This chapter has a small-medium change from the original.
Enjoy!
The Fall Of Raiden Ryoma.
Massive Electric's Fall From Grace.
The Great Upheaval of Nagazora.
The Reckoning.
These were but a few of the headlines that the news agencies, both locally and internationally, were using to describe the situation currently unfolding in Nagazora. You could not find a news channel that was not talking about the allegations set against Raiden Ryoma.
And after watching what felt like hours of news anchors' discussing all the charges that had been leveled against the head of Massive Electric, I wasn't sure what I was more disgusted at.
How descriptive the charges and evidence had been, or the fact that it all seemed true.
I had always assumed that the charges that had been pinned on Raiden Ryoma's had been fake, that they had been twisted to make it seem that they were true and public outrage would do the rest.
I was starting to get the realization that may not be the case.
My current state of brooding was not felt alone as my grandmother paced back and forth through the living room with a serious expression on her face. "This is not good," She muttered as she occasionally threw a glance at the TV for any sort of good news to be shown.
Maybe how it was all an elaborate prank, or how this was the works of a terrorist group seeking to tarnish Raiden Ryoma's reputation, or even a public statement from the man himself to shed light on the situation.
Yet none of that happened, not even a message or statement from the head of Massive Electric or its board of directors. From what the news told us the man had veen awaiting his fate when the police showed up on his doorstep to whisk him away.
That silence was more than an answer for everyone.
Kuro simply watched the situation unfold, her blue eyes looking at the screen with an unreadable expression. I knew not what the black feline was thinking but I could address that at a later time.
I had something more important to focus on.
"Has she responded back?" My grandmother asked as she looked at me with an expectant look. I shook my head sadly at her as I continued staring at my phone's black screen, waiting despertately for Mei to respond back to the messages that I had sent her.
I couldn't even begin to imagine what she was feeling right now. One moment you were enjoying a festival with your friends and the next your father's been imprisoned for a number of heinous crimes.
Though like I could say I was faring any better at the moment. I knew that this was going to happen for crying out loud! I knew that Bronya being here signaled something significant but I was so caught up with trying to have a memorable festival experience with everyone that I simply just pushed it away.
If I had focused on the big picture then-!
No! I shook my head to clear away that line of thinking. This pessimism wasn't going to change the events of yesterday, all I would be doing is wallowing in my self pity. If I wanted to help Mei then I needed to move through this with a clear head.
Which was easier said than done when any mention of what was currently happening sent my stomach spiraling downward into a pit that was only filled with dread and terror.
"Haru-senpai?" I turned around to see Kiana standing in the doorway, clad in her school uniform. Oh yeah…we had to go to school today. With everything that had been going on I had completely forgotten about the fact that it was a Monday today. Pushing down my worry, I stood up from my spot on the couch and grabbed my school bag.
"Any luck contacting Mei?" I asked my white haired friend, already knowing the answer before she shook her head at me. I resisted the urge to curse as I knew the only way we would know how the heiress was feeling was by asking herself when we saw her at the academy
Where everyone else was bound to do the same, albeit for less kinder reasons I fear.
"You two are going then?" We turned around to see my grandmother giving us a concerned look. When I nodded my head to my surprise the both of us were sucked into my grandmother's arms.
"You take care of Mei you hear," She ended the hug by pulling away, looking at the both of us with a fierce expression. "Don't you dare abandon her now, not when the entire world will be against her."
"I promise you that we will not leave her side," I swore as Kiana did the same.
She smiled proudly at our responses. "Then go, she needs you guys. Now more than ever." Saying our farewells, the two of us left the apartment complex and made our way to Chiba Academy.
As we walked through the streets of Nagazora, it was practically impossible to not hear anyone talking about the allegations of Raiden Ryoma. From passerbyers to the massive screens built into buildings displaying various news channels, it was all that anyone was talking about.
And I knew that it was only a matter of time before their focus would shift onto Mei. While Raiden Ryoma was currently in the custody of authorities, Mei Raiden was not.
Which meant that she would soon be in the spotlight of everyone's conversation.
"Haru-senpai," Kiana broke the tense silence between us as we were crossing a street. "Do you think the World Serpent is behind this?"
I scowled at the mention of the secret organization. "I wouldn't be surprised if they had a hand in this. They don't strike me as the type of group to take a defeat lying down." If they wanted revenge for their defeat at the docks, striking back at the head corporation of Nagazora was certainly one way of doing it.
"...Then do you think they'll try to kidnap me again?" Asked Kiana as she looked to our surrounding area, trying to discern if they were being watched by some unwanted stalker.
I shook my head. "No I don't think they will, after all Anti-Entropy still possesses a great presence in the city. While the accusations of Raiden Ryoma might hamper the public's trust in them, ultimately it won't change the fact that Anti-Entropy defended their city." And as good as that sounded…
"Won't they try to fight for Mei's father's innocence then? Try and prove that the accusations are false?" The white haired girl asked hopefully.
It left them in a spot where they could only watch this all unfold.
"They can't without risking the reputation that they built here." I explained. "Should Anti-Entropy side with Raiden Ryoma and the allegations set against him prove to be true, it would be a crushing blow to their image."
"Haru-senpai!?" Stopping in her tracks, the Kaslana looked at me with disbelief in her blue eyes. "You don't think that all that they're saying about Mei's father is true!?"
I held up my hands in peace as I calmly looked her in the eyes. "Believe me Kiana I owe Raiden Ryoma so much, I wouldn't even be here in the first place without him. But we have to remember that we don't know everything about him, we don't know all the facts of this story."
"As much as I want to voice my support, we have to remember that our loved ones will also be affected by our actions. I don't want to endanger Sora or my obasan with those who would take our opinions in a drastic manner."
"I-," Kiana turned her head downward, a cloud of guiltiness hanging over her for her outburst. "S-Sorry Haru-senpai, I'm just…"
"No offense taken," I assured her as I placed my hand on her shoulder. The stress of everything happening was also getting to me too. We needed to have a cool and level attitude about this. "We have to remember that Mei is not responsible for whatever her father is guilty of, something I doubt other people will keep in mind."
Kiana looked back up, her expression now more determined than ever. "Let's protect Mei-senpai together then!"
I smiled at the girl's infectious energy. "Together," I promised her before we continued our trek to Chiba Academy, which thankfully wasn't far from where we were.
It took us another five or so minutes for us to walk past the academy's front gate. Our first order of business would have been to find Mei and make sure that she was doing okay. After that we would've stuck ourselves to her side like glue, detering anyone from making a snide comment about her father.
It wasn't the best of plans but at least it was something we could do in this situation.
Though after we took a few steps into the academy grounds, step one wasn't going to be a problem in completing. The steps after that however were going to be a pain in the ass to try and complete.
For you see we were able to spot Mei Raiden from where we were with relative ease…
Unfortunately she appeared to be surrounded by what looked like every single student attending Chiba Academy. A sea of bodies seemed to be clustered around a single point where a single lone student stood at its epicenter.
With what had been happening recently, alongside the slight hint of dark purple hair that we could see, it did not take a genius to figure out who was the center of everyones' attention.
Even as far back as we were standing, our ears could still catch a bit of what the people were saying.
"...Can you believe it…"
"...The infamous Queen of Thunder…"
"...She shouldn't be here anymore…"
"...Can't believe I looked up to her…"
"...Daddy's a criminal…"
"...Dirty Money…"
"...A fraud…"
"Haru-senpai…" Kiana's voice was low as I could feel herself holding back her anger after hearing just a snippet of the comments being thrown at our friend. And to be honest…
I was in the same boat as her.
"...Let's go Kiana," I told her, my voice equally as low, before the two of us approached the crowd of students. Not even wasting time trying to politely ask for them to move aside, Kiana began to force her way through the crowd with me following right behind her.
Such a task would've proven difficult but when you had the infamous Kaslana strength it made that process rather easy. Students were easily pushed aside as Kiana put her infamous strength to the test.
Now it was obvious that those we pushed aside were going to voice their complaints and grievances but one look at our serious expressions had their arguments dying within their throats. I could hear shouts of surprise and shock by those we pushed aside as they saw who exactly had pushed them.
But at this point I could care less about what they were thinking right now. My mind was a whirlwind of anger and fury that was just ready to be unleashed on whatever poor fool decided to be the lucky recipient.
It didn't take us long for Kiana to be able to force our way to the front of the crowd, directly right behind Mei. We couldn't see what her face looked like right now but judging by how downcast she was and the words coming out of the mouths of the people in front of her, she wasn't faring all that well.
Walking up to her I placed a hand on her shoulder, jolting her from the sudden and unexpected gesture. As I took up one side Kiana moved to the other as the two of us flanked Mei like a pair of bodyguards.
As I looked across to three girls who I knew to be infamous for their status as the 'rich' girls of Nagazora, I spoke the first thing that came to my mind.
"Are you done with your useless prattling?"
Mei Raiden did not know whether to believe if there existed a God.
But on this very day she was sure that one existed, and she wanted to know what had she had done to offend such a being.
It was the only explanation for the nightmare she was currently living in right now.
"How does it feel, fraud?" One of the first friends that she had made during her first day at Chiba Academy, Ryne Hinori, taunted with a sneer on her face. "Your daddy's a criminal."
No…
"I heard that the criminals that attacked Massive Electric were actually hired by him so that he could garner public sympathy," Another one of her friends, one that she made during a group project, joined in the mockery.
He wouldn't do that…
"Oh I heard that he blackmailed them into doing the deed," Another one of her friends jeered. "Apparently he caught them trying to steal some of his funds and told them that they could only keep their jobs if they pretended to break into the corporation."
My father is a kind man…
"What about how he blackmailed the government into keeping his affairs a secret," Another of her friends offered mockingly. "Raiden Ryoma has a list of dirty secrets that he uses to force the governments of the world to obey his every command."
He is not a monster…
"Face it Mei," Ryne looked as if she was pitying a poor puppy. "You don't belong here, you and your daddy's dirty money never did." She and everyone she once considered her friends laughed and she could feel something break within her.
The people that she had thought to be her friends, people that she thought cared about her had thrown her away when she no longer had her status. Was this the reason why everyone wanted to be her friend? The reason why she was so popular?
Was that all they saw her as?
As the heiress to Massive Electric?
Not as Mei Raiden?
Was her money the only thing that they had been after, her status? Did they not care about who she was as a human being? Did they not-!
She was suddenly broken out of her brooding when a hand unexpectedly placed itself on her shoulders. Her mind was already in such a bad state that she thought it was another one of her 'friends' ready to mock her. The heiress was not blind to the crowd that had encircled her after Ryne and her 'friends' had confronted her.
However she was surprised when she saw a familiar shade of red atop the person who had placed their hand on her shoulder. "H-Haruto?" Her dark blue eyes did a double take to make sure that what she was seeing was real.
Her mind was not playing tricks on her when the red headed teenager gave her an assuring smile before his expression steeled when he focused his attention on Ryne. Hearing something on her other side, Mei turned to see Kiana giving the angriest glare that she had ever seen on the white haired girl's face to the people in front of her.
If looks could kill she was sure Kiana would've murdered everyone present.
"Are you done with your useless prattling?" In what was probably the angriest voice that Mei had ever heard from Haruto, Ryne and her friends took a step back from the unexpected anger from their usually calm and composed classmate.
She would never admit it but a small part of her took joy in their apparent fear.
Ryne quickly recovered as she boldly took a step forward to try and retake control of the situation. "Well if it isn't Haruto-san. I know that you're friends with this...fraud but you should consider stepping away from her."
"Y-Yeah," Someone joined in, capitalizing on Ryne's initiative. "Her entire fortune is built on lies!"
"Her father's a criminal!" This time someone from the outside circle spoke.
"He's a stain on Nagazora's prestige!" Another joined in.
Each comment that they said was a heavy blow to Mei's heart. Did they not care for all that her father had done for Nagazora, for the livelihood of everyone living in the city? Did it just not matter to them at all?
Was all that they cared about was themselves?
However their comments unfazed Haruto as he just crossed his arms, unimpressed with their words. "And…?" He cooly asked. "How does the accusations set against her father relate to her? Did she take part in any of the crimes you speak of?"
That was…actually a good question. Mei could see expressions of doubt beginning to form on everyone's faces from Nakamura's question. For a moment she hoped that it would start to get everyone to see the truth.
Ryne however had second plans. A devious smile formed on her lips as she spoke up. "If I'm not mistaken Haruto-san…weren't you given a scholarship to this academy because of her father?"
Hazel eyes narrowed dangerously at what his classmate was trying to imply. Already whispers were beginning to circulate about the redhead's circumstances at the academy, their focus shifting away from the topic of Mei's innocence. "...Your point being?"
The olive haired girl just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Well it's only natural that you would stick up for her, after all her father is the reason why you're here in the first place."
Murmurs of agreement began to spread as Ryne gained a confident smirk with how it was all unfolding.
"But you don't have to stick up for her anymore, I'm sure the principal will be more than happy to offer you a solution so you can continue attending classes here."
Mei's heart plummeted as she could hear words of support from the other students, vowing they would help the redhead stay at Chiba Academy. Was Haruto going to abandon her too? Had he just befriended her because it was her father that had given him the scholarship.
Had it been some sense of obligation that had him seek out her friendship? Was everything that he did just to get closer to her money? Did he not-.
"Are you deaf or simply just daft?" Haruto suddenly said, catching everyone off guard with his statement. Murmurs of disbelief spread through the student body while Mei tried to process what she just heard. At the same time a small glimmer of hope was beginning to spread through her.
Ryne on the other hand was completely gobsmacked by what she heard. "E-Excuse me?!" The girl demanded.
"I said, are you deaf or simply just daft?" Haruto repeated as he glared at Ryne. "Do you think I am that sad of a human being to seek Mei's friendship because of her status? I am honored to be Mei's friend so whether you like it or not I'm not going anywhere."
"Yeah we aren't abandoning Mei-senpai!" Kiana also voiced her agreement as she smacked her palms together.
The dark violet haired girl looked toward her two friends in surprise at their bold statements. They were risking so much by sticking up for her and here they were declaring that they would stand by her no matter what for all to hear.
Her heart was swelling with gratitude at their words.
"And now that you know where we stand in all this…" Haruto challengingly pointed a finger at Ryne, a serious look in his hazel eyes.
"Move or be moved."
"What are you gonna do about it?" Someone scoffed as a group of teenagers that Mei knew to be some of the star athletes of the academy's various sport teams moved forward. It seems that there were still some who were going to stand with Ryne "You gonna move us then?!"
Such a show of strength would've intimidated most but not Haruto as he looked at their display with barely any interest, as if it wasn't a threat. "...Kiana," He said simply as the white haired girl moved forward, unsheathing the baseball bat that she had brought with her from her bag.
"Are you going to attack us!?" Asked one of the athletes incredulously. "You'll get suspended!"
"Meh, I don't really care," Kiana shrugged nonchalantly as she moved one of her hands to the other end of the bat. "I want nothing more than to beat you all to a bloody pulp for hurting Mei-senpai but Haru-senpai told me there's another, better, way of doing this."
Not elaborating what that meant, the white haired girl sucked in a deep breath…
Before she snapped the bat that she was holding in two with ease, the wood material of the bat splintering and sending wooden chips flying. She made it look so effortless that one would think she had just snapped a twig and not a baseball bat.
"And that was through an effective message to remind everyone what will happen should you lay a finger on Mei-senpai." Kiana spoke with a smile and her eyes closed, really driving the point home that she would not be afraid to follow through with her threat.
"Why you!" The olive haired girl gritted her teeth as she watched her entire plan fall apart. She was supposed to be the one in control of everything here!
It was the perfect plan! She would put Mei Raiden in her place for all to see, while also cementing herself as the new 'Queen' of Chiba Academy in one fell swoop. It would all be too easy with how fickle her fellow classmates were.
She was so sure that she'd be able to turn Haruto Nakamura against Mei, after all why else would someone like him try to befriend someone as powerful as Raiden had been. With Massive Electric on shaky footing, someone as smart as Haruto Nakamura would know when to abandon a lost cause.
So why?!
Why was he still insistent on sticking with Mei Raiden?!
But before Ryne could try to salvage this mess, a familiar voice spoke up. "While I must remind you all that threatening another student is against the rules of this academy, I will turn a blind eye to it considering that it was provoked."
All became deathly quiet as everyone slowly turned to the front of the academy to see Akira Ishigami in all of his lab coat glory slowly approaching the crowd with a glare. As he approached the crowd, those in his path moved away and gave him an unrestrictive path to where Mei and Ryne were.
Stepping into the inner circle, the teacher calmly regarded everyone present with his eyes before turning to the olive haired student. "Ryne Hinori, you disappoint me. To think that not only would you degrade your fellow classmate in front of everyone, you would also try to provoke others simply because they stood up for their friend in need."
"But-!" The girl tried to plead her case only for Ishigami's cold stare to stop her dead in her tracks.
"I will be having some choice words with both the principal and your father for your actions this day, as for the rest of you…" He directed his attention to everyone present. "I believe that you all have somewhere else to be then here do you not?"
Realizing that the drama was all but finished, all the students began to make their way into the school building. Some grumbled about how they wanted to see more of the spectacle but none were eager to defy the Demon of Chiba Academy.
I internally sighed in relief as Ryne Hinori looked angrily at Mei before she stormed off, her lackeys also shooting similar glares at us before they joined her. It didn't take long for the only people left present were myself, Ishigami-sensei, Kiana, and Mei.
"Vultures all of them," Spat out Ishigami-sensei as he glared at the retreating forms of our fellow classmates. "They make their own assumptions before any of the accusations can be proven if they are either true or false."
The teacher took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Not only do I need to have a chat with the principal over Ryne-san's behavior, I have to keep at bay the reporters who are probably rushing their way over here to get an interview with Mei-san."
He opened his brown eyes up and looked to the heiress sympathetically. "If it is any consolation I believe your father is innocent of these accusations. Have faith that justice will prevail in the end."
Mei looked surprised by his words but nonetheless had a grateful look in her eyes. "Thank you Ishigami-sensei."
"However school waits for no one, you three should head to class now." The teacher then looked at me with a knowing smile. "Also Haruto will you tell Keji that we are suspending club activities for the foreseeable future. It wouldn't be very productive if one of our two members was out there being a knight in shining armor."
My cheeks turned red at what he was implying and it was apparent that I wasn't the only one to understand as Mei giggled softly while Kiana laughed openly.
"Alright you three, run along now." Thanking the teacher for his timely intervention, the three of us made our way to our classroom. Walking through the halls of Chiba Academy, I was aware of the not so hidden stares of everyone as the focus of their attention squirmed from the unwanted attention.
It must've been a rather shocking revelation that the love and adoration that everyone had given you was not because they thought you were a charismatic and caring person but rather because of your status and power your name had.
The amount of turmoil that my friend was facing must have been immense.
"Mei," I turned around and whispered to her. "You okay?"
The dark violet haired heiress appeared to be caught off guard by my concern, like if she had not been expecting it. "Y-Yes Haruto, I-I just have alot on my mind right now."
I just nodded along in understanding. "Well I want you to know that me and Kiana will be here for whenever you need it."
Kiana nodded in confirmation with a bright smile. "Yup! Me and Haru-senpai will always be there for you Mei-senpai!"
A small smile graced Mei's face at our promise. "Thank you."
It didn't take long after for the three of us to enter our classroom, and almost immediately we were aware of everyone's stares being directed at us. No doubt they were still processing what had just happened mere moments ago.
I didn't pay mind to their stares as all three of us took our respective seats. Luckily it didn't take long for the teacher to arrive and direct everyone's attention towards them, though I didn't like how their gaze lingered on Mei for a second too long.
However I pushed that away as the lesson began. However as I began to write my notes inside my notebook my mind couldn't help but think more about the situation that I was now in.
While my knowledge on the details of what occurred during Ryoma's downfall weren't super clear, I did know that he had only been accused of embezzelement. While that alone wasn't that bad compared to what had he been accused of it still lead to his downfall's and by association Mei being made into an outcast among her peers and classmates.
The biggest difference however was the fact that having only been accused of embezzlement Raiden Ryoma would suffer a slow and painful fall. It would take at least months for his reputation to be dragged through the mud.
I could not help but feel that what was happening was different than that. I understood that changing things would result in my meta-knowledge not being 100% reliable but this felt almost too…deliberate. Like if someone else had decided to join efforts.
The question was who?
"...So you're telling me that someone helped us do this?" Raven looked at the hacker in disbelief.
"Most likely unintentionally." The Gray Serpent spoke as the two were currently watching the events of Nagazora play out from one of Owl's observation rooms. The officer in question was still adapting to his new cybernetic upgrades so only the two of them were present.
"What do you mean unintentionally?" The gray haired assassin asked as she looked at the numerous screens that had news anchors detailing Raiden Ryoma's arrest.
"The backdoor that Styx had managed to upload in Massive Electric's mainframe allowed me unrestricted access to most of their secrets, all except Ryoma's personal files." The masked hacker waved his hand in front of the screens, changing them from the news channels to the files that allowed the hacker to incriminate Raiden Ryoma.
It was a trump card that he had been saving for an occasion when Ryoma would least expect it, and after his victory against them there was no better time to strike. And with a company so affiliated with Anti-Entropy, it was easy to find files detailing mysterious massive money transfers that in reality came from the organization.
Ryoma was thorough in making sure that the relationship with Anti-Entropy and Massive Electric was made a secret, and that proved to be his downfall. With the release of those documents it appeared that he had committed economic fraud.
And neither he or Anti-Entropy could dispute them as it would lead to the revelation of their relationship and the honkai fighting organization would not risk their public image, not without provoking Schicksal into taking advantage of the situation.
He provided these files to Cocolia and let her do the rest. In time she would come into possession of Massive Electric and all of their resources would be at her disposal, which really meant that it would be World Serpent's to use.
However even with the incriminating evidence that he had provided, the process in bringing down Raiden Ryoma would take time. Time that the man would use to fight tooth and nail to protect what was his. And while the hacker was sure that they would come out on top in the legal system.
Ryoma was not going to go down without swinging.
So it came as a total shock when the news had not only reported of the economic fraud, but also of blackmail and human experimentation. The Gray Serpent knew the files that he had sent to Cocolia were not able to create such charges.
However it was a blessing in disguise as now these new charges had the public all but demanding justice against the head of Massive Electric. A trial that could've taken half a year or so had been effectively cut in half.
The only conclusion of why this was happening was that someone else had helped them with their own incriminating evidence.
Whether it was intentional or unintentional…
That was the question now.
"Shouldn't you be happy then?" Raven asked, puzzled by the hacker's concern. "You've got someone helping you now, shouldn't that make things easier for you then to complete your plan?"
"Perhaps," Gray Serpent conceded as the screens changed to that of a live video of Cocolia ascending the steps of Massive Electric. With Ryoma Raiden's position as the head of the company in jeopardy, the board had requested an emergency meeting to discuss the future of the company.
And it so happened that Cocolia was one of the company's major investors. Should she play her cards right then the hacker was staring at the next head of Massive Electric.
"But with this unexpected help comes a question that we must answer…"
"What is it that our unknown benefactor is aiming for?"
It was around noon by the time Cocolia left the Massive Electric board meeting. She was nursing a small migraine but other than the day was looking to be a success. She had cemented herself as one of the top contenders to replace Raiden Ryoma should he be convicted of his accusations.
And he would, it was only a matter of time before he lost the legal battle against the prosecution team.
A small part of her felt horrible for essentially stabbing her friend in the back. Ever since she had joined the ranks of Anti-Entropy all that long ago, the man was nothing but supportive of her as she climbed the ranks of the organization. The two had found common ground in cherishing their children more than anything in the world.
The friendship that he had given her was paid back by incriminating him for the entire world to see, destroying his legacy.
She should've felt appalled but this wasn't the first time she had betrayed someone. That list of people was so long that she stopped count and knew that there was no redemption for a person like her.
But for the kids, for Bronya, for Seele…
She would do anything for them.
Entering her office, she was immediately greeted by Bronya. "Privet Matushka," The gray haired girl said from her spot on the couch. Surrounding her while she played on her gaming device were the various stuffed animals she had won at the festival that took place last night.
It came quite as a shock to hear that the girl had spent the festival in the company of Mei Raiden and her friends. She was not sure if it was simply coincidence or fate that Bronya had met them but while the Anti-Entropy officer within her was concerned that her connection with them might be exploited, the mother side of her was quite relieved to see the light in Bronya's eyes when she told her of how the festival went.
Many people would consider Bronya a robot with how she acted, a consequence of the failed X-10 trials, but having raised the once child soldier to where she was today, Cocolia was able to tell what the girl was feeling at times.
And she was glad that the girl was interacting with other people, and not spending all of her time on those computer devices.
"And how are you Bronya?" She asked as she walked over to her desk and sat down on her chair. The blonde woman gave an appreciative sound of approval as her back sunk into the comfortable cushioning of her chair.
"Doing okay Matushka," The Russian girl replied as her eyes never left the screen of her device. "The Bronya has cleared The Epic Of Alexander Ultimate Raid."
"That's good Bronya," She praised even if she had no idea what this ''Epic Of Alexander Raid' was. Probably another one of the many things she would not understand about the younger generations.
A comfortable silence soon fell over the room as the only things you could hear were that of Bronya's game and the sounds of Nagazora traffic. Cocolia would take this oh so needed break to collect her thoughts in preparation of a week full of negotiations and blackmail.
She was not sure how much time passed in this silence before her phone suddenly began to ring. Cracking her purple colored eyes open, the Anti-Entropy member saw her phone buzzing with a call from an unknown caller id.
She had the mind to leave the call alone and wait for whoever was calling her to give up but a small part of her knew that would not be how this ended. With a tired sigh Cocolia picked up the phone and answered it.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Ah hello!" A rather bright and cheery feminine voice greeted her. Great, she was dealing with some kind of marketer trying to sell her some useless gadget then. "It's such an honor to meet you!"
"I'm sorry," She said sympathetically, hoping to let this female marketer down lightly. "But I won't be doing any-!"
"It's an honor to meet the person who framed Raiden Ryoma!" The caller dropped that bombshell with that same cheery voice. A voice that had taken Cocolia off guard by how innocent it sounded.
She was so wrong.
"Who is this?" She demanded as slipped into her ruthless Anti-Entropy side. The sudden change in tone had Bronya looking up from her gaming device as she listened to her Matushka acting seriously.
"Oh don't worry about that," They dismissed offhandedly. "This is just a friend who wants to help you get what you want." The caller cheerily replied.
"A…friend?" Cocolia asked in disbelief. Whoever was on the other side of this call had just casually dropped her involvement in Ryoma Raiden's scandal and she only just wanted to be her…friend? The woman couldn't count how many enemies she had made that would kill for the information that this caller possessed.
"Yup!" They replied as if it was completely normal for such a request.
"You won't be having that same cheery voice with me when I find out who you are." Threatened the blonde woman as she looked to Bronya, who nodded as she immediately went to work in trying to figure out where the caller was located. The gray haired girl was unmatched in the technology world and it would only be a matter of time before she was able to discover who she was talking to.
"Oh that won't be necessary," They spoke confidently. "I am currently speaking through what you might know as a burner phone. The moment this call ends I plan on throwing this into a garbage can. Can't have you spoiling the surprise now can we?"
Seeing Bronya shake her head told Cocolia that they were indeed telling the truth. She cursed under her breath as a burner phone made tracking this caller impossible. "Alright then mysterious caller, what is it really that you want from me? Power? Money? Revenge?" She listed off the potential reasons for this call.
"I thought you were much more attentive than that Cocolia!" The caller playfully berated. "I really just want to be your friend!"
She wasn't going to buy that story, not in a million years. "Well forgive me if I can't help but be apprehensive when someone just wants to be your friend, not after they reveal the fact that you are involved in some rather illegal activities."
And to her shock, they seemed to agree with her reasoning. "Hmm…I suppose you are right about that," Their voice lost its cheery tone as the caller seemed to be in a state of contemplation. "...Perhaps I approached this all wrong."
Good they were rambling to themselves, with luck this would give Cocolia enough time to think of a way to turn this situation around in her favor. But how would she be able to track the caller if they were calling from a burner phone?
"But I have to make the most of this situation…oh I know!" Looks like they didn't take long to deliberate their options as they suddenly came upon a realization, along getting back into their cheery tone.
"I'll prove that I'm your friend by making Raiden Ryoma confess to these crimes!"
…huh?
"Yes that'll do nicely, if I get him to confess the next time he appears publicly then you will see that I am sincere in my attempts of friendship!" They cried out triumphantly. "Well until we meet again my dear friend!"
Cocolia was so thrown out of the loop that she didn't say a single thing as the call ended. Slowly lowering her phone onto her desk, the blond woman wordlessly turned her chair around to face the view of the city of Nagazora.
"What just happened?" She said to no one in particular.
Somewhere in the city of Nagazora, the Herrscher of Sentience had a smile on her face as she lowered the phone from her ear. Humming a victorious tune she casually threw the now useless electronic device into a nearby trash can.
"Yes everything is going according to plan," She thought as she turned to a very particular building. It was only right that she saw the fruits of her labor and what she was seeing was oh so satisfying for her.
For right now she was standing in front of the Nagazora Penitentiary.
The place that was currently detaining Raiden Ryoma.
A sea of reporters were presently trying to force their way into the penitentiary and it was only through the efforts of the police stationed at the prison that they hadn't gotten in. Yet as they were busy trying to get answers for their many questions, no one had paid any attention to her, which was surprising considering her distinctive pink hair.
That was if they could see her with the illusion bubble she had created to hide herself.
"Well let's go visit the man of the hour," With a spring in her step the Herrscher walked up to the exit that she would use for her infiltration.
Though getting inside was not going to be a piece of cake. As powerful as her illusions were, they were unable to fool the technological eyes that were observing every inch of this place. Perhaps if she was at her full strength then her illusions would be able to fool everyone and everything.
But then again, if she was at full strength she wouldn't have to be doing this in the first place.
"It's only for a moment," She assured herself as her entire body began to change. Bright flowing pink hair turned to a hair cut of ordinary shade of brown, her feminine body began to turn masculine, her light blue eyes turning brown.
"Well then," Even her voice had gotten deeper. Adjusting her clothes that were that of the penitentiary guard's uniform, the now disguised Herrscher stepped inside the prison. "Let's get this over with already."
At first glance turning into a random security guard would seem to be a bad plan. After all, there was the problem of getting past all identification checkpoints and almost certainly someone would notice a new security guard that they've never seen before just making his way through the heavily fortified prison.
That would be a problem if the person that the Herrscher was impersonating didn't actually work here. Walking up to a checkpoint, 'he' gave the officer stationed there a nod of greeting as 'he' placed the identification card on the scanner.
The scanner lit up green, the gate before 'him' opening up and letting the disguised guard enter through the prison gate. Pocketing the borrowed id card, the Herrscher thought back to how she had 'convinced' the guard that she was impersonating to allow her to go to work in his place today, relinquishing both id and uniform for her to borrow.
But it wasn't like she was a bad Herrscher, as a matter of fact she was a kind one. She would go and dry-clean the uniform after she was done using it, maybe even buy him a cake for his cooperation.
Though if the man had second thoughts on going back on her deal, she was sure that the news would be overjoyed on having the breaking news of the day when they found his body in a gutter.
Making her way through the complex, no one was any wiser to her deception. For all they knew it was just a normal day on the job.
"What's up dude! Did you get caught up in the traffic?" A security guard greeted 'him' as 'he' walked into the camera control room, the first stage of her plan. For the Herrscher to even think of getting anywhere near Raiden Ryoma, she needed to deal with the multitude of cameras that were watching every inch of his cell.
"With all the interviewers and news channels outside I thought I'd never get in," 'He' joked as the other guard laughed.
"You're telling me, this is easily the most exciting day I've had in all my years working here." Taking a quick look of the room, the guard stationed with watching the cameras made sure no one was making their way there before he motioned for the disguised guard to lean in.
"Can you watch the cameras real quickly? I just need to grab a coffee real quickly." He asked, not even knowing that he was playing into the Herrscher's hands. 'He' nodded and the guard had a grateful smile on his face as he stood up from his chair and patted 'him' on the shoulder.
"Thanks man," And without skipping a beat the guard ran out of the security room, leaving the Herrscher all alone.
"...Huh, that was easier than I thought." Remarked Sentience as 'he' walked up to the controls of every camera in the penitentiary. Taking one last quick look around, 'he' lowered 'his' hand on the controls as it began to glow a faint pink.
The controls of the camera system also began to glow a faint pink as honkai energy lines ran through the entire system. A second later the honkai lines disappeared as the deed was accomplished.
And not a second later the guard came back, coffee in hand. "Hey man, thanks for covering me. Definitely owe you for this." He sat back on his chair and turned his attention to the camera feed, oblivious to the change that had just happened.
"I'll see you around then," The disguised Herrscher said 'his' farewells as 'he' left the security room and finally made 'his' way to the reason why 'he' was even infiltrating this prison in the first place.
Raiden Ryoma had a cell at the heart of the facility that was watched constantly by cameras. The patrols of guards she could deal with normally but the main problem was the camera system.
However with that now taken care of 'he' could now enter the space that housed 'his' target's cell. Throwing a quick look at one of the many cameras, a grin formed on 'his' disguised face as
'he' stepped up to the man's cell.
Her morphed features finally began to revert back as her short brown hair turned back to flowing luscious pink hair. Changing back to her original form right in front of the camera should've had the entire place go into lockdown, lights blaring a crimson red, and have guards rushing in from every corridor to apprehend her.
That was if she hadn't rigged the camera system earlier to be on a feedback loop for the time that she was here.
Oh the versatile use of honkai energy was something to be celebrated.
"And there he is, the man that everyone wants to have a conversation with!" Announced Sentience as she fully dispelled her disguise, letting the man in the cell in front of her see without problems. "Oh how lucky I am!" She grinned when she saw the man jolt in surprise.
It must've been quite a shock for him as the place that he was currently imprisoned in had been empty, devoid of any human presence. And within an instant of a second there was now suddenly a pink haired female walking up to him.
"Who are you?!" He demanded as walked up to the bars of his cell to greet his visitor. "How did you get in here?!"
"Oh I wouldn't worry about such trivial things," She dismissed as she went and pulled out a chair and sat on the opposite side of the bars. "After all it doesn't detract from the fact that I'm here now." The pink haired woman plopped an elbow on the backrest of the chair and rested her head on her hand.
"But you know you look quite good for someone who's resorted to blackmail and human experimentation."
There it was, the outlandish claim that everyone was accusing him of. "I did not-!"
"Do it?" Finished the Herrscher, smiling in the surprised expression the head of ME Corp was giving her. "Of course you didn't, you may be the head of the one of the biggest corporations on the planet yet surprisingly there isn't a bad thing about you that someone can pin on you."
Those words brought a semblance of comfort to the man, knowing that he was innocent. It was enough for him to temporarily forget the fact that this random person had seemingly teleported into the room. "Thank heavens someone sees it, I'm not sure how those files relate to me but I need to-,"
"I also know it wasn't you because I'm the one who leaked those files in the first place," She revealed with a cheery smile as she reveled in the horrified look her words brought out. "It was surprisingly shocking how fast your fellow humans turned on you with just a piece of paper that has your name in place of the one who actually committed the crimes."
She continued on, not noticing the angered look that was swelling in the man's face. "I was hard pressed to find something, anything, incriminating in your data banks until I realized that your fate with Anti-Entropy was tightly bound. I knew that you had to have some sort of files on Anti Entropy and lo and behold I found it."
After all, Massive Electric was one of the many fronts Anti-Entropy had and it would not be unusual for the organization to have some sort of files within the corporation's data banks. It took a bit more digging but eventually she found what she was looking for.
"Something about the X-10 trials?" The pink haired Herrscher brought a finger up to her chin as she tried to remember what exactly those papers were. "Well I guess what it was doesn't matter now as it did its job of directing everyone's hatred towards you."
"You realize that you confessed to me never having done these crimes?" Reigning in his anger, his desire to curse the person in front of him, Raiden Ryoma gave his visitor a cool look. "All I need to do is wait for the trial and my lawyers will prove that it's tampered evidence."
"But of course, a proper investigation will show that you are innocent of these crimes." Admitted Sentience. "And while you may not be relieved of being innocent of economic fraud the mere fact that you were wrongly convicted of the other two crimes will have you back in the public's good graces in no time."
"And that is something I cannot allow, so here's what you will do Raiden Ryoma." Without warning the Herrscher reached her hand through the bars and grabbed the scruff of Ryoma's prisoner attire, lifting him up from his position and having his face touch the bars of his cell. "You will confess to all of these crimes the moment you go on trial."
Even being in a position where he was left at the mercy of his unknown visitor, the purple haired man stared defiantly into light blue eyes. "Do you think a show of intimidation will scare me into performing your wishes?"
"Perhaps not you," A maniacal glint shined in the Herrscher's eyes. "But maybe your daughter will change your mind."
Ryoma's cool composure gave way to raw, unbridled anger at the mention of threatening his daughter. "YOU DARE!?"
Oh she dared alright. "If I am able to sneak into a high security prison how easy do you think it will be to sneak into your home, to your daughter's room, walk up to her poor vulnerable sleeping form and…" She drew a line across her neck to complete her message.
In the time that Ryoma had been talking with his still unknown visitor, he knew that she was not one to lie about her abilities. "Even if I did confess, all I would do is make her life a living hell!" He argued as he could only imagine what his precious daughter was going through right now.
He would make it so much worse if he did confess to these false crimes.
And that was something he would not allow, never in a million years.
"You would be right about that," Admitted the Herrscher. "Either way your daughter will suffer but I can assure you Raiden Ryoma…" She leaned her head closer and the head of ME Corp sucked in a breath as he saw her light blue eyes glowing a deathly, and a very familiar, pink hue.
"No," He breathed out in realization and horror as at that very instant he knew who exactly his visitor was.
"It can't be…"
"Yes Raiden Ryoma I am who you think I am." Grinned the Herrscher of Sentience as her identity had finally been uncovered. "Though I doubt anyone will believe you if you tried to tell them."
Without saying a word the pink haired woman let go of the man's collar. Ryoma was able to catch himself just in time from a nasty fall as Sentience began to walk away from the cell. Making her way towards the exit, she threw one last look to the CEO.
"I want you to think real hard on what you think you need to do but a friendly reminder. Any nightmare you can possibly think of will pale in comparison to the hell that I will turn your daughter's life into if you do not confess for all the world to hear."
The Herrscher of Sentience gave a final wave of farewell before she left, leaving the head of Massive Electric with a very difficult decision to make.
By the time the next guard came around the cell for their routine patrol all they would see is Raiden Ryoma sitting on the floor, a dull look in his eyes as he kept mumbling something over and over without stopping.
"Mei… I am so sorry."
"Thank you Haruto," Mei thanked me as we stopped right in front of the entrance to the Kendo clubroom. There was still a downcast expression on her face, considering that she was still the focus of everyone's attention, but there was certainly a light in her eyes that had not been present before.
"No problem," I assured her. "I have to go run some errands now but Kiana will be here to pick you up."
"...you know you don't have to do this right," Mei looked embarrassed at the fact that the two of us had essentially made the rule that she could not go anywhere without any one of us being with her.
"Better safe than sorry," I told her as a smile formed on my face as I thought back to what Kiana's suggestion had been in making sure Mei was safe. "Or would you rather we have gone with Kiana's idea of being clad in full riot gear armor and football tackling anyone that looked at you funny."
The reminder had its intended effect as a smile blossomed on Mei's face as she lightly giggled at that memory. "Yes, that would be rather difficult to have around."
"...But it would be very funny to see that happen," I was quick to point out.
"Haruto!" She cried out in shock.
"What?" I replied in fake offense. "I am just saying, Kiana tackling someone in that kind of bulky gear is very funny to me. Though maybe not for the person she is tackling." I added the last part hastily.
"I should get going then," The heiress readjusted her bag on her shoulder as she gave me one last smile. "I will see you soon Haruto."
"Of course," I answered her before she turned around and entered her clubroom. Though she was on the receiving end of some wary glances from her club members, I was more focused on trying to spot a familiar shade of black but to no avail.
"Still nothing," I sighed as I gave up my search and began to leave the building. Ever since arriving at school, I had not either seen or received any message from the undercover Valkyrie. She hadn't even been present for class the entire day.
My first thought was that she was sick but knew that she had been in good health the last time that I had seen her at the festival so I ruled that out, and besides I felt she would've responded back to the messages I sent her asking what had happened to her.
As I was making my way out of the building, it was only by pure coincidence that I was able to catch a faint glimpse of the valkyrie about to leave through the main entrance.
"Midori, is that you?" I called out as I went to catch up with her. She was currently in some casual clothes with a bag that I could only assume held her kendo gear as her bokken's edge was sticking out of it.
"Don't you have practice?" I asked as I caught up behind her.
"Oh it's you Haruto," She briskly replied, standing perfectly still and not turning to face me. "I wasn't expecting you."
She was definitely acting a bit strange but I pushed that thought aside, these were trying times after all. "I've been trying to call you but you never answered any of my calls."
"Sorry…I was busy with something." She told me.
I just accepted her reasoning with no fuss. "That's alright but I'm going to need your help now, someone's obviously trying to bring down Mei's father and we need to find who that is before it gets worse."
I was expecting her to turn around and offer me her help but what I got instead was something else entirely. "Sorry Haruto, I-I won't be able to help you."
"Huh? Why?" I asked, not expecting that sort of answer from the undercover Valkyrie. I did not know why she was acting like this but I intended to find out. "Don't tell me you believe that Mei is guilty!?"
"Of course not! I would never think that of my friend!" She hotly denied, as if that notion offended her very character. Yet even when her integrity was being called into question, she still refused to face me
I won't deny that a small part of me was growing impatient with this drawled out game of deflecting questions. "Then why-!"
"Because I can no longer do anything for her here!" She interrupted me as she swiftly turned around, tears in her usually composed green eyes. "Not when I've been ordered otherwise."
I felt my heart stop at those words as I thought about why she had her kendo gear with her, why was leaving the building if the club was currently in session, why she had not been present for class at all today. For the diligent undercover student, there could only be one reason why this was happening. "You don't mean…"
Midori Aki bitterly nodded as she relayed to me what was going on with her, confirming my worst fears. "As of the morning of Raiden Ryoma's arrest, I received new orders from high command."
"That I am to leave Nagazora, immediately."
Let the depression begin!
Anyway the support for the last chapter was insane! You guys really liked the Kiana scene!
I can only hope what I have planned for Mei will live up to the standard that I've set.
How did you like the chapter? It took me much longer than I would've liked to get this chapter out as Mei's emotions were the hardest hurdle for me to cross. How could I make it seem genuine without making it seem repetitive. Hence I had to plan out the entire arc so something wasn't repeated.
Also Christmas preparation took a good chunk out of my time.
Shoutout to vladbucur1997 for helping me bounce ideas off of them. Without them this chapter would've taken longer to get uploaded and be much more different than what you guys just read.
The only thing I'm iffy with is the format of the Herrscher infiltration segment, with the use of 'he' and 'him' when they were disguised. Was it hard to read or was it just okay? What about their personality/character?
As of posting this chapter it'll be the day before Christmas Eve so I want to wish all you guys a MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you guys have a festive holiday!
And I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a new chapter in before New Years so…
HAPPY EARLY NEWS YEAR EVERYBODY!
Welp that's all for this chapter. If you enjoyed it, drop a fav/follow/kudos as they really help me out with creating great chapters. Reviews are deeply appreciated and if you have a question or a really interesting theory I am more than happy to reply. Please be patient if I don't respond to you super fast. Even if I don't respond to your comment for whatever reason, know that I read each and every one of them!
Peace!