Shirakami Strikes Back
By Zoram Selrof
Chapter 1: Training
17:33 PM (Japan Time), Friday June the 15th, 2005…
"… Hra~h!"
"Hah!"
Hikari Netto was fighting against a young man about his age inside of a gym-like room.
This opponent had blackish hair and blue eyes irises.
Both of them only had sports shorts on and socks as clothing.
The room looked like a gym given the equipment placed close by and how the ground had some plastic pads set on it: both opponents were standing above one.
Netto ducked as he tackled forward but the opponent made two jumps to the left to dodge: Netto quickly used his right foot as support and spun around using the left one which almost made contact with his opponent: the opponent gripped Netto's foot and pulled to have him fall on the ground: Netto quickly stood up again and intercrossed his arms to block a barrage of fists which almost hit him but seemed to be held back: Netto arched his head backwards and moved it forward until he almost made contact with the opponent: the opponent apparently feigned a hit and dizziness so Netto lurched a fist which stopped short of his nose: the opponent purposely fell into the pad.
"Enough!" Someone commanded.
The opponent stood up: he and Netto made the traditional bow to each other before stepping off the pad.
"Excellent. Zao – san. Netto – san. Did you see it, Kori – san? The point is that they don't inflict damage to each other but feign the reactions."
"I see, Enkada Yamato – sensei."
A man on his late fifties had begun to speak with another student who had brown hair and brown irises.
The man, Enkada Yamato, had a refined-looking moustache and grayish hair which reached until the base of the neck while his eyes' irises were blue.
He wore brownish pants with a brown leather belt and had socks on like them but no shoes.
His height seemed to be about a meter and eighty tall.
"Well! Both of you are improving." He told the other two.
"Thank you, sensei."
"Hum. Five minutes left… Alright. Who wants to try me on?" He asked after checking a black wrist-watch.
"I do! Sensei!" Netto exclaimed.
"Good. Watch on, students, and learn."
"Hai~!"
Netto and Enkada stepped into the pad and Enkada began by swinging his right arm across the air: Netto stepped back and arched his torso backwards while focusing on "diving" at the ground to dodge another swing made with the left arm: he rolled and stood up using the right foot to try to spin and hit the teacher with the left foot but he did the same trick and they connected, thus pushing each other away: Netto tried to tackle using his right shoulder but the teacher softly gripped his right shoulder and spun him around before pushing him away: Netto jumped and landed to halt his skidding.
"Not bad, Netto – san. But it's not over yet."
"I know! Sensei."
"Let's go!"
"Roger!"
"Hah!"
"Hah!"
Netto tried to ram using the head but he swung leftwards drawing a curve to dodge and Netto quickly turned around to try to deliver a fist barrage but he stopped them with either hand's open palm: he let the recoil push him back and then ducked to jump and make it look like he was going to tackle Netto but shortened his move in purpose: Netto gasped and tried to use the foot next but his teacher smiled and used his own foot to block each attempt.
"Two minutes left."
"Huff! As always… Sensei is a though opponent…"
"Hikari – kun seems to be progressing nicely, though. He's put a lot of energy since he began in March, three months ago." Kori told Zao while grinning.
"Yeah. He's a nice pal. Too bad we go to different schools… He'd be a nice classmate, I think."
Heh, heh, heh, heh… Your omnipresent malice-filled invisible presence showed up to tease~ our audience~!
"Huff! Hah!"
"Heh! Hah!"
Netto tried another approach: he stepped back and let the teacher come closer before suddenly trying to hit his torso by turning around and running backwards: he collided with the teacher and the hit pushed him back a bit but he recoiled and pushed Netto away: Netto turned and began a barrage of fists before he could recover so the teacher dodged them in a sloppy manner.
"Cool!" Zao whistled.
"Wow!" Kori was also awed.
Heh, heh, heh. As expected of Hikari Netto – kun… He knows his stuff but he can't rival with a pro as of yet! Heh, heh, heh. Ah well. I'm also seeing and watching the moves to remember them…
"… Time's up!"
"… Phew! Today was intense too."
"Heh, heh, heh. Maybe. Alright, students. Let's meet on Monday!"
"Sayonara, sensei~!"
The students came out and headed into the changing rooms: they used the cabin showers to cleanse and then dressed up in their usual clothes and checked their lockers: each had a PET charger inside and an RJ-45 Ethernet connecting port installed inside.
"Alright, Hikari – kun! See you next week."
"See ya, Hikari!"
"Ou! Zao! Kori!"
The other two students left while Netto picked his PET II and opened the cover: Rock Man came onscreen.
"Hiya, Netto – kun! Did the class go well?"
"As intense as usual!"
"Glad to know that…"
"Any updates?"
"I met Buruusu."
"What did he say?"
"Enzan wants to speak with you tomorrow on the Akihara City Shopping Mall to brief you in on this month's happenings insofar…"
"Is there anything spectacular?"
"Not really… None of the fronts seem to have progressed."
"Hum. Alright. Let's go back. Tomorrow is Bargain Day at Higureya so I'll go there. Today I'll drop by Maha Ichiban's."
"Alright."
Netto came out of the gym building and stopped when he noticed something on his shoe: he sat on a bench and took it out to check the insides: there was a small pebble inside.
"Ah. That was it."
"… Well. Yes… So? What happened to that phenomenon you detected last month, sir? Ah. You will tell me in person. Good. But it's been tackled and no danger can be expected from there… What happened with the underground facility in 123? No trouble… Good…"
"Huh? That voice…?"
Netto glanced at an advertising stand to his right and he spotted Enkada talking over a cell-phone to someone.
Isn't he talking in English? I'm not sure what they're saying but I didn't think he had such good English…
"… Has the "artificial light" moved? Huh? Ah! Las Vegas…"
Las Vegas? What happened there?
"Other minor incidents in the south… Others in the north… Are we doing something to sabotage their project? Ah! Good. Supplies are delayed and bugs planted along with purposeful damage… They will run out of patience at this rate and make a desperate move… Once we figure out the total number of them we can lure them one by one away and capture or remove them easily… Excellent."
I got the word "project" and "damage" but… I'm not following. I've set the PET to record. Maybe I can convince Saito – niisan to tell me later.
"… Good, good. Alright. We'll speak again. Ah! What about the "CG" threat, sir? Weren't we expecting it, sir? Ah! Solved! Good!"
CG? He sounds relieved, though.
"Excellent. See you around, sir."
Enkada ended the call and walked away while Netto hummed a tune and headed for Maha Ichiban's: he was walking down a street when one empty can of lemonade hit the floor and rolled at his feet.
"My bad. Can you pick it up, runt?" Someone asked.
"Alright."
Netto picked it and turned to hand it to a man.
This man was about a meter and eighty tall: they wore a brownish coat over a purple wool shirt, a cap which covered the ears, and a mask for the cold plus fingerless gloves: they carried a bright brown bag as well.
Two spikes of grayish hair popped out behind the cap as if to indicate they were of advanced age.
He carried a blue custom-made trolley filled with empty cans of all types which looked about to fall.
"By the way. The curry over there is good?" The man asked while signaling the Maha Ichiban's curry shop.
"Huh? Yeah! First-quality! Mister!"
"Good… I'll check it out. Heh, heh, heh."
Netto headed for the store and stepped inside.
"Welcome!" Maha Jarama greeted.
"Yo! Netto." Hinoken greeted from behind the counter too.
"Yo! Hinoken. Was Jawaii too hot?" He joked.
"Yeah. Guess so." He grinned.
"Yeah! Too hot!" Count Elec protested.
"My make-up couldn't stand it." Iroaya Madoi complained.
"Oh? Another customer… Welcome."
"… A three-dimensional world, isn't it?" The can collector suddenly asked as he came in.
"Well… Yes." Maha was surprised.
"What's the specialty?"
"The Maha Special, sir."
"Good. I'll have one."
Netto picked a seat next to the counter while the man sat on another seat nearby: he picked the newspapers and began to read them while everyone worked: the door opened again.
"Welcome…! Ah! Y-you're…!"
"Huh? E~H! NO WAY~!"
"T-that's…!"
"What in the…"
"The devil!"
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!"
"ANIKI~! DAMN IT!"
"Found you! Jack!"
Gauss Magnets (having a gray raincoat and hat over his usual dual-colored clothes) suddenly came in while grinning and holding a red PET II on his right hand.
"It's time to settle the score! I've waited ever since December! And today I'll turn the tide around!" He challenged.
"This guy! Go! Plug In! Elec Man, Transmission!"
"Plug In! Magnet Man, Transmission!"
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… It looks amusing." The collector chuckled.
"Whoa."
I'd never expected Gauss to show up like that here. Rock Man admitted while looking surprised.
Who would, Saito – niisan? No – one's seen a hair outta him ever since half a year ago!
"You again…!" Elec Man growled.
"Hmpf. This time no interlopers will interfere… Mag Missile!"
"Lightning Blast!"
"Heh, heh, heh. It's become interesting." The customer chuckled.
"By the way, Rock Man… While those two settle it… Can you check a recording of someone speaking in English and try to write down a translation? It picked me." Netto requested.
"Alright. If you're intending to improve your English then I don't see why not… This is it, right? Wait a few minutes and I'll work on it. Translation takes a little while." Rock Man apparently found the file.
"Thank you, Rock Man."
"Don't mind it, Netto – kun."
"Here! Catch."
"Huh? Whoa!"
The other customer had finished his meal in the meanwhile and tossed Netto a green empty can with a label which wasn't visible right now: Netto instinctively shook it up.
"Make sure to hand it over to Hikari Yuuichirou!"
"Huh? Who are ya, mister?"
"Heh, heh, heh. Have you forgotten my face, Hikari Netto? It'd seem everyone has in this half a year interval…"
"No way…!" Netto gasped.
"That's impossible!" Rock Man uttered.
"What?" The five adults looked over there.
The man lifted his gaze and now that he'd removed the mask for the cold it was clear that he was Dr. Wily.
"D-Dr. Wily – sama!" The four ex "WWW" members quickly formed a row next to him and saluted.
"Wha~t? Wily – sama~? What's Wily – sama doing in this utterly shabby place of all places?" Gauss asked.
"You never know. Gauss – kun."
"Yikes!"
"So that means that…!" Hinoken began.
"Our dream…!" Madoi continued.
"Yes! The dream!"
"… It will be realized!" Maha finished.
"The WWW's resurrection…!"
They all lifted a victorious right arm but then noticed that Wily had vanished as if Earth had swallowed him: they looked around, baffled, and Gauss also looked around.
"W-Wily – sama? Where are you?"
They ran off into the street but he and his trolley were nowhere to be seen: Netto quickly stuffed the can into the backpack while they were distracted.
"… Lightning Blast!"
"N-S Tackle!"
"Oh crap!"
"Crap! The battle wasn't over yet!"
"Go! Elec Man! Beat 'em!"
"Ki~h! It's not like I'll let you~!"
Let's find a chance to give this can to Papa later.
Yeah. Maybe tomorrow morning after we meet with Enzan…
"Go, go! Magnet Man!"
"Sure kill! N-S Tackle!"
"Battle Chip, Area Steal, Bamboo Sword! Double Slot In!"
"Wha~t?"
"Hra~h!"
"I-impossible!"
"EAT THIS!"
"Mugro~h!"
BEEP!
"Impossible! Down in one hit?" Gauss gasped.
"Hah! I win! Aniki!"
"Ki~h! I'll remember this and…! Huh! Hikari Netto!" He suddenly noticed Netto was there.
"Yikes!"
"… Got an idea… Heh, heh, heh! Farewell!"
He took out a flash-bang grenade from his coat's right pocket and tossed it: the flash forced them to shield their eyes and they heard the guy running off while laughing in his queer manner.
"Hah! Aniki Go Home! I've proved I'm stronger! Hah, hah, hah!" Count Elec laughed.
Heh, heh, heh. It's become interestin'… Let's see if Enzan has noticed the trail of hints I left behind… Things are about to get fun… Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… I'm teasing ya guys, I know. Heh, heh, heh, heh…