Breaking & Dazzling the Code | FR & Genkai

[Genkai]

A thick layer of solitude masked the cheer circulating throughout Tokyo.

Christmas had concluded about two weeks ago. It was now the 11'th of January, roughly eight in the evening. Many residents were tucked away in their homes with their loved ones. Some were still relishing in their presents while many adults were preparing for the impending work day. It was Sunday night, a thin layer of snow was all that remained from the wild flurry of holidays passed. The night's temperature was incessantly declining which only added to the wasteland's atmosphere. There was hardly a soul out braving the bitter cold of winter in Japan's capital city. If a stray bird who happened to miss migration season were to look down at the majestic metropolis, they would see only two pairs of tracks marking the empty sidewalk. Surely anyone out in the cold was a little nuts. Why would you be outside in the cold when you could be eating supper or going online? The year 2032 was now upon the world and there was no time to waste, no time to stupidly take a midnight stroll. "Br-brother..." A girl's chattering teeth attempted to tighten in order to talk more coherently. "Why didn't we just ta-ta-take a t-taxi cab?"

"We resolved to spend...less money on things we don't n-need." He responded, trying to hide the regret that was buried deep within his stubborn mind.

"Y-you resolved-d that." She was too quick to point out. "And...and...I ne-need a hot-t-t drink!" The two young adults were Haruo Nikawa and his younger sister, Taruo. Normally if they set foot out on the street, they would be swamped with people asking for photos or autographs. In the present day and age, the two siblings were known as Breakers, famous hackers who were treated like celebrities to defend people from nasty vicious viruses and selfish people. Inside the DgtWld, Haruo was known as String for his use of a violin against any dastardly foe. And Taruo was called Melody because she sings and dances. Both partners rely on one another in the technical battle against enemies. While Taruo loves to meet her fans and do anything to make them happy, Haruo is slightly less easy going, however being among his fans and "regular people" does remind him why he works hard with the Gvn of JPN to stop anyone foolish enough to attack innocent people. Due to many Breakers from all over the utopian world making a loud reputation for themselves, the digital crime rate has dropped down to practically zero and work is hard to come by for the prized hackers. Even so, the Gvn enjoys the positive public image of safety Breakers promote and doesn't mind keeping many on the payroll if it means a happier life for everyone.

The dark days where NHax, Correctors and Hackers were at war with one another were long gone. No one really knew about the strife until the year 2026 and it brought change to the world. People were shown the ghastly error of their ways and many laws were then passed to ensure the preservation and restoration of many natural sites such as the Grand Canyon, Mt. Fuji among others. Everyone had been disbanded from the DgtWld while the process took time to adjust to. Soon Breakers were brought in to act as a hybrid of a Corrector's passion, a NHax's dream and a Hacker's skills. Breakers didn't practice their defense in secret any longer and since then, becoming a Breaker was an honor. Each county had a small handful which were treated like royalty. If anyone who wasn't a Breaker was caught infiltrating the DgtWld, they would be surely punished. The two Breakers were currently a block away from the main branch of the Gvn in JPN. They had received a notice from Agent S who had asked for the current Breakers to come in on Sunday night at nine for a special secret meeting. 'I really really hope her idea of a secret meeting isn't showing us the latest anime movie she purchased. If I have to sit through another twelve hours of stupid high school drama set in the year 2000, my eyes will start to bleed.' Haruo internally groaned.

Perhaps his concerns for their newest mission were valid. Since life in the DgtWld was now slow and mostly harmless, there wasn't much to do. So Agent S often called in the Breakers to make them feel needed. In her quest to do so, she would tell them stories about her past, when she was their age. She would send them on silly errands to go to the candy shop. And she would of course make them watch marathons of anime or listen to music. While Haruo wasn't too sure of the urgency of the message, he would still trek through the icy winds because he'd rather try his hardest each time than brush her summoning off and then pay for it in the future. His sister on the hand, didn't care if the need for them was urgent or not. Taruo enjoyed Agent S, she wasn't so stiff and intimidating like most others in the Gvn. Her hands were currently shoved in her pockets. Her right one was trembling while holding onto her long white cell phone which also had a small compartment for a drink. To her, it was perfectly perfect! Had it not been so cold out, she would send her friend, Rin who was known as Crimson in the DgtWld. Inside of her cell phone was a small shot of hot cocoa which was the only thing keeping the red haired girl from falling into the street and giving into the demon of discontent. "A-al-almost there." She announced and shivered as they slowly headed up the steps.

Once they reached the entrance, the glass doors slid open and the receptionist looked up to see two frozen yet familiar faces. "Haruo-kun, Taruo-chan, you look petrified!"

"Nearly there." Haruo smirked as the heating began to defrost his composure.

The woman gestured behind her toward the hallway. The siblings knew their way and headed down. Usually they were surrounded by many people cloaked in black suits and sunglasses but due to the late hour, not many officials were roaming around. Taruo began to rub her cheeks, trying to warm up quicker. "I wonder if anyone else is here yet." She hummed as they took a left turn and headed into their briefing room. Inside, there was white walls, ceiling, floor and couch. There was a large slim monitor on the wall parallel to the door. 'Brrr!' She thought to herself and seated herself down in a couch that wasn't facing the tv screen. Finally her hands weren't numb anymore so they could be some use. She took out her cell phone and punched in a quick text to her friend: [Hahahaha! We beat you again, slow pokes!] It was sent to Rin who she knew was likely with Akio. All Breakers knew one another and many worked together in pairs. Akio and Rin had history and usually roamed around together, sort of like the Nikawa siblings.

A soft rumble was heard and the dark haired male put a gentle hand to his stomach. "We didn't have time to eat dinner yet, I hope Agent S had snacks to go with her movie. I'd settle for popcorn." He said aloud. Usually they ate at home since Haruo was more comfortable there and didn't enjoy the perks of being a Breaker. Most of the time they could eat for free but he didn't want to do that, it wasn't good manners, let alone good for the economy of JPN. But if Taruo bothered him enough, they would go out or she would just get fed up and hit the town with Rin or someone else from their small cluster of co-workers. Haruo wondered if Agent S ever saw his sister outside of work. The idea of that kind of trouble made his stomach churn uncomfortably, which wasn't helping his slight hunger issue. He had seated himself on a small single chair by the door, which was facing the monitor. Even with his rightful suspicions, he wanted to get formalities out of the way and get the news about whatever late night venture was needed to accomplish. Shifting his posture, he hunched forward, his arms supporting him as he hunched over himself and stared at the screen as if mentally commanding it to turn on. Or at least to have the others arrive soon.

"Relax!" Taruo laughed at the male. She kicked her legs up and opened her liquid compartment of her phone and downed it in one gulp. "Mmm!" She closed it and twirled it between her fingers.

Since she didn't have the skilled dexterity of Haruo, it fell and Haruo just smiled fondly at her failed attempt. "Someday." He assured her.

"Yes. Hmm. Someday. Someday can't come soon enough." She pouted playfully and picked it up.

Both Nikawans were friends with Akio and Rin, so it wouldn't be much of a lie to say that both were happy to see their friends. Since there had been a few weeks off due to the holiday, contact had been very limited. What did the two do for Christmas and New Years? They actually traveled around the county and saw sights that were once lost in the history books. The small travel was relaxing but challenging due to their status. Haruo still could consider it a success because it refueled his desire to protect people. And Taruo loved the adventure because she took lots of pictures and found several cats which she got to play with. They managed to pick up a few souvenirs for their friends and even for their parents, with whom they were still estranged, despite living in the same complex as one another. In her mind, Taruo was already wondering what things she could do since she was back in their hometown. While she waited, she stopped playing with her phone and just went to reading old text messages from the past year. There were many from her brother, usually nagging about something. They made her smile and she glanced to him, as he was still staring down the screen.

Outside, there was a large ding dong sound which signaled that it was now nine in the evening. The news would be on soon and if no one showed up yet, Haruo would be sure to put it on the tv or watch it through his slim cell phone. The male shifted a little and tried to rid his mind of the images running through his head...pizza...ramen...sushi. It all sounded wonderful to him. Maybe even a hot cup of sake. If they had time, he wouldn't mind finding a place that was open and getting a later dinner. Maybe the others would join them, if there were any others. He leaned over and peered outside of the door. No one had walked past them yet which was strange but Haruo once again had to remind himself of the late hour. He checked the message from Agent S once more to check the time and date. 'Why is she always so late?' He wondered. The investigation there was long overdue and not worth his fleeting energy at the moment. Instead, he slipped his phone back away into his pocket. Both siblings had on a dark black trench coat and grey scarves. They were gifts from their parents and they felt a bit obligated to at least pretend they enjoyed the gift. Underneath, they had their usual school outfits on, even though they didn't go to school any longer. It was just part of being a Breaker now.

[Frenetic Raptor]

To believe the date on the calendar actually read the 11th of January. It was only just yesterday did the festive holiday season arrive, only to flee out of sight for another day. No doubt, time was moving right along, its tempo never ceasing as the unwavering beat carried itself swiftly into the future. Without any regards, winter prolonged an everlasting superiority well into its prime. The mercury continued an impervious freefall as nightfall established its rightful position. All seemed well, and there was nothing out of the ordinary; if one was a polar bear, living in the Arctic.

Call Akio an extremist, but seriously, there was a specific point where cold was way beyond one’s ability to endure. The temperature gauge could read whatever it felt like reading, there was no changing the fact it was absolutely freezing out. Thankful to be inside the increasing warmth of his own vehicle, he felt his entire body beginning to thaw out. If Akio hadn’t fumbled around with the key for so long, he wouldn’t have been frozen half to death by the moment he actually unlocked his car door. If Rin was around to take notice, she would have gotten a well deserved laugh at his own expense. Her keen eye was never to be overlooked.

Ever since they became partners, and even before then, Akio knew all too well that she had greatness within her that would prove benefitting to the world. Combining her passionate resilience and his diligent ambitiousness, the two of them were riding on the leading edge of technology to its limits. The very Terra Digitalis project that started as personal hobby could one day be a movement spanning the globe for the greater well-being of humankind. At least that is what both of them wished to accomplish. Above all else, being a Breaker was an honor to respect and upheld, which would not go undeserved.

Arriving entirely unnoticed, Rin opened the passenger door, and glanced inside. “Akio?” There was an awkward pause and a curious glance around the interior of the car. Akio was already well absorbed into the music playing through the car’s audio system as he was discovered furiously tapping along to the beat upon the steering wheel. The only way she was going to get through to him was by getting a little closer. She leaned over the passenger seat and hovered in on her oblivious victim. “A-Ki-Ooo!” Rin called out emphatically.

Akio jumped right out of his seat. Taking a hesitant glimpse out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the culprit in action. What in the world was he going to do with her, using such unrestrained tactics? With a quick push of a button, the music was turned off abruptly. Following up with a reluctant turn to the side, he met Rin face to face, remaining uncomfortably silent.

“So, did you enjoy yourself while I was gone?” A wide grin spread across her face, knowing darn well he did. Don’t ever question that fact; Akio was completely caught in the act. All he could do was nod in her direction like a good boy. “Although, you didn’t have to turn off the music. I did kind of like the tune.” Turning down the volume was all that was necessary. “On the other hand, I do think the heat needs to come down just a bit, don’t you think?” She reached over and played with the setting to more reasonable levels. “That should do it.” Satisfied with taking complete control over the entire situation, she seated herself and closed her own door.

Unenthused with his current circumstances, he remained quiet; devastated that she would do all of those things without any second thought to the consequences. He would certainly think twice of ever giving her a ride in his car ever again. Force her to walk in the frigid temperatures for all he cared. In all honesty, he wouldn’t dare do that to his partner. There were certainly boundaries they each held each other too, and a little bit of fun and games were always encouraged. Kept the days from growing stale. “Now that you’ve had your fun, I do think it is time we put the pedal to the metal.” The thumbs up was given and they were off, along the streets of Tokyo once more.

Their next destination would take them back to familiar faces. The Breaker command center so to speak. Their chief officer on duty being none other than Agent S. Sounded like some top secret code name of sorts. One could only imagine what in the world an important alias such as that referred to. Maybe an abbreviation for absolute silliness. Don’t get him wrong, more occurrences than not, she would be all business, though there were quite a few moments where one wondered how in the world she ever emerged as an influential agent to the Gvn. Anything was possible, and for that they were thankful for her contributions.

Advancing down the streets of Tokyo with headlights guiding them along, the Gvn building was nearing. Accompanied only by the softer sounds of the stereo, a playful ringtone harmonized against the audible verses. Picking up her phone, Rin scrolled through her messages, finding the most recent, addressed from Taruo herself. Nothing like rubbing it in her face. Sooner or later, she would come out on top and arrive before them. On the verge of pouting, she furiously took to typing back a competitive text response. [You just wait, we will beat you next time. You can count on that.] Pleased to offer her opinion, the text was sent. There wasn’t anything wrong with a healthy form of competition between friends.

“Hey Akio, may I suggest stepping on it? Looks like we have some catching up to do.” A mischievous glint sparkled in her eye.

“If you say so, but I don’t see why…” Akio's words fell silent. All he could do was look back at her, dumbfounded. What in the world had sparked this sudden shift in mood? There was no use in trying to explain the situation. No way was he getting involved. He was sure to find out sooner or later, from Rin herself. She loved to tell stories.

Anxious as ever to finally meet up with Taruo, Rin kept herself on the edge of her seat, staring out the window feverishly. There it was, the Breaker building in full view. “Akio, make a break for it now. To the parking lot.” She insistently pointed in the general direction. She could try all she wanted, but that wasn’t going force Akio from driving any more hastily than he had from the start. Getting there safely was more important than getting there quickly. Whatever it was could simply wait.

Locating a parking spot, Akio shut off the car. “You see, we made it in time.” He glimpsed at the clock on his phone. “We even made some pretty good progress. Don’t you think?” Akio looked to where Rin had been, catching the sight of a closing car door. He shook his head, unconcerned. “I just won’t ever be able to understand her, no matter how hard I try.”

With quickening feet, she reached the entrance to the proper Gvn building, in search of Taruo. She promptly passed through the sliding glass door, seeking for any signs of her presence.

“Who or what are you looking for, Rin?” The receptionist at the counter was puzzled as to why she was in such a rush. Noticing a few more hurried passing glances around the lobby, there was no doubt something was a little off.

“Taruo’s already here, isn’t she?” Rin eyed the receptionist, insisting upon answer.

“Yes, she is. She and Haruo already went down the hallway.” There was no telling if anything was wrong. “By the way, where is Akio? He came with you, didn’t he?” The woman was concerned for all of their safety.

“Oh, he is fine. I left him in the car. Tell him I went inside for me, won’t you?” She waved back to the receptionist and made her approach towards their normal holding room. Once inside, Rin’s eyes were alight. “So you guys really did beat me again.” How tragic, to be last every single time. Not that that was entirely true, Akio was still outside in the cold. “Do any of you two know what Agent S has planned for us at this hour?” Coming to terms with another disappointing failure, she moved on to more encouraging topics of conversation. Those particular plans were anyone’s guess. At least everyone could stop guessing when Akio would ever appear, finally deciding to show up in last place.

[Genkai]

A soft cackle was heard from Taruo who had just received the reply from Rin which earned Taruo a glance from her brother, He assumed she was already texting with Rin who was running late as usual. He took a deep breath, almost hoping to quiet his sister's giggling. "She thinks she'll beat us someday. Haha, fat chance that'll be. She'll have to like...use a time machine to do that." Taruo teased as she threw up her phone and it once again fell to the floor. Her hands were failing her tonight and if anyone asked, she would say it had to do with the coldness outside, though by now she wasn't feeling like an ice cube. "Our winning streak is like...102 to 5 or something like that, but since it's a new year, a fresh start, maybe we should erase the tally." Taruo suggested as if her brother was listening when in reality he was just thinking about what he could do for dinner. Since he was slightly older, he felt like he had to act as a parent, even if they were both adults who could live without the other checking up on them so much. Haruo had an inkling that if he didn't feed Taruo, someone else would. "Hey, hey are you listening?" She asked the male. "I said relax, defrost and get happy, this is our first job of 2032. I feel like this year is gonna be a good one. Yeah, a really good one."

Soon he heard the faint door at the entrance slide open. It seemed Taruo's cat like ears failed to detect her friend as he could hear her approaching and he looked over to her with a smile. "Yeah." He replied to Rin. Sometimes he knew Taruo would tell Akio and Rin they were waiting when they really weren't. This wasn't one of those silly cases though to him their competition was just ridiculous overall. "Nah, neither of us have a clue what's going on. It's rare for us to get called in at night." Haruo shrugged and stood up to give his friend a brief hug. "Happy New Year by the way." He told her warmly. Taruo raised her head and grinned as Haruo sat back down. Taruo got up and then gave Rin a bit of a bigger hug. "We got here a little early, we ended up walking from our apartment, which was...a rather poor decision on my part, I'll admit, but we resolved to be more mindful of our spending and using a car or calling for a cab seemed useless if we have to two working feet but if you'd like to give us a ride home after all this, we'd appreciate it." Haruo smiled a little as Taruo took her seat as well and patted the spot next to her for Rin to join. "We also haven't eaten yet, so if you guys are free, we can find whatever's still open and hit that too." Haruo then suggested. If the two weren't free, they could just order some pizza back home.

When Akio finally caught up to the waiting trio, it wasn't long before Agent S made her appearance. She walked in wearing her black suit. She wore a long black skirt and trench coat. She also had on a simple white blouse with a bright green tie. She had her long chocolate hair snaking straight down her back. Agent S closed the door behind her and moved over to an open couch and set a large silver briefcase on it and opened it. Everything seemed so serious, "This mission is called Explore and Report. We have created a device called the T2C." She then pulled out the device and turned to them. It was a small metallic choker that hooked into one's MChip. "We have been testing these recently and only a handful have been made, the materials and power the T2C consume are rare and very precious. But the public and press want more information, it's been tested and can work in small places..." She paused. "We need to do something big, something the world wants to see...we need to go into the future." Agent S said. "That is where you four come into play. You Breakers stand for peace and the preservation of nature, the public looks to you and expects a lot, as do the Gvns worldwide. JPN has volunteered to explore the future first. It's an honor, as you might guess."

"Really? How far are we supposed to go?" Taruo asked in speculative awe.

Agent S breathed in and then sighed. "It's been discussed and we believe for the Ex&Rep Mission, we'd like to shoot for around 100 years."

"Around?" Haruo questioned. "That's not very scientific." He frowned and looked to the others.

"I know, however this is untested and that is the best guess and the most logical time span. A century of knowledge to explore...can you imagine what great feats and discoveries lay in the future? It is an exciting thing to envision." Taruo wiggled in her seat and smiled. "You four will be given a T2C and it will be installed on your person. In less than 48 hours you will be in the year 2132." He said to them. "For now, you all will begin your training tomorrow morning. We're not sure as to what the future will hold but we need to cover our bases." She told them. "You will be taught how to make fire, construct shelter, fight in hand to hand, purify water, you will also learn more advanced means of hacking, as well as mechanics and mathematics and formulas." Agent S then grabbed the items on from the case and handed them out, they were the sleek flexible chokers, the T2Cs. "You need to put this on and get adjusted with them." She said as Taruo took hers and bent it, testing its limits.Then she reached around and put it on, the two ends adjusted and clipped into her MChip much like how one plugs in a wire into their laptop. The two ends were halves of the same plug and entered with a simple sound. "Well?" Agent S inquired impatiently, as if unsure if it would be okay.

"I feel fine." Taruo replied. "It's a little weird though...kind of invasive..." She rolled her neck.

"They aren't turned on yet and need your body to charge them up. They take a lot of power to use." Agent S explained. She finished talking and waited for the others to plug themselves in. Haruo reached around and plugged the T2C into the back of his neck and sighed. The male looked around at the others. He wasn't sure how he would like training to go into the future but it was an exciting prospect and he was very honored to do something to adventurous and different. Of course there were risks involved. He was already wondering where they would be once they traveled through time. Would they be out in the wilderness? Would there even be wilderness? Would they be in a bustling highrise overlooking a moon that had recently been discovered? His mind was whirling at the tantalizing situations that his mind conjured up. "You will be able to control the time travel by using your thoughts, this alone will make things very difficult so you will also be tasked with clearing your mind and meditating." Agent S finished and wrung her hands together nervously. "I know this is a lot to take in...but we believe you four Breakers have the right bond to see this thing through." She smiled a little, almost a little envious of their impending venture. "Of course you'll also have to read up on the risks of prospect time travel and things not to do but...we'll leave that for tomorrow and the next day, then you'll be off."

"So..." Haruo started to say. "We'll leave on the 14'th?" He asked.

Agent S nodded and excused herself. Taruo looked to Rin and felt as if the massive weight that had just been place atop her shoulders was about to topple her over. Taruo looked worriedly to everyone. Sure, at first she had been pretty eager about going but she could also use hindsight and figure out that they were doing something risky, dangerous with little testing. She felt like a little lab rat and quickly took Rin's hand. "I'm just glad I'm with you three." She said. There was a chance they'd be in some big black hole and ripped apart. But there was also a chance that the future was beautiful, with flying cars and rustic architecture. And all of that jazz. Haruo was more silent about his feelings toward their new mission entitled: Ex&Rep Mission. He walked over and patted the two girls on the head and put on a smile. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm really hungry all of a sudden." The red haired sibling declared and looked to her equally colored female friend. "How about we get some pizza, I know a place nearby that's probably open." She said and quickly got ready to go. The four of them agreed to go out as it seemed the best place to go and didn't require finding new parking. After a block's walk, they got to the pizza parlor and sat down. They seemed to be the only one aside from an old man alone in the corner.

As much as he wanted to avoid the topic looming over them, Haruo couldn't quite shake it even with the smells wafting through the air. "I know there's been talk of time travel lately but now that it's here...I don't know if I'm that excited about it." He confessed. But like Taruo, he was glad he would be in familiar company. Everyone seemed to order their own small pizza, Haruo order cheese, olives and sausage while Taruo ordered pepperoni and pineapple. They also both ordered a simple beer from the tap.