(A New Distortion has begun. The night of fate has been laid and the players have been staged. What will happen next? Let us find out.)
Bold = English Conversations
Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations
Distortion 31
In the fancy snowy streets of Akitsu Ko, the glitz and glamour are often placed center stage over the actual snow that was in the area. Tonight was no exception as a party hosted by the NOL was being held at a semi private estate. The estate itself was NOL property and thus was being used for a private party away from the prying eyes of the public. This being an NOL event had a multitude of high ranking NOL officers who were eager to enjoy the night.
There was a small exception though, if you had the money and the connections, you could easily get an invite to these parties as a couple of NOL soldiers unfortunate to be tasked with guard duty checked the invitations of the civilian population as they looked at the next person to walk in front of them. "Identification please." An NOL Soldier questioned, sounding both tired and deflated over being given guard duty.
The individual in front of him silently passed him their identification via an ars magus passport as the Guard checked it quickly to not stall the mass of people behind them. "Your ID checks out. Please place your bag on the ars magus scanner to check for weapons." The guard continued as the individual did so without hesitation, getting their bag scanned as nothing suspicious was discovered, allowing said person walk into the glitz and glamour of this ballroom party.
The lights were simply blinding. The chandelier above them had various gemstones attached to it that complimented the marble and gold trimmed pillars around the room. A massive picture frame that had a depiction of the Dark war on it was the center piece of the room as the individual quickly searched a corner of the room to clear their throat as they secretly slipped into their ear an earpiece that soon turned invisible thanks to a simple invisibility ars magus spell installed to the device.
"This is Bullet. You hear this Sora?" Bullet said, keeping her voice down as the mass of people helped to mask her voice. "Hearing you loud and clear Bullet. How was your entrance." Sora questioned as Bullet looked around for a bit, making sure no NOL soldiers were around her. "Well, the guards are not really interested in me, that's good at least based on what I am wearing." Bullet said as she went to a mirror to make adjustments to her current outfit.
The outfit she was wearing was not a dress but in fact, A tuxedo. With a simple black bowtie to accompany the typical black suit most men would wear for the occasion. Normally this kind of outfit would be bizarre for a woman to wear but Sora had thought about it and figured it would be easier for Bullet to appear more masculine by wrapping her breasts with a wrap and making her wear an additional undergarment that helped turned a normally busty woman like Bullet into a flat and masculine looking man. Combine that with some men's cologne and styling Bullet's hair into being a more formal look and nobody would be able to tell if Bullet was in fact a woman.
"I have to admit, this is a pretty convincing disguise. How did you figure this out?" Bullet questioned, hoping to pry into Sora's brain for a bit. "I simply looked at cosplay sites and found something that fit. Cosplay and disguise work do have things that can be applied to each other." Sora said as Bullet finished adjusting her clothes to make them appear more formal. "Still, you sure I should be the only one in the building? You could have come in with me." Bullet explained as she could feel Sora shake his head to her in a way.
"I would stick out too much in a massive party like this. Even if I were to use the prosthetic arm, people would focus on me too much. Besides it would be easier for me to stay by the shadows until I am needed." Sora explained as Bullet couldn't help but wonder where Sora was posted this whole time. "So you just need me to find the guy right? Then you will take care of the rest?" Bullet questioned as Sora simply nodded his head again to her.
"Fine. The sooner we can find this guy the sooner I can get out of this ridiculous outfit. Even if it's not a dress I don't feel right wearing this poss stuff." Bullet grumbled as Sora couldn't help but think about lightening the mood a bit to get Bullet to relax. "Well think of it like this. At least nobody would be hitting on you right now." Sora said as Bullet was about to retort before realizing that Sora was sorta correct in his assessment and decided that complaining about this to him would be more of a waste of their time and effort.
"But you're right. Just focus on finding this guy and let me handle the rest alright." Sora said as he then ended the call, keeping the conversation short and simple, much to Bullet's expectation of him at this point. 'A former mercenary who gets his work done. So far he hasn't really let me down one bit.' Bullet thought as she had hopes that Sora would continue to keep this standard he had set for himself in mind as she approached the ballroom once again to begin searching for the target that needed elimination.
'Might as well hold up my end of the bargain and try to make his life easier. I just hope that nobody tries to make conversation with me the fancy assholes.' Bullet thought as she walked right back into the ballroom. Bullet had her goal and she needed to fulfill it. Thus she walked right back in the sea of rich men and women who were mingling with the higher ups of NOL officers and some duodecim members who were invited to such a party as a way to boost their own social standing.
Man: Did you hear? The NOL are finalizing the repairs to the weather control system here in Akitsu-ko.
Man 2: Really now? Finally. I cannot stand another day of walking out in the snow. I simply hope that with the return of artificial weather, I can finally enjoy my walks across the park again.
Woman: Tell me about it, my poor little daisy is simply shivering in this harsh barbaric weather. I have found it simply a chore to walk her around while the snow is as heavy as it is.
Duodecim member: In any case, this is something worth toasting to. Ever since the NOL managed to get things under control, things have been returning to normal for us fine folk. I do hope eventually we can bring the vision of our Imperator closer to completion one day.
Man: Indeed. The sooner we can get to peace around all the hierarchical cities, the sooner we can focus our efforts on things that are not about war.
'Ugh...just kill me already.' Bullet thought as she walked past the group of individuals conversing with each other, discussing things that she could never really understand thanks to the environment she grew up in. 'If the world really did see peace, I would lose my damn job. I can't go having that happen to me now. Not when I am dirt poor and barely have any other skills besides fighting under my belt.' Bullet thought as she couldn't help but think about her old mercenary group, her hand unconsciously reaching towards where her old unit's badge would be until she realized she had to put her uniform to the side to wear her current outfit.
Bullet couldn't help but feel like she was naked right now, not wearing the very thing she identified with. This made her resolute in finding this man right away so she can discard this fake outfit and go back to wearing her old uniform immediately. With that in mind, she refocused and doubled her efforts in finding her and Sora's target as her eyes caught a glimpse of something that made her focus while she approached to get a closer look.
"To think it has already been a few years since the incident." A voice said as Bullet's eyebrows were raised as she noticed it was not coming from the main ballroom itself but the hallway adjacent to it. "C-Can we not discuss it here right now? I am just trying to enjoy myself on this fine day as we speak." Another voice replied, telling her that this may be the person she had been looking for, prompting her to get closer and have a good look.
"I would love to but the situation has sorta changed. People have noticed your old friend making some moves and the higher ups are suspecting that he may be plotting something." The first voice spoke once again as Bullet finally found some cover and blended herself in with the crowd. "My old...Garlond." The second voice spoke as Bullet immediately stood still and grabbed a glass of alcohol free champagne from one of the serving waiters.
"We need to know if your friend is making any moves in the underground right now. I don't care if you don't know, the fact is you are the one who brought us our closest chance to ending the man means that you must still know some tricks that man has on the back of his sleeve." The voice continued, pushing the second voice to try and respond. "I...It's been a few years man. I will need to find my contacts in his organization and hope none of them got expunged and…"
"We don't have much time my man. The longer you take to actually deliver any information the more reason the NOL has to cut you off. You're nothing but a loose end on witness protection and I cannot keep covering your ass forever." The first voice spoke as Bullet figured this was her chance to get a closer look. Keeping herself close to a group of people, she tilted herself in such a way she was able to get a glimpse of the person who Garlond wanted to have killed.
His appearance appeared to be a bit messy, despite keeping up to the standards of the party. He was wearing the traditional black tuxedo but his one had a couple of tails at the end. He nervously pushed up a pair of glasses close to his face as they highlighted the slowly growing black circles on his eyes, as if he had been panicking about something, worrying that something was going to happen and that he was in danger. As a result, his vision was constantly darting around, trying to see if anybody was listening in.
Bullet did not say a word and silently activated the earpiece and then tilted it so that Sora would be able to hear what is said next. "Cut me off?! From witness protection!? Now while that man is looking for the chance to kill me ever since you guys killed his daughter!?" The man said as the person he was talking to scratched his head. "Look, I am being serious here. I can't do anything to help you with big daddy and his dead girl. You got to fix that shit on your own." The superior officer complained.
"Come on Hazama! I just need a bit of time. I promise to get you that info about Garlond I swear! I just cannot leave witness protection right now!" The target spoke, jittery and nervous as Bullet slipped right back into the crowd before she drew attention. "Did you get all of that Sora?" Bullet questioned as at first, silence greeted her. This immediately made her nervous as she thought that Sora's own position had been compromised at this point.
"Hello Bullet. Sorry for the radio silence. Yes I got all of that. Just keep an eye on him and let me know when he moves to a location away from everyone." Sora quickly said as Bullet took a deep breath before drinking her glass of champagne once again. Meanwhile Sora was processing what he had just heard. Hazama. Isn't that the name of the bastard who took Makoto's arm from her? Even if this was a different version of the same person, he cannot help but feel a sense of anger that the person who harmed the person he loved.
If he could, he would hunt Hazama down and put him down a peg. But right now he had no time for such pettiness. All he needed to do was kill the person Garlond wanted dead and get out of the city. His goal was not revenge, that can always wait. All he needed to do was just get back to his own timeline and find Makoto once again. He didn't want to be away from her any further he needed to be. He slapped himself in the face, bringing himself back to focus as he began his own infiltration of the building.
For the longest time, Sora was never really a stealth expert. His method of infiltration was to be frank, the most brute force method anybody could do in a stealthy manner. Sora took a couple of deep breathes before holding a piece of grappling rope and tossing it over the wall. He then began his ascent up the wall quickly before the NOL could notice anything bizarre as Sora dropped himself into the small snow pile that had formed below, taking the grappling rope with him as he felt the impact of the snow smash on his back.
He couldn't help but wonder if he would have an easier time if he had just walked through the front door. But at the same time, he would rather not be wearing some stuffy formal wear that would be restrictive so he would take this option anytime of the day. Now that he was inside the area, he needed to prepare his and Bullet's way out. Rummaging through his pack, he placed a piece of explosive on the wall behind him and buried it within the snow. The explosive was strong enough that even with the snow on top of it, the force would be strong enough for what he needed for it to do.
Next, he had to find a spot to hide and he quickly moved himself to the courtyard and stayed on the snow itself. Burying himself deep in the snow and making sure he was covering any places where skin could be seen, he soon looked like a piece of rock, a background piece as he had wrapped his face in such a manner that he would be able to speak if needed but more importantly, not be noticed immediately by guards who were patrolling around the area, simply wanting to go back inside the building due to how cold it was.
"Sora. Our man is on the move. It seems he's getting a bit jittery and is going to leave soon." Bullet said as Sora knew what the man was trying to do. His paranoia was starting to get to him and he wanted to leave and bunker down back at his home. He was not feeling safe at this party clearly after the news he got. "Just stay close and let me know what he does. I will stay put myself." Sora simply said as he closed his eyes and began to focus on the task in front of him.
'Block all distractions right now Sora. Right now your goal isn't to get back home. Or to kill the man who ruined your woman's life or even to get back to Makoto. Your goal is just to eliminate this person and leave without much fuss.' Sora thought as he couldn't help but feel his old instincts as a mercenary return to him. Bullet did ask if him killing a person would be trouble but Sora didn't really think about it until Bullet's words to him. Maybe it was because he had become desensitized to the thought of murder but he couldn't help but wonder. Would he hesitate to kill this nobody after not doing so for years?
His finger couldn't help but drift towards the gun that was on his chest right now. The means of which were to end this man's life. Sora has had killed people before, both in self defense and actively. He had killed people when he was a mercenary, killed back in the Academy and has not claimed a life since. Sora steadied himself as he knew that any further thoughts about him claiming a life would simply put, endanger him in the future. He was going to have to claim many more lives to get back to where he truly belonged.
'I'm sorry about this… but I am glad that you are not here to see me go through this again Makoto.' Sora thought as soon, all thoughts of what it means to kill vanished from his mind. Only the thought of what he needed to do remained as Bullet once again contacted him for what he felt was going to be the last time. "Sora. He's out at the courtyard. He's got a couple of guards beside him and they seem to be rushing him towards his vehicle." Bullet said as Sora opened his eyes, ready to go to work.
"Just get ready to leave Bullet. I hope that things will go smoothly but just prepare for things to get messy." Sora said as he soon emerged from the snow, his eyes now spotting his target trying to get out of there as quickly as possible. To most normal people, it would be safe to assume that he was leaving early due to an emergency. To Sora that was completely fine. Let the people think what they want, all they needed to know was that he was leaving, but not for the reasons they would have figured.
Sora did not hesitate to move, staying low and making sure he was not sticking out as much. He wanted to get as close as possible and only take out the person he needed to take out. The entourage that was following him was not necessary, just the main man himself. The guards that were patrolling around the courtyard had left to enter the warmth of the building, not many people were around now. This was the chance that Sora needed to do what he needed to do.
Sora quickened his pace and focused on his target. His target was being followed by just a single NOL guard. Most likely the sole bodyguard placed to protect him because as soon as something were to happen, the rest of the NOL would respond and assist almost immediately. Sora did say he was going to go as silent as possible to avoid such a thing so he needed to act fast before more eyes would be on the scene.
Pulling out his knife, the first thing he did was deliver a strong yet silent strike to the head with the butt end of the blade right at the bodyguard's head. As soon as that happened, Sora immediately charged towards the target. As soon as the bodyguard crashed to the ground, this alarmed the target of what was happening, turning around to just face Sora. Before he could make a noise, Sora immediately placed his hand on the man's mouth and charged towards a wall. Soon, both he and the target smashed themselves at said wall, Sora plunging the knife deep into the man's chest before pulling it out and furiously stabbing him several times before ending him with a stab to the head.
The whole exchange only lasted at least half a minute but to Sora it felt like it took forever. He did not dare to take a breath as he quickly checked to confirm he had killed the man he needed to take out. Once he felt no heart beat, he respectfully closed the man's eyes, able to do so because he was smart to wear gloves to not leave fingerprints when the NOL try to find proof of the killer. Sora had confirmed beforehand he had killed the man at a blind spot for the cameras and thus it was truly a silent kill.
"Bullet, the job's done. Get out of there now." Sora simply said, keeping his reply brief as he knew he needed to leave now before things got messy. He did not bother trying to hide the body as there was proof of a murder already there and it would take forever to clean the scene without the use of Ars Magus. Both of them agreed to meet up at a spot then taking the getaway vehicle prepared to smuggle them out of Akitsu-Ko before it was too late so all Sora needed to do was just leave the area.
Yet Sora was very aware that there was no such thing as an easy getaway. The way the pieces lined up, there was going to be something to ruin the silent kill he had just done and a simple sigh in the air was all Sora needed to hear to understand that he had been found. As if reacting to danger, Sora immediately rolled out of the way followed by the wall blasting away, kicking up dust in the area as Sora looked at what had happened to see his suspicions about things being easy being proven right.
"I know that he was a bit of a pain to keep around but he still had information worth keeping. So while I should be grateful for you getting rid of that eyesore, I am not so happy over the fact that you had to kill him before I can get my answers." A certain ear grating voice said as Sora simply remained quiet and quickly sheathed the knife, readying something in the meantime. "Well...I at least have a rough idea of who is responsible for this death. But the question is, who the hell are you." The voice continued as Sora got a glimpse of the person in front of him.
His black outfit would have blended in perfectly with the party that was happening above, his tie neatly adjusted as his vest held the rest of the time. His green hair was styled in such a way they covered his eyes and even if Sora could see the eyes, this man had his eyes closed. He sighed as he put his hand on the fedora he wore, making sure the fedora remained in place as the man's eyes open, the yellow eyes glaring right at Sora.
"Hazama…" Sora said as Hazama was surprised to hear his name spoken out. "Oh? You know my name? I thought I did a good job hiding myself from the public eye. Either I am losing my touch or you are more than what you seem to be. Murderer." Hazama said as Sora took a deep breath, knowing what Hazama was trying to do and was determined to not fall for it. "Playing silent huh. Well it doesn't really matter whether you speak or not, I will have a fun time breaking you back at headquarters." Hazama said as he brandished out his balisong knives while the green chain of Ouroboros floated beside him.
"Don't expect me to show mercy to a cripple like you. I could give a less of a damn about your disability right now since you committed murder." Hazama said as Sora simply continued to remain quiet before he began to slowly pace, trying to not be in a spot where Hazama can easily corner him. As much as Sora would like to beat up this guy right now, that was not worth it right now. He was on a tight schedule himself and wasting time fighting Hazama to hopefully knock him out would be an exercise in futility.
"Don't worry. I understand the consequences of my actions. Which is why I have a simple response." Sora said as he clicked the detonator behind him as suddenly, the explosive he had place exploded, causing a massive wave of snow to blind the area as Sora used this as his chance to escape. Hazama himself did not expect something like this to happen and after quickly enhancing his knives with a bit of wind ars magus, used them to blow away the snow that Sora's explosion had created to get a better view.
As soon as he cleared the view in front of him, Sora was long gone. Soon the sound of people shouting rang in Hazama's ears as he ran to the source of the commotion. Sora's explosive had detonated and made a massive hole on the wall. This caused both the NOL guards and the guests to see what had happened and discuss among themselves the severity of what had just happened. "Status report! Right now!" Hazama shouted, bringing in the attention of one NOL guard.
NOL Soldier: There was just an explosion that happened near one of the estate walls. We are currently investigating the cause…
Hazama: No not that! I can see that myself. What I want to know is where is the person responsible for this!
NOL Soldier: The person…!?
Hazama: Yes Yes I know! We have a dead body here. Someone came here to murder this guy. I have a suspicion about who did this but the murderer is currently missing.
NOL soldier: Well… we have blocked off the hole sir. So if they were intending to use it to escape, that would be impossible right now. As much as we would like to go find them, we need to contain the situation here and reassure the party guests that everything is fine.
Hazama sighed and understood the soldier's words. As much as he would like to get the soldiers to find the person responsible for murdering the man at his feet, they need to make sure the rich and famous don't go panicking. It was then another individual emerged from the crowd to reach Hazama. "Is everything alright here gentlemen." The person spoke as Hazama turned to face said man before sighing.
"As you can see, we have a rightful mess here. An assassin came in to murder the person responsible for making one of the biggest criminals in the world retire from actual crime and they caused what we are seeing here. So unless we got some extra backup colonel, we are going to be tied up containing the situation here before we can get searching." Hazama complained as the colonel scratched his head.
"And here I was hoping to at least score myself a date tonight. Let me handle things here Hazama. You are better off searching for the guy we need rather than sitting around and doing nothing." The colonel said as Hazama couldn't help but smile at that. "Why thank you Colonel Mutsuki. I truly appreciate your calm assessment of this shit storm we are in right now." Hazama said as the man, now revealed to be Kagura Mutsuki sighed as he adjusted his formal wear once again.
"Can you just go now. I got a lot of things to handle. Relaxing night this turned out to be." Kagura complained as Hazama simply grinned and ran off, beginning his hunt for the murderer. "Are you sure we should let him go by himself to find the man responsible for this? We could have sent some of our men with him." The soldier questioned as Kagura shook his head. "Hazama's intelligence, those types are normally used to hunting their man down. I am sure that he would be able to find the guy at the end of the night. More importantly, get these people under control, the last thing we need is for everyone to start panicking." Kagura explained as the soldier simply remained quiet at that moment and left without saying a word.
As Kagura proceeded to handle the situation in front of him, Sora was running away from the scene of the crime he caused. At this point, the commotion he caused must have bought him some time and he did not need to draw much attention to himself. It was for this reason he chose to walk on the streets of Akitsu-Ko without trying to hide in the shadows. It was simply faster than trying to go through the back alleys as he knew for sure the checkpoint will be closed soon to prevent the murderer from fleeing the scene of the crime.
"Hey Sora. Thanks for that distraction you caused. I'm out and making my way to the escape point." Bullet said as Sora placed his hand on his ear, pretending he was taking an Ars Magus call. "That's good but we aren't out of the woods yet. They will start looking for us and we cannot let our guard down. Be careful leaving and watch out for a black suit wearing man with green hair and a fedora. He's intelligence and not good news." Sora said, exploiting his knowledge to give him and Bullet a better chance of escaping.
"Shit NOL Intelligence was at that party? Must have been blending at the party to catch would be assassins. I'll keep my eye out and thanks for the info." Bullet said as she ended the transmission there, making sure that anybody that could have been listening on their conversation did not catch any important details. With Bullet's final words in his mind, Sora simply focused on reaching his destination and did not want to get into further fights in the mean time.
"Just keep a low profile for the time being. We cannot afford to cause further trouble on ourselves. That would make it harder for the smugglers to get us out of the city." Sora reported as he could hear a sound of approval from Bullet. "In that case, we should hurry. I say we got 30 minutes tops before they close down the checkpoints." Bullet added as Sora made a sound of acknowledgment as well to reassure Bullet he understood what she was saying.
"Then let's meet up at 10. We should also end calls for now. Only contact if the plan changes drastically." Sora said as with that, both him and Bullet ended their respective calls. After that call, Sora couldn't help but think about the situation that was in front of him now. He had made sure that the cameras did not catch a glimpse of his face but even so, what happens now? Isn't he supposed to be someone who doesn't exist? Does that mean that eventually, if they are not around him, people would just forget about him.
While that is a bit of an advantage in this case, he also had to factor in that by the fact that he got back to his own world, he might have been forgotten already. Now that he actually gave it thought, was it actually worth going back if he was just going back to a world that has forgotten him? It was basically like him going to this world where he was already not known but now with the knowledge of the people and environment around him.
'I could just make a home here… but Makoto's waiting for me back at home. Even if everyone has forgotten… she would probably be fighting to keep me alive in her memories in whatever way possible. I can't disappoint her if that is the case.' Sora thought as he began to pick up his pace. The goal as to why he committed murder in the first place now returning to his mind. Wherever Bullet goes, he didn't really give much thought. He was going to be fine on his own afterwords.
Though it was nice having a sort of partner by his side, watching his back. It felt like the old days again, back with Code Zero. 'What is with me today and getting this sentimental…' Sora thought as he tried to push back his current set of thoughts with the simple goal of making to his destination in 10 minutes before something else happens. Whether it might be something in his current situation like that green haired freak somehow finding him or his even bigger situation like Amy or the girl with the massive sword suddenly appearing right in front of him.
'I don't have the Rev System with me and my drive is basically not functioning right now… Wait a minute. I forgot about something.' Sora thought as his gaze went towards his stump of an arm. He had tested if he could use his drive on to find himself keeling over and fainting but what about the ghost arm that would sometimes manifest itself out of nowhere. He had yet to think about trying that out because he rarely used it in the first place, having a preference towards his other tools instead and also it just manifesting whenever it wants.. but maybe… just maybe…
'I should probably try it out later. One, I don't really have the time to actually test things out properly. Two, if I test it out and it doesn't work, I may faint again and that would be a terrible thing to have happen right now.' Sora thought, being rational as he knew every action he took may potentially be his last. If the gods were playing chess with his life, then he had to try and fight back regardless of what is going on around him.
"Right...Just take a left here…" Sora said as he picked up the pace. He had been casually walking to pace himself but now that he knew they were on a limit there was no need for such a slow paced walk now. For now, all Sora could do with his own limited power based on what he knew the world was capable of throwing at him was take each challenge thrown at him one at a time. Regardless of what morals he would need to throw at the side, he had to make it back home. Back home to the person who he needed to be by their side.
...To make sure he never leaves her alone ever again…
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION! HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY!? I am doing good myself as usual. Life has not been too busy that I haven't been able to write but it hasn't gotten too quiet that I have been left nothing to do so there's good in both things I guess. All I can say is that I am grateful that the world hasn't come crashing and burning around us. At least some things in the world have remained sane while we live in what seems to be an ever growing insane world. I seriously hope that one day the world gets it's shit together and puts itself back to shape.
SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT FOR SORA MINAKAZE!? NOW THAT HE HAS DONE WHAT WAS GIVEN TO HIM, WHAT WILL BE HIS NEXT PATH!? BEFORE HE CAN GET TO HIS NEXT TASK, WILL HE GET OUT OF THE 9TH HIERARCHICAL CITY OF AKITSU-KO!? AND WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM!? WILL THEY FOLLOW SUIT!? Well the only way to find out will be to wait for the next distortion to form.