Meeting

Ryo followed Sumire downstairs where the others were awaiting her. Jinni merrily waved at her while Naoto still appeared flustered from all of the teasings. Claude took the time to stop washing dishes and cooking the last of the food to greet her with a smile composed of long-term fatherly affection. Nana, who had been resting on the meeting table gathering the evidence presented to Dr. Zanner and Naoto, securely wrapped each object in a plastic wrap with important labels illustrated in black marker. Sumire greeted the others and sat down with them, eating the leftover noodle soup from last night. The news channel quickly swapped to a commercial, ending the story to the car crash incident in Virgo without Sumire knowing.

Before Sumire could start eating, a loud knock suddenly presented itself in the front door of Sunlight HQ. Everyone exchanged glances with one another, unsure of what was happening. Claude decided to step outside of the kitchen to check who it was, considering an ID card was necessary for entering automatically; no-knock was necessary. Ryo and the others peeked their heads out of the kitchen as Claude opened the front door.

"Well, well! Thank you, big guy," A tall black-haired middle-aged man wearing a mid-length honey-colored trench coat entered the living room with an attractive complexion on his face. He had a refined jawline and a light stubble on his face. His shaggy hair was still stylish at first glance, which could be misconstrued as careless maintenance of personal hygiene. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm home!" The man greeted as he lifted his arms in the air, dancing with his lower pelvis to some imaginary tunes. He had a distinctive deep voice that vibrated with each word he spoke.

"And it only took you a couple of years or so," Naoto said in a boorish manner. "The hell have you been doing? Sumire's been trying to call your ass for days now."

"Oh, pardon me," The man hurried to the kitchen and greeted the female guests first with a pleasant smile. He removed his honey-colored trench coat to reveal a slim black turtleneck underneath "Work at the main headquarters has been exhausting. Besides, I can't always complain when there's freedom of access to refined whiskey. Its taste is like an art." He said.

"Then maybe you should stop by Claude's place on the weekdays before you drink yourself to death," Sumire said. "At least he can keep an eye on you."

"Oh, Sumire, my darling," The man chuckled, grabbing Sumire's hand and delicately kissing the back of it. Naoto angrily pouted at the amount of freedom Sumire and Jinni both gave the man, considering how attractive and pleasantly seductive he appeared. A bold aura resonated from his body that felt like a great attractor for females. "How touching for you to care so much about me. But you needn't fret. My busy work with Rose Accel is close to ending. I can just taste it."

"Davvero?" Jinni chimed in, appearing overly pleased at the man's arrival. However, Ryo noticed something coming from her smile that didn't seem to bode well. It reminded him of the time where she dropped her pen multiple times when recording Ryo's measurements for his nanosuit. She seemed to be drawn to his natural charm as well, but there was something odd about her smile. "You can take as long as you want." She said as her voice traced off.

"Thank you Jinni, my sweetheart," The man complimented after pouring a cup of coffee. His eyes traced themselves over to the only unfamiliar person at the dining table, showing a distinct captivating interest by gazing into Ryo's eyes. He smiled lightly, walking closer to him as Ryo tried his best to maintain a steady look. "Who do we have here? I don't believe we've met."

"Ryo Nakai," Ryo introduced. "Sumire's brother."

"Brother?" The man laughed, sipping his coffee as he leaned forward to admire Ryo's physical traits. "I never recalled you having a brother, Sumire. Especially not one that looks so terrifying. Just look at you. You could give the criminals we catch a run for their money," Several seconds passed as the crowd at the table glanced over at Ryo to see if the mysterious man was being opinionated or factual. He chuckled once more, gently slapping his knee and leaning forward with his hand for a handshake. "I'm just playing with you, boy! Akai." He introduced, firmly shaking Ryo's hand tightly.

"You're the person that Naoto's been complaining about being overly late," Ryo said.

Naoto's mouth opened in surprise. He didn't expect Ryo to call him out. "Oh, come on. You just had to say that didn't you?" He said.

Akai slowly crept up to Naoto with his hands raised in a predatory style. He wiggled all of his fingers as if he was about to mangle Naoto's skin to exploit his germaphobic status. "Oh, Naoto. Always so unrelenting when it comes to timely manners. Curious, are you still afraid of people touching you?"

"Screw this," Naoto hopped off his wooden chair as Akai playfully chased him around the living room. "Get away from me, you disgusting freak!"

"That's enough!" A loud gruff voice startled everyone at the dining table. Dr. Zanner arrived in the living room with his daughter Natia standing behind him drinking another juice box. She rolled her eyes the moment she laid them on Sumire. "We're calling for the meeting now. You folks can all eat later." He said, turning off the television.

"All right!" Akai said as he stretched and lazily plunged into one of the chairs beside the meeting table. He rested his hands above the back of his head as he carefully pivoted his feet on the table to relay a carefree attitude. Ryo watched as Naoto and Jinni sprinted up the stairs to gather their equipment and recording tools. Sumire and Claude hurried to the meeting table as Ryo followed along, sitting with his sister to feel more at ease. Natia sat across from the table and waited patiently for the others to arrive. Sumire stepped up and grabbed a pile of neatly stacked papers on Dr. Zanner's desk as Naoto and Jinni returned with papers and writing utensils.

Sumire placed and activated a recording device on the meeting table and powered up its holographic map with a push of the button. A complete illustration of Aries's massive landscape appeared in red neon lights, shocking Ryo to see how accurate Sunlight was able to portray such intricate details. Sumire zoomed into the Virgo District and began jotting down several notes as the others sat down. Nana observed the meeting from the side, and Ryo was stiffened by its protocol.

"Okay, welcome to the Sunlight headquarters meeting, Today is December 7, 3024. My name is Sumire Nakai, 3rd class tactical operator, 2nd class soldier. Calling for roles currently, please state your name, role, class, organization, and specialty to confirm across the table. With the addition of a new member, the rank of private will be provided for now. I shall speak on his behalf for the time being." Sumire introduced as she traced her eyes across the table for everyone to introduce themselves.

"Naoto Hiragi, 3rd class investigator, Sunlight HQ in Virgo."

"Jinni Cagliostro, Sunlight personnel, Sunlight HQ in Virgo. Ciao!"

"Claude Spiker, 2nd class tactical operator, 2nd class soldier. Sunlight HQ in Virgo."

Sumire intervened. "Ryo Nakai, private 4th class, 4th class tactical operator and 4th class soldier." She said in place of her brother.

"Natia Zanner, 2nd class tactical operator, 1st class soldier. Sunlight HQ in Virgo."

"Akai, 1st class deputy of Sunlight HQ, 1st class detective. Sunlight HQ in Virgo."

"Rux Zanner, 2nd class investigator, Sunlight HQ in Virgo."

Ryo was astonished to see how the entire atmosphere and vibe of the headquarters shifted the moment they began conducting the meeting. Even though they had such vibrant and silly personalities on a personal level, when it came to professionalism, they seemed to take their work very seriously. The ranking system confused Ryo; he guessed that the tactical operator and soldier class positions involved active engagement in solving cases in person, whether that be applying brute force or legally established visits. Ryo placed his hands together to focus on the task at hand.

"Thank you all for arriving promptly," Sumire continued speaking as the head of the meeting. "As per usual, every meeting all members must swear on a confidentiality agreement to ensure that none of the information or evidence that is presented in our meeting shall be disclosed in any other fashion outside of headquarters. The necessity of this disclosure is to preserve honesty and vital information from creating difficulties in investigating evidence and cases outside of the headquarters and should be done so with honesty. For those participating, you must follow along with this confidentiality agreement, as breaking said agreement shall expel or demote you in the force."

Ryo made sure to keep quiet outside of the headquarters. He wondered if he had already disclosed too much information to April that should have been kept as a secret.

"For our agenda today, our draft suggests two evidence analyses and two sharing sessions. We shall begin by letting our investigators Mr. Rux Zanner and Mr. Naoto Hiragi took over the meeting. Evidence has already been provided on our table. After this sentence, all further communications shall be explored without sophistication."

Ryo watched as Naoto stood up from his seat, grabbing the V2 nanosuit placed on the table sealed in a plastic bag. Natia personally gave the bag a capricious glance, yearning for the chance to use the suit that Ryo had the opportunity before. "Right, so here we go," Naoto began. "Essentially what we found regarding this variant of the V2 nanosuit is that its owners before usage belonged to Polycyclone Industries. That's the corporation that focuses on ritualizing new technology and providing it for the people in Aries. However, what we did find was that the suit had been tampered with. If you could all just follow along with me here…"

Naoto tapped the red holographic screen to boot up a clear visualization of the nanosuit's entire chassis and surface details, ranging from its size, weight, buoyancy, composure, and prior usage based on DNA evidence. He zoomed in with his fingers on the dome-shaped sphere located in the center of the suit. "Ryo used the suit before we began analyzing it. We'll explore those details further in the meeting. What we found was an unknown transmission signal corrupted the suit's processing system," Naoto said, zooming in further into the dome.

Several black-colored spheres arose from the screen, tampering with miniature wires on the surface level. The spheres collided with the wires, creating the neon stars, lights, and 8-bit colors that appeared before Ryo discovered its occurrence.

"You can see in this demonstration that the signal tampers with the suit's ability to function properly. This means that the original owners were not Polycyclone's, but originated from a C-class operating site that transmits radioactive frequencies. Whether that be an anonymous organization, we have yet to find out. However, we were able to trace the signal into the Taurus after backtracking the signal. And you can see here…" Naoto continued after pressing another button on the holographic screen.

"M3L0DIE," Naoto said. "We think it may mean Melody, which could be a name for an organization. We aren't so sure about its origins. For this particular Melody individual or organization, we were able to recover the most recent vocoded files that transmitted through the signal from Taurus. Here it is now." Naoto pressed a button nearby on the holographic screen.

A muffled and static-filled voice began playing on the map, which Ryo familiarized with immediately. "Nice suit. Where'd you get it? Surely not from us, thief. No, who are you? What makes you think you can take our technology and use it however you want? Do you see what I've done to this thing? This proves that this belongs to us. Don't you feel bad about yourself yet?" The same voice that made Ryo shiver in the snow played, and Naoto stopped it immediately after.

"We have evidence to state that this person was the prior owner of the V2 nanosuit before Ryo was. We were unable to acquire any more evidence of the identity of the person speaking. The suit, however, can be fixed. It will take some time." Naoto said, sitting down after presenting all of his information.

Akai yawned and shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like a case can be made," He said. "I can go ahead and run it right now. We just need to transmit that signal back to wherever it is in Taurus and look for answers. We should be ready for retaliation, meaning we need you, soldiers, on the case as well. Sumire, darling. Claude, Natia, and Ryo."

Sumire intervened. "Wait, I don't think it's a good idea for Ryo to start his first mission like this without training. He's not used to our combat suits yet." She said, worried about her brother.

"Si, I was just getting to this actually," Jinni interrupted. "I was able to take the measurements for our handsome Ryo and place them into our crafting machine. His suit should be finished by tonight. We could take the time to start training for him tomorrow."

Natia slammed the table in anger. "No," She said with a blunt and cold monotone voice. "We don't need to wait for the rookie to finish potty training to get on the case. Time's important here. You forgot to mention that the suit's entire existence is illegal, which makes Polycyclone a shitfest right now, Naoto. This gives us enough evidence to search the damn place to find out what the hell they're doing."

"Slow down, girl," Akai said. "Yes, I get that time is of the essence, but our boy Ryo needs to be well-trained if he's to make our mission much simpler. Besides, I have faith that Sumire's brother has already had combat experience. And it will surely take a lot more evidence to search Polycyclone, considering how universal that company is. I have already visited multiple times, and nothing seems out of order. The work of this suit could not be from them. It has been modified to fit this Melody organization, it seems."

Natia sat back down and silenced herself.

"Well, these are all wonderful observations," Sumire said. "But I say that we give Ryo a chance to train himself to make the case much easier. We shall proceed with this plan. Any objections?" Ryo watched as everyone agreed except Natia.

"Overruled," Sumire said, gazing back into her papers. "Now then, Dr. Zanner… any observations made with the crystal provided?"

Dr. Zanner stood up and pressed a button on the holographic screen to return to the prior evidence. He pressed against the button to open up the orange crystal's visualization. It was a dense object, according to its mass, with an unknown energy source located in the form of white soft fragments within.

"We're in for something big here," Dr. Zanner said, placing his spectacles down on the table. He softly pressed against his face to contemplate what he was about to say next. "This isn't easy for me to say, but this is an Omega-class energy source. This crystal surpasses all energies that have been used in Aries for the past few hundred years. It's quite astonishing! The signals within this crystal are off the charts. We could not find another close reading for this, but…

"Doctor, are you all right?" Sumire asked.

Dr. Zanner wiped his forehead, feeling sweat emanate from his pores in nervousness. "This goes without saying, but the crystal had spoken to me. Its pitter-pattering gentle voice spoke to me in a tone that made me feel… revived. But at the same time… the voice cried for help."

"Cried... for help?" Ryo whispered in a hushed tone so low that no one could hear his words. He had just remembered that April could hear a voice calling to her when she was in possession of the crystal. The voices had been calling her name as well.

Everyone sitting at the meeting table glanced over at Ryo the moment Dr. Zanner made the observation. "Ryo," Sumire called. "You were the one that retrieved this crystal, correct? Perhaps you can tell us where and how you were able to find it?"

With everyone speaking so dynamically and clearly, Ryo wanted to also follow along to ensure no evidence was misplaced or misinterpreted. This was the opportunity to crack down on the information regarding his previous heist at Genesis Laboratories, including the crystal's security level, and Sezan's involvement. He took a short breath before speaking aloud to everyone for the first time in his first Sunlight meeting.

"A botched heist forced by one of my previous acquaintances started this trouble," Ryo informed everyone. "The past carried me on this heist and forced me to carry this out. I was chosen to steal artifacts in Genesis Laboratories, a place where my acquaintance picked out in particular."

Naoto gasped in awe. Everyone else seemed to have such astonishing expressions, believing that Ryo's heist was impossible to partake in. "Wait, what? You went to Genesis?" He asked.

"I rescued him along the way," Sumire intervened. "He's telling the truth."

"What did you find?" Dr. Zanner asked.

"Bodies…" Ryo immediately said, having the sheer traumatic vision of his first observations at the laboratory come first into fruition. "Human bodies, standing upright, placed in golden liquid pods preserved for some reason. Eyes closed, hair loss, no reactions, and they were all stripped bare. I wasn't sure if they were dead or alive."

"Cryogenics, maybe?" Naoto chimed in. "Body restoration or preservation? What else could those freaks have done to those people?

"This is all so scary…" Jinni commented, looking over at Ryo with a concerned puppy-eyed expression. "Mi dispiace, Ryo. I am sorry you had to go through that."

Akai placed his hand above his upper lip, examining the situation carefully. He seemed to be deeply invested in the things that Ryo had stated, which the others believed to be his detective instincts at work. "None of this evidence would have been found if you hadn't carried out this heist," He said. "I don't know if we can find out more about it. Genesis's security is almost always lethal and hostile. We can't just walk through the front door, boys."

"So now we're harboring a wanted fugitive," Natia quipped. "Just fucking great."

"Natia…" Claude called to cease her abhorrent attitude.

Sumire chimed in, wanting to know more about the organizer of the heist. She always wanted to provide information to the rest of the members at the table but knew that it would be excruciatingly difficult for Ryo to share his traumatic past. "Ryo, take your time, but we need to know this. Who organized this heist? How did you get involved? Tell us about the night that you were taken away. What was his name? Sezan? Try to tell us all about it, no pressure."

Ryo watched as multiple eyes shifted onto him. Nana, who had been sitting in the background, detected an anomaly shift in emotion after running a diagnostic check with her sensors facing the meeting table. Someone had been excessively nervous, but from a distance, Nana could not tell. She could deduce that it was Ryo who was feeling this way, because of its significance.

Ryo knew that this was vital for the investigation, so he had to share no matter what. He wanted to get his sins off of his chest, whether that be confessing what he had partaken in years ago or starting from A-Z.

"Sez Fuma was an acquaintance of mine," Ryo began. "Not exactly the nicest person. Extremely manipulative. He forced me on this heist as a result to further his agenda about his hatred for aliens. He wanted to steal from the laboratory to make some money. Eventually, he and the rest of his men betrayed me after I grabbed the crystal. They tried to kill me until Sumire intervened."

"Damn," Naoto said. "Betrayed you, huh. Now that you guys broke in, they'll be doubling down on security. They're probably actively searching for you right now too."

"Hey," Natia called. "What else? Who is Sez Fuma to you?"

Ryo knew that Natia would try to stir up trouble based on the inconvenience of his trauma. Sumire watched as Ryo struggled to even enunciate a single word while observing his fidgeting hands in fear. "I…" Ryo said, gulping down his throat.

"Okay, that's enough," Sumire said, stopping the conversation. She turned off the holographic map after pinpointing the location of the nanosuit's transmitted signal.

"Now, hold on a second," Natia continued, keeping up with the coercion. "This information could be vital for the situation. Sez Fuma could be responsible for this entire mess, and we wouldn't know it if he decided to keep his mouth shut. What is he exactly? A corporation leader? A gang leader?" Natia slowly lifted herself off of her seat to bend forward towards Ryo. She lightly spoke to trigger his traumatic instincts. "An old best friend?"

"Shut up!" Ryo shouted, slamming his hand on the meeting table. Sumire and the others watched Ryo's temper go off as Natia smirked lightly at his explosion of raw emotion. Akai leaned forward and patted Ryo's back to comfort him.

"Take it easy," Akai said. "You don't have to say anymore," He turned back to Sumire with his legs propped up against the table and smirked. "So, is the meeting adjourned? We have our lead now. All that matters is you all prep and trace that signal. You're to all crackdown on who or what is producing these illegal suits. I'll make the case to Rose Accel."

As Akai retracted from his seat and grabbed his trench coat to place over his shoulder, Jinni huddled close to Ryo and rubbed his back to soothe his senses. Natia spoke no words and left the meeting area to return to her room. Her father was a mere bystander and only watched as Natia's pessimistic and goading personality mentally injured Ryo's mind. Naoto glanced over at Sumire and Claude with concerned beady eyes before Akai made way for the front door.

"You're leaving already?" Naoto asked.

"Yep," Akai said, slipping through his trench coat. "Got some business to do at the main HQ. Make sure to tell us if anything goes down after the case. Stay safe, and stay beautiful, cuties." Akai clicked his tongue at Sumire and Jinni before exiting through the front door without a word.

Naoto joined Jinni to comfort Ryo. "Dude, don't worry about Natia. She's just trying to provoke you. If someone would do a better job of raising her right…" Naoto rolled his eyes over to Dr. Zanner, who was too afraid to confront Natia about her behavior.

"I… I cannot control her." Dr. Zanner said, shaking his head.

"Then this will be a permanent problem until she gets her fucking act together!" Sumire yelled, grabbing the meeting papers and slamming them against the meeting table. She darted out the see-through side door near the kitchen into the backyard garden and exquisite pool of the Sunlight HQ headquarters. She slammed the sliding door shut before storming away to the edge of the garden.

"Sumire!" Claude called.

"Leave her," Ryo said, accepting Jinni and Naoto's comfort. He stood up from his seat and walked towards the sliding door. "I'll talk to her." He suggested.

Naoto, Jinni, and Claude both nodded at each other to acknowledge their familial bond, believing that Ryo only had the power to calm down Sumire's temper. "Then let's get to work and plan out the search for that signal," Naoto suggested.

"Right," Jinni replied, saluting him. "Rapidamente."