied, Shirogane aims a punch at the attacker's head, but her fist is stopped by a barrier.
“What?”
“You’re an idiot, Hanayama. Why would you just jump in like that, you fool?”
From thin air, a black-haired young man with a large amount of jewellery appears, seemingly being the assailant’s ally.
(That was Jump-Stepping!)
Yonaguni, who was watching the whole time, leaps off of the wall with exuberance.
“Finally, some guys who aren’t scrubs! Come on, let’s go!”
“Alright, old man! I’m all for that!”
It seems as though a full scale battle is about to break loose, but it’s quelled by the black-haired youth.
“Let’s go, Hanayama. Master Shade is waiting for us.”
A magic circle appears beneath the duo’s feet, causing the golden haired youth to relax his stance unwillingly.
“You’re no fun, Hattori..”
In a flash, the two of them disappear, leaving Yonaguni clearly furious.
“Oi, don’t blue-ball like that, damn it!”, he says angrily. “Can you guys believe those bastards?”
However, his squadron doesn’t share his sentiments.
“Eiri. Send this message to HQ, stat.”, Miyamura says strongly.
“Yes, sir! What is it?”
“Tell them that we encountered who appeared to be high-ranking members of Midnight Fox, and that one of them wields the Ruyi Jingu Bang.”
Miyamura Taichi stares at the spot where the duo was standing with a hard, severe expression.
“The Blessed Weapon in which resides the spirit of Sun Wukong, the Victorious Fighting Buddha.”