Chapter 17 - The Smallest War in the Grand Scheme of Things
The members of the ITEM group began to look at each other in that instant. The initial plan had gone wrong and that stopped elevator would not move without the command of the man knocked out by Offense Armor.
"As much as I understand your pain, this is no time to complain because of your rotten luck" Shizuri said, patting Kamijou on the back "We are wasting time after all, better to continue with the Plan B"
"Basically, I've been waiting for this moment" For some reason, the blonde clapped her hands excitedly "Time for the Plan 'Boom'"
Hearing this, everyone there looked at Frenda with an deadpan face. The blonde tried to smile, but gave up when Kamijou shook his head negatively.
"Okay, let's continue. Kinuhata, put the imbecile in the corner. Shizuri, you know what to do" The spiky-haired boy had already pulled himself together.
Kamijou's plan was not so bad as to completely collapse with something so simple. He knew that his misfortune was not something to be trifled with, so it was obvious that his plan was bound to fail from the start. So all he had to do was make his plan as flexible as possible, that way even if the plan failed, it would still be a success. Honestly, he had no idea whether this was a pessimistic or optimistic way of thinking. When in doubt he preferred to say 'realistic'.
"Leave it to me" Shizuri smiled and pointed her right hand at the elevator floor.
They needed to get to the Heavy cargo floor, but there was no rule that said they needed to use the elevator to get there. Using her level 5 skill, Meltdowner melted the reflective metal below them, carving a hole big enough to fit a grown person without him bothering to touch the still-hot edges.
"Are you with the bomb, Frenda?" Kamijou asked, activating his L.I.B
"Basically, that was a dumb question" She replied, taking her hand to the back of her skirt and picking up a object in the shape of a disk the size of her palm. "I was waiting the whole time for this moment.
"Why does it look like you were rooting for plan A to go wrong?" He asked, noticing the blonde's half smile "Come here, hold on to me as tight as you can"
The blonde wasted no time. She approached Kamijou, but the height difference was problematic, so he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up like a small child. The girl didn't bother, taking the opportunity to grab him by the neck. The spiky-haired boy was sure he saw Shizuri getting a little restless at that moment.
"Prepare the rope as soon as we get down, I don't want to miss a second. The boy nodded slightly to the rest of the group and then dived through the hole in the floor straight into the dark pit.
Their fall was equivalent to 10 stories. The goal here was to use Kamijou's item to get down to the cargo floor, where Frenda would place a bomb on the doors for them to make a triumphant entrance.
"Basically, how does this thing work anyway?" Frenda asked, her heart racing a little after the fall. They were slowly descending to the correct floor now.
"Nanotechnology" He replied simply, trying to shrug "I'm not an expert, so that's the best explanation you'll get from me"
"You go around throwing yourself into holes without even knowing how the thing that's going to save you works? Basically, you're crazy." She was a little exasperated by all this.
Reaching the correct floor according to the building plans, Kamijou swung himself toward the elevator door, getting close enough for the blonde to stick that little bomb in the door. They lifted a few feet before the explosive girl pressed the detonator button. A controlled explosion crumpled the doors and sent her flying just a few feet. Kamijou didn't like this plan very much because there was a chance that this mess would hurt someone, but Frenda assured him that everything would be fine. Honestly, the boy only agreed because she insisted that this would be a 'reward' for her. She was confident, but in reality she had no guarantees, she just wanted to blow something up. Clinging to Kamijou like that had nothing to do with it. Obviously... that was a lie.
"And here we go" Kamijou gave that warning and then swung himself again,throwing themselves through the exploding elevator door "You can let go now"
With her feet firmly on the ground, Frenda looked around that shed packed with containers. There were only a few employees there, who were frightened after seeing an explosion send a massive steel door flying. The blonde girl put an odd smile on her face and then pulled a small pistol from the back of her skirt.
"Okay, all you low income workers. Basically, this place is being invaded, so you better run" As she said something that sounded so stupid, she started shooting at random with her pistol. She didn't have to worry about hitting anyone, since she was using rubber bullets. "That's it, run you worms"
Kamijou was a little uncomfortable to see the blonde acting that way. Apparently Shizuri wasn't the only sadist on the team. The reason Frenda kept everyone away was because this place would soon become a battlefield. One of the elevators leading to this place was stopped after all, which meant that it was only a matter of time before the place's security would be activated. There were no guards stationed in this warehouse because it was not exactly an important place, which was why Kamijou had chosen this place. If they had to fight, it had to be here.
"The girls must be starting to come down using the rappel" Kamijou said, taking a good look around the place. "There are three entrances. I think they'll use that big door up front, but I'd better set traps on the two small doors on either side of the room"
"Basically, you can leave it to me, Kami-Kun" The blonde struck one of her cute poses.
"Kami... kun?" He shook his head violently "What's gotten into you and Kinuhata anyway? At least you two aren't using the Kansai dialect... thank god"
After a few seconds, the other ITEM girls began to descend one by one down the elevator shaft. The first to arrive was Takitsubo, carrying one of the black suitcases. Kamijou helped the girl out of there, taking the bag from her hands. The two suitcases the invasion group carried contained the bombs they would use to destroy key points in the facility, as well as all the necessary equipment in case something went wrong with plan A. Kinuhata soon arrived with the second suitcase, tossing it before entering through the blast hole.
"Kinuhata, could you handle the security cameras? My app is not working on them for some reason. We don't want them to get too much information about what we are trying to do."
"Of course Kami-chan. I'll super destroy them all" The bob-cut girl snapped her fingers with excessive energy.
And of course, the last to arrive was the level 5. Kamijou offered a hand to her, who held it firmly. Meltdowner removed her rappelling gear and straightened her messy hair.
"How's the situation?" Asked the tea-colored haired girl, a little too serious for Kamijou's liking.
"All as predicted. Frenda scared the staff, so the silent alert should have gone off by now. They will probably try to check who we are before attacking."
"Frenda is already positioning the traps by the looks of it" She looked at the blonde at one of the entrances to the site "Do you need me to do something?"
"Not for now, just position yourself with Takitsubo in a high place and... well, you know what to do" He scratched his head awkwardly "I'll help Frenda with the traps, since we're the 'Explosive Group', or whatever name she chose"
This heavy-cargo warehouse had a very basic layout. It was just a standard storage place with three entrances, not counting the elevators. On each side of the place there were small metal bridges, which are usually where tools and other equipment that the employees needed for their tasks were kept. It was on one of these bridges that Shizuri and Takitsubo would stand. The three entrances to the place were being surrounded by traps now, which would give them an advantage when things started, which was important considering that they would not use anything that was lethal.
"So, can I help with that?" Kamijou asked, stooping down near where Frenda was placing some kind of almost transparent tape on the floor.
"Basically, I prefer to do it myself, but it's nice to have help for a change" She handed him a cloth doll, which gave him a confused look "Can you stick them to the walls for me? It's pretty easy.
"No problem"
The boy took some dolls from one of the black bags on the floor and began to spread them around the entrance. Now that he was thinking harder, these things drew a lot of attention, which was odd to use in a more subtle approach, but he wasn't the expert there so he kept these thoughts to himself.
"I know what you're thinking. And no, I don't always use dolls" Frenda said, approaching the boy as he stuck a doll to a wall "Basically, this was supposed to be a joke. The last thing a poor guy sees before he goes to the afterlife is a plush doll., funny don't you think?"
"Do all you ITEM girls have that kind of sense of humor?"
"Stay long enough with the rest of the group and you'll find out for yourself" She picked up one of the dolls and stared at it in her button made eyes, smiling slyly like a child about to get into mischief "But we all have a silly side too you know? Like Mugino for example. Basically, she can only sleep holding on to a beat-up plush doll."
"Something tells me you're lying" He turned to her and curved his lip slightly "But honestly I hope not. It kind of reinforces the DereDere side of her."
"I don't know if I understand what you mean, but I feel like I just gave you a reason to like her so...basically I hate myself"
The blonde began to spread more transparent tape on the floor. She went to her purse and took out something that looked like a few marbles made of light blue painted metal and put it in one of the many pockets of her skirt.
"You know, I feel like I should tell you something" The blonde said this and turned back to the boy. Handing over some of the metal balls that was surely some kind of bomb "Basically, when I first met you, I couldn't understand what Mugino saw in you. Even when you showed up in that office and tended to my injuries, I could still only think that you were a complete idiot who was triyng to be like a hero. Maybe if I hadn't taken so long to understand... no, I don't think it would have changed anything. Forget about it, you two are already together after all, I guess i better stop being in denial."
"Wait... I think you got something wrong" The boy almost jumped up and down upon hearing the girl's words "Shizuri and I are not 'together'. We're just good friends."
"Look Kamijou, don't get my hopes up. I may look like a child but I'm not an idiot. Basically, what kind of friends are you then?"
While this conversation was taking place, at the same time another conversation was being developed on the other side of that giant shed. Takitsubo and Shizuri were already positioned and ready, except for the fact that the latter could not be considered calm in any territory known to mankind.
"Takitsubo, do you have a minute? I need to get this off my chest and you are the right person for it" Shizuri asked this almost in supplication, while trying to look at the boy who was holding a doll at that moment.
"Eh? It's not about the mistake I made is it?" The inexpressive girl had a certain concern in her voice.
"No, of course not. It won't make any difference at the end of the day. Forget about it, it's better for you.
Taking another look to make sure that the person she was interested in was distracted, she grabbed Takitsubo and made her turn her back to those two talking a few meters away.
"Just to make sure, you never know what tricks he has up his sleeve so let's keep our backs to them. Takitsubo, first of all, I need your opinion. You two have talked a lot, haven't you? What do you think Kamijou feels for me?" The Meltdowner had a bit of embarrassment in her tone of voice, which made the inexpressive girl frown.
"Well... I don't know what you mean by 'right person for it'. I don't remember him telling me anything like that."
"Shit... so he didn't ask you for some kind of advice about me? Like... I don't know, anything" She was certainly trying hard to be coherent, but the words seemed to get stuck in her throat before they were uttered.
"Why are you asking me this, at this point you are the best person to tell how he feels. I mean, that thing in the alley earlier..." She stopped talking when the Level 5 suddenly looked away.
"Don't talk about it please" Shizuri asked, almost blushing for some reason "I don't know what the hell gets into me when we're alone, but every time I think about it... aaaaaah"
The truth was that the tea-colored haired girl was ashamed of what she had done. It was just like that day when Kamijou was moving into the ITEM apartment. She told herself that she wanted to go slowly, but when the time came she stepped on the gas without caring if there was a sharp curve just ahead. That was the extent of the effect he had on her. The problem was after she stopped to think about what she had done.
"I even revealed that embarrassing thing to him... and right after I promised I would be patient" She held her head with both hands so firmly that even Takitsubo felt something creak at that instant "Do you think I'm suffocating him?"
"I really don't know how to answer that question" Aim Stalker was lost from the beginning, so she wouldn't be able to stay in the same rhythm as Meltdowner anytime soon.
"The problem with all this is that his inconsistency drives me crazy. One hour he acts coldly, which makes me think I've done something wrong and now he hates me, another hour he teases me in such an aggressive way that it makes me lose all the self-control I try to muster when he's away from me. He must think I'm crazy, right?"
"Do you want me to answer that?"
"But how am I supposed to act? I can't even leave him alone for a few hours because I know that somehow some other girl will start to like him. He didn't seem to respond to any of their advances, so I thought I could relax a little, but what if he suddenly starts to respond? And then there is the fact that Frenda and Kinuhata seem to like him too, so how should I be able to take it slow? At this point I don't doubt that you like him too."
"This 'talk' is starting to bother me"
"I told you I needed to get it off my chest, so keep listening and making that unexpressive face perfect for these moments. I'm sure one day we'll have a similar conversation, but I'll be on the other side." Shizuri put her hand on her chin while Level 4 just sighed.
On the other side of the shed, Kamijou was frozen at the question asked by the foreign girl in front of him. But she was right, what kind of friends were they anyway? The boy wanted to answer this with something like 'Just as you are my friend', but something told him that this answer would cause even more problems.
"Shizuri is a little... eccentric sometimes" The blue eyed boy finished placing the last doll near the middle door.
"Yes, I noticed all her 'eccentricity' in that alley" She tried to keep a straight face, but ended up blushing slightly as she thought about what she saw "Basically, I think I've said too much already. The truth is, I just wanted to get a little something off my chest. I'm sorry for filling your head with stuff like that in the middle of the mission."
"It's all right. You can tell me about anything and I'll be willing to listen" He smiled warmly at her.
"Don't... do that"
Without being able to elaborate, the girl turned and started to climb one of the stairs that led to one of the metal bridges, since her preparations were over, as was the conversation of those two. But Takitsubo and Shizuri are still making their 'preparations'. The Aim Stalker in fact could very well be replaced by a tree at this point and Meltdowner wouldn't notice the difference, so the black-haired girl decided to try to make it a real conversation.
"Mugino, I know I'm not the best person to give advice on this kind of thing. I've never had a boyfriend and I'm sure I won't have one anytime soon, but in my opinion you're being a little immature."
Meltdowner's 'Get it off my chest' had been cancelled at that moment. Shizuri made a very unique face at that moment in a mixture of surprise and confusion.
"What do you mean? I'm being direct and aggressive, how is that being immature?" The Level 5 girl had a slight trace of irritation in her questions.
"Because you're not exactly thinking about him" Takitsubo argued, still expressionless "I agree with what you were thinking, maybe you are really suffocating him"
"Are you trying to say that I only care about what I am feeling at this moment and am ignoring his feelings? Were you really listening to all my venting?" Now she really had become angry.
"Yes, unfortunately I was. You're not sure if he likes you or not, and so you're throwing yourself at him to try to get a reaction. Do you realize how stupid that is?"
Yes, she had understood. And that was the problem here. It had been like this from the moment she realized that Kamijou was the person she had been waiting for so long. That vulgar choice of clothes, her aggressiveness on the car ride, that moment while they were cooking, and all the little moments that culminated until she almost completely lost control in that alley.
"And the worst part is that after the moment passes, you start torturing yourself wondering if he thinks as highly of you as you think of him" Takitsubo continued, making Shizuri flinch a little. "Maybe you think that proves that you care about what he thinks, but you're only interested in what he thinks of you"
"I don't understand what you are trying to say. I clearly care about him. I've started to take an interest in his hobbies, I even try to listen to his complaints and comfort him whenever possible."
"So that you can improve your image in front of him"
"Exactly. Why else would I do that?"
Takitsubo became quiet again. Only after a couple of seconds did Shizuri realize that she had argued against herself. With a sigh of frustration, the tea-colored girl approached the railing of that metal bridge and looked in the direction of the person she liked so much.
"Maybe the way I'm acting is more focused on me than him but...what else can I do? Being aggressive and direct is part of my nature. It's like they say, espers powers reflect a person's personality...it's not my fault."
"You have a bit of a point there, but our espers powers don't completely define us. And something tells me that the problem here is your out-of-control hormones, not your powers. If we hadn't interrupted you at that moment, what were you planning to do anyway?"
"I probably would have confessed and then kissed him without even waiting for an answer"
The level 5 girl took care to lower her voice as she said it, to make sure that only Takitsubo heard. Aim Stalker didn't expect such honesty, so she was stunned for a good five seconds before she could formulate the next sentence.
"This goes beyond 'suffocating'." Level 4 put her hand on the railing and squeezed it hard for some reason.
"As I said, I'm trying to be patient. I even tried to hold back today but he kept getting bolder and bolder. For a moment I thought he was just insecure and needed a confidence boost before the mission, but I couldn't stop after I started. He kept avoiding me for a whole day, so I let myself go with what I was feeling."
"And how did he react to all this?" Even though she spoke so inexpressibly, the girl seemed immensely interested in that answer.
"He... I don't know, was he surprised? Now that I stop to think about it, I barely gave him time to say or do anything, I just guided him to do what I wanted him to do, so that then I would finally get what I want."
And as she said this out loud, Mugino Shizuri realized that her teammate was right. She wasn't totally interested in what Kamijou thought, she just wanted him to pay attention to her, and that's why she kept acting like that. When he advanced, she felt happy and did everything she could to keep him paying attention to her, when he retreated, she became angry, took it out on other people and things, and then began to wonder where she was going wrong. She was acting immature, like a small child wanting to be spoiled, and when she was ignored, she would start to have behavioral problems. In the end, she always came to the conclusion that all she had to do was keep moving faster and faster, hoping that if she was fast enough, she would finally catch up with him and get his full attention. Ironic, isn't it?
"I think I finally understand what you're trying to say," Shizuri announced, putting a silly smile on her face, "I'm so stupid. Why have I been asking myself the wrong questions all this time? The promise he made me that day... I don't need to reach out to him, I just need him to stand by me."
"I have no idea what you're trying to say but... you're welcome" Takitsubo almost made an expression of confusion.
"I'm feeling much better now" The girl stretched, still with a smile on her face "You're a good friend, Takitsubo"
"Huh?... friend?"
For a moment, Takitsubo thought that the person in front of him was not Mugino Shizuri. Having a productive conversation with that girl without filters was almost impossible, but seeing her call someone a friend in such a genuine way didn't seem right. In any case, Aim Stalker didn't have time to contemplate the change in that level 5, as a voice on her communicator stopped her from speaking.
"Takitsubo, any movement?" It was the boy's voice that was the topic of conversation between them.
Yes, level 4 had a job to do here that was not to serve as a nun for someone to confess to. She was supposed to pay attention and warn when the guards were approaching that warehouse.
"Damn" Cursed the girl, as she focused her ability "They're coming. There are about 50 of them. Everyone's AIM field is too weak to be high level espers."
"Good" Shizuri said this and ducked into the corner of the platform near one of the walls "They must have espers here but don't want to use their trump card yet"
"Ok, everyone in position and wait for the signal" Kamijou said in as serious a voice as possible.
xxxx-xxxx
"He's trespassing. That's a lot of caution coming from him."
These words were spoken by a silver-haired person, floating upside down in his life support tank. This person was a 'human', someone who looked like both a man and a woman, an adult and also a child, a saint and a sinner.
That human let a smile escape the corner of his lips, making it clear that he was enjoying what was happening that night.
"That girl is the key behind everything that is happening. I wonder how far she is capable of going just because she wants to be saved...or does she actually want to save him?" His eyes lazily turned to a monitor that showed a tunnel crowded with guards in black clothes. There were dozens of them "It doesn't matter. I created this city with a single goal in mind after all. As long as she guides him to ultimate purity, I'll let her think she's in control."
Aleister Crowley was cursed to fail at anything he tried. His entire plan took into account this immutable fact, but what if he loosened the puppets strings just for an instant? If someone else had a plan similar to his, was that person doomed to fail as well?
Regardless of what the answer was, the 'Human' seemed satisfied.
xxxx-xxxx
That heavy cargo shed of simple layout was stormed through the 3 entrances at the same time. The guards dressed in black and carrying assault rifles advanced in 3 groups, each with at least 15 of them. The first thing the groups noticed were those stuffed dolls scattered around the perimeter.
"What are those things?" One of the men pointed his rifle at one of the button-eyed dolls "Is that a joke by any chance?"
"Don't come any closer idiot, it could be a bomb" He pulled his groupmate by the shoulder "Let's focus on locating them. They destroyed the security cameras, so they could be hiding anywhere. Maybe they're not even here anymore."
The 3 groups split into smaller groups and spread out, starting to look around for the intruders, going through the gaps between the containers. The reason they split up was to shorten the search time, since the place was so big, which would soon prove to be a mistake.
One of the smaller groups, 8 people in total, approached one of the stairs leading to the platforms of the site. The instant one of them stepped onto the first step, a noise equivalent to someone lighting a match was heard. The next instant, a flash of white light was seen and an explosion was heard.
"What?" shouted one of the men in the group, the one furthest from the ladder.
That guard was lucky he didn't get closer, but he was close enough to watch five of his colleagues get thrown several feet by a concussion blast, knocking them out as their bodies hit a nearby container. Dazed, he staggered backwards, only to be hit in the back of the head by a transparent riot shield, which caused his eyes to roll to the back of his head. The other two in the group were close enough to the explosion that their eardrums burst, so they didn't notice when a little blonde foreign girl came up behind them and hit them with a truncheon commonly used by Anti-Skill.
"Shit, what's going on?" One of the guards on the other side of the shed shouted as he took cover.
The remaining groups hid behind the containers while trying to look in the direction from which the explosion came
"Where are they?" Asked one of the men to the guy next to him
"How the hell should I know, maybe on those platforms? The explosion came from there"
The fight had not even started and the whole squadron already looked like a bunch of rats trapped in a maze. They say that people fear the unknown, which is why fear of the dark is so common. They didn't know how many opponents they had in total, nor where they were hiding and whether they had any espers among them. Besides, this place was probably full of traps, which made the simple act of walking around a possible death sentence.
"Okay, we have to move, you and I will go to the right while -"
The poor bastard couldn't finish his sentence. A sharp pain coming from near his hip made him fall to the ground and scream at the top of his lungs. He brought both hands to the wound, finding a huge hole made by something that burned his flesh and bones.
"What was that now? Some kind of laser?"
"Yeah, it looked like a super laser. Maybe an electron beam?" A young girl with brown hair and dressed just like the men asked this innocent question and put her hand on her chin.
"And what the fuck does it matter? We have to find these intruders before... wait you're not part of my squadron"
When the guard said that, all five men hiding there pointed their rifles in the girl's direction.
"Wow... that's super scary" The girl scoffed and raised her rifle as well "Look I have one too"
As soon as the suspicious girl pointed her rifle, the men started to walk away and pulled the trigger, not even bothering about friendly fire. A few stray bullets hit their teammates, but luckily for them the outfit they were wearing was bulletproof, and unluckily for them, so was this little girl. Emerging from the rain of metal unharmed, she advanced toward one of the men and punched him in the chest, knocking him out effortlessly.
"Hey Kami-chan, those guns of theirs are stronger than I thought, where's the smoke?" She said, throwing another poor bastard toward a container.
"I'm coming" Answered the male voice in her ear.
That battlefield was turning into chaos now. Shots were being fired at random as people ran aimlessly between containers. And in the midst of all this chaos, two agents from the dark side on top of one of the platforms were planning their next move.
"Are you ready?" Kamijou asked the blonde girl crouched down beside him. She was holding a portable grenade launcher and had an odd smile on her face.
"Basically, that's the part I was waiting for"
Hearing the confirmation, the spiky haired boy activated his L.I.B and grabbed the blonde girl. With one hand on his neck and the other on the grenade launcher, she smiled once more as the feeling of gravity left her and she was thrown together with Kamijou. They flew in a parabola for several meters, while Frenda made it rain with her grenade launcher, until they landed in a container.
"Shit, smoke. Put your masks on!" shouted one of the guards, putting his rifle aside.
The grenades thrown by Frenda were obviously not lethal, and they also had no poison or sleeping gas of any kind, but the people on the other side had no way of knowing that their main function was to serve as a distraction.
"Shizuri, you can shoot at will" Kamijou said, still holding Frenda by the waist.
"Fucking finally" The tea-colored haired girl stood up from where she was in her hiding place.
ITEM's combat plan in that shed was simple. They split into two groups, one on the right side and one on the left side where the metal platforms were. On the left platform, Shizuri and Takitsubo were working together to hit priority targets, in this case the Alphas who commanded the squadrons. Level 5 couldn't just shoot her Meltdowner at everyone because she would probably end up killing someone, so Takitsubo was helping her to aim perfectly at non-vital points but enough to incapacitate someone.
"The smoke is clearing, time to move forward Frenda"
Kamijou this time didn't wait for the blonde's confirmation. The two this time landed on the floor of the place and ran to where a group of guards were hiding because of Shizuri knocking down anyone who dared to put their body out of cover. It took them a moment to realize that these two were enemies, and only when they were already very close. The trigger was pulled, but for some reason, no bullet was fired.
"What the hell?" Several guards could not understand why their guns were not firing, which made them easy targets.
Using his riot shield, Kamijou ran up to the first confused guard and hit him in the nose with somewhat unnecessary violence, which made the others retreat out of fear, only to find Kinuhata snapping her fingers on the other side of the corridor formed between the containers.
That squadron was surrounded, even though they were outnumbered. Their weapons didn't work either, and the reason for this was very simple: Oxidation, a process that occurs when electrons are lost. The smoke that Frenda threw with her grenades earlier had no offensive value and was not just a distraction either. The weapons used by those guards were not the modern weapons of Academy City, Kamijou had confirmed this earlier with Takitsubo. Low-quality firearms often jam because of dirt and lack of maintenance, and contain metal materials subject to oxidation. Those grenades were filled with a product called 'magnetic oxidizing mist', a product developed by Academy City to deal with armed groups in closed spaces.
Realizing that their weapons would not work, the enemies tried to fight back but it was too late as in their moment of confusion, Kinuhata, Frenda, and Kamijou took down all the remaining guards there using their fists, truncheon, and shield respectively. Offense Armor then left the two of them there alone while she returned to her group at the top.
But it wasn't over yet. Identifying the location of their enemies, the rest of the guards tried to win the battle using their numbers. Frenda and Kamijou turned their backs on each other and raised their guard. The first guard in line tried to hit Kamijou with his shield, but the spiky-haired boy ducked and used his right fist to uppercut the man, who knocked several allies to the ground with his body in that narrow corridor. Frenda used her truncheon to deftly block a knife that one of the guards swung in her direction, and then kicked him in the direction Kamijou was standing, synchronizing her movement at the moment her combat partner also kicked an enemy, which caused the two men to collide and fall unconscious
The enemies did not give up even after seeing several of their men knocked down one after the other. They threw themselves into that narrow corridor between the containers, forgetting something important. Numbers didn't matter there. This narrow corridor only allowed a maximum of two guards to enter from each side at the same time, and even then they could barely move without disturbing their ally. Kamijou had chosen to fight in that place on purpose, because he knew that his small group could only be attacked from two directions. The guards advanced towards the two teenagers without any strategy in mind, not realizing that this was exactly what they wanted them to do. Some were clever, trying to climb the containers to gain an advantage, only to find that a level 5 was already expecting some smart guy to try this. One after another they were knocked down by the precise lasers launched by the Meltdowner, who seemed to be enjoying this as she had a sadistic smile on her face. Even if some tried to go to the girl who was shooting them down from a distance, it was impossible as the little bob-cut girl was waiting for them on the stairs, to make sure that no one got in the way of the level 5 creep's aim.
"Kamijou, enemy reinforcements coming. They are espers" Takitsubo warned, making the boy stop what he was doing.
Kamijou activated his L.I.B. with a nod. His destination? The two girls parked on the left platform.
"It's about time. Kinuhata, come support Frenda"
As soon as he said this, the group of espers burst in. They also wore the same clothes as the guards, but they didn't seem to be carrying any weapons. There were nine of them in total, three coming from each direction. Shizuri didn't wait for them to get organized before she fired the first shot with her skill.
"Minus 1" She spoke, smoothing her hair smugly.
And the retaliation came soon after. The other espers prepared their attacks and launched them in the direction of the two. Shizuri prepared to go on the offensive, but gave up when she noticed the spiky-haired boy landing next to her on the platform. The problem with fighting espers was that unlike armed groups, you never knew what to expect. It was like a game of rock, paper and scissors, but the enemy might choose a fourth or even a fifth move that you would never know what was effective or not against until after the battle started, assuming you had no information about. However, the power of Kamijou Touma ignored any additional moves made.
A shower of projectiles flew toward the three, and a right hand was raised. Lightning was attracted to it like a lightning rod, changing its direction and being extinguished in an instant. A giant fireball broke apart, deflecting the trajectory of a red projectile that Kamijou didn't even know what it was made of. This generated a chain reaction that caused the area the 3 of them were in to be unharmed while the wall behind them was filled with holes. The espers were at a loss to understand what exactly had happened, which made them hesitate for a moment.
"Right on time" Shizuri said, making 4 electron balls spin around her "I'll leave the defense to you. Takitsubo will help me with accuracy"
Kamijou watched as AIM Stalker took a transparent sachet from her pocket filled with a translucent powder. As she poured the contents into her mouth, her pupils dilated
"I'm ready"
With Takitsubo assisting Shizuri on the offensive, the girl shot her Meltdowner with surgical precision. The espers threw themselves behind the containers when they realized they had no way to counter that destructive power. They still tried to throw projectiles in the girl's direction to try to at least make her lose concentration, but the level 5 didn't even bother to try to block or dodge, as Kamijou's right hand would negate or deflect the trajectory of any attack launched at those two. If they had more espers and they coordinated their attacks, Kamijou's job would be difficult, but considering that their numbers were dwindling with each Shizuri shot, that was a losing battle. In a desperate attempt, a telekinetic Esper lifted a container using all of its power and then threw it in the direction of the trio that was finishing off their allies.
"Shit, I have to deal with this" Shizuri despaired a little as she saw that mass of metal suddenly being lifted up.
Level 5 went to adjust her aim to try to break the giant metal object and prevent it from crushing them, but she noticed with her peripheral vision when the Level 0 stepped forward and clenched his fist. The container was thrown from the bottom up, then the boy made a fist movement similar to someone trying to break a plank in Karate demonstrations. The instant the Imagine Breaker touched the cold metal, a sound of breaking glass echoed. The esper power influencing that huge object was forced to cease to exist, which caused the container to fall to the floor below due to gravitational force. The esper girl responsible for that attack looked at that scene in amazement and took a step back, a common reaction to what Kamijou used to see when someone's trump card was useless against that right hand.
"OK, that was a surprise" Shizuri blinked in confusion for a moment, but she resumed her offensive, hitting the esper girl who by this time had surrendered.
Kamijou had learned in his virtually daily battles against espers, that any kinetic energy generated by an esper power was cancelled out by its power. In theory, he could even easily negate #3's railgun, although he was unwilling to test it. If that girl had lifted the container above Kamijou's head, he could negate the power influencing him, however gravity would do its work and it would all be for naught, but since it was a bottom-up attack, he was in the perfect place to accomplish such a feat.
"That won't work. We'd better retreat" One of the guards despaired as he saw the last esper writhing on the ground in pain.
The enemies heard the pleas of that frightened guard and started to run towards the exits. But they also forgot one more detail: the Frenda dolls. They were positioned there waiting for the moment someone tried to escape, and that moment had arrived. With a bang, the entire group of remaining guards was put to sleep by the giant concussive explosion caused by dozens of dolls exploding at the same time.
"Frenda, are you sure this is not lethal?" Kamijou asked, a little worried and panting.
"Relax, I know what I'm doing." The girl made the peace sign to him downstairs, forgetting that he couldn't see her "Basically, when they wake up from the coma they will wish they had died, but no one died so we are the good guys."
"Your sense of humor is terrible, you know that don't you?" Complained the boy, making a gesture of disapproval using his thumb.
"You super get used to it" Kinuhata stepped out from behind the containers and waved in the boy's direction.
"I think we're done here" Shizuri commented on this looking in Takitsubo's direction who nodded positively "We'd better get going, I want to take a nice long relaxing bath after this is over. Trying not to kill anyone is stressful"
"Kamijou, can you give me a ride? I'm a little tired and I don't want to go around" Takitsubo asked, pulling the boy by the sleeve of his shirt like a sleepy child asking his mother to put him to sleep.
The boy did not understand why she was acting this way. Maybe a side effect of using the new kind of drug? In any case he held her with his right arm and used his grappling hook to bring her to the double doors on the other side of the room.
"Are you feeling all right?" Kamijou asked, landing softly with the girl clinging to him. "I know I said it was your choice, but try not to overdo it OK? You've already done a lot today and the mission will be a lot easier from now on."
"Don't worry about it" She shook her head and briefly closed her eyes "The new drug is actually much better than the other one I was using. Usually I can barely use my powers for a few minutes before I collapse. I feel like I'm a little more sensitive too."
The girl looked at the boy's right hand for just an instant. Kamijou noticed the level 4's pupils contracting for a split second. Takitsubo shook her head only once before looking him in the eye.
"You still don't trust us do you?" Spoke AIM Stalker, which left Kamijou confused.
"I don't understand what you are trying to say. Of course I trust you, we are friends after all."
"You know why I told you about how my powers work? And about the whole espers powers thing in general?" The girl stared at him, but she only got a negative gesture in response "I figured if I told you a little about me, you'd tell me more about you too"
"Shizuri is not behind this is he?"
"No, I took the initiative. I did it because I wanted to understand at least a little bit how your power works."
A sigh escaped Kamijou's almost closed lips. Yet another girl seemed obsessed with her mysterious power. In Takitsubo's case it made more sense than Shizuri's, considering that she could see AIM fields.
"By the way, now that I've been watching you for a while, it seems I was wrong about you" Started the inexpressive girl, looking at him steadily in those dark blue eyes "You sure have AIM in your body"
"What?" Kamijou tried not to put a surprised expression on his face, but was unsuccessful "But you said yourself th -"
"I know what I said" She interrupted him and looked around, noticing Shizuri watching them from a distance "When this mission is over, I wanted to talk to you alone again. Mugino no longer seems as interested in your powers as she used to be, so I'll pick up where she left off. For now, I'll leave you alone, we have to continue the mission after all."
Level 4 turned away from the boy and walked over to where Meltdowner was watching them. Kamijou waited until he was sure she was distracted and then clenched his right fist hard and put it in front of his face.
"AIM? How is that possible?" Kamijou was genuinely confused now.
It didn't make any sense to that boy. Every time he went through the System Scan the result was the same. There was nothing there, he had already taken it for granted. Could this be another of the lies he had been told so many times that he accepted as absolute truth?
"Hey Kamijou, do you have a minute?"
That way of calling him, and that soft but aggressive voice, made it clear who had approached the boy while he was distracted. Lowering his right hand, he looked at the tea-colored girl who was playing with a lock of her hair. She looked very nervous.
"Before we part, I wanted to tell you something" She continued, trying to look him in the eye, but looking away whenever she met his.
"If it won't take too long, that's fine with me. We still have to change clothes after all. Although I just need to take off the one I'm wearing on top..." He stopped talking when he saw the girl sigh.
"Anyway...I wanted to apologize to you" The girl decided not to waste what little time she had and got right to the point. Apologizing wasn't something Shizuri did often, so Kamijou had her full attention on her now. "You've been a good friend to me, but I don't think I'm being a good friend to you. From now on I want you to tell me when you think I'm out of line and I promise I'll stop. I'm really sorry for being so selfish all this time, but I'll make an effort to make you happy without wanting anything in return, like a good friend would." She took a deep breath and turned her back to him "That was it, we'd better keep going. We'll meet when we get out of here and then I can really apologize."
Shizuri walked to a nearby container, out of the sight of the spiky-haired boy. The reason she turned away before she finished speaking was simple: she was blushing. Not only that, but her heart was racing faster than when she was in that alley. The girl was sure that her body temperature had risen a few degrees in that instant.
"Why is this so hard?" She whispered softly just to herself, bringing her hand up to her chest, feeling her heart slowly calm down "Sometimes I wish life was just like the fairy tales I used to hate as a child. I wonder if he's noticed that change in me too." The girl smiled in a silly way as she wondered that.
xxxx-xxxx
Kamijou's plan was being a success so far, considering that all failures were expected. The two groups had split up now, each taking an elevator to the floors where the bombs would be installed. Their targets were the primary power generators, which would be destroyed by Shizuri and her group as soon as possible, and then several structures and key points on the upper floors, which would be enough to make part of the facility collapse, forcing the self-destruct sequence to be activated.
"Attention all employees, proceed to the nearest exit. This is not a training session" A female voice spoke this quietly through the facility's megaphones "Several intruders have been detected. One of them is destroying the lower floors, so avoid the exit from the bottom underground floor"
"Boy, Shizuri must be making quite a mess down there""Kamijou Touma was walking through the crowd in a carefree manner.
"Basically, she must have been frustrated that she couldn't kill anyone and is now taking it out on inanimate objects." As she said this, the blonde discreetly taped one of her bombs to a pillar.
The reason Kamijou and Frenda were so unconcerned was that the confusion caused was so great that no one was willing to stop and observe those two who were now in their normal clothes, except for the white coat they wore over their clothes. It was an obvious disguise, but an effective one considering the people rushing through the halls of the facility. This place was like a huge futuristic drug factory, full of cylinders processing substances that the boy could not pronounce on the first try, touch screens that also served as monitors, and people wearing lab coats and carrying clipboards.
"You think so? I hope she doesn't end up accidentally killing anyone."
"It wouldn't make much difference" Frenda shrugged, which cost her an overly serious look from the boy coming towards her "Kamijou, has anyone ever told you that you are scary when you get angry? Basically, I wouldn't worry about Mugino killing someone, she doesn't want to let you down"
Relaxing a bit upon hearing those words, the boy began to look at that facility being evacuated. ITEM had invaded this place for one reason: to save people. This was one of the laboratories where the new version of the Ability Body Crystal was being produced and tested, which would contribute to the level 6 change project. But there was something that was making Kamijou confused about all this. Why were these drugs being randomly distributed so soon? The spiky-haired boy had asked his senpai to check the clipboard with the information he had gotten from that scientist at the Heaven Canceller Hospital. She had told him that the drug was not yet in the distribution phase according to the notes, so why were there already espers in possession of this drug on the streets? He had to ask Uiharu what the files delivered by Kaguya had to say about this.
"Kami-kun, you're too distracted. Basically, shouldn't we put on an expression of fear or something? You get 30 out of 100 points for this mediocre performance" the blonde joked, grabbing another bomb from the back of her skirt.
"Well... our fearless leader is making so much noise down there that we don't need to worry about something like that. And here I thought my misfortune was going to make this mission hell. I mean, apart from a few punches I took at the time, I'm perfectly all right."
"You talk as if you expect that something bad is going to happen. We are professionals. Basically, we can handle almost anything they throw at us."
"Almost? Your group didn't seem to have any difficulty dealing with those guards. I'm curious, what would you find a difficult mission"
"High-level espers are usually a pain to deal with. Basically, you can almost never tell what someone can do. That's why our mission that time at the Mall was almost a total failure, and they only had 3 of them."
"Really? But your group has 3 high level espers too"
"Hmm... you've been saying 'your group' for a while now" The little blonde girl stopped walking and crossed her arms in that empty white hallway "You're part of ITEM now, so don't talk like that, it's a little annoying"
"I'm sorry about that, but it's not like I'm an official member of ITEM. Shizuri hasn't even talked to your 'liason' about me yet."
"Screw that bitch" She lifted her chin and rolled her eyes "Your combat strategy today was perfect. Basically, I didn't imagine we could do our job so well without having to shed blood. Mugino was right to invite you to our group. (Although I prefer to use lethal bombs, it's more fun)" Frenda obviously muttered the last part.
"I think you're giving me too much credit, but thanks anyway. I'm kind of not used to having so much firepower available, so it was easy to think of something effective for the situation."
"Kami-Kun, speaking of firepower, why are you so reluctant to hold guns? Even one without ammunition made you grimace."
"It's no big deal...I just feel that having power in my hands will only work against me in some way, which is why I'd rather not use something that has the potential to kill someone in the blink of an eye"
"Basically, I don't understand what you mean" The blonde glued a bomb to yet another pillar and then started walking to an elevator pressing the button and waiting until it arrived "I understand the last part, but how would something like that work against you? Is your luck so bad that you are afraid to shoot yourself in the head?"
Kamijou smiled at this. Waving his arm in denial, the boy leaned against the wall beside the elevator and took a deep, audible breath. It's not as if the boy refused to use weapons in any situation. When he was fighting the Gokusai sisters, he even thought about using Amazora's gatling gun to break through a wall or as an intimidation tool, but he would never use a gun to shoot someone.
"Maybe I'm just too proud" He shrugged as he said that "A bit of a hypocrite too, to tell you the truth"
"Proud? I think I know what you mean" Frenda pondered a bit and then stepped into the elevator that had just arrived, being followed by Kamijou "Many high level espers tend to rely too much on their powers, this is their biggest weakness. Basically, almost all of my victories against espers have been by exploiting this weakness of theirs."
"You know I'm a level 0 right?" Kamijou complained, checking his L.I.B.
"It's also annoying to see you repeating that every time. It's kind of an offense to levels 0 really."
"Don't complain to me, I am the victim here. This city hates my guts. The guy who founded it, the so-called board chairman, must laugh at me every time I go through a system scan."
"Basically, something tells me he's too busy to care about something like this" She said it with a mournful tone, looking at her reflection in the mirrored metal "You and I have no relevance to his plans. We're just disposable lab rats to this town. The only ones of any real importance to them are their precious level 5. That's why I chose to work for the dark side of this city, at least I can do what I want and get paid for it instead of being a guinea pig for mad scientists."
"I guess I can respect that" Kamijou also looked at his own reflection and rested his head on the metal surface "I also always try to do what I want, without caring what others think. Whenever I do something, no matter how stupid it seems, I don't need a reason to justify it, I can always make one up later if I want to feel better."
Those words made the blonde stand uneasy on the spot for a reason even she didn't know. Her mind went back to that story told by the SCHOOL spy who seemed to know Kamijou Touma so well. It was strange to know that the boy next to her was always acting so kind, but at times she wasn't sure if that was his true nature. It was as if she was seeing only the reflection of the moon on the surface of a lake, distorted by the small ripples caused by the wind. In a way, they were alike.
"Is that why you saved me in that office?" She asked, looking at the boy's reflection in the 'mirror' "You probably didn't have a reason at the time, but now you do?"
"I think I know what you are trying to get me to say. It's kind of obvious considering the amount of messages you usually send to this Kamijou-san" The boy smiled almost imperceptibly as he said it.
"Huh?" The girl looked away from his reflection and began tapping her foot nervously "B-basically, y-you're a good friend so obviously I like talking to you by message"
"I see"
That's all the boy said. Frenda waited several seconds for him to say something more, but he remained quiet. Then she made a mistake, she looked at him again, noticing that he had a giant smile on his face. The blonde turned her face in the other direction as quickly as possible, trying to avoid him seeing her face turning as red as rose petals. Of course, her efforts were futile considering that the place was practically a hall of mirrors.
"Don't be so smug" Frenda had to pat herself on the back for not stuttering when she said that "You got it all wrong. Basically. I act like that with all my friends, it's not like you're special to me or anything."
"Hmm... friends, isn't it?" Kamijou did not seem to ask Frenda that question. He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds and exhaled a large amount of air.
'Why did Shizuri tell me that? I was beginning to think she didn't like it when I called her a friend. Did something change after what happened in that alley?'
"Frenda, have you ever called Shizuri a friend?"
"Eh? What kind of question is that?" That was enough to bring the girl back to her senses in the same instant "Basically, I try to avoid calling her that since I don't have a death wish."
"Makes sense, she doesn't want people to get too close to her...no..."
It was at this moment that Kamijou began to recapitulate a few things. First he thought about what Shizuri had said to him a few minutes ago, calling herself selfish, and then his memory took him back to the day she had taken the first step towards him.
'It's not that. That day in the park, she said I understood her perfectly, but it's not true. I missed something, and only now I realize it. She wasn't just running ahead of everyone, she was running in circles... just like me.'
Mugino Shizuri had told Kamijou that she had never genuinely called her teammates 'friends' because to her, her group was just tools, but what if that wasn't true? What if she really did care about all of them but was too proud to admit it? But that was not what Kamijou had missed in her 'understanding' of Shizuri.
'She is confused because she doesn't know how other people see her. She says she doesn't care what others think, but she still wants to hear their opinion, even if it's to boost her ego.'
'People would still look at me the same way, treat me the same way .' That was what she had said to Kamijou in that tunnel. She was bored after all, that's what she told herself, and she had stayed that way so long that she thought that no matter what she did, nothing would change. But something had changed now, she had stopped running in circles because she had found a reference point.
'She ran straight to me didn't she? Shizuri wasn't just alone, she was lost. Her problem was not that she didn't care... she cared too much. But now that she's met me, she's acting like only my opinion matters, because it's the only one she wants to hear.'
Simply put: Shizuri was a girl who had everything and was always perfect from the day she was born. Her parents taught her to maintain a high-class posture so that she would continue to impress everyone around her. This was the reason that made her try to be the best at everything: she wanted attention, because from the day she was born she always had everyone's attention. The opinion of everyone around her mattered so much that she was willing to change herself if it meant always being on center stage. She told Kamijou that she was bored, but she was also confused.
In the end, Academy City is a place where children have their brains modified so that they can be used as weapons. No matter how much propaganda they do, the moment they boast that a level 5 is equivalent to an army, everything else falls apart. Misaka Mikoto, #3 known as the Railgun, is the 'poster girl' for Academy City. But what else is a Railgun designed for besides destruction? If a city creates monsters of mass destruction and treats them like celebrities, then what does a person who has always been treated like a celebrity do to get attention in such a city?
'One of the first things she said to me in that car was that she wanted me to pay attention to her. Why did I fail to notice something so simple? The funny thing about it is... now I like her even more. What she said to me earlier, calling me her friend, that was a sign that she is tired of getting attention. She won't speed towards me hoping to get what she wants, she's tired of going in circles, she's tired of thinking about herself... but she's not saved yet...'
Kamijou Touma thought he had completely understood Mugino Shizuri, even Shizuri herself believed this, but that girl had more in her than it seemed. The words she had said 'That's just a trick, there's no way you could know how I felt' never rang truer. He had put a lot of pieces together, but the puzzle was not yet assembled. But now that boy could smile with relief, he had all the weapons he needed now, he just had to use them.
xxxx-xxxx
On the lower floors of the facility Shizuri, Kinuhata and Takitsubo were doing their job in the most effective way possible: Destroying everything in their path. The floor they were on was the second to last floor. Below them there was only a tunnel built as an illegal supply route to the outside world, since district 11 bordered Tokyo, which was the main reason this district had been chosen.
"This is super weird" Kinuhata said, throwing a metal cylinder about 8 meters in diameter towards a generator, causing it to explode in a mess of sparks "Kami-chan said several guards would come to us when we started destroying the generators, but so far none have come"
"Maybe those guards on the heavy cargo floor were the only ones in the facility" Shizuri replied, throwing her Meltdowner at the other generator "That's not important, we're done here. The bombs should detonate soon, which will activate the -" Level 5 was interrupted when a tremor caused her to momentarily lose her balance "Huh? That was weird. Shouldn't we have a few more minutes before this place starts falling apart?"
"Mugino, I am detecting an esper below us" Takitsubo warned, looking directly below them.
"No problem. He must be a high level esper hired to protect the exit we will use. Poor bastard, let's go over there and laugh at his face."
The three girls took the elevator to the 'last' floor. They looked calm and relieved to finish the mission in a satisfactory way.
"We could all watch a super movie together to celebrate the success of the operation" Kinuhata was incredibly excited.
"Not a bad idea" Shizuri replied, elegantly fixing her hair.
At that instant, Takitsubo looked in Shizuri's direction with a raised eyebrow, while Kinuhata made an expression so happy and surprised that she didn't know whether to cry or smile.
"What did you super say?" Offense Armor couldn't believe what she had heard. She sounded like a dense guy who had just received a confession of love, but all he could think was that it was a prank set up by his friends.
"You heard it. It's been a while since our group has done anything together. Besides eating and shopping of course" Level 5 seemed even a little excited about that.
"There's something super wrong here. Are you really Mugino Shizuri?"
"Will you please stop acting like I'm an alien? Fucking annoying thing"
Now back to her usual self, Shizuri stepped out of the elevator with a little caution. The two girls followed her through that dimly lit place, which was in stark contrast to the floor they had just destroyed.
"That's strange" Shizuri said, bending down to check something on the floor of that tunnel "Is that... sand?"
"That place seems to be under super construction still. Does it have to do with the other tunnel below us?"
The second tunnel Kinuhata was referring to was an older one, built to be a supply route between District 11 and the rest of Academy City. This tunnel was on the building plans, but there was no elevator to get there yet because it had just been completed and was not fully operational.
"I can't say. Anyway, let's move forward."
Shizuri felt a chill when she heard someone clearing their throat loudly, which echoed throughout that tunnel. A few feet away from the 3 girls, a person was walking casually with both hands in his pockets. He put a smug grin on his face when he saw the trio standing there checking out that sand on the ground. That blond boy had stopped walking and was now alternating his gaze between the 3 girls who got up from the ground and immediately stood on guard.
"What a nice coincidence, #4" The blond boy with the cocky smile didn't seem concerned about the presence of the 3 girls there.
"Things were too easy for my taste. So you were the esper that Takitsubo detected." The tea-colored haired girl narrowed her eyes at the boy in front of her "Yes, that's certainly a coincidence, #2"
The person standing before Shizuri's group was none other than Kakine Teitoku. ITEM knew very well that he was involved with the whole scheme done here, but they never thought they would meet him face to face so soon. Their mission had been a success so far, but the real obstacle was now in front of them.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Welcome to the end-of-chapter notes. There was a lot in this chapter.
The action scene was not meant to be tense or anything like that, it was more to show that with strategy and firepower, normal troops don't stand much of a chance against dark side groups. But it is obvious that the mission would not go so well until the end.
Now talking about the psychological side of the two main characters in this fic. For me, this is the most important part because it is connected to the romance story between these two. I always try to show how the powers of an esper (their personal reality) fit with their personality, at least a little bit. This is where I get the inspiration for Shizuri being so direct and aggressive. I am also using the fact that girls fall in love with Kamijou left and right to justify why Shizuri can't slow down.
As for Kamijou, he is understanding Shizuri more and more. If one rereads chapter 11 of this fic, one will see that our 'Hero' uses vague analogies to explain how he thinks Shizuri feels. What he did was something a bit like 'Barnum effect'. He didn't have to be precise, all he did was leave her in a state where she filled in the blanks herself and convinced herself that Kamijou understood her perfectly. Of course, the boy didn't do that completely on purpose. Kamijou at the moment wanted to convince her to let him approach her, but now he is struggling to finish what he started.
Let's forget about it, it's time for the reviews:
aiman031122: Thanks for all the compliments. Shizuri will meet Kamijou's parents eventually. About the Index arc, we are still a long way off. I have two more arcs planned until then.
Elementalgaming30: I'm glad you liked it. People understanding my random references always makes me happy
5queso: Kamijou is already used to misfortune. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Thank you very much.
Xellos540: Things are not as simple (?) with Aihana as is the case with Misaki. Sword Art Online. She knows A LOT about Kamijou, I can't say more than that. The narrator (Kamachi) calls Kamijou the 'Demon Lord of Love and Desire' in a certain scene where our 'Hero' is taking a bath together with 4 naked girls (don't ask the context LOL, but one of the girls seemed to be enjoying this a lot). He is trying to do the same as the time in the Seventh Mist to try to reach the same result, only this time it's for real. It seems that you didn't like this scene very much, was it just because it was too long or was my writing bad? This scene is rather important for Shizuri to realize how immature she is being, so maybe I should rewrite it differently… Takitsubo is a Yandere, so she would do well with a Kamijou LOL. About the amusement park... it is kind of just an amusement park but designed to attract people in the 'wrong direction' as Shizuri said in chapter 10. The important thing is the laboratory below it that produces Ability Body Crystal, which Kamijou talked about in chapter 9 and confirmed in chapter 11.
Kai: Just a little bit xD
KHVSFF: Thank you very much for the compliments and the warnings. I will start moving my fic elsewhere but will continue here until perhaps the worst comes to the worst.
Guest: ITEM is really expert in dealing with the dark side, but unfortunately their members are not so good when it comes to romance. Thanks for the warning, I am prepared in case the rumors are true.
Jaya2002: That reference was a bit obscure, I can't believe someone understood it LOL
The next chapter is almost ready, but it will take me a while to release it. Gt 7 is fully translated, so I plan to reread it to better understand some important things. I also plan to reread the Battle Royale and Dragon arc. It will depend on how long it takes me to read these 3 volumes... anyway, that's all I have to say. Nio leaving.
