The boat drifted into shadow, Jin cutting the engine until silence pressed in—broken only by the brackish waves against steel pillars. Above them, the underside of Shimonoseki's new port stretched over like a steel sky.
Jin opened the frequency scanner device with calm precision. The device lit up in cold green, sweeping across bands with rapid blips. Three minutes passed in taut silence before the scanner blinked, locking onto a frequency. Voices burst through—mixed with static, speaking Japanese with the occasional foreign accent bleeding in.
"—Rting, unit Two reporting. Perimeter sweep complete. Moving west section."
"Copy that. *Yawn.*"
Shira let out a low chuckle, voice dripping mockery. "Wow. Not even encrypted…"
"Nakai really underestimating us… arrogant bastard…" Jin smirked dangerously while locking on the frequency.
"No… I can't call it arrogance… he doesn't feel like the type who thinks he's untouchable. It's like… he's… rushing. Too many mistakes, just careless. You can imagine him as a corporate guy who's out of his depth, Jin…"
"Whatever it is, it works for us. We'll stay on our encrypted channel, and don't press anything other than the earpiece button—I'm talking to you, kid."
"Noted, sir…" Renji examines his radio that has a lot of buttons and sliders.
Jin shrugged at him, and closed the device, then he pulled binoculars from his vest, brought them to his eyes, and angled them upward toward the main platform in distance, then to the gap of the second platform above them, matching the clue of the guards position from their comms.
"Two above us. One heading back to the main platform. Their pattern's lazy. We can go in now."
Shira tilted her head, listening again to the crackle of radio chatter. Then her gaze moved to Renji. She pointed at one of the heavier bags on the floor of the boat.
"Renji, you'll carry the spare battery for the cam."
"…Uh, Miss Shira… can I maybe… stay here instead? Guard the ride, y'know? Hehe…" He gave a weak smile, sweat sticking his shirt to his back under the coat.
"Renji… I'm not in the mood for joke." And her cold stare, filled with killing intent was enough to shut him up.
"Move your ass!" Jin was tired of him, without wasting anymore time, he picked up the battery bag, and shoved it at Renji's face.
…Okay… fine… ugh…
He half-heartedly strapping the bag on his shoulder. His knees already ached just thinking about it. By the time he looked up, Jin was already on the emergency maintenance stairs bolted to the pier wall. The iron cage around the steps rattled faintly in the night wind.
"You first." Shira still sitting on the boat, gesturing him forward.
"…Okie… dokie…"
The steel was icy under his palms as he grabbed the railing. Each step creaking under his weight. His breath fogged in the cold night, making the climb feel endless.
I should be at the car! Watching cliché movies, not climbing into a damn sub-quest port infiltration mission!
Above him, Jin moved like a soldier, every motion efficient. Below, Shira followed like a shadow. Renji risked a glance down and instantly regretted it. Shira's eyes were already on him, sharp as dagger as always.
When he reached the top, Jin was crouched behind a massive cargo box stacked near them. He raised a hand, signaling to come over. Renji dropped beside him, chest heaving, clearly not because of him being tired, but because of whatever unwanted adrenaline he felt rushing inside his blood.
"Keep close to me." Jin's voice, when it came to him, was lower, calmer than usual.
"…Yes, sir…"
Heck! Are they not picking the wrong guy to take along!?
Soon, Shira joined them, leaning by the crates beside Renji's, her arrival eerily soundless, not one would expect from those boots of hers. Her eyes scanned the surrounding while Jin watching the other side.
"Jin, my side is clear, and… this is lax…" she muttered with confusion.
"Yea, as expected, cheap guards. he think it's enough just to watch the package."
Shira's mouth twitched in disdain. "For someone saving up cost… he still managed to bribed this whole port you said…?"
"Maybe that's where all his money went, and with whatever cash left, he picked discounted PMC." Jin replied with a grin, eyes already tracking a guard a hundred meters away as he turned his head. "Alright. It's clear. We move now to warehouse 5."
The three slipped out together, Renji sandwiched in the middle. Jin guided them from cover to cover—tall shipping crates, stacked pallets, the blind corners of warehouses.
The port is packed with containers from various companies. Making the progress feels like going in a steel labyrinth, all was quiet—except for Renji's pounding heart, which he swore was loud enough that Jin and Shira hear it.
"it's there."
Shira's eyes narrowed toward the stacked containers beyond. Among the clutter of multicolored boxes, a neat row of 8 red ones stood out. The white logo stenciled across their sides read: 'Hisoka Pharmaceutical Co'
"That's our first batch, Jin."
"Tch, they moved some of it, from the photo 2 days ago, there should be 15 on this warehouse."
Jin crouched low, watching the patrol ahead. One of the guards struck a lighter, the flame flashing briefly before the smoke drifted around. The man leaned back against the steel, laughing as his buddies joined in, their voices carrying lazily in the night.
"And here I thought we'd need a distraction…" Jin shook his head with a sigh, looking at Renji's confused face.
Why do you look at me like that man!? Do these guys really planned me as a bait?? And damn it stinks here…
Renji felt the twitch in his eye, he looked around and found a dumpster in the corner, Shira's gaze didn't waver. "Good. Less effort then. Okay, Jin—let's move."
I swear, I swear!! I'll hand out my resignation letter after I get back to Tokyo!!
After they arrived by the red containers, A sudden tap on his shoulder snapped him out of his spiral. "Renji, stick close to Jin. Don't wander." Then, softer, "Jin. Camera?"
"Ready." Jin had already got the camera on his hands steady as he powered it up.
"Then I'll keep watch." Shira flowed away from them, climbing the side of a container with catlike grace. Her boots touched steel but only made a soft tapping sound. Within seconds she was gone from Renji's sight.
"How the hell does she even move like that?" Renji mumbled, and then looking at Jin, the man already pressed the device scanner against the container's corrugated steel and began a steady sweep sideways across the surface from the corner of this 12-meter container.
The built-in monitor flickered, then bloomed with ghostly black-and-white images—grainy outlines resolving into clear shapes.
Whoa…
Renji following Jin's movement, watching the live monochrome feed, denser shapes jumped darker, air gaps brightened.
First time seeing x-ray vision for real. I used to mess with a TV cam… but this—this is superpower-level gear…
After roughly 5 minutes repeatedly moving back and forth, each time Jin raising the scanner vertically, from what Renji could tell, the first container revealed rows of orderly piles first aid kits bags—scissors, bandages, antiseptic bottles.
"First container clean."
Then Jin moved to the second container, repeating the same procedure, this one bristled with larger equipment, looks like a defibrillator, portable EKG machines, sterilizers packed in foam. Even folded wheelchairs sat wedged into corners.
"Second container clean." Jin muttered into his earpiece, his voice barely above a breath. "Moving to third."
Above them, Shira crouched low along the container roof, keeping watch around the perimeter. Her hand rested lightly on the holster beneath her coat, her gaze sweeping the shadows for any hint of movement.
Renji hugged the battery pack tighter, the eerie glow of the x-ray monitor bathed them both in pale light, turning the cold sweat on his forehead into silver.
This is insane… Never in my life I imagined to be in this kind of situation…
And his memories shifted to the earliest moment he experienced.
I thought caught with a cocaine on my delivery box was the peak… what a crazy month…
Renji felt like all the moment after his incidents playing in a roughly edited montage inside his head, he let his body moved, following Jin's step slowly. Roughly 20 minutes passed, Shira's voice finally breaking the static.
"Jin, those three guards on the move." Her eyes tracked the shadows below, perched on the container roof like a hawk.
"Copy, Miss Shira. Fifth container—nothing so far," Jin's low reply crackled back.
"Keep at it. One's moving closer here, one stays put. The last one's walking back to the main platform." She closed the comm with a click.
"Follow me, kid." Jin batted Renji a sharp look, and the two slipped along the container's flank, pressed against cold steel. Footsteps drawing closer—then, gradually, the sound fades away into the distance.
Renji swallowed hard, throat dry. He realized he'd been holding his breath until his chest ached.
"Hey, new battery." Jin's palm already opened and waiting, like it was just another shift change at the factory.
"O-okay." Renji fumbled open the heavy bag he carried, the zipper catching before he tugged it free. Ten squat batteries snug in foam padding inside.
…Ten? No wonder this thing weighs a ton…
Jin pulled the dead cell and handed it back to Renji with quick efficiency, snapped in the fresh one, and sealed the latch. "Miss Shira, are we clear to move?"
"Clear. Coast's open."
"Copy."
Fifteen minutes bled away. Renji shifted his weight from one frozen foot to the other as Jin swept the cam again and again across ribbed container walls. At last, Jin grunted, voice clipped into the comm.
"All eight containers clean. Nothing inside."
Moments later, Shira dropped silently down from her vantage, regrouping with them in the shadow of the stacked crates. "Fine. Let's move to another spot."
"We're heading to warehouses one and two next." Jin pointed ahead. "They're on the main platform. Expect heavier guard."
"Understood." Shira replied while dusting off her trousers.
"And since they moved containers around, my intel's half-useless now." Jin's teeth clicked against his tongue. "On the way, keep an eye for red containers with Hisoka's mark. If we find more, we'll make a stop."
Shira nodded, then looked at Renji. "Hear that? We could use an extra pair of eyes."
Renji forced a nod. "…Got it."
The trek to Warehouse 2 was harder—more guards clustered in pairs, flashlights sweeping around. Twice, they pressed flat against crates, every second stretching too long, and clearly took more effort to slip in compared to earlier. By the time they reached Warehouse 2, Shira furrowed her brows at the far side, sat three same lonely red containers, Hisoka's logo stenciled bold.
"What? That's it?"
"Tch. There should be twenty here." Jin swept his gaze across the cavernous warehouse, scanning every corner.
"We didn't see anything on the way here either." Shira stepped beside him, eyes narrowing. "Give me your binoculars. While you scan what we got here, I'll scout Warehouse 1—it's close enough anyway."
After Jin passed her the lenses, she vanished into shadow.
without a word, he crouched at the nearest container, raising the scanner. Renji hovered a step behind again, close enough to feel the faint hum of the device as its beam crawled along the steel.
Then A sharp pop cracked the silent night, echoing faintly across the water. Renji flinched, and turned his back to the source—blinked when color blossomed above the Shimonoseki city across the sea.
Fireworks…
Cheerful white and gold sparks bloomed in for a beat before the delayed boom rolled over the port where he stays—like the world was celebrating without him.
… Merry Christmas…
He fished out his phone from his pocket. The dull screen light blinking at him, 11:52 pm.
Damn… just an hour? Feels like I've been here all night…
Another final burst painted the horizon, shimmering over the waves, until all that's left is smokes in the sky.
Truly a doki-doki trip… but definitely not the kind I imagined…
His eyes flicked toward the dark outline of the containers.
Spending Christmas night playing spy next to a scary dude scanning boxes of wheelchairs…
He sighed, then rubbed his face.
What the hell is my life…
Minutes later, Shira's voice whispered back through their encrypted channel.
"Jin, I found the rest in warehouse 1. Rough count—thirty, maybe forty. Tally matches the intel."
"Figures. That's the final dock. Looks like, they're prepping for shipment."
Just as he finished scanning the third container—eleven total now—when static cut through his earpiece. A foreign voice slipped in, low and bored.
"Command Patrol to Unit 6. Sweep the water tonight as per briefing."
"Unit 6, copy. Starting southern dock, then clockwise."
Renji's gut twisted. His eyes flicked to Jin, who'd gone very still, his hand stopped in mid scanning.
"Jin… this is bad." Noticing the gravity, Shira voice tense over the comm.
"Tch. What an absolute luck." Jin ground his teeth. "Of all times, they had to up their game now."
"What's your call, Miss Shira? I'm done here. Three containers clean—just medical stock."
"… Based on their move, whatever they're hiding, most likely it's in Warehouse 1, somewhere under these containers..."
"I agree, Miss Shira, we're too close to bail now," Jin muttered, eyes closing in thought.
"Listen. I'm at Warehouse 1's side, five hundred meters from you. Here's the plan, Jin, run back to the boat under the northwest crane. Move it out, stay far enough they can't see you. Wait until I call to pick me up. The cam usual model?"
"Yes, same series."
"Good, I know how to use it, left it with Renji. I'll link up with him after I'm finished here."
"…What?" Renji finally cracks a dry voice.
"Copy that, Miss Shira." Jin didn't hesitate. He turned, eyes flashing at Renji before shoving the heavy scanner against his chest.
"Just do what you're told."
Then he was gone—slipping briskly through shadows, half-running, silent as smoke despite his build.
Renji clutched the bulky scanner like a cursed relic, the hum of its idle systems rattling against his ribs. The vast warehouse loomed empty and echoing, but every shifting shadow crawled across his nerves.
…Shit… they're leaving me here with this thing? What if the guard circles back? Damn it, damn it—
The silence pressed harder, broken only by faint radio chatter from somewhere too close. He slid back between shadow of a steel crates, trying to fold himself smaller, trembling form the mix of cold and tension.
Soon, Shira's voice came behind him.
"Renji, Let's go."
At the familiar face, he sighs in relief.