P.H.A.S.E.
Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 6:26 am
My new project while I'm putting Rocknarok Story on hiatus, P.H.A.S.E. AKA Psych.Hyperbattle.Android.School.Error.
Story: Ayama Kazuma is a normal student living a normal school life in Japan in the year 2040, with technology advanced enough to maintain a city with skyscrapers, provide a barrier to help reflect a certain amount of UV rays, etc. One day, while walking home from school, Kazuma is attacked by a rogue android, labelled as an 'Error'. As he is about to be finished off, his two childhood friends save him, and explain to him the situation. The city is currently in danger due to a mysterious virus infecting androids and causing them to attack humans. Their school, Ureshina Gakuen, is given the responsibility of stopping these incidents by using their technology to provide a select group of students powers, better known as Psychs. Kazuma has been kept in the dark not knowing of these incidents because the school hasn't chosen him. However, after being attacked first-hand, Kazuma is forced to join the school in the war against the Errors.
It's been a week since the attack on Kazuma, and he's gotten used to it.
Normal words are conversations in japanese, otherwise narration told by the narrator's perspective. Bold words are english words. Italic words are thoughts and narration of the main protagonist.
~Nirvaxstiel
Chapters Compilation
Story: Ayama Kazuma is a normal student living a normal school life in Japan in the year 2040, with technology advanced enough to maintain a city with skyscrapers, provide a barrier to help reflect a certain amount of UV rays, etc. One day, while walking home from school, Kazuma is attacked by a rogue android, labelled as an 'Error'. As he is about to be finished off, his two childhood friends save him, and explain to him the situation. The city is currently in danger due to a mysterious virus infecting androids and causing them to attack humans. Their school, Ureshina Gakuen, is given the responsibility of stopping these incidents by using their technology to provide a select group of students powers, better known as Psychs. Kazuma has been kept in the dark not knowing of these incidents because the school hasn't chosen him. However, after being attacked first-hand, Kazuma is forced to join the school in the war against the Errors.
It's been a week since the attack on Kazuma, and he's gotten used to it.
Normal words are conversations in japanese, otherwise narration told by the narrator's perspective. Bold words are english words. Italic words are thoughts and narration of the main protagonist.
Main Characters
Show
Main Characters:
Ayama Kazuma
Age: 16
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: White
Psych: Genesis Laser
Weapon: N-Gloves (As of Chapter 8)
Desc: A normal student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-A. He attends school normally until one fateful day, while walking home from school; he gets attacked by a maverick android, known as Error. His life is turned upside down when his two childhood friends rescue him, and explain to him the situation. The world they live in is in danger. A mysterious virus is corrupting the city's androids, turning them against the humans. Now Kazuma must help his school's Security department in the ongoing war against the Errors. Kazuma's Psych is Genesis Laser, one of the stronger type of Psychs that allows Kazuma to charge and fire lasers from his palm. Kazuma is part of the soccer club.
Fujiwara Keiji
Age: 17
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Turquoise
Psych: Electromaster, Data Manipulation (As of Chapter 8)
Weapon: Katana, Glock 9mm Pistol, Gunblade - Edge Cutter V2 (As of Chapter 8)
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-A and Kazuma's childhood friend. He is the captain of Ureshina Gakuen Security Department Division X, specializing in defending the school. Keiji is the de facto leader of Kazuma's gang, and together they form the Division X. Keiji is a tsundere by nature, and refuses to be honest at all times. Keiji's Psych is Data Manipulation, the ability to control, change, and manipulate Data. Keiji is in the Kendo Club.
Kamiga Jiyu
Age: 16
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Red
Psych: Spitfire, Reformation (As of Chapter 8)
Weapon: Twin Blades - Kuraihaji and Karasu, Bow - Stratos Striker (As of Chapter 8)
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-A and Kazuma's childhood friend. He is vice-captain of Ureshina Gakuen Security Department Division X. Jiyu is very fond of japan, coming from overseas. As such, he is always ready to perform manzais and get in with the group's random gags. Jiyu is also fond of making random jokes, and tends to annoy Keiji when doing so. Jiyu is gifted with the Psych Reformation, granting him the power to change and manipulate the structure of objects Jiyu is part of the Archery Club. (Formerly badminton)
Naoki Akito
Age: 16
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Cyan
Psych: Tidal Bringer, Alchemy (As of Chapter 8)
Weapon: Glock 18 9mm Pistols X2, knife
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-C and part of Kazuma's gang. Member of the Ureshina Gakuen Security Department Division X. He joined Kazuma's Gang in their first year as middle-school students, and has been their constant bullying material since then. Despite this, he still gets along well with them. His Psych is Alchemy, the ability to create anything out of thin air depending on the user's base power. Akito is part of the Manga and Anime club.
Sakuraba Ringo
Age: 16
Hair Color: Purple-red
Eye Color: Violet
Psych: Happy Hour, Party Hour (As of Chapter 8)
Weapon: M16 Assault Rifle, Laser Whip (As of Chapter 8)
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-A and part of Kazuma's gang. She is the treasurer of Ureshina Gakuen Security Department Division X. She joined Kazuma's Gang at the start of the year, and acts as a conflict resolver for the gang. Her Psych is Party, the ability to provide various buffs. Ringo is part of the Manga and Anime Club.
Ayama Kazuma
Age: 16
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: White
Psych: Genesis Laser
Weapon: N-Gloves (As of Chapter 8)
Desc: A normal student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-A. He attends school normally until one fateful day, while walking home from school; he gets attacked by a maverick android, known as Error. His life is turned upside down when his two childhood friends rescue him, and explain to him the situation. The world they live in is in danger. A mysterious virus is corrupting the city's androids, turning them against the humans. Now Kazuma must help his school's Security department in the ongoing war against the Errors. Kazuma's Psych is Genesis Laser, one of the stronger type of Psychs that allows Kazuma to charge and fire lasers from his palm. Kazuma is part of the soccer club.
Fujiwara Keiji
Age: 17
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Turquoise
Psych: Electromaster, Data Manipulation (As of Chapter 8)
Weapon: Katana, Glock 9mm Pistol, Gunblade - Edge Cutter V2 (As of Chapter 8)
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-A and Kazuma's childhood friend. He is the captain of Ureshina Gakuen Security Department Division X, specializing in defending the school. Keiji is the de facto leader of Kazuma's gang, and together they form the Division X. Keiji is a tsundere by nature, and refuses to be honest at all times. Keiji's Psych is Data Manipulation, the ability to control, change, and manipulate Data. Keiji is in the Kendo Club.
Kamiga Jiyu
Age: 16
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Red
Psych: Spitfire, Reformation (As of Chapter 8)
Weapon: Twin Blades - Kuraihaji and Karasu, Bow - Stratos Striker (As of Chapter 8)
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-A and Kazuma's childhood friend. He is vice-captain of Ureshina Gakuen Security Department Division X. Jiyu is very fond of japan, coming from overseas. As such, he is always ready to perform manzais and get in with the group's random gags. Jiyu is also fond of making random jokes, and tends to annoy Keiji when doing so. Jiyu is gifted with the Psych Reformation, granting him the power to change and manipulate the structure of objects Jiyu is part of the Archery Club. (Formerly badminton)
Naoki Akito
Age: 16
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Cyan
Psych: Tidal Bringer, Alchemy (As of Chapter 8)
Weapon: Glock 18 9mm Pistols X2, knife
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-C and part of Kazuma's gang. Member of the Ureshina Gakuen Security Department Division X. He joined Kazuma's Gang in their first year as middle-school students, and has been their constant bullying material since then. Despite this, he still gets along well with them. His Psych is Alchemy, the ability to create anything out of thin air depending on the user's base power. Akito is part of the Manga and Anime club.
Sakuraba Ringo
Age: 16
Hair Color: Purple-red
Eye Color: Violet
Psych: Happy Hour, Party Hour (As of Chapter 8)
Weapon: M16 Assault Rifle, Laser Whip (As of Chapter 8)
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-A and part of Kazuma's gang. She is the treasurer of Ureshina Gakuen Security Department Division X. She joined Kazuma's Gang at the start of the year, and acts as a conflict resolver for the gang. Her Psych is Party, the ability to provide various buffs. Ringo is part of the Manga and Anime Club.
Side Characters
Show
Side Characters:
Ayama Kazumi
Age: 13
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: White
Psych: None
Weapon: None
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-D. Kazumi is the younger sister of Kazuma, and does the household chores in their house. Kazuma in return helps her with whatever she needs help with, such as her homework or groceries. She is best friends with Haruka and Riko, Jiyu and Keiji's sisters.
Fujiwara Riko
Age: 15
Hair Color: Grey
Eye Color: Gold
Psych: None
Weapon: None
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 3-D. Misaki is Keiji's younger sister. She is very mature, and knows how to handle her brother. She is best friends with Kazumi and Haruka.
Kamiga Haruka
Age: 13
Hair Color: Blue
Eye Color: Purple
Psych: None
Weapon: None
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-D. Haruka is Jiyu's younger sister, and a tomboy. She behaves exactly like her brother, but knows how to take care of the house. She is best friends with Kazumi and Misaki.
Shinomiya Satsuki
Age: 16
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
Psych: Invisibility
Weapon: None
Desc: Keiji's fiancee, part of predetermined marriage decided by Keiji's parents two years ago. At first their relationship got off to a rocky start, but after an incident she became attached to Keiji. She is responsible, and acts as a sister figure to the three younger sisters of Jiyu, Kazuma and Keiji.
Saotome Natsumi
Age: 38
Hair COlor: Blonde
Eye Color: Blue
Psych: Mirror Force
Desc: A teacher at Ureshina Gakuen and also the teacher in charge of Division X. She is responsible for training all new recruits to Division X, and is extremely strict. However, she deeply cares for her students, especially Division X. She teaches class 2-A mathematics, and her prized student is Fujiwara Keiji.
Saotome Reiko AKA Sara
Age: 18
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Turquoise
Psych:
Weapon: Laser Saber
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 3-A and the daughter of Saotome Natsumi. She is the advisor of Division X, and does not intervene with fights unless needed. She is in charge of operating the team from afar.
Lucian Kaitou
Age: 16
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Dark Blue
Psych: Teleportation
Weapon: 9x19 mm Walther P99 handgun
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-B. Lucian Kaitou is part of the Security Department Division Z, the division specializing in support. He is on relatively good terms with Kazuma's Gang, and they usually rely on him to run errands for them.
Django
Age: 14
Hair Color: Light Blonde
Eye Color: Green
Psych: Solaris
Weapon: Colt M1911 pistol
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-E. Django is part of the Security Department Division Z and part of Kaitou's trio. He is always ready for battle, but misses his chance to fight because of the night attacks. Django's Psych is Solaris, the ability to absorb and charge a weapon with sunlight.
Fumio Hideki AKA Sonic
Age: 14
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Psych: Lunaris
Weapon: Throwing Knives
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-E. Sonic is part of the Security Department Division Y, specializing in information. He is a brilliant hacker and information broker. Kazuma's Gang constantly ask him to get something for them from the net for a discount. Sonic's Psych is Lunaris, the ability to absorb and charge a weapon with the moon's power.
Ayama Kazumi
Age: 13
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: White
Psych: None
Weapon: None
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-D. Kazumi is the younger sister of Kazuma, and does the household chores in their house. Kazuma in return helps her with whatever she needs help with, such as her homework or groceries. She is best friends with Haruka and Riko, Jiyu and Keiji's sisters.
Fujiwara Riko
Age: 15
Hair Color: Grey
Eye Color: Gold
Psych: None
Weapon: None
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 3-D. Misaki is Keiji's younger sister. She is very mature, and knows how to handle her brother. She is best friends with Kazumi and Haruka.
Kamiga Haruka
Age: 13
Hair Color: Blue
Eye Color: Purple
Psych: None
Weapon: None
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-D. Haruka is Jiyu's younger sister, and a tomboy. She behaves exactly like her brother, but knows how to take care of the house. She is best friends with Kazumi and Misaki.
Shinomiya Satsuki
Age: 16
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
Psych: Invisibility
Weapon: None
Desc: Keiji's fiancee, part of predetermined marriage decided by Keiji's parents two years ago. At first their relationship got off to a rocky start, but after an incident she became attached to Keiji. She is responsible, and acts as a sister figure to the three younger sisters of Jiyu, Kazuma and Keiji.
Saotome Natsumi
Age: 38
Hair COlor: Blonde
Eye Color: Blue
Psych: Mirror Force
Desc: A teacher at Ureshina Gakuen and also the teacher in charge of Division X. She is responsible for training all new recruits to Division X, and is extremely strict. However, she deeply cares for her students, especially Division X. She teaches class 2-A mathematics, and her prized student is Fujiwara Keiji.
Saotome Reiko AKA Sara
Age: 18
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Turquoise
Psych:
Weapon: Laser Saber
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 3-A and the daughter of Saotome Natsumi. She is the advisor of Division X, and does not intervene with fights unless needed. She is in charge of operating the team from afar.
Lucian Kaitou
Age: 16
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Dark Blue
Psych: Teleportation
Weapon: 9x19 mm Walther P99 handgun
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-B. Lucian Kaitou is part of the Security Department Division Z, the division specializing in support. He is on relatively good terms with Kazuma's Gang, and they usually rely on him to run errands for them.
Django
Age: 14
Hair Color: Light Blonde
Eye Color: Green
Psych: Solaris
Weapon: Colt M1911 pistol
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-E. Django is part of the Security Department Division Z and part of Kaitou's trio. He is always ready for battle, but misses his chance to fight because of the night attacks. Django's Psych is Solaris, the ability to absorb and charge a weapon with sunlight.
Fumio Hideki AKA Sonic
Age: 14
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Psych: Lunaris
Weapon: Throwing Knives
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-E. Sonic is part of the Security Department Division Y, specializing in information. He is a brilliant hacker and information broker. Kazuma's Gang constantly ask him to get something for them from the net for a discount. Sonic's Psych is Lunaris, the ability to absorb and charge a weapon with the moon's power.
Minor Characters
Show
Kojima Fenrir
Age: 17
Hair Color: Black (partially white)
Eye Color: Gold
Psych: Attract Reject
Weapon: None
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-B. Fenrir is part of the Original Security Department, a testament to his strength. His Psych is Attract Reject, the ability to control Magnetic Waves.
Kazekiri Zephyr
Age: 17
Hair Color: Pale blue
Eye Color: Brown
Psych: Aerobound
Weapon: None
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-B and Fenrir's best friend. He is a member of the Original Security Department, where only the geniuses of battle are in. He is rival to General Kirihara Sho, and uses the Psych Aerobound, granting him the power of Aerokinesis.
Morimoto Saki
Age: 15
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Psych: ???
Weapon: ???
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 3-E and member of Division Z. Saki is a tomboy and major tsundere, fiercely loyal to her school and friends. No additional information.
Kobayashi Rebi
Age: 14
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Green/Blue (Heterochromia)
Psych: Shadow Force
Weapon: Shadow Shooter
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-E and member of Division Y. Rebi is Sonic's best friend, and is also part of Kaitou's gang. Like Sonic, he is a brilliant hacker, but specializes more on data analyzing. His Psych is Shadow Force, the ability to manipulate shadows. His weapon is the Shadow Shooter, a customized revolver that allows him to fire shadow shots.
Nakajima Saruhiko
Age: 30
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Psych: Mage Power
Weapon: None
Desc: Teacher of Ureshina Gakuen. He is the teacher in charge of Division Z, and his Psych is Mage Power, converting his energy into physical and psychic attack power to boost his physical abilities. He teaches Class 1-A English, and his prized student is Kamiga Jiyu.
Age: 17
Hair Color: Black (partially white)
Eye Color: Gold
Psych: Attract Reject
Weapon: None
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-B. Fenrir is part of the Original Security Department, a testament to his strength. His Psych is Attract Reject, the ability to control Magnetic Waves.
Kazekiri Zephyr
Age: 17
Hair Color: Pale blue
Eye Color: Brown
Psych: Aerobound
Weapon: None
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-B and Fenrir's best friend. He is a member of the Original Security Department, where only the geniuses of battle are in. He is rival to General Kirihara Sho, and uses the Psych Aerobound, granting him the power of Aerokinesis.
Morimoto Saki
Age: 15
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Psych: ???
Weapon: ???
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 3-E and member of Division Z. Saki is a tomboy and major tsundere, fiercely loyal to her school and friends. No additional information.
Kobayashi Rebi
Age: 14
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Green/Blue (Heterochromia)
Psych: Shadow Force
Weapon: Shadow Shooter
Desc: Student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-E and member of Division Y. Rebi is Sonic's best friend, and is also part of Kaitou's gang. Like Sonic, he is a brilliant hacker, but specializes more on data analyzing. His Psych is Shadow Force, the ability to manipulate shadows. His weapon is the Shadow Shooter, a customized revolver that allows him to fire shadow shots.
Nakajima Saruhiko
Age: 30
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Psych: Mage Power
Weapon: None
Desc: Teacher of Ureshina Gakuen. He is the teacher in charge of Division Z, and his Psych is Mage Power, converting his energy into physical and psychic attack power to boost his physical abilities. He teaches Class 1-A English, and his prized student is Kamiga Jiyu.
Spoiler
Show
Hi, I'm Ayama Kazuma. I gotta cut this introduction short, cuz I'm in the middle of class here. Oh, it's maths now, gotta pay attention or I'll fail next month's exam.
"Alright, who can tell me the answer to this equation?"
I stare at the blackboard, trying to figure out the answer to this question that the teacher wrote on the blackboard. Ugh, this is the fourth chapter of Maths, and I'm already having trouble keeping up. I glance towards my friend Kamiga Jiyu, who's seated at the left corner of the classroom.
Ah, there he is, busy... writing? Man, who knows what that guy's up to. Is he seriously studying? I can't believe what I'm seeing.
"Kamiga. Do you have the answer for this equation?" My sensei called out to Jiyu.
"Hmm? Oh. uh... I don't know."
Huh!? Jiyu! How could you reply so blatantly? Are you serious about this?
"What do you mean you don't know? This is the final sub topic in the whole chapter! I just taught you all how to do this last week!" My teacher scolded.
Yeah... he did. I recall going through my notes over and over again just to solve one single question.
"Teach, I wasn't here last week."
What!? Does he seriously think that trick will work? That's the oldest trick in the book!
"Oh, really now? Then you are excused. Sit down, Kamiga."
HUUUUUUUUUH!? HE SERIOUSLY BOUGHT THAT?
I shot a glance towards Jiyu, who noticed me. He gave me a grin and went back to his scribbling.
"In that case... Ayama-kun. Answer."
Huh. It took me about 3 seconds to realize he was calling my name.
"Ayama-kun. Do you have the answer?"
I quickly stood up and struggled to find a suitable reply that wouldn't get me killed.
"Uh... I'm not quite sure..." I mumbled.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not sure about my answer." I replied as I stared at my notebook. The solution that I made seemed pretty half-assed alright.
"Do not worry about mistakes, Ayama-kun. Mistakes are the foundation to improvement. Tell me your answer."
I prepared myself, inhale, exhale. Whether I manage to get this right, or become the laughingstock of my class, I'm ready. I started to explain my solution, step by step. After I finished explaining, I took a deep breath and waited for my teacher's verdict.
"Hmm... magnificent, Ayama-kun."
I gave a sigh of relief and mentally congratulated myself for a job well done. Looks like I won't be failing the first term's maths exam after all!
"Magnificently wrong. Sit down."
Or not.
The bell rang. Oh finally! Lunch break! Hooray! I wonder what my sister prepared for me today.
"Alright class. We will meet again on friday. Until then, I suggest that you all be prepared for next month's exam. Class dismissed."
Later teach. Ah man, I sure am glad we only have two sessions of mathematics this week. No idea why he wasn't present on monday but we sure threw a hell of a party just because he wasn't around.
Now! Time to see what's inside this bento my sister prepared for me. I unwrapped the cloth that was covering the bento and opened it.
Nice! Omelette! Thank you sis! This is just what your brother wants! I shed a tear as sparkles started to fill the background of my avatar. Oh wait, wrong fourth wall breaking.
"Ossu, Kazu-kun."
I turned to the left to see Jiyu standing beside me, holding his tupperware.
"Yo, G." I replied with a grin.
"Omelette? Nice. Your sister sure is awesome. That omelette, how to say, looks decent."
"Thank you, G. Huh wait, you're not getting a bite outta this." I teased.
"Nobody cares about your lunch Kazu-kun. Nah just kidding. It's just that I wish my sis was as awesome as yours."
I could tell he's pretty envious. I need to be careful in case he decides to kidnap my sister. Heh, like that'll happen.
We continued to chat about numerous things, not giving a care in the world about the time passing by. After all, Ureshina Gakuen has a 45 minute lunch break. After some time, the back door of the class opened and my friend Naoki Akito stepped in.
"Hello Kazuma, G." Akito greeted.
"Yo Aki. Sup man." I greeted back.
"Hello cannon fodder. Do you want to die?" Jiyu replied.
"Eh?" Akito gave a shocked expression.
Ehehehehe... same old Jiyu. Still bullying Akito. Poor Akito.
"Honestly G-kun, stop bullying Aki-kun." came a female voice behind us.
All of us turned around to see Sakuraba Ringo, our friend.
"Hello Ringo-san." Akito greeted politely.
"Good afternoon, Aki-kun."
"Ossu, Ringo. Do you have any books to recommend for me to read?" Jiyu asked with a grin.
"If you apologize to Aki-kun, I'll consider lending you some I bought."
Hah! Nice one Ringo. Everyone knows Jiyu hates apologizing to Akito. We've got him in the bag now.
"Ceh, nevermind then. I'll break into your house tonight." Jiyu said with an annoyed face.
Umm... LOL. I have to admit, that was a good one. I hardly managed to control myself from laughing out loud.
"That's good. Do you want me to invite you in?" Ringo shot back.
"Yes. If you would wait with your pyjamas at three in the morning, then why not. Want a medal in case you manage to pull it off?"
LOL. THAT was classical.
"Stop laughing Kazu-kun. You're inflating my ego." Jiyu said with a grin.
Akito laughed alongside me now, indeed, Jiyu knows how to brighten up a situation. Hard to imagine he's from another country instead of Japan. He sure was born to be one. Now Ringo is giggling as well.
"Okay okay. I'll lend it to you tomorrow. Shall we head out for lunch now? Kei-kun is already waiting for us." Ringo suggested with a smile.
Whoops, forgot about Keiji. We should hurry before he gets lonely.
"Come on guys! Last one there gotta treat us to dinner tonight!" I challenged.
Wasting no time, I grabbed my bento and ran out of the classroom. Jiyu, whose brain immediately registered the challenge; ran after me. Ringo smiled and ran after us as well, leaving Akito alone in the classroom.
"Eh? This is bad. I don't have much money left. Ringo-san! Wait up!" Akito called out as he ran.
We arrived at an unused, relatively small room that used to serve as a storage. Now it's equipped with all sorts of technology like computer, TV, games, LED projector. Gotta thank Keiji and Jiyu for getting those. Oh, there's a table in the middle as well, complete with 5 seats.
"You're slow. You're slow, slow, slow."
There he is, complaining as usual. My friend Fujiwara Keiji. He's a year older than us, and he's been hanging around with me and Jiyu since we were kids. Though sometimes he doesn't act quite his age. There was a moment of silence, all of us figuring out what to say to Keiji to stop him from complaining.
"Sorry K. We got into quite the commotion." Jiyu spoke up.
"Huh? What commotion? I never knew you guys were the troublemaker type." Keiji replied with a tone of sarcasm.
"Kazu-kun wanted to race, so we raced. Halfway up the stairs he tripped, and then he managed to somehow magically kick me in the chin. We both fell down, and Ringo ran up through the sides. Then Akito went along. Since the loser has to treat dinner tonight, we sure as hell weren't gonna let Akito get above us, so we pulled his leg, he fell down. And the-"
"Okay hold it that's just plain stupid. You guys actually trip on the stairs, pull someone down just because of some lousy bet?" Keiji interrupted.
"Yeah." Jiyu grinned.
"What the hell's wrong with you guys?" Keiji sweatdropped.
I thought for a moment.
"I don't know. I just love crappy competitions." I joked.
Jiyu laughed at my joke, followed by Akito and Ringo. Keiji managed to smile. Now he should stop complaining.
All of us moved to our respective seats, Keiji sitting at the head of the table, Jiyu sitting at the front left, Akito sitting at the front right, Me sitting beside Jiyu and Ringo sitting beside Akito.
"Oh, today's bento looks exceptionally good, Kazu-kun." Keiji said with a tone of admiration.
"Yeah. None for you, sadly."
It's kinda embarassing, but my sister is usually the one who prepares all the food for us three boys. I feel kinda guilty for letting her do all the work. All three of us live alone with our sisters. Jiyu and Keiji's parents are working overseas, and my parents passed away in an incident when I was young. Now I live with my sister, and she usually takes care of our food. Jiyu's sister helps her out as well. Keiji's sister went overseas two weeks ago, not sure when she'll be back.
"Ah, it's okay. Though I really wanted to have something eggy today."
"K. If we make it back home in time, I could probably fry some eggs for you." Jiyu smiled.
"Ah, I owe you one, G."
Jiyu's fried eggs, always receiving good reception.
I shifted my gaze to Akito and Ringo, who are busy eating.
"Hey, both of you. Why the rush? We still have 36 minutes before lunch break ends." I asked.
"Kei-kun said he has important business to tell us, so I'm going to finish before we start the meeting." Ringo explained.
Oh yeah, she's right. Keiji did say he had important news to tell us. I wonder what could it be? Is it about the Errors?
"Hmm... I think it's about time. We're going to discuss about something important today, so let's start off."
With that said, Keiji stands up and moves to the projector, connected to the CPU, and turns it on; revealing a battle formation of sorts.
"As you all should know, we're part of the School's Security Department Division X, so our duty is to combat the Errors and help keep the city safe."
"No brainer K, no brainer." Jiyu interrupted as he munched on a piece of sushi.
"Moving on, from now on, if we mobilize, we're going to, to the best of our efforts, stay as a team of five. Got that?"
Hmm... a good plan. Sticking together is the best for us. After all, the androids are pretty tough.
"Hmm... what if we're too far away from each other?" Akito wondered.
"That's why I said 'to the best of our efforts'."
"Oh, right."
"Scapegoat be dreaming." Jiyu teased.
"Sharrap G." Akito snapped.
"OKAY, MOVING ON." Keiji growled.
"You said that twice already-"
"Shutup G." Keiji interrupted.
"Okay fine."
"So, I made up a battle formation, and THIS, is the result." Keiji said as he pointed to the screen.
"So, you got a bunch of us as stickmen and an android as a crappily drawn microsoft paint product? That's one AWESOME hell of a result you got there, K." Jiyu joked.
I laughed hard.
"I'll just pretend you never said that." an annoyed Keiji replied.
"Okay now G. Get serious. I need your opinion on this. Kazu-kun as well."
Oh, the tone in his voice changed. Looks like we need to brainstorm stuff now.
"Okay, listen up. I'm taking the front, I got a katana and a gun. So yeah, it's pretty obvious."
"Pretty obvious that you should be running around being chased by the android with that retarded weapon setup." Jiyu sarcastically remarked.
I managed a snicker.
"That could work." Keiji muttered.
"Okay next, G, you're taking my back."
"Dude K, I'm not gay." Jiyu interrupted.
"Can you just STOP.INTERRUPTING.ME?" Keiji grumbled.
"G and I will be taking the front-"
"Aaaah, that sounds better." Jiyu grinned.
"Shutup G."
"Kazu-kun, you're the one firing lasers and all, so you stay in between."
Sounds good to me. Those two have close-range combat weapons, so they should be in the front. Since I don't have an assigned weapon yet, it would be wise to place me in the middle where I can help them out.
"Fine by me. So far so good."
"Good good. Next, Aki, Ringo. You two are at the back of the formation. Aki you got the two guns, so you focus on shooting when needed, drawing attention, etc."
"Okay. Sounds like a job made for me." Akito smiled.
"That's a low source of self-esteem." Jiyu laughed.
"Don't want to hear that coming from you." Akito shot back with a grin.
"Ringo. You have to wait on standby, when one of us gets hurt, you can heal em with your Psych, Happy Hour."
Hmm... sounds like a plan. Though, is that really good?
"Hmm... K. Sounds like an adjustment is needed." I suggested.
"Oh? Let's hear it."
"Kazu-kun's gotta point. Why don't we let Ringo support us alongside Akito? She's got an M16 assault rifle after all." Jiyu proposed.
"True... but what about healing?"
"Well, Akito can cover for the injured person and Ringo while the healing's underway, and then once they're done they can continue the formation as planned." I explained.
"Hmm... true. That's good."
"Alright guys, that's our battle plan. Seems legit huh."
"Yeeep. We goin' with this then." Jiyu grinned.
"I'm a-okay. It's a plan alright." I smiled.
"I'm good." Akito smiled.
"Me too." Ringo said as she finished the last of her rice.
Good to see everyone agreeing on this. Truely, such a feeling of satisfactory and pride in completing our own battle plan is a good feeling. I glanced down at my watch, the time read 12:45.
"Urk. Crap." I blurted out loud.
"Sup Kazu-kun?" Jiyu wondered.
"Only fifteen minutes left for lunch."
"Wherewhatwhenwhowhyhow. We spent THAT much time on a battle plan?"
"Sure did."
"That's just bull. I don't even-"
"Save it for later G. We gotta eat and hurry back to class. K as well."
"Yeah. If someone finds out we've been using this storeroom it'll be bad. All these equipment we have will be confiscated. We gotta hurry and leave before the corridor gets crowded." Keiji considered.
With that being said, the three of us finish our bento as quick as possible and proceed to turn off the lights, equipment and everything else. Then quietly, all five of us sneak out of the storeroom and run back to our respective classes. Phew! 5 minutes left.
The rest of the day passes by normally. After lunch break came Modern Japanese, which is my ace subject. I noticed Jiyu sleeping in class, giving up on the subject because he doesn't know how to write kanji. Poor guy. Ringo's taking notes diligently. Maybe I should borrow her notes when she's done. Then came art class, Ringo and Jiyu's favorite. It was a free to draw session, so I drew a crow. Not too bad, I think. Keiji might like this.
After art class came english. Jiyu slept again. I struggled a bit, especially with some new words. Ringo's doing fine, she even got called twice during class. As expected of Ringo. Overall the day went well, and before I knew it it was 3pm.
The bell rang, Signalling the end of the school day. After the teacher walked out of the classroom, most of the students immediately stood up and went over to their friend's seats, wanting to chat about various things. I packed my stuff into my bag and saw Ringo walking towards me.
As usual, Ringo's a fast packer. I don't get it, it's not like she's in a hurry to go home or anything.
"Ringo. It's not like you're in a hurry to go home, so why pack so fast?" I voiced my thoughts.
Ringo gave me a cute 'eh?' before going into a day-dream like state.
"Not sure. I guess it's a habit?" Ringo smiled.
Habit? This girl seriously does have wierd habits. I need to ask her about this someday. I turned to my left to look at Jiyu, who'd just woken up. Yawn, stretch, slump. Happens everytime. After getting his brain working, Jiyu sighed and stood up before proceeding to walk towards me.
"Good morning." Jiyu grinned.
"G-kun, were you sleeping again?" Ringo asked sternly.
"Yes."
"You need to pay more attention during class." Ringo said as she puffed her cheeks.
"Yes ma'am. Whate'er you say." Jiyu bowed politely.
It's amazing how Ringo can convince particularly everyone to do something that she wants. Not even I managed to convince Jiyu to do something like this. She's really something, dat Ringo.
"So, what are we waiting for?" Jiyu wondered.
"Aki-kun. After that we'll meet up with Kei-kun." Ringo answered.
Ah yeah, Akito is in C class, since they usually finish late, we'll have to wait for a while. Keiji's one year older than us, so who knows when he finishes. He's always early though. I wonder.
"Let me pack my stuff first. Be right back." Jiyu informed as he ran back to his seat.
Ugh. We have a physics quiz tomorrow, and I'm not the least bit confident. Maybe I should study tonight. Who knows what the professor will say if I fail the first quiz of the year. Knowing Ringo, she's well prepared for the quiz. I can imagine her writing down the answers with no problem. Jiyu... he's a goner. Since the teacher's quizzes are always in japanese, he won't be able to get through this.
The back door opens, and Akito steps in as usual, looking nervous. I guess walking into another class without a care in the world is pretty hard for him to do. After greeting us, Jiyu joins and we start chatting about the new manga that Ringo read the other day. Not wanting to make Keiji wait, we decide to continue our conversation while walking.
As we walked out of the school gate, a thought crossed my mind.
"So, we're just waiting for the School to pick up a maverick hit for now?" I asked Keiji, who's walking beside me.
"Yeah. We're just gonna wait it out. After all, we don't know how this virus spreads for now."
"All we know is that the Virus makes the android more violent and stronger. Their superhuman functions are forcibly unlocked and brought out for maximum destruction." Jiyu added.
We continued walking from the left of the school gate until we arrived at the corner. Turning left and walking a short distance, we wait for the traffic light at the zebra crossing to turn green.
Now that's bad. Thanks to our technology, most of the people in the city have an android helper in their house. Hard to imagine that the androids that help you out everyday can be turned against you in just a matter of seconds. We continued walking in silence, turning right at a corner.
"That's bad. What about the robots?" I wondered.
"Not sure. But since the virus infects androids, I'm guessing it works for bots as well." Keiji assumed.
"Eeeeh... that means all artificial intelligence units are in danger of being infected? That's really bad..." Akito shivered.
"It's alright, Aki-kun. As long as the School's Security Department is here, we've got nothing to worry about." Ringo assured.
Ringo's words make me feel a little bit safer. But still, the thought of your helpers being turned into killing machines is really frightening. We're in danger if we don't delete this virus or find whoever's spreading it.
"Which reminds me, do we have an idea on how this virus is being operated? Is someone controlling it or is it just acting out of artificial intelligence?"
"We're in the dark, Kazu-kun. We've got no answers for any question related to the one you just asked. Which is bad. It's been going on for a few months, but we only know that it's a virus, it corrupts and makes victims stronger, and it targets only humans." Keiji explained.
As we arrive at a fork, Jiyu stops walking.
"One thing."
All of us stop to look at him. He seems to have given something some thought.
"The school's decked out with bots and androids. Like the gardener girl, the cleanerbots, CPUbots. If this virus gets to the school, all of the students without Psychs are as good as dead. And to top that, we don't have a barrier of some sorts to protect ourselves."
"Why would we need a barrier to protect ourselves?" Ringo wondered.
"Not that kinda barrier. I'm talking about antivirus, or antivirus electro field that prevents the virus from getting in. The school's got no protection against this at all."
"Good one, G. That's why, the school requested that we retrieve as much battle data as possible. Once we defeat the enemy, we'll have to try and get their data chips. Then we bring em to the lab for scanning. That way the school can come up with an antivirus." Keiji replied.
"How come I never knew of this?" Jiyu asked.
"I forgot."
"Jackass."
I smile at their chemistry.
Continuing our walk, we switch our conversation topic to some new movies in the theater.
"Oh, we're here." Ringo said suddenly.
Arriving at the Shibuya Mall, we stop and part ways. Ringo and Akito continue walking in the general direction we were heading in while Keiji, Jiyu and I cross the road to the opposite side.
"I hope they'll be alright." I said as I turned around to look at the both of them, still within sight.
"Yeah. You never know when the virus will infect a roid near them. We can only pray nothing bad happens." Jiyu sighed.
"It's up to the three of us now. Sure am glad the school let you in our department, Kazu-kun." Keiji said with a tone of relief.
"I'm more or less disappointed at the fact that the school didn't choose me, and you two didn't tell me." I grumbled.
"Sorry Kazu-kun. But you remember the rules, never tell any of the normal students." Jiyu apologized.
"It's still wierd. Why keep it a secret if they already know that the Errors exist?"
"That's because if the normal students know about this, it's gonna be a hassle. They only attack at night or during the evenings. We can fight it out because not many people roam the streets at night. Not many people are gonna see a fight. Sides, the city's been informed that there are special forces fighting the Errors. Only fact is that they don't know Ureshina Gakuen's students are fighting."
I see. Keiji's explanation makes sense now. BUT STILL...
"Yo, what if they attack at the crossing? I mean, the crossing's literally active even during the night. That would be BAD wouldn't it?"
"That's why police are on guard there. Undercover agents are there as well, ready to shoot down any maverick once they make a move."
"Lax man, we pay the crossing a visit every Friday night. Friday's gonna be extra safe with us around!" Jiyu grinned.
"Your head it is. We're not allowed to fight in public. Otherwise students from our school will be asking for powerz and giving the headmaster a headache." Keiji rolled his eyes.
"Oh really? That sucks." Jiyu sighed.
All three of us resumed our walk in silence, thinking about many things. Not long after, we arrived at our neighbourhood. Jiyu's house comes first, number 7. While my house is number 10. Last is Keiji's house, number 13. All three of us send each other off with a grin before we enter our houses.
The moment I close the door behind me, I hear my sister's voice.
"Welcome back brother! Leave your clothes near the bathroom door so I can do the laundry later!"
The usual greeting. I suspect she's busy sweeping the floor. I should hurry up and shower so we can get today's laundry over with. I run upstairs to grab my clothes and towel.
Wow. My room is neat. Ugh, she's always helping me out with stuff like this even though it's my responsibility. I feel guilty. Putting down my bag, I reach for my PDA on the table. I sure am glad I managed to get a pass from the teacher this morning. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to enter the school without my PDA.
Whoops, lost track. I open my wardrobe and pick my white shirt and brown shorts. I reach for my towel, hooked onto the door, before proceeding to run back downstairs. Jumping off the stairs and skipping the last two steps, I land on the floor and run towards the bathroom.
"Brother."
I hit my emergency brake and stop in front of my sister, who'd just finished sweeping the room.
"Wassup Kazumi?"
"Oh, you're going to bath. I'll tell you later then." she smiled.
"Okay."
I proceed to run again, turning on the lights as I use my ID card to unlock the door. Once I enter my bathroom, I shut the door and proceed to unbutton my uniform. Now, time to bath.
I glance upwards to the clock, it reads 6:38pm. I hasten my eating speed.
"Brother, why are you eating so fast?" my sister wondered.
"Oh. Gotta go meet with G and K after this. We're going out somewhere."
"Ah yeah, you wanted to tell me something, didn't you?"
"Yes. How is school? Nothing bad happened today, right?" She asked.
She sounds pretty worried. Poor girl. I wonder if I did the right thing by telling her about the war against the Errors.
"Yes yes. No Errors popped up in our radar for now. Don't worry. I've got friends alongside me."
"That's good to hear..." she sighed.
Thanks for worrying for me, but there's no guarantee when the next attack will be. An android could kill us any moment. Right now I'm just focusing on enjoying and savoring the time I have before I meet my end. Besides, so far so good. Nothing bad happening around here.
After I finish my food, I thank my sister and head off to meet my two friends. As I reach the foot of the staircase, I hear the sound of my PDA beeping. Taking note, I run upstairs to check my PDA.
E-mail
Subject: Emergency
Recipients: Kamiga Jiyu, Sakuraba Ringo, Naoki Akito, Ayama Kazuma
Message:
School radar's got a hit. Statue of Hachiko. Get there ASAP. We're on the job.
- K
Okay. Something bad's happening here.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 1 - End.
"Alright, who can tell me the answer to this equation?"
I stare at the blackboard, trying to figure out the answer to this question that the teacher wrote on the blackboard. Ugh, this is the fourth chapter of Maths, and I'm already having trouble keeping up. I glance towards my friend Kamiga Jiyu, who's seated at the left corner of the classroom.
Ah, there he is, busy... writing? Man, who knows what that guy's up to. Is he seriously studying? I can't believe what I'm seeing.
"Kamiga. Do you have the answer for this equation?" My sensei called out to Jiyu.
"Hmm? Oh. uh... I don't know."
Huh!? Jiyu! How could you reply so blatantly? Are you serious about this?
"What do you mean you don't know? This is the final sub topic in the whole chapter! I just taught you all how to do this last week!" My teacher scolded.
Yeah... he did. I recall going through my notes over and over again just to solve one single question.
"Teach, I wasn't here last week."
What!? Does he seriously think that trick will work? That's the oldest trick in the book!
"Oh, really now? Then you are excused. Sit down, Kamiga."
HUUUUUUUUUH!? HE SERIOUSLY BOUGHT THAT?
I shot a glance towards Jiyu, who noticed me. He gave me a grin and went back to his scribbling.
"In that case... Ayama-kun. Answer."
Huh. It took me about 3 seconds to realize he was calling my name.
"Ayama-kun. Do you have the answer?"
I quickly stood up and struggled to find a suitable reply that wouldn't get me killed.
"Uh... I'm not quite sure..." I mumbled.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not sure about my answer." I replied as I stared at my notebook. The solution that I made seemed pretty half-assed alright.
"Do not worry about mistakes, Ayama-kun. Mistakes are the foundation to improvement. Tell me your answer."
I prepared myself, inhale, exhale. Whether I manage to get this right, or become the laughingstock of my class, I'm ready. I started to explain my solution, step by step. After I finished explaining, I took a deep breath and waited for my teacher's verdict.
"Hmm... magnificent, Ayama-kun."
I gave a sigh of relief and mentally congratulated myself for a job well done. Looks like I won't be failing the first term's maths exam after all!
"Magnificently wrong. Sit down."
Or not.
The bell rang. Oh finally! Lunch break! Hooray! I wonder what my sister prepared for me today.
"Alright class. We will meet again on friday. Until then, I suggest that you all be prepared for next month's exam. Class dismissed."
Later teach. Ah man, I sure am glad we only have two sessions of mathematics this week. No idea why he wasn't present on monday but we sure threw a hell of a party just because he wasn't around.
Now! Time to see what's inside this bento my sister prepared for me. I unwrapped the cloth that was covering the bento and opened it.
Nice! Omelette! Thank you sis! This is just what your brother wants! I shed a tear as sparkles started to fill the background of my avatar. Oh wait, wrong fourth wall breaking.
"Ossu, Kazu-kun."
I turned to the left to see Jiyu standing beside me, holding his tupperware.
"Yo, G." I replied with a grin.
"Omelette? Nice. Your sister sure is awesome. That omelette, how to say, looks decent."
"Thank you, G. Huh wait, you're not getting a bite outta this." I teased.
"Nobody cares about your lunch Kazu-kun. Nah just kidding. It's just that I wish my sis was as awesome as yours."
I could tell he's pretty envious. I need to be careful in case he decides to kidnap my sister. Heh, like that'll happen.
We continued to chat about numerous things, not giving a care in the world about the time passing by. After all, Ureshina Gakuen has a 45 minute lunch break. After some time, the back door of the class opened and my friend Naoki Akito stepped in.
"Hello Kazuma, G." Akito greeted.
"Yo Aki. Sup man." I greeted back.
"Hello cannon fodder. Do you want to die?" Jiyu replied.
"Eh?" Akito gave a shocked expression.
Ehehehehe... same old Jiyu. Still bullying Akito. Poor Akito.
"Honestly G-kun, stop bullying Aki-kun." came a female voice behind us.
All of us turned around to see Sakuraba Ringo, our friend.
"Hello Ringo-san." Akito greeted politely.
"Good afternoon, Aki-kun."
"Ossu, Ringo. Do you have any books to recommend for me to read?" Jiyu asked with a grin.
"If you apologize to Aki-kun, I'll consider lending you some I bought."
Hah! Nice one Ringo. Everyone knows Jiyu hates apologizing to Akito. We've got him in the bag now.
"Ceh, nevermind then. I'll break into your house tonight." Jiyu said with an annoyed face.
Umm... LOL. I have to admit, that was a good one. I hardly managed to control myself from laughing out loud.
"That's good. Do you want me to invite you in?" Ringo shot back.
"Yes. If you would wait with your pyjamas at three in the morning, then why not. Want a medal in case you manage to pull it off?"
LOL. THAT was classical.
"Stop laughing Kazu-kun. You're inflating my ego." Jiyu said with a grin.
Akito laughed alongside me now, indeed, Jiyu knows how to brighten up a situation. Hard to imagine he's from another country instead of Japan. He sure was born to be one. Now Ringo is giggling as well.
"Okay okay. I'll lend it to you tomorrow. Shall we head out for lunch now? Kei-kun is already waiting for us." Ringo suggested with a smile.
Whoops, forgot about Keiji. We should hurry before he gets lonely.
"Come on guys! Last one there gotta treat us to dinner tonight!" I challenged.
Wasting no time, I grabbed my bento and ran out of the classroom. Jiyu, whose brain immediately registered the challenge; ran after me. Ringo smiled and ran after us as well, leaving Akito alone in the classroom.
"Eh? This is bad. I don't have much money left. Ringo-san! Wait up!" Akito called out as he ran.
We arrived at an unused, relatively small room that used to serve as a storage. Now it's equipped with all sorts of technology like computer, TV, games, LED projector. Gotta thank Keiji and Jiyu for getting those. Oh, there's a table in the middle as well, complete with 5 seats.
"You're slow. You're slow, slow, slow."
There he is, complaining as usual. My friend Fujiwara Keiji. He's a year older than us, and he's been hanging around with me and Jiyu since we were kids. Though sometimes he doesn't act quite his age. There was a moment of silence, all of us figuring out what to say to Keiji to stop him from complaining.
"Sorry K. We got into quite the commotion." Jiyu spoke up.
"Huh? What commotion? I never knew you guys were the troublemaker type." Keiji replied with a tone of sarcasm.
"Kazu-kun wanted to race, so we raced. Halfway up the stairs he tripped, and then he managed to somehow magically kick me in the chin. We both fell down, and Ringo ran up through the sides. Then Akito went along. Since the loser has to treat dinner tonight, we sure as hell weren't gonna let Akito get above us, so we pulled his leg, he fell down. And the-"
"Okay hold it that's just plain stupid. You guys actually trip on the stairs, pull someone down just because of some lousy bet?" Keiji interrupted.
"Yeah." Jiyu grinned.
"What the hell's wrong with you guys?" Keiji sweatdropped.
I thought for a moment.
"I don't know. I just love crappy competitions." I joked.
Jiyu laughed at my joke, followed by Akito and Ringo. Keiji managed to smile. Now he should stop complaining.
All of us moved to our respective seats, Keiji sitting at the head of the table, Jiyu sitting at the front left, Akito sitting at the front right, Me sitting beside Jiyu and Ringo sitting beside Akito.
"Oh, today's bento looks exceptionally good, Kazu-kun." Keiji said with a tone of admiration.
"Yeah. None for you, sadly."
It's kinda embarassing, but my sister is usually the one who prepares all the food for us three boys. I feel kinda guilty for letting her do all the work. All three of us live alone with our sisters. Jiyu and Keiji's parents are working overseas, and my parents passed away in an incident when I was young. Now I live with my sister, and she usually takes care of our food. Jiyu's sister helps her out as well. Keiji's sister went overseas two weeks ago, not sure when she'll be back.
"Ah, it's okay. Though I really wanted to have something eggy today."
"K. If we make it back home in time, I could probably fry some eggs for you." Jiyu smiled.
"Ah, I owe you one, G."
Jiyu's fried eggs, always receiving good reception.
I shifted my gaze to Akito and Ringo, who are busy eating.
"Hey, both of you. Why the rush? We still have 36 minutes before lunch break ends." I asked.
"Kei-kun said he has important business to tell us, so I'm going to finish before we start the meeting." Ringo explained.
Oh yeah, she's right. Keiji did say he had important news to tell us. I wonder what could it be? Is it about the Errors?
"Hmm... I think it's about time. We're going to discuss about something important today, so let's start off."
With that said, Keiji stands up and moves to the projector, connected to the CPU, and turns it on; revealing a battle formation of sorts.
"As you all should know, we're part of the School's Security Department Division X, so our duty is to combat the Errors and help keep the city safe."
"No brainer K, no brainer." Jiyu interrupted as he munched on a piece of sushi.
"Moving on, from now on, if we mobilize, we're going to, to the best of our efforts, stay as a team of five. Got that?"
Hmm... a good plan. Sticking together is the best for us. After all, the androids are pretty tough.
"Hmm... what if we're too far away from each other?" Akito wondered.
"That's why I said 'to the best of our efforts'."
"Oh, right."
"Scapegoat be dreaming." Jiyu teased.
"Sharrap G." Akito snapped.
"OKAY, MOVING ON." Keiji growled.
"You said that twice already-"
"Shutup G." Keiji interrupted.
"Okay fine."
"So, I made up a battle formation, and THIS, is the result." Keiji said as he pointed to the screen.
"So, you got a bunch of us as stickmen and an android as a crappily drawn microsoft paint product? That's one AWESOME hell of a result you got there, K." Jiyu joked.
I laughed hard.
"I'll just pretend you never said that." an annoyed Keiji replied.
"Okay now G. Get serious. I need your opinion on this. Kazu-kun as well."
Oh, the tone in his voice changed. Looks like we need to brainstorm stuff now.
"Okay, listen up. I'm taking the front, I got a katana and a gun. So yeah, it's pretty obvious."
"Pretty obvious that you should be running around being chased by the android with that retarded weapon setup." Jiyu sarcastically remarked.
I managed a snicker.
"That could work." Keiji muttered.
"Okay next, G, you're taking my back."
"Dude K, I'm not gay." Jiyu interrupted.
"Can you just STOP.INTERRUPTING.ME?" Keiji grumbled.
"G and I will be taking the front-"
"Aaaah, that sounds better." Jiyu grinned.
"Shutup G."
"Kazu-kun, you're the one firing lasers and all, so you stay in between."
Sounds good to me. Those two have close-range combat weapons, so they should be in the front. Since I don't have an assigned weapon yet, it would be wise to place me in the middle where I can help them out.
"Fine by me. So far so good."
"Good good. Next, Aki, Ringo. You two are at the back of the formation. Aki you got the two guns, so you focus on shooting when needed, drawing attention, etc."
"Okay. Sounds like a job made for me." Akito smiled.
"That's a low source of self-esteem." Jiyu laughed.
"Don't want to hear that coming from you." Akito shot back with a grin.
"Ringo. You have to wait on standby, when one of us gets hurt, you can heal em with your Psych, Happy Hour."
Hmm... sounds like a plan. Though, is that really good?
"Hmm... K. Sounds like an adjustment is needed." I suggested.
"Oh? Let's hear it."
"Kazu-kun's gotta point. Why don't we let Ringo support us alongside Akito? She's got an M16 assault rifle after all." Jiyu proposed.
"True... but what about healing?"
"Well, Akito can cover for the injured person and Ringo while the healing's underway, and then once they're done they can continue the formation as planned." I explained.
"Hmm... true. That's good."
"Alright guys, that's our battle plan. Seems legit huh."
"Yeeep. We goin' with this then." Jiyu grinned.
"I'm a-okay. It's a plan alright." I smiled.
"I'm good." Akito smiled.
"Me too." Ringo said as she finished the last of her rice.
Good to see everyone agreeing on this. Truely, such a feeling of satisfactory and pride in completing our own battle plan is a good feeling. I glanced down at my watch, the time read 12:45.
"Urk. Crap." I blurted out loud.
"Sup Kazu-kun?" Jiyu wondered.
"Only fifteen minutes left for lunch."
"Wherewhatwhenwhowhyhow. We spent THAT much time on a battle plan?"
"Sure did."
"That's just bull. I don't even-"
"Save it for later G. We gotta eat and hurry back to class. K as well."
"Yeah. If someone finds out we've been using this storeroom it'll be bad. All these equipment we have will be confiscated. We gotta hurry and leave before the corridor gets crowded." Keiji considered.
With that being said, the three of us finish our bento as quick as possible and proceed to turn off the lights, equipment and everything else. Then quietly, all five of us sneak out of the storeroom and run back to our respective classes. Phew! 5 minutes left.
The rest of the day passes by normally. After lunch break came Modern Japanese, which is my ace subject. I noticed Jiyu sleeping in class, giving up on the subject because he doesn't know how to write kanji. Poor guy. Ringo's taking notes diligently. Maybe I should borrow her notes when she's done. Then came art class, Ringo and Jiyu's favorite. It was a free to draw session, so I drew a crow. Not too bad, I think. Keiji might like this.
After art class came english. Jiyu slept again. I struggled a bit, especially with some new words. Ringo's doing fine, she even got called twice during class. As expected of Ringo. Overall the day went well, and before I knew it it was 3pm.
The bell rang, Signalling the end of the school day. After the teacher walked out of the classroom, most of the students immediately stood up and went over to their friend's seats, wanting to chat about various things. I packed my stuff into my bag and saw Ringo walking towards me.
As usual, Ringo's a fast packer. I don't get it, it's not like she's in a hurry to go home or anything.
"Ringo. It's not like you're in a hurry to go home, so why pack so fast?" I voiced my thoughts.
Ringo gave me a cute 'eh?' before going into a day-dream like state.
"Not sure. I guess it's a habit?" Ringo smiled.
Habit? This girl seriously does have wierd habits. I need to ask her about this someday. I turned to my left to look at Jiyu, who'd just woken up. Yawn, stretch, slump. Happens everytime. After getting his brain working, Jiyu sighed and stood up before proceeding to walk towards me.
"Good morning." Jiyu grinned.
"G-kun, were you sleeping again?" Ringo asked sternly.
"Yes."
"You need to pay more attention during class." Ringo said as she puffed her cheeks.
"Yes ma'am. Whate'er you say." Jiyu bowed politely.
It's amazing how Ringo can convince particularly everyone to do something that she wants. Not even I managed to convince Jiyu to do something like this. She's really something, dat Ringo.
"So, what are we waiting for?" Jiyu wondered.
"Aki-kun. After that we'll meet up with Kei-kun." Ringo answered.
Ah yeah, Akito is in C class, since they usually finish late, we'll have to wait for a while. Keiji's one year older than us, so who knows when he finishes. He's always early though. I wonder.
"Let me pack my stuff first. Be right back." Jiyu informed as he ran back to his seat.
Ugh. We have a physics quiz tomorrow, and I'm not the least bit confident. Maybe I should study tonight. Who knows what the professor will say if I fail the first quiz of the year. Knowing Ringo, she's well prepared for the quiz. I can imagine her writing down the answers with no problem. Jiyu... he's a goner. Since the teacher's quizzes are always in japanese, he won't be able to get through this.
The back door opens, and Akito steps in as usual, looking nervous. I guess walking into another class without a care in the world is pretty hard for him to do. After greeting us, Jiyu joins and we start chatting about the new manga that Ringo read the other day. Not wanting to make Keiji wait, we decide to continue our conversation while walking.
As we walked out of the school gate, a thought crossed my mind.
"So, we're just waiting for the School to pick up a maverick hit for now?" I asked Keiji, who's walking beside me.
"Yeah. We're just gonna wait it out. After all, we don't know how this virus spreads for now."
"All we know is that the Virus makes the android more violent and stronger. Their superhuman functions are forcibly unlocked and brought out for maximum destruction." Jiyu added.
We continued walking from the left of the school gate until we arrived at the corner. Turning left and walking a short distance, we wait for the traffic light at the zebra crossing to turn green.
Now that's bad. Thanks to our technology, most of the people in the city have an android helper in their house. Hard to imagine that the androids that help you out everyday can be turned against you in just a matter of seconds. We continued walking in silence, turning right at a corner.
"That's bad. What about the robots?" I wondered.
"Not sure. But since the virus infects androids, I'm guessing it works for bots as well." Keiji assumed.
"Eeeeh... that means all artificial intelligence units are in danger of being infected? That's really bad..." Akito shivered.
"It's alright, Aki-kun. As long as the School's Security Department is here, we've got nothing to worry about." Ringo assured.
Ringo's words make me feel a little bit safer. But still, the thought of your helpers being turned into killing machines is really frightening. We're in danger if we don't delete this virus or find whoever's spreading it.
"Which reminds me, do we have an idea on how this virus is being operated? Is someone controlling it or is it just acting out of artificial intelligence?"
"We're in the dark, Kazu-kun. We've got no answers for any question related to the one you just asked. Which is bad. It's been going on for a few months, but we only know that it's a virus, it corrupts and makes victims stronger, and it targets only humans." Keiji explained.
As we arrive at a fork, Jiyu stops walking.
"One thing."
All of us stop to look at him. He seems to have given something some thought.
"The school's decked out with bots and androids. Like the gardener girl, the cleanerbots, CPUbots. If this virus gets to the school, all of the students without Psychs are as good as dead. And to top that, we don't have a barrier of some sorts to protect ourselves."
"Why would we need a barrier to protect ourselves?" Ringo wondered.
"Not that kinda barrier. I'm talking about antivirus, or antivirus electro field that prevents the virus from getting in. The school's got no protection against this at all."
"Good one, G. That's why, the school requested that we retrieve as much battle data as possible. Once we defeat the enemy, we'll have to try and get their data chips. Then we bring em to the lab for scanning. That way the school can come up with an antivirus." Keiji replied.
"How come I never knew of this?" Jiyu asked.
"I forgot."
"Jackass."
I smile at their chemistry.
Continuing our walk, we switch our conversation topic to some new movies in the theater.
"Oh, we're here." Ringo said suddenly.
Arriving at the Shibuya Mall, we stop and part ways. Ringo and Akito continue walking in the general direction we were heading in while Keiji, Jiyu and I cross the road to the opposite side.
"I hope they'll be alright." I said as I turned around to look at the both of them, still within sight.
"Yeah. You never know when the virus will infect a roid near them. We can only pray nothing bad happens." Jiyu sighed.
"It's up to the three of us now. Sure am glad the school let you in our department, Kazu-kun." Keiji said with a tone of relief.
"I'm more or less disappointed at the fact that the school didn't choose me, and you two didn't tell me." I grumbled.
"Sorry Kazu-kun. But you remember the rules, never tell any of the normal students." Jiyu apologized.
"It's still wierd. Why keep it a secret if they already know that the Errors exist?"
"That's because if the normal students know about this, it's gonna be a hassle. They only attack at night or during the evenings. We can fight it out because not many people roam the streets at night. Not many people are gonna see a fight. Sides, the city's been informed that there are special forces fighting the Errors. Only fact is that they don't know Ureshina Gakuen's students are fighting."
I see. Keiji's explanation makes sense now. BUT STILL...
"Yo, what if they attack at the crossing? I mean, the crossing's literally active even during the night. That would be BAD wouldn't it?"
"That's why police are on guard there. Undercover agents are there as well, ready to shoot down any maverick once they make a move."
"Lax man, we pay the crossing a visit every Friday night. Friday's gonna be extra safe with us around!" Jiyu grinned.
"Your head it is. We're not allowed to fight in public. Otherwise students from our school will be asking for powerz and giving the headmaster a headache." Keiji rolled his eyes.
"Oh really? That sucks." Jiyu sighed.
All three of us resumed our walk in silence, thinking about many things. Not long after, we arrived at our neighbourhood. Jiyu's house comes first, number 7. While my house is number 10. Last is Keiji's house, number 13. All three of us send each other off with a grin before we enter our houses.
The moment I close the door behind me, I hear my sister's voice.
"Welcome back brother! Leave your clothes near the bathroom door so I can do the laundry later!"
The usual greeting. I suspect she's busy sweeping the floor. I should hurry up and shower so we can get today's laundry over with. I run upstairs to grab my clothes and towel.
Wow. My room is neat. Ugh, she's always helping me out with stuff like this even though it's my responsibility. I feel guilty. Putting down my bag, I reach for my PDA on the table. I sure am glad I managed to get a pass from the teacher this morning. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to enter the school without my PDA.
Whoops, lost track. I open my wardrobe and pick my white shirt and brown shorts. I reach for my towel, hooked onto the door, before proceeding to run back downstairs. Jumping off the stairs and skipping the last two steps, I land on the floor and run towards the bathroom.
"Brother."
I hit my emergency brake and stop in front of my sister, who'd just finished sweeping the room.
"Wassup Kazumi?"
"Oh, you're going to bath. I'll tell you later then." she smiled.
"Okay."
I proceed to run again, turning on the lights as I use my ID card to unlock the door. Once I enter my bathroom, I shut the door and proceed to unbutton my uniform. Now, time to bath.
I glance upwards to the clock, it reads 6:38pm. I hasten my eating speed.
"Brother, why are you eating so fast?" my sister wondered.
"Oh. Gotta go meet with G and K after this. We're going out somewhere."
"Ah yeah, you wanted to tell me something, didn't you?"
"Yes. How is school? Nothing bad happened today, right?" She asked.
She sounds pretty worried. Poor girl. I wonder if I did the right thing by telling her about the war against the Errors.
"Yes yes. No Errors popped up in our radar for now. Don't worry. I've got friends alongside me."
"That's good to hear..." she sighed.
Thanks for worrying for me, but there's no guarantee when the next attack will be. An android could kill us any moment. Right now I'm just focusing on enjoying and savoring the time I have before I meet my end. Besides, so far so good. Nothing bad happening around here.
After I finish my food, I thank my sister and head off to meet my two friends. As I reach the foot of the staircase, I hear the sound of my PDA beeping. Taking note, I run upstairs to check my PDA.
Subject: Emergency
Recipients: Kamiga Jiyu, Sakuraba Ringo, Naoki Akito, Ayama Kazuma
Message:
School radar's got a hit. Statue of Hachiko. Get there ASAP. We're on the job.
- K
Okay. Something bad's happening here.
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Chapter 1 - End.
~Nirvaxstiel
Chapters Compilation