(A new distortion forming in this ever growing question that is the universe. What explanation will be brought to the table this time?)
Bold = English Conversations
Bold + Italics = Japanese Conversations
Distortion 14
Previously on Canon Distortion…
Makoto Nanaya and her friends arrived safely in their intended destination to meet Professor Kokonoe, The 6th Hierarchical City of Yabiko, inside the NOL Headquarters of Colonel Kagura Mutsuki. Not much is known about why Professor Kokonoe is working with an NOL Colonel but the fact is that they were safe for now. Now that they were here, it was up to Makoto to find out what Professor Kokonoe has had in store of her.
It was a weird feeling for Makoto. Here she was, one of the NOL's most wanted criminals and she is seated in one of the many cubicles that the NOL gave to their soldiers to organize their work when they are not in the field. She felt weird sitting in such a place, recalling her previous cubicle back at Intelligence being a bare bones cubicle, only a simple photo of her family like every other cubicle would have and a mug that had her name on it given to her by a soldier as an office warming present.
She tried to keep her eyes busy as at the same time she was trying to keep her mind busy. The series of events that happened to her were beyond her control but she figured that if she could try and put a more positive spin on them, her mind wouldn't think about the series of bad events that were happening to her at that moment. Despite this kind of wishful thinking however, all that came to her mind was how much of a failure she had been so far as she looked at her mechanical arm, moving it's fingers slowly.
They felt like her original arm as she could flex with them but she knew that her original arm was long gone at this point. To think the world could be as cruel as to release someone who took a kind of psychotic pleasure in torturing people that they decided to rip apart the limbs of their victims. 'To the world who decided that Captain Hazama is a good idea but Sora isn't… fuck you.' Makoto briefly thought, flashing a middle finger with her robotic hand to the ceiling hoping that some god was probably watching her do so at that moment.
"Sorry to keep you waiting Makoto. The Professor's ready to see you." Hibiki said as Makoto looked at him and simply nodded at him. Pulling back her middle finger, she followed Hibiki towards the secret laboratory of Professor Kokonoe as she allowed her mind to wonder once again. "I hope that you didn't wait for too long. We are trying to minimize movement here is all." Hibiki explained as Makoto nodded her head at that.
"It's understandable, you and Kagura are hiding a member of Sector Seven somewhere in your base. Even if you try to say that she's under your capture, the NOL would find it suspicious that you guys didn't report immediately her capture. So the secrecy is probably for the best anyways." Makoto said semi seriously as Hibiki nodded his head "You're always a sharp one aren't you Makoto. I am surprised that you have such cunning intellect when you pretend to be a dumb blonde at times." Hibiki complimented as Makoto scratched her head.
"All a part of working with intelligence. You got to be able to blend in the environment after all. Even if I am smarter than I look, it's just easier to have people's trust if you don't seem suspicious. Something I unfortunately seemed to have picked up from a certain green haired faker." Makoto said as Hibiki tilted his head a bit before realizing the person Makoto was talking about, simply nodding his head as he realized such a topic was probably a sore spot for her.
"Regardless of our current circumstances, we must remain vigilant of the NOL's current movements and ensure we do not fail on what happens next." Hibiki said as Makoto nodded at the words spoken that have never been so true. "And that starts by figuring out what the professor wants with someone like me… and maybe relaxing for a little to ease the tension in the air." Makoto said as soon they approached what seemed to be a closet.
"Wait a minute, this just looks like you brought me to the office storage room." Makoto said, realizing where Hibiki had just brought her as he nodded his head. "Indeed I have, The professor built her secret residence underneath the base and thus we need the help of an elevator to get down. An elevator she built inside this closet." Hibiki said as he opened the closet door to reveal to her the workings of an actual elevator.
"Okay… the professor seems to have a sort of an obsession over underground facilities… but how on Earth have you kept the rest of the NOL from finding this place out." Makoto questioned as Hibiki simply smiled and closed the door once more, opening it to reveal a normal storage room to her eyes as Makoto simply looked at the transformation a bit agape as Hibiki revealed the elevator to her once more. "Just head into the elevator and proceed from there. Once you reach to the laboratory, Professor Kokonoe will take care of the rest." Hibiki explained as Makoto simply nodded her head and walked into the elevator.
"Oh and I do recommend holding on tight. Apparently she said she was making some experimentation with the elevator itself while she was constructing it and didn't bother removing said equipment." Hibiki explained as Makoto couldn't help but eh at that as Hibiki closed the door. As soon as he did, Makoto immediately felt the elevator give way as she couldn't help but instinctively grip tightly on the metal bars of the elevator as it began to descend much quicker than what she was used to.
For a few brief moments, Makoto could feel her feet lose their grip on the elevator floor as she had to eventually settle on just bracing her feet on the elevator wall. As she did so, the speed of the elevator continued to cause her backlash like she had never felt as soon she was given a final mercy as the elevator came to a merciful slow stop. As soon as it did however, Makoto simply sat down on the elevator, struggling hard to not vomit out the quick lunch she had as it was possibly the worst elevator ride she had ever experienced.
'K...Kill me…' Makoto thought as she dropped to the elevator floor as the door opened for her to see a familiar face that she rarely sees in person. "Hello Makoto Nanaya. It looks like you enjoyed the ride here." The voice said as the first thing she saw was the two pink tails swaying in front of her eyes. Makoto slowly got up to her feet as she was soon greeted with the appearance of Professor Kokonoe in the flesh and not under some holographic screen.
"Easy for you to say Professor. You're not the one who could have died from reckless experimenting with elevators." Makoto commented as she looked at Kokonoe right at the eyes, her golden eyes glaring right at her as her pink hair tied into two long ponytails flowed behind her. Her pink beastkin ears twitched a bit as she dusted off her scientist outfit of a simple kakan white coat with slits created where the hands would go into the paw to expose her hands as a blue candy spun between her fingers.
"Regardless of what you think. Thank you for coming to my summons." Kokonoe replied as her red pants and slippers made her look not like a proper scientist but someone who was sleeping in for the job as she pushed her glasses up to look at Makoto. "I can sense that you're different in some way… and no, I am not talking about the mechanical arm my rival decided to give you." Kokonoe said as Makoto looked at Caroline's mechanical arm.
"What's wrong with it? I think Caroline did a good job." Makoto said, looking at her arm in the process. "That woman doesn't bother with subtelty, she designed the arm too obviously and also there's no hiding such a thing without the usage of upper body clothing such as a jacket. It also looks bulky and tacky like one of those cyberpunk designs you would see on the internet." Kokonoe commented as Makoto soon realized that the competition between the two scientists was not as one sided as she thought it was going to be.
"You know, for someone who is normally very serious, you really do like competing against Caroline a lot huh…" Makoto commented as she immediately felt a glare go her way as she stood up immediately and instinctively saluted at that moment of out fear as Kokonoe glared at her. "Are you trying to take sides here now Makoto?" Kokonoe questioned as Makoto shook her head. "I am not doing any such thing professor. I am just pointing out something I think you should try and work on is all." Makoto said, trying to defuse the tense situation.
"I see… Well that is to be expected I guess at the end. You did decide to go to Otsu and have been working closely with her on some things so I will let it slide… for now." Kokonoe said sternly as she held the elevator door open. "Now step out of the elevator and follow me. We got some stuff that we need to discuss." Kokonoe said as Makoto simply nodded her head before exiting out of the elevator, finally getting a glimpse of the massive laboratory that Kokonoe decided to call her temporary home.
The laboratory is something that Makoto would expect some mad scientist or someone heavily dedicated to science would construct. An underground facility with several steel beams holding up the natural rock formations carved to make this base to prevent them from collapsing all over the place, something akin to how cauldrons are normally made. As that thought crossed her mind, she couldn't help but realize something as she opened her mouth, ready to ask said question.
"Before you ask, yes I did decide to build my new laboratory where the cauldron of Yabiko is. It is both for convenience and efficiency's sake since I can just use the power of the cauldron to fuel my work and the space created by the NOL when building the cauldrons is big enough to house my current needs." Kokonoe said, able to guess what Makoto was thinking as she couldn't believe what she had just heard. "And how did you not get the NOL discovering that one of their rivals had just constructed a secret underground base without their knowledge?" Makoto questioned as if on cue, someone was ready to answer that question.
Kagura: I may have had a bit of a hand when it came to that.
Makoto: Gah! Kagura!? What are you doing here!?
Kagura: Ummm… just checking things out. So Kokonoe baby, how is the space doing for you.
Kokonoe: it's fine Kagura. Thanks for hiding this from the NOL for as long as you had. Now that we have our operations running here and you dismissed the rest of the soldiers not needed here, we should be able to get started with our plans.
Kagura: Cool… so you think it would be alright if I spend some time with you down here while you do your science things?
Kokonoe: Go ahead. I don't mind you becoming one of my latest test subjects.
Kagura:… I will make sure to leave as soon as we finish discussing some things madam. I will just go and wait in your office in the mean time… immediately.
As soon as Kagura said that, he immediately left for Kokonoe's offices as he had said, Making Makoto sweat as she looked back at Kokonoe. "So umm… What did you do to convince a rich playboy like Kagura Mutsuki to help you with your master plan of building underneath an NOL base?… Don't tell me it involved…" "Before you even think about saying it, May I remind you that I am pretty open to the idea of experiments on that arm of yours." Makoto immediately froze up as she heard Kokonoe's threat, simply shaking her head hard in the process.
"Good. So now that we have that cleared up, follow me. Let's not linger too long at this entrance shall we?" Kokonoe said as Makoto nodded her head as she followed the professor. Soon the two of them were walking down several walkways as Makoto couldn't help but be impressed by what Kokonoe had managed to do with the place. "So… What made you come over here to Yabiko? I thought scientists were married to their laboratories?" Makoto questioned as Kokonoe offered her a piece of candy.
"You see, I wouldn't have needed to come here if it wasn't for a few things I began to notice happen around the world." Kokonoe said as Makoto took the candy and began to lick on it. "You see, when you all left Kagutsuchi a few months ago, I decided to start investigating NOL movements all around the world. With the grim reaper's last attempted attack on the Kagutsuchi cauldron, I figured that the NOL would use any excuse possible to ramp up security around the cauldrons to ensure they didn't get destroyed in the process." Kokonoe explained as Makoto nodded her head, sounding plausible so far.
"So imagine my shock when the NOL wasn't protecting these cauldrons as diligently as they should but instead they chose to leave them as vulnerable as ever to attacks from the grim reaper… until a few days ago when NOL troops moved in to secure Akitsu Ko's already damaged and destroyed cauldron." Kokonoe said as Makoto realized where this was going. "So I decided to do some digging into what the NOL was doing and lord behold I find you, Makoto Nanaya, face to face with Relius Clover discussing things." Kokonoe said as Makoto realized that Amy must have altered the events to ensure she did not show up on security footage.
"The question I have for you is this, why on Earth were you there in the first place?" Kokonoe asked as Makoto figured there was no use lying in this case. "The Otsunian four noted that the NOL were gathering forces close to the Otsu Ko border. They wanted me to check out the bulk force that was at the cauldron at the time and Relius Clover happened to be there paying a visit at the time." Makoto said as Kokonoe nodded her head at that.
"Do you know the purpose of his visit or were you just there when he spotted you?" Kokonoe asked as Makoto knew to pick her words carefully. She didn't want Kokonoe to think she was holding back information now. "All I knew was that he had an interest in the cauldron… and me in the process." Makoto said as she scratched her head, the memories coming to her in an awkward and terrifying mess of bad vibes.
"I would rather not think too much about me. The cauldron was his main focus that day." Makoto said, trying to change the topic quickly as she hoped Kokonoe didn't catch her discomfort despite knowing that as a professor, Kokonoe is well trained to spot these kind of small details. "I see… did you see him do anything in particular to said cauldron?" Kokonoe asked as Makoto looked at her with confusion growing on her eyebrow.
"Not really if I recall correctly. Besides what does Relius Clover have to do with all of this. Isn't it too much to go for just one guy?" Makoto questioned as the two continued to walk down the gangway towards what Makoto presumed to be a meeting room office. "If only Relius Clover was just one man. He's a complicated individual. Knows a lot more about the world than we do put together. I never really liked the guy in the first place." Kokonoe replied as she stopped right in front of Makoto.
"The fact of the matter is that he has an interest in you… and I think I may know why." Kokonoe said as Makoto couldn't help but feel like she knows where this is going. "A few months ago, before heading to Kagutsuchi, you were on a mission for NOL intelligence to go and investigate the cauldron at Ibukido and found incriminating evidence there… tell me, you ended up sucked in by the cauldron's energy didn't you." Kokonoe hypothesized as Makoto froze when she heard that.
"The silence you're giving me is telling me that is the truth. Then I will cut straight to the case, what did you see beyond the cauldron?" Kokonoe asked as Makoto looked at the candy she was licking, it slowly melting as she licked a few more times before answering. "To be honest… that cauldron I went through… it pulled me into another world… maybe that is wording it too simply more like another timeline… if that makes sense." Makoto said, hoping that a professor like Kokonoe would understand what she was talking about.
"Interesting… so you managed to survive going through and back a cauldron while maintaining your sense of self." Kokonoe said as Makoto was surprised to hear such things come out of her mouth. "Ignore what I just said for now, That is not relevant to what I called you here for." Kokonoe continued as soon both her and Makoto entered a private meeting room as the two sat down, Makoto finishing the candy offered to her by professor Kokonoe.
"What I am interested in is what you have been doing lately? I wish to know why you have decided to not keep in contact with me and stay in the city of criminals for the past few months." Kokonoe asked as Makoto was surprised that Kokonoe had called her out here to just ask a simple question like that. But before she answered, she realized that what Kokonoe was asking was a trick question as there was no such thing as a simple answer in her line of work as she took a brief pause before answering.
"Nothing much, I was just pursing my own interests while working with the Otsunian four on a couple of missions. The mission to head down to and check out what the NOL were doing at Akitsu Ko being one of them." Makoto explained as Kokonoe noted that down. "And what about your meeting with Relius Clover? What's your relationship with the man?" Kokonoe questioned. "I don't know the man personally. We rarely met back in the NOL itself and we rarely talked before this whole mess began. I personally don't want any other part to deal with him." Makoto said as she looked away.
"Yet at the same time it seems he has taken an interest in you… I wonder why is that?" Kokonoe pondered as Makoto couldn't help but feel a bead of sweat drip down from her forehead as she held back the urge to show her nervousness at that moment. "Beats me… I am not interested in the reasons why he is interested in me at all." Makoto said as the memories of him tampering with her mind came flowing back to her, causing her to shiver as she shook her head.
"I'm sorry professor, What does my connection between Relius Clover have to do with our current conversation?" Makoto quickly asked, hoping to change the conversation before it reached places that were uncomfortable for her. Kokonoe, sensing Makoto's intentions decided to keep the conversation focused on the masked man but focus it on a different direction. "You see, for the past few months ever since you left Kagutsuchi, Relius Clover has been seen at various cauldrons in the hierarchical cities doing something to them. I am not sure what he is planning but it appears his latest target is the 1st free city of Otsu's cauldron. For what purpose I do not know."
As soon as Kokonoe mentioned Relius Clover and Otsu, Makoto's eyes widened at that. But that wasn't the revelation that shocked her. "What do you mean that Otsu has a cauldron?" Makoto questioned as she couldn't help but want to know more at that moment. Now it was Kokonoe's turn to be surprised as she had figured that most Otsunians would be aware that their city has a cauldron hidden underneath and that Makoto would be aware of it as well.
"Well this is awkward but yes. Otsu does have a cauldron. Not as big as the ones found in the hierarchical cities but based on the city's location. It would be a prime position to have one there." Kokonoe explained as Makoto nodded her head, shocked to find out that was the case as now things were starting to click in her mind. 'The Invasion of Otsu… it couldn't be just to liberate Otsu. That's just a cover up plan for what that masked bastard wants… but why?' Makoto thought as she couldn't help but look at her pendant and allow her thoughts to stew briefly.
"Regardless of what is happening in Otsu, You're not needed there. You're to stay put here and do nothing until me and Kagura need you for something alright." Kokonoe said as Makoto's eyes couldn't help but widen in shock at that. "What do you mean I am just to sit here? I can't sit here and do nothing!" Makoto said, panic getting to her as she realized she said some stuff that would make it harder to explain to Kokonoe as this made her eyes narrow.
Kokonoe: Why of course you can. You're a wanted criminal by the NOL and Otsu's currently a warzone. It would be safer for you and for everyone else if you just stayed here and waited for things to die down a little.
Makoto: But what about Otsu? What's your plans for them?
Kokonoe: They are bait right now. I don't care why the NOL are after them nor do I care of the fact that Relius Clover is there and is looking at the cauldron there. Whatever it is, it's buying us time, time we need for our own plans right now.
Makoto: And if Otsu gets wiped out in the process?
Kokonoe: Then they did their job. They would be either remembered as martyrs for the dying criminal way of life that the NOL is trying to squash or be wiped out like the true history of the Ikarugan federation. Honestly as cruel as I may sound right now, Otsu and what it stands for just doesn't hold up in today's society.
Makoto's eyes couldn't help but widen at the revelation being thrown her way as she sat down once more to process things. Otsu being sacrificed to buy more time? From a strategical point of view that seems like the best course of action with nobody really caring about the fate of a city built by criminals. But to simply condemn the people she had managed to develop a close kinship to a fate that may be worse than death… Makoto couldn't help but feel her bones freeze at that moment as she saw another piece of candy being offered to her.
"We aren't going to discuss things further, this is the plan me and Kagura have agreed on and this is the plan you are going to follow. Just wait in the quarters provided to you until you are needed for further stuff. Got it." Kokonoe said as she didn't even bother waiting for Makoto to respond to her as she left the room. Makoto took the piece of candy and snapped the stick that the candy was being held onto in half as she tried to calm herself down before she went to Kokonoe to angrily protest the plan she was making.
She understood the reason why Kokonoe could make such a cold decision. If she didn't know what she did or build up the connections she did, she would have probably considered making this decision, seeing this as a boon given to her by the gods to further her own goals. But because of what she knows, she cannot help but feel differently about this sacrificial strategy. She couldn't help but bite on her lips as she realized that this was also bad for other things.
While Kokonoe has her reasons for wanting to keep her in the base and away from prying eyes, this was hampering her own goals of trying to save Sora as she couldn't help but fear more and more of her memories of him fading away from her mind as the second tick by. If she wasn't proactive at this very moment, she increased that risk of making things worse for herself. Hell this is probably something the master unit would want as with her out of the way and not interfering, the master unit would be able to do whatever it wants to the world.
"Dammit… what do I do?" Makoto said to herself as she pondered what she should do at that very moment. She thought by coming with Hunter, Noel and Caroline she could have asked the professor about what the cauldrons do but now that she knew that she was just going to be used to help out both her and potentially Kagura's plans she has to change her own course if she hoped to have a chance of being able to fix her own problems.
'Maybe I am overthinking things here. Maybe I won't be held back for as long as I think I would be and if I am lucky, Otsu would still be standing by the time I get to do something.' Makoto thought as she couldn't help but weigh her options carefully. Maybe this could be a good sign. Maybe by waiting at the base patiently, she could ask professor Kokonoe more about things that she might be able to know. Judging by the way she behaves, Professor Kokonoe seems to know a lot more than she often makes it out to be.
But then again… there's the other option. The forbidden door to say the least. In Otsu right now, probably after his own goals, lies in wait Relius Clover. To rely on a man as cold as ice, a man who peered deep into her soul so deeply that she cannot wipe the scars he had left behind for the answers she desperately seeks… is simply a chilling feeling that she cannot escape from. She wanted to desperately seek her answers but is it worth selling her soul to a devil if that would help her?
She couldn't help but clench her chest tightly at that possibility. Her options dwindling, the only one left being a right bastard as she slammed her fist onto the table as she took a deep breath. She needed to weigh in her options carefully and not make any kind of mistake in the process. It was then she remembered that Kagura and Kokonoe were going to have a conversation with each other. If she listened in on their plans maybe she can figure out what they are planning to do next.
'I do feel a bit bad for needing to do this… but I need to know to decide on my own.' Makoto thought as she stood up and exited out of the door. As she closed the door behind her, she immediately felt a presence behind her as she turned around to see it was the red devil himself, Iron Tager. His massive figure overshadowing her as she chuckled a bit. "Why hello there Red Devil. The Professor dragging you around like normal?" Makoto asked, hoping to hide her intentions through a cheery and bubbly personality.
"As the usual, Though I am quite used to such things by now and also her demands." Tager explained as Makoto simply nodded her head. "So what are you doing here? Don't you normally have a mission the professor needs you to do by now?" Makoto questioned as Tager found this line of questioning strange but decided to not further inquire about it. "I am simply waiting in the base until I am needed. I admit, I am normally more used to being in my hanger but being able to move my limbs like this is nice." Tager said as Makoto couldn't help but be reminded of what she had seen a few months ago.
"You know… I was worried for you big guy. When Hazama took you out like that." Makoto said, feeling the urge to express herself as Tager simply shook his head. "It was to be expected on the field. I admit, my combat abilities are a mismatch for his skill set. If I had to put it to words, I was simply too slow to fight against someone who moves as fast as he did." Tager explained as Makoto couldn't help but find his cold machine logic quite impressive as she nodded her head at that.
"So what are you going to do the next time you have to face someone like Hazama?" Makoto questioned, hoping to get into the mind of the big red beast of science himself as Tager himself placed his massive fingers on his tiny chin. "If I have to face someone like Hazama again… I would rather choose to avoid him if I can." Tager said, making Makoto nod her head before she realized she was stalling. "I see… in any case, it was great to hear from you big man! I got to go now!" Makoto said, quickly leaving before Tager could ask another word as the Red Devil simply looked at the direction she ran off before shrugging his shoulders and continuing on his walk.
"Now what could be on her mind?" Tager pondered to himself, amused a bit by the squirrel girl's eagerness to get going. However what he thought was simple thoughtfulness from his companion was masking deep worries as she slowly approached the door she had presumed to be where Kokonoe's office was situated. 'Right...just listen to what you need to listen and get out. Nobody needs to know that you're here.' Makoto thought as she pressed her ears on the door, taking a small deep breath as she listened in on the conversation intently
Kagura: Sure is a relief to know that she's at Otsu of all places huh.
Kokonoe: it sure is. At least for now, my ability to observe is not hindered in any way. I will need to try and develop something once she arrives near our general location to still be able to observe.
Kagura: I see… I just hope we can come up with a solution that doesn't involve Jin kicking me in the ass or having my head over. As much as Tsubaki… no the Izayoi's a pain the ass, I need her alive. She's a good person at the end of the day.
Kokonoe: Yeah yeah. I won't stop you there.
Kagura: Oh yeah, remember that meeting with Captain Hazama? He told me to say he said "Hello". Is there someone on our end leaking information?
"Dammit… maybe but we have time to figure that out. The problem is what happens next." Kokonoe explained as she looked at a piece of chocolate she picked from her desk. "Yeah… Agreed. Even if they aren't here right now, the fact of the matter is that we should prepare for when they do." Kagura said as Makoto was slowly beginning to realize the situation was becoming more complicated than it had seemed.
'Still… The izayoi? What could Tsubaki's heirloom have to do with us staying put here in Yabiko?' Makoto thought as she continued to listen in on the conversation, making sure nobody was approaching her direction as she did so. "Yeah, no matter how organized they are, the NOL's going to crack down on the Otsu four. Once they do so, they will set their sights on Noel and Hunter. We may be able to keep them safe here for now but if Tsubaki's sent here, Noel's in trouble especially." Kagura said as Makoto couldn't help but swallow her saliva hearing this.
"The Anti Observer weapon Izayoi… the only thing capable of killing immortals… immortals like Noel Vermillion." Kokonoe said as suddenly things started to make sense. The order for her to stay at the base? It wasn't for Makoto herself to stay behind per say due to her connections to the Otsu Four. It's due to the fact that she was associated with Noel and they must have feared that she would have influenced Noel into following her to try and reason with Tsubaki.
"Indeed… Should the worst come to pass. I should probably go and handle things with her." Kagura said as Makoto immediately could feel like she was going to slap herself on the forehead if that wouldn't create a loud sound as Kokonoe groaned. "You? Handling Tsubaki? I get that you're the black knight and all but she's not only the user of the Izayoi but also the imperator's puppet. Don't think your fighting capabilities would be enough to stop her." Kokonoe explained as Kagura chuckled a bit.
"Who said that I need to use my sword to fight Tsubaki? There are many other ways that don't involve violence. I am after all a man of words with women after all. Women love me unconditionally with my suave and confident voice." Kagura explained as Makoto wanted to throw up hearing that as she could picture Kagura giving a confident smile and wink to Kokonoe's direction as she mimicked the action of wanting to throw up.
"Your confidence makes me question if you're even the head of a duodecim? Keep in mind that there's women out there that don't care for the suave cool guy act you like to do all the time?" Kokonoe said as Makoto couldn't help but nod her head at that, agreeing with the professor's words. "But as long as you can manage Tsubaki. I won't complain at the end of the day." Kokonoe continued as Kagura nodded his head at that.
"Complain at the end of the day? If I may ask, what could you possibly mean by that?" Kagura asked as a sense of dread began to grow within Makoto's stomach. The worries about her staying back to potentially find her answers cracking away. "You know what I mean. Don't play dumb." Kokonoe said as Makoto had hoped Professor Kokonoe was joking when she said that but hearing the affirmation of her seriousness made Makoto feel the dread grow even further as she could feel the joking nature of Kagura Mutsuki escape out of the room as she heard the words she didn't want to hear.
"… Of course. If we fail. Then before it's too late, with my own two hands. I will kill Tsubaki Yayoi."
GREETINGS LOST SHEEP OF FANFICTION! HOW IS EVERYONE DOING ON THIS FINE DAY! As you can see, the plot continues to move forward in ways that will influence the direction of the story going forward. I hope you all are excited for the continued developments as we watch them grow in front of us… well mostly you guys since I am the one who's mainly writing out the chapters but still. You get the idea. Hehehe. All I can ask is for your understanding and I promise to keep on delivering the best writing content possible
SO WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT FOR MAKOTO NANAYA!? WHAT WILL SHE DO NOW THAT SHE KNOWS THE TRUTH ABOUT HER STAY IN YABIKO!? WILL SHE MAKE THE CHOICE OF FOLLOWING KOKONOE'S ORDERS AND STAY THE COURSE OF HISTORY!? OR WILL SHE ONCE AGAIN TRY TO DEFY FATE IN HER OWN WAY!? Well then… wait on for a few weeks as the next distortion begins to take shape and form.