"It's a warm, cloudy, day today, 77 degrees, and will continue to be so till about midnight tonight. We have still received no word from The Divisional Geological Survey about the issue regarding the North District earthquake. The busses arrived late afternoon at The Grand Hall yesterday but we were not permitted to film.
Protests continue to overrun not only the Capital today, but several other government facilities around the city. Tension is getting high as refugees continue to immigrate further inland, most of which seeking refuge in the northern side of the South District as a result of the continuous threat of terrorism. We're nearing a month away from the five year anniversary of the first attack in the Northern District. We must not forget the horrifying events that those citizens had to go through. Let us pray that no such event will happen again, but if the protestors had anything to say, its that this is not the end of Division-A's carnage."
Sakagami slammed her hands onto the surface of Hetsu Koboshi's desk. Her pink eyes locked on Hetsu as she paced around her office. Akino stood next to the massive exit doors beside Hideyo, chuckling awkwardly as Sakagami ranted. Hideyo, uninterested in the argument, polished her sword with a rag as she stood guard.
"You can't justify dragging innocent children into legal matters without their consent, especially if the chance of him dying to surviving is four to five!" Sakagami was leaned over the leader's desk, shouting at the woman.
"He did consent," Hetsu informed, strolling casually around her desk. "I have the recording, do you wish to hear it?"
Betrayal spread across Sakagami's face as she shot a glare behind her to her son. "No, I don't," she resumed. "Even so, do you feel like a good leader sending children to war?!"
Hetsu stopped, cupping her hands across her even, knee length back skirt. "Ms. Sakagami, you must understand that the technology we have available has limits. The core, the children's armor- if you will, only functions within its limits; that being its expiration date directly correlating with the host's age, health, and physical condition."
Sakagami clenched her teeth, frustrated. "Then develop better technology! My son-"
"We are currently testing a new model of the core, Ms. Sakagami, and if successful, it should be implemented within the next two to three weeks. I assure you that our system is safe and offers a future of purpose and life for so many young girls who otherwise would have nothing. In most, no, all cases of Omegas thus far, none of them have had a home to go back to. Whether it was destroyed, or they arrived to this city with no home or family at all, we always took them in and gave them a life to live. The only condition they have is to protect this city so no other people find themselves in the same situation. Our Omegas are more than happy to be what they are, I promise you that."
The blonde shook her head, ignoring the explanation the elder was providing. "That isn't what I'm talking about! My son, Akino, isn't a young girl without a home or a family! He has that, he actually has things to lose! I, I have things to lose: my son! For god's sake, I'm lucky he even survived that massacre at school! How could you even let that happen at all?! Now he's even sneaking into war sites! I'm asking you, please do more to prevent Akino from meddling too far into things he shouldn't!"
Akino leaned against the door, crossing his arms as he listened to that phrase one too many times.
Hetsu paced around her desk and beside Sakagami, making eye contact with her. "I think you're underestimating your son, Ms. Sakagami. He didn't survive that attack by mere coincidence, he survived because of his own will; a will that also saved several others. Akino is unique, he's nothing any of my scientists, engineers, doctors, nor I have ever seen before. He has an Omega core, Omega blood running through him. Being a male, this is unprecedented. He has more than enough ability to work along side us, you have nothing to worry."
"Impossible," Sakagami hissed, rejecting her claim. "You're just filling his mind with toxins so you can use an able bodied man to do your bidding."
Hetsu half lidded her eyes and straightened her mouth in content. "Even if I was, Akino has motivations of his own." She tilted her head to Akino. "Am I right? He has dreams, if I recall, that push him to join us all on his own."
Akino focused on the carpet. "I had another one the night before…," he mumbled, trying to provide room for a discussion about his most recent, completed dream.
Sakagami spun her head back and forth to Hetsu and Akino. She stood up, shaking her head in denial as she backed away from her. "Dreams? You're absolutely insane, a pathetic excuse for a ruler." The mother turned away and grabbed her sons hand. "Come on, Akino, we're leaving."
Sakagami pushed open the doors, startling Hideyo. Akino struggled to pull away from her grasp as she continued down the hall. "S-Sakagami! What are you d-"
"I will not allow you to ever meet with her or any Omega again," she demanded, certainty in her voice.
"Wah?! Sakagami!" Akino yelled.
"Imouto Sakagami," Hetsu named, forcing the mother to a pause. "I did not give you permission to leave."
Sakagami turned her head, still firmly grasping Akino's wrist as she stood in the doorway, dumbfounded. Hideyo approached them and tugged at Sakagami's white shirt, directing her back into the office before closing the doors behind them.
"If you insist on raising your voice to me in my office, then I will treat you with the same amount of respect, Ms. Sakagami." Hetsu pulled out her black cushioned chair and sat down. "You're lucky, I will admit."
"How so?" Sakagami replied cautiously.
Hetsu leaned over, resting her elbows on the desk as she held her head up with the backs of her hands. "Any mistake your son could have made before we formed an alliance could have sent him to the grave by the means of a Compactor, Omega, or even my own… if we saw fit," she threatened.
Sakagami yanked her hand from Akino and clenched her fists, using all her strength not to fire back.
"Your son is lucky that we play on the same side of the field. However, you aren't designated to any team, which means I can treat you according to my own discretion."
Akino suddenly felt antsy, realizing the conversation was leading nowhere good. "Hetsu…," he mumbled under his breath.
Sakagami raised her eyebrow antagonistically. "Are you saying you're going to kill me?"
"Don't be ridiculous," she consoled. "…but, you are starting to get in our way," Hetsu continued, entertaining Sakagami's gruesome suspicions. "To be frank, Akino doesn't need you anymore."
The boy's mouth dropped. "Hey! What are you saying?!"
Tapping her finger on the wood of her desk, Hetsu elaborated. "If anything were to happen to you, Akino would be covered. We provide housing, food. We'll treat him as if he were an Omega, as if we were his parents, the girls… his family. From what I understand, that is already an improvement considering that you are a single mother with Akino being an only child. Nonetheless, you are essential for his emotional and mental stability, so getting rid of you would not be in either of our best interests."
Revolted, Sakagami responded. "Then let us leave."
"If Akino was just a normal citizen, and you were just a normal mother, things would be a lot more straight forward. For example, if Akino, a normal boy, stumbled across a Compactor and an Omega, he would be dead. It's as easy as that. If you interfered, you would be dead. Nobody would know, all of Akino's classmates would be silenced or erased of memories of him if they refused to cooperate. It is that simple."
Akino gulped, the surreal reality settling in.
"You aren't supposed to know about Omegas or Compactors, Ms. Sakagami. You are lucky as well; lucky that you are important. No human besides myself, Hideyo, and select government officials know about their existence. If word got out, if somebody out of our immediate circle were to be aware of those creatures, civil unrest and wide-spread panic would overwhelm our city like wild fire. It is a miracle that we were able to convince the people that the Compactors were simple terrorists, but in reality, they're much worse than that."
Akino glanced in Sakagami's direction, noticing her intense intrigue.
Hetsu went on. "Division-A has never bared witness to the rabid, wild nature Compactor's are able to unleash. For as little as we know about them, we know that they function at a similar level to our Omegas. That means that they are incredibly, devastatingly powerful. The closest humanity has ever been to experiencing the true nature of a Compactor's rage was in July 10th, 2118, when they attacked the entirety of the North District. Akino saw the destruction they caused when he followed us there yesterday, right?"
He nodded, reflecting on the environment he so eagerly went into.
"Point being, I don't have time for petty arguing. The survival of humankind is in my hands, and you will not distract me any further with your disrespect," the Royal Ambassador concluded.
Sakagami, embarrassed and offended, grabbed Akino's wrist once more and pulled him back to the door. "My bad, my dear Royal Ambassador. Please, excuse us," she said bitterly, pushing the doors back open and exiting the office.
The doors closed behind them, leaving Hideyo and Hetsu in the room alone. The white haired woman, hunched over her desk, ran her hands over her face, exhausted and groaning. Hideyo finished polishing her weapon and slid it back into its sheath.
"Master, you've been growing bitter lately," the young girl stated.
"I'm aware," she replied, her words muffled by her hands.
"Maybe you should take a rest. I can ask for a private room in a luxury hotel if that's what you want," Hideyo offered.
Hetsu shook her head, exposing her bare face as she leaned into her chair. "That isn't it. I feel like… something terrible is approaching."
Akino's bedroom door slid open. The mother, with her hand wrapped firmly around her son's wrist, flung him into his room as he protested. He stumbled into his bed, shouting with vexation. Sakagami narrowed her eyes, glaring at him distastefully before slamming his door shut, the wood bouncing back off the wall, the cranny allowing him to peak at her strutting away before slamming it back shut.
He huffed, carefully stomping his way back to his bed. Annoyance bubbled inside him- yet another person he was lead to believe would defend him is preventing him from his goal. He firmly planted his bottom into the mattress while it squeaked. Akino bent over and retrieved his journal. Changing positions to lay across his bed, Akino lifted the book over his face and flipped through the pages. Whilst searching for a page to document his recent dream in, he came across an alarming passage.
'I know too' was written in pen on the second to last page. His breath escaped him, immediately unable to recognize the handwriting as his own. The 'o's were connected like cursive and the 'i' was curved, something that he was not known to do.
Akino flipped through the pages again in search for any other writing, but nothing turned up. He sighed, quickly returning back to the page. He stared at it, disbelief in his eyes. "What the hell does that mean?" He squinted, trying to understand. "Know what?" He sat up, holding the book in his hand as a realization passed over him. "Did someone… is somebody else having dreams like me?" He shook his head, ridding himself of his thoughts. "That's impossible! They'd have to find my house, dig through my room, and take the time to write that… Is it possible that I did it?"
Akino sat up and walked to his nightstand, picking up a bottle of pills. He turned it in his palm, staring at his reflection in the orange plastic. "No, it's not even my handwriting." He lowered the pill bottle and looked off into space. "Then how did this get here…"
Suddenly, Akino's phone began ringing. He reached for his phone, noticing Miki's pending call. He answered it, putting the phone to his ear with a smile, trying to ignore the series of events that just unfolded. "Hey."
"Hey," Miki responded. "I wanted to apologize for being so harsh last weekend."
Akino laughed, running his hand through his hair. "No, it's fine. What have you been up to?"
"O-oh uhm," Miki stuttered, not prepared for the sudden change of conversation. "Nothing, just having dinner with Yukino at my house."
Laughing again, Akino reached a conclusion. "Let me guess, Yukino told you to call me and apologize?"
"Ah, yeah… she wouldn't stop pestering me about it."
"Have you heard anything about school?"
Miki paused, waiting for Yukino to finish talking before she grabbed the phone herself. "Hey, Akino. School's going to be closed for the rest of school year until repairs and re-staffing is done."
"Oh, alright. I haven't went by to see but I kind of didn't want to go back, being reminded of then wasn't really in my bucket list. But hey, Fuji High students get a longer summer break, I suppose!"
"Yeah," she responded. "I guess, but that puts a lot of strain on my family. They relied on the school to feed me lunch, after all."
Akino's smile disappeared. "True. Anyway, tell Miki thanks for calling me, it was nice talking to you, too. We should make another plan to hang out again."
Yukino giggled. "You're absolutely right. See you later, Aki-kun,' she finished, paying homage to his foolish nickname Matoi labeled him with from time to time.
"Haha, bye."
Two Days Later…
Akino, with a rag wrapped around his fist, scrubbed the dishes in the sink as he studied his front yard through the window in front of him. Sakagami sat at the table behind him, her hand cradling her aching head as she read through her checkbook. Suddenly, harsh knocking echoed from the front door beside the sink. Akino looked behind him to Sakagami who appeared in no rush to open the door. He dried off his wet hands and walked to the door, opening it without a word.
Standing in front of him was two, tall men, presumably middle-aged. They both wore heavy coats, one wearing sunglasses and the other wearing a black fedora. Akino smirked slightly at the sight of such cartoonish men before greeting them.
The man on the left with the fedora, a few steps behind the man on the right, spoke back with a deep, scratchy voice. "Akino Sakagami, we're from the South District Police Department of behalf of the Grand Hall. Will you come with us?"
Akino looked back behind him, worried. Sakagami, with her attention caught, stared back at the looming figures in the doorway in suspense. Akino gulped, swallowing his concern as he stepped into his yard, closing the door behind him as he followed the men into their car.