Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Suspicious activity has recently been reported near… ‘our turf’.” Date cringed as he read the message aloud, as if those last two words brought him physical pain. He heaved a sigh. “Remind me why we’re the ones doing this, again?”

“[Because it’s our turf,]” Tama said matter-of-factly. “[Duh.]”

“It’s not ours, it’s Boss’s. She should have come here herself.”

He had a point. Ryuki hadn’t been told all the details himself, but after the New Cyclops case, it was revealed that So’s son had not only been the original Cyclops Killer, but had also killed one of So’s mistresses when he was just twelve years old. So had known the whole time, and covered for his son for years. The moment it got out, he was immediately removed from congress, and sold all his land in the Kabasaki district. Boss had managed to snatch up the chemical plant. Who knew why, though; it was the place where Aiba had been blown to smithereens, and where Date had been injured so badly they’d had to reconstruct his entire face.

[You seriously still believe that? It’s obvious he’s lying. The thermograph goes nuts every time he brings it up.]

I know. But… I’m sure he has a good reason. Mr. Date wouldn’t lie about that unless he did. So I’ll just pretend he’s telling the truth.

[Geez, you could be a little more nosy sometimes, you know? ]

“It’s not like we have anything better to do right now,” Ryuki pointed out, ignoring her. “A couple of other agents have cases. Boss is probably overseeing those. If something really is going on here, we need to stop it as soon as possible before someone gets hurt. Even if it isn’t our job.”

Date rubbed his eyes, letting out another sigh. “Sheesh, you sound like me. Well, fine. I do like getting paid. It’ll be nostalgic. I haven’t worked something like this in twenty years.”

“...Wouldn’t you have been ten?”

“...Ten years.” He popped the car door open. “Come on. Let’s go.”

Ryuki fumbled with the latch, scrambling after him. Despite his earlier protests, Date walked briskly towards the chemical plant, forcing him to run to catch up. He’d always been taller than Ryuki, with longer strides, though ever since the incident he could have sworn Date had shrunk an inch or two.

Do you think it’s because of the hair?

[Nah. His hair’s fluffier than ever. If anything, it’s the shoes.]

Ryuki glanced at Date’s feet. Those seem pretty normal. Were they that much taller before?

[A little, but I don’t think it was that much… maybe you’ve gotten taller? ]

I’m 23. I think I stopped growing years ago.

[You never know! Maybe you’ve been eating your vegetables lately.]

How does that make sense?

He was so focused on the conversation with Tama that he didn’t notice Date had stopped, and nearly walked right into him. He pulled himself back, swallowing a yelp. For a bit, Date just stood there, staring at the building. Ryuki followed his gaze. There didn’t seem to be anything out of place.

“Never thought I’d be back here so soon,” Date murmured. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I mean, it’s been three months. But I hoped I’d never have to come back.”

“[If it’s too much for you, you do not need to head inside. Ryuki and Tama are more than capable of investigating on their own,]” said Aiba.

Ryuki blinked, slightly surprised, then nodded. “Uh, yeah! You can take the outside, and we’ll do the inside, if you want.” He looked at the building again, trying to gauge its size. “Although, it might take us a while…”

Date shook his head. “Nah, it’s okay. Now that Aiba’s back, I’ll be fine. As long as you’re good, Aiba?”

“[My memories of what took place here three months ago were lost when I self-destructed. If you’re worried about trauma, I have none.]”

“Oh. Right.”

“[ You, however-]”

“As I already said, I’m fine.”

Ryuki smiled hollowly. “Don’t worry, Mr. Date. We’re all traumatized here.”

Date chuckled. “[I just said I’m not!]” Aiba protested.

Tama sighed. “[You all need therapy.]”

“That’s what you’re here for,” Ryuki pointed out.

“[Hey, don’t reduce me to your trauma dump handler!]”

“Anyways.” Ryuki looked around. “Where should we start? I take the right side, you take the left?”

Date shook his head. “Let’s stick together for now. We’ll check the perimeter first. If anyone’s been snooping, we’ll probably find a few traces around.”

Ryuki nodded. “Whatever you think is best, Mr. Date!” 

Date smiled, gesturing for him to follow. They moved in a wide arc, careful to check the ground before they stepped lest they disturb any undiscovered clues.

[You’re really doing this the old fashioned way, huh? ]

Unfortunately. But it’s not like there’s another way to do it.

[Oh come on, you haven’t forgotten that quickly, have you? ]

…What do you mean?

[My fantastic new feature? The one you said would be life-changing just the other day? ]

Oh, right!

Ryuki halted, standing in place so Tama could begin her work. After a moment, Date noticed and looked back with a frown. “Something wrong?”

“Just letting Tama scan this into VR.”

“Scan it… into VR?” Date’s brow furrowed. “You can do that?”

“[Only newer models of AI-Ball can. I was not capable of it before. However, I was upgraded to a new model when I was rebuilt, and now have all the same abilities as my younger siblings,]” Aiba piped up.

“Woah.” Date blinked. “So- woah!”

Tama giggled, popping into Ryuki’s vision. “[You see it now? Pretty cool, right?]”

“[I have scanned and analyzed the area in four modes: standard, thermograph, night vision, and x-ray. You may switch between them at any time to aid in your investigation.]”

Date looked around in amazement, scanning the area. After a moment, he knelt down to examine something, and raised his hand to reveal a thin gray string pinched between his fingers.

“Woah,” he said again. And then he laughed. A real laugh, giddy and unburdened, a laugh he hadn’t heard since the New Cyclops case happened. “This is so cool! With this- Damn, I didn’t realize how old I’m getting. I can see everything now!”

“[Your other eye works fine. I have enhanced your vision beyond what is humanly possible. You’re not nearly old enough to start blaming things on your age.]”

Ryuki couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, you’re only 30, Mr. Date. Keep talking like that and you’ll make me feel old soon.”

“Eh, you’ll probably start to feel like it.” Date grinned, turning back to look at Ryuki. He paused for a moment. “Nice bones, by the way.”

“W-What?”

Date laughed. “Aiba, you think I could use this all the time? Like, when I’m-”

“[No.]”

“Come on, not even-”

“[No. Even disregarding my personal opinions, it would drain my battery too much.]”

“Fine. But you’ve gotta tell me about these other new features, okay? What else have you got?”

“[Increased storage, higher resolution, a thought-blocking option, Wink Psync capabilities, more facial expressions-]”

“Wait, what do you mean more of them?”

Aiba sprang into Ryuki’s vision, projecting herself beside Tama. Her hamster-like form floated in the air, her pupil huge and pleading. “[Just that I can do this now, to say, ‘please, Date-]” Her pupil shrank to a pinprick, and a dark line appeared, like an angry eyebrow. Oh, yes, Ryuki was plenty familiar with that look. “[-stop ogling people’s bones!]”

“I am not ogling! ” Date huffed. “You think I would ogle my subordinate?”

“[Eh, don’t worry. I’m sure he doesn’t mind,]” Tama teased.

“Wha-?” Ryuki sputtered. Heat rose in his cheeks, and he furiously shook his head. “Tama! You can’t just say things like that!”

Tama cooed. “[Aww, is someone embarrassed?]”

“I was not ogling you,” Date reiterated.

“[Then get out of x-ray mode and start ogling the ground for clues,]” Aiba huffed, exasperated.

“I was! ”

The work went quickly with all four of them working together. A thread here, a bit of trash there, some footprints by the wall, and once they had searched the entire perimeter, the evidence was really adding up to-

“[Absolutely nothing,]” Aiba said bluntly. “[We cannot determine anything from what we’ve found. In fact, it is most likely it is all unrelated, and blew in from the street.]”

Ryuki frowned. “But what about the footprints? Those must have been made pretty recently, and they couldn’t have blown in.”

“[After the incident, this place was cordoned off and thoroughly investigated. After ABIS acquired it, Boss made sure there were people here frequently. They most likely belong to a fellow officer,]” Tama pointed out.

Oh. That did make sense. Ryuki sighed. “Back to square one, then. Guess we’ll have to head inside.”

Date smiled. “Eh, some days are like that. Cheer up! If nothing else, this was fun.”

“[Why, because you got to use x-ray mode on someone?]” Aiba snarked.

“No, because of you, idiot!” Date scowled.

Aiba’s eye widened. She seemed a little flustered. Tama burst out laughing, her projection floating over to poke Aiba’s projection in the arm. Ryuki looked up at Date, a small smile rising to his face. “Thanks, Mr. Date. It probably is best if we don’t find anything, huh? That means nobody’s been causing trouble.”

“Nobody we can notice. But if we can’t notice them with all this VR stuff, I think they’ve earned the right to get away with it.” Date chuckled.

Tama tapped her stubby hand against her chin. “[I think it’s more like AR like this, actually.]”

“Same difference,” Date and Ryuki said in unison.

They approached the entrance, a massive metal door that looked like it weighed a ton. Just as he was wondering if they’d manage to move it at all, Date grabbed the edge and tugged, and it slid open without issue. Ryuki blinked.

Woah… he made that look so easy…

[It’s really not that hard, Ryuki.]

How would you know? You’ve never tried it.

[You haven’t either! ]

Though they’d traversed the edge of the factory, Ryuki still found himself surprised at how big it was inside. Abandoned shipping crates and lab equipment lay scattered throughout, making it seem a cold, empty shell. And it was cold, that winter chill leaking into it. Ryuki shivered. The ceiling towered high above, peppered with holes that revealed the sky, making the scaffolds look like an infinite stairway. And on those scaffolds - on the one with the control room, three levels up - that, apparently, was where #89…

Date hesitated, his steps faltering. Ryuki looked over at him. The explosion had ruined his face, singed his hair, forever damaged his voice box. He was lucky to be alive. Thinking about it made Ryuki’s stomach churn. Date looked uneasy too, like he’d rather be anywhere but here.

Of course he would. If Ryuki ever went back to where Yukuto… well, he doubted he’d be able to stand for long.

“Um, Mr. Date, I know this isn’t easy for you.” Ryuki shifted awkwardly. “Really, if you don’t want to be here, it’s okay.”

Date took a deep breath, swallowing. Then, he shook his head and forced a smile. “Don’t mind me. I’ve dealt with worse. Besides, there’s one place I definitely need to check.”

He continued on, making his way to the back of the room. Ryuki followed curiously. There was another door there, nearly as large as the entrance. Date reached for it, then paused, looking at him again.

“Ryuki,” he said, his voice low and serious. “When I open this door… this is top secret information. You can’t tell the other Psyncers about it, okay? If people found out this was here, it would be disastrous.”

Ryuki blinked, bewildered. “Huh?”

Date fixed him in a stern gaze, sharp enough to cut to the bone. He’d never seen him look like that before. His mouth fell open, searching for words, but nothing came out. After a moment he managed a nod, his voice coming back to him. “Y-Yes, of course. What’s back here that’s so-”

“You’ll see.”

Ryuki swallowed, fighting back his bafflement. Date turned his gaze back to the door and steeled himself.

[Something more secret than ABIS itself? Color me intrigued,] said Tama. [You think it’s an SCP or something? ]

Pfft… I doubt that.

The moment before Date pulled the door open, a grating noise, like a chain grinding on metal, came from the other side.

Date nearly jumped out of his skin. Ryuki scrambled back, fumbling for his gun.

Crap! Crap, maybe it is!

[H-Hey, I was just kidding! I’m sure it was just- something falling down, or something-]

Did that sound like something falling to you?!

As if on cue, from the other side, something heavy clattered to the ground.

Oh crap, it’s a mind reader! It’s- it’s gotta be-

[T-Those don’t exist, idiot! ]

Date drew his gun, his face white as a sheet. He stepped in front of Ryuki and threw an arm out protectively. “Get behind me, kid,” he hissed.

His mind raced. His heart pounded so hard he could feel it in his ears. He finally managed to get a good grip on his gun, but his hands were slick with sweat, and when he tried to hold it up, it slipped.

Okay… oh god, okay, Ryuki, you’ve got this… just… hold steady…

The door opened with the grating of metal on metal, and his limbs turned to jelly.

Orange. That was all he caught. Someone in orange, from head to toe, bright orange. An orange jumpsuit.

A prisoner! A convict! Like- like-

Like #89.

And they were right in front of Date.

The explosion. He’d almost died. He’d become quieter, more withdrawn, only recently beginning to come out of his shell again.

No!

He couldn’t let that happen again.

His body practically moved on its own, hurtling across the room, his Evolver skittering across the floor as he slammed into the criminal’s stomach. They fell together with a grunt, and Ryuki tackled him to the ground, his grip shockingly strong despite the shaking in his arms. Date cried out from behind him, but if he’d said anything resembling a word, he couldn’t recognize it. The person in his grasp yelped and kicked at his knee, and his leg gave out.

I… if I die here, I… run, Mr. Date…

He stiffened, bracing for the end.

But it never came.

“...Agent Ryuki? Date?”

…H-Huh?

Ryuki looked up, loosening his grip on the prisoner, and there, laying under him, was-

“P-Pewter?!” Date spluttered.

“Hey!” Someone yelled from inside the room, sprinting towards them. “What’s going on?!”

Ryuki yelped and scrambled off of Pewter. An inspector skidded to a halt in front of them. “Hey, I know you! You’re-”

“Kaniza?” Date choked, incredulous.

“Yes! No, I mean no! It’s Kagami! ” The inspector yelled. “And can you please stop pointing your gun at my ward?”

Date fumbled over his words, looking down at where he still had his gun trained on Pewter. He quickly lowered his arms, shoving it back into his holster. Ryuki clumsily retrieved his from where it had landed on the floor.

“What are you doing here?” Date asked shakily.

“Repairing the Psync machine,” Pewter croaked, holding his stomach. He winced. “What else would I be doing?”

“B-But why?”

“They wanted me to upgrade it to match the one at ABIS. Boss sent me.” The officer knelt down next to Pewter, offering him an arm. He took it and hauled himself to his feet, sucking in a breath. “Agh, Agent Ryuki, that really hurt. Glad to see you’ve been well trained, at least…”

Ryuki froze for a moment, mortified. “W-Why are you wearing a prison uniform?” He stammered. “And what do you mean about another Psync machine?”

Pewter tipped his head. “Don’t you know? I’ve been in prison for the past three months.”

“But you’re not! And you’ve always worn that- that mad scientist outfit!”

“I’ll ignore the slander towards my clothes.” Pewter sighed. “Yes, Boss doesn’t want to draw attention towards me being under arrest. She has me wear my normal clothes at ABIS to not draw suspicion. I thought the entire police station knew by now, but I guess it must have worked. While I’m not at ABIS, I have to wear my prison uniform.”

“And if you’re wondering about the Psync machine,” the inspector - what was his name again? Cannoli? - said, “it’s right there.”

He pointed to the back room, and sure enough, beyond the doors was a Psync machine, glowing with dark red lights.

“What are you doing here?” Pewter asked. “I can’t imagine you’d come back on your own.”

“No thanks to you,” Date muttered. He shook his head. “Same as you. Boss sent us. She said there was some suspicious activity around here, and we needed to investigate.”

Inspector Canada pinched the bridge of his nose. At least, Ryuki thought he did. It was hard to tell with the mask. “Ah, I see. That was us.”

“The suspicious people we’re looking for are you?”

“No! No.” Inspector Claw Gummy shook his head. “I mean, sometimes people come in and trespass. We keep the door back here chained up so no one sees anything, and usually they leave without causing any trouble, but we’ve had a few close encounters. We needed some extra support.”

“Did Boss not tell you we were here?” Pewter asked. “She told us you were coming. She should have told you.”

“[Aha,]” said Aiba. “[I see it now. I did indeed receive a message telling me they were here. However, I disregarded it as spam and did not read it because it came from a suspicious source. A blank profile called ‘Marco’.]”

“Aiba says she did get it, but she had flagged it as spam. It came from some guy called Marco,” Date conveyed.

Pewter groaned and buried his face in his hands. “I have told her so many times to stop using that as a phone before it’s ready. But no, she never listens, does she? She’d better pay me worker’s comp for this mess.”

Ryuki awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Sorry…”

Pewter gave a dismissive wave. “I’ll live.”

“So… intruders.” Date exhaled. “What did you want us to do?”

“Just make sure no one’s plotting anything. Most intruders are just curious, but we’ve found a few things around that suggest some people might have more malicious intentions,” said Kangaroo. He pulled something out of his pocket - a silicone mask. “We found this this morning. Apparently it’s the kind of mask So Sejima would have his guards wear. And considering that guy’s connection to this place…”

Date’s eyes widened. He snatched it from the inspector’s hand, turning it over to examine it, then let out a hiss. “Yeah, it is. Damn, this could be bad…”

Ryuki blinked. “But he doesn’t have any power anymore. I don’t think he’ll be able to do anything even if he tries.”

“No, it’s not about him. I’ll explain… everything later.” Date looked at Pewter. “All right. We’ll start our investigation right away.”

Pewter sighed. “Thank you. In the meantime, I should probably lock this door again. It’s dangerous to leave it open this long.”

“[Yes, it is,]” Tama remarked. “[In fact, I think we have some unexpected visitors right now.]”

“[It’s true. Three unknown persons, just outside the entrance,]” Aiba confirmed.

“Speak of the devil,” Date whispered. He gestured at Pewter and… whoever that inspector was, ushering them inside the room. “Go. We’ve got guests.”

Their eyes widened and they nodded, immediately retreating inside. Date spun on his heels, whirling around, and Ryuki followed suit. They exchanged a glance. A moment later, Date looked down, and then looked back up with a grin.

“Ready to protect a national secret, Ryuki?”

He tipped his head. “I guess. It’s what I’ve been doing this whole time, though.”

“After this, I’ll tell you everything.” He looked back to the entrance. “But first, let’s run off these kids.”

Ryuki switched on his x-ray mode, and there they were - three people. Just teens, by the look of it. No one to worry about.

Heh… it was silly, really. Government agents, scaring a group of kids away from a national secret? This was like something straight out of a movie.

Well, he’d always been a little too into movies, hadn’t he? He could have some fun.

“Of course. Have no fear. Half-Might is here!”

Date raised an eyebrow. Ryuki grinned at him, and he snorted, shaking his head. 

“All right then, kid.” He chuckled. “Bring it on.”