"Buing!"

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Akita Airport. Local time is 4:22 AM and the temperature is twenty degrees Celsius, or precisely sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. For your safety and comfort, please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the captain turns off the fasten seat belt sign. This will indicate...

"... On behalf of Mask Airlines and the entire crew, I’d like to thank you for joining us on this trip and look forward to seeing you on board in the near future. Have a wonderful day!"

After reciting her speech the next time in Japanese, the short robotic flight attendant gave a quick measured bow before moving to assist any passengers.

Feeling a familiarly feminine tap to his shoulder, Victor's body subconsciously jumped a little at the spooky stimuli.

Aggressively smearing his face with his hands before releasing a long sigh, he began the long awaited process of exiting the plane.

Left to himself as usual, his brain began to automatically calculate the unnecessary—a permanent habit for those plagued with insecurity.

Next time I should bring a camera or get a better pair of Holojects...

Actually kinda surprising how quiet that was, always heard planes were incredibly loud...

Definitely going first-class next time. Probably should have given myself a bit more towards traveling expenses...

Oblivious from inexperience, he failed to notice the intriguing similarity between the temperature and weather that both of his prior and current locations shared. It was still too early in the morning for any sunlight, so veering at holes to the outside only resulted in feedback from distant lights on the runway and other similar designs.

An unfamiliar environment welcomed him past the gate. Not only was the airport itself different, but the sounds and smells within as well. Eager to reuse his lower appendages and bladder, he stripped away the surrounding confusion by parting his curtain of hair and equipping his handy pair of hologram projectors; another modern display of technological advancement. The majority of such devices came in two variations; glasses, or a set of ear pieces, which Viktor chose. They fit onto each ear similar to that of a hearing aid, but wrapped around one's cheek, resting a bit below the eye on either side.

Each piece functioned using a miniature sensor that pointed forward to capture the front view, and altered it in real-time to provide assistance in any number of applications by accurately projecting light directly into the eye. As an added bonus, the pair Viktor wore included a speaker near the ear which provided active noise canceling and translation—the main reason he got them instead.

Amusingly, Viktor could have alternatively learned the new common or 'standard' language that was developed and enforced practically everywhere since a couple years back, but the way it functioned and appeared was too clean for his tastes—some things just can't be said without contextual or grammatic history—not to mention his respect for old America's way of doing things.

Finally spotting the sign which directed him towards the restrooms, he began his walk anew, albeit with some added pep to his step.

Walking on in like anyone else might, he abruptly froze in disgusted hesitation after witnessing a striking scene; a man in a brown suit,—perhaps mutant—was licking the tiling near a toilet with an unsettlingly sticky long tongue.

Two choices presented themselves; either creep past the... Well, creep, and relieve himself while reinforcing his tentative bond with Jesus in the hopes that the guy wouldn't do anything funny, or walk away in the hopes of finding another restroom. Viktor didn't necessarily have anything against mutants really—in fact, he was rather quite interested in them, but for the moment he felt like a fish out of water that witnessed a flying crab. The crab, in return, looked at the fish that saw it flying and simply continued flapping its wings. Seeing that no intellectual progress was being facilitated, Viktor gathered what he perceived as the best choice and wearily backed off.

Speaking in Japanese, the strange force of nature stood up with a slight scowl after he left, "Damn public and foreigners always interrupting my job..."

Thankfully with luck, Viktor found someplace he could let his bird—er, crab, sing after a few minutes down the main hall.

Aaaaaaah... This suuuuckss. He sung pensively in his mind, as his thoughts drifted,

I need some food—real food.

My head is killing me.

Definitely taking the dive next time.

Sure wish I could buy some of those souvenirs. What a shame.

Taking a seat next to the curbside, he set his suitcase on his lap and began a small gesture with his fingers in front of him, activating his Holoject user interface. Displayed was the live route progress of the underground transport shuttle he purchased, with the estimated time of arrival, thirteen minutes, to the side.

Becoming quickly bored, he decided to hasten things by perusing the online selection of various entertainment. From underground mutant fights to environmentally interactive mini-games, the possibilities were needlessly endless; an enticing alternative to the bleak and unpredictable world outside for many, Victor still included.

Right before the shuttle arrived, he lamented at the fight he was fixated upon,

"I'm going to defeat you with the power of friendship! Aaaaannnd, this gun I found! Bang! Bang!"

What?! That's bullshit! You can't use weapons in a DRG fight!

Gently alerting him, the transportation service started its regulatory introduction in Japanese, which was then translated by his gear, "Boop! Your shuttle provided by Moleway Expre—"

"Beep. Please make sure to stay seated with your belt fastened throughout the duration of the trip! Simply press the blue button to start, or say; 'Begin journey' when ready."

Strapping in and watching the doors shut, he pressed the button feeling the long since forgotten sensation of the underground expressway for the 2nd time in his life. When he was merely six years old, and was sent to get his lab tests done back in the states, he used a similar system. Such tunnels extended further beneath the earth than most of the old railways, and were more maneuverable to boot. The vessle itself was a specially manufactured sphere that zoomed along air-vacuumed veins which connected to each other at random intervals. Powered by precisely calibrated magnetic fields, the vehicular ball would rapidly accelerate through the seemingly endless array of decompressed tubes—decelerating and changing direction when need be (in case of failure, accident, or otherwise) and reaccelerate—similar to that of a needlessly large railgun, just for transport instead.

It seemed however though, that for every new innovation came two new crimes. Criminals reveled in the ability to use such tunnels themselves as a method through which to escape and build hidden entrances or exits to their various lairs; the possibilities were endless.

On a strikingly similar note, his destination was also underground, and in a short amount of time the pod uniquely recoiled, signaling his second arrival of the day. After the following chamber was sealed and reflooded to atmospheric levels of gas, the ball's metal hatch receded comparable to that of a car window. As he opened his jaw to pop his ears and stand up, the concrete hall leading up to a standardized heavy alloy door filled with a soft glow of light that ran the length in strips on either side.

Hmmm... Underground and no real way to track movement as GPS doesn't reach down here, not to mention most electronics cease to function while the Moleway is active...

Releasing a breath, Viktor began his walk through the frighteningly unassuming tunnel feeling slightly stuffy.

Landing at the door, Viktor could see not just one, but two safeguards. A biometric scanner which took a drop of fresh blood, and some kind of mechanical lock, though he couldn't tell the grade from looking, as it was just a strange looking keyhole.

Hmph, looks like Mr. Knox lives up to the name. Makes me wonder what he's got to hide...

Welp. No time like the gift! What was that phrase again?

"Uhh—A friend follows fate feeling f-ight...?"

"Close enough. It's, 'feeling frightful'."

Sholders lurching, Viktor turned as fast as he could while weilding his suitcase as in impromptu shield!

"Mr. Knox?!"

Holding up a large paper bag, he answered, "Yes, sorry for the surprise. Was running late getting here, just thought I'd get us some dinner before you arrived..."

Sighing, Viktor interjected, "Haaaa, just one scare after another."

Offering his hand, Knox continued, "Pleased to finally meet you, Acacious-san!"

Gesturing with his free hand towards the towards the door, "If you'd allow me,"

Agreeing, Viktor stepped aside and held Knox's bag while he began the opening process, turning his head with a smile while talking, "You're probably tired from all the moving around—sounds like you've had quite the day. I prepared a spare room for you to stay in if you'd prefer to get some sleep first—just be mindful around my wife—she can be rather protective at times."

"Ding! Click! Tiktiktiktiktik... Wrrrrrr..."

Distracted by the delicious smell that wafted from the food, Viktor's defense which stemmed from his immediate surprise somewhat evaporated.

Swallowing some saliva, he held up the restaurant bag asking curiously through the door's sound, "What'd you get?"

"Oh, since it's your first time in Japan, I figured I'd treat you to a little bit of everything! But don't push yourself if you don't like something, sometimes it's an acquired taste. Happened when I went to America for the first time, too! Much too sweet for me."

Following the strange traditionally dressed pudgy man with slight balding through the entryway, the room came within view. It was a puzzling sight to behold, as it appeared as though they entered the 72nd floor of some skyscraper, with matching furniture and surroundings too—with one exception eyeing him back.

A genuine cat-woman mutant—with flattened ears, a tail, and protruded nails hissing at him—and from the looks of it, a calico as well.

After reassuring his wife and showcasing the cutting-edge real-time projection of his workplace view on the walls, Knox unwrapped their dinner to speak pleasantries and prepare for the next day's discussion. Viktor sat reserved for a majority of the time, electing to fill his mouth with flavors of food instead of word. He had grown tired of using the tasteless white hunger pills which were invented a few years ago to effectively solve world hunger.

Waking up in a disheveled state the next day with the beautiful "light of day" beaming its joy upon him, he felt around for his Holojects before equipping them. He first clamped his eyes shut due to the exposure after turning the device on, but after opening them to a squint he realized that it automatically adjusted the output sensitivity to meet his needs, allowing him to slowly adapt to it and the room around him.

He sat disappointed for a second realizing that he couldn't talk with his friends that morning before checking the time. Apparently, he had slept in past the meeting time, something he rarely did before all this happened.

Shit. Forgot to set one up on this last night...

Taking a deep breath in and sighing, he took off his bed covers and proceeded through his routine.

Entering the living room in his signature matte black, he was dazed to find Mr. Knox playing a game of Glumbin in his cotton pajamas opposite of his wife, Suzu.

Sparing him a glance as he carefully watched the board, he welcomed, "Ah, good morning Acacious-san, don't worry about the timing, I'm on vacation anyway. As I recall, I heard you were quite the fan of Glumbin! It really is a fun game,—"

Setting his pinched hand with a card only he could see onto the table, Knox's miniature golem made of light shattered his opponent's, "—But I think I prefer 'Glumbin: War' more..."

"NyaaaaAAAAAHH!!"

"I didn't cheat!"

"Hiisss!"

Gifting Knox with a stink-eye, the cat-woman stood up and gracefully bounced towards the kitchen.

Taking off his head gear, Knox presented him the spot.

Taking a second to check with the feline, Viktor warily sat down before talking, "Care if I join?"

"Sure! Let's make it a bet though. I win, I get a better deal on your liquidation, you win, and I'll give you some valuable information—what do you think?"

"How valuable are we speaking here?"

"Priceless. As it is and always will be—and that's on the house."

After Viktor finished establishing his connection to the game, he progressed, "I don't mean to be rude, but I'm not sure how fair that'd be. How can you be sure that I don't already have such knowledge?"

With a thoughtful expression painted on his face, Knox replied, "You raise a valid point. There are other agreements we could reach, but I hardly belive they will be necessary. Worth is relative, and dealing with it is part of my job, after all."

After watching his opposition place his headgear back on and start the match, Viktor continued, "...Interesting. Say, would you mind if I continued while we play? It's just I focus better while my brain has something to think about."

"Ah, a case of lonely-mouth for the mind? Sure!"

"Did you just start playing this recently, Mr. Knox?"

"Haha, no... I've been paying it for longer than you have, I'd think."

"Interesting indeed... This is a pre-awakening game, isn't it?"

Slightly nodding his head with an indiscernible smirk he agreed, "Mhm."

With an uneasy frown playing at his lips, Viktor began to spill more regret from his pockets, thinking to himself,

Of course. It just had to be one of the only people left after the chaos who still plays Glumbin...

"Ahh, it really brings me back thinking about those times... Take all the time you need, Akakios-san. I'll confess, I'm quite excited to see what you'll come up with!"

With an awkwardly delayed response, Viktor asked back, "...Akakios?"