To Someone: Which word are you talking about? I tried scanning back the chapter, but I can't find that word.
"Hey Reine, you're still up?" Kuro knocks on the woman's door and asks inside. After a few seconds, the physics teacher opens the door for him to walk inside. "How is it going with the communication?"
"Still has no success." Reine replies while closing the door, then returns to her laptop. Kuro walks to the bed and sits on it, then opens his own laptop up. "Not only that, every call to anywhere outside of the island is completely cut off… I'm suspecting DEM is the one doing so."
"Then you're correct." Kuro confirms. "They found out that we're hiding the Spirits on plain sight, so they sent a small troop to confirm it. And… obviously, they will try to catch them."
"Did they know that Kurumi and Emerald are… well…"
"No. That information hasn't been leaked yet. If it happened, I would have been noticed. However… you must have already noticed the camerawoman, right?"
"Yes. I felt something familiar from her, but I can't put my finger in it. One of the Wizards?"
"One of the best. But… outside of battlefield, she's quite a ditz." Kuro opens up a clip and shows Reine about the Wizard's problems with the 'annoying' trio. He then starts typing a program and says: "I will send a message to Fraxinus. It would be better than calling them, since that could be intercepted if we're not careful."
"I see…"
"So." Kuro changes the subject. "How are you doing with the Yamai?"
"I'm planning a date for them with Shidou tomorrow… are you sure you're not going to join?"
"Well, let the young man have his fun." Kuro chuckles. Then, he turns a little serious. "Phantom, I don't want to ask, but what happened to your original?" That causes Reine to stop typing. "I just want to talk a bit, but we couldn't trace her down, even with Kurumi's attempts to reverse back in time. Is there something wrong?"
"… I believe that's not in my knowledge." The other teacher replies. "But… best to say, she could have vanished after… that event already."
"I see." Kuro sighs. He then sees a call from Hyperion, so he answers: "Hey Raynor. Are you in position?"
"Just arrived." A male voice replies. "Are you sure you can handle things down there?"
"I'm sure. Just focus on controlling the sky. If Fraxinus falls, Ratatoskr is not going to have a good time cleaning up."
"Okay then. Good luck down there." With that, the call ends.
"Who is that?" Reine asks.
"Don't worry, I called some helps from 'allies'. They will help Fraxinus on the air."
"…Yourself is not enough?"
"Raising fear tactics. Show-off, in my case."
The next day
"He's surely having fun." Kurumi giggles, as she watches Shidou spreading the sun protection oil over the Wind Spirits' bodies. She then pulls Kuro towards one of the umbrellas and lies down under it. "Hey Kuro-sensei, how about you do the same for me as well?"
"*Chuckle* You cheeky girl." Kuro comments, though he didn't complain and starts pouring the oil he pulls out 'from nowhere' and starts doing the work.
"Jeez, you two. Don't make the jealousy go even higher with your work." Emerald, in a green two-piece bikini, comments as she walks to them.
"Hey, we're at the beach." Kuro replies, leaving words for everyone to imagine the next words he would say. Though, when the front is done (with a certain place being left off), Kuro gestures Kurumi with his hands to turn her back over, which causes her to slightly pout but still obey anyway. Then he notices the AST soldier and the purple Spirit walking to them. "Hey girls, enjoying so far?"
"Uh huh!" Tohka answers quickly with a bright smile, while Origami simply nods. "This is the first time I have gone to a beach! It's way better than the waterpark!"
The white-haired girl then focuses on Shidou having 'troubles' doing his work. "… About the two Spirits… what are you going to do with them?"
"Refrain them from killing each other, obviously." Kuro whispers. "However, Shidou knows what to do. I just have to cover his six."
"Cover what?" Tohka obviously is not familiar with the term.
"Ah, it's nothing." He then turns back to his work… and notices some places lack of oil, that he has already spread. He looks at Kurumi's face to see her smirking at him. "…Cheeky girl." Time hax at its finest.
"Well, I think it's enough talk." Emerald says, then pulls Tohka and Origami to the beach. "Come on! How about a race you girls?"
"Oh it's on, Emerald-sensei!" Tohka declares.
"I won't lose…" Origami answers, though there's a small hint of competitive in her voice.
"Well… you can go under my suit now." Kurumi teases, as she starts pulling off the top of her blue bikini.
"…Thanks for the invitation, but I don't want someone to accidentally take that picture, otherwise I'm dead."
Time skip
"Where are they heading now?" Ellen talks through her earpiece to James, as she hides behind the rocks and watches Emerald, Tohka and Origami jumping into the sea.
"Standby… the most possible destination is the private beach half a klick from your location…"
"Have the cameras worked properly?"
"After some fixes, yes… damn, we lost the camera focusing on you again."
"Again?" Ellen is irritated. Not once before would DEM face some mechanic problems like now. "Start fixing…" She starts heading off to try and follow the trio, only to falls into…
"That was close." Thankfully, someone has managed to catch her arm and hold her back from being sunk into the sand hole. "You okay there, miss Ellen?"
The secretary looks at the hole for a second before sighs in relief. "Thank you for saving me, mister…" She turns to look at who just saved her. "…Kuro…"
"Don't sweat it." 'Not noticing' the change of tone, Kuro retracts his arms on Ellen since she's on solid ground now. He then turns to the 'annoying trio'. "Please girls, don't just randomly dig the hole. Pranking on your friends is fine, but it could cause troubles to everyone else. At least find a way to lure the victim before digging one."
"Hai hai!" The girls respond.
"Well… I need to go now. Bye." Ellen immediately runs away, not wanting to deal with them anymore.
Kuro shakes his head, before tapping on his earpiece, as the students start planning another hole: "Reine, the camerawoman is heading to you. Be careful."
Another time skip
"Kuro." The teacher himself is watching the sunset on the beach while sitting on the sand, and notices Shidou walking towards him. "I need some advices from you."
"Sit down." Kuro pats the position next to him, and Shidou sits on that place. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
"It's about the Yamai sisters. They… want the other to live, while self will disappear."
"I see… It's a hard decision, right?"
"… I want to ask if you know how to deal with it, your way."
"You know me. Beating them up until they abandon the idea." Earning a blank stare from Shidou, Kuro chuckles. "I'm not joking. While I don't like the idea, it's the easiest way to do. Of course, I won't hurt them too bad… physically at least."
Shidou starts considering his options… then asks: "Kuro… have you been in this situation?"
"A few times in my earlier days." The tides start raising up slowly. "However, I always only had two options, no alternatives. Die for the others, or see others die. I was in situations exactly like Yamai sisters right now."
"Really?"
"Yes. However, this situation has a massive difference." Kuro faces Shidou. "It's you. You're the judge here, not the Yamai sisters. Yes, if you're not here, then the sisters will have to pick either of the options. But, with you being the third person… I believe you will deliver the right decision."
"…Thanks for your trust in me, Kuro."
"Don't sweat it… The tides are getting higher. We should leave before Poseidon invites us to his palace."
Nighttime
Location: Fraxinus
"We're receiving a transmission from an unknown source. Patching through now." Nakatsugawa announces, as the screen flicks in static before getting a clear view from the caller…
"Greetings, Fraxinus." The person looks like an Admiral wearing a black outfit. "The name is Matt Horner, the Captain of Hyperion. I was tasked by Kuro and Commander Raynor to help you defending the sky while the others deal with their problems below the surface."
"Hm… right on time… Coordinate: 132, 50, 39. Height: 255, 246." Kannazuki then orders his crew to raise the shield at the exact location, just in time to block a shot that could pierce through the ship. "But, we couldn't locate your ship…"
"Because we're way up high to the space." The captain reveals. "We're sending you air-fighters to help you softening the other ship's attacks, but you need to try to find your opponent on your own."
"Any helps would be great." Despite not needing helps, it would make his work easier.
"Vice Commander, unidentified units uncloaking around us!" Masaomi opens another screen, to see Wraiths appearing around them, about ten of the units. Those fighters then move around Fraxinus in high speed, patrolling the area and securing the parameters.
"Guess that's them. Thank you for the help, mister Horner." Kannazuki bows politely.
"The pleasure is mine. Although, you could thank Kuro later."
"We will make sure of it." With that, the call to Hyperion ends. "Interesting. Kuro could call out an army from space…"
"What is your order now?" Minowa asks curiously.
"Since those flyers are covering us… turn the ship and focus energy into Misteltein main cannon!"
…
Meanwhile, on the ground
"Ara ara. Trying to bully our lovely boy with your little toys? You sure have a low standard." Kurumi playfully taunts, as she drags the Bandersnatch she just decapitated with her flintlock.
"Kurumi? Emerald? How did you get to us so fast?" Shidou asks in surprise, not expecting the girls to be right at the area he and the other Spirits are in.
Just before the Bandersnatches could hurt the boy, Kurumi has lined up a good shot that managed to penetrate through all of the machines, making them explode in place.
"That storm is not that hard to be spotted." Pointing towards the sky, the CPU Candidate in her HDD From reminds Shidou of the fight between the twin spirits. She then turns to Ellen and says: "Your group is quite daring to pull this stunt off, despite that there are many factors to ruin your plan around here."
"Hm, that's why I brought more to deal with you." The DEM Wizard calmly replies, as more Bandersnatches, both in Ground and Air Mode, appear into the scene.
"Well, that's a little unfair, you know." Raising her left flintlock and placing it on her shoulder, Kurumi watches the opponents preparing to jump on her and her companions.
"We will do anything to make sure that you're down, Spirits." Raising her right hand up, Ellen orders the machines to start rushing towards the Spirits…
"She was talking about you." Green Sister waves her wand once, and earth spikes emerge from the ground and pierce through some Bandersnatches, while the others are shot down by Kurumi. She then shouts: "Hey, Shidou! You take Tohka with you and try to calm down the Yamai sisters, okay? We will handle these DEM for you!"
After snapping out of shock, Shidou shouts back: "Thanks, you two!" He then grabs the Spirit's hand and says: "Let's go, Tohka!"
"But…okay…" She wants to retort, but knowing that she couldn't defeat the Wizard, she has no choices but to retreat.
"Like I would let you do that." Equipping her gears once again, Ellen flies straight to Tohka and raises her sword up during the flight, then slashes it down once she's in range… only for her sword to be deflected and then she's punched back a few meters. Quickly recovered, she looks up to see Kuro with his katana in his left hand, still being in its sheath. "You…"
"Thanks Kuro!" Shidou shouts to the person while still running away from the chasers.
"You are welcome!" Not turning from Ellen, Kuro casually shouts back. He then places his right hand on the katana's handle. "Now, about you…"
"One of the Spirits sympathizers." Ellen prepares her swords. "Stand out of my way."
"It's a duty of a teacher to protect his students." Slightly unsheathing his sword, Kuro replies.
"So be it." Throwing herself forward, the Wizard aims her sword right at the teacher's neck, only for something to deflect the hit. Not giving up, she tries different positions, but none of her slashes always hit something that she couldn't see nor feel. Then, from the corner of her eyes, she sees Kurumi aiming one of her guns right at her position, so Ellen has to back away just in time for a bullet to gaze before her face.
"I have it under control, Kurumi." Raising his left hand up, the sword being replaced by a revolver, Kuro shoots at one of the Bandersnatches which is planning to sneak on his daughter, shutting it down with a hole in its main body. He does that without leaving his sight on Ellen.
"…You're a deserted AST soldier?" Ellen asks, trying to find more information.
"Obviously not. If I am, I would have lost to you." Replacing the revolver with two katanas on his hands, Kuro crosses them before him. "Let us continue the dance."
…
Up in the sky
"Reporting in, mate. We got the bastard in place." One of the Wraith pilots calls to Fraxinus, as the units start flying around and shooting their rockets into Arbatel's shield. "Should we knock it down out of the sky?"
"Not necessary." Kannazuki belays the order. "However, can you try to take down any means of attacks from their ship?"
"You guys here that? Light 'em up, boys!" The squad leader issues the order to the others, and the moment the shield is down, all Wraiths de-cloak and continue bombarding Arbatel.
"Thanks to these guys, Fraxinus doesn't suffer too many damages." Kawagoe reports. "And we managed to link the communication with our Analysis Officer as well."
"Oh? You have already called her?" Kannazuki asks curiously.
"Yes. She's picking up now…"
"Is the Fraxinus okay?" That's the first question Reine asks after the screen shows up.
"Everything is under control." Kannazuki assures. "Kuro's help really comes in handy."
"I see…" Reine then looks out of the window from her room. "How is everyone doing, miss Origami?"
"Kuro and his group is stopping DEM in place, while Shidou and Tohka are trying to stop the Yamai." Looking through the binocular, the AST member watches the event progressing. "…Fighting a fully-equipped Wizard with just a pair of katanas… Now that's humiliating…"
"For the Wizard?" Reine tilts her head curiously.
"Obviously."
The officer then turns back to the screen. "Anyway, do you need more supports?"
"…Looks like they're retreating…" Kannazuki notices the Arbatel starting to fly lower… "What are they planning?"
…
Back to the ground
"Top-tier Wizard, I do have to commend your skills." Locking swords with Ellen, Kuro boringly comments. "But…" Using overwhelming force, he swings down his katanas and sends the Wizard fly away, causing earth to blow up along Ellen's falling way. "Spirits aren't the only ones you need to look out." That attack also hits her head and knocks her down for an amount of time.
"Hey Kuro, what can we do with these junks?" Emerald, having turned back to normal, asks, as the remains of the Bandersnatches scatter around.
"Well, Ratatoskr could melt them down and do something." Sheathing both of his katanas at the same time, Kuro nonchalantly replies. "I mean, we don't exactly have any uses for these…"
The sky then somehow gets split into two sides. Everyone looks up to see the clear sky, and the two Spirits standing on the opposite side over the cutting line. Kurumi's left eye narrows to see better, then looks down to the below to see Tohka and Shidou holding Sandalphon. She then asks Kuro: "Is that Shidou's work?"
"His determination, yes." Kuro throws his hands to the back of his head. "Let's grab them before more Bandersnatches show up."
Emerald uses her Assam Link, and the trio leave the area and head to the other main event.
And when they reach there, they just simply watch the event going, since the Yamai sisters would deal with everything in the end.
"My apology, sir Westcott. Mission failed, we can't capture the Spirits." After waking up and seeing the Bandersnatches completely turned into scraps, Ellen immediately calls back to her boss. "However, we all now know that they're the right ones."
"I see. Still, I was half-expecting you to lose actually. If it's just a Spirit, then things will be more different. Good work, and return to base…"
"Before I forget, sir… I have fought him."
"Oh?"
"I…hate to admit, but… I lost to him."
"…Now that's a surprisingly shocking news. Is he also a Wizard?"
"…He fought me with just a pair of katanas, sir. He completely overwhelmed me with sheer power."
"…Even with Pendragon?"
"Yes, sir… and, for some reasons… I felt his style of fighting being way too similar to Nightmare… or it's the opposite…"
"…In which way?"
"I… can't really express it. It's like… Nightmare was trained by him or so…Their ruthless and precise accuracy…"
"Stop right now, Ellen." Westcott interrupts. "Don't let this failure affect your mind. This is just a small step back. We have plenty of time."
"…*Deep breath* Understood, sir."
Chapter 8 end!
Sorry for the delay. Anyway... I now seriously want to kill Isaac on spot already after re-checking the events, but that would break the future too fast.
See you all in the next chapters!