SECRETS
You know those days when you wake up and you know no matter what you do, it's going to be a bad day? Well today I'm having one of those days. To be honest, it's not horrible by any means. I still have my bones intact, I wasn't questioned by Anti-Skill or mugged by some generic street thugs. No what made today one of my 'bad' days is the lack of normality. How often do you wake up from a dream you can't remember even the tiniest of details and go to school where your class representative talks about the different types of 'monster girls' or have a best friend who's capable of taking an entire military battalion with his bare hands?
Now you're probably wondering, what brought on this tangent? I guess you can say it was multiple things on top of another. I wouldn't even be able to tell you everything that has gone wrong in my life without full use of the human vocabulary. But I can tell you what the final straw was.
I finally received a lead on Gunha's location. Someone had seen him in the underground mall in District inside the arcade. They also said that there were a couple of students who followed Gunha inside the Arcade. A heavy feeling weighed down inside my chest as I felt the worst-case scenario play through my head. I quickly took off toward the entrance of the mall before a thunderous boom echoed in the area, causing crowds of people to worry and evacuate the area. I pushed on forward, squeezing through the herd of panicking pedestrians with my gut telling me I know exactly what made that sound. Please Gunha, Don't do anything stupid. I recalled back to how the Kihara Family needed an effective 'leash' for Gunha. With the way things are right now, you can't be doing whatever you want. It's going to have some consequences. The wave of people finally subsided and I caught a glimpse of smoke from around the corner, clinging to the white ceiling of the underground mall. I ran and turned the corner to find what I had feared come true.
Before me in a destroyed gaming arcade was my friend Sogiita Gunha with a satisfied smile on his face as he raised his fist above his head. In front of him was a boy wearing a Sakugawa Middle School uniform. His uniform was tattered and his short red hair had specks of dust in it. What was really strange about him was that his skin had a metallic sheen to it. Was it due to his ability?
The boy began to talk in between his gasping breaths. "I didn't think there would be that much of a difference between a Level 4 and a Level 5, especially the #7. But," He slowly started to back away from Gunha, "How did you beat all of us with a single attack?"
The interior of the Arcade center was in ruins. The red diamond patterned rug was torn from the ground in some areas while some lights and wires dangled loosely from the ceiling emitting dangerous sparks of electricity. Some of the machines were tipped over while others looked as if they were torn in half by human hands. Scattered across the floor was an assortment of students ranging from middle school to prestigious academies bruised and unconscious.
Did they all try to attack Gunha? I know his reputation as the 'weakest Level 5' does grant him some unwanted attention from other powerful espers who challenge him, but not like this. Not in a crowded area where someone will most likely call Anti-Skill to defuse the situation. In fact where is Anti-Skill now?
Gunha rested his fist inside his palm. "It's because your guts aren't strong enough! I don't mind taking on a challenge, but be considerate of others you know? We can't have a fight full of guts here when others are trying to play games."
The Sakugawa student quickly replied back. "You're the one who said location doesn't matter!"
I'm going to punch some sense into Gunha… No, I need something heavier, or maybe even a drill to get past that dense skull of his…
A look of realization appeared on his idiotic face. "Ah. In that case, I guess I'm also to blame for this huh?"
No no no! This situation is entirely your fault!
"Well then I'll apologize with you to the shop owner for making such a ruckus." He looked around at the students who lay across the area. "I'll apologize for your friends too."
"Are you serious right now? We just attacked you and your going to ignore that fact. Are you and idiot?"
I can testify that Sogiita Gunha is truly an idiot.
"Hmmm I've been called that a lot recently. But stuff like being smart doesn't concern me! And such a trivial fact as revenge holds no meaning. As long as you continue forward with guts, everything will work out in the end!" His voice echoed throughout the vacant mall as we both stared at the true idiot of the world.
The boy lowered his head after Gunha gave his gutsy response and touched one of the demolished arcade machines next to him. The mechanism then started to fuse with his metallic skin and he threw it with incredible speed. A tremendous noise rang out as it collided with Gunha, as he made no attempt to dodge or block it.
"That was a good attack, but," large shards of metal flew out of the cloud of dust surrounding Gunha. "You'll need to do better than that!" Gunha took a step forward and threw his in front of him. "Amazing Punch!" A strange phenomenon occurred as the red haired boy flew back and crashed in to the wall.
The boy fell to his knees as his skin lost its metallic sheen. "I'm done. No amount of money or fame is worth the headache and pain you give me." The rest of his body followed suit as he lost consciousness.
I ignored his little quip and yelled for Gunha. "Hey! We need to get out of here before Anti-Skill arrives!" The last thing I want is to see that person. A cold chill ran down my spine as we stealthily escaped the underground mall and past the authorities. We stopped inside Joseph's Restaurant to catch our breath from all the excitement.
"Ha Ha ha! That was amazing Kouta! How did you know they wouldn't be guarding that back entrance?" He asked excitedly while taking a large bite of his burger.
I irritably pointed at my head, "Error In! I broadcasted a file within a small range, giving them the impression that the back exit had already been secured and locked." I take absolutely no pride in using my ability to avoid the authorities, however, I know that Academy City takes all incidents dealing with Level 5s seriously and there would have been a long and tiring following events dealing with questions and signing papers. I didn't necessarily feel like spending the rest of my day with Anti-Skill. "And don't broadcast that we evaded questioning from Anti-Skill! They're probably patrols out here searching for anyone suspicious." I took a sip of my drink while thinking about the recent incident.
By now those students are being questioned along with anyone else that was inside the mall. But why? Even if they somehow defeated Gunha, Anti-Skill would have easily disabled them. It makes no sense to cause such a large scene with so many bystanders. Is fame and money worth the risk?
Wait? Money? Did someone pay them to attack Gunha in broad daylight? Again I was met with the same question. Why? They gain nothing from having defeated Gunha. Is it a grudge? All my conclusions presented me with more questions that had no reasonable explanation as to why someone would hire teens to attack Gunha in the middle of a crowded area.
"Umm excuse me." A timid and feminine voice broke my train of thoughts. I raised my head as a small girl with flower atop of her head came into view. Her petite figure and her short black hair gave off a very relaxing aura.
"Yes?" I politely replied.
"It seems that you were involved in the recent mall incident. I'm going to have to bring you in for questioning."
Due to her small stature, I failed to notice the green armband she wore on her uniform.
A stiff smile froze on my face. Today is going to be a long day.
After several hours of questioning and multiple attempts to educate Gunha with some simple reasoning, we were finally released from the 177th branch of Judgment. I sighed to myself as I walked out of the doors followed by Gunha who was reading a pamphlet given to him by Konori-Senpai.
"Why you should join Judgment." He read the title aloud. "Hmm, Judgment does have some guts. They fight alongside Anti-Skill to take down crime in the city. I met that twin-tailed girl before too. She uses her guts to teleport straight to the enemy!" He praised the Judgment officer who did nothing but complain about how her Onee-Sama ran off to find that Ape and she's been lonely. Just what kind of life do these rich middle school girls live? Shouldn't you be more concerned that she's been missing school for a boy? If you're that worried, go after her yourself. I began to think about a certain classmate of mine who has been missing school lately.
"If you like them so much then go ahead and join Judgment." I said knowing what his response would be.
He shook his head in disagreement. "My guts won't allow me to be pinned down by rules! I'm a man that can only go with his guts!"
I sighed in response, "As always you stick to your guts. Well let's head home now. It's getting late." I gazed up at the October sky as the sunlight began to slowly recede, giving way to the winter night. "Tomorrow night is Halloween huh?" I began to recall my previous Halloween nights in Academy City and they were all quite forgettable. Or rather, memories that I want to forget.
"So are you going to wear-"
"I'll punch you Gunha! I'll punch you without remorse if you bring up that stupid costume!" I declared, preventing him from finishing his statement.
We continued slowly walking back to the dorms, recalling old memories and catching up on what happened between the years we've been apart. As I listened to the absurd stories and adventures he had, I realized that he hasn't really changed. He did however gain some friends. Katsuo Tenge, the large burly boy with the large iron ball. He met him on his first day At Senshi High school. Apparently Katsuo has the ability to give anything he touches a temporary magnetic field. He can also change the polarity of it and launch objects at high velocities with this ability. It was very intriguing to hear about other schools and how they apply the Power Curriculum Program. As with most of the schools in District 20, they believe in training the body just as much as developing the mind. An interesting concept that I'm sure Yomikawa-Sensei would wholeheartedly agree with.
We continued chatting all the way to the dorms. "We're home." I said tiredly while opening the door. Huh? No answer? I pulled out my phone to check the time, while Gunha stretched out his arms and headed to our room. 7:30pm. I guess she's still at the Institute. I removed my outside shoes and stretched my body on the living room couch, not bothering to turn on the Television. Before I could nod off to dreamland, something on the table caught my attention. Research papers? I sat up from my comfortable position and looked over the living room. Books, papers, folders, and binders were scattered all across the room with no kind of organization. Ayumi did this? I expected a high school girl to be a bit tidier compared to a high school boy. I picked up some of the papers from the ground and started to make piles on the table. I picked up one of the papers and skimmed over the title that read Sogiita Gunha and the theory of his powers.
A theory on his powers huh? Well this might be a good read.
…
In conclusion, Sogiita Gunha's inexplicable powers could be used as a shortcut to achieve SYSTEM. (REDACTED) has made calculations that this has a 76% chance of success As long as (REDACTED) is prevented from interfering in the experiment. With approval to use the Five_Over Modelcase (REDACTED), we can bring collateral damage to the city to a minimal, with our casualties down to just under 10,000 rather than the original projection of 100,000.
Kihara Research Institute
Kihara Ayumi
"What the hell is this?" I stared at the paper in disbelief. How could Academy City agree to this? Is the Level 6 that important to the researchers that they're willing to risk over half the city for this project? How could Ayumi even think about going forward with such a crazy plan as this? "A minimal of 10,000 people! Who the hell do they think we are? Guinea pigs?"
"I prefer Lemmings blindly running toward your own destruction." My eyes quickly diverted to Ayumi as I saw her standing in the doorway with a cold expression. She lazily scratched her head as she walked in. "I forgot that I don't live here by myself and didn't clean up. Isn't it bad manners to look through a girls stuff without her permission anyway?"
"Kihara! Don't just ignore me! Explain this shit! The Board of Directors has been funding projects just like the one your planning all for what? A super-powered esper? It's insane!" I had lost it. I didn't care that I was yelling or that she could fry me to non-existence if I irritated her. I didn't care. The city that gave me hope was just one big experiment after another. And I'm someone's discarded failure. A city that feeds off of its inhabitants hopes and dreams and spouts lies about unknown potential. But what I just read revealed a horrible and ugly truth I wish I never knew about.
She calmly walked past me and grabbed the remote to the T.V., "Is that what you think Level 6 is? Some kind of super human?" She laughed at my ignorance, only fueling my rage, "No no. It's something much more interesting than that." She spun the remote in her hand, taunting me without a care in the world.
"So what is Level 6?"
"There are many theories as to what a Level 6 is capable of achieving though the general consensus is the power to impose their own world into reality."
"Isn't that what esper powers are?"
"No. They only impose their perception of this world into reality. What I'm saying is the ability to reshape the world to their liking. It's interesting to say the least that the closest ones to SYSTEM are the #1 and the #7. My theory could be completely wrong. But if I'm right, He's potentially the most dangerous esper in Academy City."
I tightly clenched the papers in my hand. "...Is this really Academy City? Are we just some useless flesh meant to be used in experiments?"
She stare at me for a while before answering. "Well you're not useless."
What?!
"Isn't it strange that Sogiita Gunha didn't have any friends before he met you?"
I stared at her with disbelief, "How do you know that?"
"He's charismatic, funny, enjoyable to be around, and an easily exploitable idiot. So why does he have so few friends?"
I can't believe what I'm hearing. "Academy City... Didn't want Gunha to have any friends?"
"No. They wanted you specifically to be his friend."
"Why?"
A wicked smile spread across her face, raising the uneasy feeling swelling up in my chest. "You were the perfect match at the time. A generic idealistic kid with an unrealistic dream. You were grounded to reality but wouldn't impose your ideas into Gunha. You also didn't attempt to exploit his trust with you. We wanted Gunha to remain an idealistic, childish, easy to manipulate idiot. And you were the perfect puppet for the task."
This is ridiculous!"So our whole relationship was used for what? An experiment? You expect me to believe that my best friend is only my best friend because some old man in a suit allowed it just to see Level 6?! You expect me to believe this?!"
"It doesn't matter to me whether you believe it or not," She pointed the remote at me, "you wont remember this anyway" she pressed a button on the remote while simultaneously saying "Pause."
I instantly froze in place. What the hell? I can't move my body. Even my eyes are fixed on one location.
"Wow! So it does work! I'm surprised by Ransuu's progress on copying Mental Out's powers." She stared at the remote in her hand with great interest.
…
"Well this has been very interesting, but I need to clean up this mess. This is all still in the planning stages so I can't have you dying just yet. Not until the collar is completed."
…
She pressed another button on the remote. "Delete."
Well... What do you think? I think this took way too long for the amount of content in this chapter. Many references to what exactly happened in the ToAru verse while the world was recovering from WWIII. These next few chapters will focus on the developing relationship between Ayumi and Kazeyare. I have much more I want to say but I'm tired. Sleep Now. reviews. always welcomed.
Crashing Out!
Literally!