VI - Aqua: The Suspect

Time flies in the blink of an eye, and Sora finds himself walking up the stairs, heading to the rooftop during lunch break.

Sora: “What does this weird tech officer even want from me?”

He was asked to meet Kaito alone on the rooftop, and things don’t seem simple.

Sora reached the rooftop, and he saw the back of a young man.

Kaito: “Yo. Vessel.”

Kaito turns to face Sora, who is half-nervous, half-curious.

Sora: “Is this about the investigation? And if it is… Why call me here alone?”

Kaito: “Yes. And… Because the main suspect I have in mind is someone related to Akiha.”

Sora’s eyes widened.

Sora: “Don’t tell me…”

Kaito whips out his phone, and with a few taps, a projection appears on the screen, showing a variety of graphs and information about different students.

Kaito: “After sending approximately 1000 mana-detecting spiders and flies… Akira Senzaki has the most unstable mana readings out of everyone.”

Sora glances down and grips his chest, as his breath is caught.

Sora: “No…It can’t be him. He’s a role model… For all the Coreless people like me…Why would…?”

Kaito walks over and pats Sora’s shoulder.

Kaito: “It’s just a suspicion, not confirmed. Plus, if it’s true, he might be turned into one forcefully. Who knows?”

Kaito starts pacing, thinking about the endless possible outcomes this mission could take.

Sora: “Then, about Akiha…”

Kaito: “We will proceed without her until we are clear on who’s the Aqua Mare.”

Sora nodded. Kaito clicked a few buttons on his phone, and the projection changed to show a picture of the Aqua Mare with some data layout on it.

Kaito: “And this is my plan, to confirm his identity…”

Kaito starts sharing with Sora his plan, while Sora nods and listens carefully.

Kaito: “...So, any questions?”

Sora: “Nope. I’m clear on what to do.”

Kaito nods to his response.

Kaito: “Then… Let’s go.”

Kaito starts walking down the stairs, while Sora follows. As they are walking, Kaito pulls out an electronic fly from his pocket.

Kaito: “By the way, you called me weird before heading to the rooftop, didn’t you?”

Sora pauses for a while before laughing awkwardly.

Sora: “Well…”

Watching Sora’s awkwardness, Kaito chuckled as they continued walking, proceeding with the mission.

***

Kaito: “We’re finally here, huh.”

Both Kaito and Sora stopped in their tracks. In front of them stood the door of Mr. Senzaki, the principal’s office.

Kaito drops a Micro robotic spider onto the ground, and it starts scurrying towards the door. But before it could even touch the door, the spider lit up, burning into small flames.

Kaito: “Hmm… A good barrier protects the office when the barrier for the whole school is easily broken by an Aqua Mare. That’s suspicious.”

Sora: “So… How can we get in here?”

Kaito rolls up his sleeves and puts on some gloves.

Kaito: “Well… I’ll just have to do some 'ancient hacking' at the barrier, I guess…”

Kaito touched the ground and took a deep breath.

Kaito: “Volt, Hacking mode: Power Outrage.”

A light-blue light started outlining the door, and a small ‘zap’ sound could be heard before the light died down.

Kaito holds onto the doorknob and turns the door open with ease. Kaito smirked and gave Sora a slight bow.

Kaito: “After you.”

Sora: “The Volt element? That’s cool.”

Kaito chuckles softly and pats his palms.

Kaito: “Yup, that’s why I’m a tech officer. But now… There’s no time for chit-chat.”

Sora nodded and headed into the office while Kaito followed.

The office is tidy, with books and files lying around neatly on the tables and shelves. But something feels wrong.

The office lighting is dim, and a few water droplets are dripping from the ceiling. Just then, the air thickened. Water twisted upward, shaping itself into a distorted human form, with a bright blue core on its chest, sitting in the chair.

Sora: “The Aqua Mare..!”

The Aqua Mare let out a chuckle.

Aqua Mare: “I’ve been waiting…”

Its voice sounds distorted, rough, and malicious. Sora immediately tightens his grip on his sword.

Sora: “Are you really Mr. Senzaki?”

The Aqua Mare let out a huge laugh.

Aqua Mare: “Maybe I am. Who knows?”

Sora immediately drew his blade and glared at the Mare.

Sora: “No matter who you are, I’ll defeat you.”

Sora sets the Oil core onto the blade.

Set! Unknown Element!

Aqua Mare: “The same tactics won’t work on me anymore!”

The Mare’s right arm starts to burst into water, towards Sora’s direction.

Sora swung his blade upwards, slashing the water arm and covering it with some oil as well.

Sora: “Oil Core — Flow!”

Sora clicks on the button and transforms into his Oil Knight form. Kaito smirks as he watches from a corner.

Synchronization complete. Pseudo core: Oil, activated.

The Mare tries to heal the wounds on his slashed right arm, but it doesn’t seem like they could join back together.

Aqua Mare: “Shit..!”

Sora charges forward and tries to pierce the Mare, but the Mare manages to generate water shields to block Sora’s attack.

Sora smirks and clicks on the trigger 2 times consecutively.

Oil! Skill activate!

Sora yells and thrusts the blade further.

Climax Genesis: Oil Coating!

Oil starts flowing from the tip of the blade, covering the water shield with oil.

After it's fully covered, Sora jumps back and lands on the drenched floor.

Aqua Mare: “That did nothing! What’s your plan, boy!?”

The now coated shield starts flowing down like a waterfall, with a mix of water and oil.

Kaito: “Sora, now!”

Sora: “Yeah. Cross-core shift!”

Sora removes the Oil core from the blade and sets the Ignis core.

Set! Ignis!

Sora: “Ignis core — Ignite!”

Sora presses the trigger and transforms. Before the blade could finish its activation sound and even the Mare could speak, Sora pressed the trigger 1 more time and started swinging his blade at the falling water-oil mix.

Beginning Genesis: Mini-explosion!

The “waterfall” starts bursting into flames. The explosion caused both Sora and the Mare to fall back due to its impact.

Aqua Mare: “What is that for…Ah…!”

The Mare’s whole body starts bursting into flames.

Aqua Mare: “Hot, hot, hot! How’s this possible? You are using a weaker element… And you are not even a Magic-user..!”

Kaito chuckles loudly.

Kaito: “That’s because of my invention! If a fire can’t beat water, why not strengthen those wild flames?”

***

As the battle at the principal’s office was happening, Akiha was alone, wandering around the school during lunch break.

Akiha: “That Sora… Running off without telling me anything… Don’t tell me he’s dating someone behind my back!?”

Akiha starts tightening her fist. Just then, some loud, muffled sounds could be heard.

Akiha: “W…What’s that?”

She starts walking in the direction from which the sound is coming. She stopped in her tracks, and in front of her was a storage room.

She tries turning the doorknob, but it can’t seem to budge. The muffled sounds became louder.

Akiha: “Someone must be locked and tied up here!”

Akiha clenches her fists, and it starts to light up in flames.

Akiha: “Ora..!”

She punches the door, causing the door to fall onto the ground. Akiha steps inside and lets out a loud gasp.

Indeed, what’s in front of her was someone tied up, mouth taped. But the tied-up person is someone unexpected.

Akiha: “Brother…?”