Hitch riding is dangerous
By Zoram Selrof
11:11 AM, (Japan Time) Friday June the 31st, 2010…
"… Huff. What luck, really…"
The skies were clear, the sun shone, and it was not that hot: some fresh wind blew through the land.
Hikari Saito, aged 13, was sitting on a bench placed on a roadside right next to a bus stop.
His hair was brown and had a symmetric shape to it while his eyes' irises were green emerald.
He was clad in a white T – shirt with blue sleeveless vest over it plus a pair brown shorts with a green stripe running down the sides plus
He also sported white socks and white sneakers.
He currently looked depressed as he glanced at a plastic bag with three books inside of it.
… 30 minutes already…! Where the heck did the bus go to?
He sighed and leant his elbows on his hips while he placed his hands under his jaw: he looked totally bored.
Brilliant, really! I go out of Akihara City 'cause I wanted to go a local market on old books and was planning to be back 20 minutes ago: the stand did say one it's supposed to come at 10:40 AM! But it's been over 30 minutes and it's not anywhere! This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't "snuck out": the "Committee" agent in charge of my security could've called for a car! How silly of me, really, not telling them… But I felt like I was "abusing" of their good will, so… I try to be nice and I get into a pinch… How lovely, really! I DID tell Mama and Netto – kun I was going there, obviously enough, but they most likely aren't expecting me to be back so quickly. Lovely, totally lovely! Maybe I'll have to request a lift from a car...
He grumbled something under his breath and then glanced at the road to see a light blue Toyota heading towards there: Saito began to wave his arms to catch its attention.
Hope it's not the greedy type and I have to wait forever for another car to come here…
The car pulled over and Saito glanced at the two occupants.
The passenger was a man.
He was dressed in a black T – shirt and brown pants.
He also had a hat on which was inclined forward and hiding his face plus a scar on his right cheek.
The guy also sported a pair of sunglasses.
He looked on his thirties and was clearly asleep.
"Zzz…"
The driver was a woman on her thirties.
Her hair was colored jet black and reached until the base of the neck.
She sported a red cap and sunglasses.
She wore a black sleeveless jacket plus a navy blue shirt and gray pants along with white sneakers.
"What's up, boy?"
"Excuse me. I've been waiting for the bus but it doesn't seem to be coming… Could you please give me a lift?" Saito politely asked.
"Ah… The bus… True: I saw it a while ago stopped in a service station with its engine smoking… I'm afraid they haven't acknowledged that in their website…" The driver seemed to recall.
"Oh. So that's why…" Saito muttered.
"But come in anyway. Are you going to Densan City or somewhere in the periphery of it?"
"I am heading to Akihara Town…"
"We're heading there, too. You may help us locate an address we're going to."
"Thank you very much."
Saito climbed into the rear seat behind the driver and spotted a box wrapped in a purple handkerchief: he shrugged and plucked the seatbelt as the car drove off.
Even if they're not nice persons, I have some tricks up my sleeves… Let's wait and see. I'll pretend to nap. I just have that feeling…
"Hmmm… I'm going to take a nap, so… Please call out to me if you need some instructions." Saito announced as he repressed a yawn.
"Sure. Go ahead. I suspect we'll find heavy traffic around Densan City anyway, so… We'll take a while."
Saito yawned and closed his eyes: but he kept his ears sharp and was paying attention.
Maybe I can confirm if I'm being paranoid or not.
The passenger suddenly yawned and stretched.
"Awake?" The driver asked.
"Yeah… Too much sake yesterday at the party, I guess…"
"We aren't supposed to end up drunk. What would others say?"
"Ya got a point, as always… But the summer party IS the summer party: it's just that I drank too much…"
"That's why I never drink sake and stick to water…"
"I know… Man. I hope I don't smell bad… I don't wanna look like my manners have worsened in a year's time…"
"We can always stop at a drive-in and you could buy some mint chewing gum, too. That could help you cleanse your breath."
"Anyway… Do ya think we'll be able to find that address? Last year we went to a local restaurant…"
"I can ask our passenger: he seems to live in Akihara Town, so…"
"Huh? Passenger…? Hey… Did you pick up extra cargo while I was napping? Who's that kid?"
"He was waiting for the bus but didn't know it'd broken down, so… He lives in Akihara Town, too. I can ask him when he wakes up where the house we're looking for is at…"
"Ah… Gotcha. Smooth move."
"Ah? My, my… You wouldn't be hinting at me being up to something, right? You know what our work is, right?"
"Kidding…"
"I thought so."
"Anyway… Whaddya think 'bout that guy?"
"What guy?"
"You know: THE guy."
"Ah? The rookie who joined us half a year ago?"
"No, no! I don't mean someone from the job…"
"Well. Unless you're more specific…"
"Hikari Netto…" The man concreted.
"Oh. Obviously…" The woman shrugged.
Saito seemed to sir and looked slightly nervous.
Netto – kun? What are they talking about?
"Yeah… Brought down the WWW, that "Professor" freak dude, "Gospel", a would-be new WWW, Nebula, the "Renegades" and "Neo Nebula"… All of that in just over a year's time… Impressive, ain't it?"
"Of course. I knew that. I'll make sure to praise him. I've heard that he was promoted Net Savior by the suggestion of the Net Police's Commissioner Kifune… Was there not another child who was regarded as an "Ace" Net Battler, too…?"
"Ijuuin Enzan, son of Ijuuin Shuuseki, owner of THE IPC Inc…"
"Ah. That's who I meant, true."
"Anyway… Ya wanna go for the praising, so I'll go by the granny's old-fashioned strategy…" The man chuckled.
Granny's old-fashioned strategy…? So he won't be satisfied with just praising Netto – kun?
"But… Will that be enough?" The woman seemed to have her doubts.
"Be sure of it. Half – kill is enough for now…"
Not again! Anything but that! Saito inwardly gasped.
"It's still a bit too early, isn't it? They still need to wait some… for my overkill…"
Overkill…! These guys are murderers, then?
"I can't wait to meet them." The woman added.
"Yeah. They'll cry from joy after I show them my half – kill… Mine isn't your average half – kill, you know." The man sounded creepy now.
"… Really… You never grow tired of that speech, do you?"
"How could I?"
"Can't be helped…"
"Oi, oi… Relax… All will be smooth and fine."
"It's bad to get confident. Will you try being serious and stop trolling around already with that villager's speech?" The woman was exasperated.
Villager's speech…? Oh. Maybe he was just imitating someone… But I can't shake the feeling that these two are not nice people…
"Villager's speech….? Well… Yeah… Guess it can be called that…"
"Not "guess"… It's a fact! I've heard over 20 times ever since January and you love doing that over the phone."
"Heh, heh. It keeps the grunts at bay… Maybe we need one of those "Brutes" to scare the hide outta them?"
"I know you're a Halo fan but I don't get the point."
Halo…? Wasn't Vadous – san fond of that game, too?
"Crap. I feared as much… Bottleneck!"
"Yeah… Guess everyone's rushing to move out already and go to the beach, so… Hmmm?"
The woman looked at the rear view mirror all of a sudden.
"… Are you awake?" She called out to Saito.
"Huh… Those claxons woke me up…" Saito yawned.
"Oi. Are ya in a rush, kid?" The man asked with a grin.
"N-not really, sir…"
"Oho. Polite type, huh?"
"Eh… Is that a bad thing, sir?"
"No… Trolling…"
"Is that so…?"
"Wanna hear somethin'?"
"What is it, sir?"
"If yer in a rush, ye get outta the car and fly back yerself."
Fly back on my own? He must be pulling my leg…
"By the way! Could you give me directions? There's a map on the glove compartment." The woman asked the man.
"Sure, Ms. Driver."
Saito repressed a gasp when he saw a gun inside the glove box as the man rummaged inside of it.
There's no doubt anymore…! I must warn Netto – kun and the "Committee" agents…!
The man just picked up a map and unfolded it.
"Take the next exit."
"Good."
"And don't forget to run over the black cat."
"Is that your grandma's humor, too?" The woman annoyingly asked.
"Who knows?"
The car entered a drive-in's parking and stopped: the three of them climbed down and headed for the drive-in building.
"You do." The woman insisted.
"Mr. Mohawk does."
"Be serious!"
"I'm off-duty."
"Jeez. Why can't something happen to turn you serious?"
"Ask Sergeant Johnson."
"Will you stop coming up with trolls?"
"Sure. Give me the Game-Shark code to delete them."
"I give up."
"Heh, heh, heh…"
That man is starting to remind me of Sigma's crazy humor and the lady reminds me of Blood's dryness to it.
They stepped into the main room and headed for a table: the man and woman sat opposite each other while Saito sat on the south corner: he looked distract.
Chance!
"Hum… I'll be going to the restroom." Saito told them.
"Sure." The man shrugged.
Saito slipped into the restrooms and closed himself inside of a stall: he then took out his white and green Link PET.
Good! Let's call Netto – kun and brief him on what's going on. We need the heavy cavalry! Guess I'll have to stall for time until they come but I don't think it'll be a problem: those two seems to be busy enough with their jokes…
His PET suddenly beeped and he checked it out.
Mail? Mr. Unknown? Who's that? Spam? Or Forte?
He opened it up and read it: he immediately got annoyed.
I knew it! Forte. "Growl Man will beat Man Growl in a court battle sponsored by D. A. Harvey Dent AKA Two-Face. Ya better get the cameras and the notepads ready plus the iPads and iPods. And while you're at it get me some popcorn and tomato juice. Time to invent Popcorn Tomato Man and his evil half-cousin Tomato Popcorn Man! And King Gidora will come eat the leftovers to then reward with the DOOM LAZER!"… Jeez! TOO RANDOM! TOO POINTLESS! I HATE RANDOM STUFF!
He began to dial a number but a giggle rang out followed by a snarl: Saito fumed and looked rather fed up.
And how he left a WAV audio file to scare you into thinking that he and "Gospel Jr." have sneaked inside of the PET! How devious of you, Forte. How clever, really. When will someone tell you to stop trolling people and go bust criminal Net Navis once and for all instead of wasting the time by doing this? Huff. Let's contact Netto – kun already! Jeez. Life would be easier if they weren't around to make it harder. Man!
11:49 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Mail… "Troll-F"… Forte again? Really… What did he come up this time around?"
Hikari Netto was laying face-up on his bedroom's bed and looking slightly amused as he interacted with his Link PET.
"… "Welcome to my totally evil and absolute Universe ruled by the great and ever-so-powerful Antonio "Long-Legged"…!" … "Has this been authorized by General Campestre?" … "A~h!" … the guy falls from the chair, collapses, drags the phone along and cuts the line while he ends up out cold on the ground… Point: any mention of General Campestre is enough to knock him out: he thinks he's doing it sans permission!"
The Link PET rang and he pressed the "REPLY" button: Saito showed up onscreen.
"Yo! Niisan. How's it goin'? Did Forte send you his latest troll via DHL already?"
"Netto – kun! We've got trouble!"
"Yeah. Forte and Sigma are gonna troll us."
"NO! Look: I had to hitch-ride… But the owners of the car seem to be planning something regarding you… One of them wants to praise you, but the other was talking about "half-kill" and "overkill" even though it'd seem it's a "villager's speech"… But I didn't like it!"
"Crap." Netto gasped.
"So call the "Committee" agents and get here: Dennou Drive-In, close to the highway exit for Densan City 4th District… There's a Metro Line station just across the road, so…" Saito instructed.
"Hold on! I'm on my way!"
"Don't forget to bring the agents! They have a gun on the car: tell them to be ready for anything!" Saito exclaimed.
"Gotcha!"
11:57 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Sorry it took so long…! There was a long queue."
"That's why ya should've flown into the stall…"
"Be serious already!"
Saito returned to the dining room and sat down: the man joked and the woman looked annoyed.
Let's see… Netto – kun must've taken barely four minutes to come out and must be explaining things to the agents… I told them the registration plate just in case we get in the move again, but given this bottleneck… I should be safe given how they left the gun in the car.
"Oh! By the way, dear… What district is the Hikari House's one?" The woman asked him.
"Hum… Hikari… I think it's the 3rd… I'm somewhat timid by nature, so I don't tend to pay much attention to the people around me expect for the teachers and my parents…" Saito improvised.
"Caught a fine girl's eye already? With those looks…" The man teased with a grin.
"Enough!" The woman sentenced.
"Oi, oi… Don't get angry…"
"It's unmoral to provoke a minor like this. And you know it very well: sometimes these things end up badly enough and we've seen it happen, you know?" The woman grumbled.
"Sorry, sorry…" The man held his hands up.
"Hmmm?"
The woman took out a cell phone from her jeans' right pocket and opened the cover: she looked up something and frowned.
"Do you know anyone named "Troll-F"…? They just sent an SMS to my cell phone…"
"Whoa. Mine, too… Eh… Huh? "If ya wanna be like Super Man, steal Boba Feet's jetpack and do it. Find where Swallow Man went off to even though I personally believe he is in the Bahamas." … What the heck is this stuff about?" The man sounded baffled.
Saito rolled his eyes and looked exasperated.
Ever since Omega – san the other two got into contact with him, Forte comes up with weird trolls as part of a competition with them: Vadous – san must be running up the walls by now…
"Another message… "Beware of the Hunters' Guild: they'll bring you an ice-cream cocktail which will make Bond's Vesper Cocktail look pale in comparison… If ya see Bert Saxby, tell 'im he's fired 'cause his Big Boss settled it through Skype. Laugh and grow fat!" … Grow fat? Me? He's gotta be kidding!" The woman read before growling in annoyance.
"Oho. Terrific." The man chuckled.
"Is that so?"
"Huh! Sorry, sorry!"
"Go say "hi" to Indy if you have nothing better to do."
"Oi, oi… I said sorry, didn't I?"
"Hmpf."
"Huh? SMS… "Come at full power! It's all over!" … What, is this a challenge or what?"
"Hmpf. We're even." The woman made a smug smile.
"Oi, oi… That face looks scary, ya know." The man pointed out.
"Maybe."
"Ya wanna be the lawyer in the next courtroom battle, then?"
"No." She drily replied.
"Heh, heh. I'm a genius." The man chuckled.
"Ever since when?" The woman questioned back.
"… Eh… Good question…" He trailed off.
Saito discreetly glanced at his Link PET and spotted the email icon on its screen: he quickly opened it.
Let's see… They're coming by the Metro Line… They should be here in 10 minutes… Good.
"Eh… Excuse me. I'm going to order something, since… I feel somewhat hungry…" Saito timidly let out.
"Oho. Good idea. A small snack won't do us much harm, I'd say."
"Fine."
They headed over to the self-service queue and bought a snack: they then sat down on the table and ate them while Saito nervously looked towards the Metro Line station.
Another 5 minutes…! Let's hope one of them goes to the restrooms: I'll win time for Netto – kun and the agents!
"You look nervous." The woman called out.
"Eh… Ah… It's… nothing, really… I'm very sensible to loud noises and all those horns are making me feel dizzy." He improvised.
"Hmmm… Are ya expectin' your girlfriend?" The man joked.
"Enough!" The woman sentenced.
"Heh, heh, heh… I send ya over the edge, don't I?"
"You do."
"Heh, heh, heh… Ah… The good old times where we wrestled at soccer and that guy ended up being goalkeeper… He was good at stoppin' the balls, really." The man muttered.
"Obviously." The woman shrugged.
"Heh, heh, heh…"
Saito glanced outside and inwardly gasped: Netto was walking out of the Metro Line station entrance followed by two men on their thirties.
One of them had dense black hair while the other had a military haircut.
They sported black suits and ties plus hats and sunglasses.
They came!
Netto made some gestures to the men and they nodded in agreement: he stepped in and pretended to be heading for another table: the man suddenly lifted his sight and seemed to spot him.
"Oi! Trying to sneak on us, Netto?" He called out.
Netto turned around and frowned before a smile formed on his face.
"Whoa! Inspector Kentago! It's been a while!" He exclaimed.
"My, my! What a coincidence… Do you remember me?" The woman asked with a smile.
"Detective Santoya! Yeah! I remember."
"Oh. I dunno this guy's name but we picked him on the road…"
"Saito – niisan! Say hi to them, will ya?" Netto grinned at him.
"Huh? What's going on?" Saito blurted.
"This guy is Saito? I hadn't recognized him and it's no wonder, really! He was still on the hospital and we never got to meet him…" The man smiled.
"Ops. Excuse me for a second…" Netto suddenly announced.
He ran off and made some gestures to the agents as he scratched his head seemingly in nervousness: the agents calmly headed back without seemingly minding the deal.
"Sorry… Niisan told me you were having a sinister conversation, so I brought the private security agents just in case…" Netto apologized with a slight blush.
"T-then…? These two persons are from the police?"
"Yeah! They're Papa and Mama's friends, ya know! They were in the same class 'till high school!" Netto grinned.
"Ah… Sorry for the scare… Inspector Kentago Suiumi… Nagano Prefecture HQ!" The man announced as he took off his sunglasses to reveal brown eyes.
"Detective Santoya Nao!" The woman blinked them one of her blue eyes with a smile.
"… Ah! I remember…! Papa and Mama talked about them…" Saito muttered while seemingly recalling.
"We've come to visit you guys this time around, so… It'd seem the bottleneck is almost gone. Should we get going?"
"We'll explain the reasons behind our conversation at your home… Sorry for the scare, really! We didn't intend to."
"Huh-unh… I understand…" Saito timidly muttered.
"Whoa. Another SMS… "Round around the roundabout 'till ya end up dizzy and see more stars than Japanese living in Alaska." … "Troll-Z"…"
"… Me, too… "Go through the gateman's gate and end up in the middle of Red Square to then step back and end up in Oosaka" … I don't really catch the point of this one, really…" Santoya muttered.
"Troll-Z… That's Zero?" Saito asked Netto in a hushed tone.
"Heh, heh! Yeah! Zero's been catchin' up with some help from good ol' Omega…" Netto chuckled.
"Jeez. I prefer them serious."
"You're too stiff, that's the problem, niisan…" Netto grinned.
"Yeah? Who was the one trying to skip homework with some excuse or another last summer? Rock Man told me."
"Che. That Rock Man… Always saying too much…! It makes me end up badly..." Netto muttered as he rolled his eyes.
12:20 PM (Japan Time)…
"… It's been a while, really! Welcome."
"Thanks."
"Suiumi brought a surprise."
"My, my!"
The two police officers were speaking with Haruka and Yuuichirou as they sat on the chairs around the living room's table: Netto and Saito were sitting opposite each other and Saito didn't look amused.
"So… What's with the 'half kill' stuff?" He asked.
"Heh. The so – called half kill is - these botamochi!" Kentago grinned.
He deposited the wrapped box in the table and unfolded it to reveal several botamochi set inside: Netto was having a water mouth when Saito directed a serious glare to him.
"What have botamochi to do with half – kill?" He asked.
"They are made of half-ground sweet rice, so they're nicknamed "hangoroshi"..." Netto explained with a grin.
"And what did "overkill" mean, then?"
"If we fully grind or "overkill" sweet rice, we get regular mochi."
"The "fly back" part…?"
"Heh, heh! Walk back to home yourself!"
Saito rolled his eyes and groaned while everyone else laughed.
"O. K.! Brighten the mood, niisan! We're going into our exciting overseas vacation in 2 weeks' time!"
"But there'll be plenty of time for ear-pulling before that, Netto – kun!"
"True, true!" The adults grinned.
Everyone laughed in a jovial tone…
20:08 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Heh, heh, heh… I knew it: they can be awakened!"
An unidentified man was sitting on a chair placed behind a desk: the place seemed to be inside of a largely unlit office: the man had a broad grin on his face and was looking at something being displayed over a laptop's screen.
"Heh, heh, heh. Myth? Legend? Fools! They are very real and you're holding back the power to change the world! Once I find out how to free them, my organization will show those fools who write History how foolish they really were! It was not that person's blame… Fighting poison with poison, what could you expect of it? But no… You wanted a scapegoat! Fools! I'll make sure to make you regret such foolish acts!"
The man lowered the laptop's cover and placed it inside of a drawer together with the power supply wire and the voltage adapter: he closed it with a key and pocketed it: he then picked what seemed to be an agenda with a timetable and examined it.
"Only some silly stuff… Fine. I can have the time I need to wrap up the details and give a more "solid" shape to my "scheme"… Heh, heh, heh. Thanks to my position… I shall be able to obtain them! And once I do, then NO – ONE will be able to stop me! Officials, Net Saviors… Hah! They'll fail like those who came before them." The man boasted.
He quickly flipped through the agenda's pages and wrote some annotations using a red pen.
"Good… No one will question anything: it's obvious that a regular check is needed to ensure they are still under control… And by taking profit of their lack of power upon awakening… I'll easily get my hands on them to then initiate my "scheme"… It may take a bit of time, though… I should wait until security is low enough… My. A flawless scheme… Those fools shall take in my punishment!"
The man laughed aloud in an evil tone of voice…
THE END