Chapter 4: Psychology

07:33 AM (Japan Time), Thursday December the 8th…

"… Good morning."

"'Morning…"

"Good morning, you two."

Netto and Saito climbed down from upstairs.

Netto had purple bags under his eyes and looked sleepy as he sat down in front of the table to eat breakfast.

Saito displayed similar symptoms as he sat down on another chair.

"… Netto. Saito. I need to talk with you two." Haruka called out.

"What's up…?" Netto asked.

"You haven't been able to sleep properly and you're always so quiet and mute! What happened to your usual energy? Is something bothering you two? And I know it's not school." Haruka asked.

"… It's nothing."

Netto looked at the ground.

"… It's nothing… " Saito sluggishly muttered.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me. This is important."

"… I can't, Mama. We can't. We'd be dead."

Netto muttered with obvious fear and frustration.

"What?" She gasped.

"I can't hold it back anymore… We're under extortion… And we don't know how to avoid it…" Saito muttered.

"Extortion…? What in the world happened?" Haruka asked.

"… It's a long story… But I don't have time for it."

"… Go to school. Saito. Stay here and tell me what's going on."

"Roger, Mama…"

Saito looked at the ground.

Netto finished his breakfast and stood up.

He put on the shoes and then looked towards the living room.

"… I'm off. Later."

"Be careful."

"Later, otouto…"

Netto came out while Haruka sat next to Saito.

"So? What's going on?" She asked.

"Every afternoon… Two bad guys we used to know show up out of nowhere and kidnap us to harass us and then record it on video… They use it as a threat! Because they edited it to make it look like we wanted to be harassed… If anyone saw it… they'd fall for it, and… our lives would be over. We'd be rejected by everyone… and they're waiting for it to keep us hostage and keep on harassing us…" Saito admitted.

"Goodness! But why can't you do something about it, Saito? Aren't you capable of fighting back?" Haruka asked.

"I try to stay alert and otouto also does each afternoon around 6 o'clock which is when it happens, but… We both lose consciousness at the same moment, and the next moment they've already caught us! And by the time we regain consciousness, we're back here!"

"And how can they come in and out so easily?"

"They can create a "portal" out of the blue, come out, and bring us to the origin of it… And it's impossible to track it." Saito let out.

"Hmmm… But how can you lose consciousness at the same time? I know both of you are mentally "linked", but… Is this phenomenon linked to your special condition?"

"We believe they take profit of it, but… I can't narrow down the cause."

"Wait. You lose consciousness, wake up to be harassed and you then wake up again here… Are you sure that it's happening for real?"

Haruka brought a hand to her chin.

"Because, when we wake up, we can still feel the sensations we experienced while we were being harassed…" Saito replied.

"Couldn't you be over imaging them? Could it be some kind of realistic nightmare instead?"

"I hadn't thought of that. But that doesn't explain why they happen exactly around 6 o'clock or why we both experience the same thing in a synchronized manner. We're not always "linked"! We can choose if we want to disconnect it." Saito frowned.

"I think you two will need to see a counselor. He could help you two pinpoint the origin of this."

"I know it all began when Golden Star, and that this recent thing was influenced by something which happened to a classmate…" Saito yawned.

"Nevertheless, I will feel at ease if you speak with one. I'll call Yuuichirou – san and ask him if he knows someone in the field. And please wash your face! You look horrible, Saito." Haruka announced.

Saito sluggishly walked over to the ground floor bathroom and used the sin to wash his face.

He closed both fists and made a grimace as he stepped out of the room and slowly climbed upstairs into their bedroom.

He frowned upon glancing at the closet.

The closet? Wait! Legato says he catches me as I clean the closet! I don't remember having stepped into it during the week! Could that be a hint to point out that this "nightmare" is someone's plot? Legato's dialogue was improvised without thinking about it! They probably didn't expect us to think about a trivial detail!

07:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello. Hikari lab… Mama?"

Yuuichirou was working on some papers when the phone rang.

"WHAT? How can that? A counselor? Good idea! I'll try to arrange it for this same afternoon! I'll be coming back as well! Later."

He placed the phone receiver on its place and sighed.

"Dr. Hikari?"

Yuuichirou looked up to see Dr. Regal walking in.

"I did not mean to overhear, but…" He apologized.

"No… Don't mind it."

"I know a counselor! I used to a patient of his…"

"Thank you very much, Dr. Regal."

"No, do not mind it… Here you have."

Dr. Regal searched his wallet and gave Yuuichirou a visiting card.

"Yamada Tarou: Psychologist"

"I'll contact him… Thank you very much."

"Please do not mind it. I just want to help you."

Yuuichirou dialed the phone number and waited.

"Yamada Tarou… How might I help you with?" A man replied.

"Yamada – san? My name is Hikari Yuuichirou… A gentleman named Dr. Regal told me about you, sir."

"Dr. Regal did? What can I do for you, sir?"

"It's about my son. He has some issue, which causes repetitive nightmares on him… He's having a very hard time trying to find the cause, so…"

"I have some time between 5 and 6 PM… Is that alright?"

"Please take note: Netto. 13. 1st year of middle school…"

"I'll be waiting for him."

"His Navi will be coming along using a special device to materialize! Don't be surprised. They're like brothers to each other, so! He also wants to get to the bottom of this." Yuuichirou announced.

"I understand, Hikari – san. Please count on me, sir. I'll do my best to help them out."

"Thank you very much." Yuuichirou thanked.

He placed the receiver back on its place and sighed as he took out his glasses and cleansed them.

"This is bad. Very bad."

There was a knock on the door and Yuuichirou turned his wheeled chair.

"Come in!"

"Excuse me, sir. Here's the analysis of the "Dark Chips" that the Silver Arrow freelancers had used… As expected, they're 1st gen models and that's why they were so easily dealt with…"

Meijin walked in, carrying a clipboard with papers attached to it, which he handed over to Yuuichirou.

"Hmmm? Power increase is capped at 33.3%! So that means that they feared that their freelancers would become too powerful and put shackles on them to avoid them playing smart!"

"Exactly, sir. Even if we didn't have the Vaccine Chip at hand when fighting them, their power increase isn't to a level where they would've caused many issues, sir. "

"Hmpf. I see. Anyway. Don't lower the guard. Make sure that the Vaccine Chip data is kept safe!"

"Understood, sir! I'll revise security!"

"Damn. Why is this happening to Netto and Saito…?"

00:14 AM (Spain Time)…

"… Crap. They're starting to catch up."

"What should we do, sir?"

Obihiro grumbled as he looked at some footage.

"I'm not sure… But if it fails, they'll want to have payback, so… That's where the backup plan would butt in."

"Roger. By the way… Body restoration, consciousness restoration and combat capabilities restoration are complete. Memory files restoration is at 65%: I expect another two to three days." Hunter Man reported.

"Emperor S – sama is pleased with our work insofar, so… Has our guest been able to deduce what happened to them with the restored memory files insofar?"

"No. Restoration seems to be going from the very first memories to the ones before its deletion. They're still confused and out of place. They can understand that we're trying to restore it to normal, but… They won't talk about anything." Hunter Man explained.

"We better don't push it, then…"

"Roger."

Hunter Man departed the screen while Obihiro stretched on the sofa and drank some hot chocolate.

"Anyway… It's not like I'm a fan of this S&M stuff, but since it's their worst nightmare… It's useful!"

He typed into the keyboard and brought up some screens, including an email, which he read.

"It's from our man! Equipment acquired… Ready to act any day! Let's settle it for Saturday!"

"Roger, sir. Saturday, it is."

My plan is flawless!

17:07 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Welcome. Are you Hikari Netto – kun?"

"Yes, sir… This is Saito – niisan… I mean… Rock Man. My Navi…"

"Yes, sir… I hope I am not bothering."

"Not at all…"

Both Netto and Saito stood inside of a small office.

It had two visitors' chairs, a desk and a chair for the psychologist.

There also was a small window looking out into the street.

Yamada Tarou was a man on his fortie.

He had brown eyes irises.

His hair was brown, and traces of a beard and moustache.

He had reading glasses on.

He wore a green wool sweater, brown pants and black shoes.

Both sat down on the chairs as the psychologist did the same thing.

"So… Netto – kun. Your father told me you suffer nightmares… Can you try to think of what originated them?" Yamada asked.

"Truth is… We now think it's a nightmare, but we were convinced it was reality… We always felt the pain and other sensations we went through after we reappear at our home." Netto replied.

"We always seem to lose consciousness around 6 o'clock each afternoon and that's when those two sneak inside and they take us away with a machine they invented…"

"Hmmm… Was there anything out of place?"

"I've noticed one thing this morning! One of them always claimed he caught me as I cleansed the closet, but… I haven't cleansed it ever since Sunday." Saito admitted.

"True! I hadn't realized that."

"Like if the conversation had been pre-programmed…?"

"That's the best way to describe it, true! Wait! Maybe… It's like we were uploaded into a VR environment! It looksand feels real, to some extent, but… You always know it isn't real." Saito suggested.

"Like in that flying simulator back when the Control X incident in which we both piloted planes?" Netto recalled.

"Something along those lines…"

"VR! Could it be that they're making you experience a VR simulation and they then somehow fake the symptoms?" Yamada suggested.

"Since all I feel can be programmed, it'd be logical on my case, but… Netto – kun is a human… You can't fake the sensations of pain and burnt."

"You could always superficially look like it…"

"Guess so! But those only last some seconds! Mine are sequels that extend for hours…"

"It'd seem that the only way of making it clear will be having someone be with us tomorrow afternoon to see if it's really a nightmare or if really happens…" Saito sighed in defeat.

"Sadly, that's the thing I can think of…" Yamada admitted.

"What a dilemma…!" Netto cursed while slapping his forehead.

"… Fake sensations…" Saito muttered like he'd had an idea.

"Do you know any way?" Yamada asked.

"… I think I do, but… I'd need to research on it for a while."

"Anyway… Everything will be clarified by tomorrow."

"Well then. Please come again tomorrow and we'll talk about it. There must be a trick somewhere!"

"Roger." Both replied.

18:08 PM (Japan Time)…

"Hmpf! So what's Obihiro is up to! Can't say I agree with it, but it serves to "motivate" them, I can tolerate it to some extent! I'm sure those two will end up catching up. That "backup plan" of yours isn't bad! But I wouldn't count onf it, either!"

Yamikawa sat on the throne and looked at some data.

"But since he's made phenomenal progress on restoring that "Darkloid", I'll let the man loose for a while… We'll soon find out the true colors of that "Darkloid"! I'm eager to…" He smiled.

He walked down to stretch before he practiced kung – fu movements.

"Laugh while you can, Obihiro. You'll soon realize that your plans have more holes than cheese. I won't butt into them but you should've thought them twice… And since you've rushed it up then it's starting to get flaws."

"Flawed Man came with a vengeance~!"

"Somari – chan…"

He sighed and spotted Kagehi standing atop the throne, an electrical guitar on her hands.

"Time for some Crazy Mix!"

"How lovely." He grumbled.

"Oh yeah! Let's fight! Martian!"

She improvised a song as she played with the strings.

"Martian… What Martian?"

"That Slur gal!"

"Slur wasn't from Mars! She was created in a far, far away planet hundreds of light-years away from Earth!" He protested.

"Who cares?"

"I do! Now please improve something with more logic to it!"

"Oh yeah! Let's kiss! Logic Boy!"

"Logic Boy! It's starting to drive me mad."

"Oh yeah! Let's dance! Crazy Girl!"

"That's your newest nickname or WHAT?"

"Maybe yes and maybe not, Mr. Smith."

"Stop with the Mr. Smith joke already, will ya?" He protested.

"Wanna smell that?"

"No, thanks. I never invaded your privacy in these 10 years."

"Neither did Solo. But maybe Sidier…"

"No way. The guy's too shy."

"Oh yeah! To be continued! Let's go~! Bang!"

"Sheesh. Sing that to the Viruses!"

"Sure! Using my Super Woman Song Power!"

"Sheesh. Your nicknames get sillier with every passing day!"

"I feel praised! I'll praise you yet, Monkey-Field!"

"SHEESH! SARUBA DOESN'T MEAN MONKEY (SARU) FIELD (BA)!"

"Too bad, Nanjou! I'm inspired!"

"Who's Nanjou!? I don't remember any Nanjou in our class, either!"

"You know! The typical rich, spoiled cool guy!"

"I'm not rich nor spoiled! I don't remember playing the cool guy, either!"

"Maybe it was your alter-ego, Surabu?"

"Alter-ego!? Oh come on! I'm off, I can't stand it anymore!"

"Come back anytime, anti-hero of the season!"

"Tell that to Forte, will ya!? Sheesh!"