Greetings to all!
So...Red Dead 2 was...fun I suppose.
Sorry to keep you lot waiting!
In a typical time in a typical diner, the same typical story was playing out the same typical way. Namely, the group known as ITEM, sitting in a booth, carrying on their usual activities once they were assembled. From reading off articles in magazines to seemingly taking a nap in the cushioned seats. Nothing about this group of girls appeared out of place from a casual viewpoint. Although, one could immediately gauge that there was a strange air surrounding the group as a whole. Primarily, and most obviously, coming from a certain blond who was insistently tapping her finger against the tabletop.
"What's taking that idiot so long?" Growled out the blonde, the increased pace of her finger showcasing her impatience. " Basically he had one job, bring me a few cans of mackerel and that's all. Can't he even do that right?"
"What do you expect?" Kinuhata's nonchalant response came with a shrug before flipping to another page in her magazine. "It's not that hard to picture Hamazura finding a way to somehow screw up something super simple."
Takitsubo, who was in fact not napping at the moment, slouched further down into the seat. Aside from her thousand yard stare standing strong, she had remained silent. Huffing audibly, the blonde offered no further comment; causing a spell of silence to once more settle itself at the booth. Actually, there was one person who had yet to speak up. But the reason for their silence was not due to a lack of interest. Neither was it due to that person's inability to add any more input into the conversation currently in play. Surely, among the lot of them, she would have a bag full of critical remarks that could be directed at ITEM's little lackey.
No, the reason for this silence was not a result of those things; but because said person was not there. The fourth spot reserved for ITEM's infamous leader, Mugino Shizuri, was left vacant, empty, and devoid of her presence. This would not be pressing concern if today had been the first time this had happened. The same could be said if this had been the second day in a row regarding her absence. Yet it was not the second day or the third day of absence. To be frank, that seat belonging to the Level 5 had been empty for almost two weeks now.
That made it long past the point of being abnormal.
"Basically, did either of you tell Mugino we were meeting up here?"
"I sent her a text earlier." Plainly responded Kinuhata once again, leveling the blonde with an equally plain expression from over her magazine. "You wanna super guess what her response was?"
Frenda merely sighed, prompting Saiai to go nod as she went back to her magazine. The blonde already knew what sort of reply the #4 had given. It had not changed much (or at all) since the first couple times she or any of the ITEM members had asked her.
'I'm busy.'
Translation:
'Don't bother me.'
The fact that this sort of reply had become the norm for them was off-putting. The day this started had been the same; having abruptly taken off without a word upon getting an undisclosed text later that evening. That had been the point where her string of absences begun. She was still taking on jobs, many of which were done by her lonesome. This persisted into the early hours of the morning, or so they could surmise since she hardly came home unless it was to get a change of clothes. On top of that, she had seemed to be in a heightened state of aggression.
Even more so than usual; making it unusual.
This acted as a natural deterrent for the girls not go snooping into her business. Sure, the temptation had been strong throughout that stretch of time. Especially when she finally did come home sporting a splint on her wrist. Yet, in the end, they simply left the matter alone and such is the way they have kept it since. At the time they were under the impression that things would go back to normal. Mugino's behavior would settle, she would fall back into her usual routine, and that would be the end of it. She would be right where she was supposed to be, they would go back to doing their jobs, and life would pick up right where it had abruptly left off.
Although Mugino's behavior did settle, things did not go back to normal.
Despite still doing jobs, things did not return to the way it used to be. Everyone here already knew what the root cause behind this change was. They did not need to stalk her to support their presumptions either. Kamijou Touma, the Meltdowner's secret boyfriend, was no doubt the cause for this.
"We should basically check up on them."
Another page was flipped in the magazine Kinuhata was reading.
"Someone sounds super interested."
Both the action and the response was reminiscent to a father reading a newspaper in the morning. Because, aside from that disinterested quip, no other reaction to this abrupt statement was made. This lack of interest was irritating in itself, never to mention the issue of how casually Frenda's suggestion had been dismissed.
"Can you blame me?" Nevertheless the blonde persisted, her legs crossing as her hand slapped twice against the table. "We've hardly seen Mugino for almost two weeks now. The only times we see her these days are during jobs and at home. Basically she's treating us less like a group and more like strangers. Doesn't that bother you even a little bit?"
"A bit, but that's super not the issue here." This time, when Kinuhata answered, she did so with a sigh as she put her reading material aside for the time being. "We don't know where she is or what she's doing. Sure, Takitsubo's AIM Stalker could fix that, but is that really worth using Body Crystal for? I super don't think so and I don't think she cares too much for it either."
Takitsubo, still expressing her lack of damns to give, lulled her head to the side to stare out the window. Both girls took this as a non-verbal confirmation that, yes, she was not too thrilled about that idea. To be fair, Takitsubo Rikou probably did not care for much of anything right now anyway. Not that she had much to worry about since neither of the girls had the drug on hand at the moment.
"Basically, there're other ways to find her." Seeing as how they would not be getting any input from her, Frenda decided to move the subject away from the AIM Stalker. "Worst comes to worse, we can just look for that Kamijou-guy's dorm and ask him."
"Right, and directly associate ourselves with someone we plan on tailing. Smart idea Frenda, super smart."
In lieu of being excluded from the topic, Takitsubo's vacant gaze remained engrossed on environment outside. Although, curiously enough, a certain degree of liveliness came about in her otherwise vacant gaze. Something on the other side of the window had caught her attention; more specifically a person. This, however, went unnoticed by the other girls occupying the booth.
"It-it doesn't have to be us. I'm not dumb and that's not what I was going to suggest. We could get someone else to ask him for us. It wouldn't be too hard to ask some random person off the street to do that. Give them a couple thousand yen and it should turn out fine."
"What if she's already there? You said before that Mugino keeps clothes there, so it stands to reason that she frequently visits his place. We can't just assume she's not there and if she is your whole plan would backfire."
As this discussion carried on without her, Takitsubo's gaze continued to follow the individual she was observing. From the moment she caught them on the sidewalk and up to them crossing over to her side of the street. Only after they had disappeared beyond her vision did the Level 4 perked herself up a bit. Perking up, in this case, meant lulling her head back to its frontal position and not slouching so low that her butt was basically out of the seat.
In other words, she was making herself look less like a rag-doll that had been haphazardly thrown onto a couch. All throughout her thousand yard gaze had set itself on the door to the restaurant's entrance.
"There's also another super big problem with that idea. If we just pluck up anyone off the street to do that, we're also drawing in unnecessary suspicion. Besides, who's to say this person doesn't just tell that Kamijou guy that some girls were asking about his girlfriend right then and there?"
Eventually, the telltale greeting from the staff rang out shortly before a familiar head of hair was spotted.
"That's what the bribe is for! Pay someone enough and they'll basically walk through hell barefoot. Listen, all we need to know is where her boyfriend's dorm is and the rest will be-HAMAZURA!"
Despite the slow approach, the rustling of a plastic bag must have been clue distinct enough for Frenda to catch wind of. Lo and behold, there he was standing there looking as dejected and annoyed as he always did. Credit needed to be given to the said blonde for trying his best to keep from grimacing openly. Sadly one does not get full credit for halfhearted efforts, because he was clearly failing to hide his growing contempt.
On another note, when did 'Hamazura' become synonymous with 'fine' or 'okay'?
Questions for later.
"Basically, you took forever!" Frenda's hand repeatedly slap the table again while her face clearly showed off her exasperation. "I've been waiting for almost twenty minutes here with nothing to eat!"
"You're in a restaurant," Reminded the blonde delinquent, his brow twitching as he vainly tried to sound reasonable. "If you were hungry, then you should have gotten something from here. It's not like you don't have a menu, it's on the table; I see it."
And indeed there was, right there, pushed to the furthest corner of the table away from the entire group. Furthermore it was closest to Frenda, meaning she either scanned it already or moved it aside the instant they sat down. The latter of the two seemed most likely, although they did order some drinks while they were waiting for him to show up it seemed.
No matter how right Hamazura Shiage was, however, he would always be wrong.
"But they don't serve mackerel," Exemplified by the female blonde's huffy retort, crossing her arms indignantly. "Plus canned mackerel tastes better."
"Then choose a different place! If you aren't gonna order something, pick a place that has some food you'd like! That hostess at the front was giving me a dirty look because of you!"
Apparently even lackey's are susceptible to temperamental outbursts from time to time. Sadly this came at a bad time since twin pairs of predatory eyes quickly settled themselves upon him. The likes of which causing him to break out into a mild case of the sweats.
"Oh, when did super Hamazura decide to grow a spine?"
"It's not me growing a spine, it common sense!
"Basically, he probably thinks he gets to mouth off now that Mugino isn't around."
Hamazura turned his head away to cough into his fist. Whether that was his method to composing himself or to avoid speaking on the matter was anyone's guess. Vaguely both Frenda and Kinuhata could make out the grumbled words being spoken under his breath. Something sounding like 'I'd have said it' or some other blatant lie of the sort. Rather than comment on it, Frenda just snickered as he fumbled with the plastic bag before putting it down on the table. Scummy as he was, Frenda had to admit that it was nice having a lackey on call. Especially when things like these cost her nothing since it was him who was paying for it.
She still intended to continue on with the discussion, that went without saying. Before that, however, food came first. Kinuhata had also acknowledged that this interruption was serving as a break. As such she picked up her magazine again and started flipping back to where she had left off. This left Takitsubo as the only person who acknowledged that Hamazura was still standing at the edge of the booth. In Frenda's haste to eat, she neglected to scoot over to let him sit down. That or she was purposely doing this to keep him from joining them; which was equally possible given (mostly) everyone's disdain with the dropout degenerate.
Speaking of the dropout, it appeared as though something was on his mind.
"Speaking of Mugino," Which he proceeded to voice aloud to the girls at the table. "Do any of you know why she's hanging around some nun right now?"
Three, count three, sets of eyes soon after found themselves focused on the blonde haired dropout.
"...guess that's a no."
Mnn...yeah.
That would be a safe assumption to make Hamazura.
Luck.
Sheer-damn-luck that Hamazura had found the Meltdowner and her companion not far from the restaurant. Less than half a block away from route he had come from and going in the opposite direction he had been going. From there it was just a matter of time for the Stalker Trio + one degenerate to discover their whereabouts. Of course there was a healthy degree of skepticism based on the person making the claim. For the throng of adolescent girls, it was a matter of them simply needing to see it to believe it. And so, with Hamazura as their guide, they went out to validate this outlandish claim of his.
Which brings us to where the Stalking Trio + 1 were now situated.
At a safe, but reasonable, distance away from the two ladies. Both of whom were currently strolling along, side by side, though it was not clear to the observers where the two were headed.
"...what do you know, super Hamazura was right."
Oh ye, of so little faith.
"Wait, you thought I was lying?"
To some degree, they probably did.
"Basically, I still can't believe I'm seeing this."
Your astonishment is diluted when you are currently stuffing your face Frenda.
"...you shouldn't talk with your mouth full..."
Takitsubo, do not ever change.
It was probably worth noting that none of the girls here were surprised by this sight. Well, they were, but not nearly as surprised as they would have been a couple months ago. Seeing Mugino Shizuri out and about on a Thursday afternoon with the most unprecedented company was indeed a strange sight to behold. Strange in the 'rising of the eyebrow' sort of fashion compared to being flat-out flabbergasted by it. At this point, the Stalker Trio had witnessed enough to not be as heavily impacted by strange occurrences like these. Enough, at least, for it to be blown out of proportion in an overly-animated fashion.
Although the surprise factor of this scene was considerably dimmed, their curiosity was not. In particular, they were focused on the shopping bags that were in Mugino's hand. They were no strangers to the Level 5's shopping sprees. ITEM as a whole, more often than not, participated in those affairs alongside her. Yes, that included Hamazura; for he was designated as their unwilling pack-mule. With this being said, it was worth noting that the amount of bags were not the equivalent to the amount of money she typically spent. There were not five or even seven bags on her person; instead there were only two.
A minor detail to some, but a critical one to those who actually knew the Meltdowner like they did.
"...I wonder what they're talking about..."
It took a second for everyone to realize that this was voiced by the Queen of don't-give-a-damn herself.
"Basically, Takitsubo, are you feeling okay?"
Yes, that question was necessary.
"That's the first time I've heard Takitsubo sound super interested."
Even the typically levelheaded Kinuhata was suffering from a mild case of mystification.
"Eh, really? She sounds 'bout the same to me."
...at least the lovable lout is honest.
Putting all that aside, Takitsubo's curiosity was something that was mutual. That, of course, could go on without being said. Obviously some may be more curious than others, nevertheless it was a conundrum that was most certainly worth looking into. For shit's sake, the Thousand-Yard Queen herself was curious as to what those two were doing. The sight alone was enough to draw her out of being impartial. This could not have been a clearer sign for them to investigate. By all rights that might as well have been a sign from the universe saying 'Go for it!' in bold lettering.
So no, motive was not (nor ever was) an issue at the moment.
What was an issue was how to approach them.
"There's too many of us to keep ourselves inconspicuous..." Fortunately Kinuhata was already working on a solution to that problem; which did not take long to come up with. "Hamazura, go get super close and tell us what they're saying."
"Wai-wha-hey! I'm not some farm animal you can casually send off to a slaughterhouse you know." Hamazura response, though sputtered at first, was peppered with justified displeasure. "I have nothing to do with this weird stalking-thing you've got going on. Besides, how do you expect me to tell you what's going on? It's not like I can use my phone like last time you had me do this. Maybe if I had a radio or a-"
His words were cut off by the muffled 'heehee' courtesy of Frenda. The blonde girl was already holding up two earpieces in her hand for the boy to see. Hamazura, however, could not help but note the smug expression on Kinuhata's face as she peered over her shoulder at him. She was not the only one looking at him either, as her expression was mirrored by Frenda as well. Takitsubo was the only one who looked genuinely hopeful, or as hopeful as someone like her would allow herself to seem. In other words, her typical vacant features looked a bit more lively than it would be under normal circumstances.
In this case, 'a bit' translated into a slight tilting of her head.
Beyond that there was hardly much of a difference.
"...you were secretly hoping for this, weren't you?" Hamazura's pathetic whimper was paired well with the grimace he was currently sporting. "Why the hell am I being delegated to being your damn eavesdropper?"
"Basically because your life is small and insignificant."
"And we'll super pummel you if you don't."
In retrospect, he should have seen that coming.
All the same, it only made him want to cry.
Here he was, being strong-armed into sneaking up on a Level 5 who made her contempt towards his presence very clear since day one. Not only that, but it was the same one he and Kinuhata had nearly been caught spying on the last time. Furthermore, this was (again) the same one that he had caught topless that one morning almost three weeks ago after that city-wide blackout. Same one who then proceeded to hand him the most thorough ass-whooping he had ever received in his life.
Ergo, with all of this being said, Hamazura had already accumulated a lot of stress. He had not done anything yet and he could already feel his legs shaking. Hence why no one would be surprised to know that he was on the verge of running for his life.
"Hamazura," Which may explain why Takitsubo's voice, his only source of light in this dismal situation, sounded almost heavenly to his ears. "...don't worry, you should be fine..."
Almost heavenly.
"...why do you sound so uncertain."
The AIM Stalker was a bit slow at correcting her little mistake.
"...you will be fine..."
It might have been his imagination, truly it could very well have been.
Still, Hamazura could swear he heard something that sounded suspiciously like 'probably' tacked on at the end there.
"Oi, w-why are you looking away as you're saying that?" Suffice to say the attempt to provide encouragement had backfired. "I'd appreciate the vote of confidence a lot more if you weren't looking at everything but me. Try again, seriously try it again."
It was an indisputable fact that it was just the paranoia eating at him...right?
...
...right!?
There exuded a certain amount of melancholy surrounding the individual known as Hamazura Shiage at this moment.
Although one would be hard pressed to notice it given how his body language was singing a completely different tune. The blonde delinquent looked more like a frightened animal that had been backed into a corner. Such an analogy may not be quite accurate considering 'flight' was often accompanied by the option of 'fight'. Clearly, based on appearances alone, he did not look ready to fight anything. Well, except maybe the temptation to run as far away as his legs could carry him.
In which case, perhaps that analogy is accurate after all.
"Basically, are you close enough to hear anything yet?"
No and he had half a mind to break the damn earpiece and book it right this minute! It was bad enough that they had practically strong-armed him into going through with this. Fearing for his life was not enough, he also had to listen to Frenda's voice ringing directly into his ear. All the while she and the rest of the girls were who knew where. Only clue he had was that they could see him, so he could assume that they were still close by. That did not provide him much comfort, if anything it made him feel worse. If he tried to high-tail it out of here then one of them would surely catch him before he could get far.
Essentially they had him trapped, hence the underlining gloomy aura around him.
On top of this, though unrelated to everything previously mentioned, the earpiece was uncomfortable as all hell. Something about the way the vibrations were directly hitting his eardrum was making his spine tingle. There did exist the possibility that he might have put it into his ear incorrectly, which could explain the discomfort.
"Quit being a super bum and step up the pace already." Now it was Kinuhata's turn to mouth off at him from a safe distance away. "If we end up missing any critical details because of you..."
Hamazura was not all too concerned about the hanging threat Kinuhata left unmentioned. His thoughts were focused more so on why in the world did Frenda have so many of these earpieces on her. Was she secretly prepared for this exact moment or something? Hard to say if he truly believed that or if it was a matter of happenstance. Whichever it was, he did not dwell on it for too long. He had more pressing concerns to address at the moment.
Like, for example, cursing those damn girls for pushing this onto him!
"Waah! There's something sweet smelling coming from-"
"Don't even think about it."
Dang.
He just missed that impressive hand-speed of hers.
To be fair, someone had moved past him as he was creeping up on the two ladies. Based on what was able to catch, the nun had started to veer off course from the path they were initially on. Rectified by Mugino herself, if the harsh tug from the fist-full of the robes were of any indication. The way she went about this was...odd and difficult for Hamazura to describe. It was not like a dog on a leash, despite how similar it seemed at first glance. Rather than that, it reminded him of how a mother would tug at a child's arm to prevent them from straying too far away from her.
All of this without so much as sparing an over-the-shoulder glance.
Which Hamazura was grateful for.
As for the nun, well...
"Wait, wait, wait! If you pull too hard my Walking Church will tear again!" She reacted in a much similar fashion to the child used in that previous analogy. In other words she threw a fit; her arms flailing about in exaggerated motions as the two passed the establishment that had caught her interest. "Samples, they have samples! Touma said that it doesn't cost money if they have samples! Let me have some! Stop making me go hungry!"
"You know what the purpose of samples are, right?" Inquired the #4, her gaze locked straight ahead as a momentary pause in the nun's tantrum settled over the nun. Mugino must have taken that as a cue, because she elaborated not long after. "They give out a miniscule portion of a product and use that to grab your attention. After you eat one, you'll want another because it's just a very miniscule portion of the whole thing. In other words, it makes you hungry and not long after you'll end up buying the whole product."
"W-what?!" Clearly the girl in the white habit had not thought much about it beyond being free food. "But...but...how can you get hungry when you eat something?"
"Chemical reactions in your body."
A plain shrug was provided alongside that equally plain answer.
She still did not meet the nun's eyes though.
"I don't get it."
"It's a marketing ploy or, in other words, a trap to make you buy their stuff."
"That's horrible! How can they get away with that!?"
"By preying on saps like you, that's how. Now come on you shitty excuse for a nun; they're waiting on us to get back." Following Mugino's curt answer, she proceed to tug a bit harsher on the girl's clothes as she carried onward. "Tch, how the fuck did I get stuck being you're chaperone?"
Despite being appalled by the practice, the nun persisted to exclaim her desire for sustenance. Her whining, flailing, wailing, and hurried excuses all fell onto deaf ears though. Mugino did not give pause for even a moment as she continued to essentially drag the other girl away. If there had been doubts before, then they were essentially dashed by this point. That nun, by some warped form of circumstance, was someone Mugino was directly in association with.
Such had now become very apparent to him, given the spectacle he was being privy to witness in this instance. Even though he could not see them, he knew all of the other members of ITEM, along with several other (less important) folk, watched this all occur with mixed emotions.
"Hamazura, stop super gawking and tell us what's going on already."
They must have been further away from the scene than he originally thought.
Not surprisingly, Hamazura wished he was in their shoes at this given moment.
"Um, I guess you could say that Mugino's...babysitting?" Despite his innermost desires to flee, he still answered the query as best he could whilst absentmindedly scratching his scalp. "Mugino doesn't sound happy about doing it either. She also said something about people waiting up for them too. I'm guessing Mugino's talking about-"
"Basically, we aren't stupid Hamazura. We know who they're talking about."
"...probably..."
Did Frenda buy this many earpieces for the sole purpose of snooping?
Short answer: yes, initially she did.
"Yeah, we super know one of them is that Kamijou guy. So who's the other one?"
"No idea."
Having nothing to contribute to the conversation, Hamazura merely grunted as he continued to tail the two ladies. The younger of the two, or so he assumed, eventually ceased with her tantrum. Even so, the habit-garbed foreigner appeared to not be quite over it just yet. Judging by the way she was pointedly looking away from the #4, she was pouting. Whether or not Mugino noticed this or not was hard to determine since her head had yet to even twitch in the other girl's general direction. At least the nun was walking and not reduced to being dragged along the pavement like a rag-doll.
Seemed though that the Level 5 wanted to have some added assurance.
Which explained her maintained grip on the nun's robes.
From there, all had remained quiet between the two girls. Neither party showed no interest in speaking to one another at all. Tense was this silence and it had been a prolonged one that had carried on for the past two blocks. At first he thought that the nun was being overtly petty about being denied earlier. Yet that theory had been shot down halfway through the first block. By the time they had passed the second, it was glaringly obvious to him that there was maybe something...more to this.
These two were not passing acquaintances; even someone of his intelligence could deduce that.
However, that did not imply that they were on good terms with one another.
...probably.
Hamazura was not too sure.
He was getting incredibly bored though.
"So..." And just like that, his interest was renewed as Mugino finally spoke up after clearing her throat. "You haven't caught that bitch or her red-headed fuck-boy snooping around since that night have you?"
"Mnm, no; nothing of the sort." The nun took a skyward glance as she pondered those words for a moment longer before gazing at the taller woman. "Evidently they have stayed true to their word. So far there haven't been any incidents regarding magicians."
Magicians?
Like, the ones hired for children's birthday parties who pull rabbits out of hats and such?
"Mn; I suppose that's a good thing."
"So it would seem."
Hamazura might not get it, but those two certainly did. Whatever 'it' was, the conversation seemingly ended there and in quite the awkward fashion too. More could have been said, more was obviously meant to be added to this. But instead of digging further into it, they were actively avoiding the subject itself. There was an elephant in the room that neither of the two wanted to address. Well maybe, Hamazura was pretty sure that Mugino would speak her mind at any point she pleased.
He himself was convinced that, given enough time, she probably would. Shizuri did not often hold her tongue on most matters that either annoyed or infuriated her. If his earlier assumption was right, then it would not be long before she said something.
"...why did you sound so disappointed Scary-Face?"
Good thing the delinquent degenerate was not drinking a beverage. Should that have been the case then it would have come spewing out of his mouth at this point. To clarify, no this reaction was not due to shock but rather out of amusement. A valid reaction since, to be honest, the nick-name was pretty spot-on.
"I told you to stop calling me that you cunting brat!"
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Lord please forgive me for my slip of tongue." That nun's 'apology' was infected with a copious amount of smugness as she aimlessly looked off to the side. "Maybe if you listened to Touma about your own vulgar tongue, I would listen to you better. Also I am a teenager, same as you Scary Face, and so I am not a brat."
"Then learn to act your age and I wouldn't call you a brat, you bible-thumping little shit."
"Before you lot ask, they're arguing." Reported Hamazura as he continued to watch the exchange. Throughout which, he had stumbled upon irrefutable proof that age did not always guarantee a person's maturity. "Now the nun's blowing raspberries at Mugino as they walk. Mugino looks like she's about ready to strangle her. She hasn't done it yet, but it might happen in the next minute or two...by the way, are nuns allowed to act like that? Weren't those holy-ladies supposed to be pure maidens or something?"
Reasonable questions like these were most certainly worth asking.
Considering a lot of the nun's mannerisms were questionable based on what he was seeing.
"Why are you asking us like we're super supposed to know?"
"...good point, forget I asked."
Wisely, for once at least, the blonde haired delinquent did not elaborate further. Rigged questions like that were bound to trip something nasty that he did not want to be on the receiving end of. So he kept his mouth shut, despite hearing a few requests (demands) from the others to explain himself. That lockbox was filled to brim with vast quantities of 'nope' inside it. No amount of coaxing from those girls was going to tempt him into opening it either. Odd was it for him to suddenly prefer listening in on the conversation in front of him rather than the voices ringing in his ear.
Then again, from his standpoint, any distraction was preferable by comparison.
Plus it looked like Mugino had managed to repress the urge to throttle the habit-bearing sister. Said sister had also ceased her immature actions, although neither of the two girls were looking at one another. Between the two of them, the religious girl seemed the most affronted; nose in the air and her cheeks inflated. Mugino, on the other hand, appeared to be plainly annoyed but otherwise not too slighted.
"Tch, why couldn't those fucking magicians taken you with them when they left?" Her exasperated remark also had traces of fatigue in her tone as well. Reinforcing the image of a babysitter or parent forced to deal with an unruly child. "You can't cook, you can't clean, and I'm surprised you can even dress yourself in the morning. About all you can do is eat and shit; making it seem to me like tits-on-legs loafed over some stray animal she found next to a dumpster."
"Touma does not seem to mind sharing his home with me. So it isn't as though I'm being a bother to you in particular." Excluding this moment of course, but the nun was presumably speaking in a broader scope. "Besides that, there are still scorch marks from three days ago when you tried to cook. At your rate of progress, you will be old and wrinkly by the time you acquire the qualities needed to be a bri-mwah! Stop it! Stop it, that hurts!"
Safe to say that Mugino did not take criticism well if that is how she reacts to it.
Let us take a moment to explain what 'that' was; even if it ultimately was a very simple action.
It was Mugino's hand gripping the vast top of the girl's skull and promptly squeezing it as if it were a massive grapefruit. Judiciously, nearly all pedestrians within the vicinity of those girls had given them a wide berth as this was played out. Hard for them not to since the two had stopped walking right in the middle of the walkway. Odd looks were tossed in their direction, yet no one seemed brazen enough to interfere. Hamazura sure as shit was not about to; he liked breathing thank you very much. One could say this was a 'it's not my problem so I should not make it my problem' scenarios.
The Level 5, however, was not bothered in the slightest about being the center of attention.
Her unreadable and undaunted expression that showcased neither malice or amusement was proof enough of that.
"That does look like it hurts a bit."
From someone on the outside looking in it might not look too painful. But the receiver of this would be (or in this case was) singing a different tune. Especially when one factors in things like fingernails harshly digging into the skin. Might not cause any real harm, but it was nonetheless an immensely painful experience. All the same, as spectator, it did not appear to be too terrible considering what all the Meltdowner could otherwise do.
The nun, however, would argue that 'a bit' was criminally inaccurate. Emphasized by how frantically she was wriggling around trying to remove the #4's appendage from her cranium with little to no signs of success.
"A bit is putting it mildly. Mugino has a really strong grip so, basically, that hurts a lot more than it looks."
And there you have it, confirmation spoken from the veteran of punishment herself.
"Speaking from super experience there Frenda?"
"Spis meg."
Oi, there's no need for that remark Seivelun-san!
"Auuu...!"
"Quit complaining, you deserved it. A cheeky free-loading brat like you needed to remember her place anyways."
More than a couple minutes had passed since Mugino initially Tiger Clawed the nun. Additionally, the distance the two had traveled had increased since then as well. By almost three blocks now as the number of shops and stores were dwindling in number the further they traversed. Someone as dim as him took note that the scenery was shifting from the commercial areas into residential ones. Thanks to that shift in scenery, he could venture a guess to where they were headed.
"Auuu..."
"Glare at me all you want, just remember you that brought it on yourself. Don't expect me or anyone else to feel sorry for you either."
Continuing with the analogy of a mother and her child, Mugino was leading the charge with the nun trailing not far behind her. The latter of the two was clutching her head, but the pesky habit was obscuring her face. Based on Frenda's expertise, the degenerate delinquent surmised that she was probably teary-eyed. Probably pouting as well considering how questionable her maturity was despite claiming otherwise.
That said, Mugino was not entirely wrong; nobody among the S-Quad felt too inclined to feel pity for her. Frenda might have been an exception if she was not so elated to see it happen to someone aside from her.
"...auuu..."
"Oi, you're starting to piss me off. Use syllables and sentences if you want to communicate. Keep acting like you can't and I'll do it again."
That quiet and pitiful moan that had been the nun's means of communication was quelled in an instant. Hamazura had to thank whatever merciful deity that existed for that. He was rapidly losing track of the conversation at the rate it was originally going. He did have to admit that it was fairly remarkable that the Level 5 was able to interpret what that sister was conveying. Especially since she was only giving the habit-girl fleeting glances over her shoulder.
Said action served an added purpose of giving Hamazura a slight panic attack.
"M-m-my heart can't take much more of this." Speaking of, the drop-out was busy gripping his chest and wiping the sweat from his brow. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up you guys. At this rate, I'll get noticed."
"Basically that sounds like a 'you' problem."
"It super does."
You two are scumbags!
"Did it ever occur to you that there'd be consequences if I got caught!? You do realize that I have no problems with ratting the lot of you out!?"
One thing to take note of is that, despite what was being said by the blonde, he had yet to stop trailing the two ladies. Having said that, he could not properly emphasize his point using a harsh whisper. In other words, it did not sound like a threat to be taken seriously. More like a pitiful whine spoken under a disgruntled employee's breath at the office.
"Are you super assuming Mugino's going to let you get a word in edgewise?" Which is why Kinuhata was calling bullshit on his bluff. "Fat chance of that happening. I'm shocked that you survived the last time you royally pissed her off."
Truthfully she did bring up a fair point; there was no guarantee Mugino would let him utter a single word of defense. Especially after the aforementioned incident Saiai had described. At least, if he had died then, it would have been a good sight to see before exiting out of life. In his defense, big bare breasts were still big bare breasts; regardless of who they belonged to. Such was the motto of a true, honest to god, big breast fan.
"Basically, even if she did, you would still die first; which I'm okay with." Ouch, that's hurtful Frenda; like really hurtful. "Besides, I'm pretty confident that we could stay hidden long enough for her to cool off after the fact."
Do not, repeat, do not get too confident in that half-ass strategy!
The persistence of a Level 5 fueled by blood-rage is nothing to scoff at!
"...don't bully him too much..."
Softly, in the backdrop of someone's earpiece, he could make out the voice of the usually silent spectator Takitsubo chiming in. Admittedly, Hamazura had forgotten that she was there with them. Sadly this reminder of her presence served as a detriment opposed to a benefit. Mainly because it further invalidated his claim to sell them out in the event he was caught. Thankful as he was for her input, he lost whatever gall he had now that he was reminded of her participation in the S-Quad.
Minimal as said participation was.
"He does super come in handy from time to time."
...wait...
Was that...praise?
From Kinuhata Saiai of all people?
"Yeah, basically he does come through when we need him to."
Frenda was doing it as well!
Is this what it sounded like to be treated with some semblance of respect?
What sort of influence does Takitsubo have on the group to induce this sort of reaction!?
Questions like these were vital to help him cope with what he was feeling. Surely this warm sensation he felt at the center of his chest was a comfortable one. One that was given birth through the acknowledgement of his peers. Like being genuinely complimented by a senior employee or a student one looks up to. A warm feeling, a feeling of fulfillment and elation. To know that, deep down, one's efforts had not gone unnoticed nor unappreciated by those above you. Certainly that must have been the feeling swelling up inside his chest at that moment.
No question that the warmth came from knowing he was of some importance to them in some way, shape, or form.
"...you're buttering me up to make me keep tailing them, ain't you?"
Or maybe was it the bitter pill of reality which had gotten lodged partway down his esophagus?
"...probably..."
"Pretty much."
"Yup."
Guess that answers that.
Still, it was gross how Hamazura understood these girls on an uncanny level. Grosser was that the ladies did not so much as try to hide their true intentions from him. Readily and shamelessly admitting to their ploy as thought they were agreeing on what they were going to eat for dinner. Vexing as their gall was, Hamazura had no rebuttal to respond with. There was no denying that, hence Hamazura's desire to weep loudly at the sheer amount of discontent he felt. He did not do so, which was good as the saint and sinner would have heard it.
Instead he momentary stopped in place as he tugged at his messy matted hair through gritted teeth. Credit needed to be given to the drop-out for not tearing his hair out.
"Hamazura, quit fooling around and move already. They're super getting out of our line of sight."
"God dammiiiiiiiit!"
More credit to him for repressing his urge to shout this out too loud before pressing onward.
The looks he would have received would have truly made him break down into a sobbing mess otherwise.
Internal conflict aside, Hamazura continued to play his (strong-armed) part in this screenplay. Thankfully his minor breakdown did not end up with him having to traverse a long distance. Catching up the two had been quick, but when he did, the two girls did not seem to be conversing. Either they had been quiet this entire time or they had finished up any previous conversation prior to this. Whichever case turned out to be true did not matter too much to the drop-out. Reason being lay in the fact that the two were heading into a pretty tight space.
Specifically a gap between two large apartment buildings leading towards a flight of descending stone steps.
At this point, pursuing was difficult as both girls would undoubtedly hear him. After waiting a minute or two near the front-end of the entrance, he slipped through once he confirmed the girls were out of sight. From there it was only a matter of cautiously moving up and listening out for their Mugino's heels striking the sturdy steps. By the time he reached the peak of the initial stairs, he noted that the two ladies were already at the bottom and making a beeline for a particular apartment building.
One that looked shoddy at best and was-
"Holy shi-what the hell happened to the roof!"
"Huh?"
"What are you blabbering abo-"
"Mugino and that sister are heading up into some broken down looking apartment building. Damn near half the roof on this place looks to be gone."
He should not be surprised that the two ITEM members could not see it. They would have understood immediately if they had and most likely commented on it in some fashion resembling his own. Literally half of the roof was indeed missing. Well, missing in the sense that the front half of the building looked normal. The other half on the back end, however, looked to be covered by a plain blue tarp that stretched out from one side of the building to the other.
Upon closer inspection of the surrounding buildings, Hamazura gradually began to piece together what happened.
"...I think Mugino got pissed off about something while she was here. She might have blown the roof off by accident...or on purpose. Can't tell really, but I'm pretty sure this is her doing."
"Basically, what makes you think that?"
"We've all seen the damage her Meltdowner can do." The blonde haired delinquent stated this as a fact, which it was, before elaborating further. "So when you see holes big enough to fit your whole body though, it's pretty obvious who's behind it. And from what I can see there's some pretty nasty looking ones on the building next door."
Meltdowner truly was a destructive ability.
Especially when it came to collateral damage.
"So Mugino got super angry about something and blew up a ceiling." Crudely summarized Kinuhata, a marginal amount of bewilderment slipping into her voice as she spoke. "What was she doing here in the first place? For that matter, what does that super sister have to do with any of this?"
Hamazura shrugged, forgetting that the gesture would not be noticed.
"I don't-"
"Wah! Touma!"
Before he could add anything further, the excited outcry of the nun silenced him. Seeing his chance, Hamazura made a dash down the steps, towards the railings, and hopping over it. The last step proved to be a poor choice of action since the height difference was much steeper than he originally guessed. The landing itself sent jolts up pain up his feet that traversed all the way along spine. He was lucky his legs did not give out from under him right then and there.
Suffice to say they did not, although the pain he initially felt would linger for a couple minutes or so.
Not that he had put much thought into it. He was too busy scurrying over towards the hedges planted out in front of the complex. In his haste, he had foregone any form of subtly. What that meant was that he made a bit of a racket upon entering said bushes. He nearly fainted right then and there when saw, through the foliage, Mugino's eyes glancing in his direction.
Mistakes were made!
"Index, please keep your voice down a bit around here," Fortunately, for both his heart and bladder, the voice of Mugino's unremarkable boyfriend had been quick to draw her attention. "We've caused enough trouble as it is. Let's not add any more to the people who live in the apartments nearby."
"Touma, is it true that samples from food stores make you hungrier?"
Kamijou, caught off guard by this question, scratched at his spiky scalp. Eyes of a heavily confused individual settled onto his girlfriend, who clicked her tongue but offered nothing else beyond that. Seeing as how he was not getting any support from her, the boy merely shrugged his shoulders.
"I-uh-can't say I've noticed anything like that myself. I typically don't try them; never had a reason to. If I want something to eat or snack on, I'd go to a vending machine instead."
"So they don't?"
"You shouldn't take my word for it, but I'd say no."
"I knew it! Scary Face is a liar!"
"Didn't I say for you to not take my word for it!?"
Kamijou apparently sucked at following with his own instructions.
Hypocritical statements aside, the drop-out soon became privy to Kamijou becoming occupied with the task of restraining the small nun. Had he not done so then she would have charged at the Meltdowner head-on. A good choice of action on his part too, since it would have proven to have been a grave mistake on her part. Clearly Mugino was goading the white-robed nun to do it. What with that smug smile of hers and the haughty aura emitting from her current posture. Hamazura could practically see the words 'bring it on' floating over her head.
And the absolute last thing any sane person would do was take the bait offered to them by a predator like her. Fortunately for the petite lamb, she had a diligent shepherd protecting her from the provocative wolf.
"O-oi Index, calm down and don't immediately jump to conclusions. Shizuri is much smarter than I am, so she likely was telling you the truth."
Aggravated as she evidently was, Kamijou's words and actions did cause things to progress in a positive direction. The nun, now identified as Index of all things, appeared to be settling down slightly. At least to the point where she was not as persistent in trying to squirm herself out of his hold. As an added bonus, the flattery remark had some effect on Mugino as well. Said girl causally swept her long soft-tea of hair off her shoulder at the mention of her name.
Her smug smile may have persisted, but posture was not oozing pride anymore, instead it was more like...mild satisfaction.
Yeah, he reckoned that was an apt description of her general emotions right now.
"Actually, I was bullshitting and everything I said about that was a lie."
...seems Hamazura mistook amusement for satisfaction.
Which he could be forgiven for when one considers how obscured his vantage point was. It might have been both, who knows Mugino liked being vague, but that was beside the point. What remained prominent-
"GRRRAAAAH!"
-was the renewed vigor of Index's efforts to break out of Touma's hold.
"Don't come clean so casually just to antagonize her!"
Things unraveled from that point onward.
The nun, Index, eventually managed to squirm herself out of Kamijou's grasp. She did this by harshly biting at the hand too close to her face at the spot between his thumb and index finger. While he was writhing yowling in pain from that, she successfully made her charge. This 'glorious' strategy of hers ended the second she was in arm's reach of the Meltdowner. Cue the prepared Tiger Claw and the shrill excruciating wailing and flailing from the silver-haired nun. Unlike last time, he caught a glint of satisfaction in Mugino's eye as she did this.
Also, unlike his previous reading, Hamazura was positive about the Level 5's current state of emotions.
The #4 truly was a cruel woman.
He could hear someone's voice coming from above; most likely a resident. Whatever they started to say was interrupted part-way through though. Suspiciously enough, it happened right after Mugino's head had inclined by a marginal amount. No other complaints was heard from them following this. That gave the impression that the poor person did have some past experience with the people squabbling down here. Although, at this point, it was hard to say that they were bickering. Two people were currently in agony and one sadist looking positively pleased with herself.
Overall, not the most welcoming sight to step outside to. Incidentally, Hamazura both pitied and envied that nameless onlooker. At least that person was able to get away from the madness.
"What is all the noise abou-wah! Mugino-chan, let her go! Stop bullying Index-san! Stop it right now or sensei will get really, really mad!"
And now a new member has jumped into the fray. This one came from his immediate right and had bolted into his line of sight. Pretty quickly, he might add, considering her short stature. Impressive as that response time had been, he doubted the little pink-haired girl was going to influence the outcome-
"Tch, there're worse things I could've done." Astonishingly, she did as instructed and begrudgingly let the nun go. Immediately afterwards, said nun bolted to safety behind the smaller new arrival with whom Mugino was refusing to make eye-contact with. "She should be grateful that I didn't decide to do anything too drastic. Would've made paying for this thing a waste of money and time otherwise."
Obviously referring to the plastic bag loosely hanging from her wrist. Of course, to the sole spectator of the S-Quad, this detail was bleakly noted. As it stood, Hamazura was busy contemplating whether or not he should check himself into a hospital. Cause he was seriously concerned about his mental health at this point.
"S-sensei can't accept that as an excuse; violence is still violence Mugino-chan."
"Scary Face can't help it, since that's all she knows how to do."
Still clutching her aching cranium, Index grumbled this whilst her teary eyes glared at the taller female in disdain. Too bad she was not as quiet as she thought she was. When the Meltdowner's eyes rounded back upon her, she let out an audible squeak and went back to cowering behind her tiny human shield. Amusing, cute even, but cute only got a person so far. Especially true in cases that involved Mugino; who had no problems with inflicting harm on arguably cute girls.
...that last part sent shivers down the poor degenerate's spine.
"Um...can't we all just, you know, not fight?" Thankfully, Kamijou took this moment to reinsert himself into the conversation. Literally, he stepped right in-between both parties with both hands raised in the hopes of calming the both of them. "Shizuri's got the yukata rentals while me and Komoe-sensei got the ingredients for dinner. So...can we just have a nice meal before we head out? One that doesn't involve you two trading insults?"
Yukata rentals?
"Sensei was getting everything ready before hearing all the commotion." Said the little girl, sounding vaguely annoyed as she sighed. The discontent was fleeting though and her posture as well as her tone perked up shortly thereafter. "But we have plenty of time to eat before we need to get going. It's been a long time since I've gone to see the fireworks. You didn't need to, but Sensei's really happy that you all invited me to come."
Fireworks?
"With everything that's happened, it's the least we could do." Kamijou showed off his modesty by waving his hand dismissively at the girl. "Besides, you were a really big help to all of us. That and this is the first time Index has seen fireworks. She was dead set on having you come along."
"Wasn't too happy to hear that I was comin' along though." Contrasting her boyfriend, Mugino's supercilious remark was accompanied by a sneer, killing the wholesome mood. "Those rentals aren't cheap either, damn brat. Remember that, along with who paid for them, later on tonight."
"Floozy!" Not the most unusual come-back to retort with, the nun nevertheless stuck her tongue out at the girl from the relative safety of her cover. Yet this action was predetermine to be short as her attention went back towards the solitary male in sight. "Touma, when can we eat? Scary Face wouldn't let me eat anything, not even the samples!"
"It shouldn't take long for everything to be ready. You'll still have to wait for a bit until everything is finished cooking."
That was the nonchalant response said boy provided. It appeared as though this was the wrong thing for him to say. Once he put his full attention onto the silver-haired girl, his posture suddenly became incredibly rigid. Hamazura could understand an ire-fueled Meltdowner. That was a breed of feminine rage he did not want to be on the receiving end of...again. A petite peeved nun, on the other hand, was a far cry from being remotely scary or threatening.
Her bared teeth and intense glare could not have been anything less than mildly unnerving at worst and oddly adorable at best in his mind.
Ignorance is a blissful thing, is it not?
"If you're really that hungry, Index-san, sensei might have some senbei you can eat. It should tie you over until dinner is ready."
Without missing a beat, the nun's attention snapped towards her human shield. Trace amounts of drool looked as though it was dripping out of her already salivating mouth. At the notion of there being food to consume, the sister immediately became ecstatic. So much so that she practically started skipping back towards the steps leading to the upper section of the apartment building and out of his sight. All while chanting 'senbei, senbei~' in a eagerly festive manner; like it was the best word she had ever heard. The pink haired girl was not far behind her as she too moved towards the upper floors.
That left Mugino and Kamijou to remain within Hamazura's line of sight.
Unlike the others, these two lingered back a bit; specifically in the case of the latter.
"You really didn't have to go out of your way to get those you know." Remarked the spiky haired boy once the #4 had made it to his side. "We could've all gone in casual clothes and nobody would've paid us too much mind. I'm actually more surprised you even got one for Index too. Considering that...well you two aren't on the best of terms just yet."
"You make it sound like we're eventually gonna be on 'good terms' as you put it." The last part there was spat out like the remnants of a foul tasting substance; complete with a scowl. Although, once the impurity was expunged, Mugino's face seemed to become a tad bit softer. "That runt aside, renting them out is cheaper than buying them. The most I have to worry about are the fees that'll come if something happens to them."
"I'll be sure to keep a close eye on Index then. With how you two are arguing she might mess it up just to spite you."
"I wouldn't put it passed that bible-thumping cu-"
"Be nice."
"But, all-in-all, I'm not too worried about it." If Mugino was piqued by the interruption, then the only showings of it would have been when she flipped her hair off her shoulder. "I'll keep my hands to myself and play nice as long as she doesn't piss me off. If she can't do that, then I'll squeeze the gray-matter in her brain out from her ears."
Kamijou was her boyfriend, so he undoubtedly knew how short the Level 5's fuse was. Which explained why he started chuckling in a nervous manner while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. Such a reaction earned him a dirty look from the girl beside him, the likes of which Kamijou did not meet. Poor teen took a harsh tab to the ribs, courtesy of the girl's elbow, that induced a wince and a grunt of pain. This was done as they were about to ascend the steps to join the others and were just barely within line of sight.
Too bad Hamazura's brain had long since fizzled out trying to process all of this.
Definitely not something someone should be doing all in one sitting.
"Basically, Hamazura, are you even alive right now?"
The voice in his head (inner-ear actually) would sadly not leave him be.
"He's super breathing, I think, so we can assume he's fine."
No, no he was not fine.
He was the furthest away from being fine than he had ever been in his life.
"Well, we at least know what they're doing...or basically a rough idea of what they're doing." Apparently Hamazura's input was not needed to carry with on the conversation. "Something about fireworks...isn't that some event that's going on in this district?"
"I remember hearing something about it earlier today before we all got together." Kinuhata, also unbothered by the delinquent's lack of input, responded to the question Frenda had posed. " I think it's supposed to start around 7 pm, so we've got a couple hours left to wait. Can't super remember where the show is supposed happen at. But it's not that big of an issue, we could always look up the details online."
Most of what followed this was sort of drowned out by the blonde-haired dropout. Recalling everything that had transpired truly had done a number on his mental status. He knew Mugino was in a relationship, he also knew of her boyfriend. And although the difference was not substantial, it was still jarring to witness so closely. It truly put into perspective precisely how...odd it was seeing her act in any manner that he was not accustomed to. Reconciling the Mugino Shizuri he knew with the one he was bearing witness to (for the second time now) was challenging.
Too much so for his mind to wrap itself around and with damn good reasons.
The people she was interacting with and the way she interacted with them. It was so...normal, average, and easygoing that it was outlandish. Yet, somehow, it felt completely natural and unforced; okay mostly unforced in some select cases. Clearly there was something going on with Mugino and that oddly-named nun. Thus far nothing that had been said gave him any sort of clues as to what was going on between them. They had a history, even someone like him could draw to that conclusion. Everything that laid beyond that, however, remained undisclosed thus far.
Which begs the questions such as what type of history did these two have with each other? How long has this been going on? Why were they seemingly so hostile towards one another? Queries' such as these piled on top of one another like building blocks. Said blocks created a solid wall that he saw no gaps in for him to poke or prod at. If he did it long enough, then there was a chance he could possibly get through to seeing the other side.
The real question, though, was if it was worth it? Did he have any right to unabashedly intrude on the Meltdowner's personal life? For that matter, did any of those troublesome girls have the right to do this either?
The proper answer should have been obvious.
All the same, if this was partially what those girls were exposed to with their stalking...
...maybe they could be forgiven for allowing their curiosity to overrule their better judgment.
"Super Hamazura!"
"Hwa-wh-what, I'm listening."
"Basically, we already know you're lying so don't try to save face." Having caught him in his lie, the boy said nothing; which suited the fluffy blonde fine. "Anyways, stay where you are and don't go anywhere. We're going to go ahead and cut these ear-pieces' off for now to save their battery-life. Turn yours off too and keep your phone close by. Whenever they start heading out, call or text us so we can meet up with you later."
"Uh-hu-wait, what?" Slow as he may be, his brain decided then to kick it back into gear once he heard instructions that he found unsatisfactory. "You want me to stay here for one-two hours tops? Do you really expect me to stay crouched in this bush with a twig up my ass for an unspecified amount of time?"
"We know you super will, or we'll rat you out to Mugino right this second." Kinuhata was cruel mistress, taking his earlier threat of snitching on them and using it against him. "So unless you want to become super fried Hamazura, get familiar with that twig. Lucky for you, your job is to only sit there and don't leave. We're the ones who have prep work to do before we meet up later."
He almost did not want to ask what they were going to do.
Today, however, was filled with things he would rather not do.
"...can you at least pick me up something to ea-"
He did not even get a chance to finish making his request before the earpiece went dead. Silence awaited him, imploring him to groan before taking the device out of his ear and shutting it off. Having gotten accustomed to it's presence there, it felt weird to have it out. All the same, it did not bring him any joy to know that he could no longer hear the voices of those insensitive girls ringing in his ear. By all accounts he could leave and none of the girls would be the wiser.
There were a plethora of options available to him, but each one had a corresponding consequence to them.
That said, Hamazura Shiage merely sighed wearily once again before making himself comfy.
Welcome to the bottom.
So, once again, I apologize for my absence. It was not so much that I 'decided' to take a month off to play RDR2. No, I just got sucked into it until I reached a certain point. Said point was where I realized that I had a chapter to get out. I tried to get it done before November was over, but I missed that mark. Thus, here I am, in December, with this...build-up chapter you have today.
Safe to say that, yes, we are carrying on with the canon timeline. For those of you who have watched Railgun, then you should have a faint idea on event is about to take place; making it in-between the conclusion of the Index Arc. and Deep Blood. And, for the record, I hope I wrote Index appropriately in this chapter. I've never had to write her before so I don't feel like I have it nailed down yet. That said, if it feels off, feel free to throw me some pointers; seriously I could use the help here.
On an unrelated note, what did you guys think of Mugino's Tiger Claw?
I think it's super effective; but that's just me.
That aside, I am genuinely looking forward to the follow-up to this. Not just because I get to write out Mugino in a yukata, but I also go into other things in that chapter as well. Things are set in motion now and the conclusion you've all been waiting three chapters for will finally be answered. Which, I'm hoping, I can make happen before new-year's eve. I'd really like to succeed in that respect, but if I do not then I will preemptively apologize here in advance. Cross your fingers for me and hope that I can get it done in time. And, as always, shout out to FrodoFighter for editing this chapter for me; it's almost criminal how chill that dude is.
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.