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It was supposed to be another normal day after school at Kouyouen High School, but Sasaki supposed that none of her days were normal, especially not since meeting her new "friend."
"What exactly possessed you to challenge our math teacher to a duel?" Sasaki asked Komekko as they entered into the club room.
The other girl looked slightly bedraggled from having to stand outside of class and hold buckets of water up for over an hour, but apparently that hadn't dampened her spirits in the slightest. "Clearly, the fool was unable to comprehend my answers to the questions! A Crimson Demon sees beyond the mortal plane to the hereafter!"
Kyoko sighed and sat down at a desk, slumping in her seat with her head down on the desk. "Well, did you learn anything from that, at least?"
"Yes! I learned that with only a little more prodding, I shall assume control of the class, and cause our supposed teacher to retreat in shame! I have passed their test of strength and endurance! Next, I shall master them!" Komekko decreed, posing and putting a hand over one glowing red eye.
"That's not how school works, you know," Sasaki told her, taking a seat across from Kyoko. Something was wrong with her friend, but she couldn't get Kyoko to tell her what.
"Pah! That's what Pucchin used to claim, but Arue was able to become headmistress merely by turning him into a donkey for a few days, and he was forced to return to being a mere teacher!" Komekko laughed.
Sasaki shrugged and looked around, frowning as she glanced at the clock. "Where are Fujiwara and Kuyou? We should have been late after the lecture Komekko got?"
"I think Kuyou left early, and I didn't even see Fujiwara at lunch," Kyoko sighed, sitting up and resetting her head on one hand. "I think he's afraid of Komekko."
"As he should be! As the Devil Queen of Belzerg, I am a fearsome sight to behold!" Komekko said, puffing out her chest.
That got Kyoko out of her slump, and she and Sasaki shared a giggle. At the moment, Komekko looked like a rather sweaty and sore high school student deep in the throes of a chuuni delusion, thanks to her bandage eyepatch and star shaped hair ornament.
Before Sasaki could comment on how the "Queen" had spent a whole period in detention, her phone buzzed in her purse. She flipped it open and grimaced when she saw that it was a call from her mother, and put it back. "Well, how exactly are we going to start realizing my dream, and getting you and your supposed minions back where they belong?"
"I don't know," Komekko admitted. "Magic works strangely here. There SHOULD be some way to tap into your divine powers and transfer them to someone else."
"I think that Kyon could do that," Kyoko opined, finally sitting up all the way. "He's like…the keystone for Haruhi. She placed a lot of importance on him. I think when Nagato took Haruhi's powers, it was through their shared connection to Kyon that she was able to do that."
"What on Earth makes you think THAT?" Sasaki demanded. Her phone was continuing to buzz, and she glared at it in irritation. She really didn't want to talk to her mother at the moment. When she glanced at the screen again though, she saw that she had missed a call from her father as well.
Still, this conversation was important, so she slipped the phone back into her purse.
"I know that the goddesses imbue items with their powers, and can be bound to mortals. Aqua was bound to Kazuma somehow, he called her his 'cheat item' if I remember right," Komekko mused.
That made Sasaki flush suddenly. She hated the thought of people cheating on one another. One good thing she could say about her parents was that even with their international travel apart from one another, neither had ever cheated. They were still in love with one another, as sickening as it was. Or maybe they had some weird pact, she didn't really know.
"What, like an OP power some character gets in a light novel?" Kyoko asked.
"Hmm, I have not read sufficient of these light novels, but there were other heroes with 'Divine Items.' They are quite pesky and I've had to defeat several," Komekko mused. "Perhaps, perhaps."
"What do you do with these defeated heroes?" Sasaki asked, feeling a bit sick. She had to be willing to get her hands a little dirty, but…
"Oh, well, there was this one…Mitsubishi? Kyoto? Anyway, he had this cursed sword, Gram. I simply separated him from that sword. Then dosed him with love potion. He finally fell in love with his party members that had been pining for him for ages. Got them both pregnant and settled down to a boring life where he wouldn't bother me with his silly heroics since he was a house husband," Komekko said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"And the heroes that you couldn't just bamboozle? What did you do with them?" Kyoko asked.
"Well, I had to fight some, and…" A pained look passed over Komekko's eyes, and she looked down. "One hero I fought and…I defeated one of her party members, but…it wasn't on purpose. I thought…I thought she could take it…she had taken everything else…then she banished me and my generals…I didn't think…I thought she could forgive me."
Tears started to flow down Komekko's cheeks, and she sniffled and looked away. "B-but my triumphant return, will, um…I shall…"
Sasaki's phone started buzzing again, and in irritation she turned it off. This really was an interesting conversation. "So, you did kill people, when you had to."
"Well, if they were evil, sure. There were plenty of corrupt nobles and a couple of rotten heroes who were slaughtering my friends just because they gave XP when they died," Komekko explained, scrubbing the tears from her eyes. "But I tried to make their punishments fitting. The hero who would hunt female orcs and abuse them, I turned him into a male orc and let them have their way with him. I mean, he died, but…he seemed to enjoy it."
"So, karmic justice. It seems the Devil Queen had more morals than even the gods," Sasaki said, folding her arms over her chest.
"Ha! Of course! One of the goddesses turned out to be a thief! And Aqua was a notorious drunk! Plus, they were slacking at their jobs so much, I HAD to take over! Everything was just falling apart and monsters were running loose all over the place. If a Devil Queen hadn't stepped in and taken control, they would have eaten all the food, and then people would have gone hungry! And I won't let a SINGLE little kid miss a meal, no matter what!" Komekko sore, raising a fist as she monologued.
"See," Sasaki said, turning to Kyoko. "She's not evil. Just misunderstood. It's the gods and heroes who are the real monsters."
"I suppose. As long as we get our normal world," Kyoko said with a shrug. "And…well, I feel like I had everything I wanted for a little while. Even if I was a boy…"
"Well, we could change you back. Magic might be weird here but I'm pretty sure I could get Wiz to help me with a polymorph spell," Komekko offered.
Going bright red, Kyoko held up her hands and shook her head furiously. "No, no, it's just, um, it was an alternate world! We were all cursed! We broke it, but, um, that unleashed all the magic again…I want to go back to that, but you know…while still being a girl. But Itsuki needs to stay a boy! Er, and everyone else being the right…nevermind."
"It was a temporary solution with some obvious flaws," Sasaki said, steepling her fingers. "Now, do you think that someone might be my 'keystone?' Someone I've entrusted who could transfer my powers?"
"Well, could it be Kyon again? You were really close to him in the past, weren't you?" Kyoko asked.
"Hmm, a hidden love with forbidden romance ensnaring the fates of two goddesses…I must meet this Kyon! Is he too a hero from another world?" Komekko demanded.
"Not…really? At least, I don't think he's my love interest. Not anymore, anyway," Sasaki said. "As for him being my keystone…I'm not sure. We were close, but I feel like Haruhi stole him away from me."
"Do you feel like you need to steal him back?" Kyoko asked, tapping her fingers on the desk and frowning.
"If he was your minion, obviously you do need to steal him back: it's the morally correct thing to do," Komekko opined.
"No! Saving the universe should be about more than fighting over my old junior high crush with my cousin!" Sasaki complained, throwing her hands up in the air. "You make the fate of the world sound like so much high school drama!"
"The fate of the world must ALWAYS be dramatic! Now, Kazuma is clearly Aqua's 'keystone' so we shall have to kidnap him somehow to get her power. Then, we just need this Kyon to get Haruhi's power, and you can then give me yours, I can return to my world, and set right what once went wrong!" Komekko said.
"Are we sure that kidnapping is the way we want to go?" Kyoko asked, sounding a little nervous. "I mean…I got some funding…we could try to bribe them or something…"
They spent nearly an hour arguing over what the proper thing to do was, until the door banged open again.
"Is that you, Fujiwara? You're quite late, we could have-" Sasaki began, turning around to face the door. When she saw who was there though, she frowned. "Uncle Kazuma? What are you-"
"You need to pick up your phone more," her uncle said, striding into the room, we- MEGUMIN!?"
Komekko, who looked like she'd just seen a ghost, fell off the desk she'd been sitting on top of and landed with a crash.
"Kazuma, what are you talking about?" Aunt Thalia said, pushing her husband aside to get into the room. "Sasaki, you should have picked up! We need you, right now! Your mom and dad are-"
Then it was Kyoko's turn to shoot up, but instead of falling over, she sprinted for the door and flung herself at the next person through the door, which was Koizumi of all people.
"You came out! I was so worried about you! I knew you would see things my way," Kyoko cried, pressing herself closely against her flabbergasted sometimes lover.
"That's…not why I'm here," Koizumi admitted, gingerly returning the hug. "Actually, we're here about Haruhi."
"Smiley, you know her?" Kazuma asked absently, but he had gone over to the trembling Crimson Demon. "Wait. You're not Megumin. What are you-"
"KAZUMA! Get back! That's the Devil Queen!" a tall, strange foreign woman thundered, then proceeded to charge right through all the desks between her and Komekko, sending them flying through the air and Sasaki crashing to the floor. Then it was all yelling and crying for a few seconds, until Sasaki felt something break.
The room suddenly drained of all color, and even of all grey. Everything became painted in stark black and white, like a drawing come to life. Groaning, Sasaki sat up, realizing she'd enveloped the room in her version of Closed Space. Above her floated Kyoko, a faint shimmer of color about her as she used her abilities.
"Alright, everyone is going to sit down and shut up, or I will make you sit down and shut up," Kyoko said firmly, pointing to Sasaki's aunt and uncle, the stranger, and the squirming Komekko.
"You'd better do it. Only her powers function here," Koizumi said, his hands in his pockets as he walked over to stand beside and below Kyoko. "Now. What's going on here? Who is this?"
"I am Komekko! Um, formerly the Cutest Little Sister of the Crimson Demon Clan and-" Komekko swallowed and interrupted herself as Uncle Kazuma and Darkness tried to tug her back and forth, Aunt Thalia fluttering about in a panic behind her. "Um, I…I'm sorry, Darkness! I didn't- I thought you would survive that! Honest! I wouldn't have, I didn't-"
Komekko burst out crying as Uncle Kazuma let go of her, and flung herself at the suddenly embarrassed and astonished Darkness, who gingerly returned the hug of the sobbing girl and patted her on the back.
"You were supposed to be the toughest! I thought, you said you had survived the Explosions of my Big Sis, and no one's Explosion was stronger than hers! I bragged I was stronger, but…but..no one was stronger than Big Sis! So, when I attacked you, I thought…I thought…"
"I…your attack was quite strong. And my mana was exhausted; I couldn't use my anti-magic field skill," Darkness said, looking rather embarrassed. "And, well, I had taken some damage in my fight with Hoost…I don't put all my points into defense these days…so, yes…you did kill me…"
"But I didn't MEAN to!" Komekko sobbed. "I…I came here, a-after I won!"
"You said you lost," Sasaki said suspiciously.
Komekko winced. "Um…well…maybe Big Sis sort of banished me…I didn't put up much of a fight…but! I came here to try to find the Aqua. She brought Kazuma back to life all the time! I-If Aqua could bring back YOU, t-then I wouldn't feel so bad…"
"You wanted my power to set the world right…to bring back someone you killed?" Sasaki asked, slowly piecing together what had happened.
"That's not important right now. Darkness is fine, and Komekko has always been a kill-stealing little gremlin. What's important now is where my daughter is," Uncle Kazuma said firmly. He turned to Sasaki. "What I need right now is to locate her. And I think you're our best bet, Kiriko."
That made Sasaki wince. Not just at the use of the name she hated, but that her Uncle had come to find her because her phone was turned off…what had Haruhi gotten into?
"Right," Sasaki said absently, slowly re-evaluating things. Of course. Of course Haruhi's parents were a goddess and a hero from another world. It made sense. She'd suspected as much, had basically confirmed it to herself over a year ago. But…but Kazuma was her uncle…and Thalia wasn't correcting her being Aqua…Did that mean…were Haruhi's parents also time travelers?
"Please, Kiriko, we need you to help us find Haruhi!" Aunty Thalia…or was it Aqua? Begged.
"Right. That…sort of makes sense? I think?" Kyoko said, glancing down at Sasaki. "Should, I, er…close this?"
"Do it," Sasaki agreed. "We'll get nothing done here."
The Closed Space shrank, color flooding back into first the corners of the room, then filling it as Kyoko contained then banished the sterile alternate world.
"Alright," Sasaki said, standing up straight and putting her hands behind her back to hide their trembling. "There's a lot we have to say to each other, Uncle Kazuma. Aunt…Aqua?"
"Thalia, now. I…was. But not anymore. Just like your mother is no longer Ristarte," her aunt said.
"We don't have time for that. Haruhi has been kidnapped, and by someone extremely dangerous. We need to find her, but also to keep you out of trouble. It's likely they're after you, too," her uncle said, coming over to put a hand on Sasaki's shoulder.
She let him, and managed not to flinch. "You will find I am quite capable of keeping myself out of trouble."
"Uh huh." Uncle Kazuma gave Komekko a level look.
"What?" Komekko said, frowning. "It was that one time!"
"Mhmmm. Just keep my niece safe, little Miss Devil Queen. Darkness, you keep an eye on her," Kazuma said, turning back to Sasaki. "Now. Haruhi. Can you locate her?"
Sasaki bit her lip. "How much danger is she in?"
Kazuma's face flashed to grief, and for a moment Sasaki saw just how frightened her uncle actually was.
"A lot. And…Kiriko." Her uncle knelt down, tears in his eyes. "I can't save her. What abilities I had…I gave that all up. And unlike your dad, I never had unfairly inflated stats to begin with. I need you. Please."
"You're…risking your life to find her?" Sasaki felt sick. Haruhi would have the more functional family with loving parents. "What did you give up to save the other world?"
"Me? Oh, nothing worth anything," Kazuma said with a shrug and a lopsided grin.
Thalia made a disgusted noise. "He died, Kiriko. And…and he gave up…another woman. For me."
"Big Sis never DID forgive you," Komekko muttered.
"Megumin…meant a lot to me. But it was the only way," Kazuma sighed. He stood up, frowning at Komekko. "But I'm not sure you're my Komekko. Just like I'm not sure that's my Darkness."
"Oh," Sasaki said, something else slipping into place. "It's Dragon Ball, not Back to the Future."
"If only it were that simple. Now. My daughter?" Thalia demanded, coming to stand by her husband and taking his hand in hers.
Sasaki hesitated. "I don't know if I can track her…" the devastated look on her aunt an uncle's faces made her stomach flip. "...But if there's been a kidnapping…I know someone who probably is connected to it. We need to find Fujiwara and Kuyou."
"What are we waiting for? Let's just suck her dry and be done with it!"
Tanya gritted her teeth and reminded herself that killing this buffoon would also mean giving up her second target on this mission. "Because, Fujiwara, it is not that simple."
Tanya was on her hands and knees in the basement of the house they had rented. It wasn't at the edge of town, but rather in one of the nice suburbs. No one in Japan bothered their neighbors in the suburbs, at least not if you sorted your trash properly. She and Visha were pretending to be foreigner tourists who had rented the place for a few months, and so far the locals had left them alone.
But she still needed people on the ground. And working with this idiot was sadly the best way to do it. Someone who could get close to her targets, and most importantly, could be her wheel man. She hated having to work with too many people, but…
"Ma'am, Haruhi has stopped crying, but she's complaining she's hungry and thirsty," the radio next to Tanya said.
Tanya paused, setting aside her chalk and picking up the radio. "Feed her; bread and water only. The other one too."
"You said you would give me my sister," Fujiwara said darkly, standing and coming over to examine the diagram Tanya was drawing on the concrete floor.
"Do not touch that!" Tanya hissed, pointing an angry finger at the fool. "Don't come near! This magic is unstable and delicate. If I get one line wrong, just ONE, the entire thing could collapse!"
"Hmph. Well, as long as I get my sister's TPDD," Fujiwara grumbled.
He was a strange one: apparently, Mao had known him, and was also another time traveler, though she claimed to have no ability to move back and forth in time without her "capsule." She claimed to be from a different organization from Fujiwara, and to remember very little of vague future.
"Do you want the device, or the girl?" Tanya asked, irritated as she knelt back down.
"I want them both! So hurry up so I can- oh. Sasaki's calling." The boy dug out his phone, which was playing a chipper electronic warble.
"Don't answer that here, they could trace it!" Tanya snapped.
"Oh relax. She's probably wondering where I've been," Fujiwara said. He raised an eyebrow at Tanya. "If I talk to her, I could lure her here. Two birds with one stone. The timeline finally corrected."
"Fine. But if she shows up with the esper girl, I'm killing her," Tanya growled. "That little maniac and the rest of the fanatics have caused me enough trouble."
"Yeah, yeah, sure." Fujiwara pinched his nose and put the phone to his ear. "Hello? Yeah, it's me. No, I'm just a little stuffed up. I did some time traveling and it didn't agree with me. No, it's not because Kazuma broke my nose! Ugh, I'll be at school tomorrow. Haruhi? What about her. No, I haven't heard anything. Mikuru? Yeah, I guess I could look up where she's at, might take me a bit. You want me to meet you somewhere? Yeah, OK, sure. Just don't bring that red-eyed maniac with you."
Tanya jumped up, a wild look in her eyes. Fujiwara stumbled back and let out a yelp, but recovered before he dropped his phone.
"Sorry, sorry, my cat. Yes, I have a cat! Look, I'll meet you in an hours by that old bookstore. I'll bring the fan and take you to where Mikuru is. Come alone if you can. Kyoko? Fine. See you then."
Fujiwara hung up, and glared at Tanya. "What?"
"What red-eyed maniac?" Tanya growled. "Does she wear an eyepatch? Make dramatic speeches?"
"Oh for- how do you know Komekko?!" Fujiwara demanded.
"Komekko?" Tanya's brows knitted together. "That is not…she is not called Megumin?"
"No, she's a crazy little maniac. I don't like her. Says she's a super powerful mage or something, maybe she is, I dunno. She doesn't matter. Sasaki will come alone. I'll go pick her up," Fujiwara said, turning for the stairs.
"Wait. I'm sending Mao with you. I'll take over watching the prisoners," Tanya said. She didn't trust Fujiwara. If Visha wasn't out meeting with the Sky Canopy Dominion, Tanya would go herself, but as it was, Mao was the more trustworthy of the pair. At the very least, the two of them seemed to be somewhat at odds and would balance one another slightly.
Following after a strange, near omnipotent alien that could destroy him with a thought should have been a terrifying experience for Kyon. Instead, it sort of felt like…a date.
He glanced over at Nagato, and noticed she had paled slightly, and sweat was beading on her forehead. She never felt well around Kuyou; the strange alien always affected her badly. Maybe it was because of his concern, or because this really did feel like a date, but Kyon put out his hand and took Nagato's in his.
To his shock, she looked up at him…and smiled. It was faint, just a slight upward curvature of her lips, but from Nagato it was the same as a full belly laugh, or maybe a joyful giggle. He's heart did a flip-flop, and he smiled back, squeezing her hand.
She squeezed back, and then turned her attention back to what they were supposed to be doing. Namely trailing Kuyou through the city.
"Do you think she knows we're following her?" Kyon asked quietly.
"Negative. I am cloaking our presence. We are as empty air to the Sky Canopy Dominion," Yuki answered, her tone as calm as ever.
"Does that…take a lot out of you?" Kyon asked, uncertain of just what that would involve.
Yuki nodded once. Then, she cocked her head to one side, and glanced at Kyon. "You are worried. You think I will repeat the previous incident."
"Yes. You ended up in the hospital, Yuki. I don't want you to get hurt." Kyon hesitated, then added, "Even for Haruhi."
"My current stress is related to hiding our presence. Thanks to Aqua Mizu, I no longer am as adversely affected by the Sky Canopy Dominon's Junk Data transmissions. It is somewhat remarkable that you cannot detect it."
"I dunno, there's just something…off, about her. You seem like a shy, quiet girl. I could tell you were different, but…not so different, you know? You seem human," Kyon said. He blanched and looked away. "I mean, I like you as you, Yuki, but…"
"I understand. I pass for human, but odd. Possibly one that has some sort of abnormality, such as Asperger's Syndrome," Yuki said with a nod.
"Er, yeah, actually," Kyon admitted. "Just, you know, socially awkward. But…that thing? Yeah. She's just creepy. The way she moves, the way she acts…it's just off. It looks alright at first, but if you look too long…she's like one of those paintings with disturbing images hidden in them that your subconscious picks up on long before you actively realize it."
"The Sky Canopy Dominion's facsimile of humanity is flawed. It is impatient, and makes errors that careful study would correct."
Yuki walked alongside Kyon for a moment, and he took a moment to send a one handed text message to Kazuma. When he finished, he glanced at Yuki, and she was smiling.
"You seem pretty happy, for having our friend kidnapped," Kyon observed.
"You stated you liked me for me. I know it is because I am a human female, who's form matches your fetishes. This stimulates the pleasure receptors in my brain. I am not entirely certain as to why."
"I mean, yes, but also no! You're…you're my friend, Yuki. I trust you more than anyone else. You know about me than basically anyone. Sure, you're cute. Really cute. But…there's more to it than that, you know? It's not like Haruhi or Asahina are unattractive."
Yuki's smile suddenly vanished, and in fact, turned upside down, so Kyon hastened on, "But there's so much more to you. You're smart, but you're not arrogant. You're a bit shy, and awkward, but you keep trying. You care for me, and well, I feel comfortable around you the way I don't around anyone else."
"That is-" Yuki's eyes suddenly widened and she stepped in front of Kyon, letting go of his hand. At the same time, Kuyou stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. She pivoted with a jerky, unnatural motion, her head swinging about and her eyes locking on Kyon and Yuki.
"Stay behind me," Yuki said quietly.
That didn't sit well with Kyon. Yuki was stronger, sure, but he was the man, dammit! He had to protect her.
"Hey, you!" Kyon said, stepping up beside Yuki. "Don't think you can-"
There was no tensing of muscles, no taking a step back, no lunging forward. One moment, Kuyou was seven meters in front of Kyon and Yuki, the next, mere centimeters in front of them, one hand raised to strike. Her face was impassive, frozen, not even expressionless, just looked in a pleasant neutral one.
Yuki did have to tense her muscles, but she exploded into Kuyou, rocking the other humanoid interface to the side, then raising her leg and delivering a slashing kick that sent Kuyou into the side of a nearby building with enough force that it cracked the brick and sent mortar flying.
Kyon could only fall back, rapidly texting into his phone a plea for help as Nagato and Kuyou exchanged a flurry of blows so fast and furious that he could really only see the motion blur. Around them, people were crying out, some turning to flee, others frozen in panic.
What Kyon could see of the battle though was not good. Kuyou looked unperturbed, meeting Yuki blow for blow. But Yuki was bleeding from a gash on her left cheek, and her school uniform was now torn in half a dozen places. She was taking hits, and serious ones. She'd said her abilities were reduced, but…
Kyon had to do something. Anything. He glanced around, found a bit of broken brick that had fallen off in the first hit, and raised it, circling around behind Kuyou to strike at her. He didn't think he could hurt her, but-
Just as he got into position, Kuyou's leg snapped back, catching Kyon in the leg. He felt something break, and he cried out in pain, dropping the brick and falling. Her leg raised up again and-
Yuki was just there. Circling around behind Kuyou faster than Kyon could really perceive, hands raised in a block. Kuyou's leg caught her, and slammed her back into Kyon, knocking the wind out of him. He lay on his back, dazed, Yuki broken and bleeding atop him.
"Y-Yuki…no!" Kyon gasped.
"Told you…stay…behind," Yuki panted, and she struggled to get back up.
A sharp chop to her neck from Kuyou put an end to that. Yuki slumped atop Kyon, dead or unconscious, he wasn't sure.
"Data extraction ready," Kuyou said. "Comply."
"What?! No, don't-"
Kuyou's next blow turned the world to black for Kyon.