Raika narrowed his eyes at the small screen on his PET. Here he was, in an actual mission (with back-up, of course), in civilian technical building near the base where some enemy cyber intruders had been spotted. Beside him, another Sharian junior cadet inserted double sword combination, so that his naturally sword-bearing navi would be able to strike with both a fire bursts with a few hidden abilities. Raika entered his own combination, so that Searchman's rifle was enhanced with a beam that could cut through a heat-based armor.
Both assortments were to their advantage, with their opponent's default attack being flames and other related maneuvers that were strangely resistant to any sort of cold-based attack. The enemy predictably attempted to avoid the attacks, but ended up being damaged even further.
Amongst more random unnecessary yowling, the enemy did not even attempt to attack more, but merely made his and Searchman's job much easier. Between his and the other cadet's moves, the enemy was soon down underneath a holding web that it merely scowled in rage at the two navis it very much wrongfully considered the intruders.
Raika then entered a combination that should have retrieved some stolen data the enemy had taken from the small lab that he was in, with the enemy even more weakened.
The enemy, though, certainly had other plans. They raised one large fist, and pounded the slightly scuffed tiled flooring. Less than a second later, Searchman and the other cadet's navi were thrown to the ground as a beam erupted from underneath them. The enemy, then apparently following his attack somehow, vanished into the ground, and appeared in the spot just where the two net saver navis had been previously.
Raika winced in part embarrassment- surely he had failed in knowing that the enemy could perform that attack somehow; it had to be why they had been able to somehow avoid some other ground based attacks. Quickly, he opened up the menu for a simple beam attack to change it so that it keep on moving even if the enemy slashed at it, even for multiple shots.
As the net disappeared behind the enemy, Searchman raised his rifle and fired several times in succession. The enemy, wounded, fell to one knee, while the cadet's navi was able to weaken him further.
Raika entered another chip, only to see Searchman suddenly fall to the ground, as it whacked with an invisible force. He had his navi perform a scan with a temporary shield to protect from more attacks, but before it was finished, a bright blue beam, obviously either having teleported, or gone through the shield unobtrusively before being revealed.
The beam hit Searchman straight on, throwing him against the shield and shattering it. Raika flinched as his navi not only hit the tiled flooring hard, but another beam quickly erupted from nearby, sending his already weakened navi against a pillar. He could see several spots on Searchman's armor disintegrating, and disheartened, just as one of the intruders send an axe flying in his prone navi's direction, pressed the jack-out button on his PET.
Raika cast his eyes downward at the battle where the cadet's navi was the lone force against the enemies that their superior had told them to eliminate. Ignoring a tremendous pang of embarrassment, he sent his obviously idiotic status to the mission superior, and was unsurprisingly told that back-up would be coming if needed.
He looked up to the battle again, where somehow, the cadet had managed to corner both intruders against yet another pillar in what seemed to be a ragged form of a jet stream spray and a ring of purple flames. Raika widened his eyes, in not only the cadet having managed to actually pull off the difficult chip and attack combination, but knowing that his companion had managed to discover what he had certainly not.
The flames, combined with the water, combined in not a steam formation, but circled each other in a form that could not be stopped by natural attacks, but also thwarted any sort of other sort of heat-based attacks aimed at it, whether physically, or warp type. The cadet's navi raised an arm, then the attack split in half to aim at both intruders on their chest. The emblem, having been a flame icon, changed to a generic sword one for both of them, the false "flame" part of their natures having been destroyed. Raika also recognized the data of a warp type attack before it also vanished in a fragment of pixels.
The cadet then armed his navi to attack the downed intruders with a simple sword chip- the actual icon showed their weakness. Raika had seen that sort of strategy before, shown both in simulation and a few actual missions. However, of course he had been idiotic enough to miss it.
He sighed slightly as the intruder navis were captured in a simple web, then transferred by the cadet to a small cyber device. The cadet then retrieved the stolen data, then logged his own navi out.
"Mission complete," the cadet stated, his face stoic as he reported to the superior with his PET. "Good work," the superior commended him. "And the status of your companion?"
Raika attempted to not wince as the cadet, even the same age and grade as him, continued the report. "He was able to aid in the mission, but had to retreat due to damage from the intruders," he said.
Raika listened as the superior ordered them to the main area of the building, but to avoid the stairs nearest them due to the unstable structure. He then followed the cadet out of the room in pure shame. Certainly, he had battle with other team members on a mission before. However, he knew that others on the current mission were battling on their own, and the only reason that he had been with a companion was the merge, and that companion, only supposed to be an aid if he and Searchman succumbed to yet another effect of their combination, had actually finished the battle. Obviously, no merge effects had been present, and he had failed in his own stupid lack of foresight in what the actual problem in the battle was in the first place.
He then managed to not show another part of shame that he felt- the hidden icons that both of the intruders had used.
Sometimes- he was not sure how, or if he actually could in the first place- he could "see" some things that others, including Searchman, could not, that obviously had nothing to do with the merge, whether in cross fusion or his "regular" human form that consisted of part DNA and data. For one thing, his almost deranged parents had asked him to do so for years, dating well before the merge, with him sometimes succeeding, but mostly not.
Raika winced, wondering if he would yet again forget that he saw somethings recently, including at a recent Netopian mission. Sometimes he remembered them, but other times, he would suddenly forget them for a space of time. Of course, it tended to include when it would be convenient to at least report about what he had managed to discover with the odd ability in the first place, such as the strange battle chips that he had found in a small storage room in another civilian building that were certainly not just the cyber sword types that they seemed. Searchman was concerned, just as he was, but they had the "tendency" to forget to tell any sort of superior when it seemed an opportune time to try- not that he was always too keen to report it in the first place, though.
Sometimes he was almost fearful of the strange skill that certainly he should not have in the first place. Other times Raika was not quite sure if he even had the ability, but he was sure currently . . . sort of.
The false icons on the enemies were perhaps not of the same sort that required his "viewing" ability, but who knew, at this point. Sometimes, he almost remembered strange wisps of memories that merely flitted out of his grasp way before he could fully remember them . . .
There was a navi in the living room where his parents were. He was just standing there, in the human room as if he belonged, his arms folded across his heavily armored form.
His father spoke in a soft tone. "Three of them, this week," he announced sullenly. "Only three. There should have been many more."
The lone visitor in the room, apart of the navi, shrugged. "Well, there were three of them last week, as well," he stated stoically. "Three more could harm or help us in this case. As for five more, well, if we can take that many at a time, but who knows."
Raika, about half the size of his father, had no idea was they were talking about. He stared instead at the clock on the wall, seeing it tick past four o'clock, then four-oh-one. The visitors droned about strange things that never seemed to reference anything that he could comprehend (the navi never did say anything, so there was nothing interesting there besides the fact that he was actually in the room in the first place). Even his instructor at his school that strangely loved to mock him for his military relative would be more interesting.
He glanced at the navi, then blinked as the armor actually seemed to shift-
"Hey! Are you going to just stand there?"
Raika blinked to see that he had stopped in the middle of the hallway, brightened by the bright florescent lights overhead that were now working. The cadet was in front of him, his face no longer stoic and was set in a glare.
Raika did not control his features as he involuntarily blanched his idiotic actions. He was not quite sure why he had stopped (was there something he was supposed to remember? There was something faint, but he was not quite sure what), but he certainly should be heading toward where the superior had indicated.
"I apologize," he stated briskly, making his features hopefully blank and mission-like again.
The cadet, far from looking worried at his odd actions, merely nodded before turning around and continuing down the hallway. Raika stepped forward, hastening his pace so that he did not follow behind the cadet, but rather beside him.
They reached the main room without incident, where they were briefed by the superior about the mission details, including the successes. Raika walked out of the building to the vehicle that he had been assigned to, wondering if he would have the chance to first, prove himself to compensate for his previous failure in the mission, and second, if he would have the chance to practice the "viewing" ability again. Surely there was something he was missing about it, and not just that it technically should not exist in the first place.
Raika stoically continued his language schoolwork. He had Sharo's main language classes, continual tests for ancient Sharian, as was mandatory due to family ancestry, and also another required "outsider" language. For the latter, he had chosen Gavian, which was spoken in some parts of Sharo, as well as some other countries on the continent.
The current schoolwork was yet another review for his ancient Sharian skills. Since he was already fluent, it was fairly easy grammar wise, but harder for the contextual questions, which might even overlap his other type of schoolwork, but in a different language. Surely he should be able to do well in his own ancestral language, though.
He frowned at a particularly difficult question about a minority musical instrument type for the culture that was mainly used in the southern part of the country, when his PET rang.
"There is a message from Lieutenant Kiyoshu," his navi reported.
Raika frowned, but laid down his pencil on the worksheet and grasped the small device from his right pocket. Searchman had the message already open, and he read a note to come for a mission, but not specifically net saver related.
He was a little perplexed, but of course, not everything that he was assigned required him battling with his prestigious navi. A bit regretfully, he put away his homework and stowed it in the proper place. Less than ten minutes later, he was in the office in front of the desk of a stern, lesser ranking but still superior for the net police.
The tall, black-haired man did not seem too pleased to see him, though Raika did not blame him with his previous merge atrocities, as well as the last mission failure. "I was informed that you know both English and ancient Sharian fluently," he started.
Raika nodded. "Yes, sir."
The man, still not seeming satisfied, continued. "There is a situation nearby the base regarding a few net savers where a translator will be needed. The interpreter for the ones that know mostly only ancient Sharian had to leave, so you will take his place. Two net savers are from Netopia" –he named two unfamiliar people- "and the other three are from the Ruhunjo province. All of them are minors, and it was thought that a minor like you could easily identify with them, and prove yourself."
He said the last two words with distaste, then went on more stoically with instructions and the location, less than an hour away from the base. Raika inwardly flinched, wondering if the lieutenant knew about his previous net battling failure.
Raika was then allowed to leave the base with another junior cadet, who did not know ancient Sharian. He was not quite sure as to why he was the only human with the skill coming to aid in the situation, but it had already been stated that a translator was only needed for minor aid. It could even be that the navi of the cadet coming with him already had the minority language downloaded.
He was not even quite sure what to think about the province mentioned- part of it included much of the ancient Sharian population in the country. Sometimes people from the selective area appreciated anyone that could speak their ancestral language; others did not, and only viewed those as pesky outsiders that had purposely abandoned their heritage, though that prejudice was mostly restrained in events such as the annual ancient Sharian festival. He had actually participated in the latter before a few times himself with varying art forms, either in small groups or by himself.
He soon arrived at the three-story building, and a harassed manager showed him to the door of the room on an upper room of the structure. Raika opened the door to indeed see five minors, who had obviously separated themselves by nationality as a male and female were on one side of the room where a single monitor was on, and the other three, two males and a female, were moodily sitting down on a thin couch by a few filing cabinets.
Raika sighed, remembering the instructions, and was glad that at least none of them were currently needed for any net battling. Attempting to translate within heated tensions of any sort of cyber mission could prove difficult for anyone, whether the translator or the ones that needed the aid in the strange words.
He showed his net saver badge to the separated groups and motioned them to come closer to each other. They reluctantly obliged, with the ancient Sharian youths even more unenthusiastically hoisting themselves off of the couch. Raika refrained from showing outside disapproval at especially the latter, as not only were they from his country, but also that net savers were generally supposed to display much better conduct.
They ended up standing a few feet from each other. The Netopian boy with black hair narrowed his eyes at a dark-green haired Sharian one, receiving a scowl in return. Raika ignored the obvious hostility between them- for now- and began.
"I am the substitute translator assigned here," he started. "I want you all to show respect for each other, with the conduct that goes with generic net saver work and working with varied types of civilians."
He repeated the words in ancient Sharian, purposely facing the Sharian group on the right.
The dark-green haired boy rolled his eyes. "Why did you start with them?" he asked, looking disdainfully at his uniform. "Aren't you supposed to like Sharo better?"
Raika set him with a slight glare. "When translating, I must either start with one or the other," he quipped. "It stands to reason this time to start with the guest country first, as we are the host to the foreigners that are welcome to our country."
The youth scoffed, but let him continue. Raika was slightly frustrated to discover that none of them even knew the other group's names, but he led them quickly through giving the names of not only themselves, but their navis.
The Sharian blue-haired male youth, Arian, then folded his arms. "How do I know you're going to get anything correct?" he bluntly asked. "You could have easily made lots of mistakes already."
"Enough," Raika reprimanded him.
Arian sighed, but did not say anything more then. Beside him, the green-haired boy, Densho, shrugged, while the darker green-haired Rifka rolled her eyes. The Netopian duo- Koji, with light brown skin, and Miu, who looked to have at least some Electopian heritage, also did not seem pleased with the introductions, but stayed quiet.
Raika was not sure if the recent battle they had just participated in before he had been summoned had gone well or not, but of course he knew not to let it influence the current situation. Since it was part of his instructions for each of the groups to know more about each other, he started with having each person first share where they had come from in their country, as well as something that they liked about the opposite one. All of the youths reluctantly obliged with queer answers for the second part, with each group evidently angered at the other with various scowls and sneers.
A bit more frustrated, he then told them to tell something about theirselves, as wells their navis. The Netopian girl, Miu, answered first.
"I dunno what to say here that Sharian people would be interested in," she started unenthusiastically. "It's a whole different life there- less snow, for one thing." She crossed her arms, seemingly bored with the situation.
"Just anything will do," Raika prodded. "Differences in cultures can lead to interest from others."
Miu scowled, but began to speak again. "My family's from Electopia. And no, we don't eat rice all the time, and my navi does not wear a kimono. Or a yukata, either."
She shot another glare at the blue-haired Arian, who raised an easily translated the words, hoping that the others would be more cooperative.
Koji was next, as prompted by Raika. "Like I said earlier, I live in a tribal area in a northern part of Electopia. We do eat lots of rice, but nothing culturistic about that. Rice is just rice. I visit the city sometimes with my older brother. And my navi likes to crush people with swords, not weird axes."
Again, Raika translated. He wondered if the other translator had seriously let the two very different groups insult each other for the entire time, but also hoped that he could do better. To his slight dismay, though, the ancient Sharian group was even less cooperative, with Arian even refusing to tell anything about himself or his navi.
"Why should we even worry about weird foreigners?" he quipped instead, rolling his eyes at the ceiling. "I'm probably not even going to see them again, anyway."
"There is an advantage in showing diplomacy towards another," Raika began, but was interrupted by Densho.
"Looks like this guy's even worse than the other one," he chortled loudly, with Arian joining the laughter.
Rifka spoke next, her tone no less scornful. "Why do people from just anywhere think they know ancient Sharian, anyway?" she asked. "I doubt that guy would even know which way to hold a performing staff!"
"He would probably just think it's just to bonk someone on the head, really," Arian guffawed.
Raika inwardly fumed, knowing that he had even performed at the ancient Sharian festival a few times before with a staff with the correct art forms, but went on to attempt to ask the others something optimistic about a mission they had performed before.
However, he was quite incorrect in that a positive tone would ease the tension of the misbehaving youths. Each time he attempted to ask a question, they managed to include a scathing insult, no matter how much he prodded them to tell something encouraging instead, even including a few positive times he himself had experienced in Netopia and the lesser known Sharian area, non-mission related details included. The ancient Sharian group even then began to refuse to answer any properly question at all.
Koji from the Netopian side rolled his eyes. "I wonder if the guy even actually knows what language they speak," he stated as Arian and Densho babbled on with each other. "They sure don't like him."
"No kidding," Miu added. "He probably just has a fancy uniform to pretend to know something and act all official."
The other group was no better. Arian also jabbed at his supposed fluency in his language and the supposedly horrid foreigners, with Densho and Rifka backing him up. Raika briefly considered ordering the two unruly groups to just sit down until further notice, but knew that he still had the mission to fulfill, small as it was. His superiors would not be pleased that he had not managed to get the two groups to act considerably to each other- or himself, as the translator. He glanced at his companion, who had not said a word during the entire conversation. Raika was sure that he was also not pleased with his lack of handling the groups the correct way.
He wished that he was dealing with other cadets instead of unruly civilians that had managed to gain net saver status, as they were at least generally more affable and orderly (if they actually liked to follow the rules), but of course he could do nothing about that currently.
Raika sternly faced the ancient Sharian group, where Densho was still gabbling with Arian. "Tell me why you are here," he asked forcibly instead.
The two youths quit talking, but then Arian answered- with a non-sequitur idiom that could only be best understand in ancient Sharian. Grinning, Densho added another same type of nonsensical answer.
"What are they saying?" Miu asked, frowning at the two Sharian youths that were now laughing again, while was Rifka giggling.
Raika sighed. "It is untranslatable," he stated shortly.
Koji rolled his eyes. "'Course, you don't know what they're saying, so you say that," he jibed.
Raika ignored the taunt, but asked another question. "Is there a particular reason that all five you refuse to participate with one another?"
"All Sharians are crazy, especially those guys," Koji shot back, while Miu nodded vehemently.
"I assure you they are not."
Koji huffed. "Do I really have to believe just that?"
Raika refrained from clenching his fists. "The mission here is for both of your teams to learn more about each other, not fight. Why do you choose to not fulfill the mission assigned to you?"
Miu sighed. "I'd rather be in a hurricane than be with them."
"I'd rather have cheesecake," Koji joked. "That at least tastes better."
"Cake?" Arian turned around to Raika. "There was the word 'cake.' What type of cake?"
Raika frowned, slightly glad that the youth had finally said something sensible, but he truly did not want to answer more of the youths' jeering questions. He did not know how the Sharian youth knew of the word "cake" of all words to know, either, but he supposed that it did not particularly matter.
". . . Cheese cake," he attempted to translate, fuming some that he truly did not know what the phrase meant, either.
Both Arian and Densho scuffed. "Netopia has lousy desserts," he complained. "In Sharo, they are much better."
"Each country has the right to their own culinary preferences," Raika stated in what he hoped what a complacent tone. "Perhaps you can tell that group" –he pointed to the two Netopian youths- "about some Sharian desserts they might want to try at some point."
Densho frowned, then grinned mockingly, saying yet more words that would be impossible to translate.
Rifka grinned. "Can't you translate that?" she mocked. "And how about this?" She added her own untranslatable phrase.
Koji then spoke up. "I thought you were the translator," he quipped, as the three Sharian youths mockingly said more nonsensical phrases to each other. "So what are they saying?"
Raika pointed to Densho, who stopped talking long enough to frown. "Densho was wondering about Netopian sweets," he stated, and translating it for the currently attentive Sharian youths. He hoped that "cheesecake", whatever it was, was a sort of dessert and not something savory, anyway.
Miu grinned. "Rice with mud," she stated, laughing some.
"Add some rocks on top!" Koji stated. "That will make them really tasty." He then put his head to the side, thinking. "My uncle said that he once saw some sort of mud-covered flapjacks in the city," he added.
"What type of mud?"
"It was really thick," Koji responded. "There were a bunch of worms on some of them, though."
"With some dirt, too, right?"
"Yeah, that also."
Raika sighed inwardly, not quite sure if they were still on the topic of food, or were just being as nonsensical as the other very uncooperative civilian net savers were.
"I like Poptarts, including the chocolate types," Miu continued. "I wonder if there could be a Poptart pie?"
Koji laughed. "Speaking of pie, I want to take the shepherd part out of it next week. My sister's making that as a foreign thing."
"How about suckers instead?"
"If you take the sucker part off of it, or put them on top."
Raika spoke to the Netopian youths, cutting off Koji about a remark about "fruit loops." "I cannot translate if no one cooperates," he stated firmly, repeating the words in ancient Sharian. "As net savers, you are to act much better than this."
Arian rolled his eyes, then pointed to the Netopian duo. "Crazy foreigners!" he jeered.
"Lousy net battlers!" Densho added, his face mocking.
"And just very stupid," Rifka joined in.
Though of course the two Netopian youths could not understand the words, they either seemed to know that they were being mocked, or it was coincidence with their next words.
"Slow people!" Koji shot back.
"They are just idiots that don't know anything," Miu agreed.
Raika refrained from shouting back at the angered civilians. Obviously, he was very much failing at his mission. He had managed to stop tensions before with others before, but somehow, not this time.
He then heard the door to the room open. Raika turned, and wince briefly as he saw the man that had welcomed him into the building.
The man looked at Raika. "So, how is this translating business going?" he asked. "I hope that the two groups know more about each other now enough to further cooperate on more missions together."
Koji laughed. "He doesn't know anything!" he stated, rolling his eyes. "He can't tell what I'm saying, or what they're saying, because they've said lots of stuff that he didn't translate."
Miu nodded. "Yeah, he doesn't translate very well."
The man then turned to the silent cadet, still beside Raika. "Well, are they correct?" he asked.
"I did not see any progress in this mission," the cadet stated formally.
The man frowned, narrowing his eyes. "I need you to come to my office," he stated firmly to Raika. "Meanwhile, I will call for another translator."
Raika sighed, knowing that the cadet was technically correct, and that he would certainly be punished at the academy later. "Yes, sir."
He and the cadet followed the man out of the room, leaving all five of the uncooperative youths behind him. A few hours later, he was once again his school, in front of Lieutenant Kiyoshu.
The man's frown told him that he was very much not pleased with him. "I was told that you did not fulfill your assignment," he started.
Raika did not stop an embarrassed flush coming onto his face. "I did attempt to translate what they said, but-"
The lieutenant cut him off. "What you tried is not the issue, but that you did not complete the mission."
Raika sighed, knowing that anything else he attempted to say would be futile. "I apologize, sir," he stated solemnly.
Lieutenant Kiyoshu scowled slightly. "You did not adequately finish the translation mission at all, as the report states. That is very displeasing for someone that is supposed to be fluent in both languages present. As such, you are to complete review assignments for ancient Sharian for the next three weeks. Do not send in the assignments late, or you will be punished even further."
Raika accepted the task, and was allowed to leave the room less than ten minutes later. He then fumed slightly as he briskly walked down the semi-busy hallway. He certainly had attempted to finish the mission, like other translating missions that he had successfully completed before, but was more angered at himself. At the academy, merely trying to finish any sort of task given was never enough. One was to always complete it fully, with no questions or complaints. The lieutenant was very much correct in that he had not done that.
A bit later, he was yet again in a work area with his laptop. Raika opened up his email and retrieved the assignments, then opened the first one. He then cringed at the contents.
He had assumed that "review" in ancient Sharian had meant extra assignments similar to his classes, as the schoolwork he had been working on before the failed mission. However, the page in front of him was for someone that barely even knew the language, with not even complete sentences. He even saw several translations for extremely simple words.
Raika sighed slightly. He had fulfilled many different punishments, for failed missions and otherwise. However, this time, he somehow had managed to fail something that he thought he never would mess up on- his cultural language that he had spoken since nearly his birth. Perhaps he had been too proud somehow, with that emotion rendering unable to bring together the rebellious youth net savers.
He had been proud of knowing his own heritage, one so different than the main one of Sharo. He knew the words, foreign to many others around him, but familiar to himself. He knew many of the songs- various types, also, and many other differences that made one part of the ancient Sharian culture. He did not just know them, though. He was them, in a way. He could never be anything else. That had been something that he was to be proud of, despite that his family never had enjoyed him much at all.
But of course, the military had proved him incorrect, taking away something that he had thought that he never would fail so horrendously in, just as with the merge and even plain net battling, like his previous battle where he and Searchman had had to retreat. He somehow had failed in his heritage, and others in his minority culture, his family included, would be shocked to learn that someone that they knew did not actually know the words they spoke so easily as well as they thought, after all. Certainly his high ranking chief uncle would not be impressed.
Perhaps even Searchman, who of course had listened to the entire mission, even knew how the fulfill the mission much better than he had.
Raika frowned, reluctantly starting the easy assignment, but still checking his work for any mistakes. Perhaps he would improve someday with tasks he was assigned. Of course, that was not now, or perhaps even for quite a long time.