Chapter Text
Author's Note: So this chapter wanted to grow tall and strong like it drank milk so I had to send it on its way. Don't worry, next part's coming real soon as a result.
It was cliché, but night-time was the best time for the clandestine, especially in Kivotos. When we conducted night raids into unsuspecting schools, we were able to take advantage of one simple fact: only the best schools ever tried to set up security for their own properties. Those small schools whose students had all gone home meant they were always ripe for the picking. It never sat well with me, though. I tried not to think of the schools we may have bankrupted with our efforts, forcing their students onto the streets. I was no bleeding heart, but these were students, who didn't deserve all this bullcrap.
And neither did I, come to think of it.
There were no students in Kivotos who were natural night-owls, or so I'd seen. An exemplar student usually got home before the real dark of night set in, when the halos in the sky gleamed in that surreal and beautiful way. Only those with something to prove, or those with something to hide, prowled the night streets. Night was the domain of the responsible and irresponsible Adults.
Here and there, in the gloomy and isolated corners of the City, Kain Von Kane and her merry band scurried to do their business, hoping the vigilant eyes of their betters did not catch wind of them.
My first few customers were the standard fare—those who had something to buy or sell, which I did accordingly. Goods changed hands along with money, hard yen carried in bags and cases, examined through a sophisticated Millennium-patented machine. Off went some of our Blu-Rays, off went some of our treasures—stone discs and cylindrical doodads and porcelain dolls and many others. We received crates of ammunition only to have someone else haul them away, we took custody of cars stuffed with guns which we would immediately sell to someone else.
I noted that the girls from Wildhunt were unusually jumpy, but that was their business, and they didn't voice any concern with me.
Names were crossed off the list, and our own profits were hauled in by Sizuru and her girls to double check.
Then it was time for our more "special" customers.
Miss White Rabbit was waiting for me in the blind spot of an alleyway somewhere in the Millennium district. I'd needed to sneak my way under the watchful eyes of the many drones littering the streets, unwilling to let Von Kane be seen for too long. Facial recognition software was damned advanced—especially considering I had used commercial versions myself for various reasons. If I, and the average student, had access to a good one, the school known for Science most assuredly would have better.
"Nihaha! Evening, Von Kane. Have you brought the delicious fudge I like?"
I held up the chip, within which were engraved the data linked to a digital dead drop of money. Technically the money had been mine, which required some skillful accounting to transfer the money from the school to my accounts. I never stopped feeling nervous about it.
The White Rabbit seemed to prefer that type of transfer compared to a bag of bills—even if it was easier to trace, in my opinion. But that was her preference, so I went with it.
"Oooh, my favorite flavor," Rabbit-san said with a grin. The chip disappeared quickly. "Now then, let's get started. Follow me."
I ran behind White Rabbit as she sprinted through the back alleys, going down a convoluted route that made it hard to track and remember. I assumed she was doing this to throw off people who might be following us, and also to confuse me. I didn't mind; I'd probably have done the same.
"Here we are," she said, stopping in front of some sort of shop, or the back of it in any case. "Stay here, please. I can tell there's some kind of camera up there. Need to… do something about its eyes, unless you actually want to be seen."
"I shall leef it to you, friend," I said. In the darkness, it was hard to see the camera. I gripped my cane tight, just in case. I strained my ears, for the sound of someone approaching. Because of that I was able to hear bits and snatches of White Rabbit's voice as she continued to work.
"… where is it, where is it… Ah, here it is! Tricky little thing…"
Silence. Then, an exclamation, "Uwaaah!"
"My friend?" I asked, stepping forward. "Something wrong?"
"D-don't mind me!" she replied, in a near shout. "J-just checking on things, don't worry…!"
I heard several noises, like something slamming against the wall repeatedly. There were several clangs, then a series of digital beeps, then the distinct sound of tapping on a keyboard. Then more loud slams.
"… retinal scan..? Have to… Good thing I brought… Nice thinking, me…"
The sound of a passing truck back in the street made it hard to hear her words.
"… can't read this, what do I… Hope this is the right code-base…"
The sound of contact in my ear made me lose concentration. "Otae-san, we kind of lost you! Please respond. Over." That was Aoba, handling the central communications for tonight.
"I'm here," I muttered to the comm. "I'm alright. Will report back. Over." I tried to hear what my contact was saying, though it was hard.
"…eeny meeny miny… Here goes nothing…"
I heard another series of beeps, followed by the White Rabbit uttering a cheer, like she'd won the lottery or something.
A moment later, I saw her poke her head out. "Come on, Von Kane, it's clea—I mean, I've made sure everything's all set."
"Having trouble with your security?" I asked, looking around warily.
"Mm… Something like that." I followed her through the door, and blinked as the fluorescent lights turned on. Inside felt much colder than outside, meaning there was an active AC. It all smelled clean and fresh—factory fresh, even.
"Watch out for that area there," she said, pointing towards a particular part of the room. "Laser tripwire."
I looked towards that point. I couldn't see anything, but I did spot several nubs or wires near the walls, which could indicate they were emitting a laser. "Cannot you turn it off?"
"It's… I can't…"
"Huh?"
"I, I mean I don't want to," White Rabbit said, with a chuckle. "It's a paiiin, y'know? I have to set it back up, change the locks, input the codes—very tedious work, very tedious—Anyway!" she slapped her hand. "Go ahead! Pick whatever suits your fancy."
I beamed at her without hesitation. I had my reservations, as I usually did when I visited one of her "troves". But I was sure she had very good reasons.
This was very likely one of her many warehouses where she housed her stolen goods, and likely followed a particular set-up which would be difficult to manage on a normal basis. It's what I thought I would do myself if someone ever tried to gain access to my holiday home in a friendly fashion—it would have been a right pain deactivating most of the security just to put it back up afterwards. I'd have wished they didn't enter at all, to be honest.
"Well then, what do we have here, do you know?" I was hoping, like always, that she'd have some sort of manifest to see what exactly each of the items here were.
"Nahhh, like I told you before, I just pick them up and throw them in here, heh." She mimed the motion of throwing something. "They might be junk, they might be worth their weight in gold, or they might be completely priceless! It's a gamble, but I know you'll win it all, Von Kane. After all, have I ever given you any reason to doubt me and my… skills?"
"You haff certainly not, which iz why I like your business, friend!" I said.
"Thanks! And I like being in business with ya too!" she said.
I was a little disappointed—which meant I had to look for something that looked interesting, and then of potential use.
She had always told me to take my pick, whatever it was, commensurate to the value she'd placed upon it and what I'd given her in turn. Sometimes I would be able to choose many little things at once, or one big thing, like that miniature jetpack, or that stealth suit.
The White Rabbit tapped a box, and it hissed open, revealing several objects within. I peered inside, trying to see if there was some sort of note or label attached, but there was nothing. I could only guess what each of this tech would do by their appearance. For example there was a mask—very likely it had functions related to the human head or face. Or a pair of boots—it could be something as wondrous as anti-gravity boots, or something petty like a roller-blade hybrid, which would make it a mere novelty.
I didn't really have time to test everything inside there. And I especially couldn't just up and use anything I could grab—what if it just exploded? I had to be extremely circumspect.
I knew what I wanted though. Something to reinforce or bolster our efforts to recreate that "battle suit" for my school. Maybe another sample would be nice. Even just something similar; again, perhaps a pair of boots that seemed to have the same properties, would be adequate for the payment I'd given the White Rabbit.
"What about this?" She pulled out a gun-shaped object from another box. "I think…" She peered at it. "… Think this is some sort off freeze ray-gun."
"Interesting," I said. "Too bad vee can't test it."
She took aim somewhere and clicked the trigger. Several empty clicks sounded. We stared for a few moments before she said, "Um… Probably not, then. You want to have a look?"
I shrugged and took it. It was actually kind of heavy for something that looked like a simple pistol with a stranger design. I couldn't really see if it used a magazine or a "power source". I pointed away and depressed, expecting a light click.
"Uwaaaah!"
We both stared when the gun shot some sort of attenuated beam that left a crystalline deposit on the floor. It seemed to be ice, or something. In a panic, I passed the gun back to her, feeling like it had suddenly become a hot potato.
"Is that… ice?"
We crouched and hesitantly reached out.
"Wait, let's use zis," I said. I used the end of my cane and poked it.
The ice or ice-like crystal dissolved, or evaporated, becoming like mist before disappearing completely. We both looked at each other.
I rose and sighed. "While… interesting, iz not vat I vant at ze moment."
"Gotcha," she said, tossing the gun back inside the box.
We moved deeper into the area, opening, checking and closing boxes and chests as we went. There were also other things strapped against the walls, or placed along the many shelves. Admittedly, I was a bit out of my depth without any good descriptions of each; I was forced to just take a guess on what each item might be just by looking.
"Vat is this… 'A-E Project'? Do you know?"
"I couldn't answer that, you know, even if I knew," she said.
"… Zat is fair." I was looking at some sort of thick gauntlet, fitted over the hand. I saw an inscription, small and almost missable, along its surface. I was curious because I'd seen such inscriptions before, on previous purchases, like the armor, the jetpack, or the halo-detection system.
If these were all from the same project, then perhaps Mariya could gain some more insights if I took this. They were a pair of gauntlets, and my assumption was that they were for heavy duty work—perhaps for lifting or gripping something too heavy for the average student. They might also be good for punching out somebody—but a rocket-propelled grenade could do the same thing.
"So you're choosing those?" she asked.
"Perhaps. Let us finish zis whole place before I decide."
"Up to you."
We came across boxes filled with thousands of small packets, which were labeled with the names of various food. They reminded me of astronaut "food" for some reason, though these purportedly held an entire meal inside a small packet. There were even small tubes that purportedly contained "pure water".
"I've seen these before," White Rabbit said, picking one and making it flap in her fingers. "Tastes real bad, but pretty nutritious. It's like they packed an entire meal into a small block. An explosion of flavor, bakyum! In your mouth! You wanna try some?"
"No thank you," I said politely, gesturing for her to close the box. I wondered what was the point of these. They might have been useful for my retreat, as I could envision living on one packet for several days. But this was Kivotos, and there was no "Cold War" threatening an apocalypse.
I was just about to tell White Rabbit that I'd be taking the gloves. Then she got stuck on opening a box, falling back against the shelf behind her. The whole arrangement was jolted, causing several small corrugated boxes to dislodge their contents onto the floor.
"Are you alright, mein friend?" I asked, reaching out to help her up.
"Just fine," she said, rubbing her backside.
I looked around at the mess, about to help tidy up, when my eyes were instantly drawn to one particular thing.
"Impossible," I said.
I didn't quite recall what happened. The next thing I knew, I was staring at the object in my hand, oblivious to the world around me.
It was a small, round object, shaped in a familiar way.
A computation orb.
"You recognize it or something?" White Rabbit asked. I looked at her. "You look pale—well, paler than your usual, Von Kane."
"I—" I took a deep breath. I looked back at the object, turning it around in my hands. "Well… yes. There—Zer i—iz something… familiar about it."
"Oh?" She tilted her head, looking down on it. "What's it do?"
I tensed, wondering if I should reveal it now. Instinct warred with reason; there was simply no excuse for showing off this, especially to White Rabbit. But I was also very curious, wanting to know if it worked, if it even was the same thing I knew, in a previous life.
Here were the bevels to program, the ignition switches, the power dials, the "exhaust" panels. But there were also things I didn't recognize: buttons of questionable function, and a screen akin to that used in a tablet. It also looked quite a bit more robust, as if it were a mock-up before the true design completion. And then there was the inexplicable hollow that I found after pressing a panel—like it was a place to insert analog batteries or something. But nothing was inside. I wonder if it even had a core?
I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers onto the object. A novice could flip the right formula in their sleep; but I had to be better. Manipulate the energy (pray to Him do it now) and let the orb respond.
I opened my eyes.
There was nothing.
Nothing but a familiar weight in my hands, and a clueless White Rabbit, staring at me and the object.
It failed? Or perhaps I was missing something… or maybe it was missing something. This was Millennium, after all, so perhaps they had stumbled upon the theoretical of the Orb through a mere spark of genius; and I could believe they ended up missing some things. And perhaps they had been unable to solve the conundrum, and left the orb here, lying in the corner until the White Rabbit had nicked it as part of her racket.
"Dangerous, do not touch," White Rabbit read off the side of the box where where the orb had come from. She snorted.
I made my decision. "I'll just be taking zees zen," I said, indicating both the orb and the gloves.
"You sure? Well, it's your choice. Pleasure doing business with ya again!" she chirped, looking very pleased.
I hid the orb when I met Sizuru and the others, only handing off the gloves to them. For now, this would remain my secret.
I knew that Problem Solver 68 were here even before I'd spotted any of their members, nor less the trucks they were about to give us. It was hard not to miss the tell-tale feeling that sprang its way up my spine, like an atavastic instinct recorded upon my soul, when I could sense that an ambush had been prepared. I knew there were people, hostile people, lying in wait. My eyes sought and found the hints of traps and mines prepared all over the meeting ground, all signs pointing to a pre-prepared killing zone ready to blow up in my face at the first sign of provocation.
And of course, I'd already experienced their methods before—having been on the receiving end, not that they were aware that Von Kane was Deguchi.
It was not "P-san" who met me, but their leader, one Rikuhachima Aru herself. Unlike the setting of the patisserie, here they had no reason to hide.
Aru was a formidable young girl, the horns on her head indicating her origins at Gehenna, dressed in a long, imposing fur-lined coat that hung from her shoulders. Few were the students who wore those openly without fearing ridicule or censure. She carried herself with the poise of a lioness on the prowl, quiet, fierce, regal, proud. Even when I'd scored hits on her body, she'd seemed to weather the pain with a confident smile.
She was not the type of girl I wanted to engage with for long. I suspect that she would not be the type to suffer the command of fools, which might be why she'd struck out on her own with her group of mercenaries. And to top it all, she was also a bit taller than me, which made the impression of our power imbalance all the more stark in my mind.
"Von Kane," she greeted, bowing politely.
"Mizz Aru," I said, making a sweeping bow in turn. "I hope ze night treats you vell."
Her eyes narrowed. "I hope it does. Makes for a nice change." Well that sounded ominous. She turned and gestured towards the trucks. "Come along please, there's something I'd like to show you."
I felt myself tense, wondering if they were about to pull a double-cross. I didn't think they were the type, but there was always a first time. I was armed—no one smart ran around unarmed in Kivotos—but myself against the four of them would be a major pain in the ass.
She opened the back of the truck, and a thick wad of sand smacked right into my face. I doubled over, coughing, and quickly peeled off the eyepatch to maintain my sight, while I furiously scrubbed my face free from the rough granules.
I also heard a loud, blaring sound, which I quickly recognized to be the truck's automated alarm. Through a single, pinched eye, I looked up at Aru, who had a face like granite, her body trembling as if repressing an immense font of rage.
Elsewhere…
A trio of eyes kept watch over their leader.
"Er… Is she alright?" someone asked.
"Kufufu… Don't worry Haruka-chan, this is just a proper negotiating tactic," someone else replied.
The third sighed, silent, as she peered through the night-vision oculars. They really should have cleaned out the sand from the cargo days ago, just as Aru had suggested.
But one thing had led to another, and now the result of their sloth had smacked Kain Von Kane right in her face. That had been a heart-stopper right there, as regardless of her suspicions, Von Kane was a dangerous character. She was tempted to just intervene and try to salvage it, but she knew her friend wouldn't appreciate losing face.
She just hoped Aru could salvage this situation somehow.
Also, she really should turn off the alarm now. That was just embarrassing.
The loud braying shot into my ears repeatedly, encouraging me to break character and ask "What the hell?". Yet I recognized this as some sort of power play: first using the leftover sand to unbalance me, and then using the noise as a method of intimidation. So I stood firm and just held her stare in silence, patting my face with a handkerchief wondering what sort of message she was sending.
I eventually conceded, breaking the deadlock to look back at the interior of the van. I saw that there were indeed scores of crates stacked inside, all no doubt filled with the guns and ammunition that K-san had promised. So what was the problem? And why had she still not turned it off?
"… Zat all looks to be in order," I observed.
"Oh no no no no no," she said, her voice hoarse and low and menacing. Despite the repeating alarm, her voice nonetheless sounded loud and clear. Then she cleared her throat, her tone returning to normal. "… T-that is to say, n-not exactly. It's not the whole reason."
"Vat do you mean?" I turned to her.
"Look more closely," she said, dragging one of the crates forward. She pointed at something on top of the box, printed on the wooden surface.
"Vat is—" I said, before I blinked. I recognized the symbol.
That was the sun and pyramid of Abydos High School.
I was able to put two and two together in an instant. The reason why she was even showing me this was because—
"So hyu discovered all zis… in ze course of your task," I said.
"You got that right. Imagine our surprise to find such a cache," Aru said, as she shoved her hands in the pockets of her coat. I could practically feel the chill in her voice, which was then accompanied by the alarm abruptly ending, returning the night to silence—the sort of loud silence that continued to ring in my throbbing ears.
I thought she'd made the point of her displeasure very clear. "It is enough to make one wonder, and maybe even ask some uncomfortable questions," she continued.
"So all zeees trucks…?" I gestured towards the other trucks.
"Yep."
The task that I'd commissioned of the Problem Solver 68, not as a representative of the Kanon Union, but as myself, Tae Deguchi, had been to explore the ruins of my property, over at the Abydos district. I had been curious ever since I'd excavated the Evening Pharos building; there had been a lot of scattered junk I'd uncovered that had nonetheless turned a profit, however miniscule. Could there be more in the sand-covered buildings I'd bought?
I hadn't really had the time to do it myself, nor could I realistically find people to do it for me. People talked in Kivotos, and I didn't want to accidentally reveal that I owned property—especially now that I was the President of an entire school. It took me a long while to decide that the Problem Solver 68 were trustworthy enough people to hire, and that was after I'd already known of them for months.
Still, I was wondering why Aru seemed displeased with me currently, especially in connection to all the trucks they'd brought back.
"You didn't mention that we would be exploring the ruins of old schools," she said. Ah, so that's what she was concerned about? Unless you were really desperate you didn't go around stealing or looting other people's property. Isn't that right Akame? Then again, this was my property in the first place—but should I be telling her that?
"Iz a problem?" I asked. "I did not tell you to take zese didn't I? Zat you somehow acquired zis is not my concern."
"It is your concern, if all this was acquired through extreme circumstance, resulting from an inadequacy of information," she countered. "You didn't tell me there would be opposition in that place."
There was? Could it have been those robots? "I zeem to explicitly recall zat I said I dod not know much." My mind thought ahead, and guessed where her displeasure was leading towards. "Do not worry, amigo, I shall certainly compensate you extra for ze additional—and unexpected—hazard. But pleez understand, I truly did not know."
"You'd damned well better compensate us! You're lucky no one in my group was hurt," she said, her eyes flashing. "And I also hope there'll be no problems considering these objects to be our lawful bounty?"
I considered that. Technically, these were "mine", having been extracted from my own property. But, that would end up revealing that I owned said property, which would lead to a new web of problems. They'd be even more displeased, accusing me that I'd knowingly sent them to trouble, and I could not present proof that I honestly did not know.
I wondered if Aru was probing, trying to guess if I did actually own it. Technically, it would be easy for the intrepid investigator to discover that it was "Tae Deguchi" who owned the place. And it might be possible that they could link KvK to Deguchi. But as long as that was only a possibility, I was forced to keep my options close to my chest. Antagonizing a competent mercenary group like these four was not at all conducive to my future comfort.
"It iz," I said carefully. "I do presume that will not stop your intent to sell zese."
"Of… of course not," she said, blinking.
Now I was presented with another problem. I could not really turn around and sell these immediately, not while they were packed inside these Abydos-branded boxes. People would be bound to start asking questions, and I knew full well how the rumor mill could churn in Kivotos. We needed to replace it, put it in other boxes, and dispose of those boxes; but we had no time at the moment. Fortunately we had other stockpiles to draw on, especially for a situation just like this. But it was very inconvenient, especially for my students who'd be doing the work.
"Excellent," I said. I presented the payment—the data they desired. "I truly hope to continue working vit you, my friend. You are most excellent partners."
Aru slowly took the data drive, the payment for the guns. The money to pay them for their private work I'd already authorized to be wired to their account.
"… We thank you for your business," she said after a while. "Did you need anything else?"
"I shall give you a call; for now, take care mein friend." She nodded, then departed, perhaps to meet with her group who were likely keeping overwatch on me.
Once she'd gotten to a fair distance, I called Aoba. "We got a problem, prepare about a truckload of guns for the Red Winter girls, We've got to drive these back and have it processed… some other time at least." I paused as I heard Sizuru and her people arriving, having been alerted by my signal. "Yeah, I know it's mighty inconvenient, but we've got to move fast, it's getting pretty late."
And I was about to meet with the Genryumon, oh joy. Fortunately, Aru had given me an idea.
131 DAYS UNTIL SENSEI'S ARRIVAL
AN: Feel free to message me here or on discord (jonholdhous/RHoldhous#6771).