The sun rose early, and Dachii's door was kicked open. "Arise, rookie! Time to prepare for the BIGGEST festival of the year!"
Dachii looked at his alarm clock. "Are you kidding me? It's seven in the morning!"
"Yep! Earlier the better!"
When Fujii went to wake up the others, Dachii fell out of his bed. "I think I liked it better when I was back in Estrium and COULDN'T walk."
As he went into the bathroom, putting grease in his hair and washing his face, he looked at himself in the mirror. "That's right...I can walk, so what's even my plan from here on out?"
He took a moment to think. "Yeah, it's definitely to be able to go home and relax with Mom, Grandfather Morino, and Marachii. And maybe get Akari or Hikari's number in the process."
He heard banging on the bathroom, and the voice of Hikari on the other side. "Ugh, Dachii, hurry up!"
"Woman, calm down! I just got in here!"
An hour later, they were dressed in their military uniforms and gathered in the living room, where Fujii was waiting.
"Great job getting ready! Now we gotta be one of the first ones at the festival, since it's our job to ensure it's safe."
Dachii stretched, cracking his joints. "But if the dwarves were the issue, and they ran, they wouldn't attack again, would they?"
"Who knows? With that shadow stuff I saw them use, they could try anything."
They all remembered the power and aura Alarax emitted when he put on the bracelet. "Now then, grab anything you need, and let's roll out!"
They all loaded up their duffel bags and walked out of the house to Fujii's car. Dachii sighed. "Not AGAIN. We're gonna hop in the same car AGAIN? Where's the style?"
Everyone slapped their heads. Once they all got in, the car took off down deeper into the Asuka District, where giant, skyscraper-like buildings resided.
There were decorations lining the streets: booths and stalls were set up, various shops and a bar were nearby, speakers were all around, and in addition, a giant stage was in the middle, and balloons were stored up next to it.
Fujii pulled right up to the gated entrance, as Dachii and the others took it all in. "Wow, THIS is your festival?"
"Yep! Hasn't started yet, but give it like an hour, then the fun begins!" As Fujii began to check out the various activities and events being set up, the rest of the squad followed close behind him, walking in a line.
An older-looking Voltian man in a tuxedo approached Fujii, and they shook hands. "Kenshi! Good to see you, buddy!"
"Yoritomo! Haven't spoken to you in a while, man!"
Hikari bumped Akari. "Do you know who that is?"
"No."
Fujii stepped aside, allowing the man to look at the squad. "And this is Squad S-1! Say hi, kids!"
They all have an awkward look. Luca stepped forward. "Hi."
"Well look what we have here! A kid fresh from the wilderness, a pink-haired Noble, our very own PRINCESS, and..."
He walked up to Dachii and Marachii. "Those two humans I've been hearing about!"
"Wait, we're famous—-?"
Yoritomo laughed, eerily similar to Fujii. "Well, I do believe you picked an interesting branch of rookies this time! I do hope they protect this festival. So many are planning to attend."
"They've got it, don't worry. But where are my manners? Guys, this is Director Yoritomo Yamaguchi, he's gonna run the event this year."
Akari tilted her head to the side. "That's funny. I've never met him."
"Well, now you have!" The old man laughed. "Here, follow me, all of you. I'll show you your stations."
The group walked behind him as he walked past various booths, stalls, and stores. "I'll be splitting you into 3 groups. Kenshi, you and the pink-haired girl, you'll be in charge of guarding the food section."
"Oh, sounds good! Free food for us, right?"
"Uh...let's continue. You two, remain here!"
They left Fujii and Hikari at the vendors, and they continued to where the activities and games were. "Now, wild boy and the Tech boy, you're going to safeguard the games. Don't want anyone cheating, or better yet, stealing."
Luca shrugged. "Got it."
Marachii looked at the man, stating: "Wait, don't leave my brother with that girl—-!"
"Anyways! Where do we go?"
"Follow me!"
Marachii slapped his head, and Luca lifted an eyebrow. "That's going to be one interesting duo."
Yoritomo led them to the giant stage, where seating and speakers were already set up. "This will be the main event. The DANCE COMPETITION."
He pointed around the stage. "Hundreds, no, THOUSANDS will come to watch the best of the best dance. And the winner? They get 1,000,000 coins!"
Dachii perked up. "One million dollars? Say no more!"
"I said COINS, not dollars!"
"What's the difference?"
Akari scoffed. Yoritomo sighed a heavy sigh.
"Humans. Anyway, just watch this stage! Make sure no one tries to sabotage the event! If any unwelcome guests were to strike, like a pesky dwarf, for example, they'd attack here!"
Akari nodded her head. "Got it."
"Now, let me check the time...OH! It'll begin in thirty-five minutes! I have to fine-tune everything else quickly! Stay here and keep good vigilance, soldiers!"
As he left, Dachii yawned and began to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"To get me some food, I'm hungry—-!"
"He told us to stay." She folded her arms, a look of directness on her face.
"It will only take 5 minutes, so..."
"They're all closed. The festival hasn't started yet."
"WHAT? Great, just great."
Akari sat down on the stage. "If you sit here and wait, the booths should open soon, maybe."
Dachii sat somewhat close to her, but she barely acknowledged it. "Sooo, in case things go wrong, you should like, put your number in my phone, just in case—-"
"I don't have a phone."
"HOW THE HELL ARE YOU A TEENAGER WITH NO PHONE?"
She stuck a hand into her pocket and pulled out a watch, which she wrapped around her arm. Immediately, a holographic interface appeared, with various "apps" to click.
"That's why."
"So where's the phone app?"
"You have to have one of these to call me."
"You gotta be kidding me."
As Dachii lay down on the stage, beginning to count again, the sun eventually got even brighter, and people began filling in through the gates. Akari stood up.
"It seems it's beginning to start, so let's take our positions. You stand left, I'll stand right."
"Okay."
As they got up, going to their spots, a celebratory horn was played, and a voice rang out through the speakers. "Hello, everyone! Welcome to the 500th Annual Asuka Festival!"
Confetti rang out. Hikari and Fujii watched as lots of Voltians crowded the area. Hikari looked around.
"So, do we just stand here and watch, sir? Sir..?"
"KENSHI FUJII!"
"It's General Fujii!"
"LOOK, HE'S SO COOL!"
Hikari saw him being crowded by tons of fans, who were clinging onto his body and pulling him down. "Sir!"
"Heh, give me a minute, Hikari! I got to show love to the fans, of course!"
"This festival is so cool!"
"Yeah, look at all the stuff! And look at the stage! And LOOK AT FUJII!"
"So amazing!"
As people began to advance deeper into the festival, Marachii and Luca noticed some were breaking off to play some games.
"Hehe, play me in this ALPHA SHOOTER!"
"Nah, I wanna play ROCKET TOSS!"
"Luca, what are those games they are talking about?"
"The usual."
As the streets became full, Marachii had to basically fight through to keep view of Luca. "Luca? LUCA?"
"Over here."
"Ew, it's a human!"
"That human from the tryouts! Yuck! The one with the power!"
His brother must be close!"
As angry gossip began to arise from the guests, Luca grabbed Marachii by the arm and led him away. "Here, let's go to the security booth." He took him to a booth that was isolated from the rest.
Meanwhile, Dachii and Akari watched from the stage as people dispersed to do various things. Dachii was looking from lady to lady, admiring their outfits.
"Yeah, they must ALL be rich."
"They are," Akari replied, with the same bland look on her face. "Everyone that comes here is a Noble or a Royal."
But to Dachii's surprise, no one came to the stage, instead playing games and entering the bars. "They're...avoiding us."
"No, the dancing just won't start till midnight."
"I HAVE TO STAY HERE UNTIL MIDNIGHT?"
"The festival lasts until 3 A.M."
Dachii nearly fainted, falling back onto the stage. As more people began to fill the area, Yoritomo called Fujii, and Fujii had to fight to get his watch out of his pocket.
"Yeah, what's up Yoritomo?"
"Since we now have a lot of people, we can begin! The parade will start soon, how's things looking so far?"
"kENSHIIIIIIII!"
"What was that?"
Fujii struggled to get his mouth to his watch as more people crowded him. "Nothing! Everything's fine! You can give the go-ahead for the parade!"
"Alright."
Hikari just rolled her eyes as the crowd buried him even further. A trumpet played and an announcement went off:
"We will now begin the Annual Asuka Parade!"
The crowd cheered. Loud noises began to come from a nearby street, startling Dachii. "What the hell?"
A bunch of floats that resembled the Castle of Voltiana could be seen in the air just a few streets away, getting closer. The beat of a drum could be heard, and chanting that Dachii could barely make out.
"A-S-U-K-A! ASUKA! A-S-U-K-A! ASUKA!"
"Now what is that?" Dachii asked, covering his ears. Akari looked up, smiling a little."
"Wow, they're doing it again. The parade."
"Oh gosh..."
The parade began to come from the stage area and head down the streets, first beginning with a massive tank that shot out confetti.
"So you DO have tanks?"
"Yeah, but they're not for combat."
As kids began to approach it, the muzzle began to shoot out various sorts of candy. "Woah."
Dachii got up, beginning to follow, but Akari grabbed his arm. "Dachii. We're not supposed to leave."
"It's like 10 feet away from the stage, we'll be fine! Here, I'll get you some too!"
"I don't eat candy."
"Oh, of course you don't."
When Dachii got close to the tank, the kids all ran away, screaming:
"Dirty human! Dirty human!"
"Okay, so go away then!"
He grabbed a pile of candy and made his way back to the stage, where Akari just shook her head. "You're not great with kids."
"Whatever. Here, pick one of these, for a lovely lady such as yourself—-"
"Thanks. But I'll pass."
"Yeah, yeah."
Marachii and Luca noticed the parade heading down their street, and Luca stepped out of the security booth as fireworks came from a car in the back.
"Wow. Looks even more expensive this year."
Horses came with soldiers on their backs, blowing into trumpets. Marachii peeked out of the booth as well. "Well, for a nation of advanced technology, shouldn't you guys no longer need horses?"
"We don't. They're just for the parade."
Luca secretly summoned an axe. "And food." He began to head towards the horses.
"Wait! We're supposed to protect the event, not attack it!"
"Right. I'll do it after! The meat will taste better."
"That's not what I meant..."
Hikari looked around for Fujii as the parade came her way. But despite this, she was unable to find him.
"Sir? Where are you?"
As she tumbled through and bumped and apologized to many people, she eventually ended up by an alley, where she kept calling out.
"General Fujii? General—-!"
But a tug on her leg shifted her attention. Behind her, a little girl, crying and shaking, was looking at her, eyes seemingly pleading for help.
"Are you...a Military Soldier?"
"Yes! What happened to you, you poor thing?"
"Please! I can't take it anymore! My mom! The scary men—-!"
But a couple of footsteps behind her quieted her down real quickly. A man, fair-skinned, with short hair, and wearing a hood, put his arm on her shoulder.
"Now, now. Daughter, don't bother this girl. Can't you see she's trying to have fun?"
Hikari took notice of his appearance, instantly realizing he lacked the glowing skin of a Voltian, and had no magical aura she could feel.
"But sir, you, aren't one of us..."
Immediately, before she even noticed, his hand was now on her shoulder. "Listen, young lady. How about you go back and do your duties. Have fun."
Then his eyes, which shifted from brown to white, looked right into hers. "You don't want to trouble yourself with this, trust me. Leave me to my child."
As Hikari stepped back, nervous, the young man put a hand on the girl's back. "You ready to go inside?"
"Y...yes!"
"Good."
They walked away, heading into a door in the alley. Hikari stared in shock for a moment, before going back to look for Fujii.
"I have to tell him about this! I don't know if that was a human or not, but something's definitely off with him!" she thought.
Meanwhile, inside a dark room...
"Sit. Move again, you lose an eye."
The young girl immediately sat down on the couch, trembling. The hooded man knocked on a door to a nearby room. "She was spotted. By a soldier."
A voice, deep and cold, answered back.
"That's fine. I assume they didn't pry too much, did they?"
"Nope. Was a girl with pink hair. I heard her calling for General Fujii."
"She must be weak, then. Ignore her. Focus on our target. Put that little child to use."
"Got it. Night hits, we strike."
—-