Turning Japanese [Arc 14]

[ARC 14: I REALLY THINK SO]

Just because somebody attains power does not mean they know how to retain it. The same trait that wires oneself to become a leader is not the same as the one for effective leadership, and vice-versa, even without all the requisite issues that accompanies one at the top of the heap; the Iago's, the social climbers, and all the middle-managers who desire the position yet do not have to nose to staunch such a change in altitude without bleeding.

Matoi Kujo was not like this, however. She was the rare individual both able to attain power and wield it, as you have already seen how she dealt with staff, and the existence of her secondary, tertiary, and even sometimes quaternary plans. She knew how to exploit her leverages to dull any problem she faced: such as with Kirihara recently. Think back to the previous summer, where she said:

{"Regardless, I have another contract left to assign for today, and I'll likely give it to Kirihara: if any of you see her, I would be very grateful if you could either rudely let her know or put your fist through her skull."

"She's still a pain?" said Samuel.

"Remember what I said about students feeling inferior? She's surprisingly competent, but she doesn't let that prevent her from lashing out like someone who isn't."}

Speaking of this problem had allowed Matoi to objectify it, to vitalize it from memory and examine its hues & texture. She reasoned out a solution to her inconvenience, and called Kirihara the next morning to assign her a contract. When Kirihara came in, Matoi said nothing and allowed her to sit down, and simply stared at her for a minute.

Discomfited, Kirihara said: "You gonna assign me something, or what?" She began to fidget, and looked around to see if there were any other viewers. "What the fuck is this about? What, are your friends trying to laugh at me or some shit? That dog-killing bitch you have i-"

-a missile blasted Kirihara's right arm clear off and sent it across the room; it hit the wall and slid down in a trail of blood, rolling slightly on the floor.

"There is no contract." said Matoi, as Kirihara groaned and huddled in agony. "Have it healed by Hirogane, and tell him it was another Revenant. And if I ever hear about you threatening another student again, the next one is tearing your legs off."

Despite that no one else but these two and Hirogane (later healing her) had known about this incident, the rumor of this incident spread through campus, and particularly the promise that Kirihara would be dead if she attacked another student. Most, like Serena & Mia, simply ignored her, but there were others who gleefully mocked the little shit openly now that there were consequences for retaliation. These sorts of digs formed further calluses on Kirihara and led to further ostracization, and the death of more civilians as an attempt to regrow her proverbial worthiness as human.

Months on, she would lure a civilian in to an alley and stab him three times with Carve's knife. This was beside a dumpster, and Kirihara took in the stink as she watched him clutch the side of it, blood spurting from his wounds.

"God, you really do do that fucked up shit, don't you?" said a voice from the start of the alleyway, and Kirihara turned to see a male student watching her. "Killing civilians and shit? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Wait a fucking minute. So you watched me drag this guy here and you didn't do anything to stop me? Who's the one doing fucked up shit?"

The civilian began to gurgle before Kirihara kicked him in the head.

The male student said: "Hey, at least I've got a sense of remorse about it, unlike a psychotic bitch like you."

Kirihara grunted and rested her hand on the top of the dumpster. "You know, that's what's wrong up with all of you -- I do the same type of shit all of you w-wish you could do, and I get treated like I'm fucking c-crazy. And there's plenty of stuff I feel... feel bad about."

She gripped the dumpster tighter to steady herself, and as the student shook his head and walked away, she kicked it, causing a bit of bird shit to drip down the lid on to her hand. She gasped and recoiled in disgust, and her eyebrows clenched as she began to tear up.

The rest of this anecdote is not important, but look at the childish way she phrased it: "stuff I feel bad about." Damn, it's difficult to feel sorry for a lizard-brained bastard like Kirihara, but... An animalistic cretin like her only understands power, and instinctually respects it even as outwardly they loathe its wielders, not out of any particular morality or ethos, but because it is not their own meins under the helm.

This was not new knowledge to Matoi, and not all times led to such malevolences (even on a deserving target) as this. There was the time Kekkonshiki/Wedding had activated when she was 12, or a year later when she was on a middle school field trip to Yuki Park and asked her teacher if she could walk by herself for a while. She eventually passed by a stream away from the others, and found a deer laying near the water. Its back legs had snapped, and its body streamed blood.

As Matoi approached it, she thought over what she could do, for even if she were able to move it, she knew it would not survive long. There was a lack of hesitancy impressive for her age as she crouched down beside it, put her hand over its neck, and shoved its head underwater. She afterwards detonated its carcass with Kekkonshiki's missiles, the noise of which attracted a few tourists who screamed as they saw the blood-coated trigger and alerted her teacher.

But that Matoi's father first heard of this through her teacher's account made no other explanation possible to his mind: even before entering Ueno Academy, he felt his daughter was becoming a sociopath who tortured animals and blamed it on her Revenant. Engaged as he was in a profession plenty unethical itself, with each month his opinion of Matoi sank, along towards that of his wife Fuyuko as she continued to encourage Matoi's training with Kekkonshiki.

Matoi could remember several times having her training interrupted (usually things like carving symbols in metal plates with her lasers) by him arguing with her mother; thus she could never win in this regard, for the more love Fuyuko slathered upon her, the dimmer her father grew from her. The effect of such treatment on young Matoi can only be surmised, and there is too little space to fully explore it. She had begun to grow aware of her father's profession, and that he attempted to conceal it from her only saw her disgust with him grow: he could not even admit what he was in actuality.

It reminded her of when she was soon to enter highschool, and saw a news report about the arrest of the Chinese host who was linked to the endangerment of several species of Japanese whales. Using his water Revenant, he had hunted for the Asian black market for decades, and as there was enough evidence against him to rend a trial superfluous, he had released a statement before he was executed:

"(I confess to the crimes of which I have been accused. For the past thirty years, I have used my Revenant to enrich myself through the poaching of endangered species, to where I hear that even now, it is unlikely the sei whale will ever return to its former numbers. How forgotten it is in the press that I, as considerable as my career is, am not the reason many species were already endangered before I began to hunt. In my former home near the Yangtze River, the pollution poured into it would seep into the surrounding grasses, causing them to shrivel and lose their color. It was so cold in winter and so hot in summer that I often could not sleep, yet I am to be executed, here, because the public prefers to brand all malignities of society upon a single individual.

So, you ask how I could so carelessly destroy the environment. Do not be so melodramatic. Leave your home, and you shall find many species of insects, beetles, and pests. By their numbers alone, they are far larger in significance than any endangered animal of which nature has already begun to dispose. Yet if one of these species were to go extinct, how long would it be before you noticed? So long as food, indoor heating, and various entertainments to narcotize yourselves with remained, would you realize anything had changed?

You claim that I have inflicted irrevocable losses upon the animal kingdom, yet you are ignorant that before the continents fractured and life moved in its ravines, there have been millions of species who became extinct before there were minds to create their names. I have done nothing unnatural. My sole crime was in finding a million yen for every whale I killed. Before you castigate me, can you say, in my position, that you would not calculate how few you would spare?)"

[A/N: ¥100,0000 = $10,000 = £7.000 = €8.000]

Matoi simply thought he was a lunatic who blamed society for his crimes and relinquished his own free will, whether to religion, ethos, or voices in his mind. He was a criminal of the worst sort to her, but even he made no illusions around him: this was not true of her father. Thus to Matoi her father was not only greedy, but a coward, and cowardice is the sole trait reviled in all cultures. There were none who could surpass his position among her varied hatreds; all demonisms seemed to flow into him.

So, what occured when her mother & her announced they would be leaving for America (who were more than glad to accept a prospective Urasaria student) must have been quite a violent show, no? He must have *flown into a rage* and claimed that he was *only doing the best for the family*.

This did not happen, obviously. To digress, artists are always drawn to what will elicit the best art. There was Julia, who would often be seen pulling over to crouch at the side of the roads, seemingly attracted to something she saw that would later be a line or verse in her poetry. Why? Because she is an artist, and they are naturally attracted to the poetic, the more complex, the more interesting ethical grays, hatreds & pathologies. This is why you know more of Matoi & her father than Mia & her own.

To undigress, Matoi asked she be by her mother's side when she would tell Matoi's father they were leaving for America. Before she said anything, Matoi had summoned Kekkonshiki, and he laughed as he looked to it.

"(There's no need for you to wear that.)" He looked to Fuyuko. "(I see you've already packed. Go, then. For more than fourteen years, I have been put on trial repeatedly in my own home, and I am sick of being pardoned. I am sure Matoi will be successful as an American student, who I have read are even more distasteful than Ueno's, and I have no desire to see any of that ascent.)"

Matoi was never keyed deeply enough in to her parents relationship to know how he had predicted this, and running it back through in her mind as the leader of the Elite Four, she decided to pause, and call the Elite Four for a midnight meeting in the Elite Four's office.

"As you may remember, I mentioned over the summer that I had contacted a few other academies to see if they would be open to any assistance. One was Ueno -- Japan's academy -- and they've decided to ask for it, now. I've already booked our flights, and I'll act as translator while we're there."

"We're going to Japan, then?" said Mia.

Matoi nodded. "It's a fourteen hour flight, and we'll leave in an hour. Apologies for the short notice."

"To be honest, when you mentioned it, I didn't expect anything to come of it." said Samuel. "I figured most student presidents would rather ruin themselves than let anyone help them."

"Especially Japan's." muttered Matoi. "I'll explain more of the cultural differences on our flight over, but Ueno is far more concerned with their public image than Urasaria. Their students don't kill, nor do they have legal immunity -- they work alongside civilian police." Matoi glanced at Mia. "I should also point out that they don't have the same brutality issues as American police - they're unarmed. Japan's justice system has different issues than America's, of course. They're highly incentivized to find a conviction regardless of its legitimacy."

Mia nodded as Matoi continued.

"But, as I was saying, Ueno cares far more about its image than Urasaria. Something like your's and Aimee's relationship would have breached professionalism -- it wouldn't have been allowed."

"Alright, I already dislike this."

"I've also read rumors that for a few popular students who did date, during their time at Ueno, they were forced to stay together until they had graduated."

"Wouldn't mind that here." muttered Marisa and Mia gave her an odd look.

"I'm not even going to begin to try to understand what you mean by that."

A ball on a string dripped out of Boudoir's glove, yanked back to Marisa's hand, who squeezed and frowned as she accidentally crushed it.

"Did they say how long they want us there?" said Samuel to Matoi.

"Their current investigation involves 'designer Revenants', or so Daishi told me. Japan normally has a very low crime rate. I doubt they would call unless it were serious - we'll stay until it's solved."

Matoi dismissed them to go pack. It was near midnight, and as Mia walked back to her mansion, she decided to stop by Serena & Yuruko's home, even as she saw it was not lit like it usually was at this hour. Still, she stood there for a few minutes. Why?

Well, here was Mia was a middleschooler. She is never ostracized nor bullied to the extent Yuruko was, but she was a loner and one generally excluded by her peers. On the off-chance she is invited to a birthday party or such, she feels embarrassed by her family's poverty apparent in her clothes & gifts, and usually finds some way to avoid these gatherings. If she does attend, she spends it sat away from the others or attempting to do so.

She leaves the party with a student she sees passing by, who agrees to walk with her for a while, yet still she does not know what to speak of. She walks and passes by the corpse of a cat she has seen before, on her way home from school, one she had wished to adopt while it was alive. She has seen frequently another kitten, barely a cat, return to it. The glow of day fades as she, and the student she is walking with, see it pass by again. The kitten crawls to the carcass, and warms itself deeply by it. Its loneliness fades in the flesh, through memories it has revivified and lays alongside with. Where first there was Mia's desire, now she feels envy: not of the kitten, but of the corpse.

She enters highschool and her father is arrested: her reaction to which has already been previously discussed. One might think this gain of minor celebrity ups Mia's cachet around school, in the way she later sees ass-kissers of civilians & journalists follow around Rochelle, but instead there is nothing of the sort: merely harassment from the paparazzi. The students she walks home with now often ask her if she is Stefan's daughter, in tones which make Mia believe that, behind her nose, they are all secretly making sly digs at her. Why this is is just one of those things the insecurity of a teenager suffices to explain.

She matures, eventually and however, yet as she correctly runs through these past encounters, she again in typical teenage fashion overcompensates, culminating with the infamous *holding a female student hostage for a kiss* she told Serena of earlier. Soon she is tested for Volgari protein production, and receives back her negative result, and with it the knowledge that she cannot host a Revenant nor become a student; always the facets of students' lives would be lost in the breezes to her. She did not often cry, but this led to the ennui you saw from her at the beginning of this novel.

At Serena's house, however, what she experiences now is not quite so poetically put as this, but her pasts unentangle themselves around her. She turns right and sees a week ago, when she had gone to the movies with Serena & Yuruko & Naomi. Turn left, and she sees a time at the beach in her first year. She is sunbathing, and Marisa & Aimee both run up behind her, and sweep her up, then throw her in to the water. All three laugh as she returns completely dry, and picks Aimee up. There is the time she is drunk with Matoi & Samuel, asleep on one oversized sofa. Here before her is her mansion. She does not turn fully, for behind her she senses muddiness, and knows that even while she has been molded by what had been before her, none fully know that which has determined their existence. In this way she had been out of sorts before Urasaria, always attempting to form shapes from life she knew nothing of.

+++

Fourteen hours later, the four stepped out of the airport in Tokyo and were soon on the sidewalk to Ueno Academy.

"I've already notified them -- our badges will work with their scanners, fortunately." Matoi yawned as they passed by a mural of students.

"Uh, what's with that?" Marisa pointed to the mural.

Mia recognized the style, and immediately pulled up Serena's name in her phone. "Am I allowed to take a picture?"

Matoi glanced back. "The anime?"

"Yeah, why don't we have something like that?" frowned Marisa.

"Because they only have... looks like twelve students." said Samuel. "They wouldn't be able to fit everyone at Urasaria."

"And half of them would be shoving each other out of it." muttered Mia, sending a picture to Serena.

(Mia) "I already found Japanese cartoons."

"Damn." muttered Marisa. "Are those brand-names, too?"

"I would assume so." said Matoi. "Japan's crime rate is low enough that students have other duties than fighting Revenants -- some of it marketing for Japanese companies, or education campaigns for government programs. There was a children's manga published a few years back, involving then-students - something to teach children about law enforcement."

(In truth, all manga was for children; at least by Matoi's standards.)

Marisa nodded as they came up to the gate. Matoi crouched for retinal, scanned her badge, placed her handprint, and it opened for ten seconds to the pathway and three towers (white, red, white) beyond. In contrast to Urasaria, Ueno is overfunded to the extent that these towers house many unused rooms; it's typically a rite of entrance for new governments to slather cash upon it.

A man Matoi knew must be Daishi was walking towards them and hailing, and the first thing Samuel fixated on was the size of his wrists. They were, literally, three times the size around as an average man's. Whether this was genetics or god knows what sort of heavy lifting, Samuel would later need to ask. Daishi was no competitive man, either; he was the type who obliged kids asking him to arm wrestle (upon seeing the thickness of his arms & veins), would put up a good struggle, then gently flatten the little weasel with the encouragement that when the kid grows up, he, Daishi, will need to keep training to make sure he stays ahead.

To be honest with you, reader, this description is not to set up for an inevitable reversal of it: sometimes a decent man is simply a decent man, by his nature.

Matoi bowed as he came up and extended his hand, then quickly returned the bow, as did the other three.

"(President Rain-On-A-Wedding.)" he said in Japanese."(I apologize for my lateness - it's good to see you. I trust your flight went alright.)"

"(It did, thank you. Allow me to introduce my squadron: this is Mia - Swarm, Marisa - Lavender Menace, and Samuel - Boar.)" said Matoi. "Elite Four, this is Daishi - Ueno's student president. Presidents at Ueno are elected by other students. They have no ranking system. (Simply translating. Shall we discuss the investigation?)"

Daishi nodded as they began walking. "(Yes. Would your squadron like anything to eat, drink? I had planned for us all to discuss it over the lunch. Only myself, for now, of course.)"

"(One moment.) Elite Four, what do you want to eat?"

"Do they have their own Luna?" said Marisa.

"Whatever Daishi eats." muttered Samuel.

"I'll trust your judgment." said Mia to Matoi, and the other two assented.

Matoi paused, thought, then nodded. "(Four plates of pork curry, and as spicy as possible on all but one of them. Four glasses of soy milk.)"

Daishi took his tablet out, quickly typed, then set it back to his pocket. "(Understood. Before we start, however, I'm uncertain if I explained the differences in Ueno's…)"

"(You did, yes. No killing enemy hosts.)"

"(Yes. If it comes down to a matter of their lives, of course, then break it, but otherwise...)"

"(Of course.) Elite Four, remember what we trained. Non-lethality. We've trained- (We've trained it before. It won't be an issue.)"

They stepped inside the red tower at the middle and took the elevator. While waiting, Matoi mentioned it would be prudent to go over her squadron's Revenants: she did so, then asked if Daishi would reveal his.

"(Yes, of course.) Kiseru." Two flat pipes burst out of his left shoulder, and two out of his right shoulder. One was covered in purple & black spots, another in red & white, the third green & blue, and the last yellow & pink. "(These pipes allow me to aim and release specific gasses. Corrosive acids, viruses that mutate animals, flesh-eating bacteria, and the like.)"

"(It passed licensing?)"

Matoi was referring to a Ueno rule: hosts with lethal-only Revenants were not accepted. Had she a different father, Kekkonshiki would have needed to develop a non-lethal technique by 18 or be removed from her.

"(Haha, yes. One releases sleeping gas, fortunately -- it was considered enough for non-lethality.)"

Matoi relayed it to the others. The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out to a room with a low table and cushions for seats. Matoi mentioned to her three the table was a chabudai, and the seats were zabuton: they sat kneeling.

"(My apologies for the delay.)" said Daishi as the elevator doors closed. "(It should be-)"

The doors opened again, and out stepped an old woman with their trays of food. Matoi quickly swiped off the Japanese notes on three plates as she handed them to their squadron. "Enjoy."

The five ate together, and three would soon have teary faces, Matoi thought.

Instead she turned after a few minutes and saw only two: Marisa & Samuel were tearing up, and Mia was staring smugly back at her, Worldwide's spice resistance in her veins.

"Good try." she chimed.

"D-Does he speak English?" said Marisa.

Matoi looked to Daishi and saw no change of expression. "I doubt it."

"M-Matoi, y-you bitch." winced Marisa.

"(They're loving their meal.)" said Matoi to Daishi.

Daishi nodded, unable to comprehend any of it. Under the table, Marisa passed Samuel a Boudoir-tissue.

"If you're going to use that, leave the room first." Matoi smirked. "It's considered rude."

Samuel nodded, left the room, sniffled like a boar, then returned as they finished their meals. Her fun done, Matoi told them she would speak with Daishi about the investigation and translate after. "(Go ahead.)"

"(Thank you.)" he nodded. "(…so, essentially, our investigation began nearly two months ago. Normally, Japan has a very low crime rate, and as Ueno students, we confront, at most, four hosts in a month. Sometimes more, but generally very low.)"

"(Yes, continue.)"

"(But Revenant crime frequency has greatly increased in the previous months. Often violent, and often by men with seemingly little motivation. They are usually middle-class salarymen with stable employment and no criminal history.)"

"(How many casualties have there been?)" said Matoi.

"(Fifty. I understand this may not sound like a large amount to your squadron, but-)"

"(-it's a cause for concern.)" nodded Matoi.

"(Yes. Additionally, some have begun to target politicians. Members of the Diet, just as in your country, I believe, are typically guarded by professionals if there is concern for their safety. It's led to a decrease in their usual ability to police alongside us, and the prime minister and I both agreed it would be best to contact you before the situation worsens.)"

"(It's good you did. You mentioned - in your earlier message, you mentioned a consumable Revenant?)"

"(Yes. That's the name the police has given to these kinds of Revenants we've been dealing with. Apparently, they wither extraordinarily quickly when taken out of the body -- quickly enough they cannot be studied.)"

"(They can't find their abilities then, I assume.)"

"(Correct.)"

"(Has there been something in common?)" said Matoi.

"(Unfortunately not. They're as varied as any other Revenant, but they're clearly man-made in some way. Currently, we believe it may be from another Revenant. The police are currently vetting known Revenant researchers. That, unfortunately, is all we have for leads.)"

"(Then we'll primarily be peacekeeping with Ueno students, I assume.)"

"(Yes, though we may find other leads in the interim. If you like, now would be a good time to relay this to your squadron.)"

Matoi did so, and they nodded. "(Finished.)"

"(Good. One last thing: there is a student we must meet with. I understand Urasaria does not have someone who evacuates civilians. Luckily, Ueno does. He will appear as soon as I call him. Can you warn your squadron?)"

"(Of course.) Mia, Marisa, Samuel. There's a student we need to meet - stay still. (Go ahead.)"

Daishi nodded, tapping his phone, and in the next instant -

- a young man wearing a suit & tie appeared beside him, black hair and beard shadow. "(His name is Junpei Yamazaki. Junpei, explain to them your Revenant.)"

"(Yes, Daishi-sama.)" Junpei scratched his mis-shaven neck. "Alright, do you want me to be formal? Daishi-sama doesn't know English, so I can explain this however I want."

"I don't mind if you're informal."

"Sweet." He turned his back and a throne formed on it. "Alright, it's called Bōkun."

"Tyrant?" said Matoi.

"Yep. Once you get in to a fight, call me. Civilians go in here, and I'll quickly get them all out very. Only takes a few seconds." He demonstrated Tyrant's speed by reappearing at the other side of the room, then behind them, then in his normal position. "Any questions?"

Samuel asked: "Can you carry Revenants?"

Mia offered him one of Worldwide's scarabs, but he refused it. "Nope. It doesn't work. Rin-kun tried it with her icicles. It just passes through me when I start moving."

"…there's a student with an ice Revenant?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Mia, I need you to beat her." Matoi smirked. "It's nothing."

"Which is what she'll soon be." muttered Mia, relevantly.

"I believe that's everything." said Matoi and Junpei nodded.

"Here, lemme give you my number. Soon as you get in to a fight, call me."

Mia frowned. "Er, when do you sleep?"

After entering it in Matoi's phone, Junpei looked up at Mia for a good seven seconds, then mumbled: "I don't."

"We'll try to fight in the afternoon." said Samuel.

"(Junpei finished his explanation.)" said Matoi to Daishi, who nodded, and gestured for him to leave. On the way back to the elevator, Junpei hit his head on the top of the doors and shouted "FUCK!" before the doors closed. Daishi looked over with disdain, then reset his expression before turning to the others. "(My apologies.)"

"(You understood what he said?)"

"(No, and he's refused to tell me. Junpei is necessary to Ueno's proper functioning, but I sometimes wish he was not so aware of it.)" He frowned as his tablet vibrated. "(…er, excuse me for one moment.)" He turned and took it. "(Daishi. No, I was meeting with Urasaria Academy's Elite Four... ah. Yes, I'll be there right away.)" He turned back and stood up. "(My apologies - I've just gotten word of a nearby Revenant.)"

Matoi relayed it to her squadron. "(It's fine.)"

"(I understand you've just flown for fourteen hours, so do not worry about declining, but would you be interested?)"

Matoi nodded. "(Elite Four-)" - Elite Four, Daishi's received a call. I'll respond with him. (Yes, I feel fresh.)"

"(Excellent. In the meantime, Junpei will see your squadron to their room.)"

Matoi relayed it, and her & Daishi took the elevator down and were soon running out of Ueno.

"(Junpei has already evacuated the airport, fortunately. Apologies -- what was your Revenant, again?)"

"Wedding." Her veil flashed on. "(Missiles and lasers - the lasers would be lethal, but I control whether the missiles explode. If they don't explode - they're only shockwaves.)"

"(Good. Please be careful with property destruction -- Japan only has two reconstruction hosts.)"

"(America has twenty -- but I'll leave that to you.)"

"(Thank you. Follow my lead, please.)"

The two ran for a few minutes longer, coming eventually to a familiar airport, already evacuated as they entered the first floor.

"(Right after we arrived.)" sighed Matoi, and Daishi led her up to the second floor, to the third.

"(I was about to say.)" laughed Daishi. "(Still. Junpei said there was a man on the third floor - near Concourse A, right before the runway We'll start our search there.)"

The two came to Concourse A, overpriced stores&restaurants left, rows of seats right, glass walls that showed the grounded flights below.

'I could destroy this entire floor to find him if this were America. No one would miss paying $5 for a bottle of water.' thought Matoi, eyes left as they walked. '…or five hundred yen.'

They passed one casual store and heard footsteps behind; they turned -

- and Matoi clenched back her explosive urge as they saw their foe a hundred feet away, having just stepped out of one store, dozens of tubes hanging off of his back, filled with liquid -

"( - stop, please!)" shouted Daishi, holding his hand out as the man halted, turning to face them. "(My name is Daishi Moto. Ueno Academy's student body president.)"

"(I know who you are -) - said the man - "( - who the hell is that chick?!)"

"(Matoi Kujo - Urasaria Academy's student body president.)" said Matoi Kujo - Urasaria Academy's student body president.

"(Neither of us wish to hurt you.)"

'Don't be so sure.' thought Matoi.

"(We were called here after - hearing someone was threatening others. Is there - something recently in your life you wish to speak about? If you surrender - we'll ensure no harm comes to you.)" said Daishi.

"(There's American heroes here?)"

"(There are - to help us with an investigation.)"

"(Who the hell invited them?)"

"(The Prime Minister - and myself.)"

"(…right.)" muttered the man, and in the next instant -

- a green globe erupted from one of the tubes and shot towards the two -

- and the duo split in separate directions, green goo splattering uselessly between -

- and corroding a section clear through the floor, Daishi still calm as he stepped up.

"(If you continue, we'll be forced to use force. Are you -)"

- and underneath the next dozen globes of acid he swept, man starting to run away with tubes taut; with a sigh, Daishi nodded to Matoi as the two started their chase, endless line of stores right as they ran.

" - Wakareru!" shouted the man; tubes taut, another dozen globes of acid shot at Daishi -

- but a blue puff of Kiseru hit the globes; and down fell the neutralized projectiles, new storm of projectiles shooting towards Matoi -

"( - handle this for me.)" she laughed, shockwaves blasting the globes back to Daishi -

- and he nodded as a swift puff of Kiseru diluted the acid, constant volley useless as they kept their rush ahead, floor pockmarked and corroded behind. They saw the man sweep in to a store right&ahead, and as they came up fifty feet away -

- the two rushed right in to the store just behind their target, running to the wall separating them and the man's location. Revenants readied, the two came up quick -

"( - go ahead.)" nodded Daishi. Permission for property damage given, a volley of missiles hit the wall -

- and the explosions split the barrier in half, foe shrieking in the other store and thirty feet away, stumbling back against the shelves, tubes dipping in to bottles of hydrogen peroxide and nail polish remover. Missiles readied, a new barrage erupted from Wedding's shoulders -

- but a dozen jets of water blasted each to bits, tubes filling with liquid anew as they started ahead -

" - Wakareku!" shouted the man, two tubes spraying hydrogen peroxide & acetone ahead -

- and the explosion blasted the two with the strength of a thousand away; and in to the back wall smashed the duo, grunting as they stood again. A second volley of liquid hit their faces -

- and started instantly to harden, blinding their vision; the two stumbled, hearing a new volley of acid erupt ahead -

" - Kiseru -" grunted Daishi, swift puff of blue keeping them safe, hydraulic concrete claiming their entire faces -

" - Wedding!"

- and a swift slice of Wedding's lasers burnt their prisons to ash, freeing the two as they wiped their faces, vision free as they stood again. A volley of missiles flew below, burrowing as they rushed forward in pursuit again; ahead, the man's tubes swept out and back -

- and launching a dozen white globes towards them; with the speed of literal light, Wedding's beams sliced them in half -

- and set Matoi sighing as each burst in to smoke, blinding their vision and filling their sight again -

- but a dozen shockwaves blast the clouds away -

- and the two saw with aghast eyes the wall repaired, new material surrounding the store, trapping them within as they ran up to the wall.

"(Don't -)" - said Daishi -

"( - a trap.)" nodded Matoi, and the two stepped careful to the middle of the room. "(He wants me to use my missiles on the wall again.)"

Daishi nodded. "(Yes - or my acid.)"

"(Do they know your Revenant?)"

"(I would assume.)"

The two nodded, and in the next instant -

- they hears hissing from the blocked entrance, steady stream of water starting to fill the room. Sword drawn, Matoi rushed to the entrance, Daishi at her side as she slashed the wall -

- and cutting halfway through, exposing the bouquet of tubes embedded from outside, leaking water as they were sliced in half, liquid up to their ankles by then. With no time to waste, another sweep went through the wall, slicing through another set of tubes -

- and she felt with aghast blade her steel starting to rust -

- and falling to shattered pieces in the next, still trapped within the store as the water came up, new set of tubes replacing their fallen brethren -

- and another steady hiss began, gas starting to fill the enclosure. The two staggered back and away, coughing as the vapors entered their lungs -

" - Wedding -" gagged Matoi, missiles flying forward -

- and the shockwaves blasted the vapors up to the ceiling, constant set keeping it trapped, giving them more time as they stood again, blood dripping down their lips.

"(We -)" - coughed Daishi - "( - need to shatter the wall, but -)"

- and he laughed, Matoi following as she realized it -

"( - it's your idea.)" she laughed, and with no time to waste, the thick skulled man ran to the back of the store; then turned, trust in the American president as he ran and leaped back -

- and a set of shockwaves blasted him with the strength of a thousand forward, human battering ram screaming towards the barrier -

- and smashing clear through the wall, man outside & left as Daishi flew out of the store -

- and the man laughed as Daishi shot through the window in a rain of glass, three-floor fall on to the runway below -

"( - did you really -)"

"( - correcting course!)" shouted Matoi, Daishi still holding one missile behind his back -

- and another shockwave blasted him back in tot he airport and in to the man, and the two combatants hit the ground fighting. In a whirlwind of blows they revolved down the concourse, and as a tube shot to Daishi's chest -

- a geyser of blood blasted him with the strength of a thousand up -

- and a puff of acid cleared an exit as he flew through the roof, disappearing beyond. No option left, the man shot up and started to flee, hearing Matoi in pursuit behind, only thirty feet between the two -

"( - shithead.)" droned Matoi, final set of missiles erupting ahead; tubes readied, the man turned to counter -

- but saw with aghast eyes the missile fly above his head, blasting the ceiling behind him -

- and the rain of rubble blocked his escape behind; truly no option left, he staggered against the sudden barrier -

- and as he heard a section behind corrode away, he was doomed and he knew it.

And out of the sudden aperture stepped Daishi -

" - Kiseru."

- and a puff of purple haze filled the man's nostrils, knocking him unconscious in an instant. Daishi nodded as he crouched down, tapping his back ruefully. "(Excellent work. Thank you, President Rain-On-A-Wedding. I'll scan first, then call the police.)" He glanced at her as he took his tablet out. "(I assume you're--)"

"(--I'm aware how Ueno operates, yes.)" she nodded. "(I lived here until I was fourteen.)"

Daishi nodded as he scanned. "(How does it usually go in America?)"

"(Lethal force immediately, one scan, and leaving the Revenant behind for America's janitor host to retrieve.)" She shrugged. "(Or so I assume they do -- I've never seen it myself.)"

Daishi seemed somewhat discomfited, but nodded, and called the police. Junpei brought them there along with those he had evacuated, and as they walked outside, another squad car arrived as Daishi turned, carrying the man, to Matoi. "(My apologies - I must accompany them, to ensure this man does not wake before his Revenant is removed. Junpei will lead you back to Ueno, but feel free to go anywhere you like.)"

"(Of course.)"

As Junpei watched the police drive away, he quipped to Matoi: "(Funner in America, huh?)"

Matoi shrugged as they walked back. Hosts in Japan are always arrested non-lethally, and always executed after a superfluous trial afterwards. "(I noticed Ueno finally has Revenant scanners. How long did that take?)"

"(Iunno, we've had them for as long as I've been here.)" He shrugged. "(And the whole crap with police reports. Damn, they just give us stuff to do so it looks like we're doing something. Then they parade us up in all these lousy events like -- well, not me, but other students -- don't just kill dudes for a living. Like they care about us looking civil more than us being civil. Dang, I wish I lived in America.)"

"(Is that the reason you know English?)"

"(Yeah, I've got all these American crime dramas I watch to learn English. Hey, speaking of, what's the word for)- ikiryo?"

"Revenant."

"(Thanks.)"

With that, Junpei led her back to Ueno and left her outside of the four's accomodations in one of the towers. Matoi opened the door to it and was in a dining room, set up to look more luxurious Western than Japanese. Samuel & Marisa were at the table eating shrimp tempura & miso soup. Samuel gestured with his mouth full to the side hall, indicating Mia was in the bathroom.

"Man, this is way better than earlier." said Marisa as Matoi sat down with them. "Uh, don't think I'm not getting you back for that, too."

"You can try."

"How'd having to be nonlethal go?" said Samuel.

Matoi shrugged. "It's completely pointless, but Daishi was willing to take every hit for it, fortunately. I don't remember if I mentioned, but Japan executes every host regardless."

A shriek came from the bathroom and the three tensed.

Samuel frowned. "I didn't think it was that spicy." He glanced up the hall as Mia peeked out the bathroom door.

"I'm -- I'm alright, but -" she laughed - " - you have to come see this."

The three came to see it. Matoi stifled her laugh at Mia gesturing to the toilet with a control panel. She sat down and pressed one button, then stood as a miniscule jet of water came out of the bowl. "It's meant to clean you."

"Most Japanese home have bidets like this." said Matoi. "The button beside it warms the seat, also. The toilet technology is far more advanced than America's."

"Apparently so." nodded Samuel.

Marisa blinked. "Hey, wait a minute. Mia, were you not already doing that? I mean, can't Worldwide do that for you?"

"I-I'm not subjecting it to that." muttered Mia. A scarf of scarabs formed, and she clutched them protectively. "Would you use Boudoir for that?"

"But that's different."

"How is it different?"

"I just hope Matoi doesn't use Wedding for that." said Samuel.