Mitsuru sighed as she walked back into the student council office.
That man…
It was almost always something or another with him. He had a bad habit of getting in over his head.
Not that she was in a better position in truth. But it was different, he had still gone into battle with bottom shelf equipment, and while she would easily admit that his physical strength dwarfed her own it did him no favors with a weapon that couldn't leverage it.
Or one made with such subpar materials.
She had told him to get weapons through Officer Kurosawa, right? So why was he still using that knife?
Surely he could afford something better, right?
…
Actually, he might not be able to. He had a habit of picking up ammo from the fallen UNDIT forces. Maybe he didn't have a proper supply chain or funding to get what he needs to be fighting fit.
Furrowing her brow and waving off the concerns of Chihiro as she took a seat, Mitsuru found herself wondering what she was to do with her ally. He needed her help… to take the midterms early - and if his scores came back and he wasn't in the top 10 she would have no choice but to take his education into her hands and get him college ready!
After all, fighting Demons and Shadows won't last forever, and if it does then being a proficient warrior cannot be one's only marketable skill.
Luckily convincing the school staff hadn't taken too much hassle since Faer's teachers had nothing but good things to say about him.
"Nothing risked nothing gained, I suppose." The noble student remarks with a satisfied smirk as she settles into her desk again.
To his own academic credit it didn't seem as if he was struggling with the material given that he finished the testing in three hours after school ended.
Honestly, given how spry he was after the fact she wondered if he was even being properly challenged… In any case his scores would be produced with the rest of the classes later.
Ring, ring
Ring, ring
Ri—
"Good afternoon, Gekkoukan High School student council office, this is Kirijo Mitsuru speaking. How may I help you?" The heiress rattled off professionally, putting her idle musing aside.
There was a beat of silence for a moment before something shifted and crashed in the background, "Ah, Mitsuru, Good it's me, Mr. Itsutsuki," and true to his typical clumsy nature it sounded like something else crashed violently around him.
"Erm, I'm just calling to let you know that the company assets you requested will be coming your way sometime soon in the coming weeks." The chairman said with an all too pleased tone.
Though she would never admit it aloud she often wondered how such a man became such a high ranking chairman. Still, he had his moments, like now for example.
How oddly reliable…
The assets in question, had been something that had to be reshelved after the early testing phase as further refinement was required.
The details of which she wasn't privy to.
In truth Mitsuru had mixed feelings about the company being able to create artificial life, but based on the data she had access to they were worth more than their weight in gold.
However, the production cost and upkeep from what she understood had been a massive hurdle for the company, so she couldn't even be sure if they would last longer than a single operation.
At least that was the implication that she was given from the after action reports of the previous few generations.
"Oh, by the way, we've decided to have the newer models tested fielded up north. Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to say when it'll be all finished but seeing as your father wanted to start bringing you more on board with company decisions… well I figured it ought to be okay to tell you this much."
…
This was… well, it wasn't good or bad as far as a situation update went, it was the nature of the beast, so to speak. Mitsuru fully expected that she would soon be expected to handle more of the clandestine side of the company as SEES made progress and as her father eventually released the reins into her hands.
She would just need to find time to balance the workload with training, her college courses, the student council and SEES… It shouldn't be too much of a hassle if she handled the work on the nights where they didn't go out.
Maybe she could have Arisato step up more in terms of leading SEES on the off chance that it proved to be too much for her… Have the prodigious second year start balancing the books or leading the training and study…
After all, it wasn't like Akihiko had any interest in things like that.
"Right then, thank you Sir, for informing me of this development." Mitsuru says, carefully minding her words.
"Of course, our future is relying on your success after all. It only makes sense to boost our odds, keeping you in the loop helps you plan accordingly." The chairman easily asserts.
As the councilor went off on a tangent the veteran couldn't help but feel an old, beaten, and feeble feeling well up in her heart: hope.
Mitsuru couldn't say when but she knew that at some point she had accepted that she would die without seeing this through.
If this test run worked out, perhaps this could be the edge that tipped everything completely in their favor.
On another note though, she did have a few… incentives that she felt would be prudent to procure for her own future plans.
"Chihiro-San, please make sure to lock up when you're finished, I would do so myself but I've errands I need to run."
And a few favors to burn.
A few weeks ago Minato's life changed again. On the rooftop of the Iwatodai Dorms he found himself fighting something he had never expected to see. But it did deal in consequences he was familiar with: Death.
Death was familiar. It was part of the family business, it was what spiraled him into the Dark Hour. It was what took Naoto's and his parents.
It was life.
Regardless of his old sentiments Minato found himself witness to the extraordinary on that same rooftop.
It was something of an accepted fact that an unarmed fighter or a pugilist needed to be at least three times as skilled as an armed fighter to come out on top. So the odds of an unarmed fighter beating a competent armed combatant were low.
Ridiculously low.
And yet the improbable happened, granted the armed fighter was Junpei, but even if he had bad habits, the combat experience he was getting was starting to show.
It didn't stop Akihiko from batting his blade to the side with a small shift of his guard and clocking the boy hard enough for him to fly into ground head first.
Though Junpei wasn't completely out, using his persona to cushion his fall and reverse his momentum.
Lashing out with a quick slash thrust combo, the tall 2nd year tried to catch "Lightning Prince" who proved his moniker catching the boy as he stepped to the side of the thrust and threw a diagonal uppercut to Junpei's ribs that likely would have killed a normal man that sent him flying as he partial summoned Hermes to mitigate the blow.
The attack perfectly encapsulated the nickname, as a thunderous clap echoed across the rooftop.
Poised with grace, Akihiko let his opponent get distance instead of closing with the dogged brutality Minato had seen in some of his older fights.
With a squeak of his sneakers the less experienced Junpei managed to stay on his feet, though not without being rattled by the blows he had taken thus far.
Shaking, the boy spun, summoning Hermes' legs over his own, Junpei showed off that odd technique that he used to damage the Reaper in a different application once again.
It seemed like however he managed to do it, the technique wasn't the biggest drain on stamina.
Still, despite everything being in Junpei's favor, reach, relative health, a bladed edge that could do significant damage with good edge alignment. He couldn't keep up with or read Akihiko's movements even with the boost.
Weaving out of the way of the more Novice fighters' approach, Akihiko launched a devastating body shot and hook to Jupei's kidney and face in the blink of an eye.
"Predictable!"
That much was true.
Junpei was just too much of a beginner, even with the partial summon technique, that much was apparent.
Akihiko was probably close to being a Olympic Gold Medalist boxer in terms of speed even with sukunda applied to close the gap.
Minato himself had trouble with reading the experienced fighter so he probably had the skill aspect of it covered as well. For example even as Minato watched his shoulders to try to see when the older teen would jab, he couldn't tell if there was a read for it.
Ultimately, there was only one conclusion that he could make from this spar.
If Akihiko hadn't lost focus, he would've easily defeated that shadow from the first night.
Tempo, pacing, disruptions Akihiko could manage it all without even really using his dominant arm which was still healing.
He was one of the most skilled fighters Minato knew. He expected it from his senpai, given they both had their Personas for years.
Mitsuru as well had to be included in that thought process. Despite Akihiko carrying a presence, he still deferred to her judgment.
It was earned, in Minato's opinion.
During the fight with the Reaper where Mitsuru had broken formation to catch up to them Minato had been more focused on keeping everyone alive than how she fought. But it was clear that the two were more developed as fighters—no as warriors - than hobbyists like him or Yukari were with HEMA or Archery.
Something more was required for this, the extreme had to the norm if one were to survive.
"So then, he's begun again then…"
It was Mitsuru… and somehow despite her tone being neutral Minato could sense that there was more to it than that.
Searching, maybe? Fond and exasperated?
"He's incredible." The blunette said, conveying as much respect as he could in those two words as he could.
A conflicted set of expressions crossed the woman's face, grief, regret, anger, concern, contentment… Pride.
As he said that Minato felt as if he understood his two Senpai a bit more.
The redheaded woman hummed as she looked towards Yukari who had been on standby ready to heal as soon as things had gotten out of hand.
"Takeba. Could I interest you in getting an Olympic level trainer?"
"H-huh?!" The brunette says caught off guard either by the woman's appearance or her offer.
"Er, uh sure?" The girl says after a moment before looking to the floor and digging her shoe at it. "Could I request a western bow teacher, please?"
"Very well." Their leader acquiesced to the younger girl. "Iori. After school you'll be meeting with a swordsman to develop your skills further, clear your schedule."
Grunting, possibly in affirmation or in effort to hit Akihiko, Junpei twisted his hips too much and over played his guard the Akihiko used to send a straight and cross beating the second years face like a drum making the boy stumbled back as a perfectly timed jumping elbow drop into a spinning back fist sent him spiraling off his feet on an axis him into a wall hard enough to leave a red stain from where he hit it.
"Gah!" the thoroughly defeated boy grunted out as he slid down the wall to his knees.
With an air that became heavy with bloodlust for a moment the boxer stared at the downed boy, ready to spring at him in his moment of weakness… before sighing the almost palpable aura disappears in the same breath.
"That's enough for now. I still need more time to gather my strength. And anymore you might sustain a serious injury…"
" What da ya mean "might"!? Did ya hav'ta hit me—cough—so hard?" The probably concussed boy coughed out as blood ran down his forehead.
"You'll probably be hit harder someday if you aren't careful." Akihiko reminds him as he does a relatively slow combo, as he relaxes again.
Or as much as the battle tested third year could.
"Urk!" With a careful glance the katana user managed to sheathe his blade with shaky hands before stumbling over to Yukari, before he was dragged into another match.
"Yuka-tan, I need healing!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The girl says giving Junpei the side eye, cringing at the bloodied and beaten form of her teammate.
Beneath the cool spring night SEES shared more bouts than Minato was willing to count. But he wasn't willing to bow out, he had to get a better grasp of his power.
As a near empty train traveled across the vast countryside of Japan a scene played out, one that any older sibling would be familiar with.
"Onee-sama, are we there yet?" an impatient young voice said.
"We'll' be ther' when we git ther'. So stop your yappin'." Came a reply from a young woman with a Kansai accent.
One where the older sibling was annoyed by the younger, by deliberate and obvious means. For no other reason than amusement.
How the siblings had such differing speech patterns was anyone's guess but no one could deny that they were related. From similar facial features to hair and eye colors.
The designated older sister had light blue hair tied back with a hair piece that faintly resembled the faceplate of a knight and red eyes that currently expressed an exasperated annoyance.
Dressed in a Yasogami High summer school uniform with red half sleeves that resembled gauntlets ending near her elbows exposing the mechanical nature of her arms and white knee high boots with a red trim. At further inspection the older of the two also seemed to have mechanical legs currently clad in a pair of white boots that had a red trim along the soles.
Given how much of the young woman appeared to be mechanical at first glance one might even think she was some kind of robot. They would second guess that after seeing her speak. Then one might think she is a young woman with an unfortunate set of circumstances who is making the best of the hand life dealt her as a quad amputee.
Even if unbeknownst to them, that first assumption was correct.
The younger of the duo of girls had dark shoulder length navy blue hair and red eyes that currently reflected boredom.
Unlike her sister this girl didn't have any signs of amputation or a missing limb. In fact, one could define her as proportionately perfect for a budding young woman in her adolescence. True to that ideal form her uniform reflected no deviations either.
Though it did seem that like her sister she had an interest in music, present in the form of her trombone case that she had next to her.
"You said that last time! And I still don't know where we are going." the younger girl says stomping her foot in a petulant manner.
"Well, maybe if ya' didn't fall asleep during the briefing ya'd know."
"That is not fair! You know I need a lot of sleep…" pouting even further as her sister picked away at her weak points.
"Well, tough." like a wall though the long haired older sibling was completely impervious to the puppy eyes attempt.
"No, seriously! All I know is that this is supposed to be an infiltration, why are you coming when Onee-san would be a better fit for this?"
That was a valid point…
"First off, rude… Secondly, Ah'll have ya know that Ah'm perfectly capable of blending in! After all, Ah have… more experience! Yeah! More experience with people than ya do!"
"Oh, Onee-sama stopped suppressing her odd speech pattern! Hmm, hm, I will have to take note of this, as well."
This cheeky shit!
"Be more respectful!"
"Ow!"
With a thunderous chop to the middle of her younger sister's head, the older sister brought her unintentionally cheeky sister to heel.
"Metis, quit actin' a fool! If ya really need to know, we're comin' out her' ta do some Recon. So be on yer best behavior."
"Yes, Onee-sama…" The dubbed Metis said with regret clear in her tone as she rubbed at her head.
"Honestly…" choosing not to say anymore the light blue haired girl fixed her sister a look, as she watched her rub her head.
"Next stop: Yasoinaba. Next stop: Yasoinaba. Please watch your step upon exiting the car. Thank you for riding with us today." Came the female announcer's voice from the overhead speaker.
"Oh, is this our destination, Onee-sama?" Metis looked to her sister excited to see if the unbearable wait was over.
With a sigh and nod the mechanical maiden confirmed her sister's beliefs.
"Alright. Onee-sama, Operation Lab-Met-Con is a go!"
In a blur of motion the young girl dragged her likely heavier sister to her feet from her seat before practically teleporting to their luggage, shoving her sister's belongings to her hands.
As much as she wanted to chastise her sister for behaving like this it was her first time on the mainland. And her first time leaving the testing facility on Yakushima in general.
Even she was a little excited since they would finally get to do things that were expected of real humans. Not just real humans either, but teenagers, which meant school and friends!
Her sister who had finished securing her instrument case to her suitcase turned to her and even if she wanted to maintain a sense of tact, the light blue haired girl failed to contain her excitement as they both rushed onto the platform.
"Alrighty, then, Metis, let-" "Ah you two must be the transfer students." a voice interrupts Labrys. It was a woman dressed in a blue kimono with the face and demeanor of an ideal Japanese beauty.
There was a cold veneer on the woman's face as she elegantly strided to the duo. Then the image cracks and shatters as the woman starts to gush over the two girls. "Ah, the two of you are so beautiful and refined!"
Then the image of composure and refined beauty reasserts itself as she clears her throat, "Please excuse me, my name is Amagi Misaki, may I ask for your names?
What a weird shift…
"Well, this her' is Metis my younger sister, and my name is Labrys." The mechanical maiden says pointing to her sister, before pointing to herself.
The woman's face briefly twitched at the gesture before smoothing out. If Labrys didn't have the ability to see things like a high speed motion capture camera she might've missed it.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Amagi-san." Metis bows as she thanks the older woman, prompting Labrys to scramble after her sister.
"It is no issue, your guardian sent advanced warning of your arrival." The older woman says waving the formality of the sisters. "We hope to provide you a comfortable stay while your studies
"Please, follow me, my husband is parked in front of the station."
Sending a look to each other the sisters looked at one another before following the now composed woman who walked out the station at a sedate pace that neither of the girls were used to.
Approaching a car of a luxury brand neither of the girls cared to recognize they placed their luggage, instrument cases included in the back briefly causing the vehicle to shift.
Settling into the back the duet found themselves staring at a face in the rearview mirror that belonged to a stern looking gentleman, who was dressed in a suit at the moment.
"Misaki." The man intoned in a deep grizzled voice. "Remind me to send the car to the shop later, the suspension seems to be worn." Though it didn't seem to be that important, Labrys thought for a moment that it could be a code word for something else.
Perhaps it was a clue to their mission?
Then she remembered, Metis weighed 125 KG and she herself weighed 135 KG… and their wea- er instruments and luggage only added to the total weight.
"Of course Dannasama: It will be placed on the itinerary." The yamato nadeshiko responds without missing a beat.
They probably shouldn't ride in cars anymore, unless they wanted to damage the vehicle.
Life as an 11 year old robot was hard…