Chapter 3: Akihara City Hotel
17:45 PM (Japan Time), Saturday January the 25th…
"… Hello there! Obihiro – kun. Trying to hook Ijuuin – kun for tonight,?"
"Superintendent, sir! That was mean, sir!"
"Don't go by clichés. We were discussing what happened yesterday so go away if you don't have any useful extra info."
"My, my. I do have one: someone bothered to deliver it to my mailbox along with this computer-written note that says "Check it out!" and thus says everything. Ta-dan!"
"Hmpf… Let's check it out then."
Obihiro Shun and Enzan had been talking inside of a small office in the Net Police HQ when Oda came in while carrying a CD case containing a rewritable CDRW+ inside of it; both were annoyed at his jokes but stepped away to let Oda walk over to the laptop they were working with so that he could insert the CD; an application demanding a password popped up but none were surprised.
"Alright. Lemme handle this." Obihiro muttered.
He began to bring up some programs of his own and inputted some commands; he then entered the word "SECRET" as a password and the contents of the CD turned out to be a small video clip labeled "SECRET FILES" which Obihiro double clicked to execute.
"… The greatest ship ever built is ready to sail into its maiden voyage and conquer the seas…! Its name… Titanic! Don't miss James Cameron's spectacular Oscar award – winning drama! Now in DVD for your enjoyment!"
Both youngsters were unimpressed as they turned to glare at Superintendent Oda, who began to sweat and tried to articulate a word, but failed as he held out his hands.
"I t-thought that…"
"You got trolled and you dragged us into it too." Obihiro coolly told him.
"But why would someone bother to put and password?"
"To make you believe it's gotta be something important… It can't have taken even 45 minutes for someone to build this. Have it back, sir, and have a good afternoon. I thought you were supposed to go watch on that man, Hosoyoda Jeniro, in the Akihara City Hotel?" Obihiro brought up as he handed it back to Oda.
"By Merton. I knew I was forgetting something." He gasped.
"Who is that man? A Yakuza boss?"
"No, no. The VP of a big construction company, which is being checked by some of the Money CID, guys given how they've been hiding money and allocating permits in a hush-hush manner… They asked for our help in case he tries to hide the data in the hotel during the conference and aperitif organized by the Public Construction Ministry." Oda turned serious and cleared his throat.
"So? Who are gonna handle the field?"
"Higure. Meijin will stay here to handle any analyzing of data. You gotta remember how he quit travelling and showing around and decided to become a collaborator plus instructor…" Oda announced.
"Higure, huh. Is there any specific reason why they closed on that Hosoyoda man, or you followed a trail?"
"We found something intriguing! The one giving him the bribes is named Wholy Jisep."
"WHAT? Wholy Jisep? But wasn't that the name which that Koyota man used to invite us onboard the SS Scherezade Symphony?"
"True. And it has a meaning to it too."
"What meaning?"
"If we write it down in Alphabet and try all possible anagram combinations then we get… Joseph Wily."
"An anagram! Why didn't I think of that?"
"We questioned Kyundai again and he admitted that was the name of one of the old man's bank accounts."
"But if Koyota and Konda are dead plus Kyundai is on the brig… Who the hell is using that name by now?" Enzan frowned.
"Dunno. That's what we hoped to find out by watching over the guy during the party. Higure, being a civilian, will not call the attention and he'll pass as a photographer."
"Alright. And we'll be waiting to come in if the guy meets with someone or tries to get rid of some data or another…" Enzan deduced.
"So! Let's go. Higure is already in position and the event begins at 6:25 PM so we're somewhat tight on time. See you, Obihiro – kun, and beware of spicy cookies." He grinned.
"There aren't spicy cookies." Obihiro grumbled.
"Who knows, Mr. Smith?"
"You do, sir, and you're going to be late." He warned.
"Ops. Then I better borrow the bat-mobile."
Enzan rolled his eyes and slapped his face as he followed him into the hall to ride into an elevator; he began to hum a tune as the elevator climbed down and Enzan focused on some text he displayed over the PET's holographic screen; the elevator pinged once it reached the basement and Oda headed for a greenish Hyundai.
How curious. Konda, Koyota, Kyundai… Of course… They're corruptions of Honda, Toyota and Hyundai… Since they changed their names, each one picked after their favorite cars…
"Uncle Merton says my car is magic!"
"Yes, yes. We know that tune, SIR. Might we get going? SIR?"
"Sure, sure. Don't be so hasty, burning youth!"
18:24 PM (Japan Time)…
"… It's about to start, Yamitarou…"
"Alright, de masu…"
"Uncle Merton to Higure! What's up, man?"
"Superintendent Oda, sir… De masu. Hosoyoda looks nervous, sir, yet he hasn't repaired on me, de masu. He has to make any contact with anyone, de masu, but has done nothing odd…"
"Keep your sight on the guy! We've met some traffic jam or another organized by Uncle Makarov so we'll be a bit late. Beware of spicy tuna."
"There's no spicy tuna!"
Higure Yamitarou had been talking in whispers with Number Man as he stood inside of a hall filled with several persons and having some tables with snacks set on them; the far end had a stage and a table with microphones and chairs set there plus a projection screen where the speakers would be sitting at; he'd put on a black suit over his usual shirt and carried a Cannon digital camera as well; he was speaking through a wireless earphone and microphone hidden on his right ear.
"Who knows, Mr. Walking Calculator?" Oda laughed.
"I do!" Number Man protested.
"Beware of Uncle Smithson's tricks!"
"Stop making up non-existent persons, sir!" Number Man grumbled.
"De masu… And he's a superintendent…" Higure sighed.
He glanced at the stage and saw how the five speakers were taking their posts; Hosoyoda, a man on his 40s with brownish hair and some beard plus brownish eyes was standing near the left wall and sipping water from time to time while nervously glancing around the room; Higure stepped back to avoid being spotted.
"He's turning nervous again… De masu…"
"Good, good. Uncle Pressure is chasing him."
"Drive, SIR! If you want to make it." Enzan grumbled.
"Or should I drive the car?" Blues asked.
"Alright, I'll do it, no need to complain."
Higure witnessed how a young waiter came in, pushing a trolley having some dishes with snacks set on it; he wore a typical waiter's attire and didn't appeal to be over a meter and sixty yet in height.
His eyes' irises were emerald green and his jet-black hair was uncared for having small spikes aiming everywhere; he looked around fifteen or sixteen years old.
Must be a middle school student doing a part-time job, de masu…
The lights dimmed and the presentation began; Higure sneaked closer to Hosoyoda, who was looking at the stage.
"Good evening and welcome to our exposition on this year's higher-class construction projects…"
Higure ignored the speakers; Hosoyoda was constantly glancing at his wristwatch as if expecting something or someone; he looked up, and around the room, but quickly looked at the ground again while he nervously sipped some water.
"He's totally hysteric by now, de masu… He seems to be expecting something to happen, de masu…" He whispered.
"Uncle Jeremy is going to prophesize that he'll lose his book titled "money" by bumping into his ex-girlfriend on the street." Oda laughed.
"Light's green! We're still 10 minutes away! Speed up!"
"Alright, Speeding Man."
"T-this man…! Grah! Someone slam the brakes on this man!"
"Slamming Brakes Girl will put up a show for you, Ijuuin – kun, or so they say."
"WHO says THAT?" Enzan began to increase his voice's volume.
"Uncle Anatole."
"A Frenchman or what?" Enzan deduced.
"The uncle of my good old friend Séraphin Lampion of "Mondass" Insurances…" Oda sounded proud of the fact.
"Jeez. What have I done to deserve THIS?" Enzan grumbled.
"Current time is 6:34 PM, de masu…"
Hosoyoda began to look around again, and focused his sight in the opposite wall; Higure glanced there but saw nothing and no one, either; Hosoyoda remained fixed and Higure heard a strange low-tuned sound.
What's that sound? De masu?
"Yamitarou…! I can feel the noise of some device turning on but it doesn't match with any of the devices here…" Number Man whispered.
"Unless someone is trolling, de masu…" He frowned.
"6:34:58 PM… Huh? What's that?"
"De masu!"
A circle of white light formed on Hosoyoda's feet and expanded to cover the whole diameter of his body before expanding as a vertical column of light; Hosoyoda's body began to disappear until nothing was left behind; the shaft of light turned thinner and vanished altogether along with the circle and the sound; Higure and everyone else were so fixated on the spot, no one noticed how the waiter came out of the room while forming a brief smirk, his eyes glowing with amusement; whispers and muttering began to ring out and Higure's jaw had hit the floor by now.
"Higure! What's going on there? We're still 6 minutes from the spot but you've been quiet! And what's with the background noise?"
"De masu! You won't believe this, sir! Hosoyoda vanished without actually moving! De masu!"
"W-w-w-WHAT?" Oda uttered.
"What in the world?" Enzan gasped.
"I'm serious! De masu! A white circle formed on the feet of the man and became a column of light! De masu! His body began to be erased and nothing has been left behind! De masu! The whole thing vanished as quickly as it had begun with a strange sound! De masu! It can't have lasted 30 seconds even! De masu!" He reported.
"By all the…"
The police siren began to ring out on the background along with the roar of the engine.
"Get to the lobby. We'll meet there."
Higure came out of the room and stepped into the elevator to head towards the lobby; he sighed and looked at the ground.
"Did I dream it, de masu?"
"No, Yamitarou. I saw it myself too."
"What in the world was that? De masu?"
"I don't know but I'm sure there was some device which triggered it given the abnormal sound… It sounded like it was igniting and then like it was shutting down…" Number Man told him.
"Huh, huh… I don't think we'll ever figure out what happened there… De masu!" He grimly muttered.
"Don't be so defeatist, Yamitarou!"
Higure came out into the lobby and saw a black Toyota come out of the parking exit and run away.
"Black Toyota, de masu… Could it be related? De masu… They looked like they were in a rush, de masu…"
Oda's Hyundai brusquely halted in front of the lobby while having the police light set on the roof; Oda and Enzan jumped out and rushed inside.
"Where the hell did Hosoyoda go off to?"
"I don't know! De masu!"
"We believe there was some unknown device involved."
"Unknown device… Don't you have any other hints?"
"I recorded the sound but I don't think it'll of much help." Number Man admitted with a sigh.
"It'll be a hint." Enzan insisted.
"Well. Listen to it."
He played it back and everyone remained silent; both Enzan and Blues nodded in negation so Oda sighed.
"We'll have to ask all witnesses… I'm ringing HQ and we should place "WANTED" signs out there too…" He muttered as he drew his cell phone and flipped it open.
"Anything else?" Enzan asked.
"Not really, de masu… A young waiter who just brought in more food and a black Toyota which ran off before you came, de masu…"
"A black Toyota… A young waiter…? Maybe there's a relationship between each two… We'll have to check the parking's logs and CCTV cameras… If any…" Enzan muttered.
"Excuse me. Ijuuin – sama? There is a letter address to you, sir." A staff member walked over to them.
"Letter? Let me see… "Ijuuin – denka… Thou hast to use all power to ensure the military rule over all lands held by Ayanokouji – denka… Thou hast to trek the path of a true warrior."… What the hell is this?"
"Sounds like someone's idea of a provocation, de masu."
"Sheesh! Fine! They want to be beaten up so badly, I'm so gonna do that!"
"No good. Enzan – sama, please be rational, sir!"
18:57 PM (Japan Time)…
"…So? How was it like? Partner."
"Terrific."
The two persons onboard the black Toyota were chatting; the one in the passenger seat today was the young waiter who'd changed into a black wool sweater, a pair of jeans and black boots plus fingerless gloves and sunglasses.
He carried a strapped Link PET with a golden Alphabet "X" character as an emblem, colored blue and white.
The driver couldn't be properly seen due to the poor lighting but it could be seen that they had a brown coat on.
"By the way… What was in that CD you bothered to deliver to that Oda guy, anyway?" The passenger asked.
"A little trolling item… A trailer for James Cameron's Titanic protected by a silly password which was amateur enough to make the Net Police guys thinks he got trolled by a prankster and discarded it as having any meaning to begin with. As for the letter that I left in the reception desk… It's a little joke to fuel Ijuuin and motivate him to become stronger."
"Wouldn't that be a hinder, though?" The passenger argued.
"Oh no. Slur – sama said that otherwise, he wouldn't be worthy of wielding the weapon entrusted to him by the mighty Serenade."
"As expected of Slur – sama." The passenger's Navi exclaimed.
"I know, right? B – X." The driver's Navi confirmed.
"Mail from the President…" "B – X" reported.
"What does he say?" The passenger eagerly asked.
"… "Splendid." … That's all."
"Excellent! I guess the "Ice Queen" gal will greet me and tell me I'm a naughty guy."
"Guess so. What do you think, A?" The driver asked his Navi.
"Let's let them be, Operator." The Navi simply replied.
"Operation Legs: success!"
"Ijuuin… Being the fine-breed hound that you are… You'll be hooked in. You won't stop until you try to get to our very core… Come!"
"Our "Enigma" is here for you to crack it…" "A" added.
"Truly. By the way, that photographer guy… That was a cop, right?"
"Yeah. I've read a file about him. Higure Yamitarou. Operator of Number Man. Former WWW member… He wasn't really devout to the cause, more like he was hooked in and tried to use it to boost his ego. He got his ass kicked around and then quit the business…" The driver explained.
"I had that hunch. He didn't look like he was going to take any "juicy" photos during the conference." The passenger laughed.
"Huh? What were you expecting?" The driver asked, surprised.
"Dunno. Guess some celebrities having a kiss?"
"Sheesh. None of our business. Your job was just to carry the device there, use it to demonstrate what it can do, and then pull out."
"I know that. I was just making a joke, man. No need to be so stiff."
"Come on. Operator. Let's be serious!" B – X grumbled.
"I agree. Else the President will be disappointed, y'know?"
"YIKES! Y-yeah, you're right."
"Anyway. I'll drive to the mid-point and get off. You continue on your own and head to the HQ. The usual procedure."
"Roger that. Time to finish watching today's video subscriptions."
"As for me, I'll do some training. Can't wait to face Ijuuin…"
"Let's see if the mighty Blues will be up to the challenge!"