Chapter 20: Admiration to peace
07:07 AM (Japan Time), Sunday October the 30th…
"… It's the rampagin' kart!"
"Rampaging kart...? Come on… Napalm Man! It's only 7AM and it's a Sunday! Let me rest! I'm going to complain to Legato – san…!"
"Really?"
"And to Slur – sama!"
"YIKES!"
"The guy! Man!"
Leon grumbled as he tossed inside of his bed because Napalm Man had woken him up.
"I was in a good mood and…! The guy! I'm so going to reprogram him!"
The leader was defeated yet both Kage – san and Slur – sama had a look like they weren't pleased with the outcome. What could've happened? I've heard that when the Sweden police broke into the apartment, but it turned out to be empty! Those two had fled! To make things worse, they found the car parked next to the Russian Embassy so it's very possible that they're hiding there with the help of their accomplice! The Sweden police and Interpol are unable to do anything. Sheesh. Since they have problem getting along maybe they'll boycott each other and none will be able to become a new leader.
"Enough. Let's stop thinking of sad stuff. The threat is gone! We should be rejoicing." He muttered aloud.
I'll drop by Raito – kun's place later. It's only been a month but I feel like we've totally gotten along!
"Did something happen, Leon?"
"Napalm Man pulling stupid pranks, Cosmo Man – san. I'll complain!"
"Do so! Sheesh! Bothering others at this hour in the morning…!"
07:37 AM (Japan Time)…
"…Mr. President. Early bird, are we not?"
"Ikada – san. Good morning."
"You seem tense despite the victory."
"It's just that I feel that we can't let those 2 loose."
"I know. But why don't you do that tomorrow and today celebrate and rejoice?"
"I feel like we already did that yesterday. Work comes back after the celebration."
"If you say so…"
"Morning! Dark Man! Got espresso?"
"Of course. Burner Man! An espresso!"
"Marchando!"
Ikada walked into the cafeteria and found Hades having a coffee plus a croissant as breakfast.
He'd left the day's newspapers on the table and Ikada sat down in front of him.
He looked tense despite the victory and Ikada was trying to convince him to relax.
Sandra came in next and requested an espresso so Burner Man replied from the kitchen.
"Maybe if you say they were bribing one of the embassy's staff then they would arrest them?" Ikada offered.
"We tried. They played deaf. I guess bribes are so common there that they no longer see them as a crime."
"Heck. I don't have any more ideas. Not yet." She tried to come up with something.
"Believe me. We spent hours yesterday trying to come up with a reason for the Russians to judge them. We offered them the data on all of their actions but claimed it didn't involve them but other nations. They challenged those nations to capture them." Hades sighed.
"Wait. Do they know their leader is gone?"
"Of course! Why else would have they bothered to flee?"
"For a moment, I thought we could fake a message and… Say! They don't know we've got that Magnum man, right?"
"I see. Send them a message pretending to be that Magnum man about an escape route, attach fake passports and have them arrested at customs… We could make them try to enter Finland and be arrested there. Then the Interpol can ask for their extradition and Finland would cooperate. They could also judge them for trying to put a bomb into the Danish Embassy."
"See?" Ikada grinned.
"Excellent! We must get into work now. I'll go ring up the Net Police and they should be able to have Interpol ask for Finland's cooperation. They surely are eager to get their hands on those 2 as well."
"But calm down, sir. Remember! We're talking about post so it'll take at least a couple days to reach them. Finish your breakfast and then you can go work on it." Ikada insisted.
"I guess so." He sighed and sounded relieved.
"Morning… Sheesh. It's you! What are cha up to?"
"My. Joanne. Morning."
"Mademoiselle! I hope you don't intend to start another pointless quarrel, do you?" Hades warned.
"Yikes! N-no, of course not!" She gulped.
"Then please behave like an adult. For once. Can you, Mademoiselle?"
"O-of course I can! Dark Man! Orange juice!"
"Roger."
"It'd seem cha can behave when they tell you to!"
"Hmpf!"
Lily came in and directed an ironic comment at Tozukana, who fumed and sat down on a table as she looked at the chart.
"And a salami sandwich too."
"Understood."
"I'll take care of it." Shade Man replied from the kitchen.
"Shade Man takes care of things that don't involve using the fire, right?"
"That's right!" Lily confirmed.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." Agoras greeted.
"If it ain't Holmes. Back from the wilderness?" Tozukana joked.
"The moor? Of course. Uncle Moor went off to the prairie." Agoras replied to the joke with some humor.
"You and your humor…" Victor muttered.
"Did you say something, Watson?"
"Forget it."
"Everyone's being early risers today." Hades was surprised.
"We felt like today was a day to enjoy at its fullest, sir." Agoras replied.
"Good point. Maybe I should do so too." Hades muttered.
"Before the horror night drops by?" Atarasei joined them too.
"Horror night?" He frowned.
"Halloween, sir." Alex clarified.
"True. I now remember. I was never one for those things so…" He distractedly muttered.
"Why's that?"
"My parents wanted me to be strict with myself so they hired a teacher to teach me all about economics, business and all. So I almost never had time to play or interact with others." He calmly explained as she sipped some more coffee.
"I see, sir." Atarasei was surprised.
"Yet… You ended up meeting Slur – sama, no?" Sandra asked.
"By pure coincidence. But today I don't feel like telling the tale."
"We'll hear to it some other day."
"… Too noisy…"
"Then why didn't you come later or earlier?"
"… Concentration…"
"If you say so…"
Qong stepped in while muttering something so Tom questioned him why he'd come at that time.
"Morning, everyone. Today's a great day, isn't it?" Suzuki greeted, humming a tune.
"One of those days to enjoy." Akemi added.
"You were right, Beta. Everyone's up already." Zarashe whistled in surprise.
"See?" Beta X replied.
"By the way… Where's our instructor?" Tozukana asked.
"Keitai – san's taken a few days off because he felt weak. I guess he caught a cold." Hades calmly replied.
"Good morning, madams et monsieurs."
"I thought this good mood would do well, sir."
"Where's our elusive shadowy fellow?" Tozukana asked.
"If you mean Kage – kun then he's no on board. He was going to a friend's and left last evening. Maybe he'll drop by later." He shrugged.
"And the other Navis?" Lily wondered.
"Apparently… Engrossed with a movie." Victor seemed to recall.
"And our Big Boss?" Ikada giggled.
"Somewhere. Mr. Zero is working at the computer, as usual."
"Ladies and gentlemen! How about we call this… "Admiration to peace"?" Dark Man suggested.
"Good idea. I like the sound of it." Hades approved of it.
"Say. Where's Mr. Daikani?" Agoras asked as he looked around.
"It's a weekend. He doesn't need to come."
"I'd forgotten. For a moment, I could swear it was a Monday. Guess I've been too stressed with the college homework."
"That's why I said a break of a lil while would do fine."
"I know."
"Guess that." Tozukana seemed to have a bit of reticence regarding Dark Man's motto.
"If you've got another idea then post it on the blog later."
"I know. Ya needn't tell me."
"Now, now." Dark Man tried to calm them down.
"… Maybe a break would do me well too…" Hades muttered.
"Of course it'll do, sir." Noir encouraged.
"Thank you. I guess I really needed it as of late."
"Didn't we all, sir?" Legato smiled as well.
88:45 AM (Philippines Time)…
"… Then you deliver a built-up smash and send 'em flying 'till the infinite!"
"Classical."
"That robot sure was cheap."
"Plotting something worthless again?"
"Wha! Ernst! We're just talking! Don't look at me like I'm the source of all trouble!"
"I'm wary."
"Now, now. Ernst…"
"Prince. Sir."
"Take it easy."
"Roger, sir."
"And you guys better not bring up taboos!"
"I know, aibou! We were just talking about Smash Brothers! It's but a game, you know!"
"If that's the case then… Come, Ernst. Let's do some morning exercise to vent it off."
Eisei, Sieg and Urateido had been chatting while sitting in the pier of the Shunoros Island.
Ernst approached them while looking wary and mistrustful of them so Eisei defended himself.
Kuroban walked in from the base and placed his right hand over Ernst's shoulder to calm him down.
He began to jog and Ernst tried to keep up to his pace.
"Nothing like an early bath."
Umisama emerged from the water and laughed.
"Isn't it cold, Umisama? It's almost November, you know."
"Temperatures rarely drop below 15 Celsius in this region of the world anyway. It's passable."
He climbed up the beach and headed for the spot where his towel and sandals were.
"Got a point."
"Heat's my field power bonus!" Netsuhonoo laughed.
"And warm winds are mine!" Kazebun chuckled.
"Guess fertile soil is mine."
Kisei was crouching, and he grabbed a bunch of sand with the right hand.
"The moon's my ally!" Sieg snickered.
"And mine's the doom!" Urateido joked.
"I just came up with a motto for me… "Surge out! Gray Thunderbolt! Pierce and destroy my enemies!"…"
"That sounds so cool, man. Patent it for some FF hack!"
"FF?" Sieg asked.
"Final Fantasy!"
"Those famed RPGs? I've heard of 'em but haven't had time to sit down and watch any play-through yet."
"Not like I'm an expert of them either but I remember playing a bit at a pal's house when I was in elementary." Urateido recalled.
"Why don't we use the Tales series?" Eisei suggested.
"That isn't a bad idea either."
"One question, though, Eisei… Is electricity as fast as light?"
"No. The transmission speed of electricity is but sub-light speed. It's fast, yes, but hardly comparable!"
"I had that hunch, but since you're the expert in those..."
"But I think it's faster than the speed of sound, nevertheless."
"I once read someone make a joke with those! "You're but speed of sound! You're slow! That speed won't be able to match to my light-speed, to my speed!"..."
"Talk about a catchy joke. Osoi and hayai instead of onsoku and kousoku..."
"Isn't it? Someone came up with alternate spellings for those words but I don't remember who it was. Some random user, I think."
"Maybe it's Miyamoto?" Sieg laughed.
"That'd be funny."
"Maybe it's a teaser of the next Metroid game?"
"Maybe."
"I lose!"
"But you're improving nevertheless."
"I'm surprised that you can run with that armor on, sir."
"It's actually lighter than what it seems. And I know I sweat terribly but I'm just going to have a shower and that's it."
Ernst and Kuroban finished their jogging.
Ernst had taken off his coat and shirt, and tied those to his waist.
He leant against the wall while Kuroban calmly stood next to him.
Eisei and the other two glanced one moment over there but quickly resumed their earlier chat as if fearing Ernst to get annoyed.
"Another thing I saw... Some genius commander who came up with a plan at random like playing net games!"
"Really..." Urateido laughed.
"What else?"
"A Queen who wanted to rule over a nation of zombies!" He whispered.
"Scary!" Sieg whistled in surprise.
"A crazy guy who devoured anything in front of him!"
"Sounds like a horror movie, even."
"A raging guy who was hotter than Napalm Man and Burner Man!"
"What else?"
"The arrogant guy with the speed pun!"
"Anything else?"
"A greedy samurai who was obsessed with gaining further power to overcome all enemies!"
"Greedy samurai? Interesting."
"And some weird cross-dressing guy who seemed to be yaoi." He added in a lower whisper.
"Sounds like it's quite the gathering."
"Seven of them, no? Looks like each one represents one of the 7 deadly sins." Urateido commented.
"... Are you plotting something?" Ernst questioned.
"We're talking about a blog!" Eisei complained.
"Ernst... What did I tell you about venting off the bad mood?" Kuroban sighed, annoyed.
"I'm sorry, sir. I must be disappointing you, sir." Ernst apologized.
"Somewhat. You're right on that. I don't want you to degenerate into a paranoiac man who sees conspiracies anywhere. Please calm down and go have a shower. It'll do you well." Kuroban ordered.
"By your orders, sir."
"And it's true that they were talking about a blog because I heard it all. So they're not to blame… this time around, that is."
The others felt a shiver go down their spines and gulped as if fearing to be the targets of Kuroban's annoyance.
"Maybe you could continue that at your home, Urateido."
"Y-yes, sir! L-let's go, guys."
"And, you guys... Remember that there's no more power bonus and you can't use the "Oreichalcos Boundary" against Golden Star or the Cyber CID... You can use it against those Phoenix guys, or any proxies or pawns the remains of Shadow Nova might try to throw at us. Gotcha?"
He headed inside of the base and into his room.
He locked the door and pulled the curtains over the balcony door.
"Cancel."
His armor dissipated into energy and turned into a spheroid made of circuitry boards covered by a transparent plastic-like material, which had formed in the air.
It included two bands colored black and white spanning through it from pole to pole and another band, which surely was the Equator.
Its corners had pieces of armor colored in red, green, blue and purple.
"Time for a good shower."
Kuroban had black hair and kept a neatly combed manner while his eyes' irises were blood red.
He only wore a couple of black boxers.
He grabbed a towel and entered the adjacent bathroom's shower.
He turned on the shower and undressed to begin showering.
I think I deserve a break too. Let's forget the tensions and enjoy it! Maybe some sun-bathing before the temperatures drop?
11:11 AM (Bangkok Time)…
"… So. XY. What have you found out?"
"From the analysis of the material I picked up…"
"You look concerned."
"Another org?"
"No, Burai. I think this is beyond organizations."
"I'm not sure if I understood you."
"Calm down. Both of you."
Slur and Burai were speaking with XY and Helios.
XY trailed off while looking worried while Helios tried to calm them down.
"That material uses a type of carbon fiber as raw basis and then adds that mirror coating. Its thickness and weight are extremely well balanced. Its atomic structure allows the object to be quite flexible. Yet that atomic structure is neatly polished and shaped. Now. Do you know anyone who would bother to make it look like it? Think that no – one would bother to check a material to that extent." XY exposed.
"How odd." Slur frowned.
"Wait. You don't mean that…" Burai gasped and seemed to realize what XY meant.
"Yes. That is what I meant."
"By all the…" Slur cursed, for once.
"Calm down!" Helios insisted.
"… What can we do?" Slur asked.
"I am not sure yet. Nor is Master Helios."
"Trying to seize them by force could bring negative consequences. We want to avoid those at all costs." Helios warned.
"Point taken." Slur crossed her arms.
"So… We ignore them?" Burai asked.
"For now, that is." XY replied.
"Hmmm… Do you think they knew?"
"Who…? Those three? No. Maybe they decided after they expedited their report. Maybe we are getting the wrong idea."
"Wrong idea?"
"Maybe they have come to scout. Just to scout. To assess. Scout and assessment. Hence why they carried this camouflage system to be able to move around undetected and unseen." Helios exposed.
"When you put it like that…" Slur realized that he had a point.
"If it's but a scout then maybe they're not supposed to be authorized to fight us."
"Let us suppose that is the case."
"Couldn't we complain? That should shake them up a bit, no?"
"Maybe there is no need to. If that one was really a scout then they must be reporting every a fixed time back at their superiors. They will report that I found them and we saw them. Their superiors will get nervous. They surely wanted to avoid us altogether." XY exposed.
"Good. So they might cease all further attempts before they end up at the receiving end of your anger." Slur calmly guessed.
"That is why I suggest we wait some days."
"How would we know that they have reacted?" Slur asked.
"Good point. We are working on a method to try to trace their location based on their profile and estimated mass. It is incomplete as of now but I think that we could have a working prototype before tomorrow."
"Practical, as always."
"That way they would know we are looking for them. And that could put further pressure on the superiors to cancel this." Helios replied.
"Alright. Then I leave that up to you two. We shall focus on finishing digging up the ramifications of the Seraphs and hope there are not any more humans like those two." Slur told them as she stood up.
"Understood. Do you agree on it, Burai?"
"It directly involves you guys. I'd rather go polish my skills a bit. I've got a scheduled match with Legato, too."
"I shall report the decisions of this meeting to Kuroban. As for Kage and Andy, I will simply tell them to ignore it, because it is outside our sphere of influence. President Hades and Kuroshiro will not say anything about it either. And Legato will keep it quiet too."
"Understood." Helios nodded in agreement.
"Goodbye."
"See you."
Both exited the room so Helios sighed and nodded his head in negation as if he disproved of something.
"Let us hope this does not lead to something stupid and with terrible consequences." He sighed.
"Let us hope so." XY sighed as well.
"I shall go back to the laboratory. You talk with the warriors and Pharaoh Man to check on the status. Make sure the fools are properly shut down and they will not wake up." He ordered.
Helios headed towards the laboratory while XY hovered and headed away into another building inside of the city, a wide room where the warriors were training against dummy Navis.
XY clapped and they stopped to kneel in front of him.
"Good. Continue that training."
"Roger, Lord XY."
"Pharaoh Man. Warn me if anything out of place happens."
"Your Will!" Pharaoh Man replied.
It is a bit of a paradox but there ARE 2 Pharaoh Men. Golden Star built one using the data I handed them! This other one is the original one whom was in the pyramid, and whom I recently rebuilt. Seeing how things are with Kuroshiro and Atarasei… I had better not get distracted. Let us get back to working on that device. Let us hope that they will not commit the same mistake that the ones before them were about to do…!
"By the way, Lord XY…" Guts Style called out.
"What is it?"
"I think that the sleeping program on Laser Man has either some flaw or the man has built some level of antibodies. There are logs that register interruption of it for a few seconds but since the body is numb then Laser Man is unable to move. But if it keeps up…"
"I see. I shall have to examine their body and try to figure out how to remove those "antibodies". It would be annoying if the fool were to break out of the capsule and go into a rampage. Maybe it is about time I did reprogram them." XY sighed.
"We apologize." They all bowed.
"You did well on telling me! I must hurry dispatch that before it turns into further trouble. Now that the enemy is gone…!"
"Maybe it was a bad idea?" Shield Style asked.
"Of course not." Brother Style replied.
"He had to know." Custom Style insisted.
"Lord XY. We shall protect this city no matter what it takes! Our word!"
"Let us resume our duties!" Pharaoh Man suggested.
"We will defend the city of "Helios"!"
14:39 PM (Japan Time)…
"There's this joke… A train inspector questions a grown-up kid who travels with his mom and doesn't have a ticket. "Are you sure you're 4?"… "I am."… "Sure of it?"… "Sure! Been sayin' the same for 3 years!"…"
"So our young chum blessed by Uncle Trouble was actually 7 years old!"
"Uncle Trouble? More uncles, sir?"
"You know him. Obihiro – kun."
"And here I thought it couldn't get crazier, senpai!"
"You've seen nothing yet. The only downside of the town, Raito – kun. I'm afraid you'll have to bear with it!"
"Hmpf… Guess that…"
"You seem to be feeling pleased, Enzan – sama."
"I heard another, guys! Al Capone's got a hostage and tries to get info outta the guy by forcing his head into a bathtub! "Where's the key?"… "Dunno! Gulp!"…"Where's the key?"…"Dunno! Gulp! Hire a diver! Can't see it!"…"
"Hoh, hoh. Talk about being literal."
"So it would seem."
"I wonder what makes them like those jokes so much."
"Gotta be the punk's scream!"
"The diehard rascal's roar!"
"So it'd seem things will get quiet at last. Fine. Time to shine."
"Not another fancy mood, Meiru – chan!"
"Math… Endless math…!"
"Guts, guts! 6 per 6 is 66!"
"Wrong…!"
"He cannot do proper math...! Someone save our sanity!"
"Don't worry, Gliding Man! I've got it covered by the Yaita Insurance!"
"What is that supposed to be…? I give up."
"Desu?"
The Akihara Middle Students, the Cyber CID, Forte, Serenade and Dr. Cossack (through radio) were chatting amongst them as they ate in a pizzeria, while all of the Navis were inside of their respective PETs.
"It's good to see Raito getting along with all of them."
Masuyama looked on from a nearby table, where he was sitting with Yuuichirou and Haruka.
"Indeed!" Haruka replied.
"It kindles one's heart." Yuuichirou approved of it.
"Wait! Uncle Grin will face Uncle Snicker!" Oda laughed.
"How original, sir." Saito drily muttered.
"Good one!" Netto encouraged.
"And Aunt Secret will face Aunt Gossip!"
"My. Reminds me of my middle school times…" Haruka giggled.
"Really?" Yuuichirou was surprised.
"Is he really a Superintendent?" Raito asked Leon in a whisper.
"He is. He is very competent when he gets serious."
"I see."
"I tell ya THIS! I am a loomin' comin' jumpin' jerk!" Napalm Man told Punk.
"Then I'm a bouncin' kickin' beatin' rascal!" Punk came up with his own rhymes.
"Let's patent 'em!"
"Sure thing!"
"Too hyperactive." Meijin muttered as he drank some water.
"By the way… Hikari. Don't forget to tell Kage to show up one weekend so that I can polish up my skill." Enzan told Netto.
"Sure. I'm sure the guy will look forward to it." Netto replied with a grin.
"Lord Serenade! Do thou desire something?" Yamato Man asked.
"I do not remember calling for you." Serenade frowned.
"I know, my Lord! But I felt that maybe…"
"Fine. If that is your will, then let it guide you. I would appreciate if you tried to be discrete and not try to lecture others, though."
"Thou Will!" He replied.
He marched some meters away and sat down on a spot while forming a transparent blue dome around him.
He crossed his legs and lowered his hands to close them his spear lied atop his hips as he he seemed to meditate.
"Guess it isolates all noise." Forte guessed.
"Interesting…" Dr. Cossack sounded interested.
"I think that one of the ladies on my classroom has taken too much of a liking of me, senpai…" Raito was whispering to Leon.
"I'm not sure what to do in that case. Wait and see. If they get annoying you can complain to a teacher." Leon whispered back.
"My, my. Girl trouble?" Meiru (sitting across) grinned.
"Chut!" Netto (sitting to her left) scolded.
"What?"
"It doesn't involve us and please don't make fun of it. We came here to have a fun time, remember." He whispered.
"Alright. Just saying." She dropped the matter.
"Phew. Lucky!" Roll sighed in relief.
"By the way, Yaito – chan. Can your defenses bark?"
"My defenses? My security systems? Bark? No. Why?" She asked, perplexed by the answer.
"It might be more effective to draw intruders away." She suggested.
"Isn't that copying Hikari – kun's alarm doghouse?" Yaito rolled her eyes.
"Guess that. Guess the maker will complain."
"Oh come on. If I make something of a different shape or simply hide speakers in the bushes then that should do it."
"By the way! Hikawa – kun. Did you go surfing?" She suddenly asked him.
"Surfing? Me? No, never. Why?"
"Maybe it's your true passion?"
"Hard to say if I've never tried it."
"Maybe you should try before it turns colder?"
"Maybe. If there's time for that, though."
"If there's it. And then you could invite me as public." She added with a smile.
"T-that's…" He blushed and looked elsewhere.
"Oh my. I'm not enough of a beauty?"
"T-t-that's not it, b-b-but…!"
"Oh come on. Meiru – chan! Stop teasing him, please. You're making him feel nervous." Haruka called out.
"Y-yes, ma'am." She gulped.
"Phew. Saved!"
"Why the rush?" Roll asked.
"Why, indeed?" She wondered as if she hadn't stopped to think about it.
"Maybe Ms. Rush is at work. With her lil rushes." Oda laughed.
"Why. That wouldn't surprise me." She giggled.
"Another reason I can't understand girls." Netto muttered.
"You're not the only one." Saito shrugged.
"Guess that."
"And then…! Uncle Catastrophe met Uncle Catastrophic! And thus the C & C Company began!" Oda joked.
"C & C Company? The CCC?" Dr. Cossack wondered.
"Yessir! Catastrophe Catastrophic Company!"
"Too long." Enzan rolled his eyes, sighing.
"Yes, sir. Too long, sir."
"Don't worry! Imagine~!" He began to sing.
"Reminds me of that cruise…" Enzan muttered.
"Of course it does." Netto shrugged.
"And then! The crash and slash attacked!" Napalm Man told Punk while laughing.
"That's nothing! The fella and the non-fella countered!"
"Alfred again?" Meijin sighed.
"Guts, guts. Wizards came in the year 666 BCE, de guts."
"No way…!" Dekao groaned.
"No way, desu."
"Guts, guts. My ancestors say that the hidden truth is that 6 per 6 is 66, de guts." Guts Man kept on quoting.
"Says the guy who never passed math." Enzan sighed.
"How do you know that?" Dekao asked.
"Who else would bother to come up with that stupidity?"
"Good point."
"Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen. You only need Oda… Hours d'oeuvre…" Oda chuckled.
"How brilliant." Obihiro rolled his eyes.
"Now, now! Here's a joke! "Mom! Dad! I want to go see Dr. Zhivago!"… "No, son. You'll go to the public sanity like the rest of us."…"
"The father thought it was a medic." Dr. Cossack chuckled at the joke.
"I see." Obihiro was slightly surprised.
"And then… The flying and rolling gorillas descended!"
"Donkey Kong's cousins!" Dekao laughed.
"Indeed! His blessed cousins from Guatemala!"
"They get along!" Enzan muttered.
"So it'd seem." Blues muttered as well.
"And Obihiro – kun over here is the manager of the Oda to Oda blog! All about the oaths and the classic music!" Oda smiled at him.
"That's what you'd like, sir." He rolled his eyes.
"Maybe we need a blog about home cooking recipes?" Haruka suggested.
"Or about the importance of jogging." Masuyama laughed.
"Or about… Not letting work absorb you." Yuucihirou rolled his eyes.
"Dad… I think you're not the best suited for that…" Netto muttered.
"Don't mind it, Netto – kun. Dad will be Dad."
"I know, that, but…"
What's picking me is that guy who showed up yesterday! Slur said we should keep quiet about it and that it's not the enemy…
If she says that, and Oriol says that too… Then that's gotta be it. We should focus on keeping the party cherry.
Netto calmly nodded in agreement while Saito winked him an eye:.
nzan spotted the exchange and seemed to get amused given his grin.
He directed it to Blues, who also formed a smile.
"Alright! Let's toast!" Netto suggested.
"Great idea! And let's ask that waited to take a photo too!"
"To stability!" Oda stood up.
The row facing the wall turned their chairs and they made sure to space them so that the row facing forward would also show up in the photo.
A waiter aimed with a pocket digital camera as another two brought a couple of champagne bottles.
"Just a minute…" The waiter muttered.
"My. Champagne." Masuyama chuckled.
"Chan-pai-ne!" Oda made up a joke, as usual.
"How funny…" Raito and Leon muttered, slightly amused.
"I'll patent it for a TV series!"
"I fail to see the point." Matsuyama laughed.
"Is everyone ready?"
"Alright! Please look here!"
"Stability!"
"CHEERS!"
Everyone toasted and laughed…
23:58 PM (Bangkok Time)…
"… Code-name: Refraction. Recording a message for Science Head Quarters Section X. Commander Distortion. Operational password is "a ripple may generate a wave"."
The white figure of the other day was standing on a cliff overlooking a city, and one of the city's buildings had the Thailand flag fluttering atop it.
"Lord XY detected my presence yesterday. Others saw me as well. I could leave the scene through the emergency unit use. Some fragments of my camouflaging cloth fell off and they must have analyzed them by now. Come to these, I think the best way to avoid any misunderstandings would be to establish contact with them. The Science Council will also demand explanations from your part, Commander."
The man paused as he looked down at the vehicles and people moving up and across the city.
"For that purpose, I will remain in the abandoned colony and wait for them to approach me. This message will be sent, as always, through that colony's central computer since it's the only one with enough power to beam outside of this planet, and pass off as a normal transmission before it jumps through the portal in the Kuiper Belt. Then it will use the Kyutora computer as a repeater before reaching the home-world. If Lord XY comes establish contact, I will simply become his subordinate instead. I want to help His Grace to protect his planet. End of report."
The man stopped recording and lowered the hood.
They had long abundant white hair, were on their late 20s or early 30s, lacked facial hair and had golden eye irises.
They were scanning the horizon and then looked up at the Moon.
Through my mission, I think I grasped why they chose this world! I will help them protect it… I will abide by the commands of our predecessors! I am Refraction, and I am your ally... I am… Light!
THE END