Chapter 8
Shirogane Luna:
Luna was probably one of the few people who would say she was happy to be back at school come Monday. Maybe even the only one. But she was. The weekend had been like any other: empty, lonely, and crushing.
Her parents hadn't been around. Again. Although both of them had returned from their respective business trips that Friday, she had seen very little of them as they recovered from their jet lag and then proceeded to catch up with their socialite friends at late night parties. Aside from the maids and meeting up with Gonta and Kizamaro to do homework on Sunday, she hadn't seen anyone.
Perhaps that was why she was always itching to prover herself to people. To prove that she was worth being around.
But that was neither here nor there at the moment. She was at school, where it was compulsory for everyone in her class to spend eight hours together.
Luna snuck a glance out of the corner of her eye, catching the increasingly familiar of a bright, red jacket and bored, brown eyes. School was compulsory for everyone, save Subaru when he was too busy being an emotionally stunted jerk.
She wrinkled her nose at the thought of their exchange this morning:
"Good morning, Hoshikawa-kun! How was your weekend?"
"Uninteresting."
"How so?"
"Not really any of your business."
With that he had walked away, giving Luna the impression that his weekend had been anything but 'uninteresting.' But he didn't seem forthcoming with any explanation. And the more she tried to press him, drag the answers out of him, the more he avoided her. He could be so incredibly rude sometimes it amazed her.
She would have to riddle this out on her own. Because, while she didn't like Subaru that much, she thought he was interesting enough. And that was a starting point for friendship in and of itself. How else would she have become friends with the resident beef boy and vertically-challenged nerd? Certainly not by having a closed mind about things.
Subaru let loose another yawn, keeping it quiet for the sake of Ikuta-sensei who was currently giving a lecture. A lecture! That was another tidbit Luna had filed away for later consideration. But Subaru was her more pressing concern. Just like the day after the 'virus' attack last week (at least, that was what the media was calling it), Subaru looked tired. Those bags under his eyes were taking up permanent residence. And there was no way any of the information from the lecture was sinking in to his thick skull. She tracked the tip of his stylus across his desk pad, and it wasn't moving in tandem with the current material. It was almost like….
Almost like he was writing messages. Back and forth. A constant stream of conversation.
Subaru glanced up and around, no doubt making a tiny effort to appear to be paying attention, but a green flash on his screen made his concentration snap back down. Luna saw him roll his eyes and smother a sigh before scribbling another line. What in the world? A half-remembered conversation filtered back through her memory:
"Where's your friend today? I don't see him around."
"He ditched me."
Was that who Subaru was messaging, his mysterious 'friend'? Whoever could stand to be friends with Subaru must be some kind of character. She certainly was. Luna made a note to ask him about it later in an offhanded sort of way so he didn't get suspicious. Subaru was definitely the kind of person who would run if you made him uncomfortable; after all, he'd done so for the first month of their acquaintance.
That one mystery somewhat solved, Luna decided to direct all of her attention back to the lecture. The lecture! Conversations could be saved for lunch when they didn't interfere with her school work. And by facing the front of the classroom, Luna was surprised to find that she wasn't the only one spying on her classmates.
Two rows in front of her and one seat to her left, sat Tsukasa, eyeing her steadily. He cocked an eyebrow when she started to stare. Had he been watching her? But when he shot a questioning glance at Subaru, Luna was able to relax. He was wondering about Captain Space-out. She offered Tsukasa a shrug which he accepted.
Lord, help her. This day had only begun!
"Do you see this!?"
The demand came from several inches below her head, so Luna could only guess that it had been Kizamaro who had made it. The reason for her guess: the boy was holding a sheet of paper in front of her face – so close that her breath made it flutter back with its force.
"I can't see it when you're holding it that close." She responded, letting her irritation soak the words, "But I know what it is."
Gonta, helpful as ever, knocked Kizamaro's arm so that the paper fluttered out of the boy's hand, and consequently, our out of Luna's face as well. "We were all there, Kiza." Gonta said roughly, "We all got the homework. Duh, Prez knows what it is."
"He's right, Kizamaro. And here I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."
Kizamaro sent a glare at Tsukasa for adding his two cents.
"I thought Ikuta-sensei was acting oddly today," Kizamaro muttered, "Am I the only one?"
"No you're not." Luna took the lead and found a table in the lunch room. The four of them sat down. Subaru was nowhere in sight. Luna had a feeling that, after their conversation on Friday, Subaru wouldn't be joining them for any part of lunch today. She tried to ignore the way that thought sagged in her mind. So instead, she took over the new topic, "Ikuta-sensei usually teaches by example and interaction. Through projects and presentations. He says we learn a lot more by setting learning objectives with our peers and collaborating. So why did he suddenly decide to talk at us for a full fifty minutes?"
"Maybe he just had a lot of material to cover today, and there wasn't a better way of doing it." Tsukasa offered before taking a bite out of his sandwich.
"Maybe." Kizamaro conceded, "But then, why would he give us worksheets? He hates those! He says they're too structured to promote malleable thinking."
Luna tried playing devil's advocate, "But what do we know about the education process. Probably very little, from an educator's point of view."
"I guess." Kizamaro's voice was hesitant, but he soon shot a look at Gonta and it became more forceful, "Gonta-kun! Back me up on this. You always like a good conspiracy theory!"
"Dunno, Kiza." Gonta muttered through a mouthful of something Luna couldn't identify – probably something meat based, though. "Aliens?"
Kizamaro groaned in exasperation and let his head fall forward onto the table, "Seriously, Gonta-kun?"
"Sure! Why not?"
"Why are you so concerned, Kizamaro?" Luna asked. Not that she wasn't as well, but she couldn't pinpoint why a good student like Kizamaro was so stressed about worksheets of all things. It wasn't like they didn't do enough of them in other classes.
"Because," Kizamaro mumbled into the table, "Ikuta-sensei leads the school's STEM program and I'd be really disappointed if it turned into the same thing."
"Can't you just quit the club if it doesn't interest you anymore?"
At that, Kizamaro looked up, eyes serious, "No. Because, if you're involved with the STEM program long enough, it can give you an edge in college. If you decide to go into a STEM major you can opt out of a bunch of classes and get a head start!" Luna smiled at her enthusiastic friend before he tagged on, "And the STEM program is a lot of fun. You guys should come sometime!"
"I bet Subaru would like it." Tsukasa commented.
"I bet he would."
Luna's reiteration came softly, just loud enough for her to hear. After the progress they'd made, she hoped that Subaru eventually would come back to join their group, but for the time being she was content to give him space. He had his friend to talk to; maybe that would help. Speaking of friends.
"Tsukasa-kun!" She blurted so loudly that the other three boys all jumped at the suddenness of it, "Do you want to go to a concert this Friday?"
The way his brown eyes widened was indication enough of his surprise.
"What brought this on?" He asked tentatively.
"Kizamaro landed us tickets for the Hibiki Misora concert, and they only come in sets of four. It would be a great way to celebrate your return to school!"
Tsukasa laughed.
"It would, Luna-chan. Unfortunately, my return to school does not come without conditions. I have very rigorous physical therapy that is going to keep me busy for the next few months. The doctors need to make sure that my brain is still connected to all my important bits. I think I mentioned to you before that my surgery was pretty invasive."
"That sucks." Gonta summary was quite succinct.
"Yeah." Kizamaro agreed.
Tsukasa shot them all a smile, "Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. But hey, if you're celebrating someone's return to school, why not ask Subaru?"
Luna scoffed, "That prick?"
"You seem very concerned with his success, Luna-chan," Tsukasa widened his winning smile, "And isn't positive reinforcement the key to success?"
"Hoshikawa-kun doesn't seem like a fan of Hibiki Misora." Kizamaro tapped his chin, remembering the conversation they'd had on the wave rail.
"He'll learn to like her." Gonta ground his fist into his other hand like that would drive the point home.
Seeing that, Luna took control, "Alright, fine. I'll ask him. Alone. I don't need you boys being too overeager. I don't think Hoshikawa-kun is over what happened last Friday."
Kizamaro pushed his glasses up is nose, "We'll give him space."
Gonta added, "But not for long."
Luna sighed. That was the best outcome she could hope for. Her lackeys were the very definition of overeager.
School was over. But instead of heading to her own locker, Luna staked out Subaru's. She didn't have to wait long. Subaru always seemed to be on the move, and moving quickly at that.
"You're orbiting again." He said with a grimace as he approached his locker, but there was no real heat behind his words.
"I just wanted to ask you a question." She replied, making her best effort to be placating.
"Ask away."
Luna would have been thrilled at Subaru's willingness if he hadn't just opened his locker so that the door now divided them. Said boy's head was buried in its depths. Could he even hear her?
"Well…" She started and then trailed off. It didn't look like her target was paying attention.
"Yeah?" Subaru prompted.
"Would you like to go to a Hibiki Misora concert with us? 'Us' being Kiza, Gonta, and I. It's this coming Friday. We even have a ticket for you."
Subaru pulled his head out of the locker and gave her an indecipherable look. Thoughtful. Almost like he was considering it. His eyebrows were pulled together in thought. Brown eyes dark and piercing.
It was the strangest thing. Because, if she were honest with herself, Luna had thought she was going to receive a flat-out refusal. Subaru had very little interest in hanging out with her group and even lest interest in famous pop-stars.
Moments passed. Students moved in a flurry around them, itching to go home after a long Monday. But Luna's attention was solely on this boy and the metaphorical gears turning in his brain.
"I guess you don't have to make up your mind right now." She said finally.
"No."
"'No' what?"
"No thanks." Subaru suddenly decided, "Thanks, but no thanks. I have other plans this Friday."
"It sure took you a long time to remember those plans." Luna grumbled.
The corner of Subaru's lips twitched in what could almost be considered a smile. Apparently, she'd made a joke. But she didn't really understand what had just happened. Luna could have sworn that Subaru was about to take her up on her offer. For some reason he wanted to go to the concert, but he wouldn't admit it to her.
"Sorry about that. But I'm busy."
First an apology and second…
"Busy with what?"
"A lot."
"That doesn't answer my question."
Subaru shot her a smug look, "Exactly."
And apparently, that was the end of their conversation. Subaru tossed a book in his bag and zipped it closed. Shutting his locker firmly, he slung his bag over his shoulder and took off down the hall.
"Later!"
He was almost out the door when Luna called after him, "Hey, Hoshikawa-kun!"
Subaru stopped and turned to give her a questioning look. His hand was resting on the door. But he had stopped to listen. That was enough.
Now if only she could remember what she wanted to say?
It wasn't coming to her.
"We missed you at lunch today! You should definitely join us tomorrow!"
He didn't say anything, but when he turned to leave, he waved his transer ridden arm in acknowledgement. Not a 'yes' and not a 'no.' But he didn't ignore her. That was a start.
No… not a start. She'd come a long way from that already. But she still had a long way to go.
Hoshikawa Subaru:
"If you wanted to go to the concert, why didn't you take the blonde bimbo up on her offer?"
Warrock swatted at Subaru's cursor when it strayed too close to 'Rock's side of the computer screen.' Subaru shot his EM companion a scathing look before continuing with his task – navigating a website that re-sold unwanted tickets. But finding a cheap ticket for the Hibiki Misora concert was proving to be difficult. The venue tickets had already been bought out, probably by people on said website who were trying to make money off those desperate enough to pay inflated prices.
"Because," Subaru explained, getting back to the question posed to him, "It would be suspicious if I accepted her offer and then disappeared for the entirety of the concert. She'd ask too many questions. And I don't particularly like questions."
"Me either." Warrock agreed, "I don't really like that bossy girl."
"She's not so bad." Subaru said absently and he skimmed another page.
Warrock scoffed, but didn't say anything more about it. Human relations were weird. An EM alien such as himself didn't really understand, nor did he care enough to try and understand. As long as Subaru operated at capacity, Warrock wouldn't intervene. But that didn't mean he wouldn't make fun of the kid at every opportunity.
"This is a scam!" Subaru growled suddenly, "There's no way the venue charged this much for tickets!"
The cursor came dangerously close to Warrock again as Subaru angrily closed the window. Warrock swatted at it, just for the heck of it. But Subaru wasn't paying him attention anyway. The boy spun in his desk chair, dropping his hands to dangle his sides.
"Are you really that desperate to go?" Warrock asked, crashing another search engine Subaru had left open as retribution. It was browsing something about 'atmospheric deflection.'
"Yeah, Rock." Subaru sighed, "I need to know. One way or another."
"Why not hack one of these losers' accounts, lower the price, and then buy it." Warrock suggested, "Or we could just go as Rockman and avoid the whole ticket thing."
"I thought through both those options. The first one is possible, but illegal. The second, not so possible. Inspector Goyouda still has Rockman tracking enabled on his transer. We show up when there's trouble and that's it."
"No more exploring?" Warrock whined.
"For now." Subaru turned back to his computer and reopened his lost tabs, reversing Warrock's retribution, "At least until I can work out a countermeasure."
"Then get to work!" Warrock insisted, crashing the search engine again and pulling up the programming modules Subaru usually used, "I hate being inconvenienced! Inspector Lightbulb isn't going to connect the dots anyway!"
Subaru sighed again. Giving in, he started to code, even as he talked, "But he does know that we're not just some virus. We gotta be careful. He's collaborating with Amachi now too. If anyone is going to connect the dots it will be Amachi."
Warrock growled, "Now we gotta worry about your boss, huh?"
"He's not my boss, Rock. But yeah, we do." Subaru thought about the necessary logic for the program before tapping out another few lines of code, "We'll worry about finding a concert ticket later."
Warrock was silent for a bit before he grumbled, "Leave finding the concert ticket to me if you're going to be so set on it."
Subaru shot the FMian a sideways glance as his fingers flew over the keys, "Really?"
Warrock's red eyes flashed, "Count on me, kid. I'm just going to go chat up some Navis and Mr. Hertz and see what I can find. I will use force if necessary."
Subaru just rolled his eyes, "I'd expect nothing less from you."
Wednesday was proving to be just as thrilling as Monday. And given Subaru's Monday, that meant: absolutely underwhelming. How did he ever wake up this early, every day, in elementary school?
He'd worked late into the night for the past two days to finish up the prototype tracking countermeasure. Which meant that he'd been up even later finishing up his actual homework. Life had been so much easier when he operated on his own schedule.
And despite his progress on the program, he couldn't be sure that it worked until it was installed in a machine with the right sensors and even then he couldn't test it out until he was Rockman. That would be his first objective after school. Subaru's eyes burned as the thought of the late nights in front of the computer screen that this project might require; it could take multiple iterations to get it working without any bugs.
Subaru rubbed at his eyes again, ignoring Luna's probing gaze and trying to catch whatever Ikuta Sensei was lecturing about. It was difficult.
But whatever deities existed took pity on Subaru. The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Ikuta Sensei froze, cut off mid-sentence.
"Y-you all have homework due this Friday," Ikuta stuttered. Frantically, the man shuffled around the papers on his desk, nabbing a stack and making it to the door at the same time as the first student. More worksheets. The disrupted papers on the desk were stirred up by the flurry of activity and dripped to the floor as a consequence.
Subaru took his time getting his things together, allowing plenty of time for Luna and her lackeys to leave the room. He was tired. He didn't have the patience to deal with their shenanigans at lunch again. That was drama he could deal without.
He passed Ikuta Sensei's desk, saw the papers on the floor and bent to pick them up.
Final Warning
Mid-Year Report
Performance Summary
A lot of official looking jargon scattered the important looking documents. And none of it looked good. Subaru glanced up at the man in question. Ikuta Sensei leaned against the doorframe like it was the only reason he was still standing. He'd certainly been growing paler and more drawn since early last week. Something was seriously stressing him out.
Subaru gathered up the papers and stacked them together. The sound of the edges clicking against the tile floor caught Ikuta's attention. His squinty eyes creased and his lips pulled into a taut smile.
"Ah, Hoshikawa-kun, I didn't see you there. I thought everyone had already left."
"Almost." Subaru offered a shrug in return.
"I really am so happy to have you in class." Ikuta wiped his brow with a sleeve. "If you ever want to speak up about a topic within your expertise, feel free. However, class is probably not the best time to be interactive…" he tapped his chin thoughtfully before his eyes lit up with excitement, "Have you thought of attending our STEM club after school, Hoshikawa-kun?"
"This is the first I've heard about it." Subaru said honestly.
"We get to do a lot of hands on activities in applied science." Ikuta crossed to his desk and rifled through the mess of papers for a moment before he found what he was looking for: a tri-fold pamphlet. He handed it to Subaru who handed him the stack of fallen papers in return. "That a brief description of our program highlights…"
Subaru thumbed through the pamphlet.
"It may be a bit… juvenile for someone like you." Ikuta was back to sounding put-out.
"No," Subaru jumped to answer, "It looks great! I'll give it some thought."
Ikuta looked marginally better when Subaru bid him goodbye and pushed his way out of the classroom. It was lunchtime now and the halls were empty. He could hear the ambient chatter of the cafeteria far off to his right, so he hitched his backpack up and took a left. Toward peace. Toward the planetarium.
There was a wide ledge over the door, where the dome ceiling met the walls. Subaru climbed up to his perch, pulling out the lunch his mom had so graciously made for him. Overhead, a simulation flickered by, the faux stars twinkling in the background. At last, Subaru sighed to himself, silence.
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind when the door to the planetarium opened and closed. Subaru pulled his feet up so that they weren't dangling over the passage, hoping against all hopes that whoever it was would just turn around and leave.
"Shit outta luck." Warrock whispered from Subaru's transer.
A green head popped into view.
"Hey, Subaru-kun!" Tsukasa said with just a smidge too much cheer.
"Hey." Subaru's tone fell flat.
Tsukasa laughed, "Now that wasn't unenthusiastic at all."
"I detect sarcasm."
"I do too." Tsukasa shot back, a grin still tugging at his lips, "Can I join you up there?"
Subaru hesitated, which Tsukasa undoubtedly didn't miss, but the kid wasn't budging.
"I guess."
"Cool." The lanky boy situated himself on the ledge so he could easily lay back and view the show, hands tucked behind his head.
Subaru didn't say anything and the sim continued to run silently.
"Is this what I think it is?" Tsukasa asked after a few minutes.
"I'm not sure what you think it is." Subaru supplied unhelpfully.
Tsukasa chuckled, letting the dry humor slide. The sim zoomed in on a green orbit around the earth so that a satellite filled the view. "It is." Tsukasa crowed, "I'm not completely clueless about this space stuff after all!"
Subaru didn't grace that comment with one of his own.
"The famous satellites – Pegasus, Dragon, and Leo – that orbit earth." Tsukasa continued, "They act as power plants, gathering EM energy from space, refining the signals, and transmitting it for everyday use to our technology. Some scientists have said that the satellites operate at unheard-of levels and can calibrate energy down to the nearest pico-joule. It's amazing."
Subaru couldn't hold back his look of surprise. But Tsukasa just chuckled again, "They changed our way of life. It should be common knowledge."
"It should be." Subaru agreed, "But that doesn't mean it is."
Tsukasa shrugged nonchalantly, but couldn't hold back his smug satisfaction at the complement.
"My dad designed most of the guts of the satellites."
"Which means he also would have access to the data."
Subaru shot Tsukasa a side-eyed glance, "What's your point."
Tsukasa's gaze was still fixed on the sim. A red satellite shimmered in the artificial sunlight projected on the dome ceiling, "I think the opinion of an expert matters more than the opinion of a highschooler." His voice was firm, "You're dad had the facts. You're his son. You believe him with both your mind and your heart. And I think you're right too. I can't speak for the others, but lunch is much more boring without you."
The topic seemed to spin on a dime, giving Subaru conversational whiplash. Tsukasa's smile was genuine. Subaru couldn't detect a hint of deception or mockery.
"I hope that wasn't an attempt at brownnosing just to get me back." Subaru said all the same, raising just one eyebrow to show that he was teasing.
"Oh no. I'm a much better brownnoser than that."
Subaru raised both his eyebrows, making Tsukasa laugh aloud.
"Fine." Subaru conceded, "But next time we skip out on the class-president-to-be and her goons, we should crash at the greenhouse."
Tsukasa looked thrilled at the open invitation. Maybe the disruption to his peace hadn't been quite so bad.
Subaru snuck through the back doors of the main control room in AMAKEN.
"Why are we sneaking?" Warrock asked, "It's not like you're not allowed in here."
"I know." Subaru hissed back, scanning the empty workstations, "But I'm not usually here to install an experimental program that might disrupt normal functions of the lab. It's risky…" His grip tightened on the jump drive in his hand, "I shouldn't be doing this."
Warrock growled from the transer, a sound of consideration, "You put a lot of time into this, kid. I was there. You checked and double checked the logic. It's as safe as you can make it at this point. And it's not like you can't uninstall it if it doesn't work. We just need to wipe our signature."
Subaru didn't say anything, but Warrock was fairly proficient at reading him at this point. The kid was nervous. It would be the first tangible cover-up Subaru would do for Rockman; one that came with personal consequences if it fell through.
"This a test." Subaru said quietly, plopping himself into the nearest workstation, "If it doesn't work, I'll delete the program. No more fiddling. We'll just be careful as Rockman."
"Your call, kid."
Subaru logged in and loaded up the program. Within a few minutes, he had installed it in the appropriate files, linking it into the functions that tracked specific EM signatures.
No sooner had he closed the windows when a voice carried over his shoulder.
"Hoshikawa-kun?"
Subaru spun on the spot, trying to hide the way his adrenaline had just spiked. His heart was pounding and he could feel a drop of sweat rolling down the back of his neck.
"Utagai-san! I didn't hear anyone come in."
"You were busy." The scientist waved away his concerns, "But with what, may I ask?"
Subaru squirmed in his seat, his brain focusing on everything besides coming up with a believable excuse. Utagai's face was much fuller than it had been in the hospital. Under his arms were tucked large stacks of manila folders. Colorful tabs decorated the top but giving no hint as to what they might contain.
"I was installing a program!" Subaru hastily explained after his brief silence, "It automatically updates the files in my lab with the data gathered after these EM attacks. It will be pertinent information for my next project."
"The one about how EM waves interact with human physiology?" Utagai's bangs fell out of his face when he tilted his head in question.
"Yeah… how'd you hear about that?"
"Amachi-san told me." Utagai explained, "It's certainly an interesting topic…" The scientist suddenly perked up, like a clue had fallen into place, "Does it have some direct correlation to these EM attacks? Like what happens to the humans involved?"
Subaru didn't think it was possible to feel any more put on the spot. He was wrong.
But Utagai seemed to pick up on it, "Ah!" He stuttered, "B-but you don't really have to t-tell me! It's none of my business really."
"No." Subaru said after a deep breath, "You're fine, Utagai-san. It's something that came up before all that, but the attacks have certainly made it more relevant."
"I see."
Subaru logged off the computer, standing and tucking his jump drive into his jacket pocket. He offered Utagai a small smile, but he was certain it came off as more of a grimace.
"I gotta go."
The scientist nodded, "Good luck with your research."
"You too!"
Subaru walked out of the control room as casually as possible, watching Utagai in the reflection of his darkened transer screen. The scientist sat down at the workstation Subaru had hijacked – it was Utagai's apparently – and logged in. With one last look at the retreating youth, the scientist went to work. But not before scanning for new programs.
"C'mon, kid." Warrock whispered, "Let's get gone."
"Agreed." Subaru whispered back, "We may need to try this out before all my hard work gets deleted."
In an empty AMAKEN hallway, there was a green flash, and then nothing.
Friday rolled around before Subaru had even realized. He's spent a lot of time indulging in his rediscovered freedom in the waveworld and catching up on sleep. It appeared that Utagai hadn't uninstalled Subaru's program from the AMAKEN mainframe and said program seemed to be working without a hitch.
"Maybe he didn't notice it?" Warrock suggested from the transer affixed to Rockman's arm as the pair flashed down a waveroad.
"Doubtful." Subaru muttered back, "Utagai, for all the progress he's made, is still paranoid. If he didn't notice it right away, he undoubtedly went looking for it."
"Then wouldn't he know that it doesn't do what we told him?"
Subaru hesitated, thinking about all the possibilities before answering, "Utagai would have to take time in order to read the code and work out the logic. Chances are, 'A,' he might be too busy for that. Or, 'B,' he might not be. If it's the first, then it's no surprise that nothing's changed. If it's the second, then he has some reason for overlooking my fib. But I can't imagine what."
"Utagai and Amachi are close," Warrock warned, "If you're worried about one, then you're worried about the other."
Subaru ground his teeth in frustration, wishing that things weren't so complicated. When all this had started he thought it would be a simple matter of eliminating viruses and FMians. Not anymore. Not when technology was evolving as he spoke and people were growing more wary as attacks increased.
"Let's just worry about that later." Subaru decided, "One thing at a time."
"Starting with locating Harp." Warrock agreed.
They had arrived at the concert venue. From his perch on a waveroad high above, he could see the giant crowd of people, milling about and waiting to get in. Subaru wasn't in a hurry to join their ranks, but he wanted answers.
"What's the plan?" Subaru asked.
"It's your mission, kid." Warrock answered, "I can do what I can as far as homing in on z-waves. But if Harp hasn't been ousted by her host, then she's undoubtedly doing the same thing as me: masking herself in human technology."
"So, what? I just need to catch a glimpse of her? That won't be easy. Look at all those people!"
Warrock just sighed, though it came out sounding more like a growl, "You can be such a whiny human, kid." He ignored Subaru's hot glare, "Stop imagining all the possibilities and just let the chips fall where they may – heh, I heard that one on TV. Either we'll find her or we won't."
Surprisingly good advice from Warrock.
"Fine." Subaru leapt to the ground, finding an isolated place to release denpa-henkan. The rush of EM energy left him, but no longer was it an upending experience. In fact, the difference was almost unnoticeable.
Warrock retreated into the transer, pulling the flap closed as he did. This was an undercover mission.
"Ticket's already in the transer, kid. Oh, and don't get spotted by you schoolmates, I can sense them nearby. That would just be troublesome."
"Thanks, Rock. Although, how did you get the ticket?"
"It's better you didn't know." The FMian answered with a grin in his voice.
Dramatics. Subaru rolled his eyes.
"I'm rolling my eyes." He said for the benefit of his partner.
"I know."
The venue had opened by now, and people began flooding in. Far up near the front of the line Subaru thought he saw the telltale curls of Shirogane Luna, but he couldn't be sure. He hung near the back. By the time Subaru gained admission and found his seat, the show had already started, partway into the first song.
That patented, ever-present, radiant smile was plastered on Hibiki Misora's face. But even from afar, Subaru thought it looked just a little fake. All the same, the crowd was eating it up. The idol sang into the microphone with gusto, her guitar hanging over her shoulder, unused, as if it were a mere decoration.
Subaru tried getting closer, but the crowd simply pushed back.
It was time for Plan B. Subaru exited the concert hall and crept his way through darkened access passageways, cramped and meant to turn away feverish fans. With a little bit of fiddling, he easily hacked the security points with his transer. He was getting close to a passage that should let out near the stage when he heard the kind of scream that didn't belong at a concert.
A scream of fear.
"What was that?" Subaru whispered mostly to himself.
"Uh, kid?" Warrock piped up, "I'm picking up some pretty weird waves. You might want to prepare yourself."
"Harp?"
"Nope… honestly, this isn't familiar at all."
That, if anything, only raised Subaru's hackles more. Warrock was supposed to be the expert on all things wave battle. His partner was the one who was undaunted and ready for anything.
"Can you describe it at all?"
"Hmmm… well it's kinda like that incident with the wave-rail, where that big virus went tangible and berserk, but also not."
"Okay," Subaru whispered to himself again, trying to calm his nerves, "Okay," he started running in the direction of the scream, the stage, "If it's just a virus, I can take care of it. No big. I've taken care of viruses before."
"Uh, kid?" Warrock's warning came a second too late.
Subaru had thrown open the door to the stage, just in time to get blown back by a powerful concussion. He landed on his back, his breath driven out of him. Eyesight wavering. Sounds filtered back to him: people screaming, feet pounding, the stage crashing and falling to pieces. He propped himself up on his elbows to survey the damage.
Misora was still on the stage, her green eyes wide with horror at the scene around her. She clutched her guitar to her chest like a lifeline. And around her was chaos. A fraction of the fans that had been occupying the front row of the concert were scattered about, unconscious, covered in various superficial wounds. Those that were conscious and could walk or run were doing so, in the opposite direction of a…
A virus. Or what looked like one. It was more humanoid that the typical threat Rockman dealt with. Ugly shades of green, gray, and brown make composites of molted armor, spiked, dripping, and unstable. Glowing red eyes give it an inkling of sentience, but the low buzz that came out of its throat wasn't coherent at all.
"Rock?" Subaru drew the FMian's name out, feeling his wave battle senses start to kick in.
The virus… or whatever it was turned on the fleeing humans, red eyes bright. Homing.
"On it, kid. Denpa-henkan!"
Rockman leapt into the fray. A haze had formed around the stage. Most of the humans had evacuated, but the process was still underway with so many people and so few doors.
Subaru stayed focused on the enemy in front of him, blaster charged and ready.
"Lock the doors when they all leave." Subaru commanded.
"No problem, kid. But what about your little idol?"
"Crap." Subaru cursed, although the exercise of censoring his language was futile since Rock's language was already worse than his. Subaru scanned the stage, the haze tinted red by his visor. But Rock helpfully pinpointed Misora's location with orange crosshairs.
The girl was frozen to inaction, almost like she'd been on the roof of AMAKEN almost a week ago. She jumped when alarms started to screech throughout the building, smoke alarms and virus alerts. Now the Satellite Police would be closing in on this location. Just great.
"Get out of here!" Subaru called over the din and chaos.
Misora locked eyes with him and a look of something stubborn crossed her features. Her hands tightened even more on her guitar, if that were even possible. Subaru thought for a second that she was going to refuse; maybe bash the virus thing over the head with her guitar like a death metal artist. But then she cocked her head, like she was listening to something and sprinted off the stage.
With that, there was nothing left to distract him. Subaru focused on the enemy, and Rock's crosshairs went on wild analysis mode.
"JaMMinG." The thing hissed.
"What?" Rockman shouted back.
"wE aRe THe jaMMiNg. AnD wE wiLL HavE oUR revENGE!"
"This making any sense to you?" Subaru muttered to his partner.
"Almost." Rock grunted back, "The use of a collective pronoun would explain why I'm getting the readings of multiple different viruses from the same entity."
"Viruses? Not an FMian?"
"Nope." Warrock popped the 'p,' "If it were an FMian, I would have been able to sense them long before they got here. Instead I sensed something more like a flow, rushing into the same point. Almost like an…"
"Amalgamation." A strung out, feminine voice finished for him. A pink and blue blur had jumped into the fight, situated on Rockman's side and guitar primed for wave battle.
"Harp." Warrock reverted to his standard growl, but it didn't sound overtly aggressive, "What are you doing here?"
"Helping." Subaru could now affirm that the voice was coming solely from the guitar. The girl holding it was focused on the 'jamming,' her mouth pressed into a thin line and her hands tight on her weapon. "I was always much better at reading the enemy than you, Warrock." Harp was saying, "Your talent is simply that crazed, foaming-at-the-mouth rush you get in battle."
"Shut up!" Warrock barked back. But Subaru knew that Rock knew that her words rang true, and he was just salty about it.
"Now, sweetie," The musical FMian was talking to her host now, "The trick with fully formed viruses is to wear down their energy. When they can't stay physical anymore, they'll leave the host behind and run. That's when you eviscerate them. Rockman here already knows that. You just have to help him."
"I'll do more than help." The girl answered, her left hand holding down a chord and her right hand poised to play.
"Ummm…" Subaru tried to add his two cents before things got out of hand, "Maybe we should…"
The girl brought her hand down with a forceful strum. All the amps and speakers in the concert hall simultaneously exploded with sound, targeting a single thing: the jamming. The force of the attack ripped through the haze, clearing the air so that all the damage was visible. Debris was buried soundly in the walls. The stage was massacred.
Subaru sighed, "I was going to say: maybe we should take this outside. But now it's a little late for that."
The girl just stared wide eyed at the place where the jamming used to be.
"I did that?" she whispered hoarsely.
"We did that." Harp confirmed, sounding prim, "As Harp Note."
The girl frowned at her companion, "That is definitely not going to be our code name."
"It will grow on you."
"You're pretty powerful, kid." Warrock commented, "Kudos to ya!"
"'Kudos'?" Harp muttered.
Warrock snorted, but continued without further comment on Harp's ignorance, "It's impressive given that your buddy there is more of the recon, behind-the-scenes, strategist type."
"Not everyone is satisfied with mindlessly fighting on the front lines, Warrock. Some of us have taste and finesse." Harp sounded smug.
"If that's what you want to call it."
"It is what I want to call it. And if you weren't such a fool, you'd understand how valuable that was!"
"I'm not a fool!"
"Then how about a fraud!"
"What'd you call me?"
"You heard me, a fraud!"
Subaru could feel Rock tugging on his arm, so he guessed that it was time to jump in and diffuse this ticking time bomb.
"Okay!" he clapped his hands together, effectively shutting down Rock's efforts to break the mouthy guitar in half and shutting everyone up, "Did we actually manage to eliminate the jamming?"
"No." Rock and Harp said simultaneously.
"ReVenGe!" it hissed behind them.
Subaru didn't even have time to turn bring his arms up into a guard. By reflex, he did manage to initiate a barrier before the attack collided. And still, it wasn't pretty.
The jamming's fist blew through the barrier like it was a scrap of paper. It smashed into Subaru at impossible speeds, sending Rockman careening backwards into Harp Note and rocketing them both into the smashed remains of the stage. Rubble that was already compromised crashed down on top of them, the pressure cracking sections of their armor. In the leftover silence, pebbles plinked off their helmets.
"Ugh." Harp Note groaned, rolling over and pushing herself on her hands and knees, "Why do I feel so fuzzy?"
Subaru pushed a beam off of him, but aside from some gaps of data, his denpa-henkan was intact. A chime sounded in his head as a blazing sword data card synched with Rockman's transer. Warrock had the presence of mind to utilize it right away. Its flaming edge bloomed into existence on his left arm.
"You didn't make a contract with her, Harp?" Warrock asked while Subaru kept his eyes on the jamming this time, "Any denpa-henkan requires a sort of contract."
"Our wavelengths are compatible." Harp's voice was filled with static. Her image wavered in and out on the guitar's screen.
"You idiot. Humans change. Your initial contract is null. You need a common goal!"
"C'mon, Harp." The girl stood and brushed off her suit with bravado, "Let's kick this thing's ass together. Is that a good enough goal for you?"
"Fine." Harp's voice came out steadier.
Subaru shot the girl a questioning look and she responded with a jaunty wink.
But that was all they had time for. The jamming shot forward again. Subaru readied his sword, but the creature pulled up short, raising both its hands while its finger's morphed into hollow shafts. Not good.
"Scatter!" Subaru shouted, jumping out of the way. Harp Note rolled to the opposite side. Both narrowly avoided a rapid hail of bullets that pulverized into dust whatever had been left of the stage. The jamming's glowing red eyes shifted back and forth between the two denpa humans as they circled around behind it.
Without waiting, Subaru dashed forward and swiped at the jamming. But the creature moved with surprising agility, bending out of the way, a liquid flow to its movements. The jamming took some distance, so Subaru replaced the sword with a cannon and fired a volley of his own.
"wE pAid For TiCKetS, bUt shE NevER cAmE!" The thing screeched as it dodged with terrifying speed, "A moNth'S pAy FOr noTHinG!" It shot forward, aiming a punch at Rockman's head. But this time, the attack was straight on and Subaru was able to block it.
That didn't change the sheer crushing force of the jamming's fist. If Subaru had been fully human, that attack would have easily broken his arm. As it were, he felt Rock's connection waver. The momentum sent Rockman sliding back to Harp Note's position.
"Don't catch another one of those." Warrock advised both seriously and needlessly. Subaru could tell that it wouldn't take many 'jamming punches' to deplete his strength. He initiated healing data and mentally sorted through his catalogue of battle cards for a better attack.
"His offense is alarmingly high." Harp noted as the jamming proceeded to punch whatever remained of the concert's fixtures in the hall, seemingly ignoring the denpa humans in its rampage, "But his defense is not. There is no balance to it. Whatever is ultimately controlling that thing is not coherent. There was enough emotion to bring it together but now that is the only driving force it has."
"I have the firepower," Subaru said, "I just can't get it to hold still."
The jamming let loose another wave of bullets toward the duo. This time, Harp Note materialized a set of amps near her feet and directed a wave of sound to disintegrate the projectiles, mid-air. With the danger successfully neutralized, Harp Note looked thoughtful.
"I have an idea." Her eyes grew bright behind her visor, "But I'll need you to distract it."
"I can handle that." Subaru said with a grin as he downloaded a stun knuckle and it whirled into existence. Electricity buzzed across the metal surface.
Harp Note rolled her eyes, "No." her voice was stern, "No, you are not allowed to do the cliché hero thing and make stupid puns in the middle of battle.
Rockman shrugged, "Okay."
He shot forward instead of arguing, sliding side to side as the jamming tried to halt his approach with more machine gun tactics. But Subaru made it into the jamming's hand-to-hand range without a scratch. Frustrated, the creatures red eyes glowed with malice as it swung another punch.
Subaru met it with one of his own. And while the net damage fell to zero, arcs of electricity traveled over the connection, successfully stunning the jamming.
"Guitar String!" Harp Note shouted from somewhere behind the jamming. Razor wire sang as it whipped through the air and tangled around the jamming's crude, greasy armor. With its arms and legs pinned, it was completely immobilized.
"Good night." Subaru muttered, sending a lance through the jamming's body, point blank.
The jamming's armor and body began to melt, turning into a viscous mass of data and code. It streamed past the unconscious man now on the ground and Rockman, fleeing for the nearest waveroad. Subaru mentally called for another weapon to finish off the mass of viruses, but there was no need.
"Pulse Song!" The girl shouted, her fingers splayed across a complicated chord as she pin-wheeled her arm. A bright, pink light that looked suspiciously like a heart bloomed into the air of the concert hall. Buzzing tendrils reached out to every virus in the swarm and snuffed them out like candles. And even then, flickers of neon still warped the atmosphere.
Subaru made a personal goal to never get hit by one of those as it would probably hurt like hell.
"Well." Harp Note announced after a moment of silence, "I guess that settles that."
"I guess." Rockman agreed, smirking a little at the girl's confident swagger, "Took a lot longer than the average virus. And we destroyed the concert venue."
Harp Note flinched a little at that. But her remorse was short lived.
"I'm sure those money mongering jerks will get it up and running again in no time." She sounded bitter, "They'll probably make it 'better' too somehow, just so they can charge more for tickets and exploit their performers more often." She looked down at the victim of the jamming's whims, "I feel bad about that much."
It was so translucent, Subaru couldn't help himself, "You're…"
He couldn't say it. He couldn't actually speak the words aloud for fear that he'd shatter this fragile companionship. Whether it was Rockman's or Subaru's, he couldn't be sure.
All the same, Harp Note smiled. It wasn't the plastered one she wore on stage and it wasn't the melancholy one she wore on the roof of AMAKEN. This smile was somewhere in between. This smile conveyed a need for something in return.
A friend.
"And you're…"
She didn't say it either.
Subaru smiled hesitantly, "What gave it away."
Harp Note poked him in the chest and he looked down to see her index finger resting on the shooting star symbol on his suit. She grinned and flicked her finger up so it collided with his nose.
"I may have only met you once, but not a lot of about ourselves change when we transform. Your hair is still that spiky mess; you still look like you haven't had a decent meal in a week; and you still couldn't give up your precious pendant. Me on the other hand," she twirled, "I'm a riddle."
"Ah, yes." Subaru said sarcastically, "Or a crossword. Or a Sudoku. It was nearly impossible. I mean, I thought your hair was pink."
Misora stuck her tongue out at him.
A sudden bang interrupted what would undoubtedly be a scathing reply. The metal doors to the concert hall reverberated.
"Open up! It's the Satellite Police!" Came Inspector Goyouda's megaphone enhanced voice. When neither denpa human immediately responded, he screamed into the device until it squealed with feedback, "ROCKMAN!"
"Heh, good call locking the doors, kid." Rock chuckled.
Subaru turned to Harp Note. She was covered in scratches marked by glowing blue data. Her suit was smeared with grime from being tossed through rubble. But her eyes looked more alive than they had when the concert had begun.
"I'm leaving." Misora suddenly announced.
Noises carried back from the doors. It sounded as if someone had fired up an electric saw. A screech of metal on metal filled the air.
"I'm going to figure out what I should be doing, or at least where I should start. I don't want to be an idol. I want to be an artist. And I want to be Harp Note, as dumb as that name may be."
"Yesss!" Harp whispered victoriously from the guitar.
"I can't do that here." Misora continued, "But I'll be back around. Soon, I hope. But no promises."
She wasn't asking for permission. She was deciding this for herself.
And as much as it hurt to have a… a friend leave, it wasn't his choice. It wasn't what she needed right now. She needed whatever she could find to make her happy – to bring back her passion for music. Maybe she needed him too, but… later.
"Later then." His voice cracked ever so slightly.
"Later." She said softly.
And then she was gone in a streak of rose-colored light.
Subaru tracked her progress on the readout of his visor, but even that blinked out in another few seconds. She wasn't just leaving. She was gone.
"We should get going too." Rock growled.
As if on cue, the Satellite Police burst through the doors. Rockman faded out, adjusting his wavelength so that he could watch Inspector Goyouda inspect the damage.
"MEDIC!" Goyouda shouted unnecessarily through his megaphone, "SOMEONE GET A MEDIC, WE HAVE A MAN DOWN!"
"They're busy with the unconscious people who were moved outside." An officer informed him.
"MOVED? MOVED BY WHO!?"
"Some girl in pink, apparently."
Goyouda inspected his transer screen as his troops began to canvas the concert hall. Subaru watched as his finger flicked through a few menus.
"But these energy readings," he muttered, mostly to himself, "They're like Rockman's. But they're not." he scanned the area as if that would somehow make things clearer.
"THERE HAD DAMN WELL BETTER NOT BE TWO OF THEM!"
Well, that fight got out of hand, but I hope you all enjoyed it. A longer chapter as a reward for your patience. It's been like, what, 4 months since I last updated! Yeesh! Sorry XD
Side Note. I really enjoy raising Inspector Goyouda's blood pressure. But let's be honest. Who doesn't? That man is a gem.
Thanks for reading! And don't hesitate to release your thoughts into reviews!
**If the break lines didn't work, blame
