Chapter 1: Movement
09:16 AM (Japan Time), Saturday February the 4th…
"… Man. This is so hard…! Saito – niisan! Can you please lend me a hand to solve this? Please?"
"Jeez. Netto – kun! I thought you'd decided to solve it alone: you can't hope to be counting on me the whole time!"
Hikari Netto was pleading help to Saito: he was wearing his usual clothes: the orange sleeveless vest over a white shirt, jeans, white wool socks and slippers.
Saito retained his Navi bodysuit on its whole save for the helmet: he'd taken it out and let his hair flow out in a neat manner.
Netto looked nervous while Saito looked slightly annoyed.
"You've been asking me once a week ever since a month ago! If you thought I forgot, then you're wrong, otouto! I can't forget things. Didn't you promise to handle everything on your own?" Saito scolded.
"Ah… Eh… But I couldn't know that…!" Netto improvised.
"No "buts", otouto: it's about time for you to take on some responsibilities: if you want to triumph in life, then you must know how to handle alone and doing homework on your own is a start!"
"… Man." Netto sighed in defeat.
"I'm not against you but it's my moral obligation as your niisan to teach you what you have to do, otouto."
"I know you'd never go "against" me per se, but… I just feel like everything is suddenly becoming very hard without giving me time to assimilate the lessons!" Netto moaned.
"If you think this is too fast, then you'll find it slow as years pass by: this is how middle school is, otouto." Saito rolled his eyes.
"And I thought I was doing fine…"
"You were! Your 1st trimester results were very good: but you mustn't lower your guard!" Saito warned.
"… You win… I'll read the lesson again and then try to see if I can solve it once and for all…"
He rummaged into his backpack and took out a math course book: he opened it and began to read it while Saito exited the room: he closed the door behind him and walked downstairs into the living room.
"Netto still tries to abuse of your patience, Saito?" Haruka asked as she cleansed the kitchen's oven.
"Yeah. Really… I hope he'll get it this time around… Anyway… I'm going to cleanse the living room a bit." Saito shrugged.
"Go ahead." Haruka encouraged.
Saito picked the vacuum cleaner and put on a white apron and cap: he then turned the vacuum cleaner on and began to cleanse the living room while humming a tune.
It's been over a month and the triumvirate has been very quiet: Miyabi hasn't spotted anything odd in any forums or anything… And the "Eye" hasn't showed up around here anymore, either… Both of those parties must be up to something…
"… I insist! There was a flying whale!"
"A flying whale…?"
"Not again…"
"Tesla…"
Charlie Airstar sighed in defeat as Tesla Magnets came up with some boasting: Gauss looked defeated and Dr. Wily, sitting in the armchair, looked surprised.
"She means a monster the Dark Realm guys threw at us: it was a flying whale with a white beard." Airstar admitted while grumbling: he obviously didn't like the topic.
"Aw! Charlie~! You ruin the grace!" Tesla told him.
"Who knows?" He shot back.
"Heh, heh, heh… Gauss – kun. It'd seem there's going to be a passionate battle." Wily told him with a chuckle.
"M-maybe so, Dr. Wily – sama…" Gauss nervously replied.
"It ain't "maybe": it's for sure." Gyro Man warned.
"Yeah. We're doomed." Magnet Man grimly muttered.
"Oho! I know it! I'm going to invent and patent an anti-flying-whale sword! I'm a genius! Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!" Tesla suddenly looked excited.
"… Turn right and keep on for 300 meters: you will have arrived to the destination."
"Man. Why do I have to be told the route step by a step like I was a 5 year old guy?"
"…'Cause you have zero sense of orientation: that's why, Dingo."
"Oh. Shut up."
Dingo was using a GPS app to navigate through the streets and looked both annoyed and defeated while Tomahawk Man looked about to explode from his bad mood.
"Remember: if ya wanna keep the work and be able to linger around here, then you have no other choice but to do what the GPS tells you. Else go back to the village." Tomahawk Man insisted.
"Damn the triumvirate! I'm sure they're the ones who cursed me and Totem – sama!" Dingo growled.
"Nope. There's no curse to begin with: it's a scapegoat you've come up with. Deliver that curry, get your pay, and head back to the restaurant: there's work to be done." Tomahawk Man growled.
"… Phew! This cold is fading but it's getting chilly all of a sudden when the wind sweeps the streets."
"The envoys of the Naraku are at work."
"Whatever."
Dark Miyabi was walking down a street while seemingly trying to handle the gusts of wind: Shadow Man made one of his typical comments and Miyabi rolled his eyes.
"This is the calm before the storm. I should be keeping an eye around Hikari's home, but… Yuriko is taking care of that by now. I'll go try to find some Battle Chips." Miyabi muttered.
"Fine."
Miyabi spotted Higureya and calmly stepped in: Higure showed up behind the counter while rubbing his hands in excitement.
"Good morning, de masu! Welcome to Higureya, de masu! We can offer you a wide variety of Battle Chips, de masu!" He quickly announced.
"And a great variety of peculiar dialect, too, is in offer today." Number Man announced with a hint of sarcasm.
"Yeah! Correct, de ma…! Number Man! De masu! What was that for, de masu?" Higure grumbled.
"Dunno." Number Man shrugged.
"Long Blade: do you have any?"
"Huh! De masu! Yeah! How many do you need? De masu?"
"Two."
"5800 Credits, de masu."
"Good."
Miyabi made an electronic money transfer and the register pinged.
"Have a good morning, de masu!"
"Beware, glassy man: the envoys of the attic are coming for your flesh and soul." Shadow Man suddenly warned.
"Huh…? De masu…?" Higure looked baffled.
"Not bad." Miyabi grinned.
He stepped out of the store while Higure scratched the back of his head: Number Man whistled a tune and played the innocent.
"A~h! Number Man! De masu! The building owner will ask for the monthly payment by next month! That's what he meant! De masu!" He suddenly realized.
"Bravo, Yamitarou. It'd seem you're starting to catch up." Number Man told him with a hint of sarcasm.
"Anyway… Mariko – sensei~! You must be waiting for me to bring over some flowers next week!" Higure dramatized.
"Crap. St. Valentine's…"
"… So… Laika. You're coming over?"
"Yeah. I arrive tomorrow morning."
Ijuuin Enzan was talking with Laika over videoconference: Laika had his usual poker face on while Enzan looked in a good mood.
"I guess IPC's numbers must be a streak of green digits." Laika guessed with a hint of sarcasm.
"Yeah. So… What happened to the guy who got "Asteroid" Yamato Man in the end? Netto told me about it: you knew him." Enzan brought up.
"Ah. Iriya… He got quite a reprimand from Commissioner Malenkov: you can imagine it! A man from my same Sharo Net Police division actually ransacking museums… He was under detention for a while and he ended up repented of it." Laika sighed and looked troubled.
"Oh. Sorry for bringing the topic up." Enzan apologized.
"Don't mind it, Enzan. Even though that was over a year ago, I mustn't forget the lesson: not even we Net Police are free from temptation. We aren't perfect." Laika turned serious again.
"… You figured the guy out because the Asteroid used the same words the Operator used, didn't you?" Blues asked Search Man.
"Yeah. But at least the man tried to redeem himself by trying to stop the "Asteroid" with his own life in risk…" Search Man confirmed.
"The triumvirate has been very quiet as of late. They must be working on something new or hoping that we'll lower our guards." Enzan muttered while bringing a hand to his chin.
"I called Princess Pride: they're concerned about increased factory production in a Dark Land factory, though… And the sudden secrecy that place has undergone reeks."
"Hum. So… The triumvirate must've leant them the schematics for STS or they're trying to come up with decoys and misinformation." Enzan guessed.
"I've got work to do, so… We'll see each other tomorrow."
"Good. I'll come pick you up." Enzan told him.
"Thanks."
"I'll look forward to working together again, Blues."
"Count on me: no grunts will be able to escape my sharp double-edged swords." Blues joked.
"… What is Dark Land plotting this time around…? Las time they came up with something was way over two years ago…" Enzan wondered aloud.
"We cannot know with such scarce information, Enzan – sama. But maybe we'll end up getting a lead somewhere." Blues suggested.
"Yeah… I hope so…"
"… The security was too high, Princess – sama. I still believe it could perfectly be a decoy."
"Yeah. But I won't be at ease until we know what in the world is going on inside of that place."
Knight Man had come to report to Pride: she sported her street clothes and looked unsatisfied with the current state of affairs.
"Maybe we could use Shadow Man's help and Search Man's help: they're good at infiltrating systems in a stealth manner." Knight Man suggested to Pride.
"Yeah. But let's hold back and carefully think about it: we won't get any good from rushing it all." Pride replied.
"Roger."
Pride sighed and looked at some official documents on her desk: she picked a golden pen and began to firm some of them while making sure to check them over: she looked serious and thoughtful.
Dark Land tricked us with the "double agent" ploy over two years ago: but we won't fall for the same trick twice! "Fool me once, you're to shame. Fool me twice, I'm to shame", as they say…
"… Ah… I feel tired! Trekking for an hour uphill to find the first shoots of the flower was a killer!"
"And you were used to it, too, so… I guess you didn't have a good enough breakfast, Jasmine."
Jasmine sat down on one of her home's armchairs and looked tired: she carried a water canteen and a pouch with some herbs and flower samples set there.
"Jasmine. I appreciate your hard work, but remember that you must be filled with energies before heading off to the mountain."
"I knew that, Grandfather… I tried to rush it." She replied.
"See, Jasmine? I knew that was the reason." Meddy shrugged.
"Please… I feel dizzy." Jasmine muttered.
"Trying to climb fast without giving your lungs time to compensate for the difference in heights is no good: take it into mind." Cardamon warned her as he looked out towards a nearby mountain.
"You tried to rush it all, Jasmine. Cool it down." Meddy told her.
"I'll try…" Jasmine sighed.
"You mustn't try to rush things: they will come when the time for them is correct." Cardamon suggested.
"… It must be interesting to be on the other side of the picture… But… I wouldn't like it. No. I'm not that kind of person."
"I'm glad to see you're realizing that's not stuff you should think about, Meiru – chan. It can leave people marked for life."
"… Yeah. You're right, Roll…"
Sakurai Meiru was talking with Roll inside of her house while working on a piano lesson.
She sported her usual clothes but her pink skirt was longer and reached until the knees.
She looked somewhat concerned over something: Roll had the same kind of face as well.
"Why don't we keep on with the piano lesson, Meiru – chan? I thought it was important. Am I right?" Roll suggested with a smile as if trying to change the topic.
"Yeah. I want to have it finished for Monday's off-time music class: it's an important piece." Meiru nodded in agreement.
"OK!"
"… Oi! Nenjirou! Whaddya think of my new fireworks pattern? Ain't it cool enough?"
"… Plug yer ears, Nenji…"
"Yikes!"
Rokushakudama Nenji recoiled after a twitch appeared over "Asteroid" Napalm Man's right eye: he looked about to explode given his face and grumbling under his breath.
"I AIN'T NENJIROU~! BAKA GRUNT!" He yelled.
"Wha~t? Baka grunt, ya called me! Why, you…!" Rokushakudama cursed.
His eyes got white and a twitch showed up over his right eye while he drew his teeth in a menacing manner.
"Hah! Robot Head didn't make ya smarter: it made ya shorter on temper, after all!" Napalm Man laughed.
"Sheesh!"
"Hah, hah, hah, hah!"
"… Jeez. What's wrong with this car?"
"Shah, shah, shah! Dunno…"
Oozono Yuriko had opened her yellow car's hood and was checking its engine while Needle Man looked on.
"It won't start: has the battery gone out or what? Come on… I was supposed to be watching around Netto's place by now!" She cursed.
"Shah, shah, shah, shah! Maybe ya need to call the mechanic to tow it to the workshop and then head over there on foot?" Needle Man suggested while shrugging.
"Huh? What's that?"
She leant towards the battery: one of the contacts, the minus one, had been detached from its place.
"This is no accident: deliberate sabotage! Who the hell could've done this, anyway? I can fix it here and now." She cursed.
She picked the contact and placed it on its place before trying to ignite the car: it ignited but then the "low gasoline" LED turned on.
"By all the… The last thing I needed."
"Shah, shah, shah! I don't believe this is a coincidence."
"Sure as Hell that it isn't!"
09:44 AM (Japan Time)…
"… The phone's ringing, Saito! Can you please pick it up?"
"Yeah. I'm on it."
Saito walked over to the video phone and picked it up: the screen didn't turn on but the line connected.
"Hello?" A familiar voice asked.
"Papa? Has something happened?" Saito asked.
"Sorry if there's no video… My camera broke by accident… Eh… I actually forgot some documents yesterday night… Could you look for them and leave them on my office's desk? I'll come over to pick them in a little while…" Yuuichirou sounded ashamed.
"What documents?"
"They're about that program I talked about… It's 80% complete by now, but… There are some equations and calculations there which are vital to progress…" Yuuichirou admitted.
"Huh… How can I tell them apart?" Saito frowned.
"They're labeled "02_02": I worked on them on February the 2nd, Thursday… Check the drawers too." Yuuichirou specified.
"Fine. I'll search for them. Later, Papa."
"Thanks."
Saito replaced the phone and headed into the office: he began to search the drawers.
"Eh… February the 2nd…" He muttered.
BANG!
The shot of a service revolver rang out on the street: Saito was frozen in place and then heard sounds of hurried footsteps running away all of a sudden.
"What the…? Who shot that?" He cursed.
He ran out of the office and into Netto's room: Netto had come out into the balcony and spotted about three persons carrying a gray cloth covering a fourth person: they were heading towards a deep green Toyota which had the engine on and seemed to be waiting for them.
"Abduction…?" Netto gasped.
"I'll give chase! Wait here, otouto! They must be armed!" Saito told him with a serious look.
"O. K.! I'll back you up with Battle Chips!" Netto confirmed.
Saito dropped down from the balcony and ran towards the car: it was already running off.
"No time for Battle Chips… Rock…!" He muttered as he drew the Rock Buster and aimed for a wheel.
A grenade was tossed from the driver's window by a hand having a white plastic glove on: it bounced off the ground once and then came to roll towards Saito's feet: it detonated and a caused a powerful white flash along with a loud bang which disconcerted him for a split moment.
Flash bang grenade…!
He managed to recover his normal sight and hearing: the car was nowhere to be seen: Saito cursed under his breath and headed towards the house while feeling empty-handed.
They ran away! But… The police should be able to intercept them once I provide a description of the car…
He found Haruka looking out into the street while being pale.
"Mama? What's wrong?" Saito asked.
"That gentleman… He was about to ring our house's bell when three men came out of the bushes and headed towards him! He took out a gun and shot in the air before the others took out silent guns and shot at the man: he collapsed and they then caught him!" She described.
"Did you spot anything peculiar about the man?" Netto asked as he ran down the stairs.
"Uh… His jacket: I've seen a similar one somewhere else. I don't know if it's fashion or not."
"Did the three men strike out somehow?"
"Hmmm… They looked rough: maybe they were workers." Haruka sounded unsure.
"This is so strange: with such a vague description, how can we hope to narrow them down?" Netto frowned.
"Well… I could pick up the registration plate number, though. I'm going to call to the police and warn them."
"… Mr. T.! Success! We got the guy like ya said."
"Good. Remain on port for the next 24 hours until one certain "guest" makes its way onboard."
The man known as "Captain" was talking with his employer via a cell phone from a room which looked like a ship's cabin: it had a bulk, a small square table, a chair and a porthole over the bulk.
"Uh… And what do we do with the man? I mean… We had to use tranquilizer bullets to catch 'im, but…" The "Captain" asked.
"Well. Close him somewhere but make sure no big harm comes to him: do not deprive him of food or drink, either. I know everything, anytime, anywhere. It's useless to try to fool me: you'll regret it dearly."
"R-roger… By your orders…"
"Heh, heh, heh. This show is getting interesting. Our beloved monsters: the next episode will make up for this one's sudden chilly end… Enjoy yourselves…" Mr. T. chuckled.
"Yikes."
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…"