In the middle of a vast, grassy valley was a large, announced compound surrounded by a tall barbed-wire fence. As the night wind whistled off the building, silence enveloped the unwelcoming site. The only sign of life was the faint glow of light that emitted from the building's few windows.
Panning to one of the hilly peaks surrounding the area revealed a tall man covered with a dark, oversized, hooded cape. As he and his only companion, who was also hooded, observed the fort below, the cold breeze began to increase its force, which caught and forced up his blanket-like cloth.
Once the current calmed its rage, the leader of the duo lowered his hood and turned to his compatriot. His attention-grabbing blonde hair complimented his shining blue eyes in rivaling the gleam of the majestic moon.
"Kenshi, my loyal knight. Are you ready to execute the mission?"
Kenshi lowered her hood to reveal her neck-length fire-red hair and her solid-black eyes. After briefly locking eyes with her leader, She lowered herself on one knee and bowed her head.
"Otoko-sensei, I am fully prepared to assist you in accomplishing your most important goal. The fate of our organization rests within the result of tonight's mission, so I will do my utmost to see this mission to its completion, even if it costs me my life."
Otoko smiled and placed his hand on Kenshi's head, as if he was an appreciative father.
"You have my gratitude for your unwavering commitment, Kenshi. Rest assured, though, that I will not allow my most loyal knight to give up her life. I would be a complete failure if I did."
"Sensei, you don't have to-"
"Hush now, my knight. You don't have to say any more. I understand. You shall rise yourself, and we will proceed with the plan."
As Kenshi brought herself back to a standing position, Otoko returned his attention to the ominous complex. A smile appeared on his pale white face.
"Our mission begins now. I will once and for all claim the Mana Orb."
*
Yarinaoshi: The Strongest Man
V: Ominous Complex
*
My mind was simultaneously swimming with unease and excitement as I knocked on the door to Icchan's house.
As I waited for the door to open, I thought about how I should present myself. I wasn't really getting anywhere with organizing my thoughts, but I at least settled on one thing: I'm not going to mention the incident from that morning. After all, Icchan's family will be home.
Ideally, Icchan herself would answer the door, but at the very least, I'm desperately hoping that it isn't her dad.
Footsteps could be heard from inside the house. Then they got louder. And louder. And louder.
Oh, god. Here it comes. The moment I've been preparing for.
The door starts to creak open. I gulped and held my breath. Even though this is her door, I'm hoping that I'm not at the wrong house. I don't want some drunk guy in a beater chasing me around with a bat.
The door finally opens, and I was face-to-face with a woman with hazel eyes and black hair.
But it wasn't Icchan. It was her mother.
"Oh, hello, Tomodachi-san! How's your night been? I hope I'm not waking you up, even though it's obviously late."
"Oro-kun! I wasn't expecting you to show up here tonight."
"Hah, what can I say, I'm just spontaneous like that!"
Tomodachi-san met my eyes with a look of confusion.
"Hmm, something's not right… Did you forgot to put on your glasses?"
I moved my hand up to my face and realized that the glasses I always wore during my day life were not where they should be.
"Oh, uh, I guess I just… Uh, dropped them somewhere. Anyways, is Icchan here? I wanted to talk with her about that accidental kiss that I told myself in my mind I shouldn't mention. Is she here?"
As Tomodachi-san's eyes widened with shock, I began to realize just how truly stupid my mouth could be.
"Wait… You… You two…"
"Uh, did I say kiss?! Well, I mean… m-miss! I accidentally missed her at the door! I overslept last night…"
The mother of Icchan placed her hands on her hips as her shock converted itself into excitement. Her widening grin caused me to realize just how much she resembled Icchan.
"It's too late now, Oro-kun. Thanks to your natural inability to keep your mouth shut at important times, everything that happened today is starting to make a lot more sense."
I gave myself a slow rub on the back of my head as the embarrassment that escaped from me was absorbed by the expanding cloud of exhilaration produced by Tomodachi-san.
"Now, you say it was accidental, but I won't buy it. So, Oro-kun, have you made it official yet?"
Exasperation appeared above my head as I answered her question.
"Uh, no, I wasn't planning on asking her out. I never even really talked to her after that incident. She just kinda left."
"Oh, Oro-kun, it may seem like she doesn't want anything to do with you right now, but I'm pretty sure she's actually waiting for you to sweep her off her feet."
"Um, OK. Maybe I would do that if I can talk to her. Is Icchan here?"
"The answer to your question is no."
Eh?
"Sorry to waste your journey to the house, but she went out with her father. Apparently, tonight it 'Take Your Daughter to Work Day'."
I took a moment to think before I spoke again. 'Take Your Daughter to Work Day', huh… In that case…
"Oh, that's too bad… I guess I'll come back tomorrow then."
"You should come for dinner! I'll be sure to make enough for you, too!"
"That sounds great. Uh, thanks for speaking with me, Tomodachi-san. Have a good night."
"You too, Oro-kun!"
After the door closed and I dropped myself back from the porch, I immediately began to lay out my plan for the night. I hadn't received any tips, so I didn't have any plans to do my usual hero work. But, it just so happens that I'm aware of where Icchan's dad works. This could get really awkward, so I'll have to catch Icchan at a moment when she's separated from her father.
Yes, I have a plan now. I'm going to meet Icchan tonight. I'm going to the Base.
*
The large, metal door opened to reveal a long, wide hallway with a tall ceiling consisting of primarily glass. Engineers, scientists, and military personnel scurried throughout the tube, with almost everyone seeming to move with a purpose to their next locations. The flows of people were intermittently interrupted by a variety of seat types and the occasional concession stand.
The sight of the city hidden within the walls had mesmerized Ichi, who stood gawking with her eyes shrunken into black dots. She was then interrupted when someone placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Welcome to the Base, Ichi. Let's head towards my office, alright?"
Ichi nodded in agreement as she strolled with her father directly into the traffic.
"This place is actually a pretty big deal, isn't it, To-san?"
She glanced at her old man as he quickly grabbed a sip of coffee from his tumbler.
"Yeah, we are a pretty big deal here. A lot of new technologies are researched here using government funding. And with the government involved, a lot of the technology pertains to weapons."
"Oh, that makes sense. Wait… that sounds a lot like-"
"Area 51? The Base is like a version of Area 51 that doesn't have security that's nearly as strict. Since the projects we undertake here aren't considered top-secret, we don't need to act like we don't exist."
"But now you're directly admitting that they exist, To-san."
"Oh, did I? Ha! Well, it's the least well-kept secret on the planet, anyways… My office isn't too much further down. After we stop by there for a moment, I'll take you on a tour of the areas I'm allowed to show you."
"Sounds good," said Ichi as her eyes danced around the area like a squirrel looking for a tree to run to. She observed as various people entered into heated exchanges with others around them and on their phones. She also noticed a select few who had their noses in their tablets, which led to them running into, and tripping over, various objects.
Even though she appeared to be distracted by the controlled circus that was occuring around her, her thoughts were drifting towards Orokana.
'Dumbass, I want to do something like this with you…'
As the parent-and-child duo continued to make their way towards their destination, the scene widened out to reveal two figures in lab coats. They were standing nearly as still as mannequins as the crowd split their way around.
As he stood next to red-headed female companion, the apparent scientist with blonde hair locked onto his target with his shining blue eyes.