New Orleans
"Tokyo?!"
Ikku and Kiko repeated simultaneously.
Ikku took a step
back and leaned against the side of the couch in the
centre of the room. He narrowed his eyes and took a
long look at Kageki, trying to decide what to make of
his young friend's sudden revelation. Of all the
Robomen, Kageki was the last one Ikku expected to be
keeping any secrets, big or small - and that his
father wanted to take him all the way to Tokyo
definitely qualified as a big one.
Kageki stared back
at him sadly before slowly letting his eyes drop to
stare at the floor.
"Kageki knew
this was coming," Trick said.
Trick, on the other
hand, was someone Ikku did suspect was
keeping secrets, so it came as no surprise that he
knew about Kageki's possible move even before Kageki
did.
"Why did
Kageki's father tell you about this before he told
Kageki?" Kiko asked. Like Ikku, she stared with
concern and confusion at Kageki, who still stared at
the floor in front of his feet. "What's this all
about?"
"Kageki?"
Trick prompted.
"No,
Trick-san," Kageki said quietly. "I don't
want to."
He turned and made
his way out of the room, into the restaurant beyond.
All eyes followed him as he left, but only Ikku made
any attempt to catch up with him. He ran across the
restaurant floor and stopped Kageki as his hand fell
on the glass front door of 'Hey, Pizza!'.
"Kageki..."
he said gently. The boy ignored him; he did not try
to leave, but could not bring himself to look up at
Ikku. He idled in front of the door in silence.
"Kageki," Ikku repeated, more
loudly, more sternly.
Kageki still did not
speak.
"Kageki,"
Ikku said a third time. "I'm not letting you
leave here until you tell me what's going on. Why
does your father want to take you to Tokyo?"
"That's our
home," Kageki replied simply. His hand was still
pressed against the door and he continued to stare at
the ground. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when
he opened them again he stuck his bottom lip out in a
sad-looking pout. "My father doesn't like me
very much."
Ikku frowned.
"First of all,
that's crazy," he told Kageki.
"Who wouldn't like you?" He kept
one hand against the door so that Kageki could not
open it, placed his other hand under Kageki's chin,
and slowly lifted the boy's face. "Secondly,
even if that's true, what does Tokyo have to
do with it? Who is your father?"
Kageki blinked and
tried to look down again, but Ikku kept his hand
firmly beneath his chin and held Kageki's head in
place.
"Don't look
away," he said. "Answer me."
"My father...
is Murakami Hiromasa," Kageki answered.
"That name's
familiar, but I don't - "
"Murakami
Hiromasa was a high-ranking Earth Defence/Leadership
Directorate official."
Ikku turned to look
at Sei as the blue-garbed Roboman entered the room
with the two-inch tall Cog perched on his shoulder.
He stopped a few feet away from Ikku and Kageki, and
looked back at the rear rooms of the restaurant in
time to see the wall panel that concealed them slide
back into place.
"Sorry to
interrupt!" Cog said cheerfully. "Kiko
wanted to speak to Trick alone!"
Ikku nodded at them
and turned back to Kageki.
"I need you to
explain this to me," he said.
Kageki frowned and
pulled himself away from Ikku and the door. He
stomped his way across the room, shook his head, and
marched back to Ikku.
"Why
bother?!" he asked.
Ikku looked at
Kageki's face, and had to suppress the desire to pull
away. He had never seen anyone even close to
as angry as Kageki was - his face had turned bright
red, his brow was knitted in a tight scowl, and his
teeth were clenched firmly together between words. He
wouldn't have worried if it was Sei, Trick or even
Kiko looking so angry, but Kageki had always been
cheerful, enthusiastic and optimistic - it was almost
as though Ikku was looking at someone else entirely.
"I'm going away
even if I do explain it to you!" Kageki snapped.
"Why?"
Ikku asked. "That's what I don't understand!
What's so special about your father that stops you
from just telling him you don't want to go?"
"He hates me!"
"You said
that."
"You - "
Kageki stopped speaking, took a deep breath, and
quickly regained his composure. The colour left his
cheeks, his body relaxed, and he stepped into a small
booth in the corner of the restaurant. He sat down,
and Ikku sat opposite him; a second later, Sei sat
next to Kageki, blocking him in, and Cog jumped from
Sei's shoulder and stood on the table.
"I'm sorry,
Ikku-sama," Kageki said softly. He placed his
hands on the table and did not react as Ikku took
them in his own.
"I've never
seen you like this," Ikku told him, "and to
be honest, I don't like it. I really need you to tell
me what this is about."
"I don't want
to go back to Tokyo," Kageki said again. "I
don't like it there. New Orleans is my home."
"Have you told
your dad?" Ikku asked. Kageki shook his head.
"Why not?"
"Everyone does
what he says," Kageki replied.
"So you're
afraid to tell him?" Ikku squeezed Kageki's
hands for a moment, and the teenager nodded.
Suddenly, Kageki
looked up and smiled.
"Where is your
home, Ikku-sama?" he asked.
"I... don't
really have a home, Kageki," Ikku answered.
He let go of
Kageki's hands and crossed his arms. Kageki kept
smiling as he turned to Sei. "What about
Sei-san?"
Sei took a moment to
reply, and Ikku and Cog could immediately guess why:
they knew that Sei was a robot and suspected,
strongly, that Sei did not. He remained silent for
some time, then frowned, opened his mouth, closed it,
then opened it again.
"I do not
know," he replied honestly. "I cannot
remember."
Kageki turned to
Cog, still smiling.
"I don't know
either, Kageki!" she said. "I can't
remember anything before waking up in Antarctica, but
I know I wasn't created there!"
Ikku scowled for a
moment as he tried to figure out why Kageki was
asking about their homes, then smirked.
"Changing the subject didn't work too well, did
it?"
Kageki grinned.
"Come on,"
Ikku said. "If you really don't want to go to
Tokyo, you have to tell your parents. I'll come with
you." Ikku stood up and Sei moved aside to let
Kageki stand with him. They started for the door, but
Ikku stopped as he felt Sei's hand fall on his
shoulder. "Kageki, wait for me outside."
Sei waited until the
door closed behind Kageki before speaking.
"Ian," he
said. "Why can I not remember where I come
from?"
Ikku swallowed
loudly.
"Of course you
- "
"I
cannot," Sei insisted. "Something is
wrong."
Ikku looked past Sei
and tried to make eye contact with Cog. He didn't
know what to say and hoped that she could help him,
but she merely shrugged.
"Sei... I'm
sorry. I can't help you right now. I need to deal
with Kageki first." For the first time since
Ikku had known him, he saw Sei's eyes fill with
something resembling worry. The robot's lips trembled
slightly and his eyes narrowed, but he nodded
slightly and let Ikku leave.
"Wait," he
said as Ikku was halfway through the door. "I
will come with you."
Ikku nodded back at
him and held the door open. They caught up with
Kageki a moment later and let their young ally lead
them through the streets of New Orleans - streets
they recognised, not for the first time, were not
nearly as busy as when they arrived in the city weeks
earlier.
Kiko waited until
the wall separating the four back rooms from the rest
of 'Hey, Pizza!' had settled back into place, keeping
Sei, Cog, Ikku and Kageki out, before she even
thought about what she was going to say to Trick.
Initially she
considered confronting him about the new additions to
his restaurant which, she felt, were too expensive
for him to possibly afford, and too high-tech for him
to have designed, developed, or had built; but that
was quickly pushed to one side as concern for Kageki
took over.
"Kiko?"
Trick asked. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not
sure," Kiko replied. "A lot of things, I
think, but I'm having trouble putting my finger on
them."
She walked around
the room, running her hands along the polished silver
walls as she moved. She glanced at the large
television mounted on one wall, the complex
hydraulics that opened and closed the entrance to the
quarters and the computer workstation that had been
set up. Her eyes settled on something unusual beside
the computer, and she frowned.
"What's
that?" she asked, pointing to the strange
device. It was a small device that reminded her of a
USB docking ball, connected to the computer by a thin
cable. Set into it was a small, rectangular
depression... which Kiko estimated was two-inches
long.
"That?"
Trick scratched his head as he peered across at the
unusual object. "I have no idea. Cog designed it
and walked me through creating it."
"I don't
believe you."
Trick stepped
directly in front of Kiko and put his hands up, palms
outward.
"Honestly, Kiko
- I don't know what half of this stuff is or how it
works. Cog just told me what to do, and I did
it," he explained.
"How did you
get all of this built without us knowing about it?
What happened to the old rooms?"
He reached out and
took hold of Kiko's arms. "Really. I have no
idea. Can't you just enjoy it? Do you have to
question everything?"
Kiko smiled and
shook her head.
"People keep
forgetting I'm a scientist... a world-leading
bioroboticist, second only to Nagura Scott himself! Of
course I have to question everything!" she
exclaimed. She took another look around the room,
then laughed. "It is a pretty nice headquarters.
It needs a name."
"It already has
one," Trick told her. "Robobase."
Kiko nodded
appreciatively. "I like it."
Trick grinned.
"I hoped you would."
Kiko frowned and
shook her head again.
"About
that..." she began. "Trick, that bedroom...
I really don't think - "
"You don't have
to think," he said.
He leaned forward
and pressed his lips against hers. She did not
resist. He kept his mouth there for several long
moments before releasing her arms and placing his
hands against her back. She stood stiffly for some
time, then wrapped her arms tightly around his body.
"Wow..."
she said when he finally pulled his mouth away. She
let her head fall forward, so her forehead rested on
his chest. "Wow."
"Yeah..."
Trick agreed.
"Where did that
come from?" Kiko asked, and as she finished
speaking, something clicked. Not only did she not
know where the kiss came from, she didn't know where
Trick came from... or anything else about him. She
pulled away roughly, took several steps back, and
stared at him. "Who are you?"
"I'm - "
"Don't even try
it!" she shouted. "You've never even been
surprised by what we do. You came up with this whole
base for us. You know all these secrets, even Kage -
oh, Kageki!"
"What are you -
"
"The rest can
wait, but you're going to tell me about Kageki right
now. What's all this stuff with his father really
about?"
"I don't think
- "
"Tell me."
Trick frowned, but
nodded. "Fine, I'll tell you. But you're not
going to like it."
"This is where
you live?"
Ikku stared up at an
enormous mansion outside of the city proper, at the
end of a wide street lined on both sides with
less-magnificent abodes. He guessed that the lush,
green land it had been built on was a good five or
six times the size of the block that contained 'Hey,
Pizza!' and a number of other buildings.
The mansion itself
did not occupy the entire lot; the street ended at
the property's gate, but extended informally to
become a long, gravel driveway leading right up to
the front door. A heavy, ornate iron gate kept it
apart from the rest of the street. To the side of the
gate Ikku saw a small intercom device.
Kageki caught his
red-clad teammate staring at the intercom, and made
his way over to it. He pressed a large black button
and spoke loudly into what must have been a built-in
microphone.
"Walter-san?"
he said weakly. "Walter-san, it's me!"
"Master
Murakami," an eloquent man's voice emerged
from the device. "Welcome home."
The gates swung open
and Kageki ran back to Ikku, who just stared in
amazement at the massive house. He grabbed Ikku's
hands and pulled him down the driveway; it took them
almost five minutes to reach the front door, which
was held open for them by a man in a neatly-pressed
black suit.
"Master
Murakami," the man said, and Ikku recognised the
voice as the same one which came through the
intercom. "Who are these people?"
"They're my
friends, Walter-san!" Kageki said cheerfully.
"They're here to see my father!"
"Your... father?"
the man repeated incredulously. "Do you really
think he would like to see these friends?"
"No, but -
"
"I think you
should send them away, Master Murakami."
Kageki ignored him
and led Ikku and Sei into the house, which was as
magnificent inside as it was outside. The entrance
hall was sparsely-furnished, but the furniture it did
contain was amazing. Large, complicated
tapestries hung from two walls, on either side of a
winding, ancient-looking staircase.
A long bench rested
underneath one of the wall hangings, and Kageki led
Ikku and Sei over to sit down. Once they were seated,
the housekeeper rolled his eyes and glanced at a
large door to one side of the staircase.
"I will
announce you presently, Master Murakami," he
said.
He bowed slightly
and hurried through the doorway and out of sight.
When he could no longer hear the man's footsteps in
the distance, Ikku turned to Kageki and began to
speak.
"Kageki, I had
no idea you lived in a place like this," he
remarked. "Why do you work for minimum wage in a
pizza shop? Your parents must be loaded!"
"I - "
Kageki's reply was
interrupted by loud footsteps echoing through the
hall. Ikku and Sei quickly returned to their feet and
waited for the source of the sound to come into view.
They didn't have to wait long; a second later a man
stormed into the room and stopped a few feet in front
of them.
The man was tall -
Ikku estimated at least six and a half feet - and
clearly east asian. He had smooth, clear skin, and a
square jaw. His hair was jet black and cut short at
the back and sides, with only a few millimetres of
extra length on top. He wore a plain black suit, with
white shirt and black tie, which showed a very solid,
rectangular frame.
There was little
remarkable about his face - he had dark eyes, but
that was to be expected; his mouth was small, but his
nose was sharp and long. If not for his air of wealth
and utter arrogance, the man would not have looked
out of place outside a nightclub.
Kageki bowed before
him, and Ikku and Sei quickly followed suit.
"Cut that
out," the man said. Despite his asian features,
he spoke with a strong American accent. "We may
be Japanese, but you're the only one in this family
who cares about that nonsense!"
Ikku straightened
himself out and saw that the man was looking directly
at Kageki.
"Who are
these... people, Kageki?" he asked.
"These are my
friends," Kageki replied. His voice was softer
than any Ikku had heard before; he thought, for a
second, that the sound itself was afraid to leave
Kageki's throat. "Ik-ikku and S-s - "
"Speak up,
boy!" the man snapped angrily. "What are
their names? Why are they hear?"
"Ik-ikku and
Sei, sir!" Kageki replied more loudly.
"They w-want to t-talk to you about moving to
T-tokyo and - "
"Oh,
really?" the man responded. He turned to Ikku
and Sei and smiled sweetly.
"Could you
excuse us for a moment?" he asked.
Ikku nodded and led
Sei back through the mansion's front door. He was
careful not to close the door entirely, so he could
still hear what went on within the house.
"You're a
moron, boy!" the man snapped. "You know
you're not to bring people to this house! What were
you thinking?!"
"I-I..."
Kageki stammered. "I didn't - "
"No! You didn't
think! You never think! This is why
we have to go back to Tokyo! You've embarrassed me
enough with - oh, why do I even bother?"
He stopped speaking,
and Ikku could hear gentle, almost inaudible sobbing
through the gap between the door and the door frame.
Suddenly, the sobbing was interrupted by a loud, snap!ping
sound.
Without warning, Sei
threw the door open and leaped across the room.
Before Ikku could catch up to him, Sei had taken hold
of the man's wrist and shoved him against the wall,
where he held him in place by pressing his other
forearm against the man's neck.
"Sei!"
Ikku cried. "What are you doing?"
Sei did not respond;
he didn't need to. Ikku saw Kageki, cowering on the
floor, his green shirt marked with a dark stain near
the centre of his back.
"Kageki...?"
Ikku asked. "What happened?"
He heard the sobbing
again - it was coming from Kageki. He left Sei with
the man and hurried to Kageki's side. He tried to
lift the back of Kageki's shirt, but the boy pulled
away from him.
"Don't!"
Kageki shouted at him. "Just go away!"
"No," Ikku
told him calmly. "Let me look."
Kageki shook his
head and pulled away again. When he stopped moving,
Ikku took a moment to look into his eyes, which were
filled with dread... and staring directly at the man
Sei held captive.
"Sei?"
Ikku said, without taking his eyes off Kageki's.
"We need a moment alone."
Sei tightened his
grip on the man's arm and shoved him towards the
door.
"What do you
think you're doing?!" the man shouted.
"This is my house! Do you know who I am?"
Sei ignored him and did not stop until they were
outside, and out of earshot.
"Kageki,"
Ikku said again. "I need you to let me look at
your back. Please."
Slowly, Kageki
crawled across the floor and stopped a foot or so in
front of Ikku. He trembled as Ikku lifted his shirt
over his head, pulled it free and placed it to one
side. Then, he turned his back to Ikku and allowed
him to look at the injuries on his back...
... and there were
many, not all of them fresh.
"Kageki,
where's your robosuit?" Ikku asked. Kageki
didn't answer, and Ikku did not ask again.
"We'll take you back to 'Hey, Pizza!' and get
these fixed up."
He stared at
Kageki's back for a moment longer - it was covered
with dozens of long, narrow scars. He could not guess
at what made them; when he and Sei had rushed into
the room, the man they assumed was Kageki's father
was not holding any sort of weapon, but the marks
could not have been made by human hands. Two fresh
wounds, one across his shoulders and one across the
middle of his back, slowly oozed thick, dark-red
blood.
"I'm sure -
"
"No,
Ikku-sama," Kageki said. His voice was quiet
again. "I must stay here with my father."
"Kageki, that's
not a good - "
"I must,"
he repeated. "I am sorry. You have to go."
"I can't -
"
Beep-beep!
Beep-beep!
Ikku was interrupted
by a beeping from the Alert Bracer strapped to his
wrist. A bright red light flashed, and he pressed it
down, allowing Kiko's voice to stream through a
built-in speaker.
"Ikku!"
she said. "This is Kiko! There's
something you have to know about Kageki's father.
He's - "
"He's what,
Kiko?" Ikku called back. "I didn't catch
that last part!"
"Please go,
Ikku-sama..." Kageki whispered.
"I'm
not..." Ikku let his voice trail off as Sei
hurried inside and stood beside him.
"We must
retreat," Sei said. He placed one hand on each
of his companions' shoulders and began to
concentrate. Bright blue energy poured from his hands
and over all three of their bodies. They began to
fade away; until, a second before his body completely
disappeared, Kageki jerked himself free.
Ikku and Sei
vanished, leaving only a cascade of glittering blue
light in their wake, but the empty hall was soon
filled - with a dozen of black-clad, heavily armed
soldiers, their faces hidden by thick, opaque visors.
One of them lifted a gloved hand to his visor-covered
face and spoke into his wrist.
"This is Black
Battalion Z-01 to Fivesides," he said. His voice
was deep, guttural... and monotonous. There was no
emotion, no varying tone to anything he said. Every
syllable was evenly-spaced, evenly-pitched.
"They escaped us."
"Never
mind," a man's voice could be heard
emanating from the soldier's wrist. "They
will be back, once they realise we have the boy's
robosuit."
Cowering in the
corner, Kageki sobbed loudly.
NEXT ISSUE: The
brand-new transformation!
