AN: Hi again! Last chapter had a lot more dialogue and revelation and hopefully people liked that. Everything that was revealed in the last chapter will come into play later along the line. With that said, enjoy the chapter!
If it wasn't for his talents in Martial Arts and Foresight, the bullet fired would have easily pierced his skull. He instinctively pulled Kyoko down to the ground and put the bag next to her head. The metal beams inside would almost ensure that she had at least some protection. He scanned his surroundings and found the glint of a scope due to the light of his torch. The shooter wouldn't be alone; there would be at least six enemies if this group was similar to other groups of bandits he'd faced over the last year. He waited for the second shot to pass next to his head when he tilted it to the side. The sound of the bullet casing hitting the ground was his cue to get Kyoko up and running for the hatch. He wrenched her up to her feet and placed the bag over her shoulder. They had managed to get within a block or two of the hatch and Kyoko clearly knew that judging by the sly nod she gave him. She turned and practically sprinted down the street.
Hajime tailed her at a slower pace, giving him the opportunity to prevent attacks more effectively than if they ran side by side. And the opportunity did present itself. A dirtied man in a balaclava and goggles appeared from an alleyway and took aim with a long-barrelled revolver. Hajime put a hand on either of his cheeks and twisted his head a full 360 degrees, his head falling to the pavement with a startling thud. Hajime scavenged the revolver off the corpse and continued his steady pursuit of the Detective. She had made it to the street where the hatch was located, her sprinting had become more of a steady jog as she realised she was under the care of the Ultimate Ultimate. She crouched over the hatch and slowly began to lift it off the street. Hajime took up a position on top of the same adjacent roof that Peko and her group of 3 had met him from on their first day living in the shelter. He heard the cocking of a rifle and looked down the street. A hunting rifle. One that can only fire a shot at a time. Perfect.
Hajime pulled the metal cover off the roof's air vent and waited. Kyoko had her back to the gunman who lined up his rifle. Hajime reeled his arm back and launched the cover down into the street towards the lavender-haired girl. As expected, the bandit fired at exactly the right time for the bullet to ricochet off of the cover just as it met the area behind Kyoko's back. The force of the bullet's contact propelled the chunk of metal just to the left of Kyoko, who took the opportunity of temporary safety by the horns and practically leapt onto the ladder. Hajime stared at the man with the rifle, awaiting the best noise he could hear at a time like this. The clang of the hatch rang out through the street and a small smirk appeared on Hajime's face as his eyes turned a deep shade of crimson. It was time.
With Kyoko out of his sight the bandit lined up his rifle to the origin of the metal grate. A gust of wind moved past him and he felt his rifle leave his hands. A powerful swing of the firearm took the masked man's head clean off, a fountain of blood raining over Izuru. ''Oh shit! Get the fuck over here!'' One of the bandits yelled from his position up the street. A bunch of armoured men ran past him and up towards Izuru. These men were well-armed, the ones at the front holding large assault rifles and even wore makeshift helmets. They knew Izuru was powerful beforehand; it was evident from the attempt at a defensive formation and the heavy preparation. The garrison before him stood in a diamond formation, with the least protected standing at the back. Izuru sighed. Boring. He threw the rifle directly into the group, who dodged instinctively. This short lapse of time allowed him to disappear from sight down an alleyway. His stash was somewhere down the dark passage and he was determined to end this as quickly as possible.
He took only a handful of seconds to re-emerge, a rocket launcher in hand and a large rifle strapped to his back. Upon seeing the weapon the group in the centre of the street began to scatter in every direction. It was no use. The RPG was fired and it perfectly exploded in a way that injured or killed the fleeing men. Only 3 from the original 8 were still able to stand, though all had lost their firearms. They chose to withdraw their melee weapons and charge at the stone-faced Ultimate. The first swung his bat at head height but the attack was easily dodged and met with a savage uppercut that shattered the jaw of Izuru's attacker. As fragment of bone and blood splatter landed on him, Izuru effortlessly avoided a swipe from a knife. The second man repeatedly swiped and sliced at Izuru, his comrade a few feet behind waiting to capitalise, a crowbar in his shaking hands. The blade wielder began to tire, his swings losing their width and vicious nature. He suddenly came to a complete stop, raising an arm in an effort to block an attack. Izuru rolled his eyes and ripped the criminal's arm from it's socket and forced it into his torso, the impalement casing the bandit to fall to the ground with a sickening crunch. The last man stood alone and, while there was an attempt at a courageous look on his face, his body shook violently as Izuru casually walked towards him.
''Who sent you?'' The bandit dropped his crowbar as Izuru reached for it, which Izuru regarded with a small huff. ''The King. The King s-sent us.'' He mumbled. ''Who is the King?'' The man almost laughed but thought better of it. ''Wow, you really must've been living in a sewer if you don't know who the King is.'' ''So the King obviously knows me well enough to remember a location I have occupied.'' ''Yeah, King Nidai said he knew a place to find survivors and a lot of food.''
So Nekomaru had survived the blast? It wasn't as if Izuru hadn't considered the possibility; it was an extremely unlikely outcome but it was one Izuru had imagined several times. ''Tell me everything he told you.'' The red-eyed man demanded, making the bandit back slightly further away. ''He told us where to look on the mainland and although it took us a few weeks to sail out here, we were willing to because of what he said you folks had. He also mentioned some 'really pretty' women. He even said that there was this real sexy gamer girl that we could have to ourselves if we- URK'' Izuru held the man by his throat, his eyes holding a dark glow. He grabbed the mans left leg with his free hand and gripped him sideways in front of him. He kept a vice grip around the man's throat, his violent choking the only sound in the dark street. They would soon be silenced, as Izuru pulled as hard as he could on either side of him and tore him in two.
Blood and guts coated the floor in front of Izuru, and though he stayed silent as he watched the life quickly drain out of his eyes, he could sense remorse. He dropped the pieces of the corpse and turned back towards the hatch, a huge crater along the road and over half a dozen corpses in his wake. The only possible island they could have departed from that would provide them in such a way was Jabberwock Island, which was roughly 2 months of sailing away (given the boat was a sail barge and not a propelled one). Nekomaru would be expecting their return in that same time frame. If no one was to return, it would prove that the group still resided here. That would mean that Nekomaru himself would probably 'pay a visit.' That meant that they had either 4 months to prepare for his arrival, likely with Akane, or that he was already on his way with more firepower.
He opened the hatch, closed it behind him and leapt all the way down to the bottom. ''Superhero landing!'' Ibuki screamed with glee as she and the others made their way to greet the boy. The rest of the group did not share her enthusiasm. They had heard the explosion and the screams that followed seconds after. Izuru didn't help himself by being covered in blood, either. ''Do not attempt to ask me any questions. I will tell all of you what I learned and what I did in a moment.'' He spoke clearly as he wandered to Hajime and Chiaki's room. The rest of the group looked worriedly amongst themselves for roughly 3 minutes before Izuru came out of his room, his journal in hand. His eyes were a light brown and his face was downcast. He was shirtless now, probably due to his dress shirt being coated in blood. He immediately quickened his pace and threw his arms around Chiaki. He softly stroked her hair and whispered into her ear. He let her go after a few seconds. ''Everybody please sit. What I have to say may take some time.'' Most of the Ultimates chose to sit on the two couches, with Byakuya, Gundham and Toko decided to simply stand; the Author was nervously looking at the empty space next to Aoi on the end of the first couch, clearly considering whether to sit down. Hajime quickly ran back to his room and emerged with a new shirt, this one was more of a tee than a formal one. He stood in front of the TV so that as many people could see and hear him.
''Those of you who don't remember your lives at Hope's Peak won't remember the person I'm about to speak about. For now, all you have to know is that he was a student and part of the 77th class.'' He regarded the sofa on his left, where Nekomaru's former classmates were sitting. ''The men that attacked Kyoko and I were bandits. They were sent to our exact location by someone who knows that this is where we live. That someone is Nekomaru Nidai, the former Ultimate Team Manager. From what he could glean from one of his men, it'll take some time before he can reach us. It should take roughly 4 months if Izuru's assumption of where he lives is correct. Who he brings and his reasons behind coming for us is unknown though I can guess why he is.'' ''And why would that be?'' Byakuya asked condescendingly. Hajime regarded him straight faced as he could. ''He needs us for something. Important, I would assume.'' The majority of them knew what it truly meant when he said that. It meant that Nekomaru needed Hajime, purely for his talents. The true mystery was which of his thousands of talents he would need so desperately as to travel for months to find them.
''For now, rest easy. I'll be preparing this place for whatever may be thrown at us but please bear in mind that if they have something I can't prepare for, then we may have to move out and away somewhere he wouldn't expect us to be.'' The rest of the group looked dejected, the thought of moving out of there home was a sad one, especially if it meant that they could potentially end up somewhere far less comfortable. Hajime turned to Makoto. ''I'm sorry that I couldn't prepare us for this. You and your group haven't even been here a day and may already be forced to move. In the meantime, please enjoy the time that you have here. It will hopefully be quite a bit better than life in the Academy.'' Makoto gave him a nod accompanied with a small smile that said, 'it's okay.' ''Okay, that's about it. If you ever feel endangered or have any needs or wants, don't be afraid to talk to me. Please.'' He seemed almost desperate to prove that Izuru wasn't a threat to them. That he was trustworthy. He stood out of the way of the TV, handing Chiaki a PS4 controller as he left for his room. He patted Makoto's shoulder once as he passed him. A symbol of reassurance. It was small but necessary.
It was quite late now; 9pm had come faster than they'd ever thought it would. Aoi practically sprinted to the shower to get in it first, an angry Hiro yelling as he attempted to catch her. Byakuya skulked off to the room Makoto had assumed to be his own but made sure to tell Toko to shower before she came into his room. Byakuya had actually allowed Toko to sleep in the same room as him. It wasn't as if they were sharing a bed but having The Ultimate Murderous Fiend in the same room was sure to be a deterrent, right? Maybe the Heir was warming up to the shy girl. But he doubted it. Kyoko rested her head on Makoto's shoulder again. The others were making their way to their rooms; Fuyuhiko and Peko had the second room along the right side and Mahiru and Ibuki clearly shared the third. If Chiaki and Hajime shared the first then Makoto and his friends had the pick of any of the other rooms. Speaking of rooms, he had to ask Kyoko if she and him were sharing a room. Even more pressing than that was the question of if they were sharing a bed. He looked down at the Detective. ''So, uh…. Are we-'' ''Room 5. I've already pushed the beds together. We're having a shower first.'' Makoto couldn't really be surprised at her actions. It was Kyoko. ''So are you having one first or do you want me to?'' Kyoko took her head off his shoulder to look into his eyes. ''What part of 'we're having a shower' was unclear?'' Makoto turned beet red. ''A-Are you sure? I can wait if you want?'' He sounded as shaky as he was. Kyoko gave him the eyes. ''Please?'' How could he say no when she made puppy dog eyes? Well, her version of puppy dog eyes. That meant that her harsh brow raised slightly and her straight lips dropped down about half an inch. ''O-Okay. After Hiro.'' Kyoko seemed content and rested her head on him again.
Junko sat in the armchair across from him. She had an enormous shit-eating grin on her face but chose to look backdown into a different magazine. Aoi exited the bathroom in her normal booty shorts but had on her bra. Hiro couldn't help but say 'wow' as he stared blatantly. Aoi ran past him and into Mahiru and Ibuki's room. Hiro, having watched her the whole way, had to be ushered into the bathroom by a loud 'cough' from Kyoko. Hiro yelped and slammed the door behind him as he went to wash. Makoto occupied himself by waiting to see how Aoi dressed when she left the Photographer's room. It wasn't a long wait, with Aoi coming out dressed in cat-themed pyjamas. They were clearly Ibuki's judging by the theme and hugged Aoi in all the right areas…. Makoto mentally slapped himself. He was literally going to shower with his girlfriend in a few minutes. Another 5 or 6 minutes passed and Hiro popped his head around the door, his hair down and still slightly damp. He looked like a wet porcupine in a towel. He quickly rushed into one of the rooms, only to be met with a scream. Hiro bolted out of the room, barely managing to cover himself with the towel in one hand over his junk and his clothes in the other. Aoi poked her head out of the room he had been in and directed him to the 7th room, the only free room due to Gundham taking the last one along. Kyoko quickly stood while stretching before turning to drag the now nervous Makoto to his feet. ''Don't worry, Makoto. I've seen you and you've seen me. Just focus on washing me and not groping me until we get to our room.'' Makoto was being dragged behind her but could practically see her mischievous grin. Junko watched them all the way and stood as soon as the door slammed. She chuckled menacingly. Time to get to work. Chiaki squinted in suspicion as Junko wandered into the 5th room.
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After a shower that seemed to ooze awkwardness and sexual tension, the Detective and the Luckster emerged in nightwear Kyoko had found in a drawer in their room earlier. Hajime was so thoughtful it was strange. Makoto had very silky blue pyjamas and Kyoko wore a purple night dress that stopped just above the knee. He would've been staring at her legs had he not been looking directly at her ass for about 10 minutes in the shower. He'd never admit it and would never have had the guts to try anything, especially if he didn't know what kind of mood she was in. They opened the door to their room, only to see Junko sleeping directly in the middle of the makeshift double bed. She was under the covers and laying on her back. Makoto sighed. ''I'll get her up. She can sleep on one of the couches.'' Makoto threw the blanket off of her and yelled out in surprise. Kyoko too looked shocked but quickly scowled at the sleeping girl. Did she really have to sleep in the nude? In their bed? Makoto turned away from the Fashionista and tried to focus on something else. This was obviously an effort to gain his attention and probably his lust. He couldn't give in. Not when he was going to get laid again. Not when Kyoko was in the room and was waiting for the 'hope.'
The lavender-haired girl grabbed Junko by her foot and dragged her off the bed, the blonde beginning to grasp at the covers in desperation as she fell from the mattress. She laid on the floor for a few seconds before standing with a huff. She grabbed her clothes from under the bed (sneaky spot, Makoto thought) and got dressed as slowly as possible to draw it out. As soon as her last button was done up Kyoko pushed her out of the room, throwing her boots and tie out after her. Kyoko swiftly closed the door and bolted it. She turned to Makoto, who was already laying on the bed, twiddling his thumbs. Kyoko crawled up the bed at him, stopping to lay her head on his chest. ''You ready?'' She asked as seductively as she could, a hint of pink present on her face. Makoto gave her a confident smirk. ''For you, always.''
Thanks for reading this chapter! If my use of [] wasn't clear, that's how I intend to do scene transitions. I've tried it so many different ways and this seems to be the only thing that has worked. I deliberately worked around lemon in case people weren't too keen on it or comfortable with it, but if people really want to see any at some point, leave a review. That way I can get an idea about how many people want to see it. Thanks again!
