Chapter 60

SUB.09 Shuri Oumi. One of the contestants in Natural Selector. A kunoichi from the Koga school. Thorough physical modifications had given her the appearance of a ten-year-old, but she was actually over thirty—truly a woman with a nonsensical identity. That said, several diseases could be responsible for the body stopping its maturation process, so it wasn’t impossible. While that alone would still cause one to age properly despite their body being so small, even that could be overcome with things like botulinum toxin to make adjustments to one’s skin, allowing them to retain the appearance of a child—on the surface, at least, if not on the inside. She’d changed from her normal clothes into a flashy outfit for the official matches, but their basic function hadn’t changed much. Her appearance was a cluster of incongruities—a cheerleader-like outfit plus a student bag on a shoulder strap. But considering her position as the “initial actor,” the strangeness actually worked for her. It was a fakeout—like sleight of hand. She’d draw everyone’s attention, purposely created blind spots for herself, and then—in that sphere of safety—her other friends would use all kinds of little tricks to toy with many enemies at once, making it look like a ninja’s miraculous tactics. In other words, if she failed here, everything else would come crumbling down, too. She was the core, without whom there could be no recovery. A flashy, conspicuous ninja would obviously stand out. But it was the most important role of them all, something linked to the very life and death of whatever team was on the mission with her. She was obviously conspicuous, but the initial actor was a target for enemy attacks, too. But even in a situation as bad as that, she wasn’t a disposable pawn—she always returned alive. That fact alone pointed to her incredible abilities. Unlike most of the other freaks here, Shuri Oumi of the Koga knew the fundamentals of tactics—enough to lead a team into a mission like this—but the reason she wanted to participate in Natural Selector was incredibly simple. She wanted to perfect real ninjutsu, using real preternatural powers, just like they did in movies and TV shows. This would give her the technical foundation to do so. …Frankly speaking, she (or more accurately, they) never wanted the honor of winning Natural Selector. That was because they knew their “realistic ninjutsu” could only go so far—it would never approach actual supernatural abilities. Instead, they would fight the other contestants for real to ascertain whether their ninjutsu techniques were beneficial or not. Then for all the “raw material” that seemed useful, they’d employ all kinds of methods to analyze the data and mechanisms behind them. No matter how gaudy they were in the spotlight, their true endeavors were all behind the scenes, and it was in that pursuit that Oumi and the others had continued the Koga name into the twenty-first century. Perhaps some might think that to analyze supernatural powers, it would be faster to infiltrate Academy City in Japan. That was exactly what another faction, separate from Oumi, had tried to do. But they’d failed. Academy City had been unyielding. They didn’t plan to go to that military gate and ask nicely for their dropouts. While the ninjas of the Koga were global now, no longer having a conception of national borders, the underbelly of Japan was still their most familiar territory. Because of the power structures in place, Shuri Oumi and the others didn’t want to get too close to that city. Hence why they were in Baggage City. Hence why they were taking part in the Natural Selector martial arts tournament. Hence why they had joined the Anti–Academy City Science Guardians. However… “…How on earth did Baggage City get destroyed on the very first day of the tournament?” Oumi murmured those words as she dashed through a complex web of narrow passages. She was in the Baggage City underground right now. Since the city was located in one of the snowiest places in the world, its water-heating facilities were its very lifeline. Every single building in the city was connected by a network of hot water pipes, and to maintain them all, a labyrinthine underground had been built throughout. It was all off-limits, of course. But there was nobody left to blame her. Deftly using her hands, which she’d purposely left small, she whirled around a shining silver bladed object. It was a spade, a one-handed gardening implement, but kunai had their roots not in throwing weapons but in digging tools. …I doubt the other contestants will consider the fight over even if the tournament is. Every last one of them, including their support crews, has their own goals here. Until they use Baggage City to accomplish them, the battles will continue—even with a broken ring and shattered rules. Cloaking her presence and keeping an eye out for her surroundings, Shuri Oumi continued her train of thought. The only difference is whether the fight happens in the ring or not. Even without a sponsor, our Natural Selector will keep going. I’d better assume that the moment I encounter any other contestant, we’ll start fighting. At that point, there was one thing she needed to concern herself with above all others. Their mortal enemies. Enemies they needed to know everything about in order to survive this competition. Ironically, they weren’t registered competitors in Natural Selector. Baggage City—or rather, the Anti–Academy City Science Guardians running it—were being smashed by an elite group called the Kiharas. They had been let loose by Academy City, and they were essentially personifications of the entire science side. That alone was threatening enough. But Baggage City apparently had a trick up its sleeve. She’d barely made out the term Gremlin from their conversations, but she still didn’t know what it meant. She was using a myriad of methods to analyze the situation—such as eavesdropping on the conversations and dying cries of the men and women defending Baggage City as it fell. But all of those had been unbelievable. Enough to make her wonder if she shouldn’t be interpreting them straight—that they were all speaking in some sort of code. The irrational and the irrational. They were clashing. It didn’t even matter anymore if supernatural abilities were at play—it was a whole different world. They whittled each other down incredibly fast, even destroying the hearts and minds of the people who were in danger. Could she learn from any of it? Should she learn from any of it? Wouldn’t involving herself lead to the demise of the entire Koga organization? Despite the vague worries in her mind, Oumi kept running through the complex network of passages, searching for a good place to safely and efficiently gather information from. Even now, she could hear explosions and feel rumblings coming from multiple directions at once. She couldn’t even predict if Natural Selector would continue like this. But that didn’t mean they would call off their mission. Instead, they could just get tidbits of information from whoever was powerful enough to destroy the entire tournament. Close to the epicenter of the shaking, Oumi reached a corner. She pressed her back up against the wall. Using a small microphone, which was hooked up to her transceiver with a cable inside her clothes, she got in touch with her fellow ninja. “Sakata, Asai, Yasu, can you hear me? I encountered the ‘treasure’ in Area 32 West. There’s no guarantee I’ll survive on my own, though. I want to get recordings from several angles as a backup. Can you position yourselves in time?” After a burst of static, voices she knew well came back. But they were filled with emotions she’d never heard in them before. “Damn. I can’t shake him!” “What? Damn it! This…monster…?!” “It’s gonna catch up to—” Then a high-pitched crunching pounded on Oumi’s eardrums. She thought it was radio static, but something was different about it. A strange, unknown phenomenon was happening on the other end of the transceiver. “Mm-hmm, yes… I don’t like this, but I suppose there’s no real choice…” She heard a frail girl’s voice. The only voice of the bunch that Oumi didn’t recognize. The girl was likely the source of the madness on the other side. “I understand, Uncle Amata. This is how a Kihara should act, right?!” Ga-krrrrk. Greeeesh. Zhhh-zhh-zhh-zhh-zhh-zhh-zhh-jjj-jjj-jjj-jjj-jjj-jjj-jjj-grkk-grkk-grkk-grkk-grkk-grkk-grkk-grkk-shrrrk-shrrrk-shrrrk-shrrrk-shrrrk-crsh-crsh-crsh-crsh-crsh-crsh-skreeeeeeeeeee-crsh-crsh-crsh-crsh!! There was a series of booming noises, like hard objects being crushed, along with wetter ones, like soft fruit being squished. It was almost like something huge devouring a person… “Damn it!” swore Oumi as she tried to get in touch with her other teammates. She didn’t hear anything good from any of them either, though. Some were confused, crying out for help, and others were wailing their last words as everything ended. And those were the good ones. Most of the others didn’t respond at all. The situation was well beyond human understanding. She’d have to assume the Koga unit had been caught up in it and wiped out. …I can’t die for nothing. Keeping her back against the wall next to the corner, Shuri Oumi focused hard on the tempest of monsters, of the Kiharas and Gremlin, all of whom were farther down the passages. …I need to bring the treasure back at all costs. I must liberate the Koga from the notion we can’t go further. I must dismiss the idea we can’t keep up with these threats—so I’ll confront those threats on purpose! The decorative student bag on her back had a crime-prevention beeper on its shoulder strap. After making sure the camera lens in the tiny device was functioning, Shuri Oumi steadied her breathing. She didn’t have to win. She didn’t even have to fight. She just had to watch in secret. If she could record even a fragment of this wisdom, this knowledge, it would benefit the Koga as a whole. The important thing was not to show off like a hero or a monster. That could come afterward, once she’d used the treasure to her benefit. With that thought in her mind, she would wield all the power she had. To become but a pebble on the roadside. One named Shuri Oumi. Then from right behind her, she heard a shuffle. Since she had her back to the hot water heater maintenance passage wall, trying to look around the corner and observe, that was exactly her blind spot. And worst of all, she’d been caught in a pincer formation—she didn’t even have a way to escape anymore. “?!” Instantly, she whipped around. A man in a military uniform was approaching from a few meters away. He seemed surprised to have bumped into her, too. What had appeared to be a row of lockers along the wall had actually been a separate passage in the gap. Was he a Baggage City security guard? A Kihara? Or Gremlin? She couldn’t figure out who he was with, but there was only one thing to do. I have to kill him! She focused on the gardening spade kunai in her dominant hand, but her opponent made the first move. He was already swinging a bladed object—more a billhook than a knife—up into the air. If she tried to attack now, she wouldn’t make it in time. She might be able to kill the uniformed man, but she’d be gravely hurt or killed in the process. Instead, her only path to survival was to avoid her opponent’s opening strike, then counterattack. But with how long his gait and weapon are, his kill range must be three meters. I’ll be in range if I try to step in. I can’t—I don’t have the space to jump backward because of the corner! Swearing under her breath, Oumi quickly groped for the powerful light attached to the inside of her spare weapon pouch—which was disguised as a lunch box—hanging by a cord from the clasp on the schoolbag on her back. Backing away as though putting up a final act of resistance, she flicked the switch, causing a flash of light to go off at the wall right behind her. A moment later, the blade came swinging down. Whooosh! As it cut through the air, her pulse quickened in spite of herself. However… “?!” “You missed. Nice try.” The sharp blade’s tip passed not a centimeter from her face, but she didn’t even blink her youthful eyes. She had a clear understanding of where she’d be safe. He’d just misjudged the distance. Or more accurately, she’d made him. Human eyes couldn’t properly gauge the distance to an object that was against a completely white background. Oumi had flashed a powerful light at the wall right behind her to make it bounce off at her assailant, serving as a pseudo-screen to protect her. And now that she’d dodged the first attack, she had a chance to strike back. Before her opponent could make another strike, she charged at him, the tip of her garden spade kunai aimed at the uniformed man’s stomach. She thought her victory was guaranteed. But in reality, the tip of her kunai never reached the man’s clothes. She’d been blocked. And not by the man. But by a truly irrational, preternatural ability—the kind Oumi most yearned for.