Bombastic Entrance of The Great Maki

Chapter 2: Bombastic Entrance of The Great Maki

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

Its Monday.
7:30 am

The scorching bright morning light shines through the closed brown blinds. Becoming the primary light source of the pitch black dark office of Shun.

Crickets and birds makes their chirping sounds on the trees outside.

Staying up late again, researching about a bloody murder on the house he went to last night. And his room is a bloody mess, almost like a crime scene in it out of itself.

A yellow smiley face on the wall was drawn in with holes shot through them, a head on the fridge for an experiment, black socks and other laundry piled up on his desk and some even hanged on his plastic deer that was drilled on the wall.

Files on files, piled up everywhere and overflowing like a flood. Files of the victims of the now called 38 Incident and also case files about “The Girl”.

The only clean places are near his radio cassette player and recorder, and stuff near the kitchen, and TV place where he placed his favorite thing in the world, the violin, at.

He slept on his couch, he is short enough to fit in his short couch as he lays on his arm, which is now aching, and without a pillow his head is hurting and pulsing too, almost like its about to explode with the couch being rock hard.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

His phone buzzes from the endless notifications, and his phone continuously turns on and off on his desk, away from him.

It’s the group chat, and they have woken up.

Shun just ignores it though, like the usual, and even likes the buzzing sounds by how he starts feeling at ease and smiles.

Click! -------! Click!

His TV replays a report from last night that he got a copy of and looped.

**Bzzt—Bzzz.--- This is late night news, broadcasting. And back to the topic at hand, some of the victims seem to be doppelgangers. -- With one doppelganger in the morgue and the other, alive and kicking. Some doppelgangers are older versions of what currently seems to be babies! -- And some doesn’t seem to even have records yet! And some of our scientists have theorized------ **

“ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
Shun loudly groans, as he stretches his arms and legs out.

Before leaping out of the couch and strikes a bright pose with his arms on his waist and confident bright smile, his glittering white teeth out.

“I finally decided!” He valiantly declares, raising his arm up slowly before unleashing all that energy and speed in one go and points at literal nothing, “The 48 incident Is now!!!! Officially, yes, officially, declared by your one and only ME! I, Natsuki Shun, believes this is caused by STEM!”

“I mean! Duhhhh… why did the broadcaster have to steal my spotlight!” He groaned and complained.

He pouted and gritted his teeth, before he cross body stretches his arms one by one and then suddenly does jumping jacks to hype himself up.

-----

Yesterday night, Sunday

10:30 pm at STEM main facility in the middle of a dark green forest.

The walls, pillars and tiled floor were colored in pure white, the inside of the facility extending out into infinity filled to brim with stalls for testing and machines. But, in the middle, exists a Large Hadron Collider, walled up and surrounded by lots and lots of green painted metal scaffolding.

Scientists scrambled after the news reported in the TV. STEM were essentially called out and blamed for the incident, people now rallying outside of their main headquarters.

“Sir! I have the conference ready for tomorrow!” The scientist ran up to a towering presence. Squared jawed and a man with smooth white hair, and scarlet red office long sleeve with a black tie under a black business suit vest, both looked tight and clung to his every muscle.

The man waved his hand to send him away, a bit stressed and annoyed, yet a normal day for him.

“Sir!--”

“Yes! What do you want, doctor!?!” He spoke with a loud voice to hurry the man up with what he was going to say.

“A-ah--”

“Doctor! We are in a bit of a rush here, doctor.”

“L-late night news would like a personal interview with you sir!”

“Tsk—“ The man clicked his tongue. “I see STEIN is starting to get more and more confrontational with their motives.”

He sighs and waves the scientist away, “Let Mori sensei deal with that.”

The scientist nods nervously and leaves, only to be replaced with another researcher who enters just seconds later.

He clicked his tongue even louder, before facing with a composed and inviting smile. “What is it this time?”

“S-sir, while investigating the incident sir and find a possible solution to our problem or a scapegoat, we have found another anomaly nearby the incident and is located in the blue roofed neighborhood sir.”

It peaked the man’s interested and he smiled ear to ear, showing off his shining white teeth with huge confidence, reassurance, excitement and relief behind it.

“You for real?”

“Y-yes sir of course…”

“Wait wait… Just to be sure. Are you for real for real?”

“Y-YES SIR!”

“HWAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAH” His shining smile turns to a burst of boisterous laughter and patting the researcher at the back.

“HWAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!” He laughed up to the high heavens that enveloped the whole facility, till his jaw started to feel sluggish.

-----

Back to Monday
10:20 AM

Ding! Ding!

Same outfit and everything, Shun walks out of the convenience store and takes his usual route home. Passing by the playground.

With his usual pick early in the morning, a chocolate ice cream stick, and another plastic bag of goods in his left hand. He sluggishly sits at one of the benches and placing his bag next to him as he reaches out for his phone on his pocket.

“I wonder what the others are up to with their usual craziness.” He smiled ear to ear, excited and giddy like how a dude would be like when chatting his crush.

With the stick of the finished ice cream on his mouth, he scrolls through the group chat once again.

AH: What’s up chattttt!! And you crazy son of a guns!

But the moment he entered the conversation, a hundred pings went off and his message is instantly skyrocketed up, replaced by an overwhelming barrage of messages.

“What the— What got these guys so hyperactive?!? Jesus.” He kept trying to scroll up, which was impossible from the endless amounts of new messages that keep on coming.

He tried his best, is what he probably told himself.

But he gave up only after a few scrolls. After all he was the type of guy to give up that easily, as he just sighs.

“You know what? I’ll probably understand what they are talking about if I just listen in carefully.”

DD: What are you on???
RM: Your stupidity, oh my god. Cant you see?? It’s some big mystery waiting to be solved.
DD: Or some god forsaken troll!
AH: Why you both be fighting all the time??
DD: Im telling you

RM: That your stupid.
AH: The hell is happening??
DD: You’re such a child. I’m telling you that your probably just Fortuna trying to create a mystery to keep us interested in your occultic fantasies!

Trees rustles with an awkward silence filling the park, the main source being Kota, watching the group chat as his message were completely ignored.

Kota sighs, his default response to everything. As he still has no idea about what they are talking about he just continues to scroll around till Gun Girl joins in.

GG: Im bored…
DD: Sup
RM: Hey hey
AH: All of you are horny asses.
DD: So true

GG: Guys im so boredddd! Do you guys wanna hang out?
DD: Sure
GG: No no no, I mean in real life!

“Hm? Hmmmm???”

AH: You for real?
AH: Not pun intended
GG: Yeah!!!
RM: Madam don’t you know this is the internet?
DD: Yeah. What he said.
RM: Women are unpredictable…
GG: Whats so weird about meeting all my friends here in real life!
DD: Weirdos exist.
GG: Weirdos are fun to be with!
AH: What???

Kota is taken aback by the denseness of this lady, he squints his eyes as if in denial every time.

GG: Im here at the Meiro, blue roofed neighborhoods.

Kota looks up away from his phone to scan his surroundings.

“…. Shes nearby…”

RM: HAHAHAHAH how dense can you be lady?!
GG: That’s kinda insulting…

Kota looks up again, and in quick succession, looks at the empty playground and all the seats around him, and at the empty half of the bench where he placed his groceries and a leaf who took pity in his loneliness.

“Hayss… what am I even gonna do today?” He ponders. But instantly remembers, “Oh yeah right! Nothing!”

GG: Anyways! Anyone nearby?
DD: No
AH: Yeah! Me! Im at the playground!
DD: You sure you’re not a weirdo?
RM: sounds like one…
AH: Im just a lonely man!
DD: Definitely a weirdo.
RM: Agreed agreed.

“Ahhhhh!!!! I shouldn’t have said it in the group chat!! Private messages would have been less embarrassing!”

GG: Oh… Im already at the playground.

As Kota read that message, just then, panting sounds could be heard, as the lady sprints, gaining great momentum to jump up the slide, successfully and perfectly landing on both her feet.

The slide was directly in front of the bench Kota sat in.

The lady was filled with pure adrenaline and giddy excitement, finishing an act straight out of a circus performance, she points at Kota.

“The name is Maki, Ito Maki!!!!!” She loudly introduced herself, drawing all the attention to her and even stopping the trees from their rustling, drawn to her loud beginning words.

Before she bows with great elegance and a bit of trained professionalism at the act,
“Ito Maki, At your service desu~!”

To Be Continued.