An Invitation of War

"What on earth…?"

I can only mutter those words as I stepped into the crime scene and saw that the tree was no longer there.

"You've gotta be shitting me… what happened here…"

I ran towards the area cordoned off with police-placed tapes and in where I expected the tree where he was found would be located, there was nothing left but a stump and a clay bowl with ashes of incense.

The sight both enraged and confused me. I hate that the tree which is where he departed from this world was cut down and someone who did that must've also left this incense here.

"Why…? Why would someone do this?"

I began to think of all the possible ways to explain this but in the end, I just stood up and returned to my investigation.

"I'll think about this later… for now, I need to do what I must do."

I began to properly investigate the area, taking into account the change that must've happened due to the tree being cut down to its stump. With it being the highlight of the crime scene, I decided to begin with the stump.

"This is… about 20 rings of the wood. Then this tree must've grew up long before… and with it being a Japanese pine wood… then it must've been cut down just recently."

I used the ring-counting method on the stump to know when it was cut down relative to how many rings there was on the stump. Thankfully, whoever cut it down made a clean cut since the rings was clearly visible for me to see right here.

I then took out my metal detector, scanning the area around me for anything out of place. Except for the times when I hit one of the metal posts for the police tape or swerved it too close towards me for the scanner to sense the metallic parts of my gun, there wasn't much in the closed-off area that made the detector ring out.

"W-Woah! That was quite loud…"

The only time it sounded was when I came outside of the cordoned area and pointed the scanner head to the foot of a nearby tree.

"This is strange… why is something like this here? .44 caliber magnum… Heh. Did I shoot 5 or 6… wanna test your luck?"

When I dug up the metallic object, what I found was a bullet shell. And not any normal one, this bullet shell is from a particularly large and powerful type. After learning of its kind, I giggled lightly after remembering a particular movie about a crime-fighting cop who's a bit too trigger happy.

"Anyways, you're going to my clue case… there we go."

After placing the object on a zip-lock bag, I stood up and returned to scanning the area using the metal detector apparatus.

I made several circles around the area, scanning each inch of the ground for more clues both detected by the metal detector and not. During that, I collected several more out of place objects like a metal bracelet, used cigarette butts and a flash drive that was broken into pieces.

"What the- URGH-! Why on earth are these things here?!"

The filthiest ones I found though, was several used condoms that was strung together under a thick layer of foliage and mud. I refuse to elaborate further out of my personal dejection about this find.

"Argh… no luck, huh?"

After half an hour of searching around, I returned to the tree stump and looked at what I found around in here… except for those disgusting ones, of course.

"This bracelet looks familiar but it's covered with mud and rust… maybe I can bring it to a jeweler to repair it. These cigarette butts might have come from the person who cut down the tree, I should pass it on to our laboratory to see if there are DNA traces to track down the person."

The first two ones were pretty standard. I wished that if it was possible, one of these should be able to give me a start on a proper investigation angle.

"This thumb drive though… might have something more important in it."

The broken digital storage item was broken into pieces as if it was gnawed and chewed by a wild animal. Its case and connector head has been broken, but the internal components seemed to have been broken at a point where repair is still possible.

"That guy gives out an air of narcissism… but at this kind of condition, its hard not to ask him directly for help."

In the end, I decided to bring this item to the designated cybernetic expert of the S.S.S who has some kind of god complex. We all find him annoying, but his help is greatly needed for this kind of thing.

"Alright… it's time for a new approach."

I took out my phone and searched for the image that I took from the investigation report in the S.S.S archive. I decided that if the initial search using the metal detector doesn't bring in enough clues, I would take the more arduous approach and try to retrace the trail of Hiro from the report.

"Haaah… hoooo… Let's go, Rai."

With my night vision goggles over my eyes that gives me a clear image of my surroundings and my submachine gun on my hands to protect myself from whatever might come after me here, I stepped out of the area and into the depths of the dark and cold forest that Hiro must've also walked on a year ago before he died.

One step… two steps. A leap and several hops. Jumping across a shallow ravine and avoiding a trail that looks too dangerous. This is how I walked across the area for several minutes while trying my best to locate the orientation and trail stated in the report.

"This trail reminds me of the video about ranger training. Haaah… I would never have thought I would go down this route."

I kept on whispering comments and memories to myself, keeping my own self occupied so I can avoid being taken away by this dark and dreary place's creepiness too much.

For a while, all that I saw from my goggles was my general surroundings and the occasional sight of sleeping birds or fireflies hanging out at the treetops and canopy of leaves above me… but soon, I sensed something in front of me that surely doesn't belong here at all.

"Ich-! Distorted in the equipment, huh… Why the hell am I not surprised?"

Since my goggles began to go haywire after crossing the line where I sensed something amiss in my surroundings, I took it off and went closer to that place as its presence also tried to push me away from it.

"Come on… don't be like that, you damn subspace. I can sense this rotten-like aura from a mile away. You're hiding something, aren't you?"

I unleashed my Psychic powers, freeing myself from the grasp of the invisible arms of the distorted space in front of me. Even though it was my first time to see it with my own eyes, excellent instruction and advanced reading of combat manuals and archive pages made me aware of this kind of Mental Subspace that actively repulses anyone with not enough Astra energy from approaching it.

"Open sesame… isn't it?"

I placed my hand into the distorted space and after focusing my mind, I entered the subspace hidden inside of the forest.

"…Oh."

"You…"

"I guess this is it now, huh?"

I opened my eyes after sensing that I am not fully inside of the Subspace and immediately saw what was hiding inside of it… and those who must be here to prepare it for something big.

"I-Intruder-!"

"Shut it."

Someone wearing a uniform of the Miyazono Entertainment Company saw me and was about to call out to the security when I quickly hit the back of his head with my rifle's butt end and pulled him into a pile of crates to hide him from the others.

"No Astra energy signature… No game passes or the like… just a regular worker, I guess."

"Urgh…"

"-!"

"Mmph!"

"Shh… Keep quiet and I'll think about letting you go."

It seems like he's a hardy one since he immediately returned to consciousness, which made me cover his mouth and tell him to shut up.

"Are you a worker for the company? Just a grunt and nothing important?"

"Mm!"

"Alright. What is that stage and collapsible houses for?"

I quickly moved my hand from his mouth to his neck, showing him that if he dares to make a noise or do anything rash, I'll crush his throat.

"T-They are- They are for the festival."

"Festival?"

"I-It's a yearly event done by Director Hamasaki. It's a festival that he organizes here… a concert and week-long event during golden week."

"Golden week… I've been away from school and forgot that it's nearly here. About that Director Hamasaki, who is he?"

"Director Hamasaki Satoshi is the secret leader of the Entertainment branch company of the Miyazono Corporation… he's very secretive with his activities and because of that, hides his involvement with the company… opting to simply be seen as a minor shareholder."

"I see… Okay. That's enough."

"W-What…?"

"Go to sleep for a while. I'll make sure to keep you off the grid for a while."

"Aaah….hng-"

After I placed my hand over his face and lightly shocked his brain by injecting it with my Astra energy, he fell asleep and I covered him with some tarp that I found nearby.

"Hey! Who are you?!"

"…"

"Ahh-"

There was a guard who saw me after I went away from the crates, and I dealt with him too. I also stole his coat which let me walk around the place while carrying a firearm.

"…"

"Good evening, sir."

"Mm."

I went around the area and was greeted by some of the common workers who kept their heads down for some reason. I also noticed that there was a huge ratio between the guards and the workers. I would rarely see a guard walking around while heaps of workers marches around the area, carrying assembly equipment and other items to the stage.

"S-Sir? What are you doing?"

"…Checking the room. It's procedure."

"B-But sir, I haven't heard anything about-"

"Don't sweat it. You should be pretty aware that this event is something important for the Director. We're just being thorough."

"Y-Yes, sir. It certainly is."

"Okay. Go back to your job. We're wasting time by talking further here."

"A-as you say!"

There was a female worker whom I talked to after I peered into one of the finished rooms and ascertained that it was some kind of cheap resting room. I would've thought that all of this is normal until I saw her carrying boxes of condoms and some other sexually inclined items inside, exposing the truth about it to me.

"This place is screwed up…"

"Hey, you there."

"Yes?"

"…I haven't seen you before, where's your company ID?"

"It's here."

A guard I passed by called out to me and seemed to be suspicious. He asked for my ID and I drew what I stole from that guard I incapacitated and showed it to him.

"…I am still not convinced. Your face is too unfamiliar to me."

"Well, blame your bad memory and remember my face. You're bothering not only me but everyone. If you're going to hold me up from directing these workers, you better explain yourself to the Director once he comes here personally!"

"Urk-! Haah… Damn it."

"Come on. Are you letting me go or are you going to stare at my face for another hour?"

"…Tch!"

"…Almost got busted."

My tough act was a good move as he just walked away and left me alone. He seemed to still be suspicious but mentioning that Director guy seemed to scare off anyone in this place.

I walked towards the far right of the area, a corner of it that has the border of the subspace that separates it from the real world outside. There, I saw several trucks that has the Miyazono corporation's logo which carries the things that the workers are hauling back to the stage area.

"You've gotta be kidding me…"

I spoke as I saw an object there that wasn't supposed to be here of all places.

"A Replicator Cell… why here? Why in the middle of nowhere?"

"Why, of course. Isn't that the reason why Director Hamasaki does these kinds of events?"

"Huh?"

While I was astonished with the sight, a man that I deduced as the driver of the truck carrying the cloning equipment spoke an answer after emptying a bottle of beer to his mouth.

"Director Hamasaki does these wild parties to gain power… given his weak constitution and low rank in the company, he's been vying for more power to overtake his fellows."

"…How do you know all of this?"

"Huhaha! I carry his personal Replicator cell so I'm a regular of those parties!"

"Ahh!"

"-!"

"Alcohol, women and narcotics! No rules and no limits!"

The man laughed heartily and grabbed a female worker by the butt, showing off his position beneath the Director and how the regular worker can do nothing against him.

"The party will start on Golden week, yes?"

"Yeah. Just two more days and we can start everything up just like last year's! Director Hamasaki even boasted about bringing over the dropouts from the schools who wanted a second chance! Finally! A grown man like me can finally have some fresh meat!"

"S-Sir… please let me go. I still have rooms to prepare and-"

"Aww. Don't be such a square, missy. Give daddy some sugar…"

"Aaaahhh… please, sir…"

"…"

Hearing everything that he was saying and then pulling the woman closer to begin running his fingers across her body was the breaking point for me.

"Miss… close your eyes."

"H-huh?"

*Byak-!*

That night, a single gunshot solved a huge part of the personal mystery that I am trying to solve.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Yusa, you told me and Hinata to come here?"

"Yeah. Come here, you two."

Deep in the headquarter station of the Shibuya bunker, my direct aide and head of the Operator department, Yusa, called me and Hinata to come to her office.

"What is this about, Yusa-chan? I'm not that busy but I'm not looking forward to spending another overtime tonight. Yui would complain again if this takes too much time."

"Stop complaining, you doofus and come here quickly. I already informed Yui and your mother-in-law that you'll be a bit late, so don't worry about being nagged later."

"I… I see…"

"…Yusa."

"Yes, Yuri?"

"How serious is this?"

As the leader of this Agency and a friend of most of them, I can say with certainty that I know their mannerisms and personalities like the back of my hand.

"…I don't know either. This is entirely new to all of us, I deduce."

"I see… Hinata, lock the office and turn on the noise-makers. I want our conversation here to be top secret."

"Roger."

And because of that, I am aware that when the usually deadpan and unemotional Yusa looks even just a bit distressed, something very dangerous is happening.

"Look at this, Yuri. This is a drone image of Astra wave emissions around Point Kilo near Mt. Fuji last month… This one is from a diversion flight last week from our drone that was supposed to scan Point Lima…"

"The one that has to be cancelled due to the no-fly zone declaration? I see…"

"Yes. But while running the drone for a test flight again earlier this morning, the technicians found an irregularity in this spot inside Aokigahara forest."

"What on earth…?"

"Damn… That sure looks suspicious."

After showing the images from earlier this month and week, even we were surprised to see a massive rise of Astra energy on that particular area that was supposed to be very isolated.

"That's not all. Remember last year during the same date? We also called a minor emergency because of an eruption of Astra energy on that place."

"We had our first contact with the Sumeragi syndicate back then because of that. I can't forget it easily. So, what's up with that? Didn't they say that everything is well back there, and it was just a random natural phenomenon?"

"Yeah. But who told us that answer?"

"It's Kanbu Furuta Renjiro, right? A higher-up in the Sumeragi group."

"Well, listen to this call from his colleagues and an audio file sent by Agent Fujikawa through our secret encrypted line."

Yusa typed three file names and clicked on them, pausing the other two before letting us listen to the first one with the name "Call #29087 – Imamura Kirin".

{"Good day, Operator Yusa. Am I clear? Alright. So, I received a call that my student and your agent, Ephraim, is out on a personal errand and is heading to Mt. Fuji, yes? I would like to request that he be kept away from there. No, this is an internal matter, Operator. As his instructor, I wish for him to be kept out of that place for the time being. I understand, thank you for your time, Operator Yusa."}

The call that only recorded her voice was cut and Yusa began to speak about it.

"I received this call two hours after Ephraim left the base. I would've immediately contacted him to pull him out of the area until I received another call which is this."

She clicked the next audio file and it has the name "Call #29088 – Lucas Tetian".

{"Good day, Operator Yusa. I know that this is untimely and probably out of line, but I would like to urge you to order Ephraim to leave Mt. Fuji. Trust me, this is for his own good."}

The second call didn't even had pauses that showed that Yusa had a turn to talk back. The person just spoke those words and immediately cut his line before she can make any statement.

"What the hell is happening?"

"Don't be impatient, Hinata. What Agent Fujikawa sent me shortly after those calls let me have a gist of what is happening."

She pressed the play button of the last audio file, and it was only half a minute long and quite muffled, showing that it must've been recorded from inside a pocket.

{We have to immediately isolate the area after he leaves. This will throw a wrench on what we were planning.}

{"But sir, this is difficult. If the S.S.S hears about this, they will surely-"}

{"We can worry about that later! I'm sure Kirin-dono and Akari-san can explain it after were done. But if they discover it and make a move there, our one year long preparation will be-"}

{February 26, 2071. 2143 hours. Agent Fujikawa Mana.}

The recording was paused for a second and we heard the familiar voice of Mana stating the time and date of the recording as per Agency instructions.

"The people she recorded… isn't that-"

"Yeah. I ran it through our audio analyzer AI and it's a match. The person who spoke for the first and third lines is Kanbu Officer Lucas Tetian."

"I see… so the Sumeragi syndicate is hiding something from us, huh?"

"It's to be expected… Even if we are effectively allies, there isn't an agreement for compulsory sharing of resources or synching our activities. We're not that clean either…"

"Are you talking about the regular drone flights over their base in Kabuki-cho?"

"Yeah. Even if we have already informed top brass about our alliance with them, they are still to be looked after due to them being a potential internal security threat."

"I guess you are right."

"Just in, Yurippe. Our drone has nearly reached Mt. Fuji. I'm being given the live feed of the video right now."

As Yusa fiddled on her console, I patiently watched the screen as it focused its live feed from our drone to the picturesque volcano of Old Tokyo.

"Uh-huh? Yes… I see… Take it to about nine thousand feet above Aokigahara and switch our sights."

"What was that, Yusa?"

"It's the drone pilot, he said that he's awaiting orders from Yurippe about the direction. I told him to raise altitude to cover more ground and to switch over to our Astra wave detector setting."

We waited for a while as the drone rose up into to the clouds, hiding its silhouette and the noise it makes among the clouds. It then switched to its Astra energy detection mode, making the ground below show blotches of cold and warm colors.

"We just entered Aokigahara's airspace. Since Ephraim isn't wearing a Diminisher tool, he would be visible in our sensors."

"Wait, have you tried calling him yet? We should at least inform him about this."

"Hold that, Hinata…"

"Yuri?"

"It's… We should look for him first before contacting him. Who knows what would happen if we just order him to leave that place when he seems to determined about investigating his friend's death."

"I understand. So, Yusa… anything new?"

"Nothing yet. Everything is either background energy spots or people in the nearby towns."

About a few minutes later, Yusa suddenly stood up, surprising me and Hinata who went to see what it was that caused her such a surprise.

"Yes… Yes… Take it to the right and make our pylon turn there."

"Did you find something interesting?"

"More than that, Yuri. Look at this spot over here…"

"What on earth…?"

"How did our ground sensors not detect that?!"

"I'm clueless too… Yuri, do you think it warrants a state of emergency?"

When Yusa asked me that question, even Hinata was surprised since he is the one who usually asks for it in our most drastic situations.

"…Make the call, Hinata. Gather all of our personnel and place them in high alert, prepared to head out in under a minute."

"Gotcha… this is Vice-director Hideki. I just received an order from Yurippe. We're in a state of emergency. Yes. Gather all of our men and-"

As Hinata went out of the room while calling all of the necessary people, I borrowed Yusa's telephone to contact someone whose permission we need to start this state of heightened alert.

"Good evening, Minister Fujikawa. I apologize for calling you at such an inconvenient time."

{"Worry not, Nakamura… What is the subject of this call?"}

"We have just flown a drone to a potential hot zone that we detected in Mt. Fuji and just confirmed an area of interest. We believe this place is an area being used by our enemy."

{Mt. Fuji, huh? And just after the court hearing yesterday… I'll go to my office now, please send your liaison officer there to assist me.}

"As you wish, sir. We're entering a state of emergency here in the agency. We're requesting your permission of immediate mobilization and response to this threat."

{"It is granted. I'll inform the prime minister and military force about it as soon as I get to my office."}

After he placed down the phone, Yusa poked my arm to tell me that the pylon turn around the clearing of the area where we detected an irregular amount of Astra energy is located.

"Wait. Isn't that…?"

"Yes… It seems like Agent Chronia is inside the area. It's faint, but his Astra energy signature is emanating from inside."

"If he's there, he can be of great help. I'll call him now."

Yusa changed the communication line she was using in order to contact Ephraim who is in the target area.

"How is it? Is he on the line?"

"No luck. It's not that he's declining my call. But given the extreme emissions of Astra energy there, his electrical equipment must've been jammed, cutting us off from him."

"I see. Call Combat Company 8 and tell them to go there through aerial insertion. I want their chopper on the air in five minutes."

"Roger that."

"Yurippe, Yusa! The Main Operations room is ready!"

Hinata poked his head from the door to tell us that the room where we usually conduct the process of our operations has been prepared.

"I'll head to the Main operations room. You follow me too, Yusa."

"Got it!"

As we left the room and walked through the hallways, I saw everyone belonging to my Agency running towards their designated areas, showing that our regular drills have not been for naught as it showed their improvement during this time of real emergency.

"Director Nakamura. Your seat, please."

"At ease, everyone. Keep your attention to the situation at hand and don't bother regarding protocols. Make things are efficient as possible!"

"""Yes, Yurippe!"""

"Alright. Patch me in with Combat Company 8. Tell every Operative on the air about our procedure as soon as their boots touches the ground!"

That night was something that I cannot forget. After all, it would be the catalyst for a long conflict that I already sensed to be coming since back then.