Blackout

I'm really sorry for not posting a new chapter for so long. I was busy with the Tempest Contest, and I couldn't spare time for this series. Even so, I should have been more responsible and gave out a notice or something. Now that the contest is over, I can upload more chapters again. However, please be warned that the chapter will come out really, really slowly as I'm really out of ideas now.

   As requested by Kuromi, I went to meet her at the school gates. When I got there, she’s already waiting for me.

   ‘I’m sorry for making you wait, Kuromi.’ I apologize to her.

   ‘There is nothing for you to apologize, master. I understand that you were occupied at the moment.’

   She pauses.

   ‘...Although, you could make it up to me if you insist.’

   Suddenly, I got very scared.

   ‘Um, sure. What do you want me to do?’

   ‘I would like to go on another date with you, master.’ she says with a tiny blush on her cheeks.

   I smile in relieve.

   ‘Sure. We’ll go to one after my mission is over.’ I promise while stroking her head gently.

   ‘Thank you, master.’

   ‘For now, let’s go to the Underworld. So, how are we going to go there?’

   ‘Just leave it to me, master.’

   She mutters a few words under her breath. After she’s done, a portal appears behind her.

   ‘Please step through it. The Underworld lies beyond.’ Kuromi tells me while gesturing towards the portal.

   ‘Aren’t you going to come with me?’

   ‘I would love to do that. Unfortunately, Hades-sama only wishes to see you.’

   ‘Well, I’ll be right back then.’

   Kuromi curtsies at me.

   ‘I shall be right here awaiting for your return.’ she tells me.

   I step through the portal and find myself staring at the palace Hades resides in. It’s been so long since I last visited. Not that I was ever thrilled to. The skeleton guards standing on both side of the door open it and let me in when I got close. Since I already know my way around, I head straight to the throne room.

   And there he is. Hades, the God of the Underworld, sitting on his throne. His wife Persephone, the Goddess of Springtime, is sitting right next to him on her own throne. I kneel down in front of them with one leg on the ground. Before I could say anything, however, Hades turns his head away from me and looks to the right. Persephone, on the other hand, winks at me and puts her index finger at her mouth.

   ‘It has been a while since we saw that human called Kagenashi Akira, haven’t we Persephone?’ Hades begins.

   ‘It sure has. I think it was at least four to five months.’ Persephone agrees.

   ‘Like I was actually counting. You know I’m bad with dates.’

   ‘Of course I know that. Speaking of bad with dates, there was that time when you’ve forgotten my birthday.’

   Both Hades and I flinch at the same time. Looks like Persephone is still holding some level of grudge against that incident.

   ‘A-A-Anyway, Kagenashi Akira is not here with us.’ Hades continues while trying to remain calm.

   ‘Yes. He is definitely not kneeling from a few feet away from us.’ Persephone agrees again.

   I take it that whatever he’s about to tell me next, he wasn’t supposed to tell me at all. Hence, both he and Persephone have to act like I’m not here.

   ‘Since he isn’t even here, he can just take it easy and stand instead of kneeling.’ Hades says to no one in particular.

   I stand up after hearing that.

   ‘Now, wasn’t there something you wanted to talk about again, my love?’ Persephone prompts.

   ‘Ah, yes. The sole reason I asked Styx to call a certain someone over, who is totally not here right now.’

   Persephone chuckles when Kuromi was mentioned.

   ‘Speaking of her, she’s having a real blast at the human world, isn’t she? She found a master whom she’s willing to serve with all her heart and body, especially her body.’

   She smiles at me playfully when she said the last part. I could only avert my eyes in embarrassment. Hades only grunts in response to that.

   ‘What they do with each other while they’re up there is none of my concern. More importantly, the whole world is a mess right now. And the fault lies in my nephew Ares.’

   My ears perk up at that. How does the Greek God of War the cause of everything that’s happening on the surface right now?

   ‘That fool got tempted by a Demon. I don’t know exactly what he was told, but he was even more hungry for wars and battle after the temptation. He started to incite humans to fight each other so that he could enjoy the view. If it keeps up, the deaths will pile up, and myself and all the other Gods who are in charge of death will have to work overtime!’

   A Demon. I could only think of one group that behind this. The Christian extremists that my group and I first encountered when we were in Kyoto. So they’ve moved on from Japanese Deities to Greek Gods, and even managed to bring one of them over the the dark side.

   ‘There’s nothing I love more than beating the immortal soul out of that empty-headed buffoon for all the trouble he’s causing. Unfortunately, myself and the other Gods are bound by ancient laws which forbid us from fighting among ourselves. If only, oh, if only there were someone to do it in my stead!’

   Oh, man. What am I getting involved to? This is no simple family feud. A God is involved, for crying out loud. How could a mere mortal like me could ever fight and defeat Ares?

   Wait a minute. I got this all wrong. Despite what Hades wants me to do, my target isn’t Ares. Rather, it’s the Demon that tempted him. If I managed to defeat that Demon, Ares might get back to his senses. A real emphasis on the word might, but I’ll be crossing that bridge when I get there. The extermination of the Demon or rather the entire extremist group comes first. The problem lies in finding them.

   ‘Do you know where they are, dear?’ Persephone somehow managed to read my mind and asks her husband the question I wanted to ask.

   ‘Unfortunately, no. I’m no Apollo. I can’t speak gibberish out of nowhere so that clues regarding their whereabouts can be given.’

   I hang my head in disappointment at that. Then again, Madoka and the rest of the Information Squad are excellent in their job. They’ll find out the location in no time.

   ‘To whomever that is not here, this conversation was only between myself and my wife Persephone. Not one word of its source is to be leaked.’ Hades cautions me indirectly.

   I take it that that’s the cue where I’m supposed to leave. And so, I bow to them before I leave the palace and head back to the surface.

   ‘How was the meeting with Hades-sama, master?’ Kuromi asks me once I got through the portal.

   ‘It was very fruitful. I got some vital information about the mess that’s going around the world.’

   ‘That is a great news.’

   ‘I’m heading over to where the other are. Do you have anywhere that you need to be as well, Kuromi?’

   ‘I would have to go back and continue with my work. I have asked for permission to leave my work temporarily, but still.’

   ‘Alright, you head back to work. I’ll be heading outside now.’

   After giving me a graceful curtsy, she leaves me and heads back to her workplace. Before I catch up on the gang for real, I take out my phone and message Madoka.

   ‘Hey Madoka. In case you don’t know this yet, the mess around the world is caused by Ares.’ I texted.

   The reply came almost immediately.

   ‘How did you find out about that? Even I couldn’t grasp hold of the info.’

   ‘Well, let’s just say that I have a reliable source. I was sworn to secrecy about his identity, so I can’t tell you anymore than this.’

   ‘How reliable is that, by the way?’

   ‘Very.’

   ‘I see. Well, we’ll talk about the payment once this mission is over.’

   ‘Wait, I’m going to get paid?’

   ‘Of course. We always pay those who provide us with valuable information.’

   ‘Well you can keep the money. I don’t need it, and the person who gave me the information definitely doesn’t need it.’

   ‘That person aside, maybe I could pay you by cosplaying.’

   The image of Madoka wearing a gorgeous maid uniform flashes in my head without any warning.

   ‘You just imagined me wearing a maid uniform, didn’t you?’ she asks.

   ‘Yes.’ I confess.

   ‘Well, look forward to it then. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have things to take care of.’

   ‘Same here. Let’s meet up soon.’

   ‘Yup. See you.’

   I call Sakuya next.

   ‘I’m done with the things on my end, senpai. How about yours?’ I ask her once she picks up the call.

   ‘We were just done with assisting Kaoru-chan’s family. We’re still at their base. Come over.’

   ‘Got it.’

   Before I head out, I made sure to equip an earpiece to my right ear so that I won’t miss any vital information.

   When I got to the street, it’s practically a war zone. Cars are burning, properties are being damaged. All in all, it’s one hell of a mess. When I got to the Uekawa Gang’s HQ, there are lots of yakuza-looking people being tied up with ropes and being gagged with handkerchiefs or something. Overseeing them are more yakuzas. My gang and Kaoru’s parents are outside as well. I walk through the rows and rows of the tied-up yakuzas so that I could get to them.

   ‘I’m so sorry for being late.’ I apologize to them.

   ‘It’s okay, aniki. This is originally our problem, so we should have been able to solve it ourselves.’ Kaoru tells me.

   ‘Don’t say that, Kaoru. We’re going out, remember? That makes your problem my problem too.’

   ‘...Thank you, aniki.’ Kaoru says to me gratefully.

   ‘By the way, are all these people from rival gangs?’ I ask her while looking around.

   ‘Yes. It’s not just the Hidari Gang. There are also those from several other gang that we were always fighting against.’ she confirms.

   All of those who’re tied up are basically frothing from the corner of their mouth. They are also glaring at everyone around them with a murderous look. I then look at those from the Ueyama Group. Unlike their counterparts from other gangs, none of them look even remotely aggressive.

   ‘Why are none of the members of your group being aggressive like they are?’ I couldn’t help but ask.

   ‘Believe me, there are some who are acting just the same as they are. It’s just that I had all of them secured safely inside a storeroom until all this madness is over.’ Ueyama-san says to me.

   His left shoulder is being wrapped with bandages, presumably from the fight they had.

   ‘I see. Speaking of which, you’re quite composed, sir.’

   He chuckles. ‘I might have gone berserk if I was at least twenty years younger. I did felt some lust for battle when all these began, but it wasn’t enough to make me draw my weapon and howl for blood.’

   ‘Looks like being old does have its perks, despite what you always say..’ his wife says with a smile.

   ‘I guess. I still hate being old, though.’

   I just realized something very important. These two are actually talking to each other again. I have a sinking feeling that the wound he got was from protecting his wife. Either way, I’m glad that they’re on good terms again.

   ‘Well, we still have to help out at other places, so we’ll be excusing ourselves.’ I tell them.

   ‘Is it okay if I come with you, aniki?’ Kaoru requests.

   “You want to? Um…”

   I look at Sakuya helplessly. She nods her head encouragingly. I look at Kaoru’s parents next. They aren’t objecting to it either.

   ‘Okay then. You’ll be coming with us. Just stay close to me, okay?’

   ‘Got it, aniki.’

   With Kaoru being added to our rank, we left the HQ. I don’t know where we’re going yet, but I halt everyone and tell them of what I know about this war. Once I was done, everyone has the look of someone with a million questions.

   ‘How did you even know about this? I just asked Madoka-chan just now, and even she doesn’t know.’ Sakuya asks me just like Madoka did.

   ‘Um, I was told to keep it confidential you see. So I can’t tell you all.’

   Sakuya shows me her puppy eyes.

   ‘You can’t even tell your big sister?’ she asks with the sad expression of hers.

   I quickly avert my eyes before I ended up spilling everything.

   ‘I’m sorry, senpai. Not even you.’

   ‘Please stop being persistent, president. Akira would definitely tell us if he could.’ Ichika helps me out by saying.

   ‘I know, I know. I felt like doing it anyway.’

   ‘In any case, what should we do?’ Yui asks.

   ‘Let’s walk around and help those in need until Madoka manages to find out Ares’s location.’ I tell her.

   It was then when I hear a familiar voice coming through the earpiece I’m wearing.

   ‘Can you hear me, master?’

   ‘Is that you, Kuromi?’

   ‘It is indeed I.’

   ‘How is it possible that you’re calling through the line only used by us and the operators?’

   ‘That is because I am one of the latter now. You see, I have requested training in this field so that I could become an operator and support all of you.’ she explains.

   ‘Well, that’s nice to hear. We’ll be counting on you to give us directions when necessary.’

   ‘Please leave it to me. And if you are ever bored, I could read out an erotic novel I just bought the other day-’

   ‘Is there anywhere nearby that requires our assistance?’ I interrupt her by asking.

   ‘Well, there is another dispute between rival gangs at the downtown of Ikebukuro…’

   We spent the rest of the afternoon stopping fights and rescue innocent civilians who were caught in the crossfire. The groups we fought were pretty random, there are a few group of yakuzas, some mercenaries, and one or two rogue organizations. They were mostly untrained in magic for the most part. Even so, stopping them were difficult since their numbers were quite large, and we have to subdue them without killing them or injuring them too much.

   It was almost nighttime when we were finally done with clearing up the area. Even so, the entire city looks like a war zone, which to be fair it was.

   ‘Finally, we get to go home.’ I sigh as we’re heading back to our dorm.

   ‘Don’t be so relaxed yet, Akira-kun. We’re not done with this yet. Not by a long shot.’ Sakuya warns me.

   ‘Furthermore, we need to stay on alert even while we are sleeping. We would never know when would someone will come and attack the Academy.’ Ichika adds.

   ‘I don’t think anyone’s stupid enough to do that, but I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.’

   ‘I wonder how Kojima-san is doing right now.’ Yui wonders out loud.

   ‘Don’t you worry. It’s Madoka we’re talking about. She’s definitely doing her best to get the information we need.’ I assure her.

   It was at this moment that my phone rings, indicating that I just received a message. It was one from Madoka.

   ‘I’m glad that you have so much faith in me.’ the message writes.

   ‘It’s confirmed. You definitely planted a bug on me.’ I write back.

   ‘What gave you that idea?’

   ‘I take it that you’re not going to tell me where it is, or if you’re not using one, how you managed to know what I’m saying.’

   ‘Nope.’

   ‘Urgh, I give up then. How’s the search going, by the way?’

   ‘Not good. This is kind of difficult, even for me. My team and I might need some more time.’

   ‘Just be careful out there. You’ll never know who you might bump into.’

   ‘Don’t worry. I’m always careful.’

   ‘Is something wrong, Akira-kun?’ Saya asks. ‘You’ve been typing away at the phone for a while.’

   ‘It was Madoka. She said that her team might take more time to find out where Ares is.’ I report.

   ‘Even her? That Ares must be really good at hiding.’

   And then, they appear out of nowhere. Ten people of unknown gender, all covering their body with black cloak. Our side got into battle positions at once, and weapons are out in the blink of an eye, or in the case of Mashiro, her choker has been removed.

   ‘And here I thought we can finally go home.’ I grumble.

   ‘Mashiro wanted to play games…’ Mashiro grumbles as well.

   ‘Be serious, you two.’ Ichika chides.

   ‘I’m always serious.’

   ‘And so is Mashiro.’

   As I’m staring at them, I couldn’t help but notice that one of them in particular is having an intense killing intent, and he or she is directing said killing intent towards me. At the next moment, all of them draw their weapons and charge towards us.