CHAPTER 3
Natsuki was deep in thought as she headed toward her destination. While she was consciously aware that Shizuru was walking alongside her, the raven haired girl continued on without a word. The two had just barely managed to get away from the site of the orphan attack before the police arrived on the scene. Unfortunately Natsuki hadn't been able to get her bike out in time. Hopefully they just see it as a normal vehicle parked on the street. The thought of anyone tampering with her bike would immediately set the biker off.
"Natsuki is so quiet. Other than the obvious, is something the matter?" While the brunette was used to the girls quiet and determined nature, she wanted to make sure that there wasn't more on her friends mind. Shizuru wasn't going to be able to process the events of the past hour until she was sure that her companion was okay. After Natsuki failed to initially respond, Shizuru lightly touched her shoulder to get her attention.
The raven haired girl then registered the contact, stopped walking, and turned towards her companion. That's when she noticed the questioning look on Shizuru's face. "Sorry Shizuru, I was just thinking about things."
"Oh?"
"It's nothing." Natsuki averted her eyes. How was she going to tell Shizuru that while she was supposed to be worried about the re-emergence of their powers, her most recent thoughts had actually been on the safety of her Ducati.
"Really?" Shizuru could easily tell that Natsuki was lying. "Before you stopped your face had the look of a child who was worried that her favorite toy would be lost."
"I was not!" Natsuki protested. However, she saw the skeptical look on her friends face and knew she had been caught. "Fine, I was just concerned my bike might get taken by the police when they surveyed the area."
Shizuru responded with a fake pout that turned into mock offense. "Natsuki cares more about that bike than anything else."
"Do not." Natsuki mumbled then changed the subject. "Come on we have to get to a safe location." With that the biker grabbed her friends hand and continued her strident pace while dragging her counterpart along.
Truth was Natsuki was trying not to think about what had just happened. To go through recent events would force her to face up to the logical ramifications of them. Mainly the raven haired girl didn't want to acknowledge what she knew deep down lay ahead. In her 'action mode' she had only really thought two steps ahead. One, they needed to get to a safe place. Two, once in said safe location they could regroup and figure out their next step. Shizuru seemed willing to comply with whatever Natsuki had in mind as she hadn't questioned where they were going and just followed.
Mai was prepping her dinner when she heard an excited Mikoto quickly coming towards her. The cat-like girl was waving some sort of object at her but Mai couldn't ascertain what it was due to the fervor of the waving.
"Mikoto?"
"Mai! Your phone has been making funny movements so I brought it to you." The young girl quickly handed the offending object over to her friend.
Mai took the phone and checked it over. She had left it on vibrate so she guessed that was the reason it had been making "funny movements" according to Mikoto. The orange haired girl quickly surveyed the caller ID and answered.
"Natsuki!"
"Mai. Where are you?" Natsuki called over the line. The girl sounded off and slightly apprehensive.
"At home of course."
"Are you alone?"
"No, I'm with Mikoto." Slightly confused by her friend's anxious tone, Mai decided to get more information. "What's going on Natsuki?" While it was rare for Mai to get a social call from the raven haired girl, it was definitely unheard of to hear from the girl twice in one day.
"We need to talk."
This brought a frown to the face of the orange haired girl. "Nothing good ever comes from that line Natsuki."
"Listen, can you just get everyone to meet up tonight?" Natsuki wasn't in the mood to chat with Mai and wanted to start working on figuring out what was going on and who had their powers returned.
"Everyone who Natsuki? What's going on?"
"Look, I'll explain when I see you. I need everyone from the old hime group to get together. Do you know a safe place that we can meet up?"
"Safe? What? Why the old group?"
"I can't answer that right now. I just need you to have everyone meet up tonight at 10."
Mai sighed. Whatever had Natsuki upset had better be good. But if she was going to find out what was going on it seemed like she would have to go along with her friend's plan. "Okay. How about we meet at the Linden Baum. They're closing it early tonight for their remodeling project."
"Sounds good. See you then." With that, the line went dead.
Mai just shook her head in response. Natsuki had never been the most talkative friend, but her lack of courtesy just now made Mai slightly nervous. The urgency of Natsuki's tone and her refusal to talk about something over the phone meant that whatever was going on was serious. The fact that Natsuki requested the presence of all of the former hime was even more troubling. However, there was nothing that Mai could do about it now.
With that, Mai began preparations for tonight. She would have to drop by the Linden Baum to make sure that everything was ready. Akane was closing tonight so it wouldn't be too difficult to get her attendance at the impromptu meeting. Getting access to the Linden Baum wouldn't be difficult either. Mai had recently become Assistant Manager at the diner and would sometimes close shop at the end of an evening shift. A few times she had even held private parties for her friend's birthdays after hours. Initially the parties had happened against Mai's will, as Midori would show up after having had a few drinks and in the mood to party. Eventually it became a custom and as long as they cleaned up before they left the owners didn't seem to mind.
She would have to get a hold of everyone soon if she expected them to make it tonight. Quickly making a mental list of people to contact, Mai picked up her cell phone and dialed the first number.
The only sound in the Linden Baum after hours was the rapid tapping of anxious fingers on one of the tables. The lights were dim in the popular diner and the mood of the scant occupants matched the atmosphere.
Natsuki had recently arrived and been let in by Mai after closing. She sat at a center booth and would occasionally look around to survey who had arrived. Shizuru sat next to her, quietly sipping tea. The brunette appeared completely poised.
Nao was sitting in another corner with her arms crossed and a displeased look on her face. The red head had received Mai's telephone call earlier that evening but had flatly rejected attending the meeting. She was content with continuing her plans until she was assaulted by Midori in downtown Fuuka. Just minutes ago Nao had been dragged in, kicking and screaming, by Midori. After being thrown into a booth by the older woman Nao had stayed put. However she did manage to get a few glares in at Midori every once in a while.
Midori sat in a bar stool not far away from Nao. She was happily drinking a beer she had managed to snag from the back storage room. To her delight Mai hadn't quite discovered her find. Every so often she would check the status of the red head she had dragged into the Linden Baum to make sure she wasn't going to run out.
Mai was also at the bar, but on the other end. She was busy serving Mikoto a fresh bowl of instant noodles. Mikoto gazed at Mai adoringly before starting on her late night snack.
Akane, Shiho, Yukariko, and Yukino were sitting in their own booth, not far away from Natsuki and Shizuru's. Oddly the four, who formerly barely knew each, had become quite close over the past year at Fuuka. Yukino had recently brought Shiho on to the executive committee at Fuuka to assist as the face of enforcement and discipline for that arm of the student council. Yukariko had become a regular teacher at Fuuka since giving birth to her child and seemed happy with her new position. Akane had also recently become more actively involved at Fuuka, as she and Kazuya were now assistants for the student council. They did essentially the same job that Tate had done the previous year.
Akira silently slipped into the Linden Baum through the dimly lit back room. Her presence would have gone unnoticed but for the fact that Natsuki had been scanning that end of the room at the time Akira appeared. Akira didn't say anything to announce herself but briefly locked eyes with Natsuki before she sat down near Nao. Upon seeing Akira, Natsuki stood and initiated the meeting.
"Okay, I guess we should get started." Natsuki nervously cleared her throat. "Looks like everyone was able to make it tonight." The raven haired girl waited until she got everyone's attention and then continued. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I've brought you here this evening. Well, I've brought everyone here tonight because…" Natsuki paused. How am I supposed to ask this question. Shifting slightly from nerves, she quickly glanced at Shizuru. The brunette smiled and gave her a nod of assurance. "Because… Well… I have a question to ask. Has anyone… well… has anyone had anything strange happen to them recently?"
"You called us here to ask if we've had anything strange happen to us lately?" Nao sarcastically remarked from her seat in the back of the room. Natsuki glared at the red head in response. Unfortunately for the biker, the other occupants of the room seemed to share the red head's annoyance.
"Maybe if you could try telling us what specifically you're referring to as strange Natsuki." Mai said, attempting to assist her friend.
"Okay. Has anyone… well…" Best to just get it out. "Has anyone been able to use their hime powers lately?"
Upon hearing the question Midori inadvertently spit out the beer she had been sipping while the rest of the room sat in shocked silence. The silence was broken by the one party Natsuki wasn't expecting.
"What in the world are you talking about?" Mai angrily stated. "The carnival is over Natsuki, remember? We defeated the Obsidian Lord and lost our powers. It's over Natsuki."
"It's a simple question. Can any of you materialize your weapons? Have you been able to call your child?"
"No." Mai quickly replied. "Of course not Natsuki!" The orange haired girl was visibly upset by the subject and was angry at Natsuki for dragging her here tonight to discuss what she considered the worst time of her life. The carnival had almost destroyed Mai, both spiritually and physically. It was not a topic she wished to revisit. "Why would you even bring this up?"
"Because I can." Natsuki quietly responded while shifting her eyes away from her friends and towards Shizuru. The biker then scanned the occupants of the room to see their reaction.
"Huh?" Mai blurted out. "What do you mean?"
Natsuki sighed and turned to face Mai. Apparently I'll have to take a more direct approach. With that thought the raven haired girl opened her palms. There was a quickly flash of light emanating around the girl's hands as two small revolver like objects appeared and were held in the biker's hands. Everyone in the room recognized the weapons, many let out gaps upon recognition.
The room fell silent as the group absorbed this new information. Yukino, Akane and Shiho all had looks of utter terror on their faces at the revelation. Yukariko appeared consumed with worry. In the back, where Nao and Akira were sitting, it was eerily quiet as well. Nao maintained her disinterested expression. Akira wasn't making eye contact. Midori stared, beer in hand, but for once wasn't consuming any of it. Mikoto's head was tilted to the side as she stared at Natsuki's hands. Mai had a blank expression on her face as she processed the information.
Eventually the quiet was broken by Yukino. The new head of the executive committee looked directly at Natsuki and shakily asked the obvious question. "You can materialize your weapons again?"
"Yes," Natsuki replied. There was no point in skirting around the issue now. They needed to find out who else had their powers back. The biker quickly motioned towards Shizuru who took the hint.
"She's not the only one." Shizuru said as she rose and stood beside Natsuki. The brunette quickly materialized her bardiche. After giving the group a chance to observe and take in her element, she moved on to business at hand. "I think that Natsuki asked everyone a question right before she materialized her element. Tell me, do any of you have the ability to materialize your weapons?"
Silence overtook the room again, only to be broken by Akane quickly standing up. The girl was shaking, her head down while tears streaming down her face. "No!" She shook her head. Slowly Akane raised her head, eyes looking accusingly at Natsuki. "NO." Her eyes shifted from Natsuki to the exit then back again. "Not again!"
With that the young girl shoved her chair out of the way and ran out of the diner. To everyone's surprise it was Yukariko who stood, gave Natsuki and apologetic smile, and raced out to find her distressed student.
"Seems like we have a lot to talk about," Midori interposed in the tense atmosphere created by Natsuki's revelation and Akane's flight.
Tomoe Marguerite briskly left the library just past 10:00 p.m. She had been waiting for her Shizuru for over two hours. The two had agreed to have a study date that evening to work on their group project.
For Tomoe, the class project and study time was all just a pretext so that she could pursue more personal experiences with Shizuru. From the moment she had set eyes upon the brunette on campus she had been enamored. She was determined to win the crimson eyed beauty and have her all to herself. While Tomoe hadn't been able to progress in her relationship with Shizuru yet, she was determined to win over the object of her affection.
When exiting the library, she noticed an agitated brunette lurking on the entrance steps. Upon further examination Tomoe recognized the girl as a member of the University Governing Board. Tomoe herself had tried to gain a position on the board upon entering Fuuka. Unfortunately, due to various conflicts and ill-tempered personalities, Tomoe had failed in her bid. Despite the slip up in her plans with the board, getting on a members good side would always be an added bonus. With that in mind Tomoe decided to engage the girl and tried to recall her name. Suzuki… no…Suzuro…no…Suzurio…no…Suzushiro! That's it! Tomoe walked quickly up to the now fidgeting girl to gain her attention. "Ah. Good Evening Board Member Suzushiro. What brings you here this late at night?"
"Huh?" Haruka turned to face the young girl calling out to her. It didn't take more than a second for her to recognize her former competitor for her position on the Governing Board. "Oh… Marguerite, hello. I'm just waiting for a friend. We were supposed to go over her plans to head up the Executive Committee, but she cancelled at the last minute." Despite the vagueness of her answer it didn't faze the board member that the Marguerite girl had no clue who or what she was talking about. As an important figure at the school she did not feel she had the time explain minute details to random passerbys.
"Oh. I was supposed to be waiting for a friend too. We were going to work on a class project but she didn't show. I'm a little worried." Gauging the blond's reaction, and knowing that Haruka Suzushiro was friends with Shizuru, Tomoe decided to fish for some information. "I think you know her. Shizuru?"
"Bubuzuke?"
Tomoe's face contorted with confusion at the odd nickname the blond used for Shizuru. Not deterred, Tomoe pressed further. "Shizuru?"
"Yes Yes. Bubuzuke." Haruka gauged the younger classman's reaction noting that the turquoise haired girls face would light up at the mention of the Bubuzuke. She took pity on the girl and decided that it was best just to give her the information on Shizuru's whereabouts. Haruka could then send her on her way and proceed with more important endeavors. Like figuring out where Yukino has gone to. "Well, if she's not on campus then it's likely that the Bubuzuke is off somewhere with that delinquent."
"Delinquent?" The confusing responses of the governing member were starting to agitate Tomoe. If she can't give me any useful information then she should just be quiet. Her irritation was compounded by the accusation that her Shizuru would be off somewhere with a delinquent. Further, Tomoe was not sure why this Suzushiro girl apparently insisted on having non-descript nicknames for all of the people she knew.
Haruka was oblivious to the annoyed state of her current companion and continued with her explanation. "Yes. As I was saying, the Bubuzuke is likely off with the delinquent." The blond was aware of Shizuru's feelings for the raven haired girl, to which she had initially been disgusted. However, after to getting to know Shizuru better and accepting a true friendship with the Kyoto girl Haruka had come to accept that this was just the way Shizuru was. She had thereafter decided to instead wish only the best for her new friend and rival. This had led the governing board member to instead focus on the chosen partner. An analysis of Natsuki, which included her bad temper, motorcycle riding, lack of classroom attendance and failure to participate in school governing affairs had continually turned up a red flag in Haruka's mind to which she labeled "delinquent". Unfortunately there was no way she could make Shizuru realize the error in her choice. "Such a waste of time. Bubuzuke should instead be preparing to run against me for the position of President of the University Affairs Board. Her time would be much better spent if she focused on her academics and extracurricular activities rather than swooning over a motorcycle driving delinquent who doesn't know she exists."
While her comments were made to Tomoe, they came out more as a statement and proclamation to the general public about the errors of her Kyoto friend's ways. Obviously the turquoise haired girl was not pleased with the assertion that her Shizuru would be swooning over someone else. There was no chance for Tomoe to object or inquire further though, as their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Haruka's cell phone.
Haruka grabbed her phone from her bag and realized that she had just received a new text message. She opened the message. It was from Yukino.
Haruka. Sorry couldn't make it. At Linden Baum. Last minute meeting for all hime. Called by Shizuru and Natsuki.
"They're at the Linden Baum" Haruka mumbled to herself as she read. After the carnival ended Yukino sat down with Haruka and explained that she was one of twelve "hime" and everything that had occurred as a result, including Haruka's own fate. While the experience of disappearing had left Haruka surprisingly undisturbed, Yukino's reaction had been the opposite. The shy young girl was still unwilling to discuss the subject further. Anytime that the older student would ask her friend about it she would be told that she didn't want to discuss it and then politely change the subject. Considering the relative moratorium that had occurred on discussion or reference to that period of time, the blond was bewildered as to why Yukino referred to it as a meeting of the hime. She was even more worried about the fact that Yukino didn't use the past tense in her text when referring to the "hime".
It was thus imperative that the member of the governing board and former head of the executive committee immediately find out what was going on with her friend. With that decision made the blond started her march to the Linden Baum for further investigation, completely forgetting that she had been in the middle of a conversation, albeit an awkward one.
Tomoe stood still as she watched Haruka walk away. The turquoise haired girl had heard the board member mumble a location under her breath. Knowing that this could possibly be the location her Shizuru was at, she decided to follow the other girl at a safe distance.
Back at the Linden Baum the group had managed to suss out that Akira also had her powers back. The ninja had admitted to as much when Natsuki confronted her on her obvious avoidance of eye contact. Akira couldn't bear the thought of the carnival starting all over again and possibly losing Takumi so she had initially kept her revelation to herself, hoping her powers would just go away. Since it appeared she wasn't the only one with the re-emerged ability, it made little sense to hide the fact.
Yukariko had returned to the restaurant a short while ago with Akane in tow. Whatever the former nun had said to the young girl seemed to have an impact as Akane's hysterical tears had dissipated. She had returned to her former seat and sat silently as she listened to the group's conversation.
"To summarize, Akira, Shizuru and myself have all had our powers re-emerge, but no one else. Right?" It had taken a while to calm the group down after the revelation. Shizuru had suggested a quick break so that the information could be absorbed and then they could move forward to deal with the more pressing issue at hand, i.e. the orphan. Everyone took a few minutes to collect themselves in light of the shocking and mostly unwanted news. Midori dealt with the news by drinking another beer. Mikoto sought comfort from Mai. Yukino became silent and dealt with her reaction internally. Everyone essentially dealt with the unsettling information in their own unique way.
Natsuki's question went essentially unanswered. "I'll take that as a yes." There was a pause as the raven haired girl eyed the occupants of the room. Surmising that her assumption was correct, she decided to move on. "We need to figure out why this has happened."
"We don't need to do anything Kuga." Nao said, making her opinion known. "You're in this mess, not us."
"I'm sorry, but wouldn't it make sense that if three of us have already developed our powers that the rest of you might soon as well? If that's the case this is a situation that everyone involved in the events that took place last year should be participating in." Shizuru said as she stood up from her seat, effectively dismissing Nao's comment.
"Fine." Nao mumbled as she shifted her gaze from Natsuki and Shizuru back to the coffee cup on her table.
"Okay," Mai piped in. "So then why do only some of us have our powers?"
"Think about it Mai." Natsuki replied, trying to make sense of the situation. She already had her own theory but wanted to confirm it with the others. "How did each of our powers initially arise?"
"Well mine appeared when I was on that ferry boat with Takumi, Shiho and Tate." Mai responded.
"Was there anything unusual about that event?" Natsuki had never discussed with Mai the emergence of her powers. In fact, none of them had ever really discussed how their powers arose. Given the circumstances everyone had been preoccupied with killing orphans and stopping the carnival from occurring.
"Of course. You might remember that night Natsuki." Considering Natsuki's involvement in the emergence of her powers, Mai gave a little sass with her next comment. "There was an incident where a certain biker and Mikoto got into a fight with their powers and almost destroyed both the ship, Takumi and myself."
Natsuki reddened slightly in response to Mai's obvious insinuation about her actions that night. "So, let's assume that said event triggered your powers. Did anyone else have a fight or traumatic event occur around the time their powers emerged?" Other than Shiho, who had only ever really used her powers subconsciously, everyone present nodded their heads in agreement. "I'll take that as a yes. Let's assume then that traumatic or threatening events cause hime powers to emerge. Did anyone have anything traumatic happen to them yesterday?" The group remained relatively silent while they mentally reviewed their previous day.
"I got into a fight with a particularly off-tone singer at karaoke last night," Midori suggested. She had in fact been intoxicated and significantly over the legal limit at the time. Fortunately for her Youko had picked her up afterwards and driven her home.
"No." Natsuki responded.
"There were a series of rude customers here at the Linden Baum" Akane contributed.
Again Natsuki dismissed the idea with a "No."
"My dessert was ruined and Mai had to make me a new one!" Mikoto piped up. No one was really sure how the loss of a desert would be considered traumatic. However, food seemed to be a life or death issue for Mikoto so everyone let it slide. With that in mind Natsuki completely ignored Mikoto's suggestion.
Seeing that Natsuki was quickly becoming agitated with the speed in which the suggestions were moving from plausible to absurd, Shizuru decided to redirect everyone's attention. She stood, delicately cleared her throat and used her mysterious Kyoto charm to silent the group. "If I may suggest, why don't we focus on whether anyone in the group who has had their powers return have anything particularly traumatic happen to them in the past few days?" Again the question was met with silence by the group. It was Nao who broke the silence.
"I'd say Kuga was the one with the traumatic day yesterday, what with her fainting spell during the vaccination clinic." Nao smirked as she both answered the question and got a little revenge on Natsuki by revealing to the rest of the group about Natsuki's little 'incident' yesterday.
"I did not faint!" The words immediately left Natsuki's mouth.
"Natsuki fainted?" Shizuru quickly questioned. The Kyoto girl turned to the raven haired girl with a worried look on her face. "Is Natsuki okay?"
"Shizuru I'm fine," Natsuki again huffed in response. She then turned to Nao with a scowl on her face. "And for the record I didn't faint, I just had a bad reaction to some vaccination the school made us get."
"Natsuki had a vaccination?" Shizuru's rising panic was calmed by the knowledge that the reason for Natsuki's shot was not a serious matter. Worry abated, the brunette turned her thoughts to likely images of her Natsuki getting her shot, including images of Natsuki being squeamish about the needle. A smile quickly spread across the brunette's face. "So cute!"
Natsuki gave Shizuru a quizzical look in response.
"Either way Kuga, if you're looking for a traumatic event, you seemed to be fairly traumatized by that one in particular." Nao said, trying to refocus the conversation. The red head dreaded the thought of having to listen to the former Kaichou interrogate Natsuki as to her general health and 'cute' habits.
Mai decided it was time to pipe in. "That might be something Natsuki. You were acting a bit off yesterday after your vaccination. Akira, did you get one?"
"Yes, they made our class go first." Akira had in fact felt worse after receiving her shot yesterday. It wasn't until she was sparring later in the day and had been cornered by her opponent that her powers had re-emerged. A protection mechanism of sorts.
"So," Mai started. "Maybe the return of your powers has something to do with the vaccinations yesterday? That's the only thing anyone's mentioned that was really unique about yesterday.
"That would be a plausible theory if not for the fact that Shizuru doesn't go to Fuuka Academy, she goes to the University," Nao dully interjected. She was quickly losing interest in the conversation.
"Fuuka had a vaccination clinic yesterday as well." Shizuru corrected the red head. "The University Affairs Board arranged for it. Haruka insisted that everyone participate in the event, including myself."
Hearing Haruka's name, Yukino quickly made the necessary mental connections. "The executive committee was in charge of Fuuka Academy's vaccinations. We were solicited by a company to distribute the vaccinations. One of the members of their board of directors was a former student at Fuuka. Due to his alumni status he offered to give us a major discount so we went with his company. Haruka told me that he also made the same offer to Fuuka University."
"So the clinics were set up by the same company. There might be a connection. But then why are only some of us manifesting our powers and the rest are not?" Natsuki pondered as she posed the question to the group. She raised her head and noticed that everyone else was either also contemplating the subject or, in Nao's case, staring disinterestedly at their cup of coffee. After a moment, Mai answered her general query.
"Not all of us have had any type of trauma or confrontations since yesterday."
"But…" Natsuki's sentence was cut off by the sudden shaking of the room. Simultaneously she heard a loud rumble. The raven haired girl looked around, quickly surveying the situation. It felt like an earthquake but the movement was clearly only occurring at the Linden Baum as the building outside appeared fine. The noise was definitely coming from outside but sounded more like it was coming from the roof than the street. There was a sharp cracking noise and Natsuki looked above her to see that the ceiling was starting to splinter and break apart. Concerned, Natsuki turned to Shizuru at her side.
Shizuru had been looking at the ceiling when it became evident that whatever was happening would cause the roof to cave in. In a matter of seconds the splintering turned into breaking and parts of the roof started hailing down on the occupants of the room. One piece in particular was headed straight for the raven haired girl at her side. Without even having to think the brunette lunged for Natsuki, knocking her down onto the floor and covering the biker with her body.
As the two were on the ground awaiting the impact they slowly began to realize that said impact it was in fact overdue. Instead of a large chunk of the ceiling squashing them there had only been a lot of dust and a bunch of pebble-sized pieces of wood and plaster. Looking up the two saw a series of thin red wires extending across the room. Tracing the wires to their origin the two noticed through the dust a bright light coming from the section of the room where Nao and Akira had been.
As the dust cleared Nao looked down at her hands which had morphed into two twin metal claws. Her element had obviously returned to save the day. Not good. Unfortunately the red head's remorse was interrupted by an orphan screeching overhead. The same orphan that had apparently attacked the Linden Baum. It was making its presence known by attempting to squash the group with its massive limbs. "Fuck."
John Smith, the new head of Searrs Foundation waited quietly at his desk. It was past 1:00 a.m. in Tokyo and he was expecting a call from his contact in Fuuka. Earlier that morning he has issued an order for the Fuuka Searrs agents to release the first and second tests on the hime in hopes that they would trigger the resurgence of their powers. He had carefully chosen both test subjects and was awaiting the results.
A sudden vibration from his phone took hold of Smith's attention. He withdrew the device and noticed that he had received a message. It was from his Fuuka contact. Smith carefully read it.
"Released the tests. Results confirmed. Better than expected. Filing report immediately."
Smith smiled as the message seemed to confirm his plan had not only worked, but had gone exceptionally well. He was anxious to see the report but knew that it likely wouldn't be on the Searrs file database until the early hours of the morning. While his next attack on the hime was ready for execution, Smith had decided to wait. The next incident would be best accomplished with a full analysis of the first two. However, with any luck, he wouldn't have to wait long.
AN: Sorry for the delay in updating. Sometimes life and work just gets in the way. I don't intend on going this long without an update again. Reviews welcome!