Chapter 20: Baseball ; Father

---POV Change:3---

Two men were speaking in a room engulfed by darkness. They spoke of something in a displeased manner. The two of them both look somewhere at the mention of a name. At the place where they're looking, there is a platform of sorts. On top of the platform, is a guy that seems to be a high schooler. He's lying down on his back on top of the platform, his eyes seemingly having no life within them.

Surrounding the guy, are all sorts of scientific equipment. Most of them are connected to him in one way or another.

"We were too late in retrieving him.", said one of the two men.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with the 'anomaly' that has appeared recently.", said the other one.

"He needs to be taken care of.", the first one replied.

"Does he have any weaknesses?", the second one inquired.

"So far, there is one - his family.", the first one replied while creepily smiling.

---POV Change:1---

"Cheh! So he was coward after all.", a certain hotheaded girl says.

The guy's friends are visibly triggered by her insult. The one that attempted to make a call gets closer to us and says,

"I don't know what deal was made between you guys, but we aren't just going to stand here and listen to you mock our friend. We will play now. The outcome of the deal will depend on whether you can win against us or not."

The guy then turns around and says while facing his friends,

"Come on boys, let's do this. For the captain!"

They respond with a loud cry and start to prepare themselves for the match.

What the hell. They didn't even ask about our opinion on the subject. The guy in question isn't even here, so why are we even doing this? He might not even be alive anymore.

I can't tell them that though, as it would lead to various problems, but that's not the point here. I let out a sigh and get prepared myself for the game.

------

They were much stronger than we had expected. It seems that the cheater wasn't the only thing that was essential about the team. The way they worked together and coordinated everything was worth mentioning.

However, we managed to win the game in the end. There were several close calls, but it's the end result that matters.

The most surprising thing is that our group - Nao, Joijiro, Misa, and myself - aren't that good at baseball. We had to resort to bunts that completely relied on luck, at least they did. I am a cheat and I'm aware of it. No hypocrisy for me. I feel like I've had enough of that for some reason...

Now that this is over, I am free for the rest of the day. What should I do?

------

As I was exploring the city using my Godspeed, Juno suddenly says,

"Victor, I need to attend to some urgent matters. I won't be able to speak to you. I should be done by the time you send the data over. While I'm away, you can direct your question to Irene."

Before I could ask anything, I felt the spiritual connection between us was cut off. Several seconds later, I hear a voice inside of my head which clearly isn't Juno's say mechanically,

{Initializing Core}

{User identified as - Father}

{Initialization complete.}

...

...

Wha-? Did whatever this voice was inside my head was just say it identified me as "father"? What's that supposed to mean? I suddenly have a daughter now? Why does everything have to be so confusing, dammit?!

"Hey, who are you?", I ask, still disconcerted by the way things turned out.

{Answering: I am the soul of the System.}

My System has a soul now? Based on the way she is responding, I'm starting to suspect that she's an A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). Irritated, I ask her,

"Who am I?"

{Answering: Our Father.}

Screw this. I'm just going to go back to exploring the city.

------

It's dinner time. The TV is on right now, and the channel is playing Yusarin's song. Ayumi then abruptly jumps from her seat and says with gleaming eyes,

"Hey Brother Yu, is it true that Yusarin has transferred to our school?"

I casually nod in response to her question, but Ayumi exclaims,

"That is something really amazing!" before she has a nose-bleed and falls on her back due to excitement.

This never ceases to surprise me. She really is one hell of a fan-girl. As long as it doesn't affect her negatively, it doesn't matter.

I grab a tissue and walk over to Ayumi who is still lying on the ground. I lift her up and wipe the blood off her face.

I was planning on telling her that I can get her to meet Yusa, but on second thought, I'm better off not doing so.

I think about the recent events that have transpired. There is something big going on. The men following me. The kidnapping. The other guy that could use everyone's abilities. The energy beam that was fired from the van. They are all related in one way or another.

This is no joking matter. I need to be extra vigilant from now on, lest I want something truly regrettable to happen.