A/N: The Gunha arc continues. There's not much that happens here with Gunha or his gutsy girlfriend. And for some reason, I thought it'd be a great idea to introduce another "lab member", which, I admit, isn't necessary for the arc. Well, next chapter should prove to be interesting. Look forward to it.


Suspension of Belief

In an undisclosed area, two people were doing research.

Hamazura Shiage was studying live footage from a computer monitor. He commentated aloud.

"Huh. That's weird."

Nunotaba Shinobu, the resident blank-faced girl of the lab, took notice of him and stared bullets into the back of his skull.

"What is?"

The dropout answered.

"Apparently this Sogiita Gunha person suddenly has a girlfriend."

Nunotaba Shinobu didn't think much of it.

"Doesn't seem that odd to me."

Hamazura Shiage went on to explain.

"What. You don't think a character just popping out of nowhere without any context isn't strange? What's more, apparently this character has already established relationships from events undisclosed. Story-wise, it's jarring to outside parties. It seemingly comes out of left field and it's a little hard to accept. This is what most people call bad writing."

Nunotaba Shinobu kept staring at Hamazura Shiage.

"When you put it that way, I have to agree."

And so, this is how I'll introduce Hamazura Shiage into 'Super Seven'. Now, let's proceed to ignore him for the next three to four chapters.

Original Character DO NOT STEAL

"G-Good afternoon…"

As the door to the club room opened, a timid-looking girl revealed herself.

With long soft-colored hair and a petite figure…

Her uniform identified herself as a sheltered girl from School Garden.

"My… My name is Otani Eiko… I've… Heard a lot about your group from Sogiita-san…"

She fidgeted nervously. Her face began to flush.

"It's… Nice to meet you all."

She quickly lowered her head after her introduction.

Misaka Mikoto turned to the Number 7.

"Are you blackmailing her?"

"Why is that the first thing you think?-!"

Physical Form

Shokuhou Misaki stepped forward in a welcoming manner.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Otani-san. Thank you for taking care of our Sogiita-san. He's a handful, so I'm sure it's been tough. (Please ignore that odd phrasing. I'm not his mother.)"

As the Number 5 reached out her hand…

She froze.

"…huh?"

Turning her gaze toward Sogiita Gunha and then back to Otani Eiko…

Noticing this, Sogiita Gunha raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong…?"

The Number 5 answered quickly.

"Ah… No. It's just that… I realized she isn't made of air."

She started pinching the girl's cheek.

"Of course she isn't!"

Burning Questions

Sogiita Gunha stepped between the two girls.

"Oi, oi!"

Otani Eiko rubbed her cheek as the Number 7 pulled Shokuhou Misaki and everyone else to the side. He spoke quietly enough so that Otani Eiko couldn't hear.

"Okay. I'm sure everyone has a lot of burning questions right now. I'll fill in the details later. Just… don't do anything that might scare her-"

Completely disregarding the boy, Mugino Shizuri called over to her.

"Hey. I've got some burning questions."

"…?"

The Number 4 spoke without restraint.

"Who confessed to who? How long have you been dating? Have you held hands yet? Have you kissed?"

Ramping up…

"What's the furthest you've gotten? **ndjobs? **owjobs? With your feet? *nal? S*x? Who's on top? Favorite positions? Thr**ways? Fo**ways? Gang**ngs?"

She kept on going.

"Where does he usually **nish? The face? The hair? The back? Inside? Does he prefer edging?"

"By all means, take your time answering."

A Gentleman

"…"

Unsure of what to say, the girl gave an uneasy glance toward the Number 7. In turn he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"That's… not anyone's business."

( Shizuri: Ehhh? )

The boy took a position by Otani Eiko and firmly announced.

"As all of you now know, Miss Otani and I are in a relationship. As such, I fully expect you all to give her the same amount of respect as you do me."

( Shizuri: What if I don't respect you at all? )

"If I receive even a slight hint of harassment against her, there will be serious consequences. But, of course, I trust that none of you will ever cross that line."

( Shizuri: So harassing you is still fair game, right? )

"With that in mind, let's all get along."

( Shizuri: What's with your weird way of talking? Did you hit your head or something? You haven't said your catchphrase yet. )

Sogiita Gunha was becoming more irritated by the moment.

"Hey now…"

Misaka Mikoto half-raised her hand to speak up.

"Are you sure you're not blackmailing her?"

"I told you it's not that!"

The Natural Thing to Do

After being fed up, the couple left the room in a hurry.

( Gunha: Ahhhg! I've had enough of this! The two of us are leaving for a late lunch, damn it! )

And proceeding that outburst, he slammed the door shut. The rest of the Level 5s returned to their usual activities.

"…"

Accelerator was back to typing notes on his computer. Kakine Teitoku went back to hibernation mode, vibrating in place at a certain time interval.

"…"

Mugino Shizuri played with her phone, moving her thumbs in an almost calculated pattern. Shokuhou Misaki sleepily stared out the window.

"…"

As for Misaka Mikoto… she stood up.

"Welp. Enough time has passed. Let's follow them."

Almost everyone was in agreement.

Advancing the Plot

"Hold on."

Shokuhou Misaki called for the Number 3 to slow down. She narrowed her eyes.

"You want to follow them?"

"Obviously."

Misaka Mikoto had no qualms with the illegal activity. Neither did the Number 5, but…

"I just want to know… Where is this coming from? Usually you're such a buzzkill. Is there a particular reason why you want to intrude into the privacy of a couple?"

"Because it's funny."

"I see."

From the side, the Number 2 and 4 added…

( Shizuri: I just want more screen time. )

( Teitoku: I barely have any presence as is. )

"You two have more pitiable circumstances."

Reading Too Much

And thus, Misaka Mikoto led a small party on a stalking adventure.

Which now left…

"…"

Shokuhou Misaki gazed out the window with a bored expression. Propping her arm on the table, she rested her cheek on the palm of her hand.

"Not going?"

"Not interested."

The white-haired boy's question was met with a prompt response.

"Is that so."

Everyone was free to do as they pleased. Humans possessed the convenient power of freewill and could exercise that ability at any time. However, motivations were never obvious. Judging a person by their actions was a flawed process.

So another question came.

"Did you see something?"

"…"

Lines

Accelerator had stopped typing notes.

"…"

Shokuhou Misaki let out a breath. Deciding not to put up a fight, she gave him a brief summary.

"Otani Eiko is a good girl. She's a freshman with no experience. And apparently, that oaf nearly attacked her while she was confessing. I guess he thought she was challenging her, but he wised up, thankfully."

The long blonde-haired girl closed her eyes.

"There's not much else to say. She's normal and…"

Listlessly…

"It has nothing to do with us."

It bears repeating.

There were no friends in this room.

Relationships would always be at an arm's length, if not more.

To think that the distance might close in such an artificial environment… was nothing but foolishness.

So…

Shokuhou Misaki was correct in her assessment.

Whatever happened to anyone outside of the experiment, outside of the predetermined conditions provided, it wasn't her problem. Thus…

"I don't need to get involved."

Difference

"…"

Accelerator closed his laptop. Gathering his things, he prepared to leave.

"Ooh! So you're joining the rest then? I didn't think the Number 1 was the type to meddle."

The white-haired boy scoffed.

"Meddle? Don't say something so stupid."

He pulled himself to his feet and balanced himself on his cane.

"There's no point in continuing the experiment if no one's here. Activities will have to be suspended."

Taking his time, he hobbled over towards the doorway.

"You can stay here if you want. I, however, don't have the luxury of time."

Upon reaching the door… The white-haired boy stopped.

"Forgetting something?"

"…"

He asked another question.

A strange one.

"Do you know what the difference is between humans and monsters?"

"Huh…?"

Accelerator clicked his tongue.

"No. Never mind."

With that, the Number 1 left.


Timeline: 10, 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, x, 3, x, 12, 13, x, 5, 6, 7, x, 11

Next Chapter: Sogiita Gunha attempts to hold hands with girl. Lewd. And… what's with this ominous feeling?