XCEL

“You were attacked?!”

Tegata Kage stood against the back wall of the hovel, arms folded.

Kinuka nodded. She sat opposite on one of the canvas beds, cross-legged, staring down into her lap. She wore a different outfit now: a long black woollen coat over a tall-necked fleece to offset the biting cold. It still wasn’t enough. Even with the single window closed, a cruel draft whistled through the gaps in the walls.

She wasn’t the only one that was cold. Tegata suppressed a shiver of his own—his thin suit offering very little insulation. “Are you alright?” He continued, worry etched into his face like the long scar under one eye. “Who attacked you?”

“I— We’re fine,” Kinuka said. She looked at Rin and he nodded, still nursing his head. “I don’t know who exactly, but it was definitely JPRO.”

“What did they look like?”

“She was around our age; same height as me, black hair. She had these cold, dead-looking eyes, and the way she spoke it…” She paused, mulling over her thoughts. “It didn’t sound like it was truly her.” She sighed. “I’m probably not making any sense here…”

Tegata made a discomforted noise, nestling his chin in the crook of his palm.

“Something wrong?” Kinuka looked up at him.

It was a few seconds before Tegata’s eyes snapped back into focus. “Oh, no— nothing. Carry on. What happened? Do you remember their specialty?”

“Her specialty… It was…” Kinuka winced, clutching at her head. Tegata looked alarmed.

“I’m alright,” she said. “It’s just a headache. I’m probably dehydrated, or something. I can’t tell you much from that point on. From the moment she attacked us, my memory’s still fuzzy. Whenever I try and think back, there’s this loud static that plays in my head. Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. Whatever you went through clearly put your head in a spin.” Tegata then looked to Rin. “Anything on your end?”

“Nope.” Rin had been the first to arrive, and had remained uncharacteristically quiet since. “Girl shot me in the head from a rooftop nearby. By the time I came to, I tracked her signature back to that point. Kinuka beat me to it though,” he tutted.

Tegata’s eyes widened. “Incredible— The only thing that could’ve protected you there would have been some psychic barrier. You must’ve figured out how to make one, no?”

Rin shook his head. “Must’ve done; I don’t remember doing that, though.”

“Strange.”

“Tell me about it,” Rin said. “I was almost eaten by a bird, too.”

He pulled back his shirt to reveal the bloodied marks of where the heron had sunk its teeth into his midsection. Fortunately, the wounds hadn’t been deep. They still hurt, though.

Tegata didn’t seem fazed by that, and sighed into his hands. “I’m just glad you’re both okay.”

“How about you?” Kinuka asked, sitting up. “You said you needed to go somewhere as well.”

Tegata nodded. “I went to scope out the facility. Managed to make it in and out undetected, and I managed to steal some plans from an abandoned engineering sect.” He reached into his jacket pocket and drew out a few rolls of blue paper. He tossed them to Rin.

“How do you know you weren’t followed?” Kinuka asked.

“I was followed for a time; once I found out, the man didn’t last very long.”

Kinuka had the sudden and frightening image of one of Tegata’s shadow dogs mauling a faceless JPRO enforcer to death like it had done to that reject. She shuddered, very glad he was on their side.

“Where is this facility?”

Tegata chewed his lip for a second. “Can’t really give you a straight answer to that without showing you first. It’s… strange.”

“That just about sums up everything I’ve experienced over the past few days,” Kinuka noted. “That and ‘absolutely terrifying.’”

Tegata laughed. “Don’t worry. You’ll find out soon.”

Kinuka then felt like something was missing. She looked over at Rin, and found the boy staring far into the middle distance. Eyes unfocused, he sat slumped against the sloping wall like an invertebrate, thick eyebrows furrowed for some reason or another.

“Rin!” On the third try, Kinuka was able to snap him out of his reverie.

“What?”

“Is your head… Are you alright?”

Both she and Tegata were staring at him. Rin pulled his hood over his head and yanked on the drawstrings. “I’m fine.”

He snatched up the blueprints that lay on his lap and pretended to study them until the other two left him alone. It was very much pretend; he couldn’t focus on them, not after what he’d just experienced.

* * *

Ibuse’s directions had been correct. There hadn’t been any armed guards the way Rin left through the back of his house. The web of narrow alleys that lined the back of the residences led him back up to the rooftop where he and Kinuka had parted ways. A staircase courtesy of Framework made short work of the climb. Kinuka was nowhere to be found. Circumstance meant he couldn’t exactly call for her, but he felt a faint resonance of her psychic signature nearby. She had obviously left by herself. Well, whatever—he thought—if she wanted to ignore his invaluable assistance and go about it solo, that was her loss. It wasn’t impossible that, in the time he’d met Ibuse, she’d already finished her infiltration and was now on her way back. He couldn’t let her win. There wasn’t much time to waste. By channelling psychic energy into his legs, he took off at a run.

He returned the way they came. Paranoid of being taken by surprise again, Rin stuck exclusively to the rooftops. To save him the bother of manually designing it each time, he’d memorised a template bridge using Framework that he used to traverse a couple of the larger gaps between buildings. His journey went by without much incident. The lack of exclamation from the streets below told him he’d managed to escape public view. By the time he climbed back in through the window of Tegata’s hovel, he felt weary. He’d used up a lot of psychic energy.

What he didn’t expect when he arrived, however, was the distinct absence of either party. He was certain that Kinuka at least, swinging through the city using her elasticised arms like spider-girl, would’ve beaten him to the chase.

Another thing he didn’t expect was the sudden click of a pistol hammer behind his head, and the cold metal of the gun barrel nestling itself into the nape of his neck.

“Hands up where I can see ‘em, kid,” rasped a deep and unfortunately familiar voice. “Nice and slow.”

Rin inhaled sharply and instantly regretted it, choking half to death on the pungent cloud of cigarette smoke that hung around the man standing behind him. From where the cold end of the barrel touched his skin, a chill shot down his spine. With no other option, Rin raised his hands.

“That’s it,” the man said. “Not so bad doing what you’re told every once in a while, no?”

Rin didn’t grace him with a response.

“Nothing funny to say, kid?” Hideyori Hakana pressed the barrel deeper into Rin’s neck, and the boy stiffened. “That’s a shame; thought you had some lip to you.”

“What do you want?”

Rin could almost hear his grin.

“You know what I want.”

Rin looked down, and saw the man’s hand by his side. It beckoned, taunting him.

“I’m not giving you the blade.”

The hand withdrew.

“No? Not even after my generous offer earlier?” Hideyori almost sounded offended. “I thought we had a deal, you and I.”

“I don’t make deals with the devil.”

Hideyori oohed and followed with a hiss, like a candle being extinguished.

“Ouch, kid. That really hurt.” The sarcasm dripped off the man’s tongue like acid.

Good, Rin thought, and bit his tongue.

“No deals with the devil, eh?” Hideyori continued. “Man, you’re naïve. What about that voice in your head? Surely you don’t think it’s out to help you?” The man chuckled underneath his breath, and continued. “I’m just trying to get what’s best for the both of us here. Surely you care about the life of your father, no?”

No response.

“Oh. That’s a shame. Guess our deal’s off, then. I’ll go ahead and phone HQ, tell ‘em to pull the trigger. I’ll send him your best regards.”

The pressure on the back of Rin’s neck lessened. “Wait—”

A moment’s pause.

“I’m listening.”

“Why do you—JPRO—want the blade to begin with?”

Hideyori chuckled again. “What I want and what the organisation wants aren’t necessarily one and the same. That, you’ll find, goes for every executive of any company out there—not that you’d know. I like your style, though. Never miss an opportunity to get information, do you? Tell you what, big shot, I’ll let you in on a little secret. This just stays between you and I, alright?”

Rin nodded. The muscles in his shoulders were beginning to ache, his palms clammy. He then felt the unpleasant creep of Hideyori’s breath on the back of his neck, as the man leaned in and began to whisper.

“In case it wasn’t clear already, we know where you’re hiding. We’ve known all along. I thought I’d be nice, give you a little time since our last meeting for you to consider my offer. Generous of me, no?” The gun barrel pressed Rin’s head forwards. “I thought as much. Guess what? Time’s up, kid. It’s a yes, or a no. What’s your call?”

The breathing on his neck stopped, and the man drew away.

A second or two passed.

“No answer? Shame.”

Hideyori pulled the trigger.

The gun clicked empty.

“Just kidding.” The man laughed, lifted the gun and reloaded the chamber with an actual round. Before Rin could process what had happened, the barrel had returned to nestle at the back of his head.

“I’ll tell you what, kid,” Hideyori said. “You’ve got nerves of steel. I can respect that.”

Rin’s eyes were wide, locked and staring. He was barely even breathing. Everything had frozen: every muscle, every cell.

“So,” the man continued. “How about I throw in a little bonus? I have friends in high places. How’s about we get that arrest warrant of yours dropped, hm?”

“So, it was you interfering with the police.” Rin managed at last to find his voice. A small, hushed voice, but a voice nonetheless.

“Well, duh.” Hideyori tapped the back of Rin’s head with the live weapon. Rin flinched. “All we had to do is pull a few strings, and the police force practically do our job for us. If you give me the blade, I can give those strings another little tug, and you’ll be a free man. A free man with a father alive and well, no less.”

“And if I don’t?”

Hideyori’s voice lost its mirth. “Are you sure you’re in the position to be asking that? Tell me, can you feel the signatures of your little friends?”

Rin listened, desperate for even the slightest familiar ripple. Nothing.

“Wonder why they haven’t come back to the nest yet?”

Rin began to tremble.

“See what I’m getting at?” Hideyori said. “The boss will decide what happens to them regardless, it’s out of my hands right now. If you give the blade to me, though, I could make some arrangements.”

“Earlier,” Rin said at last, “you said your motivations were different from JPRO’s.”

The pressure on the back of his neck softened.

“Well remembered.”

“I know your boss needs both halves of the blade,” Rin continued, blood pounding in his throat. “But do you need them as well?”

Hideyori hesitated.

“Sounds to me like negotiation.” He smiled. “Good. We’re getting somewhere. I thought you said you wouldn’t make a deal with the devil.”

“Circumstance changes things.”

“What’s your proposition?”

“I’ll give you the completed blade.”

“Both halves?”

Rin nodded.

“And in return, you’ll give me my father back. Him, and get my warrant dropped.”

“What about your friends?” Hideyori asked. “Don’t you want to spare their lives too?”

Rin grit his teeth. “You said that was out of your hands.”

Hideyori only laughed. “You’ve got yourself a deal,” he said, lifting the gun from Rin’s neck and unloading it. “Give me one of your hands, kid.”

Rin flattened one hand. He felt something smooth and solid drop into his palm.

“Relax, kid, I’m not going to shoot you. You can lower your arms now.”

Rin did so. He gazed down at the glass marble in one hand, then turned to face Hideyori.

“What’s this?”

The man grinned. “A keepsake, think of it as a symbol of our deal. Take good care of it, now.” He folded Rin’s fingers into a fist. “When the time comes for you to fulfil your end of the bargain, I’ll know. That clear?”

Rin nodded. He couldn’t feel his legs anymore.

“You made a smart choice today, kid.” Hideyori patted him on the shoulder. “I may be a devil, but I keep my word. I’ll see you around.”

There was a rush of movement, as though the man was suddenly swallowed up into something very small, and Hideyori Hakana disappeared. Faced with nothing but himself, an empty room, and his own guilty conscience, Rin stumbled backwards until his calves hit the canvas bed. Onto it, he collapsed, and there, he lay.

* * *

Hiding his hand behind the blueprints, Rin gazed into the orb in his palm. The way the light bent around the glass surface was mesmerising, the weak yellow glow of the solitary bulb overhead splitting into a myriad rainbow on his hand. Inside the marble was a different scene. It glowed softly white, painting a pale shadow onto his hand. At the centre, there was a dark point, one that seemed to stretch down forever. It gave Rin an illusion of depth, as though one misstep could send him hurtling over the edge and down into the infinite darkness.

He cast a cursory glance at Tegata and Kinuka. Their discussion had grown a little more animated since he’d zoned out, and Rin couldn’t bring himself to listen.

Had he just gambled their lives away? Hakana never promised their safety. Rin felt his stomach sink. He’d left them in danger to save his own skin. Not only that, his promise was virtually empty. Rin had no idea on how he was going to take the other half of the ascension blade. Then again, the way Hideyori reacted to his deal made Rin suspect the man already knew that. So why, was his question: why accept the deal, rather than just putting a bullet in his skull?

The lustre of the orb drew his gaze back down, as though it had its own well of gravity. What was it about this orb? Tegata said it was related to Hakana’s specialty. He could sense a faint thrum of psychic energy from it now, but nothing more. How the man had managed to get in here and disappear just like that, Rin was stumped. The same chill as before echoed down his back, and he shivered.

“And then,” Tegata said, “we’ll take this corridor down to the central chamber where we can safely cross over to the holding cells and—”

“No!” Rin cried. He leapt forward, slammed his hand onto the table the other two sat around and pointed at what he thought was a glaringly obvious structural flaw. “Do you want to get us killed?”

He dragged his finger back to their planned entrance point. “We’ll take this route,” he said, tracing a path adjacent to the one Tegata had outlined, “as there’s a crucial topological blindspot where their security cameras are bound to intercept. We’ll use that as a point to cut across here with my Framework,” his finger traversed several walls, “and tunnel into this access hatch here. Clear?”

Tegata looked amused. “So, you were listening.”

Kinuka stifled a laugh.

Rin glared at him. “Did you say that on purpose just to get a reaction out of me?”

“You weren’t responding when I called.”

“That’s because I was busy studying the damn maps you’ve given me!” Rin cried. “Anyway. Whoever designed this place must have fewer brain cells than I have consistent hours of sleep.” He took a pen from his pocket and started drawing angry circles around various areas. “Look at these! You’d think they had hired a child to design that.”

“Maybe they should’ve had you design it instead, Rin,” Kinuka commented, playing with a cat’s cradle she’d made from a corner of the wooden table.

“Probably!” Rin was still too busy being outraged at the facility’s blueprints to really pay attention. “If JPRO’s management is as poor as their design principles, I’ll have the entire organisation dismantled in a day.”

“There’s that confidence again.” Tegata shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

“Confidence?” Kinuka shook her head. “Arrogance, more like. Definitely too much ego muddying the waters.”

“Finished ridiculing me yet?” Rin glowered. Flattening both blueprints, he trapped them in a frame and tucked them in his folder for safekeeping.

“Maybe.” Kinuka grinned. “It’s funny sometimes.”

“Rin’s right, though.” Tegata got to his feet. “We should make a move. The sooner the better, really.”

The other two nodded and followed suit.

“Wait,” said Kinuka, just as Rin was about to put himself through the window. “Come here a second, both of you.”

“What now?” Rin rolled his eyes at her.

“I’ve been thinking about earlier,” she explained, “about the specialty of that JPRO girl. Her power produced a powerful interference that stunned my third eye; that explains the static and the headaches. We constantly give off psychic energy, right?”

Tegata nodded.

“Then, give me your jackets, both of you,” she said. “I’ll only be a moment.”

Sharing a look, the boys did as they were told: Tegata, his suit jacket; Rin, the blazer of his gakuran. Taking a roll of shiny looking metal wire from where she’d been sitting, Kinuka then set to work. She dragged her hand across the fabric and unravelled it into a cloud of threads that levitated into the air. She did the same to the metal. Her third eye glowed, and psychic energy pulsed in the space around her. Kinuka’s hands moved quickly, recompiling all the threads back into garments that, at first, seemed almost exactly the same, albeit with a few of her own personal touches.

“There.” She panted, and paused to catch her breath. “It’s not perfect, but it’ll do.” She handed them both back their coats.

“That… really was quick,” said Rin wide-eyed, taking his and slinging it back over his shoulders.

The jacket felt different somehow. Maybe it was the extra detailed finish on the cuffs and neck? Or maybe it was the silver stitching that wove its way up and down the back. He looked over at Tegata, who seemed to be having largely the same reaction.

“What did you do?” He asked.

“Divine Garment Weaving,” she said. “I did it to this coat as well.” She pointed to her own. “On my way back, I took apart some excess steel I found lying around, and wove it into the fabric of the clothing itself. Both of those were synthetic wool blends, polyethylene-based; fairly cheap, fairly strong. Taking that and the strength of the steel, I incorporated both into a Herringbone weave. It’s not kevlar, but it should help protect you a little better…”

There was silence for a few more seconds, as Kinuka realised for how long she’d been ranting. Her face went red.

“Sorry, I—” She turned away. “I was just trying to help, and, uh, I’ve got a lot of practice making textiles and everything, so—”

“Incredible.” Rin blinked a couple of times, then grinned. “I… don’t have anything to say. Well done, Kinuka. Really, well done.”

The girl looked stunned.

“You’ve even imbued your own energy into this, as well.” Tegata added, looking proud. He examined the sleeves at length. “I can feel the jacket influencing my psychic signature. This is to help better camouflage us against JPRO’s perception during infiltration, I take it?”

She nodded. “I tried to emulate the jamming effect that girl’s specialty had on my third eye with this weave.” She beamed. “I’m… so glad you like it.”

“I’d have never thought of that,” Rin admitted, admiring his new jacket. “This had better keep us safe. I’d almost feel bad getting something like this torn now.”

Kinuka giggled. “Shall we go?”

Rin nodded. “Let’s take the fight to them.”