Zoom. Enhance. Zoom. Enhance.

 Saigon | District  1| 18:07 | 090698 ||10.771716100832128, 106.70423315219844 | JP81 - 7680

The room Subaru led Kente and Ann into resembled something between a scrapyard set inside a frat house. Clay chips were scattered across the table and in drawers alongside kanji-scribbled post-it notes, and binders filled with wedge-like symbols formed. Between the research were various Saito Corp devices in states of distress and disassembly. Screens filled with error messages and Dazed Haikus watching over spilled over empty ramen cups. The airwaves were filled with the panic diagnostics and repeated error messages alongside digital pleas for updates and patches, all Inaudible except to the other machines. 

 This was the IT office of Saito Southeast Asia, where remarkable innovations—bordering on the miraculous—occurred daily in exchange for minimal commissions and faint hopes of promotion. Subaru entered the otherwise abandoned room. Opened takeout boxes and empty or half-eaten bowls of instant noodles suggested others had recently been there. 

 “Pardon the mess of my colleagues,” Subaru said, waving his right hand in a spiraling, cyclonic motion around the room.

 “Most of my assistants and my divinely appointed master, Kanto, are ensuring the main data networks will not suffer any breaches. As you know, attacks like these are often coupled with cyberattacks as well, so it is our sworn duty to ensure that every Saito employee has finally changed their password from ‘password’ and is only using approved pornographic websites.”

 The twenty-seven-year-old engineer ran a hand through his stress-thinning, greasy mullet while his other hand delicately flicked through a series of switches on a large computer mainframe connected to a projector. 

 “Now, Miss Anh, do you have your Mitsuki Haiku so that I can upload into the mainframe?” “No—” Subaru stopped abruptly, making a choking sound of shock and disappointment before slowly turning to Anh, face fresher, but clothes still showed the signs of the day. 

“What of the Mitsuki Haiku we issued to you? Where is your 18-49 Red Mitsuki Haiku unit." 

 "I-" 

  "The one you affectionately named Hannah, the one you insisted I spend my weekend repairing after you left it in the shower sauna steam and clogged it?” 

 “It started acting funny. I had to throw it out,” Ann tried to keep her composure but her hands were the first to defect.

 “You! threw it out?” 

 Kente stepped in between the two.

“Mr. Subaru, I’m going to need you to be professional, please, despite what your appearance may suggest. From her testimony, there was clearly something going on, and we need to find alternate resources.” 

 Subaru, at least according to his vital records, stood several inches taller than Kente, though none would ever see it given his posture and demeaner. The man recoiled like a spring as Kente's took the stood straight and chest out. As if to remind him that Kente's superiority could be tested in the forest should the paperwork not be sufficient. 

 “Well,” Subaru said, “I suppose I can attempt a recreation using the resources we have available, but this would be far easier with a Mitsuki Haiku. Mine has been sent in for repairs after my platinum Haiku was seized by prima nocte of your darling regional director.” 

 Missy interjected. “Perhaps I can help, Subaru-sama.” 

 “At least we have one helpful individual in this establishment,” Subaru said. “Mr. Watanabe, if I may.” Kente handed over his handheld Mitsuki Haiku. Subaru plugged it into a larger machine. The anime-style figure stepped off Kente’s screen and appeared on the larger display, now fully realized and sharply rendered. 

 “Excellent. Ooh, a Gold Star, and you’re looking ravishing as ever.” Missy giggled. 

 “Now,” Subaru said, “where were you at the time of the incident?” 

 “I was at the Smooth Jams Café,” Ann said. 

“I was on a lunch date.” Subaru barely concealed his distaste. As he typed a few commands, a map of Saigon appeared on the screens.

 “District One. Smooth Jams Café. Lunchtime. Do you remember the exact time the event took place?” 

 “Not really. No. Sorry.”

 “And this is why we could have used your Mitsuki Haiku. Did anything happen while you were there? Something external. Fighting outside?”

 “No. I read the damn report. Something else. Something ancillary to the event,” Subaru said. 

"I don't understand."

"A tech-glitch, a time signature, a digital synchronous event."

 The Missy Avatar pushed the window holding the map aside and looked directly at Ann through the screen. “Anything external could help. Anh-Sama. A news article? something on TV? a song playing?” 

 Ann paused as she looked at he Haiku avatar. “Konnichiwa Saigon was playing.” 

 G R E A T! ╰(▔∀▔)╯

 “Oh, and The Mitsuki Haiku on the screen mentioned the Hungry Ghost Festival,” 

 “Perfection!” Subaru said as he held a pen in his hand up like a statue's pose. “'Mitsuki Haiku Says' are mass synchronization points. We can use this. Missy! input. the. data." 

 A feed listing Mitsuki Haiku units and adjacent Etemu figures appeared. 

 “Here we are,” Subaru said. “All Mitsuki Haiku units in the area. And here is yours. You’re positioned in this corner by the wall, correct? Looking out toward Two Sisters Street.” 

 “You can see all of this?” Anh had been trained on this tech, she likely knew all of this, and could rattle off the features. But she had never seen it actually work. 

 “Of course. Every Saito Corporation device is interconnected each  E-Temu Node within the NEAT network. See these sigils?” 

 “They look like the ones on my gun.” 

 “Of course. You probably couldn't read it though. Few can. Parson's Mistress was an Occultic Akkadianologist, she made the architecture, so I spend 6 years learning 3 languages, so Kanto can make twice as much and ask me how the damn thing turns on...” The key presses got audibly louder as Subaru presented a CCTV feed. The blurry silhouette of Anh appeared behind a large pixel sea of restaurant patrons. Kente turned to Anh to confirm, she squinted at the screen to see herself, while Subaru glanced at her but for a moment. 

“Now we can uncover the real mystery. What kind of person is Ann interested in?” 

 "What!" 

 “Missy: enhance.” The image zoomed in on two blurry figures in the corner. Missy enhanced the feed again, sharpening to crystal-clear clarity to show Ann nodding awkwardly at a figure with a side ponytail. 

 “Oh my god,” Ann turned away from the image as her face turned red. “He had an earring.” 

"Was this necessary, Subaru?" 

"No Watanabe-san, but it was funny, and now we have the feed network established." 

 Ann forced herself to look back at the screen. “It was ahead, near the cathedral.” 

 The camera switched to an exterior Mitsuki Haiku feed. Crowds gathered around APCs.

 “Missy: fast-forward.” 

 The footage accelerated as crowds pressed closer to the trucks, until the screen warped and cut out. 

 “That must be the incident,” Subaru said. 

“Missy, rewind five seconds.”

 “I remember feeling a thud,” Ann said. “I didn’t hear anything. Everyone was gathering around the procession. I think it had something to do with the gold box.” 

 “The religious trinket?” Subaru scoffed. “We need something more precise.” 

 “Mr. Subaru,” Kente said, “she is our only eyewitness. Assess her theory first.” 

 Subaru complied. The camera zoomed in and enhanced the image of the procession, focusing on the golden box. The box struck the truck. Then feed cut out. 

 “Oh,” Subaru said quietly. “Missy, replay.” 

 Silence. 

 "Missy?" 

 (×﹏×)

𒈥 𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒇦
𒈥𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂 MITSUKI HAIKU | 橙E5:17-95 𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒇦
𒈥 𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂 ミツキ俳句 | 橙E5:17-95𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒇦
𒈥 𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂 サイトー株式会 𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒇦
𒈥 𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒁂𒇦
𒈥 𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂 𒇦
𒈥 𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂 𒅂 ミツキは言う 𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂 𒇦
𒈥 𒅂𒅂𒅂 (≧▽≦)/ Mitsuki Haiku Says: ＼(⌒▽⌒) 𒅂𒅂𒇦
𒈥 𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂𒅂 𒇦
𒈥𒅂 I know what you are thinking: 𒅂
𒈥𒅂"Wow that Haiku sure is AMAZING!"𒅂
𒈥𒅂 <(￣︶￣)> 𒅂
𒈥𒅂 How can it do so much? 𒅂
𒈥𒅂 well 𒅂
𒈥𒅂Despite our small sizes,𒅂
𒈥𒅂We pack a BIG Punch!𒅂
𒈥𒅂Don't believe me?𒅂
𒈥𒅂Take a Look!𒅂
𒈥𒅂 ( ◕▿◕ ) 𒅂
𒈥𒅂POWER SPECS:𒅂
𒈥𒅂Trio Processor:𒅂
𒈥𒅂𒅂Haiku: 8-bit (approx. 4 MHz)𒅂
𒈥𒅂𒅂Saito: 16-bit custom graphics chip (16 MHz)𒅂
𒈥𒅂𒅂Parsons: Orange (橙) E5 - 95 Series MicroTup™𒅂
𒈥𒅂Memory:𒅂
𒈥𒅂𒅂64 KB RAM𒅂
𒈥𒅂𒅂15GB HDD𒅂
𒈥𒅂Haiku Burst!™ Processing Algorithms𒅂
𒈥𒅂Display: 3.5-inch diagonal backlit color LCD.𒅂
𒈥𒅂Resolution: 160x102 pixels (16,320 addressable pixels).𒅂
𒈥𒅂w(°ｏ°)w𒅂
𒈥𒅂Pretty Impressive Huh? 𒅂
𒈥𒅂 Is Saito Playing with power or What? 𒅂
𒇡 𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧𒋧 𒇧