Super Mario and Characters ©︎ Nintendo. Only the Original Characters are my own.

Chapter 4

The trio sat on opposite ends of the table, all with cups of coffee in their hands as Aihara set her cup down in order to talk.

"So... You know about the project too?"

The plumber in green crosses his arms after setting down his coffee and nods.

"Yeah. Heard it from Kurushima. Asked-a me if I wanted to help take down the project-a. I agreed to help of course, I mean, what kind of-a mad man would do something like that to innocent-a people?"

"Yeah... Wait, you know Kanzaki?", Aihara questioned.

"Mhm. For awhile now actually. Now, why are you here again-a? How did you get here?"

"Huh? Oh... Well... He gave me directions here. I was going to ask you if you wanted to help us, but I guess you already beat me to it and told us you agreed to it haha!"

"Yeah."

"So... Where do we really start with this thing?"

Luigi uncrosses his arms.

"Hm... This may or may not-a be related, but... There's been this underground group-a recently. My theory is... Maybe they could be related to the project. The group was created after the announcement of the experiment-a. It's no coincidence."

"Yeah. What if we ask people who are part of that group?"

Professor E. Gadd shook his head.

"No can do. You two can't just go up to everybody in the city and ask them. Besides, even if you do ask, they probably will answer with a no since they'll be afraid that you're going to attack them thinking you're part of the project."

"R-Right… Hm… I know a place. Let's think of how we should start things there first. It'd be more efficient.", The blue haired girl said.

"Right-a."

Aihara stood up and stepped closer to the door. Luigi did the same, though he told the professor that he wouldn't need the Poltergust as he wasn't going to catch ghosts, He thinks he had enough of that. The two later arrived at the city. Of course, it was packed.

"So... Where is this place to start?"

"Right here, silly! In this city!"

"... Mama-Mia… S-Seriously?"

Aihara gave off a smile. No words, just a smile.

After sighing, Luigi pats Aihara's shoulder and then points to a commotion at the distance. They stepped a bit closer and saw that two men were holding back an innocent civilian. Many people were just watching or ignoring as they didn't want to get involved in the situation. Especially knowing the fact that the two men had their own weapons. The plumber and girl tried to get in the middle, but couldn't as there were too many people in their way.

A few seconds later however, a group of people raised their weapons and attacked the two men. They let the civilian run away. The men went unconscious as Luigi and Aihara finally made their way through the many watchers. However, they were now in the middle of the situation, the two raised their hands when the same people aimed their weapons at them. A man with spiky brown hair approached them.

"You their reinforcements huh?"

Aihara and Luigi quickly denied it by shaking their heads.

"What? N-No! We're not! Look, we're friends of Kanzaki!"

The small group all raised their eyebrows.

"Huh? As in... Kurushima?"

Aihara nodded. The man, or in this case, their leader, was reluctant, he was still afraid of them being spies. He signaled everyone to lower their weapons and return to normalcy. Afterwards, he tells the duo to lower their hands.

"Walk with me…"

Luigi and Aigara looked at each other after sighs of relief and did as told. They followed him into an alleyway and then entered an apartment. Inside was another person, a woman probably at the same height and age as the man who led them inside. Luigi and Aihara sat down on the couch as the man sat in the chair on the opposite side of the small glass table.

"My name is Haruko Katsumi. This right here is Yuuko Issei."

"Pleasure to meet you two."

Aihara and Luigi bowed.

"I'm-a Luigi. This right-a here-"

"IIIIIII'm Aihara Kendo!"

After the two introduced themselve, Haruko sighed.

"Look, I know what you're here for. It's kind of obvious after you told me that you are friends with Kanzaki. It's about the Extraction Project ain't it?"

"Yeah. You know about it?"

Aihara asks, Haruko stood back up and walked toward a shelf. He picked up a photograph. In the photo was his sister, Janna and himself, they were having a wonderful time.

"I don't just know about the project… Me, Issei and a few others were part of it."

Luigi and Aihara's eyes widened at his response.

"... I quit because... because... those cold-hearted bastards thought it was a good idea to go ahead and use my own sister as their first test subject to check if the machine was working perfectly or not. I saw her die with my very own eyes. I ran away from the project after that, took Yuuko and managed to convince a few of our friends to leave the project too."

Aihara sat still while looking at the ground, what sick people. They horrendously killed an innocent girl instead of using a dummy.

"I'm.. So sorry for your loss-a..."

Luigi said while also patting Aihara's back. She came back to reality after shaking her head. Haruko places the picture on the shelf and sat back down. The plumber in green proceeded to ask a question of his own.

"By the way… Who were those people back-a there?"

"The ones that attacked the two men? Those are part of a group named ENTA. I created that group. We save people from becoming test subjects, that way they don't have to go through the same fate my sister went through."

"You know more about the project since you worked there right? Can you tell us a way to stop it before it even begins?"

"The Extraction Project is being lead by Silva Arita. A man I despised even when working there. Aside from that, there's a large mechanism inside the building the project is being hosted in. However, thing is, we can't just walk in and destroy it. From what I know, there are three generators in different parts of the city, most likely abandoned facilities. The generators are kept hidden inside them. If we obliterate all three of them, it'll weaken the main mechanism back at the host building, weak enough to the point where we'll be able to destroy it."

"Right-a."

"Do you know where the buildings are?", Kendo questioned.

"No sadly. Just like Haruko said, they're most likely in abandoned buildings. I think it's because no one goes to them anymore.", Issei replies to Kendo's question.

Aihara stood up with confidence. Even after hearing how they horrendously killed Katsumi's sister.

"Well, shall we get this operation started?"

"Such courage for a child!", Issei says with a smile.

"I envy you, Kendo."

Katsumi states as they all stood up and nodded to each other. Before they left, Haruko handed Luigi and Aihara headsets so that way it'd be easier to contact each other. Haruko closed the door after they all left.

"This is for you... Janna...", He says as he follows the other three.

Nico stood in front of the clinic as he was looking at the text message he received from his mother to the whereabouts of her home. He sighs before putting his cell away, he was finally allowed to leave the hospital.

"So many things have been happening lately... Wonder what's with that..."

He continues down the path to his apartment as he needed to move his things into Lydia's dwelling. At the corner of his eye, it looks like he saw Aihara and goes to where he saw her. Nothing.

"Hm... Must've been my imagination...", he says scratching the back of his head.

As soon as he continued on his way, Aihara stepped out of her hiding spot and let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want to bring Nico into this situation, she didn't want him to get hurt again. Though, before she was about to leave, Nico lets out a smile.

"Got you."

"Eek?! Ugh! Why did I fall for that...?"

"I said "must've been my imagination" for a reason you know. It's an old trick in the book."

"Hmph... Jerk… (It's not even a trick people use…)"

"Where are you heading off to?"

"Huh? U-Uh... Um... Nowhere... Just somewhere important…", Aihara responded. Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, seriously? Usually people don't hide from others when going somewhere important."

Aihara didn't respond. She thought it'd be best to tell him anyways, but to also ask him to not be part of the whole ordeal.

"I just need to find a generator in an abandoned building and destroy it. You know... to stop a project…"

"Doesn't really sound like a nowhere..."

"... Can I just ask for you to… just go home…?"

"Huh? Don't you want me to help-"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted.

"No!"

Aihara shouts her response which shocks Nico a bit, she's never responded in that way towards him. As he was afraid of angering her, he decides to turn the other direction.

"S-Sorry I asked. I got to get going anyways."

As he was about to walk away, she extends her hand out a bit after realizing her voice's change in tone.

"Nico..."

He had already left. She put her hands close to her chest with an expression of guilt on her face. She shakes her head, she should be kind of happy he's not getting involved. Not wanting to get to get all depressed, she began running in order to continue her mission. Nico however, then turns around and starts following her, trying to not make any noise as he's really worried about her safety.

Aihara finds herself in front of an abandoned facility, it being filled to the brim with guards. She slowly passed by each of them, not making any noises in order to get herself into the basement. Once she was able to pass, she entered the basement floor and one by one took out the only two guards there silently. Not really killing them, more so making them unconscious. The machine was near the back wall as she cracked her knuckles and stepped closer. She readied her wind abilities.

"Alright... One of them to go down...!"

However, as soon as she was going to destroy it, she felt a sharp pain in her right side. Aihara looked down to the source of the pain. A needle had punctured her and was stuck inside, the handle of it on the protruding out. She started breathing heavily due to the pain as she placed her trembling left hand above the injury. A few streams of blood caused a big stain on her shirt. The noise of footsteps echoed throughout the room.

"No can do, miss. You know those are real important to the project."

The voice belonged to that of a man as he stepped into the girl's vision.

"Screw your damn project...! Gh..!"

Aihara closed one eye which is the usual when you try to hold back pain. The figure just shrugged.

"You part of that ENTA group?"

"...", Aihara kept herself silent.

"Thought so... You know... Maybe you should just give up. You don't want to mess with a Rank 5 Inducer."

"I... Don't give a damn about what your rank is...!", Aihara shouted.

"Aww... Acting all heroic. How quaint."

"Your project will fall. I don't care... How long... It takes...!"

"Meh. Not if you're dead by the hand of yours truly! Tsuji Nishikawa!"

The man now known as Tsuji Nishikawa, then kicks Aihara which caused her to land on her injured side. The needle went in a bit deeper.

"AAAGH! NGH!"

"Man, what a weakling you are."

He picks her head up so she can meet him eye to eye.

"You can't be that easily beaten, come on now."

"Gh... Ngh..."

A stomp on the ground was heard only a few feet from them. The figure stepped forward towards Nishikawa and Kendo.

"How about letting her go?"

The figure asked. Nico Kojo. He came at just the right time. Nishikawa stood up straight.

"Who in the hell are you?", Tsuji questioned. A bored expression formed.

"Someone who doesn't appreciate you hurting a friend. Let alone someone from my childhood."

"...Hahaha! Man that's rich! That brings a tear to my eye. You really think you can face me?! What even is your rank?"

"...3. Rank 3. Laugh all you want."

"Oh ho, man that IS laughable! Trying to pick a fight with a Rank 5 eh?"

"Just because I'm weaker than you doesn't automatically mean you're stronger than me. Even strong people can lose you know?"

"Tch! Cut your philosophical crap! If you want to save your little girlfriend over here so badly, why don't you come and try?!"

Tsuji responds, a grin plastered on his face. He takes out needles to throw at the lower ranked inducer. Nico doesn't worry as he just raises his hand upwards to create an ice shield. Nico sees Nishikawa to the left of him as his opponent punches his side which sends Nico closer towards the generator. The ice inducer slowly stood back up as Aihara slowly extended her hand to him.

"N-Nico... W-wait..."

Tsuji enters his standing pose once again.

"Aww look she cares about you. How lovely if I do say so myself. If only I had someone like her. Maybe I really should kill her just so you can know how I feel!"

"... That's it? That's why you attacked her? You bastard... How could you… Hehe... Hehehehe!

Nico states as he laughs at the end of his sentence. This came out of nowhere and was completely out of character for him. Tsuji slowly steps away in fear.

"Wh-What?"

"How about we make this kind of even?"

Kojo responds, A blue aura surrounding him for a few seconds before disappearing. Whenever this happens, it signifies that the Inducer's rank has grown. Nico looks towards Tsuji before stomping his foot down. A surge of ice spikes go towards Tsuji as if they were a wave coming from the ocean. Nishikawa was lucky enough to dodge the attack. However, he stepped back more and more in fright.

"Get... Get away from me you monster!"

"Aw, now look who's scared. Me? A monster? I thought it was you who was the monster…"

"Sh-shut your trap!"

"I think maybe I should let the authorities handle the rest of this situation..."

Nico says as he creates an ice cage around Nishikawa. The man tries to escape, but to no avail. He is unable to as the ice was so cold it'd probably burn his skin. The boy then walked over to the Generator.

"So this is what you were talking about, Aihara..."

Aihara slowly watched. She still had pain coursing throughout her body. Nico finally used icicle spears in order to destroy the mechanism. He picked up Aihara with both his hands and ran off as it looked like the machine would explode.

"So much for the authorities coming, man!", Nico said with a smirk.

"W-Wait! You can't leave me here! HEY-"

Nishikawa's voice was interrupted when Nico closed the door and traveled far enough away from the blast radius.

"That dude definitely didn't survive that… Even with my cage…"

"N-Ni...co... Why?"

The girl asks, Nico looks down at her and smiles.

"I was worried for your safety. Come on, if I didn't follow you, you'd be dead by now."

"... I'm supposed to be the worried one…"

"Aww come on, why can't I get my own time in the spotlight?"

"..."

Aihara laughed a bit through her pain as her savior took her to the nearest clinic. There, they managed to take off the needle and put a bandage around her side. As they decided it wasn't a major injury, they let her go after a few hours. In the hallway she entered, stood Nico as he proceeded to hug her. Her face flushed and pressed into his chest.

"Thank you... Nico... I can't believe I just said that..."

"Just happy you're alright."

He responds as they separated from the hug. Aihara sighs.

"I need to tell Katsumi and Luigi about the destruction of one of the generators."

"You're going back to work? But you just got healed!"

"Nico, I don't want this project to begin. I already agreed to it so I will stick to the operation to the very end!"

She responds as they both stared into each other's eyes. Nico saw the determination in her eyes. He sighed afterwards.

"Then I'm helping too."

"What-"

"Aihara. I'm helping. You're not going to stop me. I can make my own decisions."

"But..."

"We're not kids anymore, Aihara. We can't tell each other what to do and what not to do now."

"..."

"Aw crap! I forgot I needed to move my things! Got to go, Kendo!"

As soon as he began running however, the female shouted.

"Wait!"

"Hm? Yeah?"

A flow of a certain emotion rushed through her mind. After a few seconds... She shakes her head and decided it was too early as she just responds with something he was more so expecting.

"Congratulations on reaching Rank 4."

She says while smiling as Nico replies with a thumbs-up gesture before leaving. Kendo activates her headset.

"Katsumi? Luigi? Yeah... It's me... Took down one of the generators. We also may have someone else coming in to help."

She looks out the window to see her childhood friend in a hurry back to his new apartment.

Afterword

So how's the story so far? Enjoying it? Hopefully you are!

I've been working on this story since... I'd say end of 2015 to Early 2016. It's not a story that I came up on the fly, I already have so many notes I don't know if I'll use all of them! Regardless, this is where things take a dark turn, so I urge you to be prepared. Don't be turned away by this, I want this series to be unique and can stand on its own. Trust me, with what I have planned, this isn't gonna be all kittens, flowers and rainbows.

I'll see you in the next chapter!

(You know I might start doing these afterward segments more often...)