Tezuka. Sounds familiar? Of course. That's the name of one of the founding fathers of Japanese animation. And it also happens to be the name of the captain of Seigaku's tennis team. The character in this chapter is neither of the two. But he has something he shares with them. He is also a genius. Not just in academics but in sports as well. He was the captain for some of his school's athletic teams. He was also able to pass the entrance exams to any of the universities with just one take. And he had good looks to boot. These qualities made him famous with the girls. A lot of girls surrounded him and followed him wherever he went and a lot of those girls weren't just the typical groupies. Some of those girls were the daughters of high-ranking officials. Some of the girls were famous idols. Some of them proposed their love to him but he just shunned them. They didn't question his sexuality though. That's how much they exalted him.
What they didn't know was that Tezuka had an obsession...
He was obsessed with a certain idol group called "Morning Musume". He liked the members and he loved their music. Ever since their debut, he's been following them but not literally. But he wasn't like the usual fan who would wear crazy gear when going to concerts. He didn't have any blow-up pictures of them in his room. He didn't tell his friends that he listened to their music, or that he was a member of their fan club. He was what you would call a "closet fan". He bought all their singles and all their albums but he kept them hidden in his room. He watched Haromoni regularly and went to their concerts, but he wore something to hide his identity to those who knew him.
When he was already in college, his fandom started to lessen because of the schoolwork, though he still excelled in his studies and in sports. He only had a few units left before he could graduate but he decided to take a rest from studying, with the objection of his parents, so he could go back to his obsession. He wasn't able to follow the recent developments of the group until one day he saw a picture of their current lineup. He saw some familiar faces as well as some faces he didn't see before, like the girl who had pigtails and the two girls who looked like twins. There was one girl who caught his eye. He decided to watch Haromoni and some other shows like Utaban again to see what kind of personality this girl had. The girl was skinny, talked and sounded funny because of her accent and she didn't look very pretty that time but he saw something in her that he didn't see in the other girls who followed him before: potential. And he was right. A few months later, the girl became one of the group's front girls, getting most of the lines in their songs. And she became a lot more beautiful. And hotter. For the first time, we could say that Tezuka has fallen in love. He wanted to meet her but he knew about the rules. He just waited for an opportunity.
One day when Tezuka was buying his copy of the girl's photobook...
"Is that you, Captain Tezuka?" someone behind him asked.
"Excuse me, but do we know each other?" he said.
"You don't remember? It's me, Kasumi."
"Kasumi? Kasumi, Kasumi, Kasumi... Hmmm. As in the Kasumi who asked me to marry her back in Junior High?"
"Haha. So you remember me. It's been so long. But you still look like you did way back."
"What did I look like back then?"
"You looked lonely and mysterious yet you're still as handsome as ever."
"I guess that's a complement."
"What are you up to now?"
"I'm almost done with school but I took a leave of absence. I finally got tired of it. What about you? Are you married now?"
"Haha. I never recovered from the heartbreak you gave me."
"Sorry about it but we were too young back then."
"It's alright. What's past is past. I don't hold grudges on people, Captain. By the way, what's that?" she asked as he pointed to the photobook.
"It's a photobook."
"Photobook? As in the kind that has teenaged girls wearing swimsuits and skimpy outfits? You mean you buy those things? Since when did you become a wota, Captain?"
"A wota?"
"That's what they call the Morning Musume fans. Those weird, old men who..."
"I don't know fans get labeled like that. I don't find anything wrong with being a fan."
"Yeah. You're probably not the typical wota who buys their stuff and fantasize about them. You must be the kind who think those girls are sacred and such."
"..."
"Now I understand why you didn't go out with girls before. And it's also good to know that you were straight after all. Don't worry, I won't tell the others about this. It was nice to see you again, Captain. "
"..."
"I'm a wota?"
***
Tezuka finally got the chance to see the girls up close. It was a handshake event. The girls were not able to talk and they gave him various looks when they shook his hand. Perhaps they couldn't believe that they had a fan like him. They must've thought that all their fans were the stereotypical middle-aged salary man who had nothing else to do with his money because he didn't have a family so he spent all of it on their merchandise. Guess they were wrong. Finally, Tezuka stood face to face with the girl he wanted to meet a long time ago.
"Takahashi-san." he said as he shook her hand."
"Y..yes?" the almost speechless Ai muttered.
"You look more beautiful in person."
"T...thank you." she answered as her cheeks turned red. "W...what's your name?"
"Tezuka."
"That's a nice name."
"Not as nice as your smile."
Tezuka moved a bit forward, as if to kiss Ai and Ai looked like she was willing to get kissed by him. The other girls started teasing them. The other fans who were in line started to get rowdy but Ai didn't let go of the handshake. Until one of the security personnel, not the typical black suited guy, broke them up
"Come on, let's give others a chance, okay?" the man said.
Tezuka looked at him. He looked at the man whose left eye was covered by his hair. By looking, he concluded that they were almost the same age.
"Why'd you have to butt in, Retsuya-kun?"
"I'm just doing my job, Takahashi-san." he said as he guided Tezuka down the stage.
***
"What a way to kill the moment." Tezuka said when they were alone.
"Be a sport. Other people fell in line too just to see the girls. You can't have them all day and make a scene. Give it up. You don't have a chance with Takahashi-san."
"Just like you don't have any chance to get into her skirt..."
Retsuya punched him but Tezuka dodged it. He then threw a punch of his own which landed squarely on Retsuya's jaw. He was the captain of the boxing team before anyway. All hell was about to break loose when a bunch of other security guys showed up and held Retsuya back. Tezuka smiled as he walked away.
***
He was happy he was able to see the other girls and Takahashi. But now he wanted see more of her. He was on his way home when someone appeared in front of him.
"That was a lucky punch."
"It wasn't. You were too slow. And I bet I can hit you with it again."
"Let's see who's slow. Try me."
Tezuka unleashed another punch but this time Retsuya avoided it. Then Tezuka threw a flurry but his opponent dodged all of them, except the last one, which Retsuya caught with his hand.
"I thought you could hit me again." Retsuya taunted. Then he gave him a punch in the gut. Tezuka felt like a train hit him. Then he passed out.
He woke up in a subway bench but he couldn't recall how he ended there. He could remember that he fell in line at a handshake event but he wasn't even sure if he was able to shake their hands. Aside from that, nothing. However, his fist felt like it hit something hard.
He didn't notice the man a few steps away who was eating some chips...
***
It was another handshake event. When it was his turn, the girls shook his hand and smiled at him like they knew him already. What surprised him was what Ai said.
"You're Tezuka, right?" Ai asked.
"How'd you know my name?"
"You went to an event like this before. Don't tell me you forgot about it."
"Really? I mean, of course."
"Good. I thought you forgot about me."
"How could I forget a face like yours?"
Ai blushed. "Looks like you haven't changed."
"I..."
"Ehem."
Tezuka turned around and it was a guy whose left eye was covered by his hair. Suddenly, memories started flashing back in his mind. He remembered the first time he went to a handshake event, what he told Takahashi, how he punched the guy in front of him now and how that guy got his payback. Tezuka knew what to do. He walked away from the girls and stared at Retsuya, as if challenging him.
***
On his way home, Retsuya intercepted him again.
"You never learn, do you?"
"Retsuya, right? I remember what happened before. But you won't be able to do it again."
"I don't think so."
"How did you take those memories away from me?"
"You don't have to know..." then he vanished. Tezuka felt something hit him in the stomach then he blacked out.
Tezuka woke up in a park bench and this time he had absolutely no memory of what happened earlier that day, that week, that month.
"What am I doing here?" he asked himself.
"Looks like he got you again huh?" said a man who was sitting in a nearby bench. "Here, have some chips."
"Who are you? What do you mean he got me again?"
"He erased your memory. And kicked your ass."
"Erased my memory? But how?"
"He's a cyborg. Just like me."
"Haha. Do you expect me to believe you? Those things are fictional."
"You think so?" the man said as he pointed his index and middle fingers towards him and started to charge it with electricity. Then he shot the charge at a tree, which created a huge hole.
"I haven't fully recovered yet. If I was, that tree would have been obliterated. And probably that entire area of the park too."
"Impossible!"
"We were created to keep the girls away from harm, especially from wotas like you."
"I'm not a wota."
"What are you then?"
"..."
"If you want, we can work together. You know what it feels to be deprived of your beloved idols, right? Believe me, you're not the only one who has fallen victim to these so called 'Guardians'."
"How do you know all this?"
"I know because that's what I've been doing before. I have to redeem myself. I will be the wotas' messiah."
"But how can I help you? I'm just an ordinary person."
"You know chemistry right? That's what you were taking up in university. We can use your knowledge in that stuff to make some kind of enhancer or designer drug. And I also heard that you have a small background with robotics."
"How? What else do you know about me? Are you a stalker or something?"
"Haha. Don't think of me as one of your fans, Captain Tezuka. I only learned about you because most of the girls I slept with asked me if I had a brother named Tezuka. I asked them why and they said that I look like him. They wanted me to screw them because you never took advantage of their willingness. I got curious because I never thought that there'd be someone who can match my looks but I admit, you do have a slight advantage. You have poor taste when it comes to girls though. You should have pinned for Ishikawa or Goto. Or Fujimoto. She's a monster in bed and I had a hard time taming her but it was worth it. You’ll love the look on her face when she tells you to go faster. Aya is still the best though. But yeah, Takahashi's getting hotter nowadays. I wanted to try her out before but when I saw you hitting on her on the handshake event, I left her alone. You’re such a lucky bastard, you."
"Are you telling me that you…"
"At least once. Most of them. But not all."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Because I knew I was going to need your help."
"Who are you?"
"They gave me the name Ichiro."
"What do I get in return for helping you?"
"Not what but who. Yoshizawa, Shibata, Satoda, Ayaka, anyone. But I guess you'll be satisfied with Takahashi, won't you."
"Right. Ai is the only one for me. But what if I don't help you?"
"That's easy. I'll just erase your memory like what Retsuya does and make you forget this conversation, or I can kill you, which is probably easier."
"Ai..."
"You want her don't you? Shaking her hand was something wasn't it? Now you want to feel her skin under yours. But I think Retsuya's already racking points with her, and getting points with her rack. You want to get back on Retsuya too, don't you? He's a sissy trying to be tough. I can get rid of him for you but if you help me create what I was telling you, I would give you the honor of being the one to destroy him."
"W...when do we start?"
"As soon as we can."
"Hey, you ate all of my chips! You bastard!"
***
Tezuka went back to school and graduated a few months later. He asked his parents to buy him a house in the seaside, which they did. They also gave him a car, even if he didn’t ask for one. The equipment he needed came from the money Ichiro got from selling news and pictures to various tabloids. Once they had what they needed, Tezuka started creating the formula for what we would know as Graft. With his knowledge in robotics, he was able to upgrade Ichiro and restore him to his fullest as well. He would then ask the renegade Guardian to get the stuff (most of it were illegal or can't be bought without any doctor's prescription) he needed and Ichiro would bring it back. They tested it by injecting some of it to unaware stalkers or paparazzi, whom they knew were going to encounter Guardians. He never tested it on himself.
During their first tests, the Guardian could easily outpower the enemy. Though it wasn't successful, the tests would give them the data they needed to make the formula better. In the next tests, the subject changed in appearance and could now fight back but eventually still get defeated. It took them a lot of time and a couple of tries before he could finally create the perfect formula. As for side-effects, Tezuka made sure that there were none. Now all they needed was to test it against a Guardian.
Ichiro fought and kidnapped A, the one assigned to Kago Ai. He held a grudge against him because he was the one who ratted him out. Because of him, Ichiro was almost done for. They pitted him against a lackey who was under Graft. It seemed like an even match at the start but A underestimated his enemy. Just before he could dodge, he took a strike that severed his arm. The incapacitated Guardian was left with a couple of angry wotas and they took care of him. Then Ichiro killed all of them to hide any evidence of what they were planning. Ichiro and Tezuka were satisfied with the results but Tezuka didn't stop there. He continued developing the formula to make it better. A's disappearance and a few encounters with Graft users prompted the other camp to upgrade the Guardians.
"Just a question, why'd you have to make it that way?"
"What way?"
"You know, why'd it have to be glowy?"
"So they can use it as glow sticks in concerts."
"Hahaha. How ingenious of you. Does it come in another color aside from blue?"
"In the next batches, I'll use another color."
"I heard that Retsuya's gone solo. They found out there was something going on between him and Takahashi. Maybe I could get him to join us."
"That's fine."
"You forgave him already?"
"Of course not. If you could bring him here, then we won't have to look for him anymore. That way, it will be easier for me to get revenge."
"Nice. I was never wrong about you. There's a chance that you could really be my brother."
"I know. "
"The only difference is that you're a wota."
"Yeah. Maybe I am. I'm a wota."
"Hehe. What the? You ate all of my chips again!"
Ichiro and Tezuka. It wasn't clear who was in charge; who of the two was the master and who was the servant. Ichiro had the strength. Tezuka had the brains. Ichiro wanted redemption. Tezuka wants Ai. They had different objectives but they have the same means in which they plan to achieve it...
Topic: Detonator M (Read 97753 times)