Tokyo: Magical Girl Shatters My Dream of Going Public

A report of mission completion was transmitted into the headset.

Kurokawa hummed in agreement.

He swallowed the last bite of noodles and gave the next instruction:

"Go to this address. The community park south of the recycling center."

He reported a series of precise location information.

"Be careful to avoid patrol cars. You made quite a commotion just now; the security guards have definitely called the police. Soon, the police, and even 'relevant departments' or a magical girl, will be on the scene to investigate."

"Understood." Kanzaki's voice came from the background of the howling night wind, still calm.

Kurokawa put down the empty noodle box, picked up the cup, and took a sip of cold water.

Time passed second by second.

The only sound in the factory was the low hum of the machine fans.

About twenty minutes later.

A low voice came through the headset: "I've arrived. What are the next instructions?"

At 2 a.m., the so-called "community park" looked more like a forgotten corner of the city.

A few dim streetlights illuminated a small patch of paved ground and a few clumps of half-dead shrubs, making the space feel somewhat desolate.

Kanzaki stood in the center of the open space, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily.

He is waiting.

rustle--

Slight footsteps.

A patrolling dummy silently emerged from the shadows.

Its tentacles steadily supported a silver-gray suitcase.

They stopped in front of Kanzaki.

The tentacles deftly pried open the latches on the lid and lifted it open.

The interior is filled with custom-made pearl cotton.

The two recessed square grooves were sized to fit perfectly into the silver storage cage at Kanzaki's waist.

Kanzaki understood immediately.

He quickly removed the two now-quiet containment cages from the tactical hook and carefully placed them into the slots.

A perfect match.

The lid closes and the latch locks automatically.

"Containment confirmed." Kurokawa's voice came at the right time. "Performance far exceeded expectations, Captain Kanzaki."

Kanzaki did not accept the compliment.

He was more concerned about something else.

"My eyes," he said somewhat nervously, "the ones you promised before."

"Of course. The promise stands."

As soon as the words were spoken, a mechanical tentacle slowly rose from the patrol dummy in front of them, which had just completed its handover, with a medical breathing mask attached to its end.

The mask's exhaust vents were facing Kanzaki.

"What is this?" Kanzaki narrowed his right eye slightly.

"A high-concentration inhaled anesthetic." Kurokawa didn't hide anything. "You need to 'sleep' for a while. The treatment process requires absolute quiet and... secrecy."

Kanzaki was silent for two seconds.

He hadn't expected that the man called "President" would be so cautious.

Finally, he let out a soft breath.

There was no debate, no questioning.

He chooses to believe.

He believed in the power to crush the monster, in the level of technology he experienced tonight, and even more so in... the other party had no reason to harm him at this moment.

He reached out and took the breathing mask from the doll's tentacle, deftly putting it on his face and fastening the straps.

The sensors inside the mask detect that the mask is being worn.

hiss--

A very faint sound of airflow.

A cool spray with a sweet, fishy smell instantly filled the inside of his mask and was inhaled into his lungs.

Almost simultaneously, the intense fatigue forcibly suppressed by the overloaded state, and the dizziness after excessive mental exertion, surged up like a flood bursting its banks!

The scene before my eyes blurred and spun rapidly.

Darkness gently swallowed consciousness.

His body went limp and he fell forward.

Another patrol robot that was already on standby quickly stepped forward, its mechanical tentacles gently but firmly supporting his limp body.

Almost at the same moment Kanzaki fell—

At the park entrance, an ordinary gray van without any markings slowly drove in like a ghost and stopped at the edge of the open space.

The driver's seat was empty.

No, it wasn't completely deserted.

A patrol figure identical to the one on the exterior of the vehicle is "sitting" in the driver's seat.

Inside the factory, Kurokawa's perspective completely overlaps with that of the patrolling doll.

It was he who, inside the factory, used the [Puppet Control Plugin] to control this patrolling puppet.

He muttered to himself, "It's time to move on to the next step."

He controlled the puppet in the driver's seat.

The two dolls inside and outside the vehicle worked together, using their tentacles to quickly lift the unconscious Kanzaki, deftly placing a thick black cloth bag over his head to completely block his vision, and then smoothly carrying him into the compartment in the middle of the van.

The car door slid closed and locked.

The engine emitted a deep hum.

The gray van turned around and silently drove out of the deserted park, blending into the sparse traffic of Tokyo in the early morning.

Length of night.

------

The cold morning wind scraped against my skin like a knife.

Kanzaki jolted violently, breaking free from the ashes of unconsciousness.

Consciousness is like a sunken ship being salvaged, slowly rising to the surface.

cold.

He curled up and opened his eyes.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, bathed in gray light.

The field of vision... is exceptionally clear.

He blinked, looking at the wood grain of the bench nearby, the bare tree branches in the distance, and even the sparrow feathers perched on a street lamp dozens of meters away.

Too clear.

He sat up abruptly, the movement so large that his muscles felt sore and weak, but he didn't feel any pain.

He instinctively reached out with his left hand to touch his left eye.

The eye mask... is gone.

It has a smooth feel.

There was no gauze, no wound.

He closed his right eye and looked with only his left.

The world remains clear.

Colors, details, perspective... all perfectly preserved.

No, it's even better than before the injury!

He turned his neck in disbelief, looking further into the distance.

My eyesight seems to have... improved?

The slight eye strain caused by prolonged sniping and night combat has disappeared.

Not just the eyes.

He tried to move his shoulders, knees, and ankles.

The hidden injuries and old aches left by years of high-intensity training and missions, the sourness and stiffness that I had long been accustomed to, like background noise, have all... disappeared.

He felt light and energetic, as if he had returned to his peak condition when he was twenty years old and had just been selected for the special forces.

How... is this possible?

Healing not only his eyes but also all the hidden injuries in his body? What kind of technology is this?!

Shock washed over him like a tidal wave.

Ring ring—

A clear bell rang out, right beside me.

Kanzaki suddenly turned his head.

Beside the bench stood that familiar silver-gray flight case.

The ringing was coming from inside the box.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his turbulent emotions, but his actions were decisive.

Bending down, I entered the password from my memory.

"Click".

The lid popped open.

The tattered black combat suit from last night now lies quietly inside, perfectly intact, without a single wrinkle or stain.

Beside it, the Magic Battery charging indicator light was steadily lit up green, indicating that the energy had been recharged to 100%.

Above the clothing, the black, unmarked cell phone's screen was lit, displaying an incoming call—

[President]

Kanzaki's heart skipped a beat when he saw that name.

He slowly reached out and picked up his phone.

I even answered the call with a bit of trepidation, like I was on a pilgrimage.

Put it to your ear.

"Feed?"

"Captain Kanzaki," Kurokawa's voice came through, calm and emotionless, "How are you feeling?"

Kanzaki was silent for two seconds, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"It's so good..." he took a deep breath, "...unbelievably good."

He paused, straightened his back, and said solemnly into the microphone, word by word, "Mr. President... thank you very much."

"It was just a promise." There seemed to be a faint smile in Kurokawa's voice, fleeting as it came. "I never break my word. Besides, I'm not some philanthropist. Healing you is also in my best interest."

Kanzaki's eyes narrowed.

In the adult world, the exchange of interests is the norm.

He wasn't surprised; in fact, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked directly, but with a touch more respect in his tone, and even his form of address changed from "you" to "you, sir."

"An invitation." Kurokawa's voice came clearly, "A formal invitation to Captain Kanzaki Jin to join the Night Watchmen."

Kanzaki's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped his phone.

Join that mysterious organization? Associate with those monsters? Use this technology that's ahead of its time?

He did not answer immediately.

While I am grateful, reason still prevails.

He slowly opened his mouth, posing the question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time:

"Before that, Mr. President... could you answer a few questions for me?"

"Excuse me."

"Who exactly are you people?" Kanzaki's gaze swept across the empty park, as if trying to pierce through the void and see the man hidden behind the scenes. "Where did you come from? And what... is your ultimate goal?"

Typical questions like "Who are you?", "Where are you from?", and "Where are you going?"

A very soft laugh seemed to come from Kurokawa's side, as if it were expected.

He did not follow Kanzaki's lead in answering his question.

Instead, he threw back a seemingly unrelated question, regaining control of the conversation.

"Captain Kanzaki, you must have already had close contact with magical girls."

Kanzaki frowned slightly.

"What do you think," Kurokawa's voice came through the microphone, "...magical girls...how about it?"

How about magical girls?

Kanzaki remained silent for a moment.

A vision of cherry blossom pink dust drifting down from the ruins flashed through my mind.

"Powerful, beautiful," he replied.

But then it stopped.

He recalled that lazy tone of "Hey, you over there—", and the way she casually asked ordinary employees for strawberry milk.

"But they lack professionalism," he added cautiously, "and... they have strong personalities."

He put it very tactfully.

Kurokawa seemed to chuckle on the other end of the phone, as if he had expected it.

"Therefore, I don't trust them."

Kanzaki's expression turned solemn.

In an era where magical girls hold absolute power, such a statement is almost heretical.

As far as he knew, magical girls also held a transcendent position within the government, and it was said that even the prime minister relied on their power.

"Can you tell me why?" he asked.

"Just as you said," Kurokawa said, "too many magical girls have strong personalities but lack professional skills. Most of them were just ordinary people before they gained their powers."

He paused deliberately, letting the next sentence sink into the air.

"Captain Kanzaki should know very well what happens when an ordinary person suddenly gains power that crushes all reason."

Memories flashed through Kanzaki's mind.

He has mentored new recruits and seen people become arrogant and lose their heads because of a good gun, as well as people break down and become twisted under pressure.

"...Pride, arrogance," he replied hoarsely. "One's own morality and choices are entirely influenced by one's upbringing and occasional mood. Whether to do good or condone evil...is completely unpredictable."

"That's right." Kurokawa's agreement was crisp and decisive. "Moreover, what are the selection criteria for magical girls? Who exactly chose them, and how? It's all a mystery. Even many magical girls themselves can't explain the source of their power."

Kurokawa lowered his voice, and through the electricity, it carried only a chilling coldness.

"The world is changing dramatically. And I cannot entrust my fate to these 'children' of unknown origin and unpredictable nature."

Kanzaki did not respond this time.

A corner of his heart was touched, and he vaguely agreed.

But the matter was too complicated, and out of caution, he did not speak up.

Kurokawa didn't seem to be in a hurry for him to make a statement.

"You don't need to agree with me right away." He changed the subject, his tone softening slightly, "but there is at least one very important shared need between us."

"What are your needs?"

"In the inevitable chaos, protect the people who are important to you."

Kanzaki's eyes narrowed.

"You've seen those 'things' with your own eyes. To ordinary people, they are natural disasters. Night Watchmen... Our company's most important goal at this stage is to protect as many ordinary people as possible in the event of a major disaster in the future."

"A major catastrophe?" Kanzaki seized on the key phrase, his back straightening. "You mean, there will be—"

"Out of control," Kurokawa interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Just like what you saw at the experimental base. That's not an isolated case, and it's certainly not the end. The scale and frequency of these out-of-control incidents will only increase. It's just a matter of time, not a question of whether it will happen."

Kanzaki was speechless.

He couldn't refute it.

The crimson sea of ​​flesh that devoured everything in the base, the screams of my comrades, the feeling of powerlessness like an ant... all remain vivid in my mind.

Images flashed through my mind.

The image of the two-year-old daughter giggling and rushing towards me, and the profile of the sixteen-year-old daughter studying with her head down.

What if such a hellish situation erupted in the city...

He needs strength!

It's not a conventional firearm, and it's not an incendiary bomb.

It is a force that can truly contend with it and build a barrier!

Breath condenses into white mist in the cold morning air.

He took a deep breath, and spoke into the phone in a low voice:

"I agree to join."

The next second, he added reflexively, quite directly:

"But I have one condition. I want to meet you. I can't completely trust someone...whose face I've never seen."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Then came Kurokawa's calm refusal.

"We will meet, Captain. But not now."

His voice was calm, yet carried a strange certainty.

"Trust me. At most, a year."

Kanzaki frowned.

Kurokawa's words confused him.

They invited me to join, but refused to meet me.

Another year to go? What's the point of having him now?

My brain is working at lightning speed.

He quickly filtered and deduced.

The only answer has emerged.

He asked directly, "President, you want me to... help you establish a secret rapid reaction force?"

After much thought, this seemed to be the thing where he could make the most of his value.

"Clap clap clap~"

Three clear claps came through the receiver.

"It's so easy talking to smart people," Kurokawa said approvingly. "Exactly."

He frankly discussed the plan.

"In the future, the scale of the vengeful spirits will only expand. I need more reliable personnel. I am very satisfied with your combat skills and command experience."

"I will provide funding, equipment, and technology. You will be responsible for recruiting and training them into an elite force capable of fighting against anomalies."

"Your mission is to secretly carry out the containment orders I issue periodically. Resolve the problem outside the sight of the authorities and magical girls."

Kanzaki understood.

This is indeed something he can do, and something he excels at.

But he still had concerns.

"How should we handle the relationship with the authorities?"

"Hide." Kurokawa's answer was without hesitation. "You're from special forces; you know how the authorities will react if they discover an organization like ours. Investigation, infiltration, incorporation, or erasure—they won't allow us to exist."

Kanzaki remained silent.

He knew it all too well.

"To the outside world, you're just an ordinary security company. You take orders, you train—everything is legal. When it comes to operations, I'll try to assign you covert targets. Your primary task is to complete the missions secretly and then build up your strength."

Kanzaki fully understood his role and responsibilities.

"You can choose the person yourself. Trusted old subordinates or promising newcomers. As long as they have a clean background, keep their mouths shut, and aren't afraid of death, I will provide them with the greatest support."

Kurokawa paused for a moment, then gave his final instructions.

"Also, daily use of the combat suit has been unlocked. The magic battery is fully charged, and the three plugins you used are still in the box. If... you need to protect your family, feel free to use them."

"Well then, I look forward to your performance, Captain Kanzaki."

The call has ended.

A busy signal sounded.

Kanzaki slowly put down his phone and looked at the gradually brightening gray-white sky at the end of the park.

The morning light pierced through the clouds and fell into his newly healed left eye.

The candidates...

Kanzaki thought for a moment and quickly thought of someone.

Kanzaki puts away his personal cell phone.

He took out his personal cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialed a number.

Three rings, then the call is connected.

"Captain?" Washio's voice came, sounding slightly tired, but still steady.

This person was none other than his vice-captain, Washio Hachiro.

If Washio hadn't dragged him into the safe house, he might be dead by now.

"Hachiro," Kanzaki asked, "how are your injuries?"

"Burns. And quite extensive." Washio's tone was surprisingly relaxed. "Surgery in three days. They'll take skin from your buttocks and thighs to repair the burns. It'll be a bit of a shame you won't have any hair on your buttocks anymore."

He chuckled twice, completely unconcerned.

"And you?" he asked, turning his attention to you. "I heard from your sister-in-law that she's made an appointment with a top ophthalmologist for you to have surgery next week?"

"My eyes are all better now," Kanzaki said.

"The surgery is over? That's great!" Washio exclaimed with genuine joy.

"No surgery was performed." Kanzaki paused. "Someone cured it."

Washio's laughter stopped.

A two-second silence followed on the phone.

Having worked together for so long, he could hear the seriousness in Kanzaki's words.

He knew something was wrong.

"Who is it?"

"Do you remember 'The Night Watchman'?" Kanzaki asked.

"...That man in the suit and the high school girl?" Washio's voice tightened.

"Yes. They healed him." Kanzaki lowered his voice. "They can heal your burns too. Completely healed, without scarring. But they have conditions."

The eagle's tail breathed slightly sluggishly.

"What are the conditions?" he asked directly.

Kanzaki took a deep breath and clearly uttered those words into the microphone:

"Would you like to join the Night Watch?"