Processing what had happened, Yuki was petrified at the thought of the power going out. Her senses were heightened, breathing had become faster and much more difficult, a panic attack. Niko comforted her and gave her a reason to calm down, assuring them they wouldn't be trapped inside the building.
"Wait?! Are the lights going off?" concerned and bewildered by the flickering lamp above the karaoke machine, Yuki was frantic.
"Must've been a power surge, we'll be fine, likely the turrets activating." Niko's assumption was enough to keep her calm, strengthening her willpower through safety.
Max sprinted towards the arcade doors to see what was happening outside, the windows were covered in thick curtains, keeping the privacy of the arcade very high. The yellow walls were fading in and out of view, the illuminated part, slowly growing darker. Suddenly, an announcement over the speakers rang out over the crowded street.
"Where have you been Maxy?" Yasu asked after being unable to locate him for the past few minutes of playing nothing but hockey with his beloved contender, Dairue.
"Announcement, everybody keep calm, the power grid and supply conductors are being redirected towards the Tetsu Kabe, we are undergoing a procedure at this very moment"
"We request everyone to maintain patience. The power will return back to normal once the defense units are sustained and fully operational, thank you."
The planted speakers were monotone despite a real human, verbalizing behind the microphone.
Niko leaves the karaoke machine to confront the rest of their group about what was said, the yellow soundproof box had made the announcement inaudible from within.
"What did they say?" Niko looked between the shutters, expecting a massive crowd running away.
"Some sort of power redirection towards the giant turrets" Max was peeking through the door, letting the cold air from within, seep into the street.
"Wait, they're turning on the defense system?! Why?!" he walked around in circles, Yasu was panicking yet he couldn't admit to his friends. His voice was mild and softer than usual, concerned about whatever might happen soon.
"It'll be fine, it's to make sure we're gonna be fiiineeee~.." Maragi patted his back, tugging on his jacket to make him aware of his presence.
"They're activating the Shizuoka border for the upcoming festival.." he stuck his head outside the door, Max was stunned to find the entire crowd of businessmen and blue-collared workers simply staring into the distance.
"That's weird, are we under attack??.." Niko was confused, scrutinizing over what might occur outside the arcade doors, wondering why the turrets were in defensive mode.
People begin to huddle up on the streets, all of which merely standing on the sidewalk, trying to take a glance over the border's turret. The business hour was running rampant all over yet they took the time to admire the functional machines. Maragi's curiosity got the better of her, she invited everyone to come outside and see what all the indeterminate chattering was about.
"Hey, call them to get out..." Maragi gestured her hands, flapping them outside and telling her fellow peers to get out.
"The power is back on, let's go outside. Maybe the wall is in action right now." Max mentioned as a loud metallic banging could be heard from kilometers away into the horizon.
"W-wait... No! The wall has to be action right now, everybody lets go!" his excitement could not be contained, the thought of a giant machine roaming around in railed walls felt like a true robotic giant, fighting the evil in our world, repelling monsters from the shore.
"What wall? What wall?! Max! What Wall?!" Yuki was shaking his shoulders, rocking his body back and forth, desperate for an answer. Her eyes felt like they were ready to murder someone in cold blood, a mix of fear and anger, a catalyst not made for Yuki's fragile sanity.
They burst through the doorway, expecting to see a horrific sight full of danger, there was nothing. There were people on the streets, praising the machinery, the promised protection they were going to gain had grown stronger for every rotation the machine had made. The Tetsu Kabe was finally in operation, the revolution of anti-nuclear weaponry
The excitement in Max's eyes, his joy, the squeals of joy and awe, the wonder of seeing such a gigantic object taking locomotion. Yasu had a sense of dread, unable to wipe the question of "why", why such a thing was built. Maragi, double-sided in how she feels, knowing the machine was nothing more than an invitation to conflict and warfare.
Niko stood still, frozen in shock, tears dripping down her eyes. Her shoulder bumped up towards Yuki, also frozen in fear, the terror, the reality of why the weapon was made. The crowd clapped and celebrated, the announcement of continuous praise for the titanic object had given everyone a sense of hope
Yet the children fear, the children quiver at the idea of its sounds, the groans of the metal bearings. The sound of smoke and gunfire, the booming rails that give way to its movement, the endless barrage of its artillery units. There was no comfort to be found in knowing the truth, the temporary comfort, the danger is always beside them.
Testing had continued, decoy warheads were launched toward the sky, with a swift motion, the Tetsu Kabe responded with multiple shots of homing rockets and continuous disintegration of all shrapnel through an advanced multishot turret system. The ground was shaken by each detonation, every region was awakened to hear the loud noises.
Screaming occurred from a few blocks away, a false alarm, those who were disturbed by the testing had the impression of an incoming attack. Civilians were quickly informed through emergency alert systems that their well-being was completely unharmed. They sighed with relief, yet the fear still flowed through their bloodstream.
"The noise, it's beyond loud, it's deafening…" Max looked over the sunrise that was slowly overhead the dome of the turret.
"This feels like a mistake as if they didn't think this through," Dairue commented on the loud unbearable noises of the machine's rickety launch, sounding almost too industrial for their current age of technology.
"No matter how loud this gets, it's still better than knowing we're completely defenseless…" Niko was countering his point, trying to make a point of her own on how important the gigantic domes of fire and power are, for their safety.
"As long as it lets me sleep at night." Maragi looked down at her phone, attempting to record the Tetsu Kabe before its domes disappeared into the distant walls.
"I don't know how I feel." squeamish, holding her stomach tight, worried, eyelids half closed. Yuki was in despair of knowing something like this had to be built for their so-called well being
"They should've just gotten something else to protect us, honestly it feels like a waste." Yasu was preoccupied with acting like he knew what safety meant, trying to be the better person than embracing such a resource-consuming entity.
"It's not a waste, it can't be." his timid voice was still inspired by the perfect dusk, Max was no more than a believer of this machine, only being an optimist at the face of beauty, always sprung back by pessimistic thoughts until its too late to see the beauty again.
"If you say so man, if you say so…" Yasu was still doubtful of what it can do, forever questioning their decisions, forever unknowing of what led to the creation of such a dysfunctional innovative way to kill rocket
The turrets continued their travel over the bordered wall, the railings sounding close despite their distance from the street. People went on with their day, the group was questioning where they should go next, only two hours had passed in their entire arcade experience. Seeking a better experience, they ask each other what's best to do in the afternoon.
"Maybe we can go to my house? I need help cleaning the room right now.." Yuki broke the silence, as they walked towards somewhere with no direction.
"Yeah, sure! When are we going?" eager and full of enthusiasm, Yasu was more than willing to clean her house, taken aback by such a short-lived arcade experience.
"You guys down?" Maragi walked over to the front, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Sounds like a decent plan." Max and Niko said in unison to each other.
Dairue grabbed Max by the shoulder, turning the boy towards himself.
"Don't forget what's gonna happen later…"
"You cannot decline, the red car will pick you up."
Yasu and Dairue flee the scene as the rest of them discuss where to go.
Dairue's tone was threatening, almost like a storm slowly approaching the distance, never really getting by, only torching the floor of places that have no buildings.
"Aw, they didn't wanna clean?" her puppy eyes, irresistible to most, yet Yuki was simply ignored by the two boys. Her mood was down, thinking that Yasu really wanted to clean with her, yet there he went, running into the distance with Dairue.
As they made up their minds, Yuki felt more and more sad about Dairue leaving, as if he wasn't interested in hanging out. Yet her face lit up as everyone had their sights on her house, she promised a rooftop view of the Tetsu Kabe and a fun time. Niko was adamant about her hunger, to which Yuki complied more than willingly to provide food.
"Let's go! You better not run, Max!" Maragi kept pulling on his hand, knowing how unpredictable Max can be at times, yet he rest assuredly followed them continuously.
The streets were crowded, Yuki's house was a little beyond walking distance, their complaints turned into acceptance with her pouting face and sad beady eyes. Her eyes were enough to convince everybody to keep going, a motivational sight if you will. Further up the road, Max could not help but daydream about his newfound freedom.
While he was beside them, his mind was not, his mind wandered free from his body. The ghost of his former self, the ghost of toxic relationships and quarrels. The young lad was the face of issues, the headline of the school, a problematic nitwit everyone knew about. Once upon a time, there was a student who only admired nothing more than his delusional partner.
The lad regretted, the battle between him and Soran was over. Yet the regret of choosing her over Akemi still took a toll on how he perceived romance, romantic thoughts felt connected to her. Visions of her soft smooth brown skin, her braces, the smile she'd put on when her hair was played with, a playful person that lit up the room.
Max stared aimlessly at the bricks on the floor, occasionally stopping and separating from the group, only to return to his consciousness and catch up. Regret ate his mind, questioning whether being free meant he had ample room in his mind to think about her more carefully. Delicate thoughts he kept to himself, delicate thoughts that broke his perception of love.
After a fairly long strut, they made it toward her apartment's first floor. Yuki called the elevator and patiently tapped her foot on the white tiles that covered the floor. Mari and Niko decided to buy lunch from a nearby vendor, Maragi was focused on trying to help her in cleaning. Once the elevator had arrived, Yuki gave them the room key and number.
The sweet girl stayed behind for Niko and Mari. Max and Maragi stood in silence in the elevator, before Maragi decided to break the quiet atmosphere.
"You don't look okay, what's wrong?" she politely asked, looking into his half-closed eyes staring at the elevator shaft.
"I finally broke up with Soran…" Max could not look at her, feeling guilty over his lack of right to even say that Akemi was his "true" lover, love was a word he wielded around so carelessly. Using the false reassurance as bait for their problems, losing their meaning slowly.
"Was that why she was waiting at the gate?" she raised her brow and tilted her head back, almost showing a suspicious look at what he had actually done, as to why he was jumping around back at the school.
"Probably…" he answered as if he was no longer interested in continuing their small chat.
"Ah, good for you, you'll be fine." Maragi did not know what to say to him anymore, he refused to give any details, he refused to look her in the eye, she decided its best not to beat around the bush with such an emotionally unstable man.
"That's not really the problem,"
he answered one last time before the elevator interrupted their conversation, they had arrived at the 6th floor, the very floor below the rooftop. The two approached the empty hallway, it was gloomy and dusty. The walls were filled with a clean paint job yet the age of the place was beginning to seep through its seemingly well-maintained condition
"What were you saying?" she heard his short statement, giving the green light to continue asking, trying to figure out the dramatic dynamic he had with Soran.
"I forgot, it probably wasn't important.." acting as if he wasn't thinking about what he planned to say, he kept to himself with his hands back into his dark gray hoodie's pocket.
"Pfft, really? Everybody does that, well whatever it is, I hope you're gonna be fine." her sarcastic remark gave the boy a small chuckle, pretending to be a fool just to make sure they don't make awkward guesses...
Unable to shake off her response, they opened the door and he instantly sat down on the floor, patiently waiting for the three girls. They gather their things and keep them in a corner to make sure the place remains organized, Yuki's parents are gone for work, and her brother is still at school, they all have time to wind up and relax, taking a break from the walk.
They waited patiently, trying to look over the hallway windows, seeing how high they were, the wind was blowing on their hair. Seeing gray cumulonimbus clouds in the distance, with a hint of lightning sparks and a clap of thunder following its flash. Max was hunched over the window, doing nothing more than blinking, zoning out from reality once more...