4 - The Spearhead

“Can you believe it? Members of the fucking Heisei...” Oskar said, dragging his luggage across the crowded airport. “Never thought I’d get to boast about this.”

“I’m more surprised as to why Hayk hid that info from us.” Sakuto grunted, following him, trying his hardest not to trample anyone’s feet. “Maybe he was ashamed?”

“Sounds like he struck a deal with the devil and didn’t want us to know.” Oskar sighed. “Oh well, at least we get to see America...”

“That’s true.”

“I asked Hayk what happened to the last remaining elemental, by the way.” Oskar said. “He said that there’s a good chance he’s in the Heisei now, in the spearhead.”

“And why are you telling me that?”

“Cause we might be working with him.” Oskar said. “Gonna be awkward, that’s for sure.”

“If he steps out of line I’ll rip his head off.” Sakuto said. “Sadly I can’t do that cause the big bad Mr. Kamiki will get mad at us.”

“Yeah, that’s what Hayk kept on saying.” Oskar agreed. They finally stopped at the waiting area and prepared themselves for the excruciating hour-long wait until the gate opened. “He said that we can’t mess with him.”

“I guess. That’s why we’re doing all of this in the first place.” Sakuto sighed. “Not everyone gets to work with the Heisei, though.”

”Damn, I wonder what type of soulfuls the Heisei has...I only heard stories about them, but what do you think they’re actually like?”

[MEANWHILE, IN TOKYO]

“What else was I supposed to do?! I told her straight up! Go out with me! And she said no!” The young man yelled, slamming his glass of beer on the wooden table. The food plates were shaken, and the rest of the people were disappointed. Albeit, they were used to such energy.

“I bought her flowers, yeah? I bought her...uhh...some jewelry! All of that just for her to tell me she’s not ready for a relationship?! Ah, dammit!” He yelled, taking a generous few sips of his beer. The man with light brown hair and an unforgettable hyped up attitude was perfectly fitting the description of a ‘battle junkie’. Not-really-but-still- promoted to be a Heisei Spearhead member, after months of effective and upstanding service, his ego shone brighter than his bright blue eyes and the glistening remnants of beer by his mouth. Temporary Heisei Spearhead member, Kenji Krupov.

“You visited her once every week. For just ten minutes.” A slightly younger voice said from across the table.

“How else? I’d miss training.” Kenji exclaimed. “I’m not like you, Zawadski. My body needs to be in perfect shape.”

“You know best.” he replied, taking a sip of water. Heisei Spearhead member, Zawadski. At just 16 years old, he was picked up by Kaito Kamiki himself for his extreme potential as a soulful. While Kenji was dominating most conversations with his loud and careless attitude, Zawadski acted as the reserved sharp tongue that occasionally bit him. His dark hair and hazel eyes were absolutely devoid of fear. No matter what happened, his soul would salvage him.

“Yuuka, what the-”

“You guys told me that I couldn’t, but here I am!!!” She exclaimed to her phone, holding the camera against herself next to a small tower of fried rice balls she made. She finished the recording, and immediately started typing something on her phone at inconceivable speeds.

Diego wasn’t the only one burdening the popularity of the soulfuls. The global streaming celebrity, who was also one of the strongest and most terrifying fighters in the Heisei. Heisei Spearhead member, Yuuka Hoshikawa. Standing at a proud 150cm tall, she was the perfect idol, both with her cuteness and behavior. Constantly worrying about and talking to her fans, managing livestreams and promotions, it was all a part of her daily routine. Her unique modern-alt-idol outfit consisted of black, white, crimson and light blue decors and garments which synergized well with her black hair, her bangs were decorated with various pins she bought online.

“Kenji, what would happen if she texted you back saying she changed her mind?” Zawadski asked, grinning. He enjoyed making Kenji upset, and most importantly, making him spew the unintelligible bullshit that was in his brain.

“I’ll tell ya what, I’d play it cool. You know, nonchalantly cool. I’d call her desperate.” Kenji said, throwing a fried shrimp into his mouth, making sure the chewing process is seen by the whole world. Even his stomach acid was visible at this point.

“And what if she called you and told you to come over?” Zawadski asked, before being interrupted by a loud sound.

“My rice balls!! Yay!!!” Yuuka said, her voice drowning in joy. Looking at her creation, she felt nothing but pride and joy. She instantly pointed her smartphone at it. “New record! Six at a time! Beats my record from two minutes ago!!!”

“Well, if she said that, I’d uhh...hey, I’ll make sure to do just that! Haha!” Kenji said, hitting the table. The impact knocked down Yuuka’s food tower, causing the balls to spread all over the table, one of them even fell down on the floor. She looked genuinely sad.

“Yuuka, I told you that you shouldn’t play around with your food.” A slightly deeper female voice next to her said. She seemed disappointed and tired of Kenji’s constant ramblings and Yuuka’s shenanigans, but at the same time, it was what it was.

“I ordered food before I came here, alright? I stayed up all night doing a drama stream. Discussing politics.” Yuuka said, upset. “Let a girl enjoy her food tower.”

“Right...” her comrade sighed.

Despite its rather relaxed state, the primary Heisei Spearhead unit is a deadly, effective and nigh-unstoppable force. Its more serious, level-headed and even cold-blooded member was considered one of the most lethal and reliable operatives in the GSC overall. Lieutenant-Commander of the Heisei Spearhead, Jian Fang.Her beautiful long hair was dyed dark purple on the edges, with long twin ponytails on each side. She was the only Heisei member who wore an eyepatch - the black piece of clothing covered her right eye. Her other eye revealed a dark purple iris that was so magnificently pretty. She appeared calm almost all the time, and that sense of peace highlighted a certain beauty around her. Though, most of her targets wouldn’t even get to see her before dying. She was also pretty tall.

Stolen novel; please report.

“I’ll tell you what, Zawadski.” Kenji said. “Being in the Heisei is gonna boost my popularity so much!”

“You’re just temporary for now.” Zawadski chuckled.

“That’s for now, aye!” Kenji exclaimed. “This is pretty awesome. Even if I don’t remain in the Spearhead, I’ll still have that badge and this awesome uniform!”

“Dude, being in the Heisei is basically the same as being in the Heisei Spearhead at this point.” Zawadski said. “Except the newly formed division and some solo agents.”

“Then to staying in the Heisei!” Kenji said, raising his beer. He chugged it and hit the table with the glass once more. Jian, who was already annoyed by constant earthquakes disrupting her eating process, saw her plate rapidly shake and the small silverware for soy sauce spill over. She calmly sighed, but for a moment, Zawadski thought that someone would lose at least half of their limbs that day.

“Everyone, I’m sorry to cut the fun short.” A much deeper voice spoke. The head of the table was also the man that bore the responsibility of the squad. Captain-Commander of the Heisei Spearhead, Kostas Zervos.

Everyone at the table fell silent. Yuuka was still busy on her phone, but that was pretty much her natural state of existence at that point. Despite the differences in strength, they all adored and greatly respected their captain. As the captain approached his comrades, another figure emerged from behind him.

“This feels...really awkward...”

“My name is Ichigo Sadamitsu. I’m the newest addition to the Heisei Spearhead.” Ichigo said, bowing down. “Pleasure to be working with you.”

“Ooh! A new guy!” Kenji yelled, standing up and rushing at him immediately. He wrapped his arm around Ichigo’s neck. ”Are you strong? Come on, wanna spar? I won’t go too hard, hehe...”

“He’s a meathead, but he’s a good guy.” Zawadski sighed. “Welcome to the squad, Ichigo. Been waiting for you to join ever since recent events.”

“He’s an elemental too!” Yuuka said. “Is the Heisei going fully public?”

“No.” Zervos replied. “He was accepted as per his impressive combat showings and Diego’s personal demands.”

“Light manipulation is a soul expression that is strong all-around.” Jian said. “I’m sure you will be a great addition to the team.”

“T-thank you.” Ichigo bowed again, feeling uneasy under Jian’s calm yet focused glare. “She’s just as scary as they say...”

“You’ll have some time to learn to synergize together and get to know one another better.” Zervos explained. “The strongholds are laying low, they’re letting Mr. Kamiki handle all the work it looks like. You’ll remain stationed here for the time being and unless drastic changes occur, in around twenty days you will move to America and operate there.”

“America?!” Zawadski spat his drink out. “Hell yeah!”

“For real?!” Kenji yelled, almost breaking Ichigo’s neck from excitement. “Hey, you ever been to America?”

“Yeah, a few times...” Ichigo shyly answered, trying his hardest to not just straight up die from the hold.

“You’ll guide us!” Kenji continued. “Come on, I love this guy already!”

“I’ll let them be for now.” Zervos thought, smiling, watching the soldiers curiously pick Ichigo apart and study him like a child studies an ant under a magnifying lens - ripping its feet off one by one, accidentally burning the insect alive with the concentrated sunlight and then crying about it to their friends even though it was clearly their fault, and there’s no bringing the ant back to life, so now they’ll be stuck with the grief of killing it without even thinking of the horrible torture they subjected it to.

“Mr. Kamiki will want to report to him...”

...

“...any second now.”

“I’ll let him know that things are changing.” Kaito thought to himself, resting in his office. It was hard to call it rest, his mind was clouded by an aggregation of many concerns.

“Dyeman’s policies rely on acceptance and coexistence with the soulfuls. It relies on compassion and empathy, something that could be easily created through the appropriate campaigns and propaganda.”

“And still, it would be an incredible feat to reverse the situation. The general public hates us already.”

He shook his glass filled with ice cubes and water. Surprisingly, this time there were also a few small slices of lemon and herbs inside. Taking a sip seems to have awakened a certain line of thoughts within him.

“All of what happened in the war between Diego and Hayk...”

“It was a war where collateral damage was maximized.”

“All the events, and the despair created by the elementals’ defeat. A chain of circumstances resulting in perfect conditions for Sheller’s motives to go through.”

He put down the glass, leaning on his forearms. Outside, the wind was slowly clashing against his office’s windows. It created a perfect atmosphere of lonely overthinking leading to a multitude of realizations. The monotonous howl would overwhelm the senses, causing the thoughts to resonate louder in Kaito’s mind.

“Hayk would have no benefit from escalation, specifically a terrorist operation. He would not dare involve the Heisei and myself.”

“At the same time, it set up a perfect opportunity for one of Hayk’s disciples to limit the conflict to be exclusively between Diego and Hayk.”

“A destructive war the burden of which the GSC would end up carrying.”

“And now, the Adler Group will have a prime opportunity to throw feces in my backyard while I’m busy handling a pipe leak.”

With a grim expression, he picked at his fingernail. Small trails of energy escaped it, looking almost like small bursts of white flame.

“Sakuto Hitori’s reported death and apparent return to life, with knowledge about his soul expression.”

He sighed.

“I see.”

“There is an external factor interfering.”

As he heard a set of footsteps approach his room, paired with a soul presence getting closer, he looked up. His upcoming meeting with the captain would likely involve a discussion regarding the details that haunted Kaito just then.

“Captain Zervos.” Kaito said, welcoming the latter. “There’s an extra something I’d like to ask before we begin discussing the main details.”

“Whatever is required will be done.” Zervos replied.

“Make sure you leave one or two soldiers available during Otto Richter’s hearing. There are variables the behavior of which I need to monitor.”