Chapter 11- Three Days of Smoke

Couleuvre hummed as she worked at her table. Nui was leaning over her and giggling as she helped put it together. Hoka, meanwhile, had been watching the student council's endeavors in the Academy. He was making sure that they wouldn't attempt to track him down. He looked to the sensor that glowed on the table the girls were working on.

"Done!" Couleuvre cheered with glee as she held up three straps with small grenade-shaped objects hanging from them. The pink haired girl slung the strap over her shoulder, forming a sash down her body over her uniform. She walked to Chiot to strap one of them to him as well while Nui put the last over herself. They were all perfect fits. Chiot zipped down the collar of his jacket.

"What are these?" Chiot asked while rubbing his thumb over the bumpy surface of one of the grenades. He zipped himself back up and looked to Couleuvre.

"I'll show you!"

Couleuvre ran to one of the many mannequins standing on the ground. She flashed her white scissor blade and swung it like a baseball bat (showing much improvement in using the weapon since receiving it), allowing it to glide over the concrete to Nui. Nui giggled and before the mannequin could get to her, she pulled the pin and let it spark on the ground. It exploded in a puff of flame-free smoke. When the smoke cleared, Nui was gone, leaving a fallen-over mannequin on the ground with its wheels still spinning from the speed.

Hoka smirked a wild grin under his collar. He noticed Couleuvre had disappeared in the commotion as well. A voice rang beside him.

"Pretty cool, huh," the pink-haired girl gleamed.

Another voice appeared on his other side. "We've got tons of them, Chiot! It will be so much fun when the others come to see us!" Nui smiled.

"Yeah, when will we be doing that?"

"Three more days until the show starts," the small, blonde girl clapped with glee.

*at the Academy nurse's office*

(two days remaining)

Ryuko walked in the nurse's office this morning to see Satsuke, Gamagori, and Uzu had already awoken and started speaking. They didn't notice her presence so she stayed in the hallway, listening to their conversation.

"Satsuke! Are you sure?" Gamagori asked with surprise.

"Positive, we were told not to interfere with Inumuta's plans."

"What if the dog's in trouble? What if the signal was sent a week ago? He hasn't contacted us since he left!" Uzu inquired.

"Inumuta said he might be gone for more than a month... This is a critical time for him," the dark-haired girl answered from her bed.

"But he hasn't even told us if-"

"He requires all the stealth he can get to stand a chance against her!" Satsuke bowed her head. "How are we going to fight Nui anyway if we don't have..."

"Stop this! All of you!" Ryuko turned into the room. "Especially you, Satsuke! You're s'posed to be my sister, the one who would never give up for such a petty reason!" Ryuko stepped forward, allowing her heel to strike the ground as she yelled. "He will call for our help! So until then, all we should do is prepare to fight!"

Satsuke ripped her covers off. She leaned on her bed for support as she tried to rise by herself, something she couldn't do since the damage to her body from the threads. Even Gamagori and Uzu still needed help sometimes. Gamagori attempted to sit up to help her, but she was already up.

Her bare heel struck the ground harder than Ryuko's had as she held a cane in front of her out of habit. Her body stood solid as her mouth opened to yell. "Attention student council!" The two other members turned to her as Satsuki stared strait at Ryuko. "We will prepare to fight when the time comes! We will do it for our comrades: JAKUZURE AND INUMUTA!" Satsuke's voice rose. "WE WILL DO IT FOR THEM, OUR FRIENDS! WE WILL DO IT FOR OURSELVES! AND WE WILL DO IT FOR OUR BELOVED ACADEMY!" Her body quickly turned pale as she stood like stone.

Tears began to bud in the corner of Satsuke's eyes before they fluttered and closed. She fell over as Ryuko leaned in to catch her. Ryuko was interrupted by Gamagori jumping in to catch her, who was interrupted by Uzu, who was interrupted by Tsumugu. They all landed in a pile with Satsuke slung over the top.

Gamagori was the one to carry Satsuke back to bed. Ryuko looked around to see Tsumugu.

"When did you get here?!" Ryuko asked shockingly.

"I was here before they were awake, much more before you."

"Stop doing that thing in the shadows, it's creepy."

"I'm not stoppin' anytime soon, sunshine." Tsumugu nodded to Satsuke.

Ryuko sighed and went to check on the fainted girl. "We will help our friends, guys, just as they'd do for any of us," Ryuko said just above a harsh whisper. Her red and black hair fell over her eyes.