Soul Drive: Ignition

Hiro's eyes were wide as he watched the explosion fade into smoke, Hisoka vanishing before his eyes. The greenhouse, almost untouched, shook under the force of the blast. Its glass windows finally shattered under the intense heat, Hiro just stood there with his Mach in his hand.

"You need to leave now," Osamu's voice cut through the air as he landed beside Hiro, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "If you are here when they come to then I won't be able to protect you."

Hiro's eyes snapped up, meeting Osamu's steely gaze. "You... you killed her?"

"I had no other choice, she wouldn't listen to reason Hiro," Osamu explained as his armour powered down, returning to its smartwatch form. "We both need to disappear this time. I'll be wanted for treason and you'll just be wanted as usual. So get out of here and back to the safety of your school, don't leave those walls for any reason."

"I won't," Hiro managed, this was the second time Osamu had saved his life, but he still wasn't sure if he could trust the man.

"Good, as long as you are there they won't dare go after you," Osamu said, his voice low and severe. "Canada won't risk an international incident. But they will try to find a way to get to you without drawing too much attention to themselves. You need to be ready."

"I will be," Hiro said, his grip tightening on his Mach as he thought about all the slip-ups he made thinking he could trust someone.

"Good, I'll find you when things die down," Osamu said. "As you know we have a lot we need to discuss, now is just not the time for it."

Hiro nodded, before taking off in the direction of the school. He looked back as he made it to the tree line but Osamu had vanished.

---

Meanwhile, Naomi realized just how quiet the woods had become, she looked down at her wrist pad and quickly typed something into it. She then looked up to meet Ai's gaze, before pointing toward the ground. They descended as quietly as they could, stopping every so often to listen for any signs of agents close by.

"Is it over? What was that explosion?" Ai asked as quietly as she could, her eyes searching Naomi's for answers.

"I'm not sure." Naomi's gaze remained in the direction of the blast. "But I have no doubt it has been reported to the authorities, which means we need to disappear."

Ai bit her lip, the urge to rush toward Hiro's last known direction nearly overwhelming. "What about Hiro and Kazuki."

"I don't know. I don't have any solid evidence to form some answers with. Here is what I do know, you don't want to be caught in the fallout of this," Naomi reasoned, placing her hand on Ai's shoulder as if sensing her intentions.

"Hiro, Kazuki, please be ok." Ai prayed as she turned to follow Naomi back toward the school, she knew there was nothing she could do to help anyway, and she cursed herself for not being strong enough.

They made their way swiftly and silently through the woods, Naomi made sure to stop and disarm any traps they found along the way until the walls of the school finally came into view.

As they drew closer Naomi stopped Ai, there was a figure standing just outside the hole in the wall. For a moment everything fell silent. The Ai pushed Naomi's arm aside and burst forward. The sight of Kazuki had her filled with hope, she raced toward him.

"Kazuki!" she called out, her voice breaking the silence.

He straightened up as Ai launched herself into his arms, her embrace tight, as if Kazuki was at risk of disappearing. "I thought... they killed you," she murmured, tears streaming down her face.

"Did anyone else make it?" Naomi's voice was sharp as she glanced around the area.

"If you mean the guy you came here with, yeah he's fine," Kazuki said coldly, he didn't bother making eye contact with Naomi. "He got me here, but then... he ran off."

"Of course, he always has to be a part of the action," Naomi thought out loud, she turned her attention back to the greenhouse.

"Thought he was going back for you," Kazuki confessed with a shrug, not letting go of Ai.

"Ha! Nori going back for me is about as likely as the surface of the sun freezing over," Naomi scoffed. She glanced at her phone, contemplating her next move. "I don't have time to wait around for him. I’ll call him later, make sure he survived."

As they prepared to part ways, a rustling from the nearby woods captured their attention. Hiro emerged, panting, his clothes covered in dirt and torn. His expression changed from severe worry to relief at the sight of Ai and Kazuki.

"Thank goodness," Hiro gasped, as he stumbled toward them. "You're both alright."

But Kazuki recoiled, putting as much distance as he could between himself and Hiro. "Stay away," he warned, standing at the entrance of the tunnel. "You're the reason this happened, Hiro. You got me shot and kidnapped." Without waiting for a response, he disappeared through the gap, leaving Hiro speechless.

"Who exploded?" Naomi questioned, she didn't seem all that concerned about who the victim was.

"Hisoka is dead and her Mach was destroyed in the fight," Hiro answered, still staring at the place Kazuki had been just moments before. "I didn't do it, it was Osamu,"

"So now they are killing each other," Naomi declared, now seeming very interested in the situation. "This is a very interesting development."

"Can we just go home now?" Ai said softly, she reached out and took Hiro's hand. "I want to know the truth about everything when you are ready."

"Don't we all," Naomi muttered without turning back to face them. Then without another word, she headed back into the woods.

Ai and Hiro lingered a moment longer, exchanging a look that carried the weight of unsaid words and shared fears.

"I'm ready to go if you are," Hiro suggested quietly, squeezing Ai's hand.

"Let's go," Ai agreed, offering a small smile, as she led them back through the tunnel and into Kyoto House. The pair snuck across the sprawling campus until they came to Hiro's dorm. They stared at each other for a moment, before Hiro slipped inside without a word.

---

Nori's Mach crouched low in the clearing, its sensors pinging softly as they detected another presence. Through the visor of his helmet, Nori's gaze locked onto the figure who stood a safe distance away—The pink match, easy to spot in the ridge. Nori had seen this Mach before, he wondered why it would make its presence known now.

"Well? What do you want?" Nori grunted, not moving an inch from his defensive stance. "You wouldn't have shown yourself if you didn't want something."

"My data suggests that you care about Hiro," Kimiko started, her voice even, trying to come off authoritative. "You've saved him every chance you've had, I believe we are on the same side."

Nori didn't let his guard down for a second, watching Kimiko closely. "And what side would that be?"

"Hiro's side, we both want Hiro to survive this," Kimiko explained. "I think you know what happened to his parents. I know the government has been tampering with photos, records... anything that could lead back to them. What I don't know is why?"

"Does the why really matter?" Nori asked, almost as if he were dismissing her entirely. "Knowing what happened to them won't bring them back, it doesn't change anything. I don't have any reason to give you anything."

"Remember Noboru?" Kimiko asked the question causing Nori to stiffen. "I was the one he kidnapped that night. You destroyed him, didn't you? Hiro pulled me from that warehouse, I would do anything to give him closure about his family."

"Fine," Nori conceded after a silent moment, connecting the series of events. "All I know is their lab was in Kyoto, they build Suzuki toys on top of it, and no one has used it in over a decade." His warning was clear as he locked eyes with Kimiko, "If you want the truth you will find it there."

"Thank you," Kimiko said, nodding once before turning to leave the clearing.

As she vanished, Nori's communicator crackled to life. "Nori, it's Naomi. Where are you?"

"Got tossed into a field by my glitchy Mach," Nori lied smoothly, watching the trees sway in the night breeze. "I'm not far."

"Get back here," Naomi commanded, he could tell she was moving on foot. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Roger that," Nori replied, turning back toward the park, he knew the truth about Hiro's parents, he just wondered if Hiro was ready to learn it.

---

The flickering screen illuminated the dimly lit room where Tess, Nia, and Hector huddled together, eyes glued to the grainy footage that their single drone was able to capture in the night sky. The video stuttered as a white Mach fired at a red one, the fight raged for hours and ended in a fiery explosion.

"Pause it there," Henry commanded, his finger pointing at the solitary figure—Hiro Kobayashi. "That has to be Hiro, he is the only one we can't find any photo records of. Look at him. He's not exactly dangerous or well trained."

"Clearly, the boy didn't even pilot his Mach once during the fight, he spent it as a hostage," Tess murmured, her brow furrowed as she jotted down notes on her tablet. "At least we have one less of these things to worry about,"

"We still have at least four more to worry about," Nia replied, as she continued to watch sections of the footage. "And each one has the power to take down anything we have to throw at them. Hao's crunching numbers—we need to get the Machs while the pilots are disengaged or we won't survive."

"So identifying what the Machs look like when not in use should be our priority." Hector swivelled in his chair to face them, displaying stills from the footage on the glass conference table. "We've got three active Mach users. Hiro's still in play, but he's low on our priority list. He doesn't appear to be the threat Canada thinks he is."

"Then there's Mach 2," Tess said, pulling up a file on her screen. "According to the Japanese file we were able to get, he has a troubled past, violent tendencies, and his control over the Mach is... shaky at best."

"Right, in most of the footage he starts strong but as a battle progresses he lets his anger take over," Henry said, tapping his temple. "It makes him unpredictable."

"Finally, the green Mach." Nia switched to another video clip showing the unidentified Mach delivering a decisive blow to Hisoka before aiding Hiro's escape. "This one's a wild card. Killed the white one and saved Hiro. Motives? Unknown."

"Could be another Japanese agent, sent in when Nori failed to stop it," Tess pondered aloud, her fingers drumming against the table.

"It's possible but our mole in Japan's program said they don't currently have any pilots other than Nori, we still don't know enough about who is in play," Hector concluded, leaning back with a sigh. "We need intel, and we need it yesterday."

"Agreed," Nia nodded, her gaze fixed on the last frame of the green Mach standing like a sentinel before Hiro. "But one thing is clear—they know each other."

The hum of the overhead lights filled the silence as Nia leaned forward, her gaze piercing through the holographic display of data hovering above the table. "What we need is eyes on the inside—someone who can blend in, gather intel right from the source."

Hector shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his fingers drumming on the arms of his chair. "Are you suggesting undercover? Don't we already have someone on both sides? I mean I think we are pretty set,"

"We don't have someone on Hiro's side," Nia shot back, "Hiro's just a teenager but both sides want him dead. Not only that but he seems to know who is who under the armour. Luck for us we have a tech prodigy that could still be in high school."

"Hell no," Hector retorted. "I have no background in under-cover work... none. Not to mention I graduated high school when I was seven, I prefer computers over people."

"We all hate people," Tess chimed in, a smirk playing on her lips. "That school's a nest of spoiled rich sociopaths. You'll fit in just fine."

Hector sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to get himself out of this one. "Fine. But when this goes sideway remember I was against it from the start,"

"Noted," Nia said, her voice all business now. "All you need to do is get close to Hiro. Earn his trust. If there's anyone who knows about these Machs, it's him. Any scrap of information could lead us to the other pilots who collect it and get it to us."

"Well if it's that simple" Hector said sarcastically, looking at the image of the battle in front of him. "You make it sound like he doesn't have a death machine he can activate any time he wants if he finds out what I am doing."

"We'll be watching you closely, any sign of trouble and we will pull you out," Tess said.

"Fantastic," Hector muttered. "So I just stroll in, say 'Hey, I'm the new kid, tell me all your secrets'?"

"Whatever you do just make it believable," Nia replied with a shrug. "You don't want him activating his death machine, do you? And if the opportunity arises where helping Hiro means a Mach gets destroyed, you have our blessing."

"Great," he responded, his sarcasm barely veiled. "I always wanted to experience the joys of teenage angst and cafeteria food."

"Who knows, you might learn some humility the second time around," Tess teased, the corners of her eyes crinkling with amusement.

"Ha-ha," Henry deadpanned, pushing away from the table and standing up. "If I survive this, I'm putting 'High School Survivor' on my resume. Right above 'Saved the World a Few Times.'"

"We will brief you on your new identity tomorrow," Nia said, her tone softening just a fraction. "For now get some rest."