The tension inside the hideout reached a breaking point. The heavy, rhythmic thud of combat boots circled the building like a tightening noose. Inside, Takeshi paced frantically, his breathing shallow and jagged.
"Can you stop that?" Arata snapped, his knuckles white. "You're distracting me. I'm trying to concentrate!"
Takeshi whirled around, his face flushed with panic. "Oh, I'm sorry! Does my stepping bother you? There are freaking gunmen outside trying to kill us!"
"I'll find a way..." Arata started, but Hana's voice cut through the air, sharp and final.
"No." She stepped forward, her expression a mix of maternal agony and resolve. "You kids have done enough. This is my trouble, my fight, and I dragged you into it. I'm a disgrace of a mother. I'll make it right. I'm turning myself in."
"No!" Arata shook his head. "Do you know what they'll do to you? They'll slave you, then kill you. I can't watch that happen!"
"It's okay," Hana whispered, pulling him into a brief, fierce embrace. "You've done more than I ever could have asked. Don't ever stop loving Ren, okay? He's going to need you in the future. I know it."
Yumi broke her stoic mask, rushing forward to bury her face in Hana's waist. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. Takeshi followed suit, clutching Hana's arm as tears streamed down his face. Even Arata, after a moment of hesitation, joined the group hug, his lip trembling.
"Do you really have to go?" Arata asked, the "Commander" in him vanishing.
Hana nodded, pulling back to look them in the eyes. "If I don't, we all die. Your survival matters more than my life."
Hana reached for the door handle, but before she could turn it, a deafening roar of gunfire erupted outside. The four of them dove for cover, huddling together behind a row of heavy crates.
"Damn it! Are they shooting at us?" Arata yelled.
Takeshi covered his ears, curled into a ball. "We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die!"
But as the noise continued, Yumi realized the cadence was wrong. The screams were coming from the perimeter. "Are they shooting at themselves?" she whispered. "It doesn't make sense."
Suddenly, the warehouse doors burst open. The bright glare of tactical flashlights cut through the dust as Grade 3 Soldiers swarmed the room with emotionless precision, rifles leveled.
"The police?" Takeshi stammered, blinking.
"Grade 3," Yumi noted, her voice rising with hope. "But... how?"
The soldiers parted, and Himari stepped through the center, a high-tech shotgun gripped in her hands. Hana's jaw dropped. "Himari? Is that you?"
Himari didn't answer with words. She dropped her weapon and rushed forward, pulling Hana into a crushing hug. "Oh god, I was so worried about you. I'm so glad you're okay."
Close behind her, Sophie burst into the room. The King's Guard looked up in shock. "Sis?" Arata asked.
Sophie didn't hesitate; she grabbed all three kids in one massive hug. "I let you out of my sight once and you nearly died! That's it. Anywhere you go, I go. No buts!"
Arata pulled back, crossing his arms and trying to regain his dignity. "I don't need protection. I'm tough on my own."
Takeshi snickered through his tears. "Says the guy who was crying two minutes ago."
"You were crying too, jerk!" Arata shot back.
Hana looked at Himari, her head spinning. "You were a police? Why didn't you tell me? How did you know I was here?"
Himari gently covered Hana's mouth, leaning in until their foreheads touched. Her eyes were soft and focused. "I get it. You're confused. But let me explain. I'm the Head Commander of the Grade 3 Police. On my days off, I worked in that warehouse. I didn't intend to stay long... but then I saw a widow with a heart of gold. You were so beautiful and smart."
Himari brushed her nose against Hana's. "I fell in love. I worked so hard I became the manager just to stay near you. When I found out about the loan sharks, I was broken. I couldn't arrest you, but I couldn't arrest them without dragging you into the system. I had to wait for them to commit a crime so big that I could take them down while keeping you safe. Today, they did. Threatening kids? Kidnapping? Touching you? Oh, I'm going to make them pay."
Hana giggled through her tears, leaning into her. "Try to take it easy, please."
"Still worrying about the people who hurt you," Himari smiled. "This is why I love you."
Hana Hugged her tight in tears "I love you too"
A soldier marched up, saluting sharply. "Ma'am! All targets neutralized. One death, four unconscious. The perimeter is clear."
Himari's face hardened as she addressed the soldier. "Gather the boss and the three living ones. Throw them in a high-security cell and await my command. Take the corpse of the fifth one and toss him out with the rest."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Himari turned her gaze back to the King's Guard. Under her intense stare, the boys tensed up. She bent down to their level, a small smile playing on her lips. "You kids did this on your own? That's not normal. You three are special."
Arata looked away, puffing out his chest. "Yeah, well, I'm not a kid."
Himari chuckled, cracking her knuckles with a playful but terrifying sound. "Acting tough now, are we, brat?"
Arata's posture went straight as an arrow. "No, Ma'am!"
"But how did you find us?" Yumi asked, her eyes darting between Himari and the tactical gear around them.
Sophie stepped forward, still catching her breath. "She came to the restaurant looking for Hana while I was covering her shift at the counter. She asked where she was, but I told her I didn't know—only that my brother and his friends had gone running after her in a hurry. As soon as I said that, Himari pulled out her phone and her face just went pale. She looked completely shocked."
"Her phone?" Takeshi asked, tilting his head.
Himari gave a small, sheepish smile, looking a bit nervous. "Yeah... I might have installed a subtle tracker on Hana's phone. Just a precaution in case the loan sharks pulled something like this. Once I saw the location, Sophie and I raced back to the station for backup and mobilized the unit. We got here as fast as we could."
She looked at the three of them, her expression softening into genuine respect. "If it wasn't for you kids holding them off, we wouldn't have made it in time. You've shown incredible potential. So, I'm making you a proposal: Join the Grade 3 Police once you get older. There will be a permanent spot waiting for each of you—no exams, no trials, just a straight path to the force. You have more than proven yourselves today."
The King's Guard looked at one another. A slow, knowing smirk spread across their faces. They stood tall, puffing out their chests and striking a series of "tough" poses that looked more like awkward anime stances than professional soldiers.
"I'm sorry, Miss," Arata said, his voice dropping an octave to sound more serious. "But we are going to be members of the SHIELD when we grow up. We're going to join Ren inside the portals, alongside Zen—if we ever successfully recruit him, that is. Even though he has denied our invitation 500 times now, it doesn't matter. Our hearts belong to the SHIELD. We have to decline."
Himari's smile didn't leave her face, but a thick vein began to bulge on her temple, pulsing with the silent anger of being rejected by a group of eleven-year-olds. "I'm not mad at all," she said through gritted teeth. "You guys would make... excellent... SHIELD members."
The kids immediately recoiled, stepping back in unison. "Your face tells us otherwise!" they shouted in fear.
Himari took a breath, smoothing out her uniform. "Okay. We're getting you guys home. Hop into the van with your sister; my men will drive you three back safely. I'll walk Hana home myself." She reached out, firmly but gently taking Hana's hand.
The kids followed Sophie toward the massive armored transport van, looking back one last time as Himari and Hana started their walk into the cooling night air.
At the SHIELD Exam Center.