Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter Thirty Three: Portrait of a Capture
Beta:
"That's the last of them," Naru said with a smirk as a man was consumed by the flames of one of her fireballs. "When will these damn Russians learn to not be stupid and try to steal our secrets?"
"Perhaps when your precious little City learns to properly protect them?" An inhumanly deep voice said from all around the forest near one of the many reservoirs that dotted Academy City's 21st District.
"Great," Naru said with a frustrated sigh, her blonde brow knitted in annoyance. "Now I've gotta deal with you shitty shinobi too!? This day sucks!"
As if in reply, a completely black, humanoid figure lacking any hair or visible orifices, who was made up of a black mass punctuated by two yellow eyes, which lacked any visible sclera or pupils stepped out of the shadows alongside a small horde of figures dressed in stereotypical ninja suits.
"I'm minutely impressed," Naru whistled tauntingly. "The head honcho is making an appearance? What an honor."
At her words, the black figure's skin along the lower part of its face seemed to tear open like a seam, revealing an inhumanly wide mouth filled with jagged teeth that it used to reply. "You should be honoured, Jinchūriki. It isn't every day that I trouble myself to take the field to handle pests like you."
"Big talk," Naru retorted forming her Panzer Frame around her body, her size looming over his. "Let's see if you can live up to it."
Throwing down the metaphorical gloves to her challenge, Naru proceeded to open up the fight by slamming her arm mounted pistons into the ground and using a Double Sudden Impact to cause an earthquake.
To their credit, the shinobi responded to this dramatic opening move easily enough. With a wave of various shouted technique names, a host of their number proceeded to use their own Doton jutsu to stabilize the ground thus negating Naru's attack. At the same time, exploiting how her attack left her open, the other shinobi proceeded to unleash a barrage of elemental jutsu and throwing weapons at her.
Clicking her tongue, Naru felt annoyed at the audience attending the thrashing she wanted to give the boss ninja. The whole lot of them were just a waste of time. They had nothing that could even hurt her. Even their trump cards, the various anti-chakra Dark Matter weapons, just bounced off the earthen outer layer of her Demon Frame's armor. She thus weathered the shinobi's attacks with ease and instead of being intimidated by the rain of attacks, she took the opportunity to rush the ring of shinobi that encircled her.
Gotta give them credit though, Naru thought as she ran. Using rate of fire to make it difficult for me to use my own chakra to hack their jutsu? That's a pretty smart and easy counter.
"Doton: Doryūheki!" A trio of shinobi directly in front of her shouted desperately, as their jutsu raised a large rock wall between her and their vulnerable fleshy bodies.
What is it with Shinobi and shouting their attacks? Naru thought with a dismissive snort even as she easily punched her way through the rock barrier and incidentally caved in the head of one of its creators while doing so.
Stomping through the opening she'd created, she swatted a foolhardy swordsman who had tried to jump her into red mist. In that same moment, she suddenly found herself surrounded by chaff smoke.
"What now?" Naru whined as she tried to peer through the obscuring smoke. "What silly new trick have you pulled out of your asses this time?"
As the smoke cleared a little, Naru found herself staring into the angry eyes of a monstrous creature with a shinobi riding on its head. It was one of several that now filled the forest.
There was a many headed hound, whose reddened hairless body seemed to sprout and lose heads at every glance; a beaver with a ridiculously oversized tail and serpentine fangs for front teeth; a bird with at least six, possibly more, mismatched wings; and a cross between a great white shark and a crocodile with the former's deadly mouth and the body of the latter. All of which must have been at least two stories tall or bigger.
Summoned creatures? Impossible! There shouldn't be any summons in this world. Kurama shouted in shock within the depths of her mind.
I don't think so. Naru analyzed with a frown, even as she dodged a charge by the Cerberus knockoff. Their bodies are covered in tumors. If I were to make a guess they're creatures the sicko shinobi mutated to fit the mold. Tch, now I have to go hunting up genetic manipulation cases to close down this avenue for them.
"This isn't true summoning," Black Zetsu's voice said from all around the area, even as Naru grabbed hold of the upper and lower jaw of the land shark to prevent it from chomping down on her. "Simply, a use of some space-time jutsu to transport some of our experimental creations to the battlefield, but it should still be more than enough to deal with you."
And now he's monologuing, ugh. Naru noted with frustration as she ripped the jaw of the crocoshark apart, killing the damned thing.
"Whatever they are," Naru shouted back, as she was showered in a barrage of arrow like feathers from the bird. "I'll put them down all the same. Same as I'll do to you."
That bird is a pest, Kurama grumbled. Get rid of it.
Working on it. And don't tell me what to do. I'm the boss here. Naru informed the demon as she teleported out of the way of the hound.
Rematerializing behind the shinobi controlling the bird, she knocked her head off with an absent swing of her left arm even as she drove her right into the twisted creature's brain with a Sudden Impact that reduced its head into a shower of gore.
Teleporting away from the crashing corpse, Naru reappeared directly in the path of the hound which had been running around in what seemed like a mindless pell mell rush all over the place.
"Eat this!" Naru roared at the murderous chimera as it barreled towards her, unleashing a massive bolt of lightning that hit it heads on and cooked it alive. Its well done corpse collapsing directly in front of her.
"Any other rejects you need me to kill or you finally going to grow a pair, tall dark and gangly?"
"Forgetting me, demon?" The shinobi atop the beaver thing said as he and his monstrous mount stepped up to the plate.
It seemed that while his cohorts had rushed her, he'd taken the time to properly prepare his beast for battle by surrounding his monster with earthen armor.
"Do beavers scream when set on fire?" Naru inquired as she unleashed a firestorm on the mutant animal.
"The survey says yes." The blonde said with a vicious smirk as the beast cried out its agony in a series of pained whooping calls. It writhed in the flames and slammed its massive tail onto the ground, channeling chakra into it in the process and causing an eruption of mud to explode all around it that proceeded to smother the flames.
"It can use chakra too? Hax!" Naru cried out in dismay as she teleported out of the way of the creation of the City's new swamp.
Truly, a mighty foe. Kurama noted sarcastically.
"Oh shut up." Naru grumbled as she used her chakra to twist the air around her into a hissing squall. With a burst of calculations, she weaved it into a storm of slicing winds and sent it screaming at the mutant beaver.
As the beaver and its summoner buckled down to weather the attack, Naru took advantage of the distraction to teleport in close. Appearing directly above the cowering animal, she dropped down on the creature arms first and impacted it with the full power of a Double Sudden Impact. The force of which caused the mutant to literally explode and cover the whole area in gore, and muscle and sinew to slip down her Frame.
With the 'summons' dealt with, Naru allowed herself a breather to savor her victory and mentally prepare herself for whatever trick the shinobi had up their sleeve next. She was totally unprepared however for suddenly feeling a huge chunk of her chakra suddenly get sucked straight out of her.
"What the heck!?" The blonde Esper cried out in surprise as her Demon Frame broke apart as the chakra that sustained it was siphoned off. "What's going on?"
She felt weakened, by a whole lot. It was like her power just sprung a leak. Or twelve. She tried to call on her chakra or Kurama's even, but every time she did it just got sucked away before she could do anything with it.
Look up, her inner demon told her with a angry growl.
Following his advice, she saw that she seemed to be caught in the middle of a large chakra dome that was covered in a whole host of calligraphy that she didn't recognize.
"What is that!?"
"That, Jinchūriki, is called the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier." The inhuman voice of Black Zetsu said as he literally stepped out of the trunk of a nearby tree. "A little something I perfected from some incomplete notes I scavenged from the remains of my old world. It's a technique specifically designed to deal with things like you."
"Urgh." Naru grunted as her knees buckled. Using her hands to hold herself up, she glared angrily at the persistent freak.
"Thanks by the way, little girl." The alien creature said with a teasing smirk. "You played right into my hands today. Getting all distracted with the summons and giving us the time we needed to finish setting up the barrier? Tsch, tsch, I never expected such a textbook mistake from the [Laughing Joker]."
"Screw you!" Naru hissed as her arms gave out and she collapsed into a undignified sprawl. Her muscles felt like limp noodles as she tried and failed to push herself up.
Kurama! Do something! Naru cried out desperately to her inner demon.
I'm trying! But this sealing barrier is draining my chakra just as quickly as yours! The demon fox retorted, his voice tinged with a similar desperation.
"My, my, what language from a ojou-sama of Tokiwadai! What would your teachers say if they heard you talking like that?" The monster continued with his taunting even as his shinobi underlings rushed forward to secure Naru.
"But then again what else could I expect? You just love to fail expectations don't you? I mean, here you are, dragged away from home to this awful place and experimented on. Back in our home world you held purpose. Far greater than you do here. Why, you could have been part of a great legacy. But no! You preferred to stay here and be that magician's little enforcer. Do you know how many lives you've ended due to being here? An entire world died because you didn't want to go home, tsk tsk Uzumaki. Some prophesied savior you are."
While their leader continued his little tirade, the shinobi unsealed a set of bulky Dark Matter restraints out of the scrolls they carried and manhandled the by now all but paralyzed Naru into them. She tried to struggle in their grasp, but without her chakra flowing through her system she might as well been a kitten to them.
It seemed the shinobi weren't done yet though, as they flipped Naru over so they could access her front and then unceremoniously ripped a section of her top off to expose her stomach. Panic swelled within her as she screamed and thrashed, fearful of their intentions. Thankfully, they weren't being lecherous, though the way they slammed some kinda seal over the one that held Kurama inside her wasn't exactly good either. Not when the action sent a torrent of agony flooding through her very being.
Once the seal was on, a deep feeling of emptiness and intense fatigue washed over her as her vision grew blurry. The last thing Naru saw as she passed out was the face of Black Zetsu sporting a triumphant smirk.
An unknown amount of time later, Naru regained consciousness as she was unceremoniously tossed, restraints and all, into the back of what she recognised was a freezer truck. One of several she glimpsed in the short time before she fell into the darkness of the truck's cargo space.
The others must be decoys. Naru reasoned foggily. Shit! Don't tell me they're gonna try and spirit me out of the City. If that happens…
Then she was in deep trouble. While Academy City wielded substantial influence internationally, that influence varied and waned considerably once outside of its immediate vicinity. Something the shinobi undoubtedly were aware of and would exploit to the fullest if they managed to get her out of the City by taking her to a place where it had little to no influence and/or ability to act.
I can't let that happen. The Number 2 reasoned as she struggled in her bonds. They wouldn't so much as budge though and all her efforts earned her were some chuckles from the shinobi watching her as they sealed the truck's back door shut, trapping her in darkness.
Realizing how unlikely escaping on her own would be, Naru found herself hoping someone would come to rescue her before they left the City's boundaries.
Maybe UNDER_LINE will spot them taking me? Naru all but prayed as she pulled her legs close, curling up into a small ball. Oh, who am I kidding? If it could see through whatever they use to hide, we'd have wiped out the shinobi long ago!
As she felt the truck begin moving, the Level 5 felt the beginnings of despair. In the dark quiet of the locked freezer compartment, all the blonde could think about was a fervent hope that someone, anyone, would come save her.
Naru didn't know when she'd fallen asleep but the next time she awoke it was with a scream as her body convulsed under the familiar exposure to a surge of electricity courtesy of a shinobi standing in front of her.
"Ah, she's awake. Thank you, Kaminari. I'll take it from here." Black Zetsu said with a wide smile.
The spiky haired blonde shinobi nodded and cancelling his jutsu, promptly left without a word.
"S-So what's up?" Naru said as tauntingly jovially as she could manage while she struggled to steady her breathing. She jostled her arms, which by the lack of movement she was rewarded for her efforts, was clearly restrained. Very tightly so. Same for her legs, if the lack of response to her efforts to flex her knees was any indication.
"Oh, and what's with these restraints. You guys practising for your kinky shibari sessions?" Naru snarked, "Sorry, but you aren't my type."
"Oh, nothing really." Black Zetsu replied conversationally, completely ignoring her mention of bondage. "Just wanted to chat with you and let you know what's going to happen to you."
"And what's that exactly?" Naru asked, just a little anxiously.
"Well torture. Lots and lots of torture."
Naru snorted, trying to keep calm, "Cliche much? Come on, you wouldn't capture me just for torture. Let's talk end goal here."
"Nothing actually." Black Zetsu said with a shrug. "I've already gotten pretty much what I needed from you for now. So torturing you is just for my amusement really. A little payback for how you inadvertently killed my mother."
"And your little pajama squad call me a demon."
"I never denied that I wasn't one too," the creature said as he produced a kunai from a sleeve and began to trail it against Naru's cheek,
Naru tried to pull away, but found herself held firmly in place by the chains that left her suspended in midair.
"Just so you know, killing me isn't going to bring mommy back." Naru spat at him as he took another drag along her cheek, blood weeping in the wake of his blade.
"Oh, you ignorant little brat, it will. I just need to do it the right way." Black Zetsu informed her as he pressed the blade of his weapon into her cheek and drew blood once more.
Naru had felt worse pain and despite the difficulty, just kept talking. "...Fuck, resurrection magic? Cloning? What bullshit you going to pull?"
"Nothing so mundane," the alien informed her. "Though don't expect me to explain what I intend. I'm not an idiot."
"Because of course not," Naru muttered and grunted as he moved to the other cheek.
"Done." The freak said a moment later as he pulled the blade away. "There. Now you look like you should."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Naru hissed angrily, trying to cover her pain.
"Why don't you take a look?" Black Zetsu said as he produced a mirror from the folds of his robe.
The cuts were three shallow, thin lines going along each of her cheeks, like whisker marks. "What? A bunny joke? I'm used to those."
"A Jinchūriki should look the part," the alien said with a smirk before bursting into uproarious laughter while turning to leave.
As he exited the chamber, a pair of his shinobi entered each carrying large scrolls that sent a shiver of fear up Naru's spine.
An unknown amount of time later, Naru hung limp in her chains as she sobbed softly to herself.
The shinobi had left for now. She would have said they were done for the day, but she was pretty sure they weren't keeping to anywhere near such a rigid schedule. Messing with her sense of time was after all just another form of torture. One they helped along by keeping the high powered lights in her cell on all the time. It made sleeping extremely difficult, well that and being hung from the air like a slab of meat, but it was still possible. They didn't want her to die from sleep deprivation it seemed and hadn't added in the blaring noise part of that particular torture.
One of many that the poor girl had been subjected to over the course of her captivity. They'd pulled out all her finger and toe nails, which without her chakra powered regeneration had thus reduced her digits into bloody messes. They'd flogged her till every inch of her skin was bloody and raw. Every single inch of it, that is except her face. For some sick reason, the shinobi had kept her face pristine except for the 'whisker marks' that their leader had given her at the very beginning.
All that had been too much for the girl. She might have been a seasoned Dark Sider, but she was still only twelve years old! In the face of such brutal treatment, she'd broken. Any defiance she'd had crumbling away in the face of the pain. If they'd asked her any questions, she'd told them whatever they wanted. But they didn't ask any questions. All they seemed to want was to cause her pain.
The one solace she had was that they at least weren't raping her or doing anything sexual to her. Well besides leaving her to hang practically naked in her cell, though that was more a result of their lashings having torn her clothing to shredded rags ages ago and them being too lazy or just evil to provide her with anything else.
After all, since when do prisoners get dignity?
Heck, they hadn't even let her out of the chains to use the bathroom. Instead forcing her to just do her business where she hung and in full view of her captors. This added to the growing stench of her cell, which she imagined was yet another form of torture for her.
Though even the small mercy that they weren't touching her sexually was largely because it seemed even the shinobi had 'standards'. Though not all of them. One of them had moved to do something, Naru shuddered to imagine what, but his female colleague had responded by putting a knife to his dick and reminding him that their master wanted her pure. Though it was heartening to see that her female captors seemed genuinely offended that their male counterparts would even contemplate such a thing. After that, every 'session' she had would include a woman who she imagined was there to keep the men in line.
Chicks before dicks! The blonde thought with a weak wheezing chuckle.
The worst part was that Naru was utterly alone. She couldn't even talk to Kurama. She honestly missed him right now. Though the Level 5 could feel him stirring deep behind the seal that the shinobi had placed on her. He was up to something but she didn't know what, but she hoped that whatever it was it would save them both. Because on her end, she was completely out of ideas.
"Meal time, demon." One of her jailors shouted as he walked into the room with a pair of women keeping a close eye on him. In his hands was a long pipe of what Naru knew to be nutrient paste.
Walking up to her he shoved the open end of the plastic pipe into her mouth and chuckled. "Eat up."
He began to squeeze and pushed the paste into Naru's waiting mouth. She had tried starving herself at first, but they had just hooked her up to IVs to keep her going. At the same time punishing her by upping the ante of her torture. Ever since then, she'd dutifully ate and drank whatever they gave her.
The tube of paste empty, the man tossed it haphazardly aside to join the junk that filled Naru's cell and pulled a water bottle from his belt.
"Here's your drink for the day, Ojou-sama." The shinobi taunted as he squirted its contents in Naru's face. Flinching a little, the blonde struggled to move her mouth into position so it went down her throat and not be wasted.
As the last of the bottle's water was splashed in her face, one of the kunoichi called out in a harsh voice. "We're done here. Let's go."
"Oh alright, you spoilsport. I was hoping to play around with the demon for a bit."
"Shut up and let's go," the other woman said as she grabbed the man's shoulder and turned him towards the door.
"Fine, fine," the man said in a whine. "Maybe next time."
This earned him a elbow to the gut, but he just laughed it off as he and his compatriots left Naru's cell.
Hanging there, helpless and humiliated, Naru's went over her options for getting out of this place.
Escaping on her own was off the table. The seal they'd placed on her was making it impossible to use any chakra at all and without it she was just a normal twelve year old girl. A girl whose strength was nowhere near enough to break out of her chains. Heck, she couldn't even move anything but her head with them on.
Maybe Crowley will send someone to rescue me? Naru hoped faintly. Though she knew this was highly unlikely. He would probably just write her off. To him, she was just another pawn that he'd not go to too much trouble to save.
With him out of the equation...
That means I only really have those girls to rely on, huh? Naru thought with dismay. Sempai, Saten-chan, where are you guys!?
It was a long shot though, and she knew it. Even if her friends knew she was missing, she had doubts even Saten-chan had the resources to mount a rescue. She was fairly sure she was outside the City and her friends' influence largely ended at its walls.
But if I'm entertaining long shots… Maybe Shutaura will come riding in on her spider tank like a knight in shining armor? A subtle shift in her cell's ventilation pulled her out of her little daydream, as the draft caused her to shiver and reality reasserted itself. A reality that made Naru sob. Who am I kidding, I may not ever see her again.
"So what's up, Saten?" Mikoto asked as she sunk into one of the chairs in the 177th Branch's rest area.
"Naru-san is missing," the Number 3 said without preamble.
"Yes, but isn't this normal for her?" Kuroko said dismissively. "Isn't she just on a mission?"
"Not this time," Saten retorted with a shake of her head. "Kurozuma-san called me sometime ago and told me that Naru, uncharacteristically, missed a meeting with him to discuss some business."
"That is odd isn't it?" Uiharu commented with a frown. "I mean, Namikaze-san is always prompt with her appointments. Kurozuma-san mentioned it to me once too."
"Still not seeing anything off," Mikoto snorted. "Anything else?"
"Plenty," Saten said with a frown. "After Kurozuma-san contacted me, I did some investigating just to alleviate my worries if nothing else. As a result, I have reached the conclusion that Naru-san has been missing for more than a day."
"What evidence do you actually have?" Kuroko asked, skeptically.
"I have ascertained that Naru-san was last seen in a fight with some shinobi. Add this to confirmation I've received directly from her handlers that she is not on a mission and Kurozuma-san has helped me to come up with a disturbing hypothesis."
"What hypothesis?" Uiharu asked warily, her hands clutching her skirt nervously.
"We think that she might have been kidnapped by the shinobi."
This statement caused a pit to form in Mikoto's stomach as she frowned, "Kidnapping a Level 5 though? That's a pretty ballsy thing to do. I mean, that's just asking for the axe, right?"
Saten frowned at her, "The shinobi wouldn't care. Their hatred for Naru-san would likely lead them to not care about any consequences that the City might levy against them, even if it were to go after them in full force."
"Even if?" Kuroko asked, confused. "Surely, the City is already throwing down the hammer. I mean, no offense, but if you could come up with this Saten-san, then surely the Superintendent and the Board of Directors would have too. If so, wouldn't they have already taken action?"
"I believed so," Saten admitted with a frown. "However, despite all indications that the City shares my hypothesis, they do not appear to be taking any action at the moment."
Who cares what the City doing? Mikoto thought with a growl.
"We have to find her." Mikoto declared, shooting to her feet. "Who knows what those bastards are doing to her!"
"Most likely torture." Saten woodenly informed.
The thoughts of the Usagi screaming in pain as those ninja knockoffs did unspeakable things to her filled Mikoto's mind, causing sparks to dance off her body in response to her building anger.
"I'll contact Yomikawa-san," Kuroko said quickly as she pulled out her phone, "Anti-Skill should be able to help us widen the search radius."
"I'll, uh, go approach the Sisters," Mikoto offered, trying her best to calm down. "They always seem to know something. I'm sure they'll be able to help us with this too."
"And I'll keep trying to dig up as much information that might prove useful as possible." Saten offered. "Uiharu, you mind helping me with that?"
"Of course," the computer wiz said with a nod. "Working together we'll make sure that we won't leave any stones unturned."
"Right then let's get started!" Mikoto said jumping to her feet. "We don't have any time to waste."
Mikoto walked into the familiar branch of Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant where apparently the Sisters residing in the City frequented having been directed there for a meet up by 10032 when she'd called her cat loving clone requesting help in locating that Baka-Usagi. She would have prefered to just access the Misaka Network, but her Sisters warned her that it could overwhelm her and not to try. Unlike them, they argued, she hadn't been specially bred to cope with it. As such, any attempt to link to it might cause her to end up like Saten had been when they first met or worse.
Mikoto wasn't going to try. Someone had to stay the leveled headed one of the three.
Just as she opened the door to the restaurant, she found herself looking at the unmistakable form of a younger version of herself that must have been the clone named Last Order that she'd heard so much about. It seemed the clone had also just arrived and was saying goodbye to a familiar pseudo albino just ahead of her in the restaurant's entryway.
Mikoto's hand clenched at the sight of him, but she calmed herself down. I can't go attacking Saten's boyfriend. Wait until he fucks up then attack him with extreme prejudice.
"Take care on the way home, Accel-sama, Misaka Misaka reminds her guardian, Yomikawa-san and Saten-sama will be angry with you if you get into a fight again." The little clone told the lanky boy, who was now walking around with a cane thanks to his injury, seriously.
"It was the one damned time! And they were the ones to jump me too! Can't you all just let it go!?"
"But Yomikawa-san had to go pick you up from the lock up and Saten-sama had to sell a favor to get you out, Misaka Misaka points out. It was very troublesome for them, Misaka Misaka tells her guardian earnestly. So please don't make their lives difficult, Misaka Misaka pleads."
"Ugh, fine." The Number 1 conceded with a frown. "But you better take care too. If I have to come rescue you from another kidnapping, Ruiko and I will be pissed."
"And whose fault was it that led to my kidnapping last time? Misaka Misaka asks leadingly."
Accelerator sputtered and with a growl turned to leave in a huff. He eyed Mikoto for a moment as he passed but besides a warning glare he said nothing and just marched off, completely ignoring Last Order waving at his back in an enthusiastic goodbye.
Watching the whole scene play out, Mikoto could only gape. How in the world had one of her clones end up as Accelerator's daughter? Because that's what their relationship looked like. The dynamic was pretty much identical to how Saten and the twins interacted, and there was no doubt there how either side felt about the other.
"Oh! Hello Onee-sama! Misaka Misaka greets," Last Order said as she finally seemed to notice that Mikoto was there. "It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Misaka Misaka says sincerely."
"Ah, Onee-sama! I have ordered for you already since we Misakas are all energizing for the task ahead, Misaka says with shining optimism." Sentai-chan informed her as she walked over presumably to collect the two stragglers.
"Did you get me the children's special? Misaka Misaka asked urgently. I had it with Saten-sama the other day and it was super good! Misaka Misaka confessed." Last Order asked, jumping up and down excitedly.
Sentai-chan just nodded with a resigned sigh before gesturing for them to follow her further into the eatery.
Shaking off how tiny and adorable her littlest clone was and more terrifyingly how she'd wormed her way into Accelerator's dead heart, she followed Sentai-chan as she led them to the gathered Sisters. Most of whom, she noted with some pride, were now individualizing their appearance with new hairstyles, accessories, and outfits. Though with the exception of Conspiracy Nut who was dressed up like a stereotypical hardboiled detective, all of them were just wearing their various school uniforms. It was still a step forward though. One that Mikoto highly agreed with.
She just wished some of the presumably more lazy ones like 10032 and Sentai-chan would stop aping her and get something other than their issued Tokiwadai uniforms for casual wear! She was comforted by the fact that they had at least accented their outfits with a cat badge and Kamen Rider brand watch respectively. But surely they could have done more by now!
Now's not the time for that. Mikoto reminded herself as they neared the table. I can worry about the Sisters' individuality later. Right now, I've gotta think about Namikaze first and foremost.
"As much as I want to chat with you all," Mikoto said as she took a seat, taking a sip from the fruity drink offered to her by Conspiracy Nut. One that she noted was the drink that was quickly becoming her favorite at Joseph's.
Just how well do the Sisters know me? Mikoto boggled for a moment before shaking her head to focus on the matter at hand. "I called the uh, Council of Misakas because Namikaze was taken."
She made sure to whisper this. No need to freak people out that a Level 5 had been kidnapped.
The Sisters all looked at one another, a silent conversation no doubt being had in the Network. Military Otaku was clearly taking the lead, her eyes jumping from Sister to Sister who were taking turns rapidly alternating between looking stern and pouty.
Mikoto took a frustrated sip of her fruity drink. It was times like this that she really wished she could link up to the Misaka Network and decipher what the Sisters were saying. There had to be some means to do so, right?
"Yum! Misaka Misaka declares cheerfully as she dug into her food."
Well, at least Last Order wasn't trying to keep what she was thinking secret. The girl was just being a regular glutton as she stuffed herself on her kids special. Ugh, it reminded her of the Usagi.
The pit in her stomach grew more as she thought of her little Kohai.
The little clone's meal was interrupted however when Military Otaku reached over and flicked her ahoge to get her attention.
"Stop eating and pay attention, Misaka chides Last Order."
"Misaka can multitask, Misaka Misaka declares with a huff. And 12873's idea is stupid, Misaka Misaka points out, like 12873's big butt, Misaka Misaka taunts!"
Military Otaku growled at the insult. Reaching into what must have been her school bag, she pulled out a pace stick and rapped the little clone's knuckles with it.
"Ow! Misaka Misaka cries out in pain."
"If you insult Misaka then prepare to face military discipline, Misaka informs Last Order sternly." Military Otaku said as she brandished her stick warningly.
"Misaka will be good, Misaka Misaka whimpers." Last Order said while rubbing her abused hand gingerly. "And I'll tell on you to Saten-sama for this, Misaka Misaka warns."
"And Saten-sama will agree I did the right thing, Misaka replies confidently. Discipline is important, Misaka asserts."
"Misaka thinks we're getting off track, Misaka points out. We have to focus on the two hundred and fifty seven potential solutions to rescuing Namikaze-sama we have on the Network, Misaka urges." Genki Girl said, her pigtails bouncing as she nodded sternly.
"So Namikaze has really been taken?" Mikoto asked, her stomach sinking at yet another confirmation of the dire news.
"The Network has reviewed the data and concluded that Saten-sama's hypothesis has a 94.78% probability, Misaka informs Onee-sama." 13579, dressed in a her white sailor fuku school uniform, turned towards Mikoto to say with an apologetic frown.
13579 hasn't really individualized much at all has she? Mikoto thought, forcing herself not to think about her Kohai for the moment. All she's done is wear her school uniform instead of the Tokiwadai one.
"None of the solutions are viable! Misaka cries out in frustration." Tsundere shouted suddenly as she jumped to her feet with tears in her eyes. "There's nothing the Network can do to save Namikaze-sama, Misaka wails."
Her outburst earned a few looks from the other patrons. Some even beginning to whisper to one another.
"We're conducting a training exercise! Misaka shouts loudly." Military Otaku spoke up as she jumped up and wrapped an arm around a crying Tsundere. "There's nothing to worry about, Misaka assured. Nothing at all."
In the span of ten minutes they already had that many potential solutions and even tested out their viability? Leave it to our brain to do that. Mikoto thought as she tried to think up a few of her own.
That said, despite the brick wall the Network had hit, not everything was bad news. If they couldn't come up with a working solution then that must mean that Namikaze was already taken out of the City. If the shinobi were holed up in some Distract, the Sisters would have no trouble organizing a rescue. Not when one took into account the amount of influence and firepower they had to they had directly and indirectly. Heck, Last Order could just call Accelerator in and the ninja rejects would be screwed. But if they were outside the City… then all that power was worthless because they would never be allowed to use it.
Yet, the longer they pondered on the where, the shinobi were no doubt getting further away from them with her Kohai. Or hurting her even worse, a traitorous part of her mind reminded her.
As Military Otaku did her best to comfort the still hysterical Tsundere, Mecha Fan turned to Mikoto.
"The Network cannot do much to help at the moment, Misaka confessed unhappily." The clone with a set of earphones slung around her neck said. "Our resources outside the City are limited, Misaka informed Onee-sama. However, we will mobilize all we have available to us to help Namikaze-sama, Misaka assured Onee-sama. And we'll also prioritize building up external resources from now onwards, so as to help the Trinity should the need arise again in the future. Misaka promises."
Mikoto bit her lip and nodded. She hoped that it would be enough. Or at least help somewhat.
It had to.
Hang in there Usagi! We're coming to get you. Somehow.
"Sequenzia-san, do you have a moment?" The leader of the Black Crow Unit found herself confronted by Yomikawa Aiho of Anti-Skill, a woman she'd worked with in the past, at her own home after a long day on duty. All Shutaura wanted right now was sleep, the day had been boringly exhausting thanks to a mountain of paperwork, but here was someone standing in front of her door demanding an audience with her?
Taking all that into account, was it any surprise that she replied with hostility.
"No," the Level 4 said with a snarl. "Come back later."
"I'm afraid that's not possible." The older woman said apologetically. "This is time sensitive. Very much so."
"And what could be so important? I certainly don't see the need to contact me-"
"I was approached by Shirai Kuroko of Judgement and friend of the Trinity earlier today," Yomikawa said, cutting the Level 4 off. "She informed me of the Trinity's suspicions that your girlfriend, Namikaze Naru, has been kidnapped by the shinobi."
"What!?" Shutaura shouted, shocked enough to lose the composure that she usually carried herself with. "Is this a joke? Because if it is, it's not very funny."
"I'm afraid not," Yomikawa said, shifting uncomfortably. "Saten Ruiko has all but confirmed it and I'm sure we both know how capable she is at info gathering."
A chaotic mix of emotions rolled around in Shutaura's chest as a growl threatened to spill pass her lips. "I'll be ready in five. I'll inform my Unit and we'll move out to-"
Yomikawa frowned and cut the frazzled paramilitary commander off once more. "I didn't come here to recruit you and your men in the search. Just to ask you if you knew anything and if not, just to inform you."
"You're saying you don't need all available manpower to rescue the Number 2 Level 5?" Shutaura asked suspiciously, her lips peeling back to bare her teeth.
"I'm saying the City is denying she's been taken at all."
This statement hit Shutaura like a bomb and she staggered a step back in shock.
"You can't be serious." Her disbelief came out as a soft whisper.
"I'm afraid so," Yomikawa said sounding sympathetic and comforting all at once. "The Trinity are organizing a rescue effort, but besides them… The City isn't doing anything."
Shutaura just nodded, too shaken by this turn of events for words.
"Will you be okay?" Yomikawa asked worriedly, reaching out hesitantly to the younger woman.
"Yes," Shutaura said in a small voice. "How can I help?"
"I have no idea to be honest," Yomikawa admitted with a sigh. "Maybe talk to your boss? She's supposed to be influential right? Maybe if she said something, the City would get off its ass and do something?"
With a numb nod, Shutaura said in a tight tone, "I'll do so. Please excuse me."
Not waiting for the Anti-Skill officer's reply, Shutaura brushed pass the woman and hurried into her apartment slamming the door behind her as she did. Not that she cared. She was too busy fishing for her phone.
She needed to call Ladylee-sama. Now.
A day later, the worried remnants of the Trinity gang reconvened in the 177th Branch to discuss their findings. From the somber mood that surrounded the lot of them, it didn't take any of the affirmed geniuses present to discern that none of it was any good. Even Konori-sempai who had only just been informed about what had happened was surrounded by a cloud of nervous gloom.
"Between what Uiharu and I have unearthed and the Misaka Network's own findings, we're fairly certain that Naru-chan has been taken out of the City." Ruiko informed the gathered friends.
This unsettled the group even more.
"If that's the case then our hands are pretty much tied," Konori-sempai said voicing everyone's thoughts. "It will be next to impossible for us to get permission to leave the City."
"Especially since the City is pretending nothing has happened." Ruiko added on. "If they would only admit something had happened then I could get a permit and-"
"Go all [Army Slayer] on the shinobi?" Misaka-sempai cut in. "I don't think the Chibi would appreciate that. You know how much she hated it when you did it for Parasol."
Ruiko frowned but didn't dispute the point. Misaka-sempai was right. Naru-chan had been mightily upset over what she'd been forced to do when the City decided they wanted Parasol eliminated. But still… Would Naru-chan be as worried if Ruiko unleashed that destructive side of herself to rescue her? Ruiko suspected she wouldn't be. That said, now wasn't the time to press the matter. Not over a moot point.
"Have you spoken to your backer to get us permission?" Shirai-san asked, interrupting Ruiko's thoughts.
"I have, but she's having trouble." Ruiko admitted. "The other Directors are blocking her efforts. Possibly the Superintendent as well."
"Why?" Uiharu asked, sounding shocked. "Surely, even if they don't want to rescue her themselves, they'll be happy to let us do it."
"They probably don't want to risk any more of their Level 5s." Misaka-sempai said through gritted teeth.
"Probably," Ruiko agreed. "But while that bureaucratic tussle is ongoing, I'm making preparations for when we find a way to get out of the City."
"You're not looking for ways to sneak out?" Konori-sempai asked surprised.
"Kurozuma-san is handling that." Ruiko informed her, receiving an understanding but worried nod from Konori-sempai in reply. "I'm focusing instead on preparing to face the shinobi."
"What exactly does that mean?" Shirai-san asked warily.
In reply Ruiko telekinetically pulled out a piece of body armor from a duffle bag she'd brought to the meeting and put it down onto the rest area's table. It had a dark matte finish that seemed to sparkle slightly under the room's lights.
"That's made from anti-chakra Dark Matter." Ruiko said tapping the piece of armor. "I've been buying as much of it as possible. If we're fighting shinobi then having armor and weapons made from it will give us an edge."
"Buying? You can't make it yourself?"
Ruiko shook her head at Konori-sempai's question. "My emulated version of the Dark Matter ability doesn't allow me to create something quite so complex."
"Don't worry about it, Saten-san," Uiharu said as she slipped the chest piece over her body and began adjusting it to fit better. "When the time comes to kick the shinobi's asses, we'll be ready. Dark Matter or no Dark Matter. No one hurts one of our friends and gets away with it."
Such bloodthirsty words were uncharacteristic for the computer whiz but no one found it odd. In that moment, they all felt the same.
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as usual!
Man, talk about one hell of a chapter!
Yes, Naru has been kidnapped. Honestly, it was a matter of time with someone like Black Zetsu on her tail. Remember, he orchestrated nearly every damn problem in the Naruto Universe up till the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War. This dude plays the long game like no one's business. Here? His plans came to fruition. As for Naru cracking under torture, yes, she did. She is so used to her regen dealing with everything. And now that's sealed up, I doubt she would be able to with such things no matter how used to pain she is.
Nameless: And don't forget the psychological part of her torture.
Of course, the rest of the Trinity and Shutaura, isn't taking this lying down. They touched the loli, they must now die! I confess that Shutaura's scene felt powerful. Especially, in regards to how she felt about the City's response. Of course the Council of the Misakas was fun too, plus Mikoto finally met Last Order!
Nameless: Indeed. The shinobi, but not necessarily Black Zetsu, have screwed up. Big time. They've just very effectively pissed off one of the most powerful factions in Academy City, and possibly the world. They are so gonna die. Their leader though… This is all totally going just as planned for him. Totally. ;)
Because of course it is.
Nameless: On another note, some of you might have questions as to why the shinobi were such cheapskates and didn't use Dark Matter chains to restrain Naru in her cell. Well, here's some expanded explanations on their logic. Simply put anti-chakra chains would be useless. Sure if they were used, she couldn't manipulate them directly with her chakra, but she could still rip them off with chakra enhanced strength or manipulate them via the air around them, etc. Basically, the seal on her chakra is the only effective containment tool they have. They could use the sealing barrier again but maintaining that indefinitely would be logistically challenging.
And yes, the shinobi decided to do shibari to Naru. With chains. The perv. Though still, it is considered a binding technique...
Nameless: So this arc is the second in our recent set of 'breaking the cutie' arcs. I hope you guys like it. Saten's will be still a ways off, but don't you worry she'll get one too. Just need to build up her happiness for a bit before we cruelly tear it all down. Mwahahaha! Seriously though, it's because after frontloading he story with so many arcs focused on her, it's only fair to let the other girls have more of the spotlight for the time being.
Well, you know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!