Note: Essentially, I wanted to make something light-hearted without too much drama. So here we are!


[ Title: Motion Picture Meltdown ]

Fade in from black…

A hand, or rather… an artificial one, reached out and pointed forward. Following the finger's direction, there was a large stuffed bear covered in bandages sitting on a shelf.

Mugino Shizuri spoke to the man across the counter.

"How much?"

Staring blankly, the attendant answered.

"12 million tickets."

"…"

She vacantly stared back.

Backing out...

The Number 4 was at the arcade.

CQC

Hamazura Shiage was outside wandering around. He searched the entrance of the arcade for a familiar face.

"Aww man…! I was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago! But… I don't think she'll be too angry…"

Spotting Mugino Shizuri…

"…Ah?"

He quickly approached.

"Oi! Mugino! Did you wait lo-"

The girl bent her knees as the oncoming male drew near.

"-ng?-!"

Pushing her body forward, she aimed for the underside of the boy's chin, attacking with her head.

"Nnnnnck-?-!"

Following up, she kicked his groin with her knee.

"Hnnnnngh!"

While the boy reflexively leaned forward, she directed a downward elbow strike to the back of his neck.

"Uuuuugh?-!"

She then grabbed his head with both her hands and smashed his face in with another knee kick.

"Aaaaaaaafgh!"

Before the fallen Hamazura Shiage could stand up, the girl raised her leg high above his waist…

"No! Wait! I'm sor-!"

And landed her heel with a sick thud.

"It's fine. I just got here."

Prize

Hamazura Shiage took a moment to wipe the blood off his face with a handkerchief.

"So uh… what's going on here? When you called me, it sorta sounded like you were in a pinch."

The Number 4 crossed her arms.

"Hardly. I just needed a pack mule."

The boy made a weak smile.

"…pack mule?"

Glaring coldly, Mugino Shizuri explained herself.

"There's a Kill Bear* I want Fremea-chan to have. As I start accruing tickets, you'll be carrying them to the redemption counter."

( *Kill Bear is a mascot character similar to Gekota. While not as pervasively present in Academy City as Gekota, it is still considered to be fairly popular. )

"I see. I see. That's… actually really nice of you Mugi-"

"All 12 million of them."

"Hold up."

MLD

The dropout was visibly rattled.

"Why is a stuffed bear worth 12 million tickets?-! Not even a Play*tation 4 is worth that much!"

( Shizuri: It's not a bear. It's Kill Bear. )

Hamazura Shiage rubbed his temple.

"Tell me… how many tickets do you have currently? How long is this gonna to take?"

The girl had to stop and think. She tilted her head up.

"The number of tickets I currently have…"

Returning to her original position.

"I don't have a single one."

"Oi."

"As for how much time..."

Mugino Shizuri turned herself and started walking deeper into the arcade.

"It won't take long."

"…"

GG

The boy followed the Number 4 into the depths of the arcade. Natural light faded away as the glow of neon bulbs took its place.

"By any chance… are you actually some kinda prodigy at games?"

The girl withheld her answer.

Finding an empty terminal…

The game was a Cyclone Arcade Machine, where the goal was to trap a moving light in a narrow winning space. She spoke without inflection.

"My experience with games are minimal."

Dropping a few tokens into the coin slot, the machine spurred to life.

"In the past, there used to be a fighting game I liked. But I quickly grew tired of it. After that, I seldom had a reason to go to arcades anymore."

There was a single button used to play the game. Instead of hovering her faux arm over the switch, Mugino Shizuri used her real one.

"Though… I vaguely remember others telling me..."

Her eye lazily followed the luminescent trail.

"That my reflexes were very exceptional."

In a snap, she pushed down.

The Trap

Not much time had passed since the two's arrival at the arcade. But for some reason, Hamazura Shiage and Mugino Shizuri now sat outside on a public bench.

Mugino Shizuri had the bear in her arms.

"I guess we should've expected that."

The boy let out a breath and made a convenient summary.

"Getting jackpot after jackpot, there's no way anyone wouldn't notice."

( Attendant: We'll give you the bear. Just get out. )

"Those guys back there didn't look too happy either. It'd probably be best if we stayed away from that place for a while…

"That being said, Level 5s sure are amazing… though, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised by this."

From the corner of his eye, the boy made a quick check of the Number 4's mental state.

She seemed unusually reserved.

"…"

"Something on your mind?"

The girl stared off with no point of focus. But after a moment, a drop of emotion surfaced.

"It pisses me off.

"I wasn't cheating. But they looked down on me as if I was. It pisses me off."

"Would you like a 'Mugino Straight'?"

"What's a-"

"WHAT'S A 'MUGINO STRAIGHT', YOU ASSSSSSSSSKED?-!"

The Number 4 smashed her fist into Hamazura Shiage's side.

Rift

"Whoops. My body moved on its own."

The dropout struggled back to his feet

"Oi, oi! Could you not treat me like a punching bag! That really hurts, you know!"

"Does it?"

"Of course it does!"

Mugino Shizuri held the bear close to her chest. Her eyes watered slightly as a flowery background bloomed behind her.

"I don't know what I'd do if we couldn't engage in skinship. Seeing you act so gross all time, I just can't help myself~ So you know, I'm only like this when you're around. Kyaa~✿" *monotone

"Am I supposed to feel happy after hearing that?-! Just how is beating the shit out of me considered skinship?-!"

Returning to normal…

"Stop complaining. Your heart may belong to Rikou, but your body is for ITEM's exclusive use."

"Where did these terms come from?-! I never agreed to them!"

Mugino Shizuri spoke low.

"And also… the only ones allowed to do you harm is us. Remember that."

"…"

The message she sent didn't please him at all.

Grave Digging

Hamazura Shiage sighed once more. With great dismay, he settled back in his seat and changed the topic.

"Well, whatever. I don't care."

He stretched his arms behind the bench.

"All that matters is that we got what we came for. I bet Fremea-chan will be happy."

"She will. Frenda was fond of these types of dolls. So she should too."

"That so…"

Another sore topic. It was treading a thin line.

"You two are getting along well, huh?"

"Is that what it looks like? If that's what you think, then maybe it's true."

The girl extended her fingers. Looking at the front and back of her hand, she didn't seem too interested in the subject matter.

"In the end, she's attracted to my maturity. Girls her age idolize cool and collected individuals. It's only natural for her to look up to me."

"Ah, but she's also getting on well with Kinuhata too. Sometimes I feel like those two are on a special wavelength."

( Saiai: Super! Super! Super! Super! )

( Fremea: Essentially! Essentially! Essentially! )

"…"

Mugino Shizuri went oddly silent. The boy noticed.

"Hmm? Could it be that you're jea-"

The Well Runs Deep

The Number 4 grabbed his face. She lifted him up into the air.

"Haaah?-! Were you about to say something, Hamazuraaaa?-!"

"M-Mugino! Your nails! They're digging! They're digging in!"

"Do you see me as some sort of insecure hag that trades gifts and sweets for a little girl's affection?-! Do you now?-!"

"I didn't say that! I wasn't even thinking that!"

"As if I need that kind of worthless validation! Fremea-chan loves the shit out of me! She's even entrusted me to upload her video project for her art class! Me! Not you or anyone else, but me!"

With her other arm, Mugino Shizuri pulled out a USB drive for him to see.

"I-I see it! Just calm down already!"

"So what if I don't have an endearing speech pattern?-! I can make one up on the spot! Mugi-Mugi! Mugi-Mugi! You hear that, you piece of trash?-!"

"You need to stop before you say something even more embarrassing!"

Medium-High Speed

The two were back to their original positions on the bench.

"Ah. My body moved on its own again."

"Is that right…"

Still recovering from her outburst, the boy attempted to regain his composure.

A thought came to mind.

"Hey. Come to think of it, couldn't you have bought that bear outright? There's no reason for us to gather so many tickets in the first place."

( Shizuri: It's not a bear. It's Kill Bear. )

The girl blinked. And then she answered dully.

"I dislike that way of thinking.

"Indeed, the easiest thing to do would be to throw money in whatever direction necessary, but... it's inconsiderate. Especially for those outside looking in. I don't want Fremea-chan growing up thinking that wealth is the solution to all her problems."

A moment. The Number 4 then added...

"And also… if I did that, then we-..."

Pause. The girl gave him a difficult-to-read expression.

"…then what?"

"No. Never mind."

She returned to her former point.

"There's something to be said about putting effort into the things you want. Between buying a cake and making one from scratch, there's more satisfaction to be had in doing things yourself. In those regards, I suppose you could call me a show off."

Going off on a tangent…

"Speaking of making cake, it's strange. There's something oddly gratifying about having mixer settings on you arm."

Raising her faux arm, she demonstrated. Her fingers started to move violently with a 'whiirrrrl' sound. And as this happened, the USB drive containing Fremea Seivelun's video project for her art class went flying off into the street.

Immediately after that, a large truck ran over it.

"…"

This Place Again

Level 5s of Academy City were gathered around a long table. Preoccupying themselves one way or another, they all more or less sat in silence.

"…"

Sogiita Gunha was snacking on a granola bar. Kakine Teitoku was pretending to be asleep, vibrating in place at a certain time interval.

"…"

Accelerator was looking over notes on a clipboard. Shokuhou Misaki was attempting to put eye drops into her eyes.

As for Mugino Shizuri…

She busted through the entrance of the clubroom.

"Alright you dipshits. We're making a movie."

Misaka Mikoto was the first to speak up.

"What?"


Timeline (condensed): 10, 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 19-21, x, 3, x, 12-17, x, 5-7, x, 11

Next Scene: Mugino Shizuri blames everything on Hamazura.