Smoke and Mirrors
Prologue[
May 1st, 2012, 2300 JST; Somewhere within Tokyo proper...]
Four dark figures stood atop a skyscraper, seemingly undisturbed by the height and the wind whipping around their bodies. Aside from a light rain that had just begun to fall, the night was calm and peaceful, the cars and people below going about their lives completely unaware that they were being watched from above. Or the danger that was approaching...
One of the figures shifted uncomfortably in the rain, pointlessly brushing some of the droplets off of her skin tight black suit. Her face was obscured--as were her companions--save for her wonky eyes, which flashed in irritation as the downpour got heavier.
"No one told me it was gonna fucking rain tonight..." She grumbled unhappily, "Ikuta should be here for this, not me..."
One of the other figures turned slightly to face her, a slender eyebrow raised.
"Calm down, Tanakacchi. It's not like it's a tsunami or anything, you won't melt." Her voice was quiet in an attempt to placate the other woman, and it seemed to work, her subordinate relaxing slightly, "Ikuta isn't ready for field work yet; none of them are. You know that."
"
You shouldn't be here either, Gaki-san..." Another, the tallest of the four spoke up, her usually cutesy voice burdened with concern. But the leader was confident, and she turned back to look out over the city.
"Graduation is still a ways off. I have some fight left in me, Sayumin."
The taller woman didn't seem to agree, but she remained quiet, and the four continued their silent vigil. Technically they hadn't been given a mission tonight, and had no reason--or at least, no obligation to be on alert. But Risa had been unable to sleep for whatever reason, and in her anxiety she asked Reina, Sayumi, and Aika to tag along. They easily agreed, loyal despite their skepticism about a threat, and the four now waited patiently for results from HQ. They didn't have to wait long, static from Risa's headset breaking the silence.
"...He-Hello? Niigaki-san?! Can you hear me?""Go ahead, Kanyon," Risa replied, bringing a hand up to steady her earpiece, "I'm listening."
"Storm...gonna make things difficult...try my best to report anyway..."The leader tapped at her headset as if it would make the reception any better, but her attention soon shot to the sky as a dark shadow quickly passed by overhead. Risa stopped listening for a moment, meeting the eyes of each of her companions in turn. All three of them mirrored her annoyed expression.
Shit... just what we need..."Isn't it a bit late for you guys to be wandering the city by yourselves?"
Two more figures appeared, descending out of nowhere from the sky, one being carried by the other. She was placed carefully on her feet by her companion, who then floated gracefully to the ground, remaining silent. They wore the same outfits as the other four, faces similarly obscured, though years of training and being in close quarters with the other girls meant that Risa knew immediately and exactly who they were.
"Captain. Risako-chan." She addressed each of them in turn, only getting a friendly response from the latter, "What brings you here tonight?"
"I could ask you the same question, Leader," The small female replied flatly, obviously not in the best of moods, "It's our business to know things. That includes the whereabouts of all other members. Even if Rii-chan hadn't had a premonition, I know the only reason you're out here tonight is because there's trouble brewing."
Risa resisted the urge to pump her fist into the air; she'd been right, Risako was confirmation of that. For the first time in a long time, they had a chance to surprise the enemy rather than be blindsided by an ambush.
"We're here to provide backup." Saki continued, the dark shadow circling over the group once more, "And as you've probably noticed, Maimi is here as well. There's one more thing, though, Leader."
Risa was focused on the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of the black fighter plane before it dove back into the clouds. A glint of obsidian against the grey and then it was gone, presumably to make another pass around the city.
"What is that, Captain?"
"I'm ordering you to leave immediately, Niigaki-san," The small female's eyes narrowed slightly, "For your sake and the sake of the mission."
The older woman chuckled softly, even as her companions bristled with indignation around her. Before she could respond, Reina stepped forward, eyes literally glowing with rage.
"You little punk--you're not in charge yet..." Despite the rain, the air around the yankii's gloved fingers rippled with heat, flames licking up from the tips, "If you came here just to pick a fight, I'll gladly give you one."
"That's no way to talk to someone who easily outranks and outmatches you, Tanaka-san," Saki replied, shooting Reina a lazy look as the clouds above them began to suddenly rumble with thunder, "If I wanted to--and, believe me, I certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity--I could destroy you here on the spot. But unlike you, I know how to control my temper."
Reina snarled angrily and lunged for the smaller girl, but she was quickly rooted to the spot by a thick layer of ice around her lower body, produced by Sayumi. The yankii cursed at the bunny, her entire body going up in flames in an attempt to escape. But the older girl had the wind and rain to her advantage; she could make ice faster than Reina could melt it, and after a few fruitless minutes, the yankii stopped struggling, muttering to herself as the flames around her body subsided.
Beneath her mask, Saki smirked.
"You need to keep a tighter leash on your girlfriend before she gets herself hurt, Michishige-san..."
The rokkie duo froze, every pair of eyes widening save for those of Saki and Risa.
"H-how... How did you...?" The yankii sputtered, taking a protective step backwards towards Sayumi. Saki merely smirked.
"I told you. It's our business to know things."
"Now isn't the time for this." Risa cut in, attempting to focus back in on Kanyon's message. She got nothing but static, however, and cursed technology before continuing to address the others. "Tanakacchi
is right though," The leader leveled her calm gaze at the captain, "I'm afraid I won't be taking orders from you."
The smaller female stiffened, and seemed as though she wanted to continue the argument, when a shrill warning burst from Risa's headset, loud enough for the others to hear.
"Two phantoms heading your way- they're moving fast!!"Almost as soon as the message ended, white lights embedded into the girls' suits began to glow faintly, the built in warning system for the presence of the enemy. At Risa's side, Aika began to tap some code into the keypad attached to her wrist, and a large, two-handed ax appeared in the air in front of her, which the girl grabbed and held with ease. Some of the others were doing the same; Risako was equipped with two small blades, and Sayumi now possessed a dangerous looking whip. They all had weapons, of course, but in the case of girls like Saki and Reina, when your powers were that destructive they hardly needed to be supplemented by anything else.
The leader contemplated bringing out her own, but first lifted her arm, fingers outstretched in the pouring rain. She concentrated, reaching out to the falling droplets and manipulating them within her hand until a small sphere of water formed in her palm. Risa nearly smiled, but the sphere quickly lost shape and spilled out of her fingers, her control gone as fast as it had come.
So this is what it feels like, ne, Aichan? To finally be... useless.She sighed and quickly tapped in a few numbers on her wrist, gripping the dual handguns that suddenly appeared before her.
But at least I'm not leaving without one last fight.A roar split the air, one so loud it shook the building they stood on, but Risa held her stance even as the massive creature rose up in front of her, looking directly into piercing yellow eyes. Risa ignored the shouts and screams of her companions as the other phantom descended upon them, everything seeming to slow to a halt around her as she aimed one of her guns directly between the beast's eyes.
She fired.
----------
"Christ, she's bleeding all over the place- GET IN HERE NOW, YOU IDIOT!"
"Reina, calm down..."
"Calm down- calm down?! Her leg is fucking
gone and this bitch isn't doing a damn thing!"
"Oh god... Please be alright..."
"...I'm doing what I can, Tanaka-san... But the fact is that she needs a replacement, and fast."
"I wasn't fast enough..."
"Fine, I'll go speed up the fucking process with those goddamned techs. Don't you dare let her die on us, Kumai, you hear me?!"
"...Tanaka-san has quite the temper. But Mitsui is strong..."
"So you think she's gonna make it?"
"Please..."
"It appears that way. Though even with an artificial leg... I would prepare for the possibility that she may be decommissioned..."
"Shit... Don't even joke about something like that."
"I wish I were joking, Michishige-san..."
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[May 19th, 2012; 1100 JST, UFA HQ]Aika limped quietly behind Reina and Sayumi as the trio made their way towards the decommissioning room. They had promised Risa they would see her off, painful as it was to watch someone have half of their memories removed. But it was something they had done for every member that had left before her, and something that would be done when their times came as well.
The youngest of the three kept bending down to scratch at her leg, causing Reina to toss her a concerned glance over her shoulder.
"Still hurting?"
"Not really," Aika replied, straightening up, "It's just uncomfortable. It feels like my real skin and my real leg, but I know it isn't. My body seems to know that too."
She resisted the urge to touch it again, continuing on behind her seniors.
"It's definitely useless for dancing now, though..." The youngest finished miserably, knowing that there was nothing she could do. Her injuries had already been holding her back for some time--while known to the public as appendicitis and some strange bone deformity, she'd really just been unlucky during multiple battles. All hopes of recovering and perhaps continuing on as a member of Morning Musume were lost with her leg.
Still, the agency had found some use for her in spite of what had happened, and that was better than having to leave with Risa. She was still young, and her powers still strong; to leave now would be a waste.
The trio stepped into a dark room, illuminated faintly by a strange machine in the center, where Risa and a few of the agency's scientists stood, talking amongst themselves. The other division heads were there too, as per tradition; Saki looked on stoically next to Maimi and Erina, while this would be the first decommissioning for Ayaka to watch. Quietly, the three Musume chose to stand beside the latter, Aika giving the youngest girl there a reassuring smile.
They'd already said their goodbyes to Risa personally, and she had already done her share of crying, but Aika couldn't help the sting in her eyes as the former leader took a seat in the machine. The bean would only remember her life as an idol; everything she had done for her country--for the world--would be gone from her memories. In Aika's mind, it was a terrible injustice, but it had to be done, and seeing the exhausted look on Risa's face told her that at least in her case it was better this way.
Aichan was ready to leave too... Maybe I'll feel that way eventually.Whirring to life, the machine began its work, two large metal beams slowly circling Risa like some type of medical scanner. The tears trailed freely down Aika's face now, and a sniffle at her side told her she was definitely not the only one crying.
She reached out and gently took the yankii's hand, knowing that Sayumi had the other, and the three of them watched as their friend forgot who they truly were.
----------
"Have you two completely lost your minds?! If the agency finds out,
Leader-"
"The agency doesn't have to know."
"I tolerated your relationship knowing that they would do nothing... But if they hear about this, and god knows somehow they will, they
will decommission both of you."
"Then let them. They've taken every other happiness away, we're keeping this one for ourselves."
"You're an idiot, Michishige-san. You both are. Think about what happens if Morning Musume loses another leader now. Think about your kouhai. None of them are ready--the tenth generation hasn't even been initiated!!"
"...Why are you really here, Captain?"
"Because it's my-"
"Business to know, right. We're going through with this. You may outrank both of us, but you and I both know you won't tell a soul. ...You can't afford to lose both of us."
"Damn you straight to hell, you witch. Do you understand what has to be done to keep this a secret?"
"You'd better get to work, then. Also, you should try falling in love sometime, it might make you a lot more pleasant to be around."
"..."
"And Captain?"
"...What?"
"Initiation begins tomorrow."
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A/N: I accidentally a new fic. Well, not really accidentally
Not much is revealed yet, but I kind of want everyone to be confused and asking questions right now haha~ If
Rockstar is somewhat the spiritual successor to
Heartbeat Tempo, then this story is the spiritual successor to
Voices of Angels cuz I'm borrowing some stuff from there~ Also, yes, I'm still writing everything else. I just started something new because I can.
Hope you enjoyed~
Topic: Smoke and Mirrors [Prologue, 7/28] (Read 3116 times)