|| Codename Prometheus ||

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(let’s. make. reality. fictitious.)

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Whoever the culprit was, Tomoyo was downright pissed. She would not tolerate this! Absolutely not! It was time to fulfill her role as a Tyrant to today; it meant disciplining the students even harder than before with her shinai and work them to the bone. Nothing could ever go right for her, could it? First of all, her very important weapon for protection was gone under the floorboard. Kokoro confirmed that she heard something in the house, though the intruder managed to escape. It didn’t kill her, that she had to assume that there were two stalkers now, or even more. Besides the danger, she was in from telling on a company that was performing embezzlements. It led to that company’s ruin, and ever since that incident after she used her sleuthing skills to discover the disappearing assets from the city, one of those corporations must’ve sent them after her.

Assassins. Indestructible assassins. She never encountered anything like it before, but when she tried to make her own makeshift weapons to immobilize them, they would come running after her. They didn’t seem to feel pain or even falter in their strength and their goals. They had this fixated mindset of completely destroying her…which was why she fled America and came back to Japan. The assassins never stopped coming, though Tomoyo had bought some time in Japan manufacturing a weapon that would be strong enough to kill those blasted things. It might be overkill, but those androids needed to be shut down. Permanently.

She needed to get that weapon back. Months and months of toiling, while waking up every night on high alert and having nightmares about killer androids and mecha dinosaurs. What other havoc will be unleashed upon her and her peaceful Japan? She’d hate to run away again, she needed to gather the funds that her father left her. She lived frugally and cheaply, which was why she had so many funds left, but it was soon to run out and she needed those resources as long as she could. Where to flee next?

Then…her only protection was gone. She felt defenseless without it. How dare the enemy strip her of her dignity! And now to add to the fun, there was a known factor I the mix, one that she assumed to be hostile. She couldn’t take any chances. She needed to investigate where her weapon went, and she would track everyone throughout the city if she had to to do so.

“So Kokoro,” Tomoyo said sternly. “You’ll have to tell me every single detail that you know about the incident. You entered the apartment, correct?”

“Yes,” Kokoro said while putting a hand to her cheek. It was unlocked, so I figured that you wouldn’t be gone long. You said you had a couple of errands to run. I called to tell you that I was gonna clean up your room, tidied up a bit, and then I heard a high pitched whistle from your bedroom.”

“Stop right there,” Tomoyo said with a frown. “You heard it coming from MY room?”

“Yes,” Kokoro said before Tomoyo cut her off again.

“Did you see anything…suspcous?” Tomoyo said, sweating a little. “A person, I mean.”

“No, they weren’t there. Not even underneath the bed, where I checked twice.”

“Did you think to call the police?” Tomoyo asked, sweating even further.

“It was rather worrisome, though I suppose that it could've been the trick of imagination,” Kokoro said while hitting herself on the head playfully. You entered right after, and I was relieved to hear you. Guess I get easily spooked, don’t I?”

“Silly girl,” Tomoyo said somewhat fondly, though inside she was cursing. Damn it! So she didn’t catch a glimpse of the culprit. She asked the neighbors an everyone who passed by that street and even her classmates, but nothing could be found. The intruder, whoever he or she was, vanished without a trace.

He was probably very good at what he did. Tomyo assessed his experience and talents through replaying the scenario through her head. Probably military, or someone with a military background. Though Tomoyo was no slouch when it came to the physical department, even she couldn’t handle someone from the military. She wondered what this organization’s goal was. Were they going to throw her in jail for unlawful possession of a super century weapon?

Tomoyo didn’t know.

Whoever it was, they had a lot of hell to pay.

—x—

“This is the weapon,” Kazuo said as he handed it over to Rikyu. He was the only one out of all of them that could tell the components.

“Hm,” Rikyu said as he examined it quickly, dismantling then reassembling it as swiftly as he solved Rubik’s cubes with his hands. “Definitely someone to keep an eye on. Though I suppose that e have to arrange a few things for her to properly meet us.”

“And that is?” Kazuo said before Rikyu grinned.

—x--

Kazuo’s screen showed the news somewhere in a distant country he couldn’t pronounce, though his gaze glanced from the screen to a teenage girl with long, flowing purple hair and violet eyes. His pulse raced. She certainly kept her hair so clean and silky that the afternoon sun shimmered off the crown of her head like a halo, probably brushing it a thousand times on each side and letting it tumble past her shoulders in a cascade of silken strands. Kazuo knew this girl; Tomoyo Aburame, class president of the high school. Despite her looks, Kazuo never saw her hanging off the arm of another man. With the face of an angel, Kazuo heard those lips spew some curses that would make a sailor’s toes curl and she carried around a shinai stick to better discipline the students with when they would talk in the halls or try to flip up her skirt as a dare.

Kazuo couldn’t stop grinning. She probably was the type to curse and squeal if someone put a horned beetle down her shirt or up her leg. A schoolboy’s prank, seeing the look on her face after someone pranked her would be worth it. Though unfortunately, he could look, he couldn’t touch. Kazuo scanned through his peripheral vision and looked beyond the houses and twisting streets. Nothing jumped out at him. No mysterious ski-masked villain, no overly fanatical terrorist threatening to blow the school up, no nothing. Kazuo let out a sigh and tapped his foot again on the concrete. He tapped so much that he didn’t hear Tomoyo approach.

“You there!” Tomoyo said, pointing a finger at Kazuo. “Are you a student of this school?”

Kazuo grinned and pocketed his phone. “What if I am?”

Tomoyo frowned and huffed.

“I noticed you looking at me. Are you some kind of pervert? Don’t make me self-defense you with my trusty shinai.”

Kazuo snorted. “No wonder why you don’t have a boyfriend.”

Tomoyo flushed. “Were you stalking me?"

“Why do you automatically assume that I have the time to stalk you?” Kazuo asked. “I linger in the classrooms listening to the other students. Your reputation is an infamous one, I must say.”

Tomoyo stuttered.

“Y-You think that you know me so well, don’t you! Listening to the gossip of brainless idiots that don’t know what they’re talking about!”

Kazuo sighed. “It seems that you haven’t learned your lesson. The people around you don't trash like you claim they are. With that attitude, you’re not going to have many friends.”

“W-Who cares about friends?” Tomoyo said as she hemmed and hawed. Sweat started to bead on her forehead. “Besides, people avoid you all the time! There must be a reason for that, huh?”

“True, we’re both loners,” Kazuo said.”Which is probably why we should stick together, huh?”

“A delinquent like you…” Tomoyo said with gritted teeth. “I hate delinquents! Every last one of them! You do nothing but stir up trouble and don’t care about the moral integrity of the school! I try so hard to enforce the rules, but nobody listens to what I say! Why won’t they listen to me?”

“Maybe because corporal punishment is an outdated thing,” Kazuo pointed out.

“As if you’re one to talk? Don’t you talk with your fists?”

“I don’t use my fists on women. Though trust me, I imagine that other people don’t have the restraint I do or the chivalrous personality.”

Tomoyo stomped her foot. “You’re so infuriating! You trying to get me all riled up? For what reason? Are you one of those people who like pranking the ‘teacher's pet’ because she is a snob and an easy target, right?”

“Ssh!” Kazuo said all of a sudden, putting a hand over Tomoyo’s mouth and pulling her behind a tree. Tomoyo shrieked behind his hand and bit his fingers. Kazuo gritted his teeth.

“Idiot! Someone is talking you!” he whispered in a fierce undertone.

Tomoyo immediately understood and went limp in his grasp. Kazuo peered out from his hiding place and saw a van roll up on the concrete some distance away. Not good. He needed to get the target out of there, and fast.

“Listen,” Kazuo whispered to Tomoyo. “I want you to run as far away from the school as you can. I’ll keep these people busy. Don’t worry about me, I’m here for your protection. Go to Sector 28 to meet up with a friend of mine. I’ll come to meet up with you later.”

“What’s going on?” Tomoyo sputtered, clenching her hands into fists. “What do you—”

“Go!” Kazuo said, shoving her in the opposite direction. “Don’t talk. Run!”

With that, Tomoyo’s sneakers pounded into the concrete. When she disappeared around the corner, Kazuo squared his shoulders and looked into the whites of his opponent's eyes. Important government suits, it looked like. This could get dangerous, but Kazuo thrived on the adrenaline rush.

“Have you seen a purple haired girl wearing a schoolgirl uniform around?” one of the agents asked, while Kazuo rolled his shoulders. “If you give us the information that we need, we promise that you won’t be harmed.”

“Well, looks like I gotta use my fists for talking,” Kazuo said as he pounded one fist into the palm of his other hand. “You’re not gonna lay your hands on her.”

Another agent aimed his gun at Kazuo. “You’re not a student of this school.”

“Hey, hey,” Kazuo said while his hand rested on his hidden arm. “You’re both reasonable adults, aren’t you? Why don’t we take a gamble?”

“We don’t negotiate with terrorists,” the other agent said with a frown, before firing at Kazuo. Kazuo dodged to the side easily, unloading his own gun and shooting back. The bullet grazed the gun out of the one agent’s hands, while the other charged forth and tackled Kazuo. Kazuo anticipated this move, however. He used aikido to use the man’s larger form against him and flipping him down on the ground.

“Talk is cheap though. Bullets give a punchline.”

“You,” the agent said, as Kazuo spun overhead and kicked the agent in the face with the sole of his foot and took away his gun. The agent took out a knife and started slashing towards Kazuo’s face. Kazuo sidestepped and then kneed the other man in the gut, who crumpled.

“You gambled your lives against me. Not very smart, are we?” Kazuo said with a chuckle as he dashed over the fallen bodies and made his way to the sector that he told Tomoyo to run towards. However, things wouldn't be so simple.

More government spooks blocked the way. Kazuo grinned. He could really let loose now, couldn’t he? Kazuo cracked his knuckles, before darting behind a street wall for cover and shooting. His bullets found their marks, effectively disarming the government agents as he swooped overhead of them through daring parkour. Kazuo then caught up with Tomoyo in the safe spot, where she trembled. Kazuo whistled. SHe didn’t piss herself, after all the government spooks and gunfighting.

“You did well, Prez,” Kazuo said to compliment her, and Tomoyo’s eyes narrowed while her nostrils flared. She slapped him across the face, leaving Kazuo reeling. “What the hell was that for??”

“You left me alone with a nine-year-old kid?” Tomoyo shrieked. “You endanger a child with your shenanigans?”

“Hey,” the nine-year-old, aka Rikyu, said. “Kazuo. Why’d you left me with this needlessly noisy woman? You’re better with girls than I am.”

“This little jerkass,” Tomoyo said while pointing a thumb at Rikyu. “Is a horrible brat. Regardless, brat or not, you still endanger the lives of children!”

“I may not have Kazuo’s marksmanship or parkour skills,” Rikyu said with a little huff, a slight pout in his cheeks while Tomoyo talked down upon him. “But I can manage better than you, Prez.”

“What an insult! I should discipline you with my shinai, shrimp!”

“Now, now,” Rikyu said with a glint in his eye. “I detest violent women. I don’t know what Kazuo sees in you, but I’m not sure if he’s thinking with the right head.”

“Kyu-chan, you wound me,” Kazuo said while putting a hand on his heart.

“Don’t ‘Kyu-chan’ me, Kazuo. I’m your superior, after all.”

“Wait,” Tomoyo said while she looked from Kazuo to Rikyu. “Did he just say…did this little shrimp really say that he’s your superior?”

“Yep!” Kazuo said cheerfully, to which Tomoyo poked him hard in the chest.

“Why did I ever take you seriously? Do you take orders from a nine-year-old boy? Listen you, the one you should be taking orders from is me!”

Rikyu clucked his tongue in disapproval. “Listen, you obnoxious bitch. Kazuo risked his life for you, and you don’t sound the least bit grateful."

“Why should I be grateful? He endangered me just by his very presence!”

“Infuriating…” Rikyu said while shaking his head. “You’re an inconvenience, you know that? Kazuo took his time seeking you out and then protecting you from the people observing you. You’re seriously unobservant to your surroundings if you think this is just one single isolated event. No, there are bigger schematics at work here, and you are a mere small piece in the jigsaw of the overall picture.”

“You’re just a pompous young rich brat who is full of hot air,” Tomoyo said, to which Rikyu frowned.

Kazuo frowned. “Hey, you shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why the hell not?” Tomoyo said, to which Rikyu’s expression smoothed itself over into a stoic mask.

“Never mind, we have other priorities,” Rikyu said. “We’ll escort you to the safe zone where we’ll lead you to our base.”

“W-What?” Why should I agree to go with you??” Tomoyo sputtered. “ I still have school!”

“You created a fucking miniaturized version of a rail gun,” Rikyu said in a scathing tone that even made Tomoyo pause.”For being a self-righteous moralist, you would seriously risk the neck of other people just for your own selfish satisfaction? You are the absolute worst…the kind of person that I detest.”

Tomoyo took a shuddering breath, before letting out a sigh.

“Ook, we might not get along but…as much as the other students may detest me….I wouldn’t put their lives in danger.”

Kazuo grinned. Rikyu turned his back on Tomoyo.

“As long as you understand. Though allow me to introduce myself. Properly. I am Rikyu.”

“Don’t say that so casually!” Tomoyo snapped. “You guys stole my project!”

Rikyu grinned. “Guilty as charged. But hear me out first. I will give it back to you in good faith, just as long as you don’t shoot me with it.”

Tomoyo’s brow’ ticked. “Tell me the reason why you had your man follow me and stalk me.”

She looked ready to slap Rikyu or discipline him, though before she could do anything, Rikyu clapped his hands together and nodded.

“Right, first order of business. I will return your science project as long you follow me and cooperate.”

“It’s bribery now?” Tomoyo said.

“It’s merely leverage,” Rikyu said, before he said, “Follow me, please.”

Tomoyo bowed her head and followed. Kazuo nodded his head towards Tomoyo when she glanced in his direction. Seems like she knew when and when not to physically or verbally spar with someone. Though Tomoyo might’ve wormed her way into his heart, somehow. Tomyo may have been prickly and left a sour taste in your mouth like biting into a lemon after she called someone “buttbreath” or “asswipe”, but eventually when you let down your guard, she wouldn't go for the vulnerable jugular with her fangs. No, just as she was apt to kick someone’s ass into submission, she was also likely to kiss someone's booboos after she inflicted them. What a strange woman, wasn’t she?

Girls were like those Russian dolls that nestled within one another. Didn’t Rikyu call them matryoshka dolls? Many layers and hidden depths into them. Once you’ve got them figured out, there is another persona or layer hidden underneath the original one, and your mind would be bamboozled trying to figure out a woman from a man’s perspective, he supposed. But if you took the time to understand them, to earn their trust and respect them for who they are, they held unfathomable secrets and treasure in their hearts.

When they made their way to their joint operation, Tomoyo glanced at all the men in uniform saluting Rikyu. She probably wondered what made other men defer to Rikyu with such deference. After all, Rikyu was a nine-year-old boy, just like she said. His clothes seemed to be too loose on his body, his too-long hair obscuring his heterochromatic eyes from view, and whenever Rikyu punched Kazuo out of frustration, it felt like a cupcake squishing against his chest. So why did all these military men salute Rikyu?

He was their captain, of course. The mastermind. However, a man that stood as a figurehead for Rikyu was a man named Shirou. who performed operations and negotiations in his stead, though everyone knew that Rikyu was the true mastermind behind operations here.

However, Kazuo would lay his life on the line for Rikyu, and Kazuo was pretty sure that Rikyu would do the same for them. After all, Rikyu made the nanomachines that repaired Kazuo after a particularly horrid injury that should’ve let Kazuo die a long time ago.

To that, Kazuo was indebted to Rikyu.

“So,” Tomoyo whispered to Kazuo. “Everyone seems to respect that little brat, huh?”

“You’ll find out in a few seconds why you and he are so important,” Kazuo whispered back, and then they went into the captain’s center of the facility where a white-haired man with blue eyes awaited them. Tomoyo looked at Shirou, and Kazuo wondered If Tomoyo would say something smart, but she seemed to harbor some self-restraint.

“Greetings, Captain,” Shirou said with a nod towards Rikyu, before his piercing blue gaze held Tomoyo. “And welcome, Tomoyo Aburame. We know quite a bit about you.”

“Aha, I knew you were stalking me,” Tomoyo whispered to Kazuo before Kazuo shrugged.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Kazuo said. “We’re the good guys.”

Shirou frowned towards Kazuo, before saying, “I’m Rikyu’s representative. Outside this room, though, you will call me the Captain.”

“Very well,” Tomoyo said while raising her head. “I want some questions answered.”

“We will answer accordingly,” Shirou said agreeably.

“First of all, what is the name of your organization?” Tomoyo asked.

“Maelstrom,” Shirou responded simply.

“Okay,” Tomyo said, placing her hands her hips. “What is your goal? Why am I so important to your schemes? I’m just an ordinary high school student, aren’t I?”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Shirou said, folding his hands together and pointing them at Tomoyo. “You’re a very precious resource indeed, and we need all the advantages that we can get.”

“Excuse me?” Tomoyo said while frowning, and Kazuo laughed.

“What he means is, that you’re special, Tomoyo,” Kazuo said, and Tomoyo frowned further.

“Me?” Tomoyo said while frowning further. “If I were so special, all my classmates wouldn’t hate me as much, would they?”

“You may not have the parkour and militaristic abilities of Kazuo, for certain,” Shirou said agreeably. “But what you do have is your greatest asset. Your mind.”

“My mind?”

Tomoyo crossed her arms. “There’s nothing special about it. Sure, I get good grades in school, but…”

Tomoyo paused. Come to think of it, she didn’t have to study as hard as her other students and still got exceptional grades, particularly in science and math. Was there some kind of connection here? She shook her head. No, that couldn’t be it. She was just an ordinary high school student—that’s all that she wanted to be. Tomoyo was herself, not some super species of human or whatever!

“You’re the same as me, essentially,” Rikyu said to Tomoyo, folding his arms across his chest and looking sternly at her. Though you’re officially the real deal. I’m nothing but a fake.”

“Fake?” Tomoyo said.

“Yes,” Rikyu said, before staring off past her. “One day, I will become the real thing though, I will become real.”

Tomoyo wondered what he could possibly mean by that. Kazuo’s hands clenched into fists, his jaw taut, though he said nothing. Somethin was up between those two, and Tomoyo wasn’t let in on their secret. What could this possibly mean? Tomoyo didn’t know.

“Basically,” Shirou said. “You both have forbidden knowledge on technologies that are currently beyond the scope of this world’s understanding. Now that we have two of you on our side, things will be immensely easier. Or at least, our mind is at ease.”

“Who says that I’ve agreed to work with you,” Tomoyo said with a frown. “Don’t I get to make any decisions about this?”

“As a matter of fact,” Rikyu said in a tart tone. “There are things that go way beyond your scope of existence. Think about others for once, Aburame-san. Or are you really the type of woman that I detest?”

Tomoyo looked as though she wanted to slap Rikyu. However, Kazuo intervened before she could lay on Rikyu.

“Now, now,” Kazuo said in a chiding tone towards Tomoyo. “You don’t want to do that, Tomoyo-san. And Rikyu, don’t provoke her.”

“Tch,” Rikyu said. “Whatever.”

“Regardless,” Shirou said.”We’ll need to do a full body scan upon you and a mind delve to determine what your ability type is. You see, you’re very valuable, as you’re a currently unknown type.”

“So, this thing that I am,” Tomoyo said. “Have different specializations?”

Shirou nodded. “That’s right.”

“What is Rikyu’s? Tomoyo asked out or curiosity before Rikyu cut in.

“I believe that’s for me to disclose whenever -I- feel like it, Aburame-san.”

“Why are you being so hostile to me?” Tomoyo said with a frown. “I didn’t do anything to you! Are you projecting your feelings of anger onto me from someone else.”

Rikyu paused, before glaring at her.

Kazuo immediately put his hands on Rikyu’s shoulders. “Now, now, Kyu-chan, she doesn’t mean any harm. Be a little kinder to her, won’t you?”

Rikyu sulked a bit. “She makes it difficult.”

“Give Kyu-chan a hug, Tomoyo-san,” Kazuo said with a huge grin. “Give Tomoyo-san a hug too, Rikyu. To show your newfound friendship with one another”

Rikyu flinched. Tomoyo noticed this and frowned a little.

“Uh, hey,” Tomoyo said in a placating tone. “I know that I’m abrasive, but I won’t intrude on your private space if you don’t want me to. But like…Rikyu-san…I’ll try to understand you a little better.”

Rikyu sighed.

“I suppose…I could be nicer to you too. We may have gotten the wrong impression of one another, but I don’t truly hate you, Aburame-san. That is only reserved for people who truly deserve it…”

Tomoyo cocked her head to the side.

“Like who?”

Rikyu clammed his mouth shut.

Tomoyo sighed. He really was a difficult person, wasn't he? But then again, her mind reminded her that he’s only a nine-year-old boy, despite his super genius intellect.

“I’ll get that scan, then,” Tomoyo said, while Shirou gave a rare smile towards her.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” he said simply before he led her down the hallway.

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