The VENOM Squad: Nephila

"Papipapipum!"

The mechanical voice of a living doll echoed throughout the laboratory. Her light brown hair compliments the shape of her face. The strings on her arms are connected to another doll that is way more smaller than her. She is a living doll with the flaws of being a real human.

Dr. Rooney and Dr. Baker had their hands on testing out the varied materials that would not melt once in contact with the poisonous air in the Land of Dawn. The search for the

S.A.B.E.R squad has been postponed for the air throughout the Land of Dawn melts every drone being sent out. Any living thing would also wither and die once it is placed within the boundary of the Land of Dawn. The demons dwelling in the abyss called the Land of Dusk must have done something to protect themselves and to gain control over the land.

"How is the plan going?" Mr. Ton asked as he enters the laboratory.

"We're still figuring out how to counter that impenetratable air in the Land of Dawn," Dr. Baker replied.

"You better make haste, doctors," Mr. Ton said. "The longer I wait, the lesser the chance to retrieve the S.A.B.E.R squad."

"Keep smiling!" the living doll said which caught the attention of the wealthy man. Mr. Ton went on the huge tube where the doll is being kept.

"What do you call this thing?" he asked.

"She's Angela," Dr. Baker replied.

Mr. Ton stared at the hazelnut-colored eyes of Angela as she gazed back with her emotionless eyes.

***********

Wheezing and out of breath, Hanabi signaled Hanzo for them to take a break. The scarlet ninja lied on the ground and closed her eyes. She heard some rustle sounds beside her so she opened one eye and saw Hanzo sit beside her, covering her from the sun's rays.

"What's with this? Trying to be nice to make a good impression to my father?" she sneered.

"I do not need to do such for I have already impressed him enough," Hanzo replied. "In addition, you better train harder to keep your stamina stable."

Not wanting to hear another lecture from him, Hanabi tried to divert their topic.

"The moment I grabbed your hand a while back felt like deja vu," she said with her eyes closed. "I felt like I did something similar before."

Hanzo immediately looked away, trying to hide away the building up blush on his cheeks. No matter how many times he tried not to react like that, the moment he recalls that kiss, he loses control of himself.

"You should not let such trivial things bother you. Instead, focus more on your training, you got that seaweed brain?" Hanzo stated.

"I feel bothered by it, dumbass. What if that deja vu feeling is something of importance?" Hanabi countered.

Hanzo got pissed off that he gave her a death glare and said, "What is so important about a k..."


Before the word kiss slips out from his mouth, Hanzo realized that he should not be saying such. It would be too embarassing for him for a woman has gained dominance over him. And Hanabi might misunderstand and think that he feels the same way if ever she likes him.

"About what?" Hanabi asked further but gained no response from him.

After their short break, the team decided to have a day off and do what they wanted to do.

"When will we go to Magical City?" Kagura asked as they eat their dinner.

"The chief had postponed the date of our leave. According to him, before we left for Mizuyama, there had been suspicious people roaming around here. When they were gone, the office of public affairs had a serious uproar," Hanzo replied.

"What happened?" Yukimura asked.

"The personal documents of all the ninjas are all gone without any trace. The strangers wouldn't be too suspicious if they hadn't disappeared the day of the uproar. Thus, the chief wants us to investigate the case," the akuma ninja responded.

Just then, Hanabi remembered the people wearing capes she saw before. She remembered the cute face and mechanical voice of the little girl she bumped with. She closed her eyes and tried to recall the other faces and physique of those people.

"Hanabi, does this case ring a bell?" Hayabusa asked.
Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting.

"I'm not so sure," she replied. "Remember that night you locked me out of the quarters? Of course, you do, you freaking assholes. Anyway, on my way back, I saw a group wearing the same capes. I thought they're just some ordinary visitors so I didn't pay much attention to them."

"That doesn't help at all," Hanzo commented.

"Will you let me finish first, dumbass?" Hanabi glared at him. "As I was saying, I bumped into a kid. She's somewhat unnatural though. Her voice seemed to be just programmed inside her. It sounds mechanical."

"Then, we'll just have to find her," Kagura stated. "Since you said that her voice is mechanical, then there is a big possibility that she belongs to the faraway cities where advance technology lies."

"That makes sense. But it would be hard for us to search. There are lots of cities outside our village," Hayabusa commented. "Looking for her would be like searching for a needle in a haystack."

"We'll discuss this further with the chief," Hanzo dismissed before leaving.

When everyone had settled down, Hanabi climbed up the roof and lied down, looking up at the starry sky. When she shifted her position, she freaked out when she saw someone with her. His emerald-colored eyes glared at her.

"What are you doing here?!" she whispered.

"Who knows," Hanzo replied, giving her the cold shoulder.

"Anyway, about the case we'll be investigating, are there any clues?" Hanabi asked to keep away the awkwardness.

"Hanabi," the akuma ninja called out as he meets her gaze.

"What?" the scarlet ninja asked without looking away.

"I like you," Hanzo blatantly stated.

Hanabi was speechless and she could feel the blood rushing up her face, making her blush like hell. Hanzo felt amused of her reaction and a devilish grin was formed on his lips.

"Of course that was a joke," he added as he stood up and left. Hanabi was left dumbfounded, maybe out of shock of the sudden confession or out of pain when Hanzo took back what he just said.