Chapter 25: Summer's ahead
18:28 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday July the 12th…
"… Yoshitsune hasn't wasted time, I see…"
"What did he do?"
"Beat all Neo Gospel members save for Freeze Man…"
"Given his level of skill, it's not a surprise…"
"The ships hit the eight leaps!"
"Very funny, Sigma. Patent it…"
The twins talked as they left the school grounds.
Saito looked at a message on his PET.
Sigma made a pun, but nobody found it funny.
"My youth! Are you properly eating calcium?"
"Been a while, Mr. Masa!"
"I know! Been busy there and there…"
"Catching a swordfish to defeat the Kraken, right?"
"Don't say jokes, my man! The Kraken is a myth!"
Masa stopped his bicycle there and talked with them.
Sigma made a joke, but he laughed back at it.
"Really? Was sure that it was lurking under your boat!"
"As if there'd be such a thing… in…"
He suddenly trailed off and became pale.
"Wait. Wait. It can't be right?"
He gulped and began to sweat.
"I felt that it was heavier than the usual, but…!"
He glanced over his shoulders.
"Sorry! But I must go clear it up! Eat calcium, youth!"
He pedaled away at top speed.
"Sigma. What have you done?" Blood Shadow sighed.
"Nothing. I was using the script that I had, and…"
"Script? Who made it and where did it come from?"
"A drama club girl student, Isogai…"
"Isogai? It's not from our class, at the very least…"
"But, say. How does she know your email address?"
"Thought that Tamashita told her, since they're in the same club…"
"Maybe it's a joke by Tamashita, then?" Netto suggested.
"Feels too contrived…" Blood Shadow argued.
"What's the issue?"
"Nelaus. I take it that you have Tamashita's contact…"
"What did she do now?"
"We want to confirm something with her…"
"Alright…"
Nelaus joined them and checked his contacts list.
"Hi, Rainon – kun! What's up?"
"Is there a girl named Isogai in the drama club?"
"Isogai? No. Never has been such a member!"
"You didn't send Sigma an odd script, did you?"
"I don't know his email address. How would I? Felicia would notice…"
"Someone pulled a prank on us, then…" Saito sighed.
"And claimed to be a drama club member? What a prank!"
"Sorry for the hassle…"
"It's nothing. Folk nowadays…!"
The call ended.
"And? What does the script say?"
"Well… That Masa's boat will be found upside down and a Kraken…"
Their PETs emitted a distinctive beep.
"Trouble at hand, students!"
"Mr. Meijin!"
"No need for formalities!"
"Did a Kraken appear in the harbor?"
"Yes. It was glued below of a ship that flipped, and…"
"Anaya's newest joke! That's what it is!" Blood Shadow sighed.
"Devil! To think that she'd attack from there…"
He looked offscreen for a moment.
"Who's this guy with a black wig, sunglasses and a fancy outfit?"
"Dunno…"
"He reminds me of someone…"
"Where is that "someone"?"
"In the feed from my call to Enzan – kun, and… Say…"
He gasped.
"Enzan – kun? What's with that disguise?"
"What disguise?" Enzan argued back.
"Because it shows in the screen, and…"
"Sir. It looks like Meijin's screen has been hacked…"
"What? To troll me!?" Meijin groaned.
"And this screen, too… It turned on…"
"Now it's an adult man with a fancy wig and sunglasses and a outfit!"
"Where did they pull those from, anyway?"
"I'm the Operator of the "Darkloid" Masked Thunder!" The tallest replied.
"There's no such Darkloid!" Meijin argued.
"There were "Darkloid" Operators?"
"Say! That's my voice, no?" Netto argued.
"True. Sounds like you from some years ago…" Saito agreed.
"There are~!"
"There are…" "Young" Netto muttered.
"But, say! I don't recall this ever happening!" Netto argued.
"Voice pattern matches that of Raul, but…" Blood Shadow reported.
"Raul? What's he doing?" Netto sighed.
"You! Hikari Netto! Heard rumors 'bout you!"
"That's my voice!?" Enzan gasped.
"It sounds like that of a few years ago, sir…" Blues commented.
"You have a new PET and wrongly think that you're stronger! Bragger!"
"WHAT!?"
"Someone! Explain what's going on!" Meijin groaned.
"The parasol, my dear Jinmei!" A woman giggled.
"Anaya!?"
"Too bad. It's me, Prophetess!"
"You set up that Kraken thing!?"
"Did you like my script? I was also a drama club member in high school!"
"The parasol…! That explains it!" Netto sighed.
"What the heck is that?" Enzan grumbled.
"Believe it or not, happenings of a parallel world!"
"If alien Net Navis exist, I guess that those can exist, too…"
"Raika – kun came to the scene and dispatched the Kraken!"
"My. As expected of the Winter Soldier…"
"It's not remotely funny!" Meijin grumbled.
"As expected of the Mighty Sage of Nerdiness, Jinmei Amas My Glasses!"
Meijin groaned and his head hit the desk.
"Why me…?"
"Four-eyes are doomed to be considered nerds! Such as Conan – kun!"
"Someone… Bring me a painkiller…" Meijin groaned.
"Cold-killer Z? Our friend Naruhodou made use of them!"
"No…! I don't want a beauty to poison me…!"
"Wasn't bad, but she underestimated her opponents!"
She laughed.
"Well then… Enjoy the Kirby dance of victory, my folks!"
"The hacking has stopped, sir…"
"What a lovely prospect!"
"Mr. Masa will be raging for days on end…"
"No surprise…!"
18:54 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Hullo! Been a while, Iroaya!"
"Been a while? I don't recall talking to you before…"
"Isogai of the drama club…"
"Isogai!?"
Iroaya received a call that she didn't recognize at first.
But when the interlocutor introduced herself, she gasped.
"Those were fun times, weren't they?" Kazuhira laughed.
"T-that's…"
She gulped and looked around.
She was unloading cargo from the restaurant's van.
"Don't call me at work time!"
"Well? Did that manly Hinoken make a move yet?"
"Doubt that he will… Never seen him interested in women!"
"Then I guess that he and the bankrupt noble are cahoots…"
She giggled.
"What business of that is yours, ex-senior?"
"You know how I sold juicy things to the newspaper club…"
"And how you wrecked a good bunch of relationships!"
"Sure. They all learnt to fear me…"
"But they caught wind of you and kicked you out!"
"Was meaning to quit, anyway, since I found a comrade…"
"The girl hoodlums that you loved to hang out with?"
"No, no. Bigger fish…"
"And what would that be?"
"The "Secret Empire"…" She whispered.
Iroaya gasped and dropped her PET inside of the trunk, scared.
"Been one of their agents for years…"
"Devil!"
"And I remembered about you… When looking for suckers…"
"Suckers!? As if I've ever been scammed!"
"You will soon be… Like someone that I know of…"
"I won't make it easy!"
"That's what I wanted to hear. Else, it's not fun…"
The call abruptly ended and Iroaya sighed in relief.
"To think that that gal would resurface and haunt me…!"
She quickly placed a call.
"Oozono. That gal that you were looking for…"
"Prophetess. AKA Kazuhira Illia…"
"That name is a lie. It's Isogai Maiko…"
"An acquaintance of yours?"
"More or less. A very dangerous gal!"
"I can tell that, too. Is probably a "hunter" of the gang…"
"A pawn that abducts people, I take it!"
"Correct…"
"She might come for me. Maybe you can ambush her?"
"I'll give it a try!"
"Counting on you…!"
19:02 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Miyuki. You didn't send this item of ill taste, right?"
"What item?"
"A skull that's a flowerpot and has Columbine flowers on it…"
"No… Someone else did it…"
Saloma called Miyuki to question her about an odd item.
She was inspecting it from different angles.
"Doesn't seem to be a bomb or a wiretap at least…"
"Anything else? Maker name?"
"… "Filibusters of Death (FOD)"…"
"But weren't those a ploy by Dark Land?"
"I know. And it was disbanded half a year ago…"
"You're the expert in flowers. Don't they tell something?"
"True. Columbine flowers mean "certain victory"…"
"Maybe it's a message from the criminal…"
"Possible. Will walk with lead feet…"
"Especially after what happened at the harbor…"
"Wouldn't be strange. I'll dispose of this junk, too…"
"Good idea. Will be on the watch out for odd packages, too…"
"I'll tell Wood Man to patrol the store, too…"
"I'll do the same with Skull Man as well…"
"And hope that Mr. Masa calms down soon as well…"
"I know… At least we can coordinate with Shark Man…"
"What a headache!"
19:09 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Really. What a stupid show…"
"I know…"
"We've been busy chasing thugs and such, but…"
"The only few that we found knew very little about her…"
"No surprise…"
Raika, Enzan, Charles, Martin and Misaki held a meeting.
"That Kraken thing only had 100 HP. A pure joke…" Search Man sighed.
"I know. I found it on my way back to IPC…" Blues sighed.
"It also appeared before the firewalls…" Prism Man reported.
"It tried to attack the Justice Council…" Davis grumbled.
"It attacked a Saloon as well!" Lander fumed.
"Meijin said that his spam inbox was flooded with pics of it, too…"
"But it's clearly a distraction…" Misaki argued.
"We don't question that…" Enzan agreed.
"The issue is what she really wants to do…" Raika sighed.
"Nothing about her is concrete or specific…" Martin sighed.
"She acts on whims most of the time. Izono was the manager…"
"Hence this show. It's a whim, too…"
"We'll have to spread in several fronts to handle things…"
"Probably…"
"And Clark will probably create a smokescreen as well…"
"It's going to be a hassle, but we must persist…"
"I know…!"
19:14 PM (Japan Time)…
"… A billion blasting hammers and anvils…!"
"What happened now, Boss? Another Kraken?"
"No, Omega… A crime announcement…!"
"Lovely…"
Omega asked Zataki about what he was grumbling about.
"Has flooded SNS saying "SIRI is next"…"
"SIRI? The iPhone assistant app?" Omega asked.
"It's a mask. Remember our codenames…"
"Anagrams… Then that means that "SIRI" is actually…"
"Iris…"
"Or Trill's abilities as the "Synchronizer"?"
"Hard to tell… I think that she's more interested in Iris herself…"
"True. She did abduct her last summer…"
"And managed to slip out right under her noses…"
"Oozono also told me that Kazuhira contacted Iroaya…"
"Iroaya… The Operator of Colored Man, right?"
"Correct. Looks like it's an old acquaintance…"
"And announced a crime, too?"
"In essence…"
"I know that they could be smokescreens. But you can't never be sure…"
"That's the issue with that witch…"
"But I'll catch them!"
"Good. We mustn't love motivation…"
19:22 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Then, as we suspected, that Kraken fuss was that criminal?"
"With the help of their spies, Prophetess and Witch…"
"Man! They must've seen Pirates of the Caribbean!"
"Hardly a surprise…"
Anderson held a video conference with his three agents.
"By the way. What became of Ancient?" Past asked.
"Was caught over the fuss that he made at the horse race…"
"What a greedy gramps!" Future sighed.
"Hardly a surprise…" Present sentenced.
"Past. Be careful over there. Might pose as a fellow student…"
"Understood…"
"Same for you, Future…"
"OK!"
"If she felt like it, she can pose as an adult as well…" Present warned.
"Good point, Present…"
"Impersonate an existing teacher, too…"
"The issue is if she's obvious or not…"
"I have a hunch for those with hostile intentions…"
"That would be of great help…"
"I will keep you informed, Leader…"
"Stay sharp, both of you!"
"Roger!"
"Let's contact our collaborators next…"
He ended this video conference and began another.
Yamikawa, Kuroumi and Kagehi appeared onscreen.
"You've probably heard of the fuss already…"
"Yes. Sidier saw one of those fighting Cloud Man and Swallow Man…"
"It must be the representative of the octopus industry!" Kagehi laughed.
"I fail to see the point…" Kuroumi sighed.
"On another note, we sent a challenge to Clark as well…"
"Good. If we can pressure him from multiple fronts…"
"He'll burst like a balloon! Like that boss in Wario Land 3!"
"Despite being a sprite, it felt gruesome, even…" Kuroumi sighed.
"Any-way! We'll continue investigating things, too…"
"By the way. That hideout by the sea. Do you know of it?"
"I had the hunch that someone had found it…"
"Dark Miyabi did. It was your secret base?" Yamikawa asked.
"Correct. A place to disconnect and relax, free of Regal's control…"
"I pretended to be Master and answered the man's calls, too…"
"How sneaky! Sneakier than Sneak Snake!"
"Shadow Man!? How did you burst into this call!?"
"Wrong, sir! It's Cloud Man, using a truck with speakers!"
"What a clown!"
"We'll resume our searches. Good luck over there, too…"
The call ended and Anderson leant back on the chair.
"This is going to be a harsh task, sir…" Annihilator Man warned.
"I'm aware. But I'll do it, nevertheless…"
20:04 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I know, guys! Let's organize a trip to the beach!"
"Sure. The pool is calm, but you want to see the sea as well…"
"You wouldn't mind if we invite Tamashita as well, right? Rainon – kun!"
"I don't. Unless you have an issue with her, Ayanokouji…"
"No, no! Sorry. I asked it in an odd way…"
"Alright…"
Yaito held a videoconference with her friends.
She was sitting on the sofa of the treehouse.
She held a glass of strawberry milk on her right hand.
She sipped it using a straw.
A maid was diligently waiting behind her.
"Maybe by mid-August would do well?" She suggested.
"We can use that as a tentative period, true…" Meiru agreed.
"By the way. When was your birthday, Rainon – kun?"
"August 1st. Why?"
"Why? Isn't it obvious? Let's hold a party!"
"Party… True. I did have small ones with my classmates in Jawaii…"
"Then let's have one here to welcome you to the group!"
"Alright. But don't act like it's the biggest event of the year…"
"I know, I know. Not like the party of the twins was huge!"
"True. It's just that… I don't like being treated as if I was super special…"
"I know that feeling, too…!" Netto commented.
"Same applies to you, Yaito – chan…" Meiru warned.
"I'm aware! Dad has been saying that for years!"
"Fine. But then don't complain that you weren't warned…"
"We can talk that on another day, let's not break the mood!"
"Alright…"
"We could go shopping together and enjoy a parfait, too!"
"Why not…"
"By the way! Did you know?"
"What kind of prank have you come up with now?"
"Glyde Glides the Sliding Slide!" She laughed.
"I fail to see the logic, Miss Yaito!" Glyde argued back.
"As if there ever was such a thing…" Roll muttered.
"Guts. I must agree. Gone with the wind!" Guts Man announced.
"When did you become that smart!?" Dekao gasped.
"Time ago. Guts. You insisted on that, Dekao…"
"Bro! Pay more attention to things!" Chisao scolded.
"Can Aqua Man and Trill come, too?" Ice Man asked.
"Why not. Sigma and Blood will handle security…" Saito agreed.
"Go ahead!" Hikawa encouraged.
"Great!" He laughed.
"Don't worry! No Uncle Sam Yosemite will make it past me!"
"Because Taz will burp and drive him away!" Ice Man laughed.
"Well. It's a children's cartoon. Why not…" Blood Shadow muttered.
"Beware! It's the Dragonus Hellus!" Sigma laughed.
"Don't mix in that cook, Dragon Hell…"
"OK! It's going to be a fun summer, as always!"
"Leave it up to me!" Yaito announced.
"Don't overdo it…" Meiru warned.
Yaito finished her glass, and the maid poured in more milk.
"Thanks!"
"Yes, Miss…"
"By the way. Are you keeping tabs on Kiryuuin?"
"Yes. She's working diligently and hasn't started trouble…"
"Excellent. Make sure that she doesn't touch machines!"
"As you desire, Miss…"
"Also… We'll have a fireworks party. Hired the usual veteran!"
"Mr. Rokushakudama, was it?" Saito recalled.
"Sure! He's an artist with passion!"
"We don't deny that…"
"Next time, I'll introduce you to a secret weapon!"
"Really. A collage or parody of something?" Meiru guessed.
"Wait and see, as they say in King Land…"
"Fine. Won't hold high expectations of it…"
"It'll surprise all of you!"
"OK. See you tomorrow at school, then…"
"Good night, everyone!"
The video conference ended and Yaito giggled.
"It's going to be a fun summer!"
THE END