Chapter 13 – Catching Up With Friends
"So… what happened while I was out of it?" Neige asked, rubbing her face with one hand as she sat in her bed, looking around at the faces of Miyu, Zoe and Umi sitting around her, all of them looking relieved about her awakening. "From what I've already heard, there was quite a mess around here."
Miyu sighed and smiled slightly. "Yes, the Academy was attacked… and we were almost overwhelmed by those strange girls and monsters…"
"Neige…?"
Miyu stared in dumbfound surprise as the white-haired girl stirred in her sleep and groaned, her eyes fluttering open. In a few moments, Neige was able to focus… and the first thing that came into her vision was Miyu's face, smiling brightly with her amber eyes glazed over with happy tears. After a few moments, Neige completely regained consciousness and slowly sat up in bed, even as Miyu tried to lay her down.
"M-Miyu? What… what happened? I… I remember that I was fighting Umi in that exhibition match…" she mumbled, her mouth feeling tremendously dry.
Miyu quickly wiped her eyes and helped Neige sit. "Neige, I'm… I'm so happy you're back with us!" she exclaimed, gently hlding her best friend by the shoulders. "It's… it's kind of a long story, and you've just woken up, okay? Just think of resting for now. We… are still reeling from all that's happened."
"O-okay…" the white-haired girl said as Miyu handed her a glass of water. She took a few sips, just enough to ease the feeling of her dry throat, and then lay down again, placing her head on her cushion. "So… how long have I been out of it?"
"About a week… we came back here to watch over you and see if you were going to recover. Zoe, Umi, Serena… all of us did." Miyu answered, trying to keep the answer as vague as possible in order not to raise Neige's suspiciouns. If Neige had known what had happened to Miyu and Lunamaria, she'd probably try to bolt out of bed and find them… or in any case, she would have been too worried in a moment where she needed to rest.
"We were both very happy to know that you were awake again!" Zoe continued, smiled brightly and combing her hair with a single hand. "You know, even Umi came to visit you. She kinda thought it was her fault for pushing it to your limits…"
"She doesn't need to worry about that." Neige answered with a relieved sigh. "I mean, we did agree on the duel, and she was just being respectful to my fighting skills."
She sighed and rubbed her forehead, recalling what had happened during Umi's first visit to her.
"Neige… I'm happy that you're awake once again!" Umi exclaimed, sitting next to the white-haired ice mage as she sat up in her bed. Along with her was Zoe, who had accompanied the blue-haired water mage out of a desire to see for herself how Neige was doing.
For her part, Neige was glad to see Umi as well, and motioned with her head as a welcoming gesture. She still wasn't feeling completely at ease, and was still trying to take in all that had happened in the seven days she had been asleep. "You have no idea how much that eases things for us. We have been in quite a rut for the entire week… and to see that you're feeling better is just what we needed to cheer up."
Neige nodded in tank and looked around. "Yeah… I mean, they haven't told me everything yet, but… I know things have been really messy while I was recovering." She answered. A moment later, the ice mage looked down and frowned, a question buzzing around in her head ever since she had opened her eyes. "By the way, Umi… Zoe… there is something I really need to ask…"
"Yes? What is it?" Zoe asked. Deep down, she was afraid that Neige would pop exactly the question everyone was hoping to postpone as much as possible… Umi herself seemed to get a little moody for that question.
Neige took a deep breath, as if preparing for the worst. "It's… about Mayl… I… haven't seen her these days…" she ventured. She paused again before she continued. "Is… is she okay? Did anything happen to her?"
Zoe pursed her lips. She was really not looking forward to that, but it couldn't be helped. It was going to turn up sooner or later… "Well… I'm afraid… Mayl isn't here at the moment…" she said, trying to break out the news as gently as possible. When she saw that Neige was frowning in confusion and fear, Zoe sighed and decided to come clear about it. "I'm sorry, Neige… the enemies have captured her and taken her away to who-knows-where. We tried to stop them, but there was nothing we could do."
"Zoe and I have been fighting those people, and they were nothing to sneeze at." Umi answered, looking disappointed that she was unable to keep Mayl from being captured. "I'm sorry, Neige… We have no idea what happened to Mayl."
"Dammit…" Neige answered, gritting her teeth in dismay. "If only I wasn't here taking a nap, I might have helped. I might have stopped those bastards from capturing Mayl…"
"Or you might not have." Umi answered, her hand placed on Neige's shoulder as a way to make her stay down. "Those people were tough, and they had a lot of tough monsters following them."
"This is not the time to blame yourself or to push yourself too hard trying to make up for something that wasn't your fault in the first place." Zoe answered in a strong voice. "What you need to do now is rest and make sure you're back to your full strength."
"They will be back, sooner or later. And by then, we need to be prepared to face them." Umi finished.
Neige seemed to be convinced with that and laid down with a reluctant sigh. "You're right about that… but I can't help but think that if had been there… Mayl would still be here." She answered. "Girls… I swear that I will find some way to find a way to bring back Mayl."
"And we know you will succeed." Umi answered with a smile. "And that we will help you along the way."
"After that, Umi came to talk to me." Miyu continued her explanation. "Umi wanted to ask me if you'd like her to be a teacher to you. In fact… she said that it would be better if we could all get some serious training… by which, she means heading to a training camp in the mountain where we can do some serious progress. We would be able to truly become stronger and be able to face off against the people who attacked us. I agreed with her idea. Even though lately I've been growing in both magical power and fighting skills, it certainly won't hurt to be prepared."
"Is that so?" Neige answered, sounding rather interested at the idea.
Miyu nodded briskly. "Yes, and it seems to me that Zoe and Mayl have been getting stronger too. I'm not sure why, but I do think you're the key to that. You helped them develop their power and gain more confidence. Umi thinks so as well."
"Aw, I just did what I thought was the right thing to do…" Neige answered. "Still, about the training camp idea… Well, I think it would be a great idea! When will we depart?"
"In about a week's time. We thought it would be best, so that we'd all have time to regain our strength." Miyu answered. "Besides, if we were to get Mayl back, she could take part in that too, wouldn't you agree?"
"Yeah…" Neige answered, rubbing her forehead in a gesture of anger and worry. She was still upset about Mayl's disappearence, and was feeling guilty for not being there when her friend needed help.
Luckily, Miyu quickly realized what was up with her. "Blaming yourself for what happened to Mayl won't help, Neige. Just think of getting ready for what awaits for us later on. Those people, whatever their plans are, are not going to just hand us Mayl back without a fight."
"In that case, a fight is what they're going to get!" Neige exclaimed, her confidence now fully refueled. "As soon as I can train, we will get started on it together, and we'll blow those bastards out of the water!"
"And I'll be helping you with that, of course." Miyu continued. She placed a hand on Neige's own, and the two girls' gazes met. "We've started this together, right? Then, it is only fair that we end this together. Trust me, everything will work out just fine."
"Thank you, Miyu." Neige answered. She gave her friend a bright smile and blushed as she gazed back at her. "I'm glad I can always count on you."
Later that day…
"Okay… so, it seems like I can already train a bit. The nurse just told me not to overdo it and to make sure I don't tire myself out…" Neige murmured to herself as she walked into the training arena, the same one in which she had sustained her fateful duel with Umi. And she could see that she wasn't alone: floating above her, wearing her usual uniform and living her the perfect angle to see her panties, Zoe was practicing her wind magic, her hands outstretched as she created miniature tornadoes around her fists and executed a series of precise and powerful thrusts and blows. She flipped in midair, using her legs to kick at an imaginary opponent standing near her, and then twirled around in a spectacular acrobatic display. Then, she swept outwards with both arms and released her magic, creating a powerful blast of wind that spread all around Zoe. Neige was able to step back and dodge the powerful wind blast, but she was still somewhat staggered by the power of the wind homing in on her.
"Wow, that was quite powerful." Neige commented to herself, staring at Zoe with pride. "They really got much better ever since I was out of it. Guess I'd better pick up the pace again if I don't want to be left in the dust."
Zoe turned around, finally noticina Neige's presence, and the white-haired girl gave a cheerful wave. "Hello there, Zoe." She stated, smiling at the blonde wind mage. "I see you're living this all you've got, huh? That was pretty awesome!"
"Hello, Neige! Glad to see you're up and about!" Zoe greeted back. She floated to the ground and gave Neige a cheerful hug. "It's been quite lonely without you around! Especially since Luna disappeared and Mayl was kidnapped."
Neige hugged back. "Yeah… I know, I miss them too. And I've promised I will do everything I can to find and save them." She answered. "So… I need to do some training. From what I've seen, our opponents are quite formidable."
"Yeah, they are… and yes, I too miss having Luna and Mayl around. I will do my best to help you with that." Zoe answered and gave a thumbs-up at the end.
Knowing she could always count on Zoe to have her back gave Neige some well-needed confidence back, and she gave the blonde a bright smile. "Thank you, Zoe. I'm glad I have a friend like you."
Zoe immediately blushed in embarassment and loked the other way, trying to compose herself. There was no one else in the arena but the two of them, and the mood seemed to be quite good. Could it be that this was the perfect moment to tell Neige how she felt? This could have been a chance she wouldn't get anytime soon…
"So, about that…" Zoe ventured.
She was unable to get anywhere further than that. Suddenly, Neige began to breathe in strangely and scratched her nose… and a second later, she sneezed again, causing a gust of wind to blow Zoe's skirt up and give Neige another glimpse of Zoe's panties! Zoe's eyes widened in surprise and she was quick to keep her skirt down with her hands, but Neige already had all the time she needed to see her friend's panties. Neige blushed fiercely, and a small trickle of blood ran down her nose.
"Kyaaaah! You… you are the same perv as always!" Zoe exclaimed. The girls looked at each other in awkwardness for a moment… and then, the blonde wind mage smirked and let out a good-natured chuckle. "But honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way! If you want I can give you another peek at them!"
With that, Zoe playfully lifted her skirt again, allowing her friend to take another look at her underwear. Neige blushed even further and averted her glance, mumbling something in shame, and Zoe chuckled again.
"Glad to have you back, Neige!"
Mikoto sighed angrily as she turned another corner, still not knowing where to look for her friend. "Geez… seriously, Serena, you always know where to hide, don't you?" the lightning mage grumbled. "And always when I have to ask something of you…"
After shaking her head to clear her frustration, Mikoto tried to think where Serena might have gone… and decided she might as well try her luck by looking for her on the academy rooftop. After all, Serena was standing right there last time, wasn't she?
"Darn… Serena always seems to know what's going to happen, so why can't she just tell us what she sees and be done with it?" Mikoto grumbled to herself. "I'm willing to bet good money that she knows what might be happening next… and I'd like to know if that goes for me as well. I've had enough of conspiracies in the world I've come from."
Mikoto reached a flight of stairs going to the Academy rooftop and swiftly walked up them. But when she arrived in the open air, she was a little disappointed to see that her seer friend wasn't there either. Instead, she found a familiar white-haired girl staring at the horizon, seemingly lost in her own thought. While Mikoto wasn't all that familiar with Neige, she was still able to recognize her – after all, Neige had been the talk of the Academy ever since that fateful duel with Umi.
Well, Mikoto thought, it would still be a good idea to talk with her.
"Neige?" Mikoto ventured, and she saw the white-haired girl turn to her with a small start.
"Oh? Who's there… Oh, it's you… Mikoto, right?" Neige greeted the lightning mage. Mikoto sighed and seemed to ease up a little – Neige had the definite impression that Mikoto was the kind of person that never let her guard down.
"Yep. That's me, al right. Actually, I was looking for Serena, but… if you don't mind, could we chat a little?" she asked.
Neige smiled, a little awkwardly. "Oh, I'd be glad to." She answered. "To be honest, I don't think we've ever gotten acquainted, have we?"
"Indeed… though you seem to know me." Mikoto continued. "Anyway, I'm glad to make your acquaintance. You're… another of those people who've arrived here from another world, right? Perhaps from the same world as me?"
"Nah, I'm afraid I'm from another place entirely." Neige answered with a short laugh. "Honestly, to live in such a place as Academy City sounds a little… dangerous."
"Oh, you get used to it after a while." Mikoto answered. "Besides, facing off against orcs and skeletons is easy compared to dealing with people like Accelerator or the Kiharas. Trust me, you wouldn't like them at all."
Though she was not too familiar with the series Mikoto was from, she did know enough to under stand that she had to deal with some really hard customers. "Well then… I'm glad you were able to get used to this quickly." Neige answered with an embarassed smile. "To be honest, I'm still kinda new here and I'm trying to fit. Even though Miyu, Luna, Zoe, Mayl and the others have done their best to help me with that."
Short-tempered as she was, Mikoto was not insensitive, and she was more than willing to help out with Neige's problems. "Yeah… I know what you mean. Mayl is the girl who was taken away by our mysterious enemies lately." She answered. "If I can do anything to help with finding Mayl and Luna, well… just tell me, and I'll do everything I can."
Just like Mikoto to give it all she got to defend the people she held dear, even if it resulted in her going up against an opponent far above her level.
"Thank you, Mikoto." Neige answered, winking to the electricity-wielding tomboy. "By the way… you were looking for Serena, right? I think I saw her heading to the library… but I'm honestly not sure if she's still there or not. She's kind of an unpredictable girl. No offense."
"No offense taken. Sometimes I wonder what's going through her head… and how much of her visions she's sharing with us." She answered. "You know, sometimes I worry for her. It feels like… she doesn't want to burden us with her problems, so she doesn't say everything."
Neige chuckled lightly to herself. From what she knew of Mikoto's series, that described Mikoto (and her main love interest Touma) perfectly as well. Still, she refrained from commentino on that, thinking the girl might have gotten offended.
"I'm glad to see you're so worried for your friend." Neige anwsered. "It's great to have friends so dedicated to you… just like I count myself lucky to have known Miyu and the others."
Mikoto blushed profusedly and backed away a little. "Wh-wh-what are you trying to say, Neige? I'll have you know, I'm just looking out for someone who might be in trouble, just like I used to do back in my world!" she grumbled unconvincingly. "I'm not anxious or anything! Seriously!"
"Wow, look at her going all tsundere and stuff…" Neige thought to herself, stifling a chuckle. "Yes, that's Mikoto Misaka alright."
Neige was about to say something else… when a sudden gust of wind blew past them and kicked both their skirts up, causing their panties to become visible to each other! Mikoto's eyes widened like saucers and pushed her skirt down, while Neige stood in place like a deer in headlights, a slight trickle of blood running down her nose as she stared at Mikoto's panties!
Immediately, Mikoto's face turned a bright beet shade of red, and she stuttered for a few moments before turning away and rushing down the stairs! "Y-y-y-you pervert!" Mikoto stuttered, rushing down the stairs while Neige stood in place and wiped her nose in embarassment…
"Well… that was something!" she commented.
ooooooooo
"Haaaaah!" Lunamaria yelled as she brought down her weapon on the opposing skeleton's head, shattering the skull and causing the undead warrior to crumble with a tremendous clatter of broken bones. Immediately, another skeleton tried to sneak attack the magenta-haired earth mage, but a large beam of golden energy struck the skeleton in its ribcage, turning it into dust. Mayl, still dressed in her usual clothes, turned around and blasted another skeleton, further reducing the number of enemies surrounding them. At the same time, Luna raised a wall of stone that emerged from the ground in front of her, stopping two skeleton who were trying to charge her. She then gripped her right hand into a fist and collapsed the wall on the skeletons, burying them.
As the girls were practicing against the skeletons, Akame was standing nearby, nodding in approval. "It's going better than I expected. Mayl is a natural at using her own magic." She commented, her keen crimson eyes following every movement. "With just a bit more training, she will be able to take part in the next raid on the Academy."
There was a slight buzzing sound, and Kuro appare out of thin air, gracefully landing at Akame's side. The dark-skinned girl smiled as she looked in satisfaction at how efficiently Lunamaria was dealing with her opponents. "And I have to say, Lunamaria is getting a lot better too." She commented with some pride. "It was a good idea to have them train together. It certainly helped bring out each other's latent potential."
Akame nodded wordlessly and went back to watching as the two new recruits continued taking out the skeleton, quickly reducing them to piles of dust and shattered bones. Their teamwork was truly impressive, and the red-eyed swordswoman was confident that it wouldn't take more than a few minutes for them to take out all the enemies. "That's good. We need them to be ready for our next attack on the academy. Last time, we had more trouble than I expected. We need to make sure that we lay them low next time."
"True, true… oh well, looks like they have finished." Kuro stated. Lunamaria and Mayl had finished off all the skeletons, and were now taking a breather. With a wily grin, Kuro skipper towards the girls and greeted them happily. "Well done, girls! You've done better than everyone thought here! Will you let me give you a token of my appreciation for your skills?"
Lunamaria wasn't even allowed to think of an answer before Kuro jumped her and groped her breasts, her hands roamed on Luna's ample chest! The magenta-haired earth mage gasped and moaned, feeling a strange but pleasurable feeling wash over her body. She felt no desire to escape Kuro's attentions, and instead simply squirmed a little in seeming unease before closing her eyes and embracing the pleasurable sensations that gave her goosebumps. Akame, for her part, simply sighed in resignation and walked towards the two girls.
"You're doing well, that can't be denied." She told Mayl, just as Kuro finally unhanded Luna… and moved over to the light mage.
Mayl nodded in assent. "Thank you, mistress Akame. I endeavor to please you." She murmured with a blank stare in her eyes. A moment later, Mayl widened her eyes and shrieked in surprise when Kuro slipped her hand between Mayl's legs and fingered her crotch. The healer squirmed and blushed, overwhelmed by a feeling of pleasure and excitement as well, while Kuro chuckled to herself and continued toying with Mayl…
"Hehehee… I saw how you were turned on by what I was doing to Luna! Naughty, naughty girl!" the dark-skinned girl chuckled. She kept up the teasing and groping for a while, with Mayl staying in place with an expression of both pleasure and embarassment.
"You can think of your own pleasure later, Kuro." Akame stated coldly, as soon as she believed that the dark-skinned girl had had enough fun. "We have more important things to think about now."
"Okay, okay… I was just messing around a little, Miss Grumpypants!" Kuro answered. "Fine, you two… go get yourself cleaned, and be ready for when we next call you."
Both Mayl and Lunamaria nodded, then walked away with slow, almost robotic movements. Kuro sighed and placed her hands behind her head, then turned back to Akame. "So… how did Mayl's brainwashing go?"
"We managed to block out memories of her friends, in order for them not to cause problems in the long run." Akame answered evenly. "And we've substituted them with thoughts of hatred and enmity towards Neige, so that when they meet again, Mayl will do whatever it takes to kill her. Other than that… well, I did some tinkering of my own. The result is, that Mayl is now more attracted to girls, though it won't take hold for at least a day or two."
"Oh, I canwait for that." Kuro answered, half-jokingly. "Anything else you need to say?"
"I've also heightened Mayl's magical potential, so that her magical strength will be doubled when she gets to fight Neige." Akame answered. An half-smile formed on the assassin's pale face. "All in all, I think we can look forward to pitting her against Neige in a couple of days…"