6th Period (2nd Floor Hall, 14:26)

"But damn," said Shōto from his seat. "I still can't believe they got this far."

Tsukasa said...nothing.

(Hmph.)

Just a chuckle. A minor chuckle.

"You sure you don't want me to take 'em, Tsu? It'll make you look a little better that you don't gotta fight 'em. What if word gets out that one of the Hiiragi's had to personally take on some scrubs from some no-name school? It'd make us look like shit—Rin'd come over and clean shop for sure if she found out. I'll take that L for all of us. Heh."

Tsukasa kept her eyes on the crowd. And for sure, on Yūsuke and Takashi.

But she satisfied him with an answer.

"One:

Fuck Rin.

And two: no thanks. I'm not pressed here. And they won't push me—I can already tell. I'm just interested in seeing how much farther they can go."

'Satisfied him with an answer.'

That was pretty much all he wanted. And his smirk made that pretty evident. But still...

"Hmph..."

(Whatever. I still woulda liked to get a crack at 'em, though. Even more if she's not serious. She gets all the damn good fights.)

"Now that that's outta the way..." the girl started...

(Hey...)

...to Shōto's disappointment...

"...which one of you's going first? Not that it really matters. You can both charge me for all I care."

Renji pressed his lips together. To see Tsukasa in action...it was a rare treat. Femme fatales like this weren't that common. Most of the girls in this gang besides Misao and the twins might as well have been part-timers to him: simple lasses that played gangster before going to their club meets or starting up on their homework.

Then again, he was damned good himself. But someone—some girl—that could kick his ass: now that was something.

And of course, Yūsuke started to wonder too...just how much Tsukasa was trying earlier. She hadn't really broken a sweat, yet she'd already...

(...she already took out Kyō and Haru...

...I should probably get a cosign from Takashi before going in.)

He looked over. And Takashi felt his stare.

They nodded.

"Here it comes." Konata whispered to herself.

Suddenly, a hand tapped her left shoulder from behind. She spun around, bumping into a few fellow students who grouchily glared as they inched out the idiot's way.

"Huh?"

Renji smiled.

"You really wanna see the bro get his ass kicked, huh?"

"Yeah..." she muttered, turning back around. "...whatever..."

He chuckled.

"Great minds think alike."

And some in the crowd around them found themselves agreeing. She couldn't help but blush as they broke in right after her.

"Damn right they do! They're gonna die!"

Those gangsters stood out alright. They sounded like savages.

"Kill 'em, Tsukasa!"

"Fuck 'em up!"

"Hey! Knock his head off!"

"Come ONNN!"

"Take him out!"

"YEAAHHHH!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

Whoever wasn't readily calling for Yūsuke and Takashi to die was totally silent. Understandably: They didn't want to risk getting their own faces smashed in, being that most of the kids cheering against the two were in the Hiiragi gang.

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

At any rate, the Norizama transfers looked back at Tsukasa. But even still, Takashi couldn't hide his anger.

"Noisy pricks! Let's seem y'all come up here and fight!"

"Don't mind them." the lieutenant told him. "They didn't try to take over. Your fight's with me, not them. But I bet you realize you were in over your head now, don't you?"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"Hmph." she smirked. "Bet you wish you never came here too."

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"This late, yeah." Yūsuke sighed. "We should've killed you long ago."

"TWO MORE TO GO!"

"TWO MORE TO GOOOOOOOOO!"

"KILL THOSE MOTHERFUCKERRSSSSSS!"

"Then come on; you hear the crowd. I'm not waiting all day, and neither are they. You're already getting a head-start. Don't lose it."

(Your crowd can bite me.)

"Yeah. Sure."

Ready, Takashi?"

He nodded.

"You charge and I'm right behind you, man. Let's teach this broad."

"You know it." said the freshman.

And just like that, they rushed into her. Yūsuke in front, Takashi at his side.

Tsukasa talked pretty confident, but she hopped back a couple steps as they ran, throwing punches. As a savateuse, she needed to keep her distance to throw her best kicks. But even as she backed up, she seemed to be validating her earlier words: as in, she didn't seem pressured at all.

Whenever he got the chance, Yūsuke replied with fist after fist, hot on her heels. He got as close as he could, stepping back every time her speedy shoes shot up in defense. He was like water, weaving in to throw his straights and crosses, then stepping back and ducking quickly out of her range. Her legs were longer than his arms, sure—but she couldn't out-counter him. And to the right, Takashi was kicking hard and right—before he got an idea.

(I'll get further down and cut her off.)

He glanced at Yūsuke—and their sure eyes said it all. Obviously, the pair's teamwork was a bit more than refined. Yūsuke smiled too as he struck at her harder and harder: Tsukasa didn't seem to know his plan, and he was going to make sure she didn't get the chance. He sent a right fist at her, and she was too close to back away, but...she turned to the side. And his hand went right past her.

(Pitiful.)

She set up her cuff...

...

...but before she could counter, the sound of metal and wood screeched along the ground. And right as she looked over her shoulder, there Takashi was with his old faithful: a straight roundhouse from virtually behind the girl hit perfectly. The hard sole of his black school shoes cut into her left shoulder. It threw her off her feet and made her stumble forward.

"Ngh!"

Forward, right into Yūsuke's welcome fist. His knuckles crushed against her lips—

"Damn, Tsukasa...what're you..."

—and everyone in the crowd gasped as she flew back, with Takashi kicking her one last time into the cluster of jumbled desks. The girl fell through some of the desks and plastic chairs, aching a scream when her back broke through a few on the way down.

And then...she lay still. No one said a word. Even the students that wanted Tsukasa down—the majority of them—were silent. But no one was silent out of fear. The kids weren't thinking about the thugs, and the thugs weren't thinking about fighting the transfer students.

They were all just...astonished at what had happened.

Yūsuke looked down to see the girl gritting in pain with her lip bleeding and wincing eyes nearly shut in pain as she moved her left hand from over her mouth. She barely moved, faintly writhing back and forth among the broken wooden boards she'd smashed as she dropped.

(...guess that's it then.)

"Huh." Takashi scoffed. "Weakass thing."

Now, he turned to Shōto. The boy at this point was standing up at his seat, looking over at Tsukasa...the sheer shock burned his eyes wide and mouth open. He didn't know what to say.

But the transfer turned to look at him, then. He wasn't even smiling, but he sounded more confident than ever before. No doubt, he was feeling the rush from knocking out Kagami's little sister...

And, "You're next." he said.

(Shit, these guys aren't playing around. I really shoulda...)

...

"Actually..."

"Ah—!" / "Wha—!" / "Huh—?!"

...

...but that rush ended pretty quickly. He—and everyone looked back over.

She was still on the ground, amidst a couple broken scraps and shards of collapsed desks. But not a problem: she wormed her left hand back against the wood, swung up her legs, and hopped up, once again going straight into her savate stance. Left foot slightly forward. Right hand guarding her face; her left at her chest. A sturdy southpaw, ready for round two. The only injury any of them could notice was the slight smear of blood on the left corner of her lip, but it seemed she wasn't bleeding anymore.

"...if I didn't ride your punch, Yūsuke, that'd probably be true. But I'm still here, so guess what?

You two aren't going anywhere. You're back at square one."

...

Well, if it was round two...

"Gggrrr. Fine by ME."

...Takashi was sure as hell ready.

"Or rather...you're a little bit worse off than you were when you started. 'Cause now I'm gonna try."

"You think we give a fuck?!"

(I should still probably keep the padding on, though.) she thought, shaking her head. (I can't believe I let my guard down like that. I'm an idiot. Making us all look bad...

...but whatever. I'll make up for it now.)

"She's not talking, Yūsuke. Wanna rush her again...?"

...

Yūsuke put down his guard. Under the spray of sunny dust glinting through the windows, his gelled-black cut seemed to glisten to the crowd. A stylish and confident compliment to his steady pose.

But the dull, dour look in his eyes never changed.

Perhaps things weren't so...

...

"...nah. Hold on a sec."

(...what?)

Though the teen definitely noticed that look of confusion on his junior's face...he knew something stranger was up with that girl across from him.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked. "You look pretty pissed, but what...you're just gonna wait for us to attack again? I know you're a girl, but don't you have any balls of your own?"

"Not like there's any difference with this bitch."

"Come on. I know you're not tryin' to just stand there..."

...

Still, Tsukasa said nothing. For what felt like ages, she merely stared at the two. Despite their front, even after they'd gotten the better of her, it was honestly a bit unnerving.

...

(...first this school.

...then the South.

Then the North.

If we can get Japan closed up, we'll be able to...

...but even though we're the biggest school in central Japan, that's just Kantō and some of Chūbu. Kluya's still got the South, and...

...we've got a lotta work to do. There's no time to waste with rebels like these...)

"She's not gonna say anything, Yūsuke."

(Must be thinking about somethin' deep again.) Shōto wondered. (Just hope she's not daydreaming. If they go at her again and she's not ready...fuck it, Imma jump in. Not gonna get my ass beat by Kagami over this dumbass shit.)

But at last, she spoke.

"Sorry."

Takashi scoffed.

"'Sorry' my ass—"

"But you're not going to find this an exciting fight. I'll have to finish you in short order."

...

...by now, he was fuming up. She'd just got knocked flat on her back, and they could've been stomping her out the entire time. She was lucky he'd turned his attention to that other guy, and now she was trying to act all hard, mouthing off like nothing had happened. Like she was actually screwing around to start.

Yeah right.

He'd never buy that trash. Not for a second.

"Then bring your ass over here."

(Calm down, Takashi...) Yūsuke thought. But he didn't want to say it: partially because he felt that anger was going to help him. At least, he hoped it would. If Takashi blew up too much, though...he was going to make some...grave mistakes.

"Fine. Just remember: you only get one chance."

"Shut the fuck up and come on!"

Tsukasa chuckled a moment and closed her eyes.

(Well, he's right about one thing...I really am wasting time...)

And when the two came back into view...

...

"Yeah."

...

...she did just that. Right away, she sprung off her left foot, throwing a straight left at Takashi—

—but as soon as he brought out his arm to guard...she was crouching in front of him!

"Ah—"

(Not so fast!)

But Yūsuke to the rescue. He jumped right beside the pair and launched a right leg to cover his friend.

"Tch!"

The girl saw it coming just in time, but she had to get up and jump back, barely getting away from the hook a furious Takashi threw when he recovered.

He wasn't having that, though. He ran straight at her, his deep glare piercing her stone expression. There wasn't any time to react.

All of a sudden, then and there, left and right and left and left and right, the kid swung crazily, utterly screwing his taekwondo form for wild boxing. He aimed at her head, her chest and stomach, her neck and arms, forcing her to guard blow after furious blow. Each and every punch seemed frantic, but they were all sharp, and they all would've smashed their mark if she was a split-second slower.

Everyone had stopped whispering. Again, they were watching silently. They were stunned. Konata didn't begin to notice her lips parted in surprise, and Renji couldn't help but frown hard at the sight before him: Tsukasa grimaced and grunted, springing left and ducking right, struggling to weave in and out of his frenzied punches. He was way faster than she'd thought. Even Yūsuke was taken aback.

(...damn.)

"...go Takashi..."

And he didn't show any signs of stopping. Tsukasa was in quite a fix. She'd fucked up alright.

"Go DOWN—"

...

...

...

...well...

...he went.

Straight into the wall behind Shōto. His limp body cracked the plaster, breaking into the blackened lime mold underneath. He slumped down a second later, and like a sticker, peeled off the wall, slamming face first on the ground.

...

...

...

7th Period (2nd Floor Hall, 14:30)

*DING DONG!*

...

*DING DONG!*

...

*DING DONG!*

...

*DING DONG!*

...

*DING DONG!*

...

*DING DONG!*

...

*DING DONG!*

...

*DING DONG!*

...

...total silence.

An air of total silence had swept throughout the hall. Those in the middle of the crowd stood completely still. The students on the staircases didn't even whisper. And Class 2-C could only look on in awe.

Somehow, as that quiet wave hit, everyone from near the doorway to those on the other floors had gotten the message.

Someone else had died.

And it wasn't Tsukasa.

...

Yūsuke couldn't move. He could hardly believe what he saw. But he definitely didn't want to.

Meanwhile, Shōto wasn't too sure Tsukasa was...approachable right now. As he slumped back in his seat, he draped his gleaming brown eyes over the lieutenant, awed entirely by her force.

(Geez. She looked pretty pissed off with that one.)

With a kick like that, she was already sending a message to him, Yūsuke—everyone in here: do not make her angry.

In other words, don't say the wrong thing to her or she might blow up. And to be honest, he wasn't so sure he could do that. Annoying her...was his style.

...

...a second passed...

...

(Well, I'm not stupid.) he thought as he got up and neared Takashi. Or rather, what was left of him. (Hell if I'm gonna end up like this...)

"Don't bother with him." she said. "He's dead."

(*sigh*

So, this is how we're gonna end the day. I'd hoped these guys would be different.)

"I know, I'm just...

...check...

...

...ing."

The boy's head...was rolled over. Bent back so far, it looked as though even his spinal cord had snapped. A bloody print from her kick had left a fair-sized dent below his left ear. The skin was pulled back, and the black marks from her boots dug into the flood of red bruising around the swollen wound.

Of course, his eyes were rolled back as well. Rolled back completely. By the light bleeding at the back of his head, it was clear he had a concussion. But Takashi wasn't breathing either for sure.

The sight was...just surreal. Even as Shōto stared on, he found it hard to swallow. Figuratively speaking—but it was pretty damned uncomfortable as well.

"What's...with you and snapping fools' necks? Is that your favorite move or some shit?"

"Yeah, whatever. I just did what was easiest. His friend, I guess, is a little smarter about the rules of fighting a savateur, isn't he?"

Yūsuke said nothing. He merely gulped as he saw Shōto turn from inspecting his friend's body. From the sound of things, even that punk was appalled...but then, Shōto's smirking killed that budding thought.

He didn't know how to respond. Whether to respond. That one kick had changed everything. Kyō's death...Haru's death...those were terrible. Disgusting. He wanted to avenge them so badly, maybe even more than Takashi did...

...

...but now...Takashi too.

...and he had to just stand there and listen to this girl brag...?

...

(...this...)

...

His gaze fell.

"Rule #1: If you're going to throw punches, make them count." said the teen. "Heh: Savate is still boxing.

And Rule #2...well...

...keep your distance. Obviously. But Takashi here learned that the hard way. I'm glad you're 'a little bit smarter' than him, Yūsuke...

...even though you're still an idiot for not accepting my offer."

...

"...I guess you know it's time. If you're sad...it's your own fault, you know."

He looked up. His gaze unwavering.

(...this isn't...gonna work out.)

*sigh*

"Right. I know—"

Tsukasa was in front of him. A left punch, and the boy, too shocked to gasp, impulsively hopped back into the group of kids in the hallway. They all ran out of the way—

"Ahhh!

"MOVE!"

"Hey! What're—"

—some pushing away others near them, shoving their ways through bystanders who were slower to react. When the lieutenant threw a swift right kick, boys and girls scrambling outta the way, Yūsuke gritted his teeth and put up his left arm, striking her leg back—and sending her into her next set: a spin into another straight right at his chest—blocked as he stepped back—and then, a third: a right roundhouse as she ducked his counter-kick.

The crowd exploded.

"Raaaaahhhh! MURDER THAT BASTARD!"

"DON'T LET 'EM LEAVE HERE!"

Her foot hit his stomach; he winced, jerking back into a group of black-clad bangers; the three men and women pushed him off and back into Tsukasa's punches, his quick reflexes tossing his head in and out of her hard fists, weaving back and forth and straining his eyes as her arms whizzed past him, the wind licking his face with every beat.

"Hm..."

(...chump's getting pushed hard, but I can't believe he's puttin' up a...well, lastin' this long...)

Renji looked down at Konata. The girl on his right was looking straight at the duo battling it out right in front of her. Yūsuke'd started throwing his own punches now, easily dodged by Tsukasa as she flowed into a flurry of furious kicks—kicks at his head, for his legs...for the crowd?

"Ah—"

(So, that's his plan!)

Meanwhile, she didn't stop. She rushed at him harder and harder, pinpointing him through the frantic crowd.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Look out!"

"Back up! BACK UP!"

"Get outta the way!"

Curiously, although Tsukasa was endangering her peers by chasing after Yūsuke in the packed hall, the latter wasn't trying to find some space. The lieutenant wasn't giving up, but this new tactic was definitely making him harder to tag.

Still, he couldn't believe Tsukasa wasn't giving up. She was muscling through like a machine, pushing aside whoever didn't have time to clear out. But all of her strikes: she waited until she was sure she had a clear shot to throw them. She didn't kick if her legs weren't clear, and she hardly punched at all.

She clearly didn't any unnecessary injuries—so, why was she still coming at Yūsuke at all? He couldn't understand her!

"You're really tryna fight me here?!"

"OH SHOOT!"

"You're damned right, coward!"

"MOVE!"

"You're crazy! The hell's your problem?!"

"What's going on?!"

Miyuki was in the back, but her friend struggled to stay focused on the two as screaming students bumped into her shoulders and back, pushing her back and forth in their panic. Not only was it hard to focus, it was hard to stand straight in the middle of this tidal wave.

But as she grunted, struggling to keep her balance, she had to admit Yūsuke's skill. Using the crowd to hinder Tsukasa was better than just a way to stall for time. And no doubt, that senior knew exactly what he was doing.

A second later, the wave stopped. The two had moved away from them. Into another group of rushing, terrified kids.

"Ngh..."

(Maybe he doesn't need me...

...

...I already screwed up anyway...)

...

She was down in her thoughts. The chaos of the crowd around her. The students yelling all around her. The growing hatred for Yūsuke all around her...

...

(...I...

...

...

...no. I still have to step in. If...in case something does happen...)

...

But all of a suddenly, she felt a hand on her left shoulder.

(Wha—!)

A big, burly hand. Less of a palm, more of a dumbbell, weighing down on her delicate joint. She felt it alright, as though she'd just now put her arm down after holding it up for an hour.

She squinted instinctively, and instinctively spun around, not caring who she budged. Everyone else was focused on the big fight anyhow.

(Who the heck—?!)

And that was when he spoke.

"I have to say, he's pretty good..."

A deep, manly voice. "More young adult" than teenager.

"Better than I hoped he'd be..."

Yet courteous all the same.

She stared up at Renji, noticing his sideward glance. Letting go of her, the slight smirk on his face seemed...almost taunting.

What—did he expect her to say something?

Other than the obvious...

(This guy...has to hit hard...)

Well, she would've reminded him that she wasn't in the Hiiragi gang, but that was probably the whole reason he was being provoking. Petty intimidation. Besides, there wasn't any time to be talking to him.

Almost scoffing, she held it in, quietly nodding and turning back around. In case something happened to Yūsuke, she had to be ready to jump in.

...though that wasn't really likely, the way things were going now...

...

(...ah—!)

There it was: they were both kicking! Low leg after low leg, their soles slamming into each other. But just then, Tsusaka brought her foot back and swung it again, hitting his shin as he did the same—

"Ugh! Not bad!" he said, kicking again at her legs. She did the same, and their feet collided over and over as they tried to take each other to the ground.

(Keh! Guess there's no turning back now...!)

"Ngghh!"

...

Tsukasa smirked: one of her feet had nipped his calf. His form was good...

...but not good enough.

The boy recoiled back up and jabbed an impulsive right out, directly at her face.

Totally off the mark. Without Takashi, it was going to be difficult; he could fight pretty evenly with her, but it didn't look like he could pin her down alone. She swung left as she skirted to the right, his arm flying past her. Fortunately for him, it was just a jab and not a wild haymaker; but he was still following through, leaning into his punch, when she rushed in at his left, just outside of his sight.

She swung right next. Right for his cheek—and he barely got out of the way, stepping off his left foot to get beside her. He wasn't quick enough, though: she spun around and threw another punch, forcing him to duck and step back. Then another kick as soon as he raised up forced him to duck again.

And like that, Yūsuke was back at the window, frozen—a left roundhouse at his side before he could begin to recover. He put up his arm and she took back her kick—then she kicked right, and he dashed to the right, in front of a spread-out mob of kids watching on.

They backed away.

(Hmph.)

This obviously wasn't a very good place to have a bout. To Tsukasa's regret, it looked like she wouldn't get any room to fight. She didn't really want to chase him into the lads and ladies, and it would've taken way too long for them to clear out anyway.

Attacking them wasn't a problem...she didn't care one way or another who else got hurt: anyone helpless shouldn't have been here in the first place. But if she did bring the fight over to him in the crowd, he could've used those students as a cover or a distraction to knock her down.

"So, you gonna keep hiding in the crowd?"

...

"Well? I thought you were a respectable guy unlike your idiot friend. What happened to all that bravado?"

"Yeah, the hell you doin'?!"

"Get in the fight!"

"BITCHASS!"

None of those really "fervent" gangsters were in his ear, but they were certainly bitching loud enough for him to hear 'em clearly.

"Hmph. Just catching my breath." he said.

She rolled her eyes and put down her arms. Her stance eased up as she heard his calm remark, not sure of whether or not he was serious—or just playing her. He wasn't smirking, and he wasn't poised to fight either, even as the swarm of hooligans behind him taunted him and jeered in his ear.

...

He stood there, apparently unready to jump back in the dance.

So then, what was he going to do? Just how long did he plan on stalling...?

"You know I'm not going to let you stand there all day."

...

"...yeah, I bet."

...

...

(...so, he does want me to fight around those kids.)

"She said FIGHT!"

"Ah—ugh!"

At that point, a brown-haired man, one of the loudest jeerers in the mix, shoved his hands into the senior, throwing him back towards Tsukasa.

There wasn't any time to look back: a quick wink of his brown eyes, right for the lieutenant, and she chuckled, knowing he'd set the guy up.

(Heh. Sometimes I forget we've got a winning team.)

"See what running gets you?!"

"Ngh! Nghhh! Nghh! Shi—!"

Her punches were swift and heavy; he could hardly keep up his hasty guard. His form was slipping up and falling apart, each block stinging as she belted and scraped his dirtied sleeves with her heavy fists and relentless rubber soles.

And he tried to find his footing. He stepped back but another student pushed him forward again, back into her swift rush of punches and punches. Knuckles stabbing him as she closed in foot by foot.

Every hit was a spiked belt, slapping and digging into his delicate school shirt. She wasn't letting up at all. And as he struggled to track her left-handed movements, with every second, the Hiiragi threw more and more force into them. Her fists hit his arms and stung his palms and burned holes his shoulders, and there wasn't any time to throw in a punch himself. They were too close to kick now: it was all boxing.

"Hey, so, what's that guy's name again?"

"I 'unno." said a black-haired girl. She adjusted her clear lenses and stared her dotty eyes on as the boy blocked and blocked and ducked, hopping right and trying to get clear view of those angry kids pushing him back into Tsukasa.

"Whoever he is, he's getting his ass beat!"

"Haha!"

"Yeah!"

"Get me?"

Now the 2-C goons were really riling up. Some of the members were stepping out the crowd and hitting him as well. Shouting in his ears every time he found himself pushed back by Tsukasa's blows, then pushing him back in the open space for more.

Pretty soon, Yūsuke found himself covering his head: it was the only way he could keep from being mauled when she started smashing his cheeks and chin. He winced as his arms were pummeled down on top of him—and Tsukasa cracked a smile, deciding to strike his legs now. Her strong boots tore through his uniform and bruised up his shins, ripping his muscles as he dropped to the cold floor.

"Aggghhhh!"

Much of the crowd loved it. The ones who weren't too horrified to speak anyhow.

"Fuck that kid up!"

"His name—I think someone said 'Yūsuke'."

"Yūsuke?" the girl repeated, waving back her flowing black locks.

(What a tough name. Too bad he's screwed now. Shoulda knocked him down by the window with the broken glass over there.)

"Yeah, it's what I heard."

Now that the kid's identity was uncovered, it didn't take long for the word to spread to every corner of the hall. Every regular was passing it around, secretly hoping he'd recover enough to turn this depressing scene around. Tsukasa should've been the one getting knocked around and shoved and pulled by everyone, not him. And there were only a hundred or so thugs in this school...

...it sucked to imagine how many of those guys shoving him weren't really with Kagami...

But the In's weren't having any of that moodiness. They were far too thrilled, rowdily cheering Tsukasa on from small blue-shaded lass peering through the regulars in front of her to the big, burly Renji, stomping his feet to the action, their excitement piercing the 1st and 3rd floors. The noisy rooting grew louder and all the more intimidating for the normal students who'd no choice now but to watch—until finally, resident "hype man" Jonī: a transfer from Narutaka High who'd just proved his merit a couple months ago, outshouted every single body there.

A fan favorite. And it wasn't too hard to see why: he brushed back his slick, blond mohawk, his black earrings twirling as the style bounced. Then, glaring sharp brown daggers straight at a cold Hiiragi, kicking Yūsuke while he was down, he flexed his tattoo'd "WE CARRY" biceps, jumped a couple times to pump up, squatted low and—the nearest gangsters and regulars watching—

"Alright FINISH him then, Tsukasa! KILL YŪSUKUNT! KILL YŪSUKUNT! KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

His newest chant was an instant hit.

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

By now, Tsukasa was standing right over Yūsuke who lay helpless on the polished hardwood, staring up at his conqueror with clenched teeth as he held his tattered legs. Through his anger, he wanted to shudder at even the thought of moving now: both his calves and hamstrings felt ripped up in several places from her kicks. Since he couldn't see as he covered his head, he took the full brunt those steel toes cutting into him. And now, the slightest movement felt like a rusted saw gashing up his shins...

(...ng—ugh! I bet that bitch really does have steel-toed boots...

...no way she can—NGH!

...kick that hard...dammit...)

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"Heh."

Tsukasa smirked.

Hoping the regulars didn't try and get involved, Miyuki stared past some of the shorter students, eyeing Konata through her clear, round-rims. She'd almost gotten her glasses knocked off a few times during the constant rushing and bumping and pushing, and she wouldn't have known what to do if someone stepped on them...

She certainly wouldn't have fought: that wasn't her strong point at all. She was grateful enough that it didn't look like anyone had gotten trampled in the recent wave of jostling and shoving; the regular students were always getting pressed like that, and they had no chance of defending themselves if it ever got ugly.

They were always the first to go down.

Sometimes for good.

...

In a way, though, she wished Konata wasn't as good at fighting as she was. It was hard to believe her super dorky, otakuholic, lazy, homework-bumming friend was a black belt in karate...but she was. And since she was, she was always trying to stay out of trouble. The last thing she wanted to do was get involved in the Hiiragi gang and those...those "Wrench Sisters," she called them...

...but at the same time, Miyuki wasn't worried for nothing. It was always times like these when her friend had to step in and risk her own safety. It seemed like every couple months, some "transfers" from some random schools mixed in with the wave of regular transfers, intending to take down Tsukasa and Kagami. They never got anywhere: sometimes they were murdered, their bodies left for everyone to see...or if they were lucky, they were able to escape the school and lose the gang members chasing them back to their towns. Hopefully they were safer there—but Konata always tried to persuade them not to go and fight. She always got way too close to the danger, hanging out with those rebels, and days like those made Miyuki's heart race so fast...if something happened to Konata...if she was attacked by being associated...

...she wouldn't know what to do. She and her had been friends since...

...

...

...but this was something else completely. Before now, her friend had only given these people quiet advice about how to stand up to the Hiiragi gang. She'd seen some of Kagami's softer ilk mindlessly fighting or sparring in public quite a few times, and so she could tell guerrillas like Takashi how a lot of them liked to fight and what their fighting habits and personalities were.

But even more than that, as a experienced fighter, just being around those rats for nearly three years taught her a lot about them as people. How they carried themselves and behaved around others. What their likes and dislikes were. Who their friends and SO's were. For someone who wanted to keep a low profile, she always found herself attracted to one side or another. Thank God she wasn't totally committed to either, but...

...now she wanted to forget all that. She didn't want anything to happen to these guys. If she couldn't stop them, she'd wanted to save them.

...

...it was too late, though. Tsukasa killed him and his friends before she ever got the right chance to jump in. She was at the edge of a high-school mob. If she intervened at the wrong time, she'd have gotten pulled back by her hair and beaten up until she couldn't breathe.

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

...

There was only one guy left now.

Miyuki saw Konata's steady glare, her tight fists. As restless swarms of students stirred around her, she didn't move an inch.

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

They both knew it well: she wasn't going to let Yūsuke die.

And Miyuki knew just as well that if it came down to it...

...if she had to rush in, she would too. She wasn't going to let Konata die.

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"Kill the kunt!"

"Yeah Tsukasa!"

"I'd normally feel bad about a fight ending this way," started the lieutenant, "I might've even called them off so we could fight more evenly."

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"Ugn..."

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"But, see...

...I was hardly trying anyway. You're better than your partners: I won't deny that. Even if I wasn't fighting seriously, to fight at that level with me for so long, you've definitely got some skill to you."

Still lying on the ground, Yūsuke suddenly found himself scowling up. Before he could think his next words over, they'd already shot out.

"Ngh—you think I care?!"

"I think you do."

"Well—what do you know about me?! What do you know about any of us?! All the suffering your damned gang's caused us—"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

"KILL YŪSUKUNT!"

(Oh, here we go...) thought the girl staring off...

"Don't you FUCKING look away!"

...

The crowd stopped roaring. Suddenly, Tsukasa turned back to him. Even Shōto from afar raised his brows, deciding to walk over as he glimpsed a look of pure scorn etched in the boy's face.

...

...

...she sighed.

"Alright, heh.

You've got my attention."

7th Period (Kagami's Bureau, 14:42)

Kagami twirled a pigtail while she sat back in her velvet lounging chair, watching the...

..."situation" unfold, her desk lamp turned down. Or at least, she was: Tsukasa had already just about finished cleaning up. The six square screens hanging from her wall gave a clear, crystal view of just how badly Yūsuke was beaten. High-definition quality, even, on each one. It didn't seem as though anyone had to come help her sister out. As expected.

Not Shōto. Not Renji. Not Misao...

...

...although Misao was still MIA...

...

...

(...well...I'll have to punish her when we find her dumb ass...)

"I really hope she doesn't kill him, though." muttered the teen as she watched on. "She looks a little trigger-happy today...we could at least use one of them alive to find out where the hell they're coming from. And why do we keep getting minor-leagues instead of whoever's in charge of these damned raids.

It's getting old." she sighed.

But, as she leaned back in her burgundy seat, resting her eyes from the dim lights brightening the room, she did have to admit:

(But at least it's some decent entertainment 'til I get home.)

Suddenly, the wooden double-doors opened wide. A rush of light swamped out the room as Kagami swung back in her chair, squinting at the visitor.

"Ah—who is it?"

Slowly, her blinding white vision was improving. Her eyes half-shut, she could just make out the teen's shaggy brown locks falling between his deeper-brown eyes...

...some hair even falling over his left eye and the freckles on his left cheek...

...the dark blue, wrinkled coat in the middle of the summer...the cargo shorts that didn't match at all, revealing his toned, pale legs. The tall gray socks and worn-in sneakers...completely outside the national dress code...

...

...yes...

...she knew this one. He was familiar. And if she was right, he'd reply in his soft-spoken, almost innocent tone. A light and humble but ever serious tone that commanded an odd respect from everyone nearby—at times, even from her.

"Mam. It's me, Tōya.

...sorry for disturbing you. I didn't know you'd have the lights off again, but you told Intel to come in whenever they caught an important find."

"Ngh...it's fine." said the woman, her pupils still dilating. But that wasn't important: she set her imposing, sharp purple glance on the student before her. What she'd said was true: she did want him or any other person in his position to come in freely—if it was something serious.

"Not like it was 'porn' or anything—but it was just as good."

...

"Mam?"

"Some bitch is getting their ass kicked again."

...

"...do you normally watch that kind of thing?"

"Well," she chuckled, "these fights I've gotta see. Since they apparently involve clowns trying to subvert the gang...or so my recently flooded inbox said over and over and over and over. Just glad these kids don't have access to my real email. Hopefully they can keep this one alive for a change...

...

...anyway, you had something to share?"

"Ah, right—sorry." said the boy, taking a step closer inside—but he hesitated: he hadn't yet asked permission. "Eh—"

"No, it's fine. Come in if it's important; I don't want anyone hearing this."

"Right, of course. Sorry again, I've been a little...'jumpy'...after I got the news, but..."

"What news."

Again, the teen hesitated. It wasn't exactly his news per se, but what he brought didn't make him feel any better. It was times like this he wished he could just quit...

...he was loyal, no doubt—but a furious Kagami was something to fear. Someone—if anyone—that you should've recognized immediately. For your own safety.

"I..."

...

"...well? Out with it."

It looked like she was starting to lose her temper. So, Tōya closed the door, cloaking the office once again in her preferred blanket of darkness. A better environment to work in, she'd always say.

"Yes, mam."

And it was on. With the door closed behind them, he felt like he'd just trapped himself.

If Kagami got too angry...

...well, hopefully she wouldn't get too angry...he did have a bit of a reputation among her Intelligence faction. He wasn't...or at least he didn't want to think he was dispensable...

...but...that was the danger with this job. Whenever something came up, you were always right close to the boss. Sometimes just you and her alone in her office. It was a tense atmosphere, to put it very...very lightly.

Somehow, though, he'd gotten used to it. She'd been in power for but a short time, but he definitely didn't mind working under her compared to the last asshole they had as a leader. She was a much more tolerable person—someone who didn't abuse her subordinates nearly as much. And she was better at making conversation. More 'intelligent' too, in all seriousness—all in all, a rather pleasant person to report to. Even not-so-positive news he didn't mind reporting to her. Not like anything particularly positive had been going on for them these past few months anyway.

Thing was, this news...was different. Even Tsukasa might not've been safe if she were in his shoes now.

A shame he had no chance of running out anyway. He reached a slightly quivering hand into his right pocket and pulled out a small white envelope, the size of a note card.

There really wasn't any time to hesitate. That would've just made things worse.

"I didn't find this, actually. It was one of our ground moles. But they passed it on to Heiji, and he told me in private what it was."

...

"...you were in Hokkaidō, right?"

"Yes, Mam. The Taiyō."

"Thanks for your work there, if I haven't told you already. She's a fucking pain in my side. I take it you've found something good about her."

...

"...in a way." he said, sighing inside as he held out the letter. "Heiji wrote this analysis from their monthly excursion in Hokkaido. No one's unsealed it since he passed it to me."

"As expected. Lemme see it."

Tōya passed the note forward and she took it from his hand. Arms properly at his side, he nervously looked around the room, wandering his gaze away from her while she rolled back over to her desk. Once she opened the nearest drawer to get her letter opener, the low reel of wood on metal droned in his ears, and the shrill trill of metal ripping through paper racked his brain. He strayed his eyes away even farther; at this point...he sort of wanted to get as far away from her as he could...

(Sometimes...I really wish Heiji coulda got that promotion...

Prick. If I make it through this, he's gonna be laughin' his ass off...probably already is...)

"Heh."

"Is something funny?" she asked, pulling out the note.

Tōya froze.

"Eh—n-no, mam. My apologies."

She smirked at his obvious nervousness, cracking a laugh of her own.

"You're doing your job; no need to be so nervous. Besides, you looked so concerned earlier: I'd assumed it was a pretty grave report."

"Eh...well...

...permission—"

"You may speak freely, Tōya. You can always speak freely: you're a high-ranking member here. You're a part of the Circle, so don't ever freeze up. You've got juniors looking up to you."

...

...he sighed.

"...right. My fault. I just—

—well, to tell you the truth, I—"

"And pull up a seat while you're at it." she added, the cool smile still on her lips. "There's a couple lined up on the wall there for a reason."

"I—"

The boy was about to accept her offer too. Or rather, he was wondering whether he should've. She did have those same quality, cushiony velvet chairs along that rightward wall for a reason. Not just for fashion: she wanted to have that environment that reflected a generous, understanding leader. So long as her desires were carried out, she was always willing to reciprocate the kindness. And when quite a few of the newer ranks reporting to her started complaining amongst themselves about having to stand, when they were caught and brought before her to be punished, she heard their case and decided to let them off and actually add those chairs.

So, in a way, it might've been rude for him to not accept her thoughtful gesture. She didn't have to say anything, and he wasn't in any position to push things along...

—then again, he was.

"—actually, no thanks, Ms. Hiiragi. I'll probably be standing up soon again anyway."

"Heh, really? You know," the older sister started, laying the letter in her lap, "I did figure it was bad news. But you look rather mortified. Just so I'm not as surprised, why don't you just tell me what the field report is?"

"I'm actually...sort of glad you suggested that. For my sake."

She stared on.

"It's not just that I'm fearful of you, though, Ms. Hiiragi. I'm fearful...for the gang.

Basically...well...it looks...

...

...like Rin might be staging an attack."

...

...

...

...

...

...

...Kagami glared on, waiting for Tōya to gather his nerves.

...

She didn't budge.

...

"...we aren't...entirely sure, now...from our present sources, we've only about an 85% chance of certainty. The margin of error—"

"I don't care about the margins."

...

"...yes, Mam."

"You can still speak freely, just...let me read this thing first."

"Okay..."

...

...

l CONFIDENTIAL ENTRY

l

l 6/21/2007, 22:46

l

l Miss Kagami, some of my men have run into quite a predicament here in Northern

l Hokkaido. I'm l not sure if you still remember the recent preparations we took

l regarding our projected approach on Taiyō grounds; but as a quick recap, the four

l spec-ops I'd assigned to that particular directive (with your approval, heh) have been

l operating for four days, searching for information that could lead to a successful

l infiltration of the campus proper.

l

l Last evening, however, our forward, Mr. Itsumo, apparently heard alleged

l statements regarding a plan of attack originating from Headquarters in central

l Rebun Island, and directed specifically towards Ryō High and the rest of the Kantō

l division. Understandably, you may have cause for concern. While we do not, as of

l now, know the specifics or certainty of this alleged action, we can say with 85%

l certainty that Mr. Itsumo's source is correct.

l

l Source origin: OpenNIC Pub; Entry: "Don't forget your preparations for when"

l dated 4/30/2007, 10:24; accessed 6/21/2007, 22:15

l

l As the OpenNIC access key yielding the mail in question is months old and was

l obtained from the possession of a subordinate unlikely to be subject to more specific

l briefings, there is some reason to believe the entry is falsified or leads to a false

l conclusion. Circumstances, however, would be very grim if such a preemptive attack

l on our region were to be launched in accordance with the message. Therefore, I'm

l humbly advising you, per the urgency of our information, to meet with Rin for

l civilities outside of this matter or to establish a protectorate relationship with another

l region's head. No references to Tintinnabal or southern Japan were found.

l

l But a personal warning, Mam: if you wish to approach them, be cautious. They may

l be "in".

l

l

l On our honor, the information we have presented you is—to our highest knowledge

l —entirely accurate.

l

l Signed—Kumada Heiji, Makoto Satoshi, Itsumo Akira, Heijuro Byakuya, Murasaki

l Akemi, Okabe Fū

...

...

...

There was nothing to say. Nothing to do...

...

...

...

...but stare on...

...

...

...

...it was so...hard for her to realize she'd actually read that.

...

...

...she...knew she did, but did...she really...?

...

She just wanted to...forget this. All of it. She just wanted to-go back and...take back every second of these last five minutes...

...

...

...

(...that...

...motherfucking...)

Kagami started to throw the paper aside...

...but no. At the last second...she closed her eyes. Drew a deep breath.

It took a moment to cool off...though when she had...sort of cleared her mind, she placed Heiji's letter on the desk, envelope and opener, turning her chair to Tōya.

"...did you tell Mako and Dandy about this?"

"No. We didn't run it by them. We just wanted to pass this straight on to you. We thought it was urgent enough to skip the international sector.

At least...I did."

...

"...good choice." she nodded, turning back around. "Thanks for...finding this out."

"Of...course..."

...

(But the warning doesn't really mean anything on its own.)

Kagami sighed.

...

All of a sudden, it was hard to concentrate...

To say this news ruined her whole day...

...well...it wouldn't have been off. That was for sure.

(...that...

...

...this can't...

...

...

...

...no...calm down...) she thought. The lady buried her head in her hands. Tried to make...some sense of this all. It was all she could do.

(...there's...gotta be...some way out this mess...)

...

...again, she sighed.

(But first things first. What'd Heiji suggest...

...

...

...

...right. He really wants me to have a meeting with Rin. Some random meeting.

No chance.

No chance in Hell.)

Tōya watched his leader tiredly look up and shake her head, groaning aloud with her hands pressing her legs. The letter had clearly gotten to her...which he knew it would've.

But...if he had to be honest...

...he felt a little relieved inside that she hadn't taken any of her anger out on him...

...yet.

"Fuck a meeting. That damned bitch—she'll know I found out about this..."

"You...then you're saying you believe the report? Me too, even though I didn't want to at first."

"I don't know what to believe. I don't know why fucking Rin would decide to come down from her fucking kingdom up north just to come fuck with us. With ME.

...

...she wasn't acting like that last year..."

...

"...yeah."

...

...

Kagami stared at the letter one more time.

It burned her eyes. So, she groaned and turned away, swiveling her seat back over to her subordinate.

"...I...

...I really...

...

...I wanna say it's not true, but...dammit...we've gotta do something just in case. We can't attack her head on—that's suicide. But we've got to at least prepare.

At least."

"Eh—of course, but...prepare for Rin? What do you suggest then, exactly? I really can't...think of anything we could do."

...

Her eyes narrowed. Though she couldn't help it, she knew this wasn't the time to be fearful. The truth was, this discovery had helped her quite a bit. Now, she had some foresight. She didn't know anything about Rin's intentions in detail, but she knew she had to prepare however she could: a sudden, desperate alertness she would've felt had if not for Heiji's team.

"...we have to take this one step at a time. If that email's from April, who knows how long they've been planning this."

Then her eyes closed. A second of silence, then a second second...then a third, and a fourth: clearly, she was thinking. Even when she next spoke, it was clear she was deep in thought.

"...we probably don't have much time, but we have to...plan everything out perfectly. We can't skip any steps with this. We can't afford to screw up.

Get someone to go get Tsukasa for me. Then contact those six out in Hokkaido and tell them to report back to me. They've got a copy of the entire email, right?"

"Mm." he nodded.

"Good: I'm promoting them.

And I'm calling Tintinnabal now. And no one but us and whoever I said heard this shit.

Got it?"

"R-right."

...

Then hopefully, this would be enough of a start.

"Alright." she sighed, leaning back. Resting her eyes. "Go on."

"Mam."

He walked out, and the door shut.

...

...

...

(...well...only one thing left to do.

Just hope Heiji's not right about his 'warning'. I've gotta call 'em. It's our only option.)

...

*sigh*

There was always a prepaid phone on her. It wasn't her real mobile, of course, but she had so many of those cheap, disposable phones, they might as well have been.

The pink flip-phone she pulled out her pocket—she just used that to stay untraceable. She hated these dummy phones, though. They hadn't fallen out of style yet, but she would've kept her iPhone any day of the week than a trillion of these things.

As Kagami flipped the gray screen, its blue, backdrop lights, flickering to life...

...she stared on. It wasn't really the phone that bothered her, though.

Rather, it was...who she knew she was going to be speaking with.

(...geez...)

"...well...fuck it. Let's get this over with."

*81*

...

*854*

...

*91*

...

*3758*

(Yeah, that's it.)

"...here we go..."

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

One dial.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Two dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Three dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Four dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Five dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Six dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Seven dials.

"Shit..."

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Eight dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Nine dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Ten dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Eleven dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Twelve dials.

"Damn! Is this 'cause I've got a prepaid without caller ID?"

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Thirteen dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Fourteen dials.

'Heh, wow."

Even she had to chuckle at her peculiar luck. Of course it'd be now that it'd take someone 50 hours to answer the phone. But then again, considering who she was calling, it wasn't all too bad to not have to speak to them for a little while longer.

"Heh. Must've upped their security. That or they're fuckin' around with me."

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Fift—

"Who's this?"

...

(...this rude mother—)

"Hello...?" the man repeated.

(Crap, he's gonna hang up.)

"Hey, I need to speak to the higher ups at your school."

...

"...sure."

"Thanks. I mean, namely, I have to sp—"

*click*

...

...

...

...

...

...the Hiiragi kept the phone at her ear, listening to the dead air. The click playing again and again in her head. It took a few seconds before she actually looked at the screen.

And saw that she was back at the homepage.

...

...

...

"...THAT JACKASS—"

7th Period (2nd Floor Hall, 14:55)

Konata watched as Tsukasa ground her rubber soles into Yūsuke's torn legs. He was struggling so hard to keep himself composed...to not scream out. As he lay there, gritting his teeth and groaning in agony, his bravery wasn't recognized for even a second. Tsukasa kept smirking. Taking in each and every squirm.

(...damn...just hang in there, man...)

Normally, it was hard to imagine Tsukasa being so cruel...but the scores of laughter she heard from the crowd weren't surprising. No one who had a problem with it could really do anything but shut up and deal...so these obnoxious thugs' constant cooing and snickering were all anyone heard through the hall.

"I sympathize with you guys. I really do." said the lieutenant after hearing his shouting. She was enjoying herself thoroughly; no one was going to take this moment away from her. "'All the people you killed,' 'you're terrorizing our neighborhoods,' 'our schools are awful; I've lost friends'...yeah, I get it. So, I get what you're doing.

But now, if I planned a coup, I might've given it a little more effort, but I can empathize with why you guys'd be pissed off at us.

Thing is, you know it's not my gang. My sister's the one who runs everything, so you'd have had to take up your myriad of complaints with her, preferably by speaking to her when she...I don't know...arrived at or left the school?"

...

Yūsuke stayed silent even as the laughing grew louder. He just didn't see the point in it anymore.

(...damned whore! AFH! Forget arguing with her...if I can't fight—it's useless! Just wish I knew how—NGHH!—reckless these obsessed fans were!

...ngh, besides...she's—ngh—right. We shoulda just waited for Kagami to come or—agh!—go...

...

Nnnhh! Dammit! Even if she had an escort, at least we could've broken through and went straight for her...!

...

...we weren't thinking...)

"Well," she continued, "unless you thought you could force us to lead you directly to her, right? Which, I gave you the chance—and we see how well that worked out."

...

"Heh, I know I shouldn't be enjoying this like I am, but...it's exactly what you deserve. I know you're a reasonable guy. You honestly don't expect me to spare you after you and your hoodlums killed my men, do you?"

...

Her smirk grew wider. Sharper.

"I knew we'd agree."

Konata's clenched fists were getting redder and redder. They were so cold and numb, she could hardly feel them. But that wasn't on her mind at all.

Only Yūsuke.

Yūsuke and ONLY Yūsuke.

(Just a little more time, man...

...ngh! Just hold out a little more! Please...!)

The lieutenant took her foot off him—but she basked a little while longer at his contorted expression. It was wonderful: every time she thought she was going to be bored, knowing the outcome of all these "transfers" coming to challenge her and Shōto, Misao, Hayate, Renji, Naomi...them and all the other men and women under Kagami...

...every time she thought she was going to be bored, seeing those cocky faces crying and running away with their tails between their legs—or dying defiantly, as if they'd ever proven anything—for whatever reason, it was always enjoyable to her. She didn't know why exactly, but she didn't care: that was how she felt, and nothing else mattered.

This part right here was what she'd been waiting for.

It was almost bliss. Another petty "hero" lying humiliated before her and the rest of her set: she was going to stomp this one out so hard, she'd forget about Kagami for a week.

(If only I could've saved the fatass for last instead, it'd be even better. Not like he'd give me the chance. I've gotta admit, though: all in all, these guys were better than the other radicals. Way better.

Heh, well, though it's over, this worked out pretty well. I'm finally gonna get to blow off some steam.)

...

"...alright then." she said. "Let's bury you already."

"YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"I LOVE YOU! TSUKASA!"

"Come on!"

"He's dead, man!"

"Kill him, Tsukasa!"

"KILL 'EM FOR ME, BABE!"

"The Hiiragis are amazing!"

"Stay your punk ass down!"

"Kill 'em!"

"Go to Hell!"

"You got it, Tsukasa!"

"How's the wood taste, bitch?!"

"Back to your own fuckin' school!"

"COME ON, TSUKASA! STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

Tsukasa raised her eyes and looked at the crowd. Boys pushing boys, pumping their fists and cheering. Girls climbing on boys and trying to push their way closer. Even most of the regular students were anxiously trying to catch a glimpse of what the lieutenant was about to do. Trapped in the moment. First years and seniors were going crazy.

Animal calls.

Death chants.

And Yūsuke was the star of it all.

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

It seemed there were more gangsters than she'd realized. But, well, it wasn't her job to count them. Glancing her gaze around that circle surrounding them, he'd never expected so many, though—unless some of the regulars had gotten caught up in the mood too. Left, right, by the windows, by Class 2-C—all around her, she heard everyone's spirit. She heard their yelling and laughter; she saw their hungry faces, faces suiting their anxious eyes.

Anxious for blood.

For this month's "example".

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

What could Yūsuke do. As hard as he'd tried to save his school, he'd ended up failing miserably. He was mere entertainment now. A dying beast to be slaughtered before the mob, now that he realized he was an unwitting pawn in Kagami's game.

(Yeah...)

He wanted to look into the classroom one more time. See the bodies of his friends...but he couldn't raise up. Every muscle in his body ached like boiling glue, seeping in his torn veins and through the floor. There wasn't any escaping this pain...even in his thoughts...

...and even if he could raise his head up...lift his arms...dozens and dozens of rowdy, excitable onlookers were blocking that room.

(...guess this shouldn't be...too surprising—ngh!

...

...fuck...

...

...I'll, agh—have to...apologize to you guys...)

...

...finally...he gave up.

He leaned his head back on the orange hardwood.

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

And in a few seconds...

(...I just hope...

...

...one day...)

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

"STOMP HIM OUT!"

(Just a little more, Yūsuke! HOLD ON!)

"Yeah, close your eyes." she taunted, glaring back at the still teen. "I'll try to make it quick for you."

But right before that, she looked aside at her swarm of supporters...

...then decided to enjoy herself.

"Now: Who's ready for him to die?!"

"YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The crowd had spoken. The objectors were obviously there...and yet, they hardly were.

"Hmph: I hear ya."

It was time. The girl raised her foot...

...

...

...and Yūsuke held his breath...

...

...

...and then...

...

...

...

"AH—

—FUCK IT."

Like that, she was in front of the shocked Yūsuke. In front of the stunned Tsukasa.

The bluenette'd rushed out. And now she spoke, all eyes on her.

"NO.

I'm...I can't DO this! I'm NOT gonna let this go ON anymore!"

...

...

Tsukasa, confused, didn't really step back.

She merely blinked. But Yūsuke did: he sat up, grimacing through the pain. Between their reactions and the crowd looking on, unsure what to do, it was almost as if this new girl had...

...ruined some kind of shoot.

...

...

...

Tsukasa stared at the girl, knowing right then and there that one of them would be acting soon. This kid couldn't have been with them-she recognized every one of the students in Ryō High who were in the Hiiragi gang. It wasn't a problem when Kagami literally forced her to.

But at the same time...

"...huh...?"

...even if this girl was a regular, she wouldn't have stepped up if she didn't have anything to show off.

Only batters could get on the plate.

...

...

"...well...

...and who...might you be?"

...

...

The girl didn't respond right away. Her gaze wavered to Miyuki who was still in the crowd. Holding on to her pink locks, she knew she couldn't say anything, but she kept her worried gaze on her friend all the same.

And that was fine. So long as Konata knew one person for sure was on her side, that was all she needed.

"...I'm Konata Izumi. Get away from Yūsuke."

"Oh. So, I was right then. I've never heard of you." said the lieutenant, rubbing her forehand. It was hard to tell whether or not that fact disappointed her. Though, whatever the case, she brushed it off right away. "But...that's interesting. You know him?"

...

...

...

Yūsuke looked up, completely stupefied. He'd never seen this girl in his life...

...

...

...

"...yeah."

7th Period (Kagami's Bureau, 15:03)

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Twenty-seven dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Twenty-eight dials.

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Twenty-nine dials.

"Grrrr..."

*RIRIRIRIRIIINNGG*

Thirty dials.

"MOTHERFUCKER!"

...

...

...

"...what? Who the hell is this?"

"YOU BITCH. THIS IS KAGAMI MOTHERFUCKING HIIRAGI, NOW PUT ME ON THE FUCKING LINE WITH KLUYA BEFORE I HEAD OVER THERE AND FUCK YOUR PUNK ASS UP MY DAMN SELF."

"N-no problem—sorry. Please hold—can you...hold? Just a quick moment...?"

"Hurry the fuck up."

"Y—right, sure..."

(Damn, it takes me screaming to get some good fucking service around here...?! Where's the damn menu?!

...skip these dumbasses...)

"...whatever." she said, turning on the speaker. "...tired of holding this shit up."

So, she sat back, staring at the phone she'd sat in her lap. There wasn't any hold music playing in the background. Just some low, droning static buzzing in the air. Thankfully not in her ear, or not right in her ear. But it wasn't completely annoying: the cheap-sounding, 2-bit tunes screeching through the holes atop her screen.

Ten seconds passed...and suddenly, all Kagami heard from her seat was the line's empty hissing and her deep breathing—rather, sighing—as she grew more and more agitated.

(Ugh...)

...

...then fifteen seconds passed.

"...it makes sense, though, I guess. They're probably trying to verify me.

Not like they'd be able to tell either way from this phone. I might have to come in personally if they don't really think it's me. That or they're gonna have me answer some questions...but no, that wouldn't make sense: they wouldn't wanna reveal they know anything about me even if they do.

Looks like I'll just have to wait and see whatever they say when they pick up again."

...

Another ten passed.

...

"...whenever they pick up..."

Fifteen.

...

Twenty.

Thirty.

(...really, man...)

Forty.

Fifty.

"Hello? Who's this?"

And finally, someone came on. The person sounded remarkably young, like a freshman, but more polite than nervous. In a way, as she curiously narrowed her eyes, she got a sense of Tōya from him. Kind of ironic; though it might've actually been amusing if she hadn't gotten those other idiots earlier...

(I'm really gonna have a 'talk' with her when she gets on the line...)

...

"...hello?" the voice repeated: he'd only waited about a second.

"It's Kagami." she told him, trying hard not to sigh. The last thing she needed right now was to lose her composure. "Kagami Hiiragi—"

"Oh, right. You're the Hiiragi gang up north?"

(Who the fuck is this asshole? I swear, if this goes the same way...)

"—y-yes. Didn't I say that to the last guy? I need to speak—"

"Well, yeah. We just needed to make sure it was you because we can't get any ID with what you're calling on. It only shows your carrier."

"Eh, of course, though. I don't want you guys to be tracing me. Everyone uses pre-paids or Skypes, or emails or chats with proxies, and whatever. You should already know that.

—who is this?"

(Yeah...) he thought... (...that definitely sounds like her. Or what they said she's like.

Totally tsundere.)

"Huh? Hello?"

"Uh—never mind. I'll transfer you up. I'm in the call verification center right before Kluya—you wanted to speak to her, right?"

"Yeah." said Ryō's head. She drummed a couple quiet fingers on her black, leather pants, unsure of how to feel right now. On the one hand, it seemed she was finally gonna get to speak with the person she'd waited for the past decade. About damned time.

...on the other...she'd been waiting a friggin' decade. And it'd been a while, but conversations with Kluya weren't really...from what she remembered...

...

...ideal...

...

"Well, we'll let you do that, no problem. Just, since we can't totally verify it's you by your caller ID—"

(And that's not foolproof anyway...)

"—if you want to discuss business with her, you'll have to do it in person or have someone else from your school come in to see her. Since the call doesn't have any verifiable source and you're goin' this high up, we're going to have to place your name on Level 1 Alert too, Kagami. Sorry."

"No, it's fine..."

(*sigh*)

"...I expected that—but it's worth calling in anyway to let her know in advance what's going on. And it's going to be tapped too, right?"

"Yes. So: You won't be able to communicate with her online under the Hiiragi name, email, etc—and your conversation with her will be recorded, as per usual. Is that alright?"

"It's fine. Just forward me."

"Okay, thanks for being patient with us. If it seems really slow today, it's one of those busy days, and we're getting a flood of calls, sorry. One moment."

...

(Huh. Wonder what they could be getting so many calls for...

Their gang lines and academic lines are separate, just like ours. And we rarely get calls on the former.

It's not my business asking, though. Not like I'd even get the chance anyway, if I've really gotta wait another hour to hear someone...)

Kagami reached for her phone and pressed an arrow key, brightening up the dimmed backlight. She'd been in this purgatory for around five minutes, but all this sudden stress made it feel like damn near an eternity. The options glowing on her screen, she pressed her thumb on the top-right button to turn speakerphone back off.

What a shame. Even if Tsukasa were to come in right now—which, to be realistic, probably wouldn't have happened—she didn't expect at all for Tōya to make his way through that huge crowd. It'd take minutes for that party to break up.

(...poor guy. Heh.)

The girl swung her chair around to look at the mounted screens.

What she saw...

...

"...huh?"

She closed her eyes and looked a little harder.

But no: There was some new figure with them. Some long, blue-haired girl had apparently joined in.

...

(...who the hell...?

...

...I don't...no, I've never seen her before.) she thought. But, tapping her fingers on her cheek, she did note: (She doesn't look like she's in the gang.) as she stared closer, seeing there wasn't any black jewelry on her. At least, not any obvious black jewelry. But no matter how high quality those screens were, screens were still screens, so she knew she could've been missing something.

(But why's she stepping to Tsukasa all defensive? And why isn't Tsukasa beating her ass? I wonder what they're talking about...

...

Then she focused just a little closer...

(...and what the heck's that stupid curl on her head?)

*sigh*

"Whatever."

The lady rolled her eyes and spun her chair back around. It was almost a reflex at this point, she'd seen so many ridiculous things. Maybe it would've been worth it not to take this place over. Her gang was a little'uniform'.

"There's always something going on. That's not important anyway."

...but anyhow...even if Tōya did come back a few seconds later, her sister right with him, she shouldn't have been hearing the conversation that about to go down—because Kagami would've quietly stopped and shooed them back outside. If Tintinnabal's leader found out she was being eavesdropped on while the Hiiragi gang's leader was trying to cut her a deal, she might've gotten mad and hung up. And if she felt set up and starting scheming...

The boss shook her head.

(...mm-mm...

...I don't even wanna think about it. Rin's enough trouble for me.)

"G...good..."

...

(Hm? Wait—)

...

"...good...afternoon...?

Is—is this...Ms. Hiiragi...?"

"Ah—Kluya?"

(Wait. Why'd I even ask that...)

"Ka-Kagami! I—I...hello! Nice—good afternoon! It's been...some time...!"

(Here we go...)

The person on the other end sounded very...delighted. Surprised, but delighted. Much happier than Kagami was at the moment, but who knew how that might've changed once she told the cheerful girl her news.

That wasn't what really got Kagami, though. It was...though the girl's almost faint, overly-gentle tone was light on the ears...

...she just sounded so...nervous. All that stuttering and stammering, and hesitating and pausing...

(...this is so damned annoying...)

Kurumi "Kluya" Kurizame: She wasn't the most "assertive" person in the world. Indeed, she probably got ran over by some her more hotshot subordinates every day of the week. At times, Kagami wondered how she'd gotten to lead anything. Let alone...as much as she did...

But Ms. Kurizame knew her flaws. She knew how much of a pushover and do-gooder she was, and she was trying...

...somewhat...

...to toughen herself up.

Still, as difficult as it was for Kagami to speak with her, this sort of shy, "self-unconfident" softie was exactly what she needed right now. And in any case, she could definitely appreciate that there was at least one gang leader nearby who wasn't actively trying to take everything she had. It'd been about a year since they'd heard each other's voices—but from what she remembered, Kluya actually wasn't interested in expanding from Tintinnabal high at all.

Though that didn't mean their relationship was completely problem-free. It was her little hood peons the Hiiragi had to worry about, constantly getting into petty territory scraps with her students. Those guys had taken over all of southern Japan without her involvement; and everywhere they went, the people they met seemed to enjoy being under the Tintinnabal banner. There was hardly any resistance left at all in southern Japan, with the gang's biggest opponents and threats long appeased.

In a way, it made her jealous. She had no idea why, but there was something about Kluya's rule...

...

...like it was...'cool' or something...to be with her...

...

...so for that reason—and so she could have the extra resources—it seemed like a solid plan to ask her old acquaintance for help.

"Yeah, it has been a while." said Kagami.

Meanwhile, she'd just try her hardest not to sound irritated.

"Ri—right! Thank...th-thank you so much! F-for calling! Really!

...

...are you alright?"

(Tch.)

But damned if her old acquaintance wasn't awfully perceptive.

"I'm...heh...I'm fine."

"Are...you sure, Kagami...? Y-you don't—"

"Everything's good, Kluya. So far.

But listen, I've gotta tell you something important."

"Ah—s-sure! Sorry...for cutting you off..."

"No problem, but..."

...

...

...the girl stared down.

...

...

...and like a quicksand had taken hold, she just couldn't bring herself to lift her eyes.

It wasn't like she was trying to make up some story now, but...it was still...so surprising to actually accept what she'd read from Heiji...

...

...that Rin was attacking...

...

...

...

...

...well.

About twenty or so seconds passed...before Kagami finally realized she hadn't said anything. She'd been in a trance the entire time, still holding her phone.

...

...

(...ah—! Sh—)

"K...Ka...gami? Are you...sure you're...ok—"

"Ah—yeah, I'm fine." she said, sitting back up. "I just...I was just thinking..."

It surprised Kagami to hear the concerned reply come so late. Maybe they just hadn't spoken in so long that she'd forgotten more than she thought about Kluya.

(I was out of it that long...and she just waited the whole time...

Just like I said...)

She smiled. It always felt good to talk to someone on your level who actually listened to you.

(Heh. I really need to shape up. Or I'm gonna start sounding worse than her.)

"...um...Ka—?"

"My bad. I was...just thinking about Rin."

"'Rin'? A...zakura Rin?"

"Yeah. Azakura. I know the guys in communications won't let you stop recording this call...but if you can do me a solid favor and not let it leave whoever's hearing it right now, that'd be swell."

"Eh—of, of course!" said the girl, looking around her office. Everyone appeared just as astonished as her. Kagami Hiiragi always seemed so composed.

She never came off this way...

"Why? W-what's wrong...?"

...

...never.

...

"...we've got some bad news."

7th Period (2nd Floor Hall, 14:55)

"Hey, kid, get out the way!"

"Whatchu doin', man?"

"Yo, step back!"

"Stop tryna cut, bitch!"

"Ugh!"

"Don't 'ugh'! Move the fuck back!" came a bark from one of the riled-up dudes on the 2nd floor. As students stirred around and barked cusses, Tōya went from seeing the rough-set man's heinously-cut mug to barely seeing the black dreads falling down his wrinkled, white tank-top—before he was shouldered by some random.

And pushed back.

And pushed back.

"Cut it out, you fucking—!"

And pushed back. The damned kids were jostling him back and forth down the hall, one guy pushing him to another, bouncing him into everyone as he tried to keep standing straight.

But it was hard. He was pushed into an auburn-locked lass—

"Ah! Get off!"

—who pierced a shriek in his eardrum, turning around amid the rowdy shouting and cheering when her ponytail got in his nose.

"Oof!"

Then he was thrown off again by some other kid, towards a smirking, wool-capped thug with glee in his deep brown eyes. Tōya didn't get any time to brace himself: the smug teen let out a—

"Bitch ass!"

—and practically grabbed the vet's back, tossing him as hard as he could away from the action—

—into some other kids that bounced him off—

—towards another group of waiting gangsters. They laughed the whole time as they grabbed him by his cotton blue coat, pulling it so hard, he felt his arms getting bruised.

"Alright! Alright!"

"Nah, that's what ya get for tryna cut and run through us!"

For another half a minute, he was angrily rag-dolled and flung by random hoods and regulars, hitting student after irked student until in the end, he found himself flying and slamming into the white wall in the far-left staircase, back-first.

"Argh!"

He was lucky to have seen it in time. If he hadn't turned around when he did, he might've gotten seriously hurt.

The same went for the boy who was right there on the wall when Tōya crashed into it. Seeing the people in front of him move out the way, the tall and skinny kid narrowly nimbled himself to the side, pressing against—and nearly falling on—some blushing blonde girls to his right. If he'd been a second late, his head might've been slammed back.

Of course, he knew that, too. So, when he staggered to his feet, obviously steaming, he shouted at Tōya who was himself just getting up, holding his left shoulder. Immediately, everyone around them sensed a fight coming on. It was going to be awesome.

"Hey, what's your deal, man!"

(Great, heheh.) thought one in the gang. (I can't see a damn thing from back here. Finally, we get some action!)

"What the hell are you pushing people for—"

Tōya looked up. And grilled a stare to that boy's core.

His cutting eyes chilled the boy. Shook his bones as his mouth hung open, the others staring on.

They were equally nervous. They could feel it in their brains. Something wasn't right about this kid. He didn't seem all too different from the average regular—but no one wanted to test him out.

Surely not the once-angry guy next to him. He didn't dare say another word.

"I've gotta speak to Tsukasa right now. Fuck it...I dunno what's goin' on...but I'll just call her.

The next bastard to touch me...

...

...well, let's say your family better have life-insurance."

...

...

...

The regular gulped—but nodded. No way was he gonna say anything else. And no way was anyone else saying anything else. The cluster of kids around them now tried to ignore the scene and look on to where Tsukasa was, but...it wasn't easy at all when this feisty guy was still there...

But as long as they stayed out of his business, the man wouldn't get any angrier.

He reached into his pocket...

Tsukasa frowned. What she heard...didn't make sense.

...or...well...

"...so...I'm just finding this a little hard to believe.

But then again, I'm not. You're saying you knew about this guy from the moment Takashi said he and his friends were staging a coup...yet you did nothing. You went to no one. You didn't even give a subtle hint."

"Yeah," said Konata, "that's right. There's no way I'd help you or any of your sorry little 'gang'. I've kept running into guys like Yūsuke, and I kept trying to help them beat you—"

"But none of them did, right?" / "—but none of them did."

...

Tsukasa smirked, even as the bluenette sizzled with rage. Her brows dug in her jade irises—and in this silent air, the lieutenant could hear her heated breaths.

But that heavy ire was honestly a bit curious. Though she was on "their" side, she didn't seem...entirely cut from the same cloth as Yūsuke and the others. She was a different breed...

(She's angry. But something about her doesn't seem as confident as those guys did. Does she really think she can beat me? Or is she...feeling forced to try?)

"Hmph. You're an interesting one.

But you don't look as ready to die as Yūsuke did. You know you probably ruined his moment, don't you? He'd prepared and everything."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"YEAH! TELL HER!"

"UGLY TWAT!"

"TAKE YOUR DUMBASS SOMEWHERE!"

"NICE ONE!"

"HEH!"

"SHUT HER ASS UP!"

"WHO THE FUCK EVEN ARE YOU, BITCH?!"

The crowd erupted into laughter. And it was obvious now that most of the regulars were blending in on purpose.

They had to.

But Konata stood unmoved. Tsukasa's words phased right through her.

"You're not killing him, Tsukasa. Those days...

...

...are over."

...

...

...

Total defiance.

(...this kid...)

And now, everyone fell silent. They knew she wasn't messing around. This mystery girl might've been...

...

She was talking tough and disrespectful in front everyone—and she knew it. But at the same time, it didn't look like she cared. It was as if...unlike that idiot Takashi, she actually meant every word. She wasn't fighting for some other person's cause. She wasn't fighting for some "school".

(...all those other failures...must've really gotten to her.)

The twin smiled.

Maybe this "special day" wasn't going to be like the rest.

"Heh—oh? And you're saying you plan to stop me? Well, I guess you're well aware of what that means. I won't toy with you like I did with them. The crowd's right behind me, and you're just trying to get some attention in front of them. That's unacceptable."

She got in her stance, putting her fists up and parting her soles. Though she knew what she'd said was a lie, it didn't make a difference: no nobody like that regular was going to big up herself. And though Konata didn't take a stance at all, that didn't make a difference either. She could act tough as much as she wanted: she was going to die as trivially as Tsukasa wanted her to.

A trivial death for a trivial nobody.

"See ya later, 'Konata'—"

Miyuki glared, leaning on her toes...

(Here we go...)

*Bzzzzzzzzzzz*

*Bzzzzzzzzzzz*

*Bzzzzzzzzzzz*

*Bzzzzzzzzzzz*

...

(...eh?)

Tsukasa...relaxed herself. Sort of.

"What the hell? Someone's calling me?"

Amid aimless, wandering stares and whispers springing up all throughout the floor, the girl reached for her pink iPhone.

She was visibly annoyed, pulling it out, and especially annoyed at the "Unknown" ID she saw. But regardless, she sighed, clicking the green...putting it against her ear...

...

"And...this would be?"

"Tōya Tsuji. Kagami wants to speak to you. It's urgent."

...

She listened in closely. And so did everyone else, including the shocked Konata and Yūsuke. But it wasn't as if he was trying to hide his voice. He spoke in a normal tone. So pretty soon, heads were turning toward the west staircase, with student after student asking who'd spoken, where the voice came from—until, like that, they were all facing his direction.

"...and really. Why's that."

"Do you not believe me? I've got your phone number for a reason. A spy wouldn't out himself in public, now would he?"

...

He had a point. And judging by how silent everyone still was, it looked as if they were taking him as seriously as her, even with their better view. Regardless, whether he was telling the truth or not, she didn't want to risk getting on Kagami's bad side by potentially ignoring her.

"Well...your logic's sound, I can't deny that. I was in the middle of something, though."

"Drop it. If it's a fight, which I'm guessing it is from this crowd of pricks, you'll have to finish it later. This is important. She wants to see you now."

Konata was just close enough to hear the man speak. Her heart was still tense; her sweaty palms still at her side as she nervously waited for Tsukasa to make a move. She just knew the lieutenant was going to try and get one last hit in...

...but when the girl simply nodded...a bitter shiver dripped down her spine.

This was it. Would she listen to him? Or...

...

...

...

"Fine, I'm coming. Tell her I'll be a few minutes—and that it'd better be good."

She hit the power button on her phone, putting it on hold and shutting off the screen.

...

...then she looked at Konata.

Konata at her.

Then down at Yūsuke.

Yūsuke at her.

...

...she closed her eyes with a weak chuckle, walking away.

"You lucked out. Don't run into me again, Konata."

The two merely glared.

"If you can help it."

But deep inside, Konata was sighing as loud as she could. This could've gone much worse. But she was right: Yūsuke and her...they'd caught a...lucky break. There wasn't much to do but thank fortune for that one.

(...ahhhhhh mannnnn......) she groaned... (...thank you God. That was a close one...)

Wait—she'd almost forgotten, though. Turning back to Yūsuke—

"Renji, get that 'transfer kid' for me." said Tsukasa, passing them by. He was surprised she'd even seen him. He normally wasn't on her floor...and he could've sworn she hadn't looked at him at all this whole time, but...

"Ah—

...got it..."

Meanwhile, next to a group of other kids, Shōto enjoyed the scene from 2-C's entrance as he watched the brawny man make his way through the tight-moving crowd.

(Heheh. Sorry, bro. Looks like it's your turn this time.)

"Shōto'll show you where to take him."

(Eh—)

"Fuck!"

...

...

(...ah...damn...)

The hall of stares settled on him.

...and without a word, Tsukasa turned.

She looked Shōto dead-on.

...

...

...well...he got the memo.

"—I—y-yes!

'Fuck yes!' I'm glad I get to finally do somethin' around here!"

The kids weren't buying it. They knew how he really felt. But damn if he cared what they thought right now. Not over what Tsukasa thought, mm-mm. He hurried his tail over to Renji who'd just hoisted the wavering senior over his shoulders.

"Come on, Renji, pick him up faster." he fake-laughed, hustling the two out into a split of newly-chattering students moving out their way. "Heheheh..."

Not surprisingly, the bigger teen didn't get what was so funny.

In fact, he smelled the fear on his partner.

(Struggle chuckles. Dude's so coward, it's sad.)

They walked on and on until Konata lost finally sight of them. It was strange that Tsukasa seemed to just...let Yūsuke go like that. She knew he could only wait for Tsukasa or Renji, or the other guy to finish him off...but even though she had no idea what they were going to do to him, she figured they definitely weren't going to kill him. They wanted some information out of him.

(...still...) she thought, (...I probably shoulda tried to take him. Just as far as I could.)

...

Perhaps she could've done something, but...on second thought, she shook her head. There wasn't any point in feeling guilty about it.

(...no, that wouldn't have worked. Tsukasa just left, and I don't think I can...I don't know how good Renji or Shōto are, but I definitely can't beat both of 'em. Hell, even if I could, there's no way I could get outta this crowd with him...especially not with all the gang's thugs in it...)

In any case, now that the commotion was over, the people slowly began dispersing, pushing and bumping each other all the while but excitedly chatting about everything that'd happened this afternoon.

"Man, I swear. This school..."

"I know...don't even have to finish."

"Ha. Tsukasa totally shoulda killed that guy. I was waitin' for it."

"Right? Did you see who the hell called her?"

Some a little more excitedly than others.

"Nah, I wish. He was all the way in the back."

"Damn. Wonder where they took him..."

"The hospital! Hah!"

"Oh, there you are, Naomi! Couldn't find you!"

"Hey, what's up?"

"You see what went down on the 2nd floor?"

"Ah—no, what? I was stuck up here 'cause everyone ran out. It sounded pretty wild, though...should've left class sooner. But if it's fighting, whatever. There's always a fight here—"

"Heh, nope, Mi-chan. It wasn't the same ol' fighting this time: Tsu scratched off four dudes—"

"Huh?"

"Just a couple minutes ago."

"Really...? That's what it was?"

"Yeah. And they took one of 'em away. Dunno where he's at now, heh, but he's still alive."

"That was crazy, bro. Not even gonna lie...can't believe Tsukasa beat...can anyone beat her?"

"What, besides Kagami? I dunno. Why're you askin' me?"

"I mean, I'm just wondering."

"Shouldn't even bring it up. If someone heard you..."

"Ah, shoot. You're right."

"These people are stupid, damn, Saoru."

"I mean, come on, Emi. They just want to end all this violence."

"So? Can't they see this place is never gonna change? Just dying for no reason like that...? It's just..."

...

"Mm...but come on. I'll treat you at the cafe."

Some a little less.

Even considering the raids after raids they'd gotten before, this one was unlike any other in Ryō High's history. For months and months, it'd always been one, maybe two lone kids trying to fight the power. Although these new guys unfortunately lost, a lot of the normals felt more confident about the Hiiragi gang easing up on them, now that four students at once had tried to overthrow them. They didn't say it out loud, but the glow on their conversing faces clearly spoke for them.

Within the tide of boys and girls, Konata caught a glimpse of Miyuki. The girl's pink hair swayed by her shoulders as she leaned left and right through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years...

...then, for a brief second, she saw her friend's weary face.

They sighed.

And once more, the crowd covered them.

7th Period (2nd Floor Hall, 15:07)

A few minutes later, and the lieutenant and her escort had just hiked down the black wooden steps leading to the small alcove housing Kagami's personal office. Just earlier, a flood of underground darkness shrouded them completely. They had to really take their steps carefully as they went down further and further.

By the time they reached the bottom, a single white bulb above the single office door ahead may well have been the only thing keeping them from losing their footing. But it shined so brightly down here, the two could feel its heat: they had a clear view of everything now. Just a few feet away, the boss was preparing. Strategizing for Rin.

But the door's smoothed frame was soundproofed with rubber and metal insulation; it was impossible to hear exactly what she was saying without opening it. If she wasn't finished talking with the South already, she'd probably be soon. So, Tōya quietly glanced up the dark flight of stairs one more time just to make sure they weren't being followed. Since they were sealed off from the rest of the school, that wasn't too likely.

Then he turned to Tsukasa, waiting patiently beside him.

"I think she's just finishing up on the phone, so you can walk in. But if not, she'll just tell you to go back out and wait, so it's no big deal."

Well, Tsukasa didn't do that. No...she kept her attention on the mysterious 'Tōya' instead. After all this time, he still hadn't explained who he was, or what they were even coming here for.

"...what?" he asked. "I'm not going in. I'm going home."

"Then that's even more suspicious."

Now her suspicion was known.

It looked like there was...a bit of an impasse. The boy sighed hard, and more of his soft brown locks fell past his stressed eyes. Naturally, the lieutenant didn't seem to care that he was frustrated: she just shifted her weight and stood. Being annoyed wasn't going to prove anything to her—but he didn't go through all that just to have her stare at him and not even step in.

The last thing he wanted right now was to get reprimanded over this nonsense. Running a left hand back through his hair, he replied:

"Nothin' suspicious about it. If I wanted to attack you, I wouldn't be doing it right in front of these security cameras, now would I?"

Indeed. Tsukasa didn't even need to look up. She already knew about the night-vision screens mounted high up from the ceiling. There was no way to see 'em, but the last person in her sister's shoes was a pretty savvy guy. He never let his guard down, not around strangers, and not around his closest advisers: that was why they had to deal with him upfront. In public.

But...as she twisted a confused look before him...

(Wha...how does he know about those...) she wondered... (...maybe he's pretty close to her after all...? But I should know everyone she's close to...

...unless...)

The boy himself looked pretty irritated. Tsukasa was certainly taken aback, but she wasn't showing it at all.

Her poker face was perfect.

"Well?"

"Maybe you already took care of Kagami..."

...her eyes narrowed...

"...with some help."

...

...

(Is this girl...)

...

...

He stared on, leering at her. Ever sharper.

...

...

...but the two stood firm. Testing each other.

Their attitudes weren't fazed.

...

...

(...no. She's just prudent. She looks like she's just talking, but she's on her guard right now. Bet if I really did something suspicious, she'd attack right then. Guess they both take this serious then.

Way more than Gaito did—that's for sure.)

"Thinking of something to say? If you can't prove yourself, I'm going to call her just to see how true what you're saying—"

"Can it, already." he sighed; and he loosed his posture, no longer examining the girl. "Geez. That's needless drama."

"Hmph."

Tsukasa did the same, or so it appeared. Still, she was concerned for all the wrong reasons.

"I'm serious: She's on the line with Tintinnabal High, and you can't interrupt her like that."

...

She raised a brow.

"...Tintinnabal...?"

"Yeah."

...

(So, she's talking to them...)

That there was a name she hadn't heard in...it felt like forever. Sure, their punks were always gettin' into scraps with Kagami's backers, but neither of them ever really spoke with the higher-ups in that region.

(She and that school's leader only met once or twice...I think last year.)

And Tsukasa herself had never left Kantou. Central Japan. So, there wasn't much she knew about that place...but...like an instinct, the memories of Kagami's old tales came rushing back.

Her sister had been invited to scope around, as a sign of "neutrality": something she'd have never done for anyone. From what she'd heard, the leader there didn't "like" to fight; but either way, she wasn't stupid enough to not take the offer.

She'd sparkled with enthusiasm that evening's supper, vividly painting her voyage in Tsukasa's mind. Their metal walls and bright ceilings, their freezing steel floors: all seven stories...

...and their very...quirky leaders. Kurumi Kurizame, Alice Momomiya, and Takumi Yorimoto. She...

(...no wait: I remember now. She met them last year and the year before...)

Right: Two summers ago, Kagami laughed with their mom and dad and older sisters as Kurumi preemptively reached out to her, inviting her to peruse the place and "talk" over lunch. If the lieutenant remembered right, she was much more of a "pushover" than the others there, which was probably why so much of her unruly set was attacking anyone and anything associated with Kagami near the fringes of Kantou and Chubu.

...

But there was also that last January. Last January when Kagami and that other girl met in Moscow...at the annual Winter Summit...

...back when she was just starting out...

...

"...I remember what she said about those guys overall: that they were a bunch of idiots. So, why's she crossing with 'em?"

"You'll see.

Alright then, I'll open the door and walk in first. Just so you know, you'll probably see her on the phone or something. So, wait until she's finished.

You're overreacting like hell, but it's alright, though: I get it. I'm from her Intelligence division, so that's why you've never seen me, by the way. I'm not about to get in trouble because of you, though. Just follow me."

(An Intel agent, huh...)

"No, it's fine." she said.

...

...

...

"...what?"

Tsukasa nodded, glaring ahead.

"I believe you."

Though her nod was rather weak. By now, she wasn't that focused on him: her eyes had already wandered to the office door.

"I'll go in myself."

...

Tōya looked on as the girl twisted the velvet-clothed knob...

"Thanks."

...

That was the last she said before walking in.

*click*

...

...and closing the door behind her.

...

...

...

"...she..."

(...she sounded just like her sister...

...hope Kagami's done talking, but...all a sudden...I wonder what she believed me for...)

7th Period (Kagami's Bureau, 15:09)

"Okay, so...

...yeah, if she doesn't screw up, we won't even need—"

Just then, Tsukasa entered. A surge of light rushed in behind her, drowning out the room's calm shadows. Dazzling and watering the older one's eyes.

(Ngh...!)

"I'm—gonna start having you guys let me know when you're coming in..." the older twin groaned, her eyes burning. "...no more of this...open-door BS."

"Yeah, that probably would be a smart idea, huh? Until you get some bodyguards."

Obvious sarcasm.

"Heh, I don't need bodyguards."

But the lady didn't care. To her sister's annoyance.

(Yet your eyes are still shut. All someone's gotta do is open the door to kill you...)

"Anyway..." she started, "...judging by the screens above, I'm pretty sure you saw I was in the middle of something."

Live video footage from the four mounted monitors past her desk, showed the 2nd floor's hallway. And in that hall, a few groups of kids were staying behind to talk even after the majority of the peeps had gone back to their classes. Tsukasa didn't really care about that: that was for the teachers and faculty to handle.

But since most everyone, even the majority of 2-C had returned to class before the dismissal bell, Tsukasa was sure Kagami hadn't just turned all four screens to that hallway, conveniently set in front of 2-C's classroom.

She knew her sister had seen the fight. Everything. From that one kid being thrown out the window to Konata's desperate intervention.

So, Kagami knew she'd interrupted her. And yet, she didn't seem to care at all. Even though "Tōya" said she was making a call to Tintinnabal, if it was that important, she wouldn't have sent some random kid to get her. She'd have done it herself.

Right?

"Oh, I 'saw' you alright. I saw you about to kill those two. I don't know what was up with the blue-haired girl; we can worry about her later. The other guy, though, good job on detaining him. I thought you were going to do something stupid for a sec. He seemed like he had his stuff together more than his friends."

The lieutenant rolled her eyes.

(Well, he survived...)

"I mean, I didn't really get to see the end entirely, but since it didn't look like a corpse was being taken away, I take it you didn't kill him. Right?"

...

"...no. I didn't."

Kagami chuckled a bit, nearly shaking her head. She'd no idea that Tsukasa wanted the kill that much. She was acting like Misao here...wherever the hell Misao still was—not that that was important right now...

"Hmhm, good. Because you had me worried with your silence."

(So, she really didn't want him dead then...?)

A fair question: Yūsuke was an enemy. One who was trying to take down the entire gang, no less.

One who was trying to kill her sister, no less. But she didn't have to dwell on the why for long: Kagami provided.

"Look," she continued, lying back, "we've only kept a handful of guys this past year. None of them said anything—it's like they're conditioned. Like actual soldiers."

It was evident Tsukasa didn't really care.

"Okay. So, what makes you think he'll be any different."

"No idea." she stated on. "But I get that this is 'fun' for you. A nice way to break up a boring day, right?"

...

...no reply.

"We need to take some chances, though. Our interrogators are getting bored, and one of these guys or girls might be what we need to finally get a lead on who's sending these punks after us. Or if the schools they say they're coming from are really the schools they're coming from. Then we can just march in and fuck up whoever's trying to undermine us like this.

You've gotta start seeing the big picture 've got Tintinnabal to the south and Taiyō to the north. You think I have time for this petty shit, Tsukasa? I'm trying to hold my own here.

The least you can do is..."

...

...

...

...

...

Tsukasa stayed silent. As harsh as the sudden scolding was, she didn't want to talk over her sister. The girl stood where she was, her hands at her side.

Her eyes trailing.

...

...

...Kagami noticed.

...

"...alright, lemme start over, I'm just...under a lot of stress out of nowhere."

"What happened...?"

...

...

...a simple question...but...

...was it really...

...

This was her second time having to answer that...and now she knew how Tōya had felt a while earlier.

She could only imagine what Tsukasa would think. The "Devil's Lass" had her sights on them.

...

Well, she sat up, hands on her legs.

Then for a moment, she stared...

...

...up...

...

...yet...now she just couldn't bring herself to look her sister in the face.

She was weak and she knew it. She was in trouble and she knew it.

And by now, her sister probably knew it too. Though she waited to speak, Kagami could only shy away, the dim glare of her lamp brightening the shame in her gaze.

This really was...the worst.

(...the worst...)

"Kagami."

(Ah—)

...

...

...they locked stares...

...

...

(...Tsu...kasa...)

...

...she'd hardly realized it, but...Tsukasa's tone...

...

...she just...

...

...by instinct...

...

"...Kagami...whatever's going on...

...even if it's terrible news...

...it was going to happen sooner or later. You're going to have some real problems: you're the new kid here. But that's what being in a gang's about. You've got bloods to help you out."

...

"...I..."

Tsukasa wasn't done: she nodded.

"And you've got real blood too. Right here."

...

"...I..."

...

(...no.)

With a sigh, she stood up. And looked Tsukasa straight in the eyes.

"...you're right. I'm sorry—I...lost it for a moment."

Tsukasa smiled.

"Don't apologize. You're the leader. It's a lotta stress.

So..."

"Right."

Tsukasa looked a little closer at her boss, noticing her soft gaze...the faint curl on her lips...

...though, in but a second, she was nearly glowering. Her stern eyes fell steady. The slight smirk had vanished completely.

It was time to get serious again.

"I'll tell it to you straight, Tsukasa..."

...but she looked out past the girl.

"...you closed the door behind you?"

"Yeah." the younger sis' nodded. "Tōya left too."

"Alright: He's a lieutenant from our regional intelligence division. Him and his guys pulled a message online that hinted at...

...well...up in Hokkaido, it seems like Rin's planning to come down and attack us."

"...what?"

...

Kagami tried to hold in her grimace...she'd only thought about explaining what she had to. What mattered wasn't what they were planning up north: it was what how they were going to react here.

"That's...they said it was an 85% chance because of how old the message—the email was. About two months; it was found on a private server by a few of his men, but...you know that's still pretty frickin' high. So, I decided to take some preventive measures anyway. No one else but Tōya knows so far, but I called Tintinnabal and spoke to Kluya."

"Kurumi?"

"Yeah, you remember. And I told her the same thing: 'Rin's probably gonna be making a move on us soon, so we could use your gang's help.'"

...

"...and what'd she say? Probably yeah, right?"

"Well, we've gotta set out some specifics. We can't just 'merge'. Even if it worked like that, we're too far away: she's in Shimane, remember? Un'nan. But even if she was in Kantō, getting all our people together on the same page, sharing information and territory...that's nothing to sneeze at. It'd probably take weeks of cooperation, so I'd have to personally come in and outline my suggestions to her...which I don't have time to do.

So, I'm going to be sending you there instead."

"Me?" Tsukasa asked...

...but at the same time, she wasn't exactly "startled" to hear this. In any case, it wasn't like she had a choice. Kagami was gonna keep talking just to validate herself. And even if the "Queen of Pushovers" agreed to everything Kagami said, they had to know for sure the person on the other end of that line wasn't fake. It sounded like her and might've had her information or whatever, but it really could've been anybody. Only Tsukasa coming in to speak with them personally would've made things entirely clear.

"Yeah—you've gotta be on the plane tomorrow, actually. I'm gonna buy the tickets in a few minutes. Don't worry; they'll be round-trip."

Okay: That was a little startling.

"Wait, 'tomorrow'...?"

"Right, sorry for the short notice, but we can't waste any time with this. You know what we're dealing with here."

"Mm. I know. But then...will Tintinnabal even be enough?"

"No, probably not...since Kluya doesn't care about stretching out by force. Otherwise, she could've been in the Philippines by now. But it's a solid start, I think. Besides, she might have some good connects and knowledge on Rin even if she's not using it. She's still gotta defend herself after all. And from what we know, she hasn't lost a single town in her possession."

"Huh. Then it's probably much easier if you're not stuck in the middle of them, don't you think?"

"We got what we got. I can't complain anymore." the boss shrugged.

It seemed she'd finally resigned to fate. She'd taken control of this school. Of nearly two prefectures. And now, she had to fight. In all honesty, gravely shocking as it was, she should've seen this coming. She knew the Devil's Lass didn't give a damn about anyone she knew. All she cared about was getting more territory. More resources. The exact opposite of Kurumi.

"But, Tsukasa, whatever the reason she's done so well...even if it's because we're pathetic, it's a good record. And I wanna know her strategy. They could probably take our territory too if she didn't respect my space. Hell, they've already got most of Chūbu. We've only got a smidge. But if this goes well, you and them, she'll probably share all their confidential material. Then it's just a matter of listening politely."

"Well, alright. Then I'll go. But by myself?"

"Oh, no." said Kagami, shaking her head. "You're gonna go with backup. You've got to. But it's not an infiltration raid or anything of the sort, so you don't need any lieutenants with you."

...

Tsukasa focused her gaze.

That sounded like the most...

...

...outlandish order she'd ever gotten.

"...what."

"You heard me, Tsukasa. We can't afford to leave any ground lieutenants behind. We've got no idea when she's going to send her forces down here. She's actually overdue."

"I get that, but what if we're attacked?"

"You won't be."

...

...

...Tsukasa held in a sigh. She didn't look so sure.

...

Maybe Kagami was just trying to...get rid of her...

"I don't really..."

"Trust me, Tsukasa. She's nice. Just don't be an asshole. You shouldn't be gettin' into fights there anyway."

"Of course I won't. But..."

"Anyone that's not a lieutenant. That should be enough to keep yourself safe if anything pops off; they don't have to be weak help. Pick anyone you think's got some...heh—use.

Just four people, though. Anything more than that's gonna be intimidating.

But yeah:" Kagami went on, pointing at the girl's bulging right pocket: "You've got your cellphone too. You'll be good."

"...I hope so."

"You'll be good." she repeated."Just don't do anything stupid, and pick some good people. You know most of the gang stays after school, so you should see them now. I'm getting these tickets for around noon.

You should probably take Haneda to Izumo Airport. From there, you can catch some kinda ride to Un'nan. I told her you're coming too, so she should've let her subordinates know by now. Remember, though, they act up. So don't get surprised if they start coming off hard for no reason.

Besides that, I don't really care what you do as long as you speak with her. Good?"

"Yeah, alright." Tsukasa said.

With that jumble of orders and advice, she turned and walked toward the door, closely followed by the boss's yieldless, violet irises. It looked as though she were going to leave without saying anything else: the older girl had no idea what was going through her head right now...yet it had to be a stressful mess.

...

In a way, she felt bad watching Tsukasa. But nevertheless, she couldn't just leave with her. After all, this was her school. Tsukasa would just have to deal with things.

They both knew it: this one was all up to her.

...

But just when she touched the knob...

...

"See you tonight."

...

...

...

"...yeah."

...

...and she was out.

...

...

...

...

...

...

*sigh*

Kagami pulled out her main phone, sliding her thumb across the screen until she'd tapped open her browser.

...

...

...

(...Tsukasa...)

...

...

...

"...she seemed..."

...

...

...

...

...

"...I hope I'm not making a mistake..."