Everyday Stresses of Kazuki - Sci-Fi Action/Intrigue Webserial

Not one step back. Even as the bells and hum of death lingered, Kazuki ensured each movement was calculated. Precise. Primed with as much lethality as possible perceived. Kazuki left not an ounce to doubt. Eyes and muzzles scrubbed every wall. A column of his top operatives behind him, walking down the marbled halls of Sparkfall, the Bounty & Collection Administration's headquarters in the Sub-Levels.

The headquarters protruded out from the ceilings of the Sub-Levels. It was connected to the surface HQ, but those were two different worlds—one of letters, the other of smoke and plasma powder.

Kazuki glanced to the side. His reflection was broken along the jagged marbled pillars. Such a visage was broken into a thousand shards. Each shard held onto something Kazuki saw briefly. The boy… The Prince… The old and the new.

The sights flickered away when the marbled turned from white to black, signalling their closeness to their objective.

An appropriate number of guards lined the walls, armoured in the finest gear the BCA could offer. The AGENCY has come under attack... Obadiah's arrest stirred the criminal underworld. Now, Kaz must deal with the consequences.

The BCA's Gunsworn, mercenary elite, flanked the entourage led by Kazuki. Following him was his unit, along with his two remaining bodyguards.

Despite Kazuki's wishes, Eliza was with him too. She clung to his back, in the centre of the formation, nestled between Kazuki, Claire, Zymuel and Nihara.

Along the halls were various works of art. Kazuki reached the end of the hall, with the Gunsworn guards staring off into space over Kazuki's head.

Kazuki slowly turned to Eliza, peering back at Eliza, who was in the middle of a makeshift phalanx. Nihara and Václavos stood front and centre. "Eliza. If at any moment you wish to leave, I will ordain it."

Eliza scratched her head, wearing thick clothes for the Sub-Level's freezing summers. Kazuki could see she wasn't used to it. Everyone else was wearing a moderately light amount of clothes compared to her.

"It's safe, right?" she inquired. "Right?" That last word dripped with unease.

Martinez glanced down at her. "This isn't just any meeting; this is a meeting between seven of the deadliest men and women alive. One wrong move and that room will quickly turn into a mass grave," he said. Eliza's eyes widened at Kazuki. Martinez continued, "Kazuki, this isn't a place for her."

"Hey!" Eliza caught both their attention. "I wanted to experience this. Something to just. I'm not good under pressure, alright... Maybe this can be a bit of a trial for me?"

Martinez sighed, shaking his head. Still, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Eliza to get experience… with little danger involved. "The others are waiting," Kazuki said, with a modicum of doom in his voice. "You understand what you're walking into?"

Eliza nodded. "I've learnt that the galaxy is far stranger beyond any boundaries mankind understands…"

"You have only been in contact with a shard of Transfer and a shard of Detonation. The twins did not use their brooch shard."

"Because they're dead…"

That they were, Kazuki thought. "Detonation releases chemical energy… Death does not. It has no rhyme or reason. The galaxy is a stranger place than you could think of, Eliza." Kazuki's warnings only made Eliza steel her face even harder. "It's not like the others. It's not like the Professor's Life, nor the long-lost Spark."

"So, just a chemical store that exhibits its user's ability to help in killing?" Eliza tried to cover up her nerves by logically dissecting what Hartius' trump card could be.

"That and more." Far more, Kazuki concluded. "It relies not on external influence to create cause and effect. It affects its users… I have seen that thing; you don't want to be in the blast radius."

He turned, placing his hands on the ornate and varnished doors. Kazuki could faintly see his reflection…

The fragmentation scars around Kazuki's eyes seemed to be redder than usual, whilst his burns seemed to tingle.

It seemed cold, dissolute… And for a brief moment, Kazuki's hand and the other arm were missing. Kazuki froze before blinking.

Shadows must have hidden them in the reflection.

He gently pushed them. His eyes caught glimpses of the interior. Instantly, Kazuki's golden eyes swept the room and the doors..

Grenades? No. Bombs? No. No traps.

Kazuki fully swung the doors open, stepping forth into blinding light, dying down to show the brightly lit room. Hovering drone lights were scattered up and above the table. Tea was served to the seven seats along the seven-sided table. Seven doors hung on each of the seven walls.

Instantaneously, Kazuki ran a threat analysis. Analysis from the runt of the litter to the pride of the pack.

Ohmicron, female; Seven of the Seven; no weapons; exospine on. Cassia; female; Six of the Seven; support exospine online – no threat. Felix; male; Fifth; ally; analysis redundant. Kazuki; Fourth; himself...

Kazuki paused in a split second when a dark purple-haired woman turned to him. Black, soulless eyes glistened. It was the She-Wolf, that armoured woman pricked with a large but sleek Exoskeleton.

Freyja Beamont stared at Kazuki, an ever-present, creeping smile upon her lips.

Next: Emiya Taka-Calibana. Second of the Seven; the concurrent head of the BCA, second-deadliest man in the room, protected by drones. Nothing more to say.

Each member of the Seven had a retinue backing them up. All but one. It was obvious to all why. They'd be nothing but a detriment to this one man's capacity.

Sitting on the opposite end of the table was a figure Kazuki could not bear to comprehend. An oozing feeling of death overcame him... He meekly stepped forward.

A giant of a man, armoured in steel and fabric, nodded to Kazuki. Kazuki could not nod back. His facial muscles were entirely locked in trying to comprehend him; they couldn't. Discernible threats in the room were all but none to this singular individual.

Kazuki peered back to make sure Liz was alright...

She was not. She was frozen, staring at Hartius Juun, First of the Seven Mercenaries; first amongst equals. Instantly, Kazuki nodded to Claire and Nihara... None of them had entered the room just yet.

All those thoughts and analyses had transpired within the split second of his eyes catching sight. Still, a few of them were fast enough to 'greet' him.

Upon the utterance of a nod, Kazuki's men left, bringing Eliza with them. Now, it was just Kazuki and his second in command, Martinez. Freyja seemed to have taken note, her eyes slowly thinning at Kazuki... His mechanical heart started up in an uproar. 'Make sure Eliza gets home safely,' Kazuki ordered.

Václavos peered back for a moment, but Nihara grabbed him and kept walking forward. Nihara answered back, 'What about you?'

'I'll be fine. They won't dare spill blood. Not here. Not in HIS presence.' Kazuki's reply was all the assurance they needed. The door closed behind Kazuki. 'Martinez. You are displeased?' Kazuki inquired.

Martinez shook his head. 'We would have been fine if you didn't add more fuel to this fire of a Shadow War,' Martinez snorted. 'The first one was hell enough, let alone this new one. Let's just get this over with.'

After everything Kazuki did, chaos was guaranteed. The Loyalists. Gunrunners. Mischief Board Triarch. Everything guaranteed nothing but chaos.

Kazuki stepped further into the room, his footsteps making a heavy thud against the pale marble floors. Hartius' grey hair and scarred face continued to stare at him, along with Frejya's... tenacious glare, she seemed almost... happy?

Vicious freak, Kazuki eerily thought. He had to hide his contempt and fear behind the sheer apathy and numbness Kazuki held onto for so long.

Walking to his seat, Kazuki was stopped by Felix, who stood right up and walked up to him. The man had ginger hair and stood three heads taller than Kazuki. His hide and armour were thick, orange and silver heraldry. Felix's Exoskeleton had missile pods attached to the sides, out of the way.

The two were locked in place, one in front of the other. Kazuki's dead glare slowly met a growing chuckle on Felix's face. He opened his arms and ruffled Kazuki's hair.

"Kazuki! You're here!" he shouted out loud. Cassia stood up from her seat beside Felix's, placing a calm hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Please, let's keep the pleasantries to later?" she asked, nodding to Kazuki with a gentle smile.

Glancing over at the rest, Ohmicron and Emiya were speaking, the lackey and the boss. Freyja had her glare directed towards Kazuki before slowly dancing her gaze towards Hartius.

Hartius' head turned to Freyja. Malice hung between them all... Freyja chuckled before placing her head on her hand and grinning towards the old man, double her size - and infinitely more deadly.

Felix patted Kazuki on the shoulder. Kazuki looked back up at him, and his face was covered with scars. "Felix. Good to see you. Your children?"

"Bess and Beck are good," he responded. "Finally nearing retirement, if you'd believe that."

Cassia stuck her nose in. "You know... we'd finally be able to retire if you didn't go running to help him..." One eye shook at Kazuki. Her voice was low, but loud enough for Kazuki to hear the clear remark against him.

It was hard to believe he was a father. Felix responded, "Clandestine was after us... Our children... You think I didn't do this with them in mind?"

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Martinez leaned in. "Felix... Cassia..."

Cassia gave a warm smile to Martinez. "Martinez, good to see you here," she said. "We haven't seen you since the Hinterlands war!"

From what Kazuki remembers, this pair wanted to make a satrapy out in the fringes, a kingdom for their children... It was a lofty goal, Kaz thought... Kazuki felt uniquely situated to bring up the reality of this situation… They'll die for this dream, but Kazuki held his tongue.

They were good people, far more experienced than he was.

Looking up, Felix took note of Martinez, grinning broadly. "Oh... Martinez! It's great to see you, too," he said. "Ah... the gang is nearly all back together, we can have Kazuki substitute Yamagata."

To that comment, Kazuki scoffed. "I'm not my father. Not at all," Kazuki murmured to himself.

Martinez nodded. "I see you have more scars," he said, before dragging Felix's hand off Kazuki. "Let's get on with this... Alright?" Both Martinez and Kazuki's eyes were drawn down to Cassia. Her eyes stabbed into her husband.

Yikes.

Felix coughed and cleared his throat, turning to his VERY annoyed wife. "Yes... Of course..." He sat back down, along with his wife, both dressed in similar colours and heraldry.

Kazuki sat down, with Martinez standing behind him. BCA Gunsworn behind Emiya and Ohmicron. Orange-silver armoured mercs behind Felix and Cassia. Unmarked, dishevelled contractors behind Freyja. Martinez was behind Kazuki.

The smell of incense began to fill the room, whilst Hartius seemed to glow with a shade of darkness. It was the Death Hazard, consuming the incense as an offering… Kazuki could hear it… feel it… A bumping of a heart within his chest, connected… somehow to him.

Emiya glanced across a seven-sided table, with seven sections for each member of the Seven, with Erudian digits on each seat and surface of the table. "Our youngest member has arrived," he commented, gesturing to Kazuki. Emiya's blonde hair glistened against his pale face and narrowing green eyes. "We may begin this meeting."

Kazuki nodded.

Hartius stood up. "I wish to deal with this quickly," he said, his voice deep and dark. "Why are we here?" He turned to Emiya, glaring through the white blindfold. Kazuki peered at Hartius. He noted the sparkling gem embedded in a necklace above his heavy armoured plate.

"Our little Prince has caused quite some trouble since we last spoke together." Emiya directed the room's gaze to Kazuki. "I dared to say he may need some answering to do."

The Death Hazard... It whirred with black hate. Hartius' face shot at Kazuki. "Kazuki, you may start."

"Mhm..." Kazuki was caught off guard, nearly fumbling. He cleared his throat. "The AGENCY has the Republic secured. The transition of power is complete, but we are under attack. Mischief Board – most likely."

Emiya sighed. "Mischief Board won't openly fight you, probably just some aligned criminals," he dismissed Kazuki's statements with a wave. "But, it's still a pressing matter."

Hartius slowly nodded. It was logical, Kazuki supposed, but his intuition said otherwise.

"The BCA has struck deals with Belsaran Intelligence; we'll have more free rein in mercenary matters within Belsara's sphere of influence," Emiya remarked. "A good day for all of us."

Despite spinning it as a positive, all members present knew what Emiya had said. Martinez and Kazuki exchanged knowing glances. Emiya now had Belsara's backing. A superpower's backing might as well have secured Emiya's position for life.

Felix spoke next, "Everything is stable in the north, few bandits and pirates, but nothing too bad."

Ohmicron's light but coarse voice sliced through the conversation. "Even if the Nizhnayans hope to rid themselves of us, their livelihood is dependent on us...."

Nodding, Emiya used Ohmicron's base as a launch for his next question: "Stability has been the norm, what else from Theonar-aligned space?"

Freyja was merely taking this all in with a happy-go-lucky face, seemingly taking pleasure from the growing discord. Kazuki hated it. How he wished her dead... Kazuki had to grip his fists to control his temper.

Rage. She must have taken pride, wrenching his last eye out.

"And what do you have to say?" Cassia spoke up, a light voice contrasting with the rest. "We are not blind to your... attempts to get us to assist you."

The Fifth and Sixth. Cassia and Felix were a powerful duo, the 'Lovers' on Archius' tarots. Maybe their large mercenary army on the fringes of the galaxy could help. Kazuki doubted that. They were star-crossed. Doomed from the start.

"And for that, I am greatly saddened!" Emiya raised his voice, with a hint of sarcasm interlaced with the venom. "We all have dreams, yes, but some are... more achievable than others.

An indirect insult. To members of the Seven on either side of the coin, it might as well be direct. Felix was just about to punch the table as Hartius stood up. The mere notion of his movements silenced all. Even Emiya fell silent to the First's ire.

"I will not sit here and watch you all throw insults at each other. Children..." He snidely remarked. He placed a finger to his blindfold, and all breaths were held. Not a soul move... Six of the most powerful men and women in the galaxy - and none uttered a word.

Hartius grumbled, placing his hands down to his sides. His glare then shifted towards Freyja, who, despite being frozen, had her grin wide on her face. "And you. Rid of that. Now."

In what was probably a bold-headed, stupid, stupidly bold-headed and boldly stupid move, Freyja's face widened. Hartius moved a muscle. Emiya stood up. "Let's not spill each other's blood, especially since potential enemies are at all of our heels."

The Second gave the She-Wolf the 'SHUT THE FUCK UP' face. Emiya looked at Hartius.

"Peace. We promise peace on Anagora for this meeting. I cannot guarantee safety if such a truce is broken!"

"Hmm." Hartius nodded.

A thin piece of bureaucratic paperwork saved Freyja's life. Almost everyone in this room had some recognition from Archius' tarot. Hartius was the hermit. Always missing. Never seen. Rarely makes appearances... Emiya was the Star; Freyja was Death, a force only to inflict a singular affliction.

"The Contractor's Peace will prevail."

As instructed, Freyja wiped her grin. Good on her, Kaz thought. If violence were to start, Kaz would have supported Hartius. Not out of survival instincts... but out of spite. However, her head swivelled towards Kazuki and Martinez.

"Aw... Martinez..." Her voice was silky. Silvery. It betrayed the madness within. "Looking after stray dogs again, are we?"

The goading did not work on Kazuki or Martinez, the two simply staring at her. Hartius and Emiya both sat down, though Hartius' distaste was visible even behind his blindfold.

Ohmicron glared at Freyja, but she ignored her. Cassia and Felix glanced at Kazuki. A slight nod was given. If Kaz wanted support, he'll have it.

'History between you two?' Martinez asked.

'How could you tell?'

'Intuition, I guess?' replied Martinez. Kazuki nodded. He was spot on.

'She likes taunting people... Guess you learnt it first hand?' Martinez continued.

Kazuki forced himself to bite off a singular word in response: 'Regrettably.'

Felix's uplink ignited. 'Hey, Kazuki, need help putting that mutt down?'

Support was not needed. 'No.' Kazuki calmly responded, "Unlike other strays, I do not bite the hand that feeds."

It was a clear jab at Freyja. Everyone glanced at her steel arm, cleanly chopped off by Hartius years ago.

Emiya kept his eyes peeled on the conversation. Hartius... had the edges of his lips curled into a snide smirk.

Surprisingly, Freyja took the insult well, continuing to grin with her sadistic glare. "Oh my... How I missed you all. Sadly, things on my end are just as peaceful as yours… for now, at least."

Hartius raised his voice, "This meeting is over." It was abrupt and even caught Emiya surprised, before he reclaimed his composure. "I hoped this meeting would provide me with more insight. I am once more mistaken."

"Hold on, there's still one thing that I must bring up," Emiya raised a finger, before lowering it to Kazuki. Kazuki glared at Emiya, deep green against gold. "Kazuki, I believe you were approached by the head of EZRA... A few months ago?"

"That is none of your fucking concern," Kazuki sneered. Despite what Kaz expected, Hartius took an interest, slowly panning to Kazuki. Kazuki then realised: this was perfect to expose whatever machinations are behind the Loyalists. "The Loyalists owned a Hazard Shard. Low-purity amplification. Rare. Dangerous."

"Good call." Hartius seemed satisfied by the answer, and the hulking man stood up and walked away. "This will be all." He threw open the doors behind him and left...

His small compliment towards Kazuki's actions gave it merit. Even if Emiya had a perfect argument against him, the approval was enough to shift all tides to his favour. Ohmicron was silent, and Emiya took in a deep breath. He seconded Hartius. "Stability... Well, then."

Emiya nodded to Ohmicron, who left with her retinue of guards.

Freyja was the next to leave, sighing and singing. It seemed that Hartius was the source of her 'entertainment'. Now that he was gone, she had no reason to stay. She twisted around, exposing the litany of vials and chains along her Exoskeleton.

Kazuki had seen it many times before. It was configured toward one singular goal: speed. Agility. Win before the enemy can fathom the concept of defeat.

Sadly, Kazuki could very much fathom such a concept.

Cassia stood as the congregation of the Heptagia disintegrated. She walked over to Kazuki. "Dear, please don't mind them... They're a bit wrong in the head," she said, referring to Emiya and his cronies in the Seven.

Kazuki didn't care. He stood up. "We're all wrong in the head," he said. "Cassia... Get out of this mess... Before you can't."

Intuition was everything Kaz needed. A war was coming. He didn't want it. But it's coming nonetheless. It was the aching feeling of dread he knew too well. Felix followed up behind her. Cassia's face turned to a frown.

"Kazuki, we're going big, or we can't go home," Felix added. He placed his hands on his armoured belt buckle.

Martinez interjected, "Go home, you can always go home. Not many of us have the chance to have families. I like you two, really, so... A word of advice from us... Just let it go. You don't need a damn Kingdom for your kids."

Cassia grunted. "It's because of our children that we must," she said, before dragging her husband with her, leaving by the same door. Their retainers left with them.

"It's going to kill them," Martinez worryingly said.

Kazuki nodded. He didn't understand why they needed to carve out systems for their kids; then again, Kaz wasn't them. They weren't him. They don't understand Kazuki's need to let justice be done – true justice, none of those bureaucrats or paperwork involved.

Two-sided blade. Kazuki could only fathom what they've been through to feel the need to carve a realm for their children. Kazuki was already a child of the nobility, practically royalty.

Divergent world-views. Kazuki chalked it up to that.

Now, it was just Emiya and Kazuki. Emiya was still seated, smoking on an Eastern Claw cigar. Kazuki turned to leave with Martinez. Kaz had arrived late, so he didn't know what the others had spoken of before.

"Hold up there," Emiya started. "Where do you think you're going? So soon?"

"What purpose should I listen to you?" Kazuki asked, keeping his head planted away from the Second.

Emiya shrugged. "I merely wished to converse with the newest and youngest of our merry band of murderers and thieves," he said nonchalantly. "How are you settling into your new role? Jessica or Antony never liked it, did they?"

"Neither do I," Kazuki stated.

"Good. Get used to it." The Chairman of the BCA smiled. "We're both of high station, so we know this better than most… But I assure you, you did… very well. Obadiah was a fool, lusting for power he couldn't grasp."

"Fall kills," Kazuki replied.

"That they do, so try not to fall." The Chairman smiled. "Gravity is a bitch."

With that, Kazuki left the meeting room, pushing the doors aside and stepping back out with Martinez. A notification signalled that Eliza was secured back at her place. Good, Kazuki thought. Still, an ever-present dread lingered in Kazuki's mind, overriding the numbness and apathy.

Something was going to happen, he thought, something was stirring. And whatever happened now, someone had their fingers all over it.

EZRA. The Ílize Regime. The Board. Something was pushing into the mercenary world.

Martinez knew it, too; it was why he came. Still, no answers. One lead is left to Kazuki, but pursuing his justice will create more chaos.

Chaos breeds death. Death breeds attraction – and that breeds more chaos.

An everlasting cycle of hate and chaos awaits - awaiting a singular bolt from Kazuki's railgun. Kazuki gently placed his hand on his holster. The super-charged railgun gave him some level of respite.

Some level of order in the quagmire of Anagora.