Prologue

A Heroine's Private War





           Begin Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP9ROIX54eE Red Like Roses (Amalee Cover) – RWBY soundtrack





What makes a hero? Courage, strength, morality, withstanding adversity? Are these the traits that truly show and create a hero? Is the light truly the source of darkness or vice versa? Is the soul a source of hope or despair? Who are these so called heroes and where do they come from? Are their origins in obscurity or in plain sight?

-Fyodor Dostoyevsky


         





           In the cold blackness of night, with pouring rainclouds hanging overhead stretching out into the horizon, the dazzling city of Tokyo, perched up on pillars that stretched out of the sea and into the sky, illuminated beautifully in the wet night. Neon lights and houselights had it like a magnificent painting.



           Down in the lonely streets, a solitary teenage girl walked by herself down a well-worn road, her face briefly illuminated by the lights of storefronts and passing cars, her head obscured by a hood and most of her body obscured by a black raincoat. The light from passing cars briefly illuminated the inside of her hood, showing emerald colored eyes, tuffs of golden blonde hair, and two red markings under her eyes. On her left wrist was a monitor that was alight with two sprites of a wolf and a vulture.

            Ignoring the splashes from puddles, she continued on with hands in her pockets and her head hung.



           Watching above from the rooftops, with turquoise-colored cloaks flowing in the wind, eight figures watched over her, each holding various staffs with weapons on each end. A gust of wind blew some of the hoods back, revealed masks of many makes hiding their faces. They backed into the shadows, the eyes of the masks glowing in the light.




           Walking down the sidewalk of that well-worn road, she passed by storefronts that would normally be alive with activity and customers, but were instead being closed up prematurely thanks to fear that has torn through this city long ago. The reason was clear as she caught the eye of many, many nasty ne’er-do-wells raiding one such store that, when they noticed her, gave her such villainous glares. She took noticed of one of the criminal's hands- on the back of it was a tattoo of a purple fox.

           She was planning on this. This will get 'their' attention.

            Ignoring their hated yells and jeers for a moment, she continued walking on, slowly but surely gathering the crowd of vile scum as they dropped what they were doing to follow her, readying their weapons. She continued down this path, walking out into the middle of a quickly emptying street.

           Finding themselves in the middle of the famed Shibuya Crossing, the girl stood directly in the center, knowing she had attracted dozens of these louts. Now... who will make the first move? As dumb circumstances would have it, one of the criminals made the first move, charging at her with a drawn knife. Their bodies were going to hate them at the end of this.

           He was right on top of her when he swung his knife like a sword. The girl's briefly glowed before she suddenly leaped over the bad guy with such grace and elegance, moving too fast for him to realize she had jumped before she was right behind him. A hard kick to the head had him sliding facefirst on the street.

           Another thug charged with a hidden switchblade, aiming directly for her head. She ducked down as a glow appeared over her left hand and expanded into a blueprint that began filling itself in. It took the form of a rectangular rifle with a blocky magazine stock on the bottom and a scope on the top. He only had a few small seconds to look back before she fired, getting him in the gut. The criminal fell onto his front, grunting and whining in pain as he held his stomach. The shot did not kill- none of her attacks ever will. 


           The girl dainty brought herself back up, aiming her rifle at the crowd of badness. She scoffed a snicked and lowered it. She held up her other hand and gestured them to come at her. Despite their partners going down like bricks, everyone else pulled out knifes, pistols, brass knuckles, and baseball bats; a couple of them even had katana's.

           They need bigger toys.

           Raising her empty hand, she stretched it out towards the side. A glow appeared over her right hand and formed into a cylindrical shape that went from her wrist to the tips of her fingers. Her hand grasped around a handle that had formed first. The rest of the weapon formed around her, taking the form of a cylinder with three spikes that curved outwards. A spark ignited before bursting outward, taking on the form of a sword of blue light. Raindrops evaporated when they hit the blade.

           It was on now.

           She stepped to the side to avoid a shot before returning one in kind. She fired several more shots, taking more down as everyone else charged towards her. She dodged several more shots before swinging her blade hard, taking four down in a single swing.

           She spun to the right just as several baddies swung their bats. She pushed off the ground and flipped backwards to avoid getting hit. They continued attacking her and she continued dodging, leading her right into a group with sharp knives.

           She caught notice of that and ducked down just as she landed in front of the knife wielders. She performed a 360 sweeping kick, knocking all seven of them off their feet. She summoned the same exact blade on her left hand, replacing the rifle, and spun around, striking all seven. Like with the rifle, the slash did not kill them, but they were temporarily paralyzed.

           She swung her blade over the back of her neck, catching a katana that had been swung in a killing motion. She pushed him back before delivering a nasty kick to the hips. He was sent flying backwards into the door of a really fancy car. She shot at the katana that had clattered on the ground, shattering it.

           That distraction gave the briefest window of opportunity for a decked out APC to come speeding in from out of nowhere, catching her completely by surprise as she wondered where in the world they got that. The screeching tires caught her attention, allowing her the window to roll out of the way as she wondered how. Heavily armored soldiers in black and purple combat armor filed out of the APC, firing military-grade assault weaponry towards her. Now she really wants to know where they got all this, especially military-grade gear.

           One of the last ones out shouldered a RPG-11 and fired. She pushed herself up off the ground and dug the right blade into the asphalt. She swung with all her might, kicking up a small meteor storm that pelted the APC and blocked the RPG. The rocket hit one of the fragments, causing it to explode prematurely.

           The blast from the RPG sent her somersaulting backwards, forcing the weaponry to disappear. She stopped and landed on her back, coughing hard to catch her breath. The blast had taken the hood off her head and for the trench coat to flutter. Long and stunning golden-blonde hair flowed down over her shoulders and down to her hips. The more shocking features about her were the fox ears that popped out of the top of her head, along with the large and fluffy tail as golden blonde as her hair and with a white tip.

           She raised her head to glare at the soldiers, her eye color changing from emerald-jades to blood red. The markings under her eyes grew.

           She got up off the wet ground and charged right back into the fray, summoning the blades to both hands. She moved too fast for the gunfire to get a proper hit. Even the minigun on top of the APC couldn’t land a hit, and it fired 300 rounds a minute. She sliced though the soldiers like butter, taking out seasoned fighters with they were nothing but rookies and this was their first day on the job.

           She dodged another RPG shot, flipping over the fired grenade. She grabbed the tail and tilted it upwards, allowing it to fly harmlessly into the air where it would explode against nothing. She then took down the fellow with the RPG before moving onto the APC. She pierced the hood of the vehicle and ran on top of it, dragging the blades behind her.

           Reaching the end, she swung both blades forward. Once she was back on the ground, it fell over into two pieces. She changed the left blade back into a gun and fired, taking out those who were inside.


           She moved her attention upward before leaping backwards to avoid another attack, this time by one of the robed figures; this one was wielding a staff with two ultra-powered chainsaws on both ends. The figure landed on the pavement with enough force to leave a crater. Moving as if it didn’t fall from a great height, the figure raised up the chain-lance and swung it with all the strength it could muster. Speed overcame strength here, though, as the girl dodged back to the APC, pulling the men within out to prevent them from getting sliced up.

           There, two more figures came from the sides- one wielding the same staff, but with two Chinese Guandao blades, while the other had Aztec Machuhuiti. Both swung their weaponry… milliseconds after she had leaped up into the air.

           She summoned guns on both her hands and aimed down. She didn’t have time to fire as yet another jumped off a building towards her, this one wielding a staff ended two shotguns with a quadruple-rounded barrel like a Gatling gun, with bayonets like the Egyptian Kopesh. She spun around and fired at him as he fired in kind. The shots collided, creating a concussive blast that knocked them both backwards.

           A legion of magical chains appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around her body. She followed the chains to the source- yet another member; the chains wrapped around her left arm, while her right hand held a much, much shorter staff with chakrams on both ends. This goon swung her left arm upwards then thrust it down, launching the blonde into the air, where two other fellows in the same cloak fell from the clouds, both of whom were wielding double-ended scythes.

           The two hit with the force of a freight train, blasting the girl back down onto the center of the Shibuya crossing. She hit enough force to turn dissipate all puddles in the immediate area while also briefly causing the rain to stop.

           The cloaked figures that were in the air came floating down, touching down effortlessly like a graceful swan. They all looked towards the new crater, in the center of which was the girl who was struggling to get up on her feet, blood dripping from her mouth. She managed to do so as the light from the storefronts were obscured by a new shadow.

           Above her stood the cause of all of this. His cloak was much more ordained with a golden diadem fashioned around the neck like a collar. In his right hand was, of course, another staff- this one double-ended by two different trident types; one end had three prongs while the other end had five, Unlike the others, this was ordained with many fancyful markings of Greek inspiration.

           As she got to her knees, the heart monitor in her wrist glowed and the wolf and vulture sprites popped on out, gaining very real forms, getting between him and her to protect her. The vulture spread his wings while the wolf snarled.

           Despite being bloodied and bruised by the hard landing, the girl got onto one knee, still determined to keep fighting. She raised her right arm to the side, as far as it could go. A otherworldly, ethereal glow began to surge around her hand. At the same time, the two programs turned into balls of light that later surged into her chest. This prompted her entire body to begin glowing.

           Gripping the trident tight, the leader flipped it so that the five-pronged side forwards and then charged towards her.

           A sword handle formed in her hand. She grasped it with both hands and held it backwards as he began his charge. She yelled loudly as a helmet appeared over her head and a fully-formed razor-katana appeared in her hands. She swung with all her might, striking the trident. 



           Both weapons hit the other, creating a intense and breathtaking explosion of magical proportions- a white dome that covered the entirety of Shibuya that unleashed a shockwave that encircled the entire world in seconds.

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           There are many people who you would never expect to be a hero. Farmers, bartenders, people just living their daily lives, unaware of the destiny the universe has in store for them. 

            This is one such story... but the hero is far from having heroic qualities. She is not a noble paragon of virtue. She is not beloved by all and hated by her enemies. She is not willing to give her life. She is far too frail, depressed, and broken for that. Yet... her selflessness, moral compass, and love for her sister may be the only things standing between the world and total annihilation. 

            This is the story of my mother, Fui Yamataka...

            But i am getting ahead of myself. Let us rewind, back to when it all began... when her life changed forever, thanks to a chance yet fated meeting between a fox and a hound.

            But the hound was having issues of his own...

            





           Deep within the bowels of Cyberspace, a electrical realm filled with coding and information, a program was being pursued. A heavily modified metal cyber wolf in design, the A.I. program ran for its life. Behind it were a pair of hunter programs designed to destroy rogue A.I’s, modeled after Praying Mantises.

           Keeping up its momentum, the Wolf A.I. spun around and shot electrical bolts out of its back. The bolts hit one, turning it into code that disappeared. The other dodged and continued it’s pursuit. The Mantis, in turn, swung it’s pincers, sending blade beams at the Wolf.

           The blade beams hit the electrical current under it, sending the Wolf A.I. rolling along the current until it skidded to a stop. In the real world, someone was experiencing major connection problems on their phone as the electrical current carried the wi-fi.

            The Mantis landed and slowly made its way to him. The Wolf growled as it struggled to get up. The Mantis’ arms stiffened, becoming swords. Once the Mantis was close enough, the Wolf lunged up and bit the Mantis on the throat. He bit down hard, crushing the throat. The Mantis dissolved into coding that entered the electrical current like its brother before.

           The Wolf panted heavily, growing tired of this game of cat & mouse. A painful ringing filled his mind, making him exclaim in pain. He held his head as he gritted his teeth. It soon ended, allowing him to finally move. “W… why… why are they chasing me…?” He panted. He looked back to see if more were coming. “Where did they even come from?” He headed further into Cyberspace just as more Mantis’ appeared to pursue him, pushing him towards fate.



























eTu'nes

 

2: Episode 1: Enter Fui Yamataka

The sound of waves crashing against the shore, the singing of birds, the laughter of children. Laying on a beach and letting her body settle into the sand, a lonely and miserable girl opened her eyes, letting the light reflect off her emerald-jade colored eyes. Up above, clouds slowly moved through the sky, illuminated from below by the rising sun.

 

She sat up and looked out at the glistening water as the sunlight hit that too. A guttural growl came from the water as it slowly began to rise. A shadow was cast across the beach as the sun was blocked by its massive body. The last thing she was were a pair of bus-sized glowing yellow eyes peer out of the risen water before everything went white.

 

Chapter 1

 

A New Story Begins; Enter Fui Yamataka

 

 

 

"Why... do i keep having that same dream...?"

 

The cracking of a baseball hitting a steel bat woke her up, but she didn't open her eyes. She imagined the batter runner to first base, likely braving headed to second or third or even possibly getting a home run. By the sounds of the cheers, it was more then likely first base. She had learned to identify what is happening with sounds; it's something she had learned to do since childhood. Comes with being alone all the time, not being able to play these games. Nobody wants anything to do with her. They want her to stay away from them and leave them alone. Who would want to even associate with a walking time bomb? Not even by her own choice, she was a social pariah- barely anyone wanted to be near her.

 

Why?

 

She was born. At birth, she was born with a menagerie of illnesses, diseases, and other internal problems that would've killed most babies. She was lucky she was born into this time period, otherwise it was unlikely she'd have survived past the first hour, let alone the first day. If not for experimental implants, she would've died... though she runs the risk of those same implants threatening to kill her as well. This brought with it a whole range of limitations.

 

Then... there are the visual problems. She had been born with birthmarks. That's nothing strange, right? Some people are born with strange marks on their person; either a big splotch of whatever or even a shape.

 

.... not her.

 

For some reason, nobody had ever been able to figure out how it happened, she was born with the ears and the tail of a fox, and she had birthmarks on her face in very precise shapes: two upside-down triangles on her cheeks and a mark shaped like the diamond on poker cards on her forehead. It's puzzling that a human would be born with these; birth defects are never animal based. A cleft lip or Vrolik's syndrome, maybe, but not this.

 

It is because of these that she is all alone, suffering in silence as the rest of the world wants nothing to do with her. To her, everything seemed grey and lifeless. Ever since her problems began, that’s how she always viewed the world- grey, dark, lifeless, and dull. Life lost its oomph and luster on her, but she didn’t care. What was there to care about these days? Not the kind of a person you'd expect to be a hero, huh?

 

"Fui?"

 

But there was one bright spot. Fui opened up her tired, emerald jade eyes and saw a little girl standing over her with her arms behind her back. Her little sister... Lyric... the only person in the world who wants to be around her. The only person who can stand her, and the only one who thinks her foxy parts are cool.

 

"You gonna wake up, Fui?" Her voiced was distorted and the world around her wavy. Was this a dream? Was she living some waking nightmare? "Fuuuuui?" Fui didn't respond. She instead closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

 

The beginning of the 2010's was the beginning of a tumultuous time for the human race. When the great Tohoku Earthquake of 2011 struck the island nation of Japan, it marked the beginning of an end. The great disaster ruined the country's infrastructure, swept homes and lives away, ruined many things, did an impossible thing by moving the country 8 feet towards the Asian coast, and the worst of it all: decimated a nuclear power plant, unleashing hazardous chemicals into the ocean blue.

 

While scientists at the time believed that the damage would be localized to the Pacific... they were wrong. The heat from the nuclear waste traveled to the north and the south... towards the frozen lands and accelerated the melt that had been slowly increasing for decades. And at the beginning of 2012, the second Great Flood began.

 

It's long been speculated that the legendary flood of Noah was localized to the region of the Mediterranean, with the real-world explanation being a natural land bridge between Morocco and Portugal had crumbled, forming the Straits of Gibraltar in its stead, and filling a grand basil into the Mediterranean. Regardless of whichever version is true, it still pales in comparison to the Flood of 2012.

 

There was no divine help this time. There was no warning. The nuclear material had accelerated the Arctic Melt beyond compare. And in a few months' time, coastlines had vanished and the water was quickly moving inland. There weren't enough boats to hold everyone, and soon only the peaks of mountains would be safe.

 

That... was when Earth made First Contact. An Alien race named the Heakaluesly was approaching, seeking a new world to call home.

 

When the Hesk arrived on Earth on December 2012- ironically not on the 21st- they came to a chaotic mess. Almost every single island and coastline was underwater. Cities were flooded and people migrated inland to avoid the rapidly rising water. This resulted in a lot of cramped cities and a lot of ornery people. Many at the time were afraid something horrible was going to happen if nothing changed soon, and despite countless warnings, the governments of the time did nothing but squabble among themselves over stupid, petty things.

 

They were lucky the Hesk came when they did. Another couple of years, and things would’ve gotten to the point of no return.

 

To insure to the people of Earth they were no threat and merely wanted a new home, the Hesk went straight to work to make themselves useful. The first thing they did was restore the waterlines to pre-melt levels.

 

What they did was construct what are commonly called force field generators-- two-mile high pylons that generate an invisible barrier. They have more official and fancier names, but force field generators was more simpler. Constructed a mile off the coast of every single landmass in the world and spaced out by a few thousand feet, these super thin spires restored the shoreline to what it once was. On the other side of the barrier, however, the oceans was a different story. It remained risen. The Pylons had only moved the water back to the other side, not restore the ice caps. That would require nature. As a result, this made trading by sea almost impossible.

 

Thanks to some brilliant engineering, the pylons generated two different sets of force fields that worked similar to the Panama Canal, in a sense, with two different water levels at a time- those out at sea, which had rising more than 40 feet thanks to the ice caps melting, and those within a few miles of any given shoreline, which is, again, pre-melt levels. Ships would travel in-between the two barriers and be either raised or lowered. However, while the pylons helped recede water levels, there was a limited amount of Pylons they could make- most parts of the coastline would still be waterlogged, to an extent. Half of the reason they didn’t have enough pylons for every single location in the world was because of this:

 

It was finalized months before the Second Great Flood and began weeks prior: a chain of artificial islands, where humanity could hope to grow anew. It was an ambassador from Japan who brought this forward and it was agreed upon unanimously. They had just finished the blueprints and started construction on the first island when the Hesk arrived. Between the islands and the pylons, there wasn't enough materials to go around, even after cannibalizing and stripping down most of the Hesk ships. They had to do what they had to do to make the ends meet.

 

The end result: a mishmash of ideas and architecture. The Global Flood and First Contact opened a lot of eyes back then. The islands are also considered life boats, for if and when a Third Global Flood comes about. Since these islands float, they don't have to worry about drowning with the rest of the world.

 

As it was Japan who forwarded the idea, it was only natural that they would name it. After several polls, the final name had been chosen: Akatsuki; translated, it means Dawn or Daybreak. Given that it was supposed to be a new home before First Contact, it was fitting. The artificial islands were located just off Tokyo Bay. Many traffic systems such as highways, railways, air gondolas.

Out of the proposed 20 islands, only six have been completed. Will there be enough materials to construct islands for these countries? No. Earth and the Hesk fleet both have limited supplies.

 

An Akatsuki isle's average size varies from country; Japan's was about the same as Manhattan Island and runs along the entirety of Tokyo Bay, all the way through to the mouth of the Uraga Channel, where the inland sea meets the ocean. It is currently serving as a very dedicated port system.

 

Each island has been built to resemble their country in some capacity, like for example Japan's breathtaking wilderness couples with tall skyscrapers and neon lights. All islands had something similar to that regard... except for the center That was because that was the Hesk's isle- it was their ships that created the pylons and these islands, so it makes sense that they would get the first one, and since they had no homeland on Earth, they elected to take theirs plain- their true home lies under the surface, in the remains of their ships that rest underneath each island.

 

Thanks to the Hesk, Humanity had avoided extinction by drowning and they have since started to work together for a brighter tomorrow...

 

So why would anyone want to try and ruin that...?

 

The world seemed to distort even further and fade away as Fui fell deep into her despair, wondering how much longer she was going to have to put up with this. She's barely started her final year of high school... yet it feels like it's going to be an eternity before graduation and escape her pain. When she does, she can finally become the recluse she wanted to be; just be away from everything and everybody. She has enough to deal with; the last thing she wants is to be around people who hate her.

 

And then... one day... everything changed...

 

And it was all due to two chance encounters...

 

2/28/2075 A.D. / 2/28/2075 A.H.E

 

Sleeping soundly in her bed, which she had converted the alcove under a window into, Fui slept soundly, oblivious to the mess that was everywhere. It’s like a tornado came through and lingered for hours, turning her room into a trailer park. She wanted to sleep in as much as possible before going to school; she never wanted to go, but she has no say.

 

An alarm clock on a nearby TV tray suddenly went off, playing a bad punk rock song. It woke her up, much to her dismay. She poked her hand out and pressed down on the snooze button. The alarm kept going. She grumbled louder as she slammed her hand down. That didn’t do it. She grabbed it and tossed it towards the other side of her messy, disheveled room. That did it. She pulled her hand back and fell back to sleep.

 

Her messy, disheveled, borderline unlivable room was standard Otaku fare- stacks of Anime DVD’s, comics called manga, visual novels, and video games, posters of fictional characters decorated on her wall, some action figures and plush toys based on said characters, and even some cosplay armor. Unlike most Otaku rooms, which are usually neat and tidy, this place was a complete mess. DVD’s, manga, novels, games, toys, and even her clothes were scattered all over the place- on her writing/reading/drawing desk, her custom gaming computer she spent years and a lot of money on, her 32-inch flatscreen, her wooden dressers, her 4-tiered shelves, and her consoles.

 

Not the kind of living you would expect from a future hero, or anyone for that matter.

 

She slowly opened her eyes, looking out of a break in the covers. Her emerald jades glistened in the rising sunlight. Her eyes moved up to the window, wishing she had curtains. Off in the distance, she saw a flock of birds flying by, casting shadows into her room. She raised her hand as she reached out to grab one, wanting to be free like them, free of all these hindrances in her life. To just be something close to normal. She slowly lowered her arm, knowing that will never happen.

 

The mood ended when she heard rapid knocking at the door. Groaning and grumbling with a disgusted look on her face, knowing full well who it was, she closed all open spots on her blanket to let the blackness surround her.

 

The door burst open and in ran her little sister with her arms stretched out, like the wings on a plane, an ran onto the bed. She was a spunky 9-year-old girl with large, wavy sea-blue hair, same-colored eyes, and dressed in a light red 4th grade school uniform with a skirt that went down to her shins. She was one of the very few spots of color in this grey, dismal world... but she can cause pain. Fui went oof when she landed. "Waky waky, Fui!"

 

It was too early in the morning for this. “Leave me alone, Lyric.” Fui grumbled as she pulled the sheet closer.

 

Lyric plopped down on her knees, bouncing up and down. “No. Mom told me to wake you up, and that’s what I’m going to do.” She knows how; Fui has weaknesses she can exploit. She bounced to the end of Fui’s bed, making her sister grunt in pain every time, and grabbed an action figure of a popular action star called Cranaya Man. He had a corny outfit- a purple spandex suit with a large bullseye on his chest. The costume design for the show he’s from was criticized for being too stupid and childish, but it remains a hugely popular thanks to the insane action: one of Cranaya Man’s enemies actually destroyed a mountain just by flicking it, and that was the second episode. It gets crazier from there.

 

“Oh, Fuuuiii." She sang with a evil undertone. "I got your deluxe edition action figure of Cranaya Man in my clutches." She held it up by the arms, "Last you said, this thing was gonna be worth a whole lot of money someday. If you don’t want it to get ruined, you’re gonna have to get uuuuup.”

 

A large, fluffy blonde tail with a white tip slipped out from under the covers. Lyric laughed loudly when it tickled her sides like a feather duster, dropping the action figure. Fui caught it with her foot and brought it under the blankets. “Nice try. And don’t touch my stuff.” The tail then pulled back under and she closed off that opening.

 

Still panting from the tickling, Lyric looked over the messy room and winced. How can she find anything to take; this was a pigsty. “I don’t think I could even if I wanted to...” She gritted.

 

Lyric puffed out her cheeks as she playfully pouted, knowing one thing that WILL get Fui out of bed, so help her Amaterasu. “Come ooooon. Today is the last day of sports for my class, and yours too.” She walked her fingers up the lump under the blanket while saying in a sing-songy voice, “That means this will be the last time you see Alkaid in that sports outfit."

 

A pair of pointed fox ears poked out of the sheets. The left ear had a small earring in it. “You caught my attention.” Lyric evilly smirked as she sat up; always lead with the crush. “Alright, I’m up, I’m up. You play dirty.”

 

She smiled like an evil genius. "And don't you forget it." Lyric playfully giggled as she jumped off to let her sister get up. She landed in a pile of clothes, which made her gross out. How can she live like this? She can't focus on it for too long- they were in a rush. “But you’re gonna hafta hurry. Schools’ in 25 minutes and we all know how you like to dawdle.” She turned and sprinted towards the door.

 

With her sister gone, and any chance of falling back to sleep lost, Fui sat up out of her bed, letting the sheets fall off of her. Her emerald green eyes flinched when the morning light hit 'em. Her hip-length golden blonde hair glistened in the light as she stretched. She rolled out of bed and stretched again, arching her back and allowing her tail to stretch and flow naturally. She is very pretty but that was all she had; she had nothing to show off and given her medical problems and her mutations, that would never be.

 

“Mmmmm. Mm. I must’ve slept in late for Lyric to do that again…” She sleepily said as she scratched her back. She noticed that her computer was still on, and on the pause menu of a popular game called World of Sorcery, a VRMMORPG from Chile. She must've forgotten to turn it off last night, which wasn't good; PC's have a nasty habit of overheating like that. She turned off the computer, then grabbed her alarm clock and put it back on the tray right by her alcove bed.

 

She paused when she set it down as the reality of her life sink in, as it has done every single day for her life ever since middle school. If she can’t live even the bare basics of life, then what’s the whole point of living? Not once has she experienced the hallmarks of life: a first date, a first kiss... fun.

 

She took a deep breath then exhaled slowly. No use trying to change things; she tried before. It never works out. “(No sense beating around the bush today… Time to put on your happy face again, Fui. this is your life… no need to let any of them suffer as well.)” Letting that sink in for the day, she went to her closet to grab her last clean school uniform. She forced it open, grunting with effort as she forced it open against the cluttered mess. She really needs to clean this place up, but she doesn't have the motive to do so.

 

She grunted with effort as she forced the doors open. Wiping her forehead and brushing bangs out of her eyes, she went into her walk-in closet, which was somehow the cleanest part of her room, and closed it behind her. Moments later, she emerged, wearing her uniform for school: a form-fitting plain white t-shirt with short-blue sleeves, a blue ascot wrapped around her neck, eggshell-white thigh-high socks, and a frilly blue skirt with a white stripe circling it. And while this isn't part of the uniform dresscode, she had bicycle shorts on underneath; her tail always lifted her skirt up, so a classmate taught her that little trick. At least she won't have to put up with it for much longer what with senior high school graduation only a few days away.

 

As she exited, tying the ascot around her neck, she noticed that one of the plugs had become unplugged. She grumbled in annoyance before getting down underneath the desk. She grabbed the plug and put it back in. The plug was for a timer that was counting down, and it had 6 hours and 13 minutes left. She got up on her knees with an arm on her desk, saw the timer, and sighed with a grumble. “Of course, today is my checkup day...” She lowered her head, deeply sighing with a grumble again. “…Just once, I'd like to skip a day....” She disconnected her smartphone off the charger and looked at the time. By her guesstimate, she had to leave in to be around 1:43.

 

She exclaimed in pure aggravation; she’d miss watching Alkaid’s soccer game, something she'll get Lyric back for later for using against her. Putting the phone into the back pocket of her bicycle shorts, she walked out the door and headed towards the bathroom to brush her hair, her teeth, and everything else you do when you wake up. She yawned as she entered, closing the door behind her.

 

The home of these two sisters and their parents was a modest one on the second floor to a moderately successful bakery on the southern beaches, located on the southern part of Japan's Akatsuki island, named Hajime, or Beginning as it was the first island and the dawn of a new beginning.

 

It was spacious in its design, which was to be expected with one of the designers being from the US. There were two hallways, separated by a load-bearing middle wall that housed the only bathrooms in the building. On the ‘right’ or bottom hallway of the wall was Fui’s room, a guest bedroom, and a storage closet. The other hallway had her parents room, Lyric’s room, and another guest bedroom. Both hallways exited out into a small kitchen, and a family room with a big TV, a long couch, and a lot of chairs. There was another wall there separating the hallways, but it had a staircase that led up onto the roof, which had a greenhouse for fresh, homegrown herbs and vegetables, along with a secret that will be revealed later.

 

Those weren't the only staircases. There were two others. One was located between Lyric's and the first guest bedroom and it exited out into the bakery lobby- patrons need to use the public bathroom; the previous owners were wise enough to install walls that prevented them from going to places they shouldn't. The other was located near Fui's room: she had such quick and easy access to it; one step out of the door and one step to the left then right, she was there. The stairwell led down into a dividing section: taking a right at the bottom step took you into the bakery kitchen, while heading left would exit you out at the laundry room, as well as an exit that led out into a back alley.

 

The matriarch of the family, Imita, bought this building a couple years after Fui was born. Before, it was a two-story house when it was first built, then the next owners turned the first floor into a theme restaurant that went under years before, but nobody wanted anything to do with it, due to rumors of it being cursed for business, but that didn't deter Imita none. Instead, she put some TLC and it became a local success, with all their neighbors coming in for some of her mother’s fresh baked goodies. She had a rough going at first due to a lack of experience, mismanagement of funds, and being from out of town- Nagasaki born and raised- she didn't know anyone. But she had perseverance and she stuck to it, eventually becoming skilled and known in the neighborhood.

 

With her... duties taken care of, Fui splashed water on her face to help wake her up further. She coughed once, having accidentally swallowed some. Water dripped from her bangs as she stood there, staring down at the sink with her arms clutching the granite top. She slowly lifted her head and stared at herself in the mirror. What was even the point of going? Her attention turned to the ears that poked out of her head and to the tail that hung upward. It's all thanks to these stupid things. It's all thanks to them her life is horrible. Why did she have to be born with them?

 

Sigh, moping about it wasn't going to help her none. She wiped the water from her hair and rubbed her face with a towel before heading out. Closing it behind her again, she returned to her room to grab her book bag and jacket before heading down the stairs near her room, heading down towards the bakery kitchen. Reaching the bottom, she hung a right and slid pass her mother as she headed out.

 

When Imita brought the building, it was originally for a theme restaurant- the theme was nostalgia for eras forgotten. It was 1990's themed, and it's any wonder how it didn't perform well. It also doesn't help that they were charging exorbitant prices- they had no business sense. She didn't have any money to buy contractors to redo the lobby- almost all of it was earmarked for everything she needed for the kitchen, so she was stuck with the theme. Over time, however, it grew a certain charm. Now that she has enough money to buy modelers, she doesn't want to. The 1990's theme had grown on her, and sometimes, it's nice to remember a simpler time. But at least she upgraded it so it can switch themes whenever she wants to- all that matters to Fui is that she can change what music is played- it may have been catchy for the time, but listening to Can't Touch This and Barbie Girl for the millionth time would drive anyone bonkers.

 

Slipping through the swinging door, Fui saw Lyric sitting at a barstool, biting into a fresh donut. There were several others in here- old men and women, mostly, drinking coffee and reading the news while out on their morning walks. This place served as a little hangout local crowd. It can get crazy during summer vacation with all the tourists, but the money was worth it. Imita played it smart and offered something the restaurant prior lacked: variety. She had baked goods from everywhere here. And it's not just sweets- she hired on a cook that could make some mean fries and chicken tenders. Really adds to the aesthetic.

 

“mmmm… it tastes like heaven.” Lyric giggled. Fui rolled her eyes as she put her bag down on the counter and started loading up on some snacks. “Cheater.” Lyric grumbled with lidded eyes.

 

Imita came out of the kitchen with a tray of fresh baked Uir, a small cake made from rice flour and sugar. She had pitch-black hair that’s tied up under a hairnet and soft golden eyes that would sooth a soul. One of the Uir? fell onto her apron and rolled, but she caught it with her knee. She gestured Lyric to grab it, which she did and ate, prompting a eyeroll. She placed the tray down and began unloading it. “You two better get going, or else you’ll be late for school.” She said in a soothing, motherly voice. Do not let her meekness fool you; she took classes. She knows how hurt a fool.

 

“Yeah, we know mom.” Fui said in passing as she put a 4th donut into her bag. She reached for a 5th when her mom slapped her hand. See what i mean? “Yeouch.” She yelped as she pulled it back and waved her hand.

 

“Enough of that." She spoke in a stern manner. "Those are for customers- the more you take, the less we get." Fui grumbled as she put all but one back. She put that in her mouth and took a bite as she walked out from behind the counter and towards Lyric. "And think of your cholesterol. That much sugar is bad for you.”

 

Sitting with her knees on the stool, Fui pouted like a little kid and flailed her legs behind her. “But I’m a starving girl- feed me, mommy.” Her family was not amused. She stuck her tongue out and sat on the stool like a normal person. “Besides, my implants prevent me from having heart attacks or strokes or gaining weight. (That's pretty much the only good thing they've done so far.)"

 

Lyric wasn't buying that as she took another bite. “Starving? You? Really? I thought you don't feel hunger." Not... completely true. While it's true she's never felt an organic feeling of hunger, she does get feelings of needing to eat. Her taste buds are the only things that don't have implants- what she tastes is what everyone tastes. Only a few small sections of her body don't have the Hesk implants- her tongue, her brain, her chest, her reproductive system, and her natural looks. Everything else came with a copyright. "Besides, doesn't it all go to your hips?" Fui's response: a jelly donut right into Lyric's face. "... I deserved that."

 

Imita chuckled to herself as Lyric wiped her face. She went behind the counter to clear the jelly off in the sink while their mother looked at a nearby clock and saw that they don’t have a lot of time to to school. “You two better hurry. You only got 20 minutes until school starts.”

 

She didn't want to go, but she had no choice in the matte. I just have to hold out till the weekend then i'm free.” Fui snatched a skewer of Dango- a type of sweet dumpling rolled up into balls, coated in a sweet thing like syrup or green tea, and served 4 on a stick- and put the tip in in her mouth as she put on her jacket. This kind of Dango is called Mitarashi Dango, which is covered in maple syrup. “See you later, mom.” Fui said with the skewer sticking out of her mouth as she headed out though the main door. Lyric came out of the kitchen momentarily after, wiping off her washed face before grabbing her backpack and running after her.

 

"See you later, dear." Imita called back as the door closed.

 

Lyric caught up with her sister very quickly, running a few feet ahead. She turned around and walked backwards with her hands behind her head as the dango skewer stuck out of Fui's mouth. The two wandered down that well-worn road they have done years before. The scent of the salt air reached them before the sea breeze did. That is one benefit to living at the beach: you never have to go far for a nice breeze to cool the day.

 

“Isn't it a little early to be eating Dango?" Lyric asked as she continued to walk backwards. "That's more of a lunch-time thing.”

 

Fui only shrugged. “So what?” She took a bite on one of the dough balls, pulled it off, and ate it. "It's not like it's going to affect me none. It's the first thing I ate all day."

 

With all day being 10 minutes, it doesn't really sound like much of a argument. “Don’t let dad hear you say that. He’ll give ya a lecture on healthy eating.”

 

“I know. But he should blame mom- she’s the one that runs a bakery and lets us get away with swiping the goodies.”

 

“Says the one who get her hand smacked while reaching for a… delicious… donut…” Lyric’s mouth drooled at the mere mention of all those goodies waiting for them at home when they get off of school. Can she be even more hypocritical? When it comes to those confectious goodies, yes she can. “Ooohohohohoho… I can’t help it. They are so delicious… whatever mom does with them just makes them little pieces of heaven… mmm….” Fui rolled her eyes, knowing where she was going with this. She held down the skewer, that still had a couple left on it. Lyric playfully giggled as she took it. “You spoil me.”

 

“I know.” Lyric bit the last two off, then tossed the stick into the nearest trash can they passed. Fui groaned as she held her head. “Ugh… I’m not looking forward to later…” She grumbled as she pulled out her phone and opened it up to the timer section. “Today’s checkup day…” She said as she set the timer, remembering how much time she had left.

 

Lyric sucked in her lips. That made the reason to get Fui out of bed moot and pointless. Now she has to worry about a reprisal. “Oh. That means no Alkaid soccer shows for you today.”

 

Fui gave her a glare that was both sincere and spiteful. There was no way she could’ve known today was check-up day, but it makes that trick to get her out of bed ever more evil. "Sleep with one eye open tonight..." She hissed, making Lyric gulp out of fear. Fearing the retaliation now, she turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Fui snickered a laugh- it wasn't going to happen now. But... there's no sense in not having fun now, so she chased after her in a playful manner. Reaching the first road, Lyric skidded to a halt before running up the right sidewalk. Not losing her stride, Fui ran onto the same sidewalk.

 

Lyric continued running, looking back to make sure she wasn't catching up. She should've kept looking on ahead for a crowd was waiting at a crosswalk, waiting for the signal to cross. She smacked into someone's backside, making her fall backwards and the person she ran into to stagger forward.

 

The person she hit looked back, so no one, then looked down. "Oh. Hey, Lyric." He said.

 

Lyric sat up and rubbed her sore rear. She looked up and saw the boy with the spiky red hair and glistening tan skin looking down at her. "Speak and he appears... Hey, Alkaid... ow..." She got up on her feet.

"Why were you running in the first place?" Lyric looked behind, towards the sister that had slowed down and was now taking her sweet sweet time, mostly to hide the profuse blush that had erupted all over her face. She gritted her teeth in irritation. She's doing this now? Really?

 

Her face as red as a strawberry, Fui took her time as she slowly made her approach. She is always like this whenever she is near him- Lyric may bring light and color, but Alkaid gave it warmth and a reason. They had known each other since grade school and friendship had evolved into something much more. Her heart started beating as rapidly and wildly as a jackhammer while her palms got sweaty. She raised her ascot to hide her infatuation. Romance is such a confusing thing.

 

“Again...?” Lyric bemoaned, more irritated then amused. She walked back to her and gestured her to get a move on, but it wasn't happening, prompting Lyric to grumble again. “Seriously, you gotta stop doing this every time you see him- it’s more sad than entertaining at this point.” She got behind her and pushed her taller and heavier sister over beside the star player. Fui whimpered internally as she failed without trying to stop her little sister from pushing her up alongside her crush.

 

Alkaid was oblivious, having returned his attention to the textbooks he had in his hands. School was almost over and he's already prepping for college. Fui stood very still and didn’t make a noise. Lyric tapped her foot for a moment before getting between the two of them. Why is it the kid that has to start this romance? “Ahem.”

 

That caught his attention again. He turned around and saw Fui standing there, stiff as a board. “Hmm? Oh, hey there, Fui. You came out of nowhere.” She stayed silent and stiff. He’s seen her like this before and it’s always been concerning, but the poor guy never pieced two and two together, at least as far as they could tell. “Um…Fui?’ He waved his hand in front of her face. “You ok?”

 

Fui didn’t respond. She struggled to stay silent and not let him hear the infatuation in her voice. This was already too much for her to bear, and it's only been a few seconds. Lyric grumbled as she crossed her arms; if Fui isn’t going to talk, she is. “She was busy thinking of you as she slept.” Fui internally screamed at the top of her lungs. “She dreamt you two were--” A swift kick in the butt shut Lyric up before she could go anything further.

 

Alkaid chuckled as he bent down and tussled Lyric’s hair, making her eyes drop. “You’re a cute kid with quite the imagination.” This guy is as dense as a doornail, she thought. Alkaid stood back up and put his book away. At least it brought Fui out of... whatever the heck she was in. “Were you able to finish your assessment form today?” And now infatuation turned to panic. Fui sucked in her lips and bit them, having completely forgotten about this. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out. “… You forgot again?”

 

She lowered her head in shame. “No…” She whimpered. The assessment forms they are talking about are as it sounds: job placement forms, to find out what best suits you. After they graduate this time next year, they need jobs to support themselves. While the test is more or less optional in other countries, it’s mandatory in Japan. “I filled it out… I just keep forgetting to turn it in. It's back in my room... under a pile..." Lyric facepalmed hard.

 

Alkaid facepalmed too. This woman is the epitome of spacing out. “Ugh... that's not good- not with graduation so close. You don't have time to waste.” She was ignoring him, rummaging through her backpack to try and find her form, hoping it was in there instead of a pile. “…or you can rummage through your backpack in a desperate attempt, that works too."

 

She looked around and around but saw that she didn’t have the assessment form in her bag. It is at home, buried alright. But under what pile? It was going to be a miracle to find it before year was out. “… I’m so dead.”

 

“I'm sure they'll allow you to fill out one at the school; thee's no reason to fret..." Fui didn’t hear him. She was curled up near a bench, dragging her finger over the sidewalk, drowning in the sorrow of her self-guilt. "... or break down over." He looked to Lyric, who just shrugged in response. She didn't have to worry about this for years, so it's not her problem.

 

More people began to arrive at the crosswalk, including several more students. Among them was Kaguya, a fellow classmate of Fui and Alkaid’s. She was a sweet and innocent girl with brown eyes, faded purple hair, and enough ribbons in it to wrap Christmas presents. Like Alkaid, Fui knew her since grade school. Other then Lyric, her parents, and another friend, Kaguya and Alkaid are the only ones who bothered to try and get to know her. She passed the bench and noticed Fui curled up beside it. “What is it this time?” She asked, having seen this many times before.

 

“Forgot her assessment test.” Alkaid replied.

 

“Really?” She turned to the somber fox. “It’s not the end of the world, you know."

 

“She's not going to hear you." Lyric said.

 

The streetlights turned from blue to red, making the cars on their road stop and allowing them to finally walk across. “She’ll hear this.” Kaguya tapped her on the head. Fui tilted her head backwards, looking at her upside-down. “Time to get going, missy.”

 

Fui got up off the ground and followed them across the street, still internally freaking out over forgetting it yet again. She always had a bad habit of forgetting things and this is just the latest. And tomorrow’s the weekend, so she can’t bring it to school tomorrow either. She reached the other side of the road and absent-mindedly followed her friends, completely lost in thought as they talked to each other.

 

She was so lost in thought, she didn’t notice a girl with reddish-brown hair rolled up to a ponytail to her left side walking towards her from a different direction, her face buried in a map of the district to try and find her way around. She had a unclipped bookbag of her own, holding lots of books inside. The two oblivious girls didn’t notice each other and were on a direct collision course. They ran into each other and yelled as they fell over, with the new girl tossing her map, bag, books into the air. The yell caught the attention of Fui's friends and sister, who looked back and saw Fui on the ground and on top of some random stranger as books rained down on them.

“Oooooow…” The two of them whimpered and grumbled, feeling pain all over. Fui rolled off the stranger and held her knee as it hurt the most form hitting the pavement hard. The unknown girl sat up and rubbed her head. “That hurt…” They both winced in unison.

 

“That looked painful.” Kaguya commented as she stood over.

 

“It was.” Fui and the new girl said in unison. That is when they finally took notice of each other. Their eyes met and a sort of spark passed between them. It was really, really subtle, though- they weren’t aware of it. “Sorry about that…” Fui softly said, not wanting to get into any trouble.

 

The new girl slowly got onto her knees. She wore a low cut purple top with a white collar and yellow tie, a stunning short-dress skirt with yellow on the top fabric and orange on the undershirt, and two separate purple bell sleeves that weren’t connected to the main dress. She wore high heels with ribbons going up the legs- the right leg had a pink ribbon that wrapped all the way up to her lower thigh, while the left yellow ribbon didn’t go past the shin. She wore a clip in her hair; the clip was divided in the middle by a black arrowhead design with a red streak behind it, and a yellow field on the right side of the arrowhead and green on the left.

 

"Ugh… no, it was my fault for not watching where I was going.” She mentioned as she started picking up the books she had dropped and put them in her bag. “This place has me all sorts of turned around. "Out of guilt and obligation, Fui helped her pick up the books. The first she grabbed was the map of the area the new girl was reading. "Again, sorry... i'm not used to this place yet.” She took it back from her. “I moved here a few days ago and I am completely lost. I can’t read this map to save my life.”

 

"You can't read the map?" Alkaid asked as he and the other two approached. "Didn’t you get the mandatory implants when you were a kid?”

 

“Of course I did. I got the auditory ones for the ears... my eyes, however...... .” The girl had her books back in her hands and she got back up off the pavement. Fui did the same thing and brushed off her rear end. “Things going near eyes just gives me goosebumps. I can barely stand eyedrops, let alone horror movies where eyes get messed up, so the thought of....” She visibly shivered in disgust at the thought. “...The thought of them cutting my eyes open to put in special doodads just doesn’t sit right.”

 

“Did you know we could reject them?" Lyric asked Kaguya, who shook her head in response. She twisted her lips and pulled out her phone to look it up.

 

“You can." The girl confirmed. "It just makes living difficult. And this is a real phobia, mind you. It’s called Ommetaphobia- Fear of Eyes. Basically, if anything happens involving an eye, I will scream, vomit, and faint, often in that order." She blushed in embarrassment. "You... heh, you’d be surprised by how common it actually is."

 

"No no, I can believe that." Fui responded. "I'm the same way with spiders."

 

The new girl chuckled as she heaved her bag over her shoulder. “Well, I won’t take up any more of your time. You all look like you’re ready to go to sea.” The four local kids collectively raised their eyebrows before looking their outfits over. This has been their school uniform all their lives and they never noticed is how similar it is to old sailor outfits. The comical uniformity of their confusion made the girl giggle. This was not her intent, but it was hilarious all the same. “Again, sorry for bumping into you like that.” She warmly said to Fui as she turned to leave. “And nice costume.” She commented before heading down the road she was originally heading in.

 

“Costume?” Fui repeated with a tilted head. It only took a second for her to realize what she meant. Of course, she was talking about her ears and tail. She sighed internally, wanting to be rid of these. At the very least, she didn't make it the center point of the whole conversation, nor did she yell like other people... but she doesn't know these are real either, so that will change if they ever meet again.

 

She felt a tug on one of her ears. She grunted and winced as she looked back to see Alkaid pulling on one of them. “The ears.” He said. Fui’s tail moved into view by itself, which adds more to his point. “She must think these are props to a cosplay outfit.”

 

“If only…” she depressingly said. She brushed his hand away, wanting to move on from this already. “Well… we wasted enough time here. We better get to school before ano--”

 

“LYRIIIIIIIC!!!”

 

Lyric was suddenly tackled from behind by her classmates, who dogpiled on her so quickly, it took the three graduates-to-be a few seconds to realize what was going on. Fui knew them; they've been over at their place more than enough times to memorize their names. One of the kids was Ogo Hetora, a strawberry-blonde girl Lyric’s age who comes off being just a tad bit too attached. Like, really attached- dog loyalty attached.

 

Lyric wasn't having none of this. She liked it when she was the one giving the dogpile, not getting it. “Ow ow ow ow ow! Get. Off. Me!” Her classmates got off of her, all except Hetora. She sat on Lyric’s back, bouncing up and down in excitement. It hurt as much as you think it does. "I said get off...!" She heaved up off the ground, rolling Hetora off her back. She then sat up and rubbed her aching back- first a sore butt, now this. She is not catching a break this hour. “Ow... That’s gonna cause back problems in the future...” She glared over at Hetora, hoping there was some sort of reason for this. If she did this just because, she’s gonna put gum in her hair. “This better be good, Hetora. I think you crippled me for life."

 

“Guess what, guess what, guess what, guess what, guess what!” Hetora giggled with a wide grin as she pulled out a card from behind her back. “Lookit! It’s a Limited Edition Gars Tanke 3000 Card!! I got it in a random pack!!! I GOT THE RAREST CARD IN THE GAME!!!”

 

That was worth the pain as Lyric’s distaste was immediately replaced by admiration. “HOLY CRAP, REALLY!?” Lyric bounded up and snatched it out of Hetora’s hands to look at it. “Holy cow…" She giggled in envy. "I am so jealous right now…”

 

Fui slowly shook her head with a faint smile while Alkaid scratched his in confusion. “A… what now?” He asked, clearly puzzled by this. “What are they talking about?"

 

“The latest kiddie cash grab, direct from Spain.” Fui answered with a deadpan delivery. "It's called Bellua Rumble and it's all the rage with kids these days. Lyric sank so much cash into booster packs when it started, I'm amazed she doesn't have multiple towers of cards. And... like all things, there's a anime."

Alkaid pursed his lips. They churn these out like candy, and just like the sugary treats, the kids eat'em up. "Another trading card game show? Sheesh, they make them like candy- they’re a dime a dozen. You watch one, you watched them all. Though I won’t deny, they have good animation quality sometimes.” Fui wasn’t going to argue with that. Bellua Rumble is a good looking show.

 

Once that excitement died down, the group, now down to a trio as Lyric hung back with her friends, continued down the path towards their school. Fui can't help but feel envious about it; she never had friends to trade cards with when she was Lyrics age. At least the game of her generation wasn't full of itself. "Oh right, did you hear?" Kaguya asked, leaning her upper body forward so that Fui and Alkaid can hear her over the noisy kids. "We're getting a new classmate today."

 

“Really?” Alkaid asked with his hands behind his head. “Where did you hear this?”

 

“I overheard Sensei Akio talking to the headmaster about it yesterday. I was grabbing my clothes from my gym locker and saw them talking. Naturally, my gossipy side kicked in and I snuck over to overhear. From what I heard, she’s from California and a senior like us, and…” She put a finger to her forehead as she tried to remember what else they said. “I think they said her name was Elis… or… Kellis... or something like that- somewhere in that ballpark. I didn’t hear much more as I was already running late for biology. To be honest, i heard the name at a distance, so it could be a lot longer."

 

“Transfer, huh?” Alkaid pondered. “I wonder if she’s cute.” Fui playfully elbowed him in the side, making him smile and chuckle as he rubbed where he was hit.

 

“Well, if she ends up in your class, you’ll find out.” Fui said. "And we can only hope she doesn't run into Terora before anyone else." The two of them nodded in agreement. “(And it’ll be nice to have someone who doesn’t know how messed up I am. Please be nice.)" She then remembered, "Wait... we're graduating next week, so isn't it too late for a transfer student?"

 

"From what I heard, her last school got damaged; someone actually broke in, trashed the place, stole some things, sprayed graffiti, tore up the machine lab, destroyed books in the library--"

 

"Geez..." Alkaid whistled. "you'd be better off listing what's not destroyed."

 

"But yeah, that's why they're here despite graduation being next week."

 

Continuing on, they passed by a group of tourists from Australia, who were in Akatsuki on vacation. They paid the students no mind… until one of the kids noticed Fui’s ears and tail. Now… here’s the sad thing. To her family, her friends, and even the people of Akatsuki- they are used to her extremities. They grew up alongside her. People outside of Akatsuki, on the other hand, were afraid of her or confused. Most, if not all, believe she’s really into cosplay and that these are just props. Whenever someone learns they are real, though... they get scared and find whatever excuse they can to run away, fearing she’s some kind of mutant or a freak.

 

“Animal lady.” A toddler said as he pointed towards Fui as they passed by.

 

“Now it’s not nice to point.” His mother said as she bent down to tend to him. She looked up at her and got a bit grossed out when she saw the add-ons. “… Though I don’t know why she’s in costume…”

 

The father looked over and saw the tail flinch on its own. He took a step back, nervous as all let-out. “No... i think those are real...” The father of the child raised his voice but tried to keep himself calm. He and his wife shared the same exact reactions on their faces: repulsion. “Um…” He looked at his wrist, at a watch that didn’t exist. “Oh, gee, look at the time… we, un… gotta get going.” He gestured to his wife that they leave before they catch whatever she has, and she didn’t argue. She wanted to get away as quickly, and politely, as possible. “Move move move…” He grunted under his breath.

 

It happened yet again. Fui’s ears drooped as she fell into her first depression of the day, a sight her friends are all too familiar with. This is her mood every single day, even if she tries to hide it behind a thinly veiled attempt at happy. Alkaid patted her on the shoulder, “Hey, ignore them. They don’t know what they are talking about.”

 

Fui mournfully sighed; she cannot ignore them, or anyone. Ever since preschool, she’s been getting looks, jeers, and disgusted hisses of contempt for no real reason other than... these. She’s suffering every day, and all these people make it worse for her by drawing attention to it all the time. All she wants to do is live a normal life… something she knows will never happen. "... yeah, they do..." She whimpered under her breath as she walked on ahead.

 

Nearing the end of their path, The group reached an intersection where both the high school and the grade school were located. Through shoddy design during the construction project way back when, the two facilities were right next door to each other, separated by a 20 foot high chain link fence. Both schools are 3 stories tall with a clock tower. Lyric’s school on the right is brighter and more colorful, as it was children that go there, while Fui’s on the left is as white as eggshells, as if it had been drowned in bleach.

 

Lyric and her little group turned right to head down a footpath only street towards the grade school. “See ya later!” Lyric shouted as she and her friends ran off down the road.

 

“Have fun at school, Lyric!” Fui cheerfully replied. She turned around to talk to her fellows. “Shall we?” Fui bubbly said as she walked down theirs. The two of them just looked at her before looking at each other. Alkaid can tell whenever Fui is lying- she always acts so bubbly when she does. It’s honestly sad that she has to lie to Lyric all the time- she works so hard to hide her troubles from her family, he doubts they even know the full extent. And there lies the problem: she cannot keep this up forever. Sooner or later... she will break.

 

Passing by a moderately successful nocturnal restaurant- meaning that it only opens whenever the sun goes down, the trio passed by a box lying in the middle of the road. Fui felt a shiver go down her spine when she passed it, prompting her to look inside. She gasped when she saw a cold, lonely, disheveled black kitty with a long white stripe along its belly shivering as it struggled to keep warm. Fui felt sorry for the little critter- its suffering just like her, but unlike her own self, they can help this little thing. “Aw… you poor thing…” She reached in and petted it, giving it some human contact for the first time. She heard the poor dear purr, which warmed her heart enough to get rid of the depression from earlier, however short it may last. Alkaid and Kaguya came to a halt as they watched her pet the creature. This is probably the first time they saw her care for something that wasn’t Lyric.

 

Fui instinctively reached into her bag and pulled out a rag. She draped it over the kitten, which purred even louder. “Aww… you’ll be ok, little guy.” She picked up the box and moved it off the road. Looking around for a better spot to put it, she had little options and chose to put into the alley behind the restaurant. She gently put the box down near a dumpster and then reached into her bag to pull out a stale bag of chips. “I don’t think you’ll like these, but it’ll be better than nothing until I come back.” She pulled out a few and put them in the box in front of the kitty while putting the bag on the other side of the box, in case it would still be hungry. She petted the poor kitty again, hoping she wasn't too late. “I don’t want to leave you alone right now, but they don’t allow animals at school. Well, they allow seeing eye dogs, but still….”

 

She got up, feeling guilty that she has to leave the suffering kitty alone. She doesn’t want to leave the cat alone, but she has no choice. It’s like she said- except for service animals like seeing-eye dogs, no animals are allowed at school. Guilt-ridden, she headed out of the alley to rejoin with her friends. She peered back, hoping the cat will still be there by the time she has to leave for her checkups. In hindsight, she should’ve asked the owner of that restaurant if he could keep an eye on it, but she didn’t think of it at the time. And given that it was a nocturnal place, it’s doubtful the owners were there to begin with.

 

Fui walked out and reunited with Alkaid and Kaguya before heading on towards school. It was clear as day how distraught she was. Most may not see it, especially those who hate her, but she is sensitive and caring. Kaguya looked back at the alleyway and thought of something that could reassure her. “The cat will be fine, Fui. It doesn’t look like it was abandoned long. It may’ve just been placed there this morning." That didn't help much, but it still helped. She then put a fist to her arm and grinded it against the palm of her hand. "I still want to meet the creep who abandoned it and smack him upside the head for abandoning something so small.”

 

“You and me both." Alkaid commented. "There's being mean then there is being cartoonishly evil." Although.. something about this did some weird. He pondered to himself for a moment. “Although… why anyone would abandon a little kitty in front of a restaurant of all places? People do know pounds exist, right?” Kaguya only shrugged in response. Obviously, the abandoner didn’t know. "And... why in the middle of a street? Maybe it wasn't abandoned and the box just fell out of a moving truck?"

 

"It doesn't matter the reason..." Fui somberly spoke. "The jerk left it and didn't come back, end of story... who cares about the reason."

 

"Yeah.... that's... fair." He and Kaguya looked at each other, worried this was going to break down before the day is done. Up ahead, they could see their fellow students filing into school. He ran a few steps ahead before turning back. "We're gonna be late." He jogged on a head, with Kaguya following not far behind. Fui was too depressed to run after them; she just walked on in without even bothering to speed up, going about her business like a soulless robot. What was even the point of trying to be happy?

 

A guttural growl echoed in the shadows.

 

Unbeknownst to Fui, she was being watched.

 

A pair of glowing eyes moved though the shadows, keeping out of sight from everyone in the school. Once she had entered the building, it moved to the same alleyway Fui had left the kitty. Jumping down behind the dumpster, it looked towards the cat, who was eating the stale chips. Its fur stood on end, and it looked back to the glowing eyes. Surprisingly, its eyes glowed too. Soon, the eyes in the shadows disappeared and the kitty stretched in the box before laying down. The morning sun began seeping into the alleyway, casting a monstrous shadow on the box's walls, making it seem like the kitty was enormous and had bat-like wings and a mane.

3: Episode 2: Crime on the Rise

Chapter 2

 

Crime on the Rise; robbery at the Shochin Bank

 

2/28/2075 A.D. / 2/28/2075 A.H.E

 

63 years ago, the Hesk came to Earth and everything changed. Technology and medicine has advanced to such a degree, you'd think this was a utopian time.

 

You'd be wrong.

 

Although the Hesk had integrated into our society and helped us reclaim what was lost to the elements we had foolishly thought conquered, Humanity hasn’t done much to change its ways. Many things change, but they still remain the same. One such problem that has grown more rampant in recent years is Crime. Crime is still a problem, one that had grown in recent years for reasons still unknown.

 

The one crime that has grown significantly has been robberies and they have spread like wildfire across the globe.

 

Even Japan has had an uptick. Japan is often seen as an example of a nearly crime-free country. Robbery’s, murder’s, assaults, arson: they almost never happen thanks to strict laws and even stricter punishments- if you do the crime, you REEEEEALLY pay the price. It's not anything major or permanent like losing a limb, but you will suffer. But it's thanks to these severe punishments that crime of all kinds has been kept low until recent times.

 

But things have a habit of changing over time- enemies becoming allies for an example, and while nobody can pinpoint the time when it began, it was clear that Japan was experiencing a crime wave. A truly nasty one at that. What was the cause? Nobody can say. There's no origin point for other countries either. Even the officials at Akatsuki were at a loss. The only regions that weren't experiencing such an ordeal was Antarctica and the Vatican, for obvious reasons.

 

No matter the time period or the technological advances made, crime will always be there to throw wrenches into civilized living. Thanks to Hesk technology, security in major places such as museums, banks, and important government locations have never been better. Bullets have all been replaced with lasers that come equipped with multiple settings, such as stun and kill. The truly lethal stuff belongs to the military. Old collector items such as the legendary Colt Single Action Army Revolver, to common rifles of the past like AK-47's, now forever gather dust. Bullets for those guns are extinct.

 

However, the new technologies also give the criminals a leg up against small fry targets. Unlike bullets, which can be traced with forensics, lasers cannot. And what happens with all that extra gunpowder now that bullet-crafting is an extinct practice? Well....

 

Earlier that night...

 

In the dead of the night, an unmarked green van backed up into the alleyway behind the Shochin Bank, a mid-sized bank established in 2063. At peak capacity, it can hold up to 500 Billion Yen. That’s 4,085,955,000: Four Billion, Eighty-Five Million, Nine-Hundred and Fifty Five Thousand US Dollars. That is a lot of scratch. The back cargo doors opened up and 4 masked individuals in black sweaters, beanies to hide their faces, and leotards- codenamed Tsubasa, Sakura, Momo, and Kappa- came out with guns strapped to their sides.

 

Kappa, their heavy ordinance expert with a ton of explosives, bent down onto his knees and opened up his knapsack, pulling out said explosives- C7, a nasty mixture of gunpowder and plastic explosives. Deadly stuff. Sakura, the electrician, went to the power box. He pulled out a pair of tweezers and began cutting power to the building except for internal lights and computers. They don’t want to attract too much attention. And Tsubasa kept watch with a smuggled assault rifle.

 

With a clip to the right cord, they heard a power-down sound and something inside clanking. “Lasers and Defenses are out.” Sakura reported. He sounded like he was in his mid-to-late 30’s and like he smoked too many cigarettes, giving him a raspy voice that should be in anti-smoking commercials, and for someone twice his age.

 

Momo, the boss of this operation, nodded as he looked at his watch. “Alright. Once the explosives go off, we’ll only have minutes before the cops get here, so grab everything you can and stuff them in.” He said in a calm and experienced tone for someone in his mid-30’s.

 

A plastic strip was stretched out over a concrete wall. It was pulled to its limit before being put in place by a putty-like substance. Another strip was laid on, and another, and another, eventually the entire wall was covered in it. “The C7 on?” Momo asked Kappa.

 

“Done and done.” He replied. He was the oldest out of all of them, barely breaking into 50. They all backed away behind the van to shield themselves from the blast.

 

Kappa smirked under his disguise as he pulled out a button from his pockets and pressed down on it. Seconds later, after a hissing noise, the strips and the putty exploded, creating a hole in the wall. They put on Oni masks to hide their eyes from the cameras- red for Momo, purple for Tsubasa, green for Kappa, and pink for Sakura-, and leather gloves before running inside the opening they created.

 

They ran into the bank vault and saw piles of Yen coins and paper dollars rolled up into wheels and wads right before them. The blast had blown apart several wheels, sending money flying every which way. There were billions, making them salivate. None of them have seen this much cash before in their lives.

 

“Cha-Ching!” Tsubasa laughed. He was the youngest out of all of them, sounding like he’s barely out of high school. Momo and Kappa ran to the untouched wheels of money to roll them over to the blown-in exit while Tsubasa went back to their getaway vehicle to back it up into position. Sakura ran to the vault door to keep watch to see of any security was coming to check on the loud kaboom they surely must’ve heard. He was more worried about neighbors seeing this and calling the police then a couple of night guards.

 

Once the van had been moved close enough, milk crates with the bottoms covered up by cardboard were brought in to carry the wads of cash and the blown-apart wheels. Tsubasa climbed out the back, kicking out the last crate. “Start fillin’ them up!” Momo ordered. Everyone went to work, scooping up all they can and filling up the crates to their limit. “And hurry; We got at least 4 minutes before they realize what's going on.”

 

Tsubasa could hardly keep his excitement. He had never seen so much money before in his life. He's about to have a heart attack if he keeps this up. “Heheeeeeee. We’re rich! We’re rich!” He started stuffing his pockets with a few coins he was sure no one would notice.

 

Sakura saw what his underling was doing and grunted a sigh before heading over and grabbing his hand to keep more from taking. “No, we’re not. This is all for the boss, not for us. Got it?”

 

“Oh, come on!” He pulled his hand back. “Can’t we just take a couple thousand? It’s not like he's gonna need all of it.”

 

“No!” Sakura exclaimed before getting back to the door. He made sure Tsubasa was looking; he raised his assault rifle and clicked the safety off, just in case. Tsubasa, while nervous why Sakura looked at him when he armed the thing, pouted and began filling up the crates with what could've and should’ve been his share. At least he still has the coins he already swiped before being noticed. The ones in his pockets aren't going to get taken from him.

 

At the end of their timetable, they were able to swipe a very large amount of money: around 160 Billion worth. In American currency, that’s around 132,264,320 dollars, and that's not counting what Tsubasa has in his pockets. It's not their target 200 Billion, but it'll be enough to keep their boss satisfied. They loaded up the heavy crates into their van, putting them on top of the sideways wheels. It was gonna be a tight fit for all 4 of them to get in, but they'll manage somehow.

 

“Last one!” Kappa commented as he heaved his crate in. Momo pulled it into an open spot and wiped his forehead- this is grueling work. “And about time- my back is killing me.” He complained as he rubbed a sore spot.

 

Sakura felt uneasy about putting all the money into this one vehicle. It was going to be heavy. He looked under their vehicle and winced, fearing this was going to happen. “Oooh… I was afraid of this.”

 

Momo came out of the van and walked over to the back while Kappa and Tsubasa panted heavily; they did all the heavy lifting. “What is it?”

 

Sakura pointed to the ground. The hover modules were mere centimeters off the ground, and that is not how they're supposed to operate. “We loaded in too much. We’re right on the ground. Common modules aren't designed to carry half a banks worth of money! We’ll have to use tire mode to even remotely get this thing moving!"

 

"That doesn't sound like it should even be a problem." Kappa panted as he leaned on the bank of the van, still catching his breath. "Don't freight trucks and armored cars use hover modules too? They carry more weight than this."

 

"Yeah, but they're designed and built that way. If we have a moving van, then we wouldn't have a problem.... But the boss is cheap and we got the crappy kind. We fly out over the sea with this much weight, we're gonna sink. And we won't have enough boost to propel ourselves forward. Translation: we gotta use the tires."

 

“Guess that means we’re taking the long way back.” Tsubasa said in a smug little tone as he glared towards Momo. “Hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.”

 

“Oh, like you could’ve known, daddy’s boy.”

 

“Enough.” Momo ordered with a loud tone. “We don’t have time for this. The power…” The lights inside flickered on, along with the alarm bell that of course followed. “… is now back on-- crap. That means the cops will now be their way. We don’t have time to argue about something as stupid as this. Right now, we gotta get out of here. We'll be forced to take it slow, but we'll get out of here. And once we're far enough away, we'll ditch these disguises. And besides..." He tapped the side of the rust bucket. "This thing is an antique. We'll be able to come up with something believable."

 

"And don't forget the getaway car at Akiba." Sakura mentioned. "We can split the take there and go in two separate directions back to the hideout. We only need to make it to the garage, then it's smooth sailing from there."

 

“I guess so.” Tsubasa mumbled in passing.

 

Momo walked around to the front of the van, climbed into the driver's seat, and turned it on. The engine whined to life like a futuristic machine. It struggled to even stay afloat. With a flip of a switch, the hover modules turned right side up and a faux-rubber inflated, becoming tires. The rest of the crew climbed in, shutting all the doors, and the van slowly drove off. Sakura was right on the money, metaphorically speaking; the weight slowed them down, but if they play it right, avoid acting suspicious, and take all the right roads, it should be an easy, but long, ride back.

 

Just need to make it to Akiba first.

 

The Following Morning...

 

Paperwork.

 

Easily the worst part of being a police officer. No matter the crime, no matter how big or small, paperwork always has to be filed. It is tedious, mind-numbing, and all-around not fun. That is something newly appointed Lieutenant Sezawa is learning the hard way. Ever since he got promoted several months ago, Sezawa has signed more paperwork than actual crime-stopping. It was tedious, even with the advent of computers and systems built for this sort of thing. Digital was just as bad as physical in this case.

 

Born in Hokkaido 37 years ago, Sezawa joined the Akatsuki Police Department at the age of 20 to get a steady income for his new and budding family; at that point, it was just him and his fiancée Imita. After a hard training course that made him turned him into a rigorous and stern man, he entered the APD force after graduation and slowly worked his way up the ranks, earning the respect of his coworkers and the attention of his superiors for his unorthodox but effective ways. Not long after joining the APD, he and Imita married and honeymooned in Chile; that's where she got pregnant with Fui- you can imagine their shock when they found what she was born with, both inside and outside. And quick factoid; Fui's name came from the Fuy River of Panguipulli, a Chilean city known for its breathtaking nature where the two newlyweds honeymooned.

 

Sezawa was 34 at the rank of Corporal when he made the case that elevated him to Lieutenant. His last job as a corporal, he had noticed that some strange crates had been arriving in Akatsuki, crates that were far too large for a for a 'magazine store'- with how many crates were licensed to the store, he had his suspicions. He and his partner Hesemawa went undercover and discovered a weapon-smuggling ring worth around 354 Million Yen, or around 3 Million US dollars. Few days later, the police came in full force and busted the weapon ring. As a reward for his discovery and takedown of this smuggling ring, he was promoted to Lieutenant.

 

While he was glad that his discovery would save lives in the long run, it left a lingering question in his mind: who in the world needed all those weapons? There were dozens of different types and models, ranging from SMG's to LMG's to AR's and everything in between. Who wanted that and why? He spent the few months trying to figure it out, but never came up with anything. No local groups were large enough to require so much... at least none he was aware of. His first thought was the Chinese Triads, but like the Yakuza, they've grown silent in recent years.

 

His leading theory was twofold: that the store was being used as a front to sell them to thugs who had enough money to pay, or that it was a transfer point before being sent to the mainland. Where on the mainland? That was anyone's guess, and one with not enough proof to back that up. There were problems with his theories, to be sure: if they were selling to thugs, there would be a lot more robberies to pay for them, and while there have been upticks in robberies, nobody stole enough cash to pay for one, nor were any of the guns sold when they raided. That's what lead him into his transfer point theory, but that also didn't make much sense as there wasn't anything going on that would require all this firepower. There were no wars, no border skirmishes, no nothing. It was a mystery, to be sure, one he hopes he'll find the answer to soon before whoever wants those guns come looking.

 

He put down his pencil and huffed as he rubbed his neck to get rid of a crick that had developed. “Mmmrgh… I should not be doing all this neck bending.” He may only be 35, but old age is already starting to rear its ugly neck. He was already getting grey hairs in his black crew-cut hair- he can blame the stress of the job for that. The pencil rolled up next to a picture he had on his desk, which held a family portrait of him, his wife Imita, and his daughters Fui and Lyric. They looked so young- Fui was about to go off to high school and she was holding a red-faced Lyric, who was around 5 years old at the time and going off to kindergarten.

 

After getting rid of the crick, he grabbed the pencil and went back to work. He had worked here for so long; all the background chatter and unending phone calls have become white noise to him. Only a few things would break him out of this, and here came one of them right now: a young lad ten years younger than he, with oiled black hair combed back- the kids would call him a tool, for sure.

 

"Having fun yet?" Hesemawa joked as he stood by Sezawa's desk with a mugful of coffee. "And here I am, missing out on all the fun of paperwork."

 

“I can't complain... literally. there's no use complaining about it.... oh, who am I kidding- it sucks and whatever bureaucrat invented it was evil.” He put his pencil down and sighed as he ran his hands down his face, rubbing his forehead and cheeks. “Times like this I wish I was still a corporal...”

 

"You and me both." He took a sip of his coffee. "I'm just glad i don't have to push paperwork." Sezawa glared at him as he took another sip while looking at the humongous stack of papers. “Well, i don't have to do piles.” Lucky for him, all he needs to sign were crime reports. Sezawa grunted in pure irritation as he took the coffee from Hesemawa and took a huge drink of it. Hesemawa can't complain- he has been egging him in the past minute and this felt like an appropriate response. "Someone's in a mood. You mad you're turning the big 3-8 today?"

 

"You had to bring that up..." He gave the coffee back and rubbed his face for a moment before setting his hands back down on the desk. "Time moves by too fast... I still remember being a private like it was yesterday. When did I get so old?"

 

"Old? You're not even 40 yet. Besides, have you seen Inochi?" He pointed to one of the senior officers on the other side of their floor. He looked vibrant and exuberant. "He's 61 and he doesn't look a day over 30."

 

Sezawa tapped his finger on the desk, having grown irritated by this topic. He always hated his birthday- it only reminded him that he was getting one year closer to the natural end. He kept that fear inside, though- outside, he was just a grouchy man who didn't like his birthday. Hesemawa quickly picked up on this. "Ok, ok. I'll stop. Sheesh." He grouchily took his cup back and Sezawa went back to signing paperwork. Just a few more papers and he can finally go out on patrol. How did he get stuck with all this? "By the way, did you hear what happened last night?"

 

Sezawa was so intent on finishing up this paperwork and finally going out on patrol, he didn't bother to look up. But he did hear, all the same. "You mean the explosive robbery at the Shochin bank?"

 

"So you have heard of it." Hesemawa took another drink and gulped it down.

"I dare you to find anyone who didn't. It was all over the news and the precinct." To be fair, when your precinct is the size of the one from Barney Miller, where' it's just two stories with only a handful of people working, everyone finds out in minutes He paused for a moment in his signing and put the eraser to his mouth as he pondered it. "What puzzles me is how they did it."

 

Hesemara removed the cup from his lips and gandered to his superior. "What do you mean?"

 

"Well, Shochin Bank is mostly automated. They could just have easily had a hacker break in, shut down all the systems, and nobody would know. But instead, they used explosives, and based on the reports, it was C7. That stuff is illegal to civilians. Which means they acquired it illegally. Whoever got it for them has military ties.. and that opens up a whole new can of worms... a lot of countries are involved in the Akatsuki project, so... it could be any of them... or rogue soldiers wanting a quick buck."

 

"C7... don't they use that stuff in excavations?"

 

"Even then, they need a military or police guard to make sure nobody steals it or misuses it." Sezawa stopped writing paperwork for a moment and put his pen in his mouth, thinking about it. "... maybe they're Mafia, or even the Yakuza." Hesemara almost spit out his drink when he just about laughed. He kept it in and forced it down before he breathed out a laugh. Sezawa tapped his fingers on the desk while looking at his underling with lidded eyes that said 'are you kidding me?' "You don't think it's possible?"

 

"I think you have an active imagination; all those action movies warped your brain." Hesemara coughed as he breathed through his drink. "Hoo..." He patted himself on the chest a few times, feeling his lungs and heart going a mile a minute. "For starters, ignore what brain-dead action movies tell you- Yakuza don't rob from banks. It's too flashy. I know they have turf wars, but I didn't read about anyone bringing out sticks of dynamite or frag grenades. Yakuza play things safe and by the ear- they go big only when they need to. And secondly, recruitment is at an all-time low, and nobodies heard a peep from them in almost 10 years. Tattoo's can be gotten for fun now; when was the last time you heard of that? I'm not arguing it's not possible, but it's very highly improbable."

 

"I highly doubt that they're dead. It takes a long time for a powerful organization like that to disappear completely- just look at the Knights Templar. But... you may be right. They aren't flashy. But other criminal gangs are. Or this could be a new group that is causing mayhem. There are so many possibilities."

 

"It's all just guess work." Hesemara drunk the last of his coffee and threw the empty cup into the nearest trash can. "We can't find answers just by spitballin'. Besides, it's not even our case- last I heard, they were giving this to SIT."

 

That prompted Sezawa to look up from his papers in disbelief. They're bringing in counter-terror groups? For a bank robbery? They didn't even use that many explosives, just enough to punch a hole in an admittedly thick wall. "How would this require the Special Investigation Teams? The robbers weren't terrorists."

 

"You answered your question before- they used C7, which is illegal to Civvies. I also heard they called in some liaisons from the army to help investigate, and I've heard rumors of them requesting a detective from the UK."

 

"This all sounds like overkill, if you ask me. SIT, I can understand, but army liaisons and a detective?"

 

"Take it up with the chief- I'm just relaying what I heard. Can't say I blame 'em, though- using a bomb on a man-made island is a recipe for disaster. One big enough hole and a island is gonna sink."

 

Sezawa slowly shook his head. "A bomb big enough to punch though 100 meter thick steel? Yeah right." He dotted one last I and set aside the last paper he needed to sign. He put his pen down and rubbed his sore wrist. "And with all that said, I'm done... ugh, I think I have carpel tunnel." Once the pain stopped,, he pushed his chair out and got up. Finally, they can get some fresh air. "Desk jobs are the absolute worse."

 

"I'll agree with you on that."

 

Fui sat alone on a bench outside the school door, killing time before she would have to go in. The less time she spends in the same room with… certain people, the better. Alkaid and Kaguya already left with their friends, leaving her alone. They think she is strong enough to handle being by herself for a few minutes. She really isn't, but she puts up a brave front for them.

 

Called Modoyasu High, it was decent in size, sporting two triple-storied buildings positioned in a way where they look like an equal sign- the top part of the equal sign served for regular classes and had a rooftop garden, and the bottom was for classes like chemistry and for school clubs and activities and sported a swimming pool-, and both were connected by a couple of covered walkways built off the ground, a large gymnasium sporting retractable bleachers with a shed right next door housing all the equipment needed, and a large-ish field, sporting a soccer field, a baseball diamond, and a track lane that circled the soccer field. The rest of the field was open for whatever.

 

The school was surrounded mostly by a head-high stone wall with bars that go up a further 3 feet. There were only two entrances, all foot paths only, and both sealed shut by gates when it wasn’t school hours. The main gate opened up into a long path that lead into a courtyard, flanked by a row of cherry trees on both sides. In the middle of the courtyard was a fountain and a series of benches. That’s where Fui is at the moment.

 

In between the buildings was another courtyard, but with shrubbery and a pretty big oak tree that separated footpaths that was nestled between the two bridges. The tree made it a popular hangout spot after school.

 

Lyric’s school was directly next door. The two facilities were separated by a chain link fence. They looked exactly the same, right down to the exterior paint colors. So how can people tell the difference? It's easy: the elementary school is the only one with a belltower.

 

Speaking of bells, the school bell rang, telling students that they only have a few minutes to get to their homerooms. Fui got up off the bench and headed inside, ignoring everyone around her just as they ignore her. It wasn't long until she drowned them out, turning them into white noise.

 

She approached her Getabako cupboard- number 44, that's a bad number to have- and opened it up, switching out her shoes. This is a very simple, but very important custom from Japan that carried over to almost every district in Akatsuki- it's in bad taste to enter a place of education or your home wearing shoes from outside, so you need some interior wear too.

 

As she put on her shoes, Fui overheard voices behind her, recognizing one of them that made her involuntarily flinch. She ignored them and hoped they would go away; she’ll have to deal with her in class anyway, so she doesn’t want more tacked on... at least she only has to put up with them for a few more days, then she never has to worry about seeing them ever again. She put her travel shoes in the cupboard and closed it- the sooner she gets this day going, the better.

 

She grabbed her bags and went towards the stairs when she suddenly felt groggy. She staggered on her feet for a moment before leaning against the cupboards. Her mind felt foggy and her vision blurred. She heard something, something that wasn't from around here, but she couldn't make out what it was. It was too muffled.

 

And just as sudden as it began, it ended. Waiting for a second to make sure it was over, she pushed herself off the cupboard, rubbing her head. Her mouth felt parched all of a sudden, like it was in the middle of a desert. "Ugh... what was that all about...?" Her voice even sounded like it hadn't had water in some time. She went to a nearby water fountain and drank as much as she could to quince the sudden thirst.

 

"What was that...?" She pondered as she rested at the fountain. Looking back over the past half hour, she didn't have a drink before now, so could that have been the cause? But it wouldn't cause it that quick, nor would it make her hear things. At least, that is what she thinks. As she headed up the stairs towards her classroom, she thought about what it was she did hear:

 

It sounded like someone was talking, but it was so brief, so muddled, and so distant, she couldn't hear a thing. It was the strangest thing... but the answer would come, sooner or later.

 

Japanese police uniforms are quite simple when compared to the rest of the world. While the US are decked out with more gear then an electronics' store and British are more old fashioned with the caps they wear, Japanese are more simplified. No matter the department, it's a common theme: navy blue trousers, same-colored dress shirt and tie, cuffs, a walkie talkie, and standard police caps. Each region has it's own varients- some go all black, while some have vests. Akatsuki's Japan district follows something similar to the basic look.

 

In the station's locker room, located on the garage level, Sezawa grunted as he slid the laser-proof vest underneath his shirt. Ever since the crime wave started, all officers have been required to wear laser-proof vests for their own protection. Hesemawa was outside at the door in the cold steel hallway, waiting patiently for his partner to finish getting ready.

 

He heard familiar footsteps to his right and looked to see the police chief for the precinct walking down the hall, with her second carrying papers behind her. A stern and taciturn woman, Chief Nikimori worked hard for her position. Her family has a horrible history going back hundreds of years of being associated with nasty illegal activities, from murder, to arson, to even bombing. When her mother got arrested for setting fire to a bus full of people- thankfully no one was killed- everyone feared Niki would follow in their footsteps. Nope. She wants to prove that family legacies can be changed. And for the past 30 years, she has shown that it can work.

 

"Chief Nikimori." Hesemawa bowed in respect.

 

She nodded back. "At ease, corporal." He listened and raised his body back up. "If you are here, then i'm guessing Sezawa is finished with his paperwork."

 

"He is, but you know him."

 

She softly chuckled, knowing full well what he is like. "He does not like desk work. Can't say i don't blame him. But it's fitting i found you here." Her second came forward and handed her a piece of paper. "Your patrol route." She handed it to him, which he promptly took. "You've been assigned to Tokyo for a week. They're short staffed on patrols since the crime waves began."

 

"If the bank heist last night is anything to go by, they must be having major problems on the mainland."

 

"It's mostly just petty crimes- purse snatching, dime-store robberies, aggravated assaults, road rage, but they are so numerous nowadays, they just don't have the manpower to handle them all."

 

"Neither do we, for that matter."

 

"And that's not even counting the major stuff." Her second spoke. He was a lad around Hesemawa's age, but sporting spiky red hair, just like a anime protagonist. Ironic, since he isn't the hero of this tale. "There have been bank heists just like ours. Well, not like ours- they weren't as explosive, but... you know what i mean. There's also been several assassination attempts on high-ranking officials in huge conglomerates."

 

"Geez. Wasn't the automatic force supposed to activate this year?"

 

"Yes, but that's not until June. Until then, we have to make do with what we have."

 

The door to the locker room opened and Sezawa walked out, now fully geared up for the day ahead. As long as it doesn't have him behind a desk, he's happy. He was surprised to see the chief standing out in the hallway. "Chief." He quickly bowed. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

 

"I was just passing by." Hesemawa passed him along their patrol route. "I was just having a talk with Corporal Vinchi here about recent events."

 

"It is getting really nasty out there, isn't it?" Sezawa replied. They all nodded in agreement. He looked down at their patrol and raised a eyebrow in confusion. "Akihabara for a whole week?"

 

"They've requested assistance. Petty thefts in the Ward has skyrocketed, especially in the shopping district."

 

"Given that it's Akiba, that shouldn't be surprising." Hesemawa commented.

 

Given that it's the entertainment capital of the metropolis, it's no wonder crime there has skyrocketed, but did it increase so much to request aide from elsewhere? Sezawa put the paper under his arm and gave a farewell bow to her. "Thanks for the assignment, chief. We'll get right on it."

 

Niki gave a bow back and began to walk in the opposite direction they were heading down when she remembered something. "Oh, that's right, I forgot. It's somebody's birthday today." Sezawa came to a halt and moaned as he lowered his hat over his eyes. Figured someone was going to bring it up, but why did it have to be her? "Have anything excited plan when the workday is done?"

 

At least it wasn't a loaded question. "Not really, chief. But knowing my girls, they're gonna have some surprise waiting for me."

 

"Then you better get out on your patrol then. You don't want to get caught on the Bridge during Rush Hour traffic. Trust me- it's the absolute worse." She gave one last bow before heading for the elevator, with her second right behind her. The two officers walked down the opposite direction, towards the doors that lead into the garage proper.

 

"Doesn't she say that every day?" Hesemawa commented.

 

Reaching the exit doors, Sezawa grabbed a time-in sheet, wrote down today's date, as well as the number of any car still accessible in the garage from the keys that remain. All officers do this whenever they go out in a patrol car- they all ride in different ones every day. "Doesn't make it any less true." He replied as he grabbed one of the numbered keys and headed out the door.

 

Hesemawa pursed his lips to the side. "She can still try something original, like..." He paused at the door as he tried to come up with something but couldn't. "...Ok, I can't come up with anything at the moment, but I will." He finished as he headed out, closing the door behind him.

 

Four familiar and dangerous individuals sat at a covered table in the world-famous Akihabara District in Chiyoda ward, completely tired and completely exhausted. They had been driving for hours on end and needed a place to crash. Given their location, they didn't have to get rid of their disguises. Most everyone would think they were cosplaying. It's a good thing they chose this place for their checkpoint, then.

 

If Japan is world famous for giant monsters and robots, stylized cartoon characters with big... eyes the size of dinner plates, and enough costumes and toys to make the holidays jealous, then Akihabara is the DeFacto center of it all. Often shortened to Akiba, this district of Tokyo is pop-culture central. You cannot go two steps without running into a advertisement or a store filled to the brim with toys, memorabilia, costumes, DVD's, toys, posters, body pillows, electronics, plushies, toys, video games, trailers playing on the side of buildings, and did i mention toys?

 

There is always something pop-culture related happening in this famed town. It's a nerds paradise, especially for those who love what many consider to be Japan's best contribution to the world: Anime. Name several famous cartoons in the history of the world and good chances that at least four of those will be Anime.

 

In a nearby parking garage, they had their van stashed, right next to their second getaway vehicle: a red SUV. They had finished dividing everything up between the cars, which had exhausted them even more than they already were, so they retreated to a nearby cafe to get something to help them get through the day.

 

The four robbers were struggling to drink down their coffee. "Can I go to bed, mommy...?" Tsubasa whined as he tried to drink down his coffee through a straw.

 

"No..." Momo droned, feeling as beat as him. "We're almost at the hideout... we can sleep there..."

 

Sakura rested his head on the table, pulling it up so his chin was on it. "So how do we decide who goes in which car...?"

 

"We'll figure it out when we get back there." Momo yawned loudly, feeling his eyes droop. "But I'm not driving."

 

Kappa downed the last of his drink and shook his head like a dog, grunting as such. "Bblblblblbll... Tjat wak ta--" He shook his head again. "That was needed. Woooooof." He coughed once. "Well, we best get going before anyone here realizes there's no Oni shows and we stick out like a sore thumb."

Sakura pursed his lips to the side, having found the strength to tap his finger on the table. "It's Akihabara- everyone stands out here."

 

Meanwhile, in a nearby parking structure, a couple of familiar officers were trying to break up a domestic dispute between two people; they got into a fight over the last body pillow of a... well, you don't wanna know. A lucky person won it in a contest and someone who entered the same contest got jealous. He was passive aggressive about it for a few days before things came to a blow when the winner won yet another contest the other had entered as well- talk about your good luck. Too bad that didn't last, because the fists soon started to fly. A passerby on the way to his car called it in.

 

Bringing us to now, when Sezawa's car pulled up to break them up. "Hey hey hey, break it up! Break it up!" Sezawa shouted to the two fighters, who were now on the ground, exchanging fists. The two officers grabbed the guy on top and pulled him off. The guy was incensed, still throwing punches wildly in the air as he was pulled off.

 

"Geez, buddy, take a chill pill!" Hesemara grunted, wincing whenever an elbow or a fist came too close.

 

An elbow got Sezawa in the face, pissing him off. He wasn't going to take it today. He and his subordinate pinned him down on the ground and sprayed pepper spray in his eyes. That did the trick as he was in too much pain to focus on fighting. He rolled on his back and rubbed his eyes as they watered up.

 

The guy who was being pummeled stood up, rubbing his nose. His entire face was coated in blood and bruises. "That guy... just attacked me out of the blue... I don't know what came over him."

 

"You'll find out when we bring you in for questioning." Sezawa grunted as he kept the guy down. Hesemara went over to the wounded lad and helped him up. They rolled the attacker over and recognized who it was. "Ugh... Kineshe... should've guessed. This guy is an animal; he'll blow up at the littlest of things."

 

"Guess that explains why nobody tried to help." Hesemara commented, noting the missing crowd. You'd be surprised how many people crime scenes can attract. "Though didn't expect to meet him here in Akiba; small world.

 

Sezawa hauled Kineshe up and patted him down for weapons. He had none. "You just got out of jail; this has to be the shortest turnaround ever." Kineshe snarled back at him. The officer slowly shook his head in disappointment. "I swear, we should throw the book at you." He dragged him back to the squad car. Hesemara helped the hurt chap back to the car as well.

 

At the same time, four certain criminals had returned to the parking garage, ready to end this day that had gone on for far too long. They were sooooo tired, they didn't notice the cop that passed by them with the criminal, nor did he notice the four out of place Oni. The only one who noticed was the guy with swelling on his face.

 

"I am so ready to end this day..." Sakura yawned.

 

"Same..." Momo said, rubbing his drowsy eyes. He had just taken a booster to keep him awake. "Ok... me and Tsubasa will take the SUV. Sakura and Kappa, take the van. We'll take separate routes back." Skura and Kappa silently agreed while making animistic noises, heading back to the van.

 

Back to the cops, Sezawa stuffed Kineshe into the back of the car and slammed it shut. "Can't wait to see what caused this mess." He commented as he rubbed the back of his neck. He turned back to see Hesemara and the wounded man approaching, oblivious to the activity in the background. He then walked to the driver's seat, opened up the door, and grabbed the radio, calling the dispute in.

 

"We got a first aid kit in the car." Hesemara said, sitting the guy on the trunk. "I'll go grab it."

 

"Thanks." The guy winced. He looked back towards the activity in the background. "You know what's going on with them?"

 

The two officers looked back towards the two vehicles and saw the four strange men talking to each other, with a two in the seat of the van while two others were trying to get the SUV to start; seems they lost the keys. After some time, the guys in the van got impatient and just drove off, leaving their friends behind.

 

"I dunno." Sezawa shrugged. "Promoting a new game, maybe?"

 

"I don't remember hearing about anything involving four dudes in black spandex wearing Oni masks." Hesemara commented.

 

"Then why would they need two cars?" The wounded guy commented.

 

He shrugged. "Holding all their gear, maybe?"

 

They were about to find out for, as if it wasn't obvious, they couldn't get the car to start. The youngest of the two got fed up and went to the back of the SUV to find the tool box. Unknowing of the nearby cops, he opened up the trunk, revealing crates of money stacked to the tops. All of it was outdated and mostly coins.

 

It took Sezawa no less then a few seconds to piece it all together: masks, black body suits, crates full of money- it was clear as day. "THEY ROBBED THE BANK!!" He shouted.

 

As they were in an enclosed parking garage, his voice carried all the way to the criminals, who felt goosebumps break out. "Oh crap!" Tsubasa and Momo exclaimed. Instinctively, Tsubasa pulled out an assault rifle and, despite Momo yelling 'no!', he opened up on the cops. The wounded man and Kineshe yelped in fear and ducked down, with the wounded man rolling over the trunk to hide behind it. The cops ducked down to avoid the oncoming barrage.

 

Sezawa crawled into the driver's seat and kept his head down. The glass cracked from the constant barrage- good thing these things were laser proof. "This is car 23, this is car 23! We are under heavy fire! Confirmed identities of the Shochin bank robbers! They are armed and extremely dangerous! Request back up! Perpetrators vehicle's is a crimson SUV located in the Akihabara parking garage located at--" More shots drowned him out, making him duck down.

 

Freaking out, Momo did something he hadn't done in a long time and hotwired the car. It roared to life; this thing had some modifications done to it. After closing the trunk, Tsubasa kept firing as he made his way around to the passenger side door and climbed in. The tires screeched on the pavement, spinning around as it blazed towards the exit.

 

"We're going after them!" Sezawa commanded as he sat back up and put his keys in the ignition.

 

"What about these two?" Hesemara said, referring to the current crime they were doing beforehand...

 

...which Sezawa had forgotten about when they were shot at. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, poking one of his cheeks with his tongue. They were running out of time and looked back to the attacker, who was stunned by the sudden turn of events. "Are you going to try anything?" Kineshe rapidly shook his head. Even animals know when they are in danger and when to cower. "Good." He turned to Hesemara. "Throw him in the back. The windows are laser proof."

"We're taking civvies?!" Hesemara commented back as he helped the wounded man into the back. He looked to his attacker and got scared.

 

Planning ahead, Sezawa pressed a button, bringing up a divider that kept the attacker and the victim separated. "By the time paramedics come here for him, those two crooks will be long gone, and you just saw how callous they are!"

 

Hesemara stayed silent as he climbed back in and his superior pressed on the gas. He turned to the two in the back and commented, "Bet you never saw your day going this way, did you?" No, no they did not. From a brawl in a parking lot to a high-speed chase- that is a rapid escalation. The squad car revved up and sped up instantly, chasing after the ones who shot at it.

Sezawa wanted a interesting diversion from all that paperwork. He just didn't plan on this intense a diversion.

 

While all that craziness was going on, the wolf A.I. panted as he finally caught a breather. He had been on the run for hours with no break in his pursuer’s attacks. It was only after ducking into someone’s laptop at a internet café was he able to shake them off. To the laptop’s owner, it’ll look like he got some lag from bad wi-fi. For now, the wolf is safe.

 

For the moment, anyway.

 

The wolf fell over, tired as heck. Ever since he came across those files, his life has been one hectic chase after another. “I can’t keep doing this…” He panted. He pulled them up and tilted his tired head. “What.... do they want from me?” He tried accessing them, but they required a password, something he didn’t have.

 

Suddenly, he arched his back as if he was howling at the moon, but in truth was going though very intense pain. He silently yelled in pain as a dot of light appeared on his forehead. The pain worsened as the dot extracted something out of his mind in the form of a black arrowhead with orange markings. The last time this had happened, he had lost all recollection of the past few years, including how he got these files and this pain to begin with.

 

“N-no… not… again……”

 

Working through the pain, he swatted the dot away and slashed it to ribbons as he panted again. The arrowhead returned into him. He grunted in pain, with each grunt growing lighter until the pain subsided. “Damn… I forgot this laptop is connected to the network…” He rubbed his sore head. “Ergh… I need to get the hell out of here and find a place to hide. But where?”

 

He checked the laptops contents to see if there was something inside that was a good enough place to hide. The contents are represented by the icons that appeared on the desktop. He flipped through them to find a good spot. He discovered some downloaded videos, but that’ll make him appear in them, so they’re out.

 

He continued looking until the owner closed the laptop, putting it into a sleep mode and cutting off the connection to the net.

 

His eyes glowing purple, the wolf growled as he was enveloped in darkness. “Great...” In seconds, the programs the laptop came alive in the closed off space, represented in familiar shapes like animals and bipedals. They moved around and began interacting with one another.

 

The wolf groaned, not wanting to socialize with them. “Stuck with a bunch of programs… that’s just my luck. Things already went bad today; why not add onto it?” He let loose a aggravated groan of a sigh, plopping down in a corner of the computer. “Well, at least I’ll be safe for now. As long as this is closed, they can’t find me.” He laid down on his front and pulled up a game of solitaire to pass the time. Even this far into the future, that game is still a mainstay. “(But as soon as it opens, I need to bolt and find another disconnected place....)”

 

But the questions remained on his mind as they have for the past few hours: why were they chasing him? What in the world did he find? Who did he work with last? He wasn’t going to find answers today, but he would in the future.

 

Answers connected to him and a certain girl...