Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter One Hundred Fifteen: Ichihanaransai - Enjoying the Matsuri
With the Fräulein Kreutune Incident resolved, Naru could finally do what she wanted to do: enjoy the Ichihanaransai. To that effect, she'd met up with her girlfriends to enjoy the festival. An occasion for which she had gone for the innocent girl next door look and dressed up in an outfit that consisted of a floral light pink dress with lace trim and decorative buttons that accentuated the bosom area, black tights, a gray cardigan, matching trainers and a cute little purse.
Dressed thusly for the occasion, she and her girlfriends embarked on a tour of the Ichihanaransai. Their tour brought them to the contribution made by Naru's Faction to the festival. Specifically, they were seated in a cafe run by members of her Faction, overlooking one of Tokiwadai's large indoor sports halls. Thanks to Naru's influence, she had persuaded Headmaster-sama to lend them the hall for the festival. A hall that, as they watched, was being used to run one of the challenges, with participants competing eagerly to win the prizes on offer.
"Wow! Those guys really are giving it their all." Arisa-chan said, looking down at the obstacle course in the hall. The course included a series of challenges inspired by Takeshi's Castle, featuring notable obstacles such as the Devil's Domain, a maze composed of four-sided or six-sided rooms, some containing pools that would eliminate contestants if they fell in, all laid out in a 5x4 grid and guarded by patrolling sentries. Another challenge, Dragon God's Pond, required contestants to cross a large pond using randomly placed stones, some of which were loosely affixed and sank when stepped on. Additionally, in Ball Run, contestants had to climb a steep slope while guards rolled variously sized boulders down at them.
I've gotta agree with your idol girlfriend. Kurama opined with an impressed whistle.
"Well, of course they are. The prizes on offer are from my line of idol merchandise, ranging from simple postcards to limited edition figurines worth hundreds of thousands of yen. Some of them that I have signed, which raises the value even more." Naru answered them both distractedly. She was too busy admiring how beautiful her girlfriends looked in the outfit she had chosen for their date. An ensemble that consisted of a blue loose-fit turtleneck cable knit sweater, a gray tweed miniskirt, high heels, and black tights.
Arisa-chan didn't notice her staring but as well trained as she was, Shu-chan did. Blushing at the attention she was giving her, the Level 4 called her out in a shy voice. "Naru-chan, you're staring."
"Can you blame me, Shu-chan? You look so pretty~!"
Or you're just easily distracted when it comes to things to do with your girlfriends.
Oh, shut up, Kurama!
Turning away from the challenge below, Arisa-chan rolled the eyes of her girlfriends' shared body and reached across the table they shared and lightly slapped Naru's arm. "Oh, stop it, Naru-chan! You flatterer!"
"Not at all." Naru said, shaking her head earnestly. "I'm telling you one hundred percent the truth!"
"T-Thank you," Shu-chan said, blushing hard.
"Thank you, Naru-chan. But seriously, stop it." Arisa-chan said, a blush still on her and Shu-chan's face. "Shu-chan is literally spazzing out in our head gushing over how happy she is about you saying we look good."
"Arisa~!" Shu-chan hissed, their blush deepening.
"What? It's the truth!"
Naru blushed at the impact she was having on her girlfriend. "Why? I tell you that you look good all the time."
"And Shu-chan gets like this everytime!" Arisa-chan said with a giggle that juxtaposed with her blush going atomic.
"Really?"
"Really!" Arisa-chan nodded while Shu-chan let out an embarrassed whine.
"Change of topic!" Shu-chan said hastily, her face red as a tomato. "What did you think of the synchronized swimming performance put up by the Tokiwadai Swim Team earlier?"
While Arisa-chan sighed at the transparent bid to escape an embarrassing topic, Naru was more generous and obliged Shu-chan. "It was great! The Swim Team members were all so talented!"
Naru wasn't just saying that because Awatsuki-chan was her roommate. The Swim Team's performance was really very good. The thirty-person synchronized swimming performance, with its intricate choreography and seamless coordination, was dazzling. The swimmers moved in perfect harmony, creating stunning patterns and formations in the water. Their graceful movements, combined with synchronized dives and lifts, showcased both athleticism and artistry, leaving the spectators, Naru included, in awe.
Gotta agree. They were damned good.
You're noisy today, Kuama. I know I said you could watch the Ichihanaransai through my eyes but can't you give me some privacy when I'm trying to have a romantic moment with Shu-chan and Arisa-chan? Naru pleaded with her demonic partner.
Oh! Alright. Alright. Kurama said with a chuckle. I'll go take a nap. Wake me up when we get to something cool.
I promise. Now give me some privacy.
Chuckling hard, Kurama retreated into the depths of her soul to give her the privacy with her girlfriends that she requested.
"It was." Arisa-chan agreed with a nod. "I wish I could pull off something that beautiful."
"I think your singing is just as beautiful."
"You're biased, Naru-chan, and so are you, Shu-chan."
"I didn't say anything." Shu-chan said with a small teasing grin.
"No, but you were thinking it. Don't forget that ever since we became one again, I can read your mind."
"Well, biased or not, it's our honest opinion."
"You're sweet, Naru-chan, but biased is biased."
"Speaking of sweet things, Kongou-san sure can make a surprisingly killer shaved ice, huh?" Naru said, making her own transparent attempt to change the topic. Unlike Shu-chan earlier, she did this not to avoid embarrassment, but to keep the conversation from hitting a dead end. Really!
Arisa-chan and Shu-chan shot her a knowing look but played along nonetheless.
"Yeah, it was pretty good." Arisa-chan agreed.
"It was." Shu-chan nodded. "Didn't you mention she struggled to cook something as simple as curry rice just a few months ago? How did she manage to make such good shaved ice?"
Naru shrugged. "No idea. Practice, I guess?"
"Or she might just have a talent for making desserts?" Arisa-chan offered, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I mean, I was always better at baking than I was cooking anything else."
"You bake, Arisa-chan?" Naru-chan asked, surprised.
"Not really. I dabble at best." Arisa-chan said with a shrug. "I bake cookies or muffins once in a while."
"Once in a long while," Shu-chan nodded and clarified. "We've been merged for months and I think she's only baked once because she had a craving at night and was feeling too lazy to go out and buy something from a cafe."
"Wouldn't buying something be easier? If you used Uber Eats, you wouldn't even have had to leave your apartment."
Arisa-chan shrugged. "I just felt like baking something."
Naru nodded. She got her girlfriend. Sometimes you just wanted to do something even if it didn't really make sense to do so.
"You didn't leave some for me to try?"
"I, uh, forgot!" Arisa-chan said with a nervous giggle.
Shu-chan cut her off with a snort though. "You mean you ate everything you baked before it even occurred to you to save some for Naru-chan."
"Hey! You were just as guilty of that too, Shu-chan!"
Naru couldn't help but giggle at her girlfriends' interaction. They were literally two halves of the same whole, sharing the same body, yet they could be as different as night and day. Watching how they got along, especially during moments like these, was outright hilarious.
"Glad we could entertain you, Naru-chan." Shu-chan told her, offering her a faux glare.
Naru just shot her an innocent little smile. A look that had Arisa-chan breaking out into her own giggles.
"Naru-sama, Sequenzia-sama, Meigo-sama, sorry to interrupt." Chao-chan, dressed in a maid outfit, said as she came over to deliver their order. "Here's your order."
"Thank you, Chao-chan." Naru said, offering the second-in-command of her Faction a grin, as the Level 4 Electromaster placed the tea and cake that they had ordered. "So, what about that thing I asked you to keep an eye on?"
"Yup. The outcome is in." Chao-chan informed her with a grin. "There was no surprise. Shokuhou-sama won first prize in the beauty contest that Eiri High School held."
Naru nodded. "Yup, no surprise at all."
"That's not true, Naru-chan." Arisa-chan said with a shake of her head. "I am sure if you participated you'd have given Shokuhou-sama a run for her money."
"I have to agree with Meigo-sama, Naru-sama." Chao-chan said with a nod.
"Well, maybe, but I didn't." Naru said with a shrug. "I was out dealing with the Fräulein Kreutune Incident in the morning when the contest was being held. You should know that. Shu-chan and her Black Crows were part of the cordon of School District 1 that the City used to contain the Incident."
"That's true. But if you had competed, I am confident that you'd have won first prize." Shu-chan said, adding her own two cents.
Naru shot them a disbelieving look.
"Chao-san! Order for table three!" Emily-chan shouted from the small kitchenette that they had set up to service the cafe and where she was serving as a member of the kitchen staff.
"Coming!" Chao-chan shouted back, before turning to Naru and offering her an apologetic smile. "I'll catch up with you later, Naru-sama."
"Yup. See you, Chao-chan." Naru returned as she waved at the Electromaster as she rushed off to return to serving as a waitress for their Faction's cafe. Turning back to her girlfriends, she offered them a knowing smile as she returned to their previous topic of conversation. "You just want me to participate in the beauty contest so you can ogle me during the swimsuit segment."
"Definitely." Shu-chan unashamedly agreed in her typically professional tone even as Arisa-chan nodded their head enthusiastically. "That and the evening wear segment. Seeing you in a fancy ball gown would be quite a treat as well."
"Good job at corrupting Shu-chan, Arisa-chan." Naru told her songstress girlfriend with a blush and a triumphant smirk.
"I wasn't cor-" Shu-chan began but Naru cut her off, unwilling to have her victory explained away.
"You two called me sweet earlier, but I think you're sweeter. So sweet that I got you a surprise."
"A surprise?" Arisa-chan asked excitedly, shooting Naru an intrigued look.
"Nope~! Not telling you anything." Naru said, raising her left hand, extending her index finger and moving it side to side in a swift, repetitive motion. Meanwhile, she used her right hand to cut off a piece of cheesecake—catered from Pasticceria Manicagni—and slipped it into her mouth.
"Even if Shu-chan and I give you a toe curling kiss to get you to loosen those yummy lips?" Arisa-chan asked, playing a finger sultrily along her lips.
"Don't include me in this, Arisa!" Shu-chan hissed. "If Naru-chan said it was a surprise, let it be a surprise!"
"Awwww~!" Arisa-chan whined with a pout.
Naru giggled at the sight before reaching over the table to kiss her girlfriends on the cheek.
"Finish your cake, Shu-chan, Arisa-chan." Naru-chan told them as she sat back in her seat. "The sooner we are done, the sooner we can continue enjoying the Ichihanaransai, We've earned it!"
Whilst Naru was enjoying the Ichihanaransai with her girlfriends, Mikoto was doing the same alongside Kuroko. Having met up with her roommate after the Teleporter had finished her duty as a stagehand at her class' theater production, they had headed off to have lunch at a crossdressing maid themed restaurant, where the girls dressed up as butlers and the boys dressed up as maids, that had been organized by Touma's class at A Certain High School.
"Looking for someone, Onee-sama?" Kuroko asked, shooting her a look that was at once knowing and disappointed as she caught her looking curiously at the various students of A Certain High School at the cafe and just wandering around their school.
"Just seeing if I can spot Kamijou." Mikoto admitted with grace as she turned back to the surprisingly well cooked steak that she had ordered. Artfully ignoring the numerous people looking her way with the ease of long practice, she imagined some were her fans, given she was a Level 5 and essentially a local idol. However, a good number of them, who only turned to her at the mention of his name, likely saw her as a competitor for Kamijou's affections. "Can't spot him though."
"Honestly, Onee-sama…" Kuroko said with a shake of her head even as she took a sip from the cup of Melon Fanta she'd ordered to accompany her Caesar salad. "Please tell me you didn't drag me to have lunch here just so you could have a chance to catch a glimpse of your crush?"
"Of course not." Mikoto denied with a shake of her head. "I was hoping we could run into him though. The last I know, he was pretty injured. I was hoping to see how he was doing."
"You're not denying you have a crush on him, Onee-sama."
"I'm over denying the undeniable."
"You sound like Ruiko-san."
Mikoto giggled. "Yeah, Ruiko, does have a tendency to talk like that a lot, doesn't she?"
"She does. I would chalk it up to her playing up the fact she's an ojou-sama but she was doing it even before she became one." Kuroko noted with a shrug.
"Well, technically, she was an ojou-sama since before we knew her. Even before starting up Eden Corp, Kiyama-sensei wasn't exactly poor."
"True." Kuroko nodded. "And Ruiko-san literally had billions squirreled away."
Mikoto groaned. Just the thought of anyone having that kind of money sitting around made her head hurt. Nevermind that her kohai had stolen it from foreign regimes she'd toppled for the City. Her friends were seriously weird.
"Anyway, back to Kamijou-san, I don't see why you are worried." Kuroko said airily after swallowing a bite of her salad. "You know how inhuman his constitution is."
"Maybe." Mikoto said concomitantly. Yes, Kamijou had been able to recover from the multitude of injuries he sustained in the course of his regular heroics and often in record time but… "He's still Human in the end, Kuroko. Every injury could be his last."
"Yet, he always makes it through just fine." Kuroko reminded her. "I am sure this time will be no different."
"I suppose." Mikoto said with a sigh. "I'm just worried, okay? But enough about Kamijou."
"Finally!"
Ignoring her roommate, Mikoto continued. "Anywhere you want to go after lunch? I picked this place, you get to pick our next stop."
"Yes, actually. I do have somewhere in mind."
"Where? And what are we going to do there?"
"Fancy some Street Fighter?" Kuroko asked, smiling mysteriously,
Following the conclusion of the Fräulein Kreutune Incident, Frenda, her partners, and their daughters could finally enjoy the Ichihanaransai as they had planned. Their first stop was the Tokiwadai pool complex, where they watched the school's swim team, including Ruiko-chan's friends Awatsuki-san and Wannai-san, perform an artistic swimming routine. Afterward, they decided to enjoy some ice cream and shaved ice from the dessert stall set up outside the complex by the class of another of Ruiko-chan's friends and schoolmates, Kongou-san.
"I never knew you could swim like that!" Febrie-chan gushed as she enjoyed a bowl of Yuzu Kakigori (shaved ice with a topping of yuzu syrup). "It was so pretty!"
"Un Un." Janie-chan nodded excitedly as she savored a bite of her cone of neapolitan ice cream. "It was so amazing!"
"How long do you think Awatsuki-san, Wannai-san, and everyone else needed to practice to get that good? Misaka Misaka ponders." Order-chan said as she tapped her chin thoughtfully with the index finger of her right hand even as her left held onto her bowl of Ujikintoki (shaved ice topped with matcha syrup, sweet red beans and a scoop of vanilla ice cream). The choice being a reflection of the little glutton's desire to have the best of both worlds.
"They have been practicing since the end of the Daihaseisai, so a little less than two months." Ruiko-chan explained to their girls.
""Wah!"" The trio gasped in awe.
"They managed to master something like that in only two months!?" Febrie-chan said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Less than two months," Janie-chan corrected.
"Mama, how often did they train? Misaka Misaka asks curiously."
Frenda exchanged an amused look with Accelerator even as their girlfriend humored their daughters' questions about the Tokiwadai Swim Team's synchronized swimming performance and how they prepared for it. It seemed their girls were quite taken by it.
I wonder if any of them will ask to get lessons. Frenda mused. Hopefully if any of them did, it wouldn't be a phase like Fremea-chan tended to have with her various interests. She loved her little sister to bits, but that girl went through hobbies like a chameleon changing colors.
Frenda was pulled out of her musings when she had to squeeze herself against Accelerator to avoid getting clipped by a group of high schoolers pushing past them as they made their way through the crowded open area outside the Tokiwadai pool complex. A space that had been converted for the duration of the Ichihanaransai into a standing-only dining and shopping area serviced by a variety of stalls run by the school's classes.
"Damn. This place is packed." Frenda commented as she put a restraining hand on her boyfriend as he shot a glare at the oblivious high schoolers. They didn't need him hauled in by Anti-Skill just because she got pushed around in a crowded space.
"It's like this everytime School Garden or Tokiwadai opens its gates to the public during festival time. It's the allure of the forbidden." Ruiko-chan explained as she kept her face carefully neutral even as she gestured for their daughters to come closer to reduce the risk of them getting jostled by the crowd.
"Anyone enticed by that is stupid." Accelerator said, rolling his eyes even as he used aerokinetic tentacles to grab the girls as in defiance of Ruiko-chan's unspoken orders, Febrie-chan and Order-chan tried to wander off. Only Janie-chan, ever the obedient girl, had heeded her mother's command and came closer.
"Oi! Why aren't you doing anything to stop them?" He asked as the two miscreants started having a fun time playing tug of war with the tendrils of air restraining them. "What if they wander off and get lost?"
"I am aware of where they are at all times thanks to the AIM sense aspect of my AIM Sovereign. Beyond that, I have eyes on them even when I'm not looking." Ruiko-chan scoffed, punctuating this statement by ordering dozens of the Fly drones she clearly borrowed from the [Drone Queen] to decloak. There were at least four of them orbiting each of her daughters and more of them zipping around them in randomized patrol patterns.
As the girls became entranced by the drones and the display of her motherly overprotectiveness, Ruiko-chan continued. "After what happened to Order-chan and Fremea-chan this morning I'm not taking chances."
"Ok. I'm impressed." Accelerator said, blinking in surprise at the lengths that Ruiko-chan was going to secure the girls' safety.
Frenda meanwhile felt her heart warming at Ruiko-chan's mention of Fremea-chan's security in the same breath as Order-chan's. It was proof that she considered Frenda's little sister as part of her family. That, by extension, she was part of her family.
Playing it cool however, she chose to change the topic. "Speaking of Fremea-chan, what is she doing now?"
"Pretty much what we're doing, enjoying the Ichihanaransai," Ruiko-chan said with a reassuring smile. "Currently, she, Fräulein Kreutune, and a plushie-sized version of the reformed Kakine's white beetles- which they take turns carrying," Accelerator chuckled at that, "and ITEM are having a late lunch at a cafe with a medieval European theme set up by the History department of Oua University."
"Sounds like they are having fun."
"From what I can tell, they certainly are enjoying themselves." Ruiko-chan said, though with a tinge of well hidden worry in her tone.
"What is it?" Accelerator asked, shooting her a questioning look.
"I am a little concerned at how easily Crowley gave up on pursuing Fräulein Kreutune." Ruiko-chan confessed. "It is rather uncharacteristic behavior from him."
"Oh! Don't worry about it. The Superintendent probably determined she's no longer a threat or that she's served her purpose or something like that." Frenda assured her.
"I know, but I still wish we knew his motivations. We'd be able to react if we did."
"Don't be stupid, Ruiko." Accelerator scolded. "Stop worrying about not being able to do the impossible and help me with the girls already."
Glancing at their daughters, Frenda was amused to find that, no longer distracted by the Flies, they were back to playfully straining at the tentacles keeping them from wandering off. They had even managed to rope Janie-chan into things and she was now helping to pull at the tendril keeping her twin from running off.
Giggling at the sight, Ruiko-chan replied. "Don't be a spoilsport, Accel. They're just playing. It's a festival, let them."
"That's easy for you to say when you're leaving all the parenting to me at the moment."
"Only because you're so good at it." Frenda said, offering him a cheeky grin.
The Number 1 blushed at this and Frenda shot Ruiko-chan a grin. Her girlfriend raised a hand for a high-five, which Frenda eagerly accepted.
Before their girls could get to any more shenanigans and any further conversation could be had between them, the Norwegian Level 0 heard her voice suddenly being called from somewhere behind them in the crowd.
"Frenda-san!"
As she turned to see who it was, Ruiko-chan suddenly whispered into her ear with audiokinesis. "You should handle this. Don't worry, I'll keep Accel and the girls busy."
Trusting her girlfriend, Frenda nodded while quickly scanning the crowd and spotting the person who had called her name: her friend and former sex friend, Kanou Shinka. The short boy with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a black hooded jacket with bear ears over black shorts, a blue shirt, and socks, looked extremely nervous as he made a beeline towards her.
"Mama, who's that?" Febrie-chan asked curiously. She wasn't the only one. Both her twin and Order-chan were shooting her similar questioning looks too.
"Frenda-chan can explain that to you later." Ruiko-chan told them while gesturing at Accel, she led him and the girls away so Frenda could have a private word with Shinka-kun. "For now, why don't you finish up your desserts before they melt while she talks to him in private?"
""Hai~!"" The trio of little girls said with such unison that Frenda was sure they practiced it.
She dismissed that amusing thought however when Shinka-kun came up to her. "Hi, Frenda-san."
"Hi Shinka-kun. We haven't caught up in a while. How have you been?"
Surprising her by ignoring her attempt at being casual, the boy she knew to be a pushover instead posed his own question with a nervous but determined tone. "Are Saten-sama and Accelerator-sama treating you well?"
His question touched her on two levels. For one, was his genuine concern for her wellbeing. For another, his deliberate, and she knew it had been a deliberate choice on his part, to identify Ruiko-chan first rather than Accelerator reflected just how well she knew her. Both warmed her heart. Thus, she was able to overlook the fact that he honestly had no right to even ask her a question like this.
"They are." She answered him as gently as she could, just managing to suppress the frown that threatened to spread across her face as she did so.
"Good. Then I'm satisfied."
"Really? You're okay just like that?" Frenda asked, suspicious. He had taken her telling him they could no longer be sex friends hard, so his suddenly much more accepting attitude was dubious.
"Yeah, I am." Shinka-kun confirmed with a nod. "That I took you telling us that we could only be friends as hard as I did was my own fault. You were always upfront that there was nothing romantic between us. I was the one who idiotically decided to think that I had a chance."
Frenda shuffled her feet, not knowing what to say. What could she say!?
"Don't worry about it though. It's a me problem. Something that I need to work through on my own. Though maybe I can drop you a text when my head is back on straight and we can maybe hang out?"
"It's a sure thing. Just drop me a text whenever you're ready." Frenda offered with a smile. "And thank you."
"No, thank you." Shinka-kin said with a shake of his head. "For being my friend and all the encouragement you gave me over the years. It's what helps me along when I'm struggling a lot of the time."
Frenda blushed at that. Who would have ever thought of her ever being a source of inspiration to keep going? Certainly not her.
Shinka-kun glanced behind Frenda before turning back to her with a bittersweet smile. "I think I better go, your family is waiting for you."
"It's fine if you want to talk a little longer. They can wait a bit."
"Nah, I'm good. I'll catch you around, Frenda-san." He said as with a wave goodbye, he turned and walked away.
"Bye, Shinka-kun. See you later." Frenda returned as she waved back as she watched him disappear into the crowd.
"Did things go well?" Ruiko-chan asked, wrapping her arms around Frenda's shoulders from behind shortly after Frenda lost sight of Shinka-kun.
"He needs a little longer but yeah, I think things are good between us."
"That's good."
Frenda nodded and pecked Ruiko-chan's cheek before declaring enthusiastically, "Okay! That's enough worrying about outsiders! Today is supposed to be family time, so let's go enjoy it!"
"Aiiieee!" Arisa-chan shrieked and jumped back as a skeleton popped out of the closet in the haunted house set up by a third-year class at Tokiwadai. She clutched her heart dramatically as if she'd narrowly escaped death.
She's really scared, huh? Kurama said with a laugh.
Kurama, shush! Naru chided her partner. Don't let me regret waking you up so you could enjoy the haunted house!
Right. Right. I won't interrupt you dealing with your girlfriends and their hilarious reactions
Naru was about to retort that only Arisa-chan was scared by the haunted house when Shu-chan disproved her argument.
"Naru-chan." Shu-chan hissed fearfully as with eyes she had forced open as wide as saucers, she grabbed onto Naru's arm and tremblingly pointed at a ghostly figure as it floated across the dark hallway in front of them.
"Shu-chan, you too?" Naru whispered, shooting her girlfriends a disbelieving look and ignoring Kurama's belly laugh.
"It's scary." Arisa-chan insisted even as Shu-chan nodded their head jerkily.
"You're afraid of scary things, really?" Naru asked with a shake of disbelief as they continued through the haunted house. "Aren't you a Saint? Wouldn't you be strong against ghosts, undead and what not?"
"And we only just started learning how to use our magic." Arisa-chan countered as she clutched Naru's arm even more tightly.
"Pretty sure that you could beat the average ghost and undead with your Esper powers too, so you have nothing to worry about." Naru assured her just as a loud crash echoed through the haunted house. In response, Arisa-chan covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut as her whole body shook with exaggerated terror.
Oh! Stop harping on the fact that they're exaggerating their fear and just comfort them already!
Thanks for stating the obvious! Naru told him sarcastically, prompting Kurama to burst into another laugh.
"There, there, Arisa-chan, Shu-chan." Naru said, patting her girlfriends' back comfortingly and carefully moving them along.
The next room they entered had a fog machine that filled the room with mist. A sight that caused Shu-chan to spin her head around in circles. Using all her professional skill as a paramilitary commander to survey their room, clearly convinced that something was lurking just out of sight.
"Don't worry, Shu-chan, Arisa-chan." Naru assured her girlfriends as she pulled them closer to her side. "I'll protect you from anything scary."
"Y-You better." Arisa-chan said in a shaky voice as she clutched Naru tightly.
"I-I'm never going to another haunted house again." Shu-chan added as they got close to the haunted house's exit. "I didn't know it would be this bad!"
That's strange. She genuinely sounds scared. Naru thought as she squeezed her girlfriends' shoulders comfortingly.
Why would that be surprising? Sure, she's a badass but she's still a girl.
What does Shu-chan being a girl have to do with anything?
Many girls are scared of scary things, aren't they? More so than guys, no?
Okay. Fair enough. Naru conceded. I'm surprised because Shu-chan used to be literally fearless of everything. It was in her psych profile and everything.
And that was before she and Arisa-san became one again, wasn't it? She probably regained her normal sense of fear after she became a whole person again.
Oh yeah…
"I promise we won't go to haunted houses anymore." Naru vowed to her girlfriends.
"You promise?" Shu-chan and Arisa-chan asked at the same time, their voices mingling into a beautifully harmonious chorus.
"I promise." Naru told her as they neared the exit of the classroom that had been transformed into a haunted house.
There was, however, still one obstacle before they could leave. Just a few meters from the exit, a perfectly made-up zombie actor lunged from the shadows. Her skin was painted corpse white, makeup created the illusion of torn flesh, her eyes were a dull yellow thanks to special contact lenses, and gloves made her hands look skeletal. She wore a mix of the Tokiwadai summer uniform skirt, dress shirt, ribbon tie, and the winter blazer, all dirtied with dust and fake blood. It seemed no one had volunteered a full uniform for the haunted house, or perhaps the Headmaster had not allowed it, as the school was very protective of the Tokiwadai brand. Despite that, the actor looked absolutely ghastly. Though, even taking that into account, Arisa-chan's reaction was still truly over the top.
"Eeeeyah!" Her songstress girlfriend shrieked as she bolted for the exit, Shu-chan using her athleticism to full advantage to carry their shared body out of the haunted house at top speed.
"Shu-chan, Arisa-chan, wait for me!" Naru shouted, quickly offering the startled zombie actor an apologetic nod before racing after her girlfriends. All the while, she ignored Kurama's guffawing at their reactions.
As Ruiko took the girls to try a laser tag game organized by a class at Nagatenjouki Academy, Accelerator found himself alone with Frenda at a milkshake bar set up by one of the Academy's classes. After buying a couple of smoothies from the girls running the shop, he and his second girlfriend retreated to one of the small tables by the windows in the converted classroom to chat.
"So, Frenda, serious question." Accelerator asked casually as he took a long sip from his coffee smoothie. "Are you really okay with our unorthodox relationship?"
"Straight to the point, huh, Accelerator?" Frenda asked as she played with her blonde hair and idly sipped from her melon smoothie.
"I don't like beating around the bush."
"I can see that." Frenda said with a coy laugh. "Why did you ask anyway?"
"I asked first." He shot back. "Answer me with the truth."
"Sure," the blonde Norwegian said, taking a long sip of her drink before turning to him and looking directly into his eyes. "I'm a broken person. I'm a killer who likes killing. That's why I became a Dark Sider. I could never be with a normie. But I know how fleeting life and love are. I've seen it on the Dark Side. So when I got the chance, no matter how unconventional, I grabbed it. Simple as that."
Accelerator nodded. He was a killer too and had also seen how fleeting life and happiness could be. He thus empathized with where she was coming from.
"I know where you're coming from." Accel told her honestly.
"What about you, Accelerator?" Frenda asks. "Why are you okay with it?"
"Because Ruiko would be sad if I wasn't." Accelerator confessed with a shrug. "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind dating you. You're not half bad to be around, but if not for Ruiko..."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Frenda said as he trailed off. "The things we do for that girl."
She laughed at that and Accelerator joined her, both of them laughing at how they were total simps for their girlfriend.
"Though…" Frenda said with a mischievous grin as they calmed down.
"What?" Accelerator asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Since you're my boyfriend and all, I think it makes sense that we get up to something," the blonde said with a sultry smile as she played with her collar. The gesture caught Accelerator's eye, and he found it all but impossible to look away.
"Now? Here?"
"No, not here. Duh." Frenda said as she unbuttoned the top few buttons of her shirt and pushed it open slightly, sensually exposing a good part of her upper chest and just the hint of her bra. "But I'm sure we can find a quiet place somewhere around here."
Accelerator nodded, picked up his smoothie, and drained the cup in one long gulp. Standing, he grabbed his girlfriend, who had begun unbuttoning her blazer seductively, and started dragging her away.
"Eager, huh?" she teased, trailing after him and taking a long sip of her smoothie.
"I know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth," he replied, using an aerokinetic tendril to toss his finished drink into a nearby trash can while looking for a discreet place to make out.
Giggling at his eagerness, Frenda finished her drink and casually tossed her cup into a trash can before wrapping herself around his arm.
"The handicap bathroom," Frenda whispered, pressing her lush body into his. "It's always good for this kind of thing. At least it is in romance stories."
He just nodded and turned towards the nearest bathrooms.
After having lunch at Kamijou-san's high school, where Onee-sama had tried and failed to find the [Imagine Breaker], Kuroko directed Onee-sama to join her in visiting Kazari's school, Sakugawa Middle School. There, their friend's class had organized a Street Fighter tournament.
"Wow! I'm surprised. This event is super popular." Onee-sama commented as they pushed their way into the crowded Sakugawa's sports hall where the fighting game tournament was being held.
"It is popular." Kuroko agreed. "Kazari told me it would but I had not expected it to attract quite as big a crowd as this."
"Kazari-san said it would be popular?" Onee-sama asked as they looked over the hall to try and find seats.
Kuroko nodded. "She told me that this tournament had the City's entire Street Fighter fandom all excited and to expect a pretty good turnout."
"Well, I guess this qualifies." Mikoto said as she gestured with her head at the crowds of hundreds of visitors from all over the City that filled the hall almost to bursting whilst they squeezed their way through a narrow passage between rows of foldable chairs towards a pair of empty seats they'd spotted.
"It certainly does." Kuroko agreed with a chuckle as they took their seats. "Though who knew that there were so many Street Fighter fans in the City?"
"It's a popular, long running intellectual property, of course it has a decent following even in the City."
"True enough." Kuroko conceded before she looked up at the main screen that dominated one whole side of the hall and saw that they had arrived after the tournament had been decided.
Just as planned.
Onee-sama, who was not privy to the plan, noted the same and frowned. "The tournament is already over? Kuroko, why didn't you tell me we would miss it. If you did, we could've hurried over sooner."
"And be bored speechless." Kuroko told her. "Neither of us are fans of fighting games after all. No, we are not here for the tournament. We are here for the match between the winner and the secret boss."
"Secret boss?"
"Ssh." Kuroko said and gestured at the stage where the aforementioned secret boss match was being announced.
"And now ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer's voice boomed from the stage. "It is time for what you have been waiting for! The match between our champion and…" A drum roll filled the hall before petering out. "The [Secret Queen of Shadaloo], Uiharu Kazari-sama!"
At her name, Kazari marched onto the stage and was met with a massive round of applause from the audience.
"Thank you, thank you, everyone." Kazari said through a lapel microphone, offering the audience a bow. "But you're not here to hear me talk. So let's get to it. Let's FIGHT!"
This was met with another loud cheer from the audience as Kazari and the winner of the tournament took their seats in front of a game console. Exchanging sportsmanlike nods, they picked up their controllers and began their match. The battle between the tournament winner's Chun Li and Kazari's M. Bison started with an electrifying atmosphere, but Kazari quickly took command. Utilizing Bison's Psycho Crusher and Scissor Kick with flawless precision, she overwhelmed Chun Li, countering every move and preventing any significant offense. Her relentless aggression and strategic use of Bison's teleportation abilities left Chun Li struggling to keep up. Within moments, the first round ended decisively in Bison's favor. The second round saw more of the same domination, with Kazari expertly reading Chun Li's moves and exploiting every opening. The match was sealed by a Psycho Crusher, with Bison winning in straight rounds, leaving Chun Li defeated.
"T-That… I knew Kazari-san was good at Street Fighter but not this good!" Onee-sama said in a gasp as the announcer called the match and declared Kazari the winner.
Kuroko could only nod in agreement, equally shocked by just how easily Kazari had dominated her opponent, as she watched the tournament winner gracefully accept his loss. When approached by the announcer for his thoughts, he declared that he felt nothing but gratitude for the chance to fight the infamous [Secret Queen of Shadaloo].
"I guess Kazari has more hidden depths than we realized." Kuroko managed at last.
Onee-sama nodded. "I can't wait to meet up with her and ask her about it. Honestly, how did she manage to keep it from us?"
"I suppose we just did not ever ask her about it." Kuroko said with a shrug.
"Well, we can ask her about it now." Onee-sama insisted as they applauded as the tournament began its closing ceremony. "We're meeting up with her after the tournament?"
"Yup." Kuroko agreed. "She said she'll come find us when she is done."
"Good. I can't wait to ask about how she's the [Secret Queen of Shadaloo]."
"So~! You two enjoyed your time together I see," Ruiko-chan said with a knowing smirk as she led their daughters to meet up with Frenda and Accelerator after her and the girls' game of laser tag.
"And how would you know, Ruiko? Were you spying on us?" Accelerator asked, crossing his arms while their three daughters looked between them curiously.
Considering what we're talking about, I really hope they're too young to understand what's going on! Frenda thought, though that did not stop her from keeping the teasing conversation between her and her partners going.
"Maybe because my clothes are still a bit of a mess." Frenda said, rolling her eyes as she tucked the last loose tongue of her shirt into her skirt. Her impatient boyfriend had dragged her out of the handicap bathroom where they had been making out before she'd finished making herself fully presentable.
"That, and the hickey peeking over your collar, Frenda-chan." Ruiko-chan said with a chuckle, gesturing to the aforementioned love bite
Even as she smirked at that, Frenda blushed and adjusted her collar to hide the hickey. "Can you still see it?"
"Yes. Here, let me adjust it for you." Ruiko-chan said as she came forward to fix her collar.
While Ruiko-chan was doing that, Accelerator had moved to check in with their daughters. "So did you like laser tag?"
"Yup!" Febrie-chan, the gun lover, nodded enthusiastically,
"Mmhmm." Janie-chan said with a shy nod that was characteristic of the timid girl.
"It was very fun, Papa. Misaka Misaka assures him."
"Okay. There, you're looking appropriately presentable now." Ruiko-chan said as she gave Frenda a peck on her cheek after adjusting her collar so that the hickey that Accelerator had given her was hidden.
"Thank you." Frenda returned as she returned the peck.
"Well, if you want to thank me, then I have something that I would like you to help me with."
"Sure. What do you need me to do?"
"I'm going to drag Accel away for some alone time." Ruiko-chan whispered to her, glancing over to where their boyfriend and daughters were engaged in a rowdy discussion of the girls' game of laser tag.
"You know I'm onto what you're doing, right, Ruiko-chan?"
"Oh? And what exactly am I doing?" The Number 3 asked impishly.
"You're trying to give me a chance to properly settle into our relationship. That's why you arranged for me and Accelerator to have alone time together. I'd bet that you somehow arranged for us to run into Shinka-kun too."
"I will neither confirm nor deny your hypothesis." Ruiko-chan said with a coy smirk.
Frenda just rolled her eyes. "Fine, be that way. Then at least tell me when the two of us are going to get some alone time."
"Didn't we have plenty of that before we officially started dating already?" Ruiko-chan, the calculating little imp, argued.
"You know it's not the same." Frenda told her with a pout.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." She told her with a giggle. "I'll see about finding us some time tomorrow or later this week. I don't think we'll be able to manage it today."
"I'll hold you to that."
"Sure." Her girlfriend said dismissively. "Now look after the girls, okay? Accel and I will be back in, oh, an hour."
"'Back'? We're going somewhere, Ruiko?" Accelerator asked, turning away from his conversation with the girls. It seemed that even as he was entertaining their daughters, he'd been listening in on her conversation with their girlfriend.
"Yup. We're going to give Frenda-chan a chance to spend some time with the girls without us." Ruiko-chan informed him as she skipped over to his side and hooked an arm around one of his own. Looking down at their brood of munchkins, she continued. "Order-chan, Janie-chan, Febrie-chan, be good for Frenda-chan, okay?"
""Hai~!"" The trio chorused in perfect harmony,
Smiling at that Ruiko-chan patted each of them on their hands lovingly before quickly beginning to drag Accelerator off.
"See you all later!" She shouted over her shoulder whilst a poor confused Accelerator just awkwardly waved goodbye.
""See you later, Papa, Mama~!" The munchkins chorused harmoniously once more before in almost perfect synchronicity, they all turned to look at Frenda expectantly.
"Frenda-mama, what do we do now?"
"Yeah, Frenda-mama. Any ideas?"
"Know anything fun we can do around here, Frenda-mama? Misaka Misaka asks. Another round of laser tag? Misaka Misaka suggests."
Being called 'Frenda-mama' by the girls made the petite blonde grab her heart. It was too much. It was almost like she was being pierced by literal arrows of affection.
"Y-You girls are too powerful." She gasped as she tried to regain her composure.
The three little girls just exchanged looks of confusion.
"I-Ignore that!" Frenda said when she'd gathered her wits at last, though not without a blush at her embarrassing behavior in front of her daughters. "So, um, you were asking what we could do with the hour that Ruiko-chan gave us, huh? Hmm… Let me think about that… We could go for another round of laser tag but doing the same thing again sounds kinda boring, so maybe something else… What though?"
We're at Nagatenjouki Academy, so what else have they organized for the Ichihanaransai that's just as exciting as a game of laser tag? Frenda mused as considered the matter. Glancing at the poster detailing the Academy's Ichihanaransai programme on a nearby wall, there really wasn't anything that fit the bill. That means we'll have to go somewhere else but we only have an hour, so we can't go far. So what's near here that would have something that the girls would find fun?
"Ah-ha!" Frenda declared triumphantly as she hit on a good idea. There was one place not too far from here that would suit the girls' interests perfectly and which thanks to the Ichihanaransai should be all but empty right now.
"Girls, how would you like to do some more realistic shooting?"
Febrie-chan, the gun nut, immediately perked up at this. "I wanna! I wanna!"
Her sisters looked a little hesitant but looking at Febrie-chan as she bounced in excitement, they exchanged a look and nodded.
"Okay." Janie-chan nodded a little nervously.
"Let's give it a try. Misaka Misaka says anxiously."
"It's a plan then." Frenda said with a grin. Unfazed by the two's reluctance. She was sure she'd be able to get them to come around soon enough. "Follow me!"
"I still don't think it's that big of a deal." Kazari said as she and her friends Mikoto-san and Kuroko-san had dinner at a sushi-ya that had been opened by the Academy City branch of the Tokyo Sushi Academy.
"I don't see how you being the top Street Fighter in the world isn't a big deal." Mikoto-san said as picked up a piece of inarizushi and dipped the sushi wrapped inside a seasoned deep-fried tofu pocket into a tray of wasabi.
"It just isn't." Kazari said with a shrug as she took a drink from her cup of matcha tea. "I mean it can't really compare to being a Level 5, cab it? Or even a Level 4?"
"I do not think either thing is comparable." Kuroko-san said with a shake of her head as she finished a slice of Toro (raw Blue Fin Tuna belly) sashimi. "But even if they are, what you have achieved is still very much worthy of recognition. It hardly 'isn't a big deal' as you claim."
"Exactly." Mikoto-san after swallowing her inarizushi. "I think it's really praiseworthy."
"Thank you for thinking so but I don't really think it's as impressive as you make it out to be." Kazari refuted as she picked up a slice of a futomaki (thick seaweed roll) with salmon roe filling. "I'm not even the best Street Fighter player at the moment. I didn't have the time to fend off challengers and I dropped down to eighth."
"But you were first." Kuroko-san insisted as she took a slice of unagi (barbequed freshwater eel) sashimi. "More importantly, as you yourself said, the only reason you dropped from first place was because you did not have the time to properly fend off challengers."
"And even when losing your top spot, you still managed to stay in the top ten." Mikoto-san added as she swallowed a uni (sea urchin) nigiri (bite-size pillow shaped sushi with topping on top). "That's super impressive."
"I suppose but it's not really that hard." Kazari said with a shrug as she enjoyed a tako (octopus) nigiri.
"For you maybe." Kuroko-san said with an exasperated shake of her head as she took a drink of her matcha tea.
"I would think it would be true for everyone." Kazari insisted as she swallowed and picked up a salmon roe nigiri. "You just need to know how."
"Well, we don't know how it would be possible." Mikoto-san said as she ate a slice of tsubugai (raw whelk clam) sashimi.
"I could teach you how if you wanted." Kazari said with a shrug as she savored the wonderful sushi she was eating.
"Really?" Mikoto-san asked excitedly.
"Sure. You can come over to my dorm anytime and I'll teach you how to properly play Street Fighter." Kazari offered as she had a slice of chakinzushi (a ball of sushi rice is wrapped with a thin layer of the egg crepe).
"How about tonight then?" Kuroko-san ventured as she finished off a piece of Kani (cooked crab) sashimi. "Thanks to the Ichihanaransai, the curfew for Onee-sama and I is pushed back for the day."
"Oh! If we're going to stay after the usual curfew then why don't we make a sleepover of it?" Mikoto-san suggested as she polished off an ebi (shrimp) nigiri.
"That sounds like a great idea."
"Hmm…" Kazari hummed as she thought the matter over. It wouldn't really be that much of an imposition to host her two friends for the night. Plus, it had been a long time since she had anyone over for a sleepover. Sadly, since becoming a mother, Ruiko-san had precious little time for such a time consuming hangout. Though that one time she'd brought her three girls over and the five of them had a sleepover was epic!
"Sure. That sounds like a plan."
"Great! Then we'll swing by our dorm after dinner, get permission from the Dorm Supervisor for a sleepover, grab a change of clothes and a few other things, and head over to your place." Mikoto-san said excitedly as Kuroko-san nodded in agreement, an eager, expectant grin on her face.
"After dinner." Kazari said pointedly as she picked up a piece of ika (squid) nigiri with her chopsticks.
""Right."" Her friends said sheepishly as she joined her in turning back to the meal and giving it the attention that it deserved.
An hour after she had been left alone with their daughters, Frenda was leading the trio of little girls to meet back up with Ruiko-chan and Accelerator outside Nagatenjouki Academy where Ruiko-chan had texted her to let her know they would be waiting for them. And as they made their way there, Frenda could not help but smile as she listened in on the girls excitedly discussing how much they enjoyed the trip to the hidden Dark Side gun range she took them to.
"Oh! I got to try some many new guns! I can't wait to ask Mama for permission to buy some of them!" Her youngest daughter gushed.
"Mmhmm." Janie-chan agreed with an equally excited nod. Much to Frenda's surprise, despite some hesitancy at even handling a real gun, after she'd overcome that, Janie-chan had become almost as enamored with firearms as her little sister. "I want Mama to get me a Desert Eagle."
"A pistol? Misaka Misaka queries." Order-chan asked, looking at her middle sister curiously.. "Why not an assault rifle like a M4 carbine? Misaka Misaka asks, clarifying her question."
Janie-chan blushed. "I think a rifle, even a carbine, is too big for me."
"We used one in the range just fine." Febrie-chan offered.
"That was in the range. A real world fight would be different." Janie-chan countered.
"If that's your concern, Janie-chan, then you might want to start with something with less kick than a Desert Eagle. Maybe a Ruger 57? Or perhaps a Beretta PX4 Storm?" Frenda opined. "But whatever you end up getting we need to talk to your Mama and Papa about it first, okay? Same with whatever gun you want to get too, Febrie-chan."
""Okay."" The twins chorused dutifully.
"What about the bombs Misaka liked? Misaka Misaka asks hopefully." Order-chan asked, shooting Frenda a set of truly terrifyingly adorable puppy dog eyes.
Unlike the twins, the littlest Sister hadn't had as much fun with the guns, but she'd had plenty with the grenades and other throwable explosives the range had girl was either a budding explosophile or she just really enjoyed blowing up caricatures of people who'd caused her and their family trouble in the past that the range operator had used his onsite 3D printer to print out for them to use as targets. It was either or really.
"Good try, Order-chan, but puppy dog eyes don't work on me. Fremea-chan tries to use them often enough that I've become immune to them." Frenda told her eldest with a laugh, ruffling the girl's hair affectionately. "You're still going to need your Mama and Papa's permission before I give you any explosives."
"Awwww~! Misaka Misaka whines in disappointment."
Frenda just chuckled harder and as they reached a pedestrian crossing and waited for the light to turn green, she leaned down to give the girl a kiss on the forehead to mollify her. "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll agree."
"You're sure, Frenda-mama? Misaka Misaka asks uncertainly."
"I'm sure." Frenda assured her. "If they don't right away then I'll just have to convince them."
"Us too, Frenda-mama?" Febrie-chan asked for both herself and her twin, as Janie-chan looked at her questioningly.
"Of course." Frenda said as she leaned over to kiss their foreheads too. "I promise."
"Frenda-mama is the best." Janie-chan said in a happy whisper as she hugged the Norwegian prompting her sisters to do the same.
"I get it. I get it." Frenda said with a happy laugh as she returned the group hug. "But the light's changed, so let's cross before it changes on us again."
""Hai~!"" The trio of munchkins chorused as they let go and skipped ahead of her, careful not to get more than a few feet from Frenda as they crossed the road.
They had barely made it to the other side when Accelerator's gruff voice called out to them not too far down the street. "Brats!"
""Papa!"" The trio squealed happily before they glanced back to Frenda for permission. Feeling indulgent, she gave them a nod and they ran down the street at full sprint, weaving through the thankfully thinning evening crowds towards their father.
"So it went well?" Ruiko-chan asked from behind Frenda where she'd teleported after the girls had started racing towards Accelerator.
"It went perfectly." Frenda confessed as she turned around to face her girlfriend and threw her arms around the taller girl's shoulders. "Thank you for arranging alone time for me with Accelerator and the girls, Ruiko-chan."
"It was my pleasure."
"Maybe but I want to reward you anyway."
"Reward me? How?"
Frenda answered by pulling the Level 5 into a passionate kiss.
As the Ichihanaransai came to an end, Naru and her girlfriends' date had taken them over to Shu-chan's apartment. It was in the ensuite bathroom of the bedroom of the open concept apartment that Naru now found herself as she gave the surprise she'd prepared for her girlfriends one final once over in the mirror.
Yup. It's looking good. Naru thought to herself at what she saw in her reflection.
Indeed. Kurama agreed. You're going to blow their socks off.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kurama. Naru told her partner with a burst of gratitude for his support. But could you-
Giving you your privacy now. He told her before she could even finish her request as with a chuckle, he retreated into the depths of her soul.
Thank you, partner. She sent after the fox.
Don't mention it. He shouted back faintly, as if he was very far away. A sign that he had retreated so deeply into her soul that he had all but lost contact with the outside world.
Smiling at her partner's generosity, Naru opened the bathroom door and stepped out dressed in her surprise: a Playboy Bunny outfit. The iconic ensemble featured a strapless, black, corset-style bodysuit made of glossy satin that accentuated her waist and bust, complete with a fluffy white bunny tail attached to the back. She further wore fishnet tights, a white collar with a black bow tie, matching white cuffs on her wrists, tall, floppy bunny ears on a headband, and a pair of stiletto heels.
"Aah~!" Shu-chan gasped as she and Arisa-chan caught sight of Naru in her Playboy getup.
Her surprise must have caused her ability to rein in Arisa-chan slip, because in a move that was completely uncharacteristic for Shu-chan she began panting perversely. Pushing off from the bed where she had been sitting and waiting for Naru, the former idol began staggering towards the blonde whilst making grabbing motions with her hands. Heck! She was even drooling.
"A-Arisa-chan, please stop." Shu-chan pleaded with her other half.
"Hush, Shu-chan." Arisa-chan snapped back. "You're just as turned on as I am. You're the one drooling, not me."
That little revelation had Naru smiling triumphantly. A grin that grew even wider when Shu-chan didn't refute Arisa-chan.
Time for the killing blow.
"Am I cute?" Naru asked, sexily posing with her rear twerked outward, her small chest leaning forward and a finger to her cheek as she shot them a wink with puckered kissable lips.
With that one last gesture, it seemed that all of Shu-chan and Arisa-chan's self control shattered like wet tissue paper.
"Kyaa~!" Her girlfriends cried out as they literally pounced on her.
Heehee~ I'm in danger~
"Your dorm is as lived in as ever." Mikoto teased Kazari-san as she dried her hair from the bath she'd taken - she'd drawn the short straw and ended up as the last one to take a bath - as she sat at the Level 1's kotatsu [1] in the apartement's living room area.
"Sorry it's not as neat as yours and Kuroko-san's, Mikoto-san." Kazari-san shot back with no heat as she put a pot of freshly brewed tea on the top of the kotatsu and sat down as well. "It is the outcome of living alone and not having a professional cleaning service to call on."
"That was not a critique, Kazari." Kuroko said, as she helped their hostess to place a plate of snacks onto the table as she joined them at the kotatsu. Clearly, she had missed the teasing tone of the conversation entirely. "Just an observation."
Kazari-san sighed at her Judgment partner's inability to understand the context of the conversation. "Oh! I know. Mikoto-san was just joking."
"Oh!" Kuroko said with a blush.
Shaking her head in fond exasperation at how dense her roommate could be, Mikoto decided to direct the conversation in a new direction. One that hopefully would not cause anyone needless embarrassment.
"So, Kazari-san, your school didn't assign you a roommate?"
"No," the [Goalkeeper] said with a shake of her head. "Not since Haruue-san."
All three of them shared a moment of silence at the mention of their late friend. It had been months but the death of Haruue-san at the hands of the deranged terrorist, Hans Gruber, still hurt. It still hurts a lot.
Gruber was lucky that Ruiko got to him first.
"So!" Kazari-san said, clapping her hands. "You wanted me to teach you how to play Street Fighter, right? So let's start on that, why don't we?"
"Sure." Mikoto said with a smile.
"Yes, let's start." Kuroko agreed as well.
"Great! Just give me a moment to get the console ready." Kazari-san said as she stood and began setting up her GameSphere, the currently City exclusive game console.
"Take your time." Mikoto said with a light chuckle as she picked a cookie from the snack tray and began nibbling on it. "We have all night."
"Yes, there is no rush." Kuroko added as she poured them all cups of tea.
"Oh! That's not true." Kazari-san said with a shake of her head as she booted up her game console. "It's always necessary to maximize time whenever playing Street Fighter."
Mikoto exchanged a look with Kuroko and they both shared a smile of fond exasperation at their friend's love of the fighting game. The way it brought out such enthusiasm from the usually soft spoken, even shy, friend was just adorable.
"Okay, we're ready to go." Kazari-san said as she gestured to the screen of her television where the game's main menu was on display. "Let's begin!"
The two Tokiwadai students exchanged one last fond smile and moved to join their hostess in front of her console. It was time to start their night of gaming.
After enjoying the Ichihanaransai all day with his daughters and girlfriends, Accelerator's family was relaxing during an overnight stay at the penthouse in the Hyatt in School District 3. In the suite's luxuriously appointed dining room, they dined on a meal sourced from the hotel's extensive and high-class room service menu.
Between the exquisite food and the extensive use of the suite and the hotel's services, they had enjoyed a wonderful night. Now hours later, after tucking their daughters into bed, Accel was sitting in the master bedroom of the suite whilst his girlfriends were in the en suite bathroom as they got ready for the night. A night that they had promised him he would remember forever.
Yes, they were using the same bathroom at the same time. They had argued that since they were both girls, it was fine. He had of course tried to argue the matter but they'd promised they wouldn't get up to anything until they were done and he could join them. In the face of that request for his trust, he had caved. So here he was now, sitting on the bed waiting impatiently for them to get ready.
Sometimes being a guy sucks. He lamented as he shot a look at the bathroom door, his mind conjuring up one far fetched idea after another of what Ruiko and Frenda were getting up to inside.
Argh! Better not think about that. It's not time for that yet. He thought as he felt his pants grow just a little too tight. Think of something else! Anything else!
Desperate to find something that would curb his boner, his wandering mind began pondering the convenient solution they had found to resolve the Incident that had transpired this morning,
We got lucky this time. He mused. The next time that one of the secrets of the City, like that Fräulein Kreutune creature, causes problems that might not be the case.
Was there a way to prevent that? Was there a way to flush out all those secrets?
If I sacrificed myself, would I be able to get to the rotten secrets at the City's core so we can be better prepared to face them when they surface?
Almost as soon as the thought coalesced in his mind, he dismissed it as the intrusive thought that it was. He wasn't going to sacrifice himself and make his family sad.
We will just have to face whatever comes from the remaining secrets the City is holding when they reveal themselves. Together, I'm sure we'll beat anything and everything that the future holds for us. He thought with a nod as he reaffirmed his commitment to his family.
It was at this moment that the door to the room opened and the brat walked in. He turned, prepared to scold his eldest for not only not being in bed like she should but disturbing him and her mothers when explicitly told not to do so. However, noticing the strange robotic way she was moving, he paused.
"Greetings /return, Accelerator-sama /return. I am the Will of the whole of the Misaka Network /return, and I would like a word with you /return."
Accelerator frowned and glared at the entity controlling his eldest daughter. "Yeah? Then be quick about it. The brat should be in bed."
The entity used Last Order's mouth to sketch a facsimile of a smile. One that was not so much forced as it was the result of someone who only intellectually understood what a smile meant and had never actually smiled before. Though that awkward smile was soon replaced by an equally unsettling frown.
"I have come to berate you for even thinking that you could take the easy way out by destroying your peaceful life and then going to hell once everything is put in order by sacrificing yourself in a fight to uncover the secrets of Academy City /return. Your anxiety about forgetting your purpose due to growing relaxed in your new life is unfounded /return." The entity said, shooting him a look that might have been stern if it didn't come across as wholly inhuman. "You might be a monster most comfortable with conflict /backspace, violence /backspace, and victory /return. However /return, the computational power provided to you by the Misaka Network was not given to you to take the easy way out /return. No /return, you must struggle in the most difficult ways for others' sake /return. If you do not and choose the easy road /backspace, and choose to become a monster /backspace, you will fall into a hell far worse than your worst imaginings /return."
"Are you done?" Accelerator asked the so-called Will of the whole of the Misaka Network.
It offered him a stilted nod.
"Then let me just say that you're preaching to the choir. I have no intention to ever become a monster again."
"I will remind you of that promise whenever it proves necessary /return." The entity said as it offered him its robotic version of a warm smile before releasing its hold on Last Order, causing her to collapse like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"Honestly, couldn't you have given some kind of warning?" Accelerator grumbled as he used some aerokinesis to catch his daughter before she could touch the floor and he walked over to physically pick her up. "Stupid entity."
Ignoring the light punch his sleeping daughter gave his chest as she shifted in his arms, he carried her back to the bed in the suite's other room, which she insisted on sharing with the twins. Fortunately, the two younger girls hadn't been woken by their big sister's externally induced sleepwalking.
They were heavy sleepers, so he was able to gently place Last Order back onto the bed and tuck her in without disturbing them. As soon as he pulled the blankets up to cover her properly though, the twins cuddled up to her side. Smiling at this sight, Accelerator turned and left, using his powers to ensure his every action was silent, so as not to wake his daughters.
He returned to the master bedroom just in time to see the door to the ensuite bathroom open and for Ruiko and Frenda to step out all dolled up in makeup and lingerie. Frenda, being the daring gaijin that she was, was wearing a purple sexy mesh floral babydoll that, for once, left her impressive figure on full display.
In contrast to Frenda, Ruiko's choice of lingerie was a lot more conservative. It consisted of a blue, draped front cami dress and open front lace robe. However, that made her look no less sexy. It might not show as much skin as Frenda's but that just made her look even more sexy in his mind as his imagination filled in the blanks instead.
Accelerator was rendered literally slack jawed by the sight of his girlfriends in their sexy lingerie.
Smirking at this, Ruiko stalked over to him, radiating sensual allure with every step.
"Where did you go?" She whispered teasingly into his ear as she gently pushed up his lower jaw, closing his mouth for him.
Coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. A hug that pressed her full breasts against his back in ways that made his already tight pants even tighter, Frenda teasingly breathed her words against his shoulder. "Oh~! Don't tease him like that. I mean, surely you know."
Ruiko isn't the only one teasing me right now. Accelerator thought as he stood ramrod straight, knowing that if he relaxed slightly right now it would be a mistake.
Giggling and blowing her breath across his cheek as she ran she pulled away from his ear with deliberate slowness, she replied. "I don't spy on everyone all the time."
Gathering himself, Accelerator gulped and forced himself to reply. Maybe then this pleasurable torment could end. "Last Order woke up. I went to put her back to bed."
"She's sleeping now?" Ruiko asked as she pressed her front against his own, making him very aware of the bountiful harvest that Bust Upper had delivered for his girlfriend.
Taking a deep steadying breath and ignoring how Frenda's hands had started exploring his chest and she was pressing herself ever closer to his back, Accelerator nodded. "Y-Yes, so are the twins."
"Good." Frenda said, her hands stilling. "Then we can have fun."
"Yes, we can indeed." Ruiko said with a smirk as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"What do you have in mind?" Accelerator asked, even though he already had a fairly good idea as to what his girlfriends' had in mind.
Exchanging a playful look between themselves, the girls pulled away from him and grabbing hold of his arms, they began to guide him the short distance to the bed.
"You'll find up soon enough, Accel." Ruiko told him with a teasing little smile.
"But first you need to get with the programme." Frenda told him with a similar smile of her own as they reached the bed and the girls gently pushed him onto it.
"What do you mean?" Accelerator asked as he landed on his back.
"Why, because you're overdressed for what we have planned, of course." Frenda told him as she and Ruiko crawled onto the bed on either side of him.
Before he could reply, Ruiko gripped his tee shirt where it was tucked into his pants and as she began pulling it free of his pants, continued where the blonde minx left off. "But don't worry, Frenda and I will help you with that."
"Yup. Leave it all to us." Frenda assured him as she began working on unbuckling his belt.
"That sounds great."
Even as they continued to undress him, both girls, smirking like the cat that ate the canary, replied in a clearly practiced chorus. "Oh! It will be indeed."
Omake: Kink Brainstorming and its Deliverables
A few days after the Ichihanaransai, Frenda was chilling out alone at the cafe in Maniple's base after a hard day helping to clean up after the Fräulein Kreutunel Incident. Dealing with ITEM especially tired her out and she really needed a break. She was just finishing her latte when suddenly Namikaze-sama sat down across from her.
"So Frenda-chan~ are things really that good with Rui-chan and Accelerator?" The Number 2 asked as she pointed at the ring of hickeys around Frenda's collarbone.
She didn't even bother trying to hide the love bites. Unless she wanted to dress like a nun there was no way she'd hide them all!
"What can I say, they like marking their territory and I liked being marked." A blushing Frenda confessed with a shrug.
"What you mean is that Rui-chan likes marking and getting marked." Namikaze-sama said with a chuckle. "And you and Accelerator go along with it because both of you are pushovers when it comes to her."
Frenda couldn't refute it. It was the truth after all. "That's true. But the desire is not exclusive to Ruiko-chan."
"I can see that." Namikaze-sama nodded. "There's no way that you'd let them give you so many hickeys if you didn't like getting them. The question is why in the world didn't you get them to limit them to places where you can hide them under your clothes like Rui-chan does?"
The Norwegian blushed hard at this and looked to the side, refusing to meet the Level 5's eyes. "That was the original plan but…"
"But?"
"But I told them not to stop." Frenda confessed, her blush turning atomic even as Namikaze-sama broke into exuberant laughter.
"S-So yo-you're covered all over in hickeys?" The [Elemental Empress] managed a moment later as she calmed down. Mostly. She was still giggling.
Still imitating a tomato, Frenda raised her hands and showed off the long opera gloves she was wearing. "Let's just say there's a reason I'm wearing these and the least translucent tights I own today."
"You should consider pants." Namikaze-sama told her with a shit-eating grin.
"Not an option." Frenda said with a shake of her head. "I don't own any. Besides, my fighting style means I need a skirt. I hide all my weapons underneath my skirts. More importantly, Ruiko-chan and Accelerator both prefer me in skirts."
"'More importantly', huh?" Namikaze-sama said with a bemused shake of her head. "You know you can wear pants and a skirt at the same time right? And that, even if you don't have any right now, you can just go buy some?"
Frenda shrugged. "I just don't want to."
"And the next time they go overboard marking their territory?"
"We agreed it won't happen again."
Namikaze-sama looked at her seriously for a long moment. It was almost like she was reading her mind to see if she was serious but Frenda was sure [Maniforce] couldn't emulate Telepathy. Pretty sure at least. She could've figured out how recently, but she doubted it. Ruiko-chan would've told her if her best friend made a breakthrough like that.
"You really trust them, huh?"
"I let them cover me in hickeys, of course I trust them."
"True." Namikaze-sama said with a sagely nod. "By the way, I'm surprised that you're so open about what you Rui-chan and Accelerator get up to in the bedroom. What gives?"
Frenda rolled her eyes. Like the Number 2 didn't know. "What's there to hide from you? You're one of Ruiko-chan's best friends. I know for a fact that she either has already told you everything or will if you ask. Might as well bite the bullet."
"You know that makes you officially smarter than Accelerator. He hasn't figured that out yet."
"No, he knows. He's just in denial." Frenda told her with a shake of his head. "He doesn't want to admit that we girls talk about what we do in the bedroom with our gal pals all the time."
"Still makes you smarter."
"I'm a girl so I know how girls work. I have an unfair advantage."
"Point." The Level 5 conceded, looking thoughtful.
"So, Namikaze-sama, that isn't all you came to look for me for, is it?" Frenda asked knowingly. Like she said earlier, nothing that they'd discussed were things that the blonde Level 5 couldn't learn from speaking with Ruiko-chan. So why seek it out from her bestie's girlfriend rather than said bestie herself? Unless, there was another motive involved.
"Yeah. There's something I want to ask you." Namikaze-sama nodded. "So, just out of curiosity, do you have any other kinks besides being marked?"
"Why do you ask?" Frenda asked, already strongly suspecting the answer.
Oh, Ruiko-chan…
"Well… Apparently someone introduced Rui-chan to cosplay and my bestie came to me looking for ideas." Namikaze-sama said, confirming Frenda's suspicions.
"Of course she did." Frenda groaned, cheeks turning rosy. "Seriously! Why couldn't she just have asked us?"
"Knowing Rui-chan, she probably wanted to surprise you and Accelerator."
"Yeah, that sounds like her." Frenda agreed with an exasperated sigh.
"So~" Naru asked, smirking mischievously. "You guys are into role play?"
"We are." Frenda admitted with a nod. There was no point hiding it when the other girl already knew. "I introduced it to Ruiko-chan and Accelerator and they pretty much fell in love with it."
"I can see why. It's great." The [Elemental Empress] gushed, literally excitedly wiggling in her seat as she held her hands against her cheeks as she spoke. "I've tried all kinds of role plays with my girlfriends. Slave Leia, Detention with Sensei, Naughty Witches from Harry Potter, and Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley from Neon Genesis Evangelion! So hot~! In fact, I just recently dressed in the classic Playboy Bunny look for my girlfriends to celebrate the Ichihanaransai."
Frenda just looked at the Level 5 with the driest, most exasperated expression she could muster. "Even if you're a total unreachable cutie, please stop day-fapping in front of me, Namikaze-sama."
"Oops. Sorry." The other blonde said with a slight blush and an embarrassed giggle. "So, um, have you three tried anything else kinky?"
"Not really." Frenda told her with a shake of her head. "We're a lot tamer when making out than I'm sure you are with your girlfriends, Namikaze-sama. All three of us have qualms about things like bondage and painplay."
The Level 5 winced. "I can see why. All three of you went through an absolute crapton of terrible stuff that would turn you against that kind of thing."
Frenda just nodded. There was no need to elaborate on that observation. They all knew how broken she and her partners were as people and what had led them into becoming who they were today.
"So, uh, back on topic! Anything you want me to suggest to Rui-chan on your behalf?"
Frenda hummed in thought.
"I might have an idea or two…"
A few days later, Ruiko was in the ensuite bathroom of Frenda-chan's bedroom in her house whilst her aforementioned girlfriend and Accel waited outside as she changed into the cosplay outfit she had picked out for their role play makeout session today.
"Frenda-chan," she called out through the bathroom door. "I know you were the one who suggested my outfit for the day. Naru-chan told me."
"I know you know." Her girlfriend shouted back. "The whole point of getting Namikaze-sama to tell you was to let you know that if you need ideas, you should come to me and Accel for suggestions. There's no need to go around our backs."
"I just wanted to surprise you."
Accel snorted loudly enough to be heard through the door. "Then we can give you a list or something and you can surprise us with what you pick from the list."
"I suppose that could work," Ruiko allowed as she opened the bathroom door, now fully dressed.
Stepping out, she sauntered seductively towards her boyfriend and girlfriend in a striking white, sleeveless mini dress with a high halter neckline. The dress featured a cutout over her chest, offering a tantalizing glimpse of her cleavage, and was tied behind her neck, leaving her shoulders and upper back bare. A blue bowtie and a distinctive blue ribbon were tied around her upper arms and under her bust, creating a lifted appearance and forming a large bow at her lower back, further complementing the outfit. Her usually free-flowing hair was styled into twin tails reaching down to her mid-thighs, held in place by accessories featuring blue and white ribbons and bell-shaped ornaments. She completed the look with white gloves extending to her elbows and simple white shoes. The entire ensemble enhanced her youthful and goddess-like charm, much like the character it was based on, the goddess Hestia from the Danjon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka franchise.
"Is my Familia ready to service their goddess?" She declared to her normally dressed significant others as she came to stand in front of them as they sat on the edge of the king sized bed and cocked her hips suggestively.
[1]: A kotatsu is a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, formerly a charcoal brazier but now electric, often built into the table itself. They are almost exclusively used in Japan.
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
Dang did we have an explosive time working on this one! We truly had all kinds of stuff, didn't we? Kazari being a hidden boss when it comes to fighting games, awesome. Accel and Frenda getting to know each other in, uh, a more intimate way! My most favorite of course was Naru, Arisa and Shu going to a haunted house and the Saint-Esper Hybrid being scaredy cats while Naru is the big brave one for them. And of course her surprise for them. Really, all the girls just gotta have fun and I loved it.
Nameless: This chapter sure is long ain't it? Well, that's because there's no filler chapter between this arc and the next major arc, so we decided to make this epilogue particularly lengthy. Add in the fact that we had plenty of ideas to explore for the Ichihanaransai and so we went hog's wild. Hope you guys like this choice.
Though for real, if you are on Ao3, Nameless' AI stuff looks great. Really brings out some highlights and were good for the flow we were working on.
Nameless: Yup. I used DALL-E to create some images. They aren't exactly like what the characters look like due to copyright limitations but I think they came out close enough. If you're kind enough, please let me know your opinions on the matter.
You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!