( A New Canon is approaching us! Let us see what will happen next to Makoto Nanaya as she navigates the situation in front of her.)
Bold = English Conversations
Bold + Italics =Japanese Conversations
Canon 22
Where was Makoto going? Even she did not know at this point. After barely surviving fighting against Meifang LapisLazuli she should be counting on her luck to help her find her best friend in all of this. Unfortunately all luck must die some time and it looks like she wasted it surviving Meifang as Makoto couldn't help but look at her bandaged right arm, instinctively reaching out to touch it only to be met with pain as she had to bite her lips to stop herself from screaming too loud.
'Son of a... God that hurts so much.' Makoto thought as she took a seat and quickly whipped out her flask, tempted to drink to dull the pain only to stop herself immediately. 'No! Don't get dependent on Alcohol Makoto! You've got to control yourself.' Makoto thought, trying to resist the urge to numb the pain as she wanted to get moving once again only to feel exhausted when she tried to stand up.
Was she running on Adrenaline this entire time and she was unaware of it? Whatever the case it was, Makoto simply knew that her body's strength suddenly left her and it was going to take her some time for her before she could start moving a little again. 'I don't have time to waste sitting around and doing nothing...but I need to rest up to regain my strength... dammit.' Makoto thought as she used this time to take deep breathes to calm herself down.
'Still... this sucks...' Makoto thought as she looked at her wounded hand and began to slowly inspect her injured arm to assess if it she can use healing ars magus or if she would need more intensive methods. Just a slight nudge was enough to make Makoto realize that the punch she clashed with Meifang with was a lot worse than she had originally thought as this made Makoto weigh down the options in front of her.
'I could contact Noellie and let her know I got injured... but I do that, Noellie will get worried for sure and try to find me instead. I could also consider getting my arm looked in secret but how long will that take and where do I even go to do that?'Makoto said as she looked to see the bounty board and sighed when she saw that her face was on there, the bounty for her simply said currently pending as Makoto couldn't believe that she was a wanted criminal now.
"The folks are definitely going to be worried for me now... if they weren't worried before." Makoto said to herself, realizing that most likely, her bounty would be all over her hometown of Shinatsu by this point and that her folks would have already seen it by now. "I Just hope that when I head back home, I don't get spammed with missed messages from Mom or Dad... Oh who am I kidding, they must have called me 100 times by this point." Makoto joked, trying to take her mind away from the pain her arm was suffering to other things.
'Oh who am I kidding... worrying if my parents have flooded my voice inbox with worried messages wondering where I am is the least of my worries right now.' Makoto thought as she reached out to touch her necklace fondly, realizing that this time she had to relax was also time for her to let her mind simply wonder about and think about things that she had not think about for a while now.
'Is this what Sora felt when he decided to willingly keep the Black Lotus a secret? This feeling of knowing something dangerous yet not wanting to tell people about it for fear of the worst? Maybe... Maybe not. I am not him after all at the end of the day.' Makoto thought as her eyes gazed themselves right at the emblen etched onto the tags, the emblem of Sora's drive as she began to fondly stroke it as she clutched it gently.
'Sora... wherever you may be right now... please don't be so far away that I won't be able to find you in time...' Makoto thought as her mind began to think about what would happen after some time. The god that was after Sora and was erasing him from everyone's minds... what if it came back for her and took away her memories of Sora from her once again? What would happen then? What would be his reaction when he sees her only for her to greet him like a stranger.
'No! I won't let that happen!' Makoto thought, slamming her injured fist on the seat and causing more pain in the process as Makoto struggled to keep her mouth shut as her worries was starting to get to her at that moment. 'I can't let that happen... I can't...let Sora see me without having any memory of him. I just can't...' Makoto thought, trying to push back the bad thoughts that were trying to worm their way into her mind as she struggled to remain positive at that moment.
'Don't lose yourself Makoto... even with the crazy shit that's happening all around you, just don't lose yourself.' Makoto told herself, reinforcing it with positive thoughts as she knew very well what negativity would do to her in this situation. 'Just need to focus on protecting Noel and finding Sora... that's all I need to do.' Makoto told herself as to most people, this seemed unnecessary to repeat what she was thinking out loud in her mind and trying to reinforce it with positive thoughts but to Makoto, she needed this.
She needed to remind herself of what she's fighting for, of what the consequences will be if she chose to give up now. What she will lose and how she would feel when that loss comes. She knew what was going to be the result if she allowed things... god to continue doing what they want. She was not going to let god win this time as this time things will be different and they will be different by her own hands... if only she would get her ass off this god damn bench and start heading towards her goal.
"Hmmm? I did not expect to meet you here." A voice spoke as this immediately made Makoto tense up where she sat. Her eyes were closed at the time when she was giving herself that pep talk so she didn't know who she was talking to as she slowly opened her eyes to see who it was. Her eyes soon widened even more in shock as she realized who she was talking to as the person simply did a courteous bow in front of her.
The person talking to her was a little boy with his blue eys and blond hair. He wore a purple outfit that resembled a person from a few centuries ago with his fancy top hat and coat. Behind him was a massive doll like figure, her face lacking any features other than the blond on her hair and the sharp claws she had. The feminine doll like figure reminded Makoto of another doll like figure as she looked at the little boy in front of her with a series of mixed feelings within her.
"Is there something the matter Miss Nanaya? You look like you have seen a ghost?" The boy said as Makoto couldn't help but mutter out a comment under her breath. "You... You look almost just like him...Carl." Makoto said, piquing Carl Clover's interest as she shook her head. "S-Sorry. I was just zoning out that's all." Makoto said, finally able to get off the bench to walk up to Carl to give him a hug only for the boy to simply raise his hands to stop her.
"It's alright. You don't need to force yourself to give me a hug. I can see that your hand has been injured after all." Carl said, politely smiling as Makoto couldn't help but instinctively hide her hand in the process. "Well... Nothing escapes your eyes like usual Carl." Makoto said as she couldn't even believe that Carl was here in the first place. 'Now that I think about it... I rarely even saw Carl back in the Academy... I wonder what he has been doing lately.'
"Should we take a seat Miss Nanaya? I think we do have quite a bit to discuss." Carl said as Makoto couldn't help but relax and agree to his suggestion. Yet at the same time, as she sat down, she couldn't help but get a bad feeling coming out from Carl... a feeling that was all too familiar to her at this point as he looked at her with a smile on his face as the gigantic doll like thing simply went behind the bench, her eyes looking at the thing for a while.
"Oh don't mind Ada. She's just looking out for me." Carl said as Makoto couldn't help but keep looking at Ada. 'Ada... isn't that the name of Carl's...' Makoto mind was able to piece together what Carl meant by Ada as Carl simply frowned a little. "I know.. it's a long story but... yes... That's my big sister Ada... I didn't want you to meet her like this...but at least you two get to meet each other now. Come on Ada. Give her a handshake." Carl said as Ada rose her claw like hand to shake Makoto's hand, Makoto herself a bit unnerved by what was going on.
'Ada?.. She.. She looks like...' Makoto shook her head, realizing where her mind was going as she raised her hand to shake Ada's hand. "It's nice to meet you Ada. My name's Makoto and I was Carl's classmate in the academy while he was there." Makoto said, shaking the giant automaton's hand as the more she looked at Carl. The more she couldn't help but be reminded of a certain mask wearing gentleman as the image of Relius Clover was slowly overlaying itself on top of Carl.
"So..How are you doing right now Carl? What have you been doing lately?" Makoto said, trying to change the conversation as Carl didn't seem to notice Makoto's attempt to change the conversation as his smile was enough to remind her more of Relius. "Well... after dropping out of the academy and spending some time to care for Ada. I decided to become a vigilante and hopefully find a way to give big sister her body back." Carl said as Makoto couldn't help but feel sad at the words being spoken by Carl.
'God... What happened to him... Unless...' Makoto's mind began to play more and more scenarios in her mind as to what had actually happened to Ada... in fact, what happened to Carl's family in general as Makoto closed her eyes for a bit. "So... How are you doing with the Vigilantee business so far? Are you being kept busy these days with the job?" Makoto questioned as Carl simply shook his head. "Not really. Big Sister has been a really big help with my job. In any other case, you need to nurse that injury of yours." Carl said, soon grabbing a mysterious looking ars magus potion.
"You should take this. I got it from a street vendor I normally go to grab these kinds of things. Don't worry. It's completely safe for consumption." Carl said as Makoto looked at the Ars Magus liquid with some skepticism in her eyes. Why was Carl of all people buying products from strange people? She wanted to take it... wanted to thank him for giving her some relief for the pain she was feeling but there was something bad...something really off about Carl's gesture as Makoto politely smiled at the boy.
"It's alright Carl. I don't need it right now. I plan to see a doctor as soon as possible so... you keep that to yourself buddy." Makoto said as Carl was surprised by this gesture, simply smiling and putting the potion back to his cape. "That's understandable... Though I must ask Makoto... How on earth did you even end up becoming a wanted criminal in the first place?" Carl said as Makoto's blood immediately froze at that moment, Carl's words striking true.
What should she say at that moment? Anything she said would be placed under heavy scrutiny by Carl so she knew that she needed to say something as not saying anything will make the situation much worse as she looked at Carl before taking a deep breath. "What if I told you it was a long story and you handing me to the NOL will not get you that story." Makoto said as she simply waited with tension in the air for Carl's response, her eyes watching Ada as she was ready for another fight if she needed to.
Carl himself however was not looking for a fight and his eyes did not fail to notice Makoto's fists slowly clenching into a fighting pose as Carl knew what he had to do to try and defuse the situation. "Now don't get me wrong. While your bounty is going to be plenty, I do not wish to hand you in to the NOL. As a friend I want to help you to the best of my abilities." Carl said as this was soon to be the start of what felt like a negotiation talk.
Makoto: Help me to the best of your abilities? Aren't you a vigilante Carl? Don't you get less profit helping the criminals?
Carl: Of course. But in my line of work, I have learned that sometimes, criminals are the best way to get what you want.
Makoto: Of course… What are you thinking of exactly?
Carl: Well… I need your help to help me find someone. After all, A former NOL Intelligence officer is guaranteed to have the information one requires.
Makoto:… That depends Carl. Who on earth are you trying to find in a city like Kagutsuchi in the first place?
Makoto's question rang true as she awaited the young boy's answer. Who was the person that Carl was trying to find? And why even ask Makoto for her help when she might not even be able to provide him the help that he seeked. Carl simply took a pause to allow the situation to sink in before asking for the person he had in mind. "I am looking for my father. Relius Clover you see. I need to find him and punish him for what he had done to Ada."
The moment Carl mentioned Relius's name, Makoto could feel her guts do a few knots. Relius Clover… the man responsible for a lot of things, messing with her mind and nearly turning her into a vegetable in the process being one of them… and Carl wanted to find a man like that. "Why do you want to find your pops huh? Do you plan on killing him?" Makoto questioned as Carl simply shook his head.
"Killing him outright will do nothing for me. I need him to undo… what he did to my sister. Only after that, can I truly feel like things will be back to normal." Carl said as Makoto bit her lips a little, seeing Carl's face emit a look of sadness as he looked at Ada. "He's the one responsible for turning Ada into...Into this thing. This is not what my sister is supposed to look like. She's supposed to be so much more than this… This thing!" Carl said, Makoto noticing his voice was becoming more hostile.
"If it wasn't for what he did, Sister would have had a much better life already! She wouldn't have had to suffer in her current state and we could have been happy together! But my father...MY FATHER TOOK THAT AWAY FROM HER! HOW CAN I STAND HERE AND NOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!" Carl shouted, his anger seeping through the surface as Makoto could now sense the blood lust that Carl was trying to hide as he tried to calm himself down, realizing that Makoto herself was able to see what he was showing.
"In any case… now that you know why I want to find my father… Can you help me or not?" Carl asked, Makoto deciding that now was a good time to get off the bench and start standing up as she knew what answer she needed to give him. "I'm sorry Carl… I don't know where Relius is. And even if I did, I don't think it's a good idea for you to confront him in the first place." Makoto said as Carl simply remained quiet, shaking his head a little from this.
"I was hoping that we would be able to cooperate with each other Miss Nanaya… I truly hoped so." Carl said before without warning, Ada swung her claws right for Makoto's face, Makoto herself barely dodging the sharp claws that she now bared before returning back to Carl's side. "If I can at least bring you to the NOL headquarters. I will be able to find more information on my father that way. Even if it means putting your life at risk." Carl said as Makoto couldn't believe what he was saying in the first place.
"C-Come on Carl. We're friends here. There's no need to do stuff like that right? Why don't we team up and try to find out about Relius together, and work with each other to take him down in a safe manner?" Makoto said, trying to convince the boy that there was another way but Carl himself simply shook his head. "I thought about that and I realized that while working together we may be able to achieve that, Handing you over to the NOL will be the faster route and also guarantee that I will be able to confront my father face to face." Carl said with a calm and eerie calculating voice… similar to his father.
"So… are you going to keep trying to convince me to follow your plan?.. Or should I proceed with mine?" Carl said, draping his cape over his shoulder and exposed his hands as Makoto began to wonder what should she do. Should she try to run? Her arm was the only part that was injured but who knows what other kind of damage she might have suffered in that fight with Meifang. There's also the fact that if Relius had any input to what happened with Ada… Ada herself was a lethal weapon now as Makoto kept having this nagging feeling about her… the feeling like she had seen her in her current form before.
All she knew at this point was that she cannot afford to get caught. She made a promise to Noel to not only meet up with her. But also help her with Tsubaki and try to talk to them. 'Sorry Carl. Fighting you is definitely not an option right now.' Makoto thought as she started running, boldly going for the straight forward charge as Carl simply thought that she was going for the offensive. "The hard way… That's unfortunate Miss Nanaya. I was really hoping not to do this… Sister. Get her!"
As soon as Carl gave the command, Ada began to move, swinging her claws once again as Makoto weaved her head, dodging the swipes as she managed to slip past Carl. Carl now realizing what Makoto was trying to do immediately snapped his fingers, commanding Ada to get in front of Makoto to try and cut off her escape. "It's understandable why you would try running now. You're currently injured as I can see and you would like a direct confrontation." Carl commented as Makoto realized she was pinned between the siblings.
'Oh great. I am between a gigantic robot and a small child… I want to run past the small child but I feel like that's going to be a bait and switch. All I know is…' Before Makoto could finish that thought, Ada suddenly charged forward, thrusting her right claw towards her as Carl ran towards Makoto, going for a low sweep using what looked like automatons… similar to his father's. 'I am in the middle of a pickle!' Makoto thought as she jumped up and turned herself towards Ada, forming a barrier to protect herself from Ada's attack, pushing her away from the duo and getting away from the flank.
Carl however was not done as he jumped onto Ada's shoulder and braced himself on her. Ada soon charged, cracking the ground with a combination of her weight and speed as Makoto's eyes widened at that. Carl then leaped off Ada as she got closer, forming a mechanical knight from his cape and having it thrust it's robotic lance right at Makoto as Ada herself sweep her claws right at Makoto's feet, threatening to bisect them if Makoto did not jump.
But if she jumped, she would get impaled by Carl's robo knight. She could dodge to the side but who knows what will happen after that. 'Screw this guessing game. I need to get away, NOW!' Makoto thought as instead of following this, Makoto simply began to run the other direction. Ignoring the attack completely and focus her efforts in simply just running away. Fighting at this point, with her injury and current tired state was simply not an option she could afford.
If she kept on fighting every single fight she took a part in, She wouldn't last long. As much as she wants to help Carl with his pops. Relius is a man she did not want to mess around with right now, in fact, if she could avoid the man for the rest of her life she will. 'Sorry Carl… I cannot afford to get caught right now. I just know what will happen to me if I do.' Makoto thought as she pictured what would happen next in her mind as she continued running away from Carl.
If she were to be captured. She would first end up in the interrogation room with her former captain Hazama, where he would use "Interrogation" methods get her to confess before handing her ass to Relius where if he was like the person he was the last time… Her mind may not be able to survive another mind raping from the world's greatest dad. As she continued running, just thinking about these simply sent shivers down her spine as she turned her back to see Ada and Carl chase after her, Carl remaining eerie calm as his eyes were laser focused on her as she realized she will need much more drastic measures to get away.
Looking to the railings, she realized she could get away by jumping it. But did she really want to jump without looking down? Of course not. she's not that dumb to do something like that. 'I need something...a bit more drastic.' Makoto thought as she looked to see an alleyway she could use as an idea...a really dumb but risky idea came to her mind. 'If I am a criminal, might as well play the part of one as well.' Makoto thought as she ran straight for the Alley, Carl confident that he had managed to corner Makoto in the process.
'Looks like it's the end of the road, Miss Nanaya.' Carl thought as Ada continued to give chase. As she did however, Makoto was secretly charging up her uninjured fist as she got right in the middle of the alleyway. 'If I can be honest...as much as I think this is wrong… I always wanted to do this.' Makoto thought as she leaped off her feet, revealing her charged fist, forcing Ada to immediately stop and brace Carl for what she sensed was danger as Makoto threw a big bang smash right onto a brick building.
"PROPERTY DAMAGE!" Makoto yelled, the astral fist smashing itself right into the brick building that she hoped was at least abandoned, causing rubble to collapse right onto the street as a huge amount of dust kicked up at that moment. The rubble forced Ada to push both herself and Carl back a bit as Makoto used this as her chance to enact her escape plan as soon the dust had settled and the damage had been done.
"Thank you sis..." Carl said as he looked at the carnage that had happened right in front of him as both him and Ada moved their way into the alley to try and search for Makoto's last direction. "She couldn't have gone too far. Let's keep going." Carl said as Ada simply remained quiet, responding to the boy's wishes as they both continued deeper into the alleyway. As they did so, in a trashcan that was tipped over, Makoto slowly lifted the lid to observe Carl going deeper into the alley.
'Man.. that was way too close.' Makoto thought as she slowly crawled her way out of the trashcan before quietly sprinting away from the duo, glad that her plan worked… at the price of her causing property damage and more attention being drawn her way. 'This is probably going to make life even more difficult for me… as if I needed more difficulty in my life right now.' Makoto thought as she didn't stop running once again, making sure that she was far away from the boy before finally coming to a stop in an abandoned building.
"This should be far away from Carl now..." Makoto muttered as she sat down on a chair, glad that she got away from Carl but not glad that she had to do so in the first place. Just what happened to the sweet little boy she once knew… and was that really her sister. "I wonder..." Makoto thought as she pulled out her phone, noticing how it's battery was slowly starting to run out and she needed to charge it soon.
'As much as battery life is important. I just need to scratch this itch.' Makoto thought as she went to the one source of information that all information goes to… the internet and began to look through a series of articles, particularly talking about the Nox nyctores ranging from conspiracy theories to the actual history about them. Soon she managed to find what she was thinking about as in an article talking about the 10 Nox nyctores, one of them stood out in it's description.
"Deus Machina: Nirvana. One of the 10 Nox Nyctores ever created. While most of the information about this Nox Nyctores is lost like other Nox Nyctoreses, Nirvana was theorized to be not an actual weapon, but a mechanical doll that had sentience of it's own." The article explained as Makoto couldn't help but begin to wonder, if Ada was actually Nirvana. But if that is the case, what is the other mechanical doll that Relius had with him? Is that a Nirvana as well?
"No...No, not now Makoto. Don't get distracted by these things Makoto." Makoto told herself as she realized she was letting her mind think of crazy things once again when she should be focusing on other matters at hand. One of those things being her meetup with Noel and how right now she has to focus on getting back to Noel… even if it means commiting more crimes in the process as she decided to check her phone in the process for the time.
"Oh no it's getting late… I better get back to Noellie otherwise things will get worse." Makoto said as she had spent way too much time sitting around and doing nothing and less time actually getting to Noel and meeting up with her. As the sun slowly started to set, Makoto couldn't help but wonder if her troubles were going to continue piling up as the days continued and if so, just how much more criminal acts will she need to commit…
To protect not just herself, but everyone she cares for.
As Makoto made her way to Noel. The man that Carl Clover was searching for, Relius Clover, was busy doing some research in his lab in Kagutsuchi. While he was here for other things, that doesn't mean that he should stop doing his research. Particularly into Makoto Nanaya as he couldn't help but wonder, what was the factors that he saw that helped her to come back from what was essentially the brink of despair.
Thankfully, He had Hazama make sure his memories of the incident were kept intact as he began to compose what he saw into a series of documents, written in a typewriter to prevent people from spying on his work and potentially discovering his secret research. As he was doing so, A knock was heard on the door as Relius simply lifted his head. "Come in." Relius simply said as the door opened, revealing Hazama as he walked into the room and saw Relius was already back to his writing.
"Oh come on. Ignoring me already? I came here to see if you are alright." Hazama chimed as Relius simply ignored Hazama and continued typing, the rhythmic tapping of the typewriter ringing in his ears as Hazama tried to take a peek only to feel a pair of eyes stare right back at him. "Can you at least ask your thing to not stare at me like that. I feel like an unwelcome guest with the way she's glaring at me." Hazama said as Ignis came out of the corner she was hiding as Relius finally looked at the green haired man, having ignored the man's request.
"Well.. if you do not want her to look at you like that. It will do you good to not bother me as I am busy doing research here." Relius said as Hazama looked at what Relius was typing and sighed. "And that research is on the rodent of all things? I thought you would be more interested in the Azure with her successor finally here." Hazama said as Relius took a small deep breath, staring right at Hazama without showing any emotion on his face.
"Oh I am… but that doesn't mean that I can neglect my main focus right now." Relius simply replied as Hazama simply shrugged his shoulder. "Well suit yourself then. In any case, I thought I would let you know that the rodent you're so interested in researching is here in Kagutsuchi." Hazama said as this made Relius raise his head a little. "And do you know where she went?" Relius simply questioned as Hazama shrugged again.
"I don't know. The bitch who found her allowed her to escape." Hazama said as Relius simply thought about something for a bit before shrugging. "It's no matter, I may know where she might head next." Relius said as Hazama became interested by his words and was about to ask how he was going to do so but Relius already knew what Hazama was thinking before his words could come out.
"And I will not tell you what I have in mind… In fact, I will be going out soon. And I would greatly appreciate if you do not follow me later when I head out. If I catch you doing so, you will pay for it." Relius threatened as Hazama simply raise his hands in shock by his friend's words. "Why are you so serious like that? I wouldn't interfere in any plans that you might have." Hazama said as Relius simply nodded his head at that.
"Good. Now if you would excuse me, I must continue writing this report and must ask you to leave right now." Relius said as Hazama turned his back to the masked man and formed a small scowl. "Fine. I just don't know what you see on that little rodent in the first place that you can see on any other person." Hazama mumbled as Relius soon heard his door close with slight force as Relius rubbed his forehead, glad his friend finally left him alone as he simply shook his head.
"As if I need to tell you my dear friend..." Relius said as he continued writing his report, as if the conversation he just had didn't exist.
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION! HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY! Well… University has started for me...is what I would like to say if Corona Virus did not postpone it. Now don't get me wrong, while I like any other university student would be happy about this, It goes to show how bad the Corona Virus is even if it's not really a fatal disease. In any case, do take care while out there folks.
SO! WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!? WHERE WILL MAKOTO GO AFTER THIS!? WILL SHE FINALLY BE ABLE TO MEET UP WITH NOEL IN TIME!? WHO ELSE WILL SHE ENCOUNTER IF ANY ON HER WAY TO NOEL!? AND HOW DOES RELIUS INTEND TO FIND MAKOTO!? Well… as long as there is questions that need to be answered, This story will not come to it's close. So read on if you dare.