"Right in here."
Takehiro and Kurumi were led into a dark interrogation room by a few police officers. Once they were seated, a light turned on, revealing a fair-skinned young man who was wearing a tuxedo and shades.
"Welcome," the man greeted. "My name is Hideki Uchida. I work for the Government."
"The Government?" Kurumi exclaimed. "Are we under arrest?"
The man sat forward. "Not at all! I just have some questions regarding the events that occurred tonight, that's all. You both were at the Yasuragi Medical Center, correct?"
"Yeah," Takehiro answered. "Why?"
"Could you tell me about the encounter between the one calling himself 'Justice' and the unidentified foreign entity?"
"We didn't see much of it," Kurmui pointed out. "But it was horrific inside that hospital. There were these weird worm-things all over the place, and then just when we were about to be trapped by them, we saw Justice swoop it and cut them down like paper! Then he went upstairs, and he jumped out of the building!"
"Oh?" Hideki wondered. "Anything else?"
"Not much," Takehiro added. "But both of our friends, I hope they're okay! One left the hospital to get food for our other friend, who was bedridden after her injuries at the fair. Come to think of it, that room that Justice jumped out of, that was her room!"
Hideki began to take notes. "Really? And she wasn't in this room when Justice stepped inside?"
They both shook their heads.
"When we got in there, she was gone," Kurumi noted.
Hideki took more notes. "Could I have the names of these two friends, please?"
"The one in bed, her name is Kumiko," Takehiro said.
"And the one who left to get food, his name's Mykhail!" Kurumi added.
Hideki finished taking his notes. "Kumiko and Mykhail, got it. Thank you both for being so helpful."
"No problem!" Takehiro replied. "But…you're not going to do anything bad to them, right?"
Hideki shook his head. "Of course not! All I wish to do is question them like how I've done with you. Nothing more."
"Alright," Takehiro said.
Hideki nodded to a police officer. "He will show you both out."
Once they were both gone, Hideki looked at his notes. "Kumiko and Mykhail, eh? Based on the timing of events, they'd be worth a further look into."
He closed his notepad and exited the room.
Meanwhile, inside of Mr. Kenta's lodge…
Kumiko walked right up to the table, a bright smile on her face. Mykhail watched her carefully as she approached him.
"Good morning!" she greeted. "Or is it evening? I can't tell."
She glanced at Mr. Kenta. "May I sit down?"
He nodded.
"Great!" She sat right in the middle, crossing her legs and looking between Mykhail and Mr. Kenta. "So is this a dinner, or a discussion?"
"It could be both," Mr. Kenta answered. "You must be hungry. Mykhail never got to deliver the pizza to you, after all."
Kumiko stared at Mykhail, who awkwardly rubbed his head. "Yeah, sorry about that. Duty calls, you know?"
She eyed him curiously before nodding. "It's okay! There's…other ways to get food."
Mykhail gulped.
"Why is she so different now?" he thought. "Scary? No, not just that. She's like a walking enigma now, everything she does is so…unpredictable!"
"I could hand you kids money to buy some fast food," Mr. Kenta suggested. "Actually, no, that'd be a death sentence. I'll go and get it myself. You kids wait here, and don't cause any trouble while I'm gone!"
"We won't!" Kumiko replied.
"Good. I should be back in no less than an hour."
He exited the house, leaving Mykhail and Kumiko on their own.
"So," Kumiko said. "Just you and me now."
In an instant, she appeared in front of him, leaning her face close to his and examining him. "Hmm…"
Mykhail sat completely still, attempting to avoid eye contact. "Yeah…?"
Then, she stepped back. "Let's watch TV! Let's see what's on the news for today!"
Mykhail immediately relaxed, relieved. "Yep, sounds great."
As she sat on the couch, he made sure to wait for a moment to ensure no trap was being made, but she simply turned on the TV.
"She seems genuine-ish," Mykhail noted. "Is she reverting back to normal?"
She patted the spot next to her. "Are you coming?"
He sighed and sat next to her, and the news started to play, showing Miku in the center.
"Breaking news!" Miku reported. "There will be an official speech given by our very own Mr. Sato in just a few short hours! It's abrupt, I know, but make sure you don't miss it, because a man like Mr. Sato doesn't appear in public rallies often!"
"That Mr. Sato guy again?" Mykhail wondered. "Please don't tell me he's making a speech to put a bounty on my head!"
Kumiko gently nudged Mykhail. "What do you think? Should we attend the speech too?"
"Are you crazy? No way!"
"I don't mean as our alter egos, silly," Kumiko clarified. "I mean as you and me, Kumiko and Mykhail!"
"Yeah but still, it's a government thing, so I don't know. Plus Mr. Kenta said to stay—-"
"Mr. Kenta isn't HERE, is he?" Kumiko pointed out. "And besides, do you think he'd be so vain to say no to a little rally?"
"She's going to get me killed," Mykhail thought. "Or she'll kill me herself, at this rate."
Kumiko started tugging on his arm. "Come on! It's so BORING in this house! There's barely any channels on the TV anyway."
"Fine," Mykhail groaned. "Only for a little bit."
Kumiko clapped her hands. "Yay!"
When she got up from her seat, Mykhail could almost catch a glimpse of her eyes glowing green.
Kumiko opened the door and walked outside, and when she wasn't looking, Mykhail grabbed a duffel bag from the closet and put his costume and sword in it before leaving.
When they reached the road, Kumiko looked back at Mykhail and put her hands on her hips.
"Really?" she said. "You thought I wouldn't notice that big-ass bag on your back?"
"Heh, well you weren't supposed to look at me, that's kinda the reason I was walking behind you."
"Boys. Ugh."
"Where is this rally supposed to be anyway?" Mykhail asked.
Kumiko shrugged. "I don't have a clue."
"Seriously? You brought us outside for you to get us LOST?" Mykhail exclaimed.
"I'll just pull it up on my phone," Kumiko replied. "Maybe they'll have details on where to go."
She took out her phone and started typing in the search bar. Soon enough, she found an article detailing the address.
"It's in front of the Hanakawa Stadium! That's our stop!" Kumiko announced.
"Alright," Mykhail said. "Let's get this over with."
A few hours later, in an office building…
Mr. Sato sat at his desk with his hands crossed as a group of armed soldiers entered his office. Captain Kano emerged from the group, bowing.
"Sir, your rally is set to begin soon," Captain Kano stated.
"How many are currently in attendance?" Mr. Sato asked.
"Over 400,000 people. There would have been more, but there wasn't enough space for the rest of them."
"That will do," Mr. Sato remarked. "That is a large enough sample size for our little…project."
"Your orders, sir?"
Mr. Sato looked at the plant on his desk. "Keep them all in one place for now. I shall attend shortly. I have a few tasks I need to complete beforehand."
Captain Kano turned to leave, but Mr. Sato raised a hand. "One more thing, Kano. Keep an eye out for a boy named Mykhail and a female named Kumiko."
"As you wish, sir. Any particular reason?"
"Hideki has given me a report containing his suspicions of them," Mr. Sato answered. "And they are also friends of my son. If given the opportunity, I would love to have a chat with them."
Kano nodded and left the room, while Mr. Sato held up a light blue vial. "Tonight will be an eventful night indeed…"
Outside of the Hanakawa Stadium…
Once Kumiko and Mykhail had arrived at the rally, they noticed a large crowd in the area, a bunch of stalls and booths set up, and a large stage up ahead, where a podium was placed.
"There's the front," Kumiko pointed. "Should we move up further? I can't get a good view back here."
"You can," Mykhail said. "I don't want to get close up to any government officials with this sword in my bag."
"Hmph, fine," Kumiko pouted. "Let's just find some other seats then."
Mykhail pointed to a nearby parking garage unit. "We can get on top of there. We'll probably get a good view up top."
"Great idea!" Kumiko agreed.
When no one was looking, Mykhail grabbed Kumiko's arm and quickly sped off toward the garage. In seconds, they were at the top.
"So fast!" Kumiko exclaimed.
"Yep, it's awesome! I know," Mykhail replied. "Now can this thing hurry up and start? I don't want to be here all night."
The curtains on the stage began to open.
"It looks like it's starting now!" Kumiko said. "Look, Mykhail, look!"
From out of the curtains came Yuiko and Udagawa. The crowd immediately quieted down once they saw them.
"Hello, dear citizens!" Yuiko announced. "I know it seems a bit…unorthodox gathering you here for a rally at this time, but there is an important announcement that must be made."
She motioned toward the curtains, as a man stepped forth. "So, I will let our director inform you of it. Welcome the one and only Mr. Sato!"
Mr. Sato stepped from behind the curtains, walking up to the podium. The crowd cheered as he cleared his throat.
"Hello, everyone."
Kumiko pointed right at him. "Look, Mykhail! There he is! In the flesh!"
Mykhail was busy looking at his phone. "Yeah, yeah. That's cool, or whatever."
"I'm positive all of you have figured out what's going on with our fair planet. From out of the blue, children calling themselves heroes and creatures of unexpected nature have arisen. I know you all expect me to have the answers to deal with these creatures."
Camera crews approached, broadcasting the rally on the news.
"I won't lie," Mr. Sato admitted. "This situation has caught me off guard as much as it has done for you all, but rest assured, I have found a solution, a cure to all our problems."
His lips curved in a sly smile. "I've found a way to restore the peace."
Miku burst from the crowd, along with a slum of other reporters. Guards tried to hold them back, but Miku managed to slip through.
"Sir! Can you tell us how you plan to restore order? Will you capture the hero? Will you field a new defense force? What's your strategy?"
As other reporters tried to bombard him with questions, Mr. Sato held up a hand. "It's better if I show you. After all, what good are words without any action being taken?"
He looked over to Yuiko and nodded. She quickly disappeared behind the curtains, leaving an eager crowd to wait.
Kumiko rapidly shook Mykhail. "What do you think she's going to pull out?"
"I don't know, a death ray?"
Behind the stage, Yuiko nodded to a few soldiers. "Begin the process now."
One soldier pressed a red button on a remote, and in the distance, everyone could hear a loud rumbling noise.
"What is THAT?" Kumiko asked.
"Probably something bad!" Mykhail replied.
A large rocket emerged out of the ground in the middle of a street, flying upwards as everyone watched in shock.
"Let me show you, the NEW ERA!" Mr. Sato announced.
The rocket suddenly tilted sideways, heading directly for them as people began to scream and run.
"The hell is THAT?" Mykhail shouted.
Once the rocket got close, large spray cannons emerged from its sides, blasting blue gas all over the rally attendees. People began collapsing and writhing on the ground as Mykhail and Kumiko both stared, horrified.
"Enjoy the gifts you've been given," Mr. Sato stated. "And realize, no matter what, no matter when, and no matter who runs this planet, there WILL BE PEACE!"
And just then, people started rising, their eyes glowing in various colors.
—-