Chapter 2: Last Night

A helicopter crashed through the hospital window.

Blade leapt through the broken glass, sprinting toward the final boss, gun raised.

Suddenly, Blade threw something sharp. It struck the Boss’s hand-his gun clattered to the ground.

Blade smirked, thinking it was his victory.

He closed the distance in a flash and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick straight to the Boss’s face.

But just as the kick landed-

Blade saw his DEATH.

The next thing he knew, he was already collapsing to the ground.

His vision blurred.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the helicopter cockpit, crushed against the hospital wall.

Eyepatch’s voice echoed from somewhere far away:

“Blade! Blade! Wake up!”

Blade jolted awake.

Not in the hospital.

He was sitting at his desk, in the middle of math class.

In front of him, his stern math sensei was marching toward his desk, eyes sharp like daggers.

Next to him, Eyepatch, his classmate and buddy, was poking him with a pen, whispering urgently,

“Oi, Blade! Wake up, man! You’re dead meat!”

Blade’s eyes met Eyepatch’s, and a tense grin formed between them.

The silent conversation was clear,

You’re done for.

Sensei loomed over him.

“Get out of the classroom.”

Blade stood outside the classroom, sighing.

He turned his head and said,

“So, what are you doing here?”

Eyepatch leaned casually against the wall, hands in his pockets.

“Ah, you see,” he began,

“After sensei threw you out, she got really mad and started grilling everyone with questions. Unlucky me got chosen, failed miserably… And here I am.”

“Aggh… it’s really pissing me off. It’s all that bastard’s fault,” Blade muttered, remembering the chaos from last night.

At the Phantom’s hideout, last night

“So, I’m a member now, right?” Tokio said, crossing his arms proudly.

“But to recruit a genius like me, you all have a task to accomplish first, ladies and gentlemen, to win my trust.”

Later, at Tokio’s house

“Calling yourself a genius, huh? When you haven’t even written a single damn word,” Blade snapped, furiously scribbling on a worksheet.

“Man, it’s way more work than I thought,” Eyepatch said, much calmer, hunched over another paper.

“Can’t we just steal someone’s work and photocopy it?” Memeko suggested casually, flipping through a random notebook.

“No. That’s not happening,” Tokio said firmly, finally starting to write.

“And seriously, how is that supposed to be acceptable?”

“Yeah, yeah, just write and finish it before morning,” Shina said lazily, cracking open a can of cold coffee.

“Tch. And why are you just standing there supervising? Aren’t you supposed to be the boss?” Blade grumbled, not looking up.

“No… I’m just checking if you guys are writing properly or not,” Shina replied smugly.

Tokio’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

“Wait… where did you get that coffee can?”

“Obviously from your fridge,” Shina said, sipping without a care.

Tokio slammed his pen down.

“That was my last one!!”

“Wow, your house is pretty big,” Shina said, casually changing the topic. “Aren’t you supposed to be living with your parents or something?”

“They both live abroad,” Tokio replied flatly.

“So that means… you live all by yourself?” Memeko asked, tilting her head, curious.

“Yup,” Tokio said with a nod.

“Wait… that’s amazing!” Shina suddenly shouted with excitement.

“This is perfect for our new hideout!”

“That’s not happening,” Tokio said immediately, dead serious.

Yet somehow, it still happened. And Tokio’s house unofficially became Phantom HQ.

Back to the present time

“…and after pulling an all-nighter finishing his damn assignment, we just collapsed right there at the table,” Blade grumbled, clenching his fists at the memory.

“Somehow still managed to drag ourselves to school this morning… Damn, even thinking about it pisses me off!”

“Now, now, calm down,” Eyepatch said, patting his shoulder.

“It’s almost time for the next period.”

As if on cue, the school bell rang sharply through the halls.

At Tokio’s classroom, the sound echoed through his ears.

Looking relaxed, he sighed.

“Thanks to those Phantom guys, I managed to finish these assignments on time… or I would’ve been sliced into pieces,” he thought.

He leaned back in his seat, continuing in his head,

“Who would’ve thought that Blade, Eyepatch, and that girl who calls herself a hacker are all in my school… even in the same class as each others… they’re first-years, technically my juniors”

“Well, that explains how they got my information so easily,” he mused.

“But that boss girl, Shina… I still don’t know much about her. She’s a complete mystery, yet she’s still calling me that cringey ‘mad scientist’ thing. I don’t even get what she wants from me.”