PLACEBO

Fate of the Wanderer

Morning. The warm sunlight flooded the dormitory, semi-obscured by the curtains that hung lifelessly from their railings. Keisari opened his eyes, the emptiness of the area gnawing at his conscience. The silver haired boy had already left by the looks of it, not that it mattered to him at that moment in time. What irked him was that someone whose name Keisari didn't know, spoke of his identity as if it were a second nature.

— The blood of the Placebo Children are special, no?

Keisari narrowed his eyes, remembering the boy's very words. He figured it was an accomplice of Enma's of some sort, who had been quick to assault him with a stapler at first glance. Moreover, Keisari's syndicate had deliberately hacked into the university's system to place him in a dormitory with the daughter of the Japan's Premier, though she apparently had plans of her own. He exhaled deeply.

Keisari slipped on a hoodie and a pair of trainers, hardly bothering to brush out his hair as he left the dorm. It was more than sensible to hurry towards the first lecture of the morning, as he was indeed running late. However, what Keisari had on mind was rather different: He turned towards the cafeteria.

The glass bridge at day seemed to have lost its night-time glow, but it seemed like a work of modern art nonetheless. Keisari, at the very least, was grateful for the fact that it allowed him to see beyond the school-grounds and into the ocean. The ludicrously confined dormitory had made him feel nauseous, if not claustrophobic, at first glance. 

He headed towards the brightly lit building at a languid pace. The idea of running off to anywhere just didn't interest him at all, and Keisari preferred taking the time to think whilst he walked.

A bad habit, he knew.

And as an inevitable result of this, he found himself facing a large, closed door that stood like a boulder in and of itself. He pushed it open with the weight of his body, greeted by a blast of air-conditioning that escaped from the inside.

He gasped.

What faced him wasn't the cafeteria at all, but something that vaguely resembled an assembly hall. And, as one would say, not an assembly hall at a university, but one perhaps more plausible at a royal bureau. People were sat around a long table, their attention so fixed to a screen that no one even noticed his accidental entrance. 

Keisari remained there, studying the scene through a slit as he only half closed the door. There was a rather formal feeling to it despite usually being nothing but a hall. It was't that the room was especially decorated for the conference, though the people present was what seemed to give it its chilling impression.

There were nameplates on each spot around the plain, rectangular table, bearing the person's name and the organization they represented, and also a number. The number, Keisari recognized, as an Identity Number registered by the government, the ones here ranging from one to three digits. He continued scanning through the crowd without much interest. There were men and women in their twenties, thirties and older still, but that hardly quenched his curiosity. 

What did catch his gaze though, were the two figures at the very end of the table.

Enma and the silver haired boy.

Befuddled, Keisari directed his attention to the moving image projected on the white screen at the very front. The cloaked figure on it spoke with authority, his voice filtered. Keisari recognized the man as the Premier of Japan.

"... If any of you wish not to partake in the mission, you are free to leave now. Once you hear the rest of it, you won't be able to go back." 

There was a period of silence to allow for people to leave. Nobody moved, and the voice continued.

"I appreciate your commitment. Now, let's get down to business, shall we?" The screen changed, and it then showed a map with red paths and highlights. "I'm sure that you're all aware of the recent deaths that took place across the entire world. Though there is no visual record of the perpetrator itself, this is the pattern of deaths from the last week alone. It is currently suspected that there is more than one culprit, and the method of killing varies greatly from strangulation, to dismembering the body."

A ripple of discomfort ran through the crowd.

"As you probably would have realized by now, what I request from all of you... Is to hunt down this person or thing. For a grand total of three hundred million, I would like you to bring back this creature, dead or alive."

There was another pause in the commotion. Were people responsible for this? Creatures? What? Keisari knew that those were the very thoughts that echoed amongst the audience.

"I have a question," Enma stood up at the back of the room, and all eyes tuned in on her. "Before summoning the top syndicates, have you sent any other units on this mission?"

The Premier pondered on this prior to replying. He knew that neither answer would appease the girl. A response of no would do nothing but come off as mysterious as to why he gathered only the best, and yes would only indicate a certain death.

Whatever. They were all obliged to fight, anyway. That was known since he started speaking, was it not? Keisari wondered if that was truly the father of the girl that had spoken. Nothing seemed to fit, save for the brutally blunt nature.

"... Yes. Since them, connections have already been made with other organizations across the seven continents. The scale of this operation is now on equal footing with the Link outbreak ten years ago. Are there any other questions?"

Enma sat down, and nobody else stepped forward. Then there was a whirring sound, and a cloud of mixed colors formed at the very center of the room.

Reds, blues and yellows dispersed from right on top of the table, as if spray paint was fired from above. Amid the mist there appeared a hooded figure, his features concealed by an eternally smiling mask.

Like a clown.

"Greetings!" His brusque voice proclaimed with such velocity that Keisari could have sworn to have shaken the room. "Premier, fellow Soldiers. I am Slade Hiljainen, supreme commander of the Versailles Order with an ID of 55, and your sole ruler. I alone will overcome this mission, and no one else."

He spoke with venom, scrutinizing the crowd.

"Those who don't surrender by midnight will be punished. Those who refuse to join me will be eliminated." He raised a gloved hand, closing it into a fist to emphasize his speech. Next, he waved at the screen, and it flickered off. Those seated near the man had begun to raise their pistols, taking aim from all directions. "Do not defy me."

Out of the corner of his eye, Keisari saw a spark. Then another, like shards of glass catching sunlight. Next, a spray of bullets pierced the air, not fired from those seated around the table and instead from elsewhere. Though they weren't aimed at anyone, but instead the opposite wall, everyone dived for the tables. Keisari's watched through the gap in horror.

"Placebo Child," the man spoke again, averting his attention towards the door which seemed to be perfectly closed if one had not known better. "Show yourself."

Keisari's breath snagged in his throat. What would happen if he turned to leave? He certainly didn't want to find out. Reluctantly, Keisari pushed open the door, coming into plain view of those who had began to resurface from their shelters beneath the table.

He gripped the sword tightly, rooted to the spot as Slade continued.

"... Come to me."

Keisari placed a foot forward, slowly shifting his weight. Before he could walk another step, he heard the click of a revolver as one of the women at the front of the room took aim at him. Across the room was Chrome, in turn pointed his pistol at the woman. Behind him was another man, bearing a number of three digits.

Enma stood behind all of them, a pistol held to the man's head at point blank. It was absurd. So much that the hooded figure began to chuckle, which proceeded to break into an uncontrolled fit of laughter. It wasn't long, however, before he disappeared in the same mist that brought him to the scene.

"Lower your weapons," Enma said. "I'll be taking my leave along with this... Imbecile."