1. The Trip Out
The mag-van skimmed the coastal rail like a chrome bullet.
Through the tinted glass, the towers of Neo Tokyo faded into mirrored distance until only sky and ocean remained.
Jin was already complaining.
"Rikaaa, are we there yet?"
Rika didn't look up from her holo-clipboard. "We left ten minutes ago."
"Felt like ten years."
Kei filmed him with a wrist-drone. "Documenting a rare species: man without patience."
Aya laughed quietly. "You ready for this, captain?"
Tomo, head against the window, eyes half-closed. "Not really."
"Then why'd you come?"
"…Didn't want to be the only one missing when something dumb happens."
Rika: "You say that like that's not the whole point of this club."
2. Beach Camp / Training-Mode Malfunction
Their lodging, Seaview Recalibration Center, was less resort, more government-issue concrete box.
They were supposed to run stamina drills.
Instead, Jin and Kei found an ancient AR-volleyball set in storage.
"Combat Beach Cup!" Jin declared, syncing the holographic grid.
Within minutes they'd hacked the settings; the ball now moved at murder speed.
Rika blew her whistle. "That's not regulation!"
The ball vaporized a sand dune.
Aya was crying with laughter.
Tomo stood knee-deep in the surf, half-buried. "Refereeing's dangerous work."
"Are you trying to lose?" Rika barked.
"Trying to nap," he said.
3. The Incident by the Shore
Late afternoon. Laundry duty for the girls; "recon mission" for Jin and Kei.
They crawled behind coral-rocks, whispering.
"Target acquired—East Shonan Cyber-Swim Team," Kei breathed.
Jin's jaw dropped. "We've reached paradise."
Rika's voice thundered behind them.
"Oh? Enjoying the scenery?"
Smack.
Cut to: both idiots running laps with slosh-buckets on their heads while Rika and Aya sipped shaved-ice on the porch.
Tomo passed by.
"You could've just asked to borrow sunscreen."
Rika: "Do you hear yourself?"
Tomo: "Not really."
4. Festival Discovery
Evening lights shimmered from the seaside market.
Jin froze at a neon banner:
LOCAL SUMMER FESTIVAL ARM WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
Win ¥50,000 + PS12 Holo-Edition!
Kei's eyes widened. "That's like… two months' rent in Neo Tokyo money!"
Rika groaned. "We are not—"
Too late. Jin had already signed them up.
5. Rounds of Disaster
Round 1: Kei vs. Sea King — a fisherman with cybernetic fingers. Kei lost instantly.
Round 2: Rika joined "to prove equality." She snapped the titanium table.
Round 3: Jin advanced through sheer volume. The crowd adored him.
Aya just face-palmed into her drink.
6. Final Round
The emcee's voice boomed through cheap speakers:
"FINAL ROUND! CAPTAIN MAKO vs. TOMO KISARAGI of Hoshino High Combat Club!"
Mako looked carved from ship-steel, tattoos glowing faintly with bio-ink.
"You sure about that arm, kid?"
Tomo rolled his shoulders. "It's lighter."
The bell chimed.
A crack — wood, metal, dignity — split the air.
Mako blinked, arm pinned, table shattered.
Silence.
Then someone shouted, "HE ERASED THE TABLE!"
Phones out. Flashes everywhere.
Rika: "Every time he breathes, I lose brain cells."
Jin: "THE LEFT HAND OF GOD!"
Aya just smiled, quiet and proud.
Tomo handed the PS12 Holo-Edition to the innkeeper's kid.
"I don't really play."
Gasps. Applause. Legend.
7. Night on the Pier
Fireworks bloomed like electric flowers.
The others laughed somewhere behind him.
Tomo sat on the pier edge, sneakers off, tide flickering with color.
Aya joined him. "You disappeared again."
"Needed quiet."
"They're saying you're unbeatable."
"Rumors talk too much."
"Still… they're proud."
He half-smiled. "They're idiots. Good ones."
She glanced sideways. "Your mom still in Minato?"
He nodded. "Still runs the shop. Still tells me to eat real food."
"She's lucky to have you."
He skipped a pebble. "I'm lucky she still answers."
Silence—soft, salt-heavy.
Aya whispered, "You act like you don't care, but you do."
He didn't answer. Just watched the reflections flicker.
"…Maybe."
8. Last Laugh of the Night
"BROOO! WE'RE OUT OF RAMEN PACKS!" Jin's voice echoed from the dunes.
Rika: "WHO USED THE LAST ONE?!"
Kei: "For science!"
Tomo stood, brushing sand from his pants.
"See? Can't leave them alone."
Aya smiled. "That's why you're the captain."
He shook his head. "No. They just keep following."
They walked back under drifting fireworks and the distant hum of Neo Tokyo's skyline—bright, restless, waiting.
[END OF CHAPTER 9 — "Training Camp Fallout"] (Neo Tokyo 2043 Edition)]