Act 2, Chapter 12 - Siblings, Reunions, and Reconciliation
It is now currently the mid-afternoon of August the 12th, and the bus was en route to its preset destination where Articho and his friends will have to walk the rest of the way in order to reach the small café - which was originally a pastry that served sweets before it suddenly closed down and later renovated into a new business establishment that occurred several months ago. As the bus drives down the streets of School District 7, the eleven teenagers sit in their seats while looking out the window at the city skyline around them.
"This city is so beautiful and breathtaking." Riko admits with an awed expression, sitting in the back seats with Chika and Yō.
"Don't let appearances easily deceive you." Articho explains as he is sitting up front in a seat by one of the windows. "This place has been corrupt ever since it was founded. At least, up until three years ago."
"What happened three years ago?"
"Before 2023, Academy City wasn't exactly on the 'ethical' side of things in the name of science." He explains, quoting with his fingers. "Unofficially, that is. After all, kids and teenagers make up 80 percent here. While the remaining 20 percent are adults. One scientist - Gensei Kihara - is infamous for his horrendous experiments on human test subjects, even on his own granddaughter who was around our age and is just as manipulative and psychotic as he is."
The girls gasped in disbelief and disgust.
"That's so wrong!" Dia scoffs.
"Why would they be who they are?" Ruby asks.
"People can be cruel, Ruby." Leah shakes her head with a sigh. "They do it because they can. And because they enjoy it."
"That's just masochism taken to a whole new level." Yoshiko deadpans.
"As well as sadism." Articho adds. "For real change in this damn city to happen, killing Gensei was the only option. A daughter almost lost a mother during the last Daihasei Festival, and I wasn't going to let her grow up without one."
"How noble of you." Mari says, putting on a fake smile.
The girls already know that he has killed before, but as a teenager? That's just... How's he able to withstand that kind of trauma?
"Is killing necessary?" Chika questions, frowning at the fact their friend would resort to that kind of action.
"No." He shakes his head. "But there will always be times that some very bad people refuse to change. Some people aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some people just want to watch the world burn. It's inevitable, Chika. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
"I understood the reference." Kanan - sitting next to him - speaks up.
"Kanan?!" Dia replies in shock.
"He does have a point, you know." Mari shrugs.
"Well... I suppose." The black haired girl sighs. "Seems I clearly underestimated your wisdom yet again, Articho."
"Don't mentioned it." He waved it off.
"So did killing him make a difference, though?" Kanan asks.
"Not entirely, but at least he won't be able to use Mikoto again." He answers.
"Who's Mikoto?" She further asks, raising an eyebrow.
"One of the seven Level 5 Espers in Academy City and she's one of my wives I'm married to." The Pathfinder explains, getting his old friends attention. "And she's a victim to one of the most cruel things imaginable… illegal cloning."
"Cloning humans has never been done before." Dia deadpans.
"You sure about that, Dia?" He rolls his eyes. "Last I checked, Gensei used Mikoto and her Sisters in an attempt to destroy the city."
"Sisters, zura?" Hanamaru questions curiously.
"Yeah, that's what we call them." He nods at the golden brown haired girl who is sitting on the left side of the bus. "But with a capital 'S'."
"Like the Clones from Star Wars?" The blond rich girl perks up.
"Again with Star Wars." Yō grumbles.
"By the way, ladies, your American English is perfectly fluent since my team and I found you beneath Mount Fuji." The Pathfinder compliments, getting off topic for a moment. "Glad Mari's been teaching you all after I left Uchiura."
"I already know English." Leah spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "What? My parents were from the U.S. as much as Mari's father is."
"Well, I think we can all agree that our voices sound surprisingly better in English than in Japanese." Mari admits before looking at her friends. "Again, not being racist."
"We know." They said in unison, rolling their eyes as well.
Articho chuckles to himself, remembering the great memories he had with his friends.
"It's good that you're still smiling, even after you've forgotten about us." Kanan warmly smiles at him.
"I didn't forget you all intentionally if that's what you're implying." Articho bluntly says.
"How'd you lose your memories of all of us?" She asks, hoping for a good explanation from him.
"After I left Uchiura, I used a device that I built out of whatever scrap I could salvage." He explains. "Originally, I wanted to return to Universe 7 and my fellow Time Patrollers."
"Seriously?!" She exclaims, now feeling a little heartbroken. "That's your reason for leaving us without a proper goodbye?!"
"I was homesick at the time. Cut me some slack, will you?" He sighs. "But anyway, something went wrong with my calculations. Instead of returning to Universe 7, I ended up 7 years in the future. In the summer of 2023."
"Articho..." The midnight blue haired girl lowers her head, feeling sorry for the boy.
"But then I thought, 'Why the hell should I waste time returning to a multiverse where a blue child-looking god decides to erase timelines in an instant just because he's bored?'. So I came to accept staying on Earth-86, and began to build a new life here in Academy City." He smirks, reassuring the girl next to him. "I'm not going anywhere, Kanan."
There was a moment of awkward silence between the two teens, while their friends behind them were either busy chatting or just enjoying the ride to admire the city and its citizens.
"Can I ask you something?" Kanan broke the silence before blushing. "Do you like this summer dress I'm wearing?"
"This one originally belonged to Febrie's mother." He points out, touching the white fabric. "But yes, I do love it. Looks good on you."
"T-That's very kind of you to say that." She crosses her arms and looks away, acting tsundere as the boy anticipated. "Not like we're in a relationship or anything. Besides, you're married and have a big family now."
"Hmm." He nods before looking out the window.
The rest of the bus ride was mostly quiet, while at the same time, it was very talkative among the former school idols of Aqours and Saint Snow. From what Dia said Ruby were able to scoop up on the internet regarding San Francisco, Honolulu, and Las Vegas - dating back to early November 2023, they explained to their friends about the existence of Titans - a species of giant animals that have existed long before the dinosaurs did, as the Earth used to be ten times more radioactive than what humans can normally tolerate. And Articho even admitted that he, two of his wives - who were his fiancés shortly before the wedding - and some of his friends assisted in the situation. However, they wanted to know how in the world he got himself involved in the first place. His explanation? Articho was working on a history report at school and he chose the 1999 accident at a Japanese nuclear power plant in Janjira as the subject of it. When he arrived at the quarantine site, he discovered that there was no radiation leftover because it was a coverup by an international coalition - formerly a secret organization that later went public - known as Monarch.
Long story short, there were two giant Titans of the same breed called M.U.T.O.s - one male and one female - that found each other and decided to build a nest within San Francisco to breed while using an old-fashioned nuclear bomb as a food source for their offspring. Luckily, another Titan - who's not exactly a huge fan of the natural order going out of balance, combined with a superiority complex over all of the other Titans - intervened and managed to kill the parent M.U.T.O.s with a little assistance from one particular U.S. Navy soldier who successfully destroyed all of the mother's eggs and got the nuke miles offshore of the city itself before it detonated. This giant atomic-breathing lizard is named 'Godzilla'. And he is referred to as the 'King of the Monsters'.
Unfortunately, at the cost of saving San Francisco and the entire world from an overpopulation of M.U.T.O.s, Monarch faced public protesting and U.S. government backlash for the millions of dollars in damage and the thousands of lives that were lost then. All because they've kept the existence of the Titans a secret from the rest of the world. And for good reason, mostly, as Monarch feared that Earth's governments would either genocide them, imprison them, or even weaponize them.
A few months after that, in spring 2024, there was another incident involving Godzilla as he then fought a giant winged hydra from outer space named Ghidorah. It was then that humanity learned they're not alone in the universe, and were introduced to an alien race known as the 'Kaiju' - coincidentally named like the giant monsters from the old Japanese movies but from outer space. The fight between the two giant monsters in Boston was a complete mess, but this opened the eyes of some people that believe the Titans are needed to prevent most of the Earth's ecological issues that humanity has been solely responsible for since the 19th century at the height of the Industrial Revolution.
And according to Monarch's official website and several social media posts, one such place that's the Sahara Desert is now thriving in plant and animal life. There's even confirmation of a new type of fruit in the modern era that's been rediscovered after centuries of being long forgotten. But to Articho, this is a huge lowball compared to other places in which their environmental disasters have finally been resolved. For example, the lethal radiation at the old Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine has fully been absorbed by one of the Titans listed on the Monarch website. 20,000 years ahead of schedule, the boy added.
"Shut up." Yō jaw drops. "You're screwing with us."
"Nope, true story." The Pathfinder truthfully denies. "I considered the Titans as invaluable assets and allies, Yō. Now that Chernobyl is no longer an environmental issue, people have already begun living there again."
"And Monarch?" Riko asks, skeptical of their reputation. "Do you trust them?"
"I trust Serizawa and Graham." He answers in a deadpan tone. "They've been at this thing way longer than me. But if you're talking about Monarch's reputation, then you've nothing to be concerned about. They're now a subsidiary of Capsule Corp, rather than an organization that's been targeted since Godzilla and the Titans were introduced to the world almost three years ago."
"The Pathfinder is correct, Miss Sakurauchi." Doppelganger says aloud, agreeing with her companion. "Monarch is a trustworthy ally to him after the M.U.T.Os incident."
"Is that a... giant gorilla?" Dia squints her eyes at the image on her Omni-tool's holographic screen. "Website says that he's named 'Kong'."
"1973." Articho begins. "When U.S. President Nixon ordered an immediate withdrawal of all military forces from the war effort in Vietnam after years of public protesting from annoying large crowds of hippies. Monarch, at the time, were still tracking Godzilla when they received satellite imagery of an uncharted land mass far off the western coast of South America, only spoken in legends: Skull Island. The land where God did not finish creation, as some people have called it. Notorious for the number of ships and planes that have gone missing there."
"Like the Bermuda Triangle!" Chika's head pokes out from the side of Kanan's seat.
"Yeah, no." He shot down, blankly staring at her. "Skull Island is nothing like the Bermuda, Chika. Far from it, actually."
"Ahh man." She pouted in disappointment. "So what was Skull Island like?"
"A fucking hell hole." He frowns. "Used to be crawling with these giant four-legged reptiles. The island's natives - the Iwi - refer to them under a name they wouldn't dare speak of, as it would bring misfortune upon their culture. But to the world, we call them Skull Crawlers. A real pain in the ass towards Kong and his kind back then because the island was once a peaceful haven for them. When the Skull Crawlers showed up from below the Earth's surface, a war broke out that lasted centuries. Until only two remained, being that they were Kong's parents and all. Tragically, they were killed shortly after he was given birth, and is the last of his kind to this day."
"That must've been awful for him to grow up without a family." Ruby sympathizes with a sad expression.
"It sure is." He agrees. "Kong doesn't live on the island anymore due to it becoming unstable for anyone to inhabit. Currently, his new home is where his ancestors were originally from. The same place that the Skull Crawlers came out of: Hollow Earth."
"Hollow Earth?" They questioned in unison.
"Perhaps some other time." The Pathfinder shakes it off. "As for the island? Monarch - with Capsule Corp resources and funding backing them - tore down their old outpost and constructed a new research facility in its stead, expanding its neverending goal in studying the Titans. Including extraterrestrial life like Ghidorah and the other Kaiju."
"How does that explain the unstableness of Skull Island?" Hanamaru asks.
"Academy City tech collaborating with Capsule Corp's superior tech." Articho smugly answers. "That's all you need to know."
"That so?" Mari questions. "Tell me, what do you make of this?"
Articho got up and turned around in his seat to see Mari showing him a YouTube video of himself being a badass against the natives of Tellus that was recorded the other day in Ginza.
"Damn, I'm good at my job." He casually comments before sitting back down.
"It's a miracle that you weren't killed!" She angrily remarks.
"I'm a Saiyan, Mari." He rolls his eyes. "My kind's biology is built differently from a human's. Having mastery over my own ki allows me to be more durable towards bladed weapons and bullets, even if I wasn't wearing any armor."
"Then why?" She questions. "Why take all the responsibility?"
"Because no one else will." He coldly replied. "And because I made a promise."
This confused Mari and everyone on the bus.
'Promise?' The blonde rich girl wonders.
Before she could question him further, the bus's AI voice was heard, informing its passengers they'll be arriving at their stop very shortly.
"Let's just be ready to get off." He says before getting out his seat by the window and walks toward one of the metal bars to stand up as the vehicle begins to slow down.
The bus finally makes its stop, and everyone gets off before their transportation takes off to pick different passengers.
"Café's on the other end of this park." The Pathfinder informs while entering public property. "This way."
As Chika and her friends follow him inside the park, they're unknowingly being tailed by Honoka and Umi as they have managed to catch up to them from a distance. Articho and co walked on the park grounds before passing by a Certain Vending Machine, one in which Yoshiko immediately took notice of it and was about to move towards the red machine with the decent amount of yen that she and her friends were lent back at Arisa's penthouse.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He warns her while moving along. "Mikoto lost 10,000 yen back in her middle school freshman year to that broken machine. We can order something at our destination instead."
"Knowing my bad luck, it's probably for the best." Yoshiko gulps before rejoining the group.
Everyone continues walking along the pathway, until Articho stops in his tracks. While simultaneously, Yō did the same thing and spun around with a suspicious look on her face to see what's behind their group. Only difference is that Articho didn't turn around and used his hearing instead.
"What's wrong, Yō?" Chika asks her childhood friend.
"Hmm." Yō squints her blue eyes suspiciously, despite that there's no one there.
Articho pulls out a small non-lethal projectile, and without turning around, he immediately tosses it where it then lands in a bush and a painful cry is heard.
"Owie!" A girl's voice within the bush whines in pain.
Articho turns his head, and outstretched his right hand to telekinetically pull Honoka and Umi out of their hiding spot as his friends moved out of the way - holding them in place off the ground.
"Who are you?" He calmly demands. "Why were you following us? Wait... you're those girls with Touma briefly the other day in Ginza."
He releases Honoka and Umi, in which both of them landed on their butts.
"It's so rude of you to throw things at your elders, you know!" Honoka complains while rubbing the top of her head with both of her hands, still feeling where she was hit.
"Cry me a river." He rolls his eyes with his arms crossed, ignoring her whining. "Now start talking."
"My name is Umi Sonoda." Umi introduces herself and her childhood friend. "This is my best friend Honoka Kousaka."
"Hold on." Riko interrupts as her eyes widened in surprise. "Did you just say your names are Umi and Honoka?"
"Holy shit." Chika jaw drops. "You're actually them. You're from μ's!"
"No way." Dia gasps.
"No way." Ruby joins in.
"No way!" They look at each other in unison before letting out their inner fangirl. "NO WAY!"
Chika and the others - excluding Articho and Hanamaru since both of them covered their ears on time - all flinched at the Kurosawa sisters' high-pitched screaming.
"Deja vu." The Pathfinder raised an eyebrow with his hands over his ears.
"Zura." The golden brown haired girl agrees with a smug expression on her face.
Mari, Kanan, and Yoshiko gave the two siblings an annoyed glare.
"Seriously you two?!" Yoshiko rhetorically questions them. "You both love μ's to death. We get it already!"
"Sorry." Dia and Ruby whimpered, blushing in embarrassment. "We were just super excited."
"I can see that." Mari sighs in amusement, shaking her head. "Good grief."
"Ahem!" Articho clears his throat, getting everyone's attention. "If you ladies are done, we've got a schedule to keep."
"Now wait just a minute!" Umi spoke up, getting back on her feet. "You can't just shrug both of us off like that!"
"I've got more important things to do." He says while walking. "Let's keep moving, guys."
"Sorry about that." Chika sheepishly grins at the two older women, despite their physical bodies remaining the same age. "He's not exactly a people's person, to say the least."
"And I thought he would give us an autograph after all these years when we were school idols back in the day." Honoka grumbles as she gets on her feet as well.
This caught the Pathfinder's attention, and he stopped to turn his head at her.
"What did you just say?" He asks.
"I thought you would give us an autograph after all these years when we were school idols back in the day." Honoka repeated.
"I don't know you." He deadpans.
"Of course you don't." She snorts. "My friends and I were all there when you competed in the tournament thirteen years ago, and we got front row seats throughout the whole thing!"
Articho was confused. What tournament was Honoka talking about? Then it hit him.
"Are you by any chance talking about Super Smash Bros?" He asks.
"Thank you!" She sarcastically remarks. "I thought you'd never figured it out by now."
"Honoka, is it?" He says. "For me, the tournament happened two years ago."
This came as a complete surprise to both Honoka and Umi.
"Oh my God." Umi utters, looking away. "Then that means you were from the future, which is now the current present."
"Excuse me, but can someone please tell us what the hell's going on here?" Yō asks, completely not understanding anything they're talking about.
Articho and co, as well as Honoka and Umi tagging along, walked out of the other end of the park. As the boy took point, Honoka and Umi explained everything to Chika and her friends.
"So to summarize, thirteen years ago, you and your friends saw Articho and many other characters in a tournament with fighters from different video games." Riko began, remembering what they were just told.
"Technically, these game characters are real people from different universes." Honoka nods. "But yeah, basically. At some point prior to our invitation to spectate Smash Bros, we befriended a talking cat. Can you believe it? A talking cat. Hey Umi, what was his name again? Starts with a capital 'M'."
"Morgana." Umi blankly answers.
"Right." The strawberry blond girl snaps her fingers. "What she said."
"As in, Morgana from Persona 5?" Yoshiko asks with a surprised face. "That's-"
"Crazy?" Honoka smugly grins.
"Hell yeah!" The navy blue haired girl admits.
"Funny, considering how all ten of you look so young after being declared dead for almost a decade." Honoka points out.
"Honoka!" Umi chastises.
"What? You know I'm right." Her childhood friend defends.
"It's all right. We've learned to accept that fact." Chika answers. "Mostly."
"We're here." Articho informs everyone, arriving at the steps leading to the front of the small café up the hill.
However, he walks past the steps and heads around towards the back.
"Shouldn't we be heading up those steps?" Leah questions.
"Your sister wouldn't be there anyway." He explains.
"The back it is." She sighs before following after him.
"Hey, wait for us!" Dia called out.
"You're not coming?" Chika asks the former school idol veterans.
"Go ahead without us." Honoka assures her former successor. "Umi and I are gonna find a table to sit down at."
"If you say so." The coral orange haired girl shrugs before following her friends.
The young Saiyan reached the back of the cafe. He then rings the doorbell.
"We should probably go." Leah suggests.
"Leah, we're literally on the front doorstep." Ruby deadpans.
"Bad idea." She shakes her head and attempts to walk away. "This is a bad idea."
Yoshiko manages to block the former Saint Snow member's way, preventing her from leaving.
"Let me go." Leah demands, but Yoshiko wouldn't budge. "Yoshiko, I'm warning you."
"Leah..." Dia warns her.
Just then, the door opens to reveal a woman who's also physically the same age as a teenager. The woman gasps, instantly recognizing the girls. More importantly, Leah.
"I'm not ready for this." Leah nervously grins. "After all these years… I'm not sure that she'll…"
"Leah… is that you?" Her older sister Sarah says, wondering if her own eyes are deceiving her.
"Hey, Sarah." Leah says, trying to make eye contact with her. "Sorry, I'm late."
Sarah then slaps her younger sister across the face, as the former is on the verge of tears. Everyone, except Articho - who saw this coming from a mile away, gasped. However, what they didn't expect is that Sarah goes straight for a hug, wrapping her arms around her younger sister.
"Idiot! You had me worried sick!" She cries out, not letting go of her.
"Sarah, I'm fine." Her younger sister assures, returning the hug. "Really."
"Thank God." Sarah smiles happily, letting go of her before looking at the other girls. "And you... I thought I'd never see you all again."
"It really is good to see you too, Sarah." Dia returns the smile.
"And who's this?" The eldest Kazuno sibling asks, finally taking notice of Articho.
"He's a friend." Leah says on the boy's behalf. "Saved our lives, in fact. Come on, we'll explain everything to you. Just not out here."
"Alright, come inside. All of you." Sarah accepts their warm welcome, wiping away her own tears. "You're just in time for lunch with a few friends of mine."
"With Honoka and Umi?" Articho asks, catching the woman by surprise.
"How did you-?" She begins to question.
"We ran into them a few minutes ago at the nearby park." He explains.
"You're friends with two former members of μ's?" Chika questions in surprise.
"It's a long story, Chika." Sarah says, gesturing the group to follow her back inside the café that also serves as her home.
After entering the back of the café/household, everyone took off their shoes before continuing to follow after Sarah.
"Make yourselves at home." Sarah urges her sister and friends.
The Pathfinder simply whispered as he walked by himself. Of course, the shy and timid Ruby followed her brother figure.
"Don't you want to take off that jacket of yours?" Ruby suggests. "It's still the summer season."
"This jacket's special to me." Articho says.
"Do you mean the 'N7' slapped on it, zura?" Hanamaru chimes in, pointing her finger at the jacket's insignia. "Your armor bears the same insignia, by the way."
"Like I said, special." He repeated.
"Let me guess, your jacket belonged to someone else from another universe."
"Now you're catching on." He quips. "Good, Hana."
"Who was at the door, Sarah?" A feminine voice calls out from the kitchen.
"Some very old friends, Tsuki." Leah's older sister answers.
"Old friends? What are you talking abou-?" A young woman with shoulder-length black hair and purple eyes ponders, exiting the kitchen before noticing familiar faces - most notably, Yō - and drops the ladle in her right hand.
"Hey, cousin." Yō awkwardly waves. "Nice to see you again."
Wasting no time, Tsuki tackles her cousin down on the floor and cries her heart out.
"Since when did you have any relatives, Yō?" The Pathfinder questions.
"I guess I failed to mention that." Yō admits. "A lot's happened since you time hopped."
"Where the hell you've been?!" Tsuki reprimands her cousin. "Do you know how much Uncle and I have been through after we thought you dead to the point that he started drinking away the loss of his own daughter, for fuck sakes?!"
"I'm sorry." She apologizes before perking up her head in shock and confusion. "Wait, Dad's been WHAT?!"
"He did drink, but not anymore!" Tsuki quickly calms her down. "I made sure of that years ago. Unfortunately, he went out of the cruise ship business when Uchiura filed for bankruptcy."
"Where is he?" She demands, now more worried for her father.
"I'll explain everything, just stay calm." Tsuki assures. "Alright?"
"Okay." She smiles, wiping her eyes. "I missed you, Tsuki."
"Missed you too."
"Why does it look like you and Sarah haven't aged a day?" Yoshiko questions suspiciously. "No, seriously. You literally haven't aged a day much like Honoka and Umi."
"Isn't it obvious?" The Pathfinder spoke up. "They've slow aging."
"Who's this?" Tsuki asks.
"An old friend of your cousin and the rest of Aqours." He answers. "Call me Articho."
"Articho?" She raised her eyebrow, giggling.
"Not his real name." Yō explains with a deadpan expression. "We never got no more than an alias when we first met him, until about several hours ago."
"So you were with him earlier?"
"And his family." She adds.
"Oookay?" Her cousin says before shaking her head. "Not much of a surprise to me since the required age of marriage and having kids in Academy City is thirteen and up."
"Wait, what?" All former Aqours members questioned with a puzzled look on their faces before looking at Articho.
"Had I told you, we'd still be at the penthouse bickering amongst ourselves about it." He rolls his eyes.
"You could've at least given us a sign or something sooner!" Riko snaps at the boy.
"Meh."
"What do you mean 'meh'?!" The burgundy haired girl exclaimed.
"Meh." He repeats, just to troll her for the fun of it.
Suddenly, everyone started hearing ringing near them.
"Is that somebody's phone?" Sarah asks, looking around for the source of it.
"Sounds catchy, to be honest." Tsuki admits with a grin.
"Ahh, hang on a second." Articho groaned in annoyance. "She's calling me."
"She?" Mari raises an eyebrow.
Articho ignores her and immediately answers it.
"Hey." He says through his smartphone. "Can't talk right now. I'm in the middle of something important."
"Who do you think he's talking to?" Hanamaru wonders.
"No idea." Chika shrugs, just as puzzled as everyone is.
Soon, sweat started dripping down from his face for some reason.
"Look outside?" He questions before shoving his friends out of the way, reaching the café area of the building and sees that it's none other than Shutaura as she is currently standing outside with her own smartphone over her right ear and expresses a blank face aimed directly at her half-brother.
"Aww, crap baskets." He curses, lowering his phone down.
"What is it?" Kanan asked, walking out of the kitchen.
Everyone else follows suit and sees both Honoka and Umi at one of the indoor tables as they're sitting on a mat. However, they're not the ones Articho was looking at.
"Nice to see you too, brother." Shutaura answers through the other end.
"Who's that?" Yoshiko questions.
"Ladies... meet Shutaura Sequenzia." He introduces, sighing heavily. "The 'Black Crow' of my family tree."
"Let me guess… your wife?" Dia sarcastically remarks, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, hell no!" He glares at her. "You did NOT just say that!"
"I'm his sister." The Black Crow answers, walking inside the café and taking her shoes off. "Half-sister, anyways."
"SISTER?!" His friends exclaimed.
"SISTER?!" Honoka, Umi, and their friend her maid uniform named Kotori exclaims as well.
"Oops, guess I failed to mention that." He says before laughing his ass off. "Oh wait, I never did! Hahaha!"
An angry vein formed in the black haired woman's forehead, before slamming her barefoot on top of her half-brother's own foot.
"Dude." He blankly glares at her. "Come on. Mastery over my own ki, remember?"
"I was just setting an example." Shutaura remarks.
"I'm not your punching bag, little sister." Articho facepalms.
"Tell that to our mother." She reminded him with a poker face.
"Good luck to ya, toots." He mockingly yawns with a hand over his mouth. "Besides, she's training over with Bardock in Kyoto right now. So she's quite busy."
"I'm never busy for you, Junior." A woman spoke near him.
"Holy funions!" He jumped, noticing her sitting at a table of her own. "How long have you been sitting there?"
A beautiful woman with black hair - tied into a traditional Japanese bun - and blue eyes slowly took a sip of her tea with her eyes closed.
"Around 30 minutes." The woman answers.
"You're telling me that you were waiting for Shutaura to have some tea with you?"
"Well, I wasn't expecting to see you here." She admits. "But to answer your question, then yes."
"Articho?" Ruby said, slowly walked towards him.
"Oh, who's this?" The woman in the flower pattern kimono spoke with a sweet voice, noticing the redhead girl and her friends. "More friends of yours?"
"That's right." He nods.
"Hey, Reiko." Tsuki greets.
"Tsuki." The woman named Reiko greets back before greeting the café owner. "Sarah. How've you been?"
"Wonderful, actually." She smiles happily, embracing her sister closer to her. "Thanks to this young man, I was able to reunite with my lost sister after so long."
"Hold on, you know these people?" The Pathfinder questions, confused.
"Of course." His mother nodded with a smile. "I was the one who brought them and their families here in this city-state as a safe haven due to their slow aging drawing many eyes."
"That explains a lot." He realized, taking a sit next to the woman on her right.
"Sorry, but who exactly are you?" Dia demands, suspiciously staring at the older woman.
"Why, I'm his and Shutaura's mother." Reiko casually answers. "So wonderful to meet you all."
"His mother?!" The girls of Uchiura exclaimed in disbelief at the woman.
"But you look so-" Kanan begins to argue.
"Young?" She finishes her sentence. "As a warrior race, we Saiyans maintain our youth by continuing to fight until we reach eighty. However, thanks to a certain son of mine using the Dragon Balls, that youth span has been extended for thousands of years."
"Thousands?!" Sarah, Tsuki, Honoka, Umi, and Kotori screamed.
"Oh, relax." She rolls her eyes. "You and your other friends that make up all of μ's have the exact same genetic trait as Saiyans do, remember? That goes for these young ladies as well."
"Told you." Articho smirked with pride, crossing his arms.
"Still the same as ever, Junior. Always surrounded by women." Reiko said, playing with her son's hair with her fingers.
"Junior?" The former Aqours said in unison.
"That's his name." Articho's mother nods. "Son Goku Jr."
"You're called Junior?" Chika, Riko, and Yō smugly grin.
"Such an honorable sounding name." Mari giggles.
"I like 'Articho'." He deadpans with a blank expression towards his mother.
"That's a Saiyan name given to you by that pink-haired goddess." Reiko deadpans as well.
"Yeah, because our ancestor's a battle-crazed idiot." He roasts before quickly adding. "His Time Patrol counterpart's the exception."
"If you say so." She muttered with a frown. "I cannot believe you married her."
"Grow up, mom." He scoffs. "At least I'M the only mature member in this damn family."
The cup the woman was holding got tossed towards the young man, before he successfully grabbed it at the last second.
"You've improved." The black haired mother was impressed.
"I haven't been sitting on my ass, waiting for someone to one-up me." He snorts. "I'm literally ten steps ahead of you all."
"All except for Febrie."
"As if." He laughs. "She still has much to learn from me."
"What are you girls standing there for?" Reiko rhetorically questions them as they continue to stare. "Find yourselves tables and relax. Order something to satisfy your stomachs."
"No need to pay me anything." Sarah says. "This one's on the house."
The former Uchiura idols eyes widened in surprise, before smiling brightly.
"Sarah, you're married?" Leah asks in a surprised but happy tone. "I'm really happy for you!"
"Thank you." Sarah smiles, showing off her wedding ring. "I wish you could've been there."
Because the café isn't as busy as usual, everyone started to enjoy the lunches they ordered and were served. Meanwhile, Articho, Shutaura, and their mother Reiko are sitting at a table by the corner for a bit of privacy.
"So… how goes Index's Amakusa training?" The Pathfinder questions.
"She's a fast learner, I'll admit." The half siblings' mother explains. "That photographic memory of her sure does most of the job. As their new leader, I've more responsibility for their combat trai-"
"Sorry, could you repeat that?" He interrupts. "Sounds to me like you just said that you're the new Amakusa leader."
Shutaura gave her older half brother a silent nod without saying a word, confirming him it's the truth.
"Wait, you're serious?" He questions in disbelief. "How the fuck did that happen? And sis, where's Touma? Did you guys bring Index back?"
"Of course we did." Shutaura crosses her arms. "There was a slight complication, though."
"How slight?" He raises an eyebrow.
"We have a little stowaway that followed us here."
"And where's this 'stowaway' now?"
"With Touma and Index." She explains. "They're keeping an eye on her for sure."
"Let me guess…" He begins. "Lessar?"
"Lessar." She sighs in annoyance.
"Oh Kami." Articho groans. "Can't she just fucking find someone else to hook up with instead of the guy you're married to? Maybe next time, I'll just shoot her and be done with it."
"That can be arranged." His half-sister offered with a mischievous grin on her face.
"There's no need for that." Their mother calmly objects.
"Mom, tell me you're not serious!" Shutaura exclaims in disbelief.
"I'm not saying that Lessar should be wedded to your husband, Shutaura." Reiko says. "I'll handle this personally."
"Oh yes, let's talk it out with a degenerate who only loves Touma's body and not his heart." Articho sarcastically quips. "That's a great idea. Not!"
"BOTH OF YOU will trust me on this one." Their mother assures, expressing a serious face and slightly raising her voice. "I promise, she won't be sexually harassing Touma again."
This made the half siblings surprised from their mother's tone. However, they immediately shrugged it off as this was normal for them.
"Yes, ma'am." They said in unison.
"Now then." Reiko changes topics before looking at her son. "I saw the news the other day. Tell me what has happened in Ginza."
"Just me being a badass."
"Junior..." She warns. "This is serious, and I can't be here for long. Tell me everything."
Articho takes one more sip from his cup of tea and sets it back down on the table before speaking.
"Someone from another planet has created a portal to this one." He explains. "It all happened so fast that an army of dungeons and dragons showed up. Things would've gotten bloody if we hadn't ended their invasion quickly."
"You did good, son." His mother proudly says.
"Not good enough, apparently." He sighs frustratingly. "Some innocent people were taken through the Gate to either be prisoners of war or be sold into slave labor."
"There was nothing that you could have done at the moment." She tries to reassure her son. "Even after what happened in Bermuda wasn't your fault. It was either sacrificing those thousands of lives, or letting Unicron devour everything in the universe."
"It's no longer just planets he's feasting on." He scoffs. "And... there's something that I've found beneath Mount Fuji that has a connection to where the planet Tellus originated from."
He unclips the lightsaber hilt from his belt and plants it, and the compass, on the table in front of Reiko.
"You found these beneath Fuji?" She asks, picking both relics up with both of her hands.
"I did." He confirms. "You should've seen it in person, mom. There was like an entire colony that got decimated centuries ago."
"A colony beneath Mount Fuji?" Shutaura questions while eying the relics that are in their mother's hands. "Far-fetched, don't you think?"
Articho forwards the pre-recorded message of Ainu to his younger half-sister's Omni-tool for her to watch as confirmed evidence. This could take awhile.
"We're aliens, too?" Chika questions in shock and utter disbelief.
"I know, right?" Honoka excitedly agrees. "That explains why we never needed makeup for our school idol performances in the first place!"
"I can't believe this." Mari says, completely shocked at what she's learned. "How's that even possible?"
"It turns out that we're halfbreeds of an enigmatic race known only as the Precursors." Umi explains.
"Precursors?" Hanamaru, Ruby, and Yoshiko titled their heads curiously.
"Yes." Sarah nods, sitting next to her younger sister at one of the tables. "However, I want you all to keep this a secret from anyone not in our little circle of trust."
"Is there a reason why?" Ruby asks. "I'm not very good at keeping secrets."
"She's not the only one." Yoshiko mutters, obviously referring to the older Kurosawa sibling.
"I can keep a secret!" Dia angrily remarks at the navy blue haired girl.
"Everyone in Aqours knows that you and Ruby are crap at lying, zura." Hanamaru deadpans. "No point in denying that fact."
"That's besides the point." She says, immediately getting back on topic. "A-Anyways, does the world know about these Precursors?"
"Only us." Kotori shakes her head. "Including Articho and those closest to him. Of course, they've known about this way longer than we do."
"So what's so special about our... 'ancestors' anyway?" Riko curiously asks.
"Their true forms are still a mystery, but from what Reiko told us, the Precursors have taken on many different appearances and other names for their species across the multiverse." Tsuki explains. "However, they're most notably known for their capability in creating life on a molecular level."
"You mean…" Chika began to realize, blushing a lot.
"Don't get the wrong idea." Honoka pointed out. "Occasionally, we can shift our forms to make us appear more mature."
"Can anyone with Precursor genes do that?" Kanan asks.
"Not likely." Sarah shakes her head. "According to Reiko, Precursor humans lack this ability. Slow aging is what we all have instead. Hence, why the five of us physically remain in our teens. This should also apply to the rest of you."
"But why the secrecy?" Chika questions. "I know there's a very justifiable reason for this, but I don't really understand the point of it all. Isn't telling the truth the right thing?"
"History is written by the victor." Umi quotes.
"That is true." Kotori agrees with her.
"What Umi's trying to say is that truth can be a powerful weapon." Honoka explains to the former leader of Aqours. "Coming from experience, my friends and I have been there. It nearly fractured μ's apart because of my own hubris, believing what I should or shouldn't have done. Nearly lost my friends, too."
Unbeknownst to all the girls, Honoka still blames herself for what happened in what's considered to be μ's darkest days.
"If you don't mind me asking, whatever happened to the rest of μ's after it was disbanded?" Riko asks. "Surely you all remained in touch with each other after graduating from Otonokizaka."
"Other than Hanayo, the three of us haven't seen the others in years." Honoka sighs. "All we know is that they've successfully pursued good careers."
"Like what, zura?" Hanamaru further asks.
"Um, would Hanayo be the receptionist with glasses at Capsule Corp?" Ruby interrupts.
"Yeah, that would be her." Kotori smiles. "From what she told Honoka and Umi, you guys pulled a disappearing act on her."
"It was his idea." Yoshiko pointed her finger at the Saiyan boy. "Articho wanted a quick way to see his researcher wife at Capsule Corp."
"Researcher wife?" The trio titled their heads in confusion as they briefly glanced at the Pathfinder, who is still holding a conversation with his mother and half-sister.
"Honestly, just who the hell does he think he is?" The navy blue haired girl continues ranting. "The nerve of that guy..."
"Back on topic, can you tell us what careers your friends have pursued in?" Mari asks. "We know that Hanayo's working for an internship as a receptionist at Capsule Corp's front lobby."
"If I recall correctly, Nozomi's a freelance journalist." Umi thinks back.
"I bet she's working on the latest scoop that has to do with those ancient-looking soldiers coming from the other side of the Gate." Honoka says.
"Probably." She agrees with her.
"How about Maki?" Riko asks, as she has idolized the redheaded composer and pianist.
"Last I heard, Maki got a job at Monarch since the whole Mechagodzilla debacle in Hong Kong." Kotori reveals.
"Wait, there's a robot Godzilla?!" The former Aqours and Leah exclaimed in surprise and excitement.
"Was." Umi confirms before correcting them. "And it's Mechagodzilla."
"Right… Mechangodzilla." They corrected themselves.
"What of Rin and Nico?" Hanamaru asks.
"Rin owns her very own gym." Honoka beams. "A small one in Akiba, actually."
"For Nico, she used to go on as a professional idol, but..." Kotori hesitates before looking at Umi for permission. "Should we tell them?"
"Tell us what exactly?" Kanan questions suspiciously.
The trio of the undefeatable school idol group looked at each other, and grimly nodded before looking at the girls of Aqours.
"She got involved in a scandal." Umi begins.
"What are you talking about?" Yoshiko questions. "What scandal? How? Why?"
"Perhaps it would be better if we just show you." She shakes her head.
So Umi pulled out her phone to show them. After pressing a few buttons, the young woman placed the smartphone on the table.
"See for yourself." Honoka frowns, though it wasn't directly at Aqours and Leah.
The former members of Aqours leaned down to read. And it's revealed that the article itself was published four years after they went missing, showing them an image of a taller, but still youthful Nico. Guess she must've received a growth spurt at some point. One noticeable difference was her chest. Something that made Chika, Riko, Yoshiko, Ruby, and Leah very envious of as their eyes twitched in disbelief and annoyance.
"Unreal." The burgundy haired girl grumbles.
Another image reveals three figures inside a hotel room with blankets covering their naked bodies, caught on camera. Of course their faces were blurted out to protect their identities. One woman was much older with huge boobs and blonde hair and a younger one with familiar black hair.
"What the hell?" Leah yelled out.
"Holy shit." Yō utters aloud.
BREAKING NEWS! FORMER BELOVED SCHOOL IDOL CAUGHT IN LOVE TRIANGLE!
By Nozomi Tojo
"Nozomi wrote this?" Mari questions, still shocked at the headline.
"Correct." Umi nods.
Chika then begins to read the article aloud, paraphrasing as best she can for her friends to hear since the screen on Umi's smartphone is too small for everyone to read all at once.
"Former school idol's reputation is on fire as she was caught in affair with her director and his wife." Chika reads aloud. "Faced with public backlash and countless death threats from her loyal fanbase since she made her official debut as a professional in the year following the disbandment of the legendary and undefeatable μ's at the Love Live!, Nico Yazawa's contract was terminated and she left the entertainment industry as a whole without paid leave. Shortly after that, she disappeared from the public eye without a trace."
"There's a lot more to read, but the rest of the article seems to be getting a little too political for all of us to follow." Kanan points out. "I fucking hate politics."
"How could Nico do something as disgusting as sleeping with some guy she doesn't know about?" Yoshiko scoffs in disappointment, anger, and disgust.
"It says here that she was drugged." Chika continues reading aloud. "Fortunately, there was enough evidence to put him behind bars after there have been numerous reports of him sexually assaulting women."
"Despite the charges on Nico were dropped, the damage had already been done on her career." Honoka frowns. "We tried to help her get the best care that she needed, but she refused."
"In other words, the eight of us had a falling out with her." Umi concludes. "We're not on speaking terms."
"What of Eli Ayase?" Dia asks as she is a huge admirer of the famous blond Russian girl.
"Eli disappeared a few months after Nico cut ties with us, so no one knows where she's gone." Umi explains.
"I miss her, guys." Kotori sighs. "Nico, too."
"We all miss them both, Kotori." Honoka says. "Would be really nice to get the gang back together again, though."
"I see." Reiko says after handing the lightsaber and compass back to her son. "You're sure about this?"
"We can't afford any delays." Articho answers with a serious tone in his voice. "Keeping Unicron locked out of Earth-86 won't stop him from setting his eyes on other universes. He'll always find another way. If we can just get to Tellus and form alliances, maybe we'll have a chance in ending him for good."
"Do the Autobots know about your plan?" She asks.
"No." He shakes his head. "Not even Optimus."
"And what of them?" She gestures her head at the nine original members of Aqours. "Don't you want them to join your Initiative?"
"I can't." He looks down at his cup of tea in his hands. "They have families to be with. That's more important than them following me into danger. The kind they never experienced when we first met."
"But is that what they truly want?" She further questions him. "There's so much conflict within all nine of them. I can sense it."
"Of course there's conflict in them." He rolls his eyes. "I'm not blind, mom."
"You sure about that?" She raised her eyebrow. "I suspect those girls missed you. Specifically Kanan, Mari, Dia, Hanamaru, Yoshiko, Chika, and Yō. Perhaps... they want to be more than just friends with you."
"I don't know." He doubts before looking up at his mother. "But is that what you-?"
However, Reiko has already disappeared from her seat across their table before he could finish his question.
"I hate it when she does that." Articho frowns in annoyance.
"I don't." Shutaura says otherwise.
"Didn't ask for your opinion, Shutaura." He deadpans as he throws some money down on the table to pay for the lunch, despite Sarah saying it's on the house.
After lunch, Articho and co are outside with their shoes back on as they bid Sarah and Tsuki a farewell.
"Sure you don't wanna stick with Sarah, Leah?" Chika asks. "I always thought your dream was to run a café with her."
"Sarah's got a family now." Leah shakes her head. "Whatever dream I used to have with her is in the past. Time I put it to rest and move forward. Besides..."
"So that means...?" Ruby begins to ask.
"Yes, Ruby." She rolls her eyes with a smile. "I'll be sticking around with you guys. After all, you're a second family to me."
The twin tail red-headed girl gasped, before tackling her best friend in a bearhug.
"Okay, you can let go now." She says before raising her voice a little in annoyance. "Ruby, let go!"
"Oh, let Ruby have her moment." Dia smirks with her arms crossed. "She deserves it. We all do."
"Guess it can't be helped." The young former Saint Snow sighs, returning the hug to the younger Kurosawa sibling.
Everyone then heard a loud yawn coming from the Saiyan of the group of friends.
"Are you yawning at a perfectly good moment they're having here?" Dia glares at the boy.
"Sorry." Articho apologizes. "Usual habit of mine."
"Usual?" Yoshiko raises an eyebrow.
"It was really good seeing you again, Leah." Sarah smiles. "You as well, Aqours. Take care of my sister for me, okay?"
"Sarah!" Leah cutely whines, blushing in embarrassment.
Everyone all laughed at the tender moment between the Kazuno sisters.
"And Yō, I'll be sure to tell your Dad that you're alive." Tsuki says to her cousin. "Though, explaining your disappearance is gonna prove to be difficult."
"He'll likely ground me." Yō laments.
"Were you able to know where all your families are currently at?" The Pathfinder asks the nine Uchiura girls.
"We have." Mari nods. "But right now, we'll be sticking with you if that's okay."
"I did say you could make yourselves at home back at the penthouse." He shrugs. "What's mine and Arisa's is yours."
"Hold on, you guys live in a penthouse?!" Honoka exclaims before grumbling with envy. "All we got is an apartment we've been sharing since we moved here last year."
"Don't be so spoiled." Umi lectures her strawberry blond childhood friend. "An apartment's all we need."
"At least the three of us are together until the end." Kotori points out.
"And where are you off to?" Articho questions his half-sister as she is walking away.
"To make sure Touma and Index are doing alright." Shutaura answers. "I'll be in touch."
With Shutaura quickly out of sight, Articho looks back at everyone else as they finish saying their goodbyes to Sarah and Tsuki. Honoka, Kotori, and Umi then did the same, but not before giving all ten girls their autographs as well as exchanging their cell numbers in which Chika and her friends can use their Omni-tools to call them on any of the trio's smartphones.
Later...
"So these are your the girls from before you met us?" A beautiful chestnut haired girl said, holding a little kid with wild spiky black hair in her arms. "You sure have friends in high places."
"Didn't expect to find you out here again." Articho remarked as he and co ran into another one of his wives by the same old vending machine at the park. "Now that you've got your ten thousand yen's worth back."
"Don't remind me, Lover Boy." She rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"You must be one of his wives." Riko guesses. "Judging by how you were interacting with him."
"Mikoto Misaka." She nods with a greeting smile. "I'm sure Articho's told you about me, given that my public reputation in being Academy City's 3rd ranked Level 5 Esper and all."
"Among other things." Dia admitted. "By the way, whose this little cutie?"
"Now that you mentioned it, he does have a familiar face." Ruby pointed out.
"This is Ryu." The Railgun introduces, setting him down on the ground.
"Hello." The small boy greets, before doing a traditional Japanese bow in respect. "Nice to meet you."
"Oh my gosh, SO CUTE!" Chika gushes, hugging the three year old toddler before noticing a monkey tail that he has attached to him. "Look, he even has a tail."
"Whoa. Articho wasn't kidding about Saiyans having monkey tails." Kanan smirks before realizing something. "Say, isn't your birth name Japanese for the Chinese name 'Sun Wakong'?"
"Yeah, so?" Articho shrugs. "Not a big deal, really."
Ryu started giggling as Ruby was touching his tail, causing him to blush.
"It tickles!" He grins with his eyes closed as his tail starts moving around a bit.
"Oh. So they're sensitive, zura." Hanamaru studies the small boy's tail up close. "Good to know."
"We decided to let him keep it to punish him, just in case he wants to act… like a little brat." Mikoto explains.
"Actually, Ryu was just born with it." Articho says otherwise. "Tails are very rare among us hybrid Saiyans."
"Articho!" His Railgun wife chastises.
"Our son chose to keep it, Miko." He remarks.
"I don't consider it as some petty punishment for him just because he can get as mischievous as I am."
"Hybrid Saiyans?" Yoshiko questions.
"Oh, that's because my mother's human." The Level 5 explains. "My dad, on the other hand, is a hybrid Saiyan. Like me and Articho. Same for his family and the other girls that are wedded to him."
"Same with your sisters?" Leah asks.
"Yeah, about ten thousand of them." Mikoto snorts.
"You don't seem so shocked that we know about your clones." Yō points out at how nonchalant the Railgun is being.
"Believe me, we've seen worse today already." She crosses her arms.
"Plus, she does have an older sibling that's married to Shutaura's husband as well." Articho added.
"Hey, have you got any word from Kazari?" Mikoto asks her husband. "Kuroko and I have been trying to call her on any progress in recruiting people for the Initiative, and she isn't picking up."
"Probably storm damage." Articho assures. "Skull Island's known for that."
"Yeah, but she should've been able to restore communications in record time and there aren't any more Skull Crawlers on the island." She reminds him. "Ame and Hayley are on their way to see whatever the hell's going on over there. I don't like it, Articho. We both know how much danger she usually gets in."
"Kazari can take care of herself." He assures her. "If anything changes, you let me know."
"I will." The 17 year old young mother nods, walking towards him before standing on her tippy toes to kiss her husband.
"Eeeh." Ryu exclaimed in playful disgust.
Ryu's parents pulled away and smiled at him.
"Come on, Ryu." Mikoto orders. "We're going to the arcade so I can beat your high score."
"Not on my watch, ma!" Their son smirked with confidence in his tone before sprinting off. "Last one there gets to pick the first game!"
'So much like his father.' Mikoto thought, shaking her head before sprinting after him, leaving her husband and his friends alone.
"And to think he becomes a scientist in the future." The Pathfinder notes to himself. "Well, not in this future. Obviously."
"Huh?" Chika blinked her eyes in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, nothing." He chuckles to himself, shaking his head.
"He was a time cop, Chika." Yō whispers to her childhood friend. "Time travel is his expertise after all."
"So then." He changes topics. "I suppose we should head back to the penthouse."
"Yes." Mari agrees, nodding with her eyes closed. "But before that…"
"What is it?" He sighs. "Because there's something important I need to discuss with all of you once we're there."
"Just close your eyes." The blond Italian-American girl says, this time with a little more force in her tone.
"Fine, fine." He mutters, closing his eyes as instructed. "Make it quick."
Just as he waits for what's about to come next, Articho senses a presence. And it's moving fast. Right behind them?!
"Get down!" Articho yells, opening his eyes and pushing Mari down to the side before he spun around and ignites his yellow bladed lightsaber and blocks an attack from a red double-bladed spinning lightsaber as the sound of their blades locked to each other with a crackling sound.
Because right now, the assailant - donning black light armor with red accents, as well as wearing a concealed helmet sharing the same color pattern - had tried to pull a sneak attack on the Pathfinder by pulling an acrobatic jump in the air. The assailant - bearing a feminine figure underneath her helmet and armor - performs a side flip backwards and gets into an aggressive stance.
'An Inquisitor on Earth-86?!' The Pathfinder questions himself in disbelief before noticing a familiar insignia on both of her shoulder pauldrons while getting in a defensive stance with his lightsaber. 'Wait... I know that insignia.'