--Monday, July 27, 2172
"We're finally leaving…"
Seated in a comfortable massage chair, Keiko looked out the airplane window as I-Island grew smaller and murmured in a soft voice. Momo, who was seated nearby, looked at Kai and asked with some concern.
"Will the guys be alright on the other plane?"
"They're fine. Although that plane has fewer security systems than this one, it's still safer than any commercial aircraft. Don't worry."
Kai replied calmly, his seat fully reclined, with Tama and Salem playfully kneading his chest with their paws. Tomoko, who was watching the pair of cats playing on Kai with envy, commented while biting her finger.
"Kai, you have to teach me how to make cats love me like that."
"Just show them who's boss; that's what I do." Kai replied in a lazy tone, which made everyone present laugh. Chatora replied while receiving the drink offered by the flight attendant.
"That only works for you, Kai. Cats are generally more independent, so your method won't work on most of them."
"Try it first and then tell me about it—it worked for me." Kai replied casually, which made Chatora laugh, giving way to a lively conversation among everyone.
At that moment, Kai stretched in his seat with the cats, letting out a wide yawn, set the cats down, and stood up. In a casual tone, Kai commented as he walked toward the rear of the plane.
"I'm going to sleep in the back for a while. I'm tired."
""Alright.""
Everyone replied in unison in casual voices as Kai walked toward the rear of the plane. Even so, some of the girls couldn't help glancing at the flight attendant who had returned to distributing drinks. Although they weren't sure what exactly, they knew Kai well enough to sense he was about to do something—and the fact that they happened to have an unfamiliar flight attendant was no coincidence. Kai wanted witnesses.
Visibly relaxed, Kai closed the door to the room, at which point he extended his Observation Haki to scan the surrounding area, then lay down on the bed. After playing on his phone for a while, Kai got up and contacted his trusted assistant while walking toward one of the room's walls, where a window to the outside could be seen.
[Is everything ready?]
[Ready, Master. Right now Ryoichi Tanaka is leaving a bar. If we move now, we can intercept him at the chosen location.] Sage replied in a serious tone, pulling up several holographic screens showing security camera footage of a man entering a bar.
[Perfect.]
Kai nodded with satisfaction as he placed his hand on the window, at which point an invisible sword materialized outside the plane—and soon Kai disappeared, reappearing beside it. Grabbing the sword with his right hand, Kai continued moving with the momentum, but the plane was faster, quickly leaving him behind.
"[Magnetic Force] On! [Home]!"
As he fell through the air at tremendous speed, Kai waited until the plane had moved far enough away, then conjured a golden card and raised it into the air, announcing aloud. Instantly, the card activated, transforming into a sphere of light that enveloped him before shooting into the sky and vanishing into nothing, as if it were an illusion.
Inside the sphere of light, Kai took from his pocket what appeared to be a futuristic medallion, which he pressed against his chest. Instantly, the medallion began to deform and spread across his body, soon forming a futuristic suit of armor like a second skin.
At the same time, a card with golden Aura Script patterns appeared in Kai's hand—at its center was the image of a figure dressed in black with a mask and a hood, while on its back six different masks were visible.
"[Mask and Mantle] On! [Puppet Master]!"
With Kai's announcement, the card transformed into a stream of light that consumed him completely, then became a fully black formal suit beneath a long coat of the same color. Meanwhile, Kai's head transformed into a sinister yet incredibly detailed mechanical face with exposed teeth and bright, aggressive red eyes—resembling a mechanical Dracula, with a kind of synthetic hair featuring prominent streaks.
[Master, now.]
At that instant, Sage announced in a serious tone, so Kai—now resembling an elegant villain—conjured a new card and announced in a loud voice, revealing a dark and mechanical voice capable of creating nightmares.
"[Magnetic Force] Cancel!"
With the announcement, the sphere of light vanished along with the card, leaving Kai to begin falling toward the ground from a great height in the middle of the night. Taking advantage of the darkness and the clouds, Kai conjured a new card and quickly announced aloud.
"[Shadow Cloak] On!"
Once again, the card turned into a stream of light that covered him completely, becoming a dark cloak that made him vanish entirely from sight. Once hidden, Kai kicked off the air to navigate toward his target location, following the instructions on the invisible holographic screen in front of him, arriving shortly after.
In the middle of a dark, nearly deserted road, Kai landed near a bridge and leaned against a wall, waiting in silence while tracking his prey's route through the Sage's holographic screen.
After a few minutes, Kai spotted the high beams of a luxury vehicle in the distance, which caused a small smile to form on his face. Shedding the cloak that had concealed him, Kai became visible once again—and stepped forward while flexing the fingers of his right hand.
…
Inside the vehicle, Ryoichi Tanaka, slightly drunk, made his way down the dark road while muttering curses under his breath. Lately, things hadn't been going well for him.
Ever since he had been ordered to keep a low profile, he'd been forced to live on nothing but his teacher's salary—a pittance that wasn't enough to afford the lifestyle he deserved.
That was why he could lately only afford to go to some run-down bar far from his home, since he could no longer allow himself the high-end bar he used to frequent.
"Damn Saito Kai… I hope you die soon…"
Ryoichi muttered, filled with rage, as he approached a bridge—the headlights illuminating his face, twisted with anger. But just at that moment, Ryoichi spotted two strange red lights ahead, along with a flash of light from the corner of his eye, which completely transformed his expression.
Shifting from a hateful expression to one that was serious and focused, Ryoichi immediately turned the wheel and sent the car flying directly toward a nearby forest. At the same time, Ryoichi threw open the door and leaped from the vehicle, then began running at a speed exceeding that of a cheetah, plunging into the trees.
Instantly, Ryoichi disappeared among the trees, swallowed by the darkness, where his entire body began to fade like a mirage until he vanished completely. Taking advantage of his invisibility, Ryoichi climbed a tree and looked out with sharp eyes toward the direction he had come from, ignoring the instincts screaming at him to run.
[It seems the information was correct—you are far from a simple predatory teacher, Tanaka Ryoichi.] But just at that moment, a cold, hollow, mechanical voice echoed behind him, making his hair stand on end.
Processing the words, Ryoichi moved with extreme agility, leaping from the tree, then spinning in midair and pointing both index fingers at the two red lights he could see. From his fingertips, two invisible laser beams capable of cutting steel like tofu shot toward the figure. But to his surprise, the red lights shifted slightly, perfectly dodging his attack.
[Stealthy and lethal… What is a man like you really doing as a teacher?]
The eerie voice resonated once more, and Ryoichi felt his arms and legs being seized by something. With a grave expression, Ryoichi abandoned all stealth—and from every inch of his skin, a powerful radiance erupted in all directions, vaporizing everything it touched, freeing himself.
Breathing heavily, Ryoichi fell onto one knee at the center of an enormous crater, and quickly began scanning the large clearing his attack had created. At that moment, from the darkness of the trees, what appeared to be a tall man dressed in an elegant formal suit stepped forward. The man, lit by the moonlight, had a sinister yet extraordinarily detailed metal head—resembling a futuristic android wearing clothes.
"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" Ryoichi asked in a dark voice, to which the figure replied in that same strange voice.
[You know exactly what I want.]
As he spoke, the strange man moved the fingers of both hands in an unusual way, at which point Ryoichi leaped into the air and began spinning. Using his hands as guns, Ryoichi "fired" in 360 degrees, causing invisible threads in the air to snap and fall to the ground, barely distinguishable by their burned tips.
"Are you sent by some girl's father? You'd better leave now and run as far as you can. Getting involved with me is something you can't afford."
Landing on the ground, Ryoichi looked at the strange man and spoke in a cold, serious voice. But for some reason, Ryoichi felt as though that metallic helmet smiled sinisterly—and soon the voice resonated again, asking with sadistic mockery in its tone.
[Will a certain 'Vault' come to protect you?]
Upon hearing it, Ryoichi couldn't help but open his eyes wide in disbelief—but soon his entire being sharpened to an extreme, resembling a warrior of death. At that moment, hundreds of spheres of light erupted from his skin and shot toward the strange man while he himself fled at great speed in the opposite direction.
To his surprise, the trees around him were suddenly cut down, and their trunks shot toward him, intercepting the spheres of light and forcing him to jump to dodge. But while airborne, Ryoichi saw trees and rocks shooting in his direction while threads that subtly reflected the moonlight attempted to ensnare him.
With a cold expression, Ryoichi quickly generated more spheres of light from his skin and sent them to destroy the projectiles, while using his hands as swords to cut the threads with highly concentrated lasers. But to his surprise, the light was unable to pierce the cables.
Soon, Ryoichi found himself completely caught—his hands emitting powerful "laser sabers" dangerously close to his face. At that moment, the mysterious man began walking toward him step by step, commenting in his cold and eerie voice.
[We'll have much to talk about, Tanaka Ryoichi.]
"You're dead."
Ryoichi replied coldly, at which point his body transformed into a stream of light, managing to escape. At the same time, his body split into six exact copies—three of which attacked the strange man while the other three fled in different directions.
Witnessing the display, the man in the black suit moved his fingers in that strange way along with his arms, causing hundreds of threads around him to catch the moonlight, creating an almost dreamlike scene.
But though the scene was strangely captivating, all Ryoichi could feel was a blood-chilling fear. Defying every notion of physics, the threads in the air moved like living creatures, weaving together to form several shields that protected the man from the attacks of the three light clones.
At the same time, more threads managed to reach all the light figures—including those that were fleeing—leaving them hanging in the air with arms and legs outstretched. As the light clones disappeared, Ryoichi couldn't help staring at the strange man and whispering in horror.
"How did you catch me…? I was intangible…"
[We'll have plenty of time to talk… For now I need you to do a few things for me.]
The man in black replied in his cold, mechanical voice, at which point Ryoichi made to respond. Before he could, threads connected to his head, arms, legs, and spine—and at that instant his head dropped, completely unconscious. But shortly after, Ryoichi raised his head and was released by the threads, managing to land on the ground with agility and give a small bow.
Immediately afterward, Ryoichi stood up, checked and straightened his clothes, and then walked toward his abandoned car with a calm, steady stride. Meanwhile, the man in black moved his fingers like a puppeteer while deliberately remaining in the shadows. This, combined with the sounds of the dark forest, created a scene capable of making anyone tremble.
…
[Any onlookers, Sage?]
Sitting in the back of Ryoichi's car—which he was controlling through the threads and the Manipulation properties of his aura—Kai asked his trusted assistant. Sage, perched on her master's shoulder, replied while pulling up several screens with relevant information and footage.
[None yet, Master—but I made sure to leave some traces for anyone who investigates. Now we just have to wait.]
[Perfect. Then stay ready. As soon as this guy gets far enough from the city, isolate him in Alcatraz, and we head back to the plane. Also, make sure that when I return, at least one of the girls goes into the room and lets the flight attendant see me sleeping.] Kai ordered in a serious tone, to which the beautiful fairy replied with a smile.
[Understood, Master.]
***
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