As the battles continue to loom all around F City, our heroes continue to scour the area, in search of Otome Saotome, who's, unknown to The Gang, changed her persona to that of Kaede Kayano.
Speaking of…
On rainy day, Otome was wearing her shoes, as they were bigger than hers. Unfortunately, she was annoyed by this.
"Unfortunately for me, Kaede Kayano's shoes are a bit on the large side." She thought, "To avoid suspicion, I have to swap shoes to those that actually fit me."
Nagisa asked, "Going out soon?"
She said, "Hmm? Why?"
He offered, "Uh… I'm gonna need your help on this one… See… uh…"
He and Otome went to the basement, as she whispered, "What could he be up to?"
The door went shut, as Otome was concerned, "Nagisa, why the sudden concern?"
"There's a strange cat in our house."
"Eh? A cat?"
Episode 51 – Chapter 1: The Sketch Artist Killer (Part 3)
Otome Saotome Likes Cats!
The Stray Cat in the Garden!
Nagisa said, "Well, we were out of water, so I figured to get more in the basement… when all of a sudden, when all of a sudden, something fuzzy and plump was in the corner."
He showed her the same blue cat from the last chapter, as he said, "I tended to that cat, the other day, and suddenly, he wouldn't go away! It was one of those British Shorthairs. Perfect proportion, and with those yellow eyes, too."
She asked him, "What happened when you met the cat?"
He explained, "Well, as I was stepping closer, I investigated that this Shorthair went into an open window. I made a sound, and he just stared at me. It's a cat little thing, but I can't let it stay down here, forever. If I don't get him to scat, he'll pee on the potato sack. I even tried sneaking towards him, nice and slowly, without looking…"
SHING!
"…but that didn't work. His claws were ready, like he's about to strike. So, instead of the sneaky way, by stealth, I figured that I might show him that I am friendly."
He fell to the floor and wiggled to the cat, acting nice. But the cat hissed at him. He thought, "Hang on! Why am I begging for this cat's attention?"
He grabbed a small object and cried, "Come on, kitty, time to scram! You're obviously freeloading!"
The cat yawned, and Nagisa threw the object, "Gaaaaah! I WARNED YOU!"
SWAT!
The cat knocked it away with its tail, and he was stunned in disbelief. "I don't believe it. Has this British Shorthair suddenly have awareness?"
He held up a broom and called, "Enough of this!"
The cat jumped up and landed on the ceiling, hissing towards Nagisa. He gasped, "Eh? What the-?"
He explained to her, "As terrifying as that was, he hung onto the top, like a bug. This isn't a sort of normal cat we're dealing with… This is a cat burglar! And what's even worse… the cat had a gaping hole, in his neck."
Nagisa was right. He saw a view of the hole under the jaw of the cat, as it was clinging to the ceiling. We can give you three guesses on who did it to that cat. He explained that the cat's hole was as big as a quarter, and then he heard a hollow meow from inside the hole.
"Meow…"
Otome asked, "Really? A hole?" She then thought, "Hmm… I don't know why… but could it be the wound from the arrow?"
That's right. The arrow that Junko Enoshima harbors landed straight to this cat, as yet another member of her Stand Users of Despair.
Nagisa continued, "I tried attacking it, wildly swinging any object I could find, but this cat was like a sprinting ninja! I kept rampaging at it, until it finally ran off! Kaede, can you find him?"
She headed down, as she looked around. He asked, "So, did you find it?"
She was looking at the mess and said, "There's going to be a lot of cleaning to do, once we find this furball. Though, punishing that cat is now out of the question…"
"What do you mean?"
Otome kneeled to the dead cat and said, "It's dead. While you were on a rampage…"
He gasped, "Are those-?"
"Shards of glass. They must've impaled into him, while he was dodging."
"But… Oh, god, I didn't mean to-."
She hugged him and said, "It was an accident. Don't worry. No one's at fault. Just bad luck. No one did anything wrong. Least of all, you."
He smiled, "That's a relief. And to think this cat was just a stray."
She replied, "Well, glad he's dead. He must've used up all his other eight lives… not that the Nine Lives myth is simply real, is all."
XXXXX
In the rain, Otome buried the corpse of the cat, and then thought, "He must've got the hole in its neck, during the accident. Now there's no telling if he is a Stand User or not. Either way, such despair to die like that. No. He was just an ordinary cat."
She continued to bury the cat in the backyard, as she was unamused by the moment that she figured he might have a Stand. But I guess we'll never know.
The next day, Nagisa was taking out the trash, as it was lightly raining out. Hours passed, as the rain was lightly subsiding, as Otome was heading out of the house, stepping out for some air.
XXXXX
The next day, after that, the rain finally stopped.
"Good morning, F City! What a downpour we had, yesterday!" The radio played, "There is nothing better than a morning after heavy rain! I saw a beautiful rainbow, on my way to work. I wonder if it's still there."
At the backyard, however, a small flower was blooming from where the cat was buried. It suddenly bloomed, showing two eyes from inside its petals and-, wait… Did that flower just meowed like a cat?!
What is this place? The flower spoke, thinking to itself. Why am I here? Meow, meow. Someone got me with an arrow, a couple days ago. But I thought I came out of that scrap, okay…
The flower squirmed, as he looked at himself, What? My body is totally different! This made absolutely no sense! Why is it weird now? It tried to pull itself out, as he struggled to get out. But he meowed in panic confusion, Why the hell am I stuck in the ground?
Nagisa stepped out, as he asked, "Huh? Where on earth did she bury him? I fell awful about that kitty. I hope he passes on to the other side…"
Hmm… Who is this kid? The cat who is now a flower asked himself, wondering. I got a real bad feeling about him. He then noticed the broom and gasped, THE BROOM! This guy! He was there when all that glass impaled onto me, and I wasn't able to move, anymore! It glared at him, as it continued, I'M IN THIS MESS NOW, BECAUSE OF THAT HORRIBLE GUY! Fuming with rage and confusion, his flowery body wrapped its petals around, forming a huge bud. Suddenly, it extended, and it fired out from the tip a huge bubble. Nagisa was caught in the bubble's attack, and-.
SMASH!
"AAAAAAAAGH!" A chunk of his skin, near his ankle, was sliced off.
The flower thought, What was that? When I let my anger out on this guy, he keeled over in pain.
Nagisa moaned, "Ouch… It was only a small piece… but it hurts. Could it be? I know it wasn't a black cat, but that British Shorthair must've laid a curse onto me!"
Two birds flew by, but they fell dead, from an unknown shot. The flower thought, having to grow concerned over his new power, he decided to use it. The cat survived all his life, by using his animal instincts. The flower reached for the dead bird, about to eat its remains. But suddenly…
Otome appeared over the flower and hissed, "So, I was right. The little bastard's a Stand User. But why was it here, growing on the spot where I buried the stray cat, the other night? And for that matter, What the hell is that? Why did it devour that sparrow?"
The flower started eating the bird. She continued, as she observed the flower, "I don't know what kind of Stand it possesses, but it's obviously a threat. Doesn't seem like it wants me dead, but… even so, I'll just have to prune it out of the ground, just to be safe."
The flower started to purr, and make cat-like gestures to her, wanting her attention. It nuzzled down and went to sleep. She said, "So, it went to sleep, after eating its prey. Such a carnivorous herb. Or it could be an animal… I have no idea what, but I want to know, for sure."
She hissed at the flower, "PSST! PSST!" And the flower woke up, hearing the calls. "The way it responded to me, almost feels catlike. Strange."
She kneeled to the flower and offered her hand. It sniffed it, as she continued, "The way it sniffs my hand also seems a bit feline." She petted it, as it enjoys it, as well. "Factoring out the possibilities that this thing acts out, as it falls asleep… and yet it shows any ill will towards me. I have to know for sure… and there's only one way."
She covered its nostrils, and the cat woke up, snarling in anger. She said, "Well, it seems that it gotten angry. I guess he doesn't like it. But I know for a fact that it's a harmless flower."
She thought, "No doubt. He's the cat that I buried, the other night. And he got the gouge from the arrow to the Adam's Apple. But what does it mean? And why is it in flower form?"
Nagisa called, "Hey, Kaede…"
Otome landed her left knee down, hiding the flower. He said, "I wouldn't stand there, if I were you. My leg lost a chunk of my skin. It's dangerous!"
She thought, "I see… It wants to get back at Nagisa, as penance for yesterday. If he ever found out about it, he'll… *gulp* he'll tell everyone about it… and no telling those idiots will find me out. Nagisa is one thing to be nice and dependable, but even if he finds strange gatherings, there's no telling that he'll wind up heading to Chazz Princeton and the rest of his obnoxious cohorts! I can't allow that to happen!"
He asked, "What are you doing? I don't like that spot. It's where the cat was buried… Almost feels like an ominous glow of darkness… from within."
She responded, "I buried the cat, somewhere else! Now please, go back inside and nurse your injuries."
"No, you're trying to protect me! You knew that the spot was to bury the cat! I saw you bury that cat there!"
The flower got up and hissed, as Nagisa gasped, "What the-?"
She thought in fright, "Shit! It looks like what I was wrong! This cat is nothing but trouble! I don't know what kind of Stand it possesses, but I don't even want to know! It's time I show this weed whose boss, nonetheless!" She cried, unleashing her Stand, "Lethal Queen!"
She jabbed the ground and hit a pebble, "There. Time for you to be uprooted. Bomb Type One! Switch ON!"
She jabbed her thumb down, exploding the rock into nothing. But… … …nothing. No explosion.
"Huh?" She thought, as she was confused, "Where's the KABOOM? There's no way it's a dud! Which means… This thing did it! It must've got anti-detonation skills!"
The flower roared, as Nagisa cried, "Is that a plant?"
"DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO GO INSIDE?" She roared, but the flower pushed him back with a huge bubble. He dropped down, as Otome was shocked.
"NAGISA!" She cried.
The pebble exploded, after the flower moved it away from him. She gasped, "NO! The moment it batted away the pebble, it exploded! Could this thing be…"
As the creature saw the boy lying unconscious, he roared in rage, I'm going to kill him!
Otome stomped her foot down, and was angry. She called, "That's quite enough! Your attacks on him, end now! You're about to disappear!"
She glared at it, as the flower hissed, If she wants to get in the way, then she dies, too!
"There's no other explanation…" Otome said, "The bomb failed to explode, because it deprived there!"
The plant instinctively know how to use its newly-applied abilities to kill its enemies. It wrapped itself into a bud again, and prepared to fire.
"Wait a minute…" Otome whispered, "Could its Stand ability be to control the air around it?!"
The flower fired again! She unleashed Lethal Queen and cried, "It's coming! I don't see it, but it's coming right at me! LETHAL QUEEN!"
It deflected the air bubbles, but she growled, "Shit! It did shoot at us! That Stand fires weaponized masses of air! BASTARD! I'LL MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE FERTILIZER!"
The Stand stomps on the flower, but it was stopped by a huge bubble shield.
"What?! Did that thing make a compact shield, like a balloon? It really can manipulate the air!"
Lethal Queen's leg slipped and landed on the ground. The plant fired a bigger air bubble, and Otome was unable to locate the bubble. "I can't see the bubble… but where did it aim it?"
The air bubble flew off, straight to a field of cacti. The bubble exploded, destroying the cactus. The impact shot needles towards the two. Otome shielded herself and Nagisa. She growled, as the plant taunts them. She placed Nagisa down, but then she thought in shock, "This… doesn't make any sense… Did Otome Saotome feel any sympathy towards this boy, because the cactus needles missed his eyes? What is this feeling? Could I actually be worried about someone else? What am I thinking! My only concern is that this boy dies, no matter what, where, and when; and The Gang and their stooges would investigate this matter, if that happens. But I'm relieved that he's safe… and that's my only relief."
It fired again as Otome has had enough, "Your air attack is now deemed powerless!" Lethal Queen deflected each shot, as she continued, "Your projectiles may be invisible, but I know how the trick works. You fire a barrage of compressed air and shoot at your targets like bullets. But now Lethal Queen knows how your trick works!"
It meowed, as Otome felt some blood trickle. She gasped, as her vein bulged in a bubble. She looked into her left arm, and was horrified. "WHAT?! That little shit! He injected a bubble into my veins?!"
She moaned, "It's going up my arm!" She ripped her sleeve off, and continued, "NO! I heard that a blockage of the blood vessel and death is caused by more than 10 ccs of any gas into the veins! And this is more than 10 ccs!"
She tried to squeeze it out, as she roared, "I can't get it out! There's no other way! I HAVE TO GO FOR BROKE!" She unleashed her Stand again, "LETHAL QUEEN!"
BOOM!
The arm let out a small explosion, and the bubble escaped her arm. Only now, Otome's left arm is badly injured. She hissed, "I underestimated that little weed. This thing has much power for its air attacks. What do I do? It's more formidable than I thought!"
The flower prepared to fire again, as Otome was cornered. She thought, "Damn it, no! It's going to end me in one blow! THINK!"
She grabbed an object and threw it to the cat flower. The flower stopped, as it saw a yellow golf ball roll to it. It ceased its firing position, and began to play with the flower.
"That was far too close…" she moaned, "I suppose I'll let it slide, for now… His execution has been stayed."
XXXXX
That afternoon, the flower was gone. Nagisa sighed, as he was in the kitchen, "Glad that's over with. What a menace… Kaede told me that she was bury the cat, far away from this house. But when I said it was a curse, she told me that it was a figment of my imagination, and that I should need bedrest."
He smiled and said, "I'm happy that she stayed with me, even though she was worried about me. It made me happy to see her. But I don't get her. One minute, Kaede's so nice and bubbly, and now she's become stoic and curt. I wonder, is this her new look?"
Otome was eating, as she looked at the knife. She noticed Nagisa staring at her, as she thought, "That guy… Why is he staring at me, every time? I told him about the cat, and I got rid of it."
He asked, "HOLD ON! You're eating out of my plate!"
She gasped, as he explained, "Sorry. I forgot you're not a fan of shitake mushrooms."
She gulped, as she was stunned. He said, "What brought about your better taste? I'm thrilled that you seem to like them now. You almost scarfed down half of the plate."
She said, "Uh… Yeah…"
Minutes later, Otome left to go to work, as Nagisa was quietly watching her leave. He then thought, "Not even a goodbye would be suffice. Something's strange is about this girl… She likes shitake mushrooms now… she uses a shoehorn, when putting her shoes on… and she was definitely wearing smaller shoes. Did she lose a size? No. Shoe size never decreases. This is getting weirder and weirder…"
He went to his room and looked at the video footage from weeks ago. He narrated, "Kaede Kayano… real name: Akari Yukimura… She and I go to the same class together, in E-Class, and we're skilled assassins. Our lives changed, thanks to Koro-sensei… a name Kaede given him, one Koro-sensei's first day as a teacher. After we graduated, we left E-Class behind and moved on… But still… Kaede's acting strange. She's been practicing her signatures, endlessly, like she is forging her name. That's a given, since Kaede Kayano's her pseudonym. But then there's what happened last night…"
He viewed Otome in the bedroom, carrying a pot of dirt and a bag of cat food. He thought, "What was she doing with that bag of dirt and a pot of soil? And is that cat food? I noticed that she goes into the closet, like everything's normal…"
He decided to investigate the closet, only to find that it's gone. He then noticed a small entrance on the ceiling, leading to the attic.
Meanwhile, Otome was walking to work, only she stopped and pondered. "What is this? Why do I get the feeling that my heart is fluttering… only it's being jabbed from within… What could he be up to? Something strange is going on here."
Nagisa arrived at the attic, as he looked around. He whispered, "What could she be doing with that bag of cat food and a pot of soil? For that matter, what could she be doing up here, of all places?"
He spotted the pot, and was shocked, "No… The same flower from before… Why did she suddenly take it to the attic? But it's way too dark here."
He opened the window, showing lots of sunlight. He then viewed the flower waking up, "Huh? It's moving. No doubt. Kaede did bury the cat, somewhere else… but the flower remains."
Otome entered the house, while the flower started to move. Nagisa gasped, "What? The plant's moving? Impossible! Kaede got rid of it! Hang on… Could that bag of cat food be for this thing? She didn't get rid of the flower monster at all!"
He heard footsteps and gasped, "Crap! Why the heck did she come back?" He rushed to the window, but the flower shot air at the boy, pinning him to the wall, with the bubbles shaped like shackles. Otome was heading to the attic. She rushed upstairs, as she snarled, "That came from the attic! I knew that bastard was up to something!"
He thought, as he tried to break free, "That thing detained me, when I tried to close the window. Does that mean it needs sunlight to go into attack formation? So… If I'm being held my mass amounts of air…"
He grabbed a pen and poked at the air bubble around his neck. It popped, and the window blew shut. The flower went back to sleep, as Otome rushed in. Nagisa hid, avoiding any sight. He shut the door and poured out cat food to the floor, thinking the cat flower ate it. Otome opened the door, and Nagisa hid behind the desk. She looked around, and grabbed the empty bag, "What's going on here? Did that feral cat make the noise and get food for itself? I thought the lack of sunlight would keep it calm… traces of light are seeping into the window. But still…"
She covered the cat flower and said, "I thought Nagisa would rummage up here, it seems. But I guess I chalked that one up for overthinking. Even so, this guy is close to me… finding out who I really am… then I'd have to end his life, anyways."
She left, as she was heading to work. Nagisa heard the whole thing and whispered, in complete fright, "I knew it… … …She has Kaede's face… but this woman… She's not Kaede! Who is she? Why is she here? What does she want?"
So ends this portion of "The Gang IN-ACTION", focusing on Otome Saotome.
Next time, we're presenting you another battle… or battles… that happens on the SAME day!
See you then on… … …Thursday, July 18th!
To be continued…