(A New Distortion has formed. Let us see where this one shall lead us. Shall we?)
Bold = English Conversations
Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations
Distortion 5
In the 9th Hierarchical City of Akitsu-Ko, a meeting was beginning to unfold at the NOL headquarters. This meeting was a private one, between a couple of important generals as Hazama tapped his feet impatiently on the ground. "Geez, what is taking everyone their sweet ass time to get here." Hazama complained as the door opened, finally allowing him to relax a little as he stopped leaning on his chair to see who it was.
"I cannot believe that you of all people got called here Mr Hazama." Meifang complained, wearing a bit of a cautious smile on her face as beside her was a black hooded figure wearing the Zero Requiem uniform that was also colored in black. "Why of course I would, I am a captain at Intelligence after all. What about her. She liking her new spot in the Zero Squadron?" Hazama said, pointing his finger towards the black hooded figure
"Indeed she is. She has been making my life much easier these days." Meifang said looking at her subordinate. "It is nothing worth of praise Ms Lapislazuli. What I do is for the will of the NOL and the Imperator after all." The masked figure spoke as one last figure made their appearance as the magenta in his outfit would be eye catching for all to see. "Colonel Relius, good for you to finally make your appearance. Rare for you to be included in one of these types of meetings." Meifang noted as Relius quietly took his seat and simply relaxed himself.
"If we have made our introductions, shall we begin this meeting?" Relius said as he snapped his finger, locking the door and having Ignis stand watch by it as Hazama cleared his throat and pulled out a couple of Ars magus maps and scrolls of what they were going to be discussing. "So today's meeting and the main topic of our discussion is in regards to Otsu and what we are going to do with it." Hazama explained as soon a gigantic display of the display was put in front of the three.
"So for a short summary for us who many not be interested. The 1st free city of Otsu was a city that declared independence from the NOL shortly after the Black Rebellion thanks to public backlash and an impressive piece put out by the Otsunians themselves to get people on their side. Originally the plan was to take it back as soon as possible but the Otsunians have been making sure that was difficult to do so without outright war by introducing multiple laws that include diplomatic immunity for their political servants." Hazama said as Meifang scoffed
"It's impressive that they managed to survive this long but they are just a bunch of rodents at the end of the day trying to play governor. Surely we just have to send in a small army and we can crush them with ease right?" Meifang said, wondering why this kind of meeting was even needed in the first place and why the secrecy was even important. "Normally I would agree and maybe add in a couple of explosives to make sure we level the place like with Ikaruga… but there is something that is underneath the city that we… more specifically this guy wants." Hazama said, pointing his finger towards Relius.
Relius then pulled out a map of his own and overlayed it with the city, showing something interesting to Meifang. "Underneath the 1st free city of Otsu, is a cauldron, but not any ordinary cauldron. If my calculations are correct, this Cauldron is the very one that the great sage Nine once used to create the Nox Nyctoreses, specifically the lost Nox Nyctores, Draco." Relius said as this suddenly caught Meifang's attention.
Meifang: Wait a minute, a cauldron underneath a city like Otsu? How did you even know of this place?
Relius: I poured through some very old documents she once wrote. Otsu at the time was the closest once could get to the Seithr produced by the Black Beast without suffering negative effects thus spent several days there dedicating her research.
Meifang: And why the Otsunians haven't discovered the location of this cauldron? If it's as important as you say it is, surely the Otsunians have already discovered where it is.
Relius: That is something the great sage herself ensured. When the war was over and when the Lost Nox was sealed, she personally buried this cauldron herself, making sure nobody can ever find it and thus sealing it away.
Meifang: So if this cauldron is safe like you are making it out to be and it's at the lowest point of the city like most cauldrons are, why didn't we just crush the Otsunians before they could establish their little city and now have to invade them.
"Because I simply desired to allow them to do as they wished." A voice boomed as everyone in the room knew who that voice came from and got down on their knees. The silence in the room could be felt as a figure walked into the room. Her footsteps were almost unheard as with each step she took towards the desk it felt calculated. "Imperator. What brings you here to this meeting all of the sudden." the hooded figure questioned, bowing as the Imperator remained cold.
"I was simply interested in Mr Relius's interest of a simple city like Otsu and it turns out this is the reason." The Imperator said, her long purple hair and garbs almost touching the ground as she looked at the map of Otsu. "I simply wish to teach the world what it means to be independent. What it means to try and exist away from NOL Rule. And why no other Hierarchical city should try becoming independent like these criminals have." The Imperator said, interesting everyone in the room now.
"That right now..." Hazama said, a slight grin growing on his face as the Imperator made her decision at that spot. "Relius Clover, you shall get your cauldron. In fact, I will grant you a small platoon to do so independently from the main army." The Imperator said, Relius bowing even more as he felt grateful towards this gesture he knew was just a way to watch that he didn't do anything she did not like
"Meifang LapisLazuli, You and the Spear of Justice shall march to Otsu immediately and smite the city down with the full might of the NOL. They are merely criminals, do not hold back any resources." Meifang simply nodded her head in pure respect, the Spear of Justice herself doing the same. "Your wish is the Zero Squadron's wish Imperator." The Black hooded figure spoke as her eyes finally gazed right at Hazama himself.
"And what is it shall I do Miss Imperator?" Hazama questioned as the Imperator remained quiet, looking at him with a glare on her eyes. "You shall do nothing. You are to simply gather intelligence like the snake you are." The Imperator said. "Oh you wound me with such comments. I shall do my best to gather the best information you will ever see and hopefully make you see me in a better light." Hazama said, trying to hide his disdain over the situation as the Imperator decided that it was her time to leave.
"I have other business I must attend to at the moment, I shall leave the capture and subjugation of Otsu to Miss LapizLazuli, the Zero Squadron and Relius Clover." The Imperator left as she walked away before vanishing, allowing the others to relax as her quick appearance and disappearance was enough to alarm everyone at how busy she was. "It appears that even the Imperator is busy with things of her own if she left us that abruptly after explaining her reasons and giving us our tasks." Meifang said.
"Why it's obvious isn't it. She is the head of the NOL after all. She has other duties that do not involve managing this little side business of yours… speaking of which, I must make my leave too." Hazama said as Meifang was about to complain but simply shrugged. "You're right, You should go ahead and leave, the Imperator did say you were not important for this task after all." Meifang replied as Hazama couldn't help but snap at that and glare at her.
"You want to pick a fight now missy? Because I sure got some spare time to march up there and beat you up myself." Hazama commented, marching towards Meifang before being stopped by the black hooded figure. "And you better not be thinking of standing in my way doll… or do I need to beat you up as well." Hazama continued as the Black figure stood firm. "I would suggest picking your next words carefully Mr Hazama, I will not hesitate to bring justice down upon you should you continue insisting on violence." The figure spoke as a three way staring match ensued.
"Now Now everyone please. Please. There is no need for us to be fighting like this." Relius said, having taken his seat back at the table to begin his part of the work as the others scratched their heads at this sight before joining him back at the table. "As the Imperator has explained, You are not needed at this time Hazama. The maps and documents in regards to Otsu you have provided us will be sufficient enough for this time. Should we need any more, we will just contact you." Relius said, eyes not looking away from his goal as Hazama couldn't help but scoff at that.
"Fine fine. I will make my leave soon then. Good Luck with the whole take over Otsu thing then." Hazama said as Relius turned towards Meifang. "Can you accompany Mr Hazama with your second in command Ms LapisLazuli? I will discuss with you how we shall proceed in trying to take over Otsu later. I wish to pour over the current data we have right now." Relius explained as Meifang simply sighed and shrugged.
"Come on you. We will have work to do soon. So ease up a little." Meifang said as the black hooded figure simply nodded their head, following her and Hazama as they left the room, finally leaving Relius Clover by himself as he placed his hand on his mask and slowly removed it, allowing his eyes to ease as he gazed right at the documents presented to him. "To think that what seemed to be a city ran by the scum of the Earth can house such an important discovery like this." Relius mused as he looked at the documents pertaining to Otsu's grimoire.
"I must know… why you chose to build in such a location in the first place, Great Sage Nine. Why hide your secrets not in the lands of Ishana themselves but in a place like Otsu." Relius continued as his eyes glowed magenta like his clothes, the very color of his soul as he looked right at Ignis. "I am sorry if my intrigue of what could be is terrifying you. But rest assured that it is all for to make you even stronger." Relius said, speaking to Ignis as he stood up.
"The Detonator is merely at the end of the day based around the Nox Nyctoreses themselves, thus for me to make the detonator exceed Nox Nyctoreses themselves I myself must discover the origins of their birth. The past often belies details that we often take for granted." Relius commented as he his eyes finally landed right on the very notes of the Great Sage. "I believe you would agree with this settlement too if you were here, Great Sage Nine." Relius commented as he grabbed the mask that was on the table and nestled it on his face once more
...As he couldn't help but start to make plans of his own for his own desired future.
Dawn broke into the Midnight Owl, the light of the sun shining through the various windows of the Otsunian bar as Makoto began to stir up from the ground. She groaned a bit as she could feel a headache coming through her head, prompting her to try and find a seat as she couldn't help but notice the sea of bodies that had surrounded her. "Oh my head… I guessed I partied too hard." Makoto mumbled underneath her breath as she looked at the bar and noticed one of the seats being free and helping herself to said seat.
"Nyaaa. First one awake I see." Pikaka said, surprising Makoto as she looked at the Kakan bartender with shock in her eyes. "Oh don't worry about me, I am pretty much used to working, drinking and waking up after a hangover. In fact I have a special recipe I developed to cure said hangovers that I only give to the first customer who wakes up. Give me a sec!" Pikaka said, surprising Makoto with the energy she was giving as she nodded her head slowly.
As Pikaka rushed into the kitchen to make her hangover cure, Makoto herself was taking a couple of deep breaths as she took the time to recompose herself. 'Alright Makoto… Yesterday was all fun and games… now that all of my worries are out of my system. I can focus on the more important things in my life.' Makoto thought as she looked at the men beside her, still out cold as she couldn't help but push them off the bar, their bodies thudding alongside their fellow Otsunians as Makoto saw a couple of empty bills that had empty backs and a pen at the bar and took them.
'Right… Time for Caroline's tests.' Makoto thought as this was something Caroline suggested Makoto trying to do in order to see how much of her memories of Sora were remaining intact. These ranged from basic stuff like what Sora likes to eat and his inability to drink water without going into a drunk frenzy to other more specific memories. While it was weird to do at first, doing this did help Makoto gauge how far she was until she truly did forget about him.
'Right… What is Sora's favorite thing to do after a bath...' Makoto thought, muttering to herself as she tapped the pen on her head to stir up more thought. 'Was it… just going straight to cooking or if I remember right drinking a nice cup of milk?' Makoto further thought as she just wrote both. "Right… Looks like the major details are still intact. that's good at least." Makoto said as she looked at the description Makoto gave to Sora's appearance and bit her lip at what she had written.
"White hair, a yellow left eye and blind white right eye… that's all I can remember about Sora's face huh." Makoto muttered as she couldn't help but begin to worry that she was beginning to forget about Sora's facial appearance. She knew that this test wasn't perfect but the fact that all she could remember about Sora's facial appearance was just roughly this made her feel concerned. She then yawned as Pikaka finally came in with her special hangover cure.
"Nyahahaha! Here is my special hangover cure! The Spicy Marlin!" Pikaka said as Makoto stared at the red covered pieces of meat in front of her. It was clearly a spicy chilli and Makoto felt a reluctance to immediate consume the meal in front of her but the look Pikaka gave her made her heart soften as she knew that Pikaka had worked hard to make this special hangover cure for her and not eating it will be a waste.
"Thanks for the free meal." Makoto said as she took one bite and immediately felt her mouth rise up with spice as if she could use actual fire, fire would be emerging out of her mouth as Pikaka laughed hard as she slid in front of Makoto what appeared to be a chaser for Makoto to drink which she drank and felt it's sudden sweet cooling properties kick in as Makoto's tongue swelled a bit before she finally calmed down from the level of spice she had just experienced for herself.
"Nyahahaha. You look a lot better than the past month I have been seeing you lately Makoto. Finally found the time to wind down?" Pikaka asked as Makoto continued to eat her hangover cure. "You can say something like that. I guess you can call last night my night to party like crazy and get whatever was on my system out of it?" Makoto explained as Pikaka laughed. "So that's what you call picking a fighting with a dude and waging sex part of relaxing huh." Pikaka said as Makoto blushed at that.
"It was a heat of the moment thing and I allowed myself to get swallowed by the whole thing that is all. And it's not like I was going to have sex with the dude even if he's massive and all." Makoto said as Pikaka chuckled. "So what made you loosen up like the way you did last night? That was clearly not normal what you did after all." Pikaka said as Makoto paused, debating her next set of words as she ate another bite of the spicy marlin.
"Well… It's just say… someone made me realize that being all wound up the way I was bad for my health and was not going to help me with my goals." Makoto explained as Pikaka became interested hearing that. "For the past month or two, I've been kinda obsessed over my goals and it wasn't really helping me. Rather it was making me focus too hard without paying attention of the bigger details in front of me is all. I came here last night to get it all out of my system so I can start going all out today." Makoto explained, making Pikaka nod her head.
"Nyaha I see. Good to see that you're finally lightening up there. Just don't eat too much of the Spicy Marlin right now!" Pikaka cheered as she noticed a couple of other customers beginning to wake up, thus prompting her to go and serve them as Makoto looked at her spicy meal and continued to eat it, alternating between eating and drinking the chaser meant to cool her down as her mind was thinking of plans, plans she can do to get Sora back.
'It won't be easy to get him back… not that it was going to be in the first place, but at least now I feel ready for anything.' Makoto thought as she looked at her answers and took a picture of her answers. 'If only I had a certain vampire girl to bounce ideas from… but that is just wishful thinking at the end of the day and I need to focus more on doing it myself.' Makoto continued as she tapped her forehead, thinking about how she should do it.
'That Amy girl… She's after me right now isn't she? Maybe I can just knock her out and then hold her hostage until she gives me what I want?' Makoto pondered as she wrote that down as an idea before scratching it. 'When will she ever show up? And what's going to stop her from just disappearing the moment I capture her?' Makoto answered as she realized that Amy was something a bit of a ghost and thus restraining her might not be as effective as it could be.
'I could go jumping through another Cauldron and hope that gets me to where I want… but what's just stopping the world from vomiting me into another timeline I wouldn't even know existed.' Makoto continued as she rubbed her forehead on the table. 'The more I think about this kind of stuff, the more I am realizing that this is the kind of thing nobody has to deal with in their life ever.. Why just me of all people? Why must I be punished for being the way I am god.' Makoto thought in a semi sarcastic manner as she took her pen and tossed it right to someone's head, the pen harmlessly bouncing off them as she stretched herself on the table.
It was then, as she was stretching on the table that the final worst possible choice came rushing to her head. 'If what Relius Clover says is true… can he… No No No I can't...But… if he can really help me get to Sora then...' Makoto could feel her thoughts rushing throughout her body as she placed her hand on her chest and could feel her heart beat rapidly as her mind was racing with options, choices and decisions she will need to make in the path ahead of her.
"To think I would catch you in a time of contemplation like this. This is most unlike you Miss Nanaya." A familiar voice spoke, surprising Makoto as she turned around to face Rachel Alucard. A person she had not seen for so long as she couldn't help but clench her heart in surprise. "God. A few months of not seeing you and this is what you do? God you're a spooky girl sometimes Rachel." Makoto said as she couldn't help but realize that Rachel was here at this very moment.
"How do I know that you're actually here right now and not just using some sort of magic that makes me see people through my vision so you can talk to me in a physical plane but not really." Makoto said, her mind more used to the craziness that occurred in her life over the actual normal reality of Rachel just being physically in front of her as Pikaka walked in front of the two. "Nya? A new customer? What do you want?"
The moment Pikaka expressed her surprise over her new customer, Makoto couldn't help but hide her own surprise over the fact that Rachel was real and in front of her. "I would like one of your teas. Please nothing that has alcohol in it." Rachel said as Pikaka looked at Rachel weirdly. "Would green tea be sufficient Nya?" Pikaka questioned as Rachel simply sighed and nodded her head. As Pikaka went to make the green tea, Rachel turned back to see Makoto struggling to register what she was looking at.
"Gotten so used to the supernatural that the normal has become the supernatural for you Miss Nanaya hmmm? I guess that is to be expected when someone is exposed to the truth." Rachel said as Makoto shook her head, blushing a bit hearing that. "C-Come on now. I only had a month or two to process… Never mind that, You somehow came in the best time possible right now." Makoto said as Rachel looked at her intrigued by her statement.
"The best time possible? Most interesting, do elaborate further by that." Rachel said as Makoto took a deep breath. "I have been trying to focus on my efforts in finding Sora. I feel like I am hitting a dead end though. If everyone's forgetting Sora, then my leads are potential going away as well. So if I am going to find Sora in this whole mess of a world, Should I go directly for the people who are responsible for taking Sora? Or do I go to where I saw Sora and try to find him there." Makoto explained as Rachel simply nodded her head, processing the fact that Makoto had been thinking about this.
"You have been most eager to act yet at the same time I can sense you are stuck at a crossroad right now. You do not know which path you take will be the one you believe will help you to reach Sora. Am I right?" Rachel suggested as Makoto took a pause and twiddled her fingers hearing that. Makoto nodded her head, simply surprised Rachel was able to take her months of conflicted feelings and summarize it for her.
"One wrong move and not only I won't be able to see Sora again. Something even more horrible than what I have experienced so far will be coming my way." Makoto said, feeling glad to get it out of her chest as Pikaka presented to Rachel her green tea. "Is it because of this indecision you have spent what was the past few months pursuing the few leads you have? To try and make the best decision possible?" Rachel questioned as Makoto nodded her head.
"I figured that if I had some time… I would try to not rush it and make my decision so hastily. But recent events have made me decide to rush my decision now." Makoto said as this intrigued Rachel. "Oh? So you have made your decision is that correct?" Rachel asked as Makoto figured it was time for a question of her own. "Rachel… tell me this. If this world's god can go erasing people's memories. Why doesn't it just do the same for me? Why does it feel the urge to send people to kill me just to do just that?" Makoto questioned as Rachel took a sip of her green tea hearing that.
"I have never heard of the Azure doing such a thing… or if it has, it has always been done in secret, away from the prying eyes of the observers." Rachel answered as Makoto looked back at her hands. "But if what you say is the truth and the Azure is indeed sending an agent to try and kill you. It must mean that they are unable to interfere with your memories via the normal means of Phenomena Intervention and thus must resort to this method of dealing with you." Rachel suspected as Makoto took a deep breath hearing that.
"So that just means that the Azure has to directly interfere with me in order to influence my memories of Sora is that correct?" Makoto asked as Rachel bit her lip a little at that. "I do not know if such a theory is correct. It might be just biding it's time to full change your memories. All I can say is… Whatever is your choice, You must act soon if you wish to reach the future you truly desire and not one the Azure gives you." Rachel explained as Makoto couldn't help but smile at that
"You know… that's the kind of advice I have been meaning to hear for quite some time now." Makoto said as she stood up and pulled out her necklace. "Even if it means walking down a dark path.. I have already started on a path that I know has no turning back already." Makoto said as Rachel stood up. "Now there's the spunk of the woman that intrigued me for so long. Now show me the path your heart desires." Rachel said
"So what about you? Are you going to stay and watch this woman of spunk walk down a path that intrigues you?" Makoto questioned as Rachel simply shook her head. "As much as that would be nice for me, your path is simply just one of many I am current observing. I have struggled to not interfere as much as I have right now. The rest is truly up to you for you to make." Rachel explained as Makoto looked at her necklace, staring at it with a fondness she had not felt for a long time.
"That's fine by me… the path I am walking is definitely a lonely one after all… But not as lonely as this world that doesn't have Sora in it." Makoto said as she turned around to face Rachel only to find that she had somehow managed to pull off a vanishing act yet again as instead of reacting with surprise or shock, Makoto simply shook her head and took her seat back. "Nya? Where did your friend go?" Pikaka asked as she looked at the barely sipped glass of green tea.
"I don't know. She must have been busy with her own thing." Makoto said as she took the glass of green tea and drank it in place of Rachel, downing it in one shot. "In any other case, I am going to go now. Let me know if the heads got anything in store for me like usual." Makoto said as Pikaka smiled and nodded her head. "Will do. And make sure you come back to the bar sometime. It's nice to see you relax for once." Pikaka said as Makoto began to notice the sea of customers begin to wake up from their alcohol induced slumber.
"Oh man, I better get out of here before the morning rush takes over. Thanks again for the free meal Pikaka!" Makoto said as she rushed out of the bar, Pikaka laughing as Makoto pushed and shoved her way out to the entrance of the bar where the bouncer was still standing outside, dark circles underneath his eyes and a couple of men outside the bar itself. "Thanks for the work you guys." Makoto said, giving a small smile that simply made the men grunt and nod their heads as she could feel their appreciative smiles behind her.
"I should call Caroline and let her know the results of the Sora test." Makoto said to herself as she pulled out her phone and made a phone call direct to Caroline to contact her. "I hope she did manage to get some rest yesterday. I really do not want her to be overworking herself like normal." Makoto said to herself as soon the phone call connected. "Hey Caroline. Makoto..." Before Makoto could finish her sentence, she could immediately hear Caroline shush her silent as Makoto immediately felt something was wrong and stopped moving entirely as she could hear Caroline move around for a bit before taking a deep breath at her end.
"...Makoto… I think I am being watched right now..."
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION!? HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? Well… 3 months in. No matter how much one lives for how long, You have to admit, the passing of the seasons is something people can never get over. To think that it was just February just last month and now we are already in March. It's ridiculous how quickly time can pass us by without even a single blink. All the more important for us to just keep on moving despite the fact we are still in the middle of a pandemic and we cannot really move as much as we would like.
SO WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT TO MAKOTO NANAYA!? WHAT KIND OF OBSTACLES ARE IN STORE FOR HER!? AND WHAT IS WITH RELIUS'S INTERESTS IN THE 1ST FREE CITY OF OTSU!? WILL HE FIND THE ANSWERS HE SEEKS BY GOING TO THE CITY OF CRIMINALS!? All of these questions and more will be left to be answered in the coming distortions but for now. Rest, you have earned it.