A/N: Alright, this took a while... It feels like it's getting a bit harder to find inspiration nowadays. Anyway, I present to you chapter 10 of Accel World: Ruby Chronicles! And the official beginning of the Chrome Disaster arc!
Chapter 10
"Is there something on my face, Yuki?"
"No... Nothing!"
I squirmed as I looked away from Kyrius, unable to meet his eyes. It had been like this ever since I had found out that he had actually bought that hairclip with real diamonds set in it for me... How the heck had he managed to buy something that expensive anyway? I didn't dare to return it in case he got mad, but at the same time I didn't want him to go broke just for a little gift like this...
"That's a really nice hairclip, Yuki-chan!" Inoha grinned beside me.
"Ah..." I blushed bright red as the subject of my conflict was mentioned. I still liked wearing it, even though I felt a little guilty about it...
Our little group had taken to having lunch together on the rooftop of our school during recess. Currently I was digging into my own bento mostly consisting of healthier vegetarian sandwiches - I was still wary of all the fat I had ingested during the ramen shop eating contest thingy from a few days back.
... Sanno had apparently tried to finish that ramen two more times and still failed at it. Kyrius had told me that he was a little irritated that a girl had managed to out-eat him.
"Hey, you're right... That is a very nice hairclip, Yuki-chan," Phoenicia peered closer from her position beside me. "Where did you get it? It really suits you!"
"Eh, uh..." I stammered, unable to offer a good reply. I couldn't tell them that Kyrius had bought it for me! I simply couldn't!
Even as I stuttered and stammered trying to think up a good answer, I gave Kyrius a pleading look. At the same time I realized I was looking at the guy who had bought it for me in the first place, so my cheeks naturally responded by flashing bright red.
And Phoenicia was certainly good enough to read between the lines and notice.
"Kyrius-san, you bought it for her!" the petite bookworm pointed an accusing finger at him.
... Oops.
"Huh, what?" Kyrius blinked in surprise, having been engaged in conversation with Sanno and Aida before being interrupted.
"Really!?" Inoha clapped her hands together while staring at me with those gleaming puppy eyes...
...
I ducked my head, blushing even harder if that was even possible. Apparently Inoha took that as confirmation and squealed loudly before engulfing me in a hug, almost making me drop my sandwich. As it was, the sudden action shocked me into gulping down a big chunk of as-yet unchewed sandwich that lodged in my throat.
...
"Mmmmph mmmmph!" I desperately beat against Inoha's back, trying to get her to release me...
"Akizaki-san, Tsukihara-san is turning purple," Tsubasa pointed out matter-of-factly.
Inoha didn't seem to notice.
"MMMMPH!"
"Actually now she's turning blue," Tsubasa corrected himself.
"Eh?"
I gestured wildly at the bottle of water beside my bento even as spots started to grow in my vision. Pretty much only Phoenicia noticed and quickly handed the bottle to me while trying to force a somewhat stunned Inoha to let go. Somehow I managed to get the bottle cap off and free myself from the clutches of one of my best friends to quickly lift it to my lips and gulp a mouthful of water down.
A sigh of relief escaped my lips once I had cleared the blockage.
"I thought I was... gonna die..." I wheezed.
"Sorry, Yuki-chan..." Inoha quickly apologized.
I was still too breathless to give her a long reply... and a good scolding...
"Inoha-san, please don't do that when people are eating!" Phoenicia did it in my place though, thankfully.
The other Burst Linkers here had joined Nega Nebulous as well, after Kyrius explained the situation to them. There was some initial resistance, especially from Phoenicia. Well, that was understandable considering her inquisitive nature - she wanted to know why in the world we were joining up with the legion of one of the most infamous traitor Burst Linkers ever to walk the face of the Accelerated World.
That particular argument had lasted an hour before she was convinced.
I gulped down several more breaths worth of fresh air to fill my lungs before looking back up and at the rest of the group. Then another gulp as I realized the girls were all staring at me with expressions ranging from shocked to dreamy. As for the guys... Sanno was clapping a stuttering Kyrius on the back while Tsubasa occasionally sneaked glances at either of them while sipping from a cup of green tea.
"So... How did it feel?" Inoha asked.
"What?" I sighed as I lifted the bottle to my lips again.
"Receiving a gift from Kyrius."
At least this time I managed to consciously spin myself around before the fountain of water escaping my mouth could get on anyone or anything. Well, except for Sanno, who took a bit of it to the face. Tsubasa sitting beside him had somehow managed to duck in time.
"... Yuki-chan, why do you always do that to me?" the unlucky guy groaned as he wiped the water off with his sleeve.
I didn't know how, but when Sanno was nearby when someone shocked me enough while drinking to do a water fountain, he'd always get it right in the face. It wasn't the first time this had happened - far from it in fact. Felt like he was just magnetically attracted to water or something. Tsubasa, having hung out with us usually on those occasions had developed a sense for when I was going to do a spit-take while drinking - thankfully. He really didn't deserve to get hit in the face with a spray of water and saliva.
"I swear I'll never get tired of seeing that happen to the damned pervert," Inoha grinned. She still hadn't forgotten her first meeting with the guy in question.
Yep, Erohara Sanno really deserved the water fountains to the face.
"Hey, I'm not a pervert! It's called being appreciative of the beauty bestowed upon females by god!" Sanno protested.
"In the end that's just another way of saying you're perverted," I drawled disinterestedly. Phoenicia nodded her agreement as she shot a fierce glare at the pervert that looked decidedly out-of-place on her soft features.
Thankfully the conversation had turned away from its earlier topic. I could tell Kyrius was also sighing in relief at having been spared the interrogation from the girls.
"Ohohoho!"
... Oh great, not her again.
Takanashi Hoseki promptly made her arrival known by plonking herself down beside Kyrius, forcing her way into the cramped space between him and Sanno. The latter didn't seem to mind after Hoseki gave her skirt a deliberately exaggerated pat down and tossed her hair over her shoulder. That, and the clearly fake smile plastered on her lips as she turned to glance at him.
My eyebrow twitched.
"I overheard the whole thing! So... Kyrius-sama bought a hairclip for Tsukihara-san?" Hoseki glared at me.
Unsurprisingly she had mostly gone back to her earlier personality after a while. She treated me with contempt while still making sure to suck up to Kyrius every time she saw him. Luckily she had stopped referring to me as an idiot, otherwise I'd give her a good socking every time I saw her... in the Accelerated World, of course.
And dang it, she just had to bring up the hairclip AGAIN!
"Ah, I just remembered I have to help a teacher with something," I lied to get myself out of there as I rose to my feet. "See you later!"
"Huh?" Inoha blinked.
I quickly dashed off in the direction of the stairs leading down into the school building before anyone else could react.
"Ah, she's escaping!" Inoha's voice rang out seconds later.
"Sorry, I'll make it up to you another time!" I muttered under my breath as I took the steps two at a time, my distinctive long silver hair flying behind me as I put as much distance between myself and the overly inquisitive girls as possible. Sure, the interrogation was inevitable, but that didn't mean that I couldn't put it off for as long as I could! I simply wasn't ready yet!
... Ah, skidded off a step.
*crash*
...
"Owwwww!"
"Uwaaah, everything's spinning around..." I slurred from my position on Kyrius's back.
"Well, you did slip on a staircase and bang your head on it..." Kyrius sighed. "You're darn lucky you didn't get a concussion out of it."
"Isn't there... a wall in front? Oh, a corridor... Wait, it's a window..."
"... Forget it, I'll wait until you're sober."
"Whoa, she really outdid herself this time..."
"Yep, this is the first time she's ever done this."
"Munyaa..." I mumbled, still very much dazed.
"... Please forget what just happened," I pleaded, my cheeks flushed with embarassment from the incident with the stairs earlier.
Of course, it wasn't just from the fact that I had completely embarrassed myself... But of all people, it had to be Kyrius to carry me to the infirmary! Why him!? Why not... well, then again I wouldn't really trust anyone else in the group to piggyback me. Sanno was far more likely to 'accidentally' grope me while carrying me. Tsubasa was a bit too quiet, and the other girls didn't quite have the strength.
"Blackmail material!" Inoha chirped.
I froze.
"You evil... evil... evil person!" I pointed a finger at her accusingly.
"Well, you deserve it for trying to escape the questioning," Phoenicia put her hands on her hips in a mock scolding pose.
I sighed, knowing the inevitable was coming up right next.
"All right, all right! I liked the feeling of getting it from Kyrius!" I threw my hands up in the air in defeat.
"Much better," Inoha grinned... somehow ominously.
I was blushing like there was no tomorrow as I stared at my feet to avert Kyrius's eyes - not like I could actually look at him after confessing. Out the corner of my eye I could see the other two girls discussing something in low voices... and I was pretty sure the implications did not bide well for me.
The bell rang, indicating that the next period had started. We had already skipped a period sitting in the infirmary, so we probably should go back to class. I heaved a sigh of relief and got up off the infirmary bed I had been sitting on. Thank goodness I could put off another round of interrogation!
"We should get back to class," Kyrius suggested. "Don't think our teacher will appreciate us skipping out on two periods when Yuki is mostly fine."
... Hearing him call me by that name in this situation actually made my heart skip a beat.
"Uhuh," Phoenicia nodded as she got up from her chair.
I was exceedingly grateful for the fact that Hoseki hadn't followed us in here. Otherwise I might've been inclined to challenge her to a duel right then and right there to get her to keep her mouth shut so she didn't let the news of my embarrassing situation get out to the whole school. Having Kyrius see it was enough... I didn't need the whole school egging me about it constantly. At least only him, Inoha and Phoenicia were hanging around here.
"Might as well go back and get tortured by Haibane-sensei again..." I sighed. Sometimes I really hated student life.
"Yup... Why can't we get less homework from him?" Inoha groaned.
"Geography isn't exactly the kind of subject that you can get by in without loads of homework, you know," Phoenicia pointed out. "Can you remember all the animals living around the Niagara Falls without using their names in about 10 essays?"
"We're not tested on that!" Inoha and I shouted.
"Just a metaphorical example," the petite girl said primly. "We'd get tested on Japanese stuff instead, but the questions would still be in the same format."
"Urk," I muttered.
"Fini-chan, please don't get started," my other best friend of the same gender sighed.
"What? It's the-" Phoenicia promptly took a poke to the rib from Inoha. "Alright! I'll stop, I'll stop!"
"Can't we just skip his class?" I asked no one in particular.
"You know how he acts when someone does that..." Kyrius shook his head.
"Let's just get going," Inoha shuddered visibly.
The four of us quickly left the infirmary, but just as we entered the corridor my body froze as the world around us turned blue. I sighed and prepared myself for the duel, relaxing myself with controlled breathing and closed eyes. When I reopened them I was standing in the middle of a corridor in a building seemingly made out of a patchwork of materials. Brick, metal, wood, you name it, the material was here.
"Junkyard stage," Kyrius idly remarked beside me as the HUD appeared in my view.
My opponent was... someone I hadn't met before. Aluminium Archer. A metal colour AND a long-ranged attacker? This was going to be interesting. Especially on this map where ranged attacks weren't useful due to the large amount of junk and debris littered all over the place.
"I've always been interested in archery myself," Phoenicia nodded.
"You're interested in everything," I sighed as I summoned my gun. "Best go look for him."
"Good luck, and be careful," Kyrius inclined his head towards me.
"I... I know," I stuttered slightly in my reply before running off for the nearest exit.
... Sometimes Kyrius made me so flustered.
With a quick kick of my feet I propelled myself out a nearby open window directly into the junkyard below. While in mid air I palmed several sensor pods and threw them out in roughly in the direction of my opponent. Before hitting the ground, a grappling hook shot out and latched onto a tall piece of junk, slowing my descent enough for me to make an almost completely silent landing.
One problem I was well aware of in this battlefield was that Aluminium Archer, if he held true to his name, used a bow, he would have indirect fire capabilities. Unlike my gun, which could only shoot straight ahead, a bow could fire projectiles on a ballistic trajectory to arc over obstacles. I did have indirect fire weapons, but my heat-seeking missiles were far more likely to lock on to a hot engine or something, and anything else would deplete my special bar too much to use at the start of the battle.
However, my rate of fire was likely faster, so if I could get into close range and surprise him, I'd have the advantage of keeping him off balance more easily. This battle would be one of stealth - whoever found the other first would have the upper hand. But I'd also win if I could get into melee range.
I quickly picked up a signature from one of my sensor pods indicating a moving Duel Avatar nearby. Of course, he was heading towards me... and he was close. A quick thought activated my location indicator jammer before I fired my grappling hooks directly upwards and pulled myself into the air to hang under a crane.
And then I waited.
He passed right by underneath, allowing me to get a good look at his Duel Avatar. True to his name, he wore light aluminium armour over a wiry frame, with the typical hand and elbow guards expected of an archer. His bow... was not quite what I had expected. Instead of a traditional quiver, his bow actually held the arrows on its limbs like in a normal gun magazine. I counted roughly 30 arrows on each limb, and the large bow itself was in the shape of an X with energy bowstrings, so there was a whopping total of 120 ready to be rapid-fired at a target. That and he had two backup magazines on his back.
A cold bead of sweat rolled down my virtual brow - this guy really looked deadly. Still, I couldn't afford to give up just because he was intimidating! In one quick movement, I palmed two landmines from my backpack dispenser and flung them at Aluminium Archer before letting myself drop. Apparently he managed to sense the attack in time as he spun around and let two arrows rip in quick succession, spearing the landmines right through and detonating them harmlessly in mid-air.
I dropped through the resulting cloud of smoke in full burst with my gatling gun, spraying him with lead. Not in the least did he flinch, instead opting to use his bow as a shield. My bullets bounced off it harmlessly, though some got through and chipped away at his health. Once I reached point-blank range, I switched to cannon mode and fired at that instant.
The impact and subsequent explosion of the shell sent both of us flying, him further as he flew bodily into a junk heap that collapsed on him. His health dropped quite a bit, while I took only a little damage thanks to a significantly better landing.
"Not bad."
Aluminium Archer climbed out of the rubble easily and stood beside it, staring at me.
"I'm just getting started!" I fired another high-explosive shell at him, only for him to meet the slow-moving projectile with an arrow causing it to prematurely detonate.
This time, instead of charging through the dust cloud, I slammed the butt of my gun into the ground as the bottom opened up.
"Rocket Salvo!" I cried out.
The barrage of rockets flying out of the launcher flew through the cloud as it dispersed, but already my opponent was on the move. None of the unguided projectiles hit their mark, much to my frustration. Then again, his Duel Avatar was supposed to be really light as aluminium... It was to be expected, but at the same time I felt like I was getting into the fight. It wasn't every day you got the chance to fight someone with the same style as yourself!
A spread of arrows flew my way, but I effortlessly intercepted them by swinging my gun like a baseball bat to deflect them. Almost immediately he was at my side, also swinging his bow... wait, it was just one of the bow limb magazines that had been on his back! And it still had those pointy arrows on it!
I ducked under the attack and kicked at him only for him to jump back out of range. My momentum carried me around in a full spin, allowing me to bring my gun to bear in gatling mode. Another spray of bullets forced him back a little even while I grabbed a large tyre from the junkyard and lobbed it at him with my free hand.
Aluminium Archer, in a move that reminded me VERY much of myself, punted it right back at me using the side of the extra bow limb magazine he was wielding as a sword. My eyes widened in surprise - I barely managed to move my head aside before the tyre sailed through the space it had been occupying.
"Copycat!" I complained out loud before throwing a chunk of a car into the air and whacking it right at him. On the off chance he actually did whack it back...
... Which he did, I returned fire. Somehow it turned into a tennis match between the two of us, whacking the wrecked car chunk between us. After a while the thing couldn't take it anymore and completely broke into pieces. And it did it when I tried to hit it back, meaning I got a faceful of junk.
And of course my opponent seized the chance to open up with a salvo of arrows. I managed to block a few of them, but most got through and struck my legs. The result - I was left almost immobilised while Aluminium Archer rained down arrows on me. I gritted my teeth and ordered the CIWS turrets on my shoulders to start intercepting while I swapped to an offensive stance.
The turrets opened fire, keeping most of the arrows off me while I grabbed two handle on top of my gun, swapping to an underarm grip stabilised by holding another handle further towards the muzzle as the gun folded outwards rapidly into a large energy cannon. Because of the position of the turrets, I couldn't use my original Photon Maser special attack in its usual position, so it had changed to fire from this position instead.
"Photon Maser!" I shouted after the brief charge up time and targeting sequence.
A hot beam of red light erupted from the end of my gun, practically melting through the arrows currently flying at me and hitting my surprised opponent in one of his bow limbs. When I strafed the beam across I managed to get a second one before the attack cooled down and the beam dissipated.
I switched back to the normal grip for my gun as it folded back into its normal mode and surveyed the damage I had dealt. A good half of Aluminium Archer's health was now depleted, and the Burst Linker was standing a good distance away using his bow as a crutch. Missing the two upper limbs it made for a pretty strange sight, until it folded back into the form of a standard bow with only two limbs.
I quickly seized the chance to pull the arrows out of my leg, wincing slightly as my brain registered the fake pain signals. Damn, I hated it when I took incapacitating damage. It always seemed to hurt so much more than standard damage... plus not being able to move a limb was NOT fun during a fight.
"My turn," Aluminium Archer whispered as he stood up and levelled his bow at me. "Squall Razor!"
I barely had time to blink before several arrows launched directly from his magazines, each following a curved trajectory towards me. I could even see the wide blades of wind they were projecting from their arrowheads, so I knew I'd have to dodge further than usual.
The first one came in low, so I blocked it by ramming the muzzle of my gun into the ground and allowing it to tank the damage. The next two were high - I ducked while swinging my body horizontally about the gun to also dodge the one coming in low. Then there were four coming in from all directions forming an X shape - that I dodged by firing a high-explosive shell directly into the ground using my gun's cannon mode. That move propelled me into the air, damaging myself slightly as I was pelted with dirt and junk.
Aluminium Archer looked up just in time to get a faceful of bullets from my gun in gatling mode on my way down. The attack distracted him enough for me to drop down in front of him and lash out at his midsection with my foot. The attack connected solidly, knocking him back a good distance. I quickly followed up with a shot to the head in sniper mode, dealing heavy damage and stunning him.
He didn't look like he would be recovering anytime soon, so I followed up by planting my feet solidly in the ground and pointing my gun right at him. It quickly switched to railgun mode, driving the stabiliser spike deep into the ground as a loud crackle of electricity indicating the weapon charging resounded through the air.
Just as Aluminium Archer recovered, I cried out, "Railgun Strike!" and squeezed the trigger.
"You always seem to be able to find time to use that, don't you?" Kyrius asked.
"Well, it's fun..." I shrugged.
"Use what?" Inoha blinked in confusion.
"Just a move in a game we both play," the only other male around replied nonchalantly.
"You two are now close enough to tell what the other is talking about without even specifically mentioning it!?" Inoha gasped and put a hand to her mouth.
Ahahaha... That wasn't even the case! But it wasn't like we could tell her we were Burst Linkers... Ugh... Kyrius, why couldn't you think up a better lie!? Phoenicia wasn't even trying to hide her giggling... This was embarrassing! Really embarrassing!
"Let's... Let's just get back to class!" I half-shouted as I strode off at a quick pace.
"Suspicious..." I heard Inoha whisper to someone, most likely Phoenicia.
It was pretty obvious from the way her giggling increased in intensity. I gave a snort in response and whirled around to face them with my hands on my hips.
"Are you going to stay there for the rest of the day or something?" I practically demanded.
"Definitely suspicious," Inoha repeated, just loud enough for me to hear.
"And I can hear you perfectly fine, Inoha-chan!" I pointed at her, my brow furrowed in irritation.
Phoenicia completely lost it and broke into laughter. I groaned and covered my cheeks with my hands… Please don't let it continue; please don't let this humiliation continue!
"All right, all right, if we keep doing this in the corridor we'll get caught and accused of ditching class," Kyrius interrupted.
Oh thank goodness.
"Spoilsport," Inoha sighed, but gave in at a sharp glance from Kyrius.
The four of us headed back to the classroom without any further distractions. Thankfully the teacher didn't raise any problems after Kyrius presented his permission slip from the school nurse, even though he did grumble a bit about 'overly concerned friends'. I pretended I didn't hear that and quickly returned to my seat. Just as I planted my butt firmly on it, my message tone rang out clearly in my ears, and a letter icon popped up in the top right corner of my HUD.
I quickly tapped it, bringing up the message and scanning through it.
Meet me later at 7 pm. The usual place. We have to talk.
Scarlet Rain
I froze abruptly. Why the heck would she be looking for me now? I left Prominence ages ago… and she should already know about me joining Nega Nebulous. Did she want me back in Prominence? Or was it for a totally different reason? Ugh, I'd just have to wait until I met her to get an answer from her. Otherwise I'd end up confusing myself way too much… Would it be wise to bring someone else with me? No, we knew each other enough for her to try and ambush me. Besides, I didn't even hold any real position of power within Nega Nebulous. She wouldn't gain anything from ambushing me and taking me out of the game.
Well, maybe it would be better for me to go alone anyway. I probably still knew enough Prominence members for them not to purposely engage me in combat when I went in. Hopefully the new blood wouldn't threaten me…
I absent-mindedly tucked several stray strands of hair behind my ear as I listened to the teacher droning on. It would be best if the day would end faster – it'd let me settle this little problem faster. Would it be a good idea to inform Black Lotus? Nah, she'd probably scold the crap out of me for traipsing into enemy territory alone and demand I take an escort. I let out a small sigh and turned my mind back to the lesson. Best not to think too much about this.
Yet again I found my thoughts wandering off to the handsome foreigner sitting on the other side of the class diligently taking notes. I couldn't help but think of him every time I felt that hairclip sitting on my head. That hairclip with REAL diamonds that he had somehow managed to force on me. Honestly, what made him give that kind of extravagant gift? I knew he was rich, being the son of the founder of the Igzelier Corporation all the way across the world in Italy… but he didn't exactly give off the aura of a reckless spender. Why did he have to buy it for me?
"Every time I feel like I have you figured, you throw me for six with something unexpected…" I whispered gently as I laid my head on my right hand, resting on my desk.
Exactly how should I feel about him? Right now our relationship was pretty much 'just friends', but yet I felt this attraction to him that clearly didn't feel like 'just friends'. He never really acknowledged it though… even though I was sure I had accidentally shown my true feelings to him on more than several occasions. Then again, he was quite dense… Ugh, I needed to work harder to get him to notice. Perhaps a gift in return? I could see if Ryusei –niichan could help foot a bit of the bill…
But then I realized he most likely had everything he needed already, so what was the point in giving him a gift? Or maybe it just needed to something else other than something useful for him… A ring?
WAIT A SECOND, THAT WOULD FEEL LIKE PROPOSING! NO WAY!
An earring? Nah… I doubted he'd even wear those. A letter? I didn't know what to write… A shirt? My sense of style wasn't good enough… Underwear?
…
WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING ABOUT!?
I quickly turned back to the floating notepad in my HUD and began taking notes earnestly…
...
"Yuki, I love you," Kyrius said.
…
I tore the offending page of the floating notepad off and tossed it at the trash can icon, where it quickly shattered into fragments and dissipated. He just had to mess up my thoughts every single darn time his face floated through my mind… Another sigh escaped my lips but I quickly stopped when I saw the teacher glancing in my direction. This particular teacher was usually sharp enough to notice sighs and yawns in his class, and was likely to take those as slights on his teaching methods. I really couldn't let my guard down here…
When the bell rang about 20 minutes later and he left the class, I let out a breath I didn't even know I had been holding in. Finally he was gone… pretty much none of my classmates really liked the guy either. Then again, the feeling was quite mutual – I idly wondered how long it was before he would retire. I really really hoped that day would come soon, and I was sure my classmates shared the same sentiment. Especially after the truckload of homework he had just dumped on us.
"Come to think of it, Haibane-sensei doesn't really like Yuki-chan either, even though she's one of the top students in the class…" Phoenicia mused as our usual group gathered around.
"Does he even have someone he likes?" Inoha snorted in derision, "It does make you wonder how he even manages to stay on the staff with that attitude of his."
"Word on the street is that even the headmaster is scared of him," Aida whispered.
"Not surprising… I wonder if it explains why the other teachers always leave a little earlier before his periods and come later after," Inoha nodded.
"Should we really be gossiping about Haibane-sensei, anyway?" I asked.
"Well, he invited it on himself anyway," Aida sighed. "Nobody really likes him."
"Anyway, what do you guys want to do after class today?" I hurriedly tried to change the subject. Talking bad about a teacher didn't really sit well with me…
"Hmm, I don't know…" Inoha put a finger to her lip in thought.
"I have club activities, sorry," Phoenicia shook her head sadly. "The Literature Club is having a meeting today…"
"It's okay, Fini-chan," I patted her back gently.
"If I'm not mistaken there should also be a meeting between the class representatives later after school, so I probably won't be able to come either," Kyrius sighed. "Honestly though, these meetings are boring… but I still have to go regardless."
"Yeah… I guess we won't be able to have much fun with only three of us," I indicated Inoha and Aida.
"I don't know about Sanno, but I think he also has something to do…"
"What are the chances of it being trying to peek in the girl's bathroom?" I folded my arms hotly.
There was a particularly loud sneeze from the adjacent classroom.
"Quite high," Inoha balled up a fist, her irritation with the Peeping Tom clear.
"Should we report him to the Head Girl again?" Phoenicia suggested.
"I heard they have a baseball bat in the girl's bathroom just to deal with him. Is that true?" Aida looked at the three of us girls.
"Yep," I nodded, recalling the time I had managed to score a home run with that particular baseball bat. Where did I hit him with it again…?
"Scary."
"Well, it could be for you too…" Inoha let her words trail off.
"I'm not as bad as him!"
Another loud sneeze from the adjacent classroom.
"Well, I actually have to be somewhere later so I can't go out either," I sighed as I recalled Yuniko's message. It did sound pretty urgent after all… "Sorry guys."
"It's fine. I guess we'll just split later then?" Kyrius smiled and looked around. When no one voiced any objections he nodded, "Then it's decided."
I nervously looked around the shop as I pushed through the door. It had been ages since I had last been here… and it was still the same place as ever. I always did wonder why Yuniko insisted on meeting here all the time, but then again, the maid café probably was quite the unanticipated meeting place. Most people wouldn't even think of meeting at such a place… I had to commend her brilliance, using reverse psychology like this.
"Welcome back, ojou-sama!" one of the maids bowed to me as I entered.
"Thanks," I smiled at her.
"We've been expecting you," a very familiar maid with long, braided black hair and crimson red eyes approached me. "Master hasn't arrived yet, so wait for her in the back room."
"Nice to see you again, Pard-san," I nodded. "What's this all about?"
"I'll let Master tell you herself."
Same as ever… she hadn't really changed in all the time since I left Prominence. Blood Leopard led me through a door in the back of the shop into a rather cosy room with cushy couches running along two walls and a low coffee table in the middle. I recognized the room – I had been here several times before after all.
"Master should be here in about 5 minutes. Please make yourself comfortable," she said as I sat down on a couch.
"Sorry for the trouble," I nodded.
"N.P," was her curt reply as she left the room.
I always thought that Blood Leopard had quite the attitude even though she was a maid… Then again, Scarlet Rain herself did have quite the attitude for an elementary schoolgirl. Maybe there was some truth in the statement that like-minded people tended to gather… And then that reminded me of some of the other more… eccentric members of the Red Legion. I hadn't forgotten about that guy… or was it girl? I couldn't really tell when it came to his or her Duel Avatar, and he/she/it never really told us his/her/its gender, and really liked it when people asked about it, only to never give a straight reply. Helped that his/her/its voice was really androgynous.
I wondered if I could also consider perversion another form of eccentricity, like with the three perverts I somehow found myself hanging around constantly. Ryusei-niichan the 'sneaky' pervert, Sanno the 'blatant' pervert and Aida the 'lucky' pervert…
"Sorry for the wait!" A familiar petite red-haired, twintailed girl practically waltzed into the room.
I saw Blood Leopard give me a nod through the doorway before leaving us to our own devices and closing the door.
"I haven't seen you in a while, Niko," I smiled affectionately.
"You too, one-chan!" Kozuki Yuniko replied, still putting up her childish persona.
Kozuki Yuniko in real life, or rather Niko as she preferred to be called… She was the leader of the Red Legion, Prominence and also my former legion master. She went by several names, most notoriously the moniker she gained for her method of combat in the Accelerated World – Immobile Fortress. Her actual name in the Accelerated World was Scarlet Rain, Rain as in the rain of projectiles she usually sent flying at her opponents. In a long-ranged fight she was almost invincible thanks to her Duel Avatar's thick armour and heavy focus on extreme long-ranged weaponry. In most fights I saw her involved in, she had never even moved a single inch, instead deploying her Immobile Fortress External Armament to utterly pulverize her enemies from range through the superior firepower it mounted.
And you'd never suspect that she was just a kid in real life. But then again people tended to mature faster if they spent so much time in the Accelerated World experiencing time at an accelerated rate anyway.
"Anyway, what did you call me here for today?" I asked. "You should already know I joined Nega Nebulous, and I doubt most of the other legion masters have any love for us."
Almost immediately Yuniko's eyes narrowed from her previously playful face to her serious one, completely dropping the façade she put up in her daily life. She crossed her legs quite roughly and rested her arms on the couch's backrest casually before she started to speak.
"Yeah, I know, but this is a matter I don't really trust anyone else to help me out with," she said, "Besides, it's precisely because you're now a member of Nega Nebulous that I want to talk to you."
"Huh?" I blinked in surprise.
"Have you heard of the Armour of Catastrophe?" Yuniko asked in a low tone.
I froze up. That was one name I had not expected to be brought up ever again. True, I had started playing Brain Burst a little while before that entire thing happened, and I never met it in battle… but the tales from my legion mates about that… thing were terrifying enough. An External Armament that induced rage and madness in its user. Any who wore the armour turned into berserk monsters, rampaging across battlefields and killing all who got in their way with the most gruesome methods possible…
"THAT Armour of Catastrophe!?" I gasped.
"Yes, that one."
"But… but… wasn't it destroyed two and a half years ago?"
"I believed that at first… but…"
A hint of sadness crossed Yuniko's face for a short moment. It was a rare expression to be seen on her face – too rare for nothing not to be going on. I quickly connected the dots.
"It's… someone in Prominence, isn't it?" my heart sank. I still had some lingering connections to other Burst Linkers in the Red Legion… I sure hoped it wasn't any of those I knew.
"You remember Cherry Rook?" the redhead asked sadly.
"Oh my god…" I trailed off and slumped into my couch. It just had to be him… "How!? How did he get infected by the Armour of Catastrophe!?"
"That's a question I'd like to know the answer to myself!" Yuniko stood up abruptly, her hands balled into fists as a sign of her rage. "I'm about as mad at this whole thing as you are! To make matters worse, he's going around attacking Burst Linkers from other legions in his enraged state and breaking the peace treaty!"
"That means…" my face paled rapidly.
"I'll have to put him down if this keeps up," Yuniko looked away from me, not quite fast enough for me to miss the tear leaking down her cheek.
"…" I was speechless for a moment.
I knew Yuniko liked the guy a lot. Heck, even I did too – he had been my surrogate mentor of sorts, helping me get used to the game when Lava Blaster wasn't able to help me train. I also knew Cherry Rook was Yuniko's guardian, despite Yuniko herself being about 3 levels higher. But… what had really happened? Cherry Rook didn't seem like the kind of person to give in to the Armour of Catastrophe's rage… why did he end up with it? Why was he using it!?
"Look, I need a favour from you, Yukina," Yuniko took her seat again.
"Go ahead… I'll do all I can to help," I said determinedly.
"Come with me to a meeting later this week. We'll be meeting with other people to put together a plan to deal with Cherry Rook."
A/N: If you laughed at any point in the chapter, please do drop a review! The more reviews come in, the more inspired I'll be to finish up the chapters faster. =)