Distortions
Chapter 14:
Oath Set Me Free
----
When the Lamb had founded the Four Horsemen, he figured there would be defeats. Setbacks were inevitable in any war. And no one should go into a war expecting invincibility from their forces. Still, to experience two losses in the span of just one day? He did not expect to be put into a bind this quickly. The defeat at Panau was even more galling, as he had lost despite the care with which he had prepared for the battle. He had known how valuable the facility was to his plans, and he still lost it!
"They are not known as five-time saviors of the world for nothing," He muttered to himself. Indeed, that was why they weren't supposed to be involved.
The loss of Black Unit Facility 5-012 had blown a big hole in Black Unit's production schedule. Red Unit was left scrambling to cover the gaps, moving resources away from lower-priority regions and projects. Even with the reallocations, they'd have to cut their East Asian operations after the planned strike in early August for at least a few weeks, possibly more. And those were just the short-term consequences. The schedule beyond the Sixth Seal was now looking at years-long delays because of this loss.
For a few moments, he considered recalling the White Noise members from their current assignments. Then he dismissed it. Bringing down the Sierra-Golfs may be the first priority, but hunting down the unactivated relics and relic fragments for destruction was a very close second.
Chiba was, in his eyes, the lesser loss. Unfortunate, but ultimately manageable. The Kohinatas and Tachibanas were only a means to apply pressure on the Sierra-Golfs. It would have been nice to have some greater leverage on them, but for the time being, they'd have to make due with the Virena boy they picked up in Val Verde. And even if they were able to gain more hostages, they couldn't ensure the successful liquidation of the Sierra-Golfs until Project Sabin was completed. A loss on this front was nowhere near as damaging to his plans. And given the self-contained nature of Fifth Seal cells, the capture of Cells 107 and 108 shouldn't endanger any of his bigger projects.
Then he paused to reconsider. Cell 108 would have been ordered to drop the Tachibanas off at one of the Tokyo facilities, hadn't they? He checked the relevant Red Unit report on the incident. Yes, he was correct. Black Unit Facility 1-014 was in danger of being discovered by SONG if they managed to get its location out of the cell members.
Yes, he would have to recall the dispatched White Noise members after all. Or, more specifically, recall Voronin. His skills, along with Caprice who had not been deployed, would be quite necessary for ensuring the agents divulged as little information as possible, even accounting for the Fifth Seal's more compartmentalized nature. There would inevitably be a time lag though, so the question of whether to abandon Facility 1-014 or not still loomed.
Ultimately, he ordered a low-priority evacuation of the facility. This way, he'd strike a nice balance between erring on the side of caution and minimizing disruption. SONG didn't have that much experience in these sorts of live prisoner interrogations, he reasoned. So even if Voronin and Caprice fell through, the facility would be evacuated in time.
Still, he mused as he flipped to a separate Red Unit intelligence report, even in defeats one could find silver linings.
Flash-Traffic, All PLA branches ordered to Maximum Peacetime Readiness.
Chinese MSS agents instructed to make contact with TFH. Tentative Support Possibilities.
There was nothing like a scared superpower to spice up the geopolitical scene.
----
"Its official name is the Ambient Phonic Gain Equalization Device, or APGED, but they appear to call it an 'Apegear'." Elfnein had brought the recovered blueprints up on her terminal.
It wasn't a proper debrief, Tsubasa supposed. More like a… pre-debrief? Chris was blowing off steam in the training sims, now freshly updated to feature those 'Automen'. The silver-haired girl was anxious that her two closest friends may now be orphans like she was and was working out that frustration in the training room. Tsubasa worried about that too, but in her case she also wanted to know more about what they had found. So, she met in the lab with Commander Ogawa and Elfnein to review what had been discovered.
"So this is what the White Noise use to match us?" Tsubasa asked, leaning over Elfnein's shoulder.
Elfnein gave a short nod. "Like I thought, the phonic gain capture system is derivative from miniaturized versions of detection systems. Direct implantation assists with transference to the body. The set-up is remarkably clever, even if it's useless without an active source of phonic gain."
"Can you replicate it?" Ogawa's concern was rather more practical.
"Eventually. Unfortunately, the files were damaged by the system scrub they had going. It answers the most important questions I had," Elfnein indicated several points on the blueprint that seemed whited out. "But I still don't know what sort of capacitors they would use here, here, and here. Testing materials and set-ups would take some time."
Tsubasa glanced at the blueprints for a while before she finally asked. "How much did we manage to retrieve?"
"Tons," Ogawa answered. "Although much of it was either damaged, incomplete, or useless. Not unusual, every organization generates its excess of useless paperwork. The biggest issue among the intact information is really encryption, which is taking a while to break even with the Americans assisting us with ECHELON."
"What little we have been able to uncover is disconcerting, however." Elfnein observed. "Even a glance at the data on the Horsemen's research products shows they're certainly dedicated to figuring out high technological means for the destruction of possible supernatural threats." She shifted slightly uneasily. "Although… they also don't seem to obey much in the way of ethical restraints. Take this one, labelled Project 31B102." She brought up an image of what appeared to Tsubasa to be a classic virus.
"It's an engineered virus, a gene-targeting bio-weapon." Elfnein elaborated, "For most animals, humans included, it's harmless. They just spread it as carriers. The exception is anyone who is a descendent of Finé. They're who it was created to get rid of."
"But Finé's dead, in soul and body." Tsubasa objected.
"What we've retrieved indicates that's one of the reasons the Horsemen haven't released the virus. They want a contingency in case she comes back somehow." Ogawa's voice was grim. "And their solution is the death of anyone she could possibly reincarnate within. They stole her genetic information from the old FiS databanks… and the kidnapped receptor children."
"The missing receptor children?" Tsubasa asked in shock. "The Horsemen took them?" Oh god. How would Maria react to the news?
Elfnein paused at that, her expression falling. "Yes, they used them to cross-reference the stolen genetic information and as…" She hesitated, a disturbed look crossing her face.
Ogawa placed a comforting hand on her head. "They were also used as human test subjects for the 31B102 virus, to confirm its effectiveness. As were a series of clones derived from them. There was some video footage of the results. The symptoms were... not pleasant."
Elfnein's stare could easily pierce a thousand meters. "I couldn't finish watching it. I thought I had already known the depths of human cruelty, but to believe the Horsemen would do
that to innocent children…" She shuddered.
To her own surprise, Tsubasa hugged her. It took a few moments to even process that she was doing it and when she did, she immediately withdrew. "Ah! I'm sorry. That was improper of-"
"No, no…" Elfnein shook her head, actually looking a little better. "It was… nice. I needed it. Thank you, Tsubasa."
"But getting back to the subject," Oagawa continued. "They also tested the virus against clones of Maria, Tsukiyomi, and Akatsuki. The clones sourced from genetic material prior to when the Curse of Balal was destroyed suffered the exact same fate as the rest of the receptor children. But the immune systems of the clones sourced from genetic material
after Balal was destroyed dealt with the virus almost immediately after it was introduced into their bodies."
"What does this mean?" Tsubasa wondered aloud, although she already had a nasty suspicion.
And Elfnein confirmed it. "Sumphonia," her gaze falling. "You wanted to be sure that… that it wasn't just the Horsemen's self-justification, Tsubasa."
The alchemist turned to her terminal, bringing up a series of captured records. Over her shoulder, Tsubasa could see they possessed labels like 'Project 13B545 Epidermis Tensile Strength Test #36-71'.
"Everything in the papers we recovered does indicate some physiological or biological change, assuming the experiments they conducted were indeed carried out in the way recorded." Elfnein reeled off, "The tests they ran on the post-Balal clones do indicate consistent, measurable improvements to the ultimate tensile strength of tissue and bone, as well as the time it took to heal from injuries. However, the single most dramatic change they recorded was in the immune system."
"It wasn't just the 31B102 virus either." Ogawa added. "They attempted to administer all sorts of diseases to the post-Balal clones. Viral, bacterial, parasitic… nothing caught." He turned to look at Tsubasa. "And that reminded me, do you remember when was the last time you got sick?"
Tsubasa had to think hard to remember. "It would have been… back in January." The week before that horrible concert. She had caught a mild cold, more irritating than anything else. Since then, though? Nothing. Not even the sniffles. Her mind moved onto trying to recall when the last time any of the others got sick. The only other one she could place was Shirabe coming down with a mild flu in November. Kirika and Maria had taken care of her. But since February? Not a single instance came to mind. Sure, it could have been coincidence; they all led healthy lifestyles. But experiments on biologically identical clones showing their immunity to diseases with near one-hundred percent mortality rates rather threw that out the window.
Tsubasa's stomach sank. The clones' immunity to those diseases alone would provide incontrovertible proof that post-Balal synchronization had changed the adaptors. That Elfnein was convinced of the veracity of the Horsemen's scientific experiments seemed to seal the deal.
"Do we have any idea where it will end up?" She couldn't keep a bit of the fear out of her voice. "Do you have any idea what we will… what we will be like when it's over?"
Elfnein shook her head. "Not everything, not for sure. I can extrapolate a few things, given what information we have. They expect the improvements in terms of your growing resilience to continue and seem to indicate similar trends in things like strength, reflexes, agility…"
Tsubasa could draw the connection. "Basically our physical attributes will become more like when we are wearing our Symphogears. Superhuman."
Elfnein nodded. "The accompanying data indicates the growth rate is exponential, so the changes may have started slow, but we can expect them to ramp up in the future. Fortunately, we also have some idea of the time-scale we're looking at. The data suggests it'll be a process of years until the transformation is complete."
Well, that was a little bit of a relief. That left them with time to figure out some way to maybe stop or reverse it, although Tsubasa couldn't fathom how. Maybe if it was their synchronization with the relics causing it then… no, they couldn't possibly give the Horsemen exactly what they wanted.
"Anything else?" Ogawa asked. "Possible mental alterations? Changes to senses? Development of further supernatural abilities? How it might impact them when transformed?"
Elfnein shrugged, looking extremely apologetic. "I don't know. That's everything I can figure out with what we've retrieved." Her brow furrowed. "Though thinking about it, perhaps this is also the reason behind the sudden rise of everyone's synchronization rates? The timing certainly fits." She shook her head again. "I'd like to run some tests myself to confirm the data, make sure they check out. Although, there is one more question."
She reached over and sorted through the papers next to her computer until she came to the same booklet that Tsubasa recognized from the lab. Flipping open to the front page, she read aloud. "'According to the hypothesis advanced by Professor-108'." She looked up. "Who is Professor-108, and how did he know about this when I didn't?"
"The context of the other information retrieved from the facility seems to indicate he's the leader of the Horsemen's research and development division, the 'Pale Unit'." Ogawa answered. "Beyond that… we don't know. The Horsemen are very rigorous in their use of codenames."
Elfnein frowned. "Whoever he is, he'd have to be extremely knowledgeable about the Relics to be able to draw this sort of hypothesis, especially given how he didn't have access to the originals." She shook her head. "Which makes no sense, since all of the world's foremost experts on this subject work for either one of the major governments or SONG. Normally, I'd guess he was an alchemist, but the Horsemen don't make use of alchemy at all."
"What about those androids? The, ah, 'Automen' I believe was the label we found." Tsubasa asked. "It can't be a coincidence they move like Autoscorers."
"It isn't," Ogawa answered. "The search teams actually found some Autoscorer parts in the trash sections. The
Alchemical parts of the Autoscorers that is. They were scheduled to be incinerated. The parts used in the Automen themselves? Entirely replicable with pure high technology." He shot Tsubasa a significant look. "We identified them as bodies from the Château."
'Ah,' Tsubasa thought.
'So that's what the Horsemen were doing there.'
"It's that sort of thing that makes me think it isn't an alchemist," muttered Elfnein. "If I were going to incorporate another person's alchemy into my creations, I'd use as much as possible. The way they were going about making the Automen was deliberately wasteful, alchemically speaking. It appears that the Horsemen's anti-supernatural ideology isn't just a facade. They're willing to bend it, but they won't break it."
Tsubasa frowned, racking her brain. "So we're either looking at a Government scientist who slipped through the cracks, probably someone from the F.i.S, or a total unknown…"
They lapsed back into silence for several seconds until one last thing occurred to Tsubasa. "The clones I found… the ones of us. What will they do with them?"
"Since they are clones of you, they have been placed into SONG's custody." Ogawa answered. "As for what we will do with them… I don't know yet. The most I can do is make arrangements for their transport and care back to Japan."
An errant part of Tsubasa's brain whispered to her that this meant there would be several picture perfect copies of Kanade and Maria literally lying around that she could do
anything she wanted with. She swiftly stabbed that thought with a mental sword and desperately repressed the blush that threatened to bloom across her face. It became easier when another, much more sobering thought crossed her mind.
"We…" The swordswoman hesitated. "We can't tell the others. About Sumphonia. Not yet."
Both Elfnein and Ogawa turned in surprise at that. "That's impossible," Elfnein objected when she finally processed the statement. "They'll have to find out eventually. It may take years, but the changes will become impossible to miss."
"But they are already going through so much." Tsubasa's voice was tight. "The Horsemen are pressuring us every chance they get. Akatsuki is constantly on the edge of self-destruction, and Tsukiyomi has her hands full trying to stabilize her. Yukine is weighed down by everything with the press, with Ayano, with her vendetta against Voronin! Kohinata and Tachibana might have just lost their parents! And Maria…" She shook her head. "Think of all the pressure they are under, and then think of how much more knowing
this would add!"
Ogawa eyed her for the longest time before he replied. "You shouldn't have to shoulder this burden alone, Tsubasa."
"I won't be." She answered, giving them a small, yet unconvincing, smile. "After all, you two also know."
Ogawa opened his mouth to reply that they weren't as directly burdened by this like she was, but his communicator ringing preempted him. "Commander." Fujitaka's voice rang out. "We're getting a call from Director Ogawa in Tokyo."
"We're on our way." He replied. Elfnein sprang to her feet and Tsubasa turned for the door but paused as Ogawa laid a hand on her shoulder. "Tsubasa, I'll hold off on telling Yukine for now. But they deserve to know. When we debrief in Japan, at the latest."
Tsubasa bit her lip hesitantly, then finally she nodded. It would have to do.
—
Chris practically sprinted onto the bridge just seconds behind the trio's arrival.
"How are they?!" Her voice was on the edge of panic. "Is everything okay?!"
Director Souji Ogawa calmly glanced at her from the main screen's visual feed. "The Tachibanas and Kohinatas are fine. We've returned them to our main shoreside base."
Both the silver-haired girl and Tsubasa visibly sagged with relief at the news. The bridge crew likewise all released the short breaths they were holding. Commander Ogawa simply gave a polite smile.
But Director Ogawa continued. "We've also managed to capture their would-be kidnappers."
"Horsemen staples let themselves be taken alive?" Fujitaka asked in surprise.
"Staples?" Souji raised a slight eyebrow at the word.
Shinji quickly answered. "We've learned some of the names the Horsemen use. We'll send you some details shortly. 'Staples' refer to the clone soldiers."
"Ah," Souji understood well enough. "No. Although there were some of those, they were all dealt with. Rather, we've captured ordinary human personnel. I'll be interrogating them shortly."
Chris raised a skeptical eyebrow. There were people who worked for the Horsemen willingly? Well, considering her experience as a kid in Val-Verde maybe she shouldn't be too surprised. There really were all sorts. Shinji, on the other hand, had slightly different concerns. "Don't go overboard on them. We need them to talk."
"That shouldn't be a problem." Souji replied. "I think one of them should be easy enough."
"Well, I wouldn't mind if you punched one of 'em." Chris remarked casually. "You know, as a favor."
"Yukine." Tsubasa warned. She had hoped Chris's bloodlust would die down now that the battle was over, but then the silver-haired girl did have a lot of reasons to be vicious towards the Horsemen. The Ichaival user simply raised her hands, as if to say 'yeah, yeah'.
"Don't worry. I already punched half of them when they were captured," Souji replied with a straight face. "For the other half… well, Tachibana got two and her grandmother got the last one."
There were a series of snorts from everyone, except Shinji who sighed instead. "Souji, you still have a terrible sense of humor."
Souji just raised an eyebrow in confusion. But he wasn't joking?
----
Hibiki had barely stepped out of the helicopter after it touched down in the section of Port Yokosuka the JMSDF leased to SONG when a familiar blonde tackle-hugged her. Miku was likewise glomped by a certain twin-tailed haired girl.
"Hibiki! Miku!" Kirika cried, "We were so worried when we heard!"
"There, there," Hibiki smiled fondly as she patted Kirika's head. "We're all okay." Miku likewise returned Shirabe's hug. At least for the moment, everyone was safe and no further harm was coming to anyone.
"Ah," The hugs broke at the sound of Okamura's voice, Matsura and her had remained silent for a few moments while they processed the scene. "You two were also at the press conference."
"Mama, papa. These are Kirika Akatsuki and Shirabe Tsukuyomi." Miku introduced the two girls. "They're my friends and comrades at SONG." She turned back to them. "Kirika, Shirabe, these are my mother and father, Okamura and Matsura Kohinata."
"A pleasure to meet you!" The two youngest adaptors chorused together, bowing.
"Oh, no, the pleasure is all ours." Okamura returned the bow. "Thank you for helping to take care of our daughter." Matsura didn't say anything, his face carefully neutral, but he also nodded in greetings. Okamura continued, "And Akatsuki, I'm glad to see you are looking better than you were on Monday."
"Well, I always try to keep things upbeat. Whatever the case." Akatsuki's laugh sounded genuine enough, if you didn't know her. For Shirabe, Miku, and Hibiki though, Okamura wasn't wrong. Kirika did look, and sound, better, at least for the moment. Quietly, Shirabe slid her hand into Kirika's own.
"Oka-chan!" A new, cheerful voice called out. The six turned to see Harumi Tachibana moving speedily towards them across the helipad, her hand waving frantically. Trailing slightly behind her, Akira Tachibana and Maria also walked across the helipad.
Okamura's eyes lit up at the sight of her old friend. "Harumi! It's been so long!"
"I know!" Harumi laughed. "The last time we saw each other was… what? A year now?"
Matsura eyed his own counterpart in the Tachibana family for a moment. Akira wanted to flinch under the man's gaze; he had always found Miku's father slightly intimidating. But he stood his ground and nodded in greeting instead. After a few moments of consideration, Matsura returned it, deciding he could afford to tolerate Akira for now. His attention then slid to Maria.
"Maria Cadenzavna Eve." She greeted. "But I'm sure you knew that."
"Yes." Matsura grumbled, his eyes narrowing. "If I recall correctly, you assisted the man who kidnapped and brainwashed my daughter."
Okamura opened her mouth to try and head off an argument, but Maria preempted her. "I did. And I'm sorry. It is one of many regretful things I did back then. Since I've joined SONG, Miku Kohinata has been nothing but a wonderful friend, for me, Kirika, and Shirabe. I owe too much to her, and to Hibiki Tachibana, to ever allow anything like that happen to them again."
Matsura raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"
Maria met his gaze unblinkingly. "I have come to regard Hibiki and Miku as much a part of my family as Kirika and Shirabe. Or, for that matter, Tsubasa and Chris. For them, I would go through hell."
To everyone's surprise, it was Akira who spoke next. "Kohinata-san, she is right. I have seen for myself how far these girls are willing to go for each other. I can vouch not just for Maria, but for Akatsuki, Tsukuyomi, Kazanari, and Yukine. If any of them are in danger, they will do whatever it takes."
Matsura's eyes remained narrow, although his face also became slightly contemplative. Trying to lighten the tension, Kirika piped up. "Maria is always worrying over all of us adaptors. She often feels like our Mom."
"Oh-ho?" Okamura gave the pinkette a mischievous smile, following Kirika's lead. "Trying to take our jobs from us?"
"T-that was never my intention!" Maria replies hurriedly, realizing only a moment too late that Okamura was teasing.
"Well, someone has to worry about Miku." Harumi joined in. "Since I imagine she's too busy always worrying about Hibiki."
"Moooom!" Hibiki blushed slightly. "First grandma, now you too?!"
"Hibiki's always a handful." Miku agreed, as if the chestnut haired girl hadn't spoken.
The almost genuine look of betrayal Hibiki shot her girlfriend caused almost everyone else to laugh. Even Matsura's face twisted into a smile.
"Perhaps we should continue things inside?" Akira suggested as the laughter died down, gesturing around at the helicopters and SONG personnel moving about, a few of whom were within earshot.
They headed back towards the living quarters of the base, the four youngest adaptors swiftly pulling ahead, the parents in the back, and Maria trailing just between the two groups.
Okamura glanced over at Harumi. "Is your mother here?"
"Mother's taking a nap in the rooms SONG has prepared for us." Harumi answered. "It was… quite an exciting day."
"Exciting is one way to put it." Matsura added, his mind going back to the terror he had felt for his wife and daughter as he had cowered in the corner of that crashed helicopter. Then the horrific sight of the mass of corpses of heavily armed men, their deaths at the hands of his daughter and her girlfriend… all in order to protect them. Wasn't it supposed to be the job of the parents to protect their children and not the other way around?
"Our daughters…" Akira wistfully said. "They're incredible, aren't they?"
Matsura eyed Akira. "You knew."
Akira gave a wry smile. "When Hibiki briefly appeared on TV during the Frontier Incident I thought, 'that couldn't be Hibiki, could it?' Then I ran into her and Miku while they were out shopping. And as I tried to reconnect with her, I couldn't help but suspect that it had been Hibiki after all. I couldn't help but marvel at how far she had come, becoming a better person than me. And that made me want to become better as well, so I could be worthy of being her father again." He scratched his head awkwardly, not precisely sure how much detail he should go into. "Then she saved me. During the Magical Girl Incident, she transformed and saved me, together with her friends."
He laughed awkwardly. "So, yeah. After watching my daughter and her friends stop the destruction of the world, demolishing an enormous army of Alca-Noise in the process, it was pretty much impossible for me not to know." Akira's gaze fell upon Hibiki, chatting happily away with Kirika, and filled with pride.
Matsura glanced between Akira, Hibiki, and his own daughter. His mind once again wandered back to the mass of shredded corpses left on the school field. Saving the world, sure. Fighting Noise or Alca-Noise? He could get having pride in that. But the utter slaughter he had witnessed today…
He looked at Maria. "Where is Director Ogawa? We still need to discuss Miku's future in SONG."
Maria sent Miku's father an apologetic look as the group pushed into the building. "I'm sorry, but Director Ogawa is dealing with the aftermath of the attack. As the eldest adaptor available, I'll be standing in for him for that conversation."
"Weren't there two more of you?" Harumi asked. "Kazanari and Yukine, I believe? We haven't met them…"
"Tsubasa and Chris are out on a mission overseas." Maria replied, ushering the group into a living room with a trio of extensive sofas. The doors to several concert rooms, none in use, dotted the walls. "It's why the commander is also not available to meet you. I'm sure they desperately regret not being able to be here."
"Then I think this meeting has been held off long enough." Matsura said, indicating one of the conference rooms.
Maria nodded, turning to the younger adaptors. "Kirika, Shirabe. I'm afraid you'll have to remain out here."
"But we want to support Miku and Hibiki!" Kirika replied. Next to her, Shirabe nodded emphatically.
"We know you support us, Kirika, Shirabe." Miku answered them gently. "And we are always grateful." She drew herself up, turning to Hibiki and their families. "But this is something we have to settle between us and our parents."
The Zababa couple glanced at each other with uncertainty, before obediently turning to take their seats at the couch. Maria cast a long eye towards them as the rest filtered into the conference room before she herself entered, closing the door behind her. She doubted they'd be able to keep to themselves during the meeting.
They took their seats. Maria sitting at the front of the conference table while the Tachibanas and Kohinatas sat across from each other. Miku and Hibiki sat next to one another, on the Tachibana side.
"I have serious reservations about Miku continuing to be a part of SONG." Matsura began. "I see no reason why a teenage girl should be forced into an adult role. I see no reason why Miku would have to do the kinds of things she did today." The scene of his daughter standing before him, bullets - aimed as much at her as at them - ricocheting off that shield-mirror-thing she had held out to guard them, flashed through his mind.
"Papa." Miku spoke up, fear leaking into her voice. "You aren't scared of me, are you? Or Hibiki?"
The instant she picked up on her girlfriend's distress, Hibiki had slid even closer to Miku and wrapped an arm around the black-haired girl. For his part, Matsura sighed and sat back, rubbing at his temples in clear worry. "No, Miku. I could never be afraid of you." He frowned again, "But I am afraid for you. Being a part of this has made you into a killer, even if it was for our sake. It has made you into a target."
Miku winced, even as Hibiki's embrace on her tightened. The Shenshoujing user knew her father couldn't have been referring to the deaths she inflicted during the Frontier Incident, but it was where her mind went too nonetheless.
"I'm afraid she will still be a target even if she leaves SONG." Maria interjected, her voice deathly serious. "As will you. The Horsemen hate us because we have used our Symphogears. From what we have learned of their ideology and attitudes, they feel the fact Miku Kohinata ever wielded the Shenshoujing is reason enough for her death. Killing you is merely a means towards killing her. Believe me, Kohinata-san: even if she leaves SONG, they will not spare her or you." She shook her head. "The fact is, being a part of SONG is the safest place she could be, so long as the Horsemen are at large."
"Matsura." Okamura added. She had made up her mind, on the way here and now she decided to chip in her few cents. "I'm not entirely comfortable with it either. But Miku will be eighteen in just a few months. She is practically an adult. She can make her own choices." She looked over at Hibiki, clearly approving that the Gungnir user was doing her best to comfort her daughter. "Not to mention, it would be impossible for her to stay out of SONG's business and continue to be with Hibiki or her friends at the same time."
Matsura considered the points Maria and Okamura had laid out. He wanted to argue against it, to muster up some key argument as to why his daughter shouldn't have to fight, to kill, and to be at risk of being killed. But he couldn't. Maria's own logic was airtight. The Horsemen would come after them regardless and that meant Miku was safest with those who would also be willing to lay down their lives for her and each other. Matsura wasn't entirely convinced on that latter point, Hibiki excepted, but he was certainly a lot more convinced than before he had heard Maria's proclamation out on the helipads.
But his contemplation was interrupted by Harumi. "You don't like it, do you?"
Hibiki shifted uncomfortably at that. She could guess what her mother would say, she had heard it before, when her father and her had first explained that she was a Symphogear adaptor. Without looking at her, Matsura shook his head. "How could I?"
"I didn't either." Harumi replied. At that, Matsura's head came around in surprise. She continued on. "My daughter chose to give so much of herself to the world, a world that, save for Miku, had refused to return the favor." Matsura and Akira both winced in spite of themselves, aware that they had contributed to that. "How could I like that? And yet…"
Harumi looked over at Hibiki and smiled the sort of reassuring, loving smiles that only a mother could give to her daughter. "I understand. It was her choice." She looked first to Miku, then to Maria, and finally to Akira. "It was a choice that brought her happiness, despite the hardship and pain she suffered going through it." Her attention finally returned to Matsura. "I don't like it. But I can't argue against it."
Matsura stared back at her for the longest time before he sighed, a small smile crossing his face. "I guess I can't either." He looked at his daughter. "Miku… the choice to remain at SONG is yours. I know what decision you will make, but please, try to be as safe as you can."
"I will, papa." Miku reassured him.
"Don't worry, Kohin-ah, Matsura." Hibiki piped up, giving Miku another squeeze. "I'll do my best to protect her."
"She will." Maria agreed. "And so will any one of us adaptors. Speaking of which," Her voice rose, taking on a note of humor. "With that settled, I suppose Shirabe and Kirika can stop trying to eavesdrop through the conference room door!"
There were two simultaneous yelps of surprise followed by the noise of two people falling over just outside. Shaking her head in amusement, Maria stood up. "I suppose we should adjourn to the living room, to relax with them."
As the others nodded and began to pick themselves up, the pinkette swiftly crossed the room and threw open the door to reveal Kirika and Shirabe just picking themselves back up off the floor.
"It's about time you finished up there." Koyomi Tachibana called from the couch across the room. She nodded towards the Zababa duo. "Even if these two dears were entertainment enough for an old lady." She sighed wistfully. "Ah, to be young again."
"Grandma!" Hibiki bounded forward enthusiastically. "You're up!"
"Sleep well, mother?" Harumi asked, as she stepped back into the room. She wasn't at all surprised to see her mother up and about.
Koyomi shrugged indifferently, glancing over to Okamura and Matsura instead. "Kohinata. It's been awhile." Without waiting for them to reply her eyes drifted down to Miku, hurriedly following after Hibiki who had plopped down on the other end of the couch. "And Miku, sit with us, dear."
Miku hesitated a moment, but Koyomi's eyes had nothing but kindness in them. A kindness that reminded her more than a little bit of Hibiki. Not as much as Harumi's eyes could, but enough.
"You know." Koyomi said to the black haired girl. "I suspected Hibiki would wind up telling the world she was with you before she told us. Looks like I was right about that. Now, since you are part of the family, I suppose we should be discussing welcoming gifts…"
"Grandma!" Hibiki groaned, throwing her hand over her face. "We're not married yet!"
"You might as well be!" Koyomi replied, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "But when you do come of age, don't wait too long to pop the question. I want to be able to see Hibiki in a wedding dress before I die. Or a suit. Whichever she prefers."
Both Hibiki and Miku flushed. Hibiki because of the frank embarrassment of her grandmother doting over them in such a manner. Miku because she was now thinking of Hibiki in a wedding dress right alongside Hibiki in a suit, and couldn't decide which she wanted to see more.
In thought, Shirabe turned to Kirika. "Hey, Kiri-chan. If we get married, do you want to wear a dress or suit?"
Kirika gaped like a fish at the question. "Shi-Shirabe! That's so… so…" A vision of her and Shirabe, up before the altar, flashed in her mind. Shirabe in a suit. Shirabe in a dress. Herself in a suit. Herself in a dress. Like steam being released from a valve, all she could finally reply with was a high-pitched "Dess!"
The adults in the room chuckled as Kirika's face turned red with embarrassment. Akira probably laughed the hardest, shaking his head. Marriage, huh? It probably was still too early for these kids to be contemplating that. Marriage…
With a jolt, he abruptly remembered what their kidnapping had interrupted. For a moment, he hesitated: This wasn't supposed to happen in front of the others. But then, he resolved himself. What did it matter? "Harumi, I have something I'd like to say to you. It's what I was going to say earlier, before all this excitement happened."
Harumi, still smiling brilliantly from the room's good cheer, turned to Akira. "What is it?"
The earlier nervousness Akira had felt earlier swelled up, but he clamped down on it. Now, more than ever, he needed to go ahead with his plan of action. He had even bought a new ring, dammit! "Well," he began. "All of the excitement today has got me thinking about a lot of things. Mostly about the past, but also about the future."
He gulped. "Being held at gunpoint brought to the forefront a lot of what's been going on in the back of my mind for the past year or so. Ever since Hibiki brought us back together, I've been thinking about all the mistakes I made. How I let my own suffering overwhelm me. How I wallowed in my own selfishness without considering how much you were suffering. How I abandoned my family when they needed me most. Let me tell you, when I was on the floor with a gun to my head, I realized how foolish I was back then. Because all my thoughts were about you: how I would leave you behind without making up for all my past mistakes, how I would leave you alone again, and how I would never get to tell you how much I feel about you."
He knelt before Harumi, whose eyes lit up. "Akira…" she whispered, a slight blush on her face. But he paid no heed. He needed to do this. For Hibiki and for the both of them.
"After I separated from you, I was dead inside. I was only going through the motions, longing for even a fraction of the fame and wealth I had at the peak of my career. I thought that that was what had made my life before so good. I was wrong. It was you. You were the light of my life, the source of my happiness and warmth. And after today, I see only one path forward."
The entire room's attention was riveted on the pair now, but Akira didn't notice. He had worked himself up such that it just seemed to be Harumi and him now. "Haru!" He pulled out the ring, presenting it to his ex-wife and said the seven words. "I want to be with you again!"
Dumb silence lingered over the room. Everyone stared in shock, save for Koyomi who was leaning forward in anticipation. Harumi herself had clamped her hand over her mouth, tears of astonishment pricking at her eyes.
A second passed. Then one more.
"Yes." Hibiki's mother finally replied. "Yes, I do too!" And without giving Akira any time to react, she threw herself forward, wrapping her husband in the biggest hug she could manage.
With an inarticulate shout of joy, Hibiki came to her feet and rushed forward to throw her arms around her father and mother's necks, the biggest smile on her face since Miku had confessed her feelings to her in February. Miku followed more calmly, gently laying a hand across Hibiki's back. Kirika shot to her feet, clapping loudly, Shirabe following in a slightly more sedate matter. Okamura and Matsura exchanged a glance before they too began clapping.
Koyomi just leaned back, nodding in satisfaction. Maria glanced at the old lady curiously, before she also joined in the applause. As it began to die down, she checked the clock and stood up.
"Maria?" Shirabe called, noticing the movement. "Where are you going?"
"I have to check in with Director Ogawa and inform him that Miku will be staying with us, among other things." Maria answered. "I won't be too long." She glanced at Akira and Harumi, who were just now coming apart, "Congratulations."
At the door, Maria paused to cast one last look at the celebrating group. Hibiki might insist that a family could not be fixed easily, the pinkette mused, but that wasn't the same as saying it couldn't be fixed at all.
—
"Ken Shibuya." Souji Ogawa began, unblinkingly staring down the driver of the group who had tried to kidnap the Tachibanas. "Interesting tale you told, about being a street racer before you cleaned up. Wasn't a total lie either. Only the bit where you worked for SONG."
"The best lies are often rooted in the truth," Shibuya replied simply. The man still showed some of his shock from encountering a Symphogear at close range, but otherwise he seemed confident enough. However, Ogawa knew he'd be the weakest link in the entire chain. A simple background check and only a little follow-up was enough to tell him that.
"You are aware of how much trouble you are in, correct?" Souji asked.
"Of course, I accepted the job knowing that." Shibuya shrugged. "The Horsemen were convincing."
"Oh? About the relics?"
"Eh, kinda. But the relics are only a piece of the puzzle." Shibuya waggled his hands, as best he could given the cuffs. "Same with the Custodians, if they're still out there, and any remaining Alchemists. They have to get their piece too, and the Horsemen assured me they have people working on it. But my job wasn't to be concerned with that."
"Just the adaptors?"
"Well, the parents of that one, specifically. Tachibana." Shibuya leaned back, showing some signs of discomfort. "I'll admit, meeting one of your little attack godlings face-to-face was the most terrifying experience of my life."
Ogawa's head tilted. "Godling?"
"Yeah. Don't tell me you don't know. You're SONG. You're the ones who practically made these girls. You gotta know." Shibuya squinted challengingly at Ogawa. "So, what's your plan? You going to intimidate me with Little Miss Punchy?"
Ogawa didn't know what the man was talking about. But he also knew arguing that probably wasn't going to be productive, at least not yet. "You're not going to have to worry about me bringing an angry Tachibana in here." He wasn't sure if Hibiki was capable of maintaining a grudge, based on what he knew of the girl. Then again, no one had ever threatened her family in such a premeditated manner. Ogawa did have it filed as something of his… well, probably 'Plan O' at the moment. "I don't anticipate that will be necessary."
"Great." In spite of his attempts to hide it, Shibuya definitely looked relieved at that. "Look, our job was just to monitor the family until we got further orders."
"You attempted to kidnap them." Ogawa pointed out. "I wouldn't consider that 'just monitoring'."
"Yeah, well…" The driver shrugged. "Obviously, we got further orders."
"And those orders were to kidnap them and deliver them to a specific location."
"Yep." A simple nod.
"And that location is…?"
Shibuya looked at him in disbelief. "What, do I look like I'm stupid?"
"Well, I wouldn't say you're stupid. At least, not when it comes to your street smarts. Your police file was quite clear on that." Ogawa made a show of flipping open the folder and scanning the contents. "But I am not convinced that you did this just because you buy into what they told you."
"Oh?"
"Well, I do find it quite interesting how an anonymous donor about two months ago decided to finance a certain Rin Shibuya's surgery." Ogawa watched the man carefully. To his credit, Shibuya didn't react that much. He was obviously expecting that to come up.
"Nice job. Yeah, the Horsemen helped my daughter," Shibuya said evenly. "So of course I felt I owed them enough to give them a listen. And let me tell you, the idea of leaving her behind in a world with them? Given what they'll become?" He scowled. "Humanity barely survived Shem-Ha. Don't you fucking remember that? How it felt?! Multiply that by seven, and that's what we're looking forward to if we don't succeed! Otherwise, Rin doesn't have a future as anything more than a slave, if we're lucky!"
Ogawa could piece together what the Horsemen had told Shibuya. Definitely something to probe about later. Still, it wasn't the information he wanted. "You know what the ones who were looking after Kohinata did?"
"Hell no! My cell's job was to keep track of the freak's parents, not her equally-freaky girlfriend's parents." Shibuya shrugged. "If there were people doing that, we didn't know about them."
"They were ordered to kill them." Ogawa answered.
"Ah." Shibuya shifted slightly. Barely perceptible, but Ogawa knew how to read people.
"You seem surprised?"
"Nah, not really." But Shibuya looked away, not meeting Ogawa's eyes. "Not something I thought about much. I mean, it makes sense in a strategic way. We had our own orders to kill the Tachibanas if we couldn't manage to get away with them."
Ogawa raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Your colleague didn't go through with that."
"Yeah, I can't say about Ko-I mean, K's reasons for sure, but I imagine the dad being the only thing between K and an angry god-in-waiting had something to do with it." Shibuya looked thoughtful. "Does make me wonder: will she still care about him in the end, or will he already be dead by the time it's over? Assuming the Horsemen don't kill her first, of course."
Ogawa decided to ignore that in favor of continuing his own line of questioning. "Your daughter. She's in junior high, right?"
Shibuya looked at him sharply. "You threatening her? You can't be threatening her. She doesn't know anything about this."
"Unlike the Horsemen," Ogawa answered, adding more steel to his voice. "I would never even think to hurt an innocent thirteen year old."
Shibuya blinked at him, clearly not getting it. "What?"
Ogawa reached into the folder and took out a photo of one of the girls who died at the middle school, sliding it across the table. "Katsuko Ebisawa. Age thirteen. Member of her track team. She was caught in the crossfire at her school by the Horsemen assault team trying to kill Kohinata's parents. One of nine who died so far. If not for Kohinata, the number would have easily been hundreds."
Ogawa waited patiently as Shibuya stared at the image for a long, long time, his face unreadable.
"She looks like Rin." It was when Shibuya muttered that, low enough that he probably thought the Ninja across from him couldn't hear, Ogawa knew he had him. Still, it wouldn't do to push.
"I… I only have an address name," Shibuya said finally. "I've never been to this place before. Hell, before we got the orders, I'd never even heard of it. The Fifth Seal - that's who we are, we're the HUMINT element of the Horsemen - is cell based. We know almost nothing outside of what our cell is given, and each cell operates on a need-to-know basis, so I don't have much more than that. Hell, our cell wasn't even responsible for setting up the bugs, just monitoring them."
"That will do," Ogawa answered, clicking open a pen to record it.
Twenty seconds later, he stepped out of the interrogation room, a sheet of paper in his hand. He turned to one of the two SONG agents standing guard outside the door. "Pull everything you can on this address. And send a request to the Japanese government for permission to investigate it, discreetly."
The Agent nodded, taking the paper and quickly walking off. With the important part out of the way, Ogawa turned to go back in, figuring he could now get the story on that whole 'the adaptors are becoming gods' spiel Shibuya seemed to believe.
----
Next Chapter: Watching Over Me
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Authors Notes: Bit of a breather chapter, before we move towards more action next chapter.
Also, who do you think would look better in a suit: Shirabe or Kirika? Or maybe both? I could see them both at least pulling it off. Miku could also probably manage a suit (in fact, I've seen some images where she does manage a suit), but the consensus seems to be that Hibiki flat out looks better in one: there's apparently even an XDU event featuring it. Tsubasa and Maria are no brainers (they outright wear suits in the series). Chris in a suit… hmm, I mean, my gut instinct is that it just doesn't feel like her style.
Also, mystery Symphogear announcement on Christmas Eve! What could it be? Symphogear Live 2020? Movie? Season 6? Hibiki and Miku's wedding date? They actually managed to create a Real Life Symphogear?!
Eh, let's not kid ourselves: it's probably Symphogear Live.
