23 The Foundation's Invitation.

Author: I briefly explain or give a backstory regarding 15~17. 

Firstly, The place Heylail teleported to, Universe-1537 is a Hololive Alternative-inspired world. This Kuro guy is a person from a different world who reincarnated in Universe-1537.

Due to some circumstances, they're facing an apocalypse, and this rabbit who is good at space magic, used a dimensional portal to summon a person who would provide help for them.

I won't explain why a world-ending scenario arrived at the peaceful world of Hololive Alternative.

Just think of it as an excuse to summon Heylail to that world to receive his cheat which is One Piece story knowledge & AI.

*SKIP*

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

After forming my friendship with Wakaba, she told me to move to a more private place.

I listened to her alerting me that Devil Fruits doesn't exist in this world, and I am a special person, and nothing good would happen if the government caught me so she suggested moving more secretly, albeit it may be too late.

Nodding to her, I acted quickly.

Losing our pursuer was slightly difficult but luckily, with the complex structure of this map with many buildings alongside the speedy flight, I managed to shake off the pursuer and descended to a dark alleyway. 

However, I was soon proved that descending to a dark alleyway with little to no human passage was a bad idea.

"Hey, are you free? Won't you play with us...  You're with your little brother? Okay. How about this, we'll bring your little brother back safely then we can play~" 

Lured by the smell of beauties, a group of three men arrived and asked Wakaba cheekily.

"You're not free, aren't you?" I asked Wakaba furrowing my brows as she started to sweat distressed and blinked rapidly unconsciously.

"We should run away from here..." Wakaba's voice trembled as she fidgeted with her fingers.

"Oh... They're trying to harm you?" I said nodding in understanding.

---

Back to the hospital, 700m away from the spots Heylail descended, a man in his mid-thirties with a stern expression surveyed the surroundings with meticulous attention.

Clad in a crisp blue suit, he exuded an air of authority as he commanded the scene.

The girl beside him nodded receiving his command as she headed over to the journalist who recorded Heylail's flight.

The man took a gaze at her before giving a speech. "Due to the unforeseen circumstances, I regret to inform everyone that I must inquire everyone about the series of events that occurred here. Please let us take your time."

"That sucks..." A murmur of reluctance rippled through the bystanders as they unwillingly obeyed the man of authority.

The man smoothly inquired the people one by one as his subordinates followed him.

Unbeknownst to the bystanders, the man had swiftly, yet accurately thrown a memory-altering substance at the person he questioned, seamlessly erasing any recollection of the incident today and changing it to an unrelated one.

Suddenly, the man's phone rang.

[Sir, I have retrieved the video data of...]

---

Back to the dark alleyway.

"Don't touch my friend," I said interrupting the cheeky man's reaching palm.

"What?" The person who had his hand interrupted revealed a scary look as he clicked his tongue in irritation but the people behind him shouted.

"Bro, bro!! You're backing out!!"

"Huh? Huhhhh?????" He responded in confusion moving his head around to confirm the surroundings while he was smoothly moving back without motion akin to Michael Jackson's Moonwalk.

"Let's run away now!!" I extended my hand over to trembling Wakaba as we ran to the source of light.

---

"Hah... Hah..." Wakaba breathed haggardly, her chest heaving as they struggled their lung with air.

 "Your body is too weak, Wakaba. You should exercise more," I said completely unaffected.

"This is normal!! Besides, I am an insider person... Never mind. Let's get back to the point as to what I wanted to tell you. Your sister, Stella is it? She may be ali-"

"Wooooow!!! Wakaba look! Look! It's a strange machine that spins with clothes inside it!!" I pointed at the washing machine completely missing out on what Wakaba was trying to say.

"You don't know washing machine? Didn't you used to be from here?" Wakaba responded while wiping off the sweat.

"A, that... I don't remember much because I was hungry, hehe..." I smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. 

However, Wakaba widened her eyes at these actions of mine.

It didn't take a genius to figure out my circumstances before going to the world of One Piece but Wakaba was a one.

'War orphan...' words came clear into Wakaba's head. From here on out, Wakaba decided to treat me more gently.

But... 

"That building!! There's a sweet smell coming out of it! Woah... why are people lining up over there?? Hmm?? Why is that person naked??" I 'calmly' indulged the information around me.

"Heylail?" Wakaba called out to me.

"Yeah?" I responded to Wakaba's call, but my attention was soon distracted by something else. It was getting dark at the time as the lighting of this city began to light up, amazing me with city illuminations.

"About your sister..."  She retried.

"Woah!!! It's a big TV!! I wonder what is playing over there?... OH!!! OH!!! IT'S THE SHOW I KNOW!! That show where they fire Kamehameha!! So it's called Dragon Ball... So cool!!" I was easily distracted, and this caused Wakaba to be irritated.

The irritated Wakaba laid her hands on my shoulders and drew me in. "Listen, when, I, talk!" She said while staring straight into my eyes.

"Ah... yes..." I responded light-headed, as the surrounding world disappeared filling it with only Wakaba.

"It's about your sister. You said that she died, but you never mentioned a hint proving your thoughts." 

"What! Stella is alive?" I said with a loud voice.

"She 'may' be alive. You see, cognitive thought is a powerful concept. If you wanted to protect a person who is precious to you, you could bring out a hundred times of power for him/her." 

Wakaba continued, "at the same time, when that power is wielded for the person he/she wants to protect, even the sharpest blades can't hurt them."

"So, from the theory I read from my research material, if the explosion was caused by your Grandpa, there is a high chance that she may be alive. Probably captured? If you didn't search for her," Wakaba shared her thoughts with me.

Stella couldn't be on that island because I didn't feel her presence but the thought of her gave me hope. "So... she may be alive..."

A smile opened up in my face as a sense of relief overwhelmed me. 'She's alive... Stella is somewhere out there...' I thought.

"Thank you!!... Really!!" I thanked Wakaba and hugged her, overjoyed. 

Wakaba felt as if she had gained a little brother as she gently patted my back. A silent time passed by as I released my hold shyly.

"A-anyway, I've been curious but what is this cognitive thought you've been talking about?" I tried to pass it off with the random subject I found.

 "Oh, it's the cognitive pscience I've grown interested in to..."

A peaceful time flowed between us as I came to know more about Isshiki Wakaba and in return, she did the same.

In the middle of the conversation, she even suggested me to stay up in her house as she would somehow find a way to convince her parents, but I disagreed, unwilling to gain any more favor from her anymore.

'I found a thing to do anyway,' I added inwardly.

"AI, is there a way for me to call her anytime like a Den Den Mushi?" I called AI who was hovering motionlessly.

[You finally remembered about me, Master. Throughout your lovely talk with Miss Wakaba, I thought I would be forgotten eternally.] 

"Were you the type to talk like that?" I asked.

[It's Master's order for me to focus on attaining emotions. Now returning to the point, I've gained access to this world's internet and found out that Miss Wakaba uses a flip phone.]

[I can register my address and work out a way for her to contact you across dimensions. Would you like me to do it?]

t

I glanced over at Wakaba who nodded surprisedly at the talking AI. 

"That's great, then do it, AI," I ordered AI excitedly.

"Oh right, she's doing research on cognited psynce, right? Is there a way for you to help her?" I asked the AI.

 [This is but my suggestion, but I can make a device installed with second-generation AI of myself right now. With the power of my AI, any information regarding cognitive pscience, whether physical or digital, could be searched. Would you like to receive it?]

"What!! You can really do that?" Wakaba stated, startled at AI's claim.

"Since it's what AI said, then it must be true," I said unsurprised, not understanding much of what he said. 

The AI got into action judging Wakaba agreed to his suggestion. 

As the AI vibrated, a low hum filled the room, and a faint blue glow emanated from its core. With precise calculations and accurate manipulations of the electromagnetic field, the surrounding particles began to merge, shift, and rearrange themselves into a specific pattern under the AI's control.

Slowly, a flip phone began to materialize itself under the work of an AI. First, the framework. Then, followed by the delicate components and complicated circuitry...

The process of the phone's creation was much more mesmerizing compared when the AI created cooking utensils out of thin air as if witnessing the birth of a new creation from the very fabric of the universe itself through the hand of the god of the machine.

With a final burst of energy, the phone was completed.

"..." Wakaba's mouth was left agape.

"Actually, can you change the shape to make it similar to you?" Wakaba's head was in a mess as her pupils lost their focus, she didn't know what she was saying anymore.

The AI nodded by moving its body up and down.

"I hope this will help you with the cognited psyence," I said cheering.

"Heylail..." Wakaba's eyes were still widened when she mouthed-out my name.

"It's called Cognitive Pscience..."

"There you are, Mister Heylail," A voice sounded as I was enjoying my conversation with Wakaba.

The stern voice didn't particularly attract my favorability because my happy time with Wakaba was interrupted but I turned to his side in response. 

"Is it fine, if I take your time?" The man in his mid-thirties silently appeared. Due to the darkening days and bad positioning of lighting, it was slightly hard to see his face.

"Eh, no?" I declined the stern man's request, rubbing my feet to the ground with boredom.

"Even if I offer you to help with your friend's research financially?" Said the stern man while showing a card revealing his affiliations with the government.

The man thought logically that his suggestion had a high chance of success. After all, it is around the age of 15 (Wakaba's age right now) when you understand the importance of money yet have little way of obtaining it.

[Master, 'financial' means money which means the man is saying that if you help him out, he will provide Isshiki Wakaba funds for her research. His appearance also matches with the record on the government-issued ID card. It is unlikely to be a shady scam.]

"Oh really," I smiled at first but then frowned after thinking for a bit.

"How is it? Are you interested in being employed by SCP Foundation?" The stern man said straightly.

Perhaps because of his focus on AI, he didn't notice the change in my expression.

Unfortunately for him, he had little time to analyze me, and despite his professionalism, he had judged me as an 'ordinary child who gained power through special means.'

"Don't mock my friend. She doesn't need anyone to babysit her research. Although I want to support her dream, I won't ridicule her pride," I said with a solemn look.

Behind me, the AI suddenly sounded out, as the stern man was a tempo too late to react.

[Master. I can't seem to infiltrate the network system of the SCP Foundation. It is highly likely that the SCP Foundation stands above the government. I would suggest you to be careful of them. (Master's over-trusting issue... I have to keep a lookout for it.)] The AI added his thoughts.

"... I understand, Mister Heylail. I am sorry to bother you. I will take my leave now"

.

.

.

Not long after the stern man left, I shrugged and spoke to Wakaba. "Ah, it's already this dark... Well, it's time to say goodbye." 

In response, Wakaba nodded. "Thank you for today. My research... I will make it help you in the future... I swear." 

I shook my head. "Don't sweat about it. We're friends, aren't we? Besides, you already helped me out. "

'Saved me, even.' Perhaps I was exaggerating, but the hand she extended during my darkest day helped me stabilize my mindset a lot.

I waved my hand to Wakaba and left on the spot to head toward the nearby mountain.

Amid my travels, I thought to myself recalling what she had said before. 'People die when they are forgotten, huh...'

'I need to get faster and stronger!! Then, I can go search for Stella!!'

I resolved.