Dealing with these slaves to clothing was never an easy task. Tsumugu had to remember that there were real people behind these soulless suits, and if he wasn't careful, he could turn into a scumbag murderer like his enemy.
As he went on his way, disabling all the enemies he came across, Tsumugu thought about his comrade, Aikuro. If the man was smart, he was keeping his head down—emphasis on the word "smart".
Aikuro was intelligent—that much was true. But even he had his blind spots, due mostly to carelessness. And Tsumugu knew more than anyone that this was not the kind of situation where one could afford to be carefree.
An unknown anomaly wreaking havoc. The Grant Couturier visiting. A campus-wide manhunt.
It was just one disaster after another.
If he was going to risk his neck, he was planning on pulling both Aikuro and Kumagawa out. REVOCS agent or no, that boy was going to be a Nudist whether he liked it or not—that, Tsumugu would guarantee.
"Going somewhere?"
The Nudist Beach operative stopped his bike upon seeing the three-star standing in the middle of the road. Great, he thought. Just his luck.
Holding his wooden kendo sword across his shoulders, Uzu grinned and said, "Lady Satsuki said no outsiders until the internal threat's been removed. And though I have a bone to pick with said threat, I don't mind running security if it means making the manhunt go smoothly."
"So I'm assuming you're not going to let me go any further?"
"You've assumed right. Do you want to test your strength against mine, Nudist pig?"
Getting off his bike, Tsumugu pulled out his needle pistols.
"Son." He then began moving towards the other. "There are two things you need to know."
"Coffee or tea?"
"『I'll take tea.』"
"Tea, it is."
As Aikuro poured the cups, Kumagawa observed his surroundings. By all respects, it seemed that they were in the teacher's lounge.
"Here ya go," Aikuro said, handing the other a steaming cup of tea. "Careful, it's still hot."
As Kumagawa nodded, Aikuro sipped his tea and then set it down on the table. He saw that his guest had done the same.
"『So then.』"
"Hm?"
"『This tea isn't poisoned?』"
"U-uh."
"『Relax, relax. I'm just trying to lighten the mood with a joke.』" Chuckling to himself, Kumagawa took a sip. "『Delicious.』"
"…of course. Jokes are in short supply in this town. It's always nice to lighten things up with a bit of humor."
"『So then.』" Kumagawa set his cup down again. "『Let's get straight to business. Who are you, and why did you pull me in here?』"
As Aikuro eyed the young man, he couldn't help but feel the pressure emanating from their conversation. If he answered incorrectly, there would be consequences. That much was certain.
"I'm Aikuro Mikisugi, your homeroom teacher. As for why I pulled you in here…" As he spoke, every word of his became heavier and his frown deepened. "I'm on your side."
"『My…side?』"
"Yes, the one that opposes Satsuki Kiryuin's reign. I wish to help you topple her regime."
Kumagawa leaned in, his default expression now replaced with a quizzical one. "『Interesting, do go on.』"
"I would explain in more detail, but…"
"『But?』"
"Look, it has nothing to do with my trust in you. It's just that any time I explain these sorts of things, I have a nasty habit of stripping down to my underwear. And while I don't mind doing it in front of women, I get a weird feeling if it's in front of men."
As Aikuro spoke, he just barely managed to catch the top of his coat sleeve slowly skidding off its position on his shoulder.
Leaning back into the sofa, Kumagawa replied with, "『Wow, that's a lot of information I did not need to know but I'm glad you shared regardless.』"
"Thank you for your understanding."
Aikuro's words weren't entirely true. He still couldn't trust Kumagawa to be a neutral actor. If he slipped up, and this boy ended up being a life fiber hybrid working for REVOCS, he could kiss his sexy ass goodbye.
"『But I get it, you don't trust me.』"
Aikuro gulped. Kumagawa stood up and walked towards the exit.
"『Whether or not you trust me with whatever you have planned is of no concern to me. Truth be told, I don't really care all that much about this fight. This is all just to kill time.』"
"You started a war…just to kill time?" Aikuro was somewhat taken aback by Kumagawa's nonchalance.
"『I wouldn't call it a war. More like a playground fight. Believe me, if this were a real war, I wouldn't be playing around.』" As he stood at the entrance, Kumagawa turned his head to face Aikuro one last time and said, "『You're free to tell me just what exactly is going on whenever you want. But thanks anyway for saving my skin. Bye now!』"
"Wait!"
"『Hm?』"
Aikuro gulped again. He was taking a huge risk with this next question, but he couldn't let this opportunity slip.
"What do you know about life fibers?"
The place was certainly crazier than she remembered. Oh, wasn't that the nice melon bread salesmen who'd always give her a discount?
"Heya, melon-bread-man!"
"There she is! She's one of HIS friends. Take her as a hostage!"
"Mako, GET DOWN!"
Before the tranquilizer darts could hit the girl, Shinjiro grabbed Mako and forced her to duck, taking the brunt of the shots.
"Ow, oh-my-god, are you okay?"
"T-this much is nothing," Shinjiro grunted, feigning pain. He had to admit, this roleplay was getting a bit out of hand. Any more acts of chivalry and he'd probably become the school's knight-in-shining-armor prince or whatever at some point.
But no, that's not what he was here for.
Taking a nearby rock and knocking out the attacker with a single throw, Shinjiro then lifted Mako by the waist and ran towards the nearest building.
No matter how genuine the threat, going all guns blazing seemed a bit extreme, even for someone like Satsuki Kiryuin. There had to be a method to all this madness—like mother, like daughter, right?
Nui may be good at pulling off a ditzy act, but she was no dummy. She knew that Satsuki would not put her into the game unless she was desperate. And boy, did the behavior of this woman scream anything but "secure".
Hiding behind a wall, Shinjiro allowed the pursuers to pass by while thinking about his next course of action.
Revealing himself this early in the game would just spoil all the fun. Whatever plan Satsuki had in store for all the pieces on the board, Nui wanted to be present only for the climax.
But her fun notwithstanding, she was also interested in securing Kumagawa Misogi. Being someone like her, he would be a useful ally for REVOCS. And if for whatever reason, he would protest, all Ragyo would have to do is give his mind a little stitching and, voila~, a brand new brother for Nui.
The thought nearly made her giggle uncontrollably, ruining her Shinjiro guise. At that moment, she was so preoccupied with her machinations, she didn't even bother to recognize the presence of the three one-star henchmen about to jump them.
"They fell right into our trap!"
"That reward money's as good as mi- I mean, ours!"
That is, they would've, had they had been shot out at mid-air by anti-life-fiber needles.
"You two alright?"
Sitting on a bike a few blocks from them was a militarily dressed man with a red mohawk and a bandage lining the bridge of his nose. Though Shinjiro was not supposed to recognize the Nudist, Nui remembered him as a particularly meddlesome rat who ran various sabotage operations on their facilities.
In other words, one of Nudist Beach's strongest pieces—exterminate on sight.
"We're fine!" Shinjiro called out. "Thank you, mister!"
"You kids stay out of trouble, alright. Get to safety."
"Will do!"
As Tsumugu sped off, Shinjiro continued waving and waving and waving.
"Okay, Shinji, he's gone. You can stop waving now," Mako said, a worried expression marking her face.
But Shinjiro ignored her and kept waving, the smile on his face becoming more stretched with each successful wave.
"So, in summary, life fibers are alien parasites that gave humanity its intelligence and are what give the Goku uniforms their power. Any questions?"
Raising his hand sarcastically, Kumagawa asked, "『That's interesting and all, but what does it have to do with me?』"
"That's a pretty good question. I'm now trying to figure that out myself."
This boy was completely ignorant about everything having to do with life fibers, much to the Nudist agent's shock.
"『So you're saying the secret to Satsuki's flashy uniforms is some parasitic yarn. This is some good information I'll be sure to put to use.』"
"Wait!" Just as Kumagawa was about to leave, Aikuro stood up. "You seriously don't know anything about life fibers. Or Kamuis. Or the celestial cocoon planet. Not a thing?"
"『Hm, yeah. Not ringing a bell.』"
If what this kid was saying could be true, then could he really be an agent of REVOCS? It was still on the table that he was a life-fiber hybrid, based on his obvious regeneration abilities, but he could've gone through his whole life unaware.
"One more question…" He had to know for certain. "There are certain people who have successfully merged with life fibers, the way they merge with clothing. These people display superior strength and regenerative capabilities."
"『Hm?』"
"The same abilities that you have demonstrated."
Calling getting past the Elite Four grunt a "herculean effort" would've been the understatement of the century. Tsumugu saw several dead ancestors and had a flashback about dreams and friendship in the middle of his deadly game of cat and mouse. The fact that he was able to get past the sword-wielding maniac with the skin of his teeth still intact was a fortune that not even winning the trillion-dollar lottery could compete with.
Yet, even after all of that, Tsumugu could not hold back the feeling that his opponent had been holding back. Knowing Satsuki Kiryuin, him getting past all her henchmen most likely fell within her calculations.
Still, he couldn't allow latent anxiety to get in the way of his mission. Not when he's come this far already (that too probably fell within her calculations, come to think of it).
Cutting a bloody path towards the campus grounds, Tsumugu tried calling Aikuro for a status report. However, his radio wouldn't answer.
"Tch, now of all times?"
"It's dangerous to drive and be on the phone at the same time!"
Just barely dodging a whip-swing by Gamagori Ira, Tsumugu hopped off his bike and pulled out his pistols, ready to shoot down the three-star elite. Seeing this, Gamagori entered his regalia and took on the attack, much to Tsumugu's spite.
"Great. Another one of you freaks."
"I am Ira Gamagori. Lady Satsuki's shield and head of the disciplinary committee. AND I WILL NOT ALLOW OUTSIDERS TO INVADE SCHOOL GROUNDS WHILE DISCIPLINARY ACTION IS BEING TAKEN!"
"Tch, okay, big guy. Give it your best shot."
As the two stared each other down, a loud noise in the distance got closer and closer. The two momentarily looked away to see what was going on. They witnessed a pair of no-stars running away from a crowd of one-stars and right towards them. Tsumugu recognized them as the boy-and-girl-pair he had saved.
"Uwaaah, help us!" Mako screamed, running in tandem with Shinjiro.
"Argh, what'd I tell you two about getting to safety!" Tsumugu yelled to them as they approached. However, this provided the perfect opportunity for the Nudist Beach agent to disappear into the chaos. Throwing a smoke bomb, Tsumugu used the opportunity to get past Gamagori and into the relative safety of the school building.
The two running students followed suit.
"Oh no you don't!"
But before Gamagori could transform back to give chase, the barrage of chasing one-stars crashed into him, sending them all tumbling to the ground.
As the three found their bearing, Tsumugu stood up and eyed the two.
"Kids, you don't know how lucky you are. The hell're those guys chasing you for anyways?"
"Again, thank you," Shinjiro said, delivering a polite bow. "I would've returned home and kept hidden, but Mako here just had to go and get teppanyaki from the same guy that fired at us earlier."
"How was I supposed to know the melon-bread man and teppanyaki man were the same person?" Mako protested.
"As for why they were chasing us, it probably has to do with our acquaintan-."
Shinjiro shut his mouth tight before he could speak any further. He still did not know why this agent had come all this way, but the answer was fairly clear going by the pattern of the central figure behind all the preceding events.
Shinjiro could see it clearly in Tsumugu's eyes: he was after the same thing that Satsuki was after.
"Your acquaintance? You mean, the recent transfer that's been raising hell, and who caused this whole purge in the first place?"
Shinjiro was about ready to deliver a lie before Mako cut in.
"Ex-friend," she answered with a pout. "I met him on day one and thought he was a cool guy, but he doesn't keep promises nor answer his calls. Not to mention, he's kind of creepy. But I could look past all that if only… Only if…"
For a minute, she sobbed.
The boy stared at Mako and then at Tsumugu then gulped. This wasn't looking too good. If an altercation was to start here all of a sudden, then at least one of them would be taken hostage and used as bait. Shinjiro wouldn't be able to fight him at full strength without compromising his cover, and if the Nudist Beach agent decided to use those anti-life fiber needles on him for any reason, he could basically kiss his disguise goodbye.
"I get it, you had a bit of a falling out. Honestly, I'd be pretty peeved too if some knucklehead antagonized a government and unwittingly brought me and my loved ones into it," Tsumugu replied with an understanding nod. "In either case, I have some business with said knucklehead. But don't worry, I won't take either of you hostage over it or anything. That's not how I operate."
Mako and Shinjiro both observed as the agent sat down once more and returned their gazes.
"I'm going to be setting up camp here for a while. Seeing as you two are also on the Kiryuin's shitlist, don't get any ideas of turning me in exchange for your own exoneration. I'm only interested in the one called 'Kumagawa'. No one el-"
"『Did someone call?』"