He was Almost Absorbed by the System

Chapter Thirty Five - Operation Find Wish! (And DJ Shang)

"Okay, Troops! Let's begin operation Find Wish!"

"And D. J. Shang!"

"...and D.J. Shang."

"Do I really need to be a part of this?"

"YES!"

North stared glumly at the three excited, expectant faces glaring at him. Well Xavier and his fake fiancée Savannah looked happy and expectant. Rush just glared at him, but he was fidgeting like a child who's mean big brother was dangling a lollipop in front of him, just out of reach. "I still think this is all coincidental. Granted this Shang guy probably exists, but Wish is a Vocaloid."

"You said it yourself that Wish might not be an A.I. but an avatar," Xavier reminded him. He turned to face the holograph screen, which had been enlarged to it's maximum size. "Let's review the facts! February 7th at 5:23pm; I took a image shot and short vid of a girl in what appears to be a maid uniform adapted for cuteness..."

"I really don't think you need to go into her weird taste in clothing," North stated. He received more glares.

"Ah! My old High School used to have it's School Festival in February, perhaps that was the reason she was wearing it," Savannah suggested reasonably. 

"Outside of school?"

"Well it is sort of adorable and it's not often students get to play, you know," Savannah crosses her arms and one leg over the other.  North may not have known Savannah for long, but he was already aware by her body language that the little hellion was basically daring him to respond to her words.  He did not feel tempted.

"Can we get back on track please!?" Xavier begged.  He then coughed and adopted the more authoritative tone.  He didn't pull it off well, North thought he sounded more like a little kid forced to stand up in front of adults to recite a poem.  He snickered behind his hand at the thought.  "Anyway, on further inspection of this photo, I noticed what she was wearing on her wrist."  He enlarged the image and enhanced it to reveal a beaded mostly white bracelet save the one black bead at its centre.

"My bracelet," Rush murmured in a oddly satisfied tone.

"Exactly!" Xavier declared.  North didn't mention that bracelets resembling the one on the superstar's wrist were practically adorning at least 20% of the general populace right now.  "So our Wish look-a-like is one of Rush's fans.  Then on February 9th at 7pm, a new music video was uploaded by Wish."

"And D.J. Shang!"  Savannah added, excitedly.

"...and D.J. Shang," Xavier allowed, before continuing.  He paused the video on screen and enhanced the Vocaloid's image, focusing on her wrist.  The bracelet on the 3D model's wrist appeared chunkier than normal, but there was no mistaking that it was a white beaded bracelet with a black bead at its heart.  "I believe that this evidence concludes that Wish is an avatar rather than a A.I."

"It concludes that the creator of Wish is probably a Rush fan, avatar or programmer," North muttered under his breath before saying aloud; "So what's your plan, Captain Xavier?"

Xavier reddened a little over this nickname, then offered a wicked grin.  North's eyes narrowed as he noticed similar looks upon Savannah and Rush's faces (if the latter's could be called a grin, rather than slightly upturned lips and intensely smiling eyes).  The large man almost shrivelled beneath their gazes.

The doorbell rang disrupting their attention, allowing the manager to once again breathe.  Rush huffed in a sulk as he rose to go answer it.

"I don't think it will do any good," North told them.