Chapter 12: Trouble everywhere

17:08 PM (Japan Time), Monday January the 29th…

"… Well! Another Monday ended, Sakurai."

"Sure, Tamashita… And I see an annoying subject heading over here…"

"You gals! Confess!"

"The homeroom's teacher looking from the window."

"YIKES! No way!"

"Told ya…"

Tamashita and Meiru were chatting as they crossed the school's main yard and headed for the street: both were calm and spotted Karazawa rushing for them while looking annoyed and bossy: Meiru signaled the second floor of the building and Karazawa gasped while Scherazade sighed, annoyed.

"Scherezade's being far more rational." Roll commented.

"Yeah. Guess you've realized it makes no sense to let that bitch manipulate you. Right?"

"Of course. Like I'd let that woman get away with it… With turning us into puppets to start a civil war, that is." Scherezade was serious.

"We told you before. That woman's mixed up real stuff and invented stuff to make up a cocktail to fuel paranoid people like you. People with low criteria or common sense!" Meiru was insisting in the meanwhile.

"You're behaving like that woman wants you to. You're becoming her proxy, are you aware of it?" Tamashita added.

"Like I'll let the ugly granny!"

"Then stop chasing us and claiming we're part of some conspiracy."

"She needs strawberry milk!" Yaito giggled as she joined them.

"Or a cold shower in the changing room." Tamashita added.

"OI! Do you mean you're gonna bully me or what?"

"Of course not! We're adult enough to behave, Karazawa!"

"And that was but irony. You needn't interpret it as if it was literal."

"Sheesh. I feel SO frustrated…! I need to improve my grades…!"

"Then focus on studying. Else how did you get this far? With the help of a tutor, maybe?"

"T-that's…!"

"Most of the times." Scherezade confirmed.

"Thought as much. She appealed as the type who wanted to boast about having expensive purses and all on back when we met." Meiru wasn't too surprised.

"And dragged Saito – kun to a date only to bombard him with a list of silly nicknames that woman had made up. In short: to make fun of him. No wonder he's so cold to you. Maybe you thought your charms would work but the guys here aren't that easily deluded." Tamashita fumed.

"Heck. I had to land in the worst possible place ever…!"

"Yeah. Alright, see ya."

"We're busy. Unlike you."

"W-what? T-THESE GALS!" She fumed.

"Laugh and jump high!" Yaito made up a lame motto.

Yaito climbed into the limousine along with the maids while Tamashita headed to her home alone since Meiru had met up with Netto and the others: Tamashita hummed a tune.

"Any news, Felicia?"

"Apart from yesterday's ruckus… No. They've been quiet. And that's a sign that they're plotting something."

"Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if that "something" included ex – senpai… I've got that hunch… A woman's intuition…"

"It's possible. With that madwoman in charge… You can't expect anything good coming from that mad brain."

"At all. I hope she contents herself boiling her brains 'till they smoke."

"Hum. I've got the feeling it won't be so easy."

"Could be. Check out Higureya to see if there's a new offer. It'd be good to have some good Battle Chips and to train. Just in case."

"OK! Be right back!"

Tamashita unlocked the house's door and shut down the alarm: she took off her shoes and put on a pair of brown slippers before heading into the first floor and into her room: it had a bed with white coverings, blue curtains, a working desk that had a framed photo of her and Nelaus, a bookcase and a picture of a white rose bundle: she left the schoolbag atop the bed and stretched.

"Aunt must've gone to meet her friends and play bingo… Let's have some water and start the homework…"

"No need to…! Tamashita…" A woman's voice rang out.

"Who…? Geh! Ex – senpai! Kataka Vanessa!"

"Same one!"

A woman that looked slightly older than Tamashita had shown up on the room's threshold.

She had long black hair, which reached until mid-way along the neck and blue eye irises: she had a smug smile on.

She wore an open brown leather jacket, a gray wool shirt, a mini-skirt colored purple and black leather boots.

"How did you get inside? I asked for jammers against DCs!"

"Don't need those! I'm a good lock-picker. Like Jill Valentine. The gal inspired me…" She sneered.

"What about the alarm?"

"I only had to come in when your aunt was here and hide in the storage room until you came in…"

She suddenly drew a Beretta M9 gun with a silencer from the right coat pocket and aimed it at Tamashita: she wasn't too surprised.

"And now you're coming with me… An excellent person is waiting for you… Wants me to prove them how good I am…"

"Anaya, huh. So that's the bitch's newest stunt, huh?"

"Indeed! IQ – sama! Soon that Sakurai and that Karazawa will join us as well… Long with your pretty Navis…" She sneered.

"By the way: did you know you've got an imitation in your hands?"

"Imitation? No way! I tested it and…!"

She lowered her sight at the gun and began to check it but Tamashita suddenly kicked it out of her hands with the right leg and quickly gripped her jacket's neck to perform a judo hold and throw her to the ground: Kataka groaned while Tamashita picked the gun.

"You forgot I was one of the best in the judo club."

"Sheesh. I totally forgot!" Kataka was rubbing her right wrist and sweating from nervousness.

"Thought as much… Felicia!"

"Coming! What's up?"

Felicia materialized and assumed a fighting stance: Kataka cursed and knew she was cornered.

"Devil! I was so close…!"

"Any odd signatures, Felicia?"

"No. There was nothing on the Cyber World either. And not in a 250 meter radius either… I did an exhaustive check…"

"Hmmm… We can't make sure if this bitch came alone or has some backup yet I wouldn't be surprised if Anaya ran out of patience and decided to toss this bitch away like a broken suit..." Tamashita guessed.

"Could be… Wouldn't surprise me!"

"No way! IQ – sama told me I'd win for sure!"

"Sounds like a typical lie… Rainon – kun told me Twilight used a lame pretext to get rid of Yuriko – san because he foresaw that she'd want to quit the org… Never bothered to come "rescue" them!"

"I called Superintendent Manabe and she's on her way here. Should be about to arrive… They were nearby, suspecting a move by the enemy!"

"Make sure to check she's the real one just in case."

"Sure. Leave it up to me!"

The sound of a patrol car approaching could be heard: Felicia warped and a few seconds later Manabe and some policewomen walked into the room: the policewomen handcuffed Kataka and had her stand up.

"Kataka Vanessa! You're under arrest for illegal entry, gun possession and abduction attempt! Take her away!"

"You bitches! I'll remember this!" Kataka hissed.

"By the way, Superintendent… Did you propose to Superintendent Akechi, ma'am?" Tamashita suddenly asked.

"P-propose to…! Superintendent Akechi…? There's no such person in the Net Police!" She gasped.

"Ah. Guess that's proof you're the real one. If it was Anaya she'd surely improvise saying "yeah"…"

"Hum! Good point. I wouldn't be surprised if that woman attempted to impersonate me… Stay sharp, Aura – chan. You can't be sure that that woman isn't up to something nefarious…" She warned.

"I know, ma'am."

"Good. We're going to interrogate Kataka but I doubt her knowing anything of importance to begin with."

"Yeah. Straight to the women's prison." Anaya shrugged.

"Of course. See you. Take care!"

"Good afternoon. So, Felicia? What do you think?"

"Height and body mass checked out so…"

"Good. Now I can focus on the homework. I'll tell Nelaus – kun tomorrow but guess Superintendent Manabe will let him know."

"OK. Number Man must've finished the maintenance of the store so I'm going to check it out. I'll have the line open."

"Sure! I'm gonna start going over the lessons!"

Tamashita sat on the chair in front of the desk and readied the materials.

"Well! Time to study. I must be ready for the February exams!"

17:31 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Welcome!"

"Hi, Number Man."

"Ah! Felicia – san. Good afternoon."

"Yeah. Well? Any offers?"

"Yes. Super North Wind, 20% off… Very useful for opponents who use Barrier – class Battle Chips!"

"Good. They might be useful against those clowns."

"Hi, Felicia."

"Hey, Roll. Come to shop too?"

"Sure. I wanted to power up, too."

Felicia stepped into Internet City's Higureya and Number Man greeted her before announcing an offer: Roll joined her as well.

"So this is the famed Higureya, huh." Scherezade also came.

"Number Man! De masu! Ladies, de masu?"

"Yeah. So what? Yamitarou."

"I have a very important question for the ladies! De masu! Can you please spare me one minute? De masu!" Higure requested.

"Higure – san… If it's about Mariko – sensei, then… How about you invite her to a see a film or something like that?" Roll sighed.

"B-b-but… Last time I tried to invite her, de masu… Something totally evil, blessed and repulsive happened! De masu!"

"Oh come on! Don't be a moron, Yamitarou. You mean the Bowl Man incident! That was about 5 years ago, you know?" Number Man sighed.

"WHAT? NOT 5 WEEKS AGO? MASU!" Higure gasped in horror.

"No." He flatly replied.

CRASH!

"Masu~…"

"Oh. Higure – san fell from atop the counter…" Shuuko calmly muttered,.

"What's with the owner?" Scherezade asked.

"I'm sorry for the scare. He can be an idiot most of the time. Can I help you, miss?" Number Man apologized.

"Do you know how the Dream Sword works like?"

"Easy. Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword."

"Ah! Then I got it wrong. I thought it was the inverse order. Thanks."

"It's nothing, miss."

BRRRRO~M! CRRRRA~CK!

Rumbling rang out followed by the sound of lightning: everyone gasped and then looked outside the store to see how rain had begun to fall down into the street.

"Whoa. That's some storm. We hadn't had one in years. They normally don't but… Last time was last year…" Roll muttered.

"MASU~! It's a Nazgûl! DE MASU~!" Higure screamed.

"From the Lord of the Rings? Don't say nonsense, Yamitarou."

"But… This customer has a black armor and helmet… So he does look like one, no?" Shuuko timidly interjected.

"Black armor and helmet? Oi. Don't tell me it's…" Felicia gasped.

"One of the Gurg!" A familiar voice chuckled.

"Cloud Man AGAIN?" Roll groaned.

"Beware! Higure Yamitarou! After seeing you behavior for these last years… The Court of Chips has sentenced you to… exile! So grab the plane to Siberia!" Cloud Man joked.

"MASU~! I'll drive you off with my skills! Bring it on!"

"Oho. Skills? Lemme guess! Bowling skills?"

"MASU~! Don't mention that! It's an omen! It brings disgrace!"

"Oh come on. Yamitarou. You just suck at sports! It's no omen and no shitty crap like that. Moron."

"B-but…! Masu!"

"I know I was the one who sabotaged the system but I apologized and learnt from that. Now… Have you?"

"W-well… Masu…"

"What a mess." Scherezade fumed.

"You don't know half of it!" Roll sighed.

"That for real?" She sighed in defeat.

"For real-Lear!" Cloud Man made a lame pun.

"That your best shot?" Felicia taunted.

"Far from it, my lil girls! Do you want me to patch you to Vincent's endless tongue-twisters?" He laughed.

"Oh heck. Not that. Anything but that." Roll gasped.

"I'm a bad guy, ya know? I play dirty!"

"Typical." Felicia fumed.

"Hop! Time to change locations!"

Cloud Man suddenly appeared inside of the store, chuckling and with his arms crossed: the girls were unimpressed yet Scherezade stepped forward and got into a fighting stance.

"Fine. Let's see what you can do, Far Eastern Princess!"

"I know my name's taken from a far eastern tale, A Thousand And One Nights, so… Take this!"

She suddenly rushed for Cloud Man and quickly circled around him: Cloud Man didn't bother to move from there yet the ground suddenly collapsed and he sunk down to the waist into a pit: he growled and tried to use his arms to pull up but part of the ground melted and quickly cooled again so his arms got stuck into the ground.

"I can shift the properties of materials and their temperature. Something I learnt by looking up books on chemistry and physics."

"Heck. What a lovely beginning…! Gruh! Gotta find a way to get unstuck and now…! Garuus! Play with the girls!"

Some Garuus formed inside of the store and began to attack at wild: Number Man formed a Dream Aura to protect the counter and the Battle Chip data slots: one of them began to vomit continuous flames at the cooled molten metal and it quickly heated up again: he managed to free his hands and warped back into the ground as the pit got sealed: a scimitar suddenly got stabbed behind him followed by a dagger on his right shoulder: a cutlass showed up on his left elbow too and an axe landed atop his head: Cloud Man gasped and tried to figure out what was going on: a Roll Arrow flew into his chest and got stabbed there: it began to suck off HP and transfer them to the girls: Cloud Man groaned and tried to keep his balance but he was suddenly hit from behind with a stick: the blow made his helmet echo and dizzied him.

"D-damn it. I'm being beaten…! These lil girls can properly fight…! What happened to the Garuus…? Huh! All beaten…!"

"How about you go back to your petty master and stop bothering us once and for all, huh? Or do you want more of it?" Roll challenged.

"If needed we'll make pieces outta ya." Felicia added.

"Don't look down on us 'cause we're women." Scherezade added.

"Heck! This is bad… VERY BAD…!" He grimly muttered.

"Yeah, I can see that! Escape! Forget those!" Anaya ordered.

"Roger! At once, my lady!"

Cloud Man managed to shake off the weapons and ran out of the store into the city: there was a sound and a groan followed by some cursing: the girls saw that Colonel had intercepted Cloud Man.

"Going somewhere?" He challenged.

"Heck! More interlopers! No more Mr. Nice!"

"Cloud Man! Focus on the battle!" Anaya reprimanded.

"Huh! Roger! At once, my lady!"

"What. You're not going to show me what you can really do? Guess you're a coward indeed, Anaya Maria." Colonel dully taunted.

"KI~H! I don't want some stiff military man telling me that! Beat 'em up!"

"Roger, my lady! I'm gonna smash 'em!"

"I authorize the Dark Generator and the trump card! Do it! Blow 'em up!"

"Hra~h! Dark Generator: on! Darkness Beam!"

"Hmpf! As foolish as always!"

Cloud Man's body began to glow with purple energy while some amplified heartbeats rang out; he loaded an attack but Colonel suddenly tossed his cape at Cloud Man: it covered him and, the next second, Colonel's saber plunged into the mass building up; it imploded and the energy released formed some cracks on Cloud Man's armor: he stepped back as Colonel calmly picked up the cape and it automatically attached itself again.

"Eat this! Farewell!"

Cloud Man formed a purple mass of energy of his same height that ran for Colonel yet he simply aimed for the ground: the Rush Hole formed and the mass fell inside to then turn white and vanish while releasing a powerful shockwave that deleted the Rush Hole and some of the ground: Cloud Man cursed under his breath and warped away just as Colonel shot his gun and the blast narrowly missed: Colonel merely checked the situation as the storm ceased.

"Hmpf. Fools. Like a desperate measure would work… This should contribute to making people realize they're actually weak. If it erases some fear left behind by that of London as well then… Perfect. I should go back… Good work over there too." He muttered before nodding in approval to the girls and Number Man.

"We did what had to be done." Roll shrugged.

"Anaya will regret taking us lightly." Felicia smirked.

"Deserves it!" Scherezade nodded in agreement.

"Like I'd let that rascal damage Higureya…" Number Man fumed.

"Good enough. However, don't get too confident. Remain calm and rational if you want to survive the battle. Goodbye." Colonel calmly nodded in agreement.

"Alright! Now to fix the mess… Let's hope Yamitarou wakes up or we'll lose a customer or two… If only the guy behaved… Sheesh!"

20:02 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Sheesh. Here I wanted to go out into an evening stroll and this guy ambushes me on the park…!"

"Do I call for help, Raoul?"

"Wait a little bit more… I'm managing somehow…!"

"Hmpf. Raoul… The Court of Owls has sentenced you to… failure!"

"Don't laugh at me. Failure? You're the ones who fail the whole time to begin with. Always running away."

Raoul was trying to fight Bapgei as he wore the "Talon" outfit in the Akira Park near the jungle gym: he was dodging his knives and countering the taunts; Raoul was hardly impressed.

"Besides! You're slow. Or so Swallow Man says."

Bapgei remained silent so Raoul circled around to keep distance.

"Oh yeah! You know what? Cloud Man hacked your PKMN game and your team's speed dropped by 66.6%."

"WHAT? CLOUD MAN! YOU MORON! NOT AGAIN! LADY IQ WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD IN A SILVER PLATTER! LOUSY HACKER! YOU DESERVE A LESSON, MORON!" He got annoyed on the spot.

"Gotcha."

"Wha? Ugroh!"

Raoul smiled and quickly rushed for him: he grabbed him and ran until he had him collide with a tree head-on: the hit shortly stunned him and Raoul took the chance to steal one of his short blades: he put some distance as Bapgei recovered and grumbled.

"Fuck." He cursed.

"Cloud Man was boasting it as of late, you see. It'd seem he thinks you wouldn't notice and bet 1000 Z with Swallow Man…"

"The damned lousy…!"

"Bapgei! Focus! It's a trap!" Anaya ordered.

"My apologies!"

"I'll deal with those idiots later. Focus on the battle!"

"Hmpf. Saved by the radio, huh?"

"Shut up." He was still annoyed.

"Maybe you need lessons from Bond?"

"Who'd want lessons from that womanizer amateur who destroys everything on his wake? The guy's but a wannabe!

"Dunno. Maybe his explosive stunts are helpful?"

"You're really annoying me." Bapgei grumbled.

"Bapgei!" Anaya scolded.

"I'm sorry! It's just that…! The tension, ma'am…!"

"I know! Bear with it somehow! I don't ask the impossible, no? Just focus on beating the guy to a pulp!"

Bapgei drew his remaining short blade and rushed for Raoul: he grabbed the stolen short blade with both hands and got into a defensive stance to block the incoming attack: both struggled and broke apart: Bapgei tried again but Raoul didn't yield terrain.

"I didn't get to be respected in Heaven Town's underground so easily! I had to prove I was the strongest! Law of the strongest!"

"Heck. And here I thought you were soft."

"Soft? Hmpf! I'm as hard as rock! You better don't take me lightly or you'll end up with a fist on the stomach!" Raoul countered.

"Sheesh. What a string of bad luck!"

"Hmpf! Maybe you picked the wrong types to side with? That must be the source of your bad luck string!" Raoul taunted.

"Sheesh. I'd prefer Nelaus to you…!"

"Hmpf! Blame that petty woman."

"Hmpf! Men! So egoistic." Anaya fumed.

"Egoist? Talk about yourself! Treating people as if they were things you could buy at stores… And never regretting what you've done! Sheesh!"

"Why should I? I did something no – one else did and won't be able to do ever again: rule the whole Japan underground! Without anyone figuring out my identity!" Anaya boasted.

"Hmpf. Rotten to the bones. Like an apple."

"HMPF! I'm not Vermouth!"

"I don't know who's that but I've got the feeling it's not a beauty."

"Hmpf…! Whatever the ever! I'd rather have that fierce Chianti! Anyway! Bapgei! Try something else!"

Bapgei put some distance and began to run in an "S" pattern to approach Raoul: he simply ran towards the trees and Bapgei gave chase yet Raoul let go of a thin branch he'd folded: the branch returned to its original position and, in the process, hit Bapgei: Raoul then delivered a punch on the stomach area and Bapgei groaned: Raoul proceeded to closing his right hand on the neck and use the left fist to hit the center of the chest: he let go and suddenly tackled his chest with his head: the blow robbed Bapgei of air for an instant and he fell to the ground: Raoul didn't waste time and dropped atop him while placing his right knee over the stomach area to keep him pinned: he held his arms up and gripped his wrists so that he couldn't fight back.

"I told you." Raoul dully reminded him.

"Huff, huff…! Damn it all!"

"I can't believe this punk can fight!" Anaya cursed.

"Hmpf! You underestimate me. I've got a score to settle with you lot! You did kidnap kids from Heaven's Town, too, years ago!"

"Sheesh! Here I thought it'd be easy prey and this happens!"

"N-no apologies!" Bapgei gasped.

"You're not to blame! You obey my orders, which is what you gotta do: it's my blame, alright! Sheesh!"

"Thought you were going to blame your ego." Raoul taunted.

"I'm going to…! I've had enough! I'll do a sortie! You go back!"

"Sortie…? Ah! Damn it!"

Anaya suddenly showed up behind Raoul while carrying a crowbar on her right hand which she'd lifted: Raoul quickly let go of Bapgei and rolled to the left to dodge to Anaya ended up hitting Bapgei's head with it: she gasped and turned but Raoul was already on his feet and he'd closed his right arm around her neck from behind.

"That was close. But you talk too much."

"Sheesh! Bapgei! Do something!"

"P-please wait a second…! Ugh…! My stomach hurts…!"

"Aren't you a masochist?"

"When it comes to sex, yes! Not when I get my stomach busted! Those are two different things!" He argued back.

"Sheesh! MARCO!"

"Roger. At once, my lady!"

Raoul gasped as a laser aim centered on his left eye from the NW, inside the forest: he let go of Anaya and ducked to dodge a bullet that flew through the air.

"Shit. A sniper rifle? That's really outta my league." Raoul grimly muttered.

"But not out of mine." A voice rang out.

"That voice…!" Anaya hissed.

"Ouwah! Damn!" Izono yelped close by.

Vadous showed up there while carrying a dull metallic blade on his right hand: he got into combat stance while Anaya ran for him with the crowbar, her face contracted into hatred: they both clashed but Vadous didn't yield terrain.

"Last time I checked a crowbar isn't a rival for a blade. Izono there will be having a nap… And I destroyed the PSG-1 too."

"Damn it. To think you'd show up…! You damned traitor!"

"I don't care. You were destroying the future. You always considered me to be a tool, a slave. You always laughed at me. Else you wouldn't have given me this name. But I keep it. Because I don't run away from my past: I face it." Vadous calmly shot back.

"Hah! And Kanou Shade ran away!"

"To protect Kuroshiro from Twilight. Kuroshiro knew it was necessary: and Kanou Shade wanted him to leave in peace and not with the threat of Twilight using him to harm others. No matter how much Twilight might've tried to make him "evil" his real nature was the same as Rock Man's: he hates to harm others. Another proof that you can't turn something good into something evil so easily. Even Vader ended up repenting and died as a Jedi… Solid Snake was never "evil", either. Or a merciless killer."

"Grah! Fuck them!" She knew Vadous had several points there.

"And your so-called "rule" was but a fantasy. You forced them to obey you through murder, blackmail, extortion, violence, and so on. Once your control was gone… They went back to destroying each other."

"Grrrr…! Damn those fools!" She was getting further annoyed.

She suddenly stepped away and drew a fragmentation grenade yet someone ran past her in a blur and snatched it away from her hand: Omega was there and had grabbed it with the left hand while he held the saber on the right one.

"No cheat codes allowed." He dully announced.

"Fuck! Freeze Man! Emergency retrieval! NOW!"

There were three columns of light and the three villains were retrieved: Vadous and Raoul sighed in relief while Omega holstered the saber.

"It's getting somewhat risky, Boss." Omega warned.

"I know. We must wait for a chance to retaliate… And to catch them."

"Huff! Yeah, my mood is better now! They got that coming! Consequence of their own actions! The cowards!" Raoul grumbled.

"Truly! Man! They were trying to beat me with Wooden-elemental Viruses but I knew better and brought Flame Chips!" Thunder Man reported.

"Hmpf. Cowards will be cowards. Relying on proxies to do the dirty job for them instead… Which proves they're weak." Omega scoffed.

"Hmpf! That woman and the man should learn to win street fights!"

Patience is the key to this campaign… A chance will come…!