The Ruling Key
By Zoram Selrof
Chapter 1: Rational people
11:01 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday January the 16th, 2207...
"... Phew! Break time already."
"I knew it was coming: my 5th Law of Rationality told me!"
"What the heck is that, Kizamaro?"
"Ahem, ahem!"
"Yikes! Iinchou!"
"Ki-za-ma-ro...! Focus! On! The! Classes!"
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
"Phew."
"What was that, Tsukasa – kun?"
"N-nothing. Right, Gino – kun?"
"Yeah. Nothing. Today's morning felt too intense."
"Ah! If it's just that."
The Kodama Middle 2-A class students were chatting after the break began: Hoshikaa Subaru (aged 14) sighed in relief, Saishouin Kizamaro came up with another of his "laws", Ushijima Gonta groaned and Shirogane Luna cleared her throat before directing an annoyed glare at Kizamaro: Futaba Tsukasa sighed in relief close by but Luna heard it so she glared at him, too, so he gasped and glanced at a student sitting to his left as if seeking his help.
"Kiboyama Gino – kun… Are you sure of it?"
"I am, iinchou!"
Kiboyama Gino was about the same age and height as Tsukasa and Subaru: he had brownish hair and blue eye irises.
"Oh man." Jack sighed.
"Anyway! An excellent iinchou over here will make sure that the reputation of MY class remains unstained and brilliant!"
"Ahem, ahem." The teacher (who'd been speaking with another student near the door) cleared his throat.
"Yikes! I am sorry, sensei! It's just that…"
"Is it written anywhere that your duty is to look out for the reputation, Shirogane – san?" He asked.
"N-no, sir…"
"Then could you focus on your actual duties? Such as… Making sure they all keep the cleansing schedule and they properly behave… And by the way, Saishouin – kun… Those "laws" of you are but pointless bragging to make you feel like you're incredibly smart. In case I hadn't told you over 100 times already." He rolled his eyes.
"Y-yes, sir… I deeply apologize!" He stood up all of a sudden and bowed to apologize.
"As long as you admit to it…"
"By the way! Subaru – kun…" Luna called out.
"Yeah, iinchou?"
"Did you find that disgraced nobleman?" She asked.
"Hyde? Of course. He's so eager to call for attention he always sends forward notices of his crimes to the TV… We know where he'll strike and all but with Shinobi being far stronger and competent by now it's getting hard to try to catch them… The guy caught me with the guard down a couple days ago and I was unable to chase them…" Subaru sighed in defeat.
"No wonder. The guy's been doing ever since New Year's. Every 2 days, and always at late night… It's enough to tire you out."
"Hmpf! As expected of a disgraced nobleman…" Luna fumed.
She stepped out of the classroom at a brisk pace while the others also headed out and down the stairs into the yard: the trees were covered in snow and the day was cloudy.
"Huh! 6 Celsius… Pretty cold." Subaru glanced at a thermometer.
"Well. It's January so…" Tsukasa shrugged.
"Speaking of which… 3 years, no?" Jack brought up.
"Yeah. About 3 years ago… I met War – Rock… And became "Rock Man"… Followed by the "FM Invasion"… Seems like it was yesterday but since so much things have happened in the meanwhile…"
"I know." Tsukasa sighed.
"Ah! Sorry, Tsukasa – kun…! I didn't…"
"You needn't apologize for that."
"Huh?" Gonta frowned.
"Ah… I see…" Kizamaro muttered.
"What, what?"
"Jeez. Gonta – kun: did you forget? I guess your head is full of gluttony by now…" He sighed.
"No wonder." Jack wasn't surprised.
"Che!" He played the offended.
"Speaking of Rock… Did you lock him on the HQ server again?" Kiboyama asked Subaru.
"Yeah. Despite what he said on December he started going wild with Moon Disaster so Boss ran out of patience… And locked them up again and made sure to place a system with 11 passwords that will automatically change every 12 hours… Complicated but it's to make sure no intruder like Hyde or someone else can easily free them. The 2 of them got it coming, anyway…" Subaru rolled his eyes.
"And, as a result, you use a system to be able to Denpa – Henkan on your own without relying on War Rock… Like Burai…"
"Yeah. Boss developed it for Blood and the others so he only had to slightly tune it so that it adapted to me. No big deal."
"At least now Storm and Miles and properly focus on their VR training without Rock distracting them… Or provoking them." Kiboyama shrugged.
"Yeah. That's true."
"What are you boys gossiping about?" Luna suddenly showed up there and looked like she suspected something.
"Nothing important. Just about how we had to punish Rock and Moon Disaster again…"
"Ah! If that's it, then… By the way! Subaru – kun… Is Misora – chan still working with Okudama Studios?"
"Yeah. As far as I know…"
"Alright. By the way… Do you know something named "Spiriting Morning"? I got an email about it…"
"I guess that's Dr. Yoiri from WAXA…"
"Ah, that old lady… And what's it about?"
"Dr. Yoiri IS a brilliant person but… She tends to mix up concepts and names from time to time and Acid has to correct her. I guess she thought this was a brand of tea or something but it actually is something else and has another name…" He explained.
"Ah. I see. Speaking of WAXA… Is it me or did Queen Tia – sensei's behavior change all of a sudden? She used to be colder and she barely showed up by here…" Luna frowned.
"Had a change of mind… Thought that playing hostile and all would make others take her seriously but they convinced her to quit…"
Well. That's not the truth but it's better to keep it like this to prevent iinchou from panicking…
"I see."
"Huh? By the way, Subaru… Nangoku – san's published an ad and says that he offers "Evil, blessed & repulsive bargain Cards"…" Gonta looked up from his Hunter – VG's screen.
"Sheesh. Must've had one of his "inspirations" again…"
"Undoubtedly." Kizamaro muttered.
"Nangoku – san seems to be too absent – minded as of late." Tsukasa rubbed his chin with the right hand.
"Maybe he's been reading something?" Kiboyama ventured.
"Could be…"
"Oops. It's already 11:21… Let's start to go back up…" Jack checked the Hunter – VG's digital clock.
"Alright. Next is… Math." Subaru remembered.
"Oh boy." Gonta sighed.
"Don't try to copy the homework from Kizamaro, Gonta!" Luna warned.
"I won't! Lesson learnt, iinchou!"
"Hmpf! Remember! You must keep on with the diet: it's the punishment I imposed!"
"I knew that!"
"Now, now…" Subaru tried to calm her down.
"Ahem, ahem." The teacher from before called out.
"Yikes!"
"It's not your duty to impose punishments or diets. Maybe I should print out your roles as listed in the school website and glue them on the classroom so that everyone can know them. I'll do it now." He decided with a sigh.
"A-alright, sir." She gulped.
At least the psychotherapy is working and she behaves WAY MORE rationally than in December…! She was exasperating back then and drove everyone mad…
Subaru headed back up to his floor and used the toilet before returning to the classroom: he sat on his seat and drew the textbook while preparing to write down: the other students also did same and just when the bell rang the math teacher (a different one) came in.
"Alright. Let us begin the class. I'll check the attendance…"
The teacher calmly checked that everyone was there before placing the list back inside his case and then heading to the board.
"If you recall, last lesson was about…"
12:23 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I'm - BEATEN!"
"Whoa! Akatsuki – kun: don't yell like that if you may!"
"I'm sorry, Chief, but I really am beaten!"
"At times like these…"
"What?"
"I'd suggested Dancing Morning green tea and…!"
"Hakase. With all due respect… The correct name was Alluring Evening… And it was a popular Thailand cocktail… Very acidic as well… Fell out of fashion 19 years ago."
"Oh, is that so? I mixed them up again!"
"Indeed, hakase."
"Thank you, Acid – chan!"
"Nicknames are unnecessary. Hakase."
"Oh boy."
Akatsuki Shidou dragged his feet into WAXA's Command Room and brusquely sat down on a chair while drawing a groan out of exhaustion, startling the other staff: the WAXA Chief scolded him and Dr. Yoiri began to make a suggestion only to be dully corrected by Acid who calmly corrected her mistake: he seemed to let out a hint of annoyance when Dr. Yoiri used a nickname on him: Daigo, Subaru's father, sighed as he stood near the Chief.
"What happened?" Daigo asked.
"I'm starting to think, and Vadous agrees with me, that…"
"That… What?"
"Training using VR recreations of Shinobi is a waste of time and effort: by reviewing them we've realized why we're having so much trouble handling the guy… He uses a wholly different combat style on each encounter! So even if we get used to one combat style then we get beaten because he attacks with another style which we don't how to counter!"
"Hum. I see." The Chief wasn't too surprised.
"We'd heard rumors of Shinobi stealing books and imagery related to swords and martial arts… Kendo, karate, taekwondo, judo, aikido, free fighting, CQC… Now we see why." A Satella Police Commando who'd just come in commented.
"I see."
"Fua~h… I need some hours' rest! With some luck I'll be back in shape by the evening… Where's the strike?"
"A fashion show displaying the pieces made by modern Western designers… Hyde is smug enough to add "I'll teach them about TRUE Western clothing!" in the advance notice… The guy's one to talk: surely he's never worn a tuxedo." The Commando fumed.
"You're one to talk, Ryuusuke – kun." The Chief scolded.
"I am sorry, sir! I did not mean to offend you, sir!" He saluted.
"Fine. If you apologize then it's fine."
"What time does he say?"
"22:15… The show will be on its climax. We did warn the organizers but they play deaf and are convinced it's a fake by a rival… Talk about stubborn folk!" Ryuusuke sighed.
"Youth nowadays…" Dr. Yoiri sighed as well.
"Yes, yes. We know the rest, thank you very much." The Chief seemingly knew she tended to drool when it came to that topic.
"There was a saying which was… "Let an angel bite my crown if I turn out to be a liar"…"
"Hakase. The correct saying was "let devil bite me if it turns out to be true"…" Acid corrected.
"Oh, is that so? My, my. One's memory…"
"It's not a problem of memory. It's just that you tend to mix them up with other stuff." Daigo replied.
"By the way, Daigo – kun… Are you a "grand miscalculation"?" She suddenly asked.
"HUH?" He looked puzzled.
"Daigo – san can be written as "daigosan" which means "great miscalculation"… Ryuusuke – chan told me, didn't you?"
"I didn't, ma'am."
"Huh? Then that mail wasn't yours?"
"No, ma'am. I've sent no much mail. Ma'am."
"Then… Who? It was yesterday so… It can't be Rock – chan, right?"
"No. Rock got shut in the server on the 3rd…" Akatsuki frowned.
"Which leaves…"
"…Omega's "joker mode"…" Akatsuki groaned.
"Oh come on. Why doesn't Vadous uninstall it already?"
"Were it so easy! "Serious mode" Omega has a habit of overdoing it on the training and overheating his systems leading Vadous to have to upgrade them twice or thrice a week!" He explained.
"So he switches them to compensate?"
"So he says. He's tried to think of a way to fix those, by deleting some files and so but…"
"Has had no luck."
"Yeah. So he resorted to putting an activity limiter making him be unable to move around for more than 3 hours a day. Of course: were an emergency arise then he'll remove that but…"
"Nevertheless… In 3 hours he's got enough time to turn the whole city mad… We've seen it happen too many times already."
"Speaking of emergencies… What did he say about Virus?"
"Virus Trip Daemon, the "real" name of the Night Baron… He says the guy blew his hideout with himself still on it so it's safe to assume he was so smug to use suicide to run away from us… All evidence insofar points that he's dead. There've been no sightings of the guy or anyone who behaved like the guy so…" Akatsuki shrugged and didn't seem to care.
"We should prioritize Hyde and Shinobi."
"Which is what we're doing. Serious mode Omega tried to challenge Shinobi on the strikes 6 days ago but Shinobi managed to make use of his lighter weight to move faster… Omega needs to hold back his power because Shinobi is, after all, a human so… And Shinobi exploits that which drives Omega mad. And which leads to discussions between him and Vadous about battling and all… And sometimes he shuts in a room in the HQ and doesn't come out for days and if he does he behaves in a totally anti-social manner like he was the only one around. Guess he still has a grudge about how Shinobi managed to defeat him, Sigma and Blood Shadow back in December…" Akatsuki went on.
"What a panorama!" Daigo sighed.
"Yeah… Lovely way to start 2207, truly…"
"Ah. So you're back, Akatsuki… What's with the atmosphere?" Queen Tia asked as she stepped in.
"Omega…"
"Which one?"
"The serious one… He's getting on everyone's nerves too… Exchange one evil for another…"
"Oh dear." She sighed.
"Yeah… We thought that with Virus dead dealing with Hyde wouldn't be hard but it'd seem we got too confident…"
"Can't Rock Man use the Meteor Server to deal with them?"
"They always bring jammers with them which impede us from building "Noise" up… Even though Vadous used the data to allow us to use NFB Cards without Noise Change… Their power isn't enough… And they quickly flee, anyway. Fights don't last more than 2-3 minutes… And even though Blood and Sigma are in charge of pursuit… They manage to ditch us because they found and are re-using Mu's "Spirting Away" devices… Y'know, those creepy purple eyeballs which Solo used…"
"Ah! I see. I'd heard of them, yes. They link to another dimension and from there they can go undetected until the exit."
"Yeah. And if they close the exit… You can't know where they went to!"
"And you risk getting trapped there when the device self-destructs: Burai has, of course, tried to analyze them as they work but they've got a lot of protects and stuff… It'd seem Hyde's been ransacking the servers of the mobile marine fortress and found a lot of stuff that both Kuroban Howsad and Kurayami & Kanaya had designed… So he's reusing them… And the device is destructed as soon as the escaping duo jump inside the dimension so there's no time for a full analysis… I tried to do it with Acid too but only got some incomplete data…"
"I see… Things aren't so easy in life, anyway."
"Yeah. I know that. I just need some "Sweet Candy" and a nap of 2 hours plus a shower… See ya."
Akatsuki stood up and headed out while Queen Tia directed a grin at him as if teasing him and he sighed before he entered the elevator and headed down.
"By the way… Did you make sure that that woman is still in jail and hasn't escaped?" Queen Tia turned serious.
"Of course we are. I personally go check it every week. The prison makes an X-ray every 2 weeks to make sure she's a real human and not a Wizard that stands as substitute." A woman Commando came in next.
"Ah! Good, good. We can't lower the guard. By the way: did they try to bribe the officers already?"
"Of course. Plenty of times. But the officers ignored her: she surely is bluffing because she can't have any money on the cell."
"Good. We must be cautious. That woman is capable of anything and you know it." Queen Tia warned.
"Of course. I'm personally taking care of it so don't worry. And remember that "revenge" is a lie… You don't accomplish anything."
"I know. Oh well. I guess I'm running the mood so I'll go back to my desk and continue the analysis job I was charged with. See you."
"She's holding it back but no wonder…" The Commando sighed.
"That child's suffered too much, indeed…" Dr. Yoiri sighed as well.
"Alright. Let's get ready to face off with Hyde and Shinobi tonight!"
22:13 PM (Japan Time)…
"… And next is the newest line by Morgan Anderson of northern Wales which will be sold starting on March…"
"… Hmpf! Talk about stupidity and vanity, my disciple!"
"Guess…so?"
"What's with that idiot-like reply?"
"W-well, Hyde –sama…! I'm supposed to do the dirty job, not to think!"
"Hmpf! True! But I don't need a brainless ape!"
"Oh man."
"Hyde~… The guy's done so much for ya, why don't ya appreciate it?"
"Shut up, you half-bribed right-winged tabloid proxy!"
"Yeah, yeah. I know that tune of yours."
"Chii gaa hoshii…"
"Shut up. Our mission isn't to kill, Assassin! At least not tonight."
Phantom Black was standing atop a tower having some spotlights set on it and aiming west towards a stage shape like a "T" letter: several model men and women were calmly walking down the left side to then turn when they reached the end and go back up the right side: there was quite some audience sitting in portable chairs and the place was on a building's rooftop: he was accompanied by someone else.
"I know I'm named Assassin Shinobi and I've done in 26 foreign agents but tonight Hyde – sama doesn't seek bloodshed. Just terror. So behave and do what I say, Assassin."
Assassin Shinobi appealed as being over a meter and sixty tall and wore a pitch-black bodysuit reminiscent of ninja clothing including a purplish cape hanging from behind his shoulders, two metallic shuriken on his shoulders and knees plus a utility belt.
His face was largely hidden by a balaclava while his brownish teal hair came out from an opening behind it in a totally spiky and wild manner: his eyes' irises' were blood red in color.
A small green shuriken glowed on his forehead, too.
He also carried a katana sheath attached to his back using a leather band which circled his body from the left shoulder until close to the right hip: it was painted purple and black while being decorated with four black dots around it.
Overall he looked like a ninja armed to the teeth yet he didn't strike out as being much older than Subaru & co.
"Funn…!" A voice rang out.
A Denpa Body materialized in front of Assassin Shinobi.
Its shape was reminiscent of a typical ghost, having a white body with no legs and a hood with a Halloween-like face carved on it: the "eyes" shone with a reddish light.
"You heard the Danna… Get ready." Phantom sighed as he materialized to Phantom Black's right.
"Huh? This signature… Them! Sigma and Blood Shadow… Lurking close by, indeed…" Asssassin Shinobi detected.
"Meh! Matters not. We'll shake them off as usual. Let's go!"
"Alright!"
"Phantom Slash!"
"Katana Chaos!"
"Kyah!"
"Guah!"
"Run!"
"That's as far as you come!"
"You came! Acid Ace!"
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Rock Man… Time to crave and engrave…!"
"You're one to talk."
"HMPF!"
Acid Ace and Rock Man showed up so Phantom Black headed for him while Assassin Shinobi drew his blade and chuckled in a queer manner yet Rock Man was far from impressed.
"Meteor Light…!"
"Like I'll let ya! My newest combat style… Faster than light!"
Assassin Shinobi suddenly stepped back two steps, lowered his body and suddenly jumped into the air while flipping and swinging the sword, producing "Sonic Boom" attacks on his wake: Rock Man had to focus on dodging and couldn't finish shooting his intended attack: Assassin Shinobi landed a meter NNE of him and suddenly rushed for Rock Man while quickly jumping and changing position: Rock Man began to shoot Charge Shots at him but he didn't mind them despite that they met their mark: Rock Man brought up his default shield but Assassin Shinobi quickly jumped over it and swung his sword in an arch: a "Sonic Boom" impacted Rock Man's back but he hissed and held back the pain as he quickly whipped around while having drawn a Sword Fighter X Battle Card: he slashed six times but Assassin Shinobi easily blocked each attack by standing in a fixed position and simply matching his blade to intercept the next attack: Rock Man wasn't too impressed by that either and he warped to behind Assassin Shinobi to shoot a Hyper Cannon at him but Assassin materialized and formed 8 scimitars which aligned in 4 columns of 2 and deflected the attack back at its source: Rock Man quickly dived for the ground level to dodge it and stood up: Assassin Shinobi chuckled as he looked on from the stage (about 2 meters taller).
"So? Who's in charge?" He taunted.
"Like I care." Rock Man drily shot back.
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. That face, that face… It amuses me… How you try to appeal as "cool" and "composed"… But your body is far more honest than ya mouth… It's trembling, sweating, shuddering! The thrill, the fear, the despair…! You're trying to hold them at bay! That's all! A mere façade: and then they call ya the "fearless hero"… What bullshit! I laugh at it!"
"COME AT FULL POWER!"
"UACK!"
"Thanks, Sigma – san!"
"Don't mind, man! How's that for a change, you punk?"
"Damn it. You again!"
Sigma, the newcomer Wizard, was about two meters tall and was colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area and it seemed to be missing the armor over its mass.
His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on the sides of the head.
These added a "demonic" look to him.
Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand.
He'd suddenly dropped from above and swung the sword to hit the enemy and send him flying and falling into the ground level in the midst of some seats: he grumbled and was trying to get back to his feet somehow.
"Akatsuki – san: I'll exchange!"
"Good! Go, Blood!"
"Roger!"
"Hmpf! Brad Shad, come to fail again!"
"So what, Hyde. And it's "Blood Shadow"."
Blood Shadow, on the other hand, looked rather similar to Rock Man but with several design alternations to him: his main color of choice was red.
He sported black shades and a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.
His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.
His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there: and, where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.
"Huh? I see! Master!" Assassin Shinobi gasped.
"Shut up, you valet come from southern lands! I'm busy getting rid of this red mice!"
"Oh come on. Not now." He grumbled.
"Mwah, hah, hah… The descent of despair?" Sigma suddenly loomed over him and chuckled.
"Grah! That close-up face is scary! Even for a pro killer like me!"
"Blame Boss!"
"Sheesh! Whatever! I'll make pieces outta you too!"
"Come anytime!"
"… Phantom Claw!"
"Eat shotgun!"
"GRAH!"
Phantom Black tried to attack Blood Shadow but he ducked and then jumped towards Phantom Black while loading his shotgun: he discharged it at close distance and the blow made him hit the far wall: he groaned and managed to stand up somehow but then smirked and suddenly "sunk" into the ground because a familiar purple circle had opened there: Assassin Shinobi (who'd been trying to dodge Sigma's sword swings) jumped into the air and dived there: the hole soon closed and spotted something exploding atop the stage: they all grumbled.
"Another vain fight! Again! Why do we it, anyway?" Sigma grumbled.
"It's our duty, Sigma." Blood Shadow fumed.
"Yeah. Complaining doesn't solve anything." Acid Ace added.
"Those cowards…!" Rock Man hissed and clenched the right fist.
Cowards! Trying to wear us down through cheats! I'll defeat them yet!