Ordered Chaos

From the outside, it was more than clear enough to anyone that the sparks that begun from the squabbles of the two main factions of the Sumeragi group has lit the entire organization into unquenchable flames.

"You bastards…!"

"You will pay for this!!!"

The great clans and families that represented the Sakoku faction that wishes to attack the Miyazono corporation now has begun their unofficial hostilities against those that comprise the Onkenha faction that wishes to bid their time for a while more.

The streets of Old Tokyo and other old cities of Japan became the battlefield of these two sides of the same group. With baseball bats, Molotov cocktails and other less-than-truly-deadly weapons, these people have begun to dowse the country into a state of chaos unseen since the many riots that ended ten years ago.

"C-C-Chief! Highway 357 is being filled by those ruffians! We should send the riot police and-"

"Close it down. Tell the highway patrol unit to cordon the area and redirect traffic to Nagumo-cho."

"C-Chief?! What are you talking about!?"

"Just passing orders from the top. They were already informed about it, and they said it will be too troublesome to stop at this point. They just said to keep the normal folks away and clean up the place later."

"W-What on earth…?"

"Get used to it, rookie. This is Old Tokyo. This is their territory."

Indeed, it is the Sumeragi syndicate's territory.

"Damn! Those Sakoku bastards sure know how to make it hurt!"

"Does anyone need more bandages?!"

"Douse that gash with an antiseptic already!"

"No! Don't pour it yet- UWAAAAAHHH-!!!"

Thankfully, there were no deaths. But the brutal street fighting and the seemingly equivocal outcome whenever these two groups meet to fight it out on the streets made some of the members question whether it is worth it to join the fights or stay in the Sumeragi syndicate entirely.

For some, there is a sense of belonging in the group after they failed to live up to societal expectations. To them, the Sumeragi group provided them a warm and safe home in a cold and cutthroat world.

But for many, joining in was simply some kind of a bragging right or a misplaced and overextended sense of curiosity about the organization. To them, it is not worth it to stay in this circle where they are expected to jump into fights for things that they aren't really keen on upholding or protecting with their very lives.

And thus, in a matter of weeks, the riots in Old Tokyo comprising of the lower rings of the two factions was basically dissolved, removing almost five thousand members from the Sumeragi syndicate.

"Huhahaha! Those gangsters sure are foolish! They've done nothing to stop the infighting and now, most of their men are leaving in droves!"

"You're right! They really are idiots!"

To those in the Miyazono conglomerate who doesn't have enough knowledge about how Psychic battles are fought, this was a welcome development from the enemy. But those who knows enough about the Sumeragi syndicate is aware that all of this has just made their enemy stronger than ever before.

"They say that in order to remain healthy and warm, a snake sheds its skin and leaves it behind, letting it act as a bait while it waits nearby, ready to pounce on whichever rodent tries to take it."

"…Are you sure that's real? I've never heard of a snake that does that with its own shed skin."

"Heh. Who knows? It's just an old anecdote… and one that is very much fitting for what the Sumeragi goons are doing right now."

"I see… that makes sense, Lady Yoshino."

Losing two and having their strongest Gardener severely wounded was a huge blow on the Miyazono Psychic society. Hamasaki Satoshi and Hirayama Taka may not have been that majorly active in the work of the Psychic society, but they are still acted as a great bulwark for those higher than them in the pecking order to avoid having run-ins with the Sumeragi group.

"In any case, your promotion to becoming a Gardener candidate to replace the late Gardener Satoshi is something that we've been looking forward to for a long time. Ever since the great clash in that school a while ago, our ranks have been filled with Seed Psychics as a stop-gap measure against our enemies."

"How about the players of your AR game then, Lady Yoshino?"

"Hehe. While my PsyWorld players are many and brings in talents and skills that will be useful to us eventually, there is still a very human part of them that quickly begins to doubt what they are sensing in the game if they are talked out of it... Just like recently when the Owari guild that I've been looking forward to finally break through the limits of the game and become fully-fledged Psychics were wiped out by our enemies."

"…"

"Tch! The nerve of these mongrel scum! Again and again, always hampering progress in the name of their useless principles!"

Aokigahara Yoshino usurped the Gardener position from her creator and "father", Aokigahara Mifune. As the loyal follower of Miyazono Ryuichi's belief of one day creating a perfect body for all of humanity that will never age or be ill and eventually succumb to death, he took the reins of perfecting the cloning methods they have after Ryuichi's "death".

The culmination of all of his studies and trial-and-error experimentations was a girl that he named Yoshino… and this girl would soon be the one to kill him after he failed to curb the progression of her strength and Psychic prowess.

"Hm. This is where I will leave for now, Lady Yoshino. Please take care of yourself."

"Mm. I'm depending on you to finish everything in our preparations for the attack."

"You can leave it all to me, my lady. I won't disappoint you. I promise to make this place the invasion point that will make us win against these fiends!"

Now, she leads the entire Medical and Psychic research sector of the Miyazono corporation and with the repeated setbacks that she suffered because of the combined efforts of the S.S.S and the Sumeragi syndicate, their preparations for the upcoming offensives have been majorly hampered.

Returning to her luxurious condominium unit in the Akatsuki district of New Tokyo city, the dimly lit and warm bedroom was filled with hushed gasps from its only inhabitant.

"My, my, my… you really are a feisty treat to chase after my dear Rai-Rai…"

Ever since she laid her eyes on him, there was but a single thing that she had for the young man who she has deemed to be so much more interesting than any other curiosity in this entire world.

"Ufufufu~! How delightful… You really surprise me at every turn. Even if you always ruin my plans and destroy my works, I can't help… Uuu…"

Beads of sweat lined her face and neck… Passionate gasps and panting spread in the bedroom where she is in.

"I can't help but fall for you… and forgive your teeny-weeny delinquencies~!"

Aokigahara Yoshino, an artificial human that is, unlike a Replicant which is simply a human consciousness placed into a new body, also has an artificially made consciousness and sense of being.

She was made as a proof of concept for an upgraded form for the Miyazono heirs. A cloned body that can contain more of their all-important memories and last longer than their previous version of manufactured clone bodies.

At first, she contained nothing but absolute obedience to her "father", but after being made to bear Tainted Spirit Curiosity and melding with said Spirit, Yoshino eventually acquired human emotions… and for better or worse, it led her into a rotten form of obsession over the young man who piqued her interest the most.

"Haah… haah… haah… Oh, my dear Rai…"

Soaked in sweat and panting heavily as she bit her lip lightly in the residual ecstasy, Yoshino had one desire in her heart that she wishes to finally fulfill once and for all.

"I'll let you share this joy~! Soon… Soon we will finally be together! I can't wait!"

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

"Vice-Chief…"

"I'm glad to see that you're alright, Goro. Those weren't minor injuries."

"I am a Psychic, sir. This much isn't enough to end me."

After a week of extensive treatment in the clinic of Imamura Akari, Goro was finally released, and he immediately made his way to the office of Ephraim to report that he's ready for duty again.

"Although I like your enthusiasm today, I unfortunately, have to disappoint you this time, Goro."

"S-Sir?"

"There's nothing but patrol duties and the usual Malignance clean-up on our table this week. If you're here for another death-defying mission, I unfortunately have nothing to give you."

"I-I see… I wasn't here for any of those anyway, sir!"

"Hehe. You're a really bad liar, you know? You can't hide the disappointment on your face when I said that there is nothing but regular missions for us. Hotaru-chan was right… you really are a battle nut that needs to be looked after or else, you'll just jump on any danger you see."

"S-S-She really said that!?"

"Nope. That's a lie from me… I am the one who thinks of you that way and unlike you, I can lie with a straight face. See?"

"Uuuh… Darn it, I can't say anything in return."

After messing with him, Ephraim giggled a bit before continuing the conversation.

"I really won't blame you if you want to pass up this week for now. Kanna, Jun and Misaki spent their extra earnings from the successful attack we did last time to go to Kyoto on a week-long vacation while Koji and Hotaru went to Hokkaido to go snow skiing."

"Everyone's having their vacation trips, huh?"

"Yep. There aren't any dangers right now that elicits our involvement, especially with Mana going around and destroying one Miyazono stronghold after another in search of clues about what they are planning right now. I've gotta hand it to her on this one, she really gets things done when it involves them."

Perhaps I really wasn't able to hide my disappointment about hearing that we don't have any work to do, because after chuckling a bit, Vice-chief handed me a folder from his desk drawer.

"In any case, if you really want to slug some skulls and get back to shape after a week in the brig, I do have something that has the possibility of giving you just that."

"This is…"

"It's a personal investigation. Not one sanctioned by the Agency. A little something that Mana handed to me after she discovered it in one of the enemy hideouts that she wrecked."

The folder has all of the official watermarks and follows the document formatting of the Miyazono corporation's Psychic society. I thought it would just be a normal report from the hideout to their headquarters, but Rai-san surprised me after he said something about it.

"Although it looks like a normal correspondence report, it's actually something that the Cryptography and Counter-intelligence department only cracked open last night."

"T-This is a coded letter?!"

"Yeah. A very vicious one at that… Because that letter is a city-wide alert to their hideouts and strongholds that an incoming attack is being cooked up and they should prepare to scurry out of hiding soon to help out."

"W-W-Wait! This sounds serious! Why the hell are the others still on vacation right now?!"

I don't get it. I know that this was only broken last night, and the others have already left Old Tokyo days ago and are in the middle of enjoying their trips, but if called back, they can ride a train and arrive here by noon… and yet, they are not here yet.

"Don't worry too much about that, Goro. We can handle this by ourselves."

"By ourselves?! I know that you and Chief Fujikawa is strong, sir. But even you two can't possibly stop all of this by yourselves!"

"Alright, alright. I should've explained things to you first, Goro. So, calm down and listen to me."

I did as he said and he told me something that now that I think about it, it did make sense for the rest to not be involved for now.

"Depending on how much they have recovered during these past months, the Miyazonos wouldn't dare to let any of their few remaining Gardeners out, nor will they screw up again by making the players of their AR game to attack us. So, we deduced that this attack would be nothing but a wave tactic attack of Seed Psychics and none of it would cause any major damage if it's destroyed before it is ready."

"And if your deduction is wrong?"

"Then we will request the help of the Sumeragi group's top Psychics. It'd be good to have Kamaji-san or Akari-san… but if possible, I want to have Kirin-sensei in the fight."

"Kirin… You mean the clan leader of the Imamura family?!"

"Yep. My mentor and inarguably the strongest Psychic of the Sumeragi group at present."

When he spoke about Imamura Kirin-sama, I sensed that there was a hint of sadness in his voice and the expression on his face changed.

"Is… there something wrong, Vice-chief?"

"Hm? Well… it's hard to explain it properly, but let's just say that I've been down in the dumps about Kirin-sensei ever since the events that happened back then… unlike before when we were like a mother and son, we don't even get to talk at all anymore nowadays."

"…"

"You know… you guys say that I am a pretty tough guy, but when it comes to the people that I cherish, I'm as fragile as thin ice."

I've already known about the closeness between Rai-san and Kirin-sama from what I heard in Kabuki-cho estate during my Psychic training course there, but it never occurred to me that it had this much effect on him.

"I… can't say anything that would comfort you about this using my own experience, Vice-chief. After all, I ran away from my family after I discovered that I have powers and ever since then, your monthly visits to them and the letters that we send to each other are my only connection with them."

"…"

"But I know that the relationship that you have with each other is precious to you if it hurts you this much to not see or even talk to them anymore."

I did say that I cannot give him comforting words… but as someone who cannot face the ones that he loves anymore, I can say these words that would at least, help him come up with an answer to his concerns.

"…Thanks, Goro. You're dismissed for today."

"Yes, sir! Please call me once our operation is greenlit!"

"I will. You can go now."

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

I cannot count how many people I have immediately and have grown to hate throughout my life. It even came to the point where I can classify them according to the grievance that they incurred on me.

What bothers me though, is the fact that I cannot count how many people I hate… but I can only know so few whom I shared good memories with and wish to meet again somehow.

Perhaps it is because this world has become the paradise of the crooked and the hell for the righteous that people have started to call the people that they use to have a temporary escape from the painful truths of reality or to get ahead in life as their friends… rather than the people who are willing to stay beside them and remind them of said painful truths in order to teach them how to become better people.

People will like a liar that tells them sweet lies, rather than someone who tells them nothing but the bitter truth.

This world hates anyone that wouldn't conform to its whims, and it believes that sooner or later, those people would accept the great lie and join the mindless slaves to its hedonistic tenets, unable to resist the loneliness of fighting against it alone.

But… there are those who chose to stand in what they believe to be right. That no matter what happens and how lonely it is to go against the tidal wave of the world's scoffing and discouragement, accepting that lie that they are being offered is a fate much worse than death.

"You told mom once that I will one day have to face this truth myself as a test of my character… that if I somehow fail to resist the pressure and loneliness of staying in the right path, it wouldn't be her fault but instead, yours."

I don't know if he somehow knew that I will end up in this kind of life… but I can confidently say that his concern taught me enough about this world for me to be strong enough to resist its evil ways.

"Talk to me, father… why did we have to take on such a huge responsibility…?"

I will stay on this path because I know that this is the right one for me to take… but I also cannot lie to myself about just how difficult it is for me to stay in this path.

The people that I once cherished and held dear to my heart as friends that I wished to be with and share my victories in life with all died trying to protect me.

The person whose last remaining hope in life that I have promised to preserve had that very hope snuffed by those whose hearts were devoured by greed. In the end, his broken heart made him spread unspeakable terror and death… and when he was caught, he stated that he regretted nothing.

But perhaps, the most painful loss that I had was from a dear friend who just wanted to protect and be with the people that he loves the most… but his very existence was repeatedly denied by this world.

None of them deserved to die such painful and horrific deaths… this world is unfair, but it should've at least given them a tinge of comfort in their last moments.

Instead, it desecrated them until death… and even after they have been buried, they will never rest in peace.

"This world wants to kill me… even right now, it is moving its pawns to make sure that the next time I deny its temptations, I will finally die and not pose a threat to its existence and continued moral degradation of mankind."

I've seen a lot of things when I casted Law's Truth Formula, Infinity Squared, back at that day… things that even Spirit Knowledge are not privy about.

To Lady Cecilia back then, she may have seen it as a blessing. A leverage against anyone who will try to stop us, her descendants, from fulfilling our promise.

But to me, it has become a curse… knowing all of this has become my burden. And I knew that knowing that will affect all of my decisions and actions from here onwards.

"I should end the preparations of our side as well. The time is ripe for the skirmishes to stop and for the true battles to finally come."

"…I'm sorry for cutting your visit to your father's grave too early, Rai-kun. But we should go now."

"Don't feel bad about this, Mana… it is my fault for being so busy that I have to visit my old man's grave too late. In any case, we should go ahead now."

"…"

After we rode my car and I drove towards the highway leading to the eastern side of Ginza, Mana asked me something that I didn't expect to hear from her.

"You sent the six newbies away not because you don't want them to get hurt, but because you don't trust them to make it out of this initial battle, doesn't it?"

"…Yeah. I can't have those six be maimed or die out in this opening hostilities."

"I thought so too…"

"How so?"

"Because you're the kind of guy who picks his fights well… and is cautious when things get out of hand."

"Geez… you sound like you know so much about me."

"That's because I know so much about you already, you softie. Do you think almost two years of knowing each other isn't enough for me to understand you enough to comfort you?"

"Well… Now that you mention that…"

Unlike the cold and unfeeling personality of hers that I grew to be familiar with, Mana touched me on the back of my head just as she used to do back then.

"You've been growing out your hair a bit, huh? Is Yukari-chan still playing with it nowadays?"

"Yeah. Whenever I'm at home, she'll turn it into a bird nest and fall asleep before she gets done with it."

"Hehe! That's so typical of her."

"On the other hand, Rea is taking after her habits and has begun to pull on my face to wake me up."

"What did she do first? Speak or walk?"

"Walk. She's been walking around the house and bumping into things again and again for a while. It came to the point that the maids had to tape foam pads and place rubber mats around her room just so she won't have a bad bump or fall."

"Man, must be a handful to deal with those kids."

"Yeah. Thankfully, I can depend on Mio to handle things while I am away."

"Oh! Speaking of little Mio, can I visit sometime in the future?"

"Mm? Why?"

I already have an inkling about what she intends to talk about with Mio, but as her father, I wanted to get a straight answer from her about this visit that she will make.

"Mmph! Girls only talk! No guys allowed to snoop or ask anything about it."

"You're aware that I'm Mio's guardian, aren't you? If you're going to talk to her about puberty and stuff, feel free to say it. You don't have to be so secretive about it."

"Uwaugh… this guy…"

"What's with that face?"

"I know you're her adoptive dad… but still… it's gross when you say those things…"

"Haah… Mio's a sharp girl and she is receiving the best possible education outside of the reach of the Miyazono academies. She already asked me about what to expect from here on out and I've taught her what I know as a medical person and someone who grew up with women. Anyways, discussing this is a bit uncomfortable, so let's just stop, alright?"

"Sure, sure… I'll still make that visit though. There are things that only girls can pass down to each other after all."

"I wish what you would pass down to my daughter wouldn't be "if someone confesses to you, beat them up and tell them to try again later" or "learn about love from shoujo mangas and romance light novels"."

"H-H-Hey! How did you know about that?!"

Talking like this… it reminds me of the better times when the two of us would patrol the city together and fool around. It's either we're talking about the most useless of things or singing along with the music in the radio.

"…!"

"H-hey! Answer me! Who the hell told you about those things?!"

"…"

"H-Hey, Rai… is something wrong?"

Without answering her, I pressed a button on the neck of my car's steering wheel, and it opened a compartment on the passenger side of the dashboard.

"Take one and follow me."

"I see… Roger that."

She took one handgun and its magazines from the compartment and followed me out of the car which I parked on the side of the road.

"What did you sense?"

"Why are you asking me? Did you not sense that wave of Astra energy passing us after we made that turn around the highway?"

"No… but now that you mention it, the density of Astra energy here is higher than usual."

"Yeah. And that means only one thing."

We walked into a dark alleyway, one of the most common places for Malignances to hang out during the day when our patrols are out and about. It seems like they began to develop some kind of awareness and sense of self-preservation by hiding out of the open like this when they know we're going around the city.

"Well, well… I didn't expect this development."

"Yeah. Me neither."

What we found at the end of the alleyway was a door. And one that is obviously misplaced in a rundown city like Old Tokyo.

"Is this one of those new phenomena that Hotaru and the others have begun to report since then?"

"Yeah. It fits every description that we have so far."

Goro and Jun once got caught in one during a patrol and wasn't able to leave it until the Subspace naturally dissipated.

"This is a Subspace Link… there's no doubt about it."

"Well, should we risk it and get inside?"

"…"

The density of Astra energy right now isn't that much higher than normal. If any normal human gets near this area, they'll just feel a bit dizzy or burdened with something.

But right now, the door is closed and the Astra energy seeping out is just coming from its seams. Who knows how much Astra energy is being held back by this ticking time bomb…

"We should go in and see where this one is linked into."

"Are you serious? Goro and Jun were lucky to just have been trapped last time, what if this one has conditions that would end up harming us?"

"Oho? Am I hearing the hot-headed, punch-before-thinking Fujikawa Mana concerned about what would happen inside of that place?"

"W-Wha-?! You better watch your words, Rai! Are you telling me that I am scared!?"

"Are you?"

"HELL NO! You think I'm some kind of coward to back down in here!?"

Simple. How utterly simple.

She might've attained greater power and a sharper mind and sense these past few months, but I see that my intuition is right… Mana is still Mana.

"Well then, follow me. We're going into this door and breaking it from the inside."

"Hah! You better do your best or I'll make you eat your words. Rai!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

As we touched the door and injected our Astral forms into it, we knew nothing about how this action that we two thought to be nothing more but a routine patrol measure ended up blunting the entire preemptive strike of the Miyazonos.