Welcome back everyone! Last time, the Aftermath Arc has been concluded and a new day has began where our heroes return to shcool for the time being.
How will it go? What is Unomaru's group up too? What is Wendy planning?
We'll find out now.
Hakuo North Academy [Tuesday Morning, March 2nd]
It was around 8:00 AM, about 45 minutes before class begins, with Es, Mei, Hinata and Akira all walking to the Academy. While last night was rough on both the Azure Maiden and the Shrine Maiden, they are perfectly healthy to attend school as normal. Es, despite the brusing around her neck having healed, is wearing some bandages around her neck with some arnica gel underneath to make it heal better while Mei is still wearing the few bandages she had from last night. Despite the Academy being own by the Mitsurugi Agency due to Unomaru buying it in the past, the school does not know about Unions, so the cover story would be that some thugs caught them off guard and hurt them despite fending them off.
Hinata and Akira have generally returned to their normal selves like yesterday didn't happen with Es and Mei's minds being put at ease. Although Unomaru's return upset them, they knew better than to let him rule their lives and were able to regain a semblance of happiness by being with their friends.
'Like I said before, I'm not gonna let ANYONE take away this life I have. That's a promise to everyone here.' Mei thought with determination in her heart as she walked forward, intending to protect the people who gave her a chance to live with other people, vowing to not let Unomaru get under her skin and hurt those close to her.
'Touya...' Es thought as she looked to the sky. Currently, her throat was sore so she couldn't speak much today apart from some light conversation, but that didn't take away her sadness from Touya not being here.
Himezuru Residence [Earlier]
It was around 7:10 AM when Es and Hinata were getting ready to head to the Academy. Everyone woke up around 6:30 AM so everyone could get ready for the day. Mei and Akira headed home to get cleaned up and have some breakfast, Avenge went with some of Sleipnir to investigate the Wharf and Kuon, Elise and Zwei all returned to the Hotel they checked into. Yuki than drove Es, Hinata, Touya and Kiri back to the Himezuru Residence in the meantime...
Yuki made sure to guide Touya to his room so he could rest as his injury made it hard for him to move as the pain, while having dulled down, is still sharp and wouldn't do him any good at school. Yuki decided to stay with him until he fell asleep before returning to the Hospital, but asked the young man to call her when he wakes up. She also made sure to give Kiri some medication for Touya to take in the meantime.
Hinata made sure to make some breakfast for everyone with Yuki bringing Touya's food to him while Es and Hinata ate their food. Afterward, Yuki walked up to the Azure Maiden...
"Hold up Es. How does your neck feel?" The Elder Himezuru asked Es as the Azure Maiden rubbed her throat slightly.
"It's still tender, but it doesn't hurt as much..." Es replied with a slightly hoarse sounding voice. While it's true that her neck wasn't hurting too bad, her vocal chords took a hit slightly.
"Es-chan, are you feeling sick...?" Hinata asked her friend out of concern, forgetting that Unomaru was choking the Azure Maiden.
"No Hina. Her throat is still hurting in a different way. Here Es, let me patch you up a little before you go, kay?" Yuki said as she gave Es a couple of cherry favored Throat Lozenges to take throughout the day while putting on more arnica gel around her neck before covering it with some bandage wraps.
"There you go. Try not to speak too much and let it heal, okay?" Yuki said to Es with a small smile with the Azure Maiden nodding in agreement before looking in the direction of Touya's room.
"I understand you're worried about Touya, but he's safe now. He's going to need to stay from school for a few days, but he'll be here when you get back and Kiri will watch him over him. Be safe you guys." Yuki said with a reassuring smile with Es and Hinata saying their farewells before heading out.
Hakuo North Academy Gates [Present]
As Es remembered what happened, the four arrived at the Academy around 8:15 AM.
"I'm going to head to my homeroom now. I'll see you around lunchtime." Akira said with a smile and a fingure salute before heading off to his class.
"I'm gonna head to my class too. Es, Hina. It'll be alright... and... thank you..." Mei said with a small blush on her face, trying to save a little bit of her pride like the 'Tsundere' most people would adress her as. Es smiled softly as old habits die hard a little. Mei than walked off to her home room.
"Don't worry Es-chan. Touya will be up on his feet before you know it." Hinata followed up with a bright and beautiful smile. A smile that would melt the heart of those who witness it. The same smile that restored Yuki's broken heart. A smile that brought life into Es' own heart.
"Right." Es replied with a slightly clear voice thanks to the throat lozenge she took earlier. Yuki already called the school about what happened to Es, Touya and Mei, but Hinata was prepared to tell the teacher as the two girls went to class. Around the same time, three third year boys were watching the two girls from underneath a nearby tree...
"Hey, isn't that Mitsurugi over there?" One boy with a banana on his head said as he looked at the Azure Maiden.
"Yeah, isn't that Kagari kid normally with her along with the Glasses girl, the punk and the flat chested shrimp?" Another boy with slicked back brown hair said while insulting the others. Than, a boy with blonde spiky hair stood up witha wide grin that looks like a pair of sharp cat like teeth.
"Boys, I think it's time I made my move." Said the blonde haired boy with a high level of confidence. His friends looked at him with curious looks in response to his words.
"What do you mean Boss?" Said the boy with the bandana.
"Do you need to ask? He's had eyes on Mitsurugi for nearly three months now." The slicked back haired boy mentioned to his friend.
"Yup! Now with that Kagari dork away, I can finally make the moves on her. I'm telling you boys, Es Mitsurugi will be MY girl once I show her what I'm capable of!" The blonde haired boy mentioned as he stood up, showing an impressive figure for a high school student of his age. A lean muscular build showed that he is not someone to mess with combined with his bleached spiky hair and sharp toothy grin showed an intense look that he was the pure definition of a high school delinquent.
"But what if you get rejected like all those other boys? Mitsurugi ALWAYS turns each potential suitor down..." The bandana boy asked, not wanting his friend to be shot down.
"Hey boys, you know I like it when a girl plays hard to get. Besides, she'll come around. I know she will." The blonded haired boy mentioned as Es and Hinata went inside the school with him and his friends heading to their home room not long after. On a tree above them, Wendy was watching them, holding a school bag in her arms, clearly disturbed by what she saw and heard.
"Disgusting pigs...!" Wendy muttered bitterly before she used her magic to fly elsewhere before she began her infiltration.
'So that's Es... doesn't look like a "disposable tool" to me... she just looks like a normal girl to me. Why is she friends with the Shrine Maiden...?' Wendy thought as she clutched the bag, hoping that no trouble will come from what she plans to do next.
The Wharf [Secret Laboratory]
It was around 7:30 AM where after looking and searching, Avenge and Sleipnir finally found the unusual Silver colored container that Unomaru used as his hideout. Upon entering it, it led to a secret lab hidden underneath the Wharf itself and as Mei mentioned last night, the lab was trashed and wrecked in order to avoid any information to fall in the Mitsurugi Agency's hands.
"He really doesn't want his plans to be noticed... search the area." Avenge mentioned before ordering the Unit he accompanied to investigate. Some of the soldiers picked up some of the damaged equipment, including the computer, hoping to salvage or copy some of the data from the servers. Avenge than found what remained of Unomaru's "head" and as the Bounty Hunter picked it up, the Sleipnir Captain came up to observe it...
"Isn't that the robot head Unomaru is in?" The Captain asked, hoping it means Unomaru's dead.
"Yes, but considering Wendy said he moved to another laboratory, I'm guessing he had another body to transfer his mind to in case he was badly damaged." Avenge said as he knew that Unomaru wouldn't go out that easily.
"I... see." The Captain mentioned in disappointment. As much as he didn't want to wish death upon others, he knew Unomaru had to be stopped, whether they manage to capture him or not.
"However, Unomaru overlooked one thing... leaving this discarded head of his. If we can find out what material this robot body is made of, we can find a weakness to use against him." Avenge followed up with the Captain understanding what Avenge is explaining.
"Yes, you're right. We'll take this in to study right away." The captain said as Avenge handed the deactivated head over to him. Afterward, the Bounty Hunter noticed the spot where a capsule would be installed in.
"This must be where they were thawing Diablo..." Avenge said to himself as he got a look at the progressing stastus on the tube before it was disconnected and...
"50%! That's not good... then again, wouldn't he also need to recessitate him and put on the "leash" to control him...? Hmmm... I better make sure the others know about this." Avenge said to himself in regards to this recent development when a member of Sleipnir walked up to him.
"Avenge, we found all that we can here. What should we do now?" The soldier asked as he stood at the ready.
"We'll take what we found and head back to the agency. Recover what data we can and analyze the metal on Unomaru's robot body. We'll also need to quarantine this lab in case Unomaru or the thief comes back..." Avenge said as he prepared to leave the laboratory.
"Yes sir!" The soldier said with a salute as the Bounty Hunter made his way back up to the surface.
Secret Laboratory
Unomaru was hard at work as he was putting the finishing touches on a device that would be useful in controlling Diablo when he "wakes" up. Haruki woke up some time ago to notice his metal friend hard at work.
"Yo Souichiro. What are you working on?" Haruki asked the scientist as he stretched his arms out and yawned.
"Something important regarding Diablo. Right now, he's 60% thawed out, but once he's fully thawed out, we'll need to revive him, but not before we put a "leash" of sorts on him." Unomaru explained as he put small chips and componants on the device. Haruki remembered that Unomaru had something to make sure Diablo doesn't run wild or turn against them.
"Right... um, you sure we can trust him NOT to turn us into his living punching bags?" Haruki asked nervously, clearing wanting to make sure he doesn't die during this whole mess.
"Have a little faith my friend. Besides, he won't even consider us worth his time... he wants to fight strong opponents, not a scientist and a thief. Fortunately, our enemies will fit the bill." Unomaru explained as he hoped to relieve the thief's anxiety.
'Especially with that sudden power Es had...' Unomaru thought as he recalled last night when Es nearly destoryed him. For the first time ever, he was AFRAID of the Azure Maiden. All that rage and aggression terrified him in a way he never thought possible, not even when he was human and was more afraid of Sechs and Ripper then Es of all people
'I can't believe that I'm now afraid of a doll of all things... what sort of sick joke is this? More importantly, what does that blue light mean?' Unomaru continued thinking as he is nearly putting the finishing touches on the "collar".
"O-okay. As long as he's not ripping us apart... so what do you know about this guy besides whay you told me?" Haruki replied in reassurance before asking what else Unomaru knew about Diablo. This left the scientist in a bit of silence.
"To be honest... not much. All we found is that he's somehow resistant to Yin-Yang magic, meaning most of Mei's spells are worthless against him. However, when Mei and I were on the same side, I did a little blood work to find any relatives related to him. Turns out he was related to another Strange Red that was troublesome to every party in question. I kept this info to myself as to not create a scene." Unomaru explained revealing what he could about him, including the surprising revelation he discovered.
"Who... who was he related too?" Haruki asked in an anxious tone, dreading what kind of connection he had with another Strange Red Union like him.
"Someone who's been around long before he became a Union. The infamous Serial Killer known only... as Ripper." Unomaru said as Haruki gasped in surprise.
"I... I heard about that monster! He's a Strange Red!" Haruki yelled out having heard about the grusome murders, including the police officers he escaped from when he was finally caught. Once he heard that Ripper was declared Deceased, he wasn't the only one who expressed relief.
"Yes... and if the test results are true... oh man... I do not want to be the one who killed that sociopath..." Unomaru said as he finally completed his little device.
"Done! Now, we need something to revive him. Haruki, I have a task for you to help me out with." Unomaru excalimed as he presented a collar like device while preparing the thief for his first major task.
Hakuo North Academy [Es, Touya and Hinata's Home Room]
It was 8:50 AM when everyone simmered down and were all seated, Es and Hinata included. While some of the students in the class weren't particularly close with Touya, they couldn't help but wonder what happened to him as Hinata explained that he was in an accident. Es was also asked what happened to he neck, with the Azure Maiden using the cover story thay a few thugs attacked her and Touya while fending them off, much to the classmates amazement. Soon enough, their hoom room teacher, a man with black hair and glasses in his 40's, came in to speak with his students.
"Before we begin, we have two important things to discuss. As you can see, last night Mr. Kagari and Ms. Mitsurugi were victims of being assaulted by some rather despicable people. Kagari will remain as his home for a few days and while Mitsurugi is here at school today, her Guardian explained that her throat shouldn't be strained, so be mindful of her status." The teacher explained to his students as they all listened, understanding not to bother Es too much today. Afterward, Hinata raised her hand...
"Yes Himezuru?" The teacher asked in response to Hinata.
"If it's okay, me and Es can take Touya's homework to him." Hinata asked, not wanting Touya to fall behind as Es nodded in agreement.
"Yes, it's quite alright. I'll place his papers on his desk, so feel free to bring them to him Ms. Himezuru." The teacher replied with a small smile, greatful that Touya has good friends looking out for him.
"As for our second order of business, we have two transfer students joining us for the last few weeks of the school year. Please come in." With that, Es and Hinata quickly recognized the two girls who walked in and wrote there names on the black board, with the entire class remembering the girl with the long pigtails. With this, the two girls turned to face the class.
"As you can see, Miss Kuon Glamred Stroheim has transferred into our class along with a new transfer." The teacher said reintroducing Kuon while gesturing the blue haired woman to step up to introduce herself.
"My name is Elise von Klagen. I hope we can all get along together during these last few weeks." Elise greeted everyone with a proper bow, quickly winning the respect and admiration of the whole class for just being so darn polite, just like with Mei before everyone else.
Kuon and Elise were both wearing the female Hakuo North Academy Uniform like Es and Hinata. Kuon and Elise both had the second year red ties while Kuon's uniform has a short skirt with pink thigh high stockings while Elise had knee high white stockings with a short skirt as well.
'Kuon transferred into our class again? With Elise this time? Well, at least they're keeping up with their education.' Es thought while secretly happy to be in class with Kuon again and looking forward to being at school with Elise and looking at Hinata, could tell the Younger Himezuru is elated as well to see the two mages in their Home Room.
Hakuo North Academy [Akira's Home Room]
Around 8:50 AM, Akira and the rest of his class are simmering down when their Home Room teacher, a lady with black hair in a pony tail with glasses in her 30's entered the room to discuss something with everyone in the class.
"Good morning everyone. Now, before we begin, I would like to announce that during our last few weeks of school, we have a tranfers student joining us. She's relatively new around here and I hope you'll all get along with her." The teacher said as Akira perked up out of curiosity. Akira has relatively been a decent student at the Academy, but ever sense he decided to study hard to become a doctor, his grades improved much to the surprise of his peers and the delight of his teacher. However, hearing there's a transfer student made him think if it was Kuon or Elise joining the school again. Shortly after, a young lady stepped into the classroom and wrote her name on the black board and upon seeing the name, Akira's mouth dropped...
"Would you care to introduce yourself Miss?" The teacher asked the girl in question. The girl had a lithe body type with long green hair that reached down to her knees. She wore the female Hakuo North Academy Uniform with blue leggings. What's noticeable is that she's wearing a yellow tie, a symbol of a third year student, which earned sounds of awe as the class is comprised of mostly second years with only two third years in the classroom.
"My name is Wendy Kazehaya. Pleasure to be here. Hope we can get along." Wendy said with a smile and a wink, a bold yet charming introduction to say the least. Akira however was stunned.
'Wendy!? That's the name of Kuon and Elise's friend! They didn't tell me she's such a hottie! More importantly, what's she doing here!? Is... is she here for Kuon and Mei!?' Akira thought trying to make sense of this bombshell transfering to this school after trying to kill his friends last night.
"Ms. Kazehaya, there's a free seat next to Akira Kamewari. Feel free." The teacher said as Wendy took the seat next to Akira, who's trying to play it cool with her.
"Hi there." Wendy said with a small wink as Akira got his thoughts straight.
"Hey. Hope we can get along here." Akira replied to Wendy before the Wind Mage introduced herself to the girl next to her.
'The others need to know about this...' Akira thought to himself seriously before deciding to keep watch over Wendy before telling the others. Little did he know thay Wendy took a brief glance at him...
'So this is a friend of the Shrine Maiden? Seems like a chill guy... a handsome guy yes... but... I better observe him when he meets up with his friends later.' Wendy thought as she decided to take the observation approach in order to find out the truth about Mei and Kuon. It wasn't easy transfering into the school sense she needed to flub her age a little bit. Wendy is 19 years old which is well past Grade School, so she had to mark her age as 17 just to get in with no suspicion.
'Wait! Did I... did I think he's handsome?' Wendy thought in shock as she took another glance at him...
Himezuru Residence [Touya's Room]
Touya was resting in his room peacefully aroung 9:30 AM. Around that time, Kiri came in quietly with Touya's medicine to put on his nightstand for him to take later as Yuki left for work around the time school started. Thankfully the Hospital understood Yuki's duties to her family, but she needed to make up for lost work time and she trusted Kiri to watch Touya and the house while everyone else is at school.
As Kiri came into Touya's room, he took the time to look around to see that this is a nice room compared to the other room's he's seen. The only rooms he didn't see yet are Hinata and Es' rooms, not that he intended to look in their personal space as he's been given a spare key for Touya's room.
As he placed his medicine down, Kiri prepared to leave his room to get him some water until he noticed a couple of framed photo's on his dresser, one of them being all of them when Kiri was at the Hospital. It had him with Es, Touya, Hinata, Akira and Yuki as well Kuon and Elise during a visit. He smiled fondly, recalling that everyone accepted him despite the vile crimes Freaks did with his body.
"I bet that... was a good day for you..." A familiar voice said as Kiri turned around to see Touya awake.
"You should be resting right now..." Kiri replied, wanting Touya to get well again as soon as he can. Needless to say, he won't deny that was a good day for him to have made so many new friends wishing him well.
"I know, but I heard the door creek and I was stirred a bit..." Touya admitted as his door had been creeky lately and he intended tocget some lubricant to fix thay problem later. Needless to say, Kiri DID hear a strange sound when he open the door now that he thought about it...
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to wake you..." Kiri apologized as he clutched his Brain Cat Plushie in slight nervousness.
"No, that's okay. I should take my medicine anyway..." Touya said as he's about to take a pill from the bottle.
"Hold on... let me get you some water first." Kiri said as he left for a few moments to grab a glass of water for Touya before returning with it. Once he placed the water down, Kiri helped the young to an upright position so Touya could take his medicine and drink some water without choking on it. After Touya took his medicine and drank his water, he turned to Kiri...
"Are Es and Mei okay?" Touya asked about the Azure Maiden and the Shrine Maiden as even when he's injured himself, he still worries about his loved ones.
"T-they're fine. They both went to school with the others not long after you fell alseep." Kiri mentioned as he kneeled next to Touya's bed to speak with him. He knew Touya needed to rest, but maybe some light chit chat will help him dose off. Not to mention that he wanted to adress something he had a feeling about for a long time now...
"That's good to hear... that means their injuries weren't as bad as mine. There's no need for them to stay here on my behalf..." Touya said as he didn't want Es or Mei to fall behind in their studies despite there only being two and a half weeks left in this school year.
"I'm sure if they could, they would keep watch over you. I... I mean, you're Mei's friend and Es' as well..." Kiri replied, not sure how to ease into the topic about the Azure Maiden.
"That means a lot Kiri. I'd do the same if I was in their position..." Touya said, thinking about how much both Es and Mei have come since he first met them. He couldn't have been more happy for both his beloved and his friend.
"That's true. Hey, Touya? Mind if I ask you something?" Kiri asked, decided now's the time to see what Es meant to the young man before him.
"Sure Kiri, what is it?" Touya replied, curious what the man in question wanted to ask him.
"Do you remember the night when we technically first met? Before Freaks attacked...?" Kiri asked the young man who was surprised by what he said before he nodded to say yes.
"Well, when Es found me in the Restricted Ward, we spoke for a while about how she regained her memories before saying that she was looking for a friend of hers... someone she said to be the most important person in her life." Kiri explained as Touya listened, expressing a bit of surprise that Es would say this kind of thing to Kiri.
"I know for a fact now that this most important person... is you Touya. It even left me conflicted when Freaks told me to attack you..." Kiri continued, bitterly saddened that he fell for such an obvious lie from a murderous madman. Touya on the other hand blushed a little upon hearing what Kiri said, not that he's wrong. It became obvious to Touya that he himself meant a lot to the Azure Maiden as she had become important to him. However...
"E-Es said that about me...? I-I don't think that's..." Touya tried to brush it off before Kiri stared directly at him, not liking what Touya's trying to do.
"Touya, don't try to weasel out of this. I want to know something thay I had a good feeling for a while now. When Es called you the most important person in her life, I guessed she viewed you as a brother or someone she gave her heart to." Kiri continued, cutting off Touya from trying to steer the conversation elsewhere.
"I had a faint feeling when we were at the mall last Saturday when Es wanted to talk to you alone. I know I said I should respect your privacy, but at this point, I feel like it's obvious. Es loves you and... you love her too, don't you?" Kiri finished, finally getting to the point he wanted to get to. Yes, he'll take being called out later, but right now considering how serious things have gotten, he wanted to understand what's going through Touya's mind.
The young man however was left speechless that Kiri was able to piece things together just from how Es spoke about him and from observing Touya as well. Needless to say, Touya was blushing quite a lot and even if he lied, that would just upset Kiri as the he knew the man before him hated dishonesty. So far, he was not keeping things discreet as now Avenge, Nu AND Kiri know about their relationship.
"Y-yes... I... I'm in love with Es..." Touya replied softly, knowing he can't hide this from Kiri as this point. Kiri upon hearing this, could only smile in relief that Touya didn't avoid the situation through lying and that he admitted the same feelings Es had for the young man before him.
"B-But Kiri! I don't want you telling anyone else yet!" Touya stuttered and raised his voice slightly, but not too much to agrivate his wounds.
"Um... is there a reason why? I think it's a good thing you can trust each other with your own hearts like that." Kiri asked the young man, wondering why Touya would keep this such a secret from everyone.
"Kiri, you might want to listen to this..." Touya said as he began to explain what happened during the weekend prior to their first encounter with Unomaru as the Metal Man...
To Be Continued...
Many factors came into play! Kuon, Elise and even Wendy transferred into Hakuo North Academy, Unomaru is nearly done freeing Diablo and Kiri was able to piece Es and Touya's secret romance!
How will all of these things play out? And who is this delinquent kid that wants Es as his girlfriend!?
We'll find out next time!
