"Why did you brought them here?" Mikisugi asked.

Daniel sighed heavily. He had pinched Ryuko between her shoulder and her neck, sending her unconscious, doing the same with Mako. Since she was too much hyperactive, he had to pinch her a couple of times during the trip, but that wasn't the point.

"Just give me a break, Mikisugi. I thought it was for the best." Daniel answered. Ryuko was laying on the couch, while Mako was on the armchair, and both girls were still unconscious.

"I would gladly do it, Daniel… But with this, your cover…" Mikisugi started.

"If it means that I will be able to take care of her, then I don't care anymore about my cover." Daniel said interrupting him. He then took a small kit with some medical supplies and took care of some bruises Ryuko got when the guys back there were shooting to Gamagoori and his car.

Mikisugi sighed and crossed his arms. "Oh well… Whatever you say…" He then went to his kitchen and took his small bottle of sake. "What are you going to do then? You finally finished your researches."

"Ryuko's health is more important for now." He answered putting away his medical supplies. "That can wait. A couple of days more won't change the final outcome."

"Man you are seriously acting strange." Mikisugi replied. He then took a sip from his bottle. "Like I said before… Whatever you say." He then went to his bedroom and sat on the bed. Since he left the door open, he could see Daniel without problems.

Meanwhile, Daniel sat on the floor near the couch, laying his back against the it. He turned his head to the right and watched Ryuko peacefully asleep. He smiled, glad that she didn't get injured seriously. Without taking his eyes off from her, he then raised his left arm a little, twisting his wrist so that his palm was facing the ceiling. After a couple of seconds, Mikisugi's bottle landed on it. He took a sip from it, closed it and threw it back at Mikisugi, who caught it without problems.

"What are you thinking, Daniel?" Mikisugi asked. However, before Daniel could answer, someone woke up.

"RYUKO!" Mako called out loudly.

Both Daniel and Mikisugi froze in place. The former slowly turned his head to face the other girl and saw that Mako already disappeared. Blinking a few times, he turned to face Ryuko again and he saw that Mako was about to slap her on her cheek. Daniel quickly caught her arm mid-air and, when the girl looked back at him, he sighed a little.

"Mako, please, calm down." He said.

"EEEHHH?" Mako shouted out shocked. "You are the one that brought us in his car!" She said. "How do you know my name? Where are we?" The girl was screaming so much that Daniel wondered on how Ryuko could still be asleep. He then placed his right hand on Mako's head and the girl stopped screaming, sitting down on the floor.

"There is a lot that need to be explained." Daniel said. "I will tell you everything if you promise me to stay quiet for a while."

Mako nodded lightly and Daniel started his explanation. He told her what happened since he became Isshin's Matoi bodyguard to the present. He avoided telling her that he was an hybrid between human and life fiber however.

He told her about Isshin's death. How he felt guilty for that. How he helped Ryuko whenever she needed it. How they talked togheter with some messages and how he needed to stay in the shadows, since it was Isshin's last order. The more he spoke, however, and the more feelings resurfaced. He told her everything, from that day until now. He didn't know why he explained her everything. But didn't want to know. He always trusted his instincts and he felt that it was necessary for Mako to know.

"Ryuko said that the scooter run out of gas, so I told her to wait for me… Then I saw that you two were hiding behind the car, trying to avoid the guns, so I just jumped in and brought you here." He said at the end.

Mako stood thoughtful for a moment. "There's one thing I didn't understand…" She paused. "Are you Daniel or Ted?"

"I'M DANIEL, DAMMIT MIKISUGI!" He answered shouting, while the other man tried his best to hold back his laughs but in avail.

"Daniel…" Mako started with one of her hallelujah moments. "I think that Ryuko will be glad to meet you. I always saw her checking her phone and smiling, sending some messages and then hiding it whenever I got close. She didn't want me to see them, but I always knew that she was talking with someone special that was making her happy, so I never questioned her. If you really are that person, you should show yourself! Don't worry about your promise to her father! You promised him to keep her safe and you did it until now! I think that he wouldn't have any problem if he was still alive!"

Mikisugi smiled a little, taking a sip from his bottle. "Scolded by an high school girl… And she managed to slap some sense inside him… Mako, you certainly are a strange girl…"

Daniel stood there, thinking about what she said. She was right afterall, but he felt that it wasn't time still. "I see…" he said. "I will think about this… Thank you, Mako."

"Don't worry…" Mako said waving her hand in front of her huge smile. "You are not that different from Ryuko afterall… Both of you just need someone cheering you up sometimes."

Daniel smiled. "You're right." He then turned his head to face Ryuko again. "Please, don't tell her about what happened here… I want to talk to her myself."

"Got it!" Mako said reassuring him.

He sighed in relief and smiled. "If I'm correct, there will be the final match of the Natural election in less than a week, right? I will come to see her fighting."

"Good!" Mako stated. Then, Daniel stood up and lifted Ryuko bride style, going outside. Mako followed him and saw that he was placing her friend in the front sit of Mikisugi's car, the same with which he brought them back.

"I will give you a lift back home." He said.

And so he did. Once he reached his destination, Mako took Ryuko with her and waved goodbye to Daniel. She waited a little for him to leave, then she tried to wake Ryuko up.

….

These remaining six days passed by in a blink of an eye. Ryuko and Daniel exchanged some messages about their days, in which she was enjoying some good and deserved rest, while he kept studying everything was necessary for his plan. Of course, he kept a close watch on Ryuko, reducing the time he could spent with Mikisugi, but he didn't care: His priority was her health, as he said the day before.

Ryuko asked him about the evening in which she and Gamagoori were attacked, but he just said that he had a problem and he couldn't come, so he asked Mikisugi to give her a lift. He also told her that she was angry, since Mikisugi sent Ted and since he used such a drastic measure, and Ryuko agreed with him. Of course, Ted rescued her, but was it really necessary to send her unconscious?

However, Ryuko was standing in the middle of the school courtyard, half-listening to Satsuki's speech, while Daniel was standing on the outer wall, midway between the school itself and the huge gate. Mikisugi stood at his side, and both were keeping an eye on Ryuko, while five pillars suddenly rose from the ground, as well as a large arena.

"Satsuki really surprised me this time." Mikisugi said. "She carefully planned everything, didn't she?"

"…"

"What's wrong Daniel?" Mikisugi said seeing that he was a little nervous. "Are you worried?"

"Yeah." He answered. "I keep having this strange feeling…"

"Well…" Mikisugi said. "I will go and exchange a final word with Ryuko. I will ask her to quit this. Do you have something to tell her?"

"Just tell her to be careful…" Daniel answered after a while. He wanted to tell her that he was here, watching the match, but he feared that it would have distracted her. Mikisugi then nodded and left, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

"I will be damned if something happens to you, Ryuko…" He thought.

….

As the match started, Ryuko founded herself in trouble. Every here and there, Daniel wanted to jump in the fight and help her, already unsheating his sword, but Mikisugi always raised an arm in front of him, telling him to wait. When Senketsu transformed back in a uniform and Ryuko was captured by Gamagoori's one, Daniel almost shoved away Mikisugi. He was about to jump when Gamagoori's screams stopped him halftrack. He then saw that Ryuko tore his uniform apart from the inside and finished him with her scissor blade.

"Good job." He simply stated sighing in relief.

"Man, you really are on the edge, aren't you?" Mikisugi asked. "Don't you trust her?"

"I trust her enough." Daniel answered. "But I already told you. My priority is her health. If she get too much in trouble, I will jump in, no matter what." He then went back to his position and resumed watching the match, as Ryuko's next opponent was Inumuta.

Ryuko had some trouble with him too, but she managed to handle him faster than Gamagoori. Probably because he was more focused on collecting data than fighting.

"Did he seriously retired from the match?" Mikisugi muttered. However, hidden by this behavior, he was seriously thoughtful about Ryuko. She developed a new form for Senketsu in the first fight. Now she learned to control Senketsu's life fibers. She was developing fast. Too fast.

"Can you excuse me? I have to call someone." Mikisugi said heading towards his class.

Daniel didn't pay any attention. He was too focused on Ryuko, who was starting her fight with Jakuzure. She seemed in trouble once again, since Jakuzure was flying, destroying the arena, but Ryuko quickly developed a new form which allowed her to fly too.

"Ryuko…" Daniel thought. "I seriously don't know… Should I be happy seeing how you grew up… Or worried… For how fast you are evolving?"

Ryuko tried to reach Satsuki, but Jakuzure just collided with her sending her away. They then resumed fighting and eventually Ryuko managed to ground her. With one mighty blow, then, she sent her off the arena.

"And this is done." Daniel thought while Mikisugi went back.

"What happened?" He asked as if he didn't see this match.

"Well…" Daniel started, but all the one star students watching the match stood up and clapped their hands all togheter, stopping him half sentence.

"What's happening?" Mikisugi said. "Why are they asking… For another show?... What the hell?"

Daniel immediately turned towards the arena, anger and concern in his eyes: Jakuzure was standing once again in the arena, wearing a different uniform.

"Man… She seriously is a stubborn girl." Mikisugi stated. Daniel just stood there, however, with his arms crossed, tightening his hands on his arms. When Jakuzure took out a cannon from her hat, he quickly unsheated his sword and went towards the edge of the wall. He was once again about to jump when Mikisugi caught him from his left arm.

"Let me go!" Daniel shouted. However, Mikisugi shook his head and pointed with his right hand towards the match. Daniel turned his face and he saw that Ryuko was deflecting Jakuzure's attacks. He freed his arm from Mikisugi's grasp, but he kept his sword unsheated.

"Calm down, Daniel." Mikisugi said with a serious tone. "You are too nervous. Calm down."

"You know I can't." Daniel said. Facing the arena once again, he saw that Ryuko quickly dispatched Jakuzure and that she was about to fight Sanageyama. The two opponents dashed towards each other, but mere inches before they could clash their swords, a girl appeared between them.

She had long blond hair in two ponytails behind her. She was wearing a pink dress, with pink boots and she had a pink umbrella in her right hand. When she turned to face Ryuko, Daniel saw that she had an eyepatch on her left eye.

Daniel immediately clenched his fist. "Who the fuck is she?" He asked while he saw that the strange girl destroyed Sanageyama's uniform and sent him off the arena with just one blow.

"Well…" Mikisugi muttered. "I…"

"Mikisugi!" Daniel shouted turning to face him. "Who the fuck is that girl?"

"She is Harime Nui…" Mikisugi started. However he stopped halftrack. Daniel sensed something was wrong, so he turned to face the arena once again and he froze in place. His hair on the back of his head slowly stood up for the huge amount of rage and electricity that were surging in his body.

Nui was in front of Ryuko with the other half of the scissor blade in her hand.

"Daniel…" Mikisugi called out weakly. "Don't…"

"Harime Nui…" Daniel said interrupting him. "All this time… All these data… My plan to find the killer…" He was trembling for the amount of force he put in his hands, one holding his sword and the other clenched.

"Daniel…" Mikisugi called again. "I don't think…"

"Shut up!" He shouted again, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword even more. "She killed Isshin Matoi… She is the one I was looking for! I won't hold back!" He then readied his sword and jumped in the arena "Get ready! Harime!" His katana clashed against Nui's scissor blade and she looked surprised, as well as Ryuko.

"And who should you be?" Nui asked trying to push onward. However, Daniel stood his ground, much to her surprise. His eyes were filled with anger and fury strong enough that Nui seriously thought about not underestimating him.

"Ted?" Ryuko called out. She had two type of emotions on her face: Anger and surprise.

"I'M NOT TED, DAMNED MIKISUGI!" Daniel replied.

Nui giggled a little. "I don't care who you are. I don't have any business with you." She then twisted her blade, trying to push him away. Daniel saw this, tightened his grip and counterattacked, forcing Nui to jump backwards.

"You surely have business with me, bitch!" Daniel said. "You killed Isshin Matoi!"

"What… How do you know my father?" Ryuko asked shocked. "And for the records, whoever you are, stand aside! I'm the one who is going to kill this bitch!" She added returning to the angered self.

Daniel slowly raised his left hand, bringing it to his right shoulder. "Ryuko… I know your father…" He then took his cape off. "Because I was his bodyguard… Ryuko… I'm Daniel…"

While Ryuko's eyes widened in surprise, he slowly placed his fingers on a strange small circular button implanted in his right shoulder. A small symbol was printed on it: Both scissor blades, one close to the other, with both hilts in the upper part.

"First inhibitor… Strenght… Disabled…"