Chapter 28: Log

The moment she was able to move again, Asumi stumbled out of the room, going in the direction Meguri zoomed off in. Just barely, she inched forward toward the scene, but before she could catch up–

Footsteps.

From around the corner, whoever was there was rushing toward her. She was in no state to fight – her desperation to catch up and see Taichi was going to backfire.

In a moment of instinct, Asumi found the closest door to her and opened it by delicately pressing against the lock mechanisms with her flames. She quickly squirmed into the room before the footsteps could come around the corner, locking the door behind her.

Asumi turned on the lights and looked around.

The room was full of boxes with various types of files – all labeled some variation of “Project NATSU.”

“Project NATSU Phase 1.”

“Project NATSU Phase 4.”

“Project NATSU Phase 9.”

The noise outside the door continued to linger, and Asumi’s curiosity got the better of her. She had only managed to catch a glimpse of the files she saw last time, but now she had the opportunity to read them properly. The opportunity to understand what exactly Project NATSU was.

She opened the files starting from the start.

“Neuro-Adaptive Trans-Aspect Supremacy Unit…” Asumi muttered.

The files were divided into Kishimoto’s journals and experimental laboratory results.

Kishimoto’s journal read as follows:

“Project NATSU is a project created to protect the general population from any external threats by being able to deploy a supreme weapon capable of adapting to any circumstance. I fear I am the only one capable of controlling a project like this, however. With my aspect, which reigns supreme over all humans, creating subjects that can be actively controlled is something only within my grasp.

To have a supreme weapon capable of trumping other aspect users, the key will be having more than any individual person can have. In the relatively short history of aspects, we’ve seen quite the number of mutations, but not once have we seen a person born with multiple elements. There is a heavy balancing act between different types of aspects – water more often than not trumps fire. Lightning trumps water. Fire trumps wind. With enough skill, any of these matchups could be overcome, however, if we create a skilled aspect user with more than one aspect – they would reign supreme in any matchup.

Finding test subjects will be a simple matter for me. As the headmaster of Eclipse Academy, I have access to hundreds of aspect users. To maintain consistency across my subjects, I plan on extracting students from the academy with fire aspects – the most common type. I will ensure that the academy curriculum effectively sparses out the strong from the weak, making it so that I get the highest quality of test subjects available to me. Furthermore, I’ll do a background check of each student we extract to ensure that there aren’t any family members that would worry about them going missing. With each student I extract, I will erase the memories everybody on campus has of that specific person. They will have never existed, which makes them the perfect subject for me to transform into a weapon.”

Asumi flipped the page over to look at the lab results, her eyes widening in horror.

Of the 200 lab subjects that he had up to that point, none survived.

Attached were photos of the dehydrated corpses that were former students of the same academy Asumi once considered herself a part of.

She continued to read Kishimoto’s future entries.

“My endeavors in the field of aspect manipulation have not garnered much in the way of positive results. On numerous occasions, I have been told to stop by the Japan Self Defense Forces when my research came to their attention, but they cannot stop me. They will keep forgetting until my work here is complete.

A part of me started losing hope, but I recently discovered a new student in Eclipse that may serve as an invaluable resource toward my studies. Hayato Rintaro – the top ranked student at Eclipse Academy. His aspect is unique – the ability to manipulate his mana to negate another person’s mana. However, the thing that makes him truly exceptional for this research study is his distinct understanding of mana as a topic. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call him a genius – he’s created various types of tools in his short time at this academy that have greatly transformed the landscape – devices capable of detecting mana output, mana dampeners, and various other devices using aspects as a stimulus. I need a brain like that on my side.

Unfortunately, after reaching out to Rintaro, he seemed to be unreceptive to the idea of creating a weapon for protecting people. Said something along the lines of it not being a responsible thing to do, and that the subjects have lives of their own. He even attempted to leave the academy with this information! Obviously, I didn’t let that happen – he forgot all his malicious intent in a short enough period of time, and remembered his innate desire to help me.

With Hayato Rintaro, we are starting to see some signs of success. Our subjects aren’t dying as often, for one – however, for the rare ones that do, Rintaro seems to have a relapse to his previous mindset. I’m not sure why that is – nobody had been able to restore their own memories after I erased them in the past. Either way, it was an easily fixable issue by ensuring he couldn’t leave. We are going to achieve great things in this study.”

Asumi flipped over to the lab results to find no successful results, but also only 30 deaths compared to the 200 in the previous lab report. They hadn’t managed to combine two aspects in one person yet, but they were capable of doing it in a more safe environment.

She flipped to another entry.

“Hayato Rintaro has gotten slightly too smart for his own good. The last time I tried to wipe his memory, he kept his nullification aspect active, and didn’t turn it off. I ended up having to hold him in one of our mana-absorbing rooms until he turned off his nullification and let it happen once again. I am not sure what triggered the most recent memory relapse by Rintaro. It was previously triggered by facing some kind of emotional trauma, or so I assumed, but after bringing deaths down to a net zero recently, I can’t think of any trauma that he’d have gone through to reinvigorate his memories. Unfortunately, I can’t indiscriminately wipe his memories, otherwise I may lose quite a bit of that researcher that I require to aid me in this project.

As for the results of Project NATSU, we finally created a weapon capable of wielding a fire and lightning aspect. It was nothing short of a miracle made possible by Rintaro… but shortly after, it turned on us. Rintaro was strong enough to restrict it, but told me that it was a mistake to give somebody with free will this much power. Once he left, I killed the subject and wiped it from Rintaro’s memory. After this incident, I am inclined to believe that Rintaro’s correct – however, the point of Project NATSU is to create a weapon capable of adapting to circumstances and learn. We need to find a way of making a subject loyal enough.”

Asumi flipped the page. The lab results were only becoming more promising as she moved to the next entry.

“Hayato Rintaro has not rebelled recently. In our time between entries, we have achieved a set of 20 successful experiments. However, all of those experiments but one have rebelled against me and have had to be discretely eliminated. The last one I fear is too much of a coward to rebel – not weapon material, however, we are keeping it around for further experimentation.

My aspect is quite powerful, and with it, I may find an answer to the problem I brought up in my previous entry. If personalities are the issue I’m facing, then I should just erase those from my subjects. They don’t need emotions to be able to follow my orders – unlike Rintaro, I can turn them into a blank slate and rebuild without losing anything of value. I would still have a supreme weapon with two aspects. This successful run will be my first attempt at doing such a thing.”

Next log.

“The experiment to wipe the personalities of the subject was a rousing success and a horrible failure at the same time. I managed to create a weapon with two aspects with complete loyalty to me, and unlike Rintaro, it seems its memories cannot be restored by anybody but me. The issue lies in a far more basic fact.

It’s weak.

It has no skills, and building those from nothing is a difficult process some people spend their whole lives doing. I failed to consider that personalities were, indeed, the source of an individual’s strength, as well as essential for learning new skills. However, there are no personalities in this world that are ideal for my mission. Because of that, I have realized what I have to do – I will create the perfect weapon’s personality.

Project NATSU – the Neuro-Adaptive Trans-Aspect Supremacy Unit – will be a weapon aware of its supremacy above everybody, confident in its ability to adapt to anybody, and utilizing its multiple aspects under the neurological control of me. I will continue experimenting with this on our successful subject while Rintaro continues to try and create another successful subject.”

Asumi couldn’t stop reading, going onto the next entry.

“The experiment was a success. I wiped the subject’s mind and embedded the new personality into them. They began being completely obedient, and they started learning combat rather quickly. However, I have noticed quite a large issue in the fact that the adaptability element of our subject. Without actual training, it seems like its abilities are not growing enough. I tried to get Rintaro to train him, and while he learns quickly, the moment he faced a different opponent, he was defeated easily.

I’m not sure how to overcome this and implement adaptability into the personality. That seems to be outside the scope of my aspect’s ability. I will consult Rintaro on a possible solution for this and write the results on my next report.”

Next entry.

“Rintaro recommended we enroll the subject into Eclipse Academy as a student named Natsu who was born with two aspects. By fighting the rank battles in Eclipse Academy, it’s learning various different fighting styles firsthand and becoming more adaptable with experience. The subject was quite physically adept before I used my aspect, so it was able to rise through the ranks quite quickly. Within a month, it was only second to Rintaro himself.

Rintaro himself has been especially cooperative with the help of an occasional convincing session. Every now and then, I see an inkling of hesitation rise into him, but I stamp it out before it grows enough for him to defy me again. So far, Project NATSU is an incredible success, and since its strength will only continue to grow with more experience, I’m looking forward to what we can do.”

Next entry.

“Project NATSU has seemed to have an unforeseen side effect – the combination of multiple aspects in one body holds a weight that the human body isn’t meant to control. Our main subject has gained a sense of deeprooted irrationality and anger – not just at me, but at its fellow students as well. I tried to wipe the irrationality out of its mind, but I was unable too. No matter how long I parsed through its mind, I couldn’t find the source to extract. It might be because I tampered with its mind for so long, and having that much strain on its body just resulted in lower shelf life.

We have to eliminate the subject and reset the project with a different one. On the bright side, Rintaro has had multiple successes in terms of combining aspects into single subjects, so we can try to reproduce the same results one more time. It’ll be even easier – since the irrationality isn’t a result of something in the current Natsu’s brain, I’m capable of transferring all the memories and experience of the previous Natsu into a new one. We can see how the shelf life of this next one works out.”

Next entry.

“The shelf life of this subject was practically equal – it seems to be consistent. The memories of the previous NATSU subject were useful in the general growth of this subject, but it still needed experience to gain the same combat ability. Adaptability is something that has to be physically ingrained. We’d passed the Natsu personality onto another subject already and eliminated the previous.

Rintaro broke some incredible ground recently – he created a subject with three aspects. We’ll see how well it works. The majority of our subjects are drones currently – no memories or personalities – which seem to give them indefinite shelf life. I will enroll the three-aspect wielder into Eclipse Academy with the previous Natsu’s memories. I’ll turn the current Natsu back into a drone and see how that affects its shelf life. It would be quite dangerous for information about a person with three aspects to go public, so I need to ensure that it keeps its secret safe. I can’t have the JSDF trying to shut down the project again.

In the previous Natsu, I plan on embedding knowledge of Rintaro’s sword skills. I want to see if it will be capable of replicating the strongest sword in the academy with time – if the shelf life is maintained by keeping it as a drone, then it can become an incredibly powerful weapon. I will update in the next entry.”

Next entry.

“This Natsu has successfully replicated the Hayato Rintaro sword style. I fear Rintaro is still stronger than the subject because the nullification aspect is too powerful and he’s spent far too much time refining his swordsmanship. However, if Rintaro is the best swordsman I’ve ever met, I don’t believe it would be a stretch to call this Natsu the second best.

I’ve noticed Rintaro becoming slightly more agitated toward the idea of working in this project with me – I was trying to stamp it out, but I can’t quite find what is making it so. He’s been cooperative enough lately, so it’s possible that there’s no reason for me to worry, but it is an irregularity. If I want to move further in this project, then I need Hayato Rintaro. The main advancements in this study can all be accredited to him.”

Next entry.

“Hayato Rintaro has run away from Eclipse Academy. Project NATSU is at a standstill. He left behind his research, which is all replicable, but I cannot move any further without his genius. I have no idea what led to this turn of events, nor do I have any idea where he’s gone. All I know is that, within his mind, he has the knowledge to destroy this academy.

If he’s restored his former memories, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s planning some kind of plot against the academy. To mitigate that, I need to find him as soon as possible. I will divert all the resources from Project NATSU to searching for Hayato Rintaro. If he is not found, this project is over.”

Next entry.

“I have learnt that Hayato Rintaro ran away after meeting a girl with no aspect. Ridiculous. He abandoned changing the world for a girl. We have had no luck finding any information on his whereabouts, and none of his friends at the academy are aware either. I will keep searching. No further progress on Project NATSU.”

Next entry.

“No further progress on Project NATSU.”

Asumi scurried through the pages.

“No further progress on Project NATSU.”

“No further progress on Project NATSU.”

“No further progress on Project NATSU.”

“No further progress on Project NATSU.”

“No further progress on Project NATSU.”

Finally, she found another entry taking place years after.

“We have diverted resources from hunting Hayato Rintaro – however, I am still on the lookout for him. After years of searching, I am certain that he’s not planning some attack against me. However, these years have made me realize something.

So long as Hayato Rintaro exists… Project NATSU will never create the strongest fighter.

Elemental aspects won’t be able to beat Hayato Rintaro. He was an expert at using an aspect that negated indiscriminately. That’s an essential aspect to have if you want to be the strongest… but I also can’t give that to one of the subjects. If something goes wrong with the memory manipulation and it goes berserk, then I’ll have created a being that I won’t be able to reliably manipulate the memories of.

The only person I can trust with an aspect like that is myself. I will dedicate half of my resources to figuring out how to solve the shelf life issue so I can insert aspects into myself, and the other half into continuing the search for Hayato Rintaro. Without the user of the nullification and his memories, I won’t be able to take the aspect and use it effectively. We need to find Hayato Rintaro.”

Next entry.

“After 20 years, we’ve finally found Hayato Rintaro. He’s living somewhere in the countryside – I didn’t even know there were houses in the area! I never thought a technological mastermind like him would be able to stand something like that.

I’m deploying a NATSU unit with Rintaro’s sword style loaded into it and with just enough experience in Eclipse Academy to adapt effectively. I’ve been keeping it as a drone on the side as a secret weapon, and the shelf life has been perfect.

As for the general shelf life, I’ve managed to increase it slightly by providing more autonomy to the subjects, however, it’s still not good enough for me to feel confident about putting another aspect into myself. If I manage to capture Rintaro, he might be able to help me solve this issue.”

Next entry.

“It was reported by the NATSU unit that Rintaro no longer had an aspect. He was killed by the unit.

Soon after, we received an online application that stood out – it was his son. Hayato Taichi.

There was nothing about his aspect in the information he submitted to the academy, so I’m not sure if he also has a nullification aspect, but I’ll ensure he enrolls so I can find out. If he has the nullification aspect, I’ll have him refine it while rising in this academy before I steal it for myself.”

Next entry.

“Hayato Taichi does seem to have a nullification aspect, but he has no idea the extent of its power. He just perpetually has it activated, only shut off by wearing a pendant gifted to him by Rintaro. I now understand – Rintaro placed his own nullification aspect in the pendant of Taichi – Taichi’s nullification gets nullified by Rintaro’s nullification when it’s on, and when it’s off, the aspect is active.

Rintaro was always smart. However, this might be his undoing. So long as that pendant is something I can put on Taichi, I can manipulate him to any degree. I don’t need to steal his aspect for myself anymore. I can turn him into a NATSU subject – not only that, but his physical characteristics are on a supreme level. If he turns into a subject, then he’d be the best one I have the moment he gets more aspects. Now I just have to drive him to me. I think I know exactly how to.”

Asumi flipped the page… there was nothing left.

That was the last entry.