(A New Distortion has begun to form. Let us see where this one shall lead us.)

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Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations

Distortion 8

The 1st free city of Otsu, a city that was born by criminals that worked for criminals. For years, there has been division between the various walks of life about this city's birth. Some say that a city of criminals will only lead to more criminal activity all across other Hierarchical cities and with the diplomatic immunity most criminals have when they enter Otsu, it makes prosecuting said criminals impossible.

Others however are hopeful, they hope that by creating a haven for criminals to live in, they can eventually migrate over to Otsu, take the issues they had with them and hopefully build a new life for themselves, away from the judging eyes of the public. While it is clear that public opinion about Otsu's creation is divided, the NOL were not going to be taking this lightly and have been looking for a chance to dismantle the city any way possible.

"Is this the place?" An NOL soldier, disguised as a plumber asked as he looked to what seemed to be a very fancy and well built apartment complex that stood out from the shabby brick buildings. "This is the place. We got our objectives people. Our target's lives up there." The other soldier said as they nodded their heads. The NOL were looking to start a war, but with recent backlash over how the Ikarugan war was conducted, the NOL were forced to employ much more devious means.

"Still doesn't feel right, making other people fight us so we have an excuse to exterminate a city of vermin." The soldier quietly commented as his comrade shrugged his shoulder. "You know why we have to do this. As much as I agree with you, we got to make sure we got the people's favor on our side. Not the Otsunians." The other soldier commented as they approached the front desk. "Excuse me. Otsunian plumbing services. We're here to fix a leak at the top floor." The soldier said, going into blending mode as the clerk lazily looked at them in the eyes.

"Alright. Before I let you up I just need to make sure about one thing… the client called you about the leak?" The clerk asked as the soldier remained calm, expecting this. "Of course. Why would we be here if we weren't." The solider replied, deflecting the man's question with something that most people would consider obvious as the man slowly pushed himself to his work desk and pulled out what seemed to be a book.

"Can I ask you to record yourselves in this book please. Just for security reasons." the man replied as the other soldier couldn't help but sweat. "Of course." His fellow soldier replied as he signed in on the book and noticed the man on the desk was looking at him while he did so. "So… That tension huh." The soldier replied, trying to deflect suspicion away from him as the clerk simply looked at him confused.

"You know. The whole of Otsu preparing to go to war at any moment with the NOL. It's got to be having you on your feet nervous?" The soldier continued as he finished signing on the book as the clerk looked at the details and stood up. "Yeah I don't think about that stuff much dude. I am just here to do my job and get paid." The clerk replied as he pulled out a card for the men to use. "Just get what you needed done and get the hell out of here alright." The clerk continued as the man smiled and took the key, simply nodding before gesturing to his partner to follow him.

As they entered through the security gate and finally entered the elevator, they felt relief that they had managed to infiltrate their main location but withheld any discussion inside the elevator as there was cameras. The silence that greeted them was unbearable so they decided to do the one thing that seemed to be completely normal in any place. Use their Ars Magus phones as a means to communicate with each other.

"So far so good. The clerk didn't suspect a thing." The soldier messaged. "Of course he didn't, he's clearly not paid enough to do his job and he's probably some petty criminal by the side. He could care less if someone were to walk in and rob the whole joint clean if it meant he could get a cut." The other soldier replied. "At the end of the day, Otsu's just nothing but a city of criminals, nothing more, nothing less."

"I'm still surprised that a city of criminals has not descended into total anarchy. I guess that's the hold the Otsunian four have over the city." The first soldier typed as he raised his head to check they were heading to the top. "That's why we are doing this job. We kill/destroy this place and force the Otsu four to act. They stay silent, we exploit that. They attack us, it gives the NOL the PR needed to convince the public to eliminate Otsu. Simple." The soldier messaged as the elevator pinged as the two were at their destination.

The two stopped messaging immediately as they approached the door of the place they were placed in charge with. The door in front of them was simply a normal door as the men saw the reader where they had to place their keycard to be allowed entrance into their destination. The men nodded their heads and placed the keycard on said reader, registering them as guests as the door opened for them to enter.

Finally entering the building, the men got to work almost immediately by first wheeling in their plumbing cart which hid an ars magus jammer. It wasn't strong to jam all the ars magus in the area but centralized to the penthouse floor would be enough as this made sure that any cameras powered by Ars Magus ceased to function. The ars magus jammer also acted as a feedback loop so that the camera would just play still images of the last 10 seconds that the NOL technicians hidden somewhere could just splice and edit to make it seem like they were there doing their jobs.

"Right… Time to go to work." The soldier simply ordered as he and the other soldier separated to do their various tasks as they looked around their surroundings. "What kind of criminal do you think can own this kind of place?" The soldier asked his comrade as he couldn't help but wonder that. "Probably the same kind of criminal who is often relied on by the Otsu four. Now go plant the charges on your side. And if you see the owner of this place you know what you have to do."

As soon as he heard those words, the soldier knew what he had to do as they grabbed the plumbing toolboxes that contained the charges given to them. With how things were going, they couldn't help but feel like things were going well. Too well? Maybe, maybe not. Paranoia is one of the key weapons of the soldier and always being cautious does help in any situation. As the soldier approached his corner, he couldn't help but be met with a gigantic door, reinforced like no other as he bit his lip.

"Damn. This must be some panic room." the soldier said as he looked at his explosives and realized that he wasn't going to get through the door without using the explosives he had. "Looks like I will have to find another way to breach through this." The soldier said as he went straight to the cart to search for a tool to use. As he did he couldn't help but think about how this current infiltration was currently easy… too easy.

As he was left with his thoughts, his partner was at the other side which seemed to be a living quarters. He couldn't help but be amazed by how well off this person was with the open kitchen layout with island and the massive view of the Otsunian city in front of the living room. He shook his head, realizing that he was getting distracted as he pulled out his toolkit and unveiled the explosives, ready to blow this room that seemed to come out from a lifestyle magazine apart as he took a deep breath before placing the first charge on the island.

As soon as he did however he immediately felt a pair of eyes glare at him as he tensed up immediately. Was the owner of the apartment here? He slowly reached into his toolkit to pull out a stun baton he had brought with him for the case where the Owner of this apartment, the same apartment they were trying to blow up decided to show themselves to him as he shook his head and decided to approach the direction he felt he was being watched from.

He felt the temptation to say something, call out to where he thought the person was coming from. But he held back as he walked slowly towards where he suspected. Tensing up his hand on the baton, he quickly peeked through the corner of the wall separation and saw nobody there. He breathed a sigh of relief but his tension never left him as he turned around to get the rest of the bombs planted.

But before he could do so, he immediately felt himself getting tackled to the ground as the other soldier heard the commotion from where he was. Immediately reacting, he reached for the cart and pulled out his own stun rod to go and see what the commotion was about. As soon as he went through the door, a loud thud could be heard as a body dropped to the ground. His friend looked over to the commotion to see that he had been struck in the head and knocked out as soon he too blacked out.

As the commotion quickly died down as quickly as it began, the NOL soldier's assailants showed themselves. "Looks like Zhang Pi was right about the NOL coming into Otsu." Makoto said as she emerged from the corner she was hiding, dragging the man she had knocked out towards the living room as Hunter nodded his head, dragging the other knocked out soldier with him. "Do you think that they are here for you?" Hunter questioned.

"Most likely they are here for me…" Caroline said, having taken cover with Noel inside one of the rooms as she approached the soldiers with some rope to bind the men with. "I did leave the NOL unofficially after all. And I work a lot with the Otsu four so that must have made me a target… not that these guys would have known." Caroline explained as Makoto scratched her head. "Regardless, the fact that these guys are here means that the NOL's trying to make their presence known. The only question is who are these guys with..." Makoto pondered as Hunter nodded his head.

"Say Makoto. Where's the quietest room in this place?" Hunter questioned as Makoto looked around for a bit before pointing to the normally empty guest room. "Right. Leave these guys to me. I'll make sure they start talking to us. Noel why don't you help Makoto and Caroline with anything they need to get before we leave. The longer we stay here the more likely the NOL's going to send reinforcements here to look for them." Hunter suggested.

Noel was about to ask what Hunter had planned to do but the moment she and the others saw his stern face, they immediately knew what that meant as Noel quietly nodded her head before Hunter petted her head. He soon dragged the bodies into the room Makoto pointed to as Noel walked towards her. "So what can I do?" Noel asked as she wanted to help out as much as she could. Makoto scratched her head as she wondered what Noel should do at that moment.

"Do you think you can head down and thank the clerk for giving us that early warning while giving them back the security card these guys used." Caroline said, showing Noel the keycard as Noel simply nodded her head and took it. "And once you're done with that, why don't you keep watch near the front door at the penthouse. Just in case the NOL get suspicious about their missing members." Caroline continued as Noel subconsciously saluted.

"Of...of course! Sorry about that." Noel said, clearing her throat as she realized she was a wanted fugitive and not an NOL official anymore. "Don't worry about it. It took me a while to get rid of the saluting thing too. You will get used to it Noel." Caroline explained as Noel finally left as Makoto simply gave Caroline a smile. "Thanks for butting in like that…" Makoto said as Caroline shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. As a fellow nervous wreck, I can tell when somebody's nervous. But I have to ask, you two are friends right? Why are you being so awkward around her." Caroline asked as Makoto froze there. "Because my friend is the one responsible for murdering my boyfriend to save her own boyfriend." Makoto said in her mind as she knew that would have sounded ridiculous. "Let's just say… it's complicated. I know. The cop out answer but trust me. You don't want to know the reason and for the better." Makoto explained as Caroline nodded her head as both Makoto and Caroline felt their phones vibrate at that same moment.

Pulling out their phones, they saw what caused it. "Looks like the Otsu four managed to find more NOL soldiers trying to cause chaos in the city. Looks like they were soldiers borrowed by the Zero division. Not the actual Zero division soldiers." Caroline explained as Makoto nodded her head at that. "That's good for now I guess. I really hope we don't meet the Zero division as we are leaving." Makoto explained as Caroline tilted her head.

"Is it because of their reputation or because your friend's in there." Caroline explained as Makoto looked down. "Tsubaki's being deceived by the NOL. Yes I know I got my own set of issues right now but I promised Noel that we would save her together. I'm not going to back down on that promise even if I may have mixed feelings right now. I won't abandon anybody. Not my friends… or Sora." Makoto said as Caroline nodded her head.

"That's good to hear. In any case, how's the results coming in?" Caroline asked as Makoto immediately looked at her, surprised before realizing what she was talking about. "It's the same but… How do I know if I am truly retaining my memory of Sora and not just faking it." Makoto asked as Caroline shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know these kinds of things. I am trying my best but it looks like science as much as it hurts me to say this, is currently not helping with your situation." Caroline explained as Makoto scratched her head, rubbing her ears in the process as she bit her lip.

"Looks like I will have to keep looking elsewhere then." Makoto said bitterly as Caroline felt bad for being unable to help at this crucial juncture as all she could do was look at her friend's pained expression with feelings of helplessness. "I'm not sure for how long I will be able to remember… But I promise to keep helping you find boss for as long as I do remember. That I promise." Caroline explained as that was enough lighten up Makoto's mood a bit, grateful that she knew she had an ally in all of this.

"Now can you give me your arm. I'll make the necessary adjustments to it before we set off. We won't be able to do so until we arrive at Kokonoe's place and I have the feeling we are going to be in for a fight ahead with the number of NOL troops making their way into the city." Caroline explained as Makoto simply nodded her head and gave her prosthetic arm to Caroline. "In the meantime, go pack up anything you need to bring. And Maybe just keep us posted on what the four heads are planning to do." Caroline suggested as Makoto smiled and did as the good scientist asked.

As she stretched her shoulders, she couldn't help but look out at the city of Otsu, her eyes gazing at the various states the tall apartment buildings were at. Sure Otsu could be considered a cesspool, a place where dirt rots with dirt. But at the same time, it's also a paradox, where people kinder than most NOL officials have chosen to make their living here. Away from the eyes of the world that might judge them for the things they did either out of necessity or desperation.

This was also Sora's home… Sora's place. The simple thought of that was enough to make Makoto swell up with anger as she slammed her fist angrily at the glass pane, being careful not to apply too much force to break the glass. The thoughts of what she experienced, the events that happened and the losses she had to bear loomed on her mind. It wasn't her falling back down a spiraling depression, it was her focusing on what it means if she were to fail at her task.

"I promise you Sora… I'll never forget you. No matter what the world tries to do. Not now… Not ever again." Makoto muttered to herself as she looked out at the city of Otsu once more, her eyes swelling with resolve. "And I promise to protect everything that you love while you are not here. I will not let anybody… the NOL or otherwise stomp on the place you call your home and the people that you care about." Makoto swore to herself as she felt a tap on her shoulder which surprised her.

"Is something on your mind Makoto?" Hunter asked as Makoto looked at him surprised as she looked away for a bit to not face him directly. "Not really. Just wanted to reaffirm something that's all." Makoto said as Hunter couldn't help but tilt his head. "Resolve huh… Is that why you decided to stay away from me and Noel for months now?" Hunter asked as Makoto knew he was speaking from his heart and didn't know what she had known so she couldn't snap at him.

"It's complicated… I would say that it's a part of it. Don't get me wrong, you guys are still my friends and I treasure you guys… Look I just feel like explaining things right now wouldn't make sense to you and it would make things awkward between us so can we drop the whole thing and discuss about what you found out?" Makoto said as Hunter was surprised by Makoto's response, not expecting her to react the way she did as he decided to play it safe and do what she asked.

"Well...they didn't talk much since they are waking up from the beating we gave them, but I did manage to find their NOL ID's. Looks like they are just a part of the normal NOL group but that's not important. I found out who they are taking orders from." Hunter said as Makoto leaned herself on the glass. "It's from the Zero squadron isn't it." Makoto said quietly as Hunter nodded his head. "Looks like the information that the Otsu four provided you is true. The NOL are trying to start something here in Otsu. But why though that is my question." Hunter questioned

"You know the NOL, they weren't going to let a free country like Otsu reign for free any longer. There's just trying to stir the nest so that the criminals are the ones to act first. That way they can just exert themselves over Otsu with the intention of "liberating the suppressed citizens that live under Otsu's thumb" but in reality they just want to get rid of them in general." Makoto said as Hunter couldn't help but agree but that wasn't what was on his mind.

"That's true and all… but why though. We know what the NOL's planning to do with Otsu but why. That's what on my mind right now." Hunter said as Makoto realized that Hunter was right about that. Sure the NOL were interested in attacking Otsu but why? "I don't like what is going on here… something's missing here, something that we don't know." Hunter continued as Makoto nodded her head at that but realized that she was getting in on her head as that wasn't important.

"Regardless of what the NOL is planning. We got to stop them from trying to get Otsu in their hands… the professor. Maybe the professor can help us!" Makoto said as Hunter was surprised to hear Makoto say that as he looked away from her for a bit. "Well… the professor herself has been busy lately and it looks like she's been busy doing her own thing. I wouldn't say no… But you're welcome to try I guess." Hunter said as Makoto nodded her head at that.

'This all works out. I can ask Kokonoe to maybe help with Otsu and also maybe see if she knows anything about how cauldrons work. Even if it's a dead end, I refuse to stop until Sora's back.' Makoto thought as Hunter noticed that she was in deep thought and decided to leave her to her own devices. "In any case, I'll see if they are awake and try to get more information from them just in case. If they don't give us anything I'll just give them to the clerk so that Otsu can handle them." Hunter explained as Makoto nodded her head.

"Don't worry. Even if they don't say anything, what you found confirms our suspicions… and only makes me worried even more now." Makoto said as Hunter nodded his head. "Tsubaki right? I hope nothing bad has happened to her under the Imperator. I just hope she's fine." Hunter said as Makoto nodded her head again. "Don't worry. Me and Noel will get her back…. But in the case I can't, can I trust you with Tsubaki?" Makoto asked as this surprised Hunter.

Hunter wanted to ask a question at that moment. Why was Makoto suddenly asking him to do this even though she already made a promise to Noel. Was she worried about something or is there something else in play here? "Of course Makoto, She's just as much of a friend to me as she is to you guys. I'll do everything in my power to help her through I swear it." Hunter said as Makoto couldn't help but feel a sense of relief in her heart.

The reason why she asked Hunter if he would be able to take her place should she be unable to wasn't because she was afraid of seeing Tsubaki or that she wanted to further distance herself from her friends. She knew that the path she was about to embark would force her to make choices, choices that the being known as the Master Unit will not approve. The Master Unit will do everything in it's power to force her down it's intended route and if Amy and the mysterious blonde girl she briefly saw in that world were anything to go by, the Master unit will not hesitate to use force to do so.

"Thanks Hunter, that really means a lot to me." Makoto said as Hunter placed a fist at her chest. "But only if you promise that when we do manage to get Tsubaki back, you will greet her with the normal spunky energy you have. Serious Makoto doesn't really suit you you know." Hunter said as Makoto couldn't help blush a bit as she looked at him. "You know. I could tell Noel that you just tried to flirt with me." Makoto said, forming a sheepish smile on her face as Hunter immediately realized what that meant.

"C-Come on Makoto! You know that I love Noel with everything I have! I won't go breaking her heart!" Hunter said as Makoto couldn't help but laugh as she waved her hand. Dismissing him and allowing him to do what he said he was going to do as Hunter realized Makoto was teasing him as he smiled and left to do his own thing as Makoto looked out at the city once more as her feelings of her current situation were in much of a complicated situation.

'Sorry guys… I still love you guys as my friends and greatly appreciate everything you have done for me… so I hope you don't mind me being selfish for this one time.' Makoto thought as she clenched her fist and decided to rush and get the things she wanted to bring with her as she felt something crawl up her back as she turned towards the broken blade she had picked up months ago in Kagutsuchi.

'This sensation again...' Makoto felt drawn towards the broken blade as her hands touched it. She didn't know why she felt such a weird attraction to a piece of metal. She had decided it was just a feeling and left it alone for months but the fact that it was pulling her again told her that something was just on her mind. She tried to put it off yet again but this time the pull was stronger than ever. Why was this broken piece of metal just calling to her the way it was?

'It's just a piece of metal…a broken weapon that has no place. But why...' Makoto thought as she picked up the broken piece. She still remembered vividly what happened that day when she picked up the blade. The sensation she felt when she saw briefly the traces of energy that Sora sometimes produced. She wanted to believe that was just a fluke, an imagination played on her mind but the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to believe that what she saw was truly real.

Hesitantly, she decided to bring along the piece of metal with her out of a whim as she reached out and took a picture for her to look at. It was a picture of her and her friend's graduation. The most important thing about it however was the fact that this was probably the only graduation picture that had the image of Sora Minakaze on it. Makoto stroked on the picture affectionately as she was determined this time to get what she wanted, even if it costed it.

"Never again.." Makoto said before taking the picture out of it's frame and placing it on her person as she decided that she better gather the rest of her things before they start moving. "I better contact The Otsu four and see what our extract is going to be. Maybe Otsu air will be able to help us in this situation?" Makoto said to herself as she decided to be active in this situation and try to figure out a way to get Caroline away from the fighting that is about to happen in Otsu.

...A fight that has been working behind the scenes…

Akitsu Ko, a normally affluent city where the rich and famous citizens go about their day, spending the accumulated wealth they have on the things most poor people would wish for. Even in the cold harsh winter conditions currently plaguing Ko, the citizens just went about their normal day. Except that is not our focus right now as we approach the Akitsu-Ko/Otsunian border gates. Normally, people who come and go between the two cities were nowhere to be seen as the NOL had fully taken control over it to use it as a forward base.

"The border's been fully secured." An NOL soldier said, saluting the black hooded figure as they stared at the 1st free city of Otsu through their mask. The soldier able to feel what felt like a thousand yard glare coming from them as he stood still, waiting for the figure to answer. "And the men we sent in there?" The hooded figure asked as the soldier looked down. "There's no word from them. I fear we might have lost them." The NOL said, presuming the worst.

"I see… go and help with the security effort for now." The figure simply said as the soldier saluted, leaving the figure to their own devices as Meifang noticed them and couldn't help but butt in. "Now this is not normal, seeing you stand and watch something and not doing something else entirely." Meifang said. "I am simply observing our current enemy… and how the NOL has failed to deal with them until now." The figure replied.

Meifang: Oh? Getting excited for battle now?

Masked figure: Do not be silly. I am here to deliver justice, not spill blood unnecessarily. We have to show the world that we are better than these so called "Refugees".

Meifang: You do know that if these refugees fight, we will have to get blood on our hands.

Masked Figure: Like that matters to me? I am simply here to exact the Imperator's will on them. Should they try to resist, then I shall gladly have my hands stained with their blood for the sake of the blue flame.

Meifang: Woah… I am starting to like you now… But if you want a word of advice, get rid of the outfit Major Yayoi. There's no need to hide yourself like the way you have been for a while now.

As soon as Meifang gave the orders, The masked figure reached out and removed the Zero Squadron provided mask, revealing it to be Tsubaki Yayoi, future head of the Yayoi household and now Major within the Zero division. Her blue eyes were now a dull red as she was in truth, under an ancient magic spell only the likes of the great sage Nine were able to cast. "I do not hide myself Captain. I choose to dress this way to ensure that nobody mistakes the appearance of the Zero division. That is all." Tsubaki explained as Meifang simply shrugged her shoulders.

"In that case, be my guest on how you dress. Just make sure you're ready, we've got our job to do." Meifang said as she soon left before Tsubaki could put in a word. Tsubaki looked at her mask before glaring back at the city. "The 1st free city of Otsu… how many people have you manipulated in your sick campaign to gain independence and become the cesspool of violence and debauchery you are now." Tsubaki said, the spell's curse weaving it's way to her subconsciousness.

The spell's name is called Mind Eater. Simply put, it's a spell that allows the caster to fully manipulate the actions of the individual. There are people who can resist the effects of Mind Eater but the way that resistance manifests itself differs from person to person. Whether or not Tsubaki Yayoi is fully under the control of the person casting Mind Eater or she is resisting deep inside has yet to be seen. Regardless of her current situation that is unknown to her, Tsubaki is simply resolute in one thing.

...Saving the people of Otsu, the innocents from the criminals that she thought were terrorizing them and manipulating them for their own personal greedy desires…

GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION! HOW IS EVERYONE DOING!? I have a bit of a confession to make. I recently got into Final Fantasy 14 and I have to say, the story is really really good. I managed to finish both A Realm Reborn and Heavensward and I can understand why people who play Final Fantasy 14. You might be wondering what this has to do with the story? Nothing really I just really wanted to say I like the game and how it's engulfing my life right now in a good way. that's how you know that even in a time like this, video games are truly a magical way to relax.

SO WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT!? HOW ARE OUR GROUP OF FRIENDS GOING TO GET AWAY FROM OTSU!? WILL THEY MEET OPPOSITION ON THEIR WAY TO ESCAPE!? WILL THEY MEET UP WITH TSUBAKI YAYOI ON THEIR WAY OUT!? AND FINALLY, WILL THEIR REUNION BE THAT OF PEACE OR WAR!? Many of these questions and more will be answered when the next distortion forms.