A.N: Hello, everyone! Here is the fourth chapter of this commission! I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter Four: Upgrades
As Sonia's thoughts drifted toward her crush, the sleeping Chiaki kept fighting her intense battle against the locked door to Kazuichi's lab. Seeing pulling and pushing wouldn't work, the Ultimate Gamer moved to kicking the door or even sleepily throwing herself at it.
Needless to say, it brought no further results.
Aw, just thinking about Gundham's devas is making me blush! Who can blame me, though? They're super cute-
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
"A-Aah!" Startled, Sonia was taken out of her daydreaming by the repeated sound of her classmate desperately launching herself at the door like a police team trying to raid a house. "M-My, that surprised me..." Smiling, she placed a hand atop Chiaki's head. "Now, now, Chiaki, there's no need to be so loud, okay?"
The sleeping girl quickly stopped and stood still for a few seconds, her balance shaky. The Ultimate Princess made sure she didn't tumble and fall.
"...Zzz... mechanic..." Chiaki drowsily muttered, turning to her companion. "The mechanic..."
"Isn't here, Chiaki," Sonia cut her, her voice a little sharper, like a true queen addressing one of her subjects. "Or, at least, I would presume he is in his dorm room, sleeping." She sweatdropped. "I understand where you're coming from, comrade, but such a fight against the door will not accomplish anything, okay?"
She made sure not to sound too harsh. After all, it wasn't really like Chiaki had any control over what she was doing. And, well... it wasn't exactly in her nature to scold anyone (who wasn't named Kazuichi Soda, at least).
"The mission... will be tough... without a mechanic..." the short-haired Ultimate mumbled under her breath and snoring. Nonetheless, she gave a small nod. "But... we can find... other ways... I think..."
Great! Happy to have convinced her classmate, Sonia grabbed Chiaki's hand, hoping to lead her back to bed and conclude this bizarre night escapade. "Now, shall our adventure end, com-"
However, before the girls could even make a single step in the direction of the exit, they were interrupted by a rattling sound. The gamer was sleeping too deeply to hear it, but Sonia's eyes widened as she listened to the sound of the door opening.
"Ugh... who the hell wants me at this ungodly hour...? And why did they have to try to destroy the door, too...? It must be one in the mornin' or something..."
Oh, no... Sonia audibly gulped. This was a plot twist our adventure did not need... She thought to herself, trying to hide her disappointment from her countenance.
In front of her, rubbing his drowsy eyes, stood the Ultimate Mechanic, Kazuichi Soda, still more asleep than awake. He was still wearing his blue jumpsuit that stank of oil, ears fuming from having been woken up from his slumber.
However, his eyes turned from groggy to overexcited as he realized it was actually his absolute crush standing at the door of his lab.
"S-Sonia!" Kazuichi called out happily, the annoyed expression on his face quickly giving way to a beaming smile.
The Ultimate Princess, deciding not to be rude (after all, they were the ones making a ruckus in the middle of the night), hid her annoyance behind a pleasant smile. She would usually not bother deceiving the boy, but she figured it might be best if they wanted a favor from him.
"Good early morning, Kazuichi," she greeted politely, completely fooling the Ultimate Mechanic, who looked at her with nothing but admiration. Quite gross... Kazuichi always gives me creepy smiles...
A small blush appeared on his cheeks. "G-Good morning to you too!" the mechanic greeted back, his tiredness all but forgotten in an instant. "So, uh... what can I help you with so early, Sonia?"
Sonia sweatdropped and pointed at the sleeping girl beside her, saying, "W-Well, I'm not exactly the one who needs your help, Kazuichi... It's Chiaki here who-"
"Zzz... mechanic...! Your help is... well-needed... I think..." Chiaki cut her friend, 'looking' at the pink-haired boy in the eyes intensely. She walked past Sonia and tried to enter Kazuichi's lab, her arms still pointed forward.
Kazuichi narrowed his eyes in surprise and looked at Sonia confusingly. He saw her roll her eyes, making him look at Chiaki instead. "U-Um, Chiaki...? What are you doing here...?" He blocked her way inside, even if the sleeping Ultimate Gamer was definitely insistent. "Y-You can't go inside, Chiaki! T-There are plenty of dangerous machines in there!"
The blonde chuckled amusingly as Chiaki clung to the mechanic's jumpsuit, trying to get him out of the way softly. Her hands got covered in oil and grease, and her nose twitched at the irritating stench. After a few seconds, though, she managed to get over it and resume her struggle to enter the lab.
"We need to... upgrade our... spaceship and weapons... to top efficiency..." the video game aficionado mumbled. "We will pay... the necessary fees..."
With one strong push, Chiaki actually got Kazuichi to lose his balance, although that wasn't quite enough to get him out of the way. Still, he was caught off-guard by the stunning display of strength, having to put his mind to it to stand his ground.
Sonia could see Kazuichi was dumbfounded by the scene. He gave her a look that wordlessly asked, 'What the hell's going on here?!' and she replied with a look that wordlessly said, 'You heard her! Now get on with it!'
Kazuichi sweatdropped and relented, letting the gamer slip past him and inside his lab, making sure to keep an eye on her. Chiaki wasted no time and started to look around the room curiously, picking up random tools and inspecting them with her eyes closed.
The mechanic followed after her, ensuring she remained far away from any machine that could potentially be dangerous to her. After all, he had some machinery that could kill someone if not used properly! This was some Ultimate stuff!
After a while, the dreaming girl yawned and sat at Kazuichi's desk, turning her Nintendo Switch back on. This gave Kazuichi a chance to look at her more clearly. It was then that he noticed what was actually going on.
He sneaked up to Sonia and leaned into her ear, forcing the princess to hold her breath. "Miss Sonia...? You know our Class Rep is sleepwalking right now, yeah...?" The girl nodded. "O-Oh, um... okay, then. She doesn't even look aware of what she's doing, except when it comes to her console..."
Sonia smirked. "You would think that, but you would be wrong! Chiaki is, in fact, very aware of what she's doing, and doing it with amazing coordination!" she praised. I should probably keep the incident from earlier to myself... The blonde thought, deciding not to make anyone worry.
The mechanic didn't seem convinced. "Hm, muttering how she needs a mechanic to upgrade her spaceship doesn't sound very aware to me, Miss Sonia... Look, I'll try to wake her up, okay? Give me a second." The boy walked to his sleeping classmate and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly, not unlike Sonia earlier. "Chiaki! Wake up!"
Yet, for all his shouting, the Ultimate Gamer remained fast asleep. The only result this endeavor brought was annoying Sonia, who disliked shouting. She joined her two classmates and put one hand on Kazuichi's shoulder, shaking her head disapprovingly.
There was no telling how deep Chiaki's slumber was. She had not even woken up while plummeting to her death! Besides, Sonia didn't want to use violence to wake her beloved Class Representative up, preferring to stay by her side until she awoke naturally.
And well... it was pretty fun, following her around on her livid dream. Being Chiaki's angel guardian was something the princess enjoyed, so she would remain by her friend's side until the end of their bizarre escapade.
"You should play along," she recommended (more like ordered, really) to the mechanic. "She's asking you to upgrade our spaceships, so maybe you could give her a miniature replica of a ship? You probably have one of those somewhere in here, right?"
Kazuichi scratched his head in thought. "Yeah, I probably have something like that somewhere... I'm gonna go look, Miss Sonia! Please keep an eye on Chiaki in the meantime!" He pointed at a machine in the back of her room. "This saw could cut her in half!"
Sonia's eyes widened in horror. As much as she enjoyed killings and gore stuff, seeing Chiaki split into two was not the goal.
Meanwhile, in Chiaki's dream world, the pink-haired mechanic appeared out of thin air, standing proudly in his bright yellow mechanic outfit.
"Hey, hey! Do you think you could repair and upgrade our ships, Kazuichi?" The dream Chiaki asked, pointing to her and Sonia's damaged vessels. "We cannot go after our enemy without strong weapons and functioning ships!"
"Sure!" Kazuichi agreed cheerily. "I can even give you a discount since your comrade is absolutely beautiful!" He got an angry glare from dream Sonia for that statement, making him gulp in fear. "W-Well, if you've got some money on you, I can start working on it..."
Chiaki smiled, both in the dream and the real world. "Thanks, Kazuichi. Hopefully, it won't take you too long."
"Damn, I've got something here, but it's busted!" the Ultimate Mechanic said grumpily, taking out an old replica from one of his drawers. "If you give me a few minutes, I can repair it and give it to Chiaki, Miss Sonia!"
With a nod of acknowledgment from the Ultimate Princess, Kazuichi went straight to work, looking through his tools and taking out a variety of screwdrivers, drills, and small hammers. Not wanting to disturb him, Sonia went back to Chiaki's side.
"Kazuichi will need a few minutes, but we should get our upgraded spaceships once he's done, okay, Chiaki?" the blonde asked, drawing a sleepy nod from her classmate. "In the meantime, let's just wait for him and not touch anything, okay?"
The Ultimate Gamer extended her arms in front of a dangerous-looking saw machine, causing Sonia's eyes to widen. She quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back before she could hurt herself.
"C-Careful, Chiaki!" Sonia instructed, whispering so the mechanic wouldn't hear her. "Y-You wouldn't want to get hurt on those machines!" The princess looked behind her, seeing that Kazuichi had not noticed a thing. "We got lucky..."
"Zzz... Dangerous place... Lots of traps..."
Yes, I can only agree with that... Sonia thought, trying to get Chiaki to walk back to Kazuichi's desk, to no avail. Let's hope Kazuichi will be done before Chiaki loses a limb... or her life...
Slowly but surely guiding the sleeping gamer somewhere safe, Sonia sighed in relief when there were no life-threatening hazards around them. The short-haired girl had almost been pieced, sawn, burned, and electrocuted, but she was still in one piece by some miracle.
And by a second miracle, the Ultimate Mechanic had not heard any of it. Sonia began to wonder if Nagito's luck had not rubbed on them.
"All done, Miss Sonia! Look at this beauty of a replica! Isn't it beautiful?"
The pink-haired boy rushed over to his crush and classmate with the replica in his hands, holding it like some sort of trophy. Sonia smiled.
"Good work, Kazuichi," she said, making his eyes sparkle. "If you could give it to Chiaki, I'm sure she would be thrilled."
With an excited nod, Kazuichi handed the small and repaired spaceship to the dreaming girl, who accepted it with a smile that radiated just as much excitement.
"Zzz... Thank you for... your hard work... mechanic..." Chiaki muttered, skillfully holding the replica and her console in one hand while reaching inside her pocket with the other. Her classmates were amazed by the remarkable show of balance. "Here is... your compensation..."
She took out a little under a dozen golden coins with a bear engraving and dropped them on the Ultimate Mechanic's desk. He scratched his head embarrassedly.
"O-Oh, there was no need for that..."
Sonia chuckled, giving the replica a quick inspection. It was rather impressive, especially since Kazuichi fixed it in only a few minutes. For all his wrong ways, it was clear that the mechanic's talent was real and very useful on occasion.
"Hm, I had a question, Kazuichi..." I may as well ask... "Why are you sleeping inside your laboratory? Surely, the dorms are much more comfortable to sleep in; am I wrong? I cannot picture anyone getting proper rest here."
Kazuichi's cheeks turned pink. "T-That's true, but... Y-You know, sometimes I get started on an invention, and I can't stop before it's done, so... I stay up late and end up falling asleep here..." he admitted. "I-I have Ms. Yukizome's permission, though!" he added, feeling Sonia's disapproving stare on him. "To be honest... I never really know beforehand where I'm going to sleep..."
How like you, Kazuichi... You are never adequately prepared for anything! Gundham, on the other hand, prepares days in advance for everything involving his Devas and Dark Generals!
"I see... Well, I thank you in Chiaki's place," the princess said, giving a small bow. "For now, the two of us will leave you to return to sleep. After all, our Class Representative still needs to be returned to bed."
Sonia could see the disappointment in Kazuichi's expression as she said that. The princess wondered if he was expecting them to sleep inside his lab – even if the mere thought was enough to disgust her.
"Okay... I'll see you in class, then! Sweet dreams, Miss Sonia!"
Giving a fake smile, the blonde led the way out of the room with Chiaki in tow as they left the Ultimate Mechanic's lab. Sonia was in a bit in a rush as she took the lead and nearly ran outside the room, leaving her companion in the dust.
It would be best if Chiaki could hurry a little... I do not wish to be here any longer... Sonia smiled as her friend caught up to her, granting her the chance to take her hand protectively. Wherever they were going next, she really hoped it was somewhere less dangerous than the roof or a lab full of heavy machinery.
Oh, and also somewhere far from the likes of Kazuichi. To be honest, Sonia could breathe more easily, knowing their impromptu visit to the pink-haired Ultimate was finally in the books.
"Let us not visit Kazuichi like this again, shall we?" Sonia whispered in her classmate's ear. Chiaki, whether consciously or not, gave a firm nod. "Alright, then. Let us get going again on our adventure, comrade!"
With enthusiasm, the two girls started to hear out of the building, all too happy to breathe fresh air after their trip inside Kazuichi's polluted lab. The stars were still shining in the dark skies, and the moonlight guided them as they walked on campus once more.
"Where are we headed next, Captain? I assume our adventure is not over quite yet, correct?"
"...Ice cream... Zzz... I want... ice cream..."
With her mumblings, the gamer's Nintendo Switch turned out due to a lack of battery. Sonia winced, wondering what kind of consequences this would have on her friend's slumber. Also, needless to say, she had no idea where they could find ice cream at this hour.
She seriously doubted an ice cream truck would randomly show up at Hope's Peak in the middle of the night. Well, at this point, the Ultimate Princess was expecting everything, but still.
"Okay, Chiaki. We'll get ice cream and end the night with that." As for how we'll do that... I do not really know...
Sonia chuckled. With their adventure still ongoing, she figured this would be a long night.
To be continued...
A.N: I hope you liked it! Please leave a review, and I hope you all have a nice day!