September 18th, 2030 – Wednesday, 8:00 AM

I still haven't gotten any updates from my coworkers. To be honest, there was no way my boss was going to fill me in all that much either. Knowing her, she'd probably joke around with me while fiddling with my emotions as usual. I was lucky that I actually wanted to move to Japan—or, anywhere else besides the United States—otherwise she would have gotten the same reaction out of me as Alvis and Abigail. I was happy that they were adjusting to an extent, but not hearing anything from my friends at this point was something new.

What was also new was the concept of sleeping in, at my age, during a workday. Because my work involved attending the tournament, I had to stick around and prep. A part of me didn't want to get out of bed at this hour, but my body just seemed so used to waking up at this hour that I felt compelled to move. Despite this, I was still feeling weary; I hated being in the state where I was just weary enough to be tired yet not enough to actually go to sleep.

Arkaid was up too. I assumed she was suffering the same problem I was but, unlike me, she was actually content with being up. Some days I needed a coffee, but even then I hated the stuff so I often found myself drinking something very sugary. This morning wasn't like that, however. Arkaid was reading from one of her books, appreciating the break. I was originally planning on taking a book to read as well since, last night, there was a new plan of hers to read something together and then discuss the themes. Normally, such activities were designated for organizing classes, so I knew that I was going to be fairly rusty at the task. She was idly sitting in her chair with a copy of the book she was reading. She glanced over at me, feeling content as the corner of her mouth perked up. However, the chance to start reading was cut short when I heard my cellphone ringing. Assuming it to be one of my coworkers, or Tasuku, I dashed for it, soon having the iPhone in my right hand in a matter of seconds.

"Liam?" I asked, feeling rather confused. Arkaid got up from her chair and bookmarked her book. She appeared interested in overhearing the conversation. I accepted the call. "Yo."

"Hey CJ, we left my gaff I was wondering if ye wanted to grab something to eat."

"Oh?" I replied. I turned over to Arkaid and muttered Liam's offer to her. When I saw her consent, I continued to speak. "Whaddya have in mind?"

"You pick. I'll be buying. I think I owe ye anyways."

"You sure, dude?" I returned. As we were talking I was going over my clothes. A part of me didn't want to wear the white work shirt with a red tie. Instead, I figured that I'd go with my casual look; black hoodie, white t-shirt, dark blue jeans. Beforehand, I was simply wearing an undershirt and shorts, but it was getting colder so I knew I needed to put on the jeans. Once I started talking back to Liam again I heard Arkaid sigh at my choice of attire, which made me chuckle slightly. "I can pay for it."

"It's the first time I'm getting food with one of my best friends."

"So now I'm just 'one' of them?"

"Hey, don't start. I'm not over what you said yesterday."

"Brohug Demios and make him your best friend."

"Gobshite," Liam snickered. "Anyways, I'll take care of it. I just left so I'm good for anywhere closeby."

"Is the Takoyaki place open?" As I asked this question, I just so happened to glance back at Arkaid. Her long ears perked up at the mere mentioning of the delectable food.

"Um, well I think I know a place that serves it, but I don't think they're open this early."

"What about the Gindako place?" I asked. "They're usually open whenever I come in."

"Where's that?"

"Use Google Maps," I quickly returned. "The closest one to us will be the one we're going to."

"I'm not mad, but why specifically a Takoyaki place?"

"Arkaid likes it." Liam laughed back to me, making me pull the phone away from my right ear. His laughter started slow, but it raised to a higher pitch, possibly due to him reeling his head back as the laughter continued. "See ya, shithead," I playfully replied before ending the call. When I looked over to Arkaid I noticed that she had her arms crossed. Her eyes were closed as she kept her head directed slightly downward. She looked a bit annoyed with me, but I noticed that her tail tip was thumping against the floor. Even though I knew she liked the fact we were getting her favorite food, she put on an annoyed façade. "What's wrong?"

She sighed back to me. "You didn't have to make such a specific demand for me."

"I'm sure it'll be alright with him," I returned. "Anyways, shall we go?"

It was a fifteen-minute walk to Gindako, and in the middle of it, I had to stop somewhere to get a coffee. Arkaid wanted one too, for she felt she needed to be less drowsy as possible; this was only the second meeting with my friend so she wanted to make sure that these first impressions were rather nice. Even though she appeared to be awake, she was adamant that no harm would come from being too careful about this. She was also having a difficult time deciding whether or not to be in her SD form; the first time she met Liam she was, so she initially thought about going into her regular form in hopes of looking much more mature and presentable. However, she didn't know if Liam preferred cute over mature. She wasn't being frantic about it; she was muttering to herself while maintaining her usual, somewhat cold-looking, neutral look that went with her regal appearance. By the time we got to the place, she decided that showing off a different side of her would be more beneficial.

We finally arrived the takoyaki place. The booths appeared to be just setting up. I checked my phone for the time, noticing that it was about to be nine in the morning. It was odd for most takoyaki places to be open at this hour, but this specific one appeared to be open almost all the time. The employees, including one buddy monster that resembled some sort of wolf-man, were setting up the foldable, wooden tables. As soon as they noticed us, the humanoid wolf, which was just a bit smaller than me, gestured me over and allowed Arkaid and I to take a seat. We set our coffees on the side as I lounged myself back in my chair. I informed the employees there that we were in no rush and would like four orders of the 'cheese mentaiko' whenever they were set up. When two more individuals arrived I had to quickly tell them that they were with us and the other two orders were for them; I didn't want them to worry about making more food in a short amount of time, especially when they were only just nearing their setup.

Liam had Demios in his SD form. The brown dragon smirked upon seeing us as he flew over to an open seat. He looked over to his buddy as the young adult pulled open the chair. He sighed before looking over to me with slight distaste. "Got lost. Apparently, there was another one nearby, but that one doesn't open early."

"Huh, that's interesting."

"Screw you," Liam returned jokingly. "Anyways, did you order already?"

"I ordered four cheese mentaikos. It's one of their specialties and one of Arkaid's favorites," I looked over to her, watching as she calmly sipped her coffee. However, even though she continued to appear rather regal and mature, her tail swayed around so innocently. "I know she prefers the 'mentaiko mayo' but I wasn't sure if you liked the taste the mayonnaise."

"Why not just get two of both?"

"If they need to be prepared differently I don't want the guys to set more crap up for us," I returned with a sigh. "I already feel kinda guilty about coming here when they just finished setting up."

"But you weren't feeling guilty enough to just go to a normal breakfast place."

"Greenie."

"Sand Nigga."

"I'm pretty sure you can't say that," I replied with a slight chuckle. "I can because I'm actually Lebanese and my descendants are from the Middle-East."

"Your fault," Liam hastily retorted. "You got me to say it."

"Guess I'll stop saying it then," I returned with a slight smirk. "Hopefully, you can stop saying it."

"If ye want me to stop, I'll stop." Liam started looking at the employees as they appeared to be preparing our meals. "At least you're not like Hoshi. Say one thing about him and he goes through a complete fit."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the guy's completely nuts," Liam replied. "Demios and I avoid him whenever we can. The last thing we want to do is be around him when he snaps."

Arkaid took another sip of her coffee. Her recent sip was longer and more exaggerated like she was trying really hard to appear more regal in front of Liam. One thing I'd understand most people finding odd about her is that she isn't showing panic at all. I can only assume that a lot of thoughts are spiraling through her head, but she maintained such a calm appearance that most people would just assume she was acting normal. However, I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility that she was delving into her mind for what seemed to be eons just to find something to say. Finally, as she placed her coffee cup down on the table, she started to speak. "It's okay. Besides, I haven't had the cheese ones often. I don't mind partaking in a variety of different flavors from time to time."

Demios snickered. "What's with your tail?" Arkaid paused, slowly scrolling her eyes over to him before locking Liam's buddy in with a tight glare. The brown dragon could only laugh heartily back to her.

"It's rather unheard of to see a Purgatory Knight, especially the leader of them, to be rather jolly."

"I've been … getting some stuff from Liam."

"Stuff?"

I interjected. "I think he means that traits from Liam rubbed off onto him, which I think is false. I think he's trying hard to do well on his first formal impression like you, Arkaid."

"I'm actually finding myself rather calm, but I thank you for the concern."

"Then what's up with your tail?"

"… I have a confession; I am feeling somewhat impatient for the takoyaki."

Liam smirked back at her. Arkaid hastily turned to him. The regal dragon's maturity appeared to fade for a moment before she regained her composure. "You don't need to worry about first impressions, Arkaid. I'm pretty sure my first impression with you sucked complete ass."

"Oh, that couldn't possibly be it."

Liam spoke up something fierce. "I did give your buddy access to the Disaster Force, after all." That statement silenced Arkaid. She wasn't nervous, but she appeared unable to speak another word regarding the subject matter. I knew her stance on it, and I guess Liam realized it a bit sooner. "It's alright. It's not a toy, but it is pretty cool. I get that you're worried about it and all, but it's a power that he needed."

Demios looked over at Arkaid with stern eyes. He was also able to tell that Arkaid wasn't up for discussing the subject matter. Her tail stopped waving; the food was completely out of her mind. Even though my buddy wasn't up for this, I had to ask some more questions to Liam. "By the way… you were gonna tell us something yesterday, but you stopped yourself."

Demios must have felt that the time was right. Looking back at this moment, the coworkers weren't around, and the employees were still making the food. We only had ourselves for the time being. "We wanted to tell you that we know who we're with; we're working undercover."

Reality broke away from me for a moment. I quickly looked over to Liam as he nodded back to his buddy. "I'm working close to the blade. We know those gobshites are working with The Will of Kyoya. But we need to trace 'em. We're working close to those guys because it's giving us private access, like. One slip of the tongue and they're straight up done."

Arkaid, understanding the severity of the situation, took initiative. "What information have you two gathered thus far?"

Liam looked over to Demios. The dragon approved Liam's request to let his buddy speak. "Liam doesn't know too much on the matter. This operation is being led by me."

"So what information do you have for us?"

"I want to begin by telling you that you have no right to the information we have," Demios continued. "However, you're our comrades. I know that we can trust you. Because of this, I can tell you that we initially found them looking for a third team member. However, I will not disclose the details as to how we acquired this information. As of right now, I can only tell you that we overheard these two individuals talking about an exchange in one of the two alleys outside of the general building. We assume it is the one near the parking garage."

"I understand what you've detailed so far, but it is particularly odd for these two to be performing their exchange just outside of a widely watched tournament."

"That confused me too, but then Liam and I noticed something odd." Demios began to lean in. One employee brought over our food, causing the conversation to stop. The guy stated the price of the meal, causing Liam to quickly go through his wallet. After Liam paid for the meal, Arkaid nodded, thanking him and the employee for bringing over the food. Once the employee left us we were able to continue. "Anyways, opening day, the team led us through the parking lot since the entrance was packed with people. Apparently, there is a back entrance, and the parking lot was nearly empty."

Arkaid raised a stick and poked into one of the takoyaki balls. I watched as she started eating, thoroughly enjoying the meal. Once again, she remained rather regal, but her tail started wagging. To give her time, I joined the conversation. "That's still pretty risky. Why not just do it at some random corner of town?"

"That I'm not too sure of," Demios replied. "I theorized that there could be some Dark Core Deck Cases stashed away here at a recent time."

"What makes you think that?"

"They were talking about it during the first one yesterday," Demios replied. "I overheard it from afar, so it wasn't completely clear. However, from what they were saying, it was clear to me that something was already placed here, and they were waiting to spring into action. One of them thought about using the alley next to the parking lot since there were no guards. I guess Tasuku made too many people want to come."

"I noticed that too, actually," I replied with intrigue. "The security guards there were having a difficult time keeping track of the people there. It's like they didn't expect that many people to show up. Tasuku and Gao's popularity must be greater than I thought."

"But let's get back to the Dark Core Deck Cases," Demios returned. "What doesn't sit with me well is the fact that they just left something in the building."

"Maybe a previous deal went awry," I spit-balled. "Then they were forced to just drop the stuff wherever they could. The building wasn't too crowded until yesterday when the tournament started."

Liam snickered as he swallowed a bit of his food. "They must have been in some pretty deep shit to think about bringing the deck cases here. You're wrong about one thing, CJ; it was crowded for the past week. People were prepping the place and all that."

"Makes sense," I returned. "And I guess people will be too distracted watching the fight to actually notice the Deck Cases, so that could be why they're doing it now."

"A tournament with Tasuku and Gao in it," Demios reiterated. "And if someone beats them, then it's the tournament where the people who beat Gao and Tasuku are fighting. Either way, it is something no one would want to miss. And I'll bet you they're on a tight schedule."

"I can see that," I nodded back. "After the first deal goes awry, the overseer of it all wouldn't like the fact that one side didn't get their part of the deal. Waiting for too long is probably putting a lot of strain on them, but that makes me wonder if they're trying to sell 'em or bring them to The Will. If that's the case, then we need to worry about The Will's trusted suppliers too."

Arkaid swallowed a bit of her food. She stopped eating, joining the conversation once again. "To summarize your theory; you believe that something went awry on an original deal. This could've taken place at any time within before preparations commenced. In addition to this, you believe that the event may take place during the climactic match, making it so most people would be watching the final fights."

"That is correct."

"If that's the case, then what do you plan on doing?"

"I can't discuss that," Demios returned. "However, if you agree to get the officials in on it, then I won't go with my original plan; I'll go with whatever plan you Buddy Police officers can start up. Just show me that you're capable."

"Suit yourself," Arkaid returned. "We will do what we can; hopefully, we can use those individuals to track where these possible Dark Core Deck Cases could be going and, possibly, coming from."

Liam smirked. "Grand." He got up from his chair before telling his buddy it was time to leave. I could only guess that they were about to do some prepping for the fight. A part of me hoped that he and I didn't have to fight; his last fight was so… brutal; I knew that I was no match for him at the stage I was now. "I'm not in saying that you can't tell me what your friends were doing?" I could only shake my head. "Yeah, that's fair. See you at the tournament." He turned away with his buddy in tow. Demios flew beside him as Arkaid and I continued to eat our food.

I just had to see if I could update my boss in some way. I pulled out my phone and started calling her. As the phone was ringing I noticed Arkaid taking the remaining pieces of takoyaki from our guests' dishes, and she wasn't even doing it with any stealth. She extended her arm across the table and simply dragged the food back to her. I was about to laugh when I heard the phone pick up on the other end of the line. "Hello, Ms. Fridrik. It's Chase."

"CJ? What is it?" Fridrik yawned back to me. "It's only nine-thirty in the morning."

"Aren't you… supposed to be prepping for the fights?"

"Halia and I took care of that," Fridrik drearily replied. "Is this why you called?"

"N-no, I have some important information," I quickly replied. "Liam is working as an unofficial mole. He told me that he knows, for a fact, that his two teammates are working for The Will of Kyoya."

"What exactly does he know?"

"His buddy overheard them talk about Dark Core Deck Cases," I began. "Also, according to his collection of information, there is a stash of something within the arena. They theorize that a previous deal went awry so that they were forced to bring it into the building. Demios and Liam think they're going to extract the stuff while the climax of the fight is going on."

"That's quite a story." Story…. Just a story? It was then that I understood where she was going with this. I attempted to stick with me on this, but nothing was working. "CJ, I know that you're impatient to be in the loop, but don't worry about this just yet. We bugged their break room, so if we get anything, and it correlates to his story, then we'll look into it. For right now, though…. I'm a bit disappointed."

"What? Why?"

"CJ, you're trusting someone who even admitted to working with those two members," Fridrik sternly replied. "I understand that he's your friend, but you need to think of the possible consequences of this; he could be using your friendship so that he can secure a way out."

"You think he's working with them?!" I yelled back into the phone. "Boss, how could you-?!" Before I could continue, Arkaid muffled my mouth with her right hand. She took my phone away from me, taking control of the conversation. "Arkaid, give back the phone."

Arkaid spoke into it. "Understood, Ma'am. I apologize for our inconvenience."

"Thank you," Ms. Fridrik's voice was cut.

My buddy finally returned my phone to me. She gave me a cold look as I searched for something to say. However, I just couldn't think of anything, and that was her point. She knew that she was right in the matter. Previously, I had thoughts about Liam's credibility; I thought that he was actually working with them for a moment. Arkaid remembered the uneasiness I felt about such a horrible situation. "… I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Arkaid replied. She took another bite of her takoyaki. "Still, you need to understand where she is coming from. Like most people of her status, even though she has a lot of power, she has her own set of guidelines to follow. With her position, she can't afford to take the risk."

"… I know someone who can though," I returned. I put his number on my phone. The ringing lasted for a while, but I was finally able to reach him. I explained to him everything that transpired this morning, including the conversation with my boss. He seemed very open as I gave my own two cents on the matter, trying desperately to see if he could understand where I was coming from. "… Tasuku, I can't let this information slide by. I know that this could be risky, but I believe that we should at least be somewhat prepared if any of this is true."

"I'll have to check in with the other officers first," Tasuku replied. "You must be pretty desperate if you're calling me."

"Yeah, under normal circumstances, someone like me calling a thirteen, fourteen-year-old kid would make people want to call the police, but I can't call my coworkers since they're just going to listen to what my boss says. Even though the Buddy Police works with us, you're still a separate thing. I need you to at least keep this considered when the tournament is going on."

"What do you suppose we do?"

"If any of the two members are absent, we need to move," I recommended. "If they're out of our sight then we need to be on them. We need to keep that parking lot in mind as well as that alleyway, but if something new is brought in from Fridrik's bug then we'll put that into consideration. If possible, maybe we can get more people on standby? Maybe have officers stationed on the streets near the arena?"

"That sounds good. That way, the members won't get alerted by the sight of them. Our guys would be too far away. But, CJ, one more thing…." Tasuku fell silent. He seemed nervous as he asked me one final question. "… How much can you trust your friend about these details?"

"I've known him for over eight years, Tasuku." I stared at the phone. "There's no way in hell that he'd lie to me."

"… Okay," Tasuku sighed back. "I'll make sure officers are stationed nearby, but only if the wiretaps give us something. I can't use up resources if we don't have anything."