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Owari no Chronicle:Volume8 Chapter 17

2014-08-27T14:38:38Z

66.115.70.209: /* Chapter 17: Meeting of Conflict */

==Chapter 17: Meeting of Conflict==
[[Image:OnC_v08_0485.png|thumb]]
''We meet again

''We clash again

''But that too is not new

The color green lay below the blue of the sky.

The green took the form of a slope and the slope was located above a great expanse of salt water.

It was an island.

The island was only about a kilometer long, had a small pier on the east side, and had no buildings. The outer edges were covered in grass and most of the upper area had a roof of trees.

The only boat at the pier was a small fishing boat.

A path leading up the mountain-like island continued west of the pier and three figures were walking below the trees on that mountain path.

The one in the lead was an animal.

It was a six-legged creature that was made up of green plants. A blue stone hung from a string around his neck like a collar and he quickly climbed the mountain path that had little wind.

Suddenly, the plant creature stopped walking and turned around.

The two open holes on what seemed to be his face turned to the two people following him.

One was what appeared to be a girl in a safari coat and the other was a boy in a blue suit.

The one in the suit brushed a hand through his slicked-back hair and spoke.

“Shinjou-kun, he looks like he’s asking if you want to take a break.”

“N-no, I’m fine, Sayama-kun. The shade of the forest has cooled things down.”

Shinjou loosened her safari coat’s collar, wiped sweat from her brow with a towel, and smiled.

She was different from usual. Her hair was tied back as she did for Setsu, but it was tied with a ribbon and her clothes were different.

“Did you choose the tight miniskirt to combine Setsu-kun and Sadame-kun today?”

“Yes. …Is it weird?”

She brought her hands to her shoulders and showed him her outfit, but he shook his head.

She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled again.

“Thanks. Things went well with Setsu last night while dressed as Sadame, so while dressing this morning, I thought it would be best not to distinguish between them so much.”

She gave a bitter smile.

“When I tied the ribbon in the bathroom, I thought of it as crossdressing, but that’s kind of weird when I use ribbons for Sadame’s hair all the time. …But I’m relieved to hear you say it isn’t weird.”

Despite smiling, her eyebrows were slightly lowered the entire time.

“We’re almost to the peak, aren’t we? Let’s hurry. I want to learn all sorts of things and I also want to stop by Izumo HQ to look for information on the Shinjou from the National Defense Department. And I’m worried about Okutama too.”

“Is that so?”

[[Image:OnC_v08_0489.png|thumb]]

Sayama nodded toward the plant creature and the creature began walking once more. His rushing footsteps could be heard when he stepped on dried branches on the ground, but his gait was light as if he was enjoying it.

The two who followed him did not stop walking through the shade of the trees even as they listened to the occasional chirping of birds.

Shinjou let out a shallow breath of exhaustion.

“I wonder what the others are doing.”

“Izumo, Kazami, and the Hiba boy should be monitoring Harakawa’s apartment.”

“That’s not who I meant. I was talking about the people at school.”

She brushed a hand through her bangs which were plastered to her forehead with sweat and she looked at the plant creature walking ahead on the path. She then looked at the trees that seemed to be growing from a sea of underbrush.

“They would never imagine we’re in a place like this.”

While glancing around, she looked beyond the forest. Due to their elevation, the sea seemed to spread out down below and the tiny dots of boats were visible here and there.

When she looked even further, she saw land. That was the western coast of Kyushu.

While occasionally checking on her footing, she continued looking at the sea.

“I feel a little guilty for having so much fun in the middle of so much trouble.”

“No matter what happens in life, most anything can be settled by saying, ‘Oh, how delightful!’ ”

“Hey, I see some kind of big facility on the opposite coast. Do you think it’s a nuclear power plant?”

“Oh, how delightful!”

“I don’t think’s quite the right way to look at that.”

As the two walked, they quickened their pace to catch up with the plant creature. The path curved to the left and thus to the center of the island and the ocean visible through the trees changed. Shinjou spoke up with the chirping of birds overhead.

“Sayama-kun, do you think this path is ever used?”

“It seems Nagasaki UCAT maintains it and preserves the forest. The 4th-Gear reservation is up ahead, but a forest is needed as a foundation if the reservation is ever to be expanded.”

“I see,” she said with a nod.

She then saw something dark cutting across the path and jumped over it.

“Is that a water pipe?”

“I assume they are drawing fresh water from underground. That way they can cover the island in the damp environment 4th-Gear prefers.”

“That means the reservation is right up ahead, doesn’t it?”

As soon as she said that, the plant creature turned toward them up ahead.

“…”

And he suddenly vanished.

Just as Shinjou gave a quiet “ah” at that fact, she felt a vibration.

The watches she and Sayama wore vibrated and text scrolled across the dial.

—'''Plants are the rulers.

An instant later, they were surrounded by even more green.

They had entered the 4th-Gear reservation.

A wristwatch indicated the time was two o’clock.

The black watch was wrapped around a thick arm that was connected to a large body that was leaning against a tree.

Next to the watch’s wearer was a girl also hiding with her back against the tree.

She peered around from the right of the tree and saw the blue sky and slightly blurry white clouds.

“The gravestones block people’s view more than you would think. But you’re tall, Kaku, so be careful.”

“Sure, but I didn’t expect them to be visiting a cemetery. Chisato, which one of them do you think wanted to have a date here?”

Izumo peered around the tree on the opposite side from Kazami.

The two of them were watching two other people walk between the orderly rows of gravestones.

One was a black-haired boy in a school uniform and the other was a blonde girl in a hoodie.

“Kaku, is that blonde girl Heo? She looks like the girl in the photo.”

“That’s a good question,” said Izumo noncommittally. “She is looking around curiously while he isn’t. I know what makes people act like that because I did it myself once. She’s not used to Japan.”

“Harakawa is checking that sign for the cemetery’s map. It looks like they’re headed to the foreigner area.”

“Does that mean the Harakawa or Thunderson family has a grave here?”

Izumo’s suggestion caused Kazami to stop moving.

She narrowed her eyes and stared at Harakawa and Heo as they walked between the gravestones. She then tilted her head.

“They have too many flowers.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are two containers for flowers at the grave. One on either side. But they have two flowers each.”

That meant…

“They might be visiting both the Harakawa and the Thunderson graves. What do you think?”

“I’m not sure what to think. It could be a coincidence and it may have some kind of meaning, but I don’t know what that meaning is. Either way, this means both of them have a parent buried here.”

“Yes…you’re right. Maybe we’re overthinking this?”

Kazami spoke aloud and nodded as if trying to convince herself.

After a pause, she nodded again, but she grabbed G-Sp2 from where it was leaning against the tree. She took a step forward and away from the tree, but Izumo called out to her.

“Hey, Chisato.”

“They’re going to move out of sight if we don’t move. Stay low and follow me.”

“If you insist,” said Izumo as he crouched down.

He grabbed V-Sw from the tree and soon made his way to her.

He glanced at her for a quick moment and then back at the two backs moving away.

“Chisato, you might’ve been onto something just now.”

“In what way?”

“My grandfather’s grave is up ahead too.”

She frowned at that and frantically looked around.

“W-wait a second. I need to buy some flowers for him and greet him. Um, what does your grandfather like? Porn magazines?”

“Chisato, make up your mind whether you’re gonna be polite or rude. But yeah, probably porn magazines. I’m sure he’d love it if we opened one and propped it up against the next grave up so he could look at it. …Anyway, can we get back on topic?”

“Sure. You were saying?”

She held her spear under one arm and began counting the contents of her wallet, but Izumo continued regardless.

“Not only is my grandfather’s grave up ahead, but so is Sayama’s grandfather’s, the Ooshiro family’s…and probably the Hiba family’s too.”

“Eh?”

Kazami’s expression and the hand in her wallet both froze.

She also stopped walking, so Izumo did as well. She glanced toward Harakawa and Heo to make sure she would not lose sight of them and then looked back at Izumo.

“What does that mean?”

“It means all those perverted old men are competing together for pervert supremacy in the afterlife. It seems a section of this cemetery is used for UCAT members after they die,” he explained. “But the old Thunderson still hasn’t been placed in the Thunderson grave and what about Harakawa? If his grandfather or grandmother had been a part of the original UCAT, we would’ve seen his name in the documents the military god papa gave us. In that case, it must be a parent of his that’s in the Harakawa grave.”

“The Harakawa and Thunderson parents? Why would they be in a cemetery for UCAT-…”

Kazami trailed off, glanced back and forth as if checking something, looked down, and finally returned her gaze at Izumo.

“Kaku, can I make a prediction?”

“Sure. My prediction for our future is two kids and a giant house.”

She took G-Sp2 from under her arm and spun it around a little to take care of that, but the concern remained in her expression even as Izumo collapsed.

“What if it’s the people who died in the secondary damages of the Great Kansai Earthquake? That could explain the graves from their parents’ generation.”

“It is possible their parents were in UCAT back then.” Izumo got up and brushed off the dirt. “But it’s a pain how so many mysteries are popping up. I wish we could’ve told Sayama this last night.”

“Why?”

“He and Shinjou are going to the IAI headquarters in Izumo, remember? My dad’s there and he should know just about everything. If they strangle him and have him spill the beans, it would solve everything.”

“Um, Kaku?” Kazami lowered the ends of her eyebrows but still smiled. “I’ve only spoken with your dad that one time two years ago, but I doubt he would say anything even if they strangled him.”

“You’re taking his side?”

“In a roundabout way, I was complimenting you.”

Bitterness entered her smile and she brushed some dirt off his shoulder.

“Anyway, let’s see where those two are headed. We can talk after that.”

“Right.”

Izumo raised his hips and Kazami did the same.

Harakawa and Heo had grown more distance and Izumo and Kazami stood up some because they doubted the other two would notice and because they wanted to hurry up and get closer.

But they soon noticed someone else standing on the next row of gravestones.

It was likely someone visiting a grave, so Kazami lowered her head a bit and pushed the back of Izumo’s head so he would do the same.

The other person also nodded and then their gazes met.

Kazami realized there was an entire group beyond the row of graves.

Most of them wore blue armored uniforms beneath their suits and they had machineguns hidden inside their bouquets of flowers.

In the lead was an elderly man in a suit and…

“Roger Sully!!” shouted Kazami.

After a moment, Roger looked up in surprise.

“Why are you here!? Are you here to do perverted things in the graveyard!?”

“Who are you calling perverted!? And I see that look on your face, Kaku, but stay quiet!”

She ignored how Izumo timidly stuck his right thumb in his mouth and she quickly held up G-Sp2.

Meanwhile, Roger and the others took a large step back and similarly prepared for battle.

The wind blew in and the sunlight passed through the clouds while the elderly man raised his right arm and spoke to Roger.

“Roger, Roger. Who are these two? I remember seeing one of them this morning!”

“Testament. Colonel Odor, they are a dangerous pair. After all…” He took in a breath. “When I gave them a dream yesterday, both of them independently began a one-man kissing and groping scene!”

“Y-you don’t have to get into so much detail! And Kaku, this is not the time to ask me if it’s true!”

“Roger, Roger. These are students yet they were making out? Japan truly is a depraved country!”

Kazami fired while making sure not to hit any of the gravestones.

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_16|Chapter 16]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Afterword|Afterword]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume8 Chapter 14

2014-08-21T16:21:01Z

66.115.70.209: /* Chapter 14: Shadow of Fate */

==Chapter 14: Shadow of Fate==
[[Image:OnC_v08_0393.png|thumb]]
''All things have aspects that cannot be seen

''They cannot be seen by people

''They cannot be seen by time

There were stars.

The night sky was an expanse of scattered stars visible through the night clouds floating in front of them.

Looking down showed a similar scene.

That scene was a city nightscape.

Both of those lights were visible from a certain spot in the mountains of Okutama in west Tokyo.

UCAT’s disguised transport control building stood six stories aboveground, so the earth and sky were both visible from the roof’s edge.

A man’s voice could be heard before those lights.

“The lights on the surface look farther away to me. …How do they look to you, Sf?”

“Tes. It does not look that way at all to me. I have determined you are experiencing an optical illusion, Itaru-sama.”

Even though it was night, a beach parasol and a long chair were located on the western edge of the roof. Ooshiro Itaru sat in the chair while wearing a black suit and he raised both hands after Sf spoke next to him.

“An optical illusion, is it? It’s wonderful how accurate your mechanical decisions are.”

“Tes. Unparalleled accuracy is the motto of the German UCAT automaton.”

“Then prove your unparalleled accuracy by getting a headshot on the American UCAT soldiers guarding the roof entrance and wandering around down below. That should cause a commotion.”

“Tes. Unfortunately, I do not possess a firearm. When we were taken into custody, I followed your advice and handed them over.”

“Oh? Well, you can’t exactly prove your unparalleled accuracy like this. I guess I can’t see just how accurate German UCAT can be. How unfortunate.”

“Tes,” replied Sf with a bow.

She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a small object that resembled a watch.

“What is that, Sf?”

“Tes. It is the IAI boy’s love pedometer named Manzou-kun.”

“Is that all?”

“Tes. Do not worry. I have modified it so it is wirelessly linked to the explosives embedded in the firearms I handed over earlier. Once your daily number of steps reaches ten thousand, a transmission powerful enough to break through their jamming will send the detonation signal and demonstrate German UCAT’s accuracy. …I believe seven more steps are needed.”

“Wait, you stupid machine. Are you saying I can’t walk anymore today?”

“No, you can still walk. This simply means German UCAT’s accuracy will be demonstrated on the seventh step. And you may continue walking afterwards with no issue. The world will continue on just fine. Also, my predictions say you will shed tears of praise for me and send an email filled with deep emotion to German UCAT. Now, how about giving it a try?”

“I think you mean I’ll shed tears of grief and send an email of protest to German UCAT, you stupid machine.”

With that, Itaru sank down in the chair.

However, he continued looking at Sf.

As she stood next to him, she stared down below.

“American UCAT is camping on the runway,” he said. “As a German machine, does it look like an American occupation army to you?”

“They are not an army. I have determined UCATs are a type of vigilante organization.”

“Is that so, is that so? So vigilante organizations are giving automatons flashy guns and explosives these days.”

“Tes. That is standard equipment. If you wish for additional equipment, please send a request to German UCAT. A traffic safety firearm campaign is currently running, so the first one to enter will win the common weapon known as a personal anti-tank railgun.”

“The first one to enter? I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who could possibly enter.”

“No, there is one other. And that would be me. Surprised?”

“Oh, wow. How surprising. …Wait! Don’t tell me you entered!”

“No, it is unfortunately against the rules to enter into more than one contest.”

“I see, I see. That’s very good to hear. …What else did you enter!?”

Sf tilted her head at his shouted question.

“Itaru-sama, your blood pressure is rising for some reason. I have determined you need to calm down. Also, I exist solely for you. I was created to not cause any trouble, interruption, unhappiness, interference, worries, or disrespect for you, so rest easy, breathe a sigh of relief, and feel grateful.”

“Then let me use all my self-control and gratitude to ask you this: how well do you think you have carried out that duty?”

“Tes. I have determined I will have done enough as long as I remain by your side. As long as I continue doing that, I will be fulfilling my raison d'être.”

“And if I don’t like it?”

“Tes. Earlier today, you corrected my words to this: they may complain, but they actually like you.”

“Wow. I must really, really love you.”

“Tes. I have recorded that statement in my brain’s storage space. Once this commotion is dealt with, I will send the audio data to German UCAT.”

“Don’t, you selfish machine.”

“Tes. I will not send out this data. It has been successfully saved in my storage space. Thank you for helping me expand my library of data.”

She gave a quick bow and he sighed.

She then looked down once more, but he could not see anything from his chair.

“Are you concerned about American UCAT? Or is it the pathetic ones hiding down below?”

“Tes. I have determined the Americans are more confusing by a margin of a few percentage points.”

“Out with it.”

Sf lowered her head slightly but did not change the direction of her gaze.

“Why did American UCAT occupy Japanese UCAT?”

“You already know the answer, don’t you?”

“Tes. Then let me give my guess. American UCAT’s main force seems to be their mechanical dragons, so I suspect they wish to carry out the Leviathan Road with 5th-Gear using those dragons. They will negotiate through battle.”

“And what is their motive?”

Sf moved her right hand in response. She accurately raised it to shoulder height and extended it such that her index finger pointed to the east.

“Tes. Their motive is likely the same as in that cemetery. It is the same imagination that leads humans to make graves.”

“Is that so?” Itaru sat up in the chair and brushed a hand through his white hair. “You’re more or less right there, as ridiculous as it is.”

He reached for the metal cane leaning against the chair and tossed it to Sf.

She thrust out her left hand to catch the metal pole flying through the darkness. Without losing any momentum, she used her fingers and wrist to skillfully rotate the cane around like a windmill.

“Itaru-sama, here.”

She placed it on the floor to the right of him.

The sharp sound of it striking the concrete caused the American UCAT soldiers guarding the roof to turn around. However, he took the cane regardless and stood from the chair.

“I don’t know all the details myself, but let’s try to increase your knowledge.”

“Tes. Are you referring to the discussion about American UCAT?’

“Yes. I’m talking about why they are so fixated on 5th-Gear.”

Just as Itaru took a step toward the edge of the roof, a young man’s voice reached him from behind.

“Didn’t someone tell us it was best to avoid revealing too much about the past?”

“Those were the words of the one who was always lecturing us, Roger Sully.”

Itaru turned around and found a young man in a brown suit at the entrance to the roof. His blond hair was slicked back and he pushed his glasses up his nose.

“With Diana here too, this feels like a reunion. She is currently sleeping in the beauty salon, but for now I can speak with the Leviathan Road’s supervisor about American UCAT’s situation.”

He walked forward and looked up in the sky.

“We can discuss the truth about the past that Mr. Richard Thunderson revealed to us before leaving the United States.”

Sayama and Shinjou faced the transmission monitor in their hotel room.

The room was dark because the footage on the monitor was dark.

The monitor resembled a fourteen inch television and it was placed against the wall on a side table. The footage on its screen came from Kashima’s camera underneath UCAT.

A white and blue cannon was visible in the darkness.

Chao stood on top of it, so they could tell just how large it was. It was easily over forty meters.

From the top of the cannon, Chao spoke while walking toward the muzzle.

“Anyway, before the Allied UCAT arrived at the National Defense Department, they had captured a single mechanical dragon. Due to the Divine States-World Interaction Theory, the ley line modifications had connected 5th-Gear to Hokkaido. From what I heard, an airplane-like machine launched to Hokkaido’s northern coast was collected by Sayama Kaoru because he was free at the time.”

“My grandfather?”

Shinjou realized Sayama was holding his suit at the left side of his chest as he watched the monitor.

She sat to his left while wearing what she had worn to dinner.

Before leaving for the meal, her body had changed to Sadame’s about forty minutes later than usual.

That was why she wore girl’s clothing, but she pressed against Sayama’s left shoulder without worrying about the wrinkles it would make.

Just after the transmission had arrived, he had told the others what he had discussed with Roger.

American UCAT’s reason and foundation for stopping the Leviathan Road was the will that said all of Richard Thunderson’s authority transferred to American UCAT upon his death and that included full authority over 5th-Gear.

The others gulped in understanding of what that meant, but he had spoken up regardless.

“I will deal with it somehow. The Leviathan Road is mine, after all.”

The others had sworn to do whatever they could to help and he had nodded.

Currently, they were listening to Chao talk about the past.

“Back then, the National Defense Department – along with Siegfried’s research – was investigating the existence of the different Gears and how to produce the gates. After retrieving a mechanical dragon from a foreign Gear, they naturally attempted to analyze it, but they were unable to remove any of its components no matter how hard they tried and they were unable to restart it. Even when they climbed into the cockpit, the supposed controls did nothing. …Why do you think that was?”

Kazami spoke from outside the screen.

“Was it broken?”

“I said they captured it, didn’t I? It didn’t look broken and it indeed wasn’t.”

“Then,” said Shinjou while sensing Sayama turning toward her.

…''Will my voice get through?

With that thought, she asked her question.

“Then was it out of fuel? Or was it not in the right concept?”

“Not quite, Shinjou. …That was Shinjou, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, Doctor Chao.”

“I thought so. …From what Sayama told me, it was Shinjou who figured out why the machine wasn’t working despite not looking broken. Shinjou Kaname, that is.”

“Eh?”

That name caused Shinjou to shrink down.

…''The Shinjou from the National Defense Department?

She tilted her head at the name that might or might not be related to her. Chao then arrived at the muzzle end and looked down from there.

“It was simple. The machine’s cockpit was empty when it fell from 5th-Gear, so Shinjou Kaname concluded that the machine was alive.” She took a breath. “He said the machine had put itself to sleep which kept any of the components from moving and rejected any input from the controls. And so he decided it needed to be returned to 5th-Gear.”

“Returned?”

“Yes. If it was indeed alive, their investigation was nothing more than searching over his body without his permission. That was why they tried to move the machine back to the crash site in Hokkaido.” Chao raised both her hands to shoulder height. “But when the machine opened the concept space gate, it connected to the scene of a concept battle between 5th-Gear and 9th-Gear. Sayama Kaoru, Siegfried, and the others there were caught up in the battle, but the machine suddenly began to move and it protected them.”

“Was that machine named Xolotl 3?”

“Oh? I’m impressed you know that. …The concept space closed and he was once more unable to return. But by that time, the National Defense Department had managed to replicate a weakened form of a few 5th-Gear concepts and language concepts, so Sayama Kaoru returned Xolotl 3 to the National Defense Department and attempted to speak with him.”

At that point, a left hand rose on the screen.

It was Hiba’s.

When he entered the screen, Shinjou spoke her honest thoughts.

“Oh, you were there, Ryuuji-kun?”

“Waaah! I guess I don’t stand out much compared to all these demonic upperclassmen, do I!?”

The sounds of someone cracking their knuckles came from the right of the screen and Hiba’s voice dropped in tone.

“Um,” he began. “I heard the National Defense Department discovered the Concept War when my grandfather and Siegfried-san were fighting over who destroyed a ley line modification facility. I believe corpses and wreckage from those defeated in a concept battle fell in front of them.”

“Yes, that’s right. What about it?”

“Well, does that mean the first actual contact with a resident of another Gear was with that mechanical dragon?”

Izumo clapped his hands together off screen.

“Yeah, that’s what I was going to say. Well said, Hiba. I think I’ll nickname you Mini-Me.”

“Ha ha ha. I don’t think so, Izumo-san. That would make it sound like I’m even remotely like you.”

“They’re a little alike. Kind of like Hiba-kun is the caterpillar and Izumo-san is the butterfly. Right, Sayama-kun?”

“An excellent description, Shinjou-kun. That process is technically known as a metamorphosis and in this case it would be a perverted metamorphosis.”

“Oh, so Ryuuji-kun is the pre-perversion Izumo-san and Izumo-san is the post-perversion Izumo-san?”

“Okay, you two! That’s enough whispering commentary!”

Shinjou tilted her head at Hiba’s shout.

…''Perversion, hm?

She felt like a lot of things had started making sense.

“I have nothing more to say,” she said. “I think we summed it up pretty well.”

“I have a feeling you’re making a rather large misunderstanding,” replied Hiba with doubt in his eyes.

However, the next person to speak was not replying to him.

It was Sayama and his emotionless voice was directed at Chao in the slightly-staticky footage.

“Doctor Chao, that first contact did not initially go very well, did it?”

“Oh? How do you know that?”

“That is simple. When we visited Kanda before, we were shown the past at the guidance of a kind automaton. There, we saw Hiba-sensei, the Ooshiro father who is actually a decent person, and Cronus of 3rd-Gear.”

Hiba turned toward him at the mention of his grandfather.

Shinjou noted the serious look in the boy’s eyes while Sayama continued.

“They mentioned that Mikage-kun’s birth gave Miss Rhea a desire to help Low-Gear and she had the mechanical dragon named Xolotl 3 open a path to 5th-Gear.”

He reached out his left hand to the center of the screen and tapped the cannon with his index finger.

“He must have been wary of the National Defense Department.”

“He was,” replied Chao. “From what I hear, the mechanical dragon only gave the name Xolotl 3 and refused to say anything about 5th-Gear. I think that was in March of 1941. But when he was shown the god of war wreckage and other things they had retrieved, Xolotl 3 gave a few pieces of information and was shocked to find Low-Gear knew nothing of the Concept War.”

“And then along came Miss Rhea?”

“Yes,” confirmed Chao. She sat on the muzzle end with her legs dangling down and her head resting on her arms. “That was in July of 1941. Mikage’s conception was detected from Rhea’s physical condition in July of the following year and that led her to contact Xolotl 3. I believe a group photo of the National Defense Department was taken around that time. Have you seen it? It would probably be pretty faded by now, though.”

“Oh… Is that the one in the Kinugasa Library?” asked Shinjou.

“Yeah, if it exists, it’d be pretty old. There should be one of us in the old UCAT days as well. But anyway…”

“Yes?”

At Sayama’s question, Chao pulled a cigarette from her pocket and placed it in her mouth.

“Four years before we arrived, the National Defense Department went farther than anyone else. It’s a painful fact both for my home country and for the United States,” she said. “Talking about this really takes me back. So much surprised me back then. I couldn’t believe that Rhea’s pregnancy lasted several years and there were plenty of ridiculous commotions after that as well. It’s all so nostalgic.”

The night sky was visible up above.

However, that vast expanse was cut off in every direction by trees.

This was a clearing surrounded by forest and two people stood there.

One was a short old man and the other was a tall old man.

The tall bald one spoke to the short one with a questioning tone in his voice.

“Has American UCAT finally made their move, Hiba Ryuutetsu? That country has a way of mistaking pride and reputation for justice and then obsessing over them.”

“Don’t say that, Siegfried. I know all too well how grudges and regret can put things in motion.”

Near the forest to the west was a stump.

Ryuutetsu sat on that stump in pajamas and sandals and he looked up at Siegfried.

“Don’t you sit down too. Too old men sitting together like pals would be a little too creepy.”

“I have yet to age so much that I must sit,” replied Siegfried.

Ryuutetsu tilted his head and carefully observed Siegfried’s face from below as if looking up into the forest and sky.

“The hell did you just say? Do you want to settle what we started seventy years ago?”

“What are you talking about? That was precisely sixty-eight years ago and it was my win even if we never managed to finish.”

“I clearly had that one in the bag, you moron. And how can you even pretend to have won when my magnificent dropkick broke three of your ribs?”

“And whose left arm was it that my mystical spell literally smashed? And you were the one that wrongfully assumed I had destroyed that facility.”

“But you still destroyed all the other ones.”

“Being accurate in your work is an excellent German teaching. Also, that was not the real reason you were pursuing me. It went back to the day before. We were assigned to the same room, so I was cleaning and I found several indecent magazines below your bed.”

“Yeah,” agreed Ryuutetsu. “And of all the possible ways of handling that situation, you had to hand them over to Toshi. She ended up chasing me around with a red hot fire poker.”

“And in the end…”

“Yeah, I of course tricked her into thinking you had bought them as a way of assimilating Japanese culture. I was chasing you down that night to eliminate the witness.”

“You mountain ape. So does Toshi still think those magazines were mine?”

“Heh heh heh. You aren’t getting away tonight. I won’t let you reveal that misunderstanding after seventy years.”

“Get it into your head already. It was sixty-eight years ago.”

The two of them glared at each other and Siegfried slowly stepped back.

While still sitting, Ryuutetsu placed the bottoms of his feet on the side of the stump so he could leap forward at any moment.

“…”

But they then heard a small whistle that resembled a sigh.

It was the wind producing a whistling noise as it struck something.

The two old men’s expressions vanished for an instant and Siegfried eventually straightened up.

“Is that coming from Rhea’s house?”

“It’s falling apart a little, so the wind gets in. That reminds me of when Rhea’s stomach grew so quickly. That was when we learned 3rd-Gear humans have long pregnancies to match their long lives, but they come to an end pretty damn quickly. Since they had so few descendants, Rhea didn’t know how it worked either and it all caused a huge commotion. Chao was oddly excited.”

“If that had happened in the summer, we might not have been able to stop the Allied UCATs. …And now we really weren’t able to. It was Rhea who saved us back then.”

Siegfried looked up.

The ceiling of trees shook lightly as the night breeze blew through like waves.

“This is a lot like that last night when Richard left for 5th-Gear.”

“Yeah, I don’t know much about that because I was busy with 3rd-Gear at the time. I hear he was pretty manly. When he heard another of his fellow pilots was shot down by Black Sun, didn’t he ignore his orders to return to American UCAT and head out in Xolotl 3?”

“Yes, I’m starting to feel quite nostalgic. I’m almost ready to say he was a somewhat decent man. …I may be growing senile. In my memories, we were always all together back then. Even when I think about the National Defense Department, I picture Chao, Abram, and Richard with us and I begin to wonder if we were all together afterwards as well.”

“I think that sometimes too. But while it may be senility in your case, I think some things really have changed. We had such trouble getting along with Thunderson back then, but now we can speak his name without issue.”

Ryuutetsu stood up from the stump and looked up in the windy night sky just like Siegfried.

“And now he’s dead. I always thought I’d go before him.”

“And American UCAT is here too. It makes me wonder what happened to the resolution that sent him on his journey.”

“That idiot didn’t tell us anything.” Ryuutetsu bent his back and hips as if looking even further into the sky. “He didn’t leave us with anything besides the report saying 5th-Gear was a world of mechanical dragons, a simple history of the place, and that Vesper Cannon he brought back with him. He said something about searching for the other of his dead friend’s twin children, but he wouldn’t let any of us help.”

“Such ridiculous pride. He was supposedly American UCAT’s ace mechanical dragon pilot, but the pathetic man never properly flew one in front of us.”

“That’s right. That’s right.” Ryuutetsu smiled bitterly. “He was always second-guessing himself too. He even asked Lord Northwind why he was chosen to remain in Japan. And yet…”

“And yet?”

“While I was gone, the bastard destroyed 5th-Gear, sank Black Sun in the ocean off of Hokkaido, and returned with the Vesper Cannon that contained half the Concept Core.” Ryuutetsu straightened up. “If only Xolotl 3 was still around. Then we could learn about Thunderson even now and Thunderson might not have died in the first place.”

“Xolotl 3, hm? He’s gone now, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” said Ryuutetsu while looking up into the sky.

The wind blew in from the east and it brought noise with it.

That noise was the low rumbling of airplane engines.

The identification light of a transport plane was circling as if patrolling the night sky.

Hiba clicked his tongue while watching that flashing of red and white.

“Richard would only say Xolotl 3 and White Creation, which could oppose Black Sun, were both gone and that only the Vesper Cannon remained. But the Vesper Cannon I knew was Xolotl 3’s primary weapon and not that giant thing.” He took a breath. “5th-Gear mechanical dragons have the ability to self-evolve. That was in Thunderson’s report, so I’m guessing Xolotl 3 or some mechanical dragon we don’t know-…”

“Focused on White Creation by combining with the Vesper Cannon to one day defeat Black Sun?”

As Siegfried spoke, the rumbling passed by overhead.

The wind blew and rustled through the forest as if making some kind of appeal.

“And Black Sun, that large mechanical dragon singlehandedly spreading a storm of danger across 5th-Gear, has not been destroyed. Mr. Richard Thunderson received full authority over 5th-Gear from White Creation, but he was unable to fulfill his rematch with Black Sun.”

A night breeze blew across the roof while Roger spoke to the two standing before him.

Those two were Ooshiro Itaru and Sf, his maid.

“When Mr. Richard Thunderson was sent from American UCAT to Japanese UCAT, he stated in writing that all his authority would be transferred to American UCAT upon his death.”

“And so you claim the Vesper Cannon and 5th-Gear’s Concept Core belong to American UCAT? You say Japanese UCAT has kept the Vesper Cannon this long only because he left it here and we can’t begin the Leviathan Road without rechecking all this?”

Itaru asked his two questions in quick succession, but Roger did not immediately reply.

After a while, the wind blew in and he brushed a hand through his hair.

“More than sixty years ago, American UCAT lost some people to Black Sun.”

“And you prepared mechanical dragons to take vengeance?”

“That is not all, but I will still say testament. The Vesper Cannon is a mechanical dragon cannon, it is not known how to fire it, and it likely has a mind of its own. We predict that the Vesper Cannon evolved into its current form by combining with a mechanical dragon damaged in the battle that sank Black Sun.”

“And so Xolotl 3’s mind was taken into it?”

“Yes,” agreed Roger while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a postcard-sized piece of copy paper. “This is a photograph of Mr. Thunderson speaking with Xolotl 3. It is a reproduction of the original. Supposedly, he and Xolotl 3 enjoyed speaking of flying and that was why he was placed in charge of 5th-Gear. If Xolotl 3’s mind resides within the Vesper Cannon, it will respond to an American UCAT mechanical dragon that carries on Mr. Thunderson’s wishes. Don’t you agree?”

“That isn’t all, is it?”

Itaru gave a bitter smile, raised the cane in his left hand and balanced himself on his left leg.

He rested the cane on his right shoulder so it pointed at the landscape behind him.

“Thunderson’s great-granddaughter, Heo Thunderson, is somewhere out there. If the Vesper Cannon doesn’t react to American UCAT, you’re planning to put her in the mechanical dragon, aren’t you?”

“There is no need and I would not allow it.”

“Oh?”

Itaru lowered his cane and Roger pushed his glasses up his nose and returned the photograph to his pocket. Roger looked up at the transport ships visible flying beyond the wall of the concept space.

“A disguised transport ship is waiting in Yokota to take Miss Heo home at any time. It is possible she could be attacked by Black Sun while crossing the Pacific, so the Vesper Cannon can be used as bait and we have also prepared weakened 5th-Gear concepts. The latter have already been proven effective, so American UCAT will lure Black Sun here and settle this.”

“Are you sure? Just because you have mechanical dragons doesn’t mean-…”

“My colonel has already repelled Black Sun over the ocean once. All we need is to supply the finishing blow and that role will of course be filled by our mechanical dragons.”

“Even with a fleet of American UCAT’s latest mechanical dragons, this will lead to deaths.”

“Yes,” agreed Roger while lifting his glasses to hide his expression. “But this is the desire of our higher ups who wish to show off American UCAT’s technology and strength. The colonel and I will form a defensive line at Yokota and the mechanical dragon unit will continue ahead to intercept it in Tokyo Bay. The pilots will all be volunteers who have said they will take care of it, so we can only trust in them.”

“I see,” said Itaru before turning to Sf. “What do you think of all this?”

“Tes. It seems to me the invaders are simply attempting to take the world for themselves using war and the lives of the dead.”

“Very good.” Itaru turned to Roger. “What do you think of Diana’s automaton, Roger?”

“I can only imagine she created it to mock us.”

“It’s quite a problem. Then again, I think she was trying to be considerate to those of us who survived that battle. Did she send anything to you?”

“Only the sand. After all, I was obedient and, unlike you, gained quite a lot back then. She did not need to provide any help after the fact.”

At that point, he suddenly began walking toward the edge to look down.

“As for the one who isn’t obedient…”

Roger crossed the roof, passed by Itaru, and arrived at the edge. He stood on the raised area meant to prevent anyone from jumping and lightly held up his body.

“What do you think? I am getting good at insinuating things, aren’t I? This is a technique I picked up from that man. And-…”

He was unable to finish.

At some point, Sf had moved up behind him and she shoved his raised chest with both hands.

“Ah,” he said.

“…”

As if in slow motion, he collapsed over the edge of the roof.

By the time the guards turned around in confusion, he had already vanished, so they had turned back, assuming nothing had happened.

The wind blew through and Itaru finally spoke.

“Explain what you just did, Sf.”

“Tes. He stepped up and seemed to be hesitating, so my assistance circuits activated.”

“Do you think anyone could escape that unharmed!?”

Sf tilted her head.

“Diana-sama was perfectly fine.”

“Do not confuse strange Germans with strange Americans. They have completely different special techniques.”

Sf gave a brief and expressionless look up into the sky, but she soon lowered her head.

“Tes. I have committed that to memory. From now on, I will not help Americans in that manner. I am perfectly able to distinguish between races, so do not worry.”

However, she then looked to the now-empty edge of the roof.

“I do not hear any words of thanks from Roger-sama.”

“It may just be me, but I doubt you’ll ever receive any from him now.”

“Itaru-sama, may I send an email of complaint to American UCAT? ‘I kindly shoved a representative of yours from the roof and was disappointed that he did not express any gratitude.’ …How does that sound?”

“Do whatever you want, but don’t get me involved.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a hand reached onto the edge of the roof from the outside.

It scratched at the surface two or three times in search of something to grab onto.

Itaru sighed and spoke to Sf.

“Sf, help him.”

“Tes.”

Sf pulled a collapsible bamboo broom from her skirt and swept the hand away from the edge.

“Wah!” shouted Roger’s voice.

“…”

Itaru and Sf watched as the voice travelled further and further down.

After several seconds had passed, Itaru finally spoke.

“Sf, what did you help him with?”

“Tes. I determined he was attempting to sweep the edge of the roof.”

Sf looked to the edge but quickly tilted her head. She pulled a dust cloth from her apron and roughly wiped down the area his hand had been searching along.

“I have determined that was a truly amateurish job. Using your hand leaves fingerprints.”

“You’re attempting to eliminate the evidence of his struggle, aren’t you?”

Meanwhile, the door up to the roof was thrown open.

Roger stood in the doorway, but his outfit was a bit different. Specifically, his suit was torn as if by claws.

“Wh-what kind of knowledge did Diana give that automaton!?”

“Roger, I’m glad to see you’re doing well. Let me tell you something interesting: I don’t understand a thing about this automaton except that she is cruel to Americans and Russians.”

“That witch is supposed to German, so why does she love lies and jokes so much?”

Roger walked swiftly over in his torn suit and Sf turned toward him and held out the slightly dirtied dust cloth.

“Roger-sama, I assisted your bravery and dealt with your poor attempt at cleaning, so I have determined it would best if you gave me some words of thanks.”

Roger stopped in his tracks and stared at Itaru, but Itaru waved his hands back and forth.

“If you have anything to say, take it to Diana.”

“Do you really think that witch will listen?”

Roger turned back toward Sf and pushed up the glasses that were now cracked on the right side.

“That could easily have turned into an international incident. You should be thankful that I survived.”

Sf nodded at Roger’s words.

“Tes. Then I will accept that our thanks have cancelled each other out. I suppose that is the American way.”

She took a breath, looked up into the sky, shrugged her shoulders, and whistled.

“That American-style whistle means that my acceptance circuits have completed running. Will that suffice?”

“That pretty much covers it. Do you understand now, Shinjou, Sayama?”

Kazami watched as Chao stood up on the cannon.

When the woman turned around in her white coat and the sleeves flipped around, Shinjou’s voice came from the cell phone Kashima held and the girl sounded rushed.

“D-Doctor Chao!”

“Ha ha ha. Shinjou-kun, as Doctor Chao, don’t you think she should make some medicinal foods? Then we could ‘Chao down’ on- gwah!”

“C-c’mon, Sayama-kun. I want to ask something, so I made you quiet!”

“Shinjou, your phrasing at the end there was a little weird,” commented Kazami.

Meanwhile, Chao’s footsteps grew more distant, so Shinjou frantically spoke up.

“Wait a minute, Doctor Chao! I want to ask something! Um… Miss Chao!!”

Chao did not stop.

“That’s not gonna cut it.”

“Th-then Young Lady Chao!!”

“Keep going.”

''What is going on?'' wondered Kazami before turning toward Kashima.

“Shinjou, say what you have to say. It looks like Doctor Chao’s test is pretty tough.”

“U-um, then…”

Shinjou’s hesitation ate up some of her time, but she finally asked.

“What happened to Shinjou Kaname!?”

Kazami looked toward the one being asked, but Chao did not stop walking away along the cannon.

However, she did speak quietly.

“Silly girl.”

She sighed and slowed her exit a bit.

“When Shinjou Kaname was ill, my grandfather attempted to bring him to the people of 4th-Gear,” said Sayama. “That was so 4th-Gear could heal him, but it never happened. Does that mean…”

“Are you trying to say Shinjou Kaname died of his illness? You fools,” said Chao. “Before those like me arrived, Shinjou Kaname apparently quit the National Defense Department and was hospitalized in Hachioji. And there, he recovered.”

“Eh? Then he never met 4th-Gear because his illness healed and there was no need?”

“I don’t have the right to tell you about any of that, so ask someone else. But let me tell you one thing. When I was there, a New Year’s card arrived from Shinjou’s home just once. The address was in Shimane and the card said his child had grown a good bit.”

The word “child” caused Kazami to bring a hand to her own stomach.

Seeing that, Izumo gave her a serious look.

“What is it, Chisato? Are you getting fat? Or was that fried chicken you ate past its expira-…”

She decided a hook would be best to create silence, so she did so.

After the sound of flesh and bone collapsing to the ground, silence had fallen over the underground space.

She thought while finding the silence pleasant.

…''Do Shinjou Kaname’s descendants continue down to Shinjou?

The headquarters of IAI’s predecessor, the Izumo Aviation Institute, had been located in Shimane. IAI headquarters were still there, so if Shinjou Kaname was from there…

…''He was supposedly Professor Kinugasa’s assistant, so they probably met at the Izumo HQ.

She then turned toward Kashima.

“Shinjou, you should visit the Shimane headquarters on your way back. You might find some kind of a hint.”

“I think I will. They’ll probably be busy, though.”

“Ha ha ha. Shinjou-kun, you are such a wonderful person to worry about those underlings. And with future events in mind, I would like to search for information on Professor Kinugasa, so a visit to Shimane sounds perfect. Oh, and can I ask something of you, Kazami?”

“What is it, you idiot? Just get back to flirting and get to sleep. Those of us here still have to make plans for tomorrow.”

“Very well,” said the voice coming from Kashima’s cell phone. “Kazami, I have a single request relating to Heo Thunderson.”

“Eh?”

She frowned in displeasure when she wondered what he was going to ask. The others fell silent and she felt relief and trust in that.

“I have received some internal information that confirms Heo Thunderson is in Harakawa’s apartment we visited today. Has American UCAT managed to track her down yet?”

“No, it doesn’t seem so. And if that’s true…”

“Yes, secure her before they do. That would be the perfect bargaining chip.”

“You certainly are direct in your wording.”

“The easier to understand, the better. Also, get as much information on her as you can, even if you have to do some hacking to get it. There is something strange about her. Something about being demon possessed.”

“A demon? I’m not sure what that means, but I’ll have Sibyl look into it. I don’t like how American UCAT is doing things either.”

Kazami raised her eyebrows in a smile.

“I don’t know what kind of girl Heo Thunderson is, but I’m sure American UCAT intends to kindly shelter her…even if she’s actually a kitten that wants to head outside.”

“Very good. The opposite is also possible, but hurry either way. She is likely in that apartment even now. Wait to leave until the early morning when American UCAT lets their guard down and have someone keep an eye on her.”

“Sure.” Kazami nodded and raised the corner of her mouth. “Having something to do is just wonderful.”

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_13|Chapter 13]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_15|Chapter 15]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume8 Chapter 11

2014-08-18T16:40:48Z

66.115.70.209: /* Chapter 11: Complicated Power */

==Chapter 11: Complicated Power==
[[Image:OnC_v08_0305.png|thumb]]
''It becomes such a jumbled mess because it is all gathered together

''As fragments, it would simply scatter

The development department on UCAT HQ’s second basement was filled with confusion.

The fact that it was on one of the higher basements was a problem.

“Keep in mind that this is the most important place! Carry down the PCs and all the other physical equipment!”

A woman in a lab coat commanded the others while tapping a meter stick on the wall. The nametag on her chest said Tsukuyomi Shizuru.

She stood in the white corridor in front of the development department. It led to the storerooms and the armory and the walls had opened to reveal the transport rails.

“If we use the armory transport elevators, we can send all the equipment to the fifth basement.”

She glanced over at the elevator console on the wall. It controlled all four large elevators in the armory and the BF5 light was on for the first time she had ever seen.

“But I’m amazed the higher ups removed the limiter on that top secret area.”

A man carrying a bundle of designs walked up and she turned toward him.

“Kashima, throw those on the next pallet. We’re using it for paper.”

“No, these have a divine protection of metal on them, so they’ll be fine with the swords. We don’t want them burning, after all. More importantly, what will we be doing now?”

“Have you seen the map of the fifth basement?”

“I have. It covered the basement itself and the ventilation space that acts like an attic.”

“And if we hack into the communication line from that attic, we can get through even if they jam us.”

“Yes,” agreed Kashima. “I’ll be able to call Natsu-san and tell her I can’t make it home today.”

“…”

“And I’m sure she’ll bravely tell me an extra wonderful dinner will be waiting for me the next day! Ahh, I want to let those damn Americans here what they’re doing!”

“I see you keep going even when people fall silent now.”

“What are you talking about? This is valuable evidence of my happiness. I’m sure your husband used to say this kind of thing while writhing around. The two of you must have been so happy.”

Tsukuyomi recalled the past. Miyako had been young and her husband had still been with her. She then imagined that husband holding a family photo at work while crawling on the floor or wriggling around in the corridor.

“That’s just creepy.”

“I see. Let me take this chance to tell you something important: there is something wrong with you.”

“There’s something wrong with you in the opposite direction, so go check in a mirror. And can’t you carry some more things out while you talk? Like Atsuta’s stuff?”

“His computer probably has nothing but weird songs on it. American UCAT would probably think it’s the mantra of some weird cult, so do you think we could distract them with it?”

Meanwhile, another figure walked down the corridor.

It was an automaton. The black-haired automaton wore a white work apron and bowed once she noticed Tsukuyomi.

“Yes, sir. This floor will soon be purged and hidden. Anyone who has completed their preparations should take the elevator down. The third and fourth basements are already in the queue, so please hurry.”

Her instructions were followed by a small sound.

The sound of tearing paper came from the top and bottom of the walls forming the development department room.

Immediately afterwards, a shaking filled the corridor.

The empty room was removed from the corridor. It and the production rooms connected to it moved away like a ship being rowed out to sea or a car trembling as it began to drive.

Tsukuyomi looked in the gap, but she sensed nothing there.

There was no light or darkness. She could tell nothing beyond that there was nothing there. The development room drifted out on that unknowable ocean as if the unknowable gap were spreading.

The automaton let out a breath much like a sigh.

“After being purged, the areas with primary concept expansion floors will have the normal floor fixed in place and the concept expansion floor hidden. That means the development room will no longer exist in this world.”

“I see. So you hide the floor on such a fundamental level that no information can be restored from residual thoughts or records.”

“Yes, sir. Even if they attempt to restore the floor, the automaton in charge of the purge would be needed to accurately reconnect the severed parent string vibration. All that will remain are the harmless areas such as the cafeteria, the library, and the training rooms as well as the new headquarters as bait.”

“The new headquarters? Is everyone still managing the purge from there?”

“Yes, sir. But the development room was the last major area to be purged, so their work is finished and they will be rewriting everything to normal floors. Please hurry down. Otherwise you will be trapped on a purged floor that may or may not ever be recovered.”

The last of the equipment was being loaded on a pallet situated on the transport rails in the corridor wall. The members of the development department were competing to see just how much of their personal items they could fit on the tatami mat sized pallet.

…''This is a war.

She turned to the development room with a bitter smile and noticed a new wall had appeared there. That was how the corridor was meant to look. The concept space development department had been overwritten with the real version. The wall was somewhat transparent and she could see their room drifting away on the other side.

“Director Tsukuyomi!”

Kashima called for her from down the corridor. The transport pallet had been sent off at low speed and he turned back among the group following it.

“Please hurry!”

“I’ll be right there!”

She began jogging and brought a hand to her hips hoping they would be fine, but then she turned around. The automaton remained in front of the vanishing development room.

Just as she was going to tell the automaton to follow, the automaton bowed.

“I will be waiting for you to retrieve this space.”

She leaped into the room that was drifting away. She jumped over the unknowable gap that had grown to a few meters and she landed in the entrance of that empty room.

“You…”

“Yes, sir. I have determined there is no need to worry, Director Tsukuyomi. To retrieve the purged floor falling into the enclosed space, the automaton who severed the parent string vibration must reconnect it, but the process will be more stable if there is a voice calling from the purged floor.”

As she spoke, she turned toward Tsukuyomi from the open door of the room.

“A few of the automatons – including me – have difficulty fighting. We specialize in housework, cleaning, or otherwise preserving a room, so I have determined this is the perfect job for us.”

“…”

“A doll is meant to be stored in a box, but they are also meant to be taken out once more by human hands. Also, I have heard that the Coppélia recreation rate rises if people wish for it. Of course, it was not until later that I learned what Coppélia meant, but that is why we will be waiting for those human hands. That is what I have determined in order to further affirm my decision.”

Tsukuyomi listened to her and briefly lowered her gaze.

“…”

When she looked up once more, there was strength in her eyes and a smile on the corners of her mouth. She decided to emulate the phrase the automaton had been repeating.

“So should I say ‘yes, sir’?”

“And should I reply with ‘Testament’?”

A distortion filled the automaton’s voice and her body seemed to grow fuzzy.

She was falling into the unknowable space and yet she still bowed.

Tsukuyomi could not hear her parting words and she grew too blurry to see.

“!?”

The next thing Tsukuyomi knew, nothing but a wall lay before her.

“Hurry up, Director Tsukuyomi! Did you hurt your back again!?”

Tsukuyomi pulled a pen from her pocket and threw it at Kashima who was poking his head out from the armory entrance.

On the surface, the battle on the runway was beginning to move in a certain direction.

The mechanical dragons facing Abram and Sibyl had fallen back a bit to draw their two enemies away from Japanese UCAT’s main force.

Something then charged into the slight gap that created.

“Another transport plane!?”

A dark green four-engine transport plane slipped onto the runway and formed a barrier. The Japanese UCAT members watched as Humvees and soldiers in blue armored uniforms left the back hatch.

“Outta the way, damn you! I wanted to see Sibyl-san fight, so why do I have to see these filthy men!?”

The men in white armored uniforms were sent flying by the bullets that answered their anger.

Their spatial barriers formed from defense concepts weakened the bullets somewhat, but…

“We’ll die if they hit the joints! Especially the back of the neck! Everyone, make sure to tighten your collar!”

Everyone obeyed the voice of their commander and moved forward. The ones holding meter-tall shields moved to the front and the ones with submachine guns followed while crouched down.

“Damn,” muttered a young soldier.

The sounds of gunfire, the distant voices of the mechanical dragons, and the unending roar from the transport plane’s engines filled the background.

“Are we really not allowed to use real bullets!?”

He held a shield and his commander covered him from behind and answered his question.

“This is not a clear battle against ‘hostile forces’ like 1st or 3rd were. We’re supposed to be settling things with the people holding onto a past grudge, but this is another UCAT.”

“Then is this what’s going on!? Once things settle down here and everyone cools their heads, they’ll meet on the political front and tell the Americans we were only having a mock battle while they used real bullets!? They’ll say America was at fault and so they need to back off? Are we just pawns in that plan!?”

A middle-aged man firing a sniper rifle next to the complaining man was blown backwards.

“!?”

He looked over and saw a bullet had made its way into the joint of the armor on the right shoulder.

As the man tried to get up, the younger soldier tried to stop him.

“Stay still! You need medical help!”

“I can handle that on my own. More importantly, hand over your gun. If you’re going to complain instead of shoot, I’ll shoot with my left arm.”

He got up, seemed to ignore his unmoving right arm, and used his left hand to open the first aid pack at his waist.

The younger man tried to help, but he stopped him.

“You’re only talking about the political side. It’s true we’re nothing but pawns on that front, but there’s something we can accomplish here. Look behind you.”

The younger man looked back and saw Japanese UCAT headquarters disguised as a transport control building.

“Not a single member of American UCAT has made it in there. That’s the present issue. If we let even one person through, it means we weren’t able to complete our job. But if we hold this runway until the evacuation is complete, we can turn to those on the political front and tell them it’s their turn to do their job.”

He pressed an emergency pouch on his right shoulder and held out his left hand without even wiping off the blood.

“Give me your ammo and then fall back. If I can protect your retreat, I’ll have accomplished something only I could do.”

A bullet shot past to the side and produced a metallic sound from the commander’s shield. The younger solider listened to it with his back to the older man.

“…”

He silently closed his eyes and passed his submachine gun to the middle-aged man.

“I see.”

The man nodded and used his chin to point toward the disguised transport control building.

“Now, go.”

However, his expression quickly changed to a frown.

“Hey.”

He spoke up because of what the younger man had done.

After handing over his submachine gun, he had shrugged, crouched down, and picked up the rifle the other man had dropped. After picking up the bolt-action sniper rifle, he sighed.

“You can’t aim right now, so just spray bullets around with that. I’ll use this since you can’t.”

“Take good care of it. My gun has the name of a goddess carved into it.”

“Mine has a 2nd name on it too.”

The young soldier lowered his hips, pressed the stock against his shoulder, and aimed.

However, he heard a metallic sound before he could fire.

It was thrown down from the sky as if falling and it was loud.

“…!”

The commander standing before him was slammed to the asphalt.

“What was that?” gulped someone in the back and a certain figure appeared.

A slender old man in a gray suit stood about ten meters away and his blue eyes were turned their way.

“There. I just have to get through there and we’ll have a path to the building behind you.”

His words were followed by the young soldier, the middle-aged soldier, and all the soldiers behind them simultaneously pulling the triggers. The mock bullets with “mock” written on the front flew toward their enemy while receiving the concept protection of 1st-Gear.

However, a snap of his fingers stopped it all.

A splendid metallic noise filled the air between the two sides and a straight line was gouged into the ground.

The bullets were all slammed to the ground and the elderly man’s right hand shot up once more.

“It’s no use. It’s no use, Japanese UCAT. Your false evil cannot stop justice.”

His words were followed by the young soldier with the rifle forcefully rising to his feet.

“False evil and justice are meaningless on the battlefield!”

He stood up and pulled the trigger just as the elderly man snapped his fingers.

And he did so twice.

The same metallic noise filled the air twice.

The first crushed the flying bullets and the second came from directly over the young soldier’s head.

“…!”

A form flew through the air.

It looked both black and white as it leaped while backed by the sky that was filling with purple darkness.

The form used their left arm to block the metallic noise that had appeared over the young soldier’s head.

“!”

The left arm fell from the shoulder and crashed to the ground, but the flying figure was otherwise unaffected. They rotated around once, their skirt filled with air, and they landed on the ground.

The figure was wearing black and white clothes. They were Japanese UCAT’s combat maid uniform and combat apron. Above those two garments was short red hair.

“Welcome to Japanese UCAT, American UCAT Inspector Odor-sama. I am #8 and I am acting as the automaton representative of Japanese UCAT.”

She bowed and turned toward the young soldier and the others behind him.

“The evacuation is complete. Please continue after them. We will cover for you.”

With that, her expression changed to a smile. Her eyes bent shallowly and her red hair blew in the wind.

“As you have completed your mission, we would like to receive you as guests.”

That was followed by more motion.

Maids burst from the entrance to the headquarters while holding heavy machineguns, shields, and various blades. They formed a final line of defense in front of the building.

“We betrayed 3rd-Gear, defected to Low-Gear, and rested beneath Kanda, so we were unable to take part in the Leviathan Road with 3rd-Gear. This is only the equipment the development department was unable to transport down, but we will use it against American UCAT.”

As #8 spoke, her arm rose up from the ground.

It drifted a bit, but it soon flew toward her left shoulder and reconnected with a sound of scraping metal.

Meanwhile, small objects spilled from below her skirt and apron: screws, springs, small metal panels, and plastic panels.

She used precise gravitational control to combine them.

“They are nothing but simple handguns, but there are thirty-two of them.”

They all floated around her as she faced Odor. With the final crimson light of the setting sun in the sky behind her, bullets loaded into all thirty-two of her weapons. With the sound reverberating around her, the red-haired automaton opened her mouth, lowered her waist, and curtsied.

“Now, then. Let the service begin.”

With that, she ran forward.

<nowiki>#8</nowiki> ran.

Her gravitational control and limb output were set to “hard” and she moved her body as she wished.

This gave her a running speed of a few dozen kilometers per hour and a jumping distance of almost ten meters.

…''Although the excessive heat production reduces the time I can remain active.

She was a reception model, not a combat one.

Her combat knowledge came from the shared memories of the automatons that had remained on 3rd-Gear’s side. It specifically came from their memories fighting Team Leviathan.

At the time, the automatons on the battlefield had set their movement ability at only a bit above that of a human. That had not pushed their heat production too high and thus allowed them to continue fighting.

But the situation was different now. The opponent was different, the goal was different, and the time available was different.

…''And I can use everyone’s experiences for a greater result.

She leaped in order to draw American UCAT’s attention, to jump over them, and to get closer to Odor who was luring her deeper into their battlefield.

She landed on the asphalt and immediately began running. The enemies that had visually followed her began approaching and firing on her.

But she did not mind. This movement pattern had been included in the memories of the thirty-odd automatons she had copied over.

While running, she spread her fingers and swung her hand toward the small approaching unit.

Gunfire rang out as flames burst from the thirty-two barrels behind her that were each tracking a different enemy.

The black handguns moved like bees as they freely flew through the air, charged into the enemy ranks, and began firing from every angle including from above.

Rather than targeting the joints of their mechanized armored uniforms, the flying guns targeted the protruding points. Handguns had poor penetrating ability, so she gave the bullets the power of a broad surface. This was even more an issue with flat-tipped mock bullets.

No matter what kind of armor someone wore, if their raised fingertip was accurately fired on, the impact would knock back their hand. A hit to the jaw would act as an uppercut and a direct hit to the edge of the armor’s exterior would have the same effect as a powerful shove to that spot.

However, most such places were at the ends of body parts that moved around the most and a direct hit required high-speed decision-making and accurate firing.

<nowiki>#8’s</nowiki> abilities as a machine achieved that.

The small unit she charged into was struck all over by pinpoint impacts.

One tripped after a shot delivered a horizontal strike to the acceleration actuator on his lower leg, one was knocked into the air by a shot fired into the chin of his helmet guard from below, another was sent into a spin by repeated shots from the right into his backpack and was tripped by a shot from the left to the kneecap of the leg he was spinning on, and yet another accidentally fired on his fellow soldiers after a shot struck the barrel of his machinegun from the side.

It was all done with the weakest firearms known as handguns, with the weakest bullets known as mock bullets, and by the weakest creation known as a reception automaton.

All that remained was the reverberation of gunfire, the handguns flying through the darkening sky as if they had wings, and #8 who ran ahead of them.

Her eyes were on Odor who took a step back and she ran toward him.

The sky above was changing from purple to dark blue and it was primarily filled with metallic sounds, mechanical dragon footsteps, and the roaring of transport plane engines.

That was proof that the Japanese UCAT members were retreating.

However, there was still something requiring her attention.

…''That man.

American UCAT’s inspector had the ability to crush an opponent from above when he snapped his fingers.

A simple observation suggested it was a strike from a gravity concept, but she did not fully understand its identity and traits. When leaping in to protect the others, she had received the attack with her left arm, but some aspects of it were still uncertain.

If she did not clarify its details, putting together a countermeasure in the future would prove difficult.

She could tell it was a gravity attack rather than a simple impact because its targets did not bounce.

Also, the power flew from his fingertips to the sky where it could be said to “hit” and it was launched diagonally down from there. If another object got in the way, it would strike the obstruction instead.

It was a fast and surefire attack. Japanese UCAT possessed defensive concepts, but this attack crushed the concept along with its target. Its maximum range seemed to be approximately three hundred meters and there was no sign of a limitation on how many times it could be used.

…''I have determined that power is unmatched for middle or close range.

However, Odor would quickly use the power to defend against a sniper shot or any other long-range attack.

…''Does he have a concept for attacking and for sensing?

<nowiki>#8</nowiki> spread her arms and lowered down as she approached Odor.

They were approximately three meters apart.

A blue mechanical dragon was located about one hundred meters behind him and its pointed snout knocked something into the air.

It was a white god of war.

The god of war’s arms and torso were broken, but Sibyl was nowhere near it.

Five pillars of smoke rose into the sky beyond the barrier formed by a transport plane and #8 determined those were ones that had been shot down by Sibyl and Abram.

Abram was not visible on the runway either and #8 understood that this was her battlefield.

“The guests have already been brought inside, so the only remaining job is cleaning the front walk they used.”

She was only twenty meters from Odor now.

She brought her right shoulder forward and held out her right hand as if to perform a jab.

At the same time, the black handguns in the air moved as if flapping their nonexistent wings.

In place of a flapping sound, the sound of loading bullets rang out and the guns flew forward in four groups of eight.

They approached within five meters of Odor.

One group flew in a horizontal circle, one flew in a circle tilted a little to the west, one flew in a circle tilted a little to the east, and the last revolved in a greatly tilted circle that surrounded all the others.

A model of heavenly bodies was formed from metal guns.

They all rotated while altering their speed in an attempt to throw off Odor’s interception as much as possible.

<nowiki>#8</nowiki> jumped further while focusing on the movements of the guns.

She performed a spin as she ran, her skirt flipped up toward the night sky, and metal parts launched from it and into that sky.

Gravitational control managed by the movements of her left hand constructed a new firearm that landed in that hand.

“This is the sniper rifle ‘Little Steely’. It is meant for use against small tanks, but there is no need to worry as it is loaded with mock bullets.”

She ran and heard a laugh as she further approached.

It was Odor’s voice and he raised his right arm.

“Amusing! You are most amusing, automaton! Did you think my defenses could not react to a high-speed round from a sniper rifle at point blank range if you were holding me down with rapid handgun fire!?”

She continued on without answering.

[[Image:OnC_v08_0325.png|thumb]]

Amid the wind her running produced, she swung her right hand to permit the handguns to fire.

She primarily targeted Odor’s extremities with extra focus on his right hand. He would have difficulty defending against attacks from behind, so she also targeted the base of his right shoulder blade and other parts of the human body needed to swing the right arm.

She chose timing that would allow him to intercept one shot. That could allow her to analyze his power.

However…

…''If I defeat him here, that will no longer be a danger.

As she thought, she moved her fingers to fire.

“!”

Thirty-two distinct gunshots rang out.

She was less than ten meters away and she took the final step.

She then saw the blue mechanical dragon one hundred meters behind the elderly man turn its head toward her.

Its mouth was pointed slightly down to face her, it was opened, and there was light inside.

This was its dragon cannon.

…''It can’t be.

She attempted to predict what would happen, but this situation did not exist in her copied memories.

“You’re having the dragon cannon fired on you!?”

That question became reality.

A bluish-white beam of light wide enough to envelop a small house tore across the runway.

A scorching sound filled the air and it moved directly toward Odor.

Just before it reached him, he snapped his fingers. This was the strike #8 had allowed him with her timing.

However, his right hand was pointed behind him rather than at her.

“Ah,” she said without meaning too.

She had predicted his intention.

The power produced by the snap of his fingers had a range of approximately three hundred meters. At only a hundred meters behind him, the mechanical dragon was within range.

A metallic sound erupted from below its mouth as it produced the dragon cannon.

The roar of his power crushed the dragon cannon, but only the lower half of the beam.

“…!?”

In front of the dragon, its attack of light with actual mass was slammed into the ground and spread across the asphalt. Its heat burnt the asphalt, but as if it had bounced off, it did not tear into the asphalt. It simply spread out as it was held down.

However, #8’s high level visual devices saw a strange fact about Odor’s attack.

…''It didn’t tear into the dragon cannon!?

It had torn into the space that the dragon cannon was passing through.

…''He attacked the space from above?

She wondered why because it had to be easier to attack the light rather than the space. It also should have been easier to form a wall with the power that would have stopped the lower half of the beam.

<nowiki>#8</nowiki> realized that Odor’s attack had a certain characteristic beyond a mere gravity attack.

If she took advantage of it, she had a chance of defeating him.

But even as she thought that, she saw the mechanical dragon instantly stop firing its dragon cannon.

The bottom half had been cleanly torn away and the remaining half-cylinder was flying down toward her. It had been fired at a slight downward angle and Odor slipped through the gap created by the missing lower half.

However, the remaining top half was going to hit her.

And that was precisely what happened.

“!”

She did not feel the damage of the direct hit. In the instant her body was destroyed, all of her sense devices were overloaded and disconnected.

She saw her left arm vanish beyond the elbow, her torso was broken from the lower left chest to the right side, and she felt the inner parts of her back touching the air all the way up to her neck.

…''I have determined my face has received considerable damage as well.

She determined she wanted to be repaired, but that brought a question. That was not necessary at the moment, so why had she made that decision?

However, she reached another conclusion as well: she wanted to avoid falling to the ground.

…''Why?

Her memories brought the answer to that question.

It was based on her past experience of a loss.

The boy who had defeated her had not held her down or knocked her to the ground. He had lifted her up onto his shoulder.

…''Oh.

Once she remembered that, she accepted her decision.

…''A doll naturally wants to be held by someone rather than thrown to the floor.

She decided to release that memory to the others if she was safely repaired. That would give them the answer to accept that they were automatons.

She then gave herself into the fall.

“…”

Just before she hit the asphalt, her mind entered sleep mode.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_10|Chapter 10]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_12|Chapter 12]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume8 Chapter 9

2014-08-17T21:47:58Z

66.115.70.209: /* Chapter 9: Approach of Intention */

==Chapter 9: Approach of Intention==
[[Image:OnC_v08_0253.png|thumb]]
''Here it comes

''And here it is

''The footsteps telling you to determine yourself have arrived

Kazami was up against a cutting power.

She repeatedly dodged the invisible power that sliced down from above.

She stood on a straight road lit by the evening sun and she was approximately seven meters from her opponent.

However…

“Not having a weapon really is a pain!”

If she called for G-Sp2 outside of a concept space, people would see it. She had Izumo on her side while Roger was alone.

…''But without our weapons, we can’t get a decisive blow in on someone using a concept.

Due to the distortion in the air and the drifting sand, the cutting power Roger used looked like wind to her.

The attack always followed a snap of his right fingers and it was as fast as a sword strike. However, the slice undulated through the air like a whip and it could slice through both metal and asphalt.

She had nothing to use as a shield and no weapon to block with.

Izumo charged in from the left and Roger snapped his right fingers to attack, causing the wind to launch a counterattack against Izumo’s charge.

His charge was reckless, but Kazami sensed his intention. At the moment, Roger’s left side was open, so his actions were urging her to charge in.

And she did so.

She had to wait for the right timing, but she could not wait too long either. She worked best with quick bursts of strength, but Izumo did not. If she was too slow, he would be hit by the enemy attack rather than just drawing it his way.

…''So…

She charged forward just as Roger held up his right fingers and began to twist them.

It began with the sound of her basketball shoes digging into the sand. When she gathered strength in her knees to accelerate, her shoes sank down to the bottom of that sand.

The returning force of the ground launched her body forward and she repeated the action to sprint onwards.

“…!”

She ran.

She had to travel about seven meters and she formed a hook-shaped trajectory to the right. That path kept her as far away from Roger’s right side as possible while still taking the shortest path.

As she ran, Roger snapped his fingers toward Izumo.

She saw the fluctuation of wind fly directly toward Izumo ahead and to her left.

It was an attack from above.

She almost called his name, but he would not want her to waste her breath like that.

She instead silently asked him to dodge the attack and she saw him take a fairly forcible evasive action.

He intentionally tripped and fell to their left and Roger’s right.

He threw himself onto the asphalt so he would stay out of her way and further split Roger’s aim between the two of them.

“…!”

She continued running. To her right, she could see a road sign and a field that had grown corn during the summer. The field was divided from the road by a stone wall only about ten centimeters tall.

Roger was also there.

He was right in front of her now, so she straightened up in an instant. If her body was stretched out when she attacked, she could only cause light damage. To throw her full weight into the blow, she needed to straighten up and then crouch down again as she attacked.

While taking a quick breath, she rose up and clenched her left hand.

Her right foot kicked off the ground behind her and she charged in with her left shoulder in the lead.

By the time her left foot reached the ground, she had already rotated her left arm and waist clockwise. In order to launch her left fist from the elbow, she moved it forward and slightly upwards.

“Seyah!!”

But the strike did not reach because Roger had already jumped back.

…''He’s fast.

She was slightly surprised, but that was all.

…''I suppose he is the assistant inspector of a nation’s UCAT.

If she assumed he was on the same level as German Inspector Diana or 1st-Gear Inspector Brunhild, it was obvious she would not defeat him so easily.

She did not fight the forward motion of her left arm. As if letting the fist pull her, she rotated her shoulders and body clockwise which swung her body into a certain stance.

…''Now I can continue with a roundhouse kick!

She did so.

She quickly raised her right leg and let it rotate. Meanwhile, Izumo spoke as he picked himself up off the asphalt.

“White!”

…''You shut up.

[[Image:OnC_v08_0259.png|thumb]]

She changed that thought into acceleration and targeted Roger’s jaw with her swinging right heel.

However, the man dodged once more.

He bent back his falling body to just barely avoid her kick.

“Kh.”

Before she could lower her rotating right leg, Roger took a step back while crouching down.

“The left hand!?”

She could not help but shout when she saw him raise that hand toward her.

Before she managed to ask if he could use his left hand too, he gave the answer by snapping his left fingers.

She saw the wind, but she could not avoid it because she had yet to fully lower her right leg.

“…!”

In that instant, she took her next action. She kicked to the right with the left leg supporting her in order to knock herself to the right.

The added tilt brought her right leg to the ground more quickly than expected. No, it actually landed on the stone wall dividing the field from the road.

She kicked off the wall with her right leg as if ricocheting off it and she leaped once more. She swung up her left knee, used that momentum to launch her body upwards, and gathered strength in her stomach to pull up her lower stomach and below while in midair.

“…”

She leaped over the wind Roger had fired at her.

However, he then snapped the fingers of his raised right hand.

He had been waiting for this attack and she could not do anything while jumping. She could only be hit.

However, she spotted a hope.

The hope located between her and Roger was the road sign next to the field.

She kicked off of the sign in mid-jump to avoid Roger’s second attack.

“This ends here!!”

She brought her heel down on his head from above and he could no longer intercept her because he had already lowered both of his hands.

However, he snapped his right fingers with the hand pointed downwards.

…''What!?

The answer to her question was clear.

His right hand was pointed down and to her left.

In other words, towards Izumo.

“…!?”

She stopped in surprise and all sound vanished from her ears in an instant.

Her heel drop lost its edge and Roger managed to move out of the way, but she did not even care as she landed.

She quickly corrected her posture, turned around, and saw a certain color.

It was the red of blood.

“Kaku!?”

Izumo had to have been knocked away by the slicing attack because he was sitting with his back against the roadside guardrail. He held his left side where the color red covered an area with a width of about ten centimeters.

The red was visibly spreading along his shirt.

“Kaku!”

She ran over to him and heard a voice from behind.

“I suppose this settles it.”

She turned toward Roger’s voice but saw nothing there.

…''Dammit.

She had a general thought about “the next time I see him”, but her imagination went no further.

The red before her eyes and the surrounding wind were everything to her now.

“Kaku.”

Kazami crouched down on one knee next to Izumo.

She was out of breath, but she decided that was due to the battle. She placed a hand on his shoulder and straightened his upper body by pushing it back against the guardrail.

“Hey, Chisato.”

“This is no time to act so casual!”

He smiled a little but gave none of the verbal abuse or excuses she was used to. That smile gave her a chill.

“Kaku, I’ll call for an ambulance, okay? Okay?”

“What’s this, Chisato? You look like you’re about to cry.”

She started to call him an idiot, but realized it was not the time and then had another thought.

…''I can’t even say something so simple right now.

She finally realized just how far from calm she was.

A slight voice escaped her throat and her vision wavered.

She all of a sudden found she was trembling.

She could see a color spilled on the ground at her feet. The asphalt and sand were soaked with Izumo’s red.

…''No.

She shook her head and tried to pull out her cell phone. She tried to stick a hand in her skirt pocket, but for some reason could not find it.

“Why?”

She looked down and realized why. Her hand was visibly shaking. It was so bad she could not get it into her pocket.

She shuddered.

“Kaku…”

Her voice was trembling. She wanted to do something, she knew she had to do something, and a thought she did not want to speak began spreading through her mind.

It was possible there was nothing she could do.

She finally managed to get her hand in the pocket.

“…!”

She pulled out the cell phone and pressed the button to reach the local fire station.

But she received no response, so she frowned and looked at the phone.

“It’s cut through.”

Her hand went weak and the black phone fell to the asphalt where it finally split in two.

“K-Kaku, I need your pho-…”

He did not have it. They had checked that when leaving the dorm.

…''He said he didn’t need his because I had mine.

It had been during the morning that they had discussed that and how they might as well use the same wallet as well.

“…”

She prepared to say “no” despite it being meaningless, but she suddenly felt strength reach her. The power on her shoulders pulled her forward.

Before she could say anything, Izumo held her in his arms.

“Kaku.”

She called out to him, but he said nothing. Instead…

“Nn…”

She followed his lead and brought her lips to his.

Feeling the gentle wetness, she thought while still trembling.

…''He must be worried too.

“Kaku, u-um? Is there anything you…want to do?”

He slowly hugged her closer.

Before she could let out a gasp, he rested his weight on her as if collapsing forward.

''What am I doing? This really isn’t the time,'' she thought.

However…

…''This is all I can do.

She embraced him and tried to ignore the muddy but warm wetness she felt in her right hand. He trembled in pain, but she selfishly felt it was fine as long as he did not pass out.

They kissed again and his hand touched her right breast.

She hesitated for a moment but accepted it.

If she did not accept it now because someone might see or because of what could happen later, she knew she would regret it.

But then she felt something was wrong.

“…?”

She exchanged tongues with Izumo and a large hand entered her unbuttoned blouse, but…

“…?”

Something was out of place. It was a cold sensation that did not fit the urgency of the situation.

…''But…

The sensation was too strange. It was the sort of sensation that should never occur in such an urgent situation.

“Kaku.”

She decided her next words would act as a dividing line.

“This will be the last time, so do as you please.”

He then embraced her in his right arm. His left hand tore open the lower buttons of her blouse and moved from her navel, around her left side, and to her back. There, it stroked between her shoulder blades.

She just about cried out, but she felt the odd sensation reach its peak and spoke before it could settle into the specifics.

“This isn’t right!!” she shouted.

Kazami suddenly shoved Izumo away, but the difference in weight sent her backwards and rolling along the asphalt.

He lay on the asphalt looking at her with the ends of his eyebrows lowered.

“Chisato.”

“This isn’t right.”

She held her own body as it trembled, but this tremor was not due to Izumo’s injury.

“Everything I’m seeing and feeling here is strange.”

“What do you-…”

“Quiet! You aren’t Kaku!”

She gathered her strength as she shouted, exhaled, inhaled, and looked around.

As she viewed the landscape, she heard Izumo’s voice.

“I really am me, y’know?”

“No, you aren’t,” she replied after spotting something.

“Why? Why would you say I’m not me?”

“This, for example.”

She pointed at something in front of her.

“That’s your motorcycle that was destroyed earlier. It was cut in two. But you know what? I don’t know anything about the internal structure of motorcycles.”

She stood up with her back to him and picked up the piston from the motorcycle’s engine.

“Look at this part. I sometimes see it in motor oil ads.” She looked at the unharmed piston. “The engine was split in half, so why wasn’t it cut? Are you going to tell me this unharmed component fell out because it wasn’t attached to anything?”

She turned toward Izumo and he looked back at her with a relaxed smile.

“Am I really not me, Chisato?”

“I’m sorry, but I simply can’t believe that you are.”

“I’d like to hear a little more evidence than that.”

“Fine. With your right hand, you always touch my left breast first. When I do it on my own, I start with my right, though. …But just now, you started with the right. And you know what else?”

She gave a bitter smile.

“I still haven’t told you my back is my biggest weak point. It’s kind of creepy when you do everything exactly the way I’d want it,” she said. “Thank you, my ideal Kaku, but you’re simply too boring, just like this world. So…”

She raised her right fist and threw it into her own face.

She felt dizzy and gasped.

A moment later, the world seemed to sway before her eyes. Just like when Sayama’s Baku showed her the past, everything went black and she felt like she was falling.

“…”

Izumo’s smile wavered and vanished from her vision as she woke up.

“…!”

Kazami came to.

…''Where am I?

She was on a road. It was the same road between the large field and the railroad. She sat on the back of the parked motorcycle and Izumo’s back was right in front of her.

…''This is the same as when we met Roger.

The only difference was Roger’s absence.

“The sun is setting.”

It seemed a fair bit of time had passed.

''Oh, no,'' she thought just as she heard a sound from her cell phone.

She hesitantly pulled it from her pocket and found it was not cut in two. She breathed a sigh of relief and brought it to her ear.

“Hello? This is Kazami.”

“Ah, Chisato-sama! Are you okay!?”

“Oh, Sibyl. Yeah, I guess we’re okay. Did something happen?”

“…”

“Sibyl?”

The usual response of “testament” did not arrive.

Kazami tilted her head at the silence she got instead, but then a shout reached her ear.

“What do you mean, ‘did something happen’!!?”

…''Oh, dear.

“L-listen, Chisato-sama. A powerful philosopher’s stone reading was detected by your cell phone about an hour ago!”

''Oh, yeah. I forget this did that,'' she thought but did not say.

Sibyl took a breath before continuing.

“I thought something might have happened and tried to contact you, but I wasn’t able to get through! I have been calling you every minute like a stalker, but you haven’t been responding at all! So I…I…I was so panicked I started hacking into a Russian missile silo!”

''She really is panicking,'' thought Kazami.

But then she remembered herself just a bit earlier.

…''I guess I’m not one to talk.

“Anyway, Sibyl, try to calm down.”

“Chisato-samaaa!”

She heard crying and assumed all of Sibyl’s emotions had switched over to relief.

Kazami gave a pleasant bitter smile and looked around.

…''But what was the powerful philosopher’s stone reading?

The field and the railroad track were the only things around and Roger had arrived afterwards.

“There’s nothing like a philosopher’s stone here.”

She then noticed the trail the motorcycle tires had left in the sand down below. The sand was not dirt or dust from the field and it was slightly bluish-white.

…''That’s made from philosopher’s stone powder, isn’t it?”

“Sibyl, I’ve figured it out. It looks like we really were attacked. Is the American inspector there!?”

“No, but he should be arriving from Yokota soon.”

“Be on your guard!”

“What do you…?”

Sibyl trailed off but quickly replied.

“Testament. Then listen carefully, Chisato-sama. It would probably be best if you did not come to join us right away. You would not make it in time for the inspector’s arrival anyway.” Strength had reentered her voice. “Come by once the situation has settled and we are both at a stalemate. If something does happen, I will send an email containing information on UCAT’s back entrances. See you then.”

“Right,” said Kazami before ending the call and sighing.

…''This isn’t good.

Something was about to happen and they did not have their weapons.

“Hey, Kaku. What should we do?”

She was relieved that he was not actually injured, but he did not answer her question.

“…?”

When she frowned and looked over his shoulder, she found him staring into empty space with a serious expression while silently kneading and stroking the air. And the movements of his hands followed the curves of her body.

Naturally, she hit him.

“Gwah! Ah…eh? Wait? Huh?”

He turned around, saw her, spread his arms with a look of relief, and grabbed her breasts from below.

“Good, this really is the land of Chisato’s tits.”

“Stop groping me like you don’t have a care in the world!”

The damage of the second hit caused him to sway like a pendulum.

“Ah! Wh-what was I just doing?”

“Looked to me like you were kneading my breasts in a dream.”

“O-oh, yeah. Now that you mention it, I was. Yeah, I definitely was.”

He nodded, looked at her, and then frowned as if he had suddenly realized something.

“Oh, c’mon.” He looked like he was about to cry. “What are you doing dressed? So it really was a dream. What a disappointment.”

“I get the feeling our dreams were completely different.”

She lowered her shoulders in exasperation, but she was also relieved that it had only been a dream.

…''Thank goodness.

But Izumo’s expression suddenly grew serious.

“Hey, Chisato.”

“Eh?”

He tilted his head and spoke more slowly.

“What’s this, Chisato? You look like you’re about to cry.”

“Eh?”

She repeated her questioning voice, but she began to tremble.

…''Huh?

''What is this?'' she wondered as she felt something fall down her cheek.

“Huh?”

She held out her hand and could see it shaking. A drop fell to the palm. More and more fell and refused to stop, so she frantically wiped at her eyes.

She was crying.

…''Why?

“What is it, Chisato? Did you have a bad dream?”

“Yeah… How did you know?”

He fully turned around, wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and embraced her even tighter than in the dream.

He did not hold back. The strength somewhat took her breath away, but she gave herself into the embrace.

She gave a sobbing breath before speaking.

“It was a terrible dream.”

“What kind of dream was it?”

“You…You were dying.”

“I see, I see. That must’ve been scary. But I’m not gonna die and I’m with you, so don’t worry.”

He gently patted her back and she nodded while attempting to suppress her trembling.

“It was scary. And…”

She was unable to continue because he brought his lips to hers.

She took a breath and pressed toward him even more strongly than in the dream.

There was something she had to silently apologize for. Even if it had been a fake…

…''I betrayed him a little.

He suddenly touched her breast. The fact that it was her left breast made her smile bitterly and relax.

“We can’t do this here,” she said after removing her lips. “And we can’t do it now. Sibyl and the others might be in trouble.”

“I see. Did you manage to calm down?”

She thought his comment did not really follow from hers, but she still nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck again, rested her chin on his shoulder, and took a deep breath.

“I learned something today. Even I have something I’m afraid of.”

In her dream, someone other than her had been hurt.

…''What would happen to me if something like that actually happened?

''That’s a scary thought,'' she said in her heart.

“I have something I’m afraid of too,” said Izumo.

“Really? Is it the same as mine?”

“Yeah,” he said while lightly embracing her. “I’m afraid of wasting this perfect mood we’ve got going here. What do you say to that?”

“I say this!!”

She bent backwards and then slammed her knee into him.

Japanese UCAT’s new underground headquarters was a large but enclosed space. It was about three stories tall and one of its walls contained a large screen.

Desks were gathered on the first floor portion and dolls were currently gathered in the center of those desks.

Sibyl wore her white armored uniform while surrounded by people in black maid uniforms and other white armored uniforms. She looked across the people waiting for her to speak.

“American UCAT’s inspector still has not arrived?”

“Yes, sir. We have received no word from the lobby.”

“Testament. Abram and the rest of the field operations group are on standby behind the lobby just in case. The German UCAT and 1st-Gear inspectors have not noticed any of this, correct?”

“Yes, sir. German UCAT’s inspector was offered the ‘extra soupy’ course at the fourth basement beauty salon Transient Beauty. 1st-Gear’s inspector is supposedly preparing a stand for the athletic festival at her school.”

“Testament,” replied Sibyl. “Then please prepare to help the people inside the building evacuate or find shelter.”

Someone then stepped forward. It was a red-haired maid.

“Sibyl-sama, what exactly should we do to prepare for that?”

“Testament. #8, the corridors between posts are separated using a concept space, so do your best to combine them all.”

Sibyl then reached into her pocket and pulled out a remote control for the large screen.

She used it to produce a black screen where T- and L-shaped blocks began to drop down from the top.

“The blocks falling from the top are abstract representations of the corridors. The locations that do not link together well will arrive in order, so do your best to line them up without any gaps. If they are combined well enough to form a full line, they will vanish, but switch out with someone else if they pile up to the top of the screen. Also, if you eliminate four or more lines at once, they will be pushed over to the next person’s screen, so try to use that if you can.”

“I see,” said #8 with a nod.

As the red-haired maid stepped back into the group, Sibyl spoke to them all.

“It is possible the American inspector will not do anything, so be careful not to cause a commotion. In case we must evacuate, please clear the corridors of trash. The corridors are especially bad right now because they are filled with piles of toys and books people have grown tired of after buying them in the summer. Throw them all out.”

“Yes, sir. We sometimes see UCAT Director Ooshiro sleeping in the corridors. What should we do about that?”

“Testament. In that case, be quiet so you do not wake him as you throw him out. He counts as burnable trash.”

“I’m right here!!”

That sudden shout was followed by an arm in a lab coat rising among them all. They all took a step back and Ooshiro walked through the gap to reach Sibyl.

“Sibyl-kun,” he said with a hand on his chin. “What is the meaning of this dangerous planning meeting?”

“We were merely talking about throwing out the unneeded trash.”

“I was not talking about me. I was referring to the American inspector.”

The 3rd automatons began whispering among themselves when they heard that.

“ ‘I was not talking about me’? So he’s aware that he qualifies as trash?”

“That’s why he protested. He knows no shame.”

“Wh-why would you say that kind of thing aloud instead of with your shared memory!?”

“Please calm down, Ooshiro-sama. Conversation helps their work progress more smoothly.”

“You’re just trying to justify these personal attacks against me!!”

Sibyl held out her remote control with a smile and he took it.

“What is this, Sibyl-kun?”

“Testament. Do you understand what your job is now?”

“Of course. To run away.”

“Testament. I assumed a coward would say that. However, you are the leader of Japanese UCAT and are thus needed to handle the arrival of America’s inspector, so please wait here.”

“I’d love to, but my legs will carry me away on their own.”

“Testament. I assumed you would say that. Please press the External Input 3 button.”

He did so and an image appeared on the large screen. It was a game screen with a black background, a line of buildings of four different colors at the bottom, and white lines representing missiles falling down from above.

“Oh, I see.”

Ooshiro used the jog wheel to align the cursor on a missile and shot it down.

“Testament. Well done, Ooshiro-sama. More and more are falling, so please keep it up.”

“Um, Sibyl-kun? What exactly is this?”

“Testament. It is directly linked to a nuclear missile silo belonging to a certain country. If you get game over, a real missile will be fired back at you, so please do your best.”

“Are you pinning me here!?” shouted Ooshiro.

A maid facing the communicator frantically turned around.

“Everyone! We have an intruder! The intruder is currently on the runway and moving this way!”

“Testament, how quickly?”

“Yes, sir.” The maid checked the console. “Slowly. I have determined it to be walking pace. They have also given an identification signal!”

She took a breath.

“It’s American UCAT!”

Everyone straightened up upon hearing that.

Sibyl’s voice tore through the silence and she raised a hand.

“Everyone, please get to work!”

Many voices responded and the maids all turned their backs and scattered.

Sibyl brushed a hand through her hair and joined the flow of people leaving the headquarters.

However, something stopped her: Ooshiro. He spoke up while using the jog wheel.

“Sibyl-kun! Can I ask one thing!? There’s a reward screen if I clear the stage, right!?”

Sibyl nodded with a smile, pulled a new remote control from her pocket, opened the large screen’s option menu, and changed the game’s difficulty to “hardest”.

She ignored the shouting old man and gave a shout of her own.

“Enter Type 3 Defense! Everyone, hurry to your posts!!”

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| Back to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_8|Chapter 8]]
| Return to [[Owari_no_Chronicle|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Owari_no_Chronicle:Volume8_Chapter_10|Chapter 10]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Owari no Chronicle:Volume8 Chapter 2

2014-08-14T02:55:02Z

66.115.70.209: /* Chapter 2: The Pair’s Pace */

==Chapter 2: The Pair’s Pace==
[[Image:OnC_v08_0057.png|thumb]]
''I will walk with you

''That is a promise

''But it is such a natural thing that I will keep that promise without even trying

The many-colored lights for a night game lit up the schoolyard.

The sandy area extended for a kilometer in each direction and the lighting produced a certain level of mood.

Simple green spectator seating was set up between the lights and the schoolyard was divided into eight sections.

Food stands, an entrance gate, and an exit gate had been built along that schoolyard.

The entrance gate said “Taka-Akita Academy 60th Athletic Festival” and the first school building bordering that schoolyard had hanging banners saying “7 days until the festival begins” and “14 days until the post-festival party”.

People were scattered around the schoolyard where those hanging banners were visible.

Most of them wore track suits and the armbands of the athletic festival committee and they were redrawing the lines on the schoolyard, reaffixing the simple spectator seating, or placing signs for local sponsors on the food stands.

The 100 meter dash and the 400 meter one lap line required especially long white lines, so they were very carefully redrawing or adding to the lines.

Two students were redrawing the lines near the first school building. The one drawing the fourth lane had long hair with a ribbon and the one drawing the fifth lane wore a suit and had his hair slicked back. The two of them walked while rolling the line carts behind them.

The one with long hair spoke to the boy in a suit walking next to her.

“Sayama-kun, the student council does a lot of things, doesn’t it? I never thought we would help prepare for the athletic festival.”

“Shinjou-kun, is this your first time for this kind of event?” asked Sayama with Baku on his head.

Shinjou nodded with a smile.

“Even when UCAT had some special recreation, it was always a one day thing. Also, everyone would pretty quickly gather together and decide the match with a fistfight. Are those the official rules for soccer and baseball?”

“What kind of sports are the soccer and baseball you are talking about?”

“In soccer, you can’t use your hands, but in baseball, you can use a bat.”

“And what would you be using them on?”

“Your opponent’s bodies. …In soccer, you can only hit their head with a headbutt, right?”

“Ha ha ha. Going to such physical humor so quickly? You are surprisingly extreme, Shinjou-kun. There are some sports I need to show you on TV sometime. One involves kicking a ball and the other involves hitting a ball with a stick.”

“Thanks. Anyway, I never knew the lines of a sports field were drawn with lime. Some of the white powder got in my nose earlier and I started feeling kind of funny.”

Sayama nodded while thinking he could use that last sentence in one of his edited audio recordings.

They walked on and their lines bent along the outer edge of the schoolyard. They could see the spectator seating, the food stands, and the signs for local store sponsors.

“The pieces of art from past graduates are over there,” pointed out Shinjou as she turned around. “I’ve been wondering. Why is there a collection of memorials there?”

“Oh, about twenty years ago, the graduates made super-realistic sand pictures of themselves. They lined them up and gave them black borders made from carbon to protect them from the elements, but oddly enough, local residents and the Buddhist society keep bringing offerings of flowers and water. Wonderful, isn’t it?”

“I think it’s more ominous than it is wonderful.”

“It is not ominous. The alumni association was afraid it would seem that way, so they have recently been making alterations. At night, a few of them will randomly appear to smile and their eyes will glow.”

“That’s plenty creepy.”

Shinjou sighed and looked toward Sayama.

“I know it’s a bit late to ask, but why are you wearing a suit, Sayama-kun?”

“This is my athletic suit, so there is nothing at all strange about-… What is with that look, Shinjou-kun?”

“I was just wondering what to do when someone has the very foundations wrong.”

“Now that you bring it up, should you be wearing a track suit? Given the time…”

“I have Sadame’s body right now, but…I’m fine. I changed clothes and I’m getting more used to going outside. I sometimes go out without disguising my chest, so I do wonder if I’m getting too careless.”

“That means you are able to relax, Shinjou-kun. But if you ever need something to cover your chest, just tell me. I will use my own two hands to help calm you down.”

“Right, right.”

She averted her gaze while nodding, but she kept her right hand on her chest.

She began walking once more and Sayama silently followed.

After a moment, she spoke up while lowering her head.

“Um, Sayama-kun? Preparing for the athletic festival is fun and all, but…”

“Is this about the Leviathan Road?”

“Eh? Oh… Th-there is that. And there’s also the person from the Army I met. …W-well, both of those things are actually more important and this may be sudden, but…”

She slowed her pace and she lowered her head enough for her bangs to hide her face.

“You haven’t been checking on my body lately.”

“I see. So to put it logically, you are asking to do it right here and now.”

“How is that logical!?”

“Calm down, calm down,” he said after she shouted at him and turned her red face toward him.

It was true they had not had much free time with the preparations in the morning and evening and the festival committee members or Izumo and the others stopping by their room.

…''When you add in the time she needs to write her novel, we have to get to sleep right away.

She seemed to have made it past the plot stage of her novel because she was building up the setting on the library computer while either writing “good” or throwing out the data. That was important too, but…

“It is true we have not had much time for just the two of us lately.”

“Yeah…but I’m sorry. I’m talking about myself when the Leviathan Road is more important.”

“The old man seems to be preparing the preliminary negotiations for 4th and 5th. Richard Thunderson of the Eight Great Dragon Kings is even supposed to arrive today as American UCAT’s inspector. I assume it is to help the negotiations with 5th run more smoothly. …But for now, what is it you wish to discuss about your body?”

Shinjou stopped walking and stood with the monument-like pieces of art behind her.

“Neither body is working. The other day, I just got a stomachache again. Am I really making any progress?”

“I see,” said Sayama again.

He stopped the line cart next to him and folded his arms while Baku mimicked him on his head. But before he could say anything, Shinjou spoke again.

“I-is the boy side getting in the way?”

“You mean Setsu-kun’s body? I would like to know why you think that.”

“Because…” She too let go of the cart and lightly held her own body. “Well… there’s something I don’t really understand. Um? Sayama-kun, will you tell me?”

“I will answer any question for you, Shinjou-kun. All truth and knowledge lies within me.”

“Oh? Then what’s the truth behind the Kennedy assassination?”

“There are times when a man cannot restrain himself any longer.”

“That is not it and you know it!!”

That shouted response came not from Shinjou but somewhere much further away, so Sayama looked up.

He looked to Shinjou, but she was shaking her head with a look of surprise. She was saying it had not been her.

He waited for a few seconds, but he heard nothing more beyond the distant hammering of students constructing stands and the distant shouts of sports teams practicing.

“Was that shout a special function added to the graduates’ self-portraits? Well, it does not matter. Shinjou-kun, what is it you wish to ask me?”

“Oh, right. Well, a man and a woman can make a baby, right? Oh, and I know how, so you don’t have to explain it.”

“Hm. That last bit is certainly disappointing.”

“Yes, yes. Very disappointing. Now, about my question.”

She took in a breath, paused for a few seconds, and spoke clearly while blushing.

“H-how do two boys make a baby?”

As soon as the question left her lips, two odd sounds of impact came from behind her.

Sayama looked over and found two people collapsed in the schoolyard behind the self-portraits.

“Why are you two lying on the ground there, Kazami, Izumo?”

Kazami came to when she heard her name.

She could see the nighttime schoolyard turned on its side and two people standing on it.

She wondered who they were and she eventually found the answer: Sayama and Shinjou.

She then questioned why she was on the ground.

“Did Shinjou-kun’s challenging question give the two of you anemia?”

That question brought her back to her senses.

She frantically stood up and walked over to Sayama without brushing the sand off of her track suit.

“J-just a moment, Sayama!”

She kicked Izumo’s head to wake him as she walked over and Shinjou was the one to react. Her shoulders shook as if in fear.

“Oh… Kazami-san, did you hear that?”

“Yes, we were swapping out the self-portraits’ voice ROMs from vengeful spirit to invigorating cheering. …But what is this all of a sudden, Shinjou?”

“Well,” said Shinjou.

She lowered her head and brought a hand to her chest, but…

“…”

She hesitated. Kazami had a pretty good guess what this was about, but she chose to say something else instead.

“If you think saying it will help resolve it, you should say it.”

“Right,” said Shinjou quietly before finally taking a few breaths. “Um… I still don’t have my period and the boy side still can’t reach the very end like Sayama-kun can. But…a girl can carry a baby, right?”

“Yes, even I can do that.”

“Chisato! You’ve finally decided to- gwoh!”

She silenced the voice on the ground by kicking over the line cart with her heel and then she placed a hand on Shinjou’s shoulder.

She then realized the girl’s trembling was reaching her palm.

Still trembling, Shinjou lowered the ends of her eyebrows and looked back and forth between Kazami and Sayama. Her damp eyes shook a bit and narrowed as she opened her trembling mouth.

“But… Even if I can carry a baby as a girl, what happens during the day when I’m a boy?”

“…”

“If I return to a boy during the day, the baby will disappear. So if…um….two boys can’t make a baby together, I…um…”

Kazami saw her head lower further as she spoke.

“I looked into it. But I couldn’t find anything saying if it was possible or not. …If nothing says it isn’t possible, then it might be possible, right? So today, I worked up my courage and asked a girl from our class, but she said I should ask Sayama-kun instead. So…um…”

[[Image:OnC_v08_0067.png|thumb]]

“Shinjou.”

She stopped speaking when Kazami called her name. She looked on the verge of tears.

Before the dam holding in her emotions could burst, Kazami motioned Sayama over.

“Hey, Shinjou,” she began. “Do you not like your current body?”

After a pause, Shinjou shook her head and took a rough breath.

“I stopped rejecting it.”

Kazami breathed a mental sigh of relief at that.

That meant Shinjou’s worry was a simple matter. Unlike before, she did not have a problem with the way she was.

…''She wants both Sadame and Setsu to become proper adults, but she’s afraid that will cause problems.

That was the fear that had led her to discuss something that would overturn the workings of the world such as having a child between two boys.

Kazami found it cute, but Shinjou herself was completely serious.

“I see,” she said despite not knowing what exactly she meant. She then tapped Sayama on the shoulder. “Listen. Give the answer you need to give and then have a nice discussion about the future.”

“I understand.”

He was as expressionless as ever and Kazami felt relieved enough to take a step away.

He approached Shinjou and grabbed both her shoulders.

She gave a start and finally looked up. She looked straight ahead with tears gathering in her eyes, but Sayama was not shaken.

“Shinjou-kun, please listen. You seem to be worried that Setsu-kun and I would be unable to have a child together, but…”

“Y-yeah?”

Sayama gave his answer.

“I can make it happen.”

An instant later, Kazami felt her vision falling into darkness once more.

“…”

She had the contradictory sensation of losing all her senses and her mind recovered with the rising feeling of waking from a dream.

Her mind was initially filled with confusion.

…''Huh? What was I just doing?

It was an odd feeling.

She recalled having heard something strange, but she could not quite remember what it was.

There was also something strange about her vision. She had previously been standing in the schoolyard at night, so why was she leaning against a wall now?

Wondering what the wall was, she touched it. It felt strange.

…''Is this…?

What she had thought was a wall was the schoolyard, so she had to have collapsed at some point.

She suddenly realized someone was shaking her and calling out to her.

“Hey! Chisato! Chisato! Are you okay!?”

…''This is hopeless.

As she listened to Izumo’s voice, she realized her body and mind were not linking up properly.

Simply put, she had taken some form of serious mental damage.

But then…

“Chisato, wake up! Fine. If that’s how it’s gonna be, I’ll use this chance to feel up those breasts in publi-…”

Fighting instincts unrelated to her mind sent her fist flying.

It struck and the impact travelled through her fist to her wrist, arm, shoulder, and then brain. The impacts of one, two, three, and then four punches connected her mind to her body and her senses returned with the fifth blow.

“Oh, I’ve woken up. …Huh? Kaku? Why are you so bloody?”

She got up and looked at Izumo who lay collapsed before her, but he was breathing.

After concluding he had fallen asleep, she stood up.

The shock had mixed up her memories a little. She did not remember what had happened while she had been collapsed, but she doubted it was anything worthwhile.

She lightly tapped her dizzy head and turned to Sayama and Shinjou.

Shinjou was crying while Sayama held her in his arms.

“…”

Kazami silently lowered her shoulders as she realized Shinjou had understood that Sayama was lying. Or that he was fully intent on doing it but did not have a foundation for his confidence this time.

…''But she does have someone to support her like that.

Kazami gave a small smile, but then electronic tones came from the pockets of the three who stood on the schoolyard.

They came from their cell phones and there was only one reason all three of them would get a call at the same time.

“UCAT?” she asked.

Sayama was the first one to act. He first looked across the others.

“It is me.”

And he answered his black cell phone.

After a moment, he gave an expressionless comment.

“A strange concept space has appeared to the north of Akigawa?”

The city of Akigawa was divided by a few roads running east to west through its center.

One of those was the main road that ran through Taka-Akita Academy and the JR Itsukaichi Line was just south of it.

Crossing the Itsukaichi Line and continuing south brought one to a gentle slope leading down to the Aki River.

An apartment building was located in a residential district halfway down that sloped area. It was a beige mortar apartment building with a bamboo grove behind it, it looked quite old, and it was incredibly dirty.

It bordered the road to its north and had a small gravel space instead of a parking lot.

Light and noise arrived at the eastern end of that dry gravel. They were the headlight and engine of a motorcycle.

Three tires could be heard digging into the gravel: the motorcycle’s front and back wheels and the sidecar’s one wheel.

The headlight illuminated the front of a room with a nameplate saying Harakawa. Below it, the names Yui and Dan were given side by side.

The motorcycle’s engine shut off and the person riding it stepped down. He was a boy wearing a black leather jacket, a T-shirt, and black jeans.

He did not wear a helmet and only a bandanna held down his messy hair. He brushed his dark fingers through that hair and took his bag from the sidecar.

“I’m home.”

He put a key in the green steel door and pushed it open.

The space inside was darker than the night outside, but the boy, Dan Harakawa, entered regardless.

He flipped the switch next to the door and light filled the inside.

The kitchen extended to his right and a living room was located directly ahead. There were no furnishings besides the TV and stereo in a corner of the living room and a table.

He closed the door behind him.

“?”

He noticed a piece of paper stuck in the door’s mail slot, so he took it out.

“Oh, it’s from Ooki-sensei. She’s telling me to come to class again, isn’t she? Did she actually stop by my house? What a pain. And her handwriting’s hard to read too.”

Despite his words, he had a small smile on his lips. However, he gently suppressed the expression.

“I suppose I’m a pain too.”

He tossed his bag to the side of the kitchen.

As he listened to the sounds of the books and metal components inside hitting the ground, he heard another odd sound.

It came from the door behind him and it sounded like something had hit it, so he tilted his head.

…''Is it that cat? Is it begging for food again?

With a practiced motion, he slowly opened the door while using it as a shield.

And he found what had hit the door.

Rather than a cat, it was a girl.

She had collapsed and was curled up in the small cement space in front of the door.

Her short blonde hair spilled onto the damp cement and took some of the ground’s color with it.

“Is she from the base?”

Dan thought about the American military’s Yokota Air Base where he worked part time. However, even if the base was in the neighboring town of Fussa, that was still five kilometers away. Not many of the people connected to the base lived in Akigawa and he had never even seen a girl with such noticeably blonde hair around Fussa.

…''I’ve never seen her while at work either.

“Hey,” he called out while crouching down, but she did not react.

Even in the dark night, he could tell her slender face was not looking good and she was sweating quite a bit. He guessed that she was dehydrated.

Just as he began to reenter the apartment to get some water, he saw a small movement from her hand.

Her slender right hand reached toward him in the still night and he heard her voice. At first she spoke in English that he could not quite catch, but then…

“Help me…”

He responded to her Japanese words with an action. He reached out and held her hand. He squeezed to tell her he was there.

“Don’t worry.”

The girl turned toward his words.

She slowly tilted her head and opened her blue eyes a bit in surprise. Something in her eyes that could have been sweat or tears caused their blue to waver.

She took in a breath and gave a small nod toward Harakawa.

But that was as far as she got. As if she finally found herself able to relax, her strength left her, her eyes closed, and her head dropped down.

She had passed out.

“Hey,” called out Harakawa, but she did not respond.

She merely took long, rhythmical breaths with no strength in her body. She seemed to be sleeping.

He let go of her hand, saw that strength did not return to that hand, slowly sat down on the entranceway floor, and sighed.

“What a pain. What do you mean ‘save me’? You could at least give your name.”

He looked at the girl and rested his chin on his hand.

“A cat would’ve been better than this.”

Far above the nighttime ocean, an object flew above the clouds in a place too high to even call the sky.

It was an airplane.

The gently-curved, white passenger plane was made in Japan.

The flight had left the west coast of the United States and was crossing the Pacific Ocean to reach Japan. As it flew through the night, lights could be seen through the windows on the side and the interior was visible.

The economy class seats were aligned with three sets of three to a row and the plane was preparing for a late dinner.

Most of the passengers were Japanese on the way back from touring, but two foreigners sat next to the right wing. One was an elderly man in the window seat and the other was a young man sleeping in the center seat.

The young man in a suit was sleeping with a blanket pulled up to his shoulders, but he woke to the sound of the flight attendant bringing dinner. He bowed to the woman who passed a dinner tray to the elderly man further in.

“How much longer?” he asked in fluent Japanese.

The woman answered “about three hours” in English.

At the same time, the plane shook slightly. However, it shook vertically rather than horizontally.

The man’s body floated up into the air a bit and then the plane shook to the left.

“We seem to have hit some turbulence. I apologize.”

The flight attendant spoke calmly, but she spoke Japanese this time. By the time she finished speaking, the plane had made it out on top of the air and only had the normal vibration of an airplane.

The surrounding people grew a bit noisier. It was partially due to dinner arriving, but it also seemed someone’s food had fallen from the tray in the turbulence. The bread also fell from the tray held out to the young man.

The flight attendant apologized and also spoke to the elderly man in English.

“Sir, is yours okay?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”

The young man heard the elderly man reply in English. After receiving a replacement tray and placing it on the simple table he opened in front of him, he turned to the elderly man.

The elderly man wore a suit, had thin hair, and had a tall and slender build. He was currently eating while looking out the window.

The food on his tray showed no sign of having moved during the turbulence.

Just as the young man was about to talk to him, the elderly man grabbed the bread and spoke.

“Roger, Roger. This bread is really bad. Why is it so damp?”

The young man, Roger, shrugged at the English words spoken without even looking at him.

“I believe that is Japanese bread, Colonel Odor. According to my research, this flight’s food was supplied by IAI and I suspect this is their new bread meant for the Japanese. It is called ‘Eat My Soft Skin Bread’.”

“Such a ridiculous, ridiculous culture of copying others Japan has! What do you think of the flavor?”

“Well, the outside is crunchy and the inside is spongy, but it seems to me the outside would need to be the soft part to count as ‘soft skin’.”

“Roger, Roger. How can you know that when you haven’t eaten it yet?”

“A silly question. I can deduce it all from the information available to me.”

“Then…then what about this, Roger? Deduce when I’m going to die.”

“I do not have much information on you, Colonel Odor. A delusion with an unsatisfactory basis would only lower your confidence in me, so I can deduce that I would be better off not doing so.”

With a quick laugh, the elderly man called Odor stopped looking out the window. He cut the bread in his hand with a knife and spoke once more.

“Roger, Roger. Tell me what information you gathered while asleep. Tell me what our mission is.”

“Very well. Major General Richard Thunderson, the American Leviathan Road inspector sent ahead of us by American UCAT, and Miss Heo Thunderson, his great-granddaughter, have gone missing. We were to meet up with them as assistant inspectors, but our mission is now to search for them.”

Roger removed a cup of gelatin from his dinner tray and pulled a stamp-sized case from his pocket.

He opened the top of the case and poured its contents into the indentation that had contained the gelatin cup.

Those contents were bluish-white sand.

A Japanese girl in the seat across the aisle tilted her head as she watched him. She appeared younger than elementary school age and Roger smiled at her before placing a hand over the sand.

Something strange then happened.

The sand moved.

The sand spread out in the indentation as if sprawling out.

It then created a pattern with itself. It moved as if there were bugs inside, but it accurately formed several geometric shapes.

In the next seat, Odor took a sip of coffee from his paper cup.

“Roger, Roger. What do you see? So this is the famous dream sand of Roger Sully created by combining philosopher’s stone powder and sand. It uses the concept that, if all things eventually become trash, sand can gather information on all things, right? You could call it a deodorant for information. …A good partner for someone who goes by the name Odor.”

Roger did not reply to Odor’s comments and looked into the moving sand. The sand drew an image of the information gathered by the philosopher’s stone powder. The image was created using the philosopher’s stone powder and a weakened version of 1st-Gear’s foundational writing concept and its meaning was transmitted via a sort of suggestion.

Across the aisle, the young girl’s eyes sparkled as she watched the sand move.

“Hey, he’s playing with sand! The sand is moving!”

She called out to the mother sitting next to her, but the mother had not noticed the sand and only bowed apologetically toward Roger and scolded the child.

Roger smiled bitterly at that, but then nodded once the sand finished moving.

“Colonel Odor, my deduction has been confirmed. Japanese UCAT has apparently informed our higher ups of Mr. Richard Thunderson’s death. Rather than form a search party, we are to stay at Yokota Air Base as temporary inspectors and act according to the agreement made in case of Mr. Thunderson’s death. Also…”

Roger looked to his superior, but Odor said nothing and brought a spoonful of hardening gratin to his mouth. Roger decided to simply state the information.

“Heo Thunderson is still missing.”

Hearing that, Odor lightly clasped his hands.

“So… So Thunderson’s fear upon leaving for Japan as the Leviathan Road’s inspector has come true. …This will greatly change the motion of the world. Do you have the document?”

“Testament.” Roger pulled an envelope from his suit pocket. “I have the contract that Mr. Thunderson gave us without Japanese UCAT’s knowledge. This document provides the legal right to change everything about the Leviathan Road. Japanese UCAT likely viewed Mr. Thunderson’s arrival as a way to avoid our restraints, but they will see just how important an individual he was once they see this.”

“Roger, Roger. Make sure you eventually shove that in their faces. …Now, let’s get back on topic. What information do we have on this missing Heo Thunderson? I believe I was told her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all soldiers.”

“Testament. And she does not know of UCAT’s existence. However, her father’s grave is in Japan. Her father and mother were deployed to Japan by American UCAT, but they transferred to Japanese UCAT. Her father died in Japan in ’95 and her mother died in America in ’97. This is her first time back in Japan since then.”

“I see, I see. So she was born in a base in Japan. Continue.”

“Testament. First, all of her grandparents have passed away.”

And…

“Her paternal grandmother, Jessica Thunderson, was adopted by Richard Thunderson. Jessica’s true father was James Davis, a mechanical dragon test pilot for American UCAT’s air force division during World War Two. Jessica was one of the man’s two children. Mr. Richard Thunderson took her in and then joined with Japanese UCAT as American UCAT’s representative.”

“What happened to James Davis’s other child?”

“I only know that it was a boy and that he was taken in by a distant relative, but I have been unable to track him down. However, it does seem Mr. Richard Thunderson has long been searching for him.”

“How ridiculous, how ridiculous. But if you can track him down, we will have a relative to send Heo Thunderson to. …She is now the sole survivor of the Thunderson family. America welcomes those with nothing, but what about Japan?”

“Impossible to say, Colonel Odor. But…” Roger sank down in his seat. “Heo Thunderson’s father was named James. …Richard Thunderson’s adoptive daughter Jessica named her illegitimate son after her real father. Did the relationship between adoptive father and daughter not go well?”

Odor replied after cutting off another piece of his bread.

“Roger, Roger. Do not put sentiment in a question you can’t answer. People have different rules for naming people, so you can’t know. Take Heo Thunderson for example. What language is Heo from? It looks like it was given based on the sound alone. See? There’s no way to know.” He took a breath. “But we do know that we must begin the new mission given to us by Richard Thunderson’s death and that we must find Heo Thunderson. And Roger, what will you do with the sand?”

“Testament. Some of its effectiveness remains, so I can store it and use it again.”

“You are a petty, petty person. An American must have an ambitious and tolerant heart. …What is with this jam!? It’s too sweet!! Call whoever is responsible!!”

“Colonel, remember your tolerant heart!”

“Roger, Roger. I may have a tolerant heart in America, but I only have a normal amount of kindness. Anyway, I hear you spent some time in Japan. You didn’t become petty like those Japanese in your time there, did you? Surely you aren’t thinking fondly about your time there, ''are you''?”

“O-of course not. I am gung-ho for America.”

“Gung-ho? What language is that?”

Roger thought for an instant, but quickly feigned calm by brushing a hand through his hair.

“I believe it is of Chinese origin.”

“I see, I see. So I was mistaken when I thought it had a Japanese ring to it.”

“Testament. I believe you were mistaken.”

“Good. Good, Roger. But that was only the negative test to see if you have been too strongly influenced by Japan. Next is the positive test to see how you feel about America.”

“The positive test? Wh-what is that?”

The demand was simple. Odor crossed his arms and looked at Roger.

“The national anthem. Sing the national anthem of the United States of America.”

Roger thought for a moment.

“Th-the national anthem?”

“Yes, yes. And loudly. Sing it loudly. And make sure to stand up.”

“L-loudly? And while standing?”

Roger’s expression showed he did not like the idea, but he soon shook his head.

He eliminated all idle thoughts from his face and turned to Odor.

“Colonel, I apologize, but I would like for you to show me how it is done.”

“Roger, Roger. This is a test. I can’t exactly give the right answer ahead of time.”

“But colonel, can the answer desired by America really be restricted to a mere test? I believe the true answer resides in one’s spirit. I simply wish to see your spirit. Or do you not have that spirit?”

And…

“Once you show me how it is done as my superior officer, I will follow your lead.”

Roger brushed a hand through his hair and looked around. The surrounding Japanese were focused on them because they had been speaking back and forth in English for a while now.

They were on a secret mission for UCAT. Odor had decided to use a normal plane for some reason, but they had to avoid standing out too much within it.

''He must understand that,'' thought Roger with a sigh. ''He will back down and this will be over.

Odor stood up and began to sing.

“————!!”

It happened so suddenly that Roger felt dizzy.

He found himself unable to hear or see the low singing voice, the applause from the girl sitting next to them, or the confused looks from the adults.

For some reason, he was briefly reminded of the past. He remembered the time he had shoplifted some writing implements for his younger siblings in a small rural town outside of Dallas. The store owner had chased him with the setting sun in the background, hit him with a flying kick, and then performed multiple powerbombs on him.

His younger siblings had cheered him on as they caught up.

…''Stand up! Please stand up, Roger!! Count 1! 2! He stood up at 2.7!

“!”

He finally recovered.

Unpleasant sweat covered him and his entire body was oddly warm.

He looked to the side and found the elderly man still standing after finishing his song. He was looking to Roger with an expressionless look.

“Roger, Roger. You’re next. Use your youth to make up for what you lack.”

He handed Roger a spoon in place of a microphone. Roger took a breath while restraining the little finger that stood up from the hand holding the spoon. After using that breath to motivate himself, he stood and prepared himself.

He saw the flight attendant approaching down the aisle with a serious smile on her face.

He had to do something before she arrived.

But he frowned once he saw Odor begin eating again.

“Colonel Odor? That is your personal knife you’re using to cut your bread, isn’t it? Please hide it. The rules state you are not allowed to bring weapons onto the plane.”

“Roger, Roger. Americans shouldn’t be so petty.”

“I do not think it is being petty to ask you to place that reinforced plastic knife back in the heel of your shoe. Also, Colonel Odor, please hide the special reinforced plastic gun in your breast pocket, the plastic explosive hidden in your hair…oh, and the fuse inside your PDA’s digital pen.”

“Roger, Roger. How could you tell?”

“I can deduce it all from the information available to me. You normally do not put anything in your breast pocket or any kind of gel in your hair and your PDA has a touch screen. Lastly, when riding a Japanese airplane with lax security, you are sure to take something with you so that you can laugh about it later.”

“I see.” Rather than hiding the specified objects, he placed them on Roger’s seat. “You can take care of them. Got that? You can take care of them, Roger. Return them before we land. Oh, and this too.”

Odor handed Roger a small object.

It was a blue philosopher’s stone.

“What is this?”

“Roger, Roger. Did you know there was an area of America’s skies known as inviolable airspace even before World War Two? 5th-Gear’s great black dragon would fly there for fun and shoot down the pilots who supported the Age of Flight.”

“I did know that. What about it?”

“No, no, Roger. Deduce. Make a deduction. In the forties, that inviolable airspace rapidly thinned and almost completely vanished. Why?”

“The ley line alterations made by Japan’s National Defense Department shifted the location of the inviolable airspace to the Pacific Ocean near Hokkaido.”

“That’s right. That’s right, Roger. You’re making your deductions now, aren’t you? You’re working toward an answer, aren’t you? Think, Roger. Where are we and what is this philosopher’s stone? The answer is simple. We are over the Pacific Ocean near Japan and this philosopher’s stone is a weakened 5th-Gear concept.”

As soon as he said that, the flight attendant arrived.

“Sirs, um, we are headed for some turbulence, so please sit down. And try not to raise your voices too-…”

Suddenly, the airplane shook, but it did not jerk to the side like before. It shook downwards as if something had struck it.

“…!!”

The flight attendant held onto the chair back to remain standing and the lights went out.

Roger then saw something large fly by the window Odor had been looking out before.

Its speed easily surpassed that of the passenger plane.

Amid the continued shaking, red emergency lights came on and the cabin speakers activated.

“I apologize for the interruption to your meal, but we have just entered some turbulence. The captain says it will only last a few minutes, so please do not stand up for the time being. If you need anything, just ask a flight attendant.”

As the announcement repeated in English, Roger saw Odor step past him and out into the aisle.

“Let’s go. Let’s go and see our enemy, Roger.”

The dim light allowed him to see Odor walking down the aisle. His footing did not waver in the slightest even as the floor below him shook.

Roger then heard crying. It came from the girl next to him.

He lightly touched the girl as her mother held her shoulders. As he did, he sprinkled some philosopher’s stone sand on her.

“Give her a nice dream.”

The sand gave a definite answer by dancing about in a small whirlwind.

The girl looked at the sand for an instant, but then her eyes slowly closed.

“Good,” muttered Roger.

This time, he had gathered his sand from atop a mountain in San Francisco. The sand that had looked out over the sea and been washed over by the rain would likely give her a dream of those memories.

He ignored the flight attendant’s protests and followed Odor.

Despite the shaking, he managed to catch up.

“Colonel! Were you luring something here!? If so, this was a-…”

“Horrible method? Yes, it is a horrible method. And I am well aware there are other methods. But our higher ups were too afraid, so this was the only method available.”

Odor looked over his shoulder at Roger and then his surroundings.

“Hurry, hurry. The captain said the turbulence would only last a few minutes. If we intercept it in that time, we can make that true. Afterwards, we can sing again. We can cancel out the trouble we caused them with a memory we will make for them. I may not have much kindness, but even with a country I hate, I will not simply leave after causing them trouble.”

“I believe your thinking is truly American, colonel.”

“That’s right. That’s right, Roger. And that’s why you will do the singing. These native Japanese are on their way back from shopping in America, so show them what a true American spirit looks likes.”

Roger groaned and Odor showed off his teeth and raised the corners of his mouth.

“Smile. Smile, Roger. We are on our way to see two enemies: 5th-Gear which is an enemy of America and Japanese UCAT which has become our enemy with Thunderson’s death!!”

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