Greetings to all!
If were expecting something witty to be written up here then, tragically, you were wrong.
Enjoy the Touma/Mugino pairing!
In most instances in one's routine life there are occurrences that we, as individuals, come to consider as being ordinary.
For example, a woman wearing a suit and a lab coat out for a jog with her golden retriever could be considered to be normal. Initially yes, it was strange, but eventually it would cease to be viewed in that light and thus 'normal' in the eyes of others. Odd as the sight was, if it was consistent enough then most would not judge it as being anything out of the ordinary.
"I'm heading out, I don't know how long the analysis will take, so don't bother waiting up."
Which was why Mugino didn't even give the girls situated in the living area a second glance as she made her departure. Said girls were currently doing their own things as they lounged around, from reading magazines and watching the television to just loitering around on the sofa. It was mid-afternoon on a Sunday, with no jobs and no wants or worries to be concerned about. So they took to just being lazy and enjoy the rest of their free time relaxing in the comforts of their shared home. The only person who had any work left to do today was Mugino and that must have been more like a chore than actual work.
"Basically, do want us to save you something for dinner?"
But Frenda's words fell upon deaf ears as the resonating sound of the door shutting reached all of those present in the apartment. Such a reaction, or lack of response in this case, was part of their norm when it came to associating with Mugino on a daily basis. What was not part of the norm, however, was the excuse in which the Level 5 provided just now. Level 5 espers did have unique facilities that were built for and exclusively used by said espers for the sake research and analysis on them. Nobody else had access to those facilities and because of that, at some unspecified time, those facilities would contact the Meltdowner for the sake of testing.
The girl in question hardly ever bothered to answer these summons, having cited them as being a waste of her time. Only after their liaison's consistent pestering would the #4 finally answer the call and begrudgingly participate in the examination.
Such details were not too important when viewed in a short-term perspective.
"...twelve meters and gaining distance..."
But such details in the long-term?
"Basically, that should be enough."
They were essential.
"Alright, let's go ahead and get the super ball rolling."
Whatever was being done prior to that moment was no longer the subject of their individual concerns. Frenda practically shot up off the sofa and vaulted over the furniture towards the door whilst Kinuhata carelessly thrown her magazine to the floor to do the same. Rikou was the only sensible person in the room who appeared to be in no substantial hurry. Despite how her compatriots were basically clawing their way in their rush towards the door, the tracker of their little group had caught up with the two even while moving at such a casual pace.
It was a mystery in itself whether that was a good or a bad thing, but she would like to believe it was relative all the same.
"We got lucky last time, but that could just mean that she's gonna be super cautious." Based on the way Kinuhata was speaking, someone from the same walk of life as them would think they were about to step into enemy territory. In some ways they kinda were. "With that in mind, before we get moving, turn your phone off Frenda."
"Basically, I know, you don't have to single me out Kinuhata!"
The retort made by the blonde sounded like something coming from a whiny child being scolded rather than a professional killer. Especially so when she was currently hopping in place as she tried to put on her other shoe. While the two others rushed to retrieve their footwear, Rikou's pace was smooth and steady. Case in point, much like the case with the rabbit and the tortuous, she turned out to be waiting on them despite arriving to the door last.
Takitsubo chalked it up to their excitement; although that term was probably a poor choice of words.
"Are you two ready?"
Then again it was hard for those two girls to be as motivated as they were right now regarding trivial matters like these.
"Basically, I'm ready when you are."
But this matter could hardly be considered trivial based on who it was centered around.
"...mhm..."
For this was a matter that revolved around certain Meltdowner and the secret which she had kept hidden from ITEM. A secret that shocked, irritated, and baffled most of those who were involved in this little extracurricular activity that they were undertaking. The secret that they would not have believed if they had not seen it with their own eyes. A secret enticing enough to make the two young women misplace their proper judgment and turn to shamelessly stalking her during her off-duty activities. Such a drive was what made them bold enough to turn the knob and take that first step forward in spite of the dangers.
For this escapade revolved around a certain Meltdowner's secret love-life and the mysterious lover who somehow conquered her heart.
Uncovering such a secret was worth prying into, worth the risk, and was maybe even (but not really) worth dying over. At least that stood to be the case for two among the trio of young ladies. One among them was severely lacking in enthusiasm by comparison to the those who had it in excess. Likely because that person had already accepted their role as the third wheel, so to speak, for this little adventure.
Why Rikou didn't express any complaints about being placed into such a position was unknown.
Perhaps there was a reason, a deep one at that, which she did not feel obligated to share.
Sadly that was a matter that was meant to remain unexplored.
When the Stalker Duo + One had initially left the apartment, they didn't have any idea what to expect as they tailed their target. It was Sunday, mid-afternoon, and the bright outdoors were growing increasingly more humid as the summer season gradually grew closer. Give or take a month and temperatures would rise to a degree that many would soon find to be unbearable. Not that the students seemed to mind since the ideal weather conditions made for a great opportunity enjoy some time outdoors.
Neither blistering hot or frigidly cold; the perfect setting for a date.
"...basically, who's still in school on a Sunday?"
A good question considering today was a student's break from classes. Granted that didn't apply to places like prep schools and maybe some private ones but that obviously wasn't the case here.
"Teachers, the principle, the janitors; generally the adults who take their jobs super seriously."
Based on exterior appearances, the school building looked as ordinary as any other. One could turn ninety degrees walk straight and find a school just like this one within five minutes of walking.
"Don't be a smartass, you know what I meant by that Kinuhata."
"You mean in the 'why is Mugino's boyfriend still taking classes on his day off' sorta way? I dunno, it could be anything for all we know; it might be because his grades super suck."
As far as distance went, the Stalking Duo + One had chosen to remain as far away from the woman as possible. Considering the path leading up to the school building was wide and currently lacking in population density, this option was a wise decision. If any of them made an approach then their target would have no trouble in spotting them almost immediately. To avoid this Frenda and her compatriots sought refuge near the parking deck sitting at the edge of the school grounds. The cover the building provided was beneficial for the time being but, in the same vein, it was also detrimental to them as well.
They could see her, but any form of interaction she had at this point was beyond their ability to hear.
"Basically that doesn't make much sense; you'd think Mugino would be interested in someone more in her league." Frenda, noting Kinuhata's skeptical gaze, mulled over her choice of words and made a point to elaborate. "True, it would be a stretch for someone to match her stats given her rank as a Level 5. So basically, if he couldn't match her in terms of strength, he should be close or equal to her in terms of intelligence."
"...that doesn't really matter...I think..."
This time it was Frenda and Saiai's turn to shoot the disinterested Rikou an inquisitive a glance. If they were expecting her to elaborate then they were tragically mistaken as she did not give one. Instead she remained where she was, sitting with her back to the wall, and staring down the wide street facing away from the school. Complements needed to be given to Takitsubo for flawlessly demonstrating what an abundance of 'not giving a damn' looked like. Since they clearly were not going to be getting much else out of her, the Stalking Duo returned their attention to the front entrance.
"She could be right."
Rikou may not have been willing to explain her reasoning but Saiai still took what was said into account as she formulated her own theories. Said theories were put on hold when she and her partner noted two figures descending the steps leading to the main entrance. Mugino was not among the two, she was at the base of the steps in wait for her lover's arrival. And although one of them was easily recognizable, solely due to his hairstyle, the other figure had admittedly caught the two distant observers off guard.
"A super pre-schooler?"
"Basically, she looks about the same age as my sister."
Again, although they couldn't hear jack from this distance, they could interpret things as they played out based on body-language. This time it was Mugino who had her back to them and appeared to be greeting the two if her raised hand was of any indication. The boy, it seemed, was faster in responding to said salutation as he mirrored her action with the pre-schooler girl doing the same shortly thereafter. The latter of the two seemed to say something, her head craning to look up at the teen beside her who promptly deflated a bit. Something demeaning must have been said here to which was dismissed by the #4 indicated by the shooing motion of her hand.
The Stalking Duo knew that they could not afford to keep themselves exposed for an extended period of time like this. But now that all eyes were elsewhere they were willing to risk the exposure even if the opposing trio was closing the gap between them.
With the formalities done and the three now on the wide red road, the Meltdowner took her spot at his right side as they continued walking. The pre-school girl had to continue looking up at them to maintain eye contact but all the same had a certain liveliness to her as she spoke. Seemed whatever she said had an adverse affect on the boy since he became increasingly less lively by the second. Now that Mugino's front profile was facing them, they could see how she looked mildly annoyed as she jabbed him in the ribs, which served to make the boy straighten up.
Despite the soft-reset upon being struck, the teen's attention became focused on the woman beside him. It was not a fleeting glance, he held it for a good couple seconds just as she held her own before eventually braking eye contact. When they did, both girls took note of the increased enthusiasm present in the boy's expression compared to before. They also took notice to the small smile playing on his lips as he responded to the small girl on his left. What served to be paramount here was the red dusted cheeks present on the Meltdowner's features as she twirled her hair around her finger.
Whatever he was saying was turning the #4 into a blushing wreck and it was progressively getting worse.
"..."
"..."
Takitsubo, having not heard anything from the two in the past couple moments, glanced over to ascertain Frenda and Saiai's current mental status.
She was not in the least bit surprised to see their deadpan expressions or their dead fish eyes.
...and somehow, despite these traits, Rikou considered it to be an improvement.
"—your teacher think I'll magically make you smarter?"
"Don't ask me, it's not like I don't want to do well in class, but...well you know how it is with me."
It took a bit of time for the two girls to properly recover from the shock of seeing that Mugino in such a state. The Frenda and Saiai were so emotionally numb that they had nearly been discovered by the very people they were pursuing. It was only by the grace of the divine that Third Wheel Rikou was there to pull the two back into cover. What had been the Stalking Duo + One had briefly turned into the Thousand Yard Trio as all three of them gazed out into a world only they could see. It was actually a key reason why they went unnoticed as the other trio passed them by. No emotion made for a lack of presence and Rikou had unknowingly divulged the secret to her presence-erasing technique.
Too bad Kinuhata and Frenda neglected to take notes.
Once they had gotten over their little stupor it was back to business. Since the couple had a considerable head start it meant that they had to put an equal amount of leg-work in order to catch up. Ascertaining their location would have been difficult had they not caught up with them in time. If they had been a few paces too late they would not have caught them as they assimilated into the crowd of students flooding the pedestrian walkways. It was Sunday after all, so there were many various sized groups of friends roaming about as they sought to find a source of entertainment to enjoy.
The couple didn't remain in said crowd for very long as they soon after came to a stop a couple blocks later. They had chosen to enjoy the ideal weather on a bench outside of the park and across the street from the local cafe; after, of course, retrieving their own choice of beverage moments prior. The influx of student traffic was minimal, not as staggering as the crowd before, but still enough to classify it as bustling. Mugino didn't seem to care, having scooted herself fairly close to the boy on the bench to the point that her leg was flush with his. And while there was a hint of reservation in his actions, the teen was relaxed enough to rest his arm on the back of the bench right around where her shoulders were located.
As for the Stalking Duo + One, they were in the most dangerous position possible: inside the park.
Specifically they were in the area that was right behind the bench the couple were sitting at.
Their only source of cover was a waist high wall of concrete used to plant shrubbery and the shrubbery itself. Sure, on paper is sounds ideal, but all the couple had to do was stand up and the three ladies would be seen immediately. Unsurprisingly the saying 'no risk no gain' came to mind at some point and two of the girls would have felt inclined to disagree with whoever said that. On the plus side the girls were not out of place sitting there. There were others around who were also using this particular area to sit and lounge around so at least nobody was giving them odd looks in passing.
"So you say but it still sounds like an excuse to me. If I hadn't seen how shitty your luck is for myself, I'd think you were perpetually lazy."
"Sounds like you and Fukiyose would get along great if that wasn't the case."
"Fukiyose, Fukiyose...which one was she again?" Evidently she knew at least some of her lover's associates, albeit to some lesser degree since she was clearly having trouble remembering them. Now it was the matter of whether she had met them in person or not which needed to be answered. "...hold on, isn't she that one girl in your class with black hair and the huge—"
"Forehead!" His interjection here had been panicked and fast, very fast. It made the girl's behind him curious as to why such a hasty response was given. "Ah, I-I mean yeah, Fukiyose Seiri is the same person you're thinking of...probably."
The Stalking Duo had no way of knowing what was going on between the two courtesy of a pesky plant blocking their line of sight. Had they been able, they would have seen Mugino was giving the boy beside her a very long and flat stare at the moment. She stared harder when she noticed that he became less and less at ease the longer she held her gaze.
"...you thought I was gonna say 'boobs' just now, didn't you?"
Kamijou turned his head away from her veeeeery slowly after this; which was essentially an admittance of guilt. Again, the Stalking Duo couldn't see it, but in a way they didn't need to. The three young ladies could practically see her mean mugging the guy something fierce right now in their mind's eye. Such a mental image actually brought on a few needed smiles to the girl's faces as they imagined it.
"T-to clarify, I assumed you were going to say breasts not boobs. So, if we're going by technicality, then this Kamijou is innocent."
"Breasts, boobs, tits, it doesn't matter how you say it, they're all the fucking same."
"Why do you sound so annoyed all of a sudden!? I'd understand if you were suffering from breast envy but you've got...ah...um, a good thing going for you."
Smooth.
A very charming and smooth save Kamijou.
Said not a single person who was keeping up with this conversation. Honestly all this talk about boo—er breasts had started to grate on the nerves of those listening. In fact one of the girl's had taken a moment to glance down at her minimal bust with a mild sense of disappointment. She then proceeded to mutter incoherently to herself with words like 'figure', 'proportions', and 'better' occasionally cropping up.
"Well, would look at that, seems someone's been paying a little extra attention to my chest lately."
"Hard not to when those squishy hills of yours are being pressed up against me so much as of late!"
B-bold!
That was way too bold Kamijou!
And what was with that overtly self-protective sounding response!?
"...I was only joking you know." Her exasperated tone, however, made it clear that she did not approve of his latest statement. "You don't need to get all defensive over something so stupid in the first place. It's not like I'm not going to bash your head in for stealing glances every so often."
"S-sorry, it's become a force of habit for me given my circumstances." What the spiky haired boy was implying here was beyond the Stalking Duo's ability to understand. Never the less he did sound apologetic for his previous response to the jest. "I didn't mean it to come out that way, although to be honest I don't dislike it whenev—er...y-you get it. Nevertheless, even after all this time, I still can't stop myself from tensing up and expecting the worst. Again, I'm sorry about that, eventually I'll get used to it and that little defensive habit of mine will go away."
What had he done in his life to develop such a defense mechanism?
While they didn't know that answer it did lead them to develop a strong urge to keep him as far away from their person as possible.
Discarding that for the time being, Frenda and the other's thoughts unsurprisingly shifted back to last time. Specifically to the night on that particular back street where the lights did not reach them. He talked like he was afraid of making physical contact with Mugino out fear of some physical rebuke. Eventually it would go away, so he said, but that did not stop him back then from responding accordingly to Mugino's actions. Neither she or the others saw too much reservation that in the brief, and interrupted, moment of mild intimacy between them then. There was some, sure, but it did little to deter him at the time. By her standards Kamijou was acting very much like what you would expect to find in a couple in their private moments.
Not that there was anything wrong with that because there wasn't; it was completely normal and expected. Granted it was quite possible that his cardinal instincts had kicked in and took over for him. That had to be the case, without question that had to be it. There was no way someone as...reserved, for lack of better term, as he was could become that assertive so suddenly.
"Relax, don't get all bent out of shape over it, its fine." Mugino's assurance here was accompanied by a creaking sound from the bench due to a shift in weight. "Remember, we've been testing the waters for a while now and we've reached the point that we're mostly comfortable. I get that there're some things we still need to get used to. Neither of us have a backlog of experience under our belts either. But it was your idea to be more open with each other so we could avoid all that awkwardness. If I'm doing something you don't like then man up and tell me instead of pussyfooting around the issue. You sure as shit know I'll speak my mind if there's something you do that I don't like."
"Is that so? Okay then, if that's the case, can you stop cussing?"
"Smartass." Within her mind's eye Kinuhata could picture the Meltdowner giving Kamijou a fond and amused smile as she said that. "The point that I'm trying to make here is that we're progressing at a good pace in the right direction. So it's okay to be a bit bolder every now and then, in fact I welcome it. I'm not saying you should fondle my tits or grope my butt abruptly in public or anything. I'd kill you if you ever tried doing that anywhere that wasn't private. But, all-in-all, I was pleasantly surprised to hear you openly admit to admiring parts of my anatomy."
Now this was the sort of information that made the risk all the more rewarding. The Stalking Duo + One had gained a mild case of satisfaction from uncovering the boys name. Initially that much information would have satisfied their curiosity for the better part of an hour. Although it would not have made this whole experience worth it, but beggars' couldn't be choosers. What they had heard just now was where the real meat of this whole experience was.
Three months may sound like a long time but that was based on consecutive days. They didn't go to the same school and with Mugino having 'other' activities in the evening meant there was a limited window of opportunity for the two to see each other. Following that logic the question that needed to be asked was how many times did the two meet on a weekly basis? Going with the assumption of once, maybe twice a week, and you barely come up short of a full month of total time spent together. That wasn't taking into account things like phone calls and text messages, only face-to-face interaction was to be counted.
Going by all of that, then yes it made sense as to why they were still testing waters. Assuming all of this was true, then what happened last time may have been a conscious effort on Mugino's part to tread into the deeper depths. Logically it made sense, take a risk to see how far things go and stopping when it exceeded certain boundaries. Like stress-testing a machine or vehicle to determine its limitations. When put together in that sort of way it actually sounded like something the Meltdowner would do; thus making the conclusion much more credible.
In basic terms they learned two critical factors thus far.
They were still in the adjustment period of their relationship and that neither were experienced in the romance department. Those things addressed the questions of how far in their relationship they were and if this was their first official attempt at pursuing romance. While this surely was not to be the end of their inquiries, the Stalking Duo + One could relish in the fact that they had gained something from all of this.
"...quick question: Was that just a long winded version of you saying 'thanks for complementing my body dipshit' or something close to that effect?"
And just like that the sense of satisfaction was gone.
"Hoho, that teacher of yours might be onto something, you are getting sharper."
Now they were back to square one i.e. being annoyed by the couple's banter.
Following conversation at the park, the two eventually vacated the area in the pursuit of enjoying their date elsewhere. With this change came the movement of the Stalking Duo + One as they did their best to stay within a certain proximity to the couple. Said couple did not leave District 7, which was fortunate since that would have made it more difficult to tail them without being noticed. Their destination was not restricted to only one place, many places were visited and most of them had one basic quality about them. They were designed to be fun locations, that was their theme, and the two indulged on that theme for all it was worth.
Bowling alleys, batting cages, even an arcade was visited during the course of the day. Most of which were all situated within the general region of one another. The bowling alley had been the place they primarily spent the majority of their time. This stemmed into their time spent at the mini-arcade that was set up inside. Frenda and the others did have access to all of this just as well as every other person. Problem was, while they could engage in the same activities, they ran the risk of being caught by their targets if they did. Similarly, if they didn't participate, they ran the risk of standing out and thus also alerting the couple to their presence.
Bad options, few alternatives, and under threat of being kicked out for loitering the three had to leave. True as it was that they couldn't get close to the Meltdowner, they had managed to see enough from the sidelines. On that note, the Stalking Duo + One were not surprised to discover that Mugino sucked at both arcade games and in the batting cages. Kamijou wasn't much better in the latter but was much better at the former. Shizuri, however, was really good at bowling which could be counted as a new miscellaneous bit of information they learned about the #4.
The things you learn.
Speaking of learning, that wasn't all they had come to gather prior to vacating the scene. Turns out that Mugino acted quite different when she was with that Kamijou fellow.
In all the time that they spent with her, none of these girls saw her take interest in things like these. Arcade games, bowling, neither of those things perked her interest nor did they believe those would strike her with any semblance of enjoyment. Yet, from their side-long glances, they saw her express a variety of positive emotions that that had otherwise gone unseen by them. Sure she would grow angry or annoyed to Kamijou's taunts and express dejection or disapproval if she lost or was losing. Yet she laughed, smiled, gloated, and celebrated her victories without any malice underlining these actions.
Mugino was having the time of her life in the same way any normal girl would be in her shoes.
None of this should have come as a surprise since it wasn't like she never expressed those emotions around them. Rather than that it was the activities that caused those emotions to surface which really struck a chord in them. Similar to how a child grows envious about the toy another child was playing with. It didn't matter if it was the same exact thing with different paint. The fact someone else was playing with it made them want to do the same. In other words they wanted in on the fun and games too despite knowing that they couldn't.
"You know what, I'm starting to super hate my own curiosity."
And that caused some internal bitterness that had been swelling up inside the Stalking Duo to come spilling out.
"Good, you should be. Basically I've been pinning all of my internal aggression on you for peer-pressuring me into this."
To make it worse, without anyone else but themselves to vent to, the over-spill fell onto their little group.
"That's bullshit, you're old enough to make your own decisions, so don't blame me for being super curious too."
"Don't try to feed me that crap, Kinuhata!" It was a good thing there were plenty of common folk bustling about in this particular area of the district. Frenda's loud rebuttal would have caught a lot of attention if it was not drowned out by the collective mass of students surrounding the three of them. "I won't say that I wasn't curious, but basically, I wanted to stay out of it! It was you who decided to tack on the idea that this could be about some secret boyfriend to goad me into coming along!"
"If that's true then me peppering in that line shouldn't have had such a super effect on you."
That particularly smug retort was dangerously close to being the straw that broke the camel's back. Evident by the fact that Frenda looked like she was on the verge of throwing down with the Dark May Survivor right then and there. Not that Kinuhata had any objections based on how her visage took on a confident, yet challenging, posture upon locking eyes with the blonde. Anything the other said at this point would set them off and for the second time that day they had forgotten their original objective. That was the state in which they were in and how frustrating things had become from eavesdropping on Mugino and Kamijou from afar.
All it would take was one word and the Stalking Duo + One would disband due to internal conflict.
"...please don't fight..."
Unfortunately Takitsubo decided to interject before any subsequent hair-pulling, clothes tearing, female-on-female action could take place.
Such misfortune.
Two simultaneous 'hmph's followed suit of this action as both parties turned away from one another. Rikou, lost at who to try and support, abstained from going to either girl and instead moved to towards the vending machine less than four feet away from them. She understood that they were frustrated, truly she did. Although it didn't show on her face but Takitsubo was not enjoying this any more than they were. Frankly speaking the girls should have anticipated this sort of thing the moment they decided to snoop into the Meltdowner's private affairs. By all accounts Frenda was right to believe that they should have all stayed out of it and left the matter alone.
Friends don't spy on their friends and that was especially so when it concerned matters of personal importance.
"You know, even if I said that was against it, basically I don't regret it." Frenda's abrupt start of a conversation did the job at breaking the ice. Indicated by the sudden interest that was gartered by both girl's as the canned beverage came clattering down the dispenser. "It's been weird seeing Mugino act like this and all. Basically, as irritating as it is, I can't say that I don't mind seeing her act differently from the Level 5 we've come to know."
Takitsubo was the one who was most surprised by this, even if said surprise didn't show on her face.
Kinuhata, on the other hand, grinned triumphantly whilst puffing her non-existent chest out.
"Heh, I told you it'd be super worth it didn't I?"
"...you didn't say that Kinuhata...I think."
At least Takitsubo was keeping track of what was and wasn't being said...mostly anyway.
"Mah, well, that's beside the point." Don't you dare dismiss Rikou calling out your bullshit so casually, Kinuhata. "Weird and irritating as it is, I'm super glad we're getting to see this side of Mugino out in the open."
Indeed, it truly was a refreshing and overall appealing side to the girl who was otherwise a monster in the Dark Side of Academy City. Friedrich Nietzsche had famously said: 'He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.'. To those who belonged to that dark world that most did not know, then they likely laughed at this quote. Not because it was foolish or incorrect. Quite the opposite, actually, most laugh out of irony and how it was so tragically accurate. Such a world turned girls like them into monsters who's laughter held no joy or life within it.
Cruel as that world was, as they had come to know it, there was the hope that someday they could leave that place. Mugino had been in it longer than all of them and thus she deserved a taste of the life she wanted but could never have. There was nothing wrong with being selfish, not in the eyes of these girls. They had seen what real selfishness looked like and what they saw from her was not that. It was indulgence, soaking up every moment for all it was worth before it could be taken from her. Within the next minute to the next month, nothing was promised and lives could be taken with but a single phone call.
That was why, despite what Rikou initially believed, Frenda and Kinuhata were genuinely glad to see this side of Mugino Shizuri.
No jokes.
No jealousy.
Just authentic pleasure in seeing the #4 making the most of her happiness.
"Basically, I'm sorry, but still can't get over her poor taste in men."
Way to ruin the deep narrative Fre nda.
"It's alright, I know what you mean, its super bothersome to me too."
Oi, do you want there to be a space in-between your name too, Kinuhata?
Nightfall was approaching by the time the two lovers finally decided to call it a day from the festivities.
Eventful and likely an expensive outing, but nonetheless not a boring way to spend the day without classes. At least for those two, the Stalking Trio had to endure missing out on all the fun and games for the sake of sta—observing. Such is the price one pays for the sake of appeasing one's curiosity. As things currently stood the two were moving along at a leisure pace in the same posture that was rapidly becoming the new norm for these two. Mugino present on Kamijou's right, her arm wrapped around his own and her head resting on his shoulder. All that tarnished this image was the almost unnoticeable stiffness in the spiky haired boy's posture as they walked.
Determining the cause of this strange behavior was difficult to discern due to their position behind them. Yet, if the Stalking Trio had to guess, it was likely that it was Mugino's doing that served as the cause behind this odd behavior. Speculation amongst themselves led to the belief that the Level 5 might have been pressing his arm between the sacred valley of her chest right now. If their speculation was true then it was likely for the sake of either teasing or helping him based on their conversation earlier in the day.
It could have been a little bit of both but the initial motivation remained difficult to determine.
"Hey, Kamijou."
"Hm?"
Most of the large crowds that were predominant earlier in the day had lessened by this point. What that meant was that there wasn't a large abundance of people roaming about in large groups and instead the walkways relatively thin. It wasn't packed, it wasn't vacant, so the best way to describe it was something in-between those two. So when the two gradually slowed their pace to a crawl neither had to worry about impeding on the flow of student traffic as much as they would at any other time. Good for them, bad for the Stalking Trio since they could not rely on the cover from the crowds to keep them out of sight.
To that end, thank god for vending machines, signs, staircases, and alleyways.
"...I...shit, this is much harder to say than I thought." Following that statement came the brief but dry laugher from the girl's lips. An effort to drive back the sense of unease she must have been feeling no doubt. "I'm...glad we, well you know, were able to do this today. I don't usually do this sorta thing and I'll admit I had a lot of fun. It's just, most of the time, its late and we don't get to hang out for very long or do anything remotely like this."
Ah, yes, the issue of an open timeslot due to her work as an active member of ITEM. Unsurprising that such a lifestyle would impede on her social life and whatever plans Shizuri may have made in the past. At the very least it explained why she was so adamant about going to those 'appointments' back before they knew of what was really going on.
"So, again, I'm glad we could actually go out and...being able to be us for a whole day."
"Being us, huh?" Repeated the spiky haired youth, amusement as well as nervousness evident in his tone as his free hand raised up so as to scratch at his cheek. "I, ah, I can understand why that may have been a hard thing for you to say."
"Don't make me say it twice, asshole. You should know by now that I hate that sappy, soap-opera, bullshit."
"And hearing you put it that way makes it sound like we don't see each other all that much."
"Not enough would be the more accurate way of putting it."
"Still, though, I enjoyed those times just as much as I enjoyed today Shizuri." Kamijou said this whilst easing his arm out of her hold solely so as to bring it over her shoulders and pull closer. "Your right, those times are short, and it's because they're short that I get to savor every second of it to the fullest. This Kamijou is cursed with misfortune, that's no secret to you or anyone who knows me. But its moments like these, regardless of how short or long they last, that I've come to see them as being my just deserts. This...us being able to be us...it makes all those times I suffered from misfortune worth it in the end."
...okay, seriously, how bad was that Kamijou's misfortune?
Such a thought was what ran through the minds of two who were listening in with rapt attention. Albeit, even as they asked themselves this question, both were quite invested in listening to every word. Hardened killers as they were, one must not forget that these ladies were human. They were still capable of feeling emotion as well as expressing them to others. Their work may dictate a lot of things and perhaps even dulled those same emotions, but the fact remained that they were still human. All of that being said the Stalking Trio could hear the genuine nature of those words as well as their sincerity.
He truly meant every word.
Those naive, clumsy yet dearly meant words were all very real.
"...tissue?"
"Basically, I'm fine."
"I'm super good here too."
Yes, they were fine, the sappiness of the statement did not induce tears in any of the ladies. As that may be, Frenda and Saiai did feel their respected hearts flutter for approximately two seconds after hearing it; give or take another second or two. Not only that, they also gained a bit of insight into why Mugino had picked the spiky haired teen over most others. Normal as he seemed to be, he had way with words if their own reaction to them was of indication. Christ he wasn't even talking to them and they were slightly moved by what he had to say. Given how differently Mugino acted around him and they could guess that her insides must have been turned to mush by now.
"...tch, asshole." Well, to be fair, Mugino wasn't your traditional maiden in love. So it should have been expected that her reaction would vary compared to what was considered a common-place scenario. "I told you that I hate that sappy, soap-opera, bullshit and what do you do? You give me exactly that and at point-fucking-blank range to boot."
Yup, that sounded like the Mugino who stood among the others at the pinnacle of power within Academy City. However, despite the Stalking Trio's initial beliefs, the Meltdowner's actions did not reflect the words in which she was speaking. She too hooked her arm around his waist, her action being less about closing what little distance that kept the apart. From the three stalker's perspective it looked more like a one-armed hug more so than it did anything else. The fact that Kamijou's own arm tightened itself a bit around her in response to her actions served spur on this belief.
"I'm getting sick of you trying to embarrass me in public, Kamijou."
"Eheheh, sorry, I can't help myself I guess."
"Asshole."
Not the most romantic way to conclude a conversation as emotionally stimulating as that. Regardless, one thing life in the dark had taught them was that not everything ends with happily ever after. Sometimes the endings were tragic, sometimes the endings were heartbreaking or bittersweet. Callousness was part of the job description, henceforth delusions of being saved by a hero and riding off into the sunset were left behind with their innocence. To those girls among the Stalking Trio this...ending, so to speak, was an acceptable conclusion to such a conversation between two people romantically involved with one another.
"Hey, hey, hey! What do we have here!?"
Of course, one must remember, that Kamijou Touma was blessed with suck. For that reason alone his misfortune was destined to creep up and ruin some part of his day. Kinda like a stalker who had more than a few yandere-ish traits about them. In this instance, fate decided that his misfortune would take the form of two not-so-humble looking gentleman. Like the gutter trash they were, the two gruff looking fellows had come from some nearby alley. Pretty cliché if one were to be honest but the fact remained that this was by no means an unusual occurrence.
Skill-Out scum often did prowl around in the evening hours and it was right around the time they became more active.
All the same, it didn't change the fact that it was painfully cliché!
"...you can't be serious." That was Mugino's verbal response which had originally been her thoughts. Guess the sheer stupidity of it all got the better of her. The next part was consciously said aloud in contrast to the line before it. "Oi, Kamijou, is this really happening right now?"
"Mhm." Apparently Kamijou had developed an immunity to this kind of scenario. "It is."
Two people then sighed in unison.
"...you making fun of us?"
"I think they are n' its pissin' me off. It's all good though, we can fix that."
"Remember to try and not bruise up the girl too much."
Not far from all of this, the distant observers shook their heads out of pity.
Also, yes, that included Takitsubo.
Back with the couple, who previously had looks of annoyance on their features, quickly became overtaken by a mild case of anger.
"...Kamijou."
"It's two-on-one, those are doable odds, so I got this."
"Fuck the odds, they pissed me off, I'm getting this."
Instead of glaring down the two delinquents, Mugino and Kamijou shifted their heated gazes at each other.
"You'll end up making a mess if I leave this to you."
"And you'll end up looking like a mess if I leave it to you."
"I'm handling this!"
"No, you dick, I am!"
"Hey! Don't ignore us you—"
"Excuse me, but do you mind!?"
"You heard him, shut your hole!"
Quite the surreal experience for all parties involved to be honest.
A couple fighting with each other over who would handle the would-be assailants was certainly a new experience to some. If this had been an ongoing fighting anime then this would be the part where the two started playing Jan-Ken-Pon to see who fights first. Sadly that didn't occur, despite how close it looked to actually happening, because one of the two eventually relented. And the one who did had raised the eyebrows of those who were observing from a distance. Said person removed her arm from around the spiky haired boy and promptly folded both arms below her chest.
She didn't look happy about it either.
"Tch, fine, do that white knight thing you like doing all the time." What the hell was that supposed to mean!? And no, that was not a thought that was exclusive to the Stalking Trio; the thugs were also thinking along the same lines. "It'd be faster if I did it though."
"That's why I'm not letting you do it." Retorted the boy with yet another sigh before stepping forward just a few paces; now clearly addressing the boys in front of him. "I think you should know that I'm doing you both a big favor by doing this. Don't blame me if you regret what happens next."
One big problem that came from observing things from the back was that you couldn't see everything. A lot of context is lost when only half of the whole picture could be seen. While the tough-guy act from Kamijou may have sounded intimidating, the full impact of his words were lost to the likes of Takitsubo (assuming she cared), Frenda, and Kinuhata. Mainly because they could not see his expression, his eyes, or any other features besides his still uniform-clad back. But the two delinquents, oh, their expressions spoke volumes. Saying that they were afraid was not entirely correct; more like they looked anxious and uncertain.
They looked like two bullies who lost their gall when the big brother showed up to defend the sibling they were picking on.
"Cocky bastard, talkin' big cause you got your girl watchin'."
For some reason Kamijou looked over at 'his girl', who clicked her tongue in response, before gazing back at the speaker.
"I...don't see how that plays into this. I was just telling you that, between me and her, you'd much rather deal with me."
"Flattering, very flattering Kamijou, should I fucking swoon now or later?"
Mugino's commentary, who was clearly making light of the whole situation, served to piss the nameless thugs off even more.
"Would you two shut the hell up!"
"Oh fuck this!"
In a case of outrageous stupidity, one of the two thuggish boys decided to preemptively remove something from his pocket. It didn't take long after it was out in the open for all present to see that it was a knife. With the retrieval of a lethal weapon the dynamics changed and it was the thugs who held an air of confidence. Key indications that helped them decipher that was the brief stiffening of Kamijou's body once the weapon was exposed. For a normal perspective the knife was indeed a threatening instrument in the hands of petty delinquents.
Frenda and Kinuhata probably would have burst out laughing if they were in his position.
They weren't and therefore didn't know that his reaction was due to an entirely different reason.
Said reason quickly made itself apparent in the form of a green streak of light. A light that made from electrons being forced to move while in an middle state between particles and waves. The blast itself was small, roughly the size of a soft-ball, and it had been aimed right at the blade itself. All parties blinked when the light first appeared, but when they looked they saw that only the handle of the weapon remained. What was left of the blade was glowing a fierce orange color as the metal that it was composed of melted from the extreme heat.
"You listen here, bitch." And then the one responsible for this occurrence spoke. "You, both you, have three seconds to get the hell out of my sight. If you're not gone by the time I get to four..."
A rare moment where it was a good thing that the Stalking Trio weren't able to see everything. Otherwise they would have shivered at the downright murderous expression that was shown on the girl's features at that very moment. They didn't need to guess, they knew it was there given her tone and posture. It was, after all, the side of her which ITEM had grown familiar with over the long period of time they spent working with her. Were it not for that then one only needed to look at those who would soon-to-be victims. For their expressions matched those who had the fear of god placed into them.
"One."
Nothing more needed to be said as the two boys frantically hauled as much ass as they possibly could away from the crazed esper. Nevertheless Mugino's hand was still raised and poised towards their retreating backs, contemplating just shooting them for the hell of it. Ultimately she didn't, which was a sweet relief to all parties since that would have been a bitter ending to an otherwise good day. Relaxing her posture, the girl brushed her hair off her of her shoulder as her attention turned back towards the only male left standing near her. Said male's head turned slowly back to her as she stood there with her arms cross underneath her chest.
"Told you my way was faster." The matter-of-fact tone expressed did little to belie the murderous intent that had briefly exposed itself. "Now that that's done, wanna get going before more show up?"
By all accounts Kamijou took it much better than the Trio had anticipated. All he did was blink once, twice, thrice, then sigh as he combed his hand through his spiky hair.
"At least nobody got hurt this time around." Muttered the boy, to himself most likely, as Mugino strode forward and took back her favorite spot at his side. "I can't help but feel like you went a little overboard."
"...what, you thought I was serious?"
"Kinda."
"Oh come on, if I was serious I wouldn't have given them a running start in the first place."
While Kamijou did seem to have more to say on the matter most of it was lost as the gap between them grew larger. The issue was not that the Stalking Trio couldn't progress forward due to lack of cover. Rather it was because none of them had moved from their current location to pursue them. All of them stayed right where they were, unmoving yet still watching as the retreating backs of the two gained more and more distance. Was it shock or fear that had them rooted to the spot? No, no it was not either of those things which kept them there. Fatigue was the real cause of it all, for they had been walking around all day.
They were tired, plain and simple.
"This has been a super rough day for us."
Kinuhata's comment elected a groan from Frenda as her body slid down concrete wall of the building nearest her. Beside her sat Rikou who took to her favorite pass time which was zoning out to peer into the void which only she could see. Seeing the two other members of this observation party in such a state caused the Dark May Survivor to join them by the wall. Everything that happened today really had taken a toll on them in some way, shape, or form. Granted they learned a great deal from doing this so they should have been classifying today as a success. Truthfully, however, the lady trio didn't particularly feel like winners.
The only achievement that was gained today was the increase in questions that needed to be answered.
"Basically, is anyone else hungry?"
But those questions would have to be put on hold for the time being.
As the pursuit of happiness (i.e. dinner) ultimately took precedence in the end.
Welcome to the bottom!
It warms my frozen heart to see that this project was so well received. Although I didn't get much feedback on the question posed last time, I'll take it as a sign that I did an okay enough job. Also, something I want to point out here is that this story is focused on the perspective of The Stalking Trio. Depending on how I feel about it, I might change it up and approach things from either Mugino's or Touma's perspective.
But, as far as things go currently, I'm sticking to the Stalking Trio as the primary perspective.
The double meaning there is that, yes, this story will be getting more chapters. It's fun, I like it, and I'm hoping you all can come to enjoy it as much as I do. I refuse to let the KamiKoto mold remain. You guys deserve diversity, it's long overdue, and damn it I'm gonna provide it after my long absence!
As usual, if there are any inquiries, thoughts, or concerns that arise in your mind, feel free to address them to me and I'll do what I can to answer them. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed my little piece of work.
Goodbye for now.