The next day.
Niigata Koizuki—or by his first name, Koizuki, got up from the hovering bunk bed. A visor dissolved into pure data as neon lines on his clothing absorbed them, replacing the blank room with eggplant purple light.
He looked through the window at the real, worn down yet distinctly futuristic world with his empty white irises as he stood up. As he sent a thought to his SAD, the Virtual Interface of his private room bustled to life as it communicated with the mainframe system installed.
Water fell from holes in the ceiling as a waterproof spherical robot carried a tray aloft with raw thought power. Koizuki grabbed the soap atop the tray and started scrubbing down, whistling all the while.
The haori he wore had neon stylings and a simple seal pattern on the back. Segmented, hawk eye patterns with a gray and light purple motif made up the entirety of his shirt—which seemed like fabric, had the feel of cloth, but were solid metallic pieces without luster. It was a craft of Nanosteel fiber, a Tier II experimental material that was developed by the research branch of Warden tech.
It had a faintly Egyptian feel to it when coupled with the pleated pair of pants he wore. Originally meant to be a skirt—as was Nalad Eastsand custom—it was instead combined with the Hikito Eastsand culture and made into a jinbei bottom as they hung slightly past the knees.
His shins were covered by sune-ate that had the same seal-created pattern, and his feet donned tabi atop Egyptian-looking sandals.
He fixed the lazy-looking obi wrapped around him while biting down a gilded, lusterless hairband. After he got done with the (still lazy) obi, he set his white hair into a half-up braided ponytail, letting the undid ends flow forwards past the end of his neck.
The water harmlessly pattered past him at this point; having already finished his shower, he projected his cognitive force to save him from getting his clothes wet. Then, as he snapped, a mirror floated over, letting him look at himself.
His wild, fierce eyes scanned over the bronze skin and blinked decisively. His features themselves seemed to be reminiscent of a fairy's—the only thing distinguishing him from an elf being his rounded ears. As he propped his lips into a suave swagger, he shot finger guns at himself, rousing his confidence.
Funky synth music played as he finally shut off the shower. Then, reaching for the beaded exterior of the SAD he had already affixed to a floating hook, a loud blaring ringtone seemed to force itself to the forefront of his consciousness.
>Wicked Westwood Witch (Morrigan): I SENT YOU THIS MESSAGE LIKE FUCKING 13 HOURS AGO??? IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR CANDY ASS UP AND INVESTIGATE RUINED SKYSCRAPER IN B-SIDE WARD 84, oh, you do not want to see what I'll do to you…
Koizuki's eyes abruptly widened as he scrambled to return the message. Then, using his thought power as a keyboard, he hurriedly typed while opening a closet.
Inside were his two twin katana— Tallahassee and Austin. The prior had the motif of a pattern, its simplistic grey white sheath in stark contrast to the garish design of the hilt, which was shaped like a panther's head. Around the hilt was a wrapped cloth that looked like panther skin, simulated by various materials.
That was Tallahassee, and Austin wasn't all that different. The main difference was that it had a longhorn motif, the hilt of which was the head of a longhorn. It had a more bony feel to it, whereas Tallahassee was slicker and composed—like a claw.
The Hisengen Alloy was what composed the curved blades with a finishing Idea Particle edge was like a silver moon, the particle edge radiating subdued lavender light that seemed more like mist than anything else. The silver edges of the blade were stained purple, hiding the Idea Particles somewhat…at least to the untrained eye.
But Koizuki had the eyes of a hawk—literally. Although, of course, they weren't exactly his own eyes…
A shadow emerged from the depths of his mind and cast itself into reality—this was a Sensus. It was a projection of the mind into an abstract form, one that represented a form of power and identity that coincided with its master and creator.
It wasn't exactly a one-to-one copy of the master creator's mind but was instead a facet formed from the subconscious and given birth by the Rami. The one that created this Sensus, in particular, was Koizuki's Inquisitor Rami, which was the sector he was the best at. He only had three Rami; after all, it was customary for him to specialize.
The Sensus was dubbed the thought nexus as the Loose Cannon Arbiter, its current state in MK-I. It was a chimeric creature composed of lavender and royal purple aura, with formidable thought power flowing within its confines.
If we got into specifics, it had the head of a hybrid human/eagle, the fists of a bear, and the fangs and mouth of a seal. A judge's gavel rotated around its head, and it had potent, powerful-looking arms. Its fists were covered in leopard print and feathers, and a faint judge outfit melded into a cape that surrounded the Sensus.
It's personality? Simple. Brash, wild, and unflinching. It was a true loose cannon, the kind of person Koizuki identified with…! Or at least romanticized.
He didn't look like much of a loose cannon pleading for mercy and asserting that he would get to the job to Morrigan.
Nevertheless, the ghostly woman stopped flooding his SAD with messages after he apologized for ten minutes straight, barely able to fix his twin katana to his waist.
As he strode out of the front door, he enveloped himself in the influence of his cognitive force, the B-Side taking notice of his prying gesture. As he walked forwards, eagle cries surrounded him, a byproduct of his aura, and the B-Side swallowed him whole.
The blue tint of the B-Side that washed over its domain was replaced with a yellow-red shade. A new source of light hung over the endlessly extending horizon, the cracks and markings on its surface subdued by the fluorescent glow.
"Ugh, no wonder I feel like shit. The B-Side chose to show the Conspiracy Moon today, huh?" His Inquisitive leanings were pressured by the suppressive effect of the Conspiracy Moon, making him feel a bit weaker than usual. If only he was powerful enough or had a special physique, the shifting of the B-Side moons wouldn't affect him.
Too bad he didn't.
He appeared directly outside of the Ward 84 Ancient District, the dilapidated and run-down buildings from a bygone era looking perfectly dubious underneath the yellow-red hazy glow. He could swear multiple shadowed eyes were watching him as he progressed.
Fortunately, the Suspects in this area didn't seem to be all that strong. He passed by a wall with heavy pain, not even glancing at its contents as he strode towards the skyscraper's site.
Weirdly, he didn't see it on the horizon. As his pace quickened and he darted past, he couldn't believe what he saw.
Like a patty to a burger, a mall was nestled between the tip and base of the ruined skyscraper.
"Ugh…what's this fiendish feeling…!" The mall seemed to give off a devilish sensation as dangerous energy fluctuations beat back at the young Warden.
A royal purple membrane halted its advance, allowing Koizuki to take steady steps.
Toward the Shattered Skyscraper Mall.