What Works

Three hours before the final challenge started

December 11th, 2050

Shinjuku Skyline

“Can you put him on the line?” Rei asked Kiyotaka over the phone. Half a minute later, the voice he was hoping for answered.

“When did you figure it out?”

It was the voice of Kazuo Ninomiya. The chief of his agency and his mentor.

Rei breathed a sigh of relief and sat slack on the cushioned seat of the restaurant. In front of him, Souichiro enjoyed eating his curry while texting on his phone.

Rei trusted his deductions and instincts, and it paid off.

“I had a few things that tipped me off,” he said, finally. “But to be clear, you’re safe, right? You and Airi?”

“I want to hear your reasoning first, kid. Just think of it like a test. Your performance review.”

“That’s not how—” Rei sighed. “Fine.”

Typical chief.

“The first thing that tipped me off was around the first challenge, after Issei’s team found the dead bodies in the guest rooms of the Tennojima mansion. I asked them if the police were on their payroll. Issei got defensive and said no.”

“Oh ho. What about it?”

“Back at Shibuya Peak when this all started. When you were ‘fighting’ your abductors while we’re talking on the phone. You said you were betrayed. The intel ‘Miya-chan’ gave you was a trap.”

“You liked that little performance of mine? Of course you did. You totally fell for it. Nice.”

Rei grumbled. “Sure. Point is, if they really captured you and the police were involved, that meant the Tennojimas have them under their thumb.”

“Issei could just be lying to you about their relationship with the police, but… I’m sure you had other reasons to doubt my abduction.”

“The second clue is a lot more concrete,” Rei said. “It was Airi’s limited edition hoodie. The shark one. She wore it in the first video that I saw of your confinement. Since it’s a one-of-a-kind piece of clothing, the point was to prove to me that you two were indeed taken.”

“But, when we stopped over at the agency, I found the same hoodie in Airi’s room next to her jeans, jackets and rare plushies. This was when I was searching for her signal tracking device. Either there’s a second one-of-a-kind jacket or you two had already gone back to the agency a number of times. Doesn’t make much sense for a prisoner.”

Rei could practically hear the chief nod on the other side. “Good, good. So you got yourself solid evidence. Anything else?”

“The third and fourth clues aren’t particularly strong,” Rei admitted. “It’s more of a gut feeling.”

“Never count those out.”

“Right. Well, Detective Miyabi or Miya-chan, your wife, was there at Kanda Summit when we were doing the second challenge. She’d probably think it hilarious if you got abducted, but her daughter Airi? She doted on her. She’d find a way to ask me where Airi disappeared to, regardless of the circumstances.”

“Makes sense. But she’d ask about me too. She’d move heaven and earth to find me.”

“Sure, chief.”

“Yes, yes. And?”

“And then there’s Ruby. I just… in the time I got to know her, she just didn’t seem the type to do this thing. She’s headstrong and relentless, but abduction and blackmail? She’d rather burn her way through to get what she wanted. Call it a judgment of character. So, the conclusion I came up with is that you two were in cahoots the entire time.”

“Splendid! You’re a gut feeling extraordinaire! I’d give your deductions a solid five out of ten. Good job, kid.”

“What? That’s at least a seven!”

“Eh, don’t push your luck. You’re still at assistant level.”

“Fine. So you told Ruby about my abilities, after all.”

“She caught wind of it when she investigated the institute on her own. The Alter Eyes project is what it’s called. Though the name itself, and the fact that they experimented on exalted eyes, are the only information accessible. After that, she came across my name since I worked with Daiki Tennojima in the past. Separate matter.”

“Was it when I infiltrated the institute all those years ago? And you were asked to find me?”

“Bingo! That takes me back. Anyway, Ruby found the agency and spoke to me. You might not know this, kid, but I’ve been investigating the Tennojima Research Institute in whatever way I can, without causing too much suspicion. After piecing a workable amount of information, I decided to put the two of you together.”

“Understatement of the year. Though I suppose Daiki Tennojima was also running out of time.”

“That is a big factor, yes.”

“But why the roundabout nature, chief? What’s with all the smoke and mirrors?”

“There’s two very good reasons why. Actually, there’s three. Can you guess what they are?”

“Of course, chief. Let’s see… you’re insane, you’re insane, and oh, that’s right, you’re absolutely insane.”

“My feelings, Rei! Why do you wound me so? Fine, I’ll give you one reason as a freebie.”

“Is it because of the past I’ve been looking for? You wanted me to figure things out myself.”

The chief whistled. “Top marks on that one, kid. I promised you, remember? But that wasn’t the freebie. It was very important that the institute doesn’t learn who you are or what you can do. At least not yet. I made sure of that these past seven years. We got lucky that Ruby came straight to me. With her and her inner circle as the exception, we made sure you can only be Rei the assistant detective and nothing more. Making you out as Shinozuka’s son was an extra layer of misdirection for anybody who looked.”

“I see… if they dig into who Reiji Shimomura was, they’d find the assistant detective Rei Tsukihara and stop there. They’d think I’m your proxy as Ruby’s help. You had it all figured out.”

Rei looked up at the ceiling, feeling most of his burdens lifted. The best thing to come out of this was the fact that Airi and the chief were never actually in danger.

“Say chief…”

“If this is about the third reason, you’d have to really think hard about that one.”

“I can trust Ruby, right? After everything I’ve seen, both in real time and in Daiki’s memories, I think I really want to help her win this competition.”

“That right? Well, remember that gut feeling you were telling me about? I’m sure you already know the answer to that.”

“I do. Thanks, chief.”

“You have a lot ahead of you tonight, Rei. This is it. Just remember. Don’t try to solve everything all at once. If the answer isn’t obvious, trust what little you can do and make that work.”

Midnight of Rei and Kisaragi’s Full Exaltation

December 12th, 2050

Heaven’s Reach Shrine

Rei’s mind screeched to a halt. His vision shook.

Ruby lay on the ground while jolts of electricity still lingered in the air. Her leather jacket and deep red dress were blackened around the right side of her chest where she was struck.

When did she get here?

Around the shrine were the bodies of Keisuke’s guards and the rebel faction both, sprawled unnaturally like puppets with their strings cut. Charges of aether radiated everywhere.

No…

His eyes went back to Ruby. After affirming her innocence, he wanted to protect her. Give her the same closure she helped him achieve.

But now…

“Ah… I suppose that works too,” Hidenori said. “Always wanted to kill the bitch myself.”

Rei snapped. With a staggering amount of aether still burning in his body from the drug, he charged his entire being with strength and speed and flew to the sky towards Hidenori—towards Kisaragi, the leader of the Anti-Exalt Faction.

Kisaragi looked surprised he could fly too. He should’ve known.

Rei feinted with the aether blade in his right hand, then swung around to kick Kisaragi further upwards into the sky. Rei knew how to fight and trained to defend himself, but he’d never been powerful.

Until now.

Kisaragi recovered in the air, then crackled lightning around his hands.

Rei boosted his speed, then dodged the blasts of aether. He sliced the third bolt that came close to him with his aether blade, disintegrating it into particles.

They clashed four times after that. The first with aether charged fists, the second with Kisaragi’s fire that he blocked, the third when he sliced through his opponent’s wings, the fourth when they butted heads with fury in their eyes.

“What is that weapon?” Kisaragi asked. “I can’t quite seem to understand how it works.”

Nobody did. It was a weapon of the aether starved. Of a weakling who could only shape a small blunt object meant to disrupt the flow of aether temporarily. Nothing more than a slight advantage. A trick.

But of course, Kisaragi didn’t need to know that.

And Rei didn’t need to limit himself anymore. He had boundless aether coursing through him. He tripled the coating around his fists.

“What do you even want to accomplish?” He asked the man. “How do you plan to rid this world of aether or the ascension?”

“That’s not possible,” Kisaragi replied. “Just as I was chosen by pure happenstance, the exalted will always come back. It is the inevitable truth of this world ever since its ascension fifty years ago!”

“Then what are you opposing us for!”

“I meant to rule over you! To show you that us humans are a far superior species! We don’t need your aether or your powers!”

Rei shook his head. The man was simply too far gone.

A surge of lightning flew past him, but he managed to circle in the air to dodge.

“Don’t you shake your head at me!” Kisaragi bellowed in anger. “You’re not gonna be able to look down on us any longer when we rise to the top!”

We, huh?

“Your mistake is you’ve divided people into us and them,” Rei shouted back. “It seems to me you’re the one who assumes humans are the ones inferior and is therefore required to rise up!”

Kisaragi laughed. “You know how hard it is for us to compete in this ascended city!”

“Why?” Rei gestured beneath him. Funny, how up here every ward looked equally flat and low. “This city is built by ordinary people! The land rose from the ground and then what happened? It’s inhabitants adapted! They built roads and rail lines that soared to the skies! They built structures and monuments to match the changing land! Humans did that! The exalted are just icing on the cake!”

“That’s an interesting metaphor,” Kisaragi hissed. “Icing always goes on top, doesn’t it?”

Rei had enough of this. Kisaragi was simply convinced of his own truth. Like he was living in a world all on his own.

He charged at Kisaragi with his fists. Instead of blocking, his opponent did the same. With aether practically leaking out of their bodies, they caused shockwaves with every blow they landed.

If this was going to be a fight of who had more aether, then Rei was afraid he might actually lose. His natural pool of energy was comically low to begin with, while Kisaragi ironically had tons of it. Even with the added effect of the drug, he could easily tell the difference.

He needed to come up with a plan.

What if…

He used his Alter Eyes on Kisaragi.

Rei now understood that instead of seeing a person’s entire lifespan, he was actually seeing adjacent realities lived by that person. Perhaps he could find realities where Kisaragi loses.

He saw something close. He charged at Kisaragi, then swung his aether blade to cut the flow from his heart. The way he always fought.

They struggled for a while, dealing blow after blow, but eventually he saw his opportunity and took his shot.

Kisaragi’s aether was snuffed out, and he fell from the sky like a lump of metal. But in mere seconds, his aether recovered and he flew right back. Angrier.

No, that’s not it.

They clashed some more, trading punches and kicks. At some point, Kisaragi tried to imitate his blade, but it ended up acting like a regular sword not dissimilar from the sculptures conjured by Lucia. And so together, they fenced in the air.

Here’s another one.

Rei feinted a strike, kicked Kisaragi’s weapon aside, then tackled him straight into the chromatic clouds. The man burned the moment his back touched the bronze surface, but using pure strength, he managed push Rei back to get away.

Dammit, not that one either.

Normally, using his Alter Eyes would put a heavy strain on his mind. But having experienced the infinite spectrum of worlds and burning a wealth of aether, he could keep going just a bit more, as long as he limited it to quick flashes.

And so, Rei tried to find the answer on adjacent realities, just like he did for the world.

At some point he searched too far and saw realities where Kisaragi lived a normal, quiet life. He never hated his father, he didn’t care about the exalted, he simply lived his life. There was a genuine, pleasant smile on Hidenori Matsumoto’s face.

Kisaragi smacked that reality out of him when his fist connected directly on Rei’s face. It caught him off guard that he almost flew straight into the ground.

“What, are you getting tired?” The man taunted. “Distracted? Come to think of it, didn’t Daiki Tennojima entrust you with saving the world? How did that go?”

Rei breathed heavily as he rubbed his cheek.

“Nothing?” Kisaragi asked as if he was genuinely curious. “A shame. Well, maybe I can help. Remember Daiki’s second question in the challenge? Undoing the ascension? I said it was inevitable for the exalted to exist, but maybe Daiki knew a way to remove the world of aether. Yes… I’ll look into that. I’ll put the best minds of the world into achieving this feat!”

Way ahead of you, Rei thought. He already searched other worlds for that solution, and it never worked. All it did was ensure the bronze sky devoured the land.

“Get rid of aether, huh?” Rei looked at the blade in his hand. It had always been his specialty. The one skill he truly honed by himself. He already used it on Kisaragi several times, but… Trust what little you can do… and make that work. “Seriously, chief. I was the one who told you that long ago.”

Kisaragi sensed he was about to do something. Rei saw it in the way the man charged his aether to shield himself, particularly around his heart.

“I have my Alter Eyes but…” Rei whispered. “This blade had always been my best trick. Weapon of the aether starved. Well, I’m not starving right now. In fact, I have too much of it. No need for it to be a small weapon. Let’s see how it looks when I go all out.”

Rei focused on both his hands. He grew his aether blade larger, longer, and infinitely denser.

Kisaragi’s eyes widened in horror at the sight of it.

More. All of it. Let’s end this!

Rei put every ounce of aether he had on his blade, and it grew so large he felt it hit the ground below.

Kisaragi tried to charge at him before he could use it, but he was too far and too late.

Rei swung his blade, the size and length of an entire skyscraper, and hit every part of Kisaragi, disintegrating not just the aether in his heart, but every single bit of it out of his body. In the end, Kisaragi got his wish. Without aether, he was just a plain old human.

But the attack didn’t end there.

Rei’s blade was so powerful it cleaved the bronze sky in half, revealing the vast emptiness of space behind it. With just a little bit of aether left in his eyes, Rei saw the pale, golden moon from other realities shining down on him.

The solution he was looking for. It wasn’t in other worlds or alternate realities.

He didn’t find the answer. He created it.

“Huh. I guess that works.”

And then he fell.

With not a single bit of aether left, obviously he couldn’t fly anymore.

Damn.

For what it was worth, the entire city probably saw what he did. Maybe the scientists and the exalted can figure something out to replicate his ability and use a similar technique to rid the world of the chromatic clouds.

Beneath him, Rei saw the cherry blossom tree, red torii gate, and white stone tiles of Heaven’s Reach Shrine as he continued to plummet.

Huh? Something gold was glowing in the middle of the shrine.

Guess that’s one last mystery he wouldn’t figure out.

As he neared the ground, he closed his eyes and—

Got tackled midair.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Souichiro, glowing white like a light bulb, had caught his descent.

They still hit the ground and tumbled around, but it significantly softened their impact. Eventually they came to a painful stop.

“Bro…” Souchiro muttered, his voice nearly gone. “Remember that promise you made… about me making a ton of money… if either of us win?”

“Seriously…” Rei tasted dirt, then struggled to turn on his back, breathing heavily.

Souichiro raised a shaky hand and pointed to their right. “By the way… your queen bee’s doing something crazy over there.”

What?

Rei got up and saw the golden light from earlier. It was like a bright yellow cloud swirling in the middle of the shrine.

“Make sure to tell Ruby… I’m cashing in on that promise.”