“Naturae knows all of our identities; it probably shared that information with its Agents. We know Rin and Sayuri; now it’s time to strike at Sahara and Amazon. I developed a plan with Gramps.” Ayu held out her notebook. “We’re going to lure them out by tricking Naturae into thinking there will be an emergence of a fifth Agent of Thade.”
“Oh, so `cause there’s currently four Agents on each side right now, the threat of a fifth Agent of Thade could fool Naturae into thinking Gramps is trying to tip the scales in its favor,” Akira noted. “Yeah, that’s definitely not something Naturae can just ignore. Unfortunately for that dastard punk, everyone here is great at intimidation! Well, maybe not Hiiragi, but—”
“So who’ll be the bait playing the part of the fake fifth Agent?” Ayaki asked, cutting off Akira.
“Um… Me,” Ayu admitted. She chuckled nervously as Juuzou’s eyes widened.
“What!?” His hand seized around Ayu’s shoulder and he whirled her around to face him. She bit her lip; his gaze wasn’t mad or upset. Instead, there was overwhelming panic. Ayu could see memories flashing through Juuzou’s eyes; his slate blue orbs reflected back the moment he clutched her limp body—sucked of life all thanks to Naturae itself—tightly in his arms on Nishigaoka High School’s rooftop. “No. No, no, no, no! I am not okay with this!”
“I warned you he would react like this,” Thade ruefully told Ayu. She sighed.
“Juuzou, just hear me out, please!” Ayu pleaded.
The corners of his eyes crinkled and he pursed his lips. He stared deep into Ayu’s soft brown eyes but all he saw was steadfast determination. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. But his grip slackened as Juuzou stepped away, dropping his arm. He held in a sigh and opened his eyes; his slate blue gaze was marred by a worried glint as he asked, “Okay… What’ve you got, Ayu?”
“So, I’m pretty sure Amazon and Sahara don’t know who I am,” Ayu began, flipping through her notebook. “But Naturae does know. That’s good because it gives us a degree of shock value. The reason why I would be better over a random person is because it’ll trick Naturae into believing that Gramps is willing to cross the edge.”
“I’m… not sure if I follow, to be honest,” Akira admitted.
“I was once an Agent of Naturae, remember?” Ayu pointed out. “Naturae knows I’m working alongside you but since Gramps is only trying to uphold the balance, it doesn’t believe I’d go all the way.”
“Naturae doesn’t think Gramps would ever bestow you with some of its powers precisely because of your history,” Katsuya clarified.
“That’s why it works! We’re basically stealing one of Naturae’s Agents for ourselves!” Ayaki gasped.
“Exactly.” Ayu nodded. “I thought about just using a random person, but… That felt cruel. This works out better, anyway.”
“Does it?” Ayaki questioned. “Why not just make you an Agent of Thade anyway?”
“That could provide… Potentially catastrophic,” Thade rumbled. “Naturae re-balanced the power among its faction after its Agent of Sky’s betrayal. If another Agent bearing my powers were to emerge, Naturae would need to act in turn. That cycle could last forever; the end result would be escalating the war. Neither of us want that, making this an effective threat: it goads Naturae into believing that I am willing to go that far. The last thing it wants is to tip the scales in my favor. This ‘trick,’ if you will, forces Naturae to act and will allow us to strike directly at its Agents of Jungle and Mountain. It exposes them. Naturae has no choice but to attack with a true gambit to keep its hold on what little advantages it has.”
“Oh, I get it now. Damn, we’re getting ballsy!” Akira chuckled.
“Okay, so why not just have it be a total fake-out?” Juuzou argued. “We can just say we’re turning Ayu into an Agent of Thade without having her actually be there, right?”
“Naturae would not fall for such a stunt,” Thade answered with a shake of its head. “We must goad its overconfidence.”
“If we make it as real as possible, Naturae will totally fall for it,” Ayu added. “We need it to step on the gas for this to work. Sahara and Amazon have to lower their guard for us to learn their identities.”
“Desperation will be the ultimate ingredient in the recipe for their downfall and our success,” Thade concluded.
“There has to be another way,” Juuzou pleaded.
“No, I agree with Hiiragi and Gramps,” Katsuya shot back. “Sahara and Amazon are strong; their teamwork is impeccable. But if we can get them to fuck up, that’ll be our ticket to success. I think playing off their desperation is a good way to do that. Honestly, they’re like you and Hiiragi, Hanazoe. If one of them falters, the other scrambles to pick them back up by any means necessary. We can exploit the hell outta that.”
“I…” Juuzou shook his head. “I’m still not on board. I just… I don’t want you to get hurt, Ayu. Putting you directly into the line of fire like this… I’m not comfortable with it at all, no matter how effective this plan might be.”
“Juuzou…”
“Be at ease, my Agent of Hatred.” Juuzou glared over at Thade, whose gaze was understanding and calm. “She will have my protection. Just as you would lay down your life for her sake, so will I guard her with every ounce of power vested in me. The plan is not to expose her directly; only create a ‘fake’ scenario that tricks Naturae into believing what we want it to. Your beloved is merely the figure upon that all hinges upon.”
“So what’re you gonna do?” Juuzou snapped. “Shove her in some box and start chanting big words as if we’re performing some sort of elaborate ritual?”
“Ooh, that’s not a bad idea!” Ayu clapped her hands together and looked up at Thade, who was nodding in approval. Juuzou sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“God fucking dammit… Ugh, look,” Juuzou lowered his hand and gazed at Ayu somberly; his features were tight, “I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all. But if you really think this is the best way to strike at Naturae and figure out Amazon’s and Sahara’s identities, I guess I have no choice but to play my part. Just… Promise me one thing, Ayu.”
“Sure! What is it, Juuzou?”
“Stay safe,” he pleaded, taking Ayu’s hand in his own and squeezing it tight. “If anything were to happen to you or—god forbid—you got hurt, I’d…” Juuzou shut his eyes and sucked in a shaky breath. “Listen, if anything goes wrong, I want you outta there immediately. I never wanted you to get involved with this damn proxy war… I thought after Naturae revoked you, I could protect you from all of this, but… Now, you’re just throwing yourself right into the thick of things. And I… I know you want to help. I mean, we couldn’t have gotten here without you, Ayu. So… Yeah. Just keep yourself safe. All I want is for you not to get hurt. Don’t do anything reckless. Please.”
“Juuzou… I will! And… I’m really sorry.” Ayu wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, snuggling into his chest. His sturdy arms enclosed around her shoulders. “I know you want to keep me safe, but I can’t just do nothing! Even without my powers… I still want to fight. I can’t let Naturae get away with what it’s done! I have to free Rin and Sayuri! I want to be useful to you—and to everyone—somehow! I don’t want to just stay on the sidelines.”
“I know, Ayu, I know.” Juuzou’s grip tightened. “You don’t have to apologize for anything. Just keep yourself safe. That’s all I ask. I love you and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and the guys.”
“Don’t worry! I will! I promise. I love you too, Juuzou.”
“You needn’t fret so much, my Agent of Hatred,” Thade added. “Your beloved is steadfast and true.” Juuzou glared at it.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” he scoffed. “That whole ‘I will guard her with every ounce of power vested in me’ spiel… You’d better keep your damn word! Or else.”
“I shan’t lie.”
“Hrm…” Juuzou pursed his lips.
“Huuuurk…!”
Juuzou’s eye twitched. He looked over at the other Agents of Thade. Akira was cross-eyed with his mouth wide open. His tongue was stuck out and his index finger traced circles around the slimy tip in a mocking caricature of total disgust. Ayaki was actively guffawing with his hands cupped around his lower face while the slightest hint of a bemused smile graced Katsuya’s face.
“What?” Juuzou growled.
“Oh, nothing!” Katsuya’s voice was oddly light, as if he meant to sound surprised. It was a stark contrast from his usually gruff tone. “Nothing at all.”
“Liar.”
“‘Stay safe!’” Akira cried in a high-pitched dramatization of his actual voice. He shifted his expression into deep longing as he stretched his arm out to the stars. “‘I couldn’t bear the thought of you ever getting hurt so please!’”
“‘Just promise me one thing!’” Ayaki continued in the same key, holding a hand to his forehead and dropping his body as if about to faint. “‘Promise me you’ll stay safe no matter what!’”
“You bastards!” Juuzou roared, whirling around to face them—his cheeks flushed crimson red—as Katsuya howled with uproarious laughter. “Ima kill all of you!”
“Hey, woah, woah, don’t do that!” Akira waved his hands in front of him defensively. “We haven’t even figured out how we’re gonna like, pull this whole operation off!”
“Nah, but seriously, man, good on you for taking care of your girl,” Ayaki reassured, flashing a thumbs-up. “We get that you’re worried. Nothing wrong with it. Or a healthy dose of teasing.” He winked. Juuzou’s glower did not diminish.
“We’re not gonna let anything happen to Hiiragi,” Katsuya added. “Naturae will have to get through us and Gramps before it’ll even touch a hair on her head.”
“Thanks, everyone,” Ayu beamed.
“So is this the one time ‘hoes before bros’ is actually a good thing?” Akira asked. Everyone turned to stare at him. “What? Waugh!” He ducked as Juuzou’s foot careened through the air like a knife, straight over his head.
“You… You deserved that,” Ayaki stated with a deadpan voice, shaking his head.
“Call my girlfriend that again and you’re gonna need more than super speed to escape what I’ll do to you,” Juuzou seethed.
Akira giggled nervously, “Ha-ha… Yeah… Sorry. Mostly.”
“You really need to remember to watch your fucking tongue, Izayoi,” Katsuya advised.
“Anyway,” Ayu shook her head, “we’re getting off track. Izayoi is right; we need to figure out how we’re actually going to pull this off.”
“Got any ideas?” Katsuya inquired, setting his hands on his hips. Ayu smiled.
“A few.”
“Let’s hear `em, then.”