Chapter 5: Articho Rescues Junko Hokaze! Saiyan vs Esper!
Articho is staring at the girl with pigtails, having a serious, yet calm expression on his face.
"Why did you attack her?" He asks the pigtail girl. "You could have severely injured her, or worse killed her."
"What are you doing?! A civilian shouldn't be involved in Judgement business!" Shirai exclaims.
"It's my business if someone is in danger." Articho argued. "And from the looks of it, you just made this girl cry. Worse still, you attacked her when she was defenseless and even surrendered to you. Plus, you accused her of a crime I doubt whatever the hell she committed."
The girl looks over to sees the expression of the lavender haired girl's making.
"Well, you may be right. Maybe I was going a little too far." Shirai pointed out. "But that still doesn't excuse for what she did at Tokiwadai! What she did to me!"
"Oh?" He raises his eyebrow curiously. "And what exactly is her crime?"
"If you must know, I'll tell you." The pigtail girl told him. "Hokaze here belongs to a clique from a school the both of us go to. At first, I thought it was just a normal one, until it wasn't."
"What do you mean?" He further asks.
"The clique was nothing more than a front!" She points her finger at Hokaze. "In reality it was not more than a glorified lesbian harem, that the fifth ranked Level Five orchestrated herself."
Articho blinked his eyes in confusion.
"Sorry, but you kinda lost me there." He scratches the back of his head.
The girl then collapses to the brick sidewalk in disbelief. He chuckles sheepishly and then looks at Hokaze.
"Now then. I wanna hear your side of the story."
The lavender haired girl hesitates.
"I..."
"It's all right. Take your time." Articho told her, before looking at the Judgement officer. "You don't mind if she says her side of the story?"
Shirai looks away, before sighing.
"Very well." The young girl answers, "Just make it quick."
Hokaze was able to relax, before standing up. Arisa and the other sparring partners decided to come over as well, to hear the story.
"Well, you see..." She begins. "Rumors started circulating within Tokiwadai Middle School. At first, we thought they were harmless rumors. Until a few days later, people began questioning our reputation as a disciplined clique and a majority of its members left. And the rumors didn't just stop at our school. Somehow, other schools within the Garden of Learning started hearing about us being a lesbian harem. They started to even question Tokiwadai's image."
"If that's the case, then why didn't you contain the rumors before they got out of whack?" He asked.
"We didn't know how it started in the first place." She added. "We couldn't trace the rumors back to its original source. Not even our Queen found a lead."
"Do you at least have any clue as to who's responsible for this? If not, couldn't you have at least reported this to the school faculty or the authorities?"
"It's not that simple. As of right now, Judgement and Anti-Skill are investigating the school." She pointed out. "And if the situation gets worse, then our school would be forced to shut down."
Articho was shocked, including everyone around them.
"Just answer this one question. Are these rumors about your clique true?" Articho asks with a serious expression.
Hokaze shook her head.
"No."
The hybrid Saiyan continues to gaze at her before his expression changes.
"Okay then. I believe you." Articho grins.
"Wait. So you're going to believe her just like that?!" The pigtail girl questions, gobsmacked.
"Look. It would appear that the two of you got on the wrong foot, but she has no reason to lie about this." Articho answers, turning towards her. "I can tell if she's lying or not. This whole mess would've been resolved if you were using lie detectors, which is far too late for that."
Shirai was shocked, realizing the mistake she made. This whole situation wouldn't been bad if she did that in the first place.
"So all this time, I could have..." The girl questions, before she gasped in horror. "I can't believe I've doomed all of Tokiwadai over a stupid rumor!"
The next thing she did was collapse to the floor, in shame.
"Oh come on, there's no reason to just give up like that." The boy says. "I'll be happy to find the culprit for you."
The two Tokiwadai students were surprised, hearing that a civilian was going to help save their school, and to stop anymore bad accusations that was ruining their friendship.
"However, I have one small request before I agree to help you." He continues. "Well, this request is for ringlet girl."
"Hmm?" Both perked up curiously. "What is it?"
"When this is all over, I want to have a sparring match with you." The Time Patroller told her. "Actually, I wanna fight you and your two friends. Like right now, but not here."
Everyone's blinks their eyes in confusion.
"Huh?"
"Yeah. I wanna know how strong you guys really are." Articho deduced, looking at the three of them, before looking directly at the spiky-haired boy and the blonde hair woman. "Especially you two."
"Looks like you have some Guts, huh?" He grins. "Unfortunately, I'm gonna have to pass for now."
"What. But why?" The hybrid Saiyan asked, feeling disappointed.
"I just got done sparring with my girlfriend here." The teenager pointed out, causing the woman to smile and to kiss him on the lips. "So, the two of us are going to go ahead and continue on our date for today."
"Yeah, I'm going to have to take a rain check as well." Sai added as well. "Maybe on the weekend we can spar together."
"Girlfriend?!" Arisa, Shirai, and Articho exclaimed, shocked.
"But..." The boy continues. "We could instead watch you go one-on-one with Hokaze here."
"Well, I get that okay. So anyway, my name is Articho. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Junko Hokaze." The ringlet girl answers.
"If you must know, it's Kuroko Shirai." The pigtail girl introduces herself.
"I'm Gunha Sogiita."
"I go by Android 77, but my friends call me Sai." The woman answers.
Articho flinches at her other name.
"Wait, did she just say she's an Android?!" He questions in his head.
"Is something wrong?" Sai asks.
"Huh?" The boy snaps out of his thoughts. "Not at all."
"I see." She raises an eyebrow at him before noticing Arisa standing behind Articho. "And might I ask who this girl is? The one with the pink hair wearing a hat."
"Who, me?" Arisa says, pointing to herself. "Oh, my name is Arisa Meigo. Nice to meet you."
She then attempts to greet them with a bow but she accidentally lost her footing.
"Ahhhhh!" The girl begins to fall forward, before Articho grabbed her.
"I gotcha." He told her.
"Phew! That was too close."
"Wait, did you say Arisa? As in THE Arisa?" Junko asked, completely surprised.
"That's me." The local pop singer nods. "Nice to meet you, Hokaze."
"Ahem!" Kuroko interrupts everyone, getting their attention.
"Oh, right." The hybrid Saiyan says, straightening himself out.
"Now that the introductions are out of the way, I know a very good place we can spar to our heart's content. I happened to be using it since yesterday, so why don't we do it there instead of fighting within city limits?"
He then starts to levitate, shocking everyone.
"It's just west from here. In the city outskirts." The boy explains before looking at Arisa. "Sorry to leave you like this, but I'm gonna go on ahead and wait for you guys to catch up. That okay with you, Arisa?"
The pink hair girl nods.
"That's okay. I'll see you in a bit." She told him, as he nods leaving.
He then instantly emits a white aura around him with a loud sound and flies away at hypersonic speeds.
"What was that?" Kuroko was confused. "And did he fly just now?!"
"That was the first time I see him do that." Arisa admits, before blushing nervously. "Among other things."
"Huh?! You don't know?!" The pigtail girl questions.
"Unfortunately not."
"Well, anyway, we should definitely get ready. I'm definitely going to break some rules today." She sighs. "As a member of Judgement, I'll tag along. That way, I can keep an eye on all of you so you don't accidentally destroy a few city blocks in a sparring contest."
"I understand." The ringlet girl stated, standing up. "Shirai, listen..."
"Save it. You can apologize to me after we save our school from shutting down." The young girl told her.
Hokaze nods.
Later...
The hybrid Saiyan finishes repairing the damage from the last battle he had yesterday.
"Annnnnd done." Articho says, crossing his arms. The whole area is completely repaired, looking like it wasn't destroyed in the first place. "Now then. I should set up my Capsule house here."
But before he could, he senses their ki nearby.
With the others...
Shirai teleports out of nowhere, carrying Sai and Arisa.
Junko and Gunha, however, were able to keep with her teleportation, and landed next to her.
"We're here." The teleporter exclaimed, as her two passengers placed their feet on the ground.
"Yo!" Articho waves at them. Everyone saw him, and walked up to him.
"So what do you think?"
His new friends looked at their surroundings.
"I like what you done with the place." Arisa smiles, standing next to him.
"Thanks." He nods. "This open landscape is perfect enough for testing our limits. That means we can freely spar without hurting anyone else as well as the animals."
"You know, this place is also perfect for a picnic date. Don't you agree, Gunha?" Sai asked her boyfriend.
"Normally I mostly want to spar and train with you on our dates, but I have to agree that a picnic sounds fun." The teen agrees with the woman he loves.
"Since the two of you are going to spar, I'll be the referee. And I'll make sure that the two of you don't go overboard." Shirai announced.
"Great!" Articho grins. "I can't wait to see how strong you are."
"Me neither." Junko agreed, taking off her loafers and socks. So as of right now, she is barefooted. Articho observes her beautiful feet, and can see her glazed nails. "I hope I don't disappoint you."
"Like Arisa, she's like a goddess." He comments in his thoughts. "I wonder what she looks like without any clothes on?"
In his mind, he started to picture his opponent naked. Articho was doing the same for Arisa and Yukari. And quite possibly the other two girls. But he quickly banished those dirty thoughts out.
"Focus! I'm here to train, not make my own pornstar fantasy." He lectures to himself. "Of all the things I think about. Damn you, Elder Kai."
Articho then pulls off his black trench coat and tosses it aside for Arisa to catch it. Junko then observes the clothes he's wearing.
"A gi?" She wonders. "It must be he's from Southeast Asia. No, I don't think so. He's a Japanese native."
Everyone else was thinking similar things about the Time Patroller's origins.
"Those are rather interesting colors." Kuroko comments to herself. "I wonder if Sissy would look good in those."
"An orange and blue martial arts gi?" Gunha questions with interest. "Perhaps I should get one, to show off more of my guts."
"Hmm. That outfit makes him look very attractive. But I'm already taken." The blonde woman admits. "I wonder if Hokaze will take any interest in him."
Hearing that made the singer a little jealous, causing her to puff out her cheeks, pouting. The two fighters got into a fighting stance. Arisa then notices something in the coat's pockets and pulls out a miniature music player. Curious, she turns it on, playing an unfamiliar song loudly.
(Ya Na Koto Wa Genkidama plays)
"What the-" The teleporter was shocked, covering her ears. "What is this song?!"
"Huh?" Articho looks at the source of the music and then smirks. "So it's that song, huh? Looks like it's perfect for me to use the Kaioken technique. Not yet, at least. Are you ready to go, Hokaze?"
"Ready when you are." She says, smirking.
Articho then takes the stance the legendary Son Goku uses.
"All right." Kuroko says, getting into position. "Begin!"
Articho takes a deep breath and charges forward at Junko with a yell. He then throws the first punch, only to be blocked by the girl.
"Too slow!"
But Articho wasn't done as he then instantly vanishes and reappears from behind.
"Keep your eyes on the ball!" He retorts, landing a successful punch that sent her flying.
The ringlet girl crashes into a tree, causing pieces of wood to burst out. When she stands back up, her uniform is ripped in some places. Junko spits some blood out of her mouth, and onto the ground.
"Beginner's luck." She mutters. "Now it's my turn!"
After saying that, electricity started flowing around her.
"Go right ahead." He insists with a cocky smirk.
"All right, you asked for it!" Hokaze yells, charging right back at him.
She started giving out a series of furious punches and kicks with her bare feet.
Articho easily blocks most of them, but his opponent did made some successful hits.
She then performs a roundhouse kick to his head only for him to catch her leg, shocking the girl. The hybrid Saiyan then starts to spin her around and around.
"I call this one the Dragon Throw. Haaaa!" He exclaims before throwing her across the field.
She was able to catch herself, before moving forward again.
"I'm starting to believe that Articho is toying with her." Sai pointed out.
"I think so too." Shirai agreed, standing next to her. "Hey Arisa, what Level is your friend?"
The pink hair girl was confused from the question.
"That's the problem. I do not know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Everyone was confused.
"Well..." She looks away.
Junko and Articho started trading blows to one another, before the Half Saiyan grabs her foot again when she was trying to kick him. While holding on to her foot, he decided to play a little trick on her.
"Tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle!" He says, moving his fingers along her heel and toes. The ringlet girl started laughing up a storm, as she started to shed tears from being ticklish.
"Hahahhaha-stop it!!!" She says, in between laughs. "I might pee!"
"Say Uncle, then."
"N-Never!"
He then stops tickling her feet and steps away from her.
"Okay, I think I had my..." The Time Patroller tries to say, but something stops him. Because at that moment, Junko just kicks her opponent right below the belt.
However, he didn't flinch.
"I saw that coming."
Everyone blinked in confusion, from what just transpired.
"H-How?!"
"Just to let you know, I'm stronger than most." He's simply answers, as he jumps up in the air to perform a pile driver. The lavender haired girl easily dodges it.
"Not the first time a girl did that to me."
She tries to sweep him off his feet, but missed.
"This is too easy."
This causes his opponent to grit her teeth in annoyance.
"Looks like you managed to hold your own against me. To be honest, I was only using fifty percent of my full power."
"What?" She perks up in disbelief. "You mean you were holding back?"
"Even at full power, you still wouldn't last much longer against me."
"I'm not afraid of you." She says. "I want to fight you at your best."
"You sure?" He asks. "I don't wanna discourage you. But fine, I'll show you."
He then takes a deep breath, closing his eyes.
"Um, what is he even doing?" The Teleporter asks.
"I'm not sure, but we're going to find out."
Articho then opens his eyes, and suddenly, a reddish pink aura instantly surrounds his body.
"Kaioken!" He exclaims.
"K-Kaio-what?" Junko questions.
The boy then yells as he charges toward her at instantaneous speeds, causing her to react within a split second by jumping to the side. The ringlet girl had a shocked expression on her face when that attack caused the ground to create a large crater.
"How are you this strong?!" She stutters.
"Over here." He calls out from behind.
She quickly turns around to see Articho getting into a running position with both hands on the grass. He then dashes off toward her with a yell. The girl panics as she attempts to block his next move, but she was too slow as he elbow punches her in the face.
"Gahhh!" She gags out spit from her mouth.
Seeing that her guard is down he then landed successful kicks. With a spin, he continues to kick her in the face. And finally with a yell, he right uppercuts her in the abdomen. The girl was too shocked to fight back and collapses to the ground, landing on her back.
"Match over!" Shirai announced, raising her hand.
However, Articho wasn't done yet. He then jumps up high in the air and cups his hand to his right side.
"Kaaaaaaaameeeeeee..." He chants. "...haaaaaaameeeeee..."
A blue orb of light forms in his cupped hands.
"Is he literally doing a Street Fighter move?!" The blonde hair woman was shocked.
"Haaaaaaaaaa!!!"
Articho then launches a huge beam of energy down towards Junko, who then screams in fright. The beam then hits her upon impact, creating a blinding light as the shockwave sent everyone flying away from the blast.
(Song ended.)
When the dust settled, everyone got up, feeling wobbly and confused.
"What was that?" Arisa asked, standing up.
"I have no idea." Shirai answers, holding her head from all of the ringing in her ears. "All I can remember is that blast hit... Hokaze!"
She looks up to see an even larger crater before her and everyone. And in the middle of the crater was a naked Junko, that had her uniform disintegrated entirely. And her ringlets are undone.
Then she was also unconscious, as she has swirls in her eyes.
"Dahhhhh..." She utters.
"Hmm? Perhaps I went a little overboard again." Articho says, appearing next to them. His Kaioken aura then vanishes.
Everyone was still shock from what just happened, before the teleporter got out of her shock and moved over towards him.
"What's wrong with you?!" She demands angrily. "You just can't do whatever it is you did! You could have severely injured her or even killed her! And you even took away her dignity! Just who do you think you are?!"
"Calm down." He assures her. Articho pulls out a small pouch from inside his blue belt. Opening it, he takes out a Senzu Bean.
"Only three left." He says to himself, crouching beside the injured girl. "Here, Hokaze. This'll make you all better."
There was no response, as the girl was still unconscious.
"Hmm." The Time Patroller says. "Okay, then. Plan B."
He places the bean inside her mouth and moved her jaw to chew it down.
Suddenly, her injuries instantly vanishes. Not a single bruise or cut is in sight. Junko opens her eyes, awakening from that last attack.
"Sleep well?" Articho smirks.
"What happened?" She groans, sitting up as she holds her head. She then notices that her clothes have been vaporized, realizing she's naked. The girl then gasps with a deep blush on her face, covering her exposed skin.
"Why am I naked?! Where are my clothes?!"
"Whoops. Better fix that." He sheepishly chuckles. "Hold still."
Aiming his index and middle fingers, he fires a small yellow beam at her, instantly restoring her clothes and ringlet hairstyle with a headband on her, minus her socks and loafers.
Everyone jaw dropped at what he just did.
"That's more like it." He smiles with pride.
"I believe this look suits you more."
"How did you do this?" Junko was surprised.
"Clothes Beam." He answers. "Allows me to repair or restore clothing in an instant. I can also change the weight of them if I wanted to."
"Whoa..." The lavender haired girl's mind was blown. "That's very incredible."
"And surprisingly useful." He agrees with her. "I don't have to worry about buying new clothes should they'd be normally beyond repair."
"Now wait just a moment." Shirai enters the conversation. "How were you able to know what her measurements are?"
"I just studied her before we even started our match." He admits. "And before you decide to lash out and try to beat the shit out of me for being a peeping Tom, I was in no way eyeing on her body, no matter how attractive she is."
"Really, you think I'm attractive?" Hokaze wondering, blushing.
Articho ignores her question and hands over her socks and loafers.
"Here ya go." He said, placing the items in her hands.
"W-Well, thank you." She says, putting them back on. One beautiful foot at a time, until her outfit was complete. She then stands back up, admiring her restored appearance. "Thank you for fixing my clothes."
"No problem." He smiles. "And as for our match, you did well back there."
"Thanks." She smiles as well, and the two sparing partners clapped each other's hands.
"Now with that out of the way, let's go save your school." The hybrid Saiyan stated.
"Actually, it's already getting late for that." Kuroko pointed out. "And we're kinda hungry, so we should be going."
"Then why don't you guys stay over for dinner?" Articho asks, taking his coat back from Arisa and pulls out his Capsule kit.
He picks one of the largest ones and walks out of the crater. Clicking on the top, he then throws the Capsule afar and it explodes on impact. The dust soon clears, revealing a Capsule house.
"You have a mobile home?" The Android was surprised.
"It's the most advanced invention I have in my hands." He cryptically explains. "Any you should see what the inside looks like."
He then opens the door and walks inside. Everyone looked at each other, before decided to head in as well. When they got inside, all of the teens looked around in awe.
"Wow!" Arisa and Junko exclaimed in awe. "This is awesome!"
"I didn't know something like this existed." Sai says, taking off her boots.
"Me neither." Shirai says with shock and awe. "This is new to me."
"Alright, everyone." Articho says, getting their attention as he take his boots and coat off. "Time we get cooking."
Later...
Everyone's eyes bulge out as they witness Articho chowing down on his food with his chopsticks.
"Num, num, num, num, num." He quickly chews his servings.
"How is he this hungry?!" Shirai asked, on the verge of finishing her food.
"This is nothing. Just today at lunch and dinner last night, he ate about a dozen burgers, four large fries, and one extra large soda." Arisa pointed out, having her second portion.
"He ate that much food?! Gunha questions in shock.
"Mmm hmm." She nods in confirmation.
"That's awesome." Sai says, feeling full. But unlike everyone else, her appearance hasn't changed after eating.
Articho, however, is still eating.
"H-He's...still eating." Junko stutters. "Like there's no end to it."
"Just what kind of stomach does he have?!" Shirai asked, finishing her meal.
The young Saiyan then puts down his empty bowl and pats his belly with the sound of a bamboo.
"That's more like it." He smiles to himself before burping loudly.
"I can see that." Arisa exclaimed. "You really did enjoy yourself."
Junko also burps as well before covering her mouth.
"Excuse me." She says, embarrassed.
"Good grief, Hokaze." Shirai sighs. "Well, at least you have manners unlike this spiky haired doofus right here."
"Doesn't offend me at all, Shirai." Articho shrugs. "Martial arts took care of that a long time ago."
"And speaking of martial arts, what was that light show back there?" Gunha asks. "You were all red for some reason and then launched an attack I haven't seen before. It's much more destructive than my Guts."
"I see you've noticed." Articho smirks. "And I'm guessing the phrase 'Guts' is something you like to say all the time, huh?"
"You know it."
"That light show I pulled off earlier was the Kaioken." The hybrid Saiyan pointed out.
"Kaioken? What's that?" The popstar asked.
"It's an energy multiplier that enhances my strength, speed, and all the other traits I use in a fight." He told them. "I can even increase it up to a maximum of twenty times. However, I need to be calm and focus or I end up hurting myself or worse. Plus, the more I increase it means I put a huge toll on my body, but I no longer have a problem with that since I've mastered this technique back then."
"You know, I never even heard about this power before." Shirai admits, looking at him. "So where exactly did you learn this from?"
"So they don't know what ki is." Articho deduced in his head. "Just like my Earth way before my time."
"Oh yeah, I want to know too." The blonde haired woman says. "Were you trained by someone or did you inherit these powers from your parents?"
"What, like a Gemstone?" He asks. "Something like that."
"If it's all the same to you, I'm Gemstone as well." Gunha says. "Here in Academy City, I'm the seventh ranked Level 5: Attack Crash."
Everyone except Articho, Sai, and Junko were surprised.
"What?!" Kuroko and Arisa gasped, at the same time.
"Yep." He nods. "No one believes this, but...I'm technically stronger than the third ranked. But for whatever reason, I've been ranked number seven."
"Unbelievable." The teleporter exclaimed. "I cannot believe it."
"Hey Sai, tell us something about yourself. How did you and Sogiita started dating?" Arisa asks, looking at the couple.
"It's simple really." She smiles at her boyfriend. "He wanted to challenge me."
"Seriously?" Everyone was surprised by her response.
"He reminds me of Goku." Articho comments to himself.
"That's exactly what happened." The Level Five told them. "When I first saw her, she was fighting a gang of Skill-Out that were picking on a couple of students."
"So you wanted to scale her power as a way of befriending her?"
"Basically."
"Is Sogiita a Saiyan?" Articho wonders to himself. "Now that I mentioned it, Hokaze's power level did increased after I gave her a Senzu. Why would Black go through all the trouble into birthing his own godly Saiyan race despite looking for a successor and expressing his hatred against mortals? None of this adds up."
"Most of the time usually I win our challenges, while she wins a few more." Gunha continues. "Then one thing led to another, and now we're going steady."
"Huh." Shirai says, impressed with the story. "Did the two of you had your first kiss?"
"We had our first kiss, our first dates, and... our first times." Sai added, as she holds her boyfriend's hand.
Everyone else's face turned red at what she just said.
"Oh. So the two of you already have a..."
"No. We're planning on having one when she graduates from high school next year." The Gemstone told them. "But we always wanted a baby boy."
"Aww, that's so sweet." Junko says, smiling.
"Congratulations." Articho smiles as well. "Guess you two have a bright future ahead."
"We sure do, and we're hoping to get married soon after he graduates." The woman concludes.
"Just remember to invite us when the time comes."
"No problem." Gunha grins. "Say, what school do you guys go to?"
"Who me and Arisa?" The Time Patroller points to themselves. "Well, we like to keep that under wraps for now."
"We understand." The Level 5 nods.
"Oh! And that attack from earlier, it's called the Kamehameha." The hybrid added.
"Kamehameha? You mean the attack that left me stark naked in front of everyone?" Hokaze deduced.
"Yeah, sorry about that." He chuckles sheepishly.
"That name." Shirai ponders. "It's Japanese for 'Turtle Destructive Wave.' Am I right?"
"Yep. It's part of a series of martial arts I first learned since I was 12. It's called the Turtle School."
"Ooh." Everyone but a suspicious Shirai said in awe. "Since you were 12?!"
"The Kamehameha was the first technique that the creator of the Turtle School ever developed and mastered. Took him 300 years, if you can believe it. Or was it 500 years? I can't seem to remember."
"That long?!" The Teleporter exclaims in more disbelief. "How come we've never heard about this guy?! And more importantly, how are you able to learn and mastered it?! You should be old and dead by now!"
"I'm a fast learner. Took me a whole day to learn it, and whole week to master it completely."
Shirai growls suspiciously.
"There's something very fishy about this boy." She says in her head, glaring at the young hybrid Saiyan. "I should keep my eye on him."
"Alright, so who's up for dessert?" Articho asks, changing the subject.
Everyone fell out of their chairs in disbelief.
An hour soon passed after enjoying their dessert, continuing in having a good time as friends. As for Kuroko, however, she is more suspicious about Articho as she doesn't know a thing about him, infuriating the pigtail girl.
Later...
"It was great hanging out with you." Sai says, and she puts her boots back on. "We should definitely do this again."
"Yeah. We should." Articho answers. "So Shirai, where can Arisa and I meet you two prestigious ladies at tomorrow for our joint investigation?"
"Since tomorrow is Saturday, I'd say the Garden of Learning in the afternoon."
She told him.
"Sounds perfect. That's when we're available for the day." He answers.
"I'll inform the security officer by the Garden's front gate tomorrow morning that I invited you both inside. " The Teleporter says. "Just bring your student ID for confirmation, okay?"
"We'll be there. Trust us." He nods. "See you guys tomorrow."
Junko then leans to his ear and whispers to him.
"I noticed earlier in our fight that you were mesmerized by my feet." She pointed out. "Do you see me as a goddess?"
"?!" He flinches at her question, sweating nervously.
"I'll take that as a yes." The lavender hair girl smiles, before giving him a surprise peck on the cheek.
Arisa gasps in shock, while Shirai groans in annoyance.
"I'll see you tomorrow." She says, walking away from him.
"Looks like someone has an interest in you." Sai declared, walking alongside the two students of Tokiwadai with her boyfriend following behind.
"It was just a friendly gesture, that's all." Junko blushes in denial. "Besides, I believe him and Meigo are already at item."
"Hmm? I'm not so sure." Shirai pointed out. "She's too shy around him to be his girlfriend."
"You do know that we can hear you, right?" Articho interrupts with a hint of annoyance.
The three girls paled and sweat nervously.
"Oops, sorry." They said.
"Just get out of my house!" He growls. "The four of you!"
"We're going! We're going!" Gunha follows the girls outside last, laughing. Articho then closes the door behind them, locking it.
"Man that was annoying." He sighs, turning around. "Arisa?"
The girl had a very strange smile, but he can clearly see an angry mark on her forehead. Her eyebrow was also twitching.
"Articho, may I have a word with you?" She says, coldly.
"Oh great. She's jealous." Articho mentally groans.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Arisa. I didn't woo her over you. And don't forget that I'm not looking for a relationship right now. So calm the hell down already." He told her, trying to dissolve the situation. "And please don't even think about slapping me."
Realizing that, Arisa snaps out of it.
"Oh, sorry. I lost my cool there for a second." She told him, apologizing for her behavior.
"It's all right." He accepts it, yawning. "Well, you can show yourself out and head back to your place. I'll meet you at the front gate of our new school in the morning. Night."
"Wait!" She said suddenly.
"Yes, what is it?" He asked.
"Is it all right with you if I stay over for the night?"
"Why?" He further asks, raising an eyebrow. "Just because you hired me as your bodyguard doesn't mean I have be in your sights 24/7. I have a life too, ya know."
"I know, but..." She looks away, nervous.
"If you really want to, you can stay. But for one night only." He sighs again, walking to the only bedroom in the household. "Once I've made sure you can handle things on your own, I'm stepping down as your bodyguard."
"I understand. I'll agree to your decision." Arisa answers, looking down at the ground. "When that day does come, can the two of us still be friends?"
"Of course we're friends." He answers with disbelief in his tone without looking her in the eye. "Why the hell do you think that I would end it?"
"I don't know."
"It doesn't matter." He says entering his room. "I can only offer you a sleeping bag. This place only has one bedroom. Sorry."
"That's quite all right." She says, smiling. "Can I use your restroom to change into my pajamas?"
"But aren't your pjs back at your place?" His voice points out.
"I packed a spare into my bag, before we left today."
"Again, why?"
"No idea." She shrugs.
A few minutes later...
Arisa steps out of the bathroom, wearing a loose t shirt below the waist.
"How do I look?" She nervously asked, rubbing her feet together.
"Those are your sleepwear?" Articho questions.
The pink haired girl nods.
"Do you have anything underneath?"
She shakes her head.
"Seriously?" He blushes. "You know what, you can wear whatever you want. Just don't crawl into my bed in the middle of the night."
The popstar smiles, before moving inside the sleeping bag on the floor.
"Good night, Articho." She tell him. However, the young Time Patroller is already asleep, tucked underneath his blanket.
"Oh." Her smile dropped for a second, before she decided to sleep as well. She takes one last look at the moonlight shining through the window and closes her eyes before finally falling asleep.
Meanwhile, at the Tokiwadai Dormitories located outside of the Garden of Learning...
"Ah man, all of that paperwork at the branch office." Shirai stretches her arms, exhausted as she unlocks the door to her room. Opening the door, she enters inside before shutting and locking the it behind.
The Teleporter then turns on the room's light.
"Sissy's not home yet, huh?" She says looking around the dorm room. "Oh well. Best to get myself ready for bed. Got a big day tomorrow."
She then takes off her loafers and socks before grabbing her pjs, and enters the bathroom to wash up for bed.
While in the bathtub, she couldn't stop thinking about a certain spiky haired Saiyan she met today.
"Still, Articho says he's willing to help me and Hokaze save Tokiwadai from shutting down." She continues to ponder about the mystery boy. "Sissy can't know about this. If she gets herself involved, this could make the situation even worse than ever."
The teleporter knows that that her friend means well, but with her status as a Level Five and the one that responsible for causing the spread of rumors will become extra cautious, making apprehending her/him impossible. Especially with her grudge against the Fifth Ranked Level 5. If the real suspect takes advantage of their feuding rivalry, that would not end well. For anyone, at least.
"In the morning, I'll have to inform Uiharu and Konori about this." She told herself. "But still, why does Sissy hate Shokuhou so much? Could these rumors be the spark of it all? With Articho confirming the truth from Hokaze, this might be possible."
Outside the bathroom, the door opens up as her roommate enters inside.
"Kuroko, I'm back." She calls out, noticing the light in the bathroom still on.
"Crap! She's already here." Shirai screams in her head. "I can't be suspicious, I have to act natural when I'm done."
"I'll be out in a second, Sissy!" The girl with pigtails says, with a perverted smirk on her face. "This might also be a good time to ask her about her current relationship with Shokuhou."
So she quickly washes herself clean, and puts on her sexy lingerie and pajamas on.
"Welcome back, Sissy! And how was the rest of your day?" Kuroko told her roommate, with her usual personality.
"It was... Eventful, I suppose. Unlike yesterday." A girl with chestnut brown hair and brown eyes told the teleporter.
"How so?" The young girl asked further.
"Well, I meant two of these people in the middle of a crowd the other day." The roommate continues to explain. "Of course, I never met them."
"Is that's so." She further ask, taking an interest. "Well then, I'll be happy to hear about yesterday's events if that's alright with you."
"Sure." The other girl says. She looks at her roommate suspiciously, but decided to forget about that.
Meanwhile inside the Garden's dormitory...
Junko walks back into her dorm room. As she turns the light on, someone is sitting on her couch, legs crossed.
"M-My Queen?!" Hokaze says, recognizing the person on the couch.
"Hello there, Hokaze." She greets with a smile. "You came back later than usual. That's very unlike you."
"Apologies, my Queen." She says, shutting the door behind her. "I was preoccupied with something else, and it took too long. And also, I had dinner somewhere else today."
"I see." The blonde hair teen says, before pulling out a remote. "Then you wouldn't mind if I do this?"
"Not at all. In fact, I have good news. For all of us."
"Really?" She perks up, now more interested. "Let's have a look together, shall we?"
"Of course." The lavender haired girl smiles, as her pupils now have stars in them. Shokuhou started to skim through her memories of today's events.
"Hmm? Things are starting to get interesting now." She admits.
Soon, the blond girl presses a button again on her remote, turning her best friend back to normal.
"Are you pleased, my Queen?" Hokaze asked the leader of her Clique.
"Yes." Misaki answers, smiling. "In fact if all things go well tomorrow, you'll be recognized as the hero who saved Tokiwadai."
To be continued...