Chapter 10: Music To My Ears
"Give me the phone, Mikisugi. Now." Terry ordered as he had the blue haired man at blade point.
"*Gulp* Alright. Here." The man replied with a gulp as he held the phone up for Terry.
"Hello Tsumugu." He said to the other man on the line.
"Guiness." The guerrilla fighter responded neutrally.
"Here's the deal, that 'package' you're going to bring Mikisugi? Give it to me when you get here. And don't try anything funny, or else." The boy told him as he put his Shapeshifted limb closer to Mikisugi's throat, making him croak.
"You seem to believe I'm easily intimidated. I'm not." The man refuted.
"Fine, have it your way." Terry told him. "And just so you know, his blood will be on your hands." He added as he readied to strike Mikisugi down.
"No, wait! Wait!" The spy pleaded. The last thing Tsumugu heard was Mikisugi's scream before the line went dead. But on the other side of the line however…
Terry's blade simply sliced through the wall next to Mikisugi, missing him by a centimeter. "I'm going to bet Tsumugu will come to do the job for you, and when that happens, I'm going to stop him." Terry stated.
"Ryuko's getting too dangerous. Trust me Terry, you don't know life fibers like I do!" The man tried to tell him.
"And you don't know Ryuko like I do." The boy retorted. "She's too stubborn to let herself be taken over by a bunch of threads. Once she gets going, she can't be stopped." He added. "It's one of the reasons why I love her." He added once more, surprising Mikisugi.
"Hold on, I thought you had a thing for Satsuki?" The nudist asked, slicking his hair back and taking off his glasses.
"Who says I can't have a thing for both of them?" Terry shrugged in reply. "Plus with them being sisters, it's likely they'll be willing to share." He added.
"... I don't know how to react to that." Mikisugi admitted in an unsure tone.
"Well it's not something you exactly hear about everyday, so there's that." The host mused.
(Elsewhere)
Back at the election, Ryuko was in her new battle mode and was dancing around Jukuzere as gracefully as a swan and as ferociously as a hawk.
"I don't care if you can fly, you still won't win against me you punk trash whore!" Jukuzere yelled as she started blasting at Ryuko uncontrollably.
"Oh blow it out your ass, you bitch!" Ryuko barked back. 'Jeez, and all this just for saying she has a crush on Satsuki? Talk about touchy.'
"Ryuko, we have the advantage in maneuverability, we should use that to our advantage." Senketsu pointed out.
"No argument here." The girl nodded as she flew out of sight of the musician. That's when she noticed a weak spot in the woman's flying machine. "There!" She called as she dove towards the spot.
Back on the ground things were really getting dicy. And as for the spectators, well…
"GET THE HELL OFF ME, MANKANSHOKU!" Gamagori yelled as Mako tried to watch Ryuko from his shoulders.
"Eep!" The girl squeaked as she got off his shoulders. "Oh man, I think I better stay over here. I don't wanna make Gamagori mad." She whined.
"Actually he's already pretty mad." Inumuta stated as Gamagori started stomping his foot rapidly as he tried to rein in his anger. This caused the girl to start shaking nervously.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LET MATOI GET THE BEST OF YOU AND STEAL YOUR AIR SUPERIORITY! THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE FOR THAT, JUKUZERE!" The man yelled at the non-combatant club chairman.
"Man, Ryuko's doing pretty well for a first time flier." Terry noted as he returned to Satsuki's side after locking Mikisugi up.
"Where have you been?" Satsuki asked him, her icy stare causing the boy's heart to burn with the desire to hug her right then and there.
"Just dealing with an insider." He replied as he suppressed his desire. Satsuki raised an eyebrow at that, but decided to put it on the back burner and focus on the task at hand.
"I'm worried about her, Terry." She said at last as she watched Ryuko attack Jukuzere and drag her down, causing her uniform to revert to its tank form, the blue eyed girl's eyes full of reckless passion and a single minded drive to win.
"Huh?" Terry asked in confusion.
"Ryuko. I'm worried about her." She elaborated.
"If you're worried because of how hard she's pushing herself, you're not alone." The host replied. While he was proud that she was winning, he was also worried about how she was pushing herself too hard at the same time.
"I just got her back, I don't want to lose her again because of her own stubbornness." Satsuki grimaced.
"You're pretty stubborn yourself you know." Terry told her. "You could've stopped this match anytime now, and no one would fault you for it. But you're trying your damnedest to keep your image up." He added. "So you're not much better, Satsuki."
"I suppose I'm not…" The swordswoman sighed.
Back down at the arena, Jukuzere sent another barrage of flute missiles at the airborne Ryuko and the Kamui user was able to dodge most of them and grab one.
"Here you go bitch, right back at you!" Ryuko yelled as she hurled the missile back at Jukuzere, causing the girls tank to explode, leaving her exposed.
Down at the stands Mako was trying to dodge the instruments that came raining out of the sky, and almost knocked over Inumuta's laptop.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" He yelled at the girl, who looked at him nervously as he glared at her ominously. "If anything happens to my laptop, I'll kill you." He said, his voice just as ominous as his glare.
Mako let out a small scream as she hid in between them. "Oh man! Now Inumuta's angry. I'm in a real pickle this time Ryuko!" She whined.
Meanwhile, Jukuzere got up with a groan as Ryuko hovered in front of her. The punk girl looked at the musician with a bored expression.
"Not so tough now are ya?" The girl called down to Jukuzere as the musician struggled back up from the rubble.
"Hey, shouldn't you come down here and fight? You have an unfair advantage up there." The pinkette said nervously.
"Nah. I like it up here. Can't you fly anymore? 'Cause if you can't…" She trailed off before giving her a savage look. "Then that would be a real shame, wouldn't it?" She finished, causing Jukuzere to gulp nervously. "Cuz you'd be so screwed."
"Oh god…" Jukuzere said before Ryuko dive bombed towards her.
"Finishing move! SEN-I-SO-SHITSU!" Ryuko yelled as she struck Jukuzere, sending her flying. But Senketsu didn't absorb any life fibers.
"Ryuko, I wasn't able to absorb her life fibers." The Kamui alerted his user.
"Wait, how come?" Ryuko asked before all of the students started chanting 'We want more'. "What the-?" The girl asked before Jukuzere reappeared in a conductor's outfit.
"What in the world?" Mako asked in confusion.
"Sorry new girl, but it looks like my fans are looking for an encore." Jukuzere grinned. "Symphony Regalia: Decapo!"
"Figures…" Sanageyama groaned.
"Jukuzere never knows when to stop her performances, her encores can drag on for hours." Inumuta sighed.
"Come on, Ryuko! Beat her!" Mako exclaimed, ignoring what was just said.
"And now for my final piece, a little tune that's famous all around the world! Beethoven's Symphony No. 5: Fate!" Jukuzere said before a speaker popped out of her conductors cap and started blasting DEAFENING waves of sound at Ryuko and Senketsu.
"AAARRRGH! That is fucking loud!" The scissor blade user got out through gritted teeth.
"You feel that, new girl? My sound resonates with life fibers so it's not just beating your eardrums like a pair of bongos, it's also rattling every part of you and your Kamui life a xylophone!" Jukuzere laughed.
"Fuck! I can barely move!" Ryuko got out through the auditory pain.
"I can barely hear your voice…!" Senketsu barely managed to say over the music.
"Senketsu…" Ryuko said weakly as Jukuzere stopped for a moment, she then stood up and crossed her arms. "Senketsu, let's try that move we used on Terry a while back." She suggested as she slowed her heartbeat.
"Excellent idea." The Kamui replied as he focused on the girl's heartbeat. As he did, a white dome of sound started surrounding them.
"Is that…?" Terry asked as he looked at the attack and recognized it.
"I think so." Satsuki nodded, recognizing it as well.
"Been a while since that was used." Toxin commented as he watched the match. Then the symbiote got a message from one of their crawlers. "Tsumugu's here." He told Terry.
'Time to deal with a zealot.' The boy hissed internally. "I'll be right back." He told Satsuki as he disappeared again.
Back with Ryuko, the girl was finally able to charge up her new attack. "Here it comes! Senketsu: Mibuyoshi!" She yelled as her dome of sound started pushing back on Jukuzere's.
"Ngh! What the hell's going on?!" The musician grunted as she tried to fight back.
"You're getting a taste of your own medicine! That's what!" Ryuko retorted. "Now turn that shit off!" She yelled as her sonic attack blew Jukuzere's back and started tearing through her uniform. "Now, the finishing move! Sen-i-So-Shitsu!" She yelled as she tore through Jukuzere's uniform.
"About time ya finished up with her." Sanageyama commented as he got up from where he was sitting. "Because now it's my turn. It's time we settled this once and for all." He grinned.
"Yeah, I think so too. So let's go!" Ryuko grinned as she transformed.
(Elsewhere)
Tsumugu crashed against a wall as he was thrown to it. Terry slammed his foot on his chest, keeping him pinned as he examined a bullet he saw Tsumugu try to aim at Ryuko.
"A starch infused toxin? Do you realize what this would do to a girl infused with life fibers, you zealous asshole?!" The boy yelled at the man.
"She's becoming too dangerous! She needs to be dealt with!" Tsumugu retorted uncaringly. That's when Terry turned into his rage mode.
"Ryuko is as much a danger to you as a sewing needle is to a clam shell. You incompetent ignoramus." The symbiote pair growled.
"I say we kill him and be done with it." Toxin proposed.
"No, he could still be of use to us." Terry told him before stashing the bullet. "I'll be keeping this." He added as he disappeared from the ledge they were on.
'Great. This entire thing is a wash.' Tsumugu thought in frustration.
(Elsewhere)
Back with Ryuko and Sanageyama, the two were clashing and fighting over and over again at blinding speed. But when they were going to clash again, a small Lolita in frilly pink clothes with a parasol suddenly appeared between them.
"WHAT THE-?!" The two fighters yelped as they stopped short of hitting her.
Satsuki's eyes widened as Terry appeared beside her. "SANAGEYAMA, RYUKO! GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!" She cried in horror, recognizing the woman immediately.
"Oh shit. Satsuki, what's going on?" The host asked in business mode, knowing that if something made Satsuki lose her cool, something bad was happening.
The blonde Lolita smiled in an innocently cute way before looking up at Satsuki. "Hi, lady Satsuki! It's been a while, hasn't it? Did you miss me?" The girl said cheerfully.
"Who the hell are you?" The Kendo boy questioned.
"Nui Harime." Satsuki said as coldly as possible, however internally she was terrified of what the parsol wielding girl would do to her little sister.
"Who's Nui Harime?" Nonon asked as she sat next to Inumuta, now in a tracksuit.
"I have no idea." The bespectacled boy stated.
"Isn't knowing supposed to be your job?" The pinkette questioned.
"I can't definitively say anything without data." The Blue haired boy replied.
"So aren't you going to say something to Jukuzere about wearing a tracksuit?" Mako asked Gamagori, completely unaware of the situation above.
"I wouldn't cross that line with a lady." The man replied.
"So girls get a free pass huh?" The girl said in realization.
Satsuki meanwhile was continuing to lose her cool. "What are you doing here?" She snapped at Harime.
"Because I wanted in on the fun little party you've got going on here!" The girl chirped in reply.
"This isn't a party, this is official school business. So do yourself a favor and leave." Terry growled.
"Aw, that's mean. I just want some action." Nui pouted. Ryuko meanwhile was becoming impatient.
"I don't care who you are! I just wanna end this!" She snapped.
"You and me both, now get out of my way!" Sanageyama yelled as he swung his sword down on Harime.
"Hai!" The woman chirped as she suddenly blocked the attack with her parasol and didn't even so much as flinch!
"What the fuck?!" Terry cursed in shock.
"WHAT?!" Sanageyama yelled.
"The hell?!" Gamagori gasped.
"She blocked a three star?" Inumuta gasped.
"Without a uniform?!" Nonon added.
"What in the world?!" Mako gaped.
Sanageyama was about to strike Harime down with his finishing move, but before he could do it, the blonde reached inside his uniform and suddenly pulled out a thread and completely unraveled it!
"WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!" Satsuki shouted with wide eyes.
"How the fuck was she able to find its banshi?!" Terry said in surprise. "Satsuki, who is that woman?!" He snapped at the girl beside him before he noticed how tense she was. She was… trembling.
(Elsewhere)
"The Grande Cutulliere is here, and the only way we can kill her is with Guinness… this just went from bad to worse way too quickly for my liking." Tsumugu said as Mikisugi revealed himself to him, very much alive.
"No argument here." The spy nodded.
"I hope you got a backup plan, because if you don't, we're screwed." The man stated. That's when Mikisugi held up a vial. And it has some sort of writhing black substance inside.
"Found this inside an asteroid HQ found. I think it could be another symbiote." The blue haired man said.
"And you expect it to be useful?" The Mohawked man questioned dismissively.
"As they say: Fight fire with fire." Mikisugi said. "It's our best shot."
"... *Sighs* I guess we don't have a choice at the moment." Tsumugu sighed as he held his hand out. "Give it here." He requested as Mikisugi handed him the symbiote.
(Elsewhere)
Back with the others, Ryuko was looking at Harime and saw Satsuki's trembling. "Senketsu, do you think we should run? I really don't like how Satsuki's looking at us right now. It's like she knows something we don't." She whispered.
"Yes we should. I don't like the feeling I'm getting from that woman at all." The Kamui replied.
"Is it bad?" The girl questioned.
"Yes. Overwhelmingly." The Kamui nodded.
Nui Harime smiled as she bounced cheerily. "Oh, so you're Dr. Matoi's daughter huh? And Mistress Ragyo's long lost daughter! How nice!" She smiled. "Hey, Hey! Wanna see something cool?" The girl asked.
"Uh… sure…?" Ryuko replied, her brain still processing the Ragyo Kiriyuin is her mother, apparently.
That's when Nui pulled something out from her dress and twirled it around before she pointed it at Ryuko. It was long, sharp, large, and had a circular handle and was purple… it looked like a half of a pair of scissors.
"Wait, that's…!" The black haired girl gasped.
"Yep! It's the other half of your scissors! I got it from your dead daddy!" Nui giggled as Ryuko stared at her in shock and Satsuki was trying her hardest to fight back the urge to jump down there.
"Then... that… means…" Ryuko said in realization.
"Yep! I'm the one who killed him!" The girl giggled, making Terry want to throw up.
'There are way too many things wrong with this chick!' He thought in disgust. Ryuko looked down as her anger started to swell before the pin of her glove shot out.
"You BIIIIIIITCH!" She yelled in rage.
Things are starting to get hectic…
Dragon Emperor0: As they say in middle earth, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Things just went from bad to worse.
ThermalsniperN7: Satsuki was trembling. I think it's a little obvious. Also, Terry managed to stop an attempt on Ryuko's life… For now.
Dragon Emperor0: Keep an eye on that bullet guys, it'll be important later. Also that symbiote Mikisugi gave Tsumugu? I'll give you guys three guesses who it is.
ThermalsniperN7: In a story like this, there was bound to be another symbiote eventually. Anyway, see you guys next time.