Naturals Elections: A Kill La Kill Fanfiction

AN: Not happy with this, will tune it up later. Enjoy maybe.


Chapter 7: Welcome to the Jungle

The room stank of blood and urine. Not hers obviously. Nui was a good girl, and gave people what they were looking for when they asked for ever so politely. Honestly, he'd brought this on himself really. But even her famous debating methods were starting to get a little stale, so it was time to pull out her trump card. She sat opposite her opponent, legs together and hands her lap like the lady of high society she was.

"Mr Reebok, I'm only going to ask this one more time, and if you deny me again I'll be ever so cross. It's not really too much to ask, just for a little signature, is it?"

There was no response, and Nui sighed in frustration.

"Very well, I see you've left me no choice."

She got up and walked behind him, the man tied to the other chair feebly rocking in vain to try and escape his bonds as she drew one finger across the exposed patch of skin on the back of his neck.

"Oh, now you start moving. Well then, you'll be very interested in my next proposition."

The finger came to rest on a sewing needle lodged in at the intersection of neck and spine.

"Do you feel that? See, I've been considerate of your needs so far. This little needle's been keeping most of what you should have been feeling from registering in that tiny little head of yours. Tell me Mr Reebok, what do you think would happen if I were to remove it?"

She waited ten seconds for the realisation to occur, the silence broken by a pain-rusted whisper.

"Papers."

Nui smiled and went to the corner of the room, to where a blood-soaked jacket lay, protecting a briefcase from the worst of the viscera. She took it over to the desk at the head of the room, popped it open and retrieved the necessary documents, laying them out. Mr Reebok was wheeled back to his place of business, a pen placed into the hand without broken fingers. Nui was a smart girl you see, and she knew destroying the dominant hand was bad for business. And with the signature, that was the last of her high-flying boardroom life over with. She sighed wistfully as she shuffled the papers back into the briefcase. Suits would never be her thing, but the life of a high-class businesswoman had suited her perfectly. Vicious takeovers, tearing down stocks, all such fun! Still, it was time for her to go; back to Japan and to mother's waiting arms. She withdrew her parasol and shattered the windows leading out into the world. Good wind today, she'd be at the airport in no time. She was just about to leave when she realised something every important, and made her way back to the former CEO.

"Terribly sorry about this, but that needle? Part of a set, and I really can't misplace any of them. Sooooooo…"

The noise that crawled from the man's throat could not be described as a scream. It was barely even human, a drawn-out, raging, keening thing drenched in pain. Nui leant down to his ear.

"Should I make it stop?"

Somehow, he found the strength to nod, even as bloody tears rolled down his face. He was not crying for long, as Nui took on the heavy but nevertheless necessary task. She wheeled the chair over to the window on the hundredth floor, and pushed. The sky had already taken her away before he hit the ground. And as an added bonus, the crunch of bones would keep anyone from looking up and seeing her unmentionables. She was halfway to the airport when her phone rang, which left her with a small problem. She had to hold onto the briefcase because it was important to mother, but she very much couldn't let go of her parasol, now could she? She'd drop out the sky! She quickly came up with a solution, even if it was graceless to hold a briefcase in your teeth.

"Mon-Mignon Prêt-à-Porter."

A second Nui immerged from the parasol and took the briefcase. The extra weight would slow them down, but Nui so rarely received phone calls. A quick rummage in her cleavage found her phone. An iPhone 8, one of a pair made before mother had the company burned down for their over usage of the colour white. Nui didn't see the fuss really. It looked exactly the same as the last one. But it did contain the numbers of her three most favourite people, and allowed her most favourite person to call her now.

"Oui, maman?"

"Nui, how goes the Reebok meeting?"

"All finished and complete ma'am. I'm on my way home now."

"That's my girl. Feel free to travel in business class. You've earned it."

Well, that would certainly beat flying solo across the Atlantic in the storms she'd encountered on the way over here. But there was something on Nui's mind.

"Maman, is there going to be anything for me to do when I get home? I mean, this was more of a formality, you know? There are no more companies for us to buy up."

"Funny you should mention that. You remember your dear older sister, yes?"

"Ryuko or the other one?"

"Satsuki, of course. Our little runaway has finally come home and has been getting in Ryuko's hair. So much so that she's asked for your assistance, and your particular set of skills."

Nui could have cried with happiness, even if she had just lost a bet. Not only did she have a chance to go see her sister, it was with the explicit purpose of murdering the other one? If she was lucky, she could try and wipe out that bob-cut bitch too while she was at it. Oh, Honnouji Academy, how she'd missed it.

"Tell Ryuko I'll be there as soon as possible."

"I'll get Hououmaru to pass it on. Oh, and Nui?"

"Oui, maman?"

"Today is the first day of Ryuko's little games. To make a grand enough entrance, you may wish to turn up only on the seventh."

"Got it. Au revoir."

"Au revoir."

She stuffed her phone away once more, took the briefcase back and dismissed her copy. It spite of mother's words, Nui was going to make her way home as soon as possible. There was no way she was going to be left out of a family reunion, after all.


They all gathered in the centre of Honnouji. Every student who wanted a chance at something greater, every mercenary who wanted a fat pay check. And her Elites, determined to defend their titles. A great thrumming, roaring crowd pulsing with bloodlust. And she had the pleasure of letting them loose. The sky was drowned in blood-red fever as Ryuko stepped out to their zealous cheers.

"Listen up, you pigs in human clothing! Seeing how we've all been around the block a few times, I really shouldn't have to explain this. But just in case we've got a couple idiots in the crowd, here's the rules for the Naturals Election. Kill! Maim! Burn! Pillage! Do everything you can to stay alive, and meet up back here on the seventh day for your chance to become greater than you'll ever be!"

She withdrew a golden revolver, big enough to punch a hole in an elephant. Or a toad, whichever she felt like hunting. Now then, how to get this started? There, that guy looked like he was begging for death. Bastard wasn't even looking at her.

"Now then, let the games begin!"

And the Naturals Election began as they always did.

NATURALS ELECTION

DAY ONE

There was blood on her hands. Satsuki's, and that of the man she'd killed. It had been an accident, really it had. She'd just grabbed a weapon and fired. She thought that the Nudist Arsenal was a joke, not even worth mentioning. It wasn't supposed to be able to… make a hole, like that. Worse still, Satsuki was still unconscious, cradled in Gamagoori's arms. She wasn't dead, thank God, but the idea that someone so strong, so noble, could be taken down by what could be described as nothing less than a fluke…

Nonon kept her head down as sewing machine gun fire rattled overhead, and begged for the world to stop. She wanted to get off.

"Nonon."

She took a swing at the voice, more out of habit then any real annoyance at being woken up. Honestly, she was kind of happy to be out of that memory. But she'd never tell the Toad that.

"What?"

"Get up and eat. We're moving into the city today."

"What."

She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her gunky eyes. Sure enough, Satsuki and the Toad were preparing for battle, the garage filled with the sounds of sharpening blades and rattling ammunition. She made her way to what was almost food and began picking at what Gamagoori thought were fried eggs. Ugh, needed ketchup. Two cups of coffee later and she almost felt like a regular human.

"I thought you told the monkey that we weren't moving until the last day."

"I lied. Ryuko has several devoted lieutenants and followers we're going to remove. We'll be splitting up and embarking on eliminating three targets each day. Your orders are under your mug."

She was amazed that they'd found enough material to cover the Toad up again, as the three Life Fibre Hunters stepped out the train carriage, shielding themselves from prying eyes under travelling cloaks. It was just as well the train was automated, as no human would went keep it running in these conditions. From here, Honnouji looked as though it was burning, the light from a thousand battles rippling around it and a multitude of cries filling the air over the moat. Satsuki's hand went to Bakuzan-Prime.

"We'll see each other to the front gates, but after that we'll operate solo until the seventh day. We'll meet up in Honnouji courtyard, where the Sudden Death Runoff will take place."

"And if we're dead by then?"

"Nonon, I have the utmost faith that you'll survive. But if not, we'll raise sake in your honour when our mission is complete."

"Satsuki, you really need to work on how you assure people."

"Really? I consider that a great honour."

"That's because you're a toad, Toad. Having someone step on you makes your day, so you'll probably die with a smile on your face and a ragin- hmph!"

Satsuki could only be left to wonder what Gamagoori would die with as he smothered Nonon's mouth to keep her quiet, blushing as she'd never seen before.

DAY TWO

This was different. Normally they would have seen at least one bandit or otherwise by this point. But a whole day had passed, and while the rest of the Academy had gone about its usual fighting, the Safe Zone had yet to see any action. And Mako didn't like it, and so she patrolled the walls relentlessly, going around again and again and again and again and-

"Lady Mankanshoku."

A One-Star stood before her, a mug of hot chocolate prepared with extra cream and marshmallows. She took it gratefully and sent him on his way. It wasn't her right to separate students from their families. If it was up to her, she would be alone on these walls, but even her pleas couldn't stop volunteers from taking guard, aiming down with bows and arrows provided by Ryuko, the red strings glinting even in the darkness. Still, she had to admire that desire to protect, the trust they'd put in her to look after them being repaid both ways. And so she would continue to watch the walls, even though her back ached from Ryuko's punishment and her eyes began to droop. Still, even her tired eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the purple aura just below the peak of Honnouji, where she knew the mansion under her name would be a wild hive of the rich and famous. Her family had their own way of holing up and helping people during the Naturals Elections. Mako sighed, a long column of white breath escaping into the night. She wished that she could still call them her family. She could still remember the way her mother had looked down on her when she'd been down about her new position, the coldness of her father as he went out day after day without so much as a word, and how her brother had screamed at her when she'd told them about her plans. How quick they'd been to boast her achievements when the Safe Zone had begun to collect the gaze of their upper class fellows. She shook her head out to clear away the bad thoughts. Her family had left her, and she'd left them. She didn't need the friends inside her head anymore, because Ryuko and her friends in the Safe Zone would support her. She drained the last of her mug, and went back to patrols.

DAY THREE

Uzu missed when the Naturals Elections had been fun. Not that rampant murder was his thing, but the thrill of being on the other side, with opponents trying to slaughter you? His blood used to sing as he threw himself into mobs a hundred strong, or battled every Two-Star at once. But now his uniform was an even hotter prize than every gift the Safe Zone hid away, and the mobs and Two-Stars threw themselves at him instead, even to the point of attacking his house. Fools. He had worked for years to withstand the pressure of the fourth star on his chest, and they thought they could simply slip on the sleeves and become a badass in two easy steps? Impossible, and annoying. None of them were stronger, so none of them provided a challenge. There was no challenge, so it wasn't fun. There were only four humans stronger than him now, and three of them couldn't even be labelled as human to begin with. Still, even knowing that, he couldn't stop fighting. Satsuki had defeated him with a cheap trick and had yet to show him her true skill, and Ryuko could tear him apart without even trying, and the gap wasn't closing quickly enough for his liking. But he had found a happy medium for the time being. His favourite shopkeeper had informed him that he'd have to close down if his place got wrecked again, and so Uzu had made a deal. A bodyguard in exchange for a discount. Both parties of arseholes attacked one place, Uzu wrecked them in return, and he got to train, even just a little. Victory might have been boring and defeat stung like nothing else, but he'd find a way. He always did.

DAY FOUR

Despite the magnificent trappings of her Three-Star abode, Maiko still appreciated the simple things in life. She waited on her dinner for just long enough to offer up a prayer before tearing open her instant ramen and tucking in. Honnouji Academy tore itself apart on twelve different monitors, a thirteenth providing the sole insight into Ryuko's current housing at the peak of the island. Maybe today she'd be able to maneuver the spider-camera into her private quarters and dig up some real dirt. The Naturals Elections had long since served their purpose for her, and had gone from being a monthly nightmare to a bothersome chore. Even with her ambitions, there was no way for her to match Ryuko in a straight fight, and she was simply too strong to bother with the riffraff. Which left her in a choking middle zone, unable to obtain the titles of her dreams, and plain refusing to re-join the faceless rabble. So she did what she did best, and hid away to plot and plan. Ryuko could not be displaced by force, but if she could find something so shocking that the masses rose up to displace her as one, even she could be removed from her lofty perch and replaced. Unearthing the emotional weak point would be a start, but it wouldn't hurt to have a tidal wave of slander and sleaze to back her up when she made to take the throne. Maiko took one last look at the chaos on the monitors and a snorted as Uzu Sanageyama defended a corner shop for the fourth day in a row, for reasons far beyond her. Such petty concerns, such worthless dreams. You had to reach for the highest peak, or else why even bother to climb the mountain? One day, they'd all be under her completely, and they would pray for a world in which they could think to challenge her with their flailing hands and savagery.

DAY FIVE

"How are things going?"

"As well as can be expected. I'm lying low as usual. Our unhappy sniper is off doing his usual thing."

"Hunting Satsuki? Even with his implants…"

"I know, I told him. Damned fool never listens to me."

"And the other sister?"

"Operation Bump and Grind is ready Doctor. Either way this turns out, Ryuko Kiryuin won't be on the throne of Honnouji when this ends."

DAY SIX

Ryuko was bored. Bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored B-O-R-E-D fucking bored. She was so bored that the word bored had stopped looking like a word and more an infinite gateway that was sucking out her soul. She should be down there, engaging in glorious combat. Instead she was visiting a room she'd never stepped foot in before. After all, she had no business with clothes of a lessor calibre, even if they were fashioned from Life Fibers. But she'd already done everything else to amuse herself (Games, movies, book burning, training, locking herself in her bedroom with nothing but a few select toys and a picture of Mako), and when all of that failed to please, she'd been hit with a surge of wanderlust. So now she was going around, searching for any room she hadn't stepped foot in before. Of course, that was no reason for the tailor to look so nervous.

"Lady Kiryuin. To what do I hold the pleasure?"

She just walked past him, looking out at the masses and masses of uniforms. The fibers lay dormant, but she could still feel their strength, their voices calling out to her. Wear us, take us, use us. We need to be free. There was a sudden tightening on her ribs, and Junketsu's eyes narrowed at the assembly lines.

"Someone's jealous."

"Yes, we are. Now let's go. These shadows are to us what humanity is to you. They may even be creating resistance in the humans that wear them. We don't understand why you continue to support them."

"Eh, it's all a bit of fun. Not like it matters in the end really."

"If you say so. Can we go?"

"Sure. We've got another ten rooms to hunt down today. I don't know what a library is, but it sounds flammable."

She left without a word to the other human in the room. As the door locked behind her Shiro Iori leant back on his desk, and sweated out the minutes. Only when five had passed and the hairs on his neck had flattened down did he knock twice on the plastic. The silence was replaced by disgruntled complaining as Houka Inumuta immerged from underneath, his laptop pressed to his chest. Shiro breathed deep into his mask, trying to clear the fear from his throat.

"That girl is insane."

"Worse. She's bored. Come on, we don't have much time to spare."

As he fixed his glasses and opened the lid of his instrument of rebellion, Houka couldn't shift the sickly feeling from his stomach. One way or another, it was likely that this was going to be the last Naturals Election. Not that he didn't have faith in Satsuki Kiryuin, but her long absence had put a chill in his bones that his usual apathy couldn't subdue.

"Shiro."

"Hmm?"

"If Satsuki fails, do we have enough contingency plans?"

"We have enough, but I wouldn't say that any of them are good, seeing as we wouldn't survive most of them. But even then, better dead than thread, huh?"

There was a moment of silence, followed by the resigned application of hand to face and a heavy sigh.

DAY SEVEN

Satsuki waited alone, which was to be expected. She'd turned up to the location an hour ahead of time after all. The note had requested it. She'd caught the feeling of being watched after the third hour inside Honnouji, and it had followed her all the way up to this point. There was a glint of sun in her eyes, and she drew her sword.

The bullet came away in two, the shards hitting the building behind her. This was of no concern to her, already moving towards the sniper's location. Five more shots followed as she made her way up the road, and all five deflected. The building was trapped of course, a labyrinth of mines and tripwires that erupted all around her as she ran through them, protected by her sleeves as she made her way up. The stairs fell away under her, but she leapt higher to clear them. Each floor was steely death, but no amount of reanimated animals and robotics could dull her blade as she hacked through them. Finally she made it to the roof, only to find it bare. She walked to the edge, and looked down to see her challenger waving a remote at her.

The building exploded seconds after she leapt onto its neighbour. That too went up in flames, and the next two after that as she descended into an alleyway lined with bear traps. He was waiting for her where she'd started. The man was smothered in black combat gear, save for the red crest of his mohawk and what little tanned skin he showed. Steely eyes ran her down as she approached.

"Better luck next time."

"Hmph. Luck seems to be all we have against you Kiryuins these days."

NUDIST AGENT – TSUMUGU KINAGASE

"Should I take this as a serious assassination attempt then, or a mere stab at avenging wounded pride?"

"Take it how you will. It makes no difference to me."

He made the first move, claws flicking out to jab at her side. Quick bursts of speed and skill, designed to wear her down and keep him out of her range. But not good enough, not quick enough even as she weathered sewing machine gun rounds and locked Bakuzan-Prime's blade into place between his fingers. He might have even been strong enough to lodge her, had he not had to leap away to avoid the roaring laser beam crying Hallelujah. But that left him between Satsuki and a hard place, Ira cracking his knuckles as he barred the way out.

"If this is the best Nudist Beach has to offer, then my claim still stands. The Rending Scissors should be handed to someone who can actually make use of them."

"If that is still how you think, then I'm afraid I've got two pieces of information for you. One, a Kiryuin will be dead by the end of today. Two, a Nudist always hides something up his sleeve."

He'd vanished into the white smoke before the trio could make a move. But his eyes were off Satsuki, and that good enough for her as Ira grumbled and Nonon outright complained about Nudists.

"I trust everything has been taken care of?"

"Of course."

"Everyone on my list is out. Guess that means we're heading to the big time, huh?"

Honnouji's peak blared the time out across the city in large red numbers. Get there by twelve or lose your chance. Even now, students and thugs lined the streets, fighting for their lives with each step they struggled towards the top. They had three hours to spare and an entire city out for their blood each step of the way. Three hours until they would be fighting for their rightful places. Three hours to either save or damn the world. Satsuki's hand tightened on Bakuzan-Prime. She would not fail. Not now nor from one moment on. Nudists and COVERS alike could come for her, but she would make right by the day's end.

"Quite the uphill climb. Shall we get started?"