It is now 3 in the morning.
Sits alone in his darkened room, only accompanied by a mug of cold water and a lamp desk, the only child from Naomi Hyouka and Naomi Chizuru is busy with some paperwork. Aside from collecting results from other shops, which he will probably only take a more detailed look at only from Top 10 to Top 5 each shop, he has to review important units that got released so far, since in a real fight situation there is no way for him to check his note, and that small difference in knowledge could prove vital. So, better doing it than not, right?
Stealth Dragon, Runestar, Asato muses. Let's see, Amber clone, only which it clones itself and the called unit returns to hand at the end of the turn. To be fair, he does not all that familiar to the clan, only the fact that they revolve around cloning themselves for advantage or extra attacks, with some of them return to the hand at the end of the turn, while others return to the deck. However, they saw an increase in usage, particularly due to the recent release of G-BT03, which includes a finisher of their own.
Ambush Demon Stealth Dragon, Homura Raider.
"Restanding units really are popular, aren't they…" Asato sighs. To be fair, its skill is not a game breaking one, coupled with the fact that the cost is tricky for a normal restander. At the cost of counter blast two and a persona flip, it gives up one drive check in exchange for allowing itself to stand after attacking vanguard by returning three rear-guards with the same name. Quite a hefty cost, but coupled with Stealth Rogue of Revelation, Kagamijishi's skill, which in order can clone Chain Sickle Stealth Rogue, Onifundo's skill, allowing themselves to add some more options to the hand, then you are in for a treat.
So, he has no choice but trying to memorize them.
Asato stands from his seat as he draws a card from his own Murakumo deck, before ditching a copy of Gateway Stealth Rogue, Ataka from his hand. "If I stride into Kagamijishi here…" he mumbles while striding into the said unit. "Need to pick out attackers from deck… That's why you run 12k attacker at four… Charcoal Fox can also hit at 11k…"
So, from what he got so far, a Yasuie-centric deck works much like his own Bigbelly deck in terms of the need to have another unit out before the stride turn if he wants to go on offensive. Which means it is prone to early control. Against non-control deck, the usual steps then. Get an attacker out, clone when striding to Kagamijishi, beat the shit out of your opponent, Homura Raider the next turn. Or, you can grab Onifundo early on for a safer ride; betting on top call from three for offensive means.
"Hmm…"
How about Magatsu Typhoon?
Magatsu Typhoon build… Its mate is Magatsu Storm, a grade 3 from of its chain ride. Magatsu Breath, Magatsu Gale, and the grade 3… That means he has to give up spaces that were used by other utility units for them.
No way I'm doing that.
Asato yawns as he closes the vanguard-related file, putting them back into the drawer included in his study desk. Then, he makes his way to the television inside his bedroom, which is placed on top of a six-drawer cabinet which contains cards that he grouped into each nation.
"Dragon Empire, bottom left…" Asato mumbles as he pulls the drawer on the bottom left, which contains Dragon Empire cards. From the farthest side of it, you got Kagero, Narukami, Tachikaze, Murakumo, and finally, Nubatama. For your information, the other nations are also carefully placed like this as well. Simple, yet effective. By the way, that bed really looks tempting to be jumped on.
His paperwork is not only related to regional, though.
First, he has to make sure the schedule for today. For starter, he and Riku would undergo a medical check-up, before going off to check this Indian restaurant that caught his eyes. Then, they would go to the port to check the shipment of his purchase earlier in this week.
"The shipment will be placed in warehouse number three…" Asato mumbles while flipping the page of clause of contract for his purchase, which states the detail of the shipping procedure. This latest purchase of him actually costs a lot, so, using his father's company for the shipping and to seal a spot in the warehouse is totally worth it.
"Tax per item, checked… Shipping tax, checked… Storage, checked… Guess that's everything, huh…"
Asato yawns as he closes the page and put back the bundle of papers into his drawer. Usually, he will make a cup of coffee at a times like this, but since he will undergo medical check-up later in the morning, and getting out all those caffeine out from his system is a pain, and rescheduling is even more of a pain, he would not risk it. Sighing, he takes another sip from his mug.
So, why can he stay awake now without any help from coffee?
Simple.
Sleep early, wake up as early as possible.
When he was alarmed by Riku, indicating that his childhood friend had found something interesting, he quickly got to work, setting up his surveillance camera on the robot beetle and sending it to the mall where Riku and Mizuki was. Of course, he assumed full control of its movements.
Boy, what a surprise it was.
Stood beside Fujimiya Yuri was Sakaki Yuuma, our newly-crowned champion, in a plushie giveaway event of all places? On a date, it seems.
So, when everyone was busy watching the fight between Mizuki and a certain asshole and a half, he directed his beetle to where Yuuma was instead.
After all, Mizuki's ability in using the deck is guaranteed by himself. Why should he be worried about that?
Then, he found him playing against a couple of kids, using his Thing Saver - Jewel Knight deck. So, Asato watched carefully in hope of finding something interesting.
Ten minutes passed, and he slowly realized that this was a pointless endeavour.
There is nothing new in Yuuma's deck. Basically, what he saw only confirmed his theories on Yuuma's possible deck list. Such as dominating early game with Blaster Blade Seeker and Swordmy, and then followed up by consistent plays throughout the game courtesy of Royal Paladins being who they are. No wonder that he got smacked by Brawlers twice, Asato thought. If one uses a deck that has a faster killing rate than the deck's spawning rate, the opposing player can assume control from there with either Turbo or Conquest play.
"At this rate, I won't even have enough material to mess on…" Asato ruffles his head in frustration. Then, he suddenly hears his stomach growls loudly. Damn it all, I need something to eat… he curses in his mind, only to slap both sides of his cheeks with his hands. Because there will be glucose and lipid tests, the last time he had something to eat was for dinner. So sleepy. Slowly, he trudges to the mini fridge in his room before opening it. "MAX Coff**, Nesc***, Red ****…" he absentmindedly lists what he is currently got in his fridge. "Akita Ho****? Seriously, who the fuck put this in here…" he curses while face palming with his right hand. "Anyway, I can't drink these now. Let's see…" he then looks at the corner of the fridge before narrowing his eyes, only to be disappointed later because he is not allowed to consume any of them.
A moment later, Asato can be seen serving himself a mug of cold water, using the same mug he used for it earlier. 4:20… Asato thought as he puts back the bottle into the fridge. He then makes his way to his bed, before returning to his study desk with his notebook, settling himself comfortably on the chair, and turns the notebook on.
He should have done this long before he went to sleep, but (un)fortunately his body's need got the better of him. Scowling, Asato opens the executable file for his robot's command system, before making it to upload the recording of its "misadventures" last night via torrent for his notebook to download. A moment later, the download is complete, and Asato can be seen watching the same recording he watched from his phone last night before he went to sleep. He continues from where he left off, where Riku and Mizuki parted ways from Yuuma and Yuri.
.
.
.
"Phantom Blaster 'Diablo'… attacks your vanguard," Asato can hear Yuri's voice clearly in the video. "With its skill, I retire Charon and Darkheart Trumpeter," Yuri says in the video as Asato can see her putting the said units into her drop zone. "Now you're forced to retire two of your rear-guards, otherwise you can't block this attack."
Yuuma seems to be contemplating which units he should retire, before making a decision. "I retire Swordmy and Millius… And then Holy Knight Guardian will block that," he counters calmly while placing his Sentinel onto the guardian circle.
"Triple drive… Critical trigger, all effect to Macha. Now she attacks."
"Guard."
"I end my turn."
Asato stretches his arms tiredly as he tries to shake of the sleepiness by blinking his eyes. There's nothing here, he thought while chugging his mug, full of apple juice in one gulp. Even though he appreciates the chance to have another look at those two's decks, unfortunately this is not the kind of information he is in the mood digging into. Silently, while supporting his head with his right arm, Asato closes the video, now opening another file, containing a student profile of Fujimiya Yuri. With the help of his personal SPs, last night, before he went to sleep, he ordered some of them, along with a professional hacker he hired (Just in case of something went wrong. Also, he can be useful to shut down something like surveillance cameras) to infiltrate the school grounds where Yuri goes to. They managed to obtain both Sakaki Yuuma and Fujimiya Yuri student profile documents. Well, not stole it per se, but they just took the picture of those documents, before getting the hell out there before anyone else noticed.
Asato has planned that he would examine Yuri's files first if the SPs he sent managed to do their task properly. So, while listening to ChouCho - Authentic Symphony, he begins to look into Yuri's profile, hoping to obtain something worth digging.
.
.
.
Damn, he cannot concentrate at all!
Goddamn Sanaaa, Asato thought as he closes his eyes while clenching both of his fists, now holding them close to his chest as he drowns himself in the sea of feels while reminiscing from playing and then watching Mashiroiro Symphony, tears can be seen flowing from both sides of his eyes. As expected, she is still the best grill among the casts after all this year. You just have to sympathize with her, especially when she got the shorter end of the stick after that Miu curveball. Silently, while biting his lip, Asato closes the music file. I'm going to regret this, he thought while wiping the leftover tears at the corner of his left eye. Back to work.
"Let's see…" Asato mumbles as he scrolls through the page that contains Yuri's profile. "The only daughter from Fujimiya Taki and Nakamura Mitsuko, she moved to Shinjuku Private Academy after she is rewarded with a tuition-free scholarship for three years, being the only one who scored a perfect score in all subjects tested during the entrance exam. She came from Noir Academy in Saint-Etienne, where her family used to live, before in her third year transferred to a public school in Shizuoka, where her grandmother lives."
Asato continues to scroll through the page absentmindedly as he ponders about the information he just got. "Noir Academy, huh…" he mutters in silence as he leans forward, his chin is rested on his hands. He never heard about that school before, but just going by its name, it must be quite famous, quite akin to those elite boarding schools. Also, if you take account Yuri's impossibly high score during entrance exam, despite having a very different curriculum for at least three years, either that she is one of those geniuses, or that the school where she came from contributed to that. Having his curiosity piqued, Asato lazily types on the keyboard "Noir Academy + Saint-Etienne + France" and press "Enter".
.
.
.
Wait.
Wait.
Something is wrong.
Asato quickly types again, this time searching for the list of every educational institution in France. Found it, Asato thought, his breath is laboured, and he can feel that his heartbeat rate increases for a bit. Quickly scanning the list, he makes sure that he double-checked everything. Nothing, nothing can slip from him when he is like this. After five minutes that seem like eternity, Asato narrows his eyes, then gasps at the realization, then slumps himself onto the chair.
"It doesn't exist…" Asato mutters tiredly, still trying to compose himself.
"What the hell…"
-ANG-
Chapter 11: Tracking the Shadow
"So, Riku and Naomi-kun won't come to school today?" Shinku asks.
Mizuki nods. "Mm, Rii-kun said that he and Asato will go to the hospital this morning."
Shinku and Mizuki are currently walking side-by-side to school. Earlier in the morning, Mizuki had called her to meet up at the crossroads, and from there they would walk together. Normally, they will not do such thing, since Mizuki usually is "escorted" by Riku and Asato, and making the four of them to be in the close proximity for prolonged duration is just asking for trouble. However, when Mizuki and Riku walked back home together from their date last night, he told her that they would undergo a medical check-up today, and thus would not be able to make it to school. As such, in this rare instances, the two girls walking side-by-side, trying to savour every moment.
Shinku was surprised actually, when Mizuki called her. She was just getting up from her bed when her phone rang, and it was like six in the morning. Yet, Mizuki's clear, crisp, and cheerful tone indicating that she was already up and about for at least half an hour ago, proved again with a sizzling pan's voice over the phone. She was even more surprised when Mizuki asked to walk together to school. Today's a good day for her or what? Whatever, Mizuki called, and it is more than enough reason for her to haul ass over there.
Shinku frowns at Mizuki's reply. "But, they could still come by the start of the third period… Right."
"Weell," Mizuki lightly chuckles. "Rii-kun did tell me that they are going to do some sightseeing after that," she replies to Shinku, who could only sigh in response. "Asato told him that 'While we have a reason not to go to school, we're going to eat at many places!' Or, something like that."
"Boys…"
"By the way, Shinku-chan…" Mizuki wonders aloud, before turning to face Shinku with this wide grin on her face. "I see that you've been addressing Rii-kun with 'Riku' lately, thank goodness."
Shinku's reaction is hilarious, to say the least.
The first reaction Shinku makes is to flinch backwards, as if she has seen a ghost. Then, after she takes a moment to absorb Mizuki's words, her face is slowly turning red, before turning green and coughs, hard.
"Wha…" Shinku seems to be still overwhelmed by Mizuki's unexpected question as she again loses her footing. Fortunately, her light stature manages to keep her in balance as she stands back up, her face still red. "Whe-whe-where did that come from!?" she yells at Mizuki, startling other students who walk in the same direction as her.
"Ara?" Mizuki tilts her head to the side; her index finger is placed near her cheek. "Weren't you addressed him that just now?" she then asks, which causes Shinku's face to go even redder, if that is even possible.
"N-NO!" Shinku yells in frantic attempt to defuse the situation between them, her arms waving wildly as if trying to make a point. "There's no way I'd talk to that idiot like that! It was just a slip of tongue, okay!?"
"Hee…" Mizuki wonders aloud in response, before her face returns to that same wide grin she was making before, causing Shinku to flinch at this. "Weren't Rii-kun trying to invite you for a sleepover just a few days ago, if not for Asato-kun interruption?"
"T-That was just on a whim, and he invited me to discuss team-related matters! Also, he did later realize that such thing isn't possible, as it would spark unnecessary rumours around the school!"
"I see…" Mizuki giggles as they walk again in silence; the school gate is within their sight. "By the way, Shinku-chan," she asks. "What do you think of him?"
"About Riku? Let's see…" Shinku trails off as she tries to think what her impression on him is. "Well, I haven't been hanging out with him for long," she begins, after taking a deep breath. "At first, I thought that he's a two-faced jerk, pretending to be all cool and moody at times even though he also sometimes teases people for no reason. Also, the fact that he always hangs out with Naomi-kun, which is at least ten times worse doesn't help," Shinku winces as she recalls the first time she crossed path with Asato, the moment when she realized that she too become one of those who harboured some fear of him.
"Hmm," Mizuki smiles knowingly. "I see, I see, then?"
"When I first crossed path with him, he just teased the hell out of me. He was really annoying, you know?" Shinku pouts before her face returns to her serious one. She makes a serene expression as she thinks about what she should say next. "Then, I saw how he always thinks about you, always prioritize your well-being, and became like 'Oh, this person can't be all bad'. So, when you asked me to join his team, I accepted."
The two continue to walk. As they do so, they can see other students are beginning to show up, with most of them walking as they do, while some others prefer to use bicycle instead.
"Even now, I still think of him as a jerk, Naomi-kun is even more so," Shinku continues before a small smile forms on her face. "But, I can't help but think that whenever they, no, whenever Riku show that side of him, it is more of an attempt to get a reaction out from you rather than just for the sake of it. Then, one of the reasons why your friendship with them still lasts even now is because they'll do everything necessary in order to preserve it, which deserves my respect, at least."
Mizuki, who all this time listened to Shinku, seems a bit stunned as she finishes her sentence. Then, after a moment of silence, Mizuki lets out a huge sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness," Mizuki says under her breath, loud enough for Shinku to notice that she is saying something.
"Mm, what is it?"
"Nothing, ehehe," Mizuki giggles, while making several steps ahead of Shinku before turning back to face her. "But, you really think highly of him, huh," she then wonders aloud. "Could it be, Shinku-chan likes Rii-kun?"
Time seems to be stopped when Mizuki says that, as other students, who are supposed to be passing through the gate one by one, while some others are about to park their bike, are frozen in spot. Shinku herself did not register what Mizuki said at first, but, that particular sentence seems to be repeating itself in her mind, causing her to slowly register, which in order causes her face to goes scarlet, starting from the bottom of her chin. The moment she finally understands, it is too late, as the steam already reached her head and is now coming out from her ears.
"W-Wha…"
This time, Shinku is completely overwhelmed by Mizuki's question. She tries to make a proper reply, but what comes out instead is an incoherent voice of what supposed to be a full sentence. As if taking a huge point of damage, she falls to her knees, only for Mizuki to grabs her right arm, pulling her back up. With her eyes still reflecting some kind of a weird, swirling line, she finally able to forms a reply, but not too calm:
"W-WHERE DID THAT COME FROM!?"
"I don't know," Mizuki replies innocently, the smile on her face earlier changes back into a huge, wide grin. "You two seem to be close enough to call each other by first names," this causes Shinku to staggers, as if a huge weight has been placed on her shoulders. "And it's clear that even though you he still annoys you, your opinion of him has changed greatly since the first time you met," again, another weight seems to be placed on Shinku's shoulder as she seems to be buckling under the weight. "Waait," Mizuki wonders aloud with a purposefully drawled tone. "Doesn't that mean that I have a competition?" she wonders while placing her index finger near her chin, before makes her way to Shinku's side once again. She forms a huge smile while tapping the back of Shinku's left shoulder with her left arm. "May the best girl win, Shinku-chan!"
It seems that Mizuki's "declaration of war" is the final straw for her, as Shinku, face red already, and steam already come out from her ears for god knows how long, seems to be multiplied ten folds as her eyes seems to be watering. She then does the unexpected, though.
"Eh, Shinku-chan?"
She jumps right onto Mizuki's arms.
"Uwaaa, Mizukiii…" Shinku whines while snuggling onto Mizuki's chest, the trace of her tears can be seen clearly on Mizuki's uniform as Shinku stained it due to her crying.
"There, there," Mizuki smiles as she puts her hand over Shinku's head, rubbing it softly as Shinku snuggles against her chest. "I was just kidding, Shinku-chan."
"Oooi, good morning!"
Mizuki turns to the side to see who is calling her, and sure enough, a certain ash black haired class president is waving to her as she waits for the traffic light at the crosswalk for pedestrians to turn to green. When it does, Fukushima Kurumi is literally running as she finally manages to catch up with Mizuki.
Kurumi runs past Mizuki and Shinku, but not before tapping her back. "Good morning, Mizuki-chan," she says while wearing the widest grin possible in the morning. However, her face quickly turns to confusion. "Kanata-kun and Naomi-san aren't with you?"
"They both have to undergo medical check-up today, so they won't be available for a whole day," Mizuki smiles back in response while still patting Shinku's head, whose face is still planted on her chest. "There, there."
"That hair… Could it be, Ayasaki-san?" Kurumi asks, only to be replied with a loud sniffing instead.
"Well," Mizuki nervously laughs. "A lot happened."
A sweat drop forms on Kurumi's temple. "Well, at least make sure that we don't come late, okay?" she says while checking her wristwatch. "We have, let's see… Ten minutes before the gate's closed. Well, there's no way we could get late, since we're this close to the gate, though."
"Shinku-chan," Mizuki whispers softly while still patting her head. "Let's go, Shinku-chan. You don't want us to be late, right?"
Shinku lifts herself from Mizuki's chest. However, there is still trail of tears on both side of her cheek. "You were *sniff* just *sniff* kidding *sniff*, right *sniff*?" she says between her cries.
Mizuki does not say anything at first, but instead pulling a handkerchief from her bag before wiping it gently against Shinku's face. "There, there," she says softly while wiping the trail of tears on Shinku's face. "I was just messing with you. I'm sorry, Shinku-chan," Mizuki apologizes; still smiling as she finally finishes with wiping her face. "There, all clean."
Shinku, who jumped Mizuki earlier and now literally latching onto her, hops herself off from her. Then, after fixing her skirt and hair, she makes several steps ahead of Mizuki and Kurumi. She does, though, turn her back for the last time before running off towards the half-closed front gate.
"Then, I'll be going."
"Mm, have a nice day, Shinku-chan."
Shinku nods.
That is the last reaction Shinku makes as she runs towards the gate, which some students can be seen getting past it in hurry or while chatting with each other.
"Then, shall we go as well?" Kurumi grins.
Mizuki smiles in response. "Mm, let's go."
Her day might has lost a lot of its colours because Riku is not here, but Mizuki can assure herself that she still left with a lot of them, since her friends are here with her.
-ANG-
There is not any school named "Noir Academy" in France… Then is that mean that her profile is faked? If that's the case, why?
"Naomi-san, are you with me?"
"I'm sorry doc. What should I do?"
"Take a deep breath, Naomi-san. That's right, one, two…"
"If I may ask, which test will be the next one?"
"After we're done with sampling your blood, we are going to examine your urine, so that we can examine whether there is something wrong with your kidney or not."
"By drawing just a little of blood, so many things can be examined, huh…"
"Do you have any more questions? If not, then let's do this again. One, two…"
Asato winces as he can feel that the sharp needle pierces his skin, as it is supposed to draw his blood from the vein that lies between the upper and the lower part of his arm. As he takes a deep breath, he can see that the blood from the vein being slowly drawn out to inside the syringe. After the doctor deems that he has drawn enough blood, the doctor pulls the needle from Asato's arm in one fluid motion, then, quickly closes the wound with cotton and bandage that he has prepared before.
Having endured a gruelling 8-hour fasting, starting from last night, Asato quickly called Riku to prepare himself, because the medical examination will be held at 8 in the morning. After Asato got the confirmation from Riku (with Mizuki's sleepy voice in the background, of fucking course), he began preparing himself, starting with making a list of what-to-do today, calling his drivers and some of the SPs to get ready, and took a bath and readying himself, all in span fifteen minutes.
When he got to Riku's house, Riku too has already waited for him in front of his house together with Mizuki, as it would be the most logical thing to do to see her off first before going to the hospital. They managed to reach it in time, with five minutes to spare.
"There you go, Naomi-san," the doctor smiles as he stores the blood inside one of the vials available after writing Asato's patient number on it. Asato, meanwhile, takes a glance at where the vials are stored. He can see that there are some other vials that have been filled being stored there. "You will be able to see the result by tomorrow in your report. Please notify the front office about your appointment with the assigned consultant. Also, for the urine test, please have your urine stored in here while you are in the restroom," the doctor explains while handing Asato the container to store it.
Asato nods as he gets up from the sofa where he has his blood taken a while ago. "Then doc, I'll be going."
When Asato gets out from the lab, across from the room where he has his blood taken earlier, he can see that Riku is getting ready for the X-Ray scan. That means he will be the first to finish the whole examination. When they were deciding on the order of the test, he did tell him to begin first, as he still needed to finish some administrative matters. So, when he got to the second floor, where he will be questioned for medical purposes, Riku had finished his and was getting ready to go to the lab, where he will have his blood taken.
Asato strolls over the corridor of the fourth floor as he makes his way to the restroom. Along the way, he ponders over the information he just got his hands on earlier this morning. If her school entrance profile is faked down to the most basic information such as the identity of her parents, then that means there's something big is going on, he thought as the Yuri's school profile continues to be replayed inside his head. After he identified that the school where Yuri went to is nothing but a fake, he quickly identified the rest of her profile, such as confirming the name of her parents to the National Birth Registry. "There's so many question yet hardly any lead…" Asato mutters absentmindedly, the restroom is in sight. Then, there's only one thing to do, he thought as he determines his next move. Quickly reaching his phone, he quickly browses through his contacts before finally stopped at the name of his trustworthy butler.
"This is Iwami speaking," the voice of his butler can be clearly heard from over the phone. "Is there anything I can help, Asato-sama?"
"Iwami," Asato replies. "How many of our SPs that would be available for me today? I have some plans to do that will be involving them."
"SPs? Let's see…" Iwami trails off as the sound of paper being flipped can be heard. "Five of our SPs are on the usual escort duty for your father, currently at Dubai as we speak, eight others are tasked with protecting the mansion, and are engaging in the usual morning exercise, two others left notice of absence to meet with their family and would not be available for at least five more days, and two others are currently with you. So we currently have three more SPs available that are currently helping the maids, servants, and chefs with menial tasks."
"I see…" Asato trails off as he digests the information. "Then I would like the three of them to be assigned to meet with me at the port. After that, have the two who are currently escorting me split the tasks: one to drive Riku safely back home, while the other one is to secure my cargo back home. Meanwhile, I will be going somewhere with the other three. Ah, also, have them armed with stun guns, chloroform, and smoke grenades, just in case. Don't forget to pack my BB sniper, glass cutting tool, a duct tape, a scissors, and some latex gloves for us, also my beetle."
"To where, if I may inquire, Asato-sama?"
A smirk forms on Asato's face. "I'm going to break into someone's home."
-ANG-
"Fwaaah," Asato lets out a purring tone as he comfortably settles on the seat. "I'm so full. That Indian restaurant is really as good as those reviews say. Isn't that right, Riku?"
"…"
"Oii, Riku?"
"I can't eat anymore…" Riku curls in pain while holding his stomach. It is clearly shown on his face that he is trying his best to ease the pain, to no avail, of course.
After they had finished with their medical check up, Asato stressed that he needed to eat something, mostly due to him stayed up last night with no snack to accompany him.
Well, it was not like that Riku did not hungry either, though.
The problem is, Asato ordered so many items, while he had to keep up with him during their supposed late breakfast.
Let's just say that too much spice first thing in the morning is not his thing.
Riku's wristwatch now points at 1 p.m. Noon. They are currently inside Asato's car, now being driven by one of his SPs, while the other one also sits at the front, giving instructions to the driver. Asato and Riku sit in the middle, with Riku sits across of him. He is currently reading information from his PDA, trying to get updates on yesterday's fixtures across Kanto. Meanwhile, Riku is curling on the seat, trying to ease the pain of his grumbling stomach due to not used to too much spice in the morning.
"Aw, c'mon," Asato grins while lightly tapping Riku's head. "That's the normal amount of spices for Indian cuisine. The three of us should go to India some time. Let me show you the beauty of a true Indian curry, right in its home land."
"Normal my ass…" Riku grumbles in pain. "Also, I'll pass from that one."
"You can handle French just fine, though?"
"That's because you always ask me and Mizuki to eat out for dinner, not breakfast! Also, the smell is just too different!"
"Right, right…" Asato chuckles as he returns to his PDA, now showing the results from assigned shops in Shizuoka. Ah, a Musketeer deck topped? Asato raises his eyebrow at the results that comes from one of the shops. Now this is a surprise. While they do not hit really hard, Musketeers have this unique trait of being able to swarm their field at a little cost. Now while the currently popular Brawlers have the ability to wipe the field each turn, as a deck, in the end they are still a control deck, one that controls opponent's tempo to their liking to manipulate the direction of the match, particularly the number of attacks they have to face each turn. However, Musketeers easy swarming proves vital, as it serves as leverage to match Brawlers: no matter how hard they hit, they will still face at least three attacks the next turn, two if Big Bang Knuckle Buster is being cross ridden on top of Dragon.
Asato slumps his body on the seat as he looks over the window. "We're almost there…" he muses, his hand supporting his chin while he rests his arm near the window. Ever since this project of his started last year, a lot of things have happened, but so far, he can be sure that the plan is moving slowly but surely. The team's individual positions are not bad at all, with Shinku is all but sure to secure at least the top two position, should the worst happened and she got overtaken by Yuri in their last three games. Riku is currently in 4th, however, with a game in hand over VG-016 whom currently sits in 3rd with two more games to play, and only five points to separate them. Asato himself, well… He is about six points behind Riku with the same number of games left to play, not a problem.
Asato ponders on what he should do after he fulfilled today's schedule; however, his thought is interrupted by loud noises that comes from the ships that are finally in sight.
"Asato-sama," the SP that acts as the driver speaks up. "We're about to reach warehouse three in two minutes. Please wake Kanata-sama up and prepare your belongings if you wish to bring them along."
Asato nods as he puts his PDA, transaction file, and his deck all into the bag he has prepared. Then, he proceeds to wake Riku up. "Oi, Riku," he nudges Riku's side. "We're here."
At first, Riku seems to heed Asato's words as he has his eyes half-opened. Then, he tries to fix his position as he is now supporting his body with his arms. However, sleepiness seems to be the one in control here as with a soft grunt, Riku curls his body into a foetal position while turning away from Asato, facing the opposite side.
"Mmm…" Riku mumbles in sleep. "It's still dark, Mizuki… 30 minutes."
Asato closes his eyes as a small smile forms on his face. However, not without a vein that pops on his temple as a moment later, Riku can be seen on the car's floor, having fallen face first as his body got rolled to the opposite side he was facing.
"Oww…" Riku groans in pain as he rubs his sore forehead. He can feel that the car has already stopped, and he can hear that the door on his right is being opened. He then fixes his position, however, only to catches the sight of Asato's leaning on the doorframe, eyes closed, and his sling bag is safely hanged onto his right shoulder.
.
.
.
"Did I say anything stupid, by any chance?"
Asato shrugs in response. "I wonder."
Riku sighs as he gets out from the car, before Asato shuts the door. Judging from his reaction, I guess I did say something stupid in my sleep. "So, what are we going to do here?" he then asks to Asato, who is currently taking out a stack of papers clipped with paperclip from his bag, before handing his bag to one of the SPs who are walking beside him.
"I'm going to meet the dealer I've hired to order my purchases to deliver his payment, before getting them loaded into that pickup," Asato replies quickly while pointing towards the standing-by pickup, which is painted with huge logo of Naomi Corp., which resembles a falling comet with a crescent arc encircling it on both of its sides.
"What did you buy?" Riku asks.
"Firearms."
A full ten seconds have passed as Riku tries to digest Asato's reply.
"By firearms, did you mean real guns?"
Asato tilts his head. "Of course?"
"You do realize that we're not old enough to have a license for legal usage of live weapons, right? Or are they from… You know?"
Asato laughs at Riku's reply. "That's why I'm using my old man's license for the purchase. Also, if you think that I got them from that kind of place, don't worry; all of them are legal purchases that have been registered. Can't have old man's name tarnished, you see," he explains. "Ah, he's here."
With clipboard in his left hand, the one who is currently checking Asato's cargo in warehouse No. 3 is supposed to be Asato's hired dealer. A man seems to be in his fifties, he does not let age hinder his work as he can be seen carefully checking each of the crates.
The man called turns to face them. "Asato-sama," he bows slightly at Asato, which he nods back in response, before turning to face Riku. "This is Suzuki Koutarou," Asato points towards the said person as Riku too bows slightly to greet the man, which the dealer nods in response. "He's been doing business with our family for a long time. Let's see…" he trails off. "I believe since my old man's still in college. He mainly does what he excels at, negotiation and stuff, but sometimes he also helps supervising the stock market," he explains as he flips through the page of the papers he is holding. "Suzuki-san, I believe that all matters regarding the firearms registration have been handled?"
The dealer smiles in response as he waves his right hand. At that gesture, one person who seems to be his employee comes out while holding onto two ecobags. "The only thing left is to acquire Shinomiya-sama's signature, something that I believe will be done when he is back home."
Asato nods slightly, then points toward the crates behind them. "Then, I believe those small crates contain all the stuff I've ordered?"
"If what you mean are assault rifles, pistols, and mags, I believe so."
Asato nods again as he makes his way towards the crates. "Riku," he looks at Riku. "You should come as well. I've also picked some for you."
"Aa."
The two, followed by Asato's SPs, make their way towards the open-styled, wooden crates. With the help from Suzuki Koutarou's employees, Asato opens the plywood that covers the top. He then checks inside, only to let out a small smile afterwards. Two M16s, complete with 5.56 x 45 mm NATO mags are looking even better than what he saw on the website. He proceeds to check the next crates, with the following items are: two FN SCARs, five pieces of Nighthawk Talon II, and finally his all-time favourite, the old AK-47. Asato then hands one of the M16s toward Riku, who catches it safely with two hands.
"Oops," Riku mouths in surprise at the rifle's weight. "Heavy," he murmurs as he points it straight.
Asato twirls one of the pistols he ordered, before grasping it firmly on his left hand, testing its grip. "We're used with air soft guns, which make use of BBs instead of the real ones. Of course these would be heavier," he explains as he puts the Nighthawk he is holding, along with the M16 Riku is holding back into their respective crates, before gesturing to the SPs to pack the crates up.
Asato then turns to the dealer, before taking out a wad of 10 thousand bills. "Suzuki-san, your payment," he smiles as he hands the payment, which the old man accepts gratefully, before counting it. "I'd like you to supervise the transfer as well," Asato says as he makes a gesture at the waiting pickup. "Just to make sure that there'll be nothing wrong."
"You won't be watching the transfer by yourself?"
"Something just came up, and I need to be there as soon as possible. Is that okay?"
The dealer smiles in response while bowing slightly. "I understand. I'll inform you once the transfer is done."
Asato nods as he now turns to Riku. "Riku?"
"Mm, what is it?"
"I'm sorry, but, is it okay for you to go home by yourself? There's something I need to do before going home."
Riku nods. "You'll be in time for dinner right?"
"Yeah, I won't be long. The SPs should be ready to drive you home soon," Asato replies as he makes his way outside of the warehouse, where another car is waiting for him. "Then, I'll be going."
"Mm, take care."
Asato chuckles as he enters the car. Don't worry, I will.
-ANG-
"Mizuki-chan, you made this all by yourself?!" Kurumi exclaims in surprise, while the other girls gasp in awe.
"Ehehe…"
Class 1-B, well the girls, are currently sitting under one of the few trees planted at the school's garden. Having bought their meal earlier in the cafeteria, with some of them prefer onigiri from convenience store, while some others, like Mizuki, made their own lunch, they are sitting in circle, and mind you, a big circle, since this is like the whole female population in a class we are talking about.
Letting out a nervous laugh, Mizuki replies, "I figured that it'd be a waste if I didn't make one today, since Asato-kun said that he would need to clear some spaces in the fridge at Rii-kun's house to replace the stuff he ordered with the new ones."
What Mizuki brings for lunch is a bento box, filled with assortments of temari sushi. There are sixteen pieces of them, each wrapped in a single piece of nori, and each with different filling. Starting from top left corner is raw tuna, raw salmon, scallop, smoked salmon, sea urchin, prawn, crab, lightly steamed asparagus, egg, smoked beef, carrot, cucumber, avocado, and finally shiitake and matsutake mushrooms. Placed neatly beside all those sushi are three pieces of fried shrimp tempura, also with some spaces for shoyu sauce and wasabi paste.
Izumi lets out a whistle as she looks carefully at Mizuki's bento. "But really, you've overdone yourself y'know, Mizuki-chan," she comments while taking a piece of sushi from Mizuki's bento box, before her face breaks into a wide grin in realization. "I knooow, this was for 'za-best-husbando-in-za-warudo', one of the rare, male Tsundere, Kanata Rii-kun, riiight?" At this, the others break into cute squeals with some of them let out this cute "kyaaa", while Kurumi lets out a laugh at what Izumi just said, and the class' Ayanami Rei, Nanahoshi Mifuyu watches intently at how the conversation is going with sparkling eyes and a small notebook on her left hand.
"Well," Mizuki nervously laughs. "Rii-kun said last night that he'd have a medical check up today, so yeah, I guess I can't give this to him then," she explains while taking a piece too for herself, but somehow the "kyaaa" reaction she gets in response becomes louder.
"You were totally sleeping with him last night, weren't you?" one of the girls says excitedly.
Mizuki's face turns a tinge of red as she puts one of her hands at the back of her head while laughing nervously at that very close to home statement. "Ehehe…"
However, Kurumi, who cannot hold her laugh any longer, suddenly cuts into the conversation. "By the way, had others heard that, they're going to take that waaay out of context."
The whole class goes red as they know exactly what Kurumi are implying. Mizuki puts her hand over Kurumi's mouth to silence her, but alas, the bomb has been dropped.
"Waaah…"
"Mizuki-chan with Kanata-kun…."
"Mizuki-chan! You can't go down that route just yet!"
"But, they're just so cute together…"
"Kurumi-chan!" Mizuki chastises, still putting her hand over the said girl's mouth. Her face is completely red due to embarrassment.
"Eeeh?" Kurumi winks while snuggling Mizuki in response, and as a result the two tumble on top of the grass, with Kurumi on top. "I bet that you're thinking about that too, right?"
"But saying it out loud is completely different!" Mizuki complains as she pounds Kurumi's shoulders with her hands. "Muuu!"
Kurumi laughs in response, followed by giggles from other girls as well. As Mizuki gets up to continue with her meal, Kurumi quickly gets behind her. She proceeds to untie the black bow that Mizuki wears, letting her hair loose, before starting to play with them, splitting her waist-length, chestnut brown hair into two as she begins to form a braid. Meanwhile, Mizuki continues with her bento, picking the sushi with shiitake mushroom filling from the box.
Kurumi, still playing with Mizuki's hair, finally breaks the silence between her and Mizuki. "By the way, how's the team going?"
"Rii-kun's team?" Mizuki says as Kurumi nods in confirmation. "Let's see… Well, Rii-kun said that there haven't been anything interesting going on lately. You know, winning and stuff," she replies as tries to recall her conversation with Riku last night. Mizuki then watches as the sushi with salmon filling on Izumi's hand glomped by Mifuyu in one bite, which sparks some good laughs for the class, as she too lets out a giggle of her own. "But," Mizuki continues, still nibbling on the sushi she picked up. "Asato-kun said that these few weeks are very crucial to their team, because he and Riku haven't been able to shake the position of those above them, the only thing they can do is keep winning while relying on Shinku-chan to maintain her current position," she explains. "The only thing, though... Rii-kun and Shinku-chan haven't fought the 2nd place while Asato-kun still has the current 3rd place waiting for him," Mizuki sighes. "I wonder if they're going to be fine..."
"By the sound of it, you seem to know at least one of them."
"Mm," Mizuki nods. "I know one of them. That's why, I'm worried about Rii-kun's team. Because, I know that she's not the kind of person to hold back."
"Well," Kurumi chimes as she now latches on Mizuki's shoulders from behind. "Had she hold herself back, she's probably not going to be where she is now," she says as she also treats herself to Mizuki's sushi roll. "But, you know, Mizuki-chan? Holding back is considered as one of the worst offense in competition, because that means you don't respect your opponent, you don't respect those who are rooting for you, you don't respect the competition itself. But most importantly, you don't respect yourself. You're failed to recognize the strength that lies within you. You lack the confidence to grasp the possibility that you actually want, and settle for one that you actually don't want while using various excuses for your display. In short, a coward," Kurumi explains as a small smile now forms on her face. "I'm sure that your team would be disappointed if they know that their opponents are holding themselves back. So, just believe in them and don't worry, okay?"
"Kurumi-chan..." Mizuki trails off, letting out a bright, cheerful smile afterwards. "Mm!" she nods. "Thank you, Kurumi-chan!"
"Well then," Kurumi smiles in response before calling out to the whole class. "Everyone, how about we wrap this up? Lunch break is going to be over soon!"
-ANG-
No one complains as the girls continue their eventful lunch break.
"The street is clear. No one in sight."
"Building A, clear. No one seems to be home."
"Building B, clear. No one seems to be coming out anytime soon. Building C, clear. No one seems to be at home."
"Takashi-san, can you confirm that no one's home in Building B?"
"Will do, sir."
"Higuchi-san, how's the AO?"
"The AO looks safe to launch the operation. There are two motorcycles and a bicycle parked, possibly belonged to the tenants. But, they seem to be in their room and won't be coming out anytime soon."
"Thank you. Everyone, standby in your assigned positions. As we planned earlier, me and Higuchi-san will enter the AO. The rest, keep an eye for any civilians nearby, do not hesitate to inform me should any of you see anything wrong."
"Copy your last, sir."
With a tone that signals finality in his voice, Asato breaks off the comms. He is currently in the middle of getting himself prepared inside the car, while his SPs are on standby at their assigned position. Earlier, he had called for another car while the one that he used in the morning is ordered to drive Riku safely home. Well, this is all for one purpose:
Breaking into Yuri's apartment.
"In the end, I don't need to use the carbiner, huh..." Asato mumbles as he opts for a much simpler preparation, one that will allow him to escape as fast as possible. He had thought that he would need it, so he asked Iwami to bring it along with the stun guns. However, when he checked again the layout of the apartment roof, apparently it is just your normal kind of apartment instead one that makes use of its roof for drying clothes. So, yeah, he will not be needing the carbiner.
Asato straps his own stun gun on his waist as he finishes his preparation. He then takes a deep breath before slowly reaching for his transceiver. If one sees him and says that he is nervous, hell yeah, he is! Also, desperate. He (well, technically, it was not him, but still) had already broken into public facilities. Yeah, lots of data acquired, especially Yuri's profile, which is the one that started this all. However, not enough to connect the dots. Also, having less than normal sleep for two nights in a row apparently not good to your psyche, as the only thing that can save him from snapping left and right is, well, frankly, food. That was why he insisted earlier to have such a heavy meal for their breakfast.
Asato hears his transceiver buzzing right before he can utter any words. "This is Takashi," he can hear one of his SPs reporting in. "No one's home at B, sir."
Asato raises his eyebrow at this. "You've checked the inside?"
"I happen to have trained myself on how to open locks sir. I can guarantee that there's no one inside."
"Thank you, Takashi-san," Asato replies as he finally opens the door of the car. He then closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, before finally opening them back. "Commence operation!"
At Asato's command, two of his SPs make their way into the apartment area. Due to the shape of the apartment complex, which fo Asato decided that it would be best to do the sweeping from two sides.
Asato too gets out from the car, before the driver drives it safely into hiding at the crossroads.
"Left side, clear," Asato can hear his transceiver transmissing the information. "Proceeding to the second floor."
"Right side, clear. Proceeding to the second floor."
Asato puts back the transceiver on his waist. After a split-second decision, he opts to go upstairs from the right side, which makes he is directly below Yuri's room at the moment.
However, as he is about to reach the stairs, the door nearest to him suddenly opens.
"Who..." the girl mumbles as she groggily rubs her eyes, only to see nothing in front of her. As she turns her back however, her vision suddenly turns completely black.
"Mmmffph!" she struggles to break free, only to goes limp moments later as the last thing she can feel is a stinging sensation on her side.
Asato holds his transceiver closer as he brings the unconscious girl back inside of her room. "Assassin," he starts, breaking the radio silence. "I thought that the right side is clear? My situation's almost compromised here."
"I'm very sorry, Nekolord. I assure you that wouldn't happen again."
"I expect as much," Asato cuts off the transmission as he puts back the unconscious girl back to her bed. He then steps out of the apartment before carefully closes the door.
Man, Asato thought. I almost got caught over there. Thank my lucky stars. When he heard the sound of the handle clicking, the first thing that came to mind that he needed to hide behind the door. Simple, because there were not any place to hide back there, so the most logical thing to do was to hide behind the door. Thank god the girl was not paying enough attention to her surroundings, otherwise things could get really messy.
"Asato-sama, thank god you're alright."
That snaps Asato back into reality. "Thank you, Takashi-san. I believe this door has already been taken care of?"
"Yes, Asato-sama," the man called Takashi-san nods while bowing slightly.
Asato nods. "After you've locked the door back, please return to the car immediately. We will excuse ourselves from here as soon as possible in order to not cause any unnecessary ruckus," he orders while opening the door.
"Yes, Asato-sama."
Asato nods once more as he closes the door behind him. He can hear that Takashi-san has begun working to lock the door back as the sound of tiny pieces of metal hitting against the keyhole can be clearly heard. Now, for my part...
For a run-of-the-mill apartment that pales in comparison to his own room, Yuri clearly got herself a sweet deal. Although the building is quite old, 50k a month for a room that includes kitchen and dining room, in addition that monthly costs such as water and electricity have been taken care of is a nicely spent money.
"Now, let's see..." Asato mumbles as he trudges toward the main room. It is fairly spacious, with a bed situated at the corner of the room, and your normal stuff such as TV, study desk, a cupboard, and a multi-functioned table at the center of the room.
It is on top of the desk, a photo frame that is being put flat on the desk, with the front part being closed.
When Asato fixes its position, he cannot help but looking at the photo that is being put inside.
Suddenly, a piece of puzzle clicks in his head as a smirk forms on his face.
"Hehe..." Asato lets out a quiet laugh. "Hahaha..." Another piece clicks. Then, another one. Another one. Suddenly, it all makes sense. The way she acts. Why the need to do the qualification here. Why she lives there. They are still theories, though. He needs proof. An undeniable one. The rest, he can hear from the person in question herself.
Asato carefully opens a drawer that is located at the corner of the desk.
"A diary?" Asato mumbles as he carefully opens it.
Here, here it is. With the photo, together they make an undeniable proof! Resisting the urge to laugh gleefully, Asato takes out his phone before taking the picture of every page of the diary, and the photo as well.
"Now, how to show all these evidences..." Asato swipes his phone to look for tomorrow's schedule the old shopkeeper just announced yesterday.
"Perfect."
That is the last thing Asato says before he puts back his phone into his pocket.
Fixture 22: VG-005 vs VG-025
-ANG-
Preview
Mizuki: Tomorrow is a very important day, isn't that right, Asato-kun?
Asato: *nods* If Ayasaki-san managed to win this one, then the shop's campaign is as good as over.
Yuuma: I can't shake off this bad feeling I've had since morning. Be careful, Yuri-kun.
Yuri: *raises eyebrow* That's rare, for you to act like this. Don't worry, I'll win this like usual.
Riku: I know that you're trying to do something, but...
Asato: *frowns* Just believe in me, then. Isn't that what we always do?
Mizuki: Next up in A New Generation: "Chaos, and..."
Yuri: Naomi Asato, you...