Chapter 5
" What did you just say…" Fuko asked again, unable to believe what she had just heard.
" Its true. The dark web is the evil device of the spirit of words. It is also much more powerful than the spirit of words itself, having the ability to control the human mind through hallucinations." Recca replied, folding his arms and leaning back against the back of the sofa.
It had been two days since the scare at headquarters. Extra measures and programs had been built up to protect the computer base, but it would only protect them for a while, Larson had to be caught before he found a way into the system again. Thus, when Recca had called Tokiya, explaining that he had found out some leads for them, they had eagerly rushed to his apartment. Yanagi had gone to the school with Shoji, so they had the apartment to themselves.
" Do not even attempt to fight this guy unless you're confident of strong mental power. With this device, this Larson guy can manipulate your greatest fear into doing whatever he wants you to. And once he knows your mind, he will be able to interpret almost your every move." Recca warned.
" Wasn't there another device that allowed one to read another's mind?" Tokiya asked.
Recca nodded. " Yes, remember snake girl? She had that device. Well, It was destroyed. We just couldn't have the risk of the physic devices being manipulated by other people. And at that time, there was no other better solution than to destroy them."
"I see. Did you find out anything about the remaining three families then?" Fuko asked, pointing to the list of names that Recca had given to her previously.
" The Minami family is fine. They are a family of five, who have no knowledge of the power that their device processes. They treat it as a family heirloom and placed it on the family altar. The Shako family is fine to. Though the last survivor of the family knows about the power of the device, he prefers not to use it, and even gave it to me for safekeeping."
Recca pointed to a blue colored orb that lay on the table. " As for the last family, there is only one survivor too and her name is Shako Ideki. She acted kind of weird when we questioned her about her physic device. She claimed that she lost it, but Yanagi saw it in the shadow orb before we came, so I pretended to go to the toilet, but she was watching me, so I couldn't…"
Fuko and Tokiya looked at each other in utmost certainty.
" Do you think…" Fuko began.
" It's possible. After all, she was very secretive about her physic device."
" We asked all three families about the dark web, and all three claimed no knowledge of it. Even Shako did not sound like she was lying."
" Then it could mean that she has another reason for lying about the physic device." Fuko mused, studying the list in front of her.
" Maybe, but I think that a visit would be good." Tokiya replied, glancing up at Fuko.
Their eyes locked for that moment, and Fuko's heart stopped as they shared that moment together. Then she looked away and it was broken. Ever since that incident, she had done her best to keep their relationship on a purely professional level, and it was slowly taking its toll on her. It was hard not to think of him, when he wasn't by her side, and even harder to concentrate, when he was by her side.
" Anyway, I just don't you going on to fight this guy. He sounds very dangerous." Recca spoke aloud, looking at Fuko.
Fuko forced a laugh.
" Oh well, Recca, you're not having much confidence in me aren't you. You've always been like that. Don't you think its time that you stopped underestimating me?"
" But Fuko… that was before… it was different then. We were fighting different people, people with different levels of talent…"
" What the hell! Do you suppose to tell me that the people I fought before were just easy pie? Hell, I was risking my life then. And you still mean to say that…"
" No! I'm not saying that you're incapable or anything like that, but Larson has a really strong device. Even with Tokiya, I'm not confident enough that it'll be an easy win. Fear is everything. And unfortunately, he can control that."
Fuko's taut face softened, and she gave a assuring smile
" I know. I know that it's going to be a very tough challenge fighting Larson. But trust me, just trust me this once will you? This will be a very big test for me, and though I know that there's a very big chance of me losing, I'm going to die trying anyway."
" I know that I must sound like an overly protective brother already, but take care."
" Oh stop it already!" Fuko waved a hand at him. All three of them burst into laughter.
" What did you just say…" Fuko asked again, unable to believe what she had just heard.
" Its true. The dark web is the evil device of the spirit of words. It is also much more powerful than the spirit of words itself, having the ability to control the human mind through hallucinations." Recca replied, folding his arms and leaning back against the back of the sofa.
It had been two days since the scare at headquarters. Extra measures and programs had been built up to protect the computer base, but it would only protect them for a while, Larson had to be caught before he found a way into the system again. Thus, when Recca had called Tokiya, explaining that he had found out some leads for them, they had eagerly rushed to his apartment. Yanagi had gone to the school with Shoji, so they had the apartment to themselves.
" Do not even attempt to fight this guy unless you're confident of strong mental power. With this device, this Larson guy can manipulate your greatest fear into doing whatever he wants you to. And once he knows your mind, he will be able to interpret almost your every move." Recca warned.
" Wasn't there another device that allowed one to read another's mind?" Tokiya asked.
Recca nodded. " Yes, remember snake girl? She had that device. Well, It was destroyed. We just couldn't have the risk of the physic devices being manipulated by other people. And at that time, there was no other better solution than to destroy them."
"I see. Did you find out anything about the remaining three families then?" Fuko asked, pointing to the list of names that Recca had given to her previously.
" The Minami family is fine. They are a family of five, who have no knowledge of the power that their device processes. They treat it as a family heirloom and placed it on the family altar. The Shako family is fine to. Though the last survivor of the family knows about the power of the device, he prefers not to use it, and even gave it to me for safekeeping."
Recca pointed to a blue colored orb that lay on the table. " As for the last family, there is only one survivor too and her name is Shako Ideki. She acted kind of weird when we questioned her about her physic device. She claimed that she lost it, but Yanagi saw it in the shadow orb before we came, so I pretended to go to the toilet, but she was watching me, so I couldn't…"
Fuko and Tokiya looked at each other in utmost certainty.
" Do you think…" Fuko began.
" It's possible. After all, she was very secretive about her physic device."
" We asked all three families about the dark web, and all three claimed no knowledge of it. Even Shako did not sound like she was lying."
" Then it could mean that she has another reason for lying about the physic device." Fuko mused, studying the list in front of her.
" Maybe, but I think that a visit would be good." Tokiya replied, glancing up at Fuko.
Their eyes locked for that moment, and Fuko's heart stopped as they shared that moment together. Then she looked away and it was broken. Ever since that incident, she had done her best to keep their relationship on a purely professional level, and it was slowly taking its toll on her. It was hard not to think of him, when he wasn't by her side, and even harder to concentrate, when he was by her side.
" Anyway, I just don't you going on to fight this guy. He sounds very dangerous." Recca spoke aloud, looking at Fuko.
Fuko forced a laugh.
" Oh well, Recca, you're not having much confidence in me aren't you. You've always been like that. Don't you think its time that you stopped underestimating me?"
" But Fuko… that was before… it was different then. We were fighting different people, people with different levels of talent…"
" What the hell! Do you suppose to tell me that the people I fought before were just easy pie? Hell, I was risking my life then. And you still mean to say that…"
" No! I'm not saying that you're incapable or anything like that, but Larson has a really strong device. Even with Tokiya, I'm not confident enough that it'll be an easy win. Fear is everything. And unfortunately, he can control that."
Fuko's taut face softened, and she gave a assuring smile
" I know. I know that it's going to be a very tough challenge fighting Larson. But trust me, just trust me this once will you? This will be a very big test for me, and though I know that there's a very big chance of me losing, I'm going to die trying anyway."
" I know that I must sound like an overly protective brother already, but take care."
" Oh stop it already!" Fuko waved a hand at him. All three of them burst into laughter.