A.N: Hello, everyone! Here is the seventh chapter of this commission! Please enjoy it! :)
Chapter Seven: Our Battle Plan
Sonia yawned as her eyes slowly fluttered open. It was a rather rude awakening after such a deep slumber, and the few rays of sunlight that passed through the blinds did a number on her vision.
Well, it would appear that I have rejoined my bedroom, at least. I do wonder how I got back here, though... The Ultimate Princess wondered, gradually getting into a sitting position. Akane and Peko must have carried me to bed after I fell asleep last night. I remember Chiaki telling me about her "battle plan," even if this was clearly the fruit of her imagination...
A smile appeared on her lips.
"This was a severe case of sleepwalking..." Sonia giggled. "Had I not seen it for myself, I would have trouble believing Chiaki was asleep during all of that. Maybe she's the Ultimate Somnambulist, too."
Sonia decided she would discuss this with her Class Rep herself. It could be good to know if those were frequent occurrences. After all, she had fallen off the roof, so precautions could be required. She cared little to see one of her best friends being turned into a pancake.
"Zzz... Zzz... Zzz..."
"Hm?" Hearing a couple of snores, the princess looked around before her eyes widened in surprise. "M-My, how is this possible?! C-Chiaki?!"
The Ultimate Gamer lay under the sheets, soundly asleep – and visibly still exhausted, which was understandable, considering how much sleepwalking she'd done the night prior.
"Did Peko and Akane drop you off here too, Chiaki? Well, you've slept enough, sleepyfoot!" Sonia said gently, trying her best with idioms but not being quite there yet. She started to softly shake the video game aficionado to wake her up. "Captain? Captain Chiaki?"
The mutterings did nothing to wake up the smaller girl. The Ultimate Princess was beginning to wonder if her friend had not fallen into a state of hibernation. Her light shaking brought no meaningful response other than a yawn and Chiaki snuggling against Sonia's body.
Sonia smiled. She was too sweet.
"Zzz... Battle plans... later, we gotta... assemble a crew... to avenge... Hajime..."
"Hm, sounds interesting..." Sonia thought, feeling Chiaki snuggle closer to her. "Well, as cute as you look, I gotta wake you up! There might be an earthquake in your world, Chiaki, but I've got to do this!"
With that, the blonde resumed shaking, putting more energy into it this time. Hopefully, this would be enough to drag Chiaki out of her dreams and allow them to get to class on time. The gamer would have plenty of time to catch up on sleep during Chisa's homeroom period.
After several attempts, the Ultimate Princess was finally on the path to success. Though her eyes didn't quite open yet, Chiaki reacted, turning her head around.
"W-Where... am I...?"
"Ah, it seems you're finally awake, I see!" Sonia had trouble hiding a sigh of relief. Good, that's one thing I don't have to deal with anymore- huh?
Chiaki drowsily stood up from the bed and walked a few steps around... before bumping into a wall and falling right back to sleep. Sonia watched the scene unfold and facepalmed.
"Right back to the starting line, it seems..."
"Zzz... Hey, hey... good morning...?"
"Captain, please go back to your room for now, okay?" the blonde suggested, taking the shorter girl's hand and guiding her out. "You need to get dressed and ready for class, or we'll both be late."
"Zzz... My room...?"
"Yes, your room, Captain," Sonia insisted, dragging her classmate with a little more vigor now. Chiaki had no choice but to come along. "Please get dressed quickly."
With a sleepy nod, Chiaki entered her dorm and came back out a few minutes later. However, Sonia sighed when she saw her... wearing casual clothes.
"School uniform, Captain!" she admonished.
"Zzz... Right... uniform..." Turning around again, the Ultimate Gamer reentered the room and changed once more. When she came out, she was wearing the right clothes. "Zzz... Success..."
That took more time than expected... but we're finally ready! I hope it isn't like this every morning...
Sonia dragged Chiaki inside the classroom, not without some difficulty. She mumbled something to Nekomaru and Gundham about the Ultimate Gamer not being fully awake yet – which, in a way, was true. If she could keep the sleepwalking business hidden for now, it was probably for the best.
"Chiaki sure is a heavy sleeper! Want me to shout in her ear to wake her up?" the Ultimate Team Manager offered.
The Ultimate Princess facepalmed. "N-No, thank you, Nekomaru. It is very kind of you to offer, but I think this would cause the poor Chiaki to have a cardiac arrest..."
Well, it wasn't anything strange for the short-haired girl to sleep during class. She used to do it all the time, and even if these moments had become scarcer since Chisa's takeover as Class 77-B's homeroom teacher, there were still times Chiaki slept through their classes.
"Alright, my rotten oranges, have a seat!"
The Former Ultimate Housekeeper entered the classroom and walked over to her desk. The students bowed (save for one, of course) and sat as they were told. Chisa began to take attendance, casting a knowing glance toward Sonia and Chiaki when she got to their (consecutive) names on the list.
"I see your Class Rep is still in dreamland," the redhead said jokingly. "Luckily, I have just what would wake her up."
Sonia was taken aback by their teacher's reaction. It was almost as if she'd planned that Chiaki would be asleep during class today. However, her time to be surprised was cut short as the class turned to the gamer and watched as the young teacher placed a slice of apple pie on her desk.
Chiaki sniffed a couple of times.
"Zzz... Apple pie...?"
Drowsily, the video game aficionado opened her eyes and rubbed them drowsily, taking in her surroundings. Chisa smiled at her, rolling her eyes.
"Good morning, Class Rep. It's good to have you with us today."
"Yukizome-sensei...? Everyone...? Hey hey..."
As Sonia whispered in her ear about the whole situation, Chiaki's cheeks turned red from embarrassment. The class shared a couple of laughs before homeroom could start in earnest, and while this wasn't the girl's final nap of the day, class could proceed as usual, at least for a little while.
It was already well past midnight, yet Chiaki kept going. It was just another late-night gaming session for her, which was neither the first nor the last. She was currently playing the remastered version of Metroid, getting some of the New Game + bonuses. The main game had not stood a chance against her.
"I... might need to go to bed soon... I think..." the gamer thought aloud, a yawn escaping her. "I can keep playing tomorrow, after all..."
With the tiniest bit of motivation, Chiaki stood up from the bed and walked to her bathroom to change into her pajamas. They were rather plain: a long pink shirt, worn-out black pajama shorts, and a pair of black stockings. They fitted her perfectly, though; the Ultimate Gamer only cared for that.
Gaming is fun... If I can't be one IRL, I can hopefully be a video game heroine in my dreams... She thought somewhat bittersweetly, turning off her console and crawling into bed. A heroine... like Samus Aran.
It took no longer than a minute for the girl to fall asleep. When she next opened her eyes, her bedroom was gone, and she was instead floating around in an unknown void, drifting aimlessly at a leisurely pace as if bouncing on clouds.
For a moment, Chiaki reached perfect peace. For a brief and glorious lapse of time, she was allowed to forget all of her troubles, her Captain's death, the enemies on her tail... It was short and over before she knew it, but the dreaming girl enjoyed it to the fullest.
But eventually, reality – in this world, at least – came knocking on Chiaki's door and showed its ugly face to the resting young woman. Everything came back to her all at once: the death in an ambush of her beloved Captain Hinata, her sudden promotion in the heat of the moment, her waltz with death that was prevented only thanks to Lieutenant Nevermind's help...
It was a lot to take in.
When her eyes opened again, Chiaki was back in her ship's quarters, trying to recall what had happened to her more precisely. However, the rush she was in quickly caught up to her.
"There's no time to think about this! I need to gather a party and start planning for the upcoming attack!" Captain Chiaki thought, trying to keep her panic in check, as daunting as the task was. "It's time for action, Nanami! You've gotta avenge the Captain's death! Y-You... didn't like him so much to fail him now..."
In the real world, Chiaki had just begun another one of her sleepwalking adventures. Her arms stretched out like a zombie's would, and she shuffled off the bed before stumbling out the door and into the hallway.
"Zzz... Wait... I can't go... unprepared..." Mad at herself for the rookie mistake, Chiaki stopped in her own tracks and returned to her dorm. "Need to... gear up first... and get the... party together... then plan... our attack..."
Luckily, she already had many names that would make for perfect party members. With that settled, Chiaki focused on the second thing she needed: equipment.
"Zzz... the quest ahead... will be perilous... I need to... prepare the equipment..."
First off, the girl on a mission took hold of a toy blaster she'd once bought from the school store. With this and a plastic sword sheathed to her back, the Ultimate Gamer left her room and sleepwalked straight to the warehouse, where she found a vital weapon for her team.
"Zzz... Grenades... These are... absolutely crucial..."
They were, in fact, just fresh oranges. The sleeping girl grabbed four of them and placed them in her pajama pockets, causing them to fall significantly and making her walking sluggish. Just to be on the safe side, she did grab the whole box, planning to share them with her companions, and brought it to her war room (also known as Chisa's classroom).
With the goal of finally assembling her team, the Ultimate Gamer returned to the dorms and started knocking on doors, though banging them with her head may have been a better way to describe it. The first one, of course, was a very familiar one.
After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing the half-asleep figure of Sonia Nevermind on the other side.
"Chiaki...? Or, rather... Captain?" Sonia greeted humorously, sleepily waving at her friend. She looked at Chiaki intently, trying to evaluate the deepness of her slumber. After snapping her fingers right before her closed eyes a few times, she determined that the gamer was fast asleep and wouldn't be woken up.
"Zzz... Good morning, Lieutenant..." greeted Chiaki, unaware that it very much was not morning. "We need to... assemble our party... It's time to... plan our attack... on the enemy..." she drowsily explained.
Before Sonia could get a word in, Chiaki grabbed her hand and dragged her along. Not that the Ultimate Princess minded. Sure, some sleep sounded nice, but if she had to lose sleep over something, she much preferred it being Chiaki's cute antics than anything else. She just hoped all this 'party' business wouldn't cause the whole class to be woken up. That would be trouble.
Back on another adventure, Chiaki's first stop was back in her dorm, where she pointed to her trustworthy Nintendo Switch, wordlessly asking her friend to pick it up – which she did. The Ultimate Gamer rarely went far without a console on her person.
Their next two stops were at Akane and Peko's doors. The former looked as energetic as always, the other... not so much. Nevertheless, they had no complaints and accepted Chiaki's offer to follow them. This brought them to the classroom, where everything but the box of oranges was the same.
The trio of girls had to admit that their Class Representative was an impressive sleepwalker. After a chat with the short-haired Ultimate, Sonia realized that she remembered nothing of the previous night's events. Most likely, this would be the case again. Well, not remembering a near-death experience may have been a blessing.
Chiaki stumbled her way to the chalkboard and grabbed a piece of white chalk.
"Zzz... My name is... Chiaki Nanami..." she said, writing it down on the board. "And this is... a map of... the battlefield..."
Remarkably, the video game aficionado drew a perfect battlefield map with an uncanny amount of details, such as enemy bases, topological aspects of the land, or possible landing spots. However, as she tried to feel around the board for something, she frowned.
"Somethin' wrong, Chiaki?" Akane asked.
"Zzz... Ruler... Can't find... my ruler..."
"Ah, let me give you a helping foot, Chiaki."
Peko sweatdropped as Sonia stood up and grabbed Chisa's ruler, and gave it to the sleepwalking girl. There were times the class wondered how Sonia could get so many of these wrong – and never realize it.
"Here you go, Captain!" the princess said with a sudden burst of enthusiasm. "Our General must have thought it funny to hide it, but we have retrieved it!"
"Zzz... Thank you, Lieutenant..." With a sleepy nod from her friend, the blonde rejoined the two other Ultimates. "Now please... take your seats... my comrades..." Chiaki yawned. "It's time to... go over... our battle strategy..."
Of course, the girls didn't take Chiaki that seriously. They were all aware this was all in her mind – and were thankful for it, as none of them was ready for any sort of battle in the middle of the night. However, they had to admire their good friend's exciting dreams. Their respective slumbers were nothing of the sort.
"Zzz... Now, our plan... will be this... The enemy commander... will be surprised... by our ambush... We'll beat them... at their own game..."
Peko raised her hand. Ever the rational thinker, the Ultimate Swordswoman had some trouble grasping what Chiaki was going on about. Akane wasn't too concerned, and Sonia had gotten somewhat used to it, leaving her as the only one totally lost.
"Chiaki, who is this enemy you speak of?" the braided girl asked.
Chiaki gave a slow nod and grabbed her ruler again. She pointed it on the board to some gibberish shape she'd previously drawn on her battlefield map.
"Zzz... They're called... World Ender... and they're... very dangerous..." the sleepwalker explained, adding, "This ambush... won't destroy them... but weaken them... We especially need... to destroy their... dastardly leader..." Determination filled her face. "Like this... we can avenge... our fallen Captain..."
Akane stood up from her seat and walked over to the so-called Captain. She placed a pair of strong hands on the sleeping girl's shoulders, making her yelp slightly.
"I have only one question, Chiaki... How many of these World Ender guys do I gotta beat up?!"
She gently shook Chiaki for an answer but merely received a snore. Akane sweatdropped, having expected a more substantial reply.
"Zzz... You'll get to... destroy a lot... of the baddies... more than your... fair share... I promise, Akane..."
"Ooooh, that's getting me all fired up!" the Ultimate Gymnast stated, pumping her fists together. "I don't understand exactly what you're on about Chiaki, but I like what you're cooking anyway!"
"Zzz... That's good... Now, we need... to recruit more... members for the... party to be... complete at last..." Chiaki added. "I want... Mahiru... Ibuki... and Hiyoko..."
Sonia struggled to hide her opinion on the matter. The more people they got involved in this situation, the harder it would be to keep everyone in check. Considering Hiyoko's known attitude, this was bound to get ugly sooner rather than later. And with Ibuki's overbearing cheerfulness being thrown into the mix... Luckily, they could probably count on Mahiru being the voice of reason... hopefully.
"Why is Chiaki calling herself a Captain...? And what are you three doing together in the middle of the night...?"
"What I'd like to know is why you had to wake me up at this hour!"
"Whatever it is, it sounds like fun! Ibuki's all in!"
These reactions, of course, were Mahiru's, Hiyoko's, and Ibuki's, respectively. With a sleepwalking Chiaki standing amidst the six other girls, there were indeed plenty of questions to be asked. There at least seemed to be someone who didn't require any convincing. That was not a surprise.
Sonia gave the three a brief explanation of the situation. The Ultimate Traditional Dancer laughed disdainfully at the motion of their Class Rep sleepwalking. Her laughter turned mocking when she saw the Ultimate Gamer was, in fact, moving around and calling herself a space captain.
"Zzz... Very important mission... Do not... mock me..."
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Well, I'm all in now that I've seen this!" Hiyoko said, and Sonia wondered if her sudden enthusiasm was healthy. "Ohh, I'll be right back! Gimme a second, and don't leave without me!"
Suspicious, but not quite enough to stop her, the girls let Hiyoko return to her room, only for her to reappear a few moments later. Her hands were behind her back, and Mahiru needed no more time to figure out she was up to no good.
"What are you hiding there, Hiyoko?" the redhead asked, giving her friend a disapproving look.
"Nothing! Don't worry about little old me!"
Quickly, Hiyoko got behind everybody's backs and tried to pull down Chiaki's pajama pants, an icicle in hand. With quick reflexes, Peko stopped her before she could put it in the sleeping girl's underwear.
"Hiyoko!" Mahiru reprimanded firmly, her voice going up a couple of notches.
"Hey, I just want to see how deeply she was sleeping!" the dancer argued, tossing the icicle away while Sonia pulled Chiaki's pants back up.
"Do not do such a thing again, young lady! Startling a sleepwalker is an awful idea!" the Ultimate Princess scolded, giving Hiyoko a tap behind the head, the way a mom would scold one of her children. When she acted like this, she really looked the part of a princess.
"Fiiiine... You're such a killjoy... But I want Mahiru and Ibuki to join! Otherwise, I'm not coming!"
With that, she began to pout. Peko and Sonia sighed.
"Ibuki's totally raging to go! Adventures are a ton of fun, especially with so many girls! Ibuki's getting all excited and tingly inside at the thought!"
Yes, "slippery when wet," if I recall correctly... Sonia thought semi-amusingly. Though these are some thoughts that are better left aside for the moment... "I'm happy to hear it, Ibuki. What about you, Mahiru?"
"I'm not sure..." the Ultimate Photographer admitted. "First of all, I'm not totally sure we're supposed to be outside our dorms in the middle of the night... Besides, can't it get dangerous walking around with a sleepwalker?"
Sonia let out a nervous laugh. "N-Not at all! It's only late-night fun to entertain Chiaki's dreams, nothing else! I wouldn't let her get in harm's way!" I should probably refrain from talking about what happened last night and how Chiaki almost ended up flatter than a Novoselic crepe...
"Alright, then..." Mahiru relented. "I suppose we can go. Still, if it is the six of us with Chiaki, I want us to bring Mikan along, too. It doesn't seem fair that she'd be the only girl left aside."
"Ughh, not the pig... I don't want her ruining all the fun, being stupid as she always is..." Hiyoko complained.
"Stop calling Mikan a pig, Hiyoko. I already told you that's mean," the redhead said, adding, "Would you want others to call you a pig?"
"Fine... I won't call her a pig, then. You said nothing about calling her a sow, thou-"
"No calling Mikan any names!"
Hiyoko sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, okay, I get it. I can't promise anything if things go wrong. Which they will, considering the squad assembled here..."
Although she didn't say it, Sonia had to admit there was some truth to Hiyoko's statement. After all, whenever the Class 77-B students did something together, it usually went wrong somewhere along the way. Thankfully, Nagito wasn't part of this, so perhaps they had a chance of things somehow going right.
With a sleepwalker as their leader, though, this was highly unlikely.
"Let us retrieve our final classmate, then!" the princess said, walking towards the Ultimate Nurse's door and giving a loud knock. It opened after a moment, revealing a very drowsy Mikan. "Hello, Mikan! We've come to invite you on Chiaki's late-night adventure!"
"S-Sonia...? E-Everyone...? I-Is this a dream...?"
Sonia laughed. "Not at all! This is very much real, and we need you to complete our girl-only team! Are you ready?"
"A-Are you sure you want s-someone like me in your g-group...?" the nurse asked hesitantly, her door still not totally opened. She caught sight of Hiyoko in the corner of her eye and tensed. When Mahiru gave her a smile, though, she opened up slightly. "O-Okay, i-if you really wanna..."
"Perfect! With Mikan, that makes eight of us! Isn't that plenty enough, Captain Chiaki?"
The sleepwalker nodded in approval. "Zzz... Yes, that is... more than enough... to take on... the enemy forces... Let us now... get going... Follow me..."
Though some remained skeptical, the seven girls followed their Class Representative as she led them to the elevator. As much as Sonia wished they stayed quiet, a group of eight teenagers roaming the halls was bound to be noisy, and the princess began to hope they wouldn't be caught by the security team.
When they got in front of the doors, Sonia had to gently push Chiaki inside the elevator. It was a tight fit with so many people, but they managed, and their destination was the main floor, down below. They gathered in the main hall and let Chiaki take the lead. The Ultimate Princess heard her friends whisper to one another about Chiaki's antics.
I suppose I was as confused as they are when I first saw Chiaki in this state... She thought amusingly. I am sure of one thing, though: this won't be boring...
"Zzz... Everyone... We are ready... to go on a... great quest... for justice... I hope you... are all ready... If so... let us... get going..."
"My dear comrades! We are about to embark on a journey of unprecedented importance! The fate of civilization rests on our shoulders! Furthermore, we are gathered here today to avenge our former Captain and honor his name! At my signal... GO!"
Sonia enthusiastically clapped at the Ultimate Gamer's "inspiring" speech, prompting the others to do the same, albeit to varying degrees of cheerfulness. The happiest of the team, however, was none other than Chiaki herself, who, with a broad smile on her lips, appeared to be having fun.
"I'm not sure I'm ready for this, to be honest..."
"I can't say I am either," Peko agreed with Mahiru. "I would rather be resting in bed, but protecting my friends and our Class Rep takes precedence."
"Hey, as long as I can beat people up, I'm pumped up!" Akane said, drawing a couple of sighs.
"If Ibuki can hang out with her friends at night, she won't ask for anything more! Whatever happens next, Ibuki's sure it'll be the experience of a lifetime!"
"I hope the buzzkills around here allow it to be fun..." Hiyoko whispered under her breath.
"I-I'm not sure w-what this is all a-about... b-but if it's w-with all of you... I-I think we can h-have fun...!"
Seeing everyone was ready at last, Chiaki turned to the imposing doors.
"Zzz... Our journey begins...!"
With some help, Chiaki opened the doors and, thanks to the slightest of pushes from her closest companion, took the first step outside on what promised to be a journey of epic proportions... at least for the Ultimate Gamer.
To be continued...
A.N: I hope you liked it! Please leave a review, and I hope you all have a nice day!