Debug Mission Capriccio

1: A New Assignment, To the World of VR!

Tsugumi: Everyone, thank you for gathering here today to test the new model of training simulator system we have in development.
Mirja: The members called for this assignment are... I see. Along with myself, Juujou Hiyori was chosen, as well as the members of the elite guard.
Hiyori: Nn? Isn't Kofuki here because she was chosen to be a test pilot too?
Kofuki: I'm just an assistant. It's so lame. I wanted to play with computer aradama-chan too...
Yume: Hey hey, we just turn this machine on and fight? Are there really going to be aradama inside-? That's amazing~.
Yomi: Tsubakuro-san, we came here today as part of our duties, not to enjoy ourselves. Let's only touch the equipment after we've finished hearing their explanation.
Maki: That's right, listen to Yomi. So then, what exactly is it we'll be doing?
Tsugumi: As your machine operator today, I'll be the one to go over that with you.
Tsugumi: Those of you who have been selected as test pilots will be entering the VR world and looking to find bugs; what's known as debugging work.
Tsugumi: While you fight enemies and explore the virtual environment inside the simulation, please collect bugs whenever you find them. Those of us operating the machine on the outside will then work to correct them.
Tsugumi: Now then, I'll move right on to explaining how to operate your devices. Have you all finished putting them on?
Mirja: These are fairly well made, considering how lightweight they are. The way we'll be able to train with these without it weighing down on us is intriguing.
Yume: I'm all ready to go too-! Will there be a whole bunch of strong enemies coming out? I can't wait to see~.
Yomi: I've finished preparations as well. Being given this mission, I will see it through to completion. I'll be in your care.
Tsugumi: If you're ready, let's go over the basic commands in accordance to the manual.
Kofuki: Oi, hold up a minute-. Looks like somebody's too tech stupid to have even turned the thing on-.
Maki: Kh, what's going on with this? There's so many buttons I can't tell what's what...
Yume: Geez-, are you okay over there, Maki-onee-san?
Hiyori: Heh, looks like Shidou Maki has an unexpected weak side.
Mirja: You say that, Juujou Hiyori, but you aren't operating it correctly either. To recover bugs, you're meant to press and hold this button...
Hiyori: I-I know that!
Tsugumi: I see, simplification of the device's interface. This seems like it needs to be improved on as well. I'll make a note of it.
Kofuki: Damnit, aren't you having all the fun, huh! Ahh, I wanna fight aradama-chan in there too-! Why didn't they pick me for this?
Tsugumi: Shichinosato-san! Please be careful waving your arms and legs around by where those cables are bunched together. It's dangerous.
Kofuki: I've got too much energy and boredom built up in me that I don't know what to do with it all-. Aghhh-----!
Kofuki: Nn? Something got knocked down. Huh, it's just a keyboard...
Tsugumi: Sh-Shichinosato-san! What do you think you're doing? Honestly... It's too dangerous for you to be there, so please move away from the machine.
Tsugumi: It seems everyone's preparations are in order by now. Then, I wish you all the best of luck. Take care.
Hiyori: So this is the world of VR... It's built up pretty nicely, isn't it? It looks just like the real world.
Maki: They're here already! Virtual aradama. Why don't we see what they're made of! TAAAAAAAAH!
Maki: The feeling of cutting through them is just the same as the real thing. This place really is well put together.
Yume: Ah-, they're coming this way too! Here I go-! EEEIIII!
Yume: Ahaha, you're right~! It's super well made!
Yomi: Agreed. It's good that their movements in combat remain the same as well.
Hiyori: It looks like we've wiped out one pack of aradama for now, but... ...? There's some kind of strange presence...
Maki: The ground's shaking? It's like a group of something is coming at us from far away, but what is it?
Mirja: There wasn't any sort of enemy like this in the explanation Ban Tsugumi gave us...
Yomi: Then that would mean, we've found our first bug, haven't we.
Yume: It feels like something crazy's coming our way. I'm getting excited!
Hiyori: Even in a virtual environment, if enemies appear, all we need to do is destroy them! Let's go!

2: Discovered a Bug Well Beyond Expectations!?

Yume: Ahaha, what's with this, it's crazy! Isn't this weird-! Can I really beat them up too?
Mirja: Regardless of their appearance, they came to attack us, so we should eliminate them as enemies. HAAAAAH!
Hiyori: TAAAA-!
Hiyori: [Pant, pant]... I beat them all over here too, but... Nobody said we'd fight something this ridiculous!
Yomi: Given how unexpected it is, it's highly likely this is a bug. There may be many of them, but we'll need to defeat them quickly and report it back to the research lab.
Yomi: HAAAAAH!
Maki: Phew. Looks like we've finally cleared them all out. Good work everyone, handling one battle after another.
Hiyori: It's good we took care of things, but... What's with those ridiculous enemies that came in at the end? Whose idea of a joke was that!?
Maki: I didn't expect to face anything that bizarre in here either. Let's report this back straight away.
Mirja: Then, as we practiced before, everyone please enter the command to return to the real world.
Yume: We're back-! Ahh, that was a lot of fun.
Yomi: The first investigation has been completed, and the debugger team has now returned.
Tsugumi: Welcome back. How was the world of VR, everyone?
Hiyori: It was really well designed, but... What was with those joke enemies?
Tsugumi: Joke enemies? What do you mean?
Hiyori: A huge group of Kofukis came out of nowhere and attacked us.
Kofuki: Huhh?
Tsugumi: Ah-- Don't tell me, because of what Shichinosato-san did with the keyboard earlier...
Kofuki: Huh!? As if that could've...
Tsugumi: At any rate, it's certainly an unexpected bug. Please tell me about it in greater detail.
Yume: A whooole bunch of enemies who looked just like onee-san here came after us-!
Yomi: This is just an estimation from what I saw, but there were at least around 500 of them.
Mirja: No, speaking more precisely, there were 777 Shichinosato Kofukis. [There's a 7 in Shichinosato]
Kofuki: Where'd you even pull a number that specific from!
Mirja: I only confirmed it with my observational ability...
Tsugumi: Measurements made with Kitora-san's kantougan... That should be accurate then.
Mirja: What could have caused these bugs exactly...?
Tsugumi: Shichinosato-san could never have the skills needed to create a system advanced enough to intentionally produce bugs.
Kofuki: Oi! Are you just taking the opportunity to diss me? Whatever, just hurry up and get the bugs so you'll know it wasn't me. Hear that, Maki-senpai?
Maki: ...
Kofuki: Nn? Maki-senpai's device is still on, and she's not moving!
Mirja: Ah-! Could it be, she was unable to exit from VR? Ban Tsugumi, can you detect any errors in the system?
Tsugumi: Hmm, what could this be... There seems to be a malicious program mixed in with the ones we made...
Yomi: Does that mean... This was someone's act of tampering?
Yume: No way... Then, somebody trapped Maki-onee-san inside the VR world!?
Kofuki: Th-That wasn't me! Quit acting like I'm a suspect for all this weird stuff already!
Tsugumi: You have nothing to worry about. This complex program isn't something you could have made by accident. Though, this is going to require a more detailed analysis.
Mirja: Whether it's a simple malfunction, or an act of sabotage, we'll need to recover more bugs to make absolutely sure.
Tsugumi: That's right. To rescue the stranded Shidou-san as well, it would be a great help if you would return to the VR world at once...
Hiyori: You don't have to beat around the bush in an emergency, Tsugumi! Let's go back into the VR world!

3: Even More Bugs!?

Maki: HAAAAAH! YAAAH---!
Mirja: There's Shidou Maki, fighting on her own.
Yume: Maki-onee-san! Heeey! We came to get you-.
Maki: Yume! And the rest of you too! So you came back. I didn't know what to do when I was only one who couldn't get out.
Yume: Did you maybe forget how to work the machine?
Maki: I thought I did it just how they told me...
Yomi: That aside, you seem to be very exhausted...
Maki: Yeah. It seems that, after I was left behind, the fighting here would just keep going on forever. I started worrying my stamina wouldn't hold out.
Hiyori: There's more aradama-! Shidou Maki, leave all this to us! TAAAAAAAAAA--!
Yume: I'll do it too-! EII----!
Mirja: We seem to have defeated them. I managed to recover several bugs just while we were fighting, so why don't we return for now?
Yume: Don't screw it up this time, Maki-onee-san.
Maki: Right, this time for sure. Let's go back, everyone!
Mirja: The debugger team has returned. ...Nn? Shidou Maki is...
Maki: ...
Yomi: Unfortunately, she seems to have once more been unable to return. She isn't moving at all.
Tsugumi: So it still turned out like this... Actually, after analyzing the bugs you recovered, we found signs that a very malicious virus could have infected the system...
Mirja: A virus? Who could have done that, and why...
Richard Friedman: Hey, you must be Ban Tsugumi-kun. Sorry to keep you waiting.
Tsugumi: Hello. Thank you for sparing some time for us, Doctor.
Friedman: You don't have to be so formal with me. We've been investigating the phenomenon over here too, but it looks like you were somehow infected with a nasty virus.
Friedman: It seems right to consider a bug created by this virus as the cause of your friend being unable to return from VR.
Tsugumi: So it's like that after all...　Then, to go about removing this harmful bug...
Yume: This is too complicated for me to keep up with, but what's going to happen to Maki-onee-san?
Yomi: Shidou-san is fairly exhausted, and has taken injuries as well. What would happen in the worst case scenario, if someone was gravely wounded in the simulation?
Friedman: Hmm, this is the first time a case like this has happened, so I can't say for certain... But, if she remains unable to return, in the worst case scenario, I can't deny that her life may be in danger.
Tsugumi: But, then...
Tsugumi: Five people were planned to fight in this test, so the training enemies were fine tuned to match the strength of five people. If Shidou-san fights endlessly against that on her own...
Yomi: Even Shidou-san would be in danger. We have to return to Shidou-san and offer her backup at once...
Yume: Yeah, it's just like Yomi-onee-san says! We can't leave Maki-onee-san alone in someplace that dangerous!
Mirja: Everyone... Shidou Maki may not be alone after all...
Kofuki: Nn? What do you mean, Mirja...
Kofuki: Wait, seriously...? Hiyori! Oi, Hiyori, say something, c'mon!
Hiyori: ...
Tsugumi: Now even Juujou-san is trapped in the virtual world...
Yume: We've gotta save both of them, fast! What should we do?
Tsugumi: To bring them both back to the real world, we'll need to find and analyze all these malicious bugs as soon as possible, as well as identify what was responsible for creating them.
Mirja: Which means, we have no choice but to go back inside. Tsubakuro Yume, Satsuki Yomi, do you have any objections?
Yomi: I don't. This is our mission.
Yume: I'll do all I can to save Maki-onee-san! So I'm going!

4: Who's Behind All This!?

Maki: Still more... [pant... pant...] TAAAAAAAHH!
Hiyori: [pant... pant...] Alright, I can see the end of them. This'll finish it-! YAAAAAHH!
Yomi: Shidou-san, Juujou-san. Sorry to keep you waiting.
Maki: You all came back in!
Yume: Hey, Maki-onee-san, you're hurt! Are you feeling okay?
Maki: I couldn't help it, with this many successive battles...
Mirja: Juujou Hiyori, you're injured as well. Can you manage?
Hiyori: It's fine; this is my fault for not being able to exit anyway. I could have sworn I entered the command properly, but...
Mirja: No, this wasn't caused by either of you mishandling the controls. It seems to be caused by a malicious bug someone engineered. Right now, Ban Tsugumi and the others are working as fast as they can to look into the bugs, but...
Maki: So that's why. Then, that means we should hurry and record all the bugs we can find, to help them figure out what's causing this.
Yume: More showed up! You onee-sans back away! I'll take care of this myself! HAAAAAHH!
Mirja: We've managed to recover quite a number of bugs again this time. It would be good if all of us could return together now...
Hiyori: Right, this time for sure... Here we go.
Yomi: The debugger team has now returned. Sigh, as expected, Shidou-san and Juujou-san still aren't moving.
Tsugumi: Good work. While you all were fighting, we split our efforts with Dr. Friedman to fix the bugs, and no new people were stranded, but...
Tsugumi: The bug preventing those two from returning seems to still be operating somewhere...
Yume: Why are those two the only ones who can't come back!? They're already all beat up and could get beaten any time now! Do something about it-!
Friedman: Really, who could have thrown such a nasty wrench in our works... Though I suppose we don't have time for me to complain now. We'll work as fast as we can to correct the bugs for the time being...
Mirja: Is there anything more we can do to be of help?
Kofuki: What if you helped out like I am?
Yomi: Shichinosato-san, why exactly are you waving that fan at the machine?
Kofuki: I'm fanning it so it won't overheat. But is this really even doing anything?
Mirja: I suppose it's better than nothing...
Yume: Hey hey, if we beat a whole bunch of enemies and collect the bugs, it might help save them, won't it? Then let's go back inside again!
Yomi: That's right, I'm also worried about whether their stamina will last. We can't simply stand here doing nothing but waiting.
Friedman: I'd appreciate it if you did that, in order to rescue those two as quickly as possible, but...
Tsugumi: The risks have grown much greater...
Mirja: Risks? What do you mean?
Kofuki: Oi, isn't this getting real bad here? The server's burning up so hot I can't even touch it!
Friedman: That's not good. The machine is overloading from the great amount of bug fixes being rapidly enforced, and it's started building up heat.
Tsugumi: If the load on the server continues building like this, and it crashes, we'll be unable to recover it. Sending all of you back in under these circumstances could mean...
Yume: You want us to leave Maki-onee-san behind then? I'm not doing that!
Yomi: Is there any way to resolve this situation...
Mirja: ....................................! I've come up with a strategy I'd like to attempt. Dr. Friedman, would it be possible for this to work?
Friedman: I see, that's a rather ingenious plan you've come up with. Kitora-kun, could you stay behind to oversee it?
Mirja: Ordinarily I would agree to that, but, if I remain here, our fighting strength on the other side will...
Kofuki: That just means it's finally my turn to step up! You should swap with me if that's how it is!
Mirja: Shichinosato Kofuki, this is not a foolproof strategy. This is a dangerous operation that could risk everything for success. Is that really alright with you?
Kofuki: You're damn right it is-! I've been itching for a fight so bad I can't sit still over here!
Kofuki: C'mon Yomi-senpai, Yume, as soon as you're ready, get in here! I'm going in!

5: A Big Operation to Risk it All!

Maki: Kh, the aradama started multiplying all of a sudden. Juujou Hiyori, can you manage?
Hiyori: You're pretty beat up yourself, Shidou Maki. Since it's come to this, I'll...
Kofuki: Nahhh, I'll handle things from here!
Hiyori: Kofuki! What are you doing here?
Kofuki: If I get to play with some aradama-chan, I'll go through hell or VR!
Yume: We're here too! You two should get behind us! Here we go-!
Kofuki: ORAORAORAAAAA! This's nowhere near enough! Just keep it coming!
Hiyori: Oi! Don't go saying unlucky things like that! A huge number of aradama are pouring out...
Yomi: With this number of enemies... Fighting with all of us, including the wound covered Shidou-san and Juujou-san could be too difficult...
Kofuki: What, you're chickening out? It's just at a time like this that we've gotta go do that plan of ours! Oiii, you guys, it's your turn now-!!
Maki: You guys...?
Kofuki: ORYAA----!
Kofuki: Out of my way, those're my aradama-chan~!
Kofuki: I love you, aradama-chan!
Hiyori: Wh-What!? The 777 Kofukis are still showing up!?
Maki: Damn, to have more enemies to handle now... ...Nn? Wait, hold on, they're acting strange.
Kofuki: Alllright, all 777 of me! Go out like that and slaughter up some aradama-chan!
Hiyori: The 777 Kofukis are actually following the original's orders and destroying the aradama!?
Yomi: It seems they've managed to defeat all of the aradama. Good work, Shichinosato-san.
Kofuki: You don't have to thank me. I got to have crazy fun doing this.
Hiyori: Still, why did the bugged enemy Kofukis start fighting on our side?
Kofuki: It's cause of Mirja's strategy.
Yomi: The 777 Shichinosato-sans made by Shichinosato-san's prank were reprogrammed to become our allies. It was an all or nothing strategy, but it greatly paid off.
Yume: We rounded up all the bugs too, so we should all be able to come back to the real world now. Make sure you do it right this time, Onee-sans.
Maki: Right, I'll do what I can. Here goes!
Maki: Ohhh! I made it back! I safely made it back to the real world!
Hiyori: Yeah, we really did come back this time. ...What a relief.
Tsugumi: Shidou-san, Juujou-san, it's good to see you two safe and sound. All of you, please, get some rest.
Mirja: Hello, Dr. Friedman? How did it go?
Friedman: From the sound of things, they just caught the culprit who slipped the bugs in.
Shidou: Ultimately, who were they, and what were they after...
Friedman: From analyzing the bugs you recovered, we determined the one responsible was a software engineer from a rival systems development company.
Friedman: The police also wanted to thank you for all your efforts collecting those bugs, which gave them the clues needed to catch the culprit.
Hiyori: Really? I'm glad we could be of some help then.
Maki: So, the fact that we couldn't return from VR wasn't because we made any mistakes after all...
Tsugumi: I hate to break this to you, but that's not exactly true. We determined the bug the rival company had created was only set to trigger after someone improperly entered the commands...
Maki/Hiyori: Huh!?
Mirja: In other words, the great number of bugs were created when Shidou Maki and Juujou Hiyori made mistakes with their devices, which ultimately led to the culprit being arrested.
Maki: What!? So my mistake caused this after all...
Yume: Well, it's fine. They got to catch the bad guy because of you.
Yomi: That's right, this case was resolved as a result of Shidou-san and Juujou-san's mechanical ineptitude.
Hiyori: Kh... Even though they're thanking us, it's a complicated feeling...
Kofuki: Anyway, isn't this a case of all's well that ends well? I got to have my fill of the fun too, so fix that thing up already and let me play with it some more!
Tsugumi: You seem to be the only one eager about that, Shichinosato-san.
Mirja: That's right. While it's a relief that the issue was safely resolved, it will take time to make the system ready for practical use.