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P.H.A.S.E. Season 2

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Saechika
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P.H.A.S.E. Season 2

Post by Saechika » Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:34 am

P.H.A.S.E. Season 2
Psych.Holiday.Aggression.Summer.Expansion

Story: In the Year 2040, Shibuya, Tokyo; was the central place of a war between rogue androids, labeled as Errors; against the humans living there. The Government of Japan chose the students of Ureshina Gakuen, Shibuya's top academy, to fight these androids as a method of testing the new items called Psychs, which would grant their users special powers from the results of their scientific research that allowed such a thing to happen. Ureshina Gakuen's Security Department's Division X, consisting of Ayama Kazuma, Fujiwara Keiji, Kamiga Jiyu, Naoki Akito and Sakuraba Ringo along with several of their friends were central figures in this war. Ultimately, the Error Threat was taken care of, and the persons in charge of the Error virus were apprehended. Right now, a new battle will take place, in a new battlefield; during Summer Vacation.

Normal word conversations are conversations in japanese. Normal words are narrations of the narrator. Bold words are english words. Italic words are thoughts and narration of the main protagonist.
Main Characters
Show
Fujiwara Keiji
Age: 17
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Turquoise
Psych: Data Manipulation (Level 2)
Weapon: Katana, Gunblade - Edge Cutter V2
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 2-A, foster brother of Kamiga Jiyu and Ayama Kazuma.. He is the captain of Ureshina Gakuen Security Department Division X, specializing in defending the school. Keiji is the de facto leader of the Kazuma Family. While lazy and absolutely selfish, Keiji is a person who will help his friends when they need it the most. He has an IQ of 175, a proven genius.

Kamiga Jiyu
Age: 16
Hair Color: Dark Blue
Eye Color: Red
Psych: Spitfire (Level 2), Reformation, ???
Weapon: Twin Blades - Kuraihaji and Karasu, Bow - Stratos Striker
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-A and foster brother of Keiji and Kazuma. He is a cheerful but sick young man with a troubled past. Jiyu is half Japanese because his mother is one, and inherits her dark blue hair. Jiyu is gifted with two Psychs, due to his high IQ of 130, rated a gifted child with slightly higher intelligence than others. He also stole his old Psych, Spitfire, back from the teacher's custody. He is currently comatose and is in Tokyo General Hospital.

Ayama Kazuma
Age: 16
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: White
Psych: Genesis Laser
Weapon: N-Gloves (Nisei Gloves)
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-A and childhood friend of Keiji and Jiyu. Kazuma is a brave and loyal person who cares alot for his fellow friends and is also forgiving, willing to forgive those who betray him. Kazuma's Psych is Genesis Laser, one of the stronger type of Psychs that allows Kazuma to charge and fire lasers from his palm. He is the boyfriend of Kawakami Mikiru.

Naoki Akito
Age: 16
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Cyan
Psych: Alchemy
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.

Sakuraba Ringo
Age: 16
Hair Color: Purple-red
Eye Color: Violet
Psych: Happy Hour, Party Hour
Weapon: Laser Whip
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. Has a crush on Jiyu.

Kawakami Mikiru
Age: 16
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
Psych: ???
Weapon: ???
Desc: A student of Ureshina Gakuen Class 1-A and a former commander of the Errors. Miki is a sick child, and she moved out of Tokyo during her childhood; leaving Keiji, Jiyu and Kazuma behind. She returns during Season 1 for unknown reasons, and thanks to Keiji and Jiyu's detective work, they manage to reveal her true intentions: To destroy Division X under orders by Joker. At first Miki did not want to hurt her friends, but after a misunderstanding between Ringo, Jiyu and Kazuma, Miki allows jealousy to take over her and she steels her resolve. In the end she realizes her mistakes and joins Kazuma's gang to put an end to the Error Threat.

Chapter 1 - Keiji and Jiyu I
Show

Yo. My name is Fujiwara Keiji. If you've been following the story, you should very well know that we're now in summer vacation. The time for relaxation and having fun. But, there are a couple of things we need to do, and alot of stuff that I need to introduce. Let's get started, for I have alot to say.

All the students of Ureshina Gakuen have moved to the new building, located out in the sea. The new building is connected by a bridge to Akira City, the most advanced city in Japan as of now. Interesting, ain't it?

Let's start off with Akira City. Akira City finished construction around 20 years ago, when the Digital Field covered the world and allowed a rapid advancement in technology. With the Digital Field, Akira City was built to be the first Cybermetropolis, and true enough; Akira City is the center of development and research, home to hundreds of scientists.

Now, not everyone can enter Akira City freely. There are three schools in Akira City, Ikarina Gakuen, Ureshina Gakuen, and Akira Gakuen. Only the students who attend the school are allowed to enter. Each school also has a dormitory area for the students to live in. Students that have graduated from said academies are authorized to stay in the city and look for a job.

Law enforcers and scientists are also allowed to remain in the city, so are shopkeepers and several others. However, they can only leave the city to buy resources or if there is an emergency. In short, entering and exiting Akira City is like walking in and out of a country.

Why so troublesome? It's because Akira City is the prototype testing area, or some hardcore gaming nerds like Jiyu would say a Closed Beta Test server. New technology will be tested and developed here before being finalized for a final test and released outside of Akira City. That's why, research and development is secured so that others will not reproduce it or leak it out before Akira City finishes testing it.

Says the government, at least.

For now, Ureshina Gakuen's holding a special co-curriculum activity. Students are required to report in at certain times, depending on their grade and class. These are new security measures that I'll explain another time.

Right now, I'm in the hospital, vising my comatose childhood friend and foster brother, Kamiga Jiyu. He overloaded his mental capacity two weeks ago and as a result put himself into a coma. I bought him some stuff so he can knock himself out when he wakes up.

This guy really is reckless beyond salvation... geez...

I walk into the room to see Jiyu's crush, Sakuraba Ringo watching over him. She's been doing this for quite some time now.


"Ringo, you're here today as well." I greet her.

Ringo looks up to look at me, wondering who would greet her so casually.

"Oh, Kei-kun."

Ringo smiles sympathetically as she turns back to look at Jiyu, who sleeps soundly.

"This guy's lucky. Always whining about how back in his country nobody cared for him, but he has you now." I smile at her.

Ringo nods her agreement and continues to look at him.

I walk up to chair on Jiyu's left side and place my plastic bag on it, causing Ringo to look me.

"Apples. His favorite." I grin.

Ringo smiles her thanks as my fiancee Shinomiya Satsuki walks in.

"Ringo, how are you feeling?" Satsuki smiles at Ringo.

"I'm fine, Satsuki." Ringo bows.

"It's okay if you want to take care of him, but don't overdo it. He'll feel guilty if you spend 24 hours a day on him." Satsuki lectures Ringo.

Yeah. Like me, Jiyu has quite an unfortunate past. I've become a different person, perhaps cold and uncaring. While Jiyu on the other hand, feels guilty easily. The scars of our past are far from being healed.

I walk out of the room, leaving the two girls to continue chatting.

Walking across the corridor, I look around, finding something to do. As expected, there is nothing to do in a hospital. I might as well step outside to grab a bite.

I hand the uncle five hundred yen as he hands me my special chicken burger, with extra mayonnaise and cheese. After that's done, I walk across the road back to the hospital, unwrapping my burger as I do so. It doesn't take me too long to spot my fiancee walking towards me, a look of sympathy and sadness on her face.

"What happened in there?" I asked her.

"Ringo just wants to be there when he wakes up." Satsuki replies.

I take a closer look at her, observing what lies beneath her emotional shell. Knowing her, she must be troubled over something else. It's just like her. A hard cover, a soft core.

"Is it about G?"

Satsuki is taken aback by my question, but shortly after she nods.

"I hope he wakes up soon..." Satsuki mutters.

"We all hope for the same. Just have some faith in him. If we keep on worrying for him like this, it'll be real bad. Just take a break, will ya?" I reply casually.

It's not like I'm not worried, I am. But I just know he'll wake up with a big grin on his face. Then he'll start annoying us all over again. So for now, I need to take care of things here, make sure everything is smooth. That's my duty as the leader of the Kazuma Family.

I gesture for her to follow me as I take a bite out of my burger, with her mood having improved. Both of us walk along the side of the road, heading towards the general direction of the Shibuya Mall.

Right now, I have to improve on my abilities. I've reached Level 2 a few days ago, but that won't be enough. I have this feeling that we will be facing more enemies this time. Gotta get stronger.

"Key-kun."

I turn my head to look at Satsuki, who looks at me with a concerned look.

"Are you alright? You don't seem to be yourself nowadays." Satsuki worries.

I smile at that.

"I am. Relax."

Both of us continue walking in silence as I continue munching on my burger.
I lay down on my bed, feeling the cold air of the air conditioner as it spreads throughout my room.

'Are you alright? You don't seem to be yourself nowadays.'

Those words kind of bother me...

I guess I really haven't been myself. I've been so busy training to attain level 2, but...

There is a feeling... I feel deep down.

I cannot describe it...


Perhaps I am worried about Jiyu more than I think. With his current state and all. What if... an incident similiar to that happens? Perhaps I am the one worrying the most, about what's to come and about what's going on now. I should be prepared. Tomorrow is going to be another simple day, but nevertheless I should rest up.

Maybe I will find answers even as I sleep.

Episode of Jiyu 01 - The first dream
-
Where am I...?

I open my eyes to find myself in a foggy place, nothing but black and white.

This place gives me the chills, ugh. I shiver. Let's see... I should get out of here. But how...

I run through the fog, looking around me to find a way out. I continue on like this for several moments before I finally give up.

Screw this. I'm just going to wait for something to happen.

No sooner had I thought of that, the fog clears up as a bright light shoots forth from the horizon, engulfing me. The scenery changes, and I find myself in...

Where is this place? A kitchen? No... a dining room. I think I remember... but from where?

Of course, my house in Japan.


"J, eat your food." a female voice echoes.

J... my name...?

"Johan, your rice will get cold."

Right... Kamiga Johan Jiyu... that's my name. Seated in front of me are my parents, John Freeman, better known as Kamiga Shukuto; and my mother Shurui Megumi, now Kamiga Megumi. Beside me is my three year old, half baby sister Kamiga Rin Haruka. I say she's half because she can pretty much speak and do some basic stuff, but she still cries alot.

"Jiyu, did you finish your homework?"

This is the fifth time she's asked me that today.

"Like I said, I already have." I sighed.

"You need to study hard, get into a good school." my father lectured.

Yes yes... I get it. You don't have to remind me every day.

"Get into a good college, then go study overseas. Get a good job."

I get it already, dad. Stop repeating the same old thing every day...

My father continues talking, and I am forced to listen for I have no where else to be during dinner.


"Understand?"

I slam my bowl down on the table, my anger having clouded my mind from rational judgement.

"I don't want to eat anymore." I sulked as my parents look at me, astonished. My sister looks at me with a worried look as I slowly walk out of the kitchen.

I run out of the house, ignoring the sounds of my parents calling after me.

At times like this there is but one place of refuge for me. A place where I can drown all my anger and sorrows and forget about everything else.

I run into another person's house, knocking on the door. A few moments later, the door opens and I am greeted by a woman with a kind smile on her face.


"Yu-kun, running away from home again?"

I nod as she invites me into her house.
I wake up at nine in the morning, scratching my head as I sit upright on my bed. As I glance around my room, I notice a piece of paper on my desk, orange in color. Must be Satsuki. Her favorite color is orange, after all. I summon my strength and get up out of my bed, staggering towards the table to check on the piece of paper.


あたしと莉子に病院に行く。あたしたちにわ林檎ちゃんに朝御飯連れて行きたい。

Key
I and Riko are going to the hospital. We're gonna take Ringo out for breakfast.

I see. Good for them. Let the girls hang out with each other. Ringo needs some time out anyway.

Wait...


This means I have to cook my own breakfast... and I don't have a rice cooker yet since my old one broke down...

......

I should've bought that new rice cooker when Jiyu asked me to. Hope he doesn't find out about this when he wakes up.

Sighing, I put the note down on the table back where I found it and walk out, scratching my head again.

I guess I should pay Kazuma a visit.

I grab my towel and walk down the stairs, heading for the bathroom downstairs. I might as well brush my teeth and wash my face. Having done that, I proceed to take a quick shower before heading out.

I should lock the door first.

That thought stops me from running out of my house in a desperate search for food and lock the door properly.

There we go...

I shove the house key into my pocket and run towards Kazuma's house, hoping for some good news. I run past the Kamiga household, which I notice is pretty quiet. I head down a few houses and reach the Ayama household. I knock on the door, hoping for a reply.

......


*knock knock*

"Yes! Coming!"

Ah, I recognize that voice.

The door opens, and Ayama Kazumi greets me with a look of curiosity.


"Kei-kun?"

I grin at her as her brother Ayama Kazuma walks out of the living room.

"Well, if it isn't K!" Kazuma grins at me.

"Yo Kazuma." I greet him.

"Whats up?"

"Out of food."

My reply is simple and straight to the point. I don't really care less.

"I figured as much, food leecher."

I smile at that friendly insult.

"Well, we're waiting for Satsuki and Riko to buy us some stuff later, so we didn't prepare anything to eat."

My mouth gapes open in angst and disappointment.

"How come she never said anything about food for me?" I ask Kazuma.

"Oh. She said you would find your own food, and that I shouldn't worry about you."

...

SATSUKI... HOW DARE YOU...

I sigh again, disappointed.


"Oh well. Thanks anyway, Kazu-kun."

I turn my back on them and walk out to the streets, my stomach growling at me.

Oh man... this has turned out to be quite the hassle. If only I had that rice cooker. Satsuki didn't even bother buying some eggs or other ingredients. Only thing left in the fridge is cheese. I'll die from that. Why must the morning be so troublesome... why God, why?

I continue walking down the road to my house, the sound of the crickets during this summer season so loud I can hear them as if they were on speakers. The crickets, the hot, glaring sun, and my foolish decision of wearing a black shirt on such a hot day. This is like some kind of anime setting during summer. I can feel my brains melting out.


"Kei!"

A female voice catches my attention as I mentally grumble about the heat. I turn to the right to see Kamiga Haruka waving at me from her doorstep.

"Yo, Haruka." I smile at her as I walk up to her.

"What's up?" I ask her.

"You must be hungry, am I right?" Haruka shot me a smart-ass look.

Wha- how did she figure me out? Don't tell me she has her brother's IQ? I cannot believe Jiyu's sister can look through me, a genius with IQ of 175! This is indeed a scientific revelation!

"How did you know?" I sweatdrop.

"My brother says that whenever you step out of your house, you either have to do chores for Satsuki, buy a new game, meet up with him, or you're going to someone else's house to get some food. Since Satsuki went out and you're around the neighbourhood, I can guess that you're hungry." she beamed proudly.

Oh. So she isn't smarter than her brother.

That Jiyu... he really loves to talk shit about me... even to his own sister... I'll have to poison his apples one day.


"Well, yeah. That Satsuki managed to get Kazuma to foodlock me." I grumble.

Haruka grins and gestures for me to follow her inside.

"I guess I can cook something for you, since my brother taught me some neat stuff." she announced proudly.

Jiyu did? Last I checked his specialty was just eggs, eggs, and more eggs.

"My brother's ultimate bread with egg french toast, minimum oil and perfect for breakfast!"

I can tell she just wants to try it out on me because her brother does the cooking all the time. And what the hell? Egg french toast? Jiyu needs to stop teaching his sister egg recipes.

"If it's cooking, I can do it. Just gimme a few eggs to take back home." I suggest to her.

"Nah, I insist. Since you're like my brother as well, I guess I can prepare something for you in your times of trouble."

A lame excuse, like a funny man's excuse out of a comedy duo. She really inherits her brother's attitude and personality. I can tell she's too scared to try out her own cooking and wants to use me as a guinea pig. Somebody please help me.

As she heads into the kitchen to prepare, I decide to make myself at home and walk up the stairs, heading for the second floor. I open the door to my right, a sign hanging from it saying G's Base of Operations, the Ultimate Fort of crap.

Hmm...

The room is neat and tidy, Jiyu's Toshiba laptop on a table next to the window. I notice it's still connected to the plug, and beside his table is another one where a PC resides. Beside the PC is a CPU, with a purple sticker on it.

At the back of the room is the window, with a bookshelf beside it. In front of the bookshelf is a double-decker bed, the lower one with red bedsheets and a blue pillow. The one on the top has purple bedsheets and a pink pillow.

I'm assuming Haruka sleeps on the upper bed while her brother sleeps on the lower one.

I rarely step foot into this house, since Jiyu doesn't really get visitors back where he comes from, it's become sort of a habit for him. But certainly, alot has changed since the last time I've been here.

I step out and close the door, proceeding to walk downstairs.


"Ah, there you are. I was wondering where you went." Haruka calls out to me from the kitchen as she hears my footsteps.

"Checking out your brother's room. I never knew you guys were sharing the room now." I replied to her.

"Mom and Dad will be coming back to Japan soon, I'm not sure when. So I had to hijack his room."

Hijack, huh. I wouldn't be surprised if her brother says she invaded his ultimate fort of crap.

"I'm done. Here."

Haruka puts a plate of bright gold bread on the table, the bread fried together with eggs to make it blend together.

"Ittadakimasu." I declare.

I take a single bite out of it, chewing on the bread and letting my taste buds register the flavour properly.

"It's not bad, but the taste is kinda... bland. In a way... it's different from your brother's..."

Haruka scratches her head and thinks hard, wondering what could have gone wrong with her cooking as I munch on my toast happily.

I ain't gonna complain. Even though Jiyu's is better, but I would definitely not complain in a situation like this. I'm just glad to have some decent food right now.

"Of course!" Haruka snaps into realization.

I turn to look at her with a mouthful of egg toast, munching away while wondering what she's figured out.

"I forgot to add somne Aji-no-moto..."

I stop munching my food and give it some thought.

"Jiyu uses Aji-no-moto when he prepares this?"

"He does it so that he can press out the oil and maintain some flavor."

This is monosodium glutamate we're talking about. Eating too much of this kinds of stuff will bring some bad effects.

"He uses that all the time?"

"No, only certain times when he needs to amplify the flavor. Usually one mini jar of Aji-no-moto is enough for three months minimum." Haruka informs me.

Phew. If that guy was feeding me monosodium glutamate all the time, I swear I'm gonna kill him. Maybe he wants to kill me secretly with this! I should be more careful next time, Jiyu is planning to kill me through food!

Naaah, just kidding.

I continue to eat my food as Haruka hangs her head in disappointment, mumbling. After I finish the last toast, I thank her for the food.

"It's the least I could do." Haruka smiles.

I notice that the smile vanishes quickly, replaced by a look of sadness. She is exactly like her brother. Both of them are always frowning at something.

"He'll be fine. I'm sure of it." I assure her.

Haruka nods as she walks me to the front door.

"Thanks for the meal. I'll send Riko over tonight so she can hang out with you. Is that okay?" I grin.

"A sleepover? Why not?"

Haruka's smile vanishes again, this time replaced by a teasing grin.

"You want to spend some time with Satsuki alone, right~?"

This girl... whenever I talk to her it feels like I'm talking to her brother.

"No. I just don't want Jiyu to complain to me about leaving his sister to die."

"I won't die from being alone! I'm not my brother!" She retorts.

I grin at that and turn my back on her, walking out the house.

Alright now... I need to find something to do... to get rid of this heat. Maybe rewatch some Gurarara anime for the fun of it. Sounds perfect.

I nod slowly, approving of the idea. I turn right as I reach my house and proceed to open the door. After I close it, I run into the living room, pulling all the curtains and shutting myself in the dark.


"Perfect." I beam proudly at the dark, cinematic atmosphere.

I begin to dig in my stash of anime VCDs, searching for this particular favorite series of mine. I slowly take and place one box of VCDs at a time, searching for it throughout my two stacks of 'Top Animes'.

Da-Red-Man... Innocent Crown... K... Offline Swordsmen... A Certain Comical Manga... A Certain Spinoff Anime... Queen of Games... A Genius's Test... Sasukemaru... Jiyu's One Hat VCD... .Hack//Bypass...

Somehow I don't think it's in this stack... so far all I've gotten is a bunch of stuff I and Jiyu watch when he comes over to hang out.


After some more digging around, I finally found it. My Gurarara anime VCD put in a stack of 'to be lent' VCDs. Come to think of it, Jiyu wanted to borrow all of these for summer vacation, but too bad he's knocked out now.

I guess some bad things can work out for good in certain ways. At least I can watch this and take my mind off Jiyu's matter, if only for a while.

I put the VCD into the player and hit the play button on my remote control, lying down on the sofa as I do so.

Episode of Jiyu 02 - The Second Dream
-
"Have a drink, Yu-kun." the kind woman smiles at me as she hands me a cup of hot water.

"Thank you very much." I smile.

I'm not sure if I said that correctly. My japanese private lessons have been pretty much a big mess nowadays.

Wah, this isn't plain hot water. This is green tea. I always get to drink green tea when I'm here.

"Why did you run away from home again?"

I look at her, who looks at me back with a kind and gentle smile on her face.

"Because they always repeat the same things, otherwise they keep assaulting me with questions. Then I have to shout at them to make them stop." I sulked.

The woman giggles at my reply, I'm not sure if she understands the situation I'm in or not.

"Why not try answering nicely?"

"Because whenever I do, they just keep asking more and more and more until I have to shout. It's like I have to shout to make them accept my final answer." I explain to her.

The woman giggles again, again; I am clueless as to why she's doing this.

"There there, just give it some thought for a while and you'll be fine." she smiles at me again.

"Okay." I grin.

As I slowly drink my green tea, I hear the sounds of the door opening and closing; followed by footsteps.

"Honey, we're home!"

"Mama! I'm back!"

The woman recognizes those voices and smiles yet again.

"Welcome back you two!"

"Hey mama! I see somebody's shoes here!"

I turn to the back to look at the entrance of the dining room, waiting for the owner of the voice to step out. Several moments later, a boy with brown hair and white eyes runs in, grinning at me.

"Yo, Jiyu!"

"Hello." I greet back.

"How's japanese class?" he asks me with enthusiasm.

"A real drag." I reply lazily.

A man walks into the dining hall as I continue chatting with the boy, wearing a suit.

"Hi there, Yu-kun! Running away from John again huh? I'll bet he's worried now." the man laughs.

I wish he were. All he cares about is my studies anyway. Hmph.

Come to think of it... who are these people? I can't seem to remember...

From a distant past... their names... names...

"Honey, I've prepared some curry for tonight. If John allows it, maybe Yu-kun can stay with us for dinner." the woman suggests to the man.

"Ah, splendid idea! As expected of my Harumi!"

Oh... Ayama Harumi... my foster mother because I keep running to her whenever I have a bad day. That man over there is Ayama Kazuto, sort of an uncle to me. This boy over here would be... my foster brother Ayama Kazuma.

"Hey Jiyu, wanna play shogi?" Kazuma suggests eagerly.

"You know I cannot read japanese characters, Kazuma." I shoot back at him.

A baby's cries break the peace in the room, I think I recognize that as well.

"Oh dear me, Kazumi must be awake!" Ayama Harumi exclaims as she quickly rushes out of the dining hall to head upstairs.

Oh... Kazuma's 3-year old sister Ayama Kazumi. Same age as my sister.

Huh... fog?

The surrounding area disappears and fades into darkness, a thick fog surrounding it.

What's going on now?
Chapter 1 - End

References
-
Alright now... I need to find something to do... to get rid of this heat. Maybe rewatch some Gurarara anime for the fun of it. Sounds perfect.

Da-Red-Man... Innocent Crown... K... Offline Swordsmen... A Certain Comical Manga... A Certain Spinoff Anime... Queen of Games... A Genius's Test... Sasukemaru... Jiyu's One Hat VCD... .Hack//Bypass...

Gurarara is a reference to the famous anime Durarara!! Whereas Da-Red-Man, Innocent Crown, and the others listed above are references to the following anime respectively:
D.Gray-Man, Guilty Crown, K, Sword Art Online, A Certain Magical Index, A Certain Scientific Railgun, Yu-Gi-Oh! (King of Games), Baka to Test, Naruto, One Piece and any given anime of the .Hack series.
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Saechika
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Post by Saechika » Sat Feb 16, 2013 4:22 am

Chapter 2 - Lion Joins
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Flashback!
Previously on P.H.A.S.E. Season 2, Fujiwara Keiji deals with his summer vacation as his friends are all still down in the dumps because of Jiyu's comatose state. Keiji strengthens his resolve to become stronger, for he has a bad feeling. On the other hand, a comatose Jiyu is still asleep, piecing together lost fragments of his memory from his exhausted and shattered mind. Slowly, he begins to remember what is it that has caused him to stop smiling. The scars that run deep within the Kazuma Family will be revealed slowly...

Hello. Fujiwara Keiji here. Right now, I'm in my room wasting my life away on the computer. This is because of a somewhat very random, illogical, and stupid event that happened just now while I was busy watching Gurarara.

I munch on a piece of popcorn as the show plays on. I've been going at this for a couple of hours already.

Somehow I feel like this is the best thing ever. I should suggest that Satsuki and Riko go out more often. Like this, I can watch all the anime I want, in cinematic view. Battles, comedy scenes, crying scenes, declaration of war, everything about a show will be amplified and become extra awesome under such circumstances.

If I can gather friends from school and the neighbourhood, two outcomes will come from this. A Visual Novel now forms in my mind.

One. I get them to pay for watching. The rich-guy-Kei ending.

Two. I get them to come for free and party. The awesome-generous-charismatic-goodman-Kei ending.

Both of them seem legit. Alright. Now I need to make Satsuki and Riko stick to some weekly activities. Mostly activities that keep them on schedule. At that rate, I can set a time and let people come over for some business. I can even prepare some food. I need a new rice cooker, and some new materials. With my savings, this will be a piece of cake.

Of course, I won't usually spend money on other people, I need to save up for important stuff. But if I can make business out of this, I can earn back twice the amount of money I usually get! Haha!

Oh and what's more, I can even get Jiyu to bring one of his mainstream animes like One Hat or Fairy Fail or even Shiroshitsuji, nabbing EVEN MORE customers.

Then I'll get an adapter for my laptop, connect and plug it into my TV, and play a live action on screen Visual Novel. Something epic like Stein;s Gate. Since I'm a good boy, I don't do those Visual Novels that contain sex scenes and stuff like that. But of course, one of those battle oriented Visual Novels can work out just fine.

What matters is the battle, story, character development, and the most important thing I learned from Kamiga Jiyu...

MORAL OF THE STORY!!!

If there's a good moral of the story like do not bully, watch out for suspicious people, do not smoke weed, etc; I can even contribute to society. Heck, if someone reports this to the government, I can even become a local hero in Shibuya!

And then my plans for world domination shall begin! I will take over Shibuya, then Tokyo, then Japan, then the WHOLE WORLD!

I will make this world a better place, I will teach people how to think fast, consider options fast, work things out logically, don't always whine for help from others!

A world where Jiyu would dream of living in. That poor guy, always complaining about how people should be better, always feeling sorry, always wishing that people would be better, I will change the world along with him! The Neko Brothers!

No more punks on the street, no more needless violence, no more people begging for easy jobs through flattery! All these sad, pathetic qualities that Jiyu and I hate, I will purify this world of it!

They will call me Keiji the Purifier! Wahahahahahaha!!!

Okay I should stop thinking of unnecessary crap here.


"Key-kun! I'm ba~ck!" Satsuki's voice echoes throughout the house as I hear the door opening.

Oh phew. She's back right on time. If I was still thinking about dominating the world, I would've been a real goner there. Time to suggest she does some activities.

Satsuki walks into the living room and drops her groceries in horror. I was about to open my mouth to suggest, but her reaction stops me from doing so.


"What's wrong?" I ask her with a tone of nonchalance.

"My... my... are you playing VCD now...?" she struggled to speak as Riko walked in.

I divert my attention to my sister and greet her with a silent hello. My sister takes a look at the TV, and drops her bag of groceries as well, both she and Satsuki are giving me one of those Gintama-anime expressions with ultra angst.

"What the hell's wrong with you two?" I sweatdrop.

"WE WERE RECORDING ONE OF OUR FAVORITE SHOWS! IF YOU TURN ON THE VCD PLAYER THEN THE RECORDING WILL BE TURNED OFF!" Satsuki exclaimed.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...

Wait a second.

"That's just dumb. How come turning on the VCD player screws up your recording. Are those two devices linked together?" I ask her.

"YES!"

"Why don't you just link the recorder to the TV instead of linking it to the VCD AND the TV?"

"Because the man who installed it said there was a problem that would cause it to glitch up without the VCD." Riko explains.

"Oh come on, just ask for him to fix it or get a new one."

"The guy says it can't be fixed. He says it's part of the problem. And he was too lazy to grab a new, working device." Satsuki scratches her head in frustration.

......

"THAT'S PLAIN STUPID! WHICH COMPANY IS HE FROM ANYWAY!? HOW COME SUCH A JACKASS LIKE HIM QUALIFIES FOR SUCH JOBS? YOU TWO GIRLS GOT SUCKERED TO THE MAX!" I rage.

"WELL IF YOU BOTHERED TO COME DOWN HERE AND GIVE THAT LAZY PERSON A PIECE OF YOUR MIND INSTEAD OF PLAYING VISUAL NOVELS ALL DAY, MAYBE WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SUCKERED LIKE THAT! I'M SURPRISED YOU CALL HIM A JACKASS WHEN YOU'RE ONE YOURSELF!" Satsuki retorts.
Please do not ask me for details of the rest. Let's just say I'm cooling myself down with this Visual Novel while Satsuki is busy figuring out a way to fix the recorder problem downstairs with Riko.

Now... back to my game.

Mizuki: What do you mean by I cannot know who the Dark Rider is? Tell me!

> Tell her I am the Dark Rider
> Remain Silent.

Hmm... since the hero is a person who dresses in black with a masquerade mask to combat evil... he's known as the Dark Rider. This girl is his crush, but the former Dark Rider was the person who murdered her parents...

I click on the option Remain Silent, that being the logical decision as of now.

Mizuki: Well? Yamato!? Just tell me already! Who is the Dark Rider?

> Confess
> Remain Silent

Hmmm... it would seem that she's a persistent type of character. I guess I'll have to-

"Brother!"

The sound of my sister's voice from the other side of the door causes me to stop whatever I'm doing right at that instant and pay attention to her.

"Waddya want?" I reply to her in a voice loud enough for her to hear.

"It's dinner time!"

Huh? Seriously?

I glance up to look at the clock hung high above my computer. Oh wow, it really IS time for dinner. It's already 6:30. I didn't realize I was spending so much time on this game.


"Alright I'm on my way. Give me a moment." I inform her as I hit the save button on my game.

I wonder what's for dinner tonight. I hope Satsuki's chilled out about the incident, would be real awkward if she was still angry.

Oh boy... here we go...

I open the door and walk past my sister, who follows behind me, speechless and undoubtedly feeling awkward.

Episode of Jiyu 03 - The First Torment
-
Where am I...?

"You are in a coma, Kamiga Jiyu." a dark female voice replies to my thoughts.

Huh...? Coma? How?

"You don't believe my words."

Of course not. I've heard that coma happens when your brain activity is low. And I don't dream, because dreams only happen when the brain activity is high. This woman is lying.

I think... I can feel myself lying down...

So maybe I'm asleep, but that doesn't mean I'm in a coma.


"Believe in what you want, Jiyu. But do you remember what has happened? Do you remember what caused you to become like this?"

Huh? Is she insane? Of course I do! I...

I...

What... happened exactly? What was I doing before I ended up here?

I only remember...

The house... my house... what's going on? I can't remember anything!

"Your mind has collasped, Kamiga Jiyu. Just like 10 years ago."

What do you mean my mind has collasped?

"You have a feeling that you know what's been going on, you have a feeling deep down. Your heart remembers, but your mind does not. Your memories are gone. It is through this process you will regain your memories."

Right... my memories. Sure. Let's go with this woman's game then. I'll be more than happy to see what's gonna unfold.

"But, if you do not find the strength to live on after you regain your memories, then your mind will shut down, and you will die right here."

Hmph, seems fair enough. Alright lady, let's see what you've got to offer.

"Be warned, Jiyu. Your memories are painful, you will wish you've never had them in the first place."

...

She's right. I have a feeling that I've always wanted my memories gone, but now I don't even remember why I wanted them gone.

"Will you continue on?"

Well. If I remain memory-less, I'll be nothing but a puppet. Let's see what my memories bring.

"Very well, Jiyu. You will proceed to your next memory."
Phew... I'm glad that awkward dinner is over. Satsuki didn't talk much, and at the end she even shed a couple of tears because she got suckered by the recorder guy. I had to spend like 15 minutes calming her down, and when she finally does, she gives me a slap and tells me that I should be more this and that. Sometimes, that girl's tsundere attitude really scares me.

Author: Like you're one to talk.

Right now I'm gathering a bunch of ideas of what can I do with my Psych. I can manipulate data, but if that's all then it would be real sad. I'm sure my Level 2 can let me do something bigger, but I don't know yet.

The beeping sound of my PDA interrupts my train of thoughts as I sit in my room alone.

BEEP.BEEP.BEEP.

Maybe I should change the sound. That beep is starting to get old.

I stand up and reach for the PDA on the table, stretching my lazy hands to do the job. I pick it up and scroll across the touch screen with my fingers, pressing on the MAIL icon. I open up the new E-Mail and read its contents.


メイル
送信者: 早乙女 夏美
件名: 新しいメンバ
みんなけいじの家集まる

Translation
Mail
Sender: Saotome Natsumi
Subject: New Member
Everyone gather at Keiji's house

Oh... a new member. That's nice. This might be interesting.

Huh. Wait. What.

WHAT.

MY HOUSE!? MY... HOUSE...

I WAS NEVER TOLD OF THIS!

I open the door and race down the stairs at lightning speed, my current speed enough to empower a kick to blow a door off its hinges. I race over to the living room where Satsuki and Riko are watching some Korean Drama.


"OI YOU TWO! HELP ME TIDY UP THIS PLACE!" I snap.

"What's the big deal, Key-kun?" Satsuki asks me casually.

"WE'VE GOT A NEW MEMBER, AND EVERYONE'S COMING OVER LIKE, RIGHT NOW!"

Satsuki and Riko immediately spring up from their seats and start cleaning up the house, arranging all the furniture correctly and picking up all the random clothes on the floor.

Why does Satsuki leave her clothes on the floor anyway? This is MY house... geez...


*DING DONG*

The sound of the doorbell makes my heart stop short.

Oh... damn... they're here already?

I slowly walk to the door and put my hand on the doorknob.

Well. No use regretting now.

I turn the doorknob and open the door, taking a good look at my visitors.

Standing in front of the pack is Ayama Kazuma, smiling at me with his usual smile that never fades. This guy is one heck of a cheerful guy. Behind him stands Naoki Akito, who greets me with a casual yo. Beside Akito is Sakuraba Ringo, who I notice has a more... casual? Happy? I don't know. Her aura has improved since yesterday, but she's still not smiling like her usual self.


"Yoooooo." Kazuma speaks up.

"Chiisu. Come on in." I invite my friends in.

All three of them step in behind me, taking a good look at the house.

"This place is surprisingly neat." Akito observes.

Surprisingly, huh.

"I never knew you and Satsuki lived in such a nice place. You two must be enjoying yourselves, huh?" Ringo teased.

"You wish. Don't forget my sister lives here as well." I sweatdrop as we walk past the living room.

The three of them greet Satsuki and Riko with a wave, and the two girls wave back. I notice they're breathing heavily, having tidied up everything within a matter of seconds.

As we walk up the stairs, Akito asks me a question.

"Why are we gathering here again?"

I can see why Jiyu feels like throwing this guy out of the window all the time.

"Subject of the mail says new member. Can you read?" I retort.

"Oh. My bad."

For a moment I thought he was blind to japanese characters like Jiyu. Glad he's not. Considering how they both come from the same country.

"So that new guy ain't here yet, huh?" Kazuma asks me.

"How should I know? I thought he was coming with you guys." I look back at them as we reach the top of the stairs.

All three of them shake their heads.

Well that sucks. I hope this guy shows up soon. It'll be better if we get this over quick. That way I can continue thinking of ideas.

I open the door to my room once we reach it, and a shocking sight greets me.

Inside my room, with the windows open, stands a young man roughly around my age with wild black hair and gold eyes. He looks at me with analyzing eyes, and behind his confident grin, I can sense something else. Bloodlust? No... excitement. For what...?

The young man shuts the window tight, preventing the night wind from blowing a typhoon in my room.


"Windy night today, ain't it?" The young man chuckles.

All of us can only stare at him with the usual anime expressions on our face.

"Oh don't worry about your house, yo. I don't mind if you don't clean it up."

Oh. This guy must be the new member. I can guess. Dynamic entrance he's got there. Is it his psych or his natural monkey ability? Good that he's a casual guy like me.

"But dude your house sure is a mess."

Didn't he just say he didn't mind? What the hell?

"Who are you?" Akito challenges, trying to be brave.

Kazuma and I can only facepalm at that statement.

"On a general observation, you can see he is the new member." I glare at Akito with an annoyed look.

"No. He could be the enemy." Akito retorted.

"If so, he would've made his move and blown all of us away already. He even talked about our house, and the weather. New member. House. Dynamic entrance. They link together." I explain to Akito without losing my cool.

"Watch out!"

I look behind to see the young man's fist approaching rapidly towards me, ready to punch the gut out of me.

Don't tell me, he was the enemy? Was I outsmarted by Akito, who Jiyu constantly regards as the world's most useful idiot?

I prepare a tai-chi counter stance, taught by my Karate sensei. Come on, I'll flip you over.

The man's fist stops short in front of me, with a grin on the guy's face.

...

Huh?

"Yo dude, come on! Fist bump! Ain't that what comrades usually do? This a good way to get to know each other." The young man smiles.

Oooh. So Akito didn't outsmart me after all. This guy's a cool dude though. He managed to freak me out with that.

I shape my right hand into a fist and connect his fist with mine, like how brothers or best friends would usually do.


"Yeah dude, that's swell. Let's get on with the introductions, shall we? Where can I sit?"

"One at a time, my man. You can have a seat anywhere you want. Sit on the floor there, beneath the window. Air conditioner won't reach there that much." I suggest.

The young man sits down at the spot I told him about, feeling the temperature.

"Awesome. Just nice for a summer. Cold, but not too cold. You really know your room, dude."

I smile at that.

I sit down on my chair in front of my laptop as the remaining three sit down on my bed, making themselves comfortable.

"Alright. What's your name?" I ask the young man.

"Fenrir."

Huh? That wolf-god from norse mythology?

"It's what people usually call me, due to my fighting style. I'm not really fond of it." Fenrir scratches his head.

"Right. What's your real name then?" Kazuma wonders.

"Shiki. Kojima Shiki."

"As in the four seasons?" I ask him on the meaning of his name Shiki.

"No. A lion. That's what I would prefer. You can call me Fenrir if you want though. I'm fine with it." Shiki suggests.

Didn't he just say he wasn't fond of it? This guy's attitude is just plain awesome. Unique, too.

"I know all of your names, though. I read your profiles already. Let's skip the introductions and go on with the news I bring."

Here we go again. He said he wanted to get on with the introductions, now he wants to skip it.

Moreoever, what news does he bring?

My three friends sitting on the bed start to get fired up, focusing on what Shiki has to say.


"Listen up. We've got some new enemies." he starts off with a dramatic sentence.

All four of us are shocked to hear that. Kazuma lets out a grunt, Akito a yelp, and Ringo gasps. I, on the other hand, am just surprised at the fact that my hunches have been right.

"This is going to be quite the explanation. So I hope all of you are prepared. Mentally." he looks at all of us with a serious look on his face.

This isn't going to be any Error threat... is it...

Looks like we're going to have a major problem on our hands, from the looks of it.
Episode of Jiyu 04 - The Third Dream
-
"Johan. Eat more vegetables." My father orders as he shoves a couple of wet, slimy vegetables onto my bowl.

Geez. He knows I hate vegetables. If he gives me fried ones, I'll eat. But wet and slimy ones make me throw up ALL the time.

"No, dad." I sigh as I push his chopstick away.

"What do you mean no? Just eat some." he insists.

"No..." I repeat what I had just done.

"Just eat some. They're good for your health!" he scolds.

"Dear, if he doesn't want to, then don-" my mother begins.

"I SAID, NO!" I slam my bowl down on the table again.

"If no then just say so properly. Why are you shouting like this?" my father lectures.

Look who's talking. Why do you think I'm shouting like this in the first place?

"I hate this house." I mutter.

"What?"

I run out of the house once again, running off towards the Ayama Household.
All of a sudden, I find myself hovering midair above the streets of Shibuya 10 years ago, looking down at my old self.

"Your father was a rough man, but he genuinely cared for you deep down." the woman tells me as she materializes. For the first time, I can see her form. She wears a black coat with a hood, obscuring her face.

Right... so it seemed. I wonder... if I am still like this? Not having memories can be a pain... there's nothing to recall from, even though my heart keeps telling me something.

"So. Is this my source of pain?" I ask her.

"You'd wish it were. Unfortunately, it is not. I will now leave you to continue on. You will find your source of pain if you go on."

Fair enough.
"Yu-kun, I heard you will be returning to Malaysia next year."

I didn't get a word she just said, except for my name and my home country.

"I don't understand." I replied back to her.

"Oh. Sorry. Your father told me you will be going back next year."

"Yes. I have to go and resume my studies there because he says my Japanese is poor." I sulked.

Ayama Harumi gives me a gentle smile that makes me feel a bit more relaxed.

"Well, how about I and Kazuto go buy something for you tomorrow?" she suggests.

"Really?"

I've received a couple of birthday presents for the past few years I've been here, but I never actually thought they would buy one just for another reason.

"Of course. If it would make you feel better." she winks at me.

"Yay!"

I laugh happily, and she follows suit with a giggle.

Harumi takes notice of something.

"Ara, Yu-kun, isn't that a hairpin you're wearing?"

Oh? Now that you mention it, I have a hairpin above my left eye that pushes my hair to the left.

"There's another one." She looks at the second one. This second pin is located at my hair, in between my nose and my right eye. These two pins pull my hair aside so that they don't block my vision, and as a result causes a big, sharp bang or lock of hair to frame my nose.

"Who set these up for you?"

"My mother. I told her I didn't want to use pins, but she insisted." I sulked again.

Harumi gives me another one of her giggles.

"Your mother just wants you to concentrate during class. You actually look cute like this." she smiles at me.

I smile back at her, happy to hear those words.

All of a sudden, everything fades away into thick fog, and my child form reverts back to my current, teenage form.
What was that all about?

"Wasn't it nice? To have such a loving person who understood how you felt and cared for you like her own." the woman appears beside me.

"Yeah it was. All my dad could do was nag me daily, and my mother too. Having Harumi and her family really made things easy for me whenever I was down." I reply to her.

"That may be the case. But that will also be your greatest downfall."

"Whatever you say, lady. Show me the next memory."

I don't have time for this. I need to get my memories back as soon as possible. Being lost in this place makes me feel like crap.

"You are reckless and brash, Jiyu. What happened to all that wisdom you once held? Has it disappeared along with your memories?"

They died along with my sense of sarcasm. Can we get going already?

"Proceed, then."
Chapter 2 - End
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Post by Saechika » Wed Feb 27, 2013 2:57 am

Chapter 3 - Scars
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Flashback
Previously on P.H.A.S.E. Season 2, Fujiwara Keiji receives an e-mail from his teacher, Saotome Natsumi, regarding a new team member that will be joining him in his house. The members of Division X, minus a comatose Jiyu, gather in Keiji's house to meet up with the new member. The new member introduces himself as Kojima Shiki, codenamed Fenrir, one of many fighters involved in the Error Siege War on the Old Ureshina Gakuen School Building. He begins to explain to them about the new threat they are about to face as Jiyu continues to reclaim his memories to awaken himself.

"A few days ago, the first of these new mysterious enemies was spotted in Akira City. Mysterious masses of dark or shadow energy. We call them Shades."

Shades... sounds like something out of a ghostbusting movie. Shadow energy... huh... I get the feeling that these are going to be a pain to tackle.

"They're harmed by bullets and weapons, but their shadowy bodies form holes or gaps when a weapon harms them, and their regeneration is slow. More gaps equals to harder time hitting them."

I figured as much. If I slash one five times, the body will be in bad shape. But since it's made of energy, it'll probably remain afloat. Slow regeneration means they don't recover their shape so soon, a bad hitbox.

"This can be used to our advantage. They have one major weakpoint, indicated by a small, red glow that appears once it's taken some damage. It varies depending on the Shade, and we've encountered around three for the past week. One had the vital point located at the head, so one shot took it down. It disassipated and never returned. The second one's was located at the back. So we had to get around it."

Kazuma, Akito and Ringo nod slowly, absorbing the information.

So... different weakpoints. How are these things coming about?


"How do they come into existence?" Kazuma voices my question for me.

"Good question. Shades are created when the Shade virus enters a human through data form. In short, they enter any mechanical device, and enter you through the electronic waves your body receives such as vibrations, the likes of it. The victim begins to act unlike themselves, slowly changing, until a week after being possessed, the Shade virus leaves the human body and takes on the form of the human, albeit as a shadow. The Shade then goes around wrecking havoc, or tries to possess humans."

"Huh? Shades can possess humans? How?" Akito asks.

"Simple. The Shade sends out a portion of the virus inside of it. It transfers based on how normal viruses does. Be careful. Shades will do anything to increase their numbers." Shiki warns.

Hmm...

"What about the victim?" my turn to ask.

"They are left unconscious for a certain period, and will wake up with no recollection of the whole week. That's all we know as of now."

Hmm... that's a rather solid explanation. I get the idea of how these guys work now.

"Thanks for the explanation, dude." I thank him.

Before Shiki can open his mouth, Satsuki opens the door, walking in with a tray of grape juice for all of us.

"Have a drink, all of you."

Satsuki notices Shiki, and begins to relate to how he managed to get in. Smart girl, huh.

"Hello. I'm Satsuki, Keiji's fiancee." she introduces herself.

Shiki looks at her for a moment, analyzing her from head to toe.

"Cool. I'm Kojima Shiki. You look strong." He grins at her.

"She would've made Division X if she wasn't overseas." I inform him.

Satsuki nods and walks out of the room, not wanting to interrupt our conversation any longer.

"That's good, Keiji. We will need all the helping hands in this matter, well IF possible. I'm just telling you, we never know who will become possessed by a Shade." Shiki gives me a friendly warning.

"Roger that."

After that, Kazuma and Akito begin to join in the conversation, and we begin to talk more about Shiki himself. Apparently he loves martial arts, and his hobby is sparring with his friend Zephyr. Reminds me of Jiyu, who loves sparring as well. He's always up for a sparring session.

This Shiki...
Episode of Jiyu 05 - The Greatest Pain
-
As the rain falls, I run towards the direction of the Shibuya Mall, tears leaking down my eyes; a torrent of emotions raging inside me. Grief, sadness, pain, guilt, disbelief, they all rampage inside me, taking me over as I run in the rain.

Why... why did it come to this? I...

I finally reach the Shibuya Mall, a huge crowd gathered around in a single spot. I waste no time and push my small child body through, exerting a greater amount of strength than I have ever had in my whole life. People older than me look at me with surprise as I shove their legs aside, reaching for the center of the crowd. Finally, I get into the clearing, and I can see it... two bodies... bleeding...

A police officer notices me coming, and stops me from charging in.


"Hey! Boy! You can't go in there! This is a crime scene!"

"LET ME GO!!! THAT... THAT'S MY MOTHER!!!" I yell in desperation.

The police officer, understanding a bit of English, looks at me with doubt.

"That woman is your mother?"

"She is! Let the boy in!"

I turn to look behind me, a boy with white hair and turquoise green eyes approaches, holding back his tears.

I recognize him... he's the guy who's been best friends with me and Kazuma... Fujiwara Keiji.

The police officer obliges and lets me into the scene, my tears now leaking out more and more.

I rush to the two body's sides, kneeling down beside a crying Ayama Kazuma.


"MOTHER!" I yell desperately, clutching the hands of the woman who lies there in a pool of blood.

Ayama Harumi looks at me with her bright blue eyes, smiling gently as she does so.

"Why... Yu-kun... is that you? You called me... mother... " she speaks softly.

I can only cry harder as she looks at me like that. I don't understand. Why did this have to happen? Why does she smile even though she's obviously in so much pain?

"Mom, dad! Jiyu's here!" Kazuma shakes both of them gently.

Ayama Kazuto opens his eyes and looks at me, smiling as well.

"Jiyu... how are you...?"

I cry harder and harder. How am I? Why are you still so concerned about me? You should be concerned about yourselves!

"We got you... your present..." Harumi said.

Ayama Kazuto gestures towards the police officer standing nearest to him, and the officer takes notice.

"That box... is for this boy..." he speaks up.

The officer nods his sympathy, and passes me a long box.

"I hope you will like it... since Japan is cold compared to your country..." Harumi begins to explain to me.

Stop... don't talk anymore. You're gonna die!

"We thought since you're not used to the cold... you could use this."

"Jiyu... I'm glad you called me... your mother..." she continues on.

Of course I would! You're the one person I would love to have as a mother!

"That makes Kazuma your brother... promise me you'll take care of him..."

I nod desperately as I sob in grief, the rain only adding to my sadness.

"Remember... you have your own parents as well... they will take care of you..."

I know that! It's just that... I loved you as a mother more than anyone else...

"Jiyu... you must grow up to become a strong boy... even though your father is concerned about your academics, I'm sure they will be happy as long as you grow up to become a strong young man." Kazuto speaks up.

"Kazuma too. You will have to be with Jiyu, both of you are now brothers... take care of each other... never betray each other... and protect your sisters... Haruka and Kazumi." Ayama Kazuto instructs his son.

"Kazuma... you are strong, cheerful, and kind. You will help your brother Jiyu... with that..."

Those were the last words of Ayama Kazuto, the final hope he entrusted to his son. Ayama Kazuto breathes his last, and passes away. As soon as that happens, I finally take notice of the sounds of the ambulance approaching.

WHAT'S TAKING THEM SO DAMN LONG!?

I mentally curse them, angry and hurt by the death of the man closest to being my uncle.


"Jiyu... take care... don't cry and sulk anymore... I love you... Kazuma, and Kazumi..."

I snap back into reality as I hear those words of Ayama Harumi.

No... don't... please... somebody... help...


"You are kind... forgiving... you are a very sweet child. Thank you, Kazuma and Jiyu..."

Ayama Harumi draws us both closer as she gives us a kiss on the forehead. No sooner had she done that, her energy wastes, and the hands that held both our heads drops to the ground as the lifeless body of Ayama Harumi is all that remains of her, along with her gentle smile.

Why...

WHY...

I give out a powerful yell of grief, rage, anger, guilt, regret, disbelief, and pain. The force of my scream is enough to scare the surrounding bystanders. But I don't care anymore. There's nothing for me left in this world.

[Keiji]
Half an hour passes as we continue chatting.

Shiki is a cool but sometimes rough guy, from what I can see. He will speak his mind of the matter, and will go straight to the point; even if it hurts someone. Other than that, he's friendly and decent.

"Three days from now, we will be conducting a test for the new system. All students can now utilize weaker versions of Psychs, called Sub-Psychs. This is the new technology of Akira City, and our students will be there to take the Active Combat Exam, ACE. It will measure our strengths and weaknesses." Shiki informs us.

Very interesting. Finally, a chance to show what I'm made of.

"It's about time for us to go." Kazuma informs.

"Alright."

After he says that, Shiki walks up to the window and opens it, prepared to jump out just like how he came in.

"One last thing before I leave, guys."

"A Shade will possess a human who has problems. Emotional problems. Such humans make things easier for them. Ringo. You're in danger here."

Ringo is taken aback, but she realizes what Shiki is saying. She nods, acknowledging reality.

"I'll be fine." she grins at him.

"Alright. That's the spirit. See ya, guys."

Shiki jumps out the window after he says that.

Alright... that's one new member. I remember him saying something about ANOTHER new member. I wonder if this second new member is as cool as this guy is. Many questions for me to ask. Maybe I should confront Saotome-sensei tomorrow. Though... I need to catch a train. I think I can do that.

"Yo dude, we're gonna head back." Kazuma snaps me back into reality.

"Oh right. Let me escort you downstairs then." I offer my escort to honor my friends and guests.

As we walk down the stairs, Kazuma slows down and starts talking to me in a soft tone.

"Hey... it's a shame Jiyu ain't here."

I see. Kazuma is also deeply hurt. He needs someone to talk about this matter.

"Yeah." I reply.

"I hope he'll be fine... my dad would stone me to death if he died... you know."

Ah... the promise he made to his father when Ayama Kazuto passed away. I remember...

"Well he's not around anymore. So you'll be stoned in heaven when you meet him." I joke.

Kazuma chuckles at that.

"Well yeah. I'd hate it if that happened."

Kazuma hastens his pace, leaving me behind alone as he joins the other two in front.

Looks like he's lightened up a bit. Good for him.

"Oh, leaving already? Bye guys!" Satsuki calls from the kitchen.

"Night Satsuki!" Kazuma yells back at her.

"Excuse us, please!" Ringo follows suit.

I open the door to let them out, and they all stop short after walking through it.

"Hey... do you think Jiyu will wake up soon?" Ringo asks me.

Don't ask me I ain't got a clue. I'm no physician. I'm just a chemist.

"Well. I cannot answer that." I answer her.

"Come on. Let's head back and get some sleep." Akito suggests to her.

Yeah. Go back! Shoo! I want to play my game now! Just kidding.

"Night K." Kazuma bids me farewell.

I wave at him as a reply.

Akito and Ringo wave at me before they vanish into the night on their bicycles.

Well now. That's that.

Once again, I am entertaining my thoughts as I lay on my bed. The summer heat is so freakin' awesome and epic, my air conditioner feels like a fan on warm mode. But, that's just because Jiyu locked my air conditioner remote. I have a hard time trying to change the temperature because of his meddling. Once he wakes up I'm going to have to torture him to make him undo all of the stuff he's done.

Speaking of Jiyu...

I wonder if he's still bothered by that incident 10 years ago. Ayama Harumi and Ayama Kazuto were like real parents to him back then. Because he was a rebel of sorts, Harumi and Kazuto's loving attitude towards him was all he could ever ask for. I can imagine the pain he went through back then.

I felt so powerless. I saw what happened. A rogue android, attacking them. An Error going haywire. The Error brutally slashed at them, but they managed to evade it. The police arrived soon, and managed to take down the Error. As a last ditch effort, the Error attempted a Kamikaze, resulting in a panicked driver to hit both of them.

It was all that Watanabe's fault. I can understand why Jiyu's rage for him that time caused him to overload his Psych in using his Finishing Move to prevent Watanabe from escaping.

This is all part of fate. All of these. Jiyu always says, bad things can work out for good. I agree with him on that.

Bad things, we learn from them.

What matters isn't how shitty your life is. What matters is the experience you get through such bad events. But...

I wonder if all three of us have gained anything good. I was so obsessed with power after that. Obsessed with hunting down Watanabe, obsessed with protecting others. Until I forgot how to smile.

Harumi... Kazuto... you were such wonderful people.

To think you were able to impact all three of our lives like this...

Episode of Kazuma 01 - The Past
-
Mom... dad...

I still remember that day. That day you entrusted everything to me.

Thanks to your wishes, I got the strength I needed to fight the Errors. I miss you both. I'm sure Jiyu does as well.

I'm grateful you both were in my life. I'm glad, as well.

I'm glad you both died entrusting your hopes to us, and died smiling.

All living things would have to die, either way. Now I finally understand. I'm grateful enough Jiyu isn't dead as of now. I understand the value of life, but I also understand the time when one has to depart from the world.

You were such wonderful parents... it is a shame...

A shame you both weren't there for Kazumi when she graduated from primary school, or on her first day of middle school.

Tears leak down my eyes. Heh. It's been a while since I cried.

I always wished you were there for Kazumi. Just like how you were there for me. She must've wished, deep down, that you guys were there for her as well.

But now I get it.

That's why you entrusted your hopes to me. That I would be there for her in your places. I can't do it all, but I will do what I can.

Rest easy... mom. Dad.

Episode of Jiyu 06 - The Second Torment
-
As I stand alone in the dark, foggy area, I notice my tears are still leaking down.

"They died protecting your present. You know."

The woman appears beside me, and shows me a vision. As I stand in the air, I can see it. A rogue android, attacking them.

"Do you see the box in their hands? Even under attack, they still prioritize the box over their lives."

She's right. Their only priority is keeping the box safe.
-
I open up the box, inside it is a bright red scarf, with the white words Freedom sewn on it.
-
Huh? That was...

"That is the scarf that you continue to wear even now. Not long after that, you went mad. You were so overcome by grief and sadness, you lost your sanity for a brief moment. You could stare at the scarf for days, crying as you did. You would mumble Harumi's name, sometimes yell in rage. You scared your parents."

As she continues to speak, I begin to remember. Those days of insanity, the memories flowing back into my mind.

"Eventually, you managed to recover, thanks to your sister. But as a result of all that crying and staring, your eyes turned as red as the scarf itself."

I remember. I remember it all.

"You also styled your hair exactly the way Harumi liked, even without hairpins, your hair stood the same way it did with the pins."

"Ayama Harumi's death had such a huge impact on your life. You were a changed person. You became shy, reserved. You would suck at talking with adults, or people superior to you. Your old self would only appear when you interacted with your friends."

I...

"You felt guilty easily. Your whole life became overcome with guilt. Every small matter, no matter a misspoken word or an accident, became a huge burden on you."

I don't believe you. I...

"Then see for yourself. What happened to you."
"Oi Johan. What's up, dweeb?" a boy in my class greets me with an insult.

Don't go calling me names just because I'm from Japan. I'm still half local. You don't know shit about what I've gone through, so what are you being so smart about? What's with that high and mighty attitude?

"Like, dude. Can you speak better chinese? Hearing you speak just makes me feel like throwing up."

"I know right? This guy's so lame. He even calls himself half local. Why don't you go back to Japan where you belong?" another joined in.

If I could, I would've done so already.

I stand up from my seat and prepare to leave, but these two stop me.

"What's with that attitude? Huh? Come on dweeb. Speak chinese for me. Give me a good laugh." the first one laughs.

"You're in the way. Jackass."

"Huh? What was that? Japanese?" the boy challenges me.

"I said. You're being a jackass. Now get lost." I reply in english this time, returning his glare.

"Looks like you want a piece of me, huh?"

One punch. That was all it took.

I gave the boy a single punch, stopping right in front of his face, not intending to hit him, but to scare him. The boy stared at my fist, wondering why didn't I hit him.

"Tch. I'll get you next time, dweeb." the boy retreated. His friend followed after him, shaking in fear.

I don't give a crap. If you want a fight then bring it.

'You're a kind, sweet child.'

As if. I just scared the crap out of a fellow classmate. Like that's so sweet. I'm nothing but a violent, hotheaded brat. All because I cannot control myself.
That... was my past. Back in my home country. I remember. That boy who challenged me had a bad background like me, and he was a local punk who went around challenging everyone, being a major bully. Most of my friends were scared of him.

"Because you thought you lost the one person who loved you, you began to look at the world from a cynical view. You thought people didn't understand you, because the one who loved and understood you the most was gone."

I turn to the side, glancing at the woman who materialized beside me once again.

"Yeah."

"But when you returned to Japan three years after that fight with your classmate..."

Right. I pestered my father day and night, asking to return to Japan. Harumi died when I was 6, I went back when I was 7. Finally, at the age of 9, the year 2034, before my 10th birthday, I returned with my sister.
Episode of Keiji 01 - The Mob
-
I walk with Kazuma by my side, both of us bored as hell. We approach the statue of Hachiko, and we take a seat at the fountain near it.

"Hey man. I heard about some new VRGs coming out soon." Kazuma speaks up.

VRGs? What the heck is that-

Hmm... Virtual Reality Games?


"Interesting. But I heard just one of those things cost a fortune." I sweatdrop.

"No doubt about it. But hey, if we could get at least one of those, I'd be really happy." Kazuma laughs.

Yeaaaah. No doubt about that. Too bad VRGs are expensive. But they're also enjoyable.

"Speaking of which. I bought a bunch of new cards! They're part of the Warrior Archetype." Kazuma exclaims happily as he takes out his deck from his pocket.

"Look look, Fortress Warior, attack power 2600, level 5."

Seems rare and legit. I have yet to find any cards I like from this Trading Card Game called Queen's Blade. It's based off the anime Queen of Games.

"Hey, Keiji?"

What now.

I turn to look at him, and I notice he isn't looking at me. He's looking at an alleyway. I divert my atention to said alley, looking at what he's looking at.

Two thugs are busy threatening a girl, I think she's about a year older than us. She looks like she's only 10 or 11. Geez... for real?


"Hey, let's help her."

Huh?

"We can't let those guys just get away with this."

I see. So after your parents leave you, you become a hero, huh Kazuma? Not bad. I like that idea.

"Dude, You're only nine years old. And I'm 10. What makes you think we stand a chance?" I ask him as we walk into the alley towards the thugs.

"You're Karate 4th dan! I'm sure you can beat them up!" he exclaims happily.

Right. And Kazuma only knows streetfighting. Great. Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a mess.

As we approach the thugs, they take notice of us, and look at us with a face of disgust. Oh, these guys are only middle-school students. I think they're like 13 or 14. Judging from their facial structure.

"What you want, noob?" a thug with a bandanna asks Kazuma.

"That's not gentlemanly, picking a fight with a girl." Kazuma declares boldly.

"Hey Akumano! Look at this guy! He thinks he can act heroic!" the thug in the bandanna laughs to his partner, a rough guy with wild hair.

"Screw them we ain't got time for this."

Kazuma gave the guy a kick to his knee, causing him to drop to the floor in pain.

"OW! SHIT! YOU LITTLE..."

Oh... he's a brave one, that Kazuma. I guess I'll join in.

I give the guy a quick jab to the gut, knocking him over.

"What's with these kids?" the guy panicked.

"They know some fighting techniques. We can't fight in this narrow place. Let's scram. We'll get them another time." Akumano retreats.

Hold up!

I give chase and Kazuma follows swiftly behind me, leaving a confused girl behind.

We continue to run and run, entering the street leading to my neighbourhood. Crap, where did they go?


"They can't have gone too far." Kazuma informs me.

I know that. They must be somewhere near. Like... the park.

"HAAAH? WHAT'S THAT? YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME TOO?"

I recognize that voice. It belongs to the bandanna freak. Oh dear... what a mess.

Kazuma and I run towards the direction of the voice, coming from the park.
Episode of Jiyu 07 - Change
-
I'm accompanying my sister to the local game store. And on our way back, we run into two idiots who seem to be older than me. I think they're in middle school. There's this one with a bandanna, who asks if my sister is my girlfriend.

My sister's reply is:

"You must be stupid."

I don't think this guy understands English, so he was raging at the fact that he didn't understand a word my sister just said. So the matter drags on, until I ask him to shut up, using his language. Now he's all angry and stuff.

"Hey hey boy! I'm in a bad mood right now, so APOLOGIZE! I'm yer senior!"

"I don't study in Japan."

I give him a simple reply.

"What? I don't care! You wanna end up like a bunch of kids I just trashed just now? If not, apologize!"

"So you can trash kids. What a noble knight you are." I retort.

"Come on, Haruka."

I grab my sister's hand and drag her behind me, walking past the guy in the bandanna.

The thug responds by kicking me in the back, sending me and my sister sprawling onto the ground.

"You've got some nerve, kid."

Well... I guess some people won't listen to reason. I have no hostile intent towards this strange jackass whatsoever, but if he wants things to be this way, then so be it. He struck the first blow, which means I can retaliate.

"Oh dear... you've got some bad luck." I mutter.

"Unfortunately for you, my friend. I'm in quite the bad mood as well. I've just had a verbal argument with my father over the phone, so why don't you just..."

"Get out of my way."
-
Hmm...?


Was that... after I returned to Japan?

"Oh dear me... you really beat up those two thugs. When Keiji and Kazuma found you later, they were shocked to see that you returned."

It's not like I wanted to let them see me. Not after I caused Harumi and Kazuto's death.

"Do you see what I mean by guilt? It's alright to feel guilty, but you are just too much, Jiyu."

If I hadn't agreed to getting a present, perhaps they would still be here.

"Everything is a part of fate. Why don't you just move on?"

"I will restore all of your memories now, Jiyu." the woman informs me.

What?
I wake up at nine in the morning, the sound of the crickets during summer being so annoyingly loud I can't even go on sleeping.

After I brush my teeth and bath, I grab my deck of cards and prepare to head out.

"Satsuki! I'll be heading over to Akira City today! See ya later!"

Having said that, I run out of the house and head towards Kazuma's place.

I knock on the door, but nobody replies.

Wierd... I wanted to return him the Blackcrow card he lent me the other day. Oh well. I guess I'll head to Akira first then.

Shoving the deck into my pocket, I begin to walk, heading towards the Shibuya Station.

Time to pay Saotome-sensei a visit.

Chapter 3 - End
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Post by Saechika » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:58 am

Chapter 4 - Recovery
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Flashback
Previously on P.H.A.S.E. Season 2, Kojima Shiki explains to his new team members about the new threat they are facing, mysterious black, shadowy beings called Shades. They are created when a human is possessed by the Shade Virus, and when the virus remains in the human's body for a week, the virus leaves the body, gathering enough information and strength to form a shadow body of the human. The Shades can also possess humans with the virus like how normal diseases would. Shades usually target humans with emotional problems, making it easier. Once again, Jiyu continues to dream on, recovering his memories and remembering what has caused him so much pain. Will he awaken, or will he depart?

Dear me...

The sound of the train moving echoes in my ear as I sit quietly with my sister Fujiwara Riko beside me.

I almost missed the train, because my sister appeared out of nowhere and wanted to tag along with me. And on top of that, I bumped into a high school girl. She got the wrong idea and thought I was a thief. Go figure. Glad I settled things with her.


-flashback-
"Like I said, I'm not a thief." I sigh.

"Why did you get so close to me then?"

"Isn't it plain obvious this train is shaking like hell? Haven't you heard of coincidences?" I retort.

My sister just sighs at the girl and her boyfriend standing next to her.

"Whatever man, you just thought you could try and get your hands on my girl, right? You shitty pervert!" her boyfriend steps in.

Oh God. Another idiot. I don't get what's wrong with people these days. They're either plain dumb, or just plain naive. Please, somebody. Jiyu! Where are you when I need you to recover my sanity?

"Then what do you want? I ain't got time to waste with you guys." I ask the guy.

My sister nods silently.

"Easy. We play Queen's Blade. You play?" the guy challenges me.

"Yeah sure."

It's a good thing I brought my Blackcrow Riders deck. I guess us high-school students are pretty much card game fanatics nowadays.

"Cool cool. Come on then, let's go into the dining area and have a game."

I follow the guy as he leads me into the dining area.

Trains are pretty advanced nowadays. They have a dining area for passangers to stop by and have a bite if they brought their own food, or they can purchase a quick bite. Of course, the journey from Shibuya to Akira takes about roughly 1 hour and a half, so I'm pretty much just gonna chill out.

As we enter the Dining Area, I can smell the fried noodles and some fried chicken as well.

Oh boy. This train is pretty cool. Akira Speed train, huh.

"Have a seat, yo."

The guy gestures for me to sit opposite him on the nearest table to my right, and his girlfriend stands beside him. She's pretty timid, and cute. But the guy, on the other hand, is just reckless beyond measure.

"Alright."

I sit down comfortably opposite of him and take out my deck from my pocket. I place it on the table to my right, and he does the same, mirroring me.


"You know how to play, yo?" he teases me.

If I didn't I would've just kicked you out of the train and settled this thief-pervert problem the old fashioned way. What do you think?

"I do. Let's just get this over with."

The guy grins. He hands me his deck, giving me a hand gesture.

"Let's cross-shuffle. Just in case." he grins.

This guy's got some honor, at least. I hand him my own deck for him to shuffle.

"What's your name?" I ask him.

"Daichi. Katsuragi Daichi." he grins at me.

Nice name. Suits him. A bit.

"I'm Keiji. Fujiwara Keiji."

After we're done, we place our decks back to our right hand side, and we begin the game. I'll explain the rules of Queen's Blade as we play.

Both players first draw five cards.

In my hand I have:
BlackCrow - Aero Boy (Level 3) (ATK 1500) (Effect: If this card is destroyed by battle, add one BlackCrow card to your hand)
BlackCrow - Raven the Dark (Level 6) (ATK 2500) (Effect: This card can attack twice if the enemy isn't destroyed on the first attack)
Black Return (Spell) (Effect: Revive one BlackCrow from your graveyard)
Black Draw (Spell) (Effect: Discard one BlackCrow card to draw two cards)
Barrier Surge (Trap) (Effect: Increase your monster's ATK by 500 during the damage step)


"Who's gonna go first, yo?" the guy asks me.

"I'm fine with either."

"Then I'll take the first move!"

Daichi draws one card from his deck.

At the start of your turn, like almost any Trading Card Game, you draw one card from your deck. Each deck can have a minimum of thirty cards, a maximum of fifty.


"I'll place two cards set down on my soldier zone!"

Soldier Zone is where you place your soldiers, or figure cards down. There are three of them. Vertically facing up means it's in attack mode. Horizontally facing up means it's in defense. You can't just put it straight in defense. You have to set it down first. In this case, horizontally facing down.

Daichi sets two soldier cards in the left and right zone, leaving the middle soldier zone empty.

"Then I'll set one sub card in my subzone!"

Sub cards. They're your spells or trap cards. Set them behind your soldier zone to provide them with different effects, or use them individually on their own like how Daichi is doing.

"Turn's over. Your turn, Fujiwara."

Right. First off, I'll draw one card from my deck.

BlackCrow - Northern Wind (Level 8) (ATK 2800) (Effect: This card gains 300 ATK when attacking a soldier, but loses 800 when attacking directly)

Attacking directly means attacking a zone where there is no soldier. Soliders can only attack with the one opposite of them, and therefore my left solider cannot attack his right or middle soldier. But, if there is nothing covering his left zone (sub cards don't count as soldiers), then my attack goes straight to his life points. Unless if he has a sub card to prevent that.

Each player has only 4000 life points.


"I place BlackCrow - Aero Boy as my Deck Master." I declare as I place the soldier down in the middle zone.

The middle soldier zone is called the Deck Master. It cannot be destroyed by battle unlike the left and right soldiers, but if the Deck Master takes three hits, it's sent to the graveyard, and I have to place a new one. Deck Masters also cannot be changed. So placing the correct Deck Master is important.

"Brother." Riko whispers to me.

"What?"

"Why didn't you place Raven the Dark? It's a level 6 soldier!"

"I can only place level 1 to four soldiers on the field. If I want to place level 5 or 6, I have to level up by placing it and removing lower level soldiers to the graveyard. Same applies for level 7 and 8. I can only level up to 7 and 8 using level 5 or 6 soldiers. Get it?"

Riko nods her understanding.

Furthermore. I cannot level up a soldier I just placed on this turn, and I can only level up one soldier once a turn. This means if I level Aero Boy the next turn, I cannot level him again until the next turn.

This is going to be quite the hassle. I only have one level 4 soldier, which means I cannot place anyone else on my left and right zone. But of course... with some careful improvising...

Spells can be activated right away, or you can choose to use them afterwards.


"I set two subcards down." I inform Daichi.

I set down my Black Return card on my right subzone, and Barrier Surge behind my Aero Boy.

"Now from my hand, I activate the spell, Black Draw!"

Daichi is taken aback by my card.

I place the card face-up vertically on my left subzone.

"Black Draw allows me to draw two cards by sending one BlackCrow soldier in my hand to my graveyard."

I place my BlackCrow - Northern Wind in front of my deck, the graveyard area. I then proceed to draw two cards.

"Wha- Brother! Why did you send him?" Riko wonders.

"I'll show you why next turn." I grin at her.

Black Scarecrow (Level 3) (ATK 1000) (Effect: When the enemy declares a direct attack, you can summon this card to intercept the attack.)
BlackCrow - Rider (Level 8) (ATK 2500) (Effect: You can send one BlackCrow card from your hand to your graveyard to have this card gain that card's ATK)

Good draws.

"Battle Phase."

"Aero Boy attacks you directly."

Daichi flips up his subcard to counter my attack.

"Drain Five. Your Aero Boy loses 500 ATK." he grins at me.

Nevertheless, that's 800 damage done to Daichi. Now he has 3200 life points left.

"End my turn." I declare as I shove my Black Draw card to the graveyard.

"Alright, now's my chance! I draw!"

Daichi draws one card from his deck.

"Now I place Chickenman as my Deck Master!"

I burst out laughing the moment I heard that.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.

"CHICKENMAN!? YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME, DUDE!"

"What! Chickenman is part of the Comedy Archetype! Don't be makin' fun of it!"

I've heard of the power of the Comedy Archetype, but the name is plain hilarious.

"Right... right..." I struggle to catch my breath.

Comedy Hero - Chickenman (Level 4) (ATK 1700) (Effect: This card cannot be destroyed by battle if there are other Comedy Heroes present on the field)

Part of the Hero Archetype, in the category of Comedy Heroes, huh. Jiyu used to play a Hero deck, but we'll leave that for another time.

His ability isn't anything to be afraid of, considering the fact that he's a Deck Master. He can't be destroyed anyway. It's the attack that's a nuisance. Quite high, paired with such a troublesome ability.

Considering the fact that he placed a card with that ability as the Deck Master, he must be desperate.


"Now I flip over my two soldiers! Ratman and Nekoman!"

Oh no... here it comes...

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

MORE HILARIOUS NAMES! SOMEONE, SAVE ME!

"Ahem." I clear my throat.

"Let us continue." I suggest.

"Right..." Daichi sweatdrops.

Comedy Hero - Ratman (Level 3) (ATK 1300) (Effect: When paired with Nekoman, this card gains 500 ATK when attacking)
Comedy Hero - Nekoman (Level 3) (ATK 1400) (Effect: When paired with Ratman, increases ATK by 500 when attacked)

Both are potentially dangerous. 1800 and 1900 respectively, thanks to their effects.

"Ratman attacks your free left zone! Direct Attack!"

I rather not use Scarecrow just yet. I should save this in case for an emergency.

That's 1800 damage for me. Now I'm left with 2200 life points.

"Now, Chickenman attacks your Aero Boy!"

"At this moment I activate my trap, Barrier Surge." I smirk as I flip over my trap card.

"Wha-"

"Barrier Surge increases the Soldier's attack power by 500 during the damage step."

Now my Aero Boy has 2000 ATK. Since my ATK is higher, he'll take the damage to his life, and his Deck Master hit count will be one.

"Aw man..."

Now Daichi has 2900 life points left.

"But still, I have one soldier left! Nekoman attacks your free right zone!"

"Once again, I activate my subzone card. Activate spell, Black Return."

Daichi is shocked to see a second counter to his attack.

"Black Return allows me to revive one BlackCrow soldier from my graveyard to my field. Now I revive the BlackCrow - Northern Wind that I discarded due to Black Draw's effect earlier." I explain to him as I place Northern Wind in front of my Black Return.

"Will you continue to attack?" I taunt Daichi.

"Nawh. Turn's over."

He didn't place any cards in the subzone. This means the remaining cards in his hands are level five and above.

Right. My turn. Draw one card...

Blackup (Spell) (Effect: Advance Place one level 4 or lower BlackCrow soldier from your deck to your field. Must have a free soldier zone)

Just what I need.

"From my hand, I activate the spell, Blackup."

I place it on my left subzone. Once you activate a spell or trap, it stays there on that zone until the end of the turn, at that time you discard it to the graveyard. This means if I have three free zones, I can only activate three spells this turn. I can only clear up the zone at the end of the turn. So careful decision making is vital.

I search my deck for that one specific BlackCrow.

Found it.

"I advance place BlackCrow - Blader in my left soldier zone."

BlackCrow - Blader (Level 4) (ATK 1800) (Effect: This card can attack your opponent directly by discarding one BlackCrow soldier from your hand)

"And then, I level up my Deck Master. I send BlackCrow - Aero Boy to the graveyard and Level Place BlackCrow - Raven the Dark!"

Daichi begins to sweat madly as he gets a general idea of what I'm about to do.

First move!

"Blader attacks your Ratman. Ratman's effect does not activate because it is being attacked."

Daichi grunts as he places his Ratman into the graveyard zone.

That's 2400 life points left.

"Now, I attack your Nekoman with my Northern Wind!"

"Nekoman gains 500 ATK when it is being attacked." Daichi carefully observes me.

"Correct. That would be 2800 versus 1900. You take 900 damage."

Daichi places his Nekoman into the graveyard zone.

"Then, Raven the Dark attacks your Chickenman Deck Master! 800 damage!"

Daichi grunts as his life points reach 700.

"It's not over yet. Raven the Dark's effect activates."

Daichi bangs his head on the table.

"When the enemy isn't destroyed by the first attack, Raven the Dark can attack one more time. The perfect Deck Master." I grin.

"You take another 800 damage. I win."

Daichi sighs and packs up his cards as I do the same.

"Sorry about it, yo. You're a good Praetor, Fujiwara." he offers me his hand.

Like most of those Anime card games, Queen's Blade players are given names. We're called Praetors, due to the fact that we command soldiers and such. Daichi had a good deck, but I feel that he wasn't able to use the full power of it.

"Your deck's got potential as well, Daichi." I shake his hand.

Our train stops abruptly, scaring the four of us.

"We have arrived at the first stop. Repeat, we have arrived at the first stop." the announcement echoes throughout the train.

"Well. It was nice meeting ya, Thief Pervert." Daichi smirks at me as he walks away with his girlfriend tagging along behind him.

Right...

You're reckless, but you've got some attitude. Nice meeting you too, Daichi.


"In just one week, you meet two new people. That's a new record, brother." Riko looks at me.

"Well hey, it's part of my charisma, you know?" I laugh.

"I can see what Jiyu means by you're full of crap now." She walks towards the passenger cars.

I know right? That Jiyu really understands me-

Wait what. That's just wrong.


"Hey Riko! Wait up!"
Episode of Jiyu 08 - Drive
-
I remember everything now. The battle, the war... the Errors...

"Why am I still asleep?" I speak to the air.

The woman materializes beside me to reply.

"Because you have yet to defeat your own weakness. Currently, your drive to live on is zero. If you walk out of here now, you will only continue to despair, despair, and despair until you eventually lose all hope of living."

Right... then how come I was still living before this coma stuff happened? Is she mocking me?

"Your drive was to avenge Harumi and Kazuto, which you managed to do so by preventing Wanatabe from escaping. Now, you have no drive at all."

So... I just have to find a stronger drive. Hmmm... a stronger will to live.

I can maybe continue on to live for Ringo's sake. She's a good girl... and I don't want her to be sad...

"Your own heart should know. Your current relationship with her may fall apart at any given time."

True... maybe I can continue to live to protect the guys then?

"Your own heart knows as well. You cannot go on like this."

...

Then what should I do...? Stop playing riddles with me. Speak real japanese for once.

"Your weakness is yourself."

Oh. That's the greatest punchline I've ever heard for my comedy act. Look at this, this woman's got potential to be a good comedy act partner.

"The guilt you've amassed over the many years, the guilt of hurting people with your own temper. The pain you suffer when you look down at yourself. They are all caused by Harumi and Kazuto's death. Your immense guilt caused by the guilt that you THINK you led them to their deaths. Your immense pain caused by when you look down on yourself for not being able to save them. If you cannot overcome these, you will not wake up. Your mind will immediately cease to function, and you will die."

......

It's easy for you to say, overcome. I can easily forget about all that, but my heart won't let me. This fear of forgetting, fear of arrogance. If I forget and let go, I will repeat the same mistake, and I won't feel sorry about it.

The woman giggles.


In a familiar way.

Have we met before...?

[Keiji]
I walk out of the train, sighing my annoyance as my sister walks beside me. She says nothing, but I can tell she, too, is tired from the incident earlier.

"Let's go meet up with Saotome-sensei. Where's the school at again..." I mutter as we walk out of the station into Akira City.

Tons of cars whizz past as we stand at the sidewalk, having emerged from the subway. Thanks to technology here, air pollution has been reduced to a minimum. I can see tons of shopkeepers standing outside their stalls, and many students walking around chatting. Students can choose to either return home or stay at Akira City. Good for them.

I also spot a bunch of local punks hanging around. Woo... I can see those guys are up to no good. The way they're dressed, their sinister smiles...

My eyes narrow.

You cannot escape the eyes of Fujiwara Keiji, with an IQ of 175. Hahahaha.

"Brother, the school is located at the island across the sea. We have to cross the Akira Bridge." My sister reminds me.

Right. The 200M long Akira Bridge. A five minute walk across to our school from the city. Neat.

But first things first.

"Let's head to the security gate."

My sister nods and follows behind me as I walk to our left, heading towards a relatively big guardhouse with the words SECURITY GATE floating above it. A digital signboard. These kinds of things are abundant in Tokyo, but not THIS common. Akira City's full of them. Head to toe.

After we reach the Security Gate, I peek into the hole in the glass to look for signs of life.

"Ah, a student? What do you want?"

I glance to the left to see a beautiful, elegant, female police officer. Wow. You've gotta be kidding me.

"I'm here to retrieve my Akira-Pass."

Akira-Pass is a data pass that can be installed and uninstalled from your PDA easily. It contains digital money charged from your savings account in Akira Bank, and also contains your Citizenship ID. Without an Akira-Pass, you will be considered as trespassing.

"Name, age, school?" she asks me casually as she moves her hands to the keyboard linked to a computer in front of her.

"Fujiwara Keiji. 17. Ureshina Gakuen."

She takes a few seconds to type in the info I gave her, searching the database for my information.

"Ah, a member of Division X. Interesting." she smiles at me as she holds her hand out.

I hand her my PDA, not sure of what to reply to that. She takes it and transfers the data from the computer to a nearby hologram using a blue data-stylus, made to solidify and move data around. She proceeds to slide the hologram into my PDA, successfully loading the data into it.

"There you go." she hands me my PDA back.

"Your turn, Riko." I inform my sister as I step back for her to get her Akira-Pass.

As the officer proceeds to repeat the procedure, I take the opportunity to glance around, admiring the technology of this place. Digital signboards everywhere, humans moving data around in the form of holograms, students chatting happily, creativity of the shop layouts and placements, and so much more. This place is the best planned city I've ever seen so far. They take the consumer's general viewpoint into consideration above everything else, truly magnificent.

"Brother, I'm ready."

The voice of my sister snaps me back into reality.

"Alright, let's go." I grin.
[Kazuma]
-
Ah man... picking flowers... this isn't my kind of thing. Heck, are these flowers real? It's hard to tell. They look so real, but this one over here is fake. That one over there... I don't know.

It's a handful, needing to do all of this. But my sister insists. We have to buy some flowers because tomorrow's July 28th. The day of our parent's deaths.

My sister suggests that we pick some nice flowers now, rather than wait until that very day. I agree with her on that. Might be good ones that are bought up if we choose to buy on that day. But I'm no master of flower picking, so I'm just judging by appearances.

"Brother, what did we get for them last year?" my sister asks me.

"Oh. I think it was... Iris. Blue in color." I remember the blue flowers we bought last year that stood out.

"Faith and hope... maybe we should buy some flowers that represent something like life this year." she smiles at me.

Hmm... that's a good suggestion. Maybe we should ask the store manager. I'm sure she would know.
Episode of Jiyu 09 -
-
The woman removes her hood, revealing a face dear to my heart, one that I have missed for a very long time.

Ayama Harumi smiles at me, looking as happy as always.


"Mom..." I begin.

"Are you still calling me that, Yu-kun? You never grow up, do you?"

Wha, I've grown alot since that day. ALOT.

"Inside, you're still the same. Kind, loving and brave."

I'm not sure if I even fit that description. I'm just a hotheaded teenager struggling to control his own temper.

"You were kind enough not to hurt the boy when he challenged you. You were also brave enough to stand up to him, since he was a bully. You were brave enough to fight those thugs when you were nine as well."

As if. I think I was more of a gangster who scared them until they peed themselves.

"You chose to let the thugs hit you first, before you beat them up. You chose to warn the boy before you scared him. All of your actions are not immediate, you warn them first. Indeed, some people think that is wrong, but you're already trying your best. No need to be afraid, you just have to keep trying until you succeed."

Always having a way with your words... I feel better... somewhat.

"Yu-kun, you're a kind boy. Never forget that. While at times you let your emotions control you, it can also be your strength. You're emotional. You cry when you're hurt, you cry when you feel sadness. You get angry when you see your loved ones being hurt. You get angry if you are annoyed. While some of them are bad, they still prove that you're humane. Deep down."

"Do not forget, your greatest emotion is your love for those around you. That is your strength."

But still...

A tear falls down my left eye, and soon my right. Not long after, my whole face is wet, tears overflowing from my eyes as I cannot control my emotions any longer.


"I'm sorry... mom... for this scarf... you..." I sobbed.

Harumi smiles at that. She moves in and embraces me, once again providing me a place to drown all my sorrows and regrets.

"Now now, we chose to protect that scarf for your sake. Don't be sorry for us, instead, you should be grateful. Treasure your life, Yu-kun. You may wake up being the same person, but deep down, with a new drive, you will be changed."

Those words were all I needed to hear.

"Doctor! Doctor! He's crying!"

Ringo? Is that... Ringo's voice?

"Look. You have a sweet girl waiting for you. Don't keep your girlfriend waiting."

"Huh? She's not my girlfriend." I give my foster mother a poker-face.

"Silly. I was teasing you."

"Your eyes are so red... and your hair parts perfectly without obscuring your vision. And you're so tall. You've grown strong. But there remains one doubt in your heart."

I'm not strong. All my life I've just been a naive kid whining about how my life sucked. I've spent my whole life crying and regretting. I'm not strong, mom.

"You are. While you have had despair grip your heart, you have also managed to fight to protect your friends and the city, fight against life. If you were weak, you would've comitted suicide already. Believe in yourself, Yu-kun."

Now...

I know.

My foster mother's words are my driving strength. No longer will I regret about my past. I can only move on now. If someone who has a grudge against me appears, then I'll just beat that grudge out of him.

I have alot of fears, but with a little bit of faith, they won't be anything.

Harumi fades from view, so does the world around me as it crumbles into nothingness.

"I'm so proud of you, Yu-kun. Take care of Kazuma and Kazumi for me." she smiles as a tear falls down her eye.

Wait! Mom!

I-
[Keiji]
I stand before my teacher, Saotome Natsumi as she enters some data into her laptop.

"Sensei. What's this about the new grade system and the new members? Are the Shades really THAT strong?"

"As negative humans, of course they are. While the Errors had physical strength to make them a threat, the Shades are the pure embodiment of your negative emotions. In short, they use the power of the dead heart. A human heart can be stronger than anything at times. The Shades just add to this theory." she calmly explains while typing.

Oh boy. This is going to be a pain.

"Any news on where it started?" I ask her.

"Nope. Not as of now. But we'll inform your team in case anything goes wrong. With two new members, you will be more than equipped to handle this matter."

"Why two members, anyway? It's not like we need anymore than we already have."

"Don't be silly. Jiyu is still in a coma. With him gone, 40% of your strength is gone. You and him both represent 80% with your experiences of combat and your high IQ. Think about it."

Oh boy... Jiyu better wake up soon. If he doesn't, we're in deep trouble.

My sister sighs upon hearing that. I guess she must be worried about the outcome of this matter as well.

"Anyway, Fujiwara. The grading will be sort of a real test, so you have to be serious about this one."

Right. I'm always ready for exams.

"Oh an-"

"!@*&i!^@%!&^@%!&^@%!&@%$#$%^&*()(*!&^@%$#!$@%^!&@"

The sound of my ringtone interrupts her speech.

I reach my hand into my pocket and pull out my black smartphone, pressing on the ANSWER button on the touchscreen after checking the number and contact.

"Ossu, Kazuma. What's up yo? I wanted to head to your house earlier bu-"

"Listen, dude! It's Jiyu! He's up!"

Huh? For real?

"You kidding me?" I ask him.

"No! Ringo just called me. He's up!"

Immediately I hang up and shove the phone into my pocket. I shoot my teacher a look of confidence.

"Sensei. Looks like we'll be more than prepared for this."

My teacher looks at me with curiosity.

"Jiyu's opened his eyes."
Chapter 4 - End

Chapter 5 - Shady Fight
Show

Flashback!
Previously on P.H.AS.E. Season 2, Fujiwara Keiji rides on the train to Akira City to meet with his teacher when he bumps into a boy named Daichi Katsuragi. Both of them play a game of Queen's Blade to clear up a misunderstanding, and Keiji later discusses with his teacher about the Shades. Jiyu, on the other hand, regains his memories and meets up with Ayama Harumi, who helps provide him a new drive to live on, allowing Jiyu to overcome his immense sadness with the fortitude she provided. Jiyu now awakens, and their daily life continues.

It's me, Fujiwara Keiji. Right now I'm at the hospital, visiting my fellow friend Kamiga Jiyu, who's recovered from his coma. I've heard about what he'd been through, and I'm glad this guy finally got the strength to smile once again.

He's cracking tons of jokes, making all of us laugh. All the members of the Kazuma Family are here.

"Dude I tell you, when I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw, literally, was Ringo screaming like mad. It literally scared me. LITERALLY."

I laugh hard at that as Ringo gives him a quick jab to his gut.

"TREAT THE PATIENT WITH MORE DELICACY WILL YOU..." he grumbles.

I cannot help but laugh at my friend's comical misery. Indeed, having this guy back really improves the mood. The whole team is just not complete without one member. I'm sure the other guys know this as well.

"Oh yeah, Kei. Who's the new guy?"

Huh? What?

"What new guy?" I ask him.

"The guy who's been sitting at the window for quite some time like an idiot." Jiyu points to the window.

All of us turn to look at the window and are shocked to see a person sitting there. In fact, the unrealness of this situation is enough for all of us to stare at him with an anime expression.

"Yoooo. Glad to hear you're awake."

It's... it's... KOJIMA SHIKI!

Jiyu eyes the guy with suspicion, observing Shiki from head to toe.

"Who are you?" Jiyu asks Shiki.

"My name's Kojima Shiki. I'm Division X's new team member."

"Don't look like one." Jiyu gets out of bed and prepares a blazing fireball in his palm, as his PDA is not around, he cannot summon his twin blades.

......

I KNEW Shiki's spontaneous way of doing things would be the perfect counter to Jiyu's logical approach of things, despite Jiyu's stupid jokes.

In fact, Jiyu's not a very trusting person, unless if he knows them from the heart. That's why he rarely makes friends, and is rather shy around those he doesn't know.


"Saotome-sensei was right about you..." Shiki sweatdrops as he mutters.

"Let's see how much of a new member you are then." Jiyu tosses a fireball at Shiki.

Shiki grins and exerts a wave of power, causing the fireball to stop in it's tracks and disassipate.

Jiyu takes a brief moment to register what has happened before taking a careful approach. Placing his hands on the ground, Jiyu heats the ground up, causing the ground beneath Shiki to glow red-hot.


"Now for the finale, Volcano R-"

Jiyu is stopped in his tracks by a wrestling move pulled off by Ringo. Jiyu pants for air as Ringo drags him into a headlock, but Ringo doesn't budge.

What the hell are these two doing...?

After Jiyu stops struggling, Ringo hurls him up onto the bed and covers him with his blanket. She proceeds to sit down in her seat as all of us stare at her.

She's got superhuman strength to be able to lift Jiyu. I mean that guy's tall. He's like 175cm, 2 cm taller than me. And his bones are tougher than a regular human's. It's part of his family line. Strong and somewhat big bones.


"Oi Shiki, I told you to enter properly if you were going to visit. He's watched so many detective shows as a kid he's grown paranoid." Kazuma scolds Shiki.

Shiki glares at Kazuma for a while, his eyes wide open. I cannot make out what he's feeling, but this staring competition is making me kind of tense.

"Oh yeah. I remember now. I forgot." Shiki brightens up.

THIS GUY IS COMPLETELY HOPELESS!!!

I cannot help but laugh out loud again. After all, this guy's attitude is so similiar to Jiyu. Both of these guys know how to crack a joke and break a tense moment.

Jiyu wakes up immediately and throws a fireball at Shiki, causing Shiki to raise his arms in a last-resort defense. But Jiyu's fireball stops midair and bursts into multiple, smaller fireballs; reshaping themselves to form the words N T M Y.


"Haah? What's this?" Shiki looks at the fiery english letters with curiosity.

"Nice to meet you. It's in english." I explain to him.

Shiki takes a few moments to admire the letters, somewhat amazed at Jiyu's ability to create such precise wordings with his control over his flames.

"Duuude. This is cool." He grins at Jiyu.

Jiyu can only chuckle at that. He's too shy, so he doesn't know what kind of reply to give.

"He's got a thing with these Psychs and stuff. As expected of a Level 2." Kazuma praises our friend.

"What's that?" Jiyu shoots me a clueless look.

I sigh.

Well. One thing that sucks about being in a coma. He's had a whole one and a half week of blank. I better explain things to him.

I begin to tell him about the Level 2, how mastery over his powers along with strong emotions will grant him the increase in level.

Akito and Kazuma join in as well, helping me cover up the parts that I left out. Honestly, these guys don't have anything better to do sometimes. Not that I mind. It's helpful, in a way.

Ringo, on the other hand, is playing a game on her PCC (Player Customizable Console), attracting the attention of Kazumi and Haruka. Satsuki and Riko watch on, as they have nothing better to do.

Miki, on the other hand, listens attentively to our explanation about Level 2.


"So you're saying that the move I used was a Finishing Move? A Level 2 technique?"

This guy's so lucky.

"Yeah."

"Cool! I'm gonna use it again once I'm out of the hospital!"

"DO YOU WANT TO FALL INTO A COMA AGAIN!?" I snap back at him.

"Take it easy, yo. I'm just fooling around. Hahahaha." He laughs like an idiot.

My reply is a smack with a paper fan that I brought along with me for these kinds of situations.

After that, I and Shiki begin to explain things to him, about the Shades, and the many troubles we may face in the near future. We also tell him about Akira City, the new school building, and everything else.

"I just noticed..." Jiyu ponders.

What now?

"I MISSED MORE THAN A WEEK OF SUMMER VACATION!!!" Jiyu yells at me.

......

HE'S RIGHT!

Jiyu's head hangs in disappointment.

"It's not gonna be good if you're so emo, G." I lecture him.

"I don't want to hear that coming from you." he grins at me.

I take a glance at my watch, and am surprised to see the time, 4:30pm. We've been chatting away for quite some time.

"Satsuki, Riko. We should head home and prepare some dinner. I have to clean up some stuff as well." I inform them.

Cooking dinner up will take about an hour or so, if I'm going to prepare multiple dishes. I have to cook up the rice, prepare the side dishes, if eggs it will be easy. But if there's going to be some fish or chicken, I either have to steam or fry them. That's going to take about several minutes. After that vegetables, and some heating up of the colder ingredients. Otherwise I can't fry frozen stuff. That's asking for trouble.

Then I have to tidy up my room, it's getting hard to walk. I also have to make some plans to combat the Shades, or think about that matter. Unless...

"G, can you give this Shades thing some thought? I'll come back to you tomorrow morning and we can brainstorm some stuff." I look at him.

"Look which lazy bum's talking. Sure why not. I've got nothing better to do anyway." he smiles confidently.

With that, I bid farewell to my brother as I leave him to rest. I walk out of the hospital room, followed by my fiancee and sister. Not long after, as we walk out of the hospital into the main streets, I notice something odd.

Something very odd.
[Kazuma]
-
I stare at Jiyu as he bites on an apple directly, munching away like how he does as usual. I'm surprised the first thing he eats after waking up from a coma is an apple. I underestimated this guy's addiction. Hmm!

"Hey G. What do you think of Shiki?"

Jiyu, frowning as usual, looks at me with an unamused look, searching his brain for a reply. By now I'm sure this isn't a look of annoyance, rather, a usual 'anime expression' he loves to use.

"He's strong. That's for sure. He's going to be a great addition to our team." Jiyu replies to me before taking another bite out of his apple.

Indeed, the showcase of power was something impressive.

"I can't make out what's his Psych. I mean, he stopped my fireball with a stomp. That power that cancelled out my fireball wasn't ordinary, but the floors weren't damaged as well. It's not related to psychokinesis or anything of that sort. But the way he stomped to create that wall was just wierd." Jiyu turns and frowns at the floor where Shiki launched his counterattack.

He's right. The force Shiki generated for the barrier was supernatural, in fact, he cancelled out Jiyu's fireball with an EQUAL opposing frictional force. And what's more, the floor is intact. What kind of Psych does he use... I wonder.

On top of that, Shiki doesn't seem too overconfident. Confident as he is to not move from his spot when the fireball approached him, he doesn't brag about his own abilities. I wonder where that confidence comes from.

Ringo, Kazumi and Miki walk in, having gone out to buy an apple juice canned drink for Jiyu. Ringo walks up to him and hands him his drink.

"Thanks a bunch, Ringo." Jiyu thanks her with a big grin on his face.

"You're welcome." she smiles back at him.

"Must feel good, huh? Having a girl who goes all the way to buy a drink for you?" I tease him.

"Huh? It feels good if a person buys a drink for you, no matter the gender, right?" he looks at me.

Nevermind. I guess he's as blunt as usual.

Before I can open my mouth to speak, the sound of a small explosion can be heard, coming from the outside. A battle?

Jiyu steps out of his bed and heads for the window immediately, but is stopped in his tracks by Ringo.


"G. What do you think you're doing?" she asks him sternly.

"I wanna see who's out there brawling." he grins.

Before they can even continue, I am already halfway to the door, wanting to escape the incoming argument. Miki and Kazumi follow me, and we soon ditch both of them and run out towards the direction of the elevator, heading towards the entrance of the hospital. Akito joins us soon, running behind us.

Whatever that was, it wasn't good. That person fighting down there... it's gotta be Keiji. Nobody else.
[Keiji]
Tch, of all places, we had to run into a Shade HERE. I've got some information on the enemy, but if I cannot survive this battle, this info is going to waste.

I glance to my right, making sure Satsuki is guarding Riko in case the enemy aims at her.

Good, she's fine. Now's the time to test my Level 2. Level 1 for my Psych was the ability of Data Manipulation, but now I have Level 2, Data Application. I can win this.

The Shade slithers towards me like a snake, with blinding speed; to top it off. Unable to dodge in time, I can only sidestep to dodge an incoming shadowy hand that stretches towards me. The hand grazes me, but the force of the Shade's attack is enough to send me staggering backwards.

Tch... strong, fast, dark. I have to find the weakpoint first. That's the basic rules of thumb.

Reaching for my gun in my left holster, I soon realize that my gun is already gone.


"Shit. My Gunblade... I left it at home!"

The Shade wastes no time, and attacks me with a head-on slam. Fortunately, I am able to dodge in time, but the force of the punch is enough to cause a small explosion that shatters the concrete floor.

......

What do these guys actually have in common with a human apart from appearances? These guys are plain monsters, not just dark humans.

I jump back a few feet and place my hand on the ground, channeling the power of my Psych into it.

"I'll just see how you can fight when you fight in my area."

I give the ground a push, using my Psych's Level 2 power of Data Application to turn the entire concrete ground into data. But before I can proceed to my next move, the Shade manages to stretch it's legs, aiming at me again.

I cannot protect myself from this one. I have to dodge.

Dodging, I start to realize why these guys are such a pain to handle.

I need to cut off their mobility or match their speed. Any move I make, this guy's not even giving me time to breath.

"K!"

I turn to the back, surprised to see Kazuma and Akito approaching me from behind.

"Oi! Kinda slow, you know!?" I joke.

Kazuma and Akito take up their stance beside me, ready for a fight. But before I can do anything, I notice a flicker of light above.

My eyes dart up to the higher floors of the hospital as I spot a pillar of fire crashing down from outside the window to the entrance.

Out of the fire emerges Jiyu, wearing his patient outfit.


"Dude. What are you doing here?" Kazuma sweatdrops.

"I'm bored. Oh and Kei, watch out."

Before I can reply to him, the Shade attacks me from behind, thrusting at me with a black arm. I raise my katana to block the blow as Kazuma and Akito fire a laser and bullet at it respectively.

The Shade takes the blow without even moving, it seems to be focusing on me.

I twitch my left index finger, causing the block of data the Shade is standing on to erupt as a pillar, launching him upwards.

Kazuma fired a laser at the shoulder, no vital spot. Akito fired a shot that went through the right chest, no vital spot.

Seconds later, I cancel out the pillar as the Shade comes crashing down onto earth. Ah. The pillar struck the back. No vital spot.


"This thing can take tons of hits." Jiyu comments.

"It's got two layers of skin. We're looking for the weak point, which is in the inner skin. We can only find it after we get rid of the outer skin. As you can see, the inner skin is a bit sprite-ish, like a blurry TV screen. The outer skin, on the other hand, is a layer of dark energy."

"Oh. Leave it to me."

Jiyu places both his palms on the ground and superheats the floor all the way to the Shade, not holding back because the floor is made of data. As the ground glows red hot, I can see Jiyu concentrating harder.

"Don't push yourself."

"This is nothing." he replies.

Jiyu lifts his hand and pushes the ground again, causing all the heat gathered to shoot forth into the Shade and instantly decimate the outer skin, a visible red glow seen at the left knee.

"There."

Akito and Kazuma immediately fire at the Shade, both their attacks striking home.

The Shade doesn't give up, however. The Shade continues it's assault in a more violent manner, aiming at the weak Jiyu. I step in between them and give the Shade a powerful uppercut slash, grazing the outer skin.


So it managed to avoid being cut in half. But...

The Shade wriggles in pain. Well, I'm not sure if it feels pain. But the Shade's irregular behavior tells me we've struck the finishing blow as it shakes violently before disassipating into nothingness. All traces of the dark creature that once stood there is completely gone.

I sheath my katana as Jiyu, Kazuma and Akito walk up to me, I bet they're wondering the same things as I am.


"Well. Who said these guys appear in Akira City only?" Kazuma looks at me.

"Don't ask me. There just hasn't been any Shade activity in Shibuya until today." I reply.

Which means this one came here on an order... was it targetting us... or has the Shade virus appeared here?

"G."

I turn to face Jiyu to entrust him with a task. I've been doing alot of thinking lately, so now that he's awake, he can-

"Oi Kamiga! Get back into the room now!"

A squadron of doctors and nurses run out of the hospital like a stampede, all of them focusing on Jiyu.

"Oro?" Jiyu's eyes widen at them.

"That's my line, stupid. Go back and rest." I snap at him.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what he's thinking. He's obviously disregarding his health and battling it out because he loves fighting.

Two doctors grab a hold of him as a third one shoves him from behind, forcing him back into the hospital.

"G!"

"I know!"

Good. Two heads are better than one.

"Can I get a lollipop, doctor? I need to think hard. Sugar stimulates the brain, you know?"

"We'll talk about that AFTER you get in your room!"

......

As Jiyu disappears with the herd of doctors and nurses into the hospital, Akito and Kazuma approach me.

"That was a bad omen, K." Kazuma speaks in cold sweat.

"Yeah. The doctor is going to kill him." Akito nods.

"I was talking about the Shade. Not the idiot." Kazuma sweatdrops.

"Oh."

Indeed. It very well may be one.

"I hope nothing bad's coming up this time around." Akito sighs.

Hmph...

We can only hope. For now, it would be best to head home and rest. In case a Shade attacks during the night, at the worse possible situation; we will have rested up somewhat to regain our energy.

"Don't wander away. Head home and rest up immediately." I instruct them.

As both of them nod, I noticed that Satsuki and Riko crossed over to the other side of the street. They must've crossed over to safety in the midst of the battle. I cross the road after making sure the coast is clear, and stand beside them.

"Let's head home."

Satsuki and Riko nod and smile at me, a somewhat heart-warming smile.

I feel better, if not by a bit.
[Jiyu]
I lay down on the hospital bed, staring at the dim-lit ceiling of the room. I turned off the ceiling lights and turned on the table lamp instead, opting not to stare into the bright light of the ceiling and ruin my eyesight. Even if they're part of the ceiling.

Ringo sits beside me, silently tapping away on her game. She was quite angry at me for jumping out into battle, and I suppose I don't want to make things worse. She's just worried, I'm sure.

Feels good to have company, at least. Where I'm not alone.

"Ringo. Pass me the remote please." I call out to her.

Ringo pauses her game without a second thought and hands me the remote that was on the chair beside her.

"Thanks."

"Mm."

I press on the power button and turn the TV on, wondering what's on the news.

I don't watch news usually, but I have a feeling I should take note of something. Just... something. Something I can get from the news.


"And now, we have a report on a couple of bank robberies that happened a week ago in Ikebukuro, including two female hostages. They were found two days ago, severely abused and raped. The police is doing their very best to capture these criminals, but we encourage citizens to be careful, especially those near Ikebukuro or Shibuya."

Hmph. I see. This world is doomed to fall into darkness if we don't do something. Years ago, such cases happened once in a blue moon. But now, criminal cases are increasing. We should be careful.

Maybe this has something to do with the Shades.

Let's see.

Possessing humans who are in distress... speeds up the process. It would be safe to say the Shades feed on the human's negative emotions and grow in power before gaining enough strength to leave and materialize in their black form.

The question is... how long? Keiji says a week.

If one week is all that it takes, we might be having Shades growing without even knowing.


Many questions begin to unfold. One, how do we know they're infected? Two, is there a way to stop them before the one week limit is up?

"Recently, strange black creatures have started appearing in Akira City. We advise that citizens all around the country to be careful, as there may be a repeat of the Error Threat."

Great. Now everyone's gonna be in a panic. I hope this Akira City's got some powerful fighters. Otherwise people wouldn't even head to school after summer vacation is over.

Oh yeah... Keiji said something about some grading in 3 days time. I have to ask the doctor when can I leave this place.

I wonder if taking a blow to my head will knock me out instantly. Heh. That'll be like the Shade's vital spot-

Wait...

Vital spot?


"Ringo. Pass me my phone."

Ringo pauses her game again without a second thought and reaches for my white smartphone. She passes it to me.

"Thanks."

Ringo gives the same reply, but looks at me instead of going back to her game.

"What? Worried I'm calling my girlfriend?" I tease her.

"You don't have one, genius."

Lame jokes are awesome.

I open up the dial pad and tap on the touch screen quickly, tapping on the number 7 and pressing the call button.

After a few moments, the person on the other side picks up.


"Yo, G. What's up? Can't sleep? LOL."

This Kei...

"Shut up yo. Listen."

"I've found a possible relation to the Shade's vital point. But first of all, we need a confirmation. Tomorrow, I'll beg the doctor by acting like the most emo person in the whole wide world and get him to kick me out of the hospital. Then we'll pay a visit to Saotome-sensei."

Keiji remains silent for a while, considering the plan.

Who knows, he might just say the plan is full of crap.

"Dude. That's the dumbest plan I ever heard."

Eh. Figures.

"But who cares. Let's just go with it."

Then again, there's a reason why he's my brother.

"Alright. Catch you tomorrow."

Keiji hangs up after that, and I look at Ringo, who's staring at me as if I'm some kind of alien.

"Hello. My name is Kamiga Jiyu, I come from the planet of extraterrestrial photon beings. Why are you staring at me like that?"

Ringo giggles at that before returning back to a serious composure.

"You can't be serious about getting out of here so soon." she looks at me.

"I am. Trust me, Ringo. I'm fine."

"I don't know... we have to ask the doctor. I don't trust you."

Girls are hard to deal with. Oh boy.

"I really wanna be wanna be with you, cuz you're my love, you're my shine, you're my dear, so trust me trust me trust me!"

Ringo is taken aback by that. She gives me another stare.

"You obviously haven't heard of the song Trust Me." I grin at her.

Chapter 5 - End
-
References:
"Oro?" Jiyu's eyes widen at them.

A reference to the manga Rurouni Kenshin, where 'Oro?' is a requently used word by the protagonist when he is surprised.
-
"I really wanna be wanna be with you, cuz you're my love, you're my shine, you're my dear, so trust me trust me trust me!"

Ringo is taken aback by that. She gives me another stare.

"You obviously haven't heard of the song Trust Me." I grin at her.

A reference to the first ending of the anime Durarara!! the song Trust Me, sung by Yuya Matsushita.
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Post by Saechika » Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:47 am

Chapter 6 - New Building
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Previously on P.H.A.S.E. Season 2, Fujiwara Keiji and Kamiga Jiyu run into a Shade outside of the hospital, which they manage to drive off with team effort. Kamiga Jiyu calls his brother late at night and informs him of a clue that he may have, and the duo are now on their way to visit their teacher, Saotome Natsumi.

[Jiyu]
Ahh... I'm tired. I managed to get out of the hospital this morning, but I and Keiji chose to pay a visit to Ayama Harumi and Ayama Kazuto's graves before we moved out.

I gave her a silent thank you, for helping me getting back on my two feet again. I also thanked them for risking their lives. Kazuma and Kazumi thanked their parents for being there for them. Even though Kazumi was still a kid, heh.

Keiji, on the other hand, gave his thanks as well. Well he didn't say anything. But I've known this guy longer than anyone else. I'm sure he's got stuff to thank for as well.


"Oi, G. I've decided to head over to the mall sometime to get a new rice cooker. Wanna join me?" Keiji invites me.

That drags me back into reality.

Buy a new rice cooker. Yeaaaaaaah... I'm very positive of that.


"Kazuma told me everything. You had to crawl over to his place to get some food."

Keiji's eyes widen in shock, in a comical manner.

"HAHAHAHA! DUUUUDE! IT SUCKS I WAS STILL KO'D BACK THEN! I WOULD'VE LOVE TO SEE YOU BEG ME FOR FOOD!" I laugh hysterically.

Keiji sweats madly as I continue laughing at his misery.

"Well. At least your sister is kind enough."

"Oh I tricked her by the way. I don't use any aji-no-moto or additional ingredients when I prepare my dishes."

Keiji looks at me with shock as he hears that.

"You're going to die soon. Heh."

"I'll make sure I drag you down along with me to the grave." Keiji growls while making a zombie face with his arms shaped like claws.

It is at this moment the train comes to a grinding halt, throwing me and Keiji off our seats onto the floor.

"Oof!"

Keiji's grunt is followed by my surprised yelp.

"Waah!"

Both of us immediately sprawl onto our feet, glancing around us.

The other passengers are caught off-guard. What's going on with the train?


"Wierd. Trains never stop like this unless if there's an emergency. Think it could be a landslide?"

There's no doubt Keiji already assessed the situation before me. Given his question.

"Might be. Let's check it out." I suggest.

Getting on our two feet, both of us walk across the motionless train, heading to the first car to check out on the train operator.

As we approach the operator's car, I notice something odd. Outside the window.

It's quite hazy.


"K. Do you want to fight, or be a slave?" I ask my partner without looking at him.

"What?"

"If you wanna fight, then go check on this thing outside. If you're not going to, then follow my orders and go check on the train operator."

"You make it sound as if you're the one giving orders. Whatever. I'm not going to burn myself, so you go."

Lazy moron.

"Watch out. We're on a train track here." Keiji warns me.

I wave back at him without looking, already aware of what's going to happen.
[Keiji]
Walking into the car, I notice why Jiyu behaved like that. The guys here are all knocked out unconscious. Up ahead is the conductor's space, and I can see it.

A shade, strangling the life out of the conductor.

Glad I brought my gunblade now. I reach for it in my bag, pulling it out and taking aim at the Shade.

One, two three.

Pulling on the trigger, the -BANG- sound of the gunblade echoes throughout the care as my bullet flies in the air, breaking the glass of the door and piercing the Shade's head. Immediately, the enemy drops the conductor and gives out a screech, turning to look at me. Bright red eyes glowing.

The Shade punches the door, blasting it off its hinges. As I sidestep to avoid the incoming object, the Shade moves into clearer view. This one is different. Looks a bit... skinny.

Skinny means length. Length means elasticity. That means whips.

As I expected, the Shade starts the battle with a lash, left arm shooting forth to strike at me. Moving out of the way, I manage to catch a glimpse of its power as the arm strikes the floor with great force.

Not strong enough to punch a hole or cause a dent, but from the sound I can tell that thing packs a punch.

Twirling my gunblade, I pull the trigger at the right time while it rotates in motion, effectively firing three shots before stopping my gunblade from spinning. Stylish rank, SSS maybe?

Who am I kidding.

The three shoots connect at the same time, punching three holes in the stomach, chest, and neck area.

As the Shade roars and lashes at me again, I finally realize something.

I realize...

Scientific revalation.

This is the greatest find in centuries.


"Shouldn't I just bind him and slowly shoot at him to reveal the vital spot?" I speak to myself.

Sighing, I duck under the incoming arms and grab my belt, lashing out with it in the same manner this thing's been throwing punches at me. Using my Data Application, I transform my physical matter belt into data, then further applying it until it glows white.

Willing it to do my bidding, I reach out mentally to my belt, using my power to bend it and cause it to wrap around the enemy tightly.

Yanking hard, the Shade is thrown off-balance as it falls on the ground on its back.

The main weakness of the outer skin of a Shade is that with just small force, it will easily tear off. I manage to catch a glimpse of a red glow as it wriggles. Left abdomen.

Taking careful aim at the fallen enemy, I wait for it to stop moving.

I guess it's futile.

Summoning my strength, I lift the enemy up via my belt and slam it down on the ground again, stunning it this time. This time, I won't have to worry.

I pull on the trigger.

[Jiyu]
Oh...?

The haze is apparently caused by the heat. But that's wierd. I could've sworn I saw some black wisps, if only a split second.

Most people would dismiss it as 'Oh, just my imagination~'

They're stupid.

Most people who assume they're imagining things are just digging their own graves. Their ego prevents them from accepting things that are abnormal to their own 'reality'.

When our reality is breached, we will do anything to reclaim the 'normality' of it. Unless you're capable of accepting whatever that happens in your life, mainly the abnormal ones. You'll be walking to your own grave if something bad really happens.

I take a look at the bottom of the train, spotting a small fading dark particle.

Bingo.

Summoning my blades, I put both of them together and use my Psych's power of Reformation to transform the blades into the shape of a bow.

A neat trick. The blades are made of data, and have this special item called Blazer Core installed in them. While not active, when I transform them into my bow, the Blazer Core relocates itself to the middle of the bow. This Blazer Core detects my, and only my heat signature. Thus when I brush my fingers across it, I can drag it back as the Blazer Core produces laser arrows for me.

Pulling back, I take careful aim as I am not very used to using an energy arrow. Confident enough, I release the red arrow as it flies in the air and strikes where I wanted it.

The Shade underneath it howls in rage and bursts forth from beneath the train, launching itself at me at high speed. Barely enough time to react, I quickly throw a pillar of fire in front of myself, protecting me from the charge.

That's odd.

This Shade's quite big. Bulky. Looks like it's got some huge arms and body, but small legs.

This guy's funny.

Noticing my smirk, the Shade takes it as a sign of insult and punches at me, threatening to crush my bones with its strength.

Twisting myself out of the way, I pull back on the Blazer Core with my index and middle fingers seperated, creating two arrows instead of one. However, since I'm using only one finger, the arrow won't be as strong and formidable.

That's what I need.

Without even pulling on the way back, I quickly release my hold on the arrows. Whizzing in the air with a loud buzz, the arrows strike where I wanted them to, at the enemy's foot.

The enemy, oblivious, attempts to move; only to realize it is stuck to the ground. Roaring in frustration, the Shade tries to free itself, but to no avail.

Now all I need to do is brush my index, middle, and ring finger across the Core, create three arrows, shoot at him at different spots. Repeat until the vital spot is hit.

[Keiji]
"Sorry about the inconvenience. These weird creatures just appeared out of nowhere and knocked everyone out. Then it attacked me. Sorry that we had to stop, I'll keep going right now."

I see. The Shades appeared outta nowhere, huh...

It's strange. Given the fact that we're in the middle of nowhere. If the Shades came from the mountain, there would have to be people up there. Screw that possibility, it's not posible.

If there were passengers infected, the conductor would've noticed something wierd going on with them.

I look at my back, observing the passengers who've just woken up.

None of them look infected. No signs of abnormality.

Which means they were lying in ambush. For who?

Me and G?

"Don't overdo it. You can start the train now if you want, but if you can't then don't push yourself." I inform the conductor.

"I'm fine. I need to do my job." he grins at me.

Satisfied, I walk out of the car into the previous one, looking for Jiyu. Didn't take too long, since his loud voice and kansai dialect imitation immediately rings a bell.

"Yooo. Whatya doing?"

I shoot him a look of annoyance, manga style.

"I just defeated our shadowy friend outside. Didn't take too long."

"I encountered a Shade as well."

Now it's his turn to look at me.

"Looks like... we're being targeted." he sighs while smiling.

Carefree as always. Well, I like that part about him. Why panic?

Jiyu whips out his smartphone and dials. I see he tapped on the number 5 for quick-dial.


"Hellooooo." Jiyu greets nonchalantly.

I can hear a voice, somewhat annoyed. I think it's a girl. Must be Ringo.

"I'm on the Akira Express. Can you go stay over at Kazuma's for a while?"

Hmm... no. Must be his sister.

"What? Just bring your games over to his place. Not like we've got anything special that he doesn't."

Got a point.

"Why? I'll tell you later. If you value your life, then you'll head over to Kazuma's house."

That sounded like a threat.

"Otherwise you won't be playing on my PCC anymore."

That's a threat.

"Good girl."

Jiyu looks at me with a stupid grin on his face. I guess I can say I've gotten used to that.

"Well now, to Ureshina Gakuen R:2." Jiyu jokes.

"This isn't The World, stupid." I laugh.

"Ureshina Gakuen R:X then!"

"Same thing."
We finally arrive at the new Ureshina Gakuen school building. The new building is magnificent, simply put. I'm just going to leave Jiyu here and walk away on my own. He's going to look and yell about how awesome every building is. Heck, the entire school's built on a freakin' island. There are two other schools in the city as well. Akira Gakuen is located in a nearby mountain, and is for rich kids.

Ikarina Gakuen on the other hand is located on the south part of the city, also as big as our new school.

I can understand the size, though. Because of Ureshina's contribution to stopping the Error incident, the School's got a major boost in funding. Our school is also recommended to move here for the Akira Academic Project, which was introduced about a year ago. I guess that's why we're here with some awesome school right now.

Now... I have to find Saotome-sensei. Should not be too hard...


"WHOOAAAA DUDE THIS IS AWESOME!!! EI KEI!!! YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS STRUCTURE?"

I should ditch him here and come back tomorrow. I'm pretty sure he'll still be like this until then.

Now to find sensei.

[Jiyu]
This.IS....

The main school building's HUGE! This thing's like a dome for sports or something!

Oh look look! There're DORMS! Heck, they look like MANSIONS!

Seven floors! Male dorms are red and gold! Female dorms are silver and white!

Hey...

How come they get my favorite colors!? I demand a switch! I wanna go to the silver and white dorm!

I run to the left, following the path that branches off leading to the dorms. The pathway is surrounded by lush, green trees, with several benches lined across. This is like a nature park!

I enter the red and gold dorm, taking a good look around.

Whoaaaa....

They sure got tons of space, to be able to house so many rooms for so many students. I heard each student gets a small room, but interesting enough, I'm surprised these seven floor dorms can house so many students.

"Hello there."

I turn to my left wondering who's voice that is. It seems to belong to a boy.

I'm greeted with a familiar sight. Silver thin frame glasses, with a smile on his face. Bright blue eyes tell me something different. His hair is silky and black, with most of it covering his right eye.

"Uh... I think I remember you from somewhere. Have we met?" I ask the boy. He looks to be about my age.

The boy looks at me for a moment, and seemingly lapses into a daydream before snapping back into reality.

"Oh, I forgot I cut my hair. LOL."

This guy is...

Forget it, I don't even want to say anything.


"I'm Shusui Saechika, remember? The guy who fought in the battle of the dining hall?"

OH.

THIS guy. One of the Five Generals of Ureshina Gakuen's security department! The guy with the super awesome silky long black hair and awesome bright red eyes with the awesome nickname Rui and the red and black army cap!

Wait. He don't look like how I remember him. Aside from the hair, the eyes are different.


"Your eyes are different."

"You remembered me because of my hair, didn't you?" he sweatdropped.
-
"So, what brings you here? School doesn't reopen until about a month from now, so you must have some sort of purpose."

Hmm. Considering the fact he's a General, I shouldn't hold back any information.

I begin to explain to him about my original intentions.

"You got carried away and ended up here because of how awesome the dorms are? LOL. I get that alot!"

Oh look, we got ourselves a clone of me right here. Talking to this guy is fun.

"I want the white and silver dorms. Why do the girls get those nice colors?" I sigh.

"Huh?"

Rui thinks for a moment.

"If I remember correctly, the red and gold ones are for the juniors. Us seniors are supposed to be in the white and silver ones..."

...

Ooooooooooh. THAT'S GOOD.

THE POWER OF WHITE AND SILVER!

Wait that doesn't relate to the current subject.


"Want me to show ya around?" Rui winks at me.

"Are you gay?" I ask him a straightforward question.

"Hell no. I'm just trying to be a good guy." He looks at me.

I guess that works.
-
So. From the entrance, to the left and right, we have those kinds of super awesome comfy sofas and a table, each sofa for 2 people, the table surrounded by four makes it a perfect gathering for an eight-man team.

After that, we have the toilets, located at the east side for guys and the west for girls. These are all located in between the entrance and the registry.

Registry's supposedly gonna be handled by someone. I don't know who. After the registry, there are two paths. West path is the girl's section, east for boys.

First floor's two pathways merge together midway, leading to the cafeteria. The cafeteria's only working during mornings and evenings, for breakfast and dinner. We'll be having lunch at the main school building's cafeteria. Midway opposite the cafeteria doors are two flights of stairs for each path, leading to the second floor, and another set of stairs at the end of em.

Second floor contains public bath, even though I see no point for that. Also contains a big-as-hell room that connects both paths at the end of it. I'm assuming that's for sports or whatever requires big space.

Stairs on the side before the big room leading to the third floor, where the dorms are all located. Like the previous floor, stairs are also located at the middle of the path. Each dorm floor has a small table surrounded by a few small chairs at the entrance area. I refer to it as the entrance area because that's where we come in from, and the areas located above the lobby will be referred to from now on. Group work should be done here. Also contains vending machines. What is this? A hospital?

I hope the vending machines here sell good stuff like the hospital. Would suck if it didn't.


"Shouldn't you be looking for your sensei?"

Those words snap me back into reality and my smile immediately vanishes from my face.

Shit.

HE'S RIGHT!!!


"Whoa,dude,thanks a bunch for your help today. I'll see ya around I think I hope. Ah whatever later yo!" I thank him at the speed of light and run off out of the dorm and towards the school building.
[Keiji]
"So, you're telling me that a Shade's weakpoint might be related to the victim?" my teacher looks at me.

Well. That's what I can think of.

"According to G's... SPECULATION. It would seem so."

"How so?"

"Well..."

"HI SENSEI!!!"

Jiyu bursts out of nowhere and greets our teacher with a loud yell.

"Hello, G. I see you've recovered, but your mouth is as loud as ever."

Jiyu sweatdrops at that.

"So. What makes you think the Shade's weakpoint might be related to the victim?"

"Well. The weakpoint HAS to have a source. It's not like every Shade has randomly generated weakpoints. This ain't no video game. There HAS to be a source, and I was thinking about it. Since the Shades target people in despair, might the weakpoint be their primary cause of despair?"

Sensei gives it a thought.

"What do you think, K?"

Now she's asking me. Uh...

"Well. If someone were to be in despair because he broke his leg, and his Shade has a weakpoint located at the broken leg area, that might be the case." I explain further.

She gives it some thought.

"I'll think about it. You boys should head back home. It's already 5."

Oh? Is it?

A quick glance at Jiyu's left wrist is enough. His white watch tells me the time is 5:02pm.

It appears we've spent quite some time here. We departed at twelve, and then from Tokyo to Akira, it took around an hour and a half. Due to the Shade attack, we had to stop for an extra half hour. After that, we grabbed a quick bite...

To think we spent two hours here.

No surprise, as I was busy talking to her about grading and the days to come before moving onto the main topic. Time sure flies.


"We'll be going then, sensei." Jiyu bows politely.

I proceed to do the same.

"Take care now."
-
On the way back on the train, Jiyu mentions something that catches my attention.

"Hey... what if my speculation is wrong?"

Hmm... if... IF it's wrong... huh...

"Well. You gotta be more positive. There's no telling if you're wrong or not. Not until we can prove it. You'll get possessed by a Shade if you keep thinking like this."

Jiyu switches to a kansai dialect to speak.

"Like ah said, ah ain't emo. Ah'm juz thinkin' of teh possibilities."

Right. Seeing as how he can manage that annoying dialect, I'll take it he's fine.

"If so. We'll just have to find another way to locate their weak spots."

Both of us lapse into silence, thinking of other methods to locate the Shades' weakspots.

As the train stops and the both of us step out of it, we are greeted by Kojima Shiki, who seems to be waiting for us.


"Yo, Jiyu and Keiji." he smiles at us as we approach him.

"Yo Shiki. You livin' in Shibuya?" Jiyu asks with his kansai dialect.

"Yep. I figured since you dudes are here, I might as well join your forces in case any attack comes upon us."

Hoho. This guy's got a wary mind. Cool. As expected of a veteran fighter.

Shiki joins us and we continue walking, proceeding to emerge from the subway to the surface, the streets of Shibuya.


"Hey Kei."

"Huh?"

"Think they'll invent goggles that can detect the Shade's weakpoints?"

Pffft.

"You're the only person who'd do something like that."
Chapter 6 - END
-
References:
"Well now, to Ureshina Gakuen R:2." Jiyu jokes.

"This isn't The World, stupid." I laugh.

"Ureshina Gakuen R:X then!"

Reference made to the .//Hack series, where their setting is in a game called 'The World'. Subsequent versions were known as The World R2, etc.
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Post by Saechika » Wed Apr 24, 2013 3:41 am

Chapter 7 - Grading
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Previously on P.H.A.S.E. Season 2, Fujiwara Keiji and Kamiga Jiyu pay a visit to the new Ureshina Gakuen building. While Keiji consults with his teacher about various matters, Jiyu meets up with one of the Five Generals, Shusui Saechika, and is shown around the dorms by said person, having missed the tour on the final day of school due to his coma. Kojima Shiki joins up with them when they return to Shibuya, and now, their story shall finally begin; the battle between humans and the darkness in their hearts.

[Jiyu]
I sit at the table with Shiki and Haruka, Shiki having stayed over last night. I allowed him to use my parent's room, but he declined and slept in the living room instead. Well, as long as he's happy, I guess I can let my politeness slide. Otherwise it will be an insult to his humility to not occupy my parent's room.

"Remember, we gotta head out at 9. The grading starts at 11, and almost all students are taking part in this. We've gotta make haste." Shiki informs me as he munches on his toast.

"Ye ye. I gotcha. No need to rush, it's only 8." I glance at my watch.

I actually overslept by half an hour. My alarm always rings at 7, but I think my sister must've ignored it because usually if I fail to respond she'll throw her pillow at me to wake me up.

"Oh yeah, Shiki. That day you mentioned something about a new member. I haven't seen him or her yet."

Shiki recalls for a moment.

"Ah yeah. We'll meet em' once we reach the school for grading, so don't worry."

"Alright."

After breakfast, Shiki walks out first to gather the other members as Haruka and I clean up and prepare to leave as well.

"Brother."

I turn to look at my younger sister, wondering what could she want from me. Her tone is also different from usual.

"What? You want a new game console? Save up more money."

"No not that!" she snaps at me.

"Mom's coming back alone. Dad's got some work to attend to, so she'll be the only one coming back tomorrow."

"Oh."

Aaaah meh. So mom's comin' back alone? Fine by me. Dad and I butt heads over almost every single thing, and I'm the world's most hot-headed dude. It would be better to have mom around. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Huh.

Wait.

"TOMORROW!?" I yell at her.

Haruka gives out a yelp of surprise.

"YES! TOMORROW!" she yells back at me to follow with the drill.

Oh crap. I remember mom saying something about coming back last month, but that was...

"I hate the coma." I sigh after realizing my coma has put me in more than a week of blank.

"We have to go get her at the airport, but it's a little bit too far." she sulks.

"I'm sure mom can drive back. I think her car's skill parked at the airport."

"Stupid. We still have to go and meet her personally. She'd be worried sick."

I'm not the family kind of guy, nor have I actually considered if my parents died. I accepted the fact that all living things died after Harumi's death, and as a result nobody's death is of any worth considering for me. But I guess she's right. A little family time won't hurt.

"I'll try and clear my schedule tomorrow. Remember to charge the consoles tonight. We might have to hang out with mom tomorrow." I instruct her.

Haruka cheers with enjoyment. I haven't seen her so happy ever since I bought her a bracelet as a present.

Speaking of which...

If I recall yesterday...


"If you can transfer your powers into a separate item, that item will be your Psych-bearer. Essentially meaning we can store psychs in objects and switch em out easily, since we can use more than one."

Keiji's words echo in my mind as I remember the information he shared with me after he obtained them yesterday.

That will be some useful information.


"Brother."

I look at my sister, who's excited for the grading. Like me, both of us enjoy the thrill of battle, and she will constantly ask to spar with me. We view battle not only as a fight to the death, but sometimes as a sport. Of course, the battle against the Shades is serious business, but nevertheless, overcoming this threat will make us stronger.

"Hold your horses. You'll die of excitement." I laugh.

"I'm wearing this." she smiles and reaches into her pocket. She pulls out a familiar object.

A bracelet of pure white stainless steel, half a centimeter wide. No decorations or shiny stuff. Just a simple steel bracelet. My birthday present for her last year. Simple as it may be, the bracelet's special. It has a digital programming inside it with a screen across it. An extremely flat, rectangular button that stands out just 1mm from the side serves as the button. Press it and the screen will show you the current time. I got myself one as well.

"If you're going to bring yours, I might as well bring mine." I smile.

I've got an idea...

"Mom would be glad if she saw our bracelets." I suggest.

My sister nods happily, agreeing with my suggestion.
As we gather around the Shibuya Mall, I notice something wierd.

"Ei Kei, what's with that X shaped pendant?" I ask him as I eye his pendant, shaped almost like an X, but a bit... wierd. The edges are round. And it's also colored dark gold.

"It aint' X, it's χ Not ehks, but ki."

"Does it even matter? That letter was the original form of X in the ancient greek alphabets. Who cares. When did you get this?"

"Around a few days ago. It looked real cool so I just bought it."

"You're surprisingly stupid when it comes to managing money."

"I just buy what I like."

"No you just have too much money."

"Oh shut up already."

Both of us turn to look at Satsuki, who's fuming with anger.

"You two stop arguing like kids and get serious. Seriously... you two..."

As she continues on grumbling, I whisper to Kei.

"What's with her?"

"I don't know. She's been in a bad mood ever since this morning."

As we continue to talk, nobody notices Ringo and Akito walking towards us until Kazuma takes notice.

"Yoo! Ringo! Akito!"

Kei and I turn to look at them. Finally, all of the members have gathered.

"Sorry we took so long. We had to do some preparations." Ringo apologized to all of us.

"Huh? Since when did you need preparations?" I look at her.

Keiji bursts out in laughter at my joke. Satsuki gives him a jab to the gut, silencing him.

"I'm sure you wouldn't understand." she smiled back with a sarcastic tone.

"I'm very sure I wouldn't."

Kazuma interrupts us.

"Let's cut this out and go, shall we?" he claps his hands.

Yeeeeeh. Why not.

Faster we go the better.

On the train, Keiji relays some useful information to me.

"Hey, G. Remember your level up?"

"No. I was too focused on beating the crap out of Watanabe, I don't recall anything."

"Of course not! I didn't even know I leveled up back then!" I follow up.

Keiji laughs.

"Well yeah. Thanks to you, the teachers managed to confirm a theory."

"O yea? Wots that? The theowy of quantam physics?" I reply with a kansai dialect.

"Somebody hand me a gun to shoot him..." Keiji mutters.

"They confirmed that the achievement of Level 2 can be attained through sheer desire, enough mental ability to materialize a whole new level of power, and the mastery of level 1."

...

Whoaaaaa...


"Hey dude. Kei."

"What?"

"That's the first time you actually made something sound so scientific. Who are you and what have you done to Keiji?"

"What the hell man!?"

I laugh at his reply to my joke.

"Desire, I need not say more. Your wish to grow stronger, as long as there is the will, it fulfills it."

So that's one easy peasy requirement, eh?

"Master of level 1 is also required. Basically you understood your powers of Pyrokinesis, to generate, manipulate, and control heat. But you managed to transcend those boundaries by forcing flames out of your own body, using your body as a medium after you deemed no other way. That's your level 2, flame application. You can now apply it through your body, instead of generating heat or fire OUTSIDE. In short, your level 2 makes you a fire human."

Oh. That sounds easy to understand. So I've transcended level 1's limits, which allows me to use Level 2.

'But you managed to transcend those boundaries by forcing flames out of your own body, using your body as a medium after you deemed no other way.'

I deemed no other way...?

So... he literally means that...

"So, I mastered level 1, and based on the circumstances, there was no other way to perform Bakuenjin using Level 1's limitations?"

"Correct. Your mastery over it, subconsciously, you knew you couldn't perform that technique being limited to the laws of Level 1. That's why you pushed yourself to the limit by forcing your body to generate fire, resulting in Level 2."

Ohey. That was unexpected.

"The hardest requirement to fulfill is either that, or..."

"The required mental ability to materialize a whole new level of power." I interject.

"Correct."

"As you should know, the Psychs are a part of us the moment we allowed its powers to enter us. The powers to transcend the laws based on the scientific breakthrough from 10 years ago results in us being capable of creating fire, or extraordinary feats through our minds."

"Whenever we want to use our Psych, we must first image it. Image what your power is, what your attack is, what you want to become reality. And from then, forcefully apply your thoughts and will into reality through your Psych. It might take alot of concentration due to several factors. One being your mental power to sustain the image is too low, like you're distracted or emotionally down. Or, your powers have not yet developed enough mastery, and you need to concentrate harder. These factors are what makes it hard for many to achieve Level 2."

That's a whole lot to take in in just one go, but I get it.

"But."

"Should you meet the two earlier requirements, I'm sure things will be a tad bit easier."

"The reason nobody's been able to reach Level 2 after the Five Generals was simply because nobody met all three requirements or were capable enough of reaching it. Considering how you're a part of Division X, you reaching it and proving the theory was... normal."

Oh. So the reason why we remained a sorry bunch of noobs was just because nobody was especially good at combat aside from the Five Generals or those who did hadn't met the requirements? That's just...

THAT'S JUST STUPID!

NOT ONLY STUPID, BUT NOW I FEEL ASHAMED THAT ALL OF US ARE SUCH NEWBS! NOOBS! I CALLED IT!

Keiji laughs, as if he were reading my mind. I guess from my facial expression it was pretty obvious.


"Well. Now that the theory's proven, I wouldn't be surprised to see Level 2s running around. That would prove they're capable dudes." Keiji grins.

"Right. I would support the one who's capable enough of mopping the floor with you." I shoot back.

"That's an insult to my scientific words. Heck, who's side are you on?"

Both of us laugh as we continue on with our comedy duo.
[Keiji]
Ooooooooooooh!

There's so many of em! It's as if every student's present for this grading!

Who am I kidding. Since even normal students can use sub-psychs, this is to be expected. I hope they can cut us some slack now. Woot.


"Now then, we will begin the Combat Grading for Ureshina Gakuen. I hope all of you students have practiced a little with your psychs that you received a week ago, for this will be the real test to determine whether you will survive the new threat on your own, should such a situation arise." Saotome-sensei announces using a microphone.

"Juniors and new first-year students, please head to my right, Nakajima-sensei will guide you all to your testing grounds."

She proceeds to turn to look at where I'm standing.

"Seniors, proceed to my left and follow my daughter, she will lead you all there. I will be with you all soon."

I glance to my right to see Saotome Reiko and the rest of the Five Generals standing there, all of em' look in top condition. Except for that kid.

What's her name again? Shizuma Hikaru?

I think it was Shizuma Hikari.

As our group heads to the main building for the grading, I cannot help but notice Saotome-sensei talking to the principal about something I can identify as an urgent matter. Their facial expressions show it. Well. We will know.

-
Our heroes now enter the training room. It is a huge, spacious area designed specially for the grading, and will be used for future combat practices. The seniors are using this now. There are standing computers and screens everywhere, for the use of generating data. With the current technology, producing combat data or something similiar is a simple should the facilities be made available. And Ureshina Gakuen is lucky, having Division X as the people who solved the Error Threat, they received a major boost in funding, added on with their suggestion to be included in the Akira Academic Project.
-
Whoaaa.

This place is big. Awesome. They even got tons of standing computers like those things you'd see in scientific anime. COOOOL!

It doesn't take too long for Saotome-sensei to arrive with several other teachers. They begin to split the students into groups. Those with experience of being in the Security Department are sorted out according to Division, and the rest are sorted according to class.

As Saotome-sensei is our advisor, naturally, she joins our group to monitor us.


"So kids. Are ya'll ready for combat?" she asks us.

Jiyu gives a somewhat cocky "Yeah." reply.

I can tell he's just excited. Shiki, who's standing beside him, just nods his agreement.


"Bring it." I grin at her.

Ringo, Kazuma, Akito, Satsuki and Miki nod nervously. Heh? Even Satsuki's scared. HAH! I should rub this in her face later. Insert evil laugh here.

"Very well. First up, Fujiwara."

Hooo. Bring it on.

"You and Kojima will go first. Head to the arena."

Arena?

I glance behind her to get a better look.

Whoa.

That thing's like a baseball field. Heck, this should be national sports.

"You guys will be the very first to go, so be honored."

"Sensei. I have a feeling you just want to make him look like an idiot." Jiyu speaks his mind immediately.

Sometimes I love his way of speaking whatever comes to mind.

"That's part of my purpose. Now go, Fujiwara and Kojima."

This woman is evil. Cry cry. Sob sob.

I so sad.


The moment both of us enter, two guns made of data materialize in front of us.

"You will be tested for accuracy."

Two target boards appear about 50 metres away from where we are.

"Begin. You only have five rounds."

Alright.

I pull on the trigger immediately after confirming my target.

-BANG-

The bullet penetrates the middle of the target.

Oh. That was unexpected.

-BANG-

The bullet is positioned above the hole I made.

-BANG-

The third shot hits the side instead.

-BANG-

The fourth shot misses completely.

That sucked.

-BANG-

The fifth shot hits the center again.

"Ooooh." I look at my own achievements in awe.

The boards immediately disappear from view. Hey! I haven't even gotten a chance to see Shiki's board!

"Next you will be tested for logical thinking."

That sounds silly.
-
What. That was EASY. Come on.

"Weapons handling will be next.

Please... what's that gotta do?
-
I hate holding lances and spears. Those things are so freakin' long.

"Next is flexibility."

What kinda combat grading is this?
-
There. I passed most of that. Now what?

"Your final grading. Fujiwara!"

Saotome-sensei's voice booms through the hall thanks to her megaphone. Seriously? Is she selling vegetables or something?

"You will face Kojima in combat. BEGIN!"

Wha?

Her sudden order shocks me as Shiki wastes no time to move in to attack me.

He leaps up into the air and power dives down at me. The hell? Is he doin' wrestling!?

I roll to the side to dodge barely in time, glad I did. Shiki's fist easily penetrates the ground and sends rubble flying everywhere.


"Whoa dude! Take it easy yo! You trying to kill me!?" I snap at him.

"This is a grading, Fujiwara. En garde."

No time to argue, I thrust my hand out and imagine my attack.

Immediately, my Psych responds as a quick blast of air explodes from my palm and blasts Shiki back. He regains his balance and leaps back onto his feet, smiling.

What's so funny...?

Shiki stomps on the ground, hard.

Nothing happens. LOL.

At that moment, vibrations from the ground move across and paralyze my entire body with their intensity.


"Paralyzing vibrations!?" I gasp.

Grinning, Shiki punches the air and sends a powerful vibration across it, the force of it enough to stun my entire body and rock my bones.

This is annoying. What kinda Psych does this guy use!? I thought it was magnetism!


"If ya thinking I'm using my old one, yer wrong. I've changed Psychs. My old one ain't suitable for combating Shades."

Well that's some real nice info if we were fighting Shades. But that ain't the case now.

Shiki moves in and performs a roundhouse kick aimed at my head, ready to knock me out.

At the last moment, my paralysis wears out, and I waste no time to raise my arm and block his incoming kick. Again, a powerful vibration erupts upon impact and stuns my entire left arm.

Crap!

Shiki regains balance and immediately kicks with his free leg, striking my right arm. Not only is his kick powerful, the resulting vibration from it paralyzes my arm as well. He jumps back one foot and moves in with a powerful thrust aimed at my gut.


'BURST WOLF!'

Upon recieving my mental command, my Psych automatically creates a powerful burst of air all around me, blowing Shiki away before he can reach me.

"Kuh. A passive ability. Never thought you'd get such a handy skill." Shiki grunts as he stands up.

"Well hey. Gotta get handy sometimes." I smile at him.

Continuing the battle, Shiki stomps the ground again, no doubt sending another vibration at me.

I jump up into the air without a second thought, using my Aerokinesis to boost my jumping power. Now from here, I'll fire several blasts of air at him to distract him, then I'll-

"Gotcha."

Shiki's grin stops my train of thoughts as he smiles at me.

"Now you're trapped."

Finishing his super awesome quote of confidence, Shiki punches the air and sends another burst of air. As I prepare to nullify it with my own wind...

Wait.

This isn't an ordinary burst of air...

Another vibration!?

The wave strikes my whole body, numbing it as soon as the wave passes through. Immediately, I'm like a stone, held in midair by my powers, but it won't take long before it wears off and I fall down hard.

Shiki has no intention of letting that happen, though.

He places his left leg behind him, and immediately, he bursts forth from the ground, the force of his jump creating a small crater as he reaches my position in midair in a matter of seconds. Smiling, Shiki turns around vertically and slams my head with the front of his foot, effectively slamming me down to the ground.

Damn. That hurt.

I'm glad the floor's made of data, since it helps absorb the damage we take. But that guy's kick is frickin' hard. If he put a vibration in his foot earlier, he would've caused my brain to malfunction.

I spring back onto my feet as Shiki lands on the ground, shooting him a glare.

This guy... he's strong.


"You have yet to transcend Level 1, Fujiwara."

Huh?

"Level 2 is easy to accomplish, thanks to your friend solving the puzzle for us. But if you can master Level 1 to greater heights, that you see the meaning behind the basic principals, you won't even need to use Level 2 in combat."

He's right.

But for now.

I've gotta figure out his Psych somehow...

Vibrations? I don't think there's such a Psych capable of doing so.

But those waves... it's as if he were manipulating the vibrations we humans always emit. But there's no such Psych capable of doing so, according to the list that I was given last year.

That punch earlier... it shattered the ground.

Time to test his defensive abilities.

Giving out a yell, I punch the ground with all my might, sending a powerful wave of compressed air that travels towards Shiki at high speed. I can see the power put behind it. It's strong enough to wreck the ground of the floor, so I'm assuming this wave is capable of killing a human child if they take the full force of it.

Shiki grins and stomps the ground again, this time his foot goes through it. As if obeying him, the ground in front of him bursts upwards, forming a slab of pure rock that defends him. My wave of air collides, but fails to break through and disassipates.

I see. While strong enough to shred the ground's surface, his rock wall is made of several layers of earth, strong enough to repel my air wave
.

"I get it now. Your Psych's ability, that is." I declare out loud.

Shiki looks at me with surprise.

"Interesting."

"Your Psych's ability is Geokinesis. The ability to control and manipulate earth."

Shiki laughs.

"Are you sure about that?" he looks at me.

"Positive."

I begin to gather my facts.

"At first glance, one might think you have the ability to control vibrations. But that's not the case. Should such a Psych exist, you would be able to do more than just control vibrations. Even sound waves and air waves that vibrate would be no problem for you. But you couldn't stop my air attacks just now, proving that you cannot CONTROL vibrations."

"Essentially meaning it's out of the question. What about the vibrations that you create when attacking? That's just a part of your Psych."

Shiki looks at me with interest.

"I'm guessing it's a passive ability that allows you to amplify vibrations that you emit. With that, it will be easier to control earth with your physical actions, as seen when you caused the ground to erupt with a simple stomp. To disguise your Psych's real ability, you utilize your passive ability to the fullest potential by using the vibrations you create as means of attacking."

"Of course, in order to ensure the earth doesn't accidentally erupt and blow your cover, you control your vibrations to the utmost precision. This is why I see you hardly move if you're going to attack using vibrations from a single spot."

Shiki's mouth opens wide in shock.

"Whoa dude. That was AWESOME."

It was simple to figure out after those two facts started to make sense. Not only that, your punch earlier wrecked the ground, and if you could control vibrations, that would not be able to happen. I wasn't completely sure, so I had to make a gamble. But you confirmed it for me. Thanks a bunch.

Now to counter his Psych.

Perfect. I just thought of my Finishing Move yesterday. With my new Psych, Stratos Render, that I received on the last day of school, I'll show you the power of someone who's mastered TWO Level 2 Psychs.


"That's enough! Both of you, your grading is over!"

I immediately fall down to my knees.
-
"WHAT DA HECK!? THINGS WERE JUST STARTIN' TO GET COOL, SENSEI!" I complain to my teacher.

"If we had to wait for everyone to finish their fights like you, we won't even finish at dawn."

Man... it sucks I had to stop... but she's right.

At this moment, a girl walks up to us. She looks to be about our age. Bright orange hair that frames the right side of her face, and a ponytail. She's wearing a bright red T-shirt, and...

Not to be a pervert or anything, but I think her shirt is a little bit too tight for her. Her chest...

Nevermind.


"Ah, Tachikawa. Good timing. This is your new team." Saotome-sensei addresses the girl.

"This will be your new team member, Tachikawa Honoha."
[Jiyu]
Tachikawa... Honoha?

Hono... ha...?

Fire... wot?

"What's the matter, G? Got your eyes on her?" my teacher teases me.

You've gotta be kidding me.

"Hell no. I'm just wondering what her name means."

"It's a combination of hono (fire) and hana (flower). The idea behind it is Fire Flower."

Oh. So that's what it means.

"So, who's the guy who's supposedly skilled with pyrokinesis?" she asks my teacher.

"Ah, that would be G. There, the guy with the dark blue hair. You could learn something from him."

She shoots me a glare.

No need for words, I shoot back with my own glare.


"I'll see about that." she continues her glare.

Right.

"I heard you over exhausted yourself. Are you sure you're ready for this? Maybe you should head home and rest." she looks at me.

Her words stab my heart like a dagger.

I'm not sure if that was on purpose, or if she's plain blunt. Sorry, Honoha.


"Pray you don't get charred black." I shoot back at her.

Right now, I can only feign arrogance to taunt her.

"Now now, you may settle this on the Arena."

Huh?

"Tachikawa. Your partner for grading will be Kamiga."

I frown at her, as she does the same.

"Show me what you've got, pyromaster." she looks at me.

"Fine by me, Fire Flower."
Chapter 7 - END
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Post by Saechika » Sun May 26, 2013 2:29 am

Chapter 8 - Jiyu vs Fire Flower
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Previously on P.H.A.S.E. Season 2, Kamiga Jiyu and Fujiwara Keiji arrive at school for grading, where they see the Five Generals being present. Keiji is soon pitted against Kojima Shiki, and is pushed into a corner by Shiki's powers. Evetually, he unravels Shiki's secret and prepares a counterattack, but is stopped by Saotome Natsumi. After that, the team's second new member, Tachikawa Honoha, joins them for grading. She strikes up a rivalry with Jiyu the moment she lays eyes on him. Now the Grading for Kamiga Jiyu and Tachikawa Honoha will begin.

[Jiyu]
"First up. Accuracy test!"
-
I missed the target twice. I should've brought my glasses.

"Second! Logical thinking!"
-
Let's see.

Question 10:
How would you strive to become the strongest person on your own?

That's bull.

I scribble on the data-board, writing my thoughts down.

I'd do nothing. There is always someone stronger than you. For that, it can be said that humans are always weaker than another. You don't become the strongest, you can't.

That should do it.


As the data-board disappears from view, I begin to think back.

Even if you become strong enough on your own to take on the entire world, there is still always someone stronger. Maybe for a short moment, you'll be the strongest. But some new potential's gonna pop up maybe tomorrow or some thousand years, and claim that title. Then it repeats.

"Next test! Weapons handling!"
-
I almost shot myself. They've gotta be kidding me.

"Fourth! Flexibility!"

Another written test? What's this gotta do with Flexibility?
-
Question 5

If aliens invade your school, what would be your thoughts?

Hmm...

I begin to write my answer down.

I'd curse them for not coming to invade sooner when I forgot to do my homework when I was in elementary school.
-
Question 9
If you wake up and find a person you like in your room, what would you do?

I wonder. What kind of grading is this? Social grading? This is crap. I hate dealing with crap.

I write my answer down.

I'd ask them how did they even get into my room in the first place. Then again, they might be fakes, so I'll take extra precaution by asking a couple of secret questions.
-
I hate these gradings. Those questions were plain dumb.

Not only dumb. Crap.

I hate crap.


"Final Grading! Kamiga, you will face Tachikawa in combat! Your time limit is 10 minutes! Begin!"

Great. 10 minutes. That's longer than Keiji's time. Glad I got that. I need all the time to form plans.

I glance beside me, Tachikawa Honoha standing just a few feet away from me.


"I've heard alot about you. Don't get me wrong, but I feel like you're not ready to be on the battlefield, in your current state."

Heh. And I wondered what was her reason.

"We'll know that now." I grin at her.

Done with our chitchat, both of us jump back several feet away from each other and gain some distance.

Honoha makes the first move, jumping up high into the air with a burst of power.

"That's a pretty strong kick-start." I mutter automatically.

Aiming at me, she performs a dive-kick, her body catching fire as she does so. However, her speed is predictable.

I easily spin myself out of the way as if I were doing a ballet, not wanting to get too far away from her.

Honoha crashes down onto earth like a meteor, the flames adding to the likeness of her being a meteor.

Only a few feet away from her, I can feel the force of her attack. Had that hit me, in my current state, I would've been a goner.

Whirling around, I greet her with a spin-kick, using my right leg as the medium to balance my body. With the back of my left leg, I aim to knock her out quickly, but she blocks it without looking, as if she were expecting it.

Not willing to let her counter, I move my leg and spin away from her, stopping when I've gained some distance. Immediately my hands blaze with my psych's power of fire and I hurl two fireballs in her direction.

She notices and spins around in place, gaining heat. With her flaming legs, she swats away both of my fireballs as if they were nothing.

With my level two... I can do...

I decide to test it out.

I sprint towards her, my body blazing as I do so. At the right moment, I jump off the ground and blaze towards her, my whole body transformed into flames.

Honoha notices this, and quickly dodge-rolls to the right side.

This is awesome. It's as if my whole body's so light. My weight is eliminated, right now I exist only as a flaming entity.

I perform a quick U-turn and blaze towards Honoha again, but this time she jumps up instead.

Oh. I can't fly up? That's bad.

Willing my flames to reverse, I find it easier to turn back into human form compared to transforming into flame.

Sensing at the last-minute, I turn my body to flame instinctively as Honoha dives through my flaming body and crashes down in front of me.

SHE WANTS TO BREAK MY SPINAL CORD!


"Tch, you're not too bad." She shoots a glare at me as she turns around to face me.

My body turns back into normal and I return her a grin.

"Well, I'm still weak. So don't try that again."

This is bad. I cannot fight fire with fire. I need a better power.

But... I didn't get any extra Psychs because I was knocked out. I only have my Reformation Psych that changes the shape of my weapons, and my Spitfire psych that I stole back then.

And to be honest, I don't think a Level 1 Reformation will do much against her.


!

What's that?

Hey, a steel pipe! It's the one from the weapons handling exam! Maybe I can use thi-


"WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING AT!?"

Her blazing foot catches me by surprise, grazing my hair as I barely dodge in time. I jump backwards several times, being in my current condition, I am not fit to do backflips. I'll break my own spinal cord without help from her.

"Tch, I missed." she scowls.

"As if. You're just dumb. Never shout at someone if you're going to sneak attack."

I can hear Keiji and Kazuma laughing out loud after hearing that.

Thank you, thank you for the standing ovation.

What the hell. I'm wasting time.

I sprint towards the steel pipe, hoping to grab it and have a chance to fight. Honoha notices this and runs towards me at lightning-fast speed, her body bursting into flames again. She starts spinning round, gathering momentum, and finally attacks with a powerful flaming spin-punch aimed at me.


This is annoying. Her speed is so predictable.

I bunny-hop out of the attack and clap my hands together, causing a tower of flame to erupt from beneath her.

As she's busy trying to fend off the flames, I manage to reach the steel pipe. Grabbing hold of it, I try to do something else.

If I can use Reformation to change it... I may stand a chance.

The basic laws of Reformation is I'm limited to the shape, and as such, I can only change the shape and form based on how many atoms and molecules. I cannot change it into something that requires more volume to take form. I have limited resources.

Willing it to transform, I begin to imagine a vague shape of a bo staff made of steel. If I can make it thinner, I can use the remaining atoms to reshape and make it longer. This will surely even up our ga-


Huh?

The pipe transforms into a longer, thinner, stronger version. A strong, solid bo staff made of silver.

But... I didn't...


"Level 2!?"

I turn to face Honoha, who's witnessed what has happened.

"To think you and Fujiwara got both of your Psychs to Level 2 already..." she gasps as she looks at the steel staff.

This is Level 2? But I-

Forget it. If she says it is, then it is. Until someone proves me wrong, I'm just going to test this out.

Running towards her, I prepare to swing the staff and knock her off-balance, but she does a small jump and lands on top of it instead, pinning my staff down.

I hate this.

I pull the staff back, causing her to yell out in surprise as she jerks uncontrollaby and falls down onto the ground.

If I can just pin her down...


The staff morphs again, this time forming several small daggers of silver, four in total.

Hey this is useful

I stab two daggers beside her head, and two more beside her body.


"Wha-"

"Your movement is limited. If you move your arms or head, you'll cut yourself. If you get up straight and avoid the daggers, I'll just pin you down. Checkmate."

"That's enough! Grading is over!"

Saotome sensei's voice through the megaphone tells me the time for grading is over.
-
I catch my breath as I exit the arena and walk towards my companions.

"Good work, G. Have you figured out her Psych?"

"It was no big deal." I pant.

"Wha?"

Honoha's reaction is normal.

"It grants her extraordinary speed. So fast that her body catches on fire. I'm supposing she has a passive ability to make her immune to fire to compensate for her flaming body."

"I thought she was using a fire body Psych..." Kazuma nods his realization.

"As if." I smile.

"Good work, G! You're finally showing some signs of genius!" Keiji grins at me.

"You, die in a ditch now."

"You figured out just by that?" Honoha looks at me.

"Just by that? Well, it's obvious. All of your attacks were physical. You didn't throw fireballs, you didn't create geysers of flame, you're not mainstream enough to be a Pyrokinesis user."

"..."

"I guess you're right."

Don't tell me she's only noticed NOW?
[Keiji]
And so. We finished our grading. It was just like a combat exam of sorts, nothing really special. Though...

Two more members in our gang. Kazuma family growing bigger.

Leading the pack, Jiyu and I walk in front, while the others are all bundled together at the back.


"So... should we grab dinner?" Jiyu suggests.

Hmm. Dinner... dinner...

"Well. Where do you wanna eat?" I ask him.

"There's a pretty nice western restaurant here, waddya think? I heard that you like mudkips- I mean western food, Jiyu." Shiki pops up out of nowhere and slings his arm over Jiyu's shoulder as if they were best buddies.

"Oooh! You know your stuff, yo! Alright! Let's go have ourselves some nice fish n chips!" Jiyu slings his arm over Shiki's shoulder and both of them dance around like best buds.

"You guys are brainless idiots." I comment as I walk past them.

"No need to be so happy over western food." Honoha agrees as she walks past them with her eyes closed, as if they were a nuisance.
-
-KIRARA'S WESTERN HOUSE-
-CLOSED-

The silent wind blows as all of us stand there speechless.

"It's... closed..." Jiyu speaks up.

"I FORGOT..." Shiki kneels down on all fours, emotionally down.

"MY FISH AND CHIPS..." Jiyu falls down to his knees.

"Yep. You guys are brainless idiots." I sigh.
Evening, 7:30 pm.

Streets of Shibuya

"So. Who's going where?" I look at our members. Total of twelve.

"If you want, we can go grab a quick bite at simple place like McFlint's." Kazuma suggests to me.

"What about Jiyu?" I look at him.

"Sorry yo. My budget for this month's almost used up. It'll last us until this friday routine, after that comes next month's budget."

This guy...

"Why don't you use next month's budget?"

"No! Next month's budget for next month!"

"Then use some of your savings?"

"No! Savings are savings!"

"You're stingy." I laugh.

"I'm just saving up in case I need money to buy something. There's this new game coming out, so I'm saving up as much as I can."

"How much does it cost?" I ask him.

"Around 5,146 yen."

"How much do you have for your savings now?"

"Around 150,000 yen."

"WHOAAA GIMME!" Shiki holds his hand out to Jiyu.

"GO AWAY!" Jiyu shoves him aside.

"..."

"You have MORE than enough to buy that game." I sweatdrop.

"No! I must have leftovers! You never know when emergencies arise!"

"When was the last time you had an emergency?" I sigh.

"My lungs! Six months ago! It cost me 90% of my savings!"

He should be glad he didn't need to get extra money from his parents to pay his own medical bills. They'd storm back home and live with him, and it will be all over for his carefree life.

"What do you think, Satsuk-"

The girls. They're gone.

"Oh, they said they wanted to head over to the new cafe that's always open 24/7. After Ringo mentioned something about parfait." Akito looks up from his cellphone.

"Why are all girls like ants attracted to parfaits and other sweet stuff? Don't they need some salt for energy?" Jiyu sweatdrops.

"Believe me, my sister would glare me to death if I suggested that she eat cheese during the night when she's hungry." I look at him.

"Well apparently they rushed over to that place as fast as possible cuz there's this new flavor that combines three fruits at once. Also has heckloads of cream on it." Akito informs.

They're all hopeless.

"We should head somewhere too." Jiyu suggests.

"As long as you pay for your own food." I roll my eyes.

"Hey! I've been cooking your dinner for 2 months thanks to your crappy rice cooker! You should pay for me sometimes!"

Shit. I'm busted. He's catching on.

"If we don't wanna eat really expensive stuff, we could always head to some roadside stalls. I mean, that's why Shibuya's awesome right? Stalls and shops, skyscrapers, we got all the good stuff!" Shiki grins.

"Oooo! As expected of Shiki! You the man!" Kazuma cheers.

As expected? We just met him like several days ago.

"Okay, where to?"

Jiyu looks around.

"You're the one who loves road side stalls, G. Go ahead, shoot."

"Hmm..."

He gives it some thought.

"Maybe the usual ramen spot."

That's a decent idea. The ramen's not too expensive, the soup's flavor is perfect, the quantity is also enough. What's more, a large bowl of ramen is already enough to be considered dinner.

"If you dudes agree then we should go." I turn to look at the remaining three.

"I'm fine with anything." Akito agrees.

"I'm always up for some good stuff."

All that's left is Kazuma.

"Sure. Nothing like ramen while hanging out." he grins.

It's settled.
-
"Ittadakimasu!"

After blowing on the noodles on my chopstick, I proceed to take a small bite out of it, making sure I don't burn myself.

Good. The flavor of the soup is prominent and it coexists with the flavor of the noodles perfectly. In fact, the smell adds to it being delicious.

Jiyu slurps away on his miso soup ramen. He ordered a simple, ingredientless bowl of ramen. Just noodles, soup, two slices of roasted pork and some nori paper. He orders that everytime. Big bowl.


"Nothing beats traditional ramen on the streets." he smiles while chewing on a mouthful of ramen.

"Heh. I'd have to agree with that." Kazuma chuckles as he blows on his. He ordered the usual cha-shu ramen.

Shiki, on the other hand, is busy tapping away on his cellphone.

"Oi Shiki, who you texting?" I call out to him.

"My friend, Zephyr. He moved out to Hokkaido after the Error incident. He was supposed to stay behind and join Division X, but because of some problems back there with his family, he's gotta move back. That's why Tachikawa replaced him."

I see.

I notice Akito blowing away on his small bowl of ramen.

"Oi Akito. If you blow on like that, you'll never finish your ramen."

Jiyu laughs instantly, banging his hand on the table with his head buried in the other.

Stupid hyena. Someone, hand me the scotch tape.

I've got more stuff to worry about other than this. The Shade incident is one thing. Though it seems to me that Shades aren't appearing so frequently like the Errors.


"Oh yeah. Do we have any leads on who's the ringleader?"

Jiyu's question is directed towards Shiki, who ponders for a moment.

"I think, for now there's only one lead. Someone spread the virus in the first place. The science division hit a breakthrough yesterday. The virus seems to have originated from the Error virus. Any ideas on who might be spreading it?"

Hmm...

Might be that guy. The guy who's still out there, never been caught.

"Joker." Jiyu speaks the person in my mind.

Yes. Joker...

That guy...


"THAT GUY STOLE MY NICKNAME!!!" Jiyu snaps.

THAT'S what you're worried about!?

With that being said...

We can take this easy for now. Without those Shades appearing frequently.

I'm more or less worried about why are they targeting us. Both times where Jiyu and I were present, both times the Shades attacked us. I don't know if they're targetting him, me, or both of us, but it's making me feel uneasy.

-
That night, Fujiwara Residence.

Voice chat.

"Heeeeh? Yer serious? Ya really want us to go digging around for sahm (some) Shade activity tomorrow?"

Jiyu's kansai dialect is amplified thanks to my headphones. Ugh.

"Please, stop the kansai dialect."

"Kay. Waddya think, Kazuma?"

カズマン:別に。。。私自分にも知らないだ。
ノバ:お前。。。情けねえ奴だな。。。
カズマン:行って死ね
ノバ:冗談だろ、冗談。www。
ノバ:どうしてボイスチャットに使わないだいよ?
カズマン:私のマイクにわ壊れた。
ノバ:お前。。。マジかよ?

Translation:
Kazuman: Well... I don't have a clue.
Nova: You really suck you know?
Kazuman: Go die.
Nova: It was a joke, joke. LOL.
Nova: Oh yeah, why aren't you using the voice chat?
Kazuman: My microphone broke down.
Nova: You can't be serious.

"Oi! Use the voice chat if you can! Wait, how the hell are you reading his messages so flawlessly anyway?"

"I have a translator application. It literally converts all chat messages into English. Though, I have to type my own Japanese messages with caution."

Oh. Good for him.

The sound of police sirens alerts me.


"Oi, hear that?"

"Ye. Something's going on on the main streets."

カズマン:私にも空いて来い
ノバ:よしゃ!かがって来い、野郎ども!

Translation:
Kazuman: I'll be going with you guys.
Nova: Alright! Bring it on, ye troublemakers!

No matter who's causing trouble, this city here is our city. Shibuya is officially our turf.

Shibuya belongs to Division X.

Chapter 8 - End
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Saechika
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Post by Saechika » Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:58 pm

Topic Closed, P.H.A.S.E. Season 2 is currently unable to continue as I've lost all my work due to the reformat (Yes I know I'm an idiot for letting it happen, I'm now saving up all my stuff on regular intervals)
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