Soul Drive: Ignition

Hiro shifted the towel under his arm as he rounded the corner, spotting his friends' silhouettes against the wall of Kyoto House. "Hey! So where are we setting up this picnic?" he called out, he couldn't help but smile at the idea of celebrating his birthday with actual friends.

"It's a surprise Yashiro" Ai chimed, she smiled mischievously, waving a key card with as if it were a magic wand. "We've cooked up something special."

Kazuki leaned against the wall, a smirk playing on his lips, while Masumi offered a nod of complicity. "Trust us, tonight will be a night you never forget,"

"Ok everyone, follow me," Ai replied, her eyes sparkling as she swiped the card through the reader, the lock clicking open. She beckoned them inside. "Trust me, this is going to be amazing."

They snaked through empty tables, their steps echoing softly until Ai halted at the all of mirrors. With a dramatic gesture, she revealed a hidden tunnel. "To freedom," she whispered, a conspiratorial glint in her eye.

"No way! you found a secret way out," Hiro mused, excited to step outside the walls and feel a part of the real world again. Together, they slid through the tight passage, emerging to the sounds of crickets and the caress of cool night air.

"Now your birthday isn't just outside," Masumi remarked, her voice carrying a hint of excitement as she explained. "We've decked out a greenhouse not far from here, just wait till you see it."

"Lead on, navigator," Kazuki quipped, falling into step behind her.

As they followed a small path through the trees, Hiro found himself walking beside Ai, the moonlight almost made it seem like she was glowing. "It's beautiful tonight," she observed, her voice soft yet clear.

"Beautiful, thank you," Hiro admitted, revelling in the taste of freedom. "I know you put this all together."

"I just wanted to make your birthday something special, you seemed so sad recently," Ai said gently, brushing a branch aside.

"Yeah, I have a lot on my mind," Hiro answered, cautious not to unravel too many threads of his past. "I had some friends before I got here, they have gone silent and I don't know what's going on with them."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Yashiro," Ai put a caring arm around him. "I hope they talk to you again."

"thanks and call me Hiro if you like," Hiro said, feeling connected to them more than ever. "It was a nickname my friends gave me,"

Ai went to say something, but Hiro's eyes fell on something reflecting the moonlight on the ground. A thin line that looked an awful lot like a tripwire. "Masumi, wait," he called out, reaching out a grabbing her before she could take another step.

She turned, confusion etched across her features as Hiro crouched down, examining the anomaly. It was a fine thread, shimmering under the lunar glow, and was pulled tight and ready to be set off.

"Careful," he warned, trying to think of a logical reason for the clear trap. "Looks like some hunter may have left a trap on the trail."

"Seriously?" Kazuki said, leaning over to get a better look. "Has that been there the whole time? We've been going up and down this path for days now."

Masumi rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "Kazuki, chill out. Clearly, it is new or one of us would have set it off by now." She tore a strip from the hem of her shirt and tied it around a nearby branch, marking the spot. "There, now we won't forget where it is on our way back."

Kazuki, however, was not convinced. He crossed his arms, his face set with concern. "I don't like this. What if there are more?"

"Kazuki, don't be such a killjoy," Masumi snapped back, crossing her arms. "No hunter lays a million traps for some rabbit.

Their bickering grew heated and stepped in between the pair to try to stop it. Hiro continued to stare down at the wire—his friends said they had been using this trail for days, wouldn't this hunter have seen them? Slipping his hand into his pocket, he curled his fingers around the cold metal of his Mach, was this set here on purpose?

Suddenly, the underbrush rustled drawing Hiro's attention. It sounded much larger than a rabbit; he was about to warn his friends when a gunshot shattered their argument. Time seemed to stand still as their voices faded into the night.

"Is everyone—" Hiro started, but his words fell short as he spun around to see Kazuki clutching his chest, blood blossoming across his shirt.

Ai's scream pierced the air, as Kazuki crumbled to the ground. Masumi's feet gave out from under her, tears streaming down her cheeks as she fell to her knees beside Kazuki.

"We need to go now!" Hiro barked, snapping into action. He grabbed Ai and Masumi, yanking them farther down the trail and toward the greenhouse. Another shot rang out, splintering the bark of a tree they'd been standing near seconds before.

"But Kazuki—" Masumi choked out, her voice laced with panic. She watched as he got smaller in the distance.

"Going back means death, Masumi," Hiro said sharply, even though his heart ached for leaving Kazuki behind. "The shooter's between us and the school—we need to get to that greenhouse right now!"

"Yeah, right the greenhouse. The front is a stone building, if we barricade ourselves in there we will be safe" Masumi reasoned, her eyes locked on the shadows, her body shook with sobs, as she stumbled forward into the night, guiding them through the darkened woods.

They dashed through the undergrowth, branches whipping at their faces, thorns grabbing at their clothes. The night had turned on them, Hiro's birthday was now a battle for survival. But Hiro knew that if it came to it he could finish this, he felt the weight of his Mach in his pocket, an easy solution if things got dire.

Bullets whistled past, embedding into ancient stone as Hiro and the girls sprinted across the open ground to the greenhouse. Ai's breath came in ragged gasps, as they closed in on the small stone structure. "We're almost there," Hiro promised, even as his own thoughts had him wondering how the shooter had missed them.

They burst through the doors of the large stone building, the twinkle lights Ai had set up illuminated the interior. Without hesitation, they began shoving racks laden with plants, heavy benches, and any available tool against the entry, creating a makeshift barricade. The scent of moist earth and greenery was thick in the air, as they stepped away to review their work.

"Masumi, think! Are there any other ways in?" Hiro demanded, unsure if there were any back doors or windows. She was shaking her head, her hazel eyes clouded with distress. "I... I don't know, Hiro. I have only been to the greenhouse part, not the groundskeeper's house."

"Ok, we'll just have to split up and check," Hiro tried to reason, knowing the importance of sealing every potential breach. It was then they heard it—a voice, calm and assertive.

"Don't fret about the back entrance. It's already taken care of."

Whirling toward the sound, they found themselves facing Naomi Shimizu, her auburn hair reflecting the faint moonlight filtering through the small skylight.

"Who are you? Are you the one who's trying to kill us?" Masumi questioned, she shook as she spoke and backed away from the stranger.

Hiro stepped forward, placing himself between his friends and Naomi. He scrutinized her with intense brown eyes, searching for the gun. "Don't come any closer, I don't want to hurt you. Clearly, we've done something to upset you, just let my friends go and we can talk about it," he said trying to negotiate.

"Well I certainly think we can come to an understanding," Naomi replied, a wry smile tugging at her lips. "Naomi Shimizu, Japanese Special Agent." She gave a small bow as Hiro realized he was the target all along.

"Did you kill Kazuki?" Hiro asked, pointing an accusing finger at Naomi. If she was startled by the confrontation, she didn't show it.

"Kill an unarmed civilian?" Naomi raised an eyebrow. "I have no reason for such actions."

"You expect us to believe two different people are hunting us on the same night? What you just happened upon us during an evening stroll?" Hiro countered, his voice laced with sarcasm and distrust. "I've seen what our government is capable of, innocent lives don't mean anything to them."

"Ah, you are a smart one," she murmured. "But if I wanted you dead, you would be. But then again you aren't the target of this particular mission."

"Mission? what's going on here, why is she talking like she knows who you are Hiro?" Ai interjected, her soft voice trembling but insistent.

"Well your friend Hiro here is quite famous, at least as far as the government is concerned," Naomi stated, her tone like a teacher answering a student's question.

"Wait you said I wasn't the target of this mission," Hiro said, arms folded, his stance unyielding. "If that's true then who is?"

"Finally you are asking the right questions," Naomi answered simply, locking eyes with Hiro. "Someone set you up and that person is the one we want."

Naomi paced the length of a row of overgrown ferns, her boots crunching on the loose gravel. "This really was a nice setup," she said, turning to face Hiro and his friends, "But it was obvious and overplayed." Her green eyes flickered as she took in the teens' reactions. "The Japanese government is just as afraid of losing control as any cornered animal. Those that have put us in the box become our priority."

Hiro's brow furrowed, as he tried to piece together what she was saying. "I don't understand what you are trying to say. Why are you being so cryptic about it," he asked, incredulity etching his voice.

"You may not understand but the target does," Naomi replied, the corners of her mouth lifting ever so slightly. "And to that person, I suggest you use a more secure form of communication when contacting the enemy."

"The enemy?" Ai's voice was a whisper lost amid the rustling leaves.

"Canadians," Naomi stated flatly. "They had a mole on campus. They orchestrated this whole charade just to draw you out."

"They knew where I was this whole time..." Hiro murmured, realization dawning like ice forming in his veins. His gaze shifted between Ai's shocked expression and Masumi's tear-filled eyes.

"Exactly," Naomi confirmed, catching Hiro's searching look. "Someone close to you has betrayed you, Hiro. One of these faces wants you dead."

The accusation hung heavy in the humid air of the greenhouse, and Hiro felt unsure for the first time. He had trusted his friends without hesitation, could he really believe someone from the government, people who have tried to kill him on multiple occasions? But what if she was right, what if someone had planned the shooting from the beginning?

"Don't worry Hiro," a familiar voice interjected, "I'm here to ensure their plan fails."

Nori stepped from the shadows, his red hair having grown out since the last time Hiro saw him. His presence hit Hiro like a bolt of lightning.

"You're alive?" Hiro's voice cracked with disbelief. "They didn't kill you,"

"No, I made sure I was indispensable," Nori replied cryptically, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Seems like the only times we meet is when your life is in danger."

"Well aren't you two just adorable," Naomi quipped, but her eyes were steely. "Let's keep our focus. We have been most likely surrounded by now."

"So we fight our way out," Hiro suggested, his gaze lingering on Nori's unreadable expression.

"Normally I would agree with you," Nori said with a half-smirk, "But we have been told to ensure civilian safety above all else. So we need the mole to tell us their plan so we can make one of our own."

"We're dead, we are so dead," Masumi muttered, her hazel eyes darting to the barricaded door as if expecting it to burst open at any moment.

"Enough," Naomi snapped, her tone slicing through the tension. "We have wasted too much time beating around the bush. So either tell us the plan or die, your choice."

Hiro took a breath as the cold edge of a blade pressed against his throat, the sharpness promising pain with the slightest provocation. Masumi's eyes, once brimming with tears, now glinted with something dark and unreadable.

"Nobody move," she ordered, voice steady as she placed herself squarely behind Hiro.

Ai's brow furrowed in distress, "Masumi, what are you doing? Hiro's our friend!"

"Friend?" Masumi scoffed, her laugh bitter. "He's been playing us from the start." With swift fingers, she plunged into Hiro's pocket, retrieving his phone. Holding it up for Ai to see, she declared, "You have no idea who he really is. He is a monster and your stupid crush blinded you."

Nori's hand twitched, a clear itch to intervene, but Naomi's firm hand on his shoulder stilled him. "Wait, Nori," she commanded. "Let this play out."

"I take it Japan just sent the two of you," Masumi chuckled, holding her knife steady. "There's an army and Mach pilots out there, waiting. Make a wrong move, and you're dead before this guy can even blink."

Hiro swallowed against the knife, feeling the sting. "Masumi? I don't know what they told you but they are lying to you,"

"Shut up! You have no idea what you did to me, you killed my uncle," she spat, pressing the blade tighter to his neck and drawing some blood. "You murdered Daiki, and I watched it happen on the news."

Hiro's heart sank, the consequences of his actions were made clear. "It... It wasn't like that," Hiro stammered, desperate to make her understand. "His suit malfunctioned—it was killing him! He was in agony, and the suit... it would've levelled Tokyo. I had no choice!"

"Save your lies," Masumi snarled, tears carving tracks through the dirt on her face. "You think you can manipulate me? I know what you are."