Episode 14: "You've Got Mail!"

The sun had already started to go down by the time everyone met up at the entrance.
It seemed as though no one had been able to get some sleep until the early morning. About half of the group had visibly puffy eyes.

But they couldn't mourn forever.
Yo and the others set out to look for sweet Japanese treats to give to the CEO, but none of the stores they went to had any in stock.

But that was expected.
Sweet Japanese treats were a necessity to remain alive in the current state of Shinagawa City.
Everyone was desperately gathering them up to give to the CEO to avoid getting laid off.

And since they just had started their hunt, there was no way they would easily come across some.

Tsuki Iroha
"This is so frustrating! We've been searching high and low for sweet Japanese treats but every single time we turn up nothing!"

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"On the other hand, we keep finding a ton of salty Japanese snacks."

Eiji Todoroki
"This sucks, even the local specialty shop in Shinagawa Station was completely sold out."

As everyone was rather dejected due to not being able to find hide nor hair of any treats, a notification sound broke through their doom and gloom.
Yo realized it was his phone that made the noise and quickly took it out.
To his surprise, he found a message in his inbox.

Yo Kuronaka
"...Huh? A message?"

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Gettin' a message these days is rather rare..."

Yo Kuronaka
"Yeah, it's weird. Let me see what it says."

Normally he didn't open messages from senders he didn't recognize, but Yo went ahead and opened this one without hesitation.

Message
"Greetings. I am reaching out in regards to a request made by one Kazuki Aoyama.
I apologize for the inconvenience, but we'd like to change the location for the meeting.
"We'll be waiting for you at the transportation district on Hades Isle.
- M.O."""

Yo Kuronaka
"Wonder what they mean by a request received by Kazuki."

Everyone huddled close to Yo as he read the message out loud.

Eiji Todoroki
"Hmm. Just who in the world could M.O. be?"

Tsuruko Semba
"That couldn't be anymore suspicious if it tried. But, well, we don't really have any other leads. What's the plan?"

Yo Kuronaka
"At this point, something's better than nothing. Let's check it out."

Q nodded in agreement.

Tsuruko Semba
"What's the saying again? Oh, right! Nothing ventured, nothing gained!"

Tsuki Iroha
"I guess it's time to stop M.O.ping around and instead getting going!"

As everyone found their second wind, they decided to head over to the transportation district on Hades Isle.

But just as soon as they started walking, they found themselves lost.
They managed to get back on track using GPS, but the road along the way was blocked off. Due to not being familiar with the area, Yo and the others decided to return to the hotel and ask other guests for directions.

It seemed as though the guests had managed to learn about the Manager being laid off and were also deeply heartbroken.
Nevertheless, being asked for directions to Hades Isle gave them purpose and seemingly raised their spirits, helping them give clear directions.
There was a second bridge that was connected to the tenth floor of the hotel. If they went the opposite way of the Layoff Plaza, they would reach their destination.

By the time they had arrived at the bridge, the evening breeze had begun to pick up, and the city lights were starting to come on one by one.
The lights guided them as they made their way to Hades Isle.

Yo Kuronaka
"There's no one here. I wonder if this is even the right place."

When they arrived at the transportation district, they found stacked shipping containers as far as the eye could see.
The area was completely silent; the only movement anyone could make out were forklift warning lights blinking in the distance.

Yo Kuronaka
"This is starting to feel like a gigantic waste of time..."

Tsuruko Semba
"I mean, this area's pretty big. Couldn't hurt to split up and take a look around."

???
"There won't be any need for that. Pardon my bad manners, but are you all from the Trash Tribe?"

A voice echoed out from the shadows, causing everyone to take a defensive stance.

Suddenly, a woman with long blue hair held back in a yellow hair band appeared in front of them. She glared at them with sharp almost cat-like yellow eyes.
Her face was expressionless as she pushed up her rather uniquely shaped glasses.

Yo Kuronaka
"Yeah, that's right. And who are you?"

Minami Oi
"My apologies for contacting you out of the blue.
I'm M.O., or rather, Minami Oi. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."

After learning that she was the sender of the message, everyone calmed down a little bit.

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Hey, what's up with this request from Kazuki?
We came all the way over here to hear all 'bout it!"

Minami Oi
"Pardon? You're telling me you haven't heard from him?"

Yo Kuronaka
"Can't say we have. What's your connection to him?"

Minami Oi
"We crossed paths a couple of times back when he was a member of the Minato Tribe.
I was surprised when he suddenly contacted me, but, considering he's nowhere to be seen... I can only surmise that something's happened to him."

Minami paused for a few seconds, then continued speaking.

Minami Oi
"The truth of the matter is that he contacted me a while back, saying he needed my help with something.
However, I stopped hearing from him. Which is what brought me to you, Mr. Kuronaka. You were the emergency contact I was given when I asked."

Tsuki Iroha
"Oh! That reminds me, back when we were cleaning, Kazuki was tapping away on his phone the whole time!
Maybe that's when he was talking with Minami?"

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Probably. He definitely wasn't helping out with cleaning much."

Yo suddenly remembered how Kazuki mentioned he was 'making preparations for our XG match.'
It finally clicked that he must've been talking about Minami Oi.

Minami Oi
"If you've found yourselves in a bit of a bind, please tell me about it. Maybe I can help.
After all, in order to survive this game, cooperating with one another is crucial."

There was something about Minami's straightforward stare that brought some warmth to Yo's heart.
Everyone looked to each other and nodded. With that in mind, Yo decided to trust her and returned a soft smile.

Yo Kuronaka
"We've found ourselves in a pretty crappy situation, honestly. If you'd be willing to lend us a hand, we'd really appreciate it."

Minami Oi
"You're trusting me? Thank you.
Though, looking at you all... Well, I suppose things don't always go the way you'd expect them to."

Minami gave them a reassuring nod, but then quickly let out a worried sigh.

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Hey! You lookin' down on us?! We're not a buncha weaklings!
If you're lookin' for a fight, you've come to the right place!"

Minami Oi
"Oh, my. Please, that's not what I meant at all! It's just that..."

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Spit it out, then! I hate it when people tip-toe around what they mean!"

Q
"Calm down. It doesn't seem like she's trying to belittle us."

Q placed his hand on Hyakuichitaro's head as he began throwing a tantrum, keeping him away from Minami.

Tsuruko Semba
"Sorry for him, he's just like that. We'd really appreciate it if you could tell us what's on your mind, though!"

Minami Oi
"Of course. The truth is I asked you all to come meet me, but seeing how this would be the first time we met...
I went and got descriptions of each of you from Mr. Aoyama and plugged them into an AI model to produce images of you. Thing is, the results were quite off. So I was just thinking to myself that the technology is still far from being practical."

Minami pulled out three photographs.

The first one was an AI image based on Yo. The issue with this one was that there was no person in it at all.
Instead, it was a photo of a small black bird who had just hatched from its egg.

The second one was the image based off of Tsuki.
The keywords given to the AI were most likely blonde hair and pigtails.
The girl in the photo was an overly glamorized fighter girl with a smile spread across the entire image.

Yo Kuronaka
"What? Why am I a bird?!"

Yo's photo really perplexed him.

Tsuki Iroha
"Woah! AI me is SO cute! With a little work, do you think I could look like that?"

Tsuki, on the other hand, was over the moon about the pretty girl in the photo.

Tsuruko Semba
"Hehe. Well, it certainly resembles your features enough!"

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Yeah, I mean, like at least some of it matches! It's got blonde hair!"

Eiji Todoroki
"Iroha's been overenhanced to the point where it looks like a completely different person.
Meanwhile, this photograph of me is practically one to one! Could this mean that even AI bows its head to my nobility?"

They then took a look at the third photo. It was of Eiji, although slightly embellished it was the most accurate of the three.
Well, except for the fact he was wearing a toga from ancient Greece, but what stood out the most was just how much skin he was showing.

Minami Oi
"Well, for you, Mr. Todoroki, there were some blurry images circulating online so I plugged those into the model.
That's why yours resembles you the closest.
But I suppose it's always going to be tough to rely on newly emerging technologies..."

Q
"Everyone, focus. We're getting too carried away with all this talk of AI. Let's get back on topic.

Minami realized just how derailed the conversation had gotten.
She cleared her throat with a cough, and adjusted the expression on her face.