Liun, Malik and yui walked through a dinky disgusting tunnel beneath Tokyo that seemed like it hadn't been cleaned in decades.

  “Remind me again why you're not with us?” Malik said, talking into his phone to ash who was on the other end of the line.

  “Like I said before, this is an undercover operation. The sin brokers are an organization that has eyes and ears all over the place, they know every sin hunter.. but you guys are just juniors, which is why you'll be working with some other junior division squads to infiltrate” ash explained to the dark skinned boy. “Also I'm not good at stealth.”

  “So.. why exactly are we trying to stop them?” Yui asked, ever since the mission was explained to her in their living room, she had several questions. “I mean, don't we need as many sin hunters out there as possible?” The girl asked.

  “Because the sin broker association is an illegal organization” liun explained for their conductor, “yes it is true that Japan needs as many sin hunters as possible however these people are merely using the alias of a company of sin hunters in order to sell the resources they get from sins on the black market, and while doing this they're taking money from the people they help. Or at least that's what the HAS has managed to uncover. Which is why we were given the task to infiltrate and gather information on whatever else they may be hiding.”

  “... Yeah, what he said” Ash said, the boy had absolutely no reason to restate the entire mission objective, tho he shouldn't have been too surprised liun always did seem like the type of person to do that.

  “Okay all that's fine and dandy or whatever but why'd we have to go through this damn tunnel, couldn't we have just met up with that other team in the streets or in the building or something? Plus what even is this place?” Malik questioned.

  “these are tunnels that the HAS built under all of Japan, so that we could get in, and get out anywhere without people seeing us.” Ash explained again.

  “Yeah that didn't answer my first question” Malik spat,

  “... Wait what was your first question?”

  Malik was about to yell at him before being stopped when he noticed three people who seemed to have been waiting for them.

  “Finally! My God what took you guys so long, we've been waiting here in this tunnel for forever!” Said the female of the three others in the tunnel.

  “Sorry for the inconvenience, we were simply having trouble with directions.” Liun said with a bow.

  “Huh, you're a polite one aren't you.” One of the boys said looking down at the white haired boy, he didn't say it in a dismissive way, in fact he said it with a rather full chest.

  “Huh, konchuu, you're here too?” Yui noted the presence of the other boy,

  “Hello Miss hoshino” the bowl cut boy said.

  “You know these guys konchuu?” The other girl looked over to him with a bit of surprise.

  “Well I know her, tho I didn't quite get the names of the other two.” The boy said.

  “Ah yes, introductions are in order aren't they? My name is liun Bai.” The white haired boy introduced himself

  “Malik Garcia,”

  “I'm yui hoshino”

  “And we're division 13”

  “Hm, well everyone here already knows me” konchuu said, backing out of this to let the other two give introductions.

  “hi, I'm asaka morino from division 8” the girl introduced herself. She had dual toned hair colored in pink and blue, which were tied into twin buns atop her head. She had dark skin, even darker than Malik, and she was dressed more in line with the way one would expect a cheerleader to dress, rather than a sin hunter who's on a secret mission.

  Then there was the tall guy “I Am ISHGAR of division 3, It's a pleasure to meet you!” the boy said in a hearty voice, his chest puffed out with pride. He stood at the same height as ash, about 6 foot 7. He had blazing red hair and eyes to match. He wore a pair of company issued pants however he was completely shirtless, showing off his defined muscular physique.

  “Your name is ISHGAR?” Malik questioned

  “YES, Is there a problem with that!?” The boy asked to which Malik shrugged.

  “nothin, I just thought it was an interesting name.”

  “So, I assume you were also briefed on the Mission.” Liun said to which they nodded “Well thats great to hear, cause we were not informed on where to go after meeting up with you.”

  “Really?” asaka asked,

  “Yeah we don't exactly have the most competent conductor.” Malik said.

  “I can still hear you y'know.” Ash said. Malik hadn't hung up the phone due to the fact that they needed to be in constant contact with ash as long as the mission was ongoing since that was the job of a conductor. “Besides, I don't actually know either.”

  “Huh? How do you not know?” Malik asked, he was the one who should know these things.

  “People just don't tell me things.” Ash said.

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  “Well,there are actually three places we're going, so we'll be splitting off into 3 different pairs.” Konchuu explained.

  “But isn't that kinda dangerous? I mean I'm assuming these places are heavily guarded. How are we, a bunch of teenagers supposed to get in?” yui asked.

  “Did you forget about the undercover aspect of the mission?” Malik said, pulling off the big bag he'd been carrying on his back and pulling out sets of clothes, “we were given these for a reason.” They looked kinda like uniforms. Straight black with a small red oval on it over to the side that carried the letters SB.

  Then he pulled out a couple stick on tattoos, that looked the same, they looked more like qr codes.

  “These will give us a way in. Apparently every SB hunter is given a barcode tattoo that they hide, so just don't let those get touched by water, and dont rub on it.” Malik started handing out clothes and tattoos to everyone as well as packages.

  “whats in the packages?” asaka asked.

  “All three sites we're heading to had a delivery scheduled today, so the conductors intercepted, took the packages, and now you all have a perfect cover.” Ash said over the phone, tho nobody could hear him.

  —narita—

  Yui and asaka, entered a giant hotel in Narita, which was filled with people from all kinds of backgrounds, tho the majority seemed to be rich people with a lot of money in their pockets.

  “Woah, this place is.. woah” she was impressed but.. she wasn't really too excited, fancy rich people gatherings like this always seemed kinda lifeless, or at least that's how alot of anime portrayed it.

  That was when she was struck with a familiar feeling. The same one she felt back a week ago when the team had first moved into the apartment and she went up to that party. She could feel a sin nearby.

  “Hoshino? Hoshino are you okay?” Asaka asked, having noticed the girl space out.

  “Oh, y-yeah I'm fine” yui said.

  The two girls walked up to a nearby door, guarded by a pretty big guy,

  The big guy guarding the doors looked up at the two girls, scanning them from top to bottom. "Can I help you two?" He asked in a deep booming voice, crossing his arms firmly against his chest.

  Asaka didn’t even flinch. She stepped forward, flashing a lazy smile. “Yeah, we’re late. Division logistics messed up our clearance time.”

  The man raised a brow. “Division?”

  Asaka casually tugged at the sleeve of her uniform jacket, revealing the edge of the barcode tattoo just enough for him to see. Yui followed suit, lifting her wrist slightly.

  The guard’s eyes flicked to both marks.

  “SB?” He muttered. “You don’t look like field hunters.”

  Asaka tilted her head. “That’s because we’re not. We’re transport and support. You want blood on your carpets?”

  The man pulled out his phone and scanned the QR codes on the girls wrists. He grumbled when he looked to see what came up.

  “Don't cause any trouble you hear me. You transport people fuck around too much.” The man said as he let them through.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Asaka replied sweetly, pulling Yui through the doors.

  The moment they crossed the threshold, the air changed, it was warmer than the room they'd just left.

  It was a staircase that led down.

  “Thanks a lot, I don't think I could've gotten through that as effortless.” Yui said thanking the girl standing next to her

  “No need to thank me girl, we women need to stick together”

  The two walked down the stairwell, yui occasionally flinching from the sounds around her. The further down they got the more that feeling crept up on her, like they were walking into a den of sin.

  Eventually they made it all the way to the bottom of the stairs and what greeted them at the bottom? A rave, a giant, loud rave

  The sounds of bass thumping and lights flashing assaulted the girls' senses, sending a wave of sensory-overload. The space was packed, people grinding against each other in a haze of sweat and smoke.

  “Oh my God”

  –meanwhile in Osaka–

  Malik and ISHGAR stood across the street from a tall, narrow building tucked between a ramen shop and a karaoke bar. Neon signs buzzed overhead, casting pink and blue light across the cracked pavement.

  “...This place looks normal,” Malik muttered, arms crossed. “Too normal.”

  ISHGAR threw his hands on his hips, chest puffed out like a proud statue. “HAH! NORMAL OR NOT, WE SHALL FACE IT HEAD-ON! NO SHADOW CAN HIDE FROM THE FIRE OF OUR MANLINESS!”

  Malik side-eyed him. “Ni-” he stopped himself, "say it a little louder why don't ya I don't think they know we're undercover yet”

  “OF COURSE! LOUDER IS NOT A PROBLEM FOR ME!” ISHGAR boomed.

  Malik sighed and walked toward the building anyway. The sign above the door read “Lotus Velvet” in elegant cursive, with a glowing flower logo beside it.

  “Lotus Velvet…” Malik read aloud. “That sounds like a spa. Or a candle store.”

  ISHGAR nodded seriously. “YES. A PLACE OF RELAXATION. I SHALL RELAX MY FISTS UPON OUR ENEMIES!”

  “… fuck my life.”

  They stepped inside.

  The interior was dim, warm, and heavy with incense. Soft music played- slow, smooth, kinda sounding like elevator music but not really. Plush couches lined the walls, and red lanterns hung from the ceiling. The lighting was… suggestive.

  Malik immediately stopped walking.

  ISHGAR looked around, eyes wide but completely unfazed. “THIS IS A VERY LUXURIOUS LOBBY. THE ENEMY CLEARLY LIVES COMFORTABLY.”

  “Could you just stop talking? For like a minute? Cause that'd be really helpful.”

  A woman in a sleek black dress approached them, clipboard in hand, smiling like she’d seen a thousand awkward boys before.

  “Welcome to Lotus Velvet,” she said smoothly. “Do you have a reservation?”

  Malik blinked. “Uh… reservation?”

  ISHGAR stepped forward confidently. “YES! WE ARE HERE FOR-” He paused, squinting. “-INFILTRATION.”

  Malik slapped a hand over ISHGAR’s mouth instantly, not letting the woman process what he just said "Transportation, we're here for transportation”

  He flashed the wrong code tattoo on his wrist. The woman’s eyes flicked to it, then back to his face.

  “Ah,” she said, tone shifting just slightly. “So you're from SB.”

  ISHGAR proudly lifted his arm, flexing as he revealed his own barcode. “YES. WE ARE HERE TO BROKER… SOME SINS”

  The woman’s eyes widened a little at his size, having only just now noticed how tall he was. then she smiled again, unfazed. “Follow me.”

  Malik leaned close to ISHGAR as they walked. “from now on, just let me do the talking.”

  “THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD PLAN!”

  They were led down a hallway lined with velvet curtains and soft red lighting. Malik’s unease grew with every step.

  “…Why are there so many heart-shaped lights?” Malik whispered.

  ISHGAR nodded sagely. “THIS BUILDING IS FILLED WITH LOVE.”

  “didnt we agree to let me do the talking?”

  They reached a door guarded by two men in suits. The woman nodded to them, and one of the guards opened it.

  Inside was… not what Malik expected.

  Dim lighting. Plush beds. Soft music. People dressed in revealing outfits. Conversations in hushed tones. Some people were clearly paying others for “services.”

  Malik froze.

  “…Oh come on.”

  ISHGAR looked around, confused but intrigued. “THIS IS A VERY STRANGE CANDLE STORE.”

  “ISHGAR,” Malik hissed, grabbing his arm. “This is a brothel.”

  ISHGAR blinked.

  “…A WHAT.”

  “A brothel. Do you not know what that is?”

  “IVE HEARD OF IT IN PASSING. ISN'T IT WHERE PEOPLE PAY TO GET THEIR BODIES WASHED BY BEAUTIFUL WOMEN.” ISHGAR asked

  Malik stared at him.

  “…You’re not wrong,” Malik admitted, “but there's a whole lot more to it than that.”

  The woman from before looked at the two boys, “we've informed your superiors that you're here, the boss will be down here shortly. Why don't you choose from a hearty selection of girls while you wait?”

  The woman said as the boys suddenly found themselves surrounded by women

  “That really won't be necessary” the boy said only to get touched all over. His shoulders were being kneaded, he was being patted down, and he was being grabbed in places hands shouldn't be near.

  ISHGAR was not exempt from this either. ISHGAR awkwardly laughed, unsure of what to do with the girls hanging all over him. He was completely unused to this level of attention.

  Malik meanwhile, was trying to politely push the girls away, but they were being persistent. "I'm really flattered, but-" he said as a girl grabbed his waist. "Oh come on honey, don't be so shy." She teased. “Enjoy it”

  Malik had no idea what was happening, could they not tell that he was a teenager? He could understand why they wouldn't be able to tell for ISHGAR since that guy was a freak of nature. But he was very obviously a teen… oh right, he had forgotten that the age of consent in Japan was 16.. but he did not consent

  “MY MOTHER USED TO TELL ME THAT ALL THREATS TO YOUR COMFORT ARE ENEMIES. AND I AM VERY UNCOMFORTABLE”

  “Miss Ichika, what's going on in here?” In walked a man wearing a business suit, his presence caused the air in the room to grow tense. His hair was black with dark purple highlights underneath top. His hair was slickedback.“Are you two from transport and support?”

  As the man waved, the crowd of girls around them dispersed, going back to please the men who had paid for them earlier.

  “Yes” Malik said, his clothes crushed up and unruly

  “Well then, sit down. And show me the goods”

  — meanwhile elsewhere in osaka.---

  Liun and konchuu had already made it past the men guarding the entrance. They were very convincing… meaning that they knocked out the guards.

  The place was an abandoned detention center that hadn't been used in decades.

  The interior was worse than the outside - flickering fluorescent lights, cracked walls, old cell doors lining both sides of the hall. Chains still hung from some of the walls, rusted and forgotten.

  “Oi, who the hell are you damn kids?” Liun's eyes moved to the shadow of one of the holding cells, it was a bald man with scars running along his body and blood covering him

  “We're just transport workers, we're here to deliver goods.” Konchuu said, trying to de-escalate the situation.

  “Yeah right. Don't you know? The strong recognize the strong and you two are way too strong to be transport workers,” the man pulled a knife out of seemingly nowhere.

  He was about to stab liun before the man heard a whistle.

  The man backed off with grunted annoyance as a bunch more people surrounded them. There were twelve of them and they all seemed strong.

  “took you long enough to get here” One of the people said. “The hell are you even getting paid for, gimme the damn package.” The person said.

  Liun obliged and handed the person the box.

  “Before you see us out would you allow us to use the restroom? My compatriot and I were very well hydrated on the way here and we can't hold it for much longer.” The white haired boy said.

  “Sure whatever.” The crowd had begun to leave, following the guy who had been given the package

  Liun and konchuu smiled.

  Mission successful.