2008, March 20; 1:00 PM
The doors to Miyako’s office creaked open as Aiko stepped inside, bowing respectfully before standing before the desk next to an unfamiliar man. Sunlight flooded the room, filling the eerie quiet with the chirping of birds and the city’s hum.
“Miss Miyako, who’s this guy?” Aiko asked, noticing the man’s annoyed expression.
“This is Ryo, the one in the folder I gave you.” Aiko’s face turned red, and he quickly averted his gaze. “Right… the folder,” he mumbled, causing Miyako’s smile to falter.
“Mmm, next time, read what I give you, okay?” she said, prompting a quick nod from Aiko. Ryo smirked at his discomfort.
“Since you don’t know him, Ryo will be your temporary superior until I see results. Then you’ll both be seniors in Division Special,” she announced, making Aiko frown in confusion.
“Eh? I thought I was already a senior?” Aiko protested, only to get a light smack on the back of his head from Ryo.
“Didn’t you hear Miss Miyako? You’ll be a senior when you give her results,” Ryo scolded, hitting him on the back of his head. The two quickly devolved into a petty argument, their voices rising in a back-and-forth of “No, but she said—” “No, she didn’t, she said—”
As their bickering escalated, Miyako interjected, her tone shifting from kind to assertive. “Ryo, could you be quiet?”
“Sorry,” they both muttered, returning to a tense silence in front of her desk.
Miyako shook her head, disappointment evident. “Thank you. Aiko, today you’ll be with Ryo. He’s more experienced, and you should strive to be as reliable as him.” She looked between them. “Great! As I was saying, a mysterious individual recently raided a B.S.A. Transport and took one of my Manifestos. I expect both of you to return it in due time. I’ve sent you the address, Ryo.” She turned her chair to look out the window, signalling them to leave.
“Yes, Miss Miyako,” Ryo said, practically dragging Aiko out of the room.
Once outside, Aiko broke the silence…with a shout. “What was that?!”
“You couldn’t follow a basic order,” Ryo replied coldly, surprising Aiko.
“Which is—!”
“Reading a folder, especially one given by Miss Miyako,” Ryo shot back, making Aiko look down, then regain his composure.
“Not just that. After she found out you didn’t read it, you couldn’t even listen to her properly,” Ryo continued as they made their way to the underground train station.
The underground was surprisingly calming, bustling with people. Ryo swiped his PASMO card while Aiko jumped over the turnstile.
“What, you can’t pay for a train?” Ryo asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, I just don’t like using PASMO cards, that’s all,” Aiko replied confidently as they walked down the stairs.
“You don’t have a card, do you—?”
“No, I don’t!”
They walked in silence for a moment before boarding the train.
When they exited the station, they continued until they reached the address Miyako provided. The building loomed ahead, a rundown apartment rumored to be where the manifesto was taken. They approached the entrance, the rusted hinges barely allowing the door to open. Inside, they passed the front desk assistant, who barely noticed them as they made their way toward the elevator.
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2008, March 20; 2:26 PM
[You thinkin’ straight? Hundred percent sure ‘bout this, Nihilia? Beefing with the B.S.A. is one thing, but Miyako is a whole other thing.]
“Yes,” a woman’s voice said from a nearby rooftop, watching the two figures enter the run-down apartment. After ending the call, she continued to observe them, unaware of what lay ahead. Confident in her decision, she turned and walked back inside, locking the rooftop door behind her.
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2008, March 20; 2:30 PM
The duo walked through the dim hallways of the apartment complex. Flickering lights and creaky floors made Aiko shudder, but Ryo stayed calm. They knocked on a few doors but got no response. Aiko sighed, his disappointment clear. They reached the last door, and instead of knocking, Ryo’s hand pushed it open.
"Should we really be going into a random apartment? Especially one this creepy?" Aiko asked.
Ryo hesitated briefly before stepping inside. "Anyone home?" he called.
"There’s probably no one—" Ryo began, but before he could finish, someone tackled him to the ground.
"Hey! What are you doing breaking into my room?!" a woman shouted.
Aiko jumped in front of Ryo. "What’s wrong with you, lady?!"
The woman crossed her arms, glaring. "That’s no way to talk to a lady."
"Yeah, well, ladies don’t usually tackle people!"
"Enough," Ryo said, standing up and brushing himself off. "Sorry for the disturbance, ma’am." He pulled out his B.S.A. ID and flashed it. "We’re with the Bureau."
The woman huffed but relaxed. "Fine. What do you want?"
Before Ryo could explain, a loud explosion rocked the building. Smoke filled the air, making it hard to see or breathe.
"Where...?" Aiko coughed as a second explosion went off in the distance.
Ryo, now separated from Aiko, slowly regained his vision. A figure stood over him, talking on the phone.
"Told her they couldn’t handle it," the figure said. Then, turning his attention to Ryo, he hung up. "Guess I’ll have to deal with you myself."
Ryo sized him up as the man walked closer, distorted by ever-changing graffiti that concealed his identity. He reached out to grab Ryo’s face.
"You’ve got my attention now," the man said, his touch warping the walls around them into the same glitchy mess. Graffiti tendrils snaked up Ryo’s legs, pinning him in place.
Before Ryo could react, the man kicked him through the wall. Ryo managed to slow his fall by bracing against the building, but the man followed with a swift kick, knocking him down a floor.
As Ryo stood, he noticed the man’s boots approaching through the dust.
"Pretty impressive, huh?" the man taunted, throwing a punch. Ryo dodged, weaving through furniture hurled his way.
"For my last trick..." Ryo whispered as the man flung a chair at him. The furniture turned into doves mid-air, fluttering harmlessly around them.
"Manifestos nowadays—flashy, no substance," the man said, charging toward Ryo.
Ryo ducked, dashing into the hallway, but the man caught up, his hands distorting Ryo’s vision into a glitchy mess.
Just as Ryo braced for impact, a voice echoed from down the hall.
"HEY! YOU THINK YOU CAN WRECK MY BUILDING?!" Yasuka shouted, barreling toward them.
Aiko and Yasuka appeared, and Yasuka launched herself at the man with a dropkick. He stumbled back, caught off guard by the ferocity in her eyes.
"Ryo! Now!" Aiko yelled, punching the man and slamming his head through a window.
The man quickly made a hand sign, dropping a bomb from his sleeve. It exploded, destroying most of the apartment floor, leaving behind a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, the man was gone.
"You let him escape? Idiot!" Yasuka yelled.
"If you’re so smart, why don’t you go after him?!" Aiko shouted back.
"That’s no way to talk to a lady!"
"Well, the lady almost got us killed!"
"For the love of... shut up," Ryo said, dragging Aiko out as the two continued bickering. "We’ll try to get the B.S.A. to compensate for the damages.
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2008, March 20; 8:55 PM
[Hello…? Hello?]
…
"Right, goddamn it! You were right," the man shouts into the phone. He glances around the alley, lowering his voice. "Look, you said there’d only be two of ‘em, you lying prick!"
[Hmmm?]
"Don’t ‘who’ me, you madwoman! You sent three!" he yells again.
[Please watch your tone,] Nihilia’s voice cuts in, sending a chill down his spine.
"S-Sorry—"
[Secondly, I only sent two,] she continues, ignoring his apology.
"There were three. Two guys, one girl," he insists.
[Does she have a name?]
"Yasuka... I think," he says quickly, not waiting for a response.
[Thank you for your cooperation.]
"Hey, I ain’t done with you—!" The call cuts off. He glares at the phone, drops it, and stomps it in frustration.
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