Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter Sixty Three: Mutagenic Aftermath
Beta:
As Naru opened her eyes again, the first thing she noted was the familiar coloring of the ceiling in Shu-chan's apartment. The nice powder blue was like a balm to her aching soul. If she was here, she was safe.
Safe.
It also helped that the cool black eyes of her girlfriend were looking her over with concern.
Shutaura had her hair pulled into a cute messy ponytail and she was wearing nothing more than an eye popping sports bra and panties set. It was honestly a lot more flattering than what Shu-chan would've picked out on her own.
Must've been something Arisa-chan bought. Naru thought as she admired the sight.
It was a nice image to see after such a hard day.
"Morning." She greeted her sexy looking girlfriend, her voice coming out small and weak. She hated it.
In response, Shu-chan leaned down to run her fingers through her hair and peck her forehead with her wonderfully soft lips, eliciting a pleased hum from Naru.
"Good afternoon." Her ever beautiful girlfriend corrected as she pulled away. "How are you feeling, Naru-chan?"
Naru took a moment to check. She moved her body to try and assess the damage, only to find that everything ached in ways they never should as she did. There was one part which didn't though.
"I can wiggle my toes." She informed her girlfriend with a tiny smile.
The huff of laughter she got was worth it.
"Certainly a victory." Shu-chan said, returning the smile. "And the rest?"
"Aches all over, but otherwise it all feels fine." The blonde assured her. She'd get over this. Eventually.
The frown her Shu-chan gave her made her squirm under the sheets. And not in the fun way. There was a shift in the way her girlfriend held herself and Arisa-chan took control of their body, the frown on their face growing more emotive as she did.
"You don't appear fine to my magical senses, Naru-chan." The songstress told her, her fingers stroking Naru's cheek lovingly causing the blonde to lean into the warm digits.
She can sense stuff magically now? Naru thought absently as she luxuriated in her girlfriend's touch. She must've been practising hard. I know she was struggling to do any magic since they merged.
"Your spirit feels like it's been through a blender." Arisa-chan concluded, sounding worried.
"It does?" Naru asked curiously.
She didn't feel it but then again as Kurama had told her before, she was no sensor type.
"Yes," Arisa-chan reaffirmed, her hand now cupping Naru's cheek.
"Let me check." Naru told her as she tapped into her chakra.
The energy was, if Kurama and Specimen One were to be believed, partially a reflection of her spirit. So if Arisa-chan said her spirit was in a mess then her chakra should reflect that.
Looking deep inside herself she found her chakra was a rolling maelstrom.
Damn! That's a blender alright. Naru thought with a wince as she began using her Esper ability to calm it down.
Like an unruly child, the chaotic energies inside her body slowly but surely stilled, returning to the placid ocean of power that it usually was. There was however something missing from it though.
Where's Kurama? Naru thought as she reached out to the fox.
Only to find she couldn't. Within her mind, the spot where he usually hung out had been replaced by a thick cocoon of roiling purple chakra that pulsed and lashed out every time she tried to calm or part it.
What the- Naru thought, a little flabbergasted at her Esper ability failing. She kept trying for a whole ten minutes though before finally conceding that it was futile.
Kurama… I hope whatever's going on you're alright.
Pushing aside her unease for her tenant, she addressed her girlfriends.
"There, better?"
"Much," Arisa-chan said with a sigh of relief, leaning in to peck her nose in a soft 'boop'. Pulling away, Shu-chan took control again. "Yes."
"Cool, so mind telling me what happened after I conked out?"
"I honestly don't know much." Shu-chan confessed with an exhale through her nose, making her nostrils flare in a cute way. It was an adorable little tic that she did whenever she was upset. "I basically got out of there as quickly as I could just like you asked me to. Last I saw, the rest of the Trinity were tearing the survivors of your Power Development Team and the Anti-Skill officers on site a new one."
"They deserve it," Naru said, vindictively as she closed in on herself. "I honestly can't remember much of what happened whilst I was that thing but whatever it was-"
Naru couldn't finish, breaking off with a shudder. She might not have clear memories of what happened but the whole experience had left her feeling violated in a way that she couldn't even begin to describe. Like someone had trespassed into the depths of her soul and done horrible things to it.
And that wasn't even taking into account the betrayal of trust she felt for it being caused by Yomaura-Farina-sensei. He had been someone she trusted. Someone who had helped raised her. Whilst she'd never seen him as a parental figure, she did see him as family in a distant way. And he'd taken that trust and used it against her.
Naru shook her head, dismissing the painful thoughts wholly from her mind. She didn't want to think about them now. Instead, she focused on something inane.
"So, um, you dressed me Shu-chan?" Naru asked, looking at the simple Peter Pan collar bow tie tweed dress she was wearing.
"I did," Arisa-chan said, taking over control of her girlfriends' body. "You don't want to know what Shutaura would've dressed you in."
"I can guess." Naru said with a stilted giggle.
Considering Shu-chan's general disdain for fashion, it would've probably been something very unflattering. Not that it would've been a problem since it was only the three of them but Naru truly appreciated that it was Arisa-chan who had done the honours instead. Doubly so when she felt herself up a little and actually found that she was wearing a set of undergarments that fit properly. She honestly doubted Shu-chan would've managed to source ones that did.
That her laughter was off must've tipped her girlfriends off somehow because Shu-chan shot her a concerned frown.
"Naru-chan, are you sure that you're okay?" Shu-chan asked skeptically, her hand softly petting her hair.
Naru looked at her girlfriend for a long moment deciding if she should be honest. On one hand, she didn't want to come across as a weakling. On the other, she really needed some comfort right now. It was honestly a tough choice, but in the end Naru's discomfort won over her pride and she shakily shook her head.
"No," she said in a quiet voice. "But I think I know how I can start to feel better."
"How?" Shu-chan asked. "Anything that I can do, I'll do i-"
Naru cut Shu-chan off by throwing herself at the older girl and kissing her passionately. It hurt to move, but the kiss made all the pain go away.
"Make out with me," she said breathlessly when she finally pulled away a full minute later, having refused to allow her startled girlfriend do so when she'd tried to earlier. Some of her bangs fell before her eyes, but she refused to move her gaze from her love. "Make me forget what happened. At least for a bit."
"Naru, this isn't the best way to-" Shu-chan began only to be cut off again, this time by Arisa-chan taking control of their body. "Are you sure, Naru-chan?"
"Yeah," Naru said, playfully tugging on the bow that held the peter pan collar of the dress Arisa-chan had dressed her in closed.
I need to feel in control of something right now. Naru thought. And my sex life is as good as anything to exercise my control over. Besides, if Shu-chan and Arisa-chan agree and let me hit third base today… Well, I'll be killing two birds with one stone.
"We can talk about everything later, but right now? I just want to forget." Naru said as she undid the bow causing it to hang loosely from her collar.
The older girl, Naru wasn't sure if Arisa-chan was still in charge or Shu-chan had regained control, leaned in and pulled Naru into another kiss. One that Naru happily melted into even as she finished pulling the bow off and tossed it aside.
A few days after the Incident, Naru found herself teleporting into her boss' lair inside the Windowless Building to have an audience with the General Superintendent. She really didn't want to. She would much rather be with Shu-chan and/or her friends. But her damned boss demanded her presence and so she had no choice but to oblige him.
"Greetings Naru-chan," the upside down magician said from where he floated inside his test tube.
"Hello Superintendent," Naru returned coldly.
She might have once regarded the man as the closest thing to a parent she had but their relationship had cooled significantly since his inaction during her kidnapping by the Shinobi. And his own lack of intervention to assist her in the latest Incident just cemented the growing distrust and distance that had grown between them.
"So, Naru-chan, how did you like your brush with the realm of Level 6?" The most powerful man in the City asked her with what sounded like genuine curiosity.
The Number 2 couldn't suppress the shudder that traveled down her spine at the reminder of what she'd become thanks to that bloody mutagen. She thus took a moment to answer.
"I can see why you're trying to get an Esper to that Level." She confessed. "I was only close to it and yet being that thing made me feel so powerful… I felt so powerful but absolutely terrified at the same time."
"Indeed." He says with a laugh. "And yet what you achieved was only a pale reflection of a true Level 6, at best 4% of the real thing."
4%!? I became some kinda kaiju abomination and I was still only 4% of a proper Level 6!? By Science, just how powerful is the real deal?
"Then I'm glad I've never had to go against a Level 6." She told him honestly. "And that I likely never will."
"Oh? Backing down from a potential opponent? That's not like you," The Silver Star said with a smirk. "Are you feeling alright?"
Naru honestly couldn't tell if he was genuinely expressing concern for her or just teasing. As always it was impossible to tell with Aleister Crowley. She, however, decided to take his words at face value.
"I'm fine. I'm perfectly able to handle any missions if you have any for me." She reassured him. "Though there is one thing…"
"And that is?" Aleister asked, sounding curious.
"It's Kurama," Naru admitted with a frown, feeling uneasy having to do so but knowing that lying to Crowley was simply not an option. He would find out and when he did, she'd suffer from doing so. "He had tried to suppress the change the mutagen was causing to protect me but the power I released was too great and his chakra was swept up in the tide, tearing deeply into his essence in the process. As things died down, it, um, changed him."
"Changed how?"
"I'm honestly not sure." Naru said with a shake of her head. "He's unconscious and retreated into some kind of cocoon in the depths of my mind that I can't break through. So until he recovers and wakes up, I can't be sure how exactly. But I am worried about him. He absorbed a good chunk of the runaway chakra that I was pumping out and I dunno how that affected him."
"Hmm… How intriguing." Aleister said, sounding honestly curious. "Be sure to let me know what has happened to the fox once you know."
"Will do." Naru said with a nod.
For a long moment, they settled into a tense silence.
"Those responsible with this Mutagen Incident, as it's being called, have been dealt with." Crowley said, breaking the quiet.
"Do I want to know?"
"Of those responsible and survived your rampage, of which there weren't many, most have been summarily executed. Those with less responsibility, such as those just guilty of association with the more responsible parties have been arrested and will be serving lengthy terms in the Reformatory." Crowley informed her anyways.
"I see," Naru said with a frown. She honestly didn't know what to think about that. Yes, these people had betrayed her and put her through a hellish experience but… They were still the ones who'd raised her.
Shaking her head, she dispelled her useless doubts. What was done was done. She couldn't change their fates now. Not after the City's supreme authority had already passed judgement.
"And my Power Development Team?" She asked instead, changing the topic. "It's going to need topping up."
"It'll be undergoing some review."
"I want Miyahara-sensei and Rui-chan to oversee that," Naru insisted. "I trust them."
And that she didn't trust his judgement was left unsaid. Considering that Yomaura-Farina-sensei had been one of his picks for her Team… Her lack of faith was perfectly understandable.
"That is a fair request." Crowley allowed with a smile. "Very well, I will make the necessary arrangements."
"Thank you." She told him gratefully. "So anything else for me?"
"Not at the moment." The General Superintendent said with a slow shake of his head. "But before you go, I just want to let you know that if the situation had deteriorated further than it had and my hand had been forced, I would've felt it a shame to have killed you."
Is that the best you can manage, you bastard!? Naru thought with a frown but kept to herself.
As angry as she got with the man, he was still her boss and the most powerful being she knew. Both literally and politically. She could not afford to upset him by showing it.
"...It is good that you have returned to normal." He said before finally signalling to her that she could go.
Simply nodding in reply to his parting words, she teleported away.
As Namikaze-san met with the enigmatic General Superintendent, Kuroko waited atop one of the buildings that offered a view of the streets around the Windowless Building that the man lived in. It amazed her that Namikaze-san had such effortless access to the man. Most didn't even know his position, much less the man himself, even existed. Yet, Namikaze-san was allowed to meet with him without much fuss. It truly showed just how well placed the blonde was inside the City's hierarchies of power.
Though that is a double-edged sword, Kuroko thought with a frown as she waited impatiently for the Number 2. It also means that she's on call for some very unreasonable people.
Case in point, her meeting with the Superintendent only days after what was a very traumatic experience to her. One that just had to clash with the plans that their circle of friends had made to meet up for some crepes, among other things, as well.
She was pulled from her ponderings however when she spotted Namikaze-san teleporting to a specific location on one of the streets outside the Windowless Building. According to what the blonde had told her about the place, the mysterious structure's defenses included countermeasures against teleportation that meant that entry and exit could only be carried out by teleporting from a specific rotating location in the vicinity of the building. What those countermeasures were, Kuroko didn't know but she trusted they were deadly considering the building's importance to the City.
It's lucky I managed to get her to tell me where the teleportation access point would be. Kuroko thought as she teleported behind the Number 2 who was too busy looking around herself in confusion at not seeing the Teleporter to notice.
"Come on Namikaze-san," Kuroko said teasingly even as she reached out and tapped the blonde's shoulder whilst calling on her power, teleporting them both to a grassy hill in a park nearby where Onee-sama, Saten-san and Uiharu were waiting for them.
"Mou, Shirai-chan! You tricked me!" Namikaze-san said, stamping her feet adorably.
Honestly, Kuroko could see why the Rabbit Faction lined up behind her. If she hadn't gravitated towards her Onee-sama, she could have easily been swept into Namikaze-san's own charismatic gravity.
She nevertheless just offered the blonde an unrepentant shrug.
"Guilty." Kuroko said, admitting her crime. "But turnabout is only fair Namikaze-san after all the teasing you subject the rest of us to."
The blonde just pouted and spun around to glare at Saten-san.
"And you!" She said, pointing at the Number 3 accusingly, twintails whipping in a small breeze she no doubt created for dramatics. "You put her up to this I bet. Were you that impatient that you had to have Shirai-chan 'fetch' me like that?"
Though that she is up to her usual antics probably means she's feeling at least somewhat better. Kuroko thought with a relieved smile.
"Well, we needed the girl who is paying for our treats don't we?" The AIM manipulator said with a smirk.
"My poor wallet." The blonde sniffled, looking downtrodden. "Mikoto-sempai's gluttonous stomach is going to break it in half!"
"What?! Who are you calling a glutton, you black hole for all things sweet?!" Onee-sama fumed, marching over to tug on her kohai's cheeks.
Namikaze-san didn't take that lying down and as quick as a viper, she grabbed Onee-sama's own cheeks and promptly returned the favour.
As the two childish Level 5s exchanged glares and pulled on each other's cheeks, Kuroko breathed through her nose.
Honestly, why must Onee-sama be so childish? I would have thought she would have thicker skin from all Namikaze-san's teasing. Namikaze-san I can understand, but Onee-sama should know better and behave properly!
Rolling her eyes, Saten-san clapped her hands causing everyone to turn to her and Uiharu.
"Let's go get some crepes." The tech wiz said enthusiastically.
In the face of the reminder of what they were meeting up to do, both Level 5s let go of the other but not without exchanging looks that promised retribution later.
Some things just never change. Kuroko thought with a tired but amused sigh.
"Naru-chan, Mikoto-sempai," Saten-san said chidingly, shooting them both a warning look.
"Hai!" Onee-sama and Namikaze-san said like scolded children.
Good luck getting them to not get back at each other later, Saten-san. I wish you fortune on that front. Kuroko thought sarcastically as she shook her head.
"We should just head off," Kuroko suggested. "Shall we?"
"Waiting on you, slowpokes!" Namikaze-san said excitedly as she teleported ahead of them.
Everyone save Uiharu rolled their eyes at the blonde but nevertheless got going as they made their way towards the nearby crepe shop all whilst enjoying the pleasant breeze that was sweeping through the city.
The crepe shop that the Trinity and friends ended up visiting to satisfy their sweet tooths was the very same food truck whose wares that they had enjoyed when they first met. Heck, they had even managed to get seats at the same set of benches where they'd sat at all those months ago. It was so nostalgic!
If Naru didn't know better she'd have chalked it up to being part of some sneaky plan for her friends to make her feel more comfortable. She could totally see Rui-chan doing that but she doubted the others were savvy or cunning enough to do it.
"Namikaze-san, are you feeling okay?" Uiharu asked in a very concerned tone, one emphasized by how the notorious sugar fiend was practically ignoring the tasty treat she had in hand to do so.
She wasn't the only one looking concerned either. Mikoto-sempai and Shirai-san were too.
Guess, I underestimated them. Naru thought with a bemused smile.
"I'm fine, Uiharu-chan. Really." Naru reassured the tech wiz and by extension all three of her friends. "I honestly barely remember what happened when I'd been that thing."
They didn't need to know how violated what little she did remember left her feeling. Besides she had talked that out with Shu-chan and Arisa-chan already and she was okay with it. Sure, her girlfriends had convinced her to talk about it a bit more with a counsellor but it wasn't something her friends had to worry about.
The others might have bought her little lie of omission, or at least didn't find fault with it, but Rui-chan shot her a worried frown.
"Don't miss your counselling sessions," she whispered into her ears with audiokinesis. "Or I'll drag you to them myself."
Naru nodded back. If Rui-chan didn't, her girlfriends certainly would.
"Do we want to know what secret conversation you two were having?" Mikoto-sempai asked, looking put out.
"No," Naru and Rui-chan chorused.
"Rui-chan was just reminding me of something I promised her to do."
The other girls exchanged a look before sighing in resignation that they wouldn't be getting any real answers out of either of them.
"So since you're not in his hospital, I take it Heaven Canceller gave you a clean bill of health?"
"Yeah," Naru confirmed munching on her crepe. "He said that there didn't seem to be any physical aftereffects of the mutagen. So he couldn't justify warding me, not that he didn't try to at least keep me overnight for 'observation'."
"He was just worried," Rui-chan said with a nibble of her crepe. "We all were."
"Not helped," Shirai-san added with a frown. "By you disappearing for a whole day before showing up at the hospital to get checked up."
"Hey, I was asleep for most of that!" Naru said defensively.
"Only for most of it," Rui-chan observed with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "So managed to get to third base like you wanted?"
Naru pouted and shook her head. "Shu-chan and Arisa-chan said no. They said they 'didn't want to exploit my vulnerability'. I think they're just scared to go that fa-"
"Hold it!" Mikoto-sempai cut in after swallowing the big bite of crepe she'd been chewing. "No physical aftereffects? What about mental ones?"
Rui-chan looked ready to step in with another attempt at a deflection or some other save but a restraining hand by Uiharu on her arm had the Number 3 snapping her mouth shut.
Damn. Looks like I'll have to come clean after all.
"Don't worry about it Sempai." Naru reassured her worried friends. "Shu-chan and Arisa-chan have arranged counselling for me. I'll be fine."
"That's-"
"Better than we Dark Siders normally get," Rui-chan reminded the others. "Besides, if Naru's Bank psych profile is accurate-"
"You have the clearance to see that?" Naru asked, surprised.
"Monaka-sama gave me a copy." Rui-chan explained before continuing. "As I was saying, according to her psych profile, Naru'll be fine after talking it out and a few weeks."
Mikoto-sempai and Shirai-chan exchanged unconvinced looks but Uiharu-chan shot Naru an encouraging one.
"I'm sure you'll be fine." The tech wiz said confidently. "You're strong. This won't hold you down. I'm sure of it."
Naru nodded with a smile, pleased beyond words at the vote of confidence.
"Yeah, you'll be back to normal in no time." Mikoto-sempai said with a resigned sigh as Shirai-san nodded her agreement. "But if you need anything…"
"I'll ask," Naru reassured her. "I promise."
The Trinity gang's quiet hang out was suddenly interrupted when an explosion from a familiar bank caught their attention.
"Is it really getting robbed again?" Naru asked, incredulous at the coincidence.
"It is," Rui-chan said with a shake of her own head.
"Uiharu, call Anti-Skill." Mikoto-sempai ordered, as the tech wiz promptly did as asked. "Kuroko, you-"
"Onee-sama, did you forget that you're not a Judgement officier?"
"Uh-"
"Oh, save it, Shirai-chan." Naru said, as she and Rui-chan sauntered in the direction of the bank without even so much as putting aside their crepes. "We're here, able and willing so let's do the job."
"What the Chibi said," Mikoto-sempai said as she jogged over to join them.
"You three-" Shirai-chan said, cutting herself off and teleporting to their side. "Just don't go overboard."
"Trust us, Shirai-san." Rui-chan said with a playful smile. "We'll be pinnacles of restraint."
They had by this time made it to the front of the bank where a trio of robbers were making their way out of the hole in the broken storefront that they had created with what Naru's trained eyes told her was probably an explosive grenade.
"The Trinity of Tokiwadai!" The three robbers shouted in alarm as Naru and her friends were spotted.
"Yup, that's us." Naru said with a smirk, her eyes aglow with a malicious red glint even as Mikoto-sempai's forehead was surrounded by a halo of sparks and Rui-chan conjured a mass of purple energy to her left. "Now surrender or prepare to get owned."
At that dire threat, the robbers dropped everything and raised their hands in surrender.
"They're yours Shirai-chan." Naru said as she let her eyes return to normal and her fellow Level 5s likewise dispelled their building attacks.
"You're too kind." Shirai-chan said as she moved in to arrest the criminals.
Seeing the criminals being detained, Naru raised her free hand invitingly to her friends.
An invite that both obliged by clapping their hands against hers.
"We rock!"
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
And thus we wrapped up the Mutagen arc. The starting fluff made my heart smile as the three girls work so well off each other in their worry and care for one another. As a man of love and fluff, may fluff always make one feel better!
Nameless: Indeed. The dynamic between Shutaura, Arisa and Naru is shaping up to be very interesting. Shu is the gruff one, Arisa is the caring one, and Naru is the assertive one. Shu and Arisa complement each other in that Arisa smooths over Shu's rough edges and fills in for her in areas where she is lacking like fashion. On the other hand, Naru is the assertive one in their relationship, constantly pushing it forward, whilst Shu and Arisa collectively serve as the brakes so they don't go too far. At least, that's what it is at the moment.
The ending showed in full circle just what the Trinity has become from chapter one all the way to here. It was rather poetic we felt and just felt like the ending of Season 1 of our Trinity fic. Yeah, the first 63 chapters were Season 1 in a way.
Nameless: We did initially plan to split the story here by ending this fic and starting a Book 2 but considering the reception to when we've tried that elsewhere is lukewarm at best, there doesn't really seem to be a point. As such we'll just be continuing this fic instead. That said, like E4E said, feel free to see the story up to here as the first season of the story. Though I'm honestly not sure that we defined the individual 'seasons' distinctively enough from each other to call them such. Hmm… Food for thought. The safest bet I think is just to read this fic by arcs. It's how we write it after all. Okay, enough of my ramblings. E4E please sign us out!
You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!