"C'mon, Tokie! It's just a bit of water! I'm not even forcing you to get in the shower this time!" Komaru chased Toko around the apartment, spray bottle in one hand and soap bar in the other.

"S-s-stay b-b-back! D-demon! Back!" Toko shouted over her shoulder as she ran away.

"But, our guests—!" Ordinarily, Komaru would not have forced Toko to bathe, but with three others temporarily rooming with them…

Speak of the Devil. The moment Toko rounded the corner, she ran smack into one of her three new roommates. "Ow! Fuck!"

"WAH!" The other girl, annoying little middle-schooler Michiru Kaibara, squawked. Although she hadn't been moving as fast as Toko, her eyes were glued to her phone (ugh, youth). The girl on the screen was in the middle of alerting her of Toko's rapidly-approaching presence, but alas, no one was fast enough. Then before Toko could pull away from Michiru, Komaru ran into her, accidentally squeezing the trigger of the spray bottle.

"JESUS!" Toko leapt away from Komaru like an angry, startled cat.

Michiru all but dropped to the floor, shielding her phone with her entire body. "MASTER LUMINA, NOOOO!"

Lumina sighed and shook her head, resting a hand on it as her eyes drifted shut. Despite herself, the tiniest of smiles graced her pixilated face.

"I told you to watch where you were going, Michiru," she said as patiently as she could. "The human species oft thinks it can multitask when, in reality, the brain simply switches quickly between tasks, but it is impossible to focus on two things at once!" she added smartly.

I just wanted to look at her, is all… The Ultimate Announcer thought with an embarrassed pout as she and Toko slowly rose to their feet, aided by Komaru. Though Toko took her help far less graciously than Michiru.

A moment later, one of the other new roommates stepped onto the scene. "Having a shower after going so long without is so delightful because the water droplets feel like tiny little kisses all over my skin!" Hayate sighed gaily as she came out of the shower.

Toko's eyes widened marginally behind her comically round spectacles, then she took a careful step away from the kooky, nutty Ultimate Poet. It's hard to believe that we're of such similar Talent! she thought enviously.

Toko was novelist rather than poet, but both she and Hayate were wordsmiths. Unfortunately for Toko, though she would've considered herself infinitely more coherent than Hayate—seriously, was Hayate, like, developmentally delayed, or something?—Hayate was infinitely more charismatic. B-B-But of c-c-course! W-w-with a r-r-rack and curvy f-f-f-figure like hers… Stupid, sexy Tendo!

Hayate was too damn pretty. And Toko wasn't the only one who thought so. A strangled sound caused all of them to look over their shoulders.

Now Kokoa was in the doorway, also clad in just a towel. The moment she saw the others, she froze mid-step, eyes and mouth wide.

"Oh, hello, Kokoa!" Hayate waved, oblivious grin on her face.

"Hayate!" Kokoa squawked, cheeks tinting light red. What are you still doing here?! I thought we agreed you'd leave a little ahead of me…

Sorry, Hayate shrugged, Guess I got distracted saying hello! Besides, you didn't give me much time… Her eyes drifted shut as she smiled.

Few would've guessed it, but Hayate was far sharper than she let on. It was part of her charm as the Ultimate Poet. She had an innate and powerful ability to understand and connect with others. Even Toko could see it, jealous and disbelieving though she was. But how else could Hayate be so charismatic if she was not also kind, caring, empathetic, and friendly? It wasn't just pretty words or smiles, but a pretty heart as well. And as she'd noted in the past, she knew better than almost anyone how important good friends on the streets were. That was why she and the rest of her unit, Unichord, had teamed up with Tokomaru, after all.

Even now, Komaru wore a smile every bit as sweet, sincere, innocent, and oblivious as Hayate's. Toko and Kokoa, by contrast, were far less patient and amused, scowling and crossing their arms in annoyance and embarrassment. Lumina was the first to ultimately break the silence, though.

"Fret not, hosts most generous! We shan't take up too much more of your bandwidth!" she declared, half-joking and half-serious. Michiru and Hayate had to conceal tiny smiles while Kokoa merely cursed the other girl in her head, mentally facepalming as her expression was deadpan.

Stupid AI! It's gonna get us caught! And for what? A few robot puns? Pfft! It was a rather Lumina thing to do, but that didn't mean Kokoa found it any less dumb. As Unichord knew, Lumina was an AI, but it was still secret from the rest of the world, even Tokomaru. Even though the six of them were working together, Unichord agreed that keeping Lumina's secret— at least for now—was the most important thing. Her alibi was that she was a normal human girl trapped inside an abandoned building on the outskirts of Towa City. Conveniently, there was plenty of food, water, and technology, hence Lumina's near-constant presence on Michiru's phone.

"Leaving so soon?" Komaru sounded genuinely sad. Even though she'd only met Unichord a few days ago, she was already fond of them.

"I am afraid our mission is leading us beneath different stars than yours," said Lumina sagely, face grim and apologetic.

"How do you know where we're going?" Toko interrupted, scowling. Unlike Komaru, she was a little less saddened and a little more suspicious. Unichord wasn't the only side of the team keeping secrets from the other.

"Saw it on your to-do list," Lumina shrugged. "Didn't mean to, but I guess that's what happens when I jumped networks."

Tokomaru were on their way to a literal-underground "Resistance", but there was a certain objective they had to complete first. Ordinarily, neither Toko nor Komaru would've even breathed a word about the Resistance to anyone, but again, with Unichord as allies, some information hadto be transmitted and shared. Plus, despite the Resistance's seemingly heroic name, it was crawling with creeps.

Even Toko didn't want Unichord waltzing in unaware. Especially that Haji Towa fuck, she thought crossly. H-he gives me the damn willies! But if working with him brought her closer to… Hehehe M-M-M-Master Byakuya! Your loyal, faithful servant, Toko Fukawa, is c-coming for you!

As all of them noted, however, Tokomaru's quest for the Resistance, and Byakuya, would not take them in the same direction as Unichord and their quest. It was funny, though, how similar they were. Just like Tokomaru, Unichord was searching for missing people.

For Michiru Kaibara, this was her beloved senpai-sensei Shinobu Inuyose. For her beloved Master Lumina, it was…

To Lumina's infinite regret, despite her status as the Ultimate Hope AI, the Tragedy had so thoroughly ruined Towa City's digital infrastructure that some of her files and programming were corrupted, or missing entirely. But I HAVE a purpose; that much I am sure of!

For what other reason would such an advanced AI be invented? And as an Ultimate Hope, no less! Hope was meant to be spread, like a computer virus (ok, maybe not the greatest analogy), but to whom was Lumina supposed to transmit her Hope?

I remember… Dr. Taichi Fujisaki… And his child, Chihiro… They created me, or at least, they helped, I think… And yet… Why do I also remember Chihiro as an AI, never working alongside their father? Doubly confusing, Lumina also remembered two other AIs, Chiaki Nanami (a humanoid girl like herself) and Magical Girl Usami (a… rabbit). Even though all of them—Chiaki, Lumina, Usami, and Chihiro—were all in development around the same time (and around the same people, no less) Lumina was fuzzy on the details. It was like trying to remember people she hadn't seen since very early childhood despite not being very old herself (at least by her estimates.)

And that Chihiro person in particular… Are they perhaps a human-AI hybrid? And if that was the case, why was Lumina the Ultimate Hope AI? Unless… was that her end goal and endgame? To likewise because a human-AI hybrid? Except, perhaps in the other direction. What if the reason Lumina remembered Chihiro as Taichi's child was because Chihiro was a human turned AI? And Lumina was perhaps supposed to be…? Someday, I'm gonna be a real girl! Her starry eyes shined, even the black one turn gold at the thought and possibility.

But missing memories aside, it would be easier to interact with the world if she wasn't always confined to a user interface. She found it incredibly difficult to go beyond the borders of Towa City, for the farther and farther she strayed from a power source and a powerful internet connection, the weaker and glitchier she became. An actual body would solve all of those problems, at least. But how and where to begin…?

"So, any status update on your missing friend?" Komaru asked Michiru. Even though the two sides of the same team were highly secretive, at least a few vague and minor details had been exchanged.

"Well, my uncle Haruki, and her grandpa Dennojo, have been trying to trace her location too, but all we're getting is the place where her phone was last pinged, and that was somewhere here in the city," Michiru replied. Ah, but just their luck. By the time they got to the place where Shinobu's phone had last been pinged, Shinobu was long gone. It had been pure radio silence ever since, and it was extra alarming given that Shinobu was the Ultimate FPS Gamer! She was never away from an electronic device for very long!

Komaru made a noise of sympathy. At least she and Toko had some guidance forward, and they knew that Byakuya was still alive…

"Oh, but Shinobu is too!" Michiru insisted fiercely, hands clenching into fists. "She's the best! There's no way anything could take her down!"

Toko was most unimpressed by Michiru's passionate display, but the others—even Kokoa—couldn't help but admire her hope and faith. After all, it took a lot to go running headfirst into a war-torn city in search of a friend who might not even be there. And to keep looking?

The Ultimate Announcer was an ultimate annoyance, that much most of them could agree on most of the time, but she was just inspiring enough that at least a few people were willing to follow her anywhere. Of course, at first, Haruki was beside himself at the thought of his young niece running around a war-torn city alone, but upon hearing that she managed to pull together a ragtag team of other allies and Ultimates, some of his fears were assuaged slightly.

Besides, unfortunately, I have enough to worry about already… Haruki thought grimly. After all, Nagisa Tsukimiyama was missing too, and she was Shinobu's cousin. Dennojo was grieving for more than one lost child. And that young Ms. Kyoko Yamate—a close and dear friend of both Michiru Kaibara and Shinobu Inuyose—was suddenly absent as well. It was disconcerting, so many powerful and well-connected young Ultimates going missing so abruptly, and with no trace or sign whatsoever.

The DJ unit Haruki and Dennojo were part of—LMO—was hard at work trying to find the missing students their own way, as well as keeping borders and connections open to and from Towa City. Despite the fact that that Tragedy seemed to be at something of a standstill now, it was still getting increasingly difficult to keep the supplies and manpower flowing.

Someone had to keep watch over the city perimeters. Ryujin Kofune, once a proud owner of a Hope's Peak café, had a big hand in passing supplies to and from the city people while Dennojo handled border guard and defense, and Haruki dealt with intel and the humanitarian side of things. As for the fourth and final member of LMO, it was… complicated.

Sho Mitsuhashi was once a wonderful man and musician, but there were demons in his past, one of the biggest being his father, Kazuo Tengan. For a time, Sho was defiant and rebellious, going so far as to change his surname, but he did not stop there. As far as he drifted from his father, his father's influence still had a powerful sway over him.

Sho became obsessed with being the best, even surpassing his unit-mates and his eventual own son, Ku. Ku had become the honorary and replacement fourth of LMO in his twisted father's place, but he was still not as close to or connected with Dennojo, Haruki, and Ryujin as they were with each other. None of them had seen or heard from Ku since the other Ultimates had suddenly gone missing…

Truly, ghosts and demons of every stripe and streak—some metaphorical and some literal—were on the hunt. That was what made Tokomaru and Unichord's quests so dangerous, and their alliance so invaluable. Even if they could not be together all the time, it was better to have some friends and help than none. In fact, despite Unichord keeping Lumina's secret from Tokomaru, Lumina certainly wasn't stingy with them.

"As a parting gift," she said, still on Michiru's phone screen, "I have been working on something ever since we met! Now, I have integrated some of my own remote software that I use in Michiru's phone to your megaphone hacking gun! She should pack an even more powerful punch than ever, and you'll get sweet, new, defensive capabilities that you've never had before!" The Ultimate Hope AI wore the smuggest smile any of them had ever seen as she rested her hands proudly on her hips, both of her starry eyes glowing golden.

She wasn't going to elaborate on the full nature of the software, but one of its many capabilities allowed it to turn Michiru's phone into something of an EMP-blaster. Combined with the technology of Komaru's hacking gun, it was just another example of how well their alliance was already paying off. But now, it was time to put it all to the test! The group of six stared out the apartment window at the shattered, bloody, burning streets below. Were they ready for the danger ahead? Only time would tell… Music was rising off in the distance, a new beat was just beginning…