The Dark Side

Later that night, as the luminescent moon shone through the windows, a long figure slowly approached a closed door by the end of the hallways. With his heart beating like a marching band, the boy swallowed a big gulp of anxiety before gently twisting his grip on the knob.

A flash of green light ensued, and from within the door, a clacking sound echoed. As the door opened without any resistance, the boy let out a sigh of relief. Though he was informed that the office door would be left unlocked, the manner of the meeting he was about to have was nothing short of suspense-inducing.

Contrary to the dark, quiet atmosphere running over the school, inside the room was fully lit and functional – a clear sign of life. Naturally, if there would be life in a room, there would be people, and such people were already intently waiting on the opposite end of the door as soon as the boy entered.

“Welcome, Lewis,” spoke Yusei. “Please, have a seat.”

“… Thanks, President,” the boy in question lightly nodded at the kind gesture. However, his head was already churning out questions non-stop, so much so that as soon as he had rested himself on the chair, the words had already escaped Lewis’s mouth:

“Forgive me, but why did you ask me to come to the Student Council this late at night? What do you want from me?”

Answering Lewis was not Yusei, but rather a hand holding a cup of steaming, fragrant liquid showing before his face.

“Would you like some coffee?” The person in question, Hanabi, asked. “It’ll help you stay awake for the night.”

“Um… no thanks, I’m good,” letting out an awkward smile, Lewis waved his hand to refuse. Though it was true that his eyelids were just an inch away from fully closing, he didn’t waste his entire night and went out of his room in the dark just for a leisurely cup of coffee. The boy wanted answers, and he wanted them this instance.

“Looks like you’re quite impatient,” meanwhile, Yusei was savoring his drink to the fullest. “Don’t worry; you’ll have all your answers. Mirai?”

“Yes, President,” as Yusei gestured to his side, the black-haired girl in question lightly nodded, taking out a glass container. At first, Lewis thought it was empty, but upon closer inspection, the boy could see a metal-like… thing in the middle of it. The object was tiny, smaller than the size of a fingernail, and its shape was that of an insect.

“To answer your first question, this is why,” Yusei continued. “A certain someone bugged our office earlier.”

“But… that doesn’t make any sense. You asked for me to come back in the day, right?”

“Of course. I guessed, or rather, you could say that I was preparing for the case.”

“Then why go through all that trouble if you knew someone was gonna break in?”

“For you to believe the story I’m about to tell you, of course,” Yusei, without a hint of joke left in his eyes, answered. “Now, are you ready?”

Tension rose within Lewis. He might still not know what exactly was going on, but the seriousness in Yusei’s voice was enough to convince him of anything. Taking a deep breath, the boy lightly nodded.

“Good,” Yusei followed suit. “Now, when you see this bug, who is the first person that comes to mind?”

A cold sweat formed on Lewis’s forehead. Immediately, he could think of a person, but there were reasons that he was so afraid. One, he could not believe that that person would do the thing he was thinking of. And two, if Yusei was asking something like that, then he certainly meant the thing Lewis was afraid of.

The boy finally spoke, but his voice was already shaken beyond control. “There’s no way… right?”

Lewis wanted him to be wrong. He yearned for a denial from the young man in front of him. However, in the end, there was only a cold shake of confirmation.

“As much as I wanted to not believe it like you do, it’s the truth. Here’s the proof.”

Yusei then took out a small remote and aimed it towards the ceiling. Following the command, a small panel popped out of the ceiling, and a hidden camera slowly descended. With another push of a button, the camera projected a holographic monitor into the air, and with it showed a scene of a chubby young boy in a black suit sticking the bug onto Yusei’s chair.

“I… I can’t believe it…” Lewis was in utter distraught. “Mike is a good guy… President, you have to believe me! There must be a reason behind all of this!”

“I know,” nodded Yusei, but his face showed that Lewis would rather not know. However, it was already too late. The boy had already given his consent to being told everything. And so, Yusei would uphold his end of the bargain.

The boy pressed another button on the remote. The scene from the camera disappeared, and replacing it was another monitor, this time with only images of registration forms floating about – ten of them in total.

“These are the registrations of the newly admitted students in Aoba today,” Yusei explained. “And the only thing left in our school’s student database. It’s also the reason why Sato-sensei disbanded the NLS club – if it was kept running, then news of this incident would spread sooner or later.”

Lewis couldn’t believe what he had seen. However, the documents appearing before him were in fact genuine, seal-approved and everything. There was no way that this could be forged unless it was by the school itself, and that was absolutely impossible.

However, that was only the least of Lewis’s worries. Because if it was true, and if everything that Yusei had said would connect with one another, then it could only mean one thing.

“This… this is…”

“I know you’re his best friend, but I’d rather you learn the truth now rather than be hurt by it later,” Yusei let out a sigh. “But we suspect that Michael is the culprit.”

“B-But it can’t be!” Lewis immediately jumped from his chair. “Mike is only a freshman like me! We just got here, so how could we have…”

“Of course, we also thought of this issue,” nodded Yusei, still calm as a river before the boy’s attitude. “But the evidence all points to him. Remember who was the only one that willingly signed up for Sato-sensei’s Dimensional Science class?”

“That’s… But that doesn’t prove anything! And even if it does, then there’s also the new kid, Zain that signed up! Why didn’t you suspect him?”

As if waiting for that question to come from Lewis, Yusei let out a light, well-hidden smirk.

“We do. In fact, we suspect both of them.”

“What are you…”

“You didn’t meet them during summer vacation, right?” Yusei answered with another question. “Did you ever wonder why Michael never bothered to contact you?”

“I…” Lewis stuttered. To say that he paid no mind was a lie, and there was no way that he would believe Mike’s tall tale of meeting Messeo of all people. However, Mike never told him otherwise, and he hadn’t the time to pressure him to say anything else.

Yusei, meanwhile, took a deep breath, as if finally deciding on his course of action. Taking out from the drawer under the desk another tablet, the young man slid it towards Lewis:

“Look, Lewis; I don’t want to doubt my fellow students either. But this forces my hands.”

Lewis received the tablet with much confusion, but as he looked to Yusei, and even Mirai and Hanabi, the only answer he would receive was a shrug, telling him to feel free to look at the contents.

When the boy opened the tablet, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

Inside was only a form. But not just any form – a form with a mugshot. In other words, a prisoner’s registration form. And on it was none other than Zain’s face.

“You’ve heard of the Infinite Prison, haven’t you?” Yusei let out a sigh. “The most notorious containment center for only the most heinous crimes.”

“I have,” nodded Lewis. His throat was parched due to all the information he was forced to digest, but there was no way that he’d dare touch the cup on the desk anymore. “It’s in…”

As the word was about to leave his mouth, it was as if lightning struck inside Lewis’s head.

Everything clicked. The boy gulped for air; his eyes widened as he finished the sentence:

“England…”

“That’s right,” nodded Yusei. “The Infinite Prison is located in England – the same place where your friend Michael claimed to have met Zain. I’m sure you see where I’m going with this.”

“But…” Lewis’s breathing grew shorter and more erratic. “How did you know all of this?”

Yusei glanced over to Mirai and Hanabi. As the two girls lightly bowed, the young man continued:

“How much do you know about shinobis in Japan?”

“… Huh?” Before the sudden question, Lewis could only respond with a bewildered face.

Not letting the boy question any further, Yusei kept on explaining:

“The shinobis – or ninjas, if you’re looking for a more familiar term – are a special force that existed since ancient times. In short, they’re hired hitmen, taking on jobs like espionage, assassination, infiltration and the likes for the master they serve. With the advancement of weaponry, ninjas were soon considered outclassed and unneeded, and were soon wiped out of existence…”

Taking a sip from his cup for a quick break, the man followed up with a chilling gaze:

“Or, that’s what the story was made out to be in public.

In truth, the shinobis remained. They just upgraded their equipment and methods, while their master changed from feudal lords to modern national figures. The World President, Musuhito Ryuuhan, is an example.”

“President Ryuuhan has ninjas working for him?” Lewis almost had his jaw dropped to the ground before the news.

“Of course. And not only that, he has the only ninja clan left in Japan working for him.”

As he finished his sentence, Yusei then rummaged through his drawer once more. This time, the object thrown at Lewis was a small badge with an emblem of a long-nose mask and red wings, while on Yusei’s hand was a small card in a leather wallet.

“Said family is the Fuuma clan – a clan famous for their quick feet and ability to ride the winds. The Fuuma clan, unlike any other ninja clan in history, was one that did not care about bloodline traditions. They would regularly adopt children with potential and train them to be the clan’s heir. Then, talented individuals in the Fuuma clan would follow the World President’s commands to train and become secret agents in dealing with national, nay, international matters.”

Yusei suddenly stopped. Naturally, Lewis could notice the strange behavior and pestered the young man before him:

“And? Keep going, President! How is that related to anything here?”

Of course, Yusei had waited for that reaction. With a smirk on his face, the young man showed Lewis the card in his hand. On the card was Yusei himself – but not in his regular clothes or student uniform.

It was Yusei in a blue police officer’s uniform and a single star on each of his shoulder pads.

“My name is Yusei Kotaro, current heir to the title ‘Fuuma’, and Officer Cadet of the Infinite Prison. Mister Lewis Circuit, will you assist me with my current investigation?”