Reconstruction
By: Aviantei
Chapter Eleven
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All in all, Fukune Liah wasn't too pleased.
It was almost unfair. Earlier today, Tarashi had broken his lollygagging about phase for once in his miserable life and had gotten some work done. That had promised to keep Liah's migraines to a minimum, so she had had high hopes for the day. They had even seemed to be making progress on the newest Strain case. And then Nagana had come back with Kuzuryu and Togami battered and Ushijima scarred and all three of them unconscious, and all of Liah's brilliant mood had evaporated.
Ah, the King will be so mad when he gets back, Liah fussed, biting at her thumbnail. It wasn't true exactly, since their King was rather laid-back—almost too much so at times—but Liah was disappointed in herself. Knowing that she couldn't just sit around forever, the joint second-in-command of strode out of the kitchen aside and went straight for the living area, hoping most of the members that were in would still be there.
They were, and Liah smiled. Despite everything, they were all hard at work, in discussions or research or phone calls. Of course the exception was Tarashi, lying asleep on one of the couches, arms folded behind his head. Liah noogied his head in passing, causing the man to growl and the others to flinch. "Come on," Liah said, and Tarashi sat up without further complaints, sending a shared exhale through the room.
Liah gave a sigh of her own. Really, it wasn't like she blamed everyone else for being afraid of him, but it got old at times. Taking a seat beside her partner in leadership (pretty much name only), Liah cleared her throat, bringing the members of Yggdrasil to attention. "Alright, since everyone seems to be at the ready, we should discuss what happened earlier and where to go from here."
"You know, Fukune-san, they say that sleep is the key to good skin care," Tarashi barbed. "Maybe if you took a nap every now and then, you wouldn't have wrinkles at such a young age."
"Tarashi-kun, maybe if you stayed awake for more than five hours at a time, you would have some experience with using that brain of yours."
It was a routine by now: one of them said something smart, the other retorted. They could go on for hours, but Liah could reign herself in if need be. Already, though, Nagana was looking worried, so it was probably best to cut things short. Liah cleared her throat a second time, crossing her legs, palms resting on the joint. "As the others are currently recovering, we'll leave the majority of the details to Nagana-kun. Still, I would say that things are getting pretty serious."
Collectively, the rest of the members looked to Nagana. Impressively, he didn't shrink under the gaze, though he did look a bit unnerved from the sudden attention. "When we went to investigate the Strain, we found HOMRA's Yatagarasu, the women they're helping, and SCEPTER4's third in command. The rumor we were investigating…it's true." There was a collective gasp, but Nagana added, "Fushimi Saruhiko has both the red and blue auras. He's under the protection of two kings."
Their group dynamic was impressive; no one immediately went to refute the idea. One of their own had said it, so Yggdrasil would accept it as fact. In this instance, one member's eyes were as good as definite for the whole group.
"Of course, this doesn't change anything in our goals," Liah picked up, pulling the attention away from her subordinate. "What it does change, however, is the speed at which we need to accomplish them. This is the second major development following the Red, Colorless, and Silver Kings' deaths. We can assume there will be no complete mourning period for us to work slowly."
"Man, rushing's no good…" Tarashi remarked, frowning. Liah agreed, but there was just no time. "Well, it's eat or be eaten, I guess. We'll just have to make the most of it."
"That being said, we need to expedite our investigations. Given that the women are relying on HOMRA, we need a liaison there as soon as possible. We have to gain their trust fast. That amount of manpower may not be easy to sway, but any numbers are better than none."
"Hm, who to pick, who to pick…?" Tarashi's eyes almost sparkled, and Fukune just let him be.
Nagana's mouth flapped open a few times before he actually settled on letting out words. "We can't leave Fushimi alone, either," he said, rushed. "He's dangerous. Depending on the situation, he could easily turn against us. Something has to be done about him."
"Oh, I definitely agree," Tarashi said. Nagana looked utterly floored that he had been agreed with, and Liah felt somewhat the same way. "He's a wild card, a complete bastard, really. So we either get him on our side or we kill him. No one like him should have that much power unless he's on our side. And at the first sign of betrayal, then—"
Fukune raised a hand. She had to stop him before she lost it herself. "We'll look into it," she said, directing her calm at Nagana. "Why don't you go lie down, Nagana-kun? You've had a rough day. I think some rest would do you good." The young man nodded, doing an admirable job of not bolting at full tilt out of the room, though that might have been a physical limitation more than anything. "Everyone else, resume as you were. We'll discuss this in further detail at dinner." Liah stood up, running a hand through her hair. Really, just how exhausting could one day get?
"Hey, Togami's out of commission."
"Who's gonna cook dinner?"
"Hey, Fukune-san…?"
Well, that certainly answered that question.
Minenai braced herself as Momoko took a deep breath; the trips were unpleasant on a normal day, but with this many people and a broken arm that Minenai was going to burn the cast for the instant it was off her arm and she was around a lighter. Unfortunately, both of those would have to wait until she was out of the hospital, which was the only good thing about the current moment.
They were huddled together, all six of them, and it was pretty hard to breathe. Still, Momoko's powers only had so large of a range, so closer was better. One time, Ayumu had lost a chunk of her hair in the process, which didn't help the recluse in getting any fresh air.
Just as Minenai was about to snap out that Momoko should hurry the hell up (her need to focus be damned), Minenai crumbled, reassembling in the natural light of the base, completely different from the artificial light of her hospital room. It wasn't anything fancy, just a housing arrangement Shinichiro had managed to cobble together the money for, but it was at least some sort of home.
"We're home!" Yoshiro called out, even though the only one not getting back was Ayumu, and she more than likely had headphones stuck over her ears, blocking out any sort of sound whatsoever. Takehiko and Ayaka immediately settled at the couch, bring the TV and one of their many gaming consoles to life, and Momoko exhaled, holding a hand to her chest. Shinichiro sat down to watch the twins, and Minenai scoffed, heading towards the connected kitchen, hoping for a knife.
She wasn't angry at them. Even as a group, they still were different people. They had their discussion meeting while waiting for the right moment to escape from the hospital, so there wasn't anything Minenai could do about it. Shinichiro knew all of Ayumu's TV shows and other habits, so was probably waiting until the right moment to recruit her. All Minenai could do was hope they had something around sharp enough to easily cut through her unnecessary cast.
Ugh, how could she have gone and passed out like that? It was just a hit. Sure, she had hit her head, but if she could have stayed up just a bit longer, she would have been fine and could have chased after Sparky without any issues.
Jesus Christ, I'm so sick of that kid. What's his deal?
Looking through the knives, Minenai took tentative stabs at her cast, figuring a knife wound was a small price to pay for getting her arm back in working order. Just as she wound up for the stab, Shinichiro practically materialized behind her, voice right by her ear.
"You know, I bet the kids would help you out if you asked them nicely."
Minenai had half the mind to stab him for that, but instead spun around, leaning past their leader. "Oi, brats—"
"Stupid Minenai," Ayaka muttered.
"So impatient," Takehiko agreed.
"I think she needs to learn the definition of nicely."
"Well, the Boss would get mad if we didn't help her."
"It's not like we weren't going to do it anyway," they said together, fiddling with their controllers.
Minenai really should have seen it coming, but she still flinched back as a pale green light temporarily blinded her. It didn't matter how many times the Sato twins used their ability, it took a certain level of trust that Minenai just didn't have to accept that anything could happen to you. Blinking to regain her vision, Minenai found the cast gone, the surrounding bandage slipping off her arm, stained purples with bruises.
"Level seven dematerialization spell, success," Takehiko reported.
"That's pretty handy. Specifying any target type, accounting for gamer probability… That's some pretty sweet tech," Ayaka said, nodding. They were both smiling, proud of their success.
"Just goes to show how far technology's come, huh?"
"Um, why are you two talking like you're at least two decades older?" Minenai retorted, letting her arm go limp. Already the pain was searing through the medication the hospital had given her, so fixing it was immediate. Focusing, she pulled the space of her arm backwards, unsetting and reassembling the bone in a display that would have been censored on public television.
Ugh, doing it during the adrenaline rush is so much better. No more of this hospital junk! Setting the bone just means I have to undo that shit first.
"Oh, so you guys targeted her cast, huh?" Momoko asked, seeming genuinely interested. "That seems kind of risky, though. What if you guys dematerialized her clothes, too…" Despite her words, she didn't seem all too concerned about the idea. Minenai tried to think of a way to get vengeance without causing Momoko too much physical harm.
Takehiko recoiled, holding his controller tight to his chest. "Idiot! We targeted the plaster, not the fabric!"
Ayaka reached her small hands up to cover her brother's ears. "Momo-san's a pervert…" she said. Momoko only giggled, not denying the accusation.
"Hm, I could get behind something like that," Shinichiro commented, bringing the fact that he was right in front of her to Minenai's attention. He smirked softly, and Minenai pushed at his chest with her good arm, signaling for him to get out of the way.
"I'm lying down," she said, heading for the bedrooms. "All this bullshit's got me exhausted." Despite being in one piece, phantom pains still shrieked through her arm, the pain of being completely reset in less than ten seconds decompressing. "Wake me up when we decide to do something about Sparky, okay?"
A chorus of responses followed, which Minenai didn't bother to respond to. No one would take offense anyway. Now all she had to do was hope that whatever Ayumu was into wasn't going to be too loud and she could actually get some rest.
Getting to bed and sitting down, Minenai popped a few painkillers into her mouth from the bedside table. Given that most times using her power tended to overstimulate her brain's pain receptors, keeping meds nearby was a must. Satisfied, Minenai kicked off her shoes and fell down into the pillows. "Man, that junk at the hospital was good stuff. Should've nicked some of it…"
Her eyes drifted shut, but Minenai couldn't sleep. It wasn't her arm—she'd slept with worse, honestly. But some part of her brain kept running around, kept thinking of Sparky, knowing about his girlfriend, knowing that he was probably beating himself to hell and back, and definitely in more danger if the instinct growing at the pit of her stomach was right.
Rolling onto her side and trapping her arm under her weight, Minenai frowned.
"Jesus Christ, kid, I'm not worth that much."
Awashima Seri was concerned—not for herself, but for her Captain. Maybe it was because of the more passive role she had taken in everything, but Seri had walked away from the Ashinaka Gakuen Incident without much trouble. It was the effect it had on those around her—Munakata and even Kusanagi—that sent the SCEPTER4 second in command into contemplation at the slightest incident.
Now was no exception. While she was glad that the Captain had taken charge of his own volition, that didn't change the ever growing pile of assignments that had been under her control. If the former Red Clan was going to start acting up again, SCEPTER4 needed to be able to place as many resources as possible into the situation. Cleaning up the messes taking place at the moment was the key to that.
Looking into the abductions was difficult, as there were no real leads at the present. However, looking into the Strain was much easier, as it left a trial behind wherever it went. The localized blackout earlier today was a sure sign that it had struck again, and this time there was a witness—the first witness. While a number of assumptions had been drawn from the Strain's activity, it would be good to have someone to back them up as facts:
First: The Strain's power was electricity based. That was indisputable.
Second: The Strain was more than likely a generator, capable of putting out great, yet constricted amounts of power.
Third: Anytime there was an incident, there hadn't been reports of anyone suspicious.
Fourth: No common people were reoccurring between the sites during investigation.
Fifth: The sites held no similarities either. Each incident was random.
Sixth: There was a strong chance that the Strain was human, given how it kept itself out of surveillance. Gender was indeterminate at this point.
Seven: With no obvious connector between the sites, they were also probably a recent Strain, unable to handle their powers.
Though it ultimately made collection a harder task, Seri preferred it this way. At least human strains could be reasoned with. Animal strains made everything more difficult, the incident with Shiroan Nikomi Tofu. And though there weren't any particular patterns yet, humans were often easier to find falling into habits. If all else failed when it came to the witness, the Strain would give itself away sooner or later.
The vehicle finally pulling up to Shizume General Hospital, Seri stepped out, leaving the driver behind. Questioning was something she could handle on her own, and too many people would draw attention. Of course, her uniform (among other assets) was enough to pull gazes towards her, but Seri didn't think of it as an awful inconvenience.
"I'm from SCEPTER4," she announced to the secretary at the front desk. "I called ahead regarding a patient we wished to question about their accident. I would like to know their room number." Given the time of day, visiting hours would be coming to a close soon, but that wouldn't be an issue for Seri. The secretary shuffled through documents, coming up with the requested information.
"Room 107," he said, holding up a small chart. A picture was attached, showing a woman with pale green hair, asleep, and obviously not pulled from any public record. "We'll have to send a member of the staff with you, though, if that's alright. The patient experienced some head trauma and has been uncooperative, so we haven't been able to determine her condition."
"That will be fine." Seri waited for the secretary to make some phone calls, and the mentioned doctor showed up roughly five minutes later, gesturing for the woman to follow. It wasn't a long walk, but the doctor paused before opening the door.
"You were informed about the patient's condition?" he asked. Seri nodded. "I know your business is important, but please be careful with her."
"I understand," Seri agreed, and the doctor opened the door. They stepped in, only to find the room empty. The blankets were rumpled, recently used. Seri scanned the rest of the room. "You are sure the patient was in this room?" The window wasn't open, but it wasn't like it would have been exceptionally hard to just leave.
"I'm certain," the doctor said. He looked just as worried, and Seri flipped open the file from the front desk.
"You have next to no information about this woman," she said. "Didn't she have an ID on her?"
"No, we found nothing like that. No insurance card, either."
With a tongue click that would have but Fushimi to shame, Seri snapped her folder shut. "Make sure any staff that had contact with her stays here. Get your security footage prepared for transfer as well. We need as much information as possible. A group will be coming over soon for questioning. It's imperative that we find this woman, do you understand?" The doctor nodded, and Seri headed for the door. "Thank you for your cooperation. Please do try to remember as much as you can."
She took the walk back to the van at double the speed from heading up, fishing in her jacket for her phone. Why did this have to turn into more of a headache than necessary? At this rate, HOMRA would be able to cause as much trouble as they wanted without anyone to keep them in check.
Of course, they're not the only problem.
"Head back to headquarters," she ordered, taking her seat. No questions were asked, and Seri sent the orders necessary to question the hospital. It was looking to be a long night, that was for sure. It was unprofessional, but Seri wanted to take at least ten minutes to clear her head out.
I wonder…if he has any useful information?
[Author's Notes]
Hello, all! How's everyone faring? I'm making it through some busy times, but the updating schedule is still rolling forward! We have...lots of large groups going through their paces. Then again, isn't that how normal [K] canon works?
Thanks to Nawel07 for the favorite and follow since last update. You were just in time for the new chapter, so I hope you (and everyone else reading) enjoys!
As mentioned, things are busy on my end, so I'll save on the extensive commentary this time. We'll be back with part twelve once the update schedule swings back around!
-Avi
[04.23.2019]