AN: I'm alive!
So it's been a few months! Whelp, got really busy with school since it's my last semester and such. Gotta put some effort, right?
Hooray?!
Time for more time with the science side!
Hope you guys have fun reading this!
Chapter 50: Miracles
"I can't believe I get to meet Arisa herself!"
Ruiko was squealing in total excitement.
"I mean I do download her songs, but I still buy them online!" she went on,
She really loved that girl's music.
"Plus getting her signature as a gift from you, oh Otomi." she grinned at me, "You shouldn't have."
I rolled my eyes.
Seemed like everyone's a fan.
"It's nothing." I replied,
Apparently, Touma had supplemental lessons today and he can't trusts Index to watch over Arisa. Instead, he asked me to protect Arisa, while he's busy.
"Stupid timing." I muttered in annoyance, "Stupid bad luck."
Our singer was supposed to discuss a contract with the Orbit Portal Company and have a photoshoot as well.
In other words, a busy day.
"And I just wanted to laze around and see what happens." I sighed to myself,
My cheek was getting poked.
"C'mon you gotta introduce me to Arisa!" Ruiko grinned, "I mean you have her number! Her number!"
Fangirl.
My phone started to go off, which I answered.
"Otomi?"
It was Mikoto.
"Hey." I greeted,
"Listen, I'm not gonna be free today since a friend of mine asked for a favor." she explained, "Uiharu and Kuroko are with me."
What?
"Funny enough, me too." I commented,
Mikoto hummed as a response.
"Wait a minute, did Arisa asked you for a favor?!" my sister realized,
Jackpot.
"Yup." I simply stated,
Mikoto simply sighed.
"Uiharu no need to text Saten!" I heard her say, '"Been a while since we've all hung out."
"Yeah." I agreed,
The last time all five of us were together was before the girls left for Liberal Arts City, which was the first week of September. However, we're so busy the second week we never had a chance to hang out. I was getting used to BAD, so I never had to chance to hang out with any of the quartet.
Stopping Tree Diagram did not count as a time to hang out.
"Alright I'll see you soon Otomi." I knew Mikoto was smiling,
"You too, nee-san." I said with a smile,
Ruiko kept her usual grin towards me.
"Aw that's just cute." she commented,
I face heated up. I had the strongest urge to ignore my roommate.
"C'mon we all know you have a wonderful smile!" Ruiko went on,
My face got redder, if that was possible.
Why did my thoughts go to yesterday's conversation?
Ruiko's lips are-
No!
I am wiping that crude thought out of my mind!
Right now!
"Shut it." I responded,
"Whatcha gonna do?" she teased me,
Her face was very close to mine.
Our noses were touching.
Looks like there was only one way to end this.
Now.
Grabbing Ruiko's wrists, I pinned her to a wall.
"O-Otomi?!" a shocked Ruiko wondered,
Our faces were still close.
I could see the confusion within her eyes.
"Dammit Ruiko." I growled,
Her face heated up.
"W-Wait, I-I'm not ready for a relationship!" she yelled,
I released her wrists and she fell down to the ground.
"Stop it." I simply said, "Especially with that kind of thought."
Ruiko was glaring at me, due to my obvious actions.
"That's enough schoolgirl animes for a while." she sighed,
I simply rolled my eyes.
"You like those shows too Otomi." my roommate snickered,
I simply glared as a reply.
...
Ruiko and I met up with the rest of the girls.
Everybody seemed happy and content with daily events.
"Hey Otomi! Saten!" Uiharu waved at us,
In front of her was an injured Kuroko using a wheelchair. The teleporter seemed bored, despite the happy atmosphere.
"Hey." my sister casually greeted,
Yet, for some reason, Mikoto had this curious look on her face. Nothing dangerous, yet it felt unnerving.
I had a feeling it's about Arisa thinking she met Mikoto. In reality it was Proto, who carelessly forgot to change out of her usual appearance.
"Hey to you too." I nodded,
Ruiko and the Judgement duo were ahead of us. We're far enough that the three cannot hear our conversation.
"So what happened yesterday?" Mikoto asked quietly,
"Proto forgot her disguise." I sighed,
"How?" was her next question,
"I have no idea." I simply stated,
Mikoto was making various faces. It's scrunched, winced and even pouted.
This went on for a few minutes.
Then she sighed.
"It could be worse." she told me, "Luckily the two of us were pretty far enough, so no one should've seen me and your sister in that short time."
That's actually true. Mikoto and Proto were in two different areas of the city.
I felt relieved.
Damage control was not needed at all.
"Hey!"
The two of us saw an excited Ruiko. She waved excitedly across the street.
Looking there, I saw a waiting Arisa.
With a closer look, she seemed in deep thought.
The three of them were already across the street.
Mikoto looked at her expectantly.
"Seems like it's going to be a busy day." she told me,
Then she went on ahead.
The feeling was mutual.
"Hello again." I greeted Arisa,
"Hey, thanks for saving me last night." Arisa thanked me with her smile,
I felt eyes all around me.
"That's how you met Arisa?!" Ruiko gasped,
I simply chuckled at the assumption.
"Technically I met her earlier yesterday." I corrected, "I was watching her street performance and had a bit of a talk with her."
Mikoto was nodding at my explanation.
I answered my sister's curiosity on how Proto and I met her.
"No I didn't hang out with her after." I told Ruiko,
Ruiko was in deep thought.
"A maiden saved by her knight in shining armor." she began with a glint in her eyes, "Receiving her favor and blessing, the knight gladly returns to assist the maiden in need!"
I simply sighed at the silly story. That stuff happened in ancient times.
"So meeting her last night was just a coincidence?" wondered Kuroko with a raised eyebrow,
"More like right place and right time." I pointed out, "So a fortunate coincidence."
"Woah Otomi." Uiharu gasped in amazement,
Everyone's attention towards me was increased by tenfold!
MY face heated up from it.
"L-Let's just go, before Arisa is late!" I stuttered,
Everyone looked at their phones for the time.
"Holy crap, you're right!" Ruiko grabbed my arm and Arisa's, "Let's go!"
...
We took an elevator to our destination.
I shouldn't be surprised a space company would have a headquarters at high altitude.
I gulped when I looked at how high we were.
A hand grabbed mine.
"You'll be fine." Ruiko reassured me, "Never thought I'd see fearless Otomi, being scared of heights. I mean your hands were shaking."
Was I that scared?
I was fine when I'm at rooftops of high buildings, yet this was a bit different.
Just higher than what I'm used to.
"More like scared of being out of my comfortable atmosphere." I rolled my eyes,
"Not like we're going to space or anything." she replied with a grin, "Just higher than normal."
While Ruiko was trying to calm me down, Uiharu was discussing about the Orion Incident and Miracle 88.
The incident with the spaceplane
I already heard majority of what Uiharu was discussing. It felt like a reminder of the incident.
"Get this the president of Orbit Company is only ten years old!" she proclaimed,
What?!
No seriously what's with this city and having children lead?
"So she was seven when the incident happened." Mikoto stated,
So Miracle 88 happened three years ago.
"Just a figurehead for the company." Kuroko rolled her eyes, "Heard she's a strange one and no one can take her seriously."
"Coming from the pigtailed teleporter on a wheelchair." Uiharu giggled,
Never realized how much snark Uiharu can have, even making it sound so cheery.
Kuroko simply glared at her.
That had to be a daily occurrence between the two.
Once we finally entered our floor, which I didn't pay attention since I dash out of the elevator, I noticed how many props were set aside.
From globes to fancy looking curtains, this felt like the backstage of a play or something.
Were they setting up?
The most notable thing was a girl sitting perfectly still at a chair.
Blonde hair and a checkered pattern outfit.
Staring into those blue eyes, they seemed empty like a doll. I meant empty, not as in looking for a reason to live but, by losing all reason to live.
"The hell?" I muttered,
"You are an observant one, are you?" the girl stood up with a smile,
She scanned the others, who turn towards me. They all gasped for some reason.
She was looking at Arisa
"I love your songs." she kept the smile up, "I wish you good luck in your photoshoot."
She stood up and started to walk to the elevator we recently used.
Her eyes were still dead.
That was disturbing.
"And Otomi?" the girl spoke towards me, "I see you have great things ahead of you."
That was beyond creepy.
Wait?
This may sound of out nowhere, but-
But could she be the voice?
Silence was my only answer.
"Did you ever meet that girl, Otomi?" Kuroko broke me out of my thoughts,
"No." I shook my head,
"Then how does she know you?" Mikoto wondered,
That's a good question.
"That's her!" Uiharu gasped, "Ladylee Tangleroad!"
We all gasped at that fact.
That girl was behind that Orion Incident and why the Black Crow Unit protected Arisa.
Why did Ladylee wanted to keep Arisa safe from magicians?
It wasn't for noble intentions as far as I can tell. Shutaura warned Touma about getting involved will get him killed. Whatever magical ability Arisa had, Ladylee wanted it.
Too many possibilities and factors, I cannot reach a conclusion to all of this.
Something else bothered me about that girl.
There's that saying about the eyes were the window for someone's soul?
Ladylee seemed older, as in way older than she appeared.
Anyways, my thoughts were broken by the next room.
Cameras and lights were scattered all over the place. One of the corners was all blue. There was a white background just standing there. Snacks were at the side.
I'm assuming the white background is where the photos will take place.
Shouldn't it be green?
Or was that only for filming?
"Hello I'm Arisa." our star introduced herself to the photo team, "Nice to work with all of you."
The crew returned the greetings and one of them approached us, which I think was the director.
"And who are these girls?" the assumed director asked,
Everyone looked baffled by the question.
As for me, I love to mess around.
"I'm her legal guardian." I stated with a serious face,
The girls looked at me if I was insane, which was partially true.
Then I chuckled.
"Just a friend wanting to keep an eye on her." I corrected myself with a smile,
The director laughed at my little display.
"I like you kid." she nodded,
Then she observed the rest of us with a keen eye.
To be a director of a photoshoot, someone needed really good observation skills.
"Alright we're going to give you your outfits and make any adjustments if needed." she told us, "Then we're moving to a different location for the photoshoot."
Wait we're not going to take pictures here?
"A couple of pictures here then we're moving." she corrected herself,
We all nodded.
The director gestured to a clothing rack.
All I had to say was the large amount of outfits.
"Woah." an amazed Ruiko reacted,
"That's a lot." Mikoto pointed out,
Kuroko simply sighed.
Oh right, I don't think Kuroko would be permitted to be part of this. Unless it's about injured people, right?
"Oh, oh look at this!" Uiharu took out one of the clothing sets,
Everyone looked so excited.
"Sorry girls, but it's Arisa's choice." the costume designer gave us an apologetic smile, ''Though I'm glad you girls love the outfits here."
We all looked at Arisa who picked up a very frilly outfit. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.
My eye twitched at the skirt length.
Seriously?!
"Ah good eye dear!" the director agreed,
I-I have to wear that?!
Anyways, Arisa was a natural when it came to the photoshoot. Being in public and performing made her used to all of this. Taking pictures with fans or something similar.
Arisa got a modified outfit to differentiate her from us. Usually the leader or star had the outfit that stood out, while the everyone else got similar outfits.
Arisa got a nice hat while we get little crowns.
She got a tailcoat, while we don't.
"Alright first solo pictures then group photos!" the director instructed her crew,
Arisa was getting into the pictures as she posed and smiled.
Ruiko looked nervous in her outfit.
"What's with you?" I wondered,
"The skirt length." she blushed, "I'm more of the pants kind of girl, but this skirt length has to be illegal!"
"Too bad we're relocating after this." I sighed, "So people will see you in that outfit."
"It's embarrassing." Ruiko blushed even more, "Man, people are going to look underneath!"
Uiharu gave her a blank look.
I simply snickered at that.
"You worry too much." Mikoto smiled, "Remember all cameras are going to be at Arisa."
"Easier for you to say, since your uniform skirt is practically the same length!" she retorted,
"Still, everyone's going to pay attention to the famous singer and not us." I pointed out, "So it's not as bad as you think."
"Hopefully." my roommate muttered,
Kuroko was very quiet.
At the corner of my eye, I saw her taking pictures of Mikoto.
"Onee-sama that outfit looks good on you." she drooled,
I wasn't surprise.
Mikoto took a deep breath from her roommate's action.
She's not going to shock Kuroko, who was still recovering. My sister just shook her head and tolerated it.
"Ruiko look at Arisa." I nudged at her, "She's having fun and we're all helping her for her sake."
"Good point.' she sighed, "I'll grin and bear it for Arisa's sake!"
We all were waiting for our turn.
"Alright girls, time for group photos!" the director told us,
It felt tense when we all pose along with Arisa. Most of them were nervous. Uiharu was enjoying this.
I couldn't take it.
"Excuse me?" I raised my hand, "Mind if we retake those photos?"
The girls looked at me with surprises, while the director nodded.
"You girls need to ease up and have fun!" she pointed at Mikoto and Ruiko,
What did Maya tell me about parties?
Something along the lines of having fun so everyone else can have fun too.
Alright, time to make this fun.
"C'mon just be natural like this is a park or something." I told them,
We all simply conversed about random topics. However I decided to lead by doing this.
"So how did that one anime pose again?" I wondered,
"Like this!" Ruiko knocked on her own head and pointed at the camera,
"You mean this right?" Mikoto made a quiet gesture with a wink,
"Oh, oh like this!" Uiharu raised her hand in victory,
"This is fun!" Arisa grinned as she pretended to have a mic and pointed at the camera,
I kept the thinking pose up.
After a couple more photos, it was time to relocate.
"A mall?!" Ruiko gasped,
The walk there was filled with so much fun. Everybody was enjoying the photoshoot.
Yet, here I was thinking about the conspiracies Proto speculated.
The Orion spaceplane was sabotaged.
88 people entered the spaceplane. 88 people exited it. However there was a casualty, the pilot. At the same time Arisa, appeared in the spaceplane.
That was the yesterday's information.
My personal new information was Ladylee Tangleraod herself.
She was older than she appeared. Her eyes had no life within them, they're empty.
!
No way!
T-That's the most selfish reason to sabotage a plane!
My conclusion was this. Ladylee wanted to die therefore she sabotaged Orion. She could've possibly be in the spaceplane, but hidden from the public eye. Another possibility would be, sabotaging Orion as a test on how to die.
Yet, why did she want to die? Perhaps she was an experiment with amplified regeneration. Her wounds heal at an accelerated rate so fast that damage to her is practically negligible.
Wait, then why did she know about those magicians? That's just under the assumption she's protecting Arisa from being taken away.
A magical curse or blessing with-
This will sound insane.
Immortality?!
What a peculiar word. It meant to live forever.
If Ladylee was an immortal, then the question was when did she become an immortal?
Arghhh!
With no actual evidence this was all pure speculation!
"Otomi? Hello? You there?"
I felt someone using my head as a doorknob.
"You're kinda giving out that scary face again." Ruiko chuckled nervously,
?
"Sorry." was my response,
"It's fine, just a lot in your mind?" Ruiko asked me, "Like why would people attack Arisa, right?"
"Something along those lines." I nodded,
"By the way, we're here." she smiled,
What?
Was I thinking that long?
I simply sighed and looked at which mall we were.
I had no idea.
There was a stage and some lighting around. Some speakers were around the stage and they were blasting Arisa's songs. I noticed a huge line of people, most notably they had cameras.
So this was the next photoshoot.
"Oh man why!?" cried out Ruiko, "So many people!"
I simply shook my head at her embarrassment.
"C'mon let's go." I gestured to my hand and decided to tease her, "You look fine, I bet there's a future boyfriend waiting for you out there."
Ruiko took my hand and we went to the stage.
Uiharu and Mikoto were at the side looking at the smiling Arisa. She seemed ready.
"Practice your smile girls!" the director told us, "Gotta have that camera smile!"
Camera smile?
Like just a smile, right? Nothing special about it?
I looked at Ruiko for answers.
"Camera smile is like that instinct to smile despite how many retakes or times you have to take the picture." she explained, "My parents had to do so many retries since my little brother can't sit still."
Makes sense.
"You have a little brother?" the words automatically came out of my mouth,
"I never told you?" Ruiko wondered, "I thought I showed you a picture of my family."
I can't recall.
"Ladies and Gentlemen presenting Meigo Arisa!" an announcer announced?
The line started to move up and gathered around the stage.
Then flashes started to happen every second.
My eyes blurred from the sudden brightness.
Looking around, I saw plenty of people using their phones to take pictures and videos. For a few of them, I actually smiled at them.
A couple of winks here and there as well.
I never pegged myself as a flirty type.
Was winking considered a type of flirting?
Anyways, I noticed Touma at one of the upper floors. I gave him a thumbs up, while he nodded and smiled back.
My smile got bigger.
Should I tell Mikoto?
"Hey isn't that the guy, you have a massive crush on?" Ruiko leaned towards me with a teasing grin,
Nevermind.
My face simply heated up.
I glared as a response.
"I bet there's a future boyfriend waiting for you out there." my roommate repeated,
I simply sighed.
This was it felt like to be a normal girl.
Suddenly a dreadful feeling emerged within me.
My eyes quickly went towards the crowd in front of us. One person stood out, despite attempting to be incognito.
Cloaked in black, the leader of the Black Crow unit was staring intently at Arisa.
Shutaura, what was she doing here?
From what I can recall from the previous night, she attacked the magic users immediately.
What was their role?
"To preserve and maintain order in Academy City" was what I recalled,
What did her presence in the crowd mean?
A few theories came up quickly.
An upcoming attack.
Lost experiment escaped.
Keeping an eye on Arisa.
My mind heavily favored the third option.
At the corner of my eye, Touma was running towards a direction. At the same time, Shutaura left the crowd.
"Otomi, what's wrong?" a worried Ruiko asked,
Then a headache occurred.
"Your body is not the only thing deteriorating."
The voice was back.
"Your mind will slowly forget everything as well." it informed me, "Do you recall the one who rules this city?"
W-Who? I knew I talked to that person before. The person had the voice of full of contradictions.
My mind was blank.
"First you will forget the small, but important details." the voice went on,
Why can't I remember the name?!
"When you die, you will not remember anything and anyone." it mocked me,
A chilling message for me.
I blinked and a worried Ruiko was in my sights.
"I-I need a quick break." I answered,
I quickly left the stage and decided to stay by Kuroko's side.
"For the one to be insisting all the fun, you shouldn't be the one who backs out of the stage." the teleporter greeted me with a lighthearted smile,
I rolled my eyes, but I took a few deep breaths.
"Are you alright?" Kuroko asked,
"Just need some rest." I replied immediately,
Was there an attacked coming?
I looked all over the area, yet I cannot see anything odd. If not here, then the attack can happen either above or under. Above would be simple, the roof had glass. Under was the foundation of this mall, it would cause serious collateral damage.
Will it be those magicians again?
No, it can't be.
They attacked at nighttime and there were only a small amount of people, including me. They were attempting to be discrete.
Yet, I can't shake this dreadful feeling off.
Then the ground shook.
A thousands reasons formed within my mind.
"Why?" I wondered,
Did this person not care about all of these people?
The stage was getting smashed by all the glass from above. Support beams were collapsing around the area. It's like the entire building was falling down on us.
"Kuroko!" Mikoto yelled out,
Kuroko blinked out of my sights, then she had Ruiko and Uiharu by her side.
I felt my knees giving up.
"Otomi!" all three yelled for me,
Another vision appeared within my mind.
There was a strange looking man. He was defending himself against Shutaura and Touma. The moment Touma's right hand touched the man, his hand was shattered!
A man made out of magic?
It sounded so far fetched, yet it could be true.
That's coming from a clone made by science.
The last and most notable part of the vision shown was the man activating a detonator!
I could only feel anger boiling up inside.
How dare he!
Why?!
"Whoever did this is gonna pay!" I yelled,
Blinking again, I realized the shaking stopped. Everybody was recovering from the incident, yet it seemed like nobody was hurt.
"Otomi, are you alright?" Mikoto frowned,
I gulped just from her facial expression.
"Don't worry, nobody's hurt!" Arisa grabbed my hands and held them tightly, "I'm glad you're safe!"
"Arisa." I simply said her name,
"Revenge isn't worth it." she held my hands tighter, "Please, Otomi."
!
Mikoto gave me a smile as well.
I took a few deep breaths and nodded towards them.
"You're right, thanks." I nodded,
Revenge.
It's such a reckless and destructive way to live. I would know, I did it for so long. Yet the risks were so high and I hurt my friends' feelings. If I didn't have any of my friends, my life would've been over.
Dead.
Yes I avenged my sisters, yet that dark satisfactory feeling lasted ephemerally. That feeling was so short, I realized what I've done to get that far.
Knowing my sisters, a part of me knew they would want me to live for my own sake. Yet, I did a lot of life risking things.
Was it worth it?
Not at all.
"It's like a miracle." Kuroko observed our surrounding,
There's no serious injuries and or any fatal casualties. Circumstances would dictate some injuries and such. A collapsing building should injure an unfortunate group of people, yet it never happened.
It was like last night!
It's like when the pillars above Touma split right before it crushed him.
Yet instead of a single person, it was the entire building.
I stared at Arisa with amazement.
"W-What?" she stuttered and blushed,
"Not again." groaned Ruiko,
What?
...
After that entire incident, the girls decided to part ways. Ruiko went back to our dorm to get some rest. Uiharu and Kuroko wanted to investigate recent events to figure out how and why did this incident happened. Mikoto went off on her own investigation.
As for me, I-
"I can't believe you went to a photoshoot with the Arisa!" Maya grabbed my shoulders,
I went back to Maid Espresso to relax. All of BAD was there, so I told them about my recent events.
"Someone tried to kill Arisa, I wonder why?" Ichiroku thought outloud,
"I know haters can hate, but that's a little too much." Proto pointed out, "Glad you're alright onee-sama!"
I felt Maya's fingers tightened.
"Ah, anyone please ease the situation." Mio's eyes widened, "Maya-sama is getting angry."
Kayo simply raised her eyebrow at the scene.
"To think our assassins or whoever's targeting Arisa would willingly attempt to hurt civilians." Ichiroku added on,
"Luckily the Black Crows were protecting her." Kayo informed us, "They act like Arisa's not-to-be-seen bodyguards and such."
Now, why did the Black Crow insist on protecting Arisa? Was it from Ladylee's orders?
"So, if Ladylee wants to keep Arisa safe and, I assume, quiet then that means the president of Orbital Company knows something!" Proto theorized,
"Like what?" I sighed as Maya finally let go of me,
"88 incident?" Proto guessed,
"I'm assuming Arisa isn't aware of this, but Ladylee does know something." Ichiroku stated,
Should I tell them?
"Otomi!" Rina ran towards me with her lizard legs,
Thankfully the cafe was closed.
"I can't believe you met Tangleroad herself!" she yapped,
I was going to tell them that next, but Rina beat me to it.
Everyone's eyes were on me.
"Yeah, I was gonna tell you guys that part after." I sighed and glanced at our nonhuman liaison, "How do you know anyways?"
"I got eyes and ears all over the city." she simply told me,
I gave her a blank look.
"In other words, she probably was watching you through the security cams." Maya told me, "Rina tends to keep an eye out for us, in a very stalker kinda way."
"It is not stalking unless there is an obsession to it." Rina glared,
"Says the one who's at the monitors most of the day." Kayo snickered,
"I am a speaking balaur bondoc, of course I can't just walk outside." our liaison sighed,
Jokes aside, I noticed the light atmosphere around this place.
"Anyways, I found something interesting over the net." Rina informed us, "Checking databanks about Ladylee, I've come into something quiet interesting."
With her claws, she, somehow, showed us a picture on her phone.
That picture had our president of that space company along with some gentlemen. They looked like scientist, yet the outfits seemed outdated?
The clothes looked old, like it's not a trend anymore. Plus the picture wasn't in color.
Out of topic, but is it color or colour?
There was a caption beneath the picture.
Paris 1870.
!
?
!?
1870?!
What they fu-
"Woah, that's like an identical grandmother or something right?!" Maya gasped,
"The resemblance is uncanny." Mio added, "So Ladylee could either be-"
"Part of a family filled with scientific background." Ichiroku continued,
Paris? That's in Europe, specifically France.
"Or she's actually an ancient being who found immortality and is willing to see how the world progress if it will improve or deteriorate." Kayo finished, "Like one of those world guardians or something I've watched."
That was my theory earlier today, besides the whole world watcher role. That picture was supporting my theory.
What were the chances?
All of them looked at Kayo like she grew another head or something.
"What? I thought we're doing crazy theories." she raised her eyebrow,
"Possible, but what proof do we have?" Ichiroku shrugged, "One claim is more logical since relatives can look similar."
Only fair for the others to have doubts.
"But the girl in the picture is identical to Ladylee." I pointed out, "I saw her face to face and recognized me."
"Not surprised based on her position." Maya nodded, "Otomi, anything specific to tell us if that's her ancestor or something?"
Looking closely at the picture, it seemed like that girl held the same air as Ladylee. Then there's her eyes-
!
I was right!
"It's her." I gasped, "Definitely Ladylee."
"What?!" was everyone's reaction,
Logic dictated a descendant with an identical appearance. Yet, eyes were the windows to the soul.
They were dead.
Just like how I noticed it.
"When I met her, she had this air around her." I began, "Like she looked older than she appeared."
"Wait, like the midget teacher?" Kayo wondered,
What?
"Anyways, her eyes looked so uninterested." I went on, "It's like she's doing anything to keep herself amused or entertained."
Everyone nodded at my explanation.
"Emotion over reason, got it." Maya smiled, "You got a knack for this, don't you?"
"As much as I want to disregard your explanation, you got some good points from an emotional standpoint." Ichiroku nodded,
"Yes." Kayo simply smirked, "My explanation wasn't entirely accurate, but it is the closest."
Thankfully I wasn't the one who opened their mouth to form a wild mass guess about our current topic.
"Half full." Mio rolled her eyes, "Kayo you have another explanation now, do you?"
Our Aeroflare smirked again and nodded, "Otomi you said, based on her eyes, she's practically bored right?"
I'll let Kayo have the spotlight for this one.
I nodded.
"New crazy theory I've come up it." she began, "So an immortal who lived for so long, she did anything and everything to keep herself entertained. However, she probably wanted to die, but she couldn't die. So she searched for many ways to die, yet it never happened."
That's exactly my guess!
"The cogs are moving!" Proto realized it as well,
Kayo kept the smirk up and went on, "One of those way on searching for a way to die, was the spaceplane incident! Maybe Ladylee, herself, was the one who sabotaged the plan to find if she can die space."
That theory sounded to absurd, yet I though of it just like that.
"Look at the picture, 1870." Proto added, "Space exploration was discovered a couple of decades ago."
"She found a new way to die." Kayo finished, "And it didn't work because of that miracle."
Miracle.
There's that word again.
I believed in miracles.
It's that and sheer luck I was able to survive a lot of situations.
"Yet, she was willing to take 88 innocent people with her." I frowned,
"I mean, sure killing people that deserve it is fun!" Maya grinned then frowned, "However, causing unnecessary deaths is such a waste of time and effort. That meant the person did not care."
That sounded right.
"Based on Otomi-san's impression, it seems like Ladylee stopped caring a long ago." Mio added her thoughts,
"Looks like we got our next target then." Rina told us,
"She lived for so long that people just become objects for her." Kayo theory went on, "Maybe if she lived long enough, she's willing to destroy the entire planet."
!
That's taking it too far!
All of our eyes quickly went back to Kayo.
"Was that too much?" she wondered with a raised eyebrow,
"Yes!" was the obvious response,
I was part of it.
"Sheesh." Kayo shrugged then snickered, "Maybe I should do more crazy theories then."
"No." was Mio's deadpanned reply,
"Mioooooo!" was the immediate response,
That's like their dynamic or something.
In a nutshell, everybody was under the assumption Ladylee Tangleroad was some sort of immortal who's looking for a way to die.
"Yet, she's the one in charge on the construction of the space elevator." Maya added, "It is Orbit Portal's latest and most important project, after the failed spaceplane project."
How does one die in an elevator?
"So how would Ladylee kill herself then?" Ichiroku wondered,
"Topple the entire thing on her?" Proto guessed,
"That's too much collateral damage." Rina sighed, "That space elevator will cause plenty of property damages in multiple districts."
That's a good point.
"Yet, she could ignore them." Proto countered,
Everything was quiet for a few seconds.
"Rina, assignment." Maya broke it,
"Otomi, you know Meigo Arisa personally yes?" Rina asked me,
"Just met her yesterday, but she's pretty open to people." I replied,
What did she want from me?
"Nothing drastic or anything insane I assure you." she went, "I do adore her songs."
I felt a sigh escaping.
"Protect her." were her orders, "Akami Otomi, you will protect Meigo Arisa while the rest of BAD finds a way to stop Ladylee Tangleroad from causing any collateral damage."
"I can do that." was my response,
"Onee-sama can we join?!" Proto raised her hand with an eager grin, "Ichi-ecchi here wants to join too!"
Ichi-ecchi?!
"What?!" was my brother's response from the nickname,
"I mean you're the only guy in the team currently, so something perverted is bound to happen." Proto casually explained, "Especially if it's your older sisters."
"We don't mind if he takes a peak!" Maya winked,
He took a few deep breaths and looked at me.
"I'll wait for you outside." he told me,
That's a yes.
I had a feeling Ichiroku got the short end of his current circumstance.
Yet I was curious about something.
"So Rina why do we have to be heroes for this situation?" I asked our liaison,
"Simple really." she replied, "If this city is destroyed then there's no work or interesting events happening. Besides I'm sure, just like a lot of people, we all prefer to be alive than dead."
Good point.
"This city got plenty of ups and downs, but there's people here I trust." Maya nudged at me, "People I can call friends."
That's nice.
...
After splitting up, we noticed it was nighttime already.
"Sheesh we're a little too busy in that cafe." Proto rubbed her cheek, "Night already, huh?"
I noticed the news at one of the screens at a building. It was talking about today's incident at the mall. The displayed showed Arisa holding my hands.
Oh.
I felt hands on my shoulders.
"Onee-sama!"
Then I was forced back.
"Why?!"
Then forward.
"Is!"
Back.
"Arisa!"
Forward.
"In!"
back again.
"Your!"
Forward again.
"Harem?!"
Proto was shaking me like I had very valuable information.
"What?" was my automated response,
"Arisa, you, girl crush?!" a confused Proto formed words,
I simply sighed.
"A building was falling and it was scary." I answered, "Arisa comforted me."
Proto was about the scream again.
Was it the way I said it?
"Or just look into her memories." Ichiroku rolled his eyes, "Our nee-san considered revenge but Arisa said no."
That's one way to summarize the situation.
"How?" Proto wondered,
"Nee-san added me to your private network the other day." Ichiroku answered simply,
My sister finally calmed down.
Now to look for Arisa.
"Otomi!"
Speak of the devil.
Our friendly singer approached us with a smile.
"Friends of yours?" she asked,
"Siblings actually." I replied with a smile,
She gave Ichiroku a glance and noticed the similarities. Then she looked bewildered at Proto.
"A helmet?" Arisa asked,
Proto realized her mistake yesterday and was insistent on wearing her motorcycle helmet, regardless of time.
Proto just gave a nod.
Proto and Mikoto do have identical voices.
"Yeah my little sister here is a bit on the quiet side." I said with a straight face,
Proto punched my shoulder.
"My little brother here tries his best to keep his older sisters out of trouble." I gestured to Ichiroku,
Arisa gave me a nod.
"Otomi you were a wonderful help at the photoshoot earlier today!" she gave me a smile,
I felt Proto's gaze at me, while Ichiroku simply rolled his eyes.
"I was thinking, when you are free, if you can help me a bit more?" she requested,
Proto's gaze got more intense, if that was possible.
Even if it wasn't an assignment, I would gladly help a friend.
"How can I help?" I offered,
Her smile got bigger and she hugged me.
"I need some moral support for my concerts." she explained, "Like, it's less on being with the audience, but more on people at backstage waiting for me."
That's a bit surprising.
"I'd love to help." I gave out a reassuring smile, "I'm just wondering if you knew people more capable."
Arisa gave my siblings a glance.
"Your brother could look like my bodyguard or something." Arisa offered, "Your sister, I'm not sure."
I can sense Proto's ever growing frustration.
"I don't mind." Ichiroku spoke out,
Of course he didn't mind. It's the fastest way, for him, to do this mission.
"To be honest, I don't really know a lot of people ." Arisa admitted with a sheepish smile, "Just fans and photographers just wanting me to take a few moments with them. I never really had any close friends until I met you and Touma. We had fun together, didn't we?"
That sounded sad.
With her popularity and personality, I would've assumed Arisa had plenty of friends.
Then again with popularity, people will befriend that person simply for the fame.
Strange enough for Arisa to consider me a close friend, despite meeting each other yesterday. Yet, I accepted it. After all, I was there when she was in danger.
"Yeah it was, ignoring the fact the mall almost crushed us." I replied,
"Thank you so much!"
Arisa gave me another hug, which I returned.
"I have a concert tomorrow night, so I'll need some suggestions with a few things." Arisa explained and looked at my brother, "A guy's opinion would definitely help as well."
What?
"My opinion?" Ichiroku raised his eyebrow,
"I mean you can help me decide which outfit I should wear." Arisa told my brother, "Plus if I should switch outfits for certain songs."
Ichiroku's face heated up, while Proto was holding back her laughter.
Ah, now I get it.
Ichiroku would be considered a lucky man, from Arisa's fans.
I guessed it was every fan's dream to suggest Arisa's singing outfit?
"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Arisa waved as she left the area,
We all said our goodbyes and it was getting really late.
"Onee-sama, do you think another attack can happen?" Proto finally spoke,
"Possible." I responded,
We will be keeping an eye out for any suspicious people, while the rest of BAD will be looking for any clues on how Ladylee will try to kill herself.
I simply hoped the rest of the week will be over soon.
I had a bad feeling about this.
END AN: If you watched the movie, notice how extended the photoshoot scene was. Yeah I went that far and gave Arisa that characterization of someone who had plenty of experience when it came to those kinds of events. Plus it was fun making Ruiko go hypocritical humor with Uiharu watching from the sidelines.
Have to give BAD plenty of screentime, since it is the main character group! Besides each trio does have their own antics and such.
Maya/Otomi the mediator. (In between the duo. They could calm the hyper member down or give the straight man a harder time.)
Kayo/Proto the hyperactive one (Kayo is more subdue, but she's the least calm compared to the other two. Both are opposites of their respective straight man.)
Mio/Ichiroku (Straight man. However Ichiroku is more of a butt monkey, but he still does point out the ridiculousness in situations, while Mio just goes along with it.
IF you recall from the last AN I said it wouldn't take too long? Whelp, looks like Space Elevator Arc will be longer than expected (Like 1 chapter one!).
I mean, I really want to get to Daihasei, but I don't want to rush this.
Anyways, enjoy your day/night!
