Shadow Nova
By Zoram Selrof
Chapter 1: Nerves
11:11 AM (Japan Time), Saturday October the 1st, 2012...
"... Netto... Will you stop pacing around the jungle gym for once and for all? You make me feel nervous."
"Sorry, Meiru. But I can't avoid it. I feel SO nervous and eager!"
"Same over here."
"Boys will be boys!"
"Meiru – chan, cha pretty calm despite..."
"One must not lose their cool, Yaito – chan. I hope you're not thinking of something worthless again. Or are you?"
"I ain't! I swear!"
"So be it."
"Scary, scary."
"Where's DK, anyway?"
"Dekao? In the gym pool, I believe."
"Has the water jumped out when he dived into it?"
"That irony? Lately you see to be ironic and all."
"My bad, Saito – kun. I guess it's my way of admitting I AM tense. I wish something could be done about it!"
The usual Akihara city group of Hikari Netto, Saito, Sakurai Meiru, Ayanokouji Yaito and Hikawa Tooru had gathered next to the jungle gym.
Netto was nervous and paced around it as Meiru and Yaito sat on a bench while Saito and Hikawa sat on another.
Meiru was dull and in the mood to pull irony, Yaito was trying not to annoy her while Saito and Hikawa weren't impressed.
"What became of the 7 Deadly Sins, anyway? Netto." Meiru asked of him.
"Who?" He stopped and frowned.
"Your Ottawa cousins."
"WHA?" He and Saito frowned and looked incredulous.
"Oh come on." Hikawa and Yaito groaned.
"What. You didn't like it?" Meiru dully asked.
"No, ma'am!" They both replied.
"Will you get the point?" Netto sighed.
"Did you meant Jet – Black Phoenix?"
"Of course."
"How can a bunch of 7 Navis be our "Ottawa cousins", anyway?"
"Dunno. Maybe they smoke too much LSD?"
"Oh come on. Navis can't smoke LSD or have hallucinations."
"Who knows?"
"I KNOW!" Roll suddenly protested from Meiru's PET.
"You back from Oklahoma?"
"WHA? You sent me to take care of some errands in Internet City, not to Oklahoma!" She protested.
"Trouble, ma'am…" Glyde whispered to Yaito.
"Trouble, desu…" Ice Man whispered to Hikawa.
"To answer your question… They stopped showing up altogether since late July. Guess their Boss got fed up with their idiocies and punished them. No wonder." Netto shrugged.
"I see."
"What were you expecting, anyway?" Saito asked.
"That they would poop a disco party."
"WHA?" Both groaned.
"Do you think that mood will help you in any manner? Moods alone don't achieve anything!" Roll sighed.
"Who knows?"
"I give up." She fumed.
"Well there! What moods, young Miss. Uncle Merton might help make them brighter, see…"
"Superintendent Oda! Sir!"
"Been a while, you two…"
"Superintendent Oda…"
"I've got news. Live news."
"What is it, sir?"
Superintendent Oda of the Net Police Cyber CID walked into the park while looking amused and keeping his hands on the trousers' pockets.
He drew a simplistic white Link PET with his name as emblem and turned on its holographic screen.
"Shield and Arm!"
"Annoyin'! I'm gonna drill ya into dust!"
"Bring it on, Tunneling Man!"
"Nyagrasha~h! Damn it!"
"Double Go-Round!"
"Sheesh!"
"Mad Roller!"
"Damn it! Too fast!"
The display showed Punk fighting against former Dark Four Heavenly Kings member Drill Man.
Punk extended his arm and launched it forward while Drill Man was on his feet and trying to aim a Mega Cannon.
He had to dodge sideways and thus the blast shot past Punk's left shoulder.
Punk then detached his shoulder shields and made them fly towards Drill Man who jumped to dodge them but had to flip in the air at the last second when he saw them flying back at Punk.
He placed them back on place and then compacted into a sphere to begin rolling around.
He bounced off a building and hit Drill Man head-on.
"Speaking of the Devil…" Netto muttered.
"They wear Prada armor?" Meiru added some irony.
"How funny." Saito drily laughed.
"I'm starting to get ANNOYED! FOR REAL!"
"About time, man." Punk taunted back.
"Sheesh. This jerk!"
"Hmpf!" Someone scoffed over a radio channel Drill Man had open.
"Yikes! Lord XY!"
"Whatever. Just continue." The man fumed.
"Y-yes, my Lord! Drill Mode!"
Drill Man compacted into his drill mode and Punk suddenly compacted into the Mad Roller.
He sped up and bounced off a wall so that the right needle would hit he tip of the drill.
They began to push against each other in the mid-air struggle that ensued and didn't seem to be getting anywhere.
Both pulled out and reverted to their normal forms.
Drill Man was glancing around as if looking for something.
"Intending to drop containers onto the opponents?" XY dully questioned.
"Yikes! N-no, sir."
"Prove it. Fool."
"Roger! Let's go for it! Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In! Mugen Vulcan!"
"Same over here! Access cache memory: Mugen Vulcan!"
Both drew the Mugen Vulcan and began to shoot at each other until they ran out of rounds.
Both collapsed and panted yet Drill Man managed to stand up.
He was about to turn into drill mode again but his body froze in place.
"Did you forget that I am in control?" XY questioned with annoyance he didn't bother to conceal.
"Damn it." He muttered under his breath.
"Do you prefer to be a loser dog that will be deleted by some amateur?"
"O-of course not!" He gasped.
"Then you should be thankful I still have enough patience to bear with you and your egoistic actions. Maybe I will end sooner by turning you all into mindless puppets." XY icily threatened.
"NO WAY!"
"So?"
"I won't do any cheats!"
"You better do not."
"Sheesh…! It's not fun!" Drill Man grumbled under his breath.
"I can HEAR you. I am NOT deaf."
"I knew it…!"
"So? If you knew it then was there a point to try to hide it?"
"I hate thinking!"
"Then pull out your AI program and the CPU handle it." He challenged.
"Like I would do that!" Drill Man protested.
"Fine. I have had enough. Here I though this break would have been beneficial but it would seem it did not contribute to begin with. I am pulling you out. Now." XY had had more than enough.
Some black-tinted fog formed out of nowhere and began to wrap Drill Man while gaining thickness and mass.
A screech rang out and the shape of a large blackish phoenix with ruby red stains for eyes formed surrounded by golden flames.
A tornado ensued and countless blackish feathers spread around the area.
Punk compacted while the PET's screen was filled with static and signal noise.
It soon died down and returned to normal to show that Drill Man was indeed gone.
"There goes a neophyte deluded by Medusa." Meiru commented.
"How original." Yaito drily muttered.
"Do you want the full course?"
"I only complained! I'm not pulling pranks! Not fair!" She protested back.
"Now, now! What's with the mood?" Oda seriously asked.
"It happens, sir, that on Monday…" Netto began.
"…we begin high school…" Saito finished.
"By Merton! High school? Congratulations! And here I thought it was Middle School 4th year… Time does fly by…!" He gasped.
"Hence the tension. Sir." Hikawa summed up.
"I seem to remember I felt extremely tense as well back on my young times as well. No wonder." He distractedly rubbed his beard, recalling.
"First-timer news. I guess I must've been too absent-minded as of late or not paying attention… Blues. Did you know about it or you didn't know it either?"
"I did know, sir. I did tell you, Enzan – sama, but you barely acknowledged me in any of the 9 times I did."
"9 times? Man."
"Enzan!"
"Buruusu!"
Ijuuin Enzan calmly strolled into the scene while chatting with Blues.
"I thought you meant some star's son or daughter. Guess I really should pay more attention!" Enzan admitted.
"I see, sir." Blues wasn't surprised.
"Now, now. Ijuuin – kun… You look like you haven't been thinking of anything else but competing and training." Oda told him.
"Correct, sir."
"Of running and jumping, too." A voice rang out from a nearby rusty speaker.
"Sieg?" Enzan looked over there.
"Hound of Densanville – sama. Ya kickin' and bustin' the lot? As energetic as usual, I take it?"
"Who knows? Maybe you're sweating in fear because you know what's coming." Enzan shot back, unimpressed.
"Yikes!"
The voice died down and they heard a sigh along with some steps coming closer.
"Good morning."
"Leon. Looking forward to your 2nd year of middle school?"
"I do, Netto – san."
A young guy about 13 or 14 years old and slight over a meter and fifty tall or coming closer to a meter and sixty joined the group.
He had white messy hair plus eyes with brown irises.
He wore a long-sleeved green T – shirt, a black trench coat, jeans, white socks and white sneakers.
"I heard from Obihiro – kun that those guys have begun to show up again, is that right?" He asked Oda.
"Correct."
"Maybe they'll provide some distraction."
"Or maybe it'll be a sneaky trio." Meiru giggled.
"V-B-N?" Hikawa wasn't surprised.
"What are they up to?"
"They did 2-3 stories during this interim. It'd seem they've got something else on mind this time around, though." Netto admitted.
"I think they said they'll do some old short stories only a few pages long…"
"One can look forward to Uncle Moran's nephews!"
His PET rang so he patched the call and Meijin showed up onscreen with an unusual wide grin.
He began to sway his head left and right before starting jumping left and right.
"What's with you, Meijin – kun?" Oda asked.
"I'm Jinmei – amas!"
"I feel some déjà vu or something like that." Netto grumbled.
"Somehow, it doesn't surprise me."
"What's that, anyway?" Meiru dully asked.
"I'm sure Sieg's involved."
"Too bad! Rookie cop!" A girl's voice laughed.
"Tozukana – san of all people… Great. Just great." Leon grumbled.
"Youth nowadays…!" Oda fumed.
"Did ya like it, Danna~?"
"Hmpf. Who knows, Miss Sniper?"
"Cha are as dry as the Sahara indeed!"
"Who says that?"
"Why. Mickey does."
"Mickey~? Who's that? From some other department?"
"Something tells me this gal's trolling us." Meiru shrugged.
"Who's there?"
"Someone."
"Got the feelin' I've heard cha voice before…"
"Maybe too much M&F?" Meiru shrugged.
"Hmmm… Nah, it ain't the bitch. Who the heck are cha?" She asked next.
"I have no name. Just like you."
"I have a name. Tozukana, the Vile Sniper!"
"Grey Fox!" Saito muttered.
"I thought you were the Vile Troublemaker."
"KI~H! WHY, YOU…!"
"If you've got nothing intelligent to tell us, young Miss, I'm going to cut this call. Good morning." Oda sentenced.
"I'm not…!"
Oda drew a package of candies and picked a lemon-flavored candy.
He sat on one of the benches while Meiru glared at Yaito, who gulped.
"Guilty as charged?" Meiru asked.
"Will you stop bullying Yaito? She won't do any more pranks and hasn't done any for a while." Netto sighed.
"Sakurai – san, I don't think that…" Leon began.
"Someone has to keep this Spoiled Missy on check."
"Lovely!." Yaito sighed.
"Will you go back to your usual cherry mood?" Netto insisted.
"And what if I don't? What'll you do?"
"Dunno!"
"Now, now! Stop fighting each other. It's too sad." Oda insisted.
"It'd seem that those 3 have uploaded stuff in the blog already." Leon called out.
"Fine. Maybe it helps vent off the bad mood."
"… V! Video Man!"
"B! Burner Man!"
"N! Needle Man!"
"Presents… M & F! Mortadelo & Filemón! By Francisco Ibañez! Quick intro to the series: M & F usually are agents of the TIA (CIA parody!) who cause trouble wherever they go! It's a crazy humor comic! Nobody dies onscreen and impossible and crazy stuff happens!"
"Let's see how many will meet Ms. Misfortune today." She grinned.
"A shorty story! "Deafness"! Note! This is before they joined the TIA, when they had their "Info Agency" AKA Detective Agency!"
"Marchando! "I dunno what's wrong with my ears! Hearing is bad!"… "Did you try cleansing them?"…Phone rings! "Phone! Answer it on the double!"… "Roger!"… Note: M's got a pencil stuffed in the left ear from an attempt to cleanse them… "Say! OW! GRRR! No, sir! It wasn't the dog! Writing down!"… "OK! Boss! A black clothes guy stole a cream colored car with Alicante plate!"… "Let's go find the guy!"…" Burner Man and Video Man began to play a role each one.
"Sounds reasonable. For once." Leon ironized.
"Oh come on. Leon. It doesn't fit you." Netto sighed.
"I'm sorry. I felt like it."
"… "See that? Cream color car, Alicante plate and a black clothes driver!" … "Allow me, Boss! I've got a plan…"… M puts on the policeman disguise and blows the whistle! The driver comes down! "Look carefully! You were about to crush a necktie ant!"… "Necktie ant? Where?"… THUD! "OK! Let's give it back to the owner!"… Needle!"
"Shah, shah, shah! "My car? Nobody's stolen it."…"
"…"What do you mean? You said cream color car, Alicante plate!"…"
"… "Wrong! I said brooch, diadem and diamond!"…" The owner corrected.
"Spanish puns incoming?" Meiru grinned.
"M misheard the words "broche, diadema & diamante" as "coche, crema, Alicante"… As for the black guy, I think he imagined it! "Run, you moron! He's catching up!"… "See? I said that my hearing was bad and…!"..."
"… "Don't run! I'll crush you into dust!"…" Needle Man played the role of the annoyed driver.
"Next story… "Watch duty"!"
"Maybe they're as brainless as the Genome Soldiers when it comes to finding intruders?" Meiru giggled.
"You're into MGS?" Netto tried asking.
"It's interesting."
"… "Quit reading, Boss! Work time! Jeweler Collarínez received a diamond collection and wants us to protect his house from possible thieves." … "Let's go!"… "Bache, 13! This is it!"… "Good. I'll find a hiding spot to keep an eye out."… "Good idea! Me too!"… "Why! A bascule! I'm going to try it. I think I've gotten a bit fatty as of late!"… "Man! I'm super fatty by now! It's creaking!"… "CLONC! OW! CREAK! POF!"… Cover opens and F shows up with the words "77 kg" printed on his nose!"
"Not the best hiding place, I take it."
"…"How could I know that…? Stop it!"… "Sheesh! Gotta find a safer spot."… "A drum can with tar! I'll empty it and hide inside. I'll toss it inside this hollow tree to avoid dirtying anyone!"… "You… were there? Warn me, man! I'm not a seer!"… "I'll use the can to hide."… "Man. It's raining. And lightning's falling! What a storm! One's hit the can! I wasn't inside, lucky me! B-Boss!"… "No more! No more hiding! I'll keep an eye from the opposite side!"… Car drives and splashes! "We better stand at each side of the door."… "OK." … Watch quietly proceeds, but… The wall behind rises!"
"What?" Hikawa frowned.
"… Shah, shah, shah! "This studio set piece IS heavy!"… "At least we had a break!"… "How funny, Boss! Turns out it was a…!"…"All the disgraces I had and for nothing! I'm going to set some hits you're your eyes!"… "But, Boss, I thought that… Help me~!"…"
"Oh boy." Yaito muttered.
"Ms. Misfortune is at work." Meiru smugly grinned.
"Young miss…" Oda sighed in defeat.
"When she gets into those moods…" Roll sighed.
"Trouble for all." Glyde sighed.
"The nerves, the nerves…" Leon grumbled.
"Next! "Hi-flying pilot"!"
"I foresee plane trouble." Yaito muttered.
"…"Boss! A letter from Cincinnati!"…"Why! We've been invited to the International Clever Detectives Congress! Pity! Plane left this morning and there are none 'till next year!"…"Don't worry, Boss! Let's rent a two-place plane!"…"You can pilot that?"…"Of course! I've got the title I got from a mail course! Let's go! I managed to rent this one."… "Not precisely a jet engine! Too narrow! Can't get in!"… "Wait, Boss! Another bit and you're in… Ok! Take off! It's not taking off! Devil!"…"
"…"Do something! We're gonna crash!"… "Wait, Boss! This will do!"… He throws a TNT cartridge into the ground! "OK! It's flying! Success!"… "Pretty brusque, no? I'm choking!"… The plane's rear has twisted! "We spun so much! I stabilized it! You OK, Boss?"…"I'm SO DIZZY!"… "Let's turn the auto-pilot. I think it's this lever! It wasn't!"…Emergency seat expulsion! "I caught into the tail!"… "Help!"… The strength makes F slip upwards! He grabs into M! "We're gonna crash! It's falling!"…"This is nothing! I lost a peseta I had in the pocket!" They raze the ground and F opens a trench with his lower body! "OK! We're heading straight ahead!"… "Let's see if we can sit down!"… M slides into the seat head-on! "We did it! Boss! Is it nighttime? Can't see!"…"Horror!" They're heading for a restaurant!"
"… Shah, shah, shah! "It's so HOT! Waiter! Open the window! Let the air rush in!"… CRASH! "Don't overdo it! I'm gonna catch a cold! What bad service! No – one's coming!"… A customer gets to ride in the tail, chair and table included! …"
"…"M! Deploy landing gear and land!"…"I think it's this pedal! It wasn't!"… He kicks away the front of the plane!"
"…"Waiter! When's food coming? My stomach's twisting!"…"We're falling!"… "Call the "maître"! I wanna complain!"…"A new plane! You're gonna pay its price!"…"I'm gonna show you how to fly!"…"I know how!"…"
"So the customer didn't realize anything, huh? As crazy as ever: and I knew that you can't trust M to properly do things."
"Guess that, aniki~…"
"Leave me alone."
"OK! "M's ideas" is next! "Boss! Explosive news! I found Jimmy "Big Club" and his hideout!"…"What! The gangster sought by all world police forces! Let's go! We'll be the first to catch the guy!"… "I put on the hunter disguise and…! You don't like jokes? Look! Mac "Gorilla" is watching over the door!"…"We gotta distract the guy."…"Gotcha! The guy's pretty stupid! Take this gum stick and…!"…"Good plan! There I go! "Gorilla"! You can't do what I do with the stick!"… "What?"… "Look! You can't do it, can you?" … He hits his head with the stick!"
"… "The "Gorilla" will hit himself with the stick and… KO!"… "See? I can do it! I did it, man!"… He hits F instead! "Looks like it didn't work! I've got another idea! I dig a 17 meters deep hole! Cover it with paper! Lend a 1,000 pesetas note, Boss."… "1,000 pesetas? Fine."… "See? I place it on this side of the hole… You go to the guy and say "look, a note!" and he'll fall into it!"… "Good!"… "Why! A 1,000 pesetas note! For my private collection!"… "My note!"… "Watch out, Boss!"…"
"Falls into the trap?"
"Can't think of everything, anyway…"
"… "Calm down! I'm getting you out!"…"What a blow! And I lost the note!"…"Don't worry! I've got a new idea!"…"Not again!"…"Don't run, this one's good! I pick a "pebble"… And place it atop the tree with this juicy pear as bait!"…."
"Why a pear?"
"Good question!"
"…"Since the guy loves them! When he tries to catch it! It's gonna fall atop him! THUD! OHKO! Try to lure the guy!"… "Let's see! Look! There's a pear over there!"… "Pear? Where? Don't see it!"… "Look higher!"… "Higher? Where?"…"Lower!"… "Lower! Pear! Where are ya?"… "Here, moron! Can't see it…?"… F pulls it and the rock falls on him! "Thanks! Were it not for ya I wouldn't have seen it!"… "Thanks for the help, fellow!"… "What…? Micro-Agent 0'79!"… "While you kept the guy busy I arrested Jimmy… And they gave me 20 of the big notes as reward!"… "Don't run! I'll give you some iron to improve the head! You'll see what my plans are!"… "Forget it, Boss! I eat phosphorus in any case!"…"
"Devil. Why didn't M intrude during that opening? The guy sure is slow when it comes to reacting."
"Mysteries of life sponsored by Egoist Colonel?"
"Oh come on. Campbell? You know he had his reasons!"
"But I like Meryl – chan's assessment."
"Do as you like."
"Thanks."
"Last of the day! "Secret document"!"
"About Sneaky Snake's sneaking skills? And his cigarettes?" Meiru made up another joke.
"Miss… It's starting to get tiresome. You could try to do something to cast away this foul air…" Oda scolded her.
"Else it looks like we're idiots who can only fight each other."
"Idiot? Me? No way! Like I'm gonna let anyone call me that!"
"At last." Everyone sighed in relief.
"By the way, Enzan – kun…"
"What?"
"Did the Seer of Blades visit you already?"
"Stop trolling me, Sakurai."
"That face, that face… Priceless!"
"Someone save my sanity." Enzan grumbled under his breath.
"So. It'd seem you don't really care about your image and reputation and all, do you?" Netto called out.
"I do! It's just that…! I need to prove I'm adult enough!"
"Nobody was questioning that, ya know…" Yaito reminded her.
"Why don't you cool down and help ease this tension?" Roll added.
"I'm trying!"
"Fine."
"…"Must store this secret document from the Atomic Center. I'll stuff in this envelope so that it doesn't get lost! I'll be searching for a safer place in the meanwhile!"…"I know! Inside of a socket, under the mattress! What? The envelope's gone! Mortadelo~!"…"An old envelope? I threw it outta the window 'cause I'm cleansing!"…"Fool! It was a VERY important envelope! Gotta get it back no matter what! Horror! It fell atop the hat that Joe "Bad-cheek", the gangster, has! Even if I ask him he won't give it back 'cause I arrested him once!"…"Got a plan, Boss! Let's go! You climb atop me and when he comes you pick it up! Then we run!"…"OK!"… "Ready, Boss? Almost there!"…"Let's open a bit so that air comes in!"… Window opens! F crashes into tree! Cop shows up! "Boss!"… "Breaking trees? This is going to be expensive!"… "5,000! What a fine!"… "It's at the fence! New plan! Come ASAP! Use my fishing rod!"…"
"To fish up Koikings?" Leon tried to pull a joke to ease the air.
"Why not?" Meiru giggled.
"…"When he crosses the other side you catch the hat… and run!"… "That's it! Coming! Fishing time! Gotcha! Devil! What's this?"…"G-gendarme! 10,000! Damn it!"… "One solution left! The rope! Done! Let's hide in the corner! He'll trip with the rope, fall, the hat will roll and…"…"
"…"We'll get the envelope back!"…"Has fallen! Let's be ready to get the hat! Crap!"…"I'm off!"…" Very funny indeed!"…"20,000 pesetas next! I'm going to give you some ideas!"…."Calm down!"… "I don't see why you worry for that envelope! It's used!"…"Idiot! What I want to get is the document inside of it!"…"The document? Say that earlier, man! I was keeping it! The envelope was empty!"…"You didn't tell me! 35,000 pesetas wasted! I'm going to make you grow hair through punches!"… "But, Boss! You only talked about the envelope! I thought you wanted the stamp! Help me!"…"
"And so, our dear public, we leave it here for today! V! B! N!"
"Off air! See you next time… At the GS Nerds!"
"M doesn't think, as usual. If he knew there was a document there he should've thought that F wanted it."
"So, Miss… Are you going to be reasonable? Pride alone won't help you get good grades."
"He who warns a traitor is not."
"Don't tell me, Enzan – kun. Doesn't your Navi hold a high level of pride and won't admit he's got a brother?" Meiru grinned.
"Crap." Enzan muttered under his breath.
"That imposter is but an imposter. HMPF!" Blues grumbled.
"Blues. Behave. That's an order."
"I know, Enzan – sama. But it's an affront to my pride."
"Not that again… We've been discussing that for over 2 and a half years by now, haven't we? Why don't we put it to rest?"
"I try, Enzan – sama."
"You don't seem to want to. Trying alone won't lead anywhere if you don't want to reach a peaceful conclusion to the topic."
"I admit that."
"Fine. We'll talk it another day."
"Talk another day, the film that'll overcome Die Another Day. I'm SO clever, truly!" Meiru giggled.
"Oh come on." Yaito sighed.
"Did ya know, Yaito – chan?"
"What?"
"Your forehead's sparkle can be seen at 66.6 clicks from here!"
"Not with that Mexican guy, that Alfred guy… He's so CRAZY. I prefer M & F to his delusional fantasies to heal his low self-esteem." Leon groaned.
"Someone and no – one told me."
"Meiru… You just looked at the blog's archives and that's all. There's no merit to it, y'know?" Netto complained.
"You're starting to feel like another person altogether." Saito added.
"What?" She frowned.
"Think about it. Were you like that a week ago?"
"I think not…?"
"She wasn't. I think I now know the reason… That TV series about some bossy hi-school girls… Of course, I meant that they were bossy but didn't have any sadistic tendencies! They wouldn't show that on TV, anyway… She must be looking up to them, thinking that's the way to be in hi school!" Roll fumed.
"Yikes! Don't spoil it, Roll!"
"Too late."
"Oh come on. That's fiction, Meiru – chan! Ya don't need to interpret it as if it was reality!" Yaito told her.
"I thought that alone would help me shake off the tension pretending I didn't give a cent for it but no. Fine." She sighed.
"Mail? From Meijin – kun? "I am an evil, blessed and repulsive fella!"… Oh come on. Miss Sniper back at it! She never learns, does she?"
"According to Miquel… No, she doesn't. She only pretends. And the cycle repeats again and again." Netto sighed.
"Her Navi partner has tried again and again too but didn't succeed either from what Andy has told me."
"And Ms. Secretary then runs up the walls in frustration and exasperation, I take it?" Oda wasn't too surprised as he pocketed the PET.
"Maybe she needs a cold shower." Meiru dully suggested.
"Maybe." Netto shrugged and didn't seem to care.
"It doesn't involve us, anyway."
"Speaking of showers and all… The other day I heard that the police appeared at the gym, in the women's changing room showers…"
"I am a Superintendent but I only know about what my department does. What the regular police does is beyond my scope. I only know through the press, too."
"Indeed." Enzan confirmed.
"But it wouldn't surprise me if it's another case of a spy camera some pervert set up to then blackmail people." Oda calmly replied.
"Thought as much… Men…" Meiru fumed.
"Maybe it was a woman, too. And wanted everyone to think a man was doing it…" Roll warned.
"If it was a gal like Jennifer and her accomplices then that doesn't surprise me! Seeing what the club did… I'll never forgive that wretched witch for what she did to me!"
She brought down her right fist into the bench while forming a grimace.
The group remained silent and hung their heads down as if feeling some guilt.
"… Sorry. I make it sound like you didn't do anything about it… You did and I don't blame you for taking that much time… No – one would think of that, anyway… Sorry."
"You needn't apologize. It's us who need to apologize."
"I know, but… Discussing over that won't lead anywhere, either, so… Let's leave it here. I'll go back home. Some piano will do good to kill off the stress. See you around."
"Bye."
Oda sighed and the others couldn't avoid displaying guilt on their faces.
Nobody dared to say anything and they could hear the birds singing and the wind's sound.
"Maybe we should go to the gym too. It could help." Netto broke the silence.
"Guess that… What'll you do, Leon?"
"I think I'll go have a stroll around the city. I need some fresh air: one can end up tired of the sea's salty smell…" Leon shrugged.
"I'm going back home…Dad will surely have me undergo another economics lesson! Glyde! Make sure the strawberry milk stock is high, will you?" Yaito rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Why not cherry milk?" Enzan joked.
"How funny, Mr. Smug Volcano!"
"Smug Volcano? I think it's a first-timer, isn't it? Blues."
"It is."
"Fine. Add it to the library of nicknames and titles."
"Roger, Enzan – sama… Currently inputting… Input complete."
"You've got that!?"
"It's fun."
"I didn't know. How curious." Oda chuckled.
"Yaito – sama! The limousine has arrived." Glyde reported.
"I'm going to the library! Maybe I'll find an interesting book to read these days… Later I'm going to do some training… If those guys are getting on the move again then I don't want to appear as being rusty."
"I'm going to the sea! I want to feel it! I already miss it! Let's hope that the high temperatures hold a few more days so that I can have another bath… After that… Onsen season begins…" Hikawa muttered.
"Onsens are good to relax and let all tension go away…" Leon commented.
"Enjoy them, Leon – kun. Bye."
Oda and Enzan left so Leon began to walk the streets while watching his surroundings from time to time.
His Link PET rang and he picked it up, grumbling under his breath.
"Ani – ue – sama~…"
"Sieg. You again."
"Yessir. Again and again… I'll revive again, and again AND AGAIN!"
"What do you want now?" He grumbled.
"To announce that this new season's gonna be thrillin', jumpin', rushin' and excitin', or so does Texas Master say."
"Texas Master? What a load of nonsense."
"Look forward to it, fellow blessed by Reverend Felipe~…"
You're not going to get through my defenses, Sieg. I've been training again and again… To overcome your "pressure"…
Leon looked around, but saw no-one, so he shrugged.
A figure wrapped in a long white coat along with a white hood, which hid their face, looked on from within a tree's foliage before jumping down and running away…