Chapter 15 - Trouble Brewing

The early bright rays of the morning sun penetrated through the curtains of the dorms within the Academy grounds, allowing its young maiden residents to start awakening for their days and specific routines. In one such dorm room, the rays stirred a certain black-haired girl from her slumber, discontent moans escaping her lips as her consciousness slowly rose into the waking world, resulting in her drowsy eyes starting to open. Rubbing her eyes whilst sitting upwards, the young but still sleepy Miku Kohinata finally managed to get herself in a decently awakened form before looking towards where she would have seen her friend sleeping soundly whilst drooling like an adorable oaf… only, she wasn't there, and instead the covers looked like they had been removed in a hurry.

She didn't have to wonder where her friend Hibiki Tachibana had went though, for she had left a note behind saying that she would be 'training'. For what, she didn't know, but on the few times she watched her from behind a tree in the middle of the forest, Miku worried about what Hibiki might be doing in secret.

What she guessed was that it involved fighting, and that worried her all the more.

It wasn't like she could stop Hibiki either, since her friend usually vanished in the early mornings, and it had been like this for a while too. There were so few opportunities these days in which she would be able to spend time with her, and it really made the young girl feel… well, more than a little lonely. It reminded her a lot of what her life had been like back… back before she had met her future best friend forever.

Of course, it wasn't like Hibiki was trying to completely neglect her though, as she had made sure to make time to spend with Miku and the rest of their friends, though she had recently observed a radical change in her childhood friend. A change she did NOT expect at all, cause it came in the form of her being much more… focused, then usual. When she did even the simplest of things, she did so with this burning passion in her eyes, almost like she were trying to become a little inferno of energy or an edgy try hard, like whenever they went to Karaoke or did stuff together, she acted way more… hyper, than usual.

It wasn't something that Miku tried too hard to figure out, as it had become plainly obvious to her what had been happening despite her not knowing the full details: that something had begun to drive her friend forward, like a fiery hand pushing her towards some sort of goal that she wanted to reach as soon as possible and would work harder than she ever had before to get there, a goal which Miko had once tried asking about once but Hibiki had evaded the question, hurting her deeply inside. It all started from that talk she had with Hibiki back then when she had been depressed about something, and she had given those words of encouragement. Miku liked to think that had been the cause for Hibiki's behavioural shift, but something in her gut told her there was more to it than that, that something else had happened which only amplified her feelings further.

Furthermore, as she looked up from the note, Miku wondered about many things which had begun to change since their enrolment in Lydian Academy.

'Hibiki…'


POW!

POW!

POW!

POW!

POW!

POW!

POW!

POW!

POW!

"You're doing it wrong."

Meanwhile, outside Genjuro's house which looked like a Traditional Japanese style house, the man stood wearing a greyish white track suit under a white gym shirt with his arms crossed in front of his chest, his gaze stern and unrelenting but not malicious as he observed the young Hibiki Tachibana. Said girl stood in front of a punching bag which was hung in front of her by a tree branch that was connected to an overlooking tree, almost discomfortingly so, whilst she wore her School's Gym outfit, along with a headpiece and boxing glove set for practicing boxers, as she repeatedly punched away at the Punching Bag with gusto, yelling each time.

If one hadn't guessed it, the two of them were conducting their own set of training, something which Hibiki had made it a point to start the day after she had learned the truth about SHADOW's identity. His story, where he slowly came into his own as a Synchrogear Wielder (she still didn't quite grasp the physics behind it but from what she COULD it seemed like he had a monster partner who lent him power for fighting, she guessed, nothing like her Symphogear)

Of course, only she knew about it as before she could tell anyone he had texted her and asked her not to let Division 2 know about him just yet, something which she didn't like the thought of especially since they had helped her out with her goal of becoming someone similar to Kanade, but considering who it had been that had asked her, she had chosen to follow that request anyways. She knew for a FACT that Tai, SHADOW's human alter ego, held no love for adults in a general sense, she had known for a while just from seeing how he held himself in front of her and Miku when compared to older people, though she wasn't sure why. Nevertheless, she had followed his advice and found Genjuro to ask him to help her get stronger by teaching her martial arts, since in her mind the guy looked like he could be of help to her given how tough he looked.

Turned out that had been the best call she could have made, since the guy had almost immediately put her trough some intensive training, involving long runs, imitating the moves of heroes in action movies (no complaint from her there, she secretly liked them as Genjuro had found out to his delight) and all around immense improvement of her physical condition. It had been done without the help pf her Gungnir though, so that can help, but in the end Hibiki's ability to fight the Noise that kept on appearing had increased dramatically as a result, to the point where even though they now fought together as a pair against them, SHADOW didn't need to help her out as much so he could instead focus on obliterating each Noise he encountered with extreme prejudice.

Much to Division 2's delight…

Although, even Hibiki wasn't blind to the tension between her superiors and their 'ally', most of it coming from the fact that neither party seemed all too trusting of one another. Well, that wasn't necessarily true as Genjuro, whenever SHADOW hadn't been around, often looked a little sad and regretful about him although he never really said why when Hibiki had asked him at one point. He didn't show it in front of the black clad male, and for some reason Hibiki felt like that would be for the best, since according to her history with him, SHADOW along with his alternate ego Tai did NOT like to be pitied. Quite the opposite really, and on Tai's side… well, she didn't really need to say much on that since she'd pretty much said it all already with his distrust in adults in general, plus was it just her, or did Tai dislike Division 2 more than other adults?

Ugh, she couldn't be bothered to think about it anymore, and instead focused on trying to hone her punching technique. However, upon hearing Genjuro say those words, Hibiki paused her actions in order to look up at him, prompting the man to elaborate on his point. Although, to her, it felt like he were trying to make it sound cooler than it really was, and his love of action movies seeped into his training quite a bit, his explanations more than anything else. "Your fists should be like hammers, smashing the bolts in front of you to make them shatter in half." He declared simply, proving Hibiki's previous point.

"I didn't understand a word of that." Hibiki declared like there was nothing wrong with saying what she did with a straight face, let alone the high spirits her eyes burned with as she got into a boxing stance once again. Her eyes, tempered by those words as if they carried a specific type of magic to them, narrowed at their target: the Punching bag as she got into the traditional boxing stance, her gaze looking like it'd almost burst into two searing blazes at the same time. "But I'll give it a shot!" she declared before rearing her right fist backwards and throwing it forwards in a right hook. She intended to slam her fist into the centre of the punching bag's mass, something which her mentor had taught her to do since it's the easiest target to hit…

But what she DIDN'T expect was to punch it so hard that, combined with the force she had placed behind her punch, the training equipment would literally go FLYING away from her, snapping the poor twig off the Tree it sprouted from whilst the punching bag slammed into the nearly pond, creating a small wave. One which also succeeded in launching a fish out of it and into the air in a frightened, startled manner.

Seeing the absolutely stupefied look on his student's face morph into one of pure excitement and joy, a small smirk formed on Genjuro's features as he held out two gloves of his own, ready for the next part of the training that he would personally be taking a LARGE amount of enjoyment in. "Now then, lets get these broken in, shall we?" he mused, remembering how he had to get new ones several times in the last week, due to the effort Hibiki put into her training.

To him, seeing Hibiki acting as energetic at this brought a smile onto the middle aged man's face.

So far, if things were to progress like this the man could tell things were beginning to look up for them now.

Now, if only SHADOW were as co-operative as her, and their third member would wake up, THEN they'd have a trio of defenders against this threat to humanity's survival…


"It has been the previously agreed amount of days. HE wishes to know how the activation test of the Holy Relic we handed over to you proceeded."

"As reported, tests have shown that Completed Relics need to have a considerable level of Phonic Gain. An amount that, whilst exceedingly larger than the fragments that make up the Symphogears, is much less than those 'abnormal' ones. It won't be easy to harness such power, not even from that politician..."

"Black Art… We need to show the world the technology of a lost civilisation and make it our own by any means. Power is only worth anything at all if the one using it is blessed by god himself, for only he deserves such absolute authority."

"Even if that is true, it's still apparent that it's all give and take, even for those in power, for that is how society functions effectively. Regardless, I appreciate the aid your country has lent us. I leave today's duck hunt and later developments to you."

"Seems that you appreciate my services… good. I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain, then. You know as well as I do that HE doesn't want to be kept waiting. You know what he will do to those who prove themselves inept…"

"Of course, I would do nothing less. Obedience is the key to longevity."

Sitting on an ornamental looking chair with one leg crossed over the other within a large room fit for a mansion, one lone woman talked with some male person through an old western style phone. The woman, the one whom only answered to the name 'Fine' hummed as she finished up her talk with one of her 'many' associates throughout the years, placing the Phone back on its receiver after the call disconnected before putting it back onto the Table. The moment her lands left that Phone, she stood up from her seat and, whilst clad only in her gloves, stockings and heels, started walking around the side whilst smiling a smile that didn't reach her golden serpent eyes. "Such vulgarity… its starting to wear down on me how remarkably unremarkable he is, just like his country…" she muttered under her breath. "There's no way, not even under torture, that I'd tell him that the sacred Staff of Solomon has already been activated…"

This was the thing with most of the grubby old men in power, the woman mused as she dragged one of her hands along the table's edge, her eyes glinting with dark amusement. To Fine, Politicians always seemed to think that just because they held some measly level of authority in their country, that would mean that they deserved everything this world had to offer. That they could just trample over anyone and anything without getting any backlash from those whom they'd swore to serve. She'd seen it far too many times at this point, however there were still a select few people who could still drag those original emotions she'd felt so long ago out of her. Sometimes, Fine found herself surprised at how easily those people found ways to surpass her expectations in the worst ways possible. It repulsed her, sickened her even, however despite this it made manipulating them through their greed something to be quite easy to accomplish. All one needed to do with them, was to just simply dangle some 'bait' in front of them and, like frail little lambs, they would try to follow it no matter where it lead them… even into he jaws of the grim reaper itself. As foolish as it was amusing and pathetic at the same time…

However, genuine delight, with a slight tad of perverse sadism and an edge of motherly kindness, seeped into her gaze as she stepped towards something else inside the room. Feelings which washed away her previous ones as she approached a rather large, easily 8 feet tall, device modified after one known as the 'iron maiden' torture device from the European medieval period. Strapped to that device, wearing an outfit that wouldn't be too out of place in an SxM store for some domination play, was a familiar white-haired Chris, the girl being strapped there in a manner similar to a certain son of good in the bible. "Don't you agree, Chris?" Fine whispered in a soft, alluring voice as she stood before the young girl, reaching forth and cupping her chin in her hand which stirred her previously unconscious mind back into the waking world as her formerly closed eyes began to open. "Are you in pain? Poor Chris…"

This machine she had strapped Chris to not long after the failed retrieval mission, it had been designed with the Nehushtan Armour in mind since its purpose was to keep it from completely fusing with Chris's body. The Complete Relic did this every time it regenerated, hence why the girl would be in pain the more that it healed from the damage it received from outside aggression. Hence, when she had sent Chris on that mission to retrieve Hibiki and had her use it, Fine had speculated that ideally Chris would have had to make it a simple hit and run type of mission, but much to her disappointment not only did she hesitate in this but she returned empty handed after being 'helped' by that amusing 'friend' of hers.

Ah, that friend of hers, that boy…

Such an INTERESTING specimen, he was, what with that unusual Gear he possessed, the woman mused whilst lowering a lever and witnessing Chris scream and writhe within the contraption, due to the sparks of electricity jolting through her system whilst they did their work. She made it so that the 'session' they were going through lasted for a short moment as she cooed forth at the sight of the anguished expression Chris sported, until she stopped the machine afterwards. Upon the contraption ceasing, Chris's form hung limp, her head hanging low as she looked up towards her 'mother-figure' with eyes that made Fine want to swoon… in a sick, twisted pleasure kind of way.

"This is necessary… right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I have to obey you if I want to see my wish granted, don't I?"

Ah, THAT little matter. The subject which had served as the catalyst for this pet and master relationship they got going on here, Fine mused. This had been the way she had embedded herself into Chris's psyche, making her emotionally dependent on HER instead of that childhood friend of hers. He KNEW of this happening too, but it wasn't like he could do anything since it was already too late for him to do so, his friend had become completely loyal to her and her cause, making it so that if he did try something she would become his enemy for her in a heartbeat, just so that she could have Fine's own approval. Chris pretty much saw her as the Goddess in her life, something which the woman herself had a hand in 'painting' onto her over the course of their time together.

Still, back to the boy's weapon, the one thing which the boy had going for him the most if anyone were to ask her. To be frank: Fine hesitated to call it a Symphogear anymore, simply due to the origins behind its development. The Gear known as the Ruji Jingu Bang, the Staff of the Monkey King: Sun Wukong, and the Kinto-Un along with the Crimson Gourd. These three relics formed the 'Weapons of the Three Gods' in Chinese myth, though in reality these were some… unusual Relics. Whilst not necessarily complete Relics like the Nehushtan Armour, they still retained about 80% of their original power… at least, that had been her analysis when she had found them. Fine had gone to great lengths to keep those Relics a secret from her associates, as well as anyone who tried snooping around where they weren't wanted.

Though that had changed when she had found Sun not too long after finding Chris. It had been a simple whim, her taking him in after she had found the young hot-headed girl, as she didn't expect to get too much potential out of him at the time. She DID note however that he had seemed remarkably talented for someone of his age, for no matter what subject she had him study, he managed to soak the knowledge up like a Sponge, something which honestly unnerved her a little. Fine had to pat herself on the back that she didn't teach him much about the Secrets behind the Symphogears, aside from the stuff that was already discovered by those who hold them, as it would have proven quite troublesome for her plans if someone else became capable of creating Symphogears from these ancient Relics. As such, she had made to send him off somewhere then forget about him, especially since the reunion between him and his supposed 'friend' had become quite awkward, their relationship unstable which had been the key for her to 'wedge' herself into the young Chris's mind, to make her solely dependent on her (the whole thing about her being jealous and spiteful of him was only a bonus)…

But THEN, each of the three Relics belonging to the mentioned Monkey King reacted to him AT THE SAME TIME, quickly changing her mind about him and deciding to keep hm around as her personal 'apostle' one could say. This whole thing had given her an idea, too, one which Fine hadn't actually thought about until this development, and it IMMEDIATELY tickled her fancy as a Scientist. Whilst she had no idea on why the three Relics had reacted at the very same time, experiments and research conducted to find out didn't yield to any results on this reason, so she simply fused the three of them together into one Symphogear and had Sun activate it with his Song.

The result… well, it had been WAY more profitable than what she'd expected:

Gaining a powerful Symphogear with the abilities of 3 combined into one.

An Agent who proved stunningly effective when sent out on missions, much to the cute Chris's jealousy since she paid him lots of attention when she did so.

Things had been proceeding smoothly, just like she had planned.

…until that young Hibiki Tachibana and the mysterious SHADOW appeared and posed some… interesting variables she wanted to investigate. The first subject, the young Hibiki, managed to not only survive a Noise attack, but the former user of Gungnir, Kanade Amou, had accidentally lodged a shard of her Symphogear into her before it's destruction during the Concert, which had somehow become enough for her to utelize Gungnir herself. Although it was just a fragment, making it likely that she would never have Gungnir's Armed Gear, the Spear that pierced the Heavens, her situation just seemed WAY too tempting for the scientist within her to ignore. From what she had experimented on with regards to her thanks to her associates, Fine had determined that there were some… interesting possibilities occurring within her body that previous Symphogear uses hadn't recorded before, likely due to her own unique circumstances. That had been why she had wanted her to be taken from those coots within Division 2 so she could conduct further research with her own equipment, however things have went awry there thanks to the emergence of SHADOW. One could say that Hibiki breathed new life into the Symphogear program, something Fine had started growing bored with aside from the complete Relics.

Then, there was SHADOW, the biggest enigma besides Hibiki Tachibana.

The mention of that mysterious figure provided a bit of a damper on Fine's mood, something which she ALLOWED Chris to notice and make her own assumptions since it would further inflate her desire to prove herself in the woman's eyes. There was SO MUCH that was unknown about that person who appeared 2 years ago and had become a growing thorn in her side ever since. Not only did he eradicate a majority of Noise when they were summoned without much trouble, but the way his powers seemed to work had been completely unknown to her. The only clue she had was that they apparently came from 'Vritra' the Evil Dragon whose supposed to be Indra's rival in Hindu myth, however that creature was said to have been slain by Indra long ago, so how could it still be around? These questions taught her a new lesson, something she had once forgotten about until his and Hibiki's emergence: one never stops learning in their lifetimes, there's always something new.

'But right now, it would be imperative to learn as much as possible about him so that I may devise a method of dealing with him. There are some options, and this is basically one person I am dealing with here so he shouldn't be too much trouble. He's went and joined Division 2 as an 'ally' for now, which gives me the perfect opportunity to conduct research… although he seems a bit too cautious, which means he's likely got suspicions somehow. Not too much of a problem as long as he remains clueless to the overall scheme…' Fine thought to herself after deciding to spend some time eating dinner with her pseudo 'daughter' much to her delight.


An exhausted sound escaped her lips as Hibiki Tachibana, still clad in her training outfit, flopped down onto one of the sofas in the Command room that Division 2 possessed, the soft cushions it had immediately drawing out a moan of delight from her whilst they soothed her aching muscles. "This morning was too hard…" the young girl half mused, and half whined at the same time, remembering just how Genjuro ran her rigged till she looked like she would pass out at any moment. Let it be said that the guy didn't relent until he was absolutely SURE that things had gone on far enough, and whilst that had been what she had wanted Hibiki had NOT been mentally prepared for the training he would dish out on her every day, and it just seemed to get increasingly intense with each session.

Meanwhile, as if in direct opposition to her current state, a completely pleased and satisfied Genjuro sat on the opposite sofa, putting one foot over his thigh as he crossed his arms under his chest, puffing said body part out in sheer pride. Well, how could he not be? His young disciple was coming along nicely in her training, plus it was a nice bonus for him to learn she liked action movies just as much as he did. If only there were more women who enjoyed the wonders of high octane, over the top action movies, then the world would be a much happier place in his opinion, "There's a champion in the making…" he stated with a closed eye smile, not minding the looks that his subordinates gave him since they knew the situation at hand.

Fortunately for Hibiki, Aoi took pity on the girl and offered her a nice cold beverage for her body to cool down from, prompting an exasperated thank you from her as Hibiki pretty much wolfed it down to revitalize herself for the rest of the day. When she finished the drink, which took a couple seconds or so, she lowered the drink from her lips and turned to her instructor. "I decided for myself to get in some real training, but for some reason you had to accompany me anyways, sorry about that." She mentioned, lowering her head slightly in the form of a bow, though Genjuro waved it off with a look that stated he simply didn't mind. However, the girl wasn't done though as several questions had begun bubbling within her mind since the meeting she had with SHADOW, questions she felt that Genjuro was best to answer them. "But, um, I'm curious. Aren't there any other ways to fight the Noise? Why do you have to rely on a high school girl to help? I mean, since there's SHADOW around…" Part of her wished she could say his real name, but Hibiki wisely kept herself quiet regarding that detail. "Plus, maybe other countries know something we don't…"

A sigh escaped Genjuro's lips, a long and worn out sigh that completely contrasted against his previous delighted demeanour. It almost felt like her question had opened a box of worms that the man had been trying to deal with for years, and unbeknownst to her (though not for much longer), Hibiki wasn't completely wrong in that assumption. Soon, Genjuro began to explain whilst outing his arms on top of the Sofa's back cushions, looking up to the ceiling. "Officially, there's no solution." He began to say, straightening himself up to look more presentable before continuing. "Even in Japan, anything related to the Symphogears is classified."

This caused Hibiki to sweat drop, since that answer pretty much brought out another worry of hers. "But I go out in broad daylight…" she muttered, though Aoi heard her since she was the closest one to her.

Hence, she proceeded to explain as well. "Keeping word from spreading is also part of our job."

Sakuya, whom currently sat at one of the monitors and was possibly doing this very thing, then chimed in with his tone being one of grave, grim determination, though some weariness was also present. "But sometimes we need to go too far to do our job, so by now most cabinet members and ministers pretty much hate our guts." He explained, before pausing to turn from whatever he had been doing at his Desk and facing her directly whilst continuing, "They don't even call us the second branch of the disaster relief squad anymore, just the 'Sore Thumb' instead."

"Hypocrites, if you ask me."

"?!"

Just then, the ominous, sinister voice of a certain 'ally' of theirs spoke throughout the room, followed by a ring of Black Flames that rose from the floor not too far from them. The ring died down moments later, allowing SHADOW in all his dark, menacing glory to step on out, his hands inside his coat pockets whilst said coat's tails fluttered lightly behind him. Upon seeing Hibiki though, his crimson slitted gaze softened slightly, before he looked back to Sakuya and his gaze returned to its cold one. "They sound like people who can't do their jobs properly if that's all it takes to set them off."

"Well… you're not exactly wrong with the hypocrites part…"

Whilst Sakuya timidly offered that statement, Aoi then looked to Hibiki since Division 2 had slowly gotten used to the way SHADOW managed to get inside without raising too much fuss as well as sneaked past their defences. Perhaps he could have done this since the very beginning, some of them had thought which only made them ever the gladder that he had decided to join their side and not become an enemy. "The Government's upper echelons swore us to secrecy you know." She said, her tone deepening into a dark one, one which reflected their grim reality. "But we can't keep up."

"I'm pretty sure they want to use the Symphogear as a diplomatic ace up their sleeves." Sakuya then noted, drawing everyone's gazes to him again. He then looked to the side, frowning as his eyes became less focused, a sign he had gone into deep thought. "Considering how that world is, its even more likely especially with an election for Prime Minister coming up in a fair bit…"

Aoi nodded his head as SHADOW got offered a seat next to Hibiki, the masked male taking it and sitting down with his legs positioned in a similar way to Genjuro from earlier, and when he got asked by Hibiki why he had appeared here he had stated that he had been requested to by Genjuro himself. "The EU and US are probably waiting for a good opportunity to make their move. As you all are aware, the Symphogear technology is based off history and technology that was born in a field that didn't even exist before. No other country could ever hope to reproduce it, which HAS to be making them grind their teeth." Aoi explained whilst having adopted a thinking pose.

"Which makes it all the more mysterious where Synchrogears came from." SHADOW then spoke, leaning forwards and putting his hands under his chin whilst his elbows dug into his thighs. "As I stated to Genjuro during our meeting earlier, Synchrogears are just as rare if not more so than Symphogears, but much less is known about them in comparison. If the Symphogears come from such backgrounds, its fair to assume that my Synchrogear is the same." What he said wasn't wrong, none of the adults could contest such logic. Though he did bring up an interesting point regardless.

Since they were declared to be allies, SHADOW had found it wise to inform Genjuro of the nature behind his powers: the weapon known as the Synchrogear. He'd given a basic overview of what it was, how it housed the essence of monsters and used them as a template to form supernatural abilities for its user, along with a simplified explanation regarding the conditions for 'awakening' such a weapon. All this had been done with Vritra's approval, though the Evil Dragon had made it clear to keep it out of the explanation as much as possible. Not all of his secrets had to be exposed right away, but what he had told them had been enough for Division 2 to not pry too much in the early stages of their partnership, though he could easily tell that they held in their anxiety and desire to learn more. Maybe once he trusted them more after some more 'tests' then he'd do something about that.

"So basically, everyone is having issues…"

All eyes then turned to Hibiki after a moment of tense silence, the said girl having said those words in a tired, depressed tone of voice whilst lying on her side along the sofa. She probably would have sprawled herself out along it if she were the sole occupant, but since SHADOW was sitting next to her, she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Still, this didn't detach from her dejection about the situation at hand, something which EVERYONE could easily understand. Even if she weren't the smartest cookie in the bowl, Hibiki's simple summarizing of the events pretty much became an effective attack on the whole thing.

Just then, Hibiki sat straight up once again, her eyes flashing with a glint to them as she looked towards her teacher. "That reminds me Chief, where's Ms. Ryouko?" she questioned, prompting SHADOW to start looking around with an increasingly cautious gaze. After all, by the time he had been confirmed as an 'ally' to Division 2, Ryouko had pretty much soured his impression of her by trying to get him onto her table so she could 'satisfy her scientific urges', much to his internal horror and displeasure. If it hadn't been for the situation, he likely would have just incinerated her on the spot or something with Vritra's flames.

"She's on official business."

"Official?"

Genjuro, smiling at the questioning tone (along with the relieved one which SHADOW had sported although it had been difficult to tell), proceeded to explain on what he had meant by that. "A Government big shot summoned her. She's there to fulfil her duty to report to the minister in charge with regards to HQ Security and other defence mechanisms. Its part of her job."

"… This is all so complicated."

"Not to worry, Tachibana." SHADOW spoke soothingly as he patted the young girl's head, which looked like it would be boiling over with how Hard she seemed to try and process all the information that had been revealed to her. It honestly made him want to chuckle, had he not seen it as disrespectful and had known her for a while now. "Politics confuse everyone who hears about them, since they're one big mess if you ask me."

Genjuro nodded his head in agreement with what SHADOW had said, closing his eyes as he recalled the COPIUS amount of experiences he had with such people over the course of his career as a Chief. "SHADOW's not wrong, Hibiki. Not to mention, the people who don't want to take responsibility are usually the ones who make things so complicated." He explained, making the black dressed male scowl at how true those words were… especially given his experiences with adults so far. Then, the man let out a soft smile as brighter memories took the place of the darker ones as he proceeded to uncover the watch on his left wrist to check the time. "At least Minister of Defence Hiroki is a better man than that." He stated, his lips then curving into a frown once again. "Ryouko is late."

[That does not sound good… what's your verdict, you think this mortal is simply goofing off somewhere like she usually does?]

SHADOW mentally had to suppress an amused chuckle at the thought, since he could totally imagine the whimsical Ryouko getting into some sort of mischief. Well, not only that but he didn't dare say anything regarding what his partner had said out loud since, whilst quite… eccentric, that woman did have a keen intellect and understanding of things which she repressed behind a mask of a fool. 'Makes me wonder, though…. If she's THAT good at masking her intelligence, what could her background have been like…?' the male mused mentally.


...

...

...

...

"... I'm... alive... No. I just failed to die."

… Kanade… What did she live for?

"... You're taking all this way too seriously, Tsubasa."

"?!"

"A read before the wind lives on where oaks fall."

... Those words, words she swore were spoken by her dear old friend, resonated within her mind, body and soul, wherever those three were located since all she saw around her could only be described as the depths of the ocean.

Remembering the past, she couldn't help but reminisce, or perhaps it had been due to the frustration of once again being proven a failure at the life she had forced herself to live.

Ever since Kanade's… incident, Tsubasa worked harder than ever now that she could not longer rely on her for help. She would regularly stare into the eyes of death as she annihilated the Noise that would come after humanity, and as the saying went he who fights monsters must make sure to never become one themselves, for staring too long into the abyss will make it stare back at you. The more she fought, the more she became like the Noise in the way she fight: becoming cold, apathetic and merciless to her enemies. She didn't even realize it, either, she just... slipped, becoming as silent as the blade which she had honed herself to become.

"... I realized that my life held no meaning or value, but still I kept on fighting. There is something out there for us beyond all this bloodshed, I truly believed that as I wielded my Spear on the bloodstained battlefield... now I'm completely certain of it."

"What is it?"

"... You'll find out for yourself, eventually."

"Don't tease me again, Kanade… then again, you're not... able to tease me, not since after what had happened..."

"... Maybe not. But isn't that a good thing?"

"Its not, not one bit! I want you by my side! I want us to keep fighting alongside one another, I don't want to lose my only true friend!"

"...Heh, as nice as that sounds, its actually all up to you whether I'm close to you or not."

It was... up to her?

Then she...


A feeling akin to being doused with a bucket of water washed over her, and by that point the previous feelings of being weightless started to vanished, replacing itself with the feeling of actually having a body. A body she gradually came to remember being absolutely battered and broken the last time she possessed. A state which had came as a result from doing the same thing that her best friend had once did, singing the Superb Song of the Symphogears, she remembered this as her eyes slowly started to stir, twitching and gradually raising their eyelids to allow her the chance to view her surroundings.

"Guh… Mmmgh…"

Slight sounds escaped her voice, at volumes so much below a whisper that she as an idol couldn't believe she could have reached, but they were enough to alert some people in lab coats standing around her to the fact that she was coming back to consciousness.

"Doctor, the patient is conscious!"

"Check all vital signs! Quick!"

As the barrage of sounds that followed took their course, Tsubasa became aware of the fact that her body felt much better than it did before she had lost consciousness, as well as how it was clad in a hospital gown whilst encased within an egg-shaped machine, several tubes connecting to various bodyparts. These things, along with the general vicinity being familiar to her since she remembered being in this a few times in the past, notably during the early days after that Concert, informed the groggy Tsubasa of the sole important fact underneath what she had recently experienced: that she had awoken within one of Divison 2's Medical facilities. Genjuro must have placed her in her after the recent operation, with an unknown amount of time passing between then and that period of unconsciousness for her.

But... back to the most important thing in her mind...

The dream-like experience she had just went to... it had been so strange, now that she felt more mentally focused. It felt as if time had slowed down just for her, halting everything else just so something specific could have taken place. 'Well...' the woman thought as she lay in the device, looking up to the ceiling. 'I only skipped school for work or business related events before, so this feeling makes some sense at least, compared to wat I just went through... there goes that perfect attendance award, though...' a bit of her old sense of humour returned briefly at the end there, which would have made her smile if her weary body would have allowed it. However, she couldn't help but think back to that recent moment she had when se had been unconscious. Was that some sort of life-or-death experience she had gone through? If so.. if she did really meet with Kanade's spirit there...

No, not likely, she probably just hallucinated, but the words she heard her say...

'Don't worry Kanade, I'm not as inflexible as you... or that guy, think I am. I won't trip. So here I am, with my disgrace to bear for all to laugh at...'


Meanwhile…

Outside, the sun began to set which slowly lead to the world of night retaking the stage in the eternal struggle between light and dark. Because of the skies being in the middle of this transition, it looked like the skies had turned a bright orange, though that would be the least of anyone's concerns aside from the sunset being quite beautiful. Down below said skies, along a road that lead down some reconstruction area, one could see multiple black cars travelling in single file towards their destination, where that destination would be would only be known by the top ranking officials within it, and there were only two such individuals inside the middle car for safety and reassurance.

"A simple phone call from them can mess up my whole schedule…They are hopelessly out of control."

A low, amused and slightly exasperated chuckle escaped the lips of an elderly looking man in a brown business suit, who sat next to a younger looking man who had a slightly leaner build. That young man also wore a suit, this one a deep blue, as he held within his hands a futuristic looking Suitcase, something which contained an irreplaceable item that they had to deliver at ANY cost, no matter how great a price they had to pay. Each of them knew this, though these two knew it the best since the rest of the men in black suits, with matching shades concealing their eyes and makeshift earpieces only listened to their orders, nothing more, nothing less. One could also call them the grunts of the group, though the two men, obviously politicians, didn't see them as such.

Looking over to the elder of the two of them, the younger man aimed a stern gaze in his direction, obviously not finding as much amusement as his companion did in their situation in the slightest. "They might be a relic of the pre-war era but hasn't this gone too far?" he questioned, and whilst his words may sound harsh the man wasn't necessarily wrong with them. After all, from his perspective all he had seen of 'those' people were how they carelessly stepped on the tails of many important figures, without any regard or care for how this will reflect on them in the world of politics. As a Politician, he himself had first-hand experience in just how much that world was ran like a den housing packs of wolves, wolves which at the first sign of weakness, would rip into it and leave nothing remaining.

However, it seemed as though the older man didn't see it that way, as he instead shook his head with a small smile on his lips, a pitying yet respecting one at that. "Perhaps, but they are our only weapon against the worst of disasters." He explained, a point which the younger of the two couldn't necessarily refute very well, if at all. Since, well, outside of 'those' people any attempts at finding alternate ways to combat the threat that the Noise had raised against Humanity had become impossible. His features then morphed into ones of seriousness as he made the following declaration. "Its my duty to give them the freedom to act that they need."

Seeing how his senior was behaving showed him how he wouldn't budge on that statement, something which the younger of the two had seen way too many times before back in the political world. Shaking his head, a slight smile formed on his lips as he glanced down towards the suitcase they possessed. "A sore thumb, indeed, they are…" he whispered, although his senior heard him.

But before he could respond to such a statement…

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The trio of cars entered a small tunnel built within a bridge-like structure, but before they could leave through the other side, a lorry drove across it at the last second, causing the driver of the front car to let out a startled curse as he tried to swerve his Car into a horizontal position… however, that failed, and as a result he crashed into the Lorry's side. Not only did that destroy his car and kill him upon impact, but it triggered a domino effect of the other two Cars doing the same thing, a large JOLT causing both Politicians inside the middle Car to lurch forwards.

"?!"

"Wha?!"

Startled sounds escaped them, but things didn't end there. The rear Doors of the Lorry burst open, the cause being a large muscular man in a military uniform who'd kicked the door open from the inside. Him, along with a squad of his comrades, quickly burst out of the Lorry like a waterfall, quickly gunning down the men in black suits who had tried to come out their vehicles to shoot back at their attackers, resulting in a massive slaughter that lasted only a couple seconds.

Though, to the injured elderly Politician who'd gotten hit by a stray bullet in his left shoulder, the gunfire felt much longer than that. Worse, by the time he heard it die down and looked to the side to warn his companion, his eyes widened to see his said companion already filled to the brim with bleeding bullet holes, a stupefied expression on his face which pretty much said everything about his final moments on this earth. Probably didn't even realize the situation in time either, something which caused the older Politician to grit his teeth in anger, already having figured out what these attackers had likely done this for.

Just as he reached out for the Suitcase…

SHATTER!

One of the attackers jammed his gun, an assault rifle based off the Model, through the car's window and stabbed at the Politician's hand, forcing him to pull back lest he lose it. Eyes concealed by shades, the attacker simply spoke in broken Japanese, revealing his foreigner status. "You must be the Minister of Defence, Mr Hiroki."

"Y-You bastards…!"

BANG!


"Sorry I took so long!"

A loud shout of joy followed Ryouko's entrance as she came walking through the doors to Division 2's Command room. She had raised her arm to the ceiling in greeting as well to go with her chirpy introduction, which allowed Genjuro and the others to notice her presence. In her other hand, she held within it a large, white suitcase, something which SHADOW who stood on the opposite side of the older Commander quickly took notice of but didn't say anything about. "Oh? Hey there SHADOW! How are you doing today?" the Scientist questioned whilst leisurely strolling forwards.

"I am well, however the same cannot be said for this situation..."

"Hm? What are you talking about? What, did you miss me and my hands that much? Why's everyone so tense, actually?"

Upon hearing the tense response from the black dressed male, Ryouko's previous demeanour vanished, replaced by a confused and concerned one especially when she finally felt the rather... thick, ominous and tense situation in the Command Room. Everyone hardly shared her own chirpiness as she had once thought they would at her return, instead their features had grim expressions of dread and anxiety, especially with Hibiki one of the most... expressive of them all. SHADOW himself had his arms crossed in front of his chest, his gloved hands clutching his biceps tightly whilst looking like he were about to explode from the sheer angry crimson aura radiating from him, crimson electrical energy flaring from his person from time to time. Needless to say, things didn't look too good...

Which soon got clarified by Genjruro who dropped the bombshell on her. "The Minister of Defence, Hiroki has been assassinated."

"What?!"

Hearing that, a shocked gasp escaped Ryouko as she jogged up to the older man's other side, right next to where the frantic-looking Hibiki stood, before looking to the large Monitor. There, she saw various feeds showcasing the aftermath of what seemed to have been an assassination attempt indeed, with wrecked cars, small bullet casings scattered across the ground, patches of blood and a LOT of dead corpses. Two of which had been the Politicians whom had been tasked by Division 2 themselves, so in essence they had LITERALLY ordered these men to their deaths.

"A few "Revolutionary groups" have proclaimed responsibility, however nothing has been confirmed as of yet. We put every man on investigation."

"We were so worried because we couldn't contact you, either!"

"Which brings us to the following question: where were you during all the time where all this was going down?"

Hibiki exclaimed that second sentence, whilst SHADOW followed up with a question of his own whilst looking back at the woman from the corner of his left eye, only turning his head slightly in her direction.

To respond to this, Ryouko remained silent for a bit... before she pulled her phone out from her coat's pocket and tried to open it, only to find tat it wouldn't do so. She then sweat dropped nervously, chuckling as she looked back to them all as she gave a response. "Looks like my Terminal was broken, sorry dory about that..." she said, to which Genjuro and Hibiki gave unified sighs of exasperation, as if to say 'what am I going to do with you?'.

Only SHADOW reacted otherwise, narrowing his eye at her slightly before he turned back to the main monitor.

"I appreciate the Concern, though I think what I have with me is of greater importance than that." Ryouko then stated, walking to one of the sofas closest to her and placing the white Suitcase on top of it. She then proceeded to unclasp it, as she continued speaking. "I have with me classified orders from the Government. Defence Minister Hiroki made sure these were delivered successfully to me before his... unfortunate passing."

'... Vritra?'

[You noticed?]

'Hmph. I did. You too...?'

[Of course, an Evil Dragon such as me could tell when mortals like you are BSing easily.]

As SHADOW heard Ryouko and the other two proceeded to discuss what to do with the orders issued by the Government, SHADOW however had something else to focus on, something which had his attention WAY more than some adult dying...

The smell of Blood that came from the Suitcase.


Chapter end!

I am SO sorry for the lack of updates guys, for any of my stories. I guess that its a combination of RL stuff going on like college work and the fact that I'm prepping to go to University, and my own lacking inspiration and desire to write that's the cause. But at last I was able to get this chapter out for you all, the start of the next section that the first Symphogear Season has to offer... one where I plan on making SEVERAL alterations to the events that follow, so look forward to those. I know this one didn't have all that much going on outside of CANON, but I wish to get back into the swing of things, and this seemed like a good opportunity to do so. Please bear with me for the time being.

Hope you liked the chapter, let me know what you think, and see you all in the next one.

Peace Out!