ITEM:

"Come on Shinobu, surely if you want to help you gotta do it all the way don't you?"

"I'm just not sure what more can I help, you would benefit the most if I stayed to gather information. Isn't that my primary purpose?"

"You can do that on the way."

"So we just gonna leave? You guys sure are enthusiastic." Shinobu said coldly.

They got in the taxi with their "luggage." The taxi took them to the port that has been repaired since the Accelerator-Misaka face off.

"What is this creepy place?" The driver asked. "You sure it's here?"

"Oh something happened don't worry. Just drop us off here."

They unloaded their luggage and got onto the yacht.

"Nice, this one is even better than the last one. Who's the captain?"

"Who do you think?" Said Mugino.

"You? How did you get this vessel?"

"I'd rather not say. It's actually not my boat."

"I'm the captain. Now everyone on board." Said a familiar voice. John was casually leaning over the sides.

"Frenda? Frenda? Why are you shaking? Yo look ultra tense." Whispered Kinuhata.

"It's… him… again…" Frenda was clenching her fists.

"Oh I remember you. Anyone got sedatives for her?" John's voice echoed from above.

"Enough. Past is the past, now get over it. Are we doing this or no? What the hell is that? Is that a bomb?" Frenda stared at the ground.

"Oh shieeet!" Her projectiles flew at him which he barely had time to react. "As if I haven't had enough practice…" He made his usual air trick, controlling particles to spread out the blast. Bright orange flames flashed, the explosion dispersed in a harmless direction. A look of triumph appeared on John's face until a small piece floated down to scorch his shoulder.

"Ouch. Tha fu… You happy now!? If the angle was wrong a hole could've appeared on this boat."

They grabbed their "luggage" and got on to the yacht. John's eyes caught Shinobu's as she walked on board.

"Well, we are staying several nights on this boat." Said John, showing them around the boat. A floating hotel, it sure was luxury alright, but didn't feel like home at all. The went through floor after floor, and came back on the deck where small black patches littered parts of the deck. Mugino stared at Frenda harshly. She shrugged it off and looked suddenly surprised.

"There's a swimming pool!"

"And a hot tub."

"Well, make yourselves comfy. Jeez what the hell am I doing, I'm not advertising this yacht."

The boat turned into a party for ITEM that they almost forgot why they are here.

"Mugino! What's the matter, work? Join us!" Only Mugino alone lay down by the pool just to relax.

"Yeah, I will stay up here for a while. Just some stupid shit."

"Where's that creepy ass scientist?"

"Oh, probably with John." Mugino left.

"Where are we going?" Asked Mugino.

"Some island. Palawan." John answered. Mugino left the room to join her group.

"So, Shinobu, nice job giving my liaison information." Shinobu kept silent. "You know the thing with Misaka. Heroic, altruism, do gooders. Pity I didn't get to know her better… well, let's hope she isn't all selfless and has something to love, protect, to hold on to. The do gooders never give up. You see, us operating outside of the system and using radical ways to combat radical ways, is a sign we've already given up. People like us, we can't work with anyone except for our own."

"Well I have to say, nice philosophical thinking. Seems like you've changed." Shinobu said but stared blankly out the window.

"You know, you don't have to be all that cold and act like you don't give a shit. Because I know you care. There's a reason you joined us, for yourself, and the way you act. You were a Testament machine operator, you deal with brains. You've dealt with so much information your own has been suppressed, Shinobu. Hell, you could have been an author." For once, the aloof girl didn't say anything contradictory, or bland. She was still observing the waves, but John knew she heard and understood every single word.

"I will be captain." Shinobu offered. It's night time. "I'm quite distant with them anyways." John chuckled. "It's funny how people with complete different stories and backgrounds end up in the same place and confronted by the same situation, forcing them to work together. It takes time to know someone. Time depends on how hard the group collaborates, which depends on how serious the situation is." He caught Shinobu's eyes again. "Alright fine, I guess I will have to work on not adding commentary to everything I say. Take a break, don't steer for too long. Takes like little more than a day to get there." He sounded tired, he found an empty room and collapsed into the bed. He didn't talk about their shitty job at all, the yacht is like vacation. The meeting begins when everyone is here. That means Accelerator. Most people get seasick, but John seemed just fine. The waves helped. For him falling asleep going into another world. Esper powers has correlated with special cases of dreams. John was able to dream of whatever he wanted to dream. Nights past quick for someone who is asleep.

"Good morning." John said groggily. He just brushed his teeth, his hair was messy no matter how hard he tried with water. Shinobu was groggy two, but she had a break, got enough rest. John was getting coffee when he was interrupted.

"How old are you?"

"Mental age 40-50, biological age 14 turning 15."

"Yet you are consuming adult doses of caffeine. Esper brains are much more complex." Concluded Shinobu.

"I know, I'm weird. Also, you seem to care about me, interesting huh?" John replied.

She just smiled it away. A rare thing. "Anyways, we will get there this afternoon. Enjoy this yacht."

Mugino came in soon. "John, just telling you we have something to show you." Mugino opened the luggage they've been carrying all this time. It was heavy, but it revealed four assault rifles, four pistols, and one long sniper rifle that has been taken apart. The firearms stolen from Antiskill.

"We… don't really need those do we?" Said John surprised. "We need to work together here, can't just steal from Antiskill."

"So what do we do with them?"

"I dunno, keep them, return them."

"But all we have is a few thug weapons, they're trash." Whined Frenda. "The reason we stole from Antiskill is that they are planning to be involved in all situations where they don't want to be tracked down. The guns are issued by NATO countries, but impossible to track, their manufacturer and serial number, all filed off. Basically to earn more money, those gun companies cooperate with Academy City and smuggle some of the guns."

"If you are going to take out whatever target, make it look like Non-Esper related. That means resort to use conventional weapons. We can't get too much attention on our ass." Suggested Mugino.

"Actually, that's exactly what I wanted. If it is Esper related, which is true, we will raise awareness of this new adaptive power's true destructive property. Hopefully gain attention to the clusterfuck inside Academy City. Then we have a better chance." Answered John.

John alone walked down to the engine room, the waves dulled and was replaced by the bland running of the engine. To him, the engine felt like the only one on this boat not discontent with its own job, just driving the vessel. He opened up a non-suspicious looking, but huge cabinet. A stockpile that would outmatch what ITEM would ever have. Sniper rifles, Browning 50 cal. , M72 LAW, M4s. "As if I don't have other contacts…" John muttered to himself.