"Wait, so let me get this straight, Miyuki was a terrible singer and against all odds, you managed to turn him into a passable singer in less than several weeks?" Markus questioned in legit surprise as he asked more about their school misadventures as Chika nodded with a distressed look as Markus whistled at that. "That's actually pretty impressive, turning someone who, according to you, have the singing capability of a sea slug into a passable singer is pretty impressive." He noted.
"You have no idea how horrible it was." Chika said with a shudder, and to Markus's own surprise, he also noted Hayasaka shuddering as well. It couldn't have been that bad now; could it? "It was Torture, he had no beat, rhythm, or ability to move his tone in a proper level and kept going off key!" She nearly cried out in distress; okay, apparently it was that bad.
"Well at least you managed to get him to the passable level?" Markus offered out awkwardly as he turned to Miyuki, who was bright red at what was being told. As many around them were laughing in amusement. "If it makes you feel any better Miyuki, I suck at singing too apparently." He offered up to him as Miyuki focused on that.
"You can't sing Markus?" Miyuki asked as Markus nodded at that. "How bad are you?" He then asked, quite curious.
"Apparently I am told that I am very horrific and from the one time I attended I went to a Karaoke Lounge and got a score in the single digits, and if it wasn't the fact that zero is not possible, my score would have been lower." Markus said as Chika and the other gasped in surprise at Markus's surprising lack of talent in singing, either that or the fact that he obtained a one in the Karaoke Lounge.
Which now that Markus thought about it made a lot of sense with what happened to him. He was pretty sure he may have gotten some radiation, Cloud Residue, Smoke, and a few other extremely unsafe chemical stuffs that got into his lungs. Either that or he never actually bothered to learn how to sing, or it could be a combination of both factors for all he knew.
"I am not going to teach you how to sing Markus!" Chika said in a panic as Markus snorted at that in amusement. "Don't laugh at me, do you have any idea how stressful it was to teach Miyuki how to sing properly? It was stressing!" She cried at him. "I felt like a mother watching over her child jumping into the deep end of the swimming pool without knowing how to even swim!"
Markus snorted again at Chika's pouty face. "Sorry, just the thought of someone like me learning to sing is kind of amusing. And rest assured Chika, there's not going to be a high chance of me asking you to teach me how to sing properly." He assured her. "Not like I have any reason to actually learn how to sing to begin with." He shrugged.
And as the conversation continued with Miyuki pleading Chika to not share any more embarrassing stories about himself with Markus. Markus felt his pockets vibrate and raised an eyebrow as he pulled out his new phone to see that Ai had sent him a text message, and when he read the text itself, his blood ran cold.
Markus! Help! Hikaru is here!
And underneath that message was the address and the current location that she was at. Now that Ai is confirmed to be in danger, he needed to move. And the students noticed the way that Markus's body tensed up and look at him in concern as he then turned to Kaguya, who blinked in surprise and her eyes widened even more as Markus bowed to her a bit. "Markus?" She questioned in confusion.
"Kaguya, a while ago you asked if there was anything I could ask of you and I reject that notion." Markus started off as everyone in the room besides the kids knew and nodded. "It stings for me to admit this, but I need that favor now." He said as Kaguya looked surprised and confused. "One of my friends is in danger, she needs help." He said as everyone's eyes went wide and even the kids turned to Markus in shock with Ruby and Aqua paling as the only friend of Markus that was ever in danger is their mother. "Please." He pleaded with her.
The moment Kaguya's shock wore off, her expression turned serious and turned to Hayasaka. "Hayasaka, ready the limo and provide Markus with whatever he needs to save his friend." She ordered as Hayasaka nodded as Markus blinked in surprise a bit as Kaguya turned back to him with a smile. "Follow Hayasaka, she will take you to my personal chauffer and will take you wherever you need, we will watch over Ruby and Aqua in your steed." She assured.
Markus smiled and nodded. "My thanks." He said as he turned to follow Hayasaka and started running as she did and Markus noted the way she ran. "So, you must be physically capable of fighting off people as a bodyguard for Kaguya?" Markus questioned as he kept up with her as Hayasaka raised her eyebrows in surprise. "It's in the way you move." He said as Hayasaka made some noise of amusement.
"You're pretty perceptive, Markus, most people don't actually see that and only see what I want them to see." She answered back as they reached the limo with Kaguya's personal chauffer and soon Hayasaka opened the door and got in, followed by Markus. Markus told the man the address and nodded as he stepped on the gas and started moving as fast as possible.
"I imagine this is a bit of a stretch, but you wouldn't happen to have any weapons that I can use?" Markus asked jokingly, only for Hayasaka lean down and reach for something underneath the seat and pulled out a box which she opened to reveal a handgun, to Markus's personal surprise. "Well didn't see that one coming." He commented.
"Kaguya is a very important person, and as such we usually prep some weapons in case of emergencies, haven't been used yet at all until now." Hayasaka nodded as Markus took the box and started examining the gun that he had. "Also, there's a silencer there as well." She added in casually as Markus nodded at that.
The handgun he was examining used 9x19 rounds, had a magazine capacity of 15, had a textured grip for ease of holding, pin on the side that was locked on safety mode. And he examined the Silencer mod that came with it, sensed it wasn't that heavy compared to some of the guns he used before with similar modules and was well built and he screwed it on. While he also checked the slide and barrel and to his satisfaction, they were good and clean. He read the label and saw Beretta 92F on it, designating the gun's name and type.
"Markus." Hayasaka called out as he turned to her. "The friend you're helping, it's the mother of Aqua and Ruby, is it not?" She asked as Markus's eyes went wide. "When you mentioned your friend in danger and that she needed help, I noticed the way their attention instantly turned to your direction." She explained to him.
Markus sighed. "Yeah, my friend's the mother of those two kids, her name is also Ai." He said as Hayasaka looked amused. "So yeah, I am very invested in keeping her safe." He said to her as Hayasaka nodded and then he started calling Ai's phone. 'Come on Ai, please pick up.' He thought hard before the call went through.
"Ah hello?" A completely different voice spoke up, causing Markus's eyes to narrow. "Ah, is this Markus?" The voice called out as Markus's eyes showed his surprise, but he had a mission right now.
"Who is this? Who are you? And why do you have her phone right now?" Markus's sharp voice came through.
"Ah, so you are Markus." The other person sounded relieved. "My name is Nino, I'm one of Ai's fellow Idols." She revealed as Markus's body lost some tension, but regained them as she continued. "Right now, Ai is stuck at the table with some handsome stranger, I think Ai is in danger, please help." Nino pleaded.
"Hold still, I'm on the way." Markus said as he started working out an escape/rescue plan with a chauffeur, an idol, and a bodyguard/student. Not exactly the ideal team but he worked with far worse and in even worse situations before.
"Good to see you Ai, I hope you've been doing quite well." Hikaru said as he sat from across her over the table. "How have you been? And how are the twins doing as well?" Hikaru asked Ai as he gave Ai, what can only be an insidious smile that sent shivers down Ai's spine as she struggled to escape Hikaru's hands over her hands.
"Hikaru." Ai breathed out as she struggled to keep her erratic heartbeat under control, as she faced down with someone who might have sent a killer after her. "I have been doing well, and you haven't decided to actually meet them yet." She said as she struggled to retain her composure while doing so.
"You know I did want to discuss that, hence why I came to talk to you Ai." Hikaru said calmly to her. "But I think that those details can wait a bit longer, how have you been Ai? Did you make any new friends? Did you told anyone about what we shared once upon a time a long time ago?" Hikaru asked casually. "Because I would hate it if someone else knew about our past together, because some things should stay buried should it not?" He asked calmly.
"…No." Ai lied to Hikaru, as Ichigo, Miyako, and Markus, the first two knowing a bit about their past relationship to some extent. While Markus himself was the only person that Ai ever felt genuinely okay with talking about, that and he was trying to figure out who was trying to hurt her. "Nobody knows about our past Hikaru, so it's a secret to everyone but us." She said, trying to buy some time.
Hikaru examined her carefully for a bit, as A did her best to make sure not to show anything in her expression to him, before he spoke up. "You know, a long time ago, you did mention that we are similar." He started off as the black stars in his eyes became very prominent. "Because after all, we are nothing but a pair of massive liars with everything to gain." He said as Ai slowly nodded at that, as it was something that they did talk about.
"I did say that long ago." Ai said softly. "It was one of the first of many meetings that we had and would continue on for some time until you asked me that question." Ai said calmly as she winced as Hikaru tighten his grip on Ai.
"So, I have to ask you, did you really think that I would simply believe your words when the both of us lie so much that it has become a part of who we are?" Hikaru asked calmly. "Did you think that mere words would save you here?" He asked Ai who looked more and more scared with how intense Hikaru got.
"I don't know what you mean by that Hikaru." Ai grimaced as she tried to escape the hold that Hikaru had on her. "I did not tell anyone." She said to him.
"…Liar." Hikaru said quietly and musically.
"Then answer me this then." Ai said as she had to know something, as Hikaru raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you send someone to my home with the intent to kill me?" She questioned quietly.
"…No, no I did not send a stalker after you for that purpose." Hikaru lied so casually as he didn't seem to bother lying about it. And something within Ai just broke a bit, even if she knew long beforehand based on evidence that Markus deduced.
Still…it stung to know that Hikaru would do this to her and all that was left in her heart now was hate for Hikaru for trying to not just kill her but also putting the children's lives at stake. "Liar." She mimicked back to him.
Hikaru looked amused. "So, you caught that." He said to Ai as she was now focusing on a way to get out of here.
"A liar can catch another liar after all." Ai said as Hikaru looked amused and then suddenly in instinct, she shoved Hikaru's suitcase off the table, forcing him to catch it, and then she used that chance to escape his loosened grip and get out and soon found Nino waving to her and motioning her to follow her and started walking very fast.
"Ai, are you okay?" Nino asked in worry as they kept moving and she looked back and heard a commotion. "Who was he?" She asked in concern.
"Someone from my past and I'm okay for now, but we have to move, and where's my phone?" Ai asked quickly as Nino showed her the active call she was on. "Markus?" She asked as Nino nodded and sighed in relief.
"Markus is on his way, so we have to keep moving, that's what Markus said." Nino explained. "And Markus also told me to tell you something else." She added in as Ai paid attention. "Remember the way we took to get to my home if need be." She said as Ai's eyes brighten at that; it was advice from Markus telling them to go hide around if need be.
Then they heard yelping as they took a moment to look behind to see Hikaru moving towards their direction. And he was moving very fast and very intently. "I don't think he's going to mind causing trouble." Ai said in worry as Nino nodded as the two Idols began moving even faster to keep ahead.
"This way Ai." Nino said as they went around a corner and soon took the chance to enter a door saying reconstruction ongoing to get away from Hikaru more effectively. "We can take some shortcuts around here; Markus has several friends ready to help us." She said to Ai.
"Really?" Ai said in surprise, she didn't think Wu-Fei would have been able to help out or be willing to support Markus like this. "What did Markus said about the kind of support Wu-Fei would provide?" She asked as Nino looked confused.
"Wu-Fei? No, Markus has the help of someone called Hayasaka, mentioned that she's an aide to some super rich girl that Markus helped out." Nino explained as both girls froze when they heard the doors bursting from behind them. "How did he know where we were heading?" Nino asked nervously.
"It doesn't matter move!" Ai said as she grabbed Nino as they heard the rapid footsteps behind them and they kept moving as they made another turn to a corner and into a long hallway of some kind as from the corner came out someone, causing both girls to pause. And to Ai's relief, it was Markus and he was holding some kind of box in his hands before he turned to them. "Markus!" Ai said in relief as Nino relaxed.
Then the footsteps made themselves known as Hikaru showed up with a sinister look on his face and his suitcase in his hands. And then rather quickly he threw down the suitcase to reveal some…kind of weird rifle? And soon aimed it at Ai. "Get down!" Markus shouted as rushed and pulled both girls down just in time for a bright blue light to come out extremely fast and hit the wall behind them, exploding it a bit.
"Go!" He then shouted as he pulled a gun and aimed it Hikaru as both Ai and Nino ran for it.
'That was a fucking laser bolt, how the fuck did this guy get a laser gun?!' Markus thought in as he opened fire on the man, whom he assumed to be Hikaru and kept firing at him as Hikaru kept firing at him, preventing him from making any accurate shots to his head. Yet he was still hitting the body, yet worryingly Hikaru was not dropping at all. 'That's not normal I never seen anyone shrugging off shots like it's nothing before, even Ghost People and Lobotmites reacted to being shot at.'
Emptying out one clip, he drew another and reloaded and hit Hikaru in the arm forcing him to lower his laser gun as it lowered and Markus rushed in analyzing the rate of fire on the Laser Gun, in hand. 'That's not AER, AEP, Wattz, or H&K Lasers, the blue lasers remind me more of the LAER but that weapon doesn't exist outside of Big Mountain.' Markus thought as he dropped to the ground as Hikaru tried to shoot him, only for Markus to retaliate by trying to shoot it out of Hikaru's hands, only for Hikaru to move his gun out of the way and allowing Markus to grapple with him as he dropped his handgun.
Markus kept a firm grip on Hikaru's Laser Gun as he wrestled for control and moved one arm to grab Hikaru and threw his body into the wall causing it to crack while bewildered by how much he weighed. And then to his own surprise. Hikaru grabbed him and started pushing back and sent him clashing into the opposite wall and cracking it as well as he grunted as he then kneed Hikaru in the gut. With the minor impact allowing him to shove his face into the ground.
Hikaru retaliated by grabbing the front of Markus's shirt and drag him slamming into the ground as he winced as Hikaru tried to aim his gun at him. But Markus kept a firm grip as he kept the barrel aimed away from himself as they struggled against each other for control of the gun. And soon they ended up shoving against each other slamming one another into the wall and floor and leaving audible cracks and dents in them.
Then Markus got a crazy idea and headbutted Hikaru, stunning him for a brief moment, but allowing Markus to grab hold of the laser rifle and roll back as he winced in pain, from how hard Hikaru's skull was. Then he aimed it at Hikaru as he reached for Markus's gun at the same time and both fired with the shot from Hikaru hitting the left side of the gun and damaging it, while at the same time the shot impacted Hikaru's body.
Then all of a sudden Markus smelled burning…plastic and metal? And looked towards Hikaru's body and his eyes widened as the shot revealed mechanical insides of Hikaru's body. Stunned by this, Hikaru rushed and bulldozed Markus against the wall as they dropped both of their guns and slammed against each other multiple times, only for Hikaru to seemingly use his full strength and threw Markus into a closet, and slamming his head against the wall causing him to blink out spots out of his eyes.
Hikaru picked up his laser gun and started pursuing Ai once again, and Markus quickly regained his composure shook his head of any pain as he rushed to pick up his handgun and started running after Hikaru as he now had a series of troubled thoughts permeating his mind as he tried to catch up with him. Hikaru was clearly not human; his body weight was far greater than normal for a human and his skull was too durable for the average skull. Meaning his entire body was completely and utterly artificial.
If Markus had to make an educated guess, Markus would figure Hikaru to be some kind of advanced infiltrator android of some kind. But what greatly concerned Markus was the fact that Hikaru was artifical but had been here for years, but was originally human to have impregnated Ai. And he doubted a single android could have copied Hikaru's entire body and skin without issues. Meaning that there was more of these androids around.
But his thoughts were interrupted when a shotgun blast sounded off around the corner he was about to take and ducked down before a chunk of his face could vanish. As he quickly got back up, he took a quick peek and widened his eyes as he ducked down into cover again. He also recognized the face of the one that was blocking his way. It was the same merc that was blocking his final escape with Chika, only this time he seemed perfectly alive. Meaning he played dead, and explaining why he felt heavier than normal. Confirming to Markus there was more of these synthetic enemies.
As Markus heard the approaching footsteps coming from the enemy synth merc. Markus looked around to see if there was anything he could use and looked around until he saw a paint can and then he got an idea. Readying his handgun, he turned and opened fire as he tried to impact as much of the enemy's ability to see and notice he flinched when the face was targeted, specifically the eyes. Confirming they need eyes to see while he kicked in the can top breaking open the can as his shots ran out.
Now with one clip full of ammo ready in his gun in one hand, and paint can ready in the other hand. As the enemy got around the corner, he threw the paint into the face of the enemy and blinding him before Markus rushed out and rushed the enemy into the wall and cracking it as he dropped his shotgun. And then Markus shoved the can over the enemy's head before grabbing by the back of his coat and with a grunt of force threw him through the door. Which to his luck not only caused several shotgun shells to slip out of his pockets but also by pure chance threw him over on top of the stair well causing him to fall down.
Markus then rushed to pick up the shotgun and dropped shotgun shells, and slipped his pistol into his felt as he counted up the shells in the shotgun itself and how many the guy dropped. He didn't drop that many, but counting up the shells inside already, he figured out that this shotgun can carry up to six shells plus one, and he managed to get exactly that many shells.
Whatever the case is, he certainly felt more confident that he could damage or knock out Hikaru with a shotgun over his pistol, which also left him frowning as well as he made his way. If they were synthetic enemies of some kind akin to that of most robotic foes he faced, then Pulse based Weapons should be highly effective against that. But most of his guns are not on him since he had intended to use the Lucky 38 as his base. As such he only had a few weapons on him, only one can carry Pulse capabilities.
Nonetheless Ai and Nino were in danger, Hayasaka didn't know that Hikaru was a machine of some kind. Especially since he had to hand Hayasaka her phone so she can guide Nino and Ai to the car. As Markus quickly backtracked to where he had gotten off from the car, he soon saw Nino and Ai getting into the car with Hikaru ready to shoot. So, he jumped in first to retaliate and fire one shell at Hikaru's back and causing him to stumble as he turned to Markus.
But Markus was not caught off guard and soon fired another shot at Hikaru, stumbling him. Then he fired a third shot. Then the fourth shot came, causing Hikaru to simply stumble back. Then the fifth shot came out and knocked Hikaru back again. Then he fired the sixth shot, which destroyed the front barrel of Hikaru's laser gun. Then he fired the seventh and last shot against Hikaru.
The power of the shotgun blasts sent Hikaru slamming against the railing of the parking lot and before he could do anything. Markus rushed in and smashed his upper torso in with the shotgun and sent it and Hikaru over the edge as he took a moment to breath and started retreating to the car as Hayasaka could only grimace at what she saw. But thankfully for Markus, Hikaru's now damaged laser gun was still there, which would act as proof for what he needed. Making sure to pick it and the suitcase up, he noted that the Microfusion Cells were definitely from his world, meaning Hikaru was a product of his world.
Which carried concerning connotations, he wasn't the first one here and how many more were out there? For all he knew, there could potentially be hundreds of these infiltrator synths across the world. As Markus made his way to the car, he took a look at the laser gun to see if there was any brand marking of some kind. It didn't strike him as being homemade, and bits and pieces he was able to work out looked solid and properly made. Meaning it was a proper factory-made tool of sorts. Then he found it, a marking that indicated who made it, or at lest who owned it.
It was a strange red circle with a man with four arms and four legs? Strange, he never seen anything like that before, but the Microfusion Cell were undoubtably from his world for certain. As Hayasaka nodded to him, he got into the car as she closed it. And then rushed to the front seat and got inside and soon the car drove off away from the parking lot.
As Markus turned to Ai and Nino, he could see the shocked look on their faces as they got to see Markus use violence, he also winced as he did not mean to actually scare them. "Sorry about that." He quickly apologized, he was extremely used to killing people and the likes, and he became used to it. His words also caused Ai and Nino to blink as they finally got the shock out of their system looking at him in surprised confusion.
"Why are you apologizing Markus?" Ai asked as she blinked at him in surprise, especially considering that he saved her from Hikaru. Who apparently had some kind of ray gun? Ai had thought that those were only found in science fiction, but apparently Hikaru had one. "You saved my life again." She said warmly as Markus blinked a bit at her and then turned to Nino, no doubt curious as to what she will say, as is Ai.
"I was a bit freaked out, not going to lie." Nino admitted as Ai winced at how he kind of messed up his second impression with her, before Nino continued on. "But I am also thankful that you saved us from that man." Nino added in with a thankful smile on her face as she bowed to him on the car. "Thank you for saving us, Markus." Nino said.
"…No problem." Markus said blinking in surprise as he looked kind of stunned, adding another rare expression that Markus made to Ai's memories. "Are you okay though?" He then asked both of them. "Did he do anything to either of you?" Markus asked as both girls shook their heads. Ai's hands may have been grabbed by Hikaru, but he was clearly trying to avoid a scene in public.
"I'm fine Markus, even though he grabbed me, he didn't intend to hurt me." Ai confirmed as Markus nodded at that.
"Speaking of being harmed…" Nino spoke up looking kind of scared. "How did that guy remain standing after taking that many shotgun blasts to the body?" Nino shivered out a bit. "I never heard of anyone being able to shrug off that many shots before and remain standing." She said in disbelief, as Ai suddenly remembered something as well, in the hallway when Hikaru caught up to them.
"And there was that weapon he used in the hallway." Ai added in looking wearily at the damaged weapon in question in Markus's hands. "I never saw or heard of any gun that fired like that…I think that's a sci-fi energy gun I think." She said as Nino nodded in agreement while Markus remained composed as he observed the weapon as well. But seemingly not saying anything in disagreement either.
"…That's because it is an Energy Gun." Markus said to Nino and Ai as they both blinked. "Also to answer your question Nino, that guy wasn't exactly human." He said as Ai looked confused by that as Markus continued. "That guy that was chasing you was some kind of artifical human infiltrator." He said as both Ai and Nino widened their eyes at how serious Markus sounded to the both of them.
And it wasn't just them, the blonde girl that Markus had called to help them out also looked stunned and surprised by what she heard. But also, completely lost by the details of the conversation as well. "Excuse me?" She said in surprise at Markus as he looked to her with a serious look on his face.
"I wish I was lying, but there's some deep shit going on around here, and I ran into one other guy along the way, he had a partner." He said as Ai and Nino widened their eyes. "And I ran into that guy before, when Chika and I were captured." He said as Hayasaka's eyes widened. "And I know for a fact that he's one of them as well, considering when I was escaping with Chika, I shot him in the throat." He revealed as Nino blanched as Ai quickly remembered that one time Markus was helping someone escape.
"…There's a lot that I have to go over. But there are several pressing questions that I have." The blond girl said to Markus as she turned to him in focus. "How do you exactly know everything that you speak about?" She asked as Ai could tell she was trying to gauge exactly what Markus knew or was trying to hide.
Markus on the other hand remained silent for a bit on the car drive but eventually sighed and slumped. "I will tell you all that I know, but only after we meet up with everyone else." He said to the girl as she raised an eyebrow as Markus continued. "I do not wish to repeat myself, also I need you to stop by my home, it will have the evidence I need." He said as the girl was silent before she nodded. "Thank you Hayasaka." Markus said gratefully as he told them his address and turned to Ai with a serious look.
"…Markus?" Ai asked softly.
"I know that I have told you parts about my past, but I think it's time to give you an insider's look, you deserve that much, especially with what's going on." Markus said as Ai's eyes widened at that as they made way for Markus's apartment.