Chapter 16, Love and Blunder……. and consequences.

Tokyo, WATANABE’s Penthouse, just after the Osaka’s mission.

As Takashi entered his room, he saw Reika sitting on his bed, wrapped in his blanket. Sitting himself next to her, he then put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her head against him.

“I’m so, so sorry for what you had to go through tonight”.

“I still don’t understand how it all happened.” said Reika, her body still shivering.

“I will explain everything. You see, some time ago a german industrial’s daughter was diagnose ill. The only words she would say were single numbers.

After a time her father was able to put people together to decode it. And that’s how and when the Gantz’ system was born. In some towns, an apartment, a house or something else is chosen, vacated and a huge black ball is installed inside. That ball would randomly select people from the town that just died to bring them inside. The only two common factors would be the time of death and the manner of death. Murder, accident, suicide, heart-attack.

Gantz dispose of futuristic technology. The kind you would only see in some S-F movies after CGI. Teleportation, cloning, weapons, engines, furtive technology, even giant mecha.”

“Mecha?” asked Reika, doubting her ears.

What is he talking about?

“Yes. I will show it to you later. So the system gather what it calls players, forcing them in a death match against alien living among us. Either blending in as human-like, furniture or objects like, and the last group who can’t like the monster you saw. They evolve in a space slightly away from our reality. Kind of. So normal people can’t perceive them. Most of the time feeding on victims.”

“Oh god.”

“Exactly.”

“How did you die then? When? How come your parents didn’t notice?”

“hm… I didn’t.”

“But you said...”

“I noticed a website sometime ago. Tracked one of the two people who created it and found the gantz apartment for Tokyo. Then I hacked into the system.”

“Just like that?”

“Erh. It was a little more complicated than that, yes. So to bypass the system, I made it create some pills for me. Blue and Red.”

“The red pill...”

“Yes, the ones the Kumoron tried to steal for his crush. The blue one cancel the hold the system had on the user, forcing him out. The red one is the opposite. It cancel the user needed death and bring him in when the system call it’s players.”

“Then you took a red pill like me? Why?”

“More monsters are coming. Someone has to fight. Using Gantz technology as my level zero, I was able to create things even the system creators could only dream about.”

“More? Why won’t this gantz be enough then?”

“Cause the aliens has it too.”

Reika’s face showed shock then.

“Yeah, They are the ones who sent the signal. Not sure why. Dissident faction or whatever. But the truth is, gantz won’t be enough, we need to go beyond it. I’m going to have to science the shit out of it”

“Takashi, you may be smart, but this thing is way beyond university level.”

“Hm, not exactly.” He said with a smirk on his face.

“Explain, now.” as a vein was visible on her forehead.

“Ok, so, the german guy’s people, so not smart. The only thing they did was to copy most of the tech, like the suits, the cloaking etc. You know what the best part is with Legos? To take everything apart and reassemble it differently, or even better repurpose the tools for something you didn’t think at first.”

“What did you do?”

“Gravity belt, gravity guns, flying drones, health system, more evolved suits, gantz-style clothes for everyday use, glove with trusther, I went Marvel-style with an Igorstyle armor, then went crazy with the Hulkbuster-one. And a whole more techs and weapons to help us.”

“You just listed most if not all the movies, comics and series you bored me with when we met each other, didn’t you?” She teased him.

Takashi, not wanting to concede the point said with a fake proud-of-you face.

“It’s so cute when you remember your boyfriend’s rambling so much.”

Reika was looking at him, heat on her face.

“Ouch. Don’t pinch.”

“So, when do I start training to come with you all?”

“Training? You’re not doing anything at all. I’m won’t let you be dragged inside gantz anymore.”

“Takashi?”

“Yes?”

“I’m coming with you, wherever you’re going. Period.” Reika added, her look dead serious, before turning around and laying herself on the bed.

Why did she had to wait for that moment to start looking like my mother. Oh god…

“Are you coming to sleep or not now?”

“Yes ma’am.” He added, surprised. This outcome hasn’t been in his well though plan at all.

The following morning.

Tokyo.

Kurono was ridding on cloud since the previous night. OK, he may have made a total blunder with the pills but nothing too bad came out of it, at the end at least. He would have loved to protect Reika when the Osaka’s assholes captured her, but what could he have done? He was pants down at the time and way to busy to stop in the act. Kishimoto was packing her stuff right now. She had a moment of panic the moment she woke up, when he explained to her she had to leave this room. He was quick to hug her and reassure her. Takashi only wanted them in their own space, especially now that his girlfriend Reika was there. Which resulted in the two of them packing her stuff. He would have to go to his apartment later today to grab some of his. He would never let her go from now on.

Osaka

Anzu was busy packing two suitcases for her and her child at that time, a woman she didn’t know having giving it to her. For what she understood, that Takashi guy worked fast. The woman was here to help her pack what she wanted to carry herself on the train, as the rest would be put in boxes and follow her separately latter during the day. The moment she was about to enter the woman’s car, two of the persons she never want to meet again appeared. Sumiko Yamada and Miho Yamanaka. This two bitches never tried to help her in the past, but now, they were all for her helping them. They first went on and on about the unfairness of the team’s treatment, then about how they would suffer endlessly from now for no points at all. Only then did they talk about Oka Hachirou and Kasuo Kuwabara. The team having been sent back before the two, they didn’t know about their whereabouts. Even when she told them she didn’t know anything they kept annoying and pestering her. They would obviously have gotten physical if the movers and the woman Takashi sent over haven’t been present at the time.

“Want to voice some complain?” someone said behind them.

Anzu’s face lighted up when she saw Takashi and Kato. Ok, Takashi being here meant he would fix everything, but Kato’s precence was special.

“Came to gloat in front of us?” Said Miho.

“Us? Oh, you mean your group of rapists, killers and other shitlike persons? No, I don’t give a fuck about you. Just here to help his girlfriend move then we’re back to Tokyo.”

Said Takashi with a total look of indifference.

“So what, she will leave us in this shit like that to follow her new pimp?” Said Sumiko.

“I would advise you to stop insulting her, my friend Kato here do have a bottom line you’re about to cross. Kind off normal if you think about it as the future husband.”

The woman-helper, the movers and the passerby were all staring at them now, curious about the whole outcome. Takashi gave them a news paper then, before he said.

“You should go back to your friends, we have nothing to do with you.”

Two different news were visible among the others, who made the Osaka’s girl duo go pale.

Osaka’s First trust bank victim of a 100 000 Million Yens theft by an on the run employee. Police actively in pursuit. Sources from the police district are saying he could have left the country.

School teacher revealed caught in child-pornography ring by vigilantes entrapment. The association reveal he was sending and exchanging thousands of child pictures online. The police declare being actively looking for him. School proclaim having no previous notifications of his activities, check page 6 for the article about the parents’ outburst.

The Osaka duo looked at Takashi, who was giving them his nicest smile. The people around only saw him try to calm them, but for them, he was the devil in disguise. Turning tail, they ran as fast as possible.

A sudden ping-ping sound put everyone attention on Takashi’s phone. A text from Reika.

Forgot to inform my agent I was at your place last night. Agent and your mother are here. Saw me asleep in your room. Said you went out for croissants. Please come home fast.

“Anzu, I know you want to talk with Kato for the time being, I will leave the two of you to it. I have to go back urgently for now.”

Not leaving them time to answer, he ran to a deserted part of the street and transferred back.

“So, how am I going to be installed in Tokyo, as you’re the only one left.”

Kato turn his face away as he answered.

“Takashi left a place for my brother, your son and us.”

“Oh, must be a big one then, no?”

“It’s a two room apartment”.

Under the onlooking gaze of the helper and the movers, Anzu’s face flushed a deep red.

“Well… Only thing left for us would be to warn the kids.” She said, weakly, her mood happy.

Tokyo. WATANABE’s Penthouse.

Three women were sitting on the couches at that time. The two oldest ones speaking fast between them. The young one didn’t seems to know what to do as they sometime talked and asked her questions, most of the time giving the answers themselves. She looked condemned to answer only with “Yes.” “Hmhm”. “Of course”. “Yes, ma’am.”

As the door opened and closed, Takashi found himself in front of the only person he didn’t want to face at this moment.

“Hello mom.”

A quick and strong hug later, the young man found himself sitting next to his girlfriend, forced to hold her hand, as the two older women insisted they didn’t mind the youngster doing.

Seems like Reika’s mistake for her whereabouts will have the two of them confined here listening to a long, long, extremely long list of plans.

Takashi did warn Reika about his mother. He just didn’t know having her agent with her would make things like that. Reika and him being together as a couple, and not just dating, made them fast-forward their plans.

For what it looked like, what the two off them were planning had to do with :

- engagement’s date.

- engagement's and wedding's rings.

- wedding’s date

- wedding’s place decorations.

- betrothal’s and wedding’s dresses.

- bridesmaids’ dresses.

- groom’s suit.

- cakes.

-choreographic dances.

The look on Reika’s face was that of a rabit caught in headlights, as her hands were moving pages of one of the photo albums she wasn’t even looking at. Baby Takashi.

Her mind broke the moment Mrs Watanabe asked her to call her “Mother”.

The women duo were at the child planning part when Takashi’s phone text’s alert went on, signaling a message from his father, unnoticed by the females present. The smoke going out of Reika’s ear were enough to know her mind couldn’t function right now.

You unleashed the kraken, couldn’t warn you without exposing myself. You’re on your own. GOOD LUCK.