After I woke up in his office again, my perverted Sensei Mikisugi Aikurou gave me the scarf from Senketsu, where apparently the Kamui's main center of consciousness rested. Senketsu could still talk to me; he still lived. He could also sense the whereabouts of the other pieces of him. He had been severed into at least fifty patches which now adorned the troops of that bitch Satsuki. I decided to retrieve those scraps at once.
"Not that you need another reason to go after the School Raid Troops," Mikisugi commented, "but I also happen to know that Miss Mankanshoku went with them. It seems she was made to join them as punishment."
"Mako's there, too?!" I cried in disbelief. "Shit, I need to be there RIGHT NOW! Wait, dammit. How will I get there? I've got no bike, the buses are too slow… and hell, I have to find some clothes!"
Mikisugi laughed. "No need to fret, Ryuuko-kun. I'll be taking my car—the Nude Shooting Star!—so you can ride with me OR take the red motorcycle I use for secret missions. And there's a girl's maroon tracksuit on one of the shelves behind you."
"First, I'm NOT riding with you," I snapped. "Second, why the hell do you have a high school girl's tracksuit in your office? And third…" I gave a cheeky grin… "thank you, Sensei. I'll be off as soon as I get changed. Yes, that means you have to leave the room, by the way."
**Break***
Soon I took off. Charging into the first of the "big three" academies with the bike engine roaring, I found Gamagori first. (Since I suspected him of forcing Mako to join, I busted his face up with my front wheel.) I took about ten of Senketsu's scraps from the soldiers and raced to my next destination. There I saw Jakuzure, and completely ignored her as I took about twenty of Senketsu's scraps. The other twenty came from Sanageyama's troops in Osaka, and there I finally found Mako.
At first I wondered if she was alright, since I had seen several soldiers bullying her for not fighting. Then I noticed her enormous sack of Osaka souvenirs, and I knew that I had nothing to worry about. She just grinned at me and said she was happy to see me. When she saw the scraps of Senketsu, Mako seemed shocked, but I assured her I would put my Kamui back together. She compared my affection for Senketsu to her obsession with money. I laughed about it and then, despite the situation, I teased Mako a bit.
"Mako," I asked in mock-seriousness, "which do you love more? Me, or money?"
"Ryuuko-chan, no fair! I already proved that you're more important."
"Alright, alright," I smiled, remembering the Fight Club. "Hey, on a side note, there's something I haven't told you yet, Mako. I'm set to inherit a good amount of money from my father, but it won't be mine to manage till I turn eighteen next fall."
"You're going to be a rich person?!" cried Mako.
"Not really," I grinned, "since I'm going to share it with your whole family. Especially with you."
"Ryuuko," said Mako with her eyes sparkling and her voice trembling. "Now you've done it! Ryuuko, I love you!"
"Ready to come out of the closet yet?" I inquired casually.
Mako shook herself out of her haze with effort. "Wait, Ryuuko-chan—this battle comes first! You have to get Senketsu back to normal!"
I ruffled her hair affectionately. "Alright then. I guess you're right. There's only one more piece of cloth to find! Senketsu, can you tell where it is?"
Unfortunately, Senketsu said that the holder of that final fragment was Satsuki. Furthermore, he could not transform into our fighting mode in his current condition. I swore, however, that I would take on even Satsuki to reach my goal. Mako climbed on the back of the bike, held on tight, and then shouted as I took off at a crazy speed.
***Break***
I soon found Satsuki. After telling Mako to go somewhere safe, I prepared to face her. However, just then Mikisugi and the members of Nudist Beach joined me. Even Tsumugu, the Mohawk man, was there. I thought I had seen enough twists for one day, but then the Elite Four began battling Mikisugi's forces, telling us that the true intention of the School Raids was to "smoke out" Nudist Beach and destroy it. I ran from the heat of the battle long enough to try to assemble Senketsu to the best of my ability.
Mako came out of nowhere again.
"I told you to run someplace safe!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah," said Mako, "that's why I came here. The safest place I know is by your side!"
I felt flattered, but my mind was really focused on the battle just yards away.
I asked Senketsu, now in one piece, to let us transform into battle mode. He could let his bioenergy flow by coursing through my hand instead of his glove piece, which Satsuki now wore. Though Senketsu swore human flesh could not withstand the flow of Life Fiber energy, he finally agreed to let me try. It worked, though my hand sustained a serious burn: I transformed and snatched the glove from right under Satsuki's nose. At last, Senketsu had been completely reassembled.
My battle with Satsuki raged on fiercely, as the Elites and Honnouji soldiers clashed against Mikisugi's forces. I lost my scissor blade again, and Mako tried to bring it back to me, but Gamagori blocked her. They were at an impasse, and soon Satsuki and I fought to a draw. We agreed that she would order her troops to leave and both of us would walk away unharmed. Satsuki agreed, and her troops began to retreat.
(When Gamagori withdrew, he said something to mako I couldn't hear. I would have to ask later, I thought.)
Meanwhile, Satsuki said she would leave Bakuzan with me since I had stolen it in battle.
"Kiryuuin, keep it." I threw the fine sword back to her. "The Kiryuuin Satsuki I know is not petty enough to take back an order just because she retrieved her weapon."
"I am pleased that you recognize my honor," Satsuki said with a grim smile.
"Honor in battle, maybe," I laughed. "But I'm still gonna mock you for your shady history. Jakuzure cares about you a lot, doesn't she? I WONDER what that means. And anyone who was 'involved' with a Demon like Nui is a piece of—"
Satsuki unsheathed her black sword again. "Say no more, you vile mudslinger," she ordered hatefully. "I won't say this again, so listen well. Jakuzure is only dear to me because she is critical to my plans. By pointing out my—my affection for Jakuzure, you sought to pinpoint a weakness. But Jakuzure has already agreed to give her life for my plans, so I have betrayed no element of weakness!"
I felt somewhat bewildered, and said, "Calm down, Little Miss Bitch. I was just kidding!"
"Then jest with me no more, if you value your life." She bit back. "And do not ever accuse me of 'involvement' with Harime Nui." I thought I heard her add, "Nui and my mother specialize in deceit. Neither are capable of love."
An explosion followed, and Jakuzure appeared with the report that she had destroyed Nudist Beach's Headquarters.
"Well done," said Satsuki evenly. "We have crushed the fools that opposed us. The true mission of Tri-School Raid has been fulfilled. There is no reason to rescind my order to return to Honnouji. Matoi, I applaud your valiant efforts, but you merely surprised me. The same trick will not work again."
Satsuki took off in a large helicopter, her troops rolled away in their Humvees, and I stood on the destroyed battlefield with Mikisugi and Mako. Before long, Mikisugi informed me that he was ready to talk—to explain everything he knew about my father and Life Fibers.
***Break***
It turned out that Nudist Beach had an emergency base underground which Jakuzure hadn't touched; to get there, we would have to dive under the river. Mikisugi, who had been a spy the whole time and not just a perverted teacher, recommended everyone dive "skinny dip" style. Mako and I, of course, ignored that suggestion. Mako somewhat flattered me by looking me in the eye seriously and saying,
"I don't have the resolve to go nude yet, but I do have the resolve to be Ryuuko's friend forever!"
Soon we all reached the Base of Nudist Beach, the Life Fiber resistance force that had actually been started by my own father. Again, going into too much detail about everything I learned that day would betray the point of this memoire. Still, I'll explain what happened briefly, most because I still think it's hilarious how little Mako appeared to understand. It was also quite amusing to be able to guess the majority of what went on in Mako's head; as Senketsu out it, Mako and I functioned "on the same wavelength." Speaking of which…
"You really DO have a crush on Gamagori, don't you?" I snapped at Mako.
"I don't really think so," shrugged Mako. "He's sort of cute I guess. The main thing is that HE has a crush on ME! Isn't that shocking?!"
I kissed Mako's forehead quickly as if to claim her.
"It's not shocking at all," I whispered. "Who wouldn't fall in love with you, Mako?"
"Alright girls," Mikisugi interrupted. "I've got some explaining to do."
Most of Mikisugi's information came from Dr. Matoi, who had somehow acquired these secrets usually known only to the Kiryuuin Conglomerate. First, Life Fibers are actually extraterrestrial parasitic beings that took the form of cloth and drastically sped up the evolution of humans, who wore them. Life Fibers feed on human blood and in exchange supplied early humans with power enough to become the dominant species. (Mako was most shocked to hear that Senketsu was, as she put it, "ALIEN!")
The second major piece of the puzzle is that Life Fibers entered a dormant phase after assuring that humans were the dominant species. The Life Fibers were waiting until humanity had grown into the billions, and they would then start their feast. According to Mikisugi and my father, Life Fiber dormancy began to break about twenty years ago after Satsuki's mother, Ragyo, made contact with what was supposedly the original Life Fiber Being. Furthermore, Ragyo's corporation REVOCS had spread clothes all around the world that were imbued with Life Fibers.
To be honest, I did not take all this too well. I knew Senketsu was more than some dumb parasite. Mikisugi said I was right, in a way. Senketsu and I were the hope of all those who wished to resist Life Fibers. With my unexplained "extraordinary resistance" to Life Fibers, and a powerful Kamui only I could wear, I might be able to defeat Kiryuuin Ragyo before she further awakened Life Fibers. Senketsu and I could "save humanity."
Besides sounding corny as shit, this plan sounded an awful lot like it would force Senketsu to fight his own brethren. So I screamed that Nudist Beach could go to hell, and I took off Senketsu to prove I would never use him as some stupid weapon for humanity. Tsumugu, also present, responded by threatening to kill me and destroy Senketsu.
"Everyone," said Mako, "You're scaring me. Why don't we all calm down and eat some snacks?!"
A minute later she spit out the potato chip she had tried.
"This stuff sucks!" she exclaimed. "This whole thing sucks!"