Nothing Happened Today

Early morning,

"Ah~~~"

Hearing a scream suddenly come from the second floor, Akihi Yu flashed away from the kitchen, where he was cooking. Wrapped in lightning and fierce winds—in the truest sense of the word, he flew upstairs at lightning speed and flung open the door.

"Sora, what's wrong?"

Akihi Sora stood before him, spraying insecticide frantically in every direction.

"Wait, wait~~ Stop spraying."

He snatched the insecticide from the girl's hand and couldn't help waving the fumes away from his nose.

"You can't use it like that."

"But, but there's a mosquito~~"

The girl threw herself into Akihi Yu's arms and pointed at her arm, where a small red welt stood out against her fair skin.

What?!

Damn mosquitoes! I'll blast you to bits, blast you to bits, damn it!!

Fortunately, Akihi Yu still had enough sense not to use ninjutsu in his room. Still, summer had arrived, and it was indeed time to deal with the mosquitoes.

"Let me take care of it."

The air was thick with the smell of insecticide.

If Sora kept at it, it was unclear whether the mosquitoes would die, but Akihi Yu, with his sensitive sense of smell, certainly wouldn't be able to take much more.

"Let's go downstairs and eat first."

Knock, knock, knock.

He opened the window to air out the room. The two went downstairs, where a knock came from the front door.

"Who is it?"

There was no need to ask. With Akihi Yu's current abilities, he could tell exactly who was outside, even through a door.

"Nao, good morning."

It was Class Monitor Nao, who lived nearby.

"Yu, summer's here, and the mosquitoes are rampant. My mother made this lemongrass oil herself. Here, have some."

Class Monitor held a box of yellow-brown essential oil that gave off a fresh, pleasant scent.

"Thanks, this is a big help."

Lemongrass oil was a common mosquito repellent.

Traditional homemakers would grow lemongrass themselves and extract the essential oil at home.

"Would you like to have breakfast with us?"

At Akihi Yu's invitation, Class Monitor took half a step forward, then stepped back.

"No, thanks."

"My mother has already made breakfast. See you in a bit."

"Sure, see you then."

"Sora, come put on a little lemongrass oil."

"I don't want to."

In the living room, Akihi Sora turned her head away, looking displeased.

"I don't want anything from that woman."

"Aunt Iai made this. Don't be difficult. Come on—"

He dabbed a little oil on his fingertip and gently rubbed it into Akihi Sora's arm. Although the girl protested, she didn't pull away.

"It'll be over in a moment."

In fact, Akihi Yu had already secretly healed Sora's welt with Medical Ninjutsu.

If those powerful people who had waited in long lines for Amame Ei's treatment found out, they would surely weep in despair.

"Yu, Sora."

"Nao~~"

After breakfast, the two went outside. Class Monitor was already waiting nearby.

"Let's go."

The three headed to school together,

just like any other ordinary students.

"Summer's here. Your Swimming Club will be opening again, right?"

On the way, Akihi Yu thought of the question after seeing the mosquito-repellent oil she had brought that morning.

"That's right."

Suimi High School's swimming pool was outdoors, and summer was when the Swimming Club became active. Which meant—

"Sorry, I have club activities after school. For the next few months, I might not be able to..."

walk home with you.

"That's okay."

Akihi Yu didn't mind.

Akihi Sora, walking beside them, was focused instead on Class Monitor's ample curves.

Swimming lessons naturally meant the classic "school swimsuit." That tight-fitting swimwear was the best way to show off one's figure.

Compared to her, Sora was utterly outmatched!

She lowered her head to look at her own chest, then turned her head away.

"Hmph."

?

Akihi Yu scratched his head at his sister's sudden irritation.

Could it be because of the mosquitoes?

That's it. I'll get an insect-type Spirit Beast to take care of them.

He looked up at the blue sky and white clouds. For Akihi Yu, it was another peaceful day.

For everyone else, however:

Chiyoda Ward, Prime Minister's Official Residence, conference room.

The modest conference room was packed. Almost every senior government official in the country who was qualified to know the truth about the Transcendents was there.

The Prime Minister, along with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, Chief Cabinet Secretary, Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, Minister of Defense, and Lieutenant General Ooba Akira of the First Division—equivalent to a lieutenant general—were all in attendance.

Of course, the people in the conference room weren't all from the country. The Americans were there too, led by Brigadier General Thomas.

So many top figures had gathered for one reason: what had happened the night before.

"Four newly emerged Transcendents, and an entire regiment's worth of modern weapons and equipment gone."

Even Brigadier General Thomas shook his head at this shocking intelligence.

American soldiers were human too. If those Transcendents could control the Self-Defense Force without anyone noticing, then they could control the Marine Corps as well. The footage on the projector showed that neither ordinary soldiers nor police officers could even pull the trigger when faced with the "Armored Samurai" or Mr. Three.

How were they supposed to fight a war like this?!

"What abilities does the other side have?"

"Hypnosis, mind control, or bodily possession?"

America had made so many superhero movies that they were very familiar with "superpowers." They didn't know what kind of powers the Transcendents in this country had, but if they understood how those powers worked, they could try to counter them.

"This Armored Samurai..."

Director Takeya rose and pointed at the screen as he began his explanation.

"The soldiers were clearly conscious, but they had lost control of their bodies."

"Our experts believe the other side has an ability along the lines of 'bodily control,' and..."

Though "one shouldn't air dirty laundry in public," Director Takeya considered how thoroughly the government had been infiltrated and decided to speak bluntly:

"The other side is very likely someone from within our Self-Defense Force."

?!

Lieutenant General Ooba Akira of the First Division froze, nearly blurting out the classic denial: Not me. I didn't do it. Don't make things up!

"The other side headed straight for the armory, but deliberately avoided the cameras along the way. They were extremely skilled at controlling the soldiers to open the doors. That almost proves this was..."

an inside job!

What was more, that "Armored Transcendent" hadn't even killed any soldiers. Since when did demons have such kind hearts?

But there were at least eight hundred people who had been qualified to visit the Self-Defense Force, if not a thousand. The country's political circles were an intricate web of connections, and many people were in-laws who saw one another constantly. Political marriages had always been an indispensable way of maintaining a family and preventing it from declining too quickly.

"I'll take responsibility for investigating the Self-Defense Force."

Lieutenant General Ooba Akira volunteered for the task, though inwardly he didn't expect to find anything.

Even if he did uncover the truth, the other side might be someone he knew. And then there was the equipment and weapons of an entire regiment in their hands. If they suddenly made a move, the casualties would be incalculable.

But they couldn't just stick their heads in the sand and pretend not to see it, either.

Sigh, Transcendents. Transcendents!

For certain reasons, the country's Self-Defense Force had always followed the principles of "quality over quantity" and "navy and air force first."

The navy, which had always enjoyed generous funding, had even surpassed the old power of England. But given the situation now, were they supposed to have the navy sail its warships into Tokyo Bay, or have the air force bomb Tokyo Metropolis?

"Our Ground Defense Force needs more military funding!"

Everyone present was in the know, so Lieutenant General Ooba Akira threw caution to the wind.

"Drones, robot dogs, Exoskeleton Armor—light weapons like these, which can excel in urban combat, are what we need most right now!"

Warships and fighter planes were all well and good, but they couldn't be used against their own territory. When faced with Transcendents who appeared one after another and had terrifying mobility, the Ground Defense Force would still have to step in. Since that was the case, Lieutenant General Ooba Akira naturally took the opportunity to ask for more money.

When the cannons roared, gold flowed by the tens of thousands. Without money, how could they fight a war?

"Agreed."

The Prime Minister nodded and made the call. Shifting more funding toward the military was inevitable.

Even America's carrier fleets couldn't sail to Tokyo Metropolis and wipe out the Transcendents. Besides, given America's style, they might not be able to defeat the Transcendents, but turning the whole place into rubble would be easy.

The American military, which had already received instructions, didn't object.

If the country's Ground Defense Force didn't deal with the Transcendents, were they supposed to send in the Marine Corps?

What a joke!

The soldiers of a great nation were far too precious to risk lightly.

As for the Black Hawk squad that had rushed over not long ago to snatch the country's Transcendents, that was the work of the previous Nigo. What did it have to do with them, the old white men?

"When it comes to fighting Transcendents, the best way is with Transcendents."

Lieutenant General Thomas spoke up.

"I hear the Metropolitan Police Department has three Transcendents."

Here it came!

Director Takeya's expression darkened. This was exactly what was meant by trouble within and threats without.

"Of course, these people are valuable talents of this country. America won't make things difficult for heroes. So..."

"We want five vials of Transcendent Serum!"

?!

Director Takeya's vision went black. He nearly fainted on the spot.

At the secret base in Setagaya Ward, they had "just happened" to extract five vials of Transcendent Serum!

If even a place like that had been infiltrated, then... sigh~~

Director Takeya wasn't the only one. Every senior official from the country looked grim. Regardless of whether any of them were traitors, they had to at least show the right attitude at a time like this.

"I can't make that decision. Please discuss it with our Minister of Foreign Affairs."

Director Takeya practically forced the words through clenched teeth.

Hearing this, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose expression had grown even worse, had no choice but to speak up.

"Five vials is too many."

"Hmph. You already have Tanimura Wataru, as well as the Transcendent dog he transformed."

Thomas slammed his hand heavily on the table.

"This is only the first batch. The basis of cooperation between our two sides is that we share all Transcendent resources!"

If we're sharing, what's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine!