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Chapter 2: A Better Generation

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-01001101- (let’s. make. reality. fictitious.) -01001101-

Tomoyo sighed. She planned all the lessons down to the last detail and organized a group to pick up the garbage littered throughout Tokyo, but no one would listen to her! They could do well to perform community service; after all, keeping Tokyo’s streets neat and clean was important. Their country was one that had an economic boom after the terrible bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She read about it in history books. People in generations past and present still haven’t forgotten the terror of that day. And future generations would do well to remember that they must work hard to uphold their society and purity. By principle, they were the chosen people of the sun, who obeyed the Emperor and his words. The Emperor, who had the will of the heavens.

If only they could strive by the Emperor’s example, Tomoyo thought to herself. But nobody really cares these days, do they? We may have a near perfect literacy rate among our people, but do they care about all this information that they’re being handed? We’re privileged to live in such a great society, a society that rebuilt itself from the ground up! Work hard and fulfill your duties! But honestly.

Tomoyo let out another sigh. Kokoro picked up on her friend’s storm signals and politely cocked her head to the side while she was nibbling on a tuna onigiri.

“If you’re stressed, you may talk it out with me,” Kokoro said reassuringly.
Tomoyo looked towards her friend and scratched her cheek. “It’s nothing. I can handle it.”

“While it’s admirable that you’re willing to push yourself so hard and long, it’s important to take some breaks too, you know?”

“I can't afford to slack off!” Tomoyo said as she clenched her hand into a fist. “We need to do garbage duty in Tokyo Keeping the streets clean is an important duty that must be upheld by every citizen! If I can’t stir their hearts and passion for a clean society, then everything will degenerate into a mess!”

“Easy, Tomo-chan,” Kokoro said as she picked up a can with a stake that she poked around for treasures. “These are really cute, aren’t they? I think I might’ve found a treasure among this~”

“Only you would find junk precious,” Tomoyo said with a sigh, though she couldn’t help but laugh a little at her friend’s antics. Despite coming from a rich family, Kokoro found herself fascinated by the things she found during garbage pick up. Seashells and other trinkets from the sea shores, or lost collectibles from a certain era thrown out among the soda cans and discarded paper and waste.

“Why do they listen to you and not me?” Tomoyo wondered aloud. Kokoro giggled behind a hand.

“Well, you could stand to have a more feminine touch to things rather than brute forcing your way through people,” Kokoro suggested. “But honestly, I like that side about you, Tomo-chan. You’re positively ruthless!”

“Hey now,” Tomoyo said as she dejectedly stabbed a banana peel and put into her garbage bag. “I know that I’m unpopular and no one else wanted the Class president position, but still! I’m taking it very seriously!”

“Maybe you take things a little too seriously,” Kokoro said as her eyes lit up on finding a rare yen piece from about fifty years ago on the ground. “Oh, this is my lucky find! The gods are truly smiling at me today.”

“Someone has to take things seriously,” Tomoyo muttered under her breath. “These students are full of apathy. What happened to the passion and Japanese spirit that we were known for? We need to prove to the world that we’re exemplary people, to prove that we can make it through any atrocity or hardship. We are strong!”

“Well, it’s good to have enthusiasm,” Kokoro said. “Never lose your passion or directive, Tomoyo.”

“Haa? Why are you saying weird things, Kokoro-chan?” Tomoyo said while cocking her head to the side.

“Because I feel,” Kokoro said, looking towards the ever blue skies. “That today is going to be different. That something will change the course of our lives.”

“I’ve been thinking the atmosphere has been too stagnant,” Tomoyo said with a laugh. “Sure, we enjoy a good literacy rate among our people and have a nice comfort of living throughout our cities, though I suppose; is this the best that we’re supposed to get? How can we surpass the heavens even further? We’ve already become our own gods.”

“Say…you’ve been working on your science project, haven’t you?” Kokoro said while she folded her hands behind her back.

“Oh you bet,” Tomoyo said wit ha slight laugh. “I’ve got something that will knock the socks off of the technical companies who are overseeing the event. And then, I will get a high powered career, and then I will work my way up to President of a very efficient company that will embody the Japanese spirit once more!”

“Don’t you think that the Japanese spirit is merely changing, instead of flagging or extinguishing?” Kokoro said in wonder. “The newer generation will make tidal waves in this society. Just you wait. Children are very precious, you know, in this society.”

“All right,” Tomoyo said, pumping her hand into a fist. “That’s the last of the garbage pick up routine! As usual, I picked up the most trash! Hahaha!”

“You’re surprisingly childish, aren’t you?” Kokoro said, but she still laughed an then Tomoyo laughed a bit.

“Someone has to take life seriously,” Tomoyo said. “But perhaps…I could loosen up a bit.”
“I could always take over Class President duties if you’d like.”

“Not a chance,” Tomoyo said.

Both girls giggled as they went to deposit the garbage along with the rest of the students, who were relieved of their duties.

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Kazuo was in the distance, pretending to be one of the students picking up garbage amongst the others. Kazuo knew magic tricks, an he could make himself disappear. Not literally disappear, but disappear from the notice of other people. He simply posed as one of the students and faded into the background, watching and listening. He lingered near Tomoyo, the target, and her friend, Kokoro. They seemed to be rather close, those two. Perhaps the only friend that Tomoyo had out of everyone. Though everyone saw her as the aloof and intimidating Class President, there was a soft side to her after all. Other people just didn't see it.

Kazuo grinned a bit.

His ears perked up a bit when Tomoyo mentioned a science project. She hadn’t revealed the details, though did Rikyu’s hunch revolve around that? He’s not sure what kind of information he dug up on the Class Prez, but he knew that she and an interesting psychological profile and showed unusual aptitude for science and math. Though honestly, she could just be a normal girl. He wasn’t sure if there was anything too distinguishable about her yet, besides the fact that she was remarkably pretty. Or maybe Kazuo had a weakness for girl’s aesthetics.

They went back inside the school. Kazuo lingered outside, hiding behind a corner and reporting back to Rikyu as his unusually sharp eyes spied at Tomoyo through the window of her classroom.

“Reporting in,” Kazuo said. “She mentioned something interesting. Something about a science project.”

“I’m aware,” Rikyu said, to which Kazuo felt dejected. So what was the point of him gathering intel on this girl if Rikyu already knew everything?

“So I really am a glorified peeping tom,” Kazuo said, pouting a little.

“Don’t call yourself that,” Rikyu said. “You’re doing work for the common good.”
“I just feel like I’m a massive pervert,” Kazuo admitted as he continued to survey the grounds and watch Tomoyo in the classroom.

“Your next mission,” Rikyu said. “Is to confiscate that science project. I have a feeling that it really Is something that will revolutionize the scientific community; We can’t afford to have her discovered, or else she will be a target around the world for her skills.”

“I’m surprised that no one has found out about you yet, Kyu-chan,” Kazuo said to which Rikyu chuckled a bit.

“I’m under Papa Shirou’s protection, after all. I take advantage of the people and resources that I can.”

Kazuo nodded.

“Well, I’ll be back in a moment. She left the house at 2:30 sharp. I’ll make my move.”

“Good luck.”

Kazuo then turned off his intercom. He had a mission to do. He didn’t like the idea of breaking and entering into a woman’s house, but if this could potentially save her and not out her to the rest of the world for their own political gain and their twisted madman schemes, then all the better. Even if they were the heroes of justice, sometimes they would do things like this that left a bad aftertaste in Kazuo’s mouth. It just didn’t seem to fit their image, though Kazuo understood why things must be this way. Rikyu wasn’t hesitant to use underhanded methods or sneaky ways to manipulate around the rules. He was very good at finding loopholes and could possibly get away with a lot, all thanks to Papa Shirou. For as much as Papa Shirou scolded Kazuo for being a bad influence, he sure enabled Rikyu’s tendencies and schemes.

But that's because what Rikyu did was so damn interesting. You knew that he was plotting something big, something spectacular. Let the fireworks begin, Kazuo thought as slipped in through the door casually and went o the room numbered 302, which was where Tomoyo spent most of her time in. He made sure that no one saw him enter inside and coordinated the timings so perfectly that he went in without much trouble. He also bet that Rikyu disabled the street cameras in Tokyo as well, which also helped him on his infiltration mission. Yup, Rikyu and him were definitely partners, and Kazuo would do anything for Rikyu. Even if it meant doing this.

Kazuo slipped into the room and looked for a secret compartment or the like. He didn’t imagine that Tomoyo would leave a secret project that she was going to reveal to the tech companies lying around so openly. Kazuo lightly tapped on the walls and looked for false drawers and whatnot, but found nothing. Maybe Rikyu’s hunch wasn’t correct after all? Was this a trap to lure Maelstrom out and expose them? Kazuo didn’t know, but he found himself muttering under his breath softly to calm himself and continue his mission.

He found it underneath a floorboard. He carefully removed the false panel and saw something that he thought would only be found among the military, except far more enhanced. So they hit the jackpot after all. He supposed that the weapon needed investigation by their organization, but he definitely knew that an ordinary high school student didn’t need a weapon like this. Did she keep it around for protection? She wondered if she had any stalkers that were after her, or people in government suits seeking her yet. Why would she feel the need to possess a weapon like this, and an enhanced grade of weapon that was better than most modern military issue standard guns?

Well, whatever, he had it now.

However, a knock on the door made him almost jump right out of his skin.

“Tomo-chan?” he heard Kokoro’s voice call in. “Are you there? I’m coming in.”

Shit! He needed someplace to hide, but he didn’t know where. There weren’t very many hiding spaces, and the one that was feasible was a cramped fit. Kazuo isn't a contortionist. But still, he must make do. He crammed himself underneath Tomoyo’s bed just in time before Kokoro entered the room.

She shuffled around the room and started rearranging the room. Even worse! Kazuo found himself in a pickle. She could possibly look underneath the bed t clear dust bunnies, and he wasn’t sure how he’d get out of this undetected. He also had a weapon clutched in his hands as well, and she would most likely call the police on him when he was discovered, thinking that he was an assassin to kill Tomoyo. The idea didn’t sound savory at all.

Kokoro hummed to herself all the while as she straightened the manuals on Tomoyo’s desk. Kazuo silently cursed in his head. He factored this in, though he didn’t think that Kokoro would be here. Still, he waited for her footsteps to head out into the entryway, and Kazuo sneaked out from under the bed and found another hiding place behind the sofa, before darting underneath a table with a cover over top of it. Those were his next hiding spots if she came back in. Hopefully, she wouldn’t .otherwise he’d have to neutralize her, and that wouldn’t look pretty. He didn’t have the heart to hurt a woman, but in order to cover his tracks, he would need to neutralize any parties that could’ve been privy to his presence, and he didn’t want to resort to that.

Kokoro wandered back in again. Kazuo’s heart thumped as he heard her footsteps coming closer.

Kazuo did the only thing he could do.

He projected his voice in Tomoyo's bedroom so that she would look there again. He whistled, and rushed into the bedroom to look for the source of the noise. He would rather risk getting found by the police or any backup rather than hurting a woman, this is the only thing he could do. Kazuo slipped out from the living room and made his way to the back window, carefully unlatching it and about to slide through. He heard Tomoyo’s voice linger in the room.

Kokoro? You there?”

Shit! Kazuo was already out of the window and closed the window latched shut, though he knew that Tomoyo was just barely inches away from seeing his ass. He clambered at the bottom of the railing that projected above him, then started to parkour his way up the building to leap from one building to the next. He made it with the weapon in his hand, though there is a chance that they could call the police on him and that would be a troublesome venture that he didn’t want to get into. But as far as Kazuo was concerned, he didn’t have to harm a woman, and that was the most important thing.

But now he could be spotted with a weapon. He couldn't just run around Tokyo with a weapon in his hand, or someone was bound to confiscate it from him. Kazuo was sure that the street cams were still turned off and Rikyu was working on an emergency plan, especially since Kazuo deviated from the original plan, but he couldn’t hurt a woman, damn it! It was against his principals!

Kazuo leaped over fences and dove through alleyways and parkoured over benches and trees lining the street walls. He hoped that Tomoyo wouldn’t yet find out about the science fair project; did she? He concluded that she probably didn’t, not with Kokoro in the house, because he was sure that Kokoro would confiscate the weapon or have it detained, though it was more likely that Tomoyo could’ve lied and said that she knew the stalker in her house was armed with a dangerous weapon and could send the police after him. It would probably be in the hands of the police by then, for both Tomoyo and Kazuo, but Tomoyo might spite him if she wants to bring vengeance on the person who dared intrude her home and take what was precious to her. Though Tomoyo probably figured she needed that gun to defend herself from something. But what?

If he makes out of this alive, he will apologize to God, Buddha, and whoever else for his lack of faith and will be converted into a full believe afterward. Danger was his specialty, but this was the verge or something far bigger than Kazuo originally thought it would be. Still, it was for Rikyu, and he owed his life to the child prodigy. Kazuo then hijacked a car and covered up the weapon with his jacket in the backseat.

“Objective secured,” Shirou said with satisfaction as he took the gun away from Kazuo.
Kazuo looked at it curiously. “It’s like a miniature railgun. How she managed to create something like that is beyond me, but this proves that she’s definitely not an ordinary high school girl.”

“Indeed,” Shirou said while he pocketed the gun. “Though you managed to escape, and Rikyu probably won’t think much of it because he trusts you, but I’m going to scold you for such foolhardy actions, young Kazuo-kun. What were you thinking?”

“I was in control for the most part,” Kazuo said. “ I simply had principlas, though. I can’t hurt a woman. That’s my general rule. The motto that makes a man.”

“This may be true,” Shirou said. “But. You culd’ve jeopardized everything if you made one single slip up. You may like taking risks Kazuo, for the adrenaline thrill, but I’m not amused by your antics. You should observe this with some level of professionalism instead of going on joyrides for shits and giggles.”

“Well, you tell me, Shirou; did I get the job done anyway? Is everything fine now? Have we got the weapon secured? Um, check, check, and check.”

“You can’t do this all the time, “Shirou said sternly. “Or you will jeopaqrdize all of us with your stupidity and daredevil attitude. When I say to neutralize a girl, I mean it.”

“Some hero of justice you are, Shirou,” Kazuo said with a frown. “I got the weapon, I didn’t hurt the girl, and I made my way out. Shouldn’t that be enough.’

“You’ve got a lot to learn, kiddo before you become a pro like me,” Shirou said before he ushered Kazuo to follow him. “Let’s report to Rikyu and examine this weapon.”

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