Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter One Hundred Four: Dark Side High Tea
"Fukou da!" Touma said with a groan as he sat in his homeroom in his school, A Certain High School, and attended a special remedial class organized for him to make up for the class time he'd lost whilst in Hawaii by his homeroom teacher, Komoe-sensei.
"Don't complain, Kamijou-san." The super short - she was only 135cm tall! - teacher with pink hair and eyes that was dressed in a cutesy outfit, one that was overwhelmingly dominated by pink and consisted of a pink dress with white trim and a lighter pink sweater. "Just be glad that your subject teachers and I were willing to set these remedial classes up for you? Do you understand how much extra work you create for us?"
"I know, Komoe-sensei, and I appreciate it. It's just so tiring~!"
"More tiring than saving the world?" Komoe-sensei asked with a grin.
Touma was honestly not sure how much Komoe-sensei knew about all the Incidents he'd gotten involved in and what he did to cause him to always need all his remedial lessons. She certainly knew something. Whilst the exact details of everything that he got involved in were still a secret, his involvement in Incidents was something of an open secret to anyone who paid attention to current affairs in Academy City.
Better not say anything that'll let her know anything that she shouldn't. Touma thought to himself. I don't know who was the one who told me this but knowing too much is a danger in and of itself.
With that thought in mind, Touma just offered his teacher a wry grin. "Totally."
Komoe-sensei rolled her eyes at his joke. "Just finish your work, Kami-"
She was cut off before she could finish her sentence by a sudden explosion that rocked the building.
"T-That came from the direction of the staff room!" Komoe-sensei shouted in alarm as Touma leapt to his feet.
"Got it, Sensei." Touma told his homeroom teacher as he rushed towards the classroom door. "Stay here. I'll handle this."
"Kamijou-san!" Komoe-sensei shouted just as Touma was slamming the classroom door open.
"Yeah, Sensei?" Touma asked, peering over his shoulder at her.
"Stay safe." His child-like teacher told him with a thumbs up. "And kick their ass!"
Touma just smiled back and nodded. "Leave it to me, Sensei."
"W-We'll tell you anything! Just don't hand us over to the Trinity!" Iizuma Rita, leader of the Dark Side outfit, Scavenger, screamed as she looked fearfully between her defeated, unconscious teammates and the man who had beaten them.
For his part, the [Imagine Breaker] just shot her a look of confusion. Considering his almost roguish good looks and the fact that, despite his strength, he wasn't a super elite, in another situation, Rita would've found the action endearing. But not when he was looming over her with her beaten teammates lying knocked out behind him. Teammates that outside of giving him some light burns and a cut across his forehead that was weeping blood had barely inconvenienced him as he casually took them down.
"Why by Science would I hand you over to the Trinity?" Kamijou Touma-sama asked, as he intimidatingly cracked the knuckles of his right hand. "Were you thinking of lying to me or something? Because if you are… Well, I happen to have all their numbers on my phone…"
"No, no, I'll talk." Rita assured him.
She'd do anything to not get that trio of super elite Level 5s sicced on her. Just what Misaka-sama would do to extract the information Kamijou-sama wanted from her was enough to make her almost wet herself. Just look at what she did to Baba Yoshio during the Daihaseisai! And she was the nicest of the Trinity! If Saten-sama and Namikaze-sama got involved….
"D-Did you just piss your pants?" The [Imagine Breaker] asked, looking at her in shock and disgust as he eyed the growing wet spot in Rita's shorts.
"Kamijou-san, are the Trinity that scary?" Scavenger's target for this mission, Oyafune Suama, asked from where she was standing a safe distance behind the spiky haired boy that had wrecked Rita's team.
"Uh?" The infamous boy said uncertainly as he turned to his teacher, a tall woman with black hair and sharp eyes that were covered by inverted triangle glasses and who was dressed in a white suit and skirt, dark-colored stockings, and high-heeled shoes.
"They are!" Rita shouted as she crossed her legs in a desperate bid to hide her shame. "So don't send me to them! I'll tell you everything you want to know, Kamijou-sama!"
Turning back to her, Kamijou-sama just shrugged. "I guess they are when they want to be. But more importantly, little girl-"
Rita should be insulted that the high schooler was calling her that. But honestly she was too terrified to even consider it.
"-why did you and your friends attack my school?"
Rita just raised a shaking arm and pointed at Oyafune Suama, prompting the older woman to point at herself in confusion.
"You were after me?" The high school teacher asked with a frown. "Let me guess, this has to do with my mother?"
"Oyafune-sensei?" Kamijou-sama asked, looking at his teacher curiously.
Ignoring him, Rita nodded. "Yeah. Me and my team were hired to kidnap you so our employer could have leverage over Oyafune-sama."
Kamijou-sama's eyes narrowed at this admission and turned to Rita before addressing her in a sharply chiding voice. "Leverage for what?"
"Well…"
It was a surprisingly balmy winter Sunday in Academy City and as usual when she had free time on the weekends, or any time in the week really, Uiharu Kazari found herself in the company of her best friend, Saten Ruiko-san; her Judgement partner, Shirai Kuroko; and Ruiko-san's fellow Trinity members and Tokiwadai schoolmates, Misaka Mikoto-san and Namikaze Naru-san. Today's hangout however was a little different from the norm though as instead of just heading to Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant or one of their other usual hangout spots, they were instead headed to an upmarket hotel in District 3 to enjoy some high tea at the invitation of one of the City's Directors, Oyafune Monaka-sama.
"I'm honestly a little confused." Kazari confessed as their group got off at the nearest light rail station to their destination and began making their way there. "I can see why Oyafune-sama might want to meet with the Trinity, she's your backer. But why would she want to meet with Kuroko-san and I? Is there an op she needs our help with?"
After yesterday's events, there was one potential operation that Kazari could see where Oyafune-sama might need her help with.
"It's mainly so none of us run off and go deal with the ones behind the kidnapping attempt on our own." Ruiko-san said with an annoyed shake of her head and Naru-san nodded her agreement.
From her tone, I imagine Ruiko-san wants to do exactly what Oyafune-sama doesn't want her to and go off and hunt down those responsible for the attempted kidnapping.
"Kidnapping attempt?" Kuroko-san sputtered. "What kidnapping attempt?"
"The one against Oyafune-sama's daughter, Suama-sama." Kazari told her partner. "Scavenger was hired to kidnap her yesterday from her workplace at a Certain High School but was stopped by Kamijou-san who happened to be in school for make-up lessons for all the classes he missed whilst we were in Hawaii."
"Why am I only learning about this now?"
"You only have yourself to blame there, Kuroko." Mikoto-san scolded her roommate. "It was part of the daily intel brief that Ruiko and her analysts sent to our email this morning. You haven't read it yet, have you?"
The Teleporter blushed and hastily pulled out her phone to check her email.
Shaking her head at the tawny haired girl's lapse, Mikoto-san continued. "I think Oyafune-sama is being paranoid. Who does she think we are? We wouldn't go haring off to hunt down the perpetrators without orders."
Kazari couldn't help but shoot the [Railgun] a disbelieving look at that statement. Considering she had something of a reputation for playing lone wolf, sometimes without even understanding the full situation, much less with official sanction, what she said reeked of hypocrisy. A conclusion that everyone else must have shared, because they joined Kazari in shooting their older friend the same look.
"Hey! I've stopped acting like that!" Mikoto-san said defensively. "Besides, even if I did, I'm sure I'd do a better job than the Americans. I mean, didn't they let that Gremlin Magician, Cendrillon, escape?"
What an abrupt deflection. Kazari thought with a shake of her head. I don't think her tendency to act without orders and the way the Americans handled their prisoners from the Invasion of Hawaii are even really connected.
Then again, Mikoto-san wasn't exactly much of a wordsmith.
"That's unfair to the Americans, Senpai." Ruiko-san replied to her upperclassman at Tokiwadai with a shrug, indicating that tthey should just roll with Mikoto-san's deflection. "They did manage to hold onto Irivika and she's a lot more powerful. I suppose that Cendrillon just got lucky. Though, speaking of that, I'm honestly surprised that Gremlin did not attempt to rescue Irivika."
"Yeah, that does seem strange." Kazari had to admit. "Why do you think they didn't, Ruiko-san?"
As their resident intel expert, and someone who ran her own little outfit of intel analysts, the [AIM Sovereign] was the best placed among them to have an accurate guess as to their enemy's intentions.
"We can't be sure of course but I'd wager that Gremlin has either washed their hands of the operation in Hawaii or, more likely in my opinion, they got what they wanted and always intended to abandon Blueshake, Irivika and, likely, Cendrillon as well."
"You serious about that, Rui-chan?" Naru-san asked with a frown. "Sure, it looks like they abandoned those three but couldn't it just be the former? That after things went badly, they decided to just cut their losses?"
"Like I said, that's a possibility." The Number 3 conceded. "But my gut is telling me that's not the case. The way the numbers don't add up regarding the Kīlauea eruption implies that a lot of energy from the eruption is unaccounted for and that makes me think that's what they were really after and everything else was just a smokescreen for them acquiring all that energy."
"So you think that Gremlin somehow absorbed some of the energy from the eruption?" Kazari asked as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I know that based on all the calculations run on the eruption there is a discrepancy between the energy that should have been released compared to the total as accounted for by the ash it spewed into the atmosphere and the size of the lava and pyroclastic flows that were actually caused by the eruption, but volcanology is hardly a precise science. Maybe those numbers were wrong?"
"It's possible." Ruiko said with a shrug. "But my gut feeling is that it's not. That there's something going on."
"Are you sure that it isn't just you being paranoid?" Kuroko-san asked as she put away her phone, apparently done checking her emails.
"I think Kuroko-san has the right of it, Rui-chan." Naru-san said with a shake of her head. "Just relax. I mean, even if you are right, there's nothing we can do about it right now. For now, we need to focus on responding to the attempted kidnapping of Oyafune-sama's daughter."
"About that," Mikoto-san cut in. "How does meeting her for tea help with that?"
"Loads actually." Naru-san answered with a smirk. "We're probably being more helpful to Oyafune-sama by showing up and meeting her in public than striking out at her enemies from the shadows."
"Indeed." Ruiko-san said with a nod. "A show of support such as being seen with us in public like this will greatly help her influence in the City. We are already seen as being under her umbrella but that was because of Crowley's appointment. However, if we spend time together with her in a casual setting, it will promote the idea that we are genuinely friendly with each other and give the impression that we are true allies. That said, I still wish I could be the instrument of her vengeance instead."
Kazari just shot her best friend a look. "Honestly, Ruiko-san. I can't help but think Accelerator-san is a bad influence on you at times."
"Didn't we all agree that it's give and take between those two?" Naru-san chimed in with a chuckle, before turning to their mutual best friend. "And Rui-chan, chill. You should know that we can't always get what we want."
Ruiko-san let out a very ojou-sama huff of annoyance at this but let the matter drop.
Just in time too because they had just reached the very fancy looking hotel and just a glance at the luxuriously appointed lobby through the glass doors being opened for them by a pair of smartly dressed bellhops made Kazari gulp nervously. She'd never met someone in such a posh looking place before, much less someone as important as one of the City's Directors!
"Relax, Kazari." Ruiko-san said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It'll be fine. We'll be there with you after all."
All her friends nodded comfortingly at Kazari and she could feel her heart warm at the show of support.
With my friends I can do anything! The [Goalkeeper] thought to herself confidently as with a smile for said friends, she followed them into the hotel.
Even as his middle school lady bosses met up with the Old Lady Director, Kurozuma Wataru, leader of the Trinity's subordinate organization, Big Spider, led a group of his men as they raided one of the warehouses where the fine dining obsessed former City Director, Nakimoto Rizou, stored some of his gourmet ingredients in retaliation for the attempted kidnapping of the Old Lady's daughter. Of course, there was no direct evidence that Nakimoto was responsible. The guy might have lost his position on the City's Board after Stoic Jochan's boyfriend, Accelerator, dismantled one of his major operations and forced him to surrender himself to Anti-Skill for his litany of crimes but he hadn't earned his former position for nothing and that included knowing how to cover his tracks. - Heck! That was why despite turning himself in, he'd still managed to earn himself the cushy sentence of house arrest. A sentence that was nothing more than a minor hindrance to his operations. - But even the most well concealed trails still left spoor behind and thanks to the Trinity's intel department - And the outfit really needed its own name -, they'd been able to link him to the kidnapping. Not well enough to stand up in court but more than enough to justify their little retaliation.
"Yo Wataru-san, not to doubt you or the Old Lady or anything, but are we seriously just gonna torch this guy's fancy food warehouse?" Tamezou asked as the dozen of them, all clad in the fancy Powered Suits that they got from being one of the Trinity's subordinate organizations, stepped out of the transport that had brought them to the target warehouse in District 11. "I mean didn't he fund the kidnapping of her daughter? Shouldn't we, I dunno, go harsher on him?"
"And start a war between him and the Old Lady?" Wataru retorted as they formed up around the main doors to the warehouse they were here to raid. "The man might not be a Director anymore but he's still got a crap ton of resources. A war between them is gonna be very messy and something we don't need. Not when the Old Lady is already busy with that plan of hers. That's also why it's us, the street level outfit, and not Maniple that's the ones doing the retaliating."
"Ah, that makes sense." Tamezou said with a nod. "Still think he deserves worse than having some of his treats burnt down to the ground though."
"Preaching to the choir here, Tamezou." Wataru said even as he turned to the tech guy on their team, a new recruit whose name he'd not caught yet. With them going official, they'd had plenty of new members and Wataru was still struggling to get to know everyone. "Tech guy, how's it going?"
"Give me a sec, boss." The guy said as he worked on the computer built into the arm of his Suit as he hacked into the warehouse's systems. "Huh? That's suspicious."
"What is?" Wataru asked, looking at the tech with a frown.
"The security. It's too lax."
"Trap?" Tamezou asked with a sigh.
"Trap." Wataru agreed before looking over the team and shifted the fancy railgun rifle that the Stoic Jochan gave him ages ago off his shoulders and into a ready position. He would never admit it to the girl's face but he did know and did use the gun the way it was meant to when the need called for it. He only used it as a club when she was looking and he could get away with it. Her face when he did so was just too hilarious to not do so.
Seeing him ready his weapon, the leader of Big Spider was pleased to see his men do the same and bring their own guns to bear. Back when they were still a Skill-Out gang, they might have never used guns but they were in the big leagues now and sadly with them mostly being Level 0s and a handful of Level 1s and 2s, they needed the additional firepower to play with the big boys. At least when the situation called for it.
"Ready, Wataru-san."
Wataru nodded at Tamezou's report and turned to the tech guy. "Ready?"
The newbie nodded.
"Open the doors."
In response to Wataru's orders, the tech guy punched a few more commands into his computer and caused the wide warehouse doors to slowly slide open. And as they did, they revealed just why the place's cybersecurity had been so weak. Standing guard in the building's loading and unloading area was no less than a mecha that Wataru recognized from the intel reports as a Hagane Ryū (Steel Dragon), the improved version of the defunct Multi Active Rescue (MAR)'s Gigantic Advanced Movement Armors (GAMAs). A machine with a dome-shaped body that was painted green with red secondary trim and sported three small legs, one of which was made to resemble a tail, and arms that folded into the body, giving it an appearance that was an unflattering mix of frog and dragon. It was armed with a pair of machine guns mounted on either side of its body and a pair of smoothbore cannons mounted into the arms.
"Find cover!" Wataru ordered his men both by shouting at them directly and over the radios of their Suits even as they were already doing exactly that and rushing behind the trucks, shipping containers and other stuff in the area, evading machine gun fire from the mech as they did. "And keep moving. Don't just hunker down or it'll use its cannons to blow you and your cover away at one go."
If we ever needed proof that Nakimoto was still a danger even though he's not on the Board anymore then this is it. Wataru thought as his men heeded his commands and began hopping from cover to cover, taking shots at the mech whenever they could. Shots that even though they came from some of the most powerful railgun and laser rifles that the City could produce, barely dented the damned machine's armor as it spun around trying to track them with its machine guns. The Hagane Ryūs are supposed to be undergoing trials to become the City's first frontline combat mech, how by Science did he get his hands on one!?
Seeing that it was failing to score any hits by staying on the spot, the Hagane Ryū decided to up the ante and unlocking the brakes on the wheels built into its feet began racing around trying to line up better shots for its weapons.
"Take out those wheels!" Wataru ordered as he popped out of the cover of a eighteen wheeler with a refrigerated trailer and lined up a shot at the mecha's stabilizing tail wheel.
Pulling the trigger, the former Skill-Out watched with satisfaction as the small plasma trail left behind by the hypersonic round fired by his railgun rifle drew a perfect straight line from his weapon's barrel to and, more importantly, straight through the reinforced tire of the wheel. His satisfaction only grew and a smile stretched across his face as the tire popped like a balloon and the Hagane Ryū almost went toppling head first into the ground, only stopping itself by throwing its gun arms forward to arrest its fall.
That was only the beginning of the mech's misery however as even as it skidded to a halt, another volley of laser beams and railgun rounds slammed into it from Wataru's men, ripping the wheels that made up the bulk of its feet to shreds. This ruined its footing and the mech went toppling to the ground.
"It's down! Finish it!" Wataru ordered. "Start with its optic sensors!"
At his command, a rain of railgun rounds and laser beams slammed into the two narrow slits where the mecha's two mono-eye compound optical sensors ran along tracks, blasting the relatively delicate things to pieces. Of course, this didn't render the machine completely without sensors but Humans were visual creatures and with the Hagane Ryū now rendered blind, the ability of whoever was controlling it either remotely or within its cockpit to perceive its surroundings was greatly reduced.
"Grenades! Hit it with the Bunker Buster Grenades!" Wataru ordered as he pulled out and armed one of the City's Bunker Buster Grenades. These specially designed, and incredibly rare and expensive, grenades were specifically designed to wreck hardened targets and even if their relative low yields in comparison to actual bunker buster bombs meant they might not be able to fully penetrate the Hagane Ryū's heavy armor, getting hit by a dozen of them would still unleash enough kinetic force to pulp a good chunk of even its hardened electronics or, in the worst case, its pilot.
"Stop! Stop! I surrender!" The Hagane Ryū's pilot shouted desperately over the mech's external speakers as he opened the back of the machine and climbed out.
"I surrender alright! Don't kill me!" The man said, his hands up in the classic show of surrender.
"Tamezou, secure him." Wataru ordered as he disarmed his grenade and stowed it away.
"Leave it to me, Wataru-san." His trusty longtime comrade said over the radio as he and a couple of their men moved forward to properly secure their new prisoner.
Nodding at that, Wataru addressed the rest of his men. "Okay, the rest of us are splitting into our three men teams then spreading out to plant the firebombs. Let's get this done nice and quick before Nakimoto springs another surprise on us. And if you encounter anything of the sort, radio back. We'll be there in a jiffy to back you up. Any questions?"
"No, Wataru-san." The eight men who weren't managing the prisoner replied dutifully.
"Good! Then let's go burn this place down!"
"That's a very nice dress you are wearing there, Suama-sama." Kuroko heard Ruiko-san offer Monaka-sama's daughter as they and their group of friends enjoyed high tea with her and her mother - And wasn't it a surprise to see first hand how much younger Suama-sama was than her mother. Monaka-sama was in her fifties or sixties but the younger Oyafune could not be older than thirty. - in the five star restaurant of Academy City's Mandarin Oriental and couldn't help but boggle at her friend's priorities. They were here to discuss the woman's attempted kidnapping and she was complimenting her dress!?
Not that the compliment was undeserved. Suama-sama's light green evening party dress featuring broad spaghetti straps that framed a square neckline and which combined a stylish corseted bodice and a graceful midi length skirt decorated by delicate ruffles was truly exquisite. But now was not the time to praise it!
"Thank you very much, Saten-san." The Director's daughter replied with a pleased smile. "Coming from you, the Most Stylish Ojou-sama of the Year, that means a lot."
"Oh, so you read about that silly little ranking that Cutie came up with, Suama-sama?" Ruiko-san said with a giggle, deflecting from her achievement of being awarded the aforementioned title by the popular fashion magazine marketed towards young women. "That was nothing really. Just their publishers trying to curry favor with me and Eden Corp."
"I wouldn't sell yourself short like that, Rui-chan." Naru-san chimed in with a shake of her head as she daintily finished a scone. "Those photos of you they got their hands on made you look super stylish. And I'm speaking from my experience as a model here."
"Speaking of that, Ruiko. Where did they get those photos? They looked candid." Onee-sama asked, looking at Ruiko-san curiously whilst pouring herself a refill of her tea cup. "I know you love your fancy dresses but when by Science do you get the chance to wear them so often? You're not breaking the Tokiwadai dress code, are you?"
"Perish the thought, Mikoto-chan." Monaka-sama said as she took a sip from her tea. "Ruiko-san would never break the rules like that."
"Not without good reason at least." Kazari commented as she spread clotted cream on a scone.
"And there was no need for rule breaking to get those photos." Ruiko-san said with a shrug as she helped herself to a smoked salmon finger sandwich. "Thanks to Eden Corp I find myself attending high society events every so often nowadays. Events for which I have a standing exemption to the Tokiwadai dress code from Headmistress-sama that allows me to dress for the occasion."
Kuroko honestly had no idea why they were making small talk like this but since everyone seemed to be in on it, she decided she might as well contribute to the conversation as well. "And how did they get candid shots of you at those events, Ruiko-san? Don't you enforce rules against photography at such events for your guests' privacy? Or-"
"No need to worry, Kuroko-san." Ruiko-san reassured her with a smile that told her how much she appreciated her concern. "The photos were taken by Park-chan, who as my little sister has special permission. She has become a little shutterbug lately and just loves snapping photos of me in my dresses."
"Well, with as photogenic an onee-sama as you are, who can blame her?" Monaka-sama teased, causing Ruiko-san to blush.
"Huh? Park-chan took those shots?" Naru-san asked as she helped herself to another scone.
Ruiko-san just nodded and took a sip of her tea.
"Well, color me impressed. She's good. Especially for an amateur."
"I'll let her know you approve, Naru-chan." Ruiko-san said with a smile.
"Hmm… It seems we're halfway done with the snacks." Monaka-sama observed as she served herself a scone. "I think that's a good enough sign for us to get to the real reason we're here today. So shall we?"
Finally!
"Of course, Monaka-sama." Onee-sama said with a smile as she put down her tea cup and looked around their well appointed private room meaningfully. "Though, Ruiko-chan, if you'd be so kind, could you confirm that we can talk freely?"
"I've scanned the room for listening devices and also applied several different barriers that should interfere with anyone attempting to spy on us." Ruiko-san assured them. "It's safe to speak freely."
Onee-sama nodded and continued. "Then, Monaka-sama, might I ask what we're here to discuss? The attempted kidnapping yesterday?"
Suama-sama shifted a little uneasily at the mention of her run in with the Dark Side but otherwise maintained an unreadable expression.
"No, that's being handled as we speak."
"Are you sure, Monaka-sama?" Ruiko-san asked with a frown. "I know you're targeting Nakimoto Rizou and those he hired to set up the attempt but that hardly affects the true masterminds behind things."
"Sadly, my colleagues on the Board hid their tracks a little too well. Whilst I have my suspicions of who might be involved, I have no proof of which of them are those who were actually responsible for goading that fool Nakimoto into action." The elderly Director said with a shake of her head. "Taking that into account, all we can do is make an example of him and his lackeys and hope it teaches the others to not repeat his mistakes."
"Honestly, I can't believe Shokumotsu-san would be so easily riled up or sloppy enough to get caught doing something so stupid." Naru-san said with a shake of her head.
"His resources have taken quite a blow since he lost his position on the Board." Monaka-sama opined with a shrug. "That could account for his reduced ability to keep his involvement secret."
"I suppose." Naru-san said, sounding unconvinced but also disinterested in pursuing the matter any further.
"Setting that matter aside, shall we get back to the reason why I have invited you, young ladies?"
"Of course, Monaka-sama." Onee-sama said as she shot quelling looks at the rest of them. Which was wholly unfair! Why did she, and Kazari for that matter, get those looks too? They weren't the ones derailing the conversation! "What was that again?"
Finishing the scone she'd taken for herself earlier, Monaka-sama smiled indulgently before replying. "I wished to discuss with you, experts on such matters, the reason behind the sudden attempt to kidnap Sauma: my plans to reform the Dark Side."
"Reform the Dark Side?" Kuroko asked, perking up. She didn't think it was possible to reform such a corrupt segment of the City but if it could be done… Suffice it to say, any attempt to do so had her full attention.
"Yes, Shirai-chan." Monaka-sama said with a nod. "You see, following the events of World War Three and, more recently, our intervention in the Invasion of Hawaii, a number of foreign nations and factions have demanded it, including a number of our key international partners. It is the latter's price for not joining the twenty seven cooperative institutions of Academy City that have severed their connections with Academy City as a result of our recent actions. Many of whom saw the invasion of Hawaii as a last straw, despite the American government coming out in support of our actions."
"I knew listening to Birdway and getting involved would have consequences." Naru-san said with a sigh. "Working with a Magician always does."
"Maybe, but at least this time the consequences are positive?" Onee-sama offered with a shrug.
"I would not be so hasty in that judgment, Mikoto-chan." Monaka-sama said with a shake of her head. "Considering the movements she and her cabal have made regarding our former allies, our analysts are fairly sure that this turn of events was, in hindsight, one of the goals of Birdway engineering the intervention in the Trident Invasion of Hawaii. It appears that her aim was to create turmoil in the Science Side, which in turn would likely draw further attention from Gremlin that she could capitalize on to further combat them."
"I don't doubt that." Onee-sama said with a sigh. "But I'm just looking at things from the bright side. At least we can leverage some good from it in the form of these Dark Side reforms, right?"
"I suppose." Monaka-sama allowed.
"I'm curious about Kamijou-san myself." Kazari perked up after she finished the last few scones. "We all pretty much expected Birdway-san was playing her own game from the start, but he didn't seem to realize that until the whole Hawaii Invasion was over. How's he taking our fears being realized?"
"Sauma, want to take this one?"
"Of course, Okaasan." Sauma-sama said, offering her mother a hesitant nod. Kuroko could understand. From what she knew of the woman, she had nothing to do with her mother's dealings as a Director, much less the Dark Side. Thus to suddenly be asked to speak on something like this must be unnerving.
Then again, after yesterday, it's doubtful she can continue to keep her distance from things. She's going to have to step up.
"I have actually spoken to him on the matter."
"You have?" Onee-sama asked, looking at the older woman in surprise.
"Yes," Sauma-sama nodded. "After he rescued me from the kidnappers yesterday, we ended up being shuffled away by Okaasan's men to a safehouse together. After he was debriefed, I helped him finish his make-up lessons there so he didn't have to redo them today. We talked during our breaks."
"Oh, right. You're a teacher at his school, aren't you, Sauma-sama?"
"That's correct, Misaka-san." The high school teacher confirmed. "And it is fortunate that I was. I would likely have been kidnapped already if I was not and Kamijou-san was not there to save me."
"Well, at least he's playing hero without butting into someone else's business for once." Naru-san mused, earning herself a chiding look from Ruiko-san.
Ignoring the blonde, Onee-sama continued as if she had not spoken. "So what does Kamijou think about things?"
"He confessed that he is quite unhappy with Birdway-san." Sauma-sama explained. "So much so that he has lived up to his threat- I believe he made it in Hawaii?"
"He did." Kazari confirmed with a nod as she sipped at some tea. "I was there when he made it."
Sauma-sama nodded and continued. "Well, he said that thanks to what has happened, he will have to live up to it and sever his ties, and thus those of Academy City, with Birdway-san."
"And good riddance." Naru-san said with a grin.
Ruiko-san shot her a quelling glare at that even as she offered her own take on things. "I doubt Birdway minds all too much. She has what she wanted most of all: the weakening of the City."
"You think she was lying about wanting to fight Gremlin?" Kuroko couldn't help but ask.
"No, she was honest about that." Ruiko-san said after taking a bite of an egg salad sandwich. "However, we would've opposed Gremlin no matter what. My guess is that she allied with us so she could gauge our strength and when she realized it was greater than she would've liked, she took steps to ensure it would be reduced."
"Ah!" Onee-sama said as if she'd had an epiphany. "She wants us to destroy each other so she can sweep in afterwards and gather the spoils for herself."
"Something to that effect."
"I do not disagree that it appears that Birdway's motives were likely in line with something like that." Monaka-sama said with a sigh. "But whatever they were, we played along with her suggestions to involve ourselves in Hawaii and must pay the price for doing so. The important thing now is making the best of it and for the matter of reforming the Dark Side that means finding a way to balance reform with maintaining the ability of the Dark Side to serve its purpose as a source of the City's strength."
Kuroko would prefer the Dark Side be shut down altogether but if it had to be kept around…
"Might I suggest the creation of some kind of oversight body for Dark Side operations?" She said enthusiastically. "Such a body could regulate operations, authorizing only those which pass the muster of an ethics committee."
"I'm not sure that would be possible, Kuroko-san." Naru-san said with a frown. "I mean, some operations and outfits on the Dark Side have official sanction and support but plenty don't. The Dark Side is basically the City's underworld, So why would they allow itself to be regulated?"
"They will if we don't give them a choice. If we combine that with some incentives, like support in the form of financing or resources, we should be able to get most of them onboard." Onee-sama pointed out. "Those that don't accept being regulated get branded outlaws and get treated as such."
Kazari hummed thoughtfully at this before piping up with her own opinion. "That might work to cut down on the worst stuff actually. I mean, the pressure of being outlaws and hunted accordingly, even more so than they already are, should reduce the number of operations and outfits willing to engage in unregulated activities. It won't eliminate it though."
"You can't eliminate crime." Kuroko said. As much as she hated to admit it, it was the truth. "But we need to at least try to bring it down to manageable levels. And this is one way to do it. Plus, if we regulate the Dark Side we might be able to help those poor souls that got forced into it by circumstances. We can include in the regulations requirements to provide some kind of path to leaving the business if they want to."
Monaka-sama blinked in surprise at that for a moment before nodding in agreement. "I had not thought about the latter point, but I can see the merit in it. Thank you for suggesting it, Shirai-chan."
Kuroko just nodded in recognition of the Director's praise.
"Do not forget that we will need to regulate the brokers as well, Monaka-sama." Ruiko-san added. "They're the ones actually issuing orders to the outfits, so they can't be left out of any regulations we introduce."
"Yes, that's true. Thanks for the reminder, Ruiko-chan. Any other suggestions, ladies? Perhaps about how to go about regulating the brokers?"
Whilst the Trinity and her own Judgment kohai were discussing ways to regulate the Dark Side brokers who served as the middlemen between the higher ups who financed the whole thing and the grunts who carried out operations, Konori Mii, Senior Judgment Agent, found herself acting as a Judgment observer on an Anti-Skill raid targeting one such broker. Namely the broker for the Dark Side outfit known as Scavenger and thus the woman who had foolishly accepted and assigned them the job of kidnapping Oyafune Sauma.
Honestly, some people just don't have any common sense. Mii thought to herself with a shake of her head as she thought about the older woman's actions. Never mind that Oyafune Sauma-sama is one of Kamijou Touma's subject teachers and kidnapping her would almost certainly draw him in; she is Oyafune Monaka-sama's daughter! And with Monaka-sama being the Trinity's backer, making an enemy of her is making an enemy of them.
And Mii was under no illusions to the fate of anyone that might choose to pick a fight with the trio of Tokiwadai Level 5s. If they didn't destroy their enemies on their lonesome, they'd call up their allies and they'd do it together. Considering how ready their friends and allies were to answer any call to arms they might make, as demonstrated during the Jailbreaker Incident, not even the Kamijou Faction could boast the same kind of rapid mobilization of firepower that the Trinity could should the need arise.
"Tsk!" Yomikawa Aiho-san hissed in irritation from her console as they drove in one of Anti-Skill's mobile command centers towards where the Scavenger broker had been located.
"What's the matter, Yomikawa-san?" Mii asked the Anti-Skill commander.
"See for yourself, Konori-san." The older woman said, gesturing towards the screen of her console. "This is a feed from one of the drones we sent ahead to keep an eye on the target."
Glancing over Yomikawa-san's shoulder at the screen, Mii could see what had got the other woman so annoyed. "She's hired mercenaries to defend her?"
"Mercenaries are too generous. Those are just a bunch of punks." The older woman corrected as she pointed at a bunch of what looked like delinquents that could charitably be called a Skill-Out gang that was loitering around what at first glance was an abandoned factory in District 19 but which reliable intel, provided by Saten-san, had identified as the Scavenger broker's hideout.
"Well, Saten-san's intel did say that the Scavenger broker isn't exactly very high up on the food chain so this is probably the best she can afford to act as her bodyguards."
"If she was short on cash then I'd rather she run." Yomikawa-san said with a sigh. "She wouldn't have gotten away, not with Saten-san hunting her, but at least then we wouldn't have to deal with a bunch of innocent kids."
"Innocent?" Mii asked with a cocked eyebrow. "I don't think that's how I would describe a Skill-Out."
"Says a former Skill-Out." Yomikawa-san shot back. "You should know most of those idiots probably haven't done anything worse than skipping out on school or breaking curfew to play pretend gangster."
Mii winced. The older woman had her there. That was an accurate description of most of the Skill-Outs she'd known both as her time as one herself and those she'd encountered during the course of her Judgment duties. The worst most of them had done was some petty crimes like shoplifting or vandalism.
"Well, then we can sort those out from the real gangsters after we take them all in." Mii said with a shrug. "I'm sure a night or two in jail will be more than enough to scare most of them straight."
"I wouldn't be sure about that but I suppose it might work on some of them."
"Either way, we need to get past them to get to the broker." Mii reminded the Anti-Skill commander. "Being a Skill-Out is one thing but organizing an attempted kidnapping is quite another. We can't let someone escape after committing the latter just because we don't want to unduly punish a bunch of people for the former."
"Yeah, I know. I know." Yomikawa-san said with a tired sigh. "You know, Konori-san, you'd make a great Anti-Skill officer. You should consider signing up after you graduate university."
"I'll take it under advisement." Mii said with a polite smile.
"Please do." The Anti-Skill commander said as the vehicle pulled to a stop. They'd arrived. "But for now, we have an arrest to make."
Mii nodded. It was time for justice to be served.
"This is your final warning! You are hindering a criminal investigation! Disperse or you will be arrested for unlawful assembly under the Organized Crime Statute!" Mii heard Yomikawa-san's voice boom through the various Anti-Skill speakers along the cordon set up around the Scavenger broker's hideout and the mob of Skill-Outs she'd hired to guard it. "You have one minute to disperse or be arrested!"
A cordon that consisted not only of the City's standard cylindrical security robots and armed Anti-Skill officers in body armor but also a number of the volunteer law enforcement and military organization's latest acquisitions. These consisted of a half dozen Powered Suits developed by Eden Corp. Suits that were slightly more lean than compared to the City's blocky standard HsPs-15, with a single rectangular visor to protect its optical sensors, forearms that were replaced by weapons, and a pair of heavier weapons mounted over its shoulders.
Neither these powerful machines or Yomikawa-san's ultimatum seemed to intimidate the Skill-Outs though. In fact, they seem to do the opposite as in response to the latter, the already rowdy mob began getting even more riled up and began hurling abuse and even a few projectiles at the Anti-Skill cordon. An unruliness that seemed to grow as the automated countdown to the one minute afforded to them to disperse that was playing on the speakers ticked down.
"Konori-san, what's our perp doing?" Yomikawa-san asked over the earpiece she was wearing as Mii stood as close to the Scavenger broker's hideout as Anti-Skill allowed her to get. All the better to use her Esper ability.
"She's changing clothes." Mii informed the Anti-Skill commander as her Clairvoyance allowed her to see through the building and into the woman's lavishly decorated apartment hidden within and keep an eye on the woman with long red hair and a mole below and to the left of her lower lip change out of her fashionable white lab coat, black dress shirt, khaki pencil skirt, white pumps and dark hosiery into the kind of deliberately grungy looking outfit, full of artfully stressed fabric and rips, that so many Skill-Out girls seemed to favor. "Looks like you were right. She plans to get herself mixed up with the Skill-Outs and make a break for it."
"She's got anyone accompanying her?"
"Yeah, looks like a bunch of gunmen dressed up as Skill-Outs. I'm not familiar enough to identify their exact type but they look like they're armed with conventional assault rifles. Pretty similar to those you Anti-Skill use, SIG SG 552s, if I remember correctly?"
"Yes, you're right about our guns. Okay, so she's got armed paramilitaries as guards. Are they all still in the building?" Yomikawa-san asked as the countdown ended and Anti-Skill began their clearing operation.
"In accordance with our earlier warning, we will now begin dispersing your unlawful assembly in accordance with the Organized Crime Statute! Please surrender and do not resist." The Anti-Skill speakers declared as with a burst of gun and mortar fire, the half dozen Powered Suits and the Anti-Skill officers opened fire on the mob of Skill-Outs with their Containment Foam weapons.
Rounds shot into the crowd of delinquents before exploding and showering them in the liquid, which upon contact with the air proceeded to rapidly expand into a yellow-white foam that soon covered all of them, trapping them in place inside an extremely gooey mass. One that thankfully was flexible and porous enough to allow people to breath while fully entrenched in it whilst also being extremely difficult to escape thanks to it being impact resistant, resistant to extreme temperatures, insulated against electricity, and whose rubbery nature made it difficult to get leverage once trapped in it.
Truly a wonderful crime fighting tool. Eden Corp really has outdone itself again. Mii thought as she took a moment to admire the sight of almost a hundred Skill-Outs having been safely restrained thanks to a single barrage of Containment Foam.
"Konori-san, is the perp making her escape?" Yomikawa-san asked, pulling Mii back to the task at hand. "Or did we already catch her in the Foam?"
Turning her attention back to the criminal they were here to capture, Mii smirked and briefed the Anti-Skill commander on what her ability let her see.
"Unfortunately not. Though it seems she's flabbergasted by seeing the Foam's effectiveness."
"Got it." Yomikawa-san replied back as two teams of Anti-Skill officers began moving out from the cordon now that the Skill-Out mob was neutralized. One to start freeing the Skill-Outs in small batches using a specialized solvent for processing whilst another moved towards the building that they were here to raid. "Our breach team is prepping to storm the building. Anything we should look out for that you can see? Traps? Escape tunnels?"
"No, as far as I can tell, it's structurally the same as what was in the old blueprints we pulled up on the ride over. She's just renovated the old office area of the factory into a comfortable little apartment for herself."
"Right." Yomikawa-san said with a sigh of relief. "I know I shouldn't be asking this, you're here as an observer and you've helped more than you should already, but-"
"Don't mention it, Yomikawa-san. I'll keep watch over your men as they storm the building."
"Thank you, Konori-san." The older woman replied. "Let's catch our perp."
"Let's." Mii agreed as with the sound of an explosive breaching charge blowing a hole in the side of the abandoned factory, the Anti-Skill breach team rushed into the building to complete the mission.
It was time to bag their criminal.
Back at the tea party, after a short brainstorming session coming up with ideas for the reform of the Dark Side, Mikoto took a moment to enjoy the fine flavor of the earl gray tea served before turning towards their hostess and shifting the conversation in a new direction.
"Monaka-sama, do you really think that the other Directors will allow these proposed reforms to be implemented?"
"There will be resistance of course." Monaka-sama said as she too took a sip of her tea.
"There already is," Naru said, gesturing towards the Director's daughter. "That they've already attempted to kidnap Sauma-sama is proof enough of that."
"Yes. You need not remind me of that, Naru-chan." The Director said with a sigh before turning to look at her daughter. "To be honest, I had wanted to keep Sauma out of all this but after the attack, I feel that there is no choice but to bring her into this dark business."
"Better to be part of it and know what is going on then to potentially be a victim without even knowing why." Suama-sama said with a determined look. "I don't know if I'll be able to handle it but I'm going to do my best to help Okaasan with her work and learn the ropes from now on."
"That's admirable." Kazari-san praised.
"Indeed," Kuroko said with a nod.
"I agree too." Mikoto said as she looked towards the two Oyafunes with a worried frown. "But I'm worried. Will the Directors opposing these reforms really just stop with one attack?"
"I'm sure that they will consider attempting another attack." Ruiko said with a bloodthirsty smirk. "If they do though, we'll just need to give them a reminder of the new status quo."
"What do you mean, Ruiko-san?" Kazari asked, turning to her with a frown.
Her smirk growing even wider, Ruiko replied. "Just watch the news tonight."
Whilst Naru-chan and her friends were meeting with Oyafune-sama and her daughter, Shutaura was having an important meeting of her own. Namely, she was meeting with another of the City's Directors, Kaizumi Tsugutoshi.
"Thank you for supporting Monaka-sama's new initiative, Kaizumi-sama." Shutaura offered to the old man dressed in a very formal, very traditional looking kimono.
"Of course I would." The elderly Director said with a smile. "It is both the right thing to do and the smart thing, isn't it, Seria-chan?"
"Uh, yes. It is." Kumokawa Seria, the genius and the Director's pet Brain, the designation reserved for an advisor to a member of the Academy City Board of Directors, said. She was a Junior at the famous A Certain High School with shoulder-length black hair, the fringe of which was tied back; and a fine body with an exceedingly ample bosom.
Arisa, please stop ogling her chest.
But Shutaura! Do you see the size of those things! Arisa shot back in a whine. Look how well it fills out that uniform of hers! They really make me wish we had boobs that big! Naru-chan would love to have more to play with when we make out.
Much to Shutaura's consternation, Arisa forced their eyes towards the Brain and had them track over Kumokawa-san's body and admired how she filled out the school-issued sailor uniform blouse paired with a non-standard long skirt. An outfit that left the other girl's navel readily observable in the gap between her blouse and skirt.
Arisa!
What? Can you honestly say that you can't understand why I can't stop leering at her?
Urgh! Fine! She's very attractive. There! Are you happy? Can you stop distracting me now?
Only if you let me keep looking at her.
Arisa, don't make me tattle on you to Naru-chan.
Aw~! Shutaura, you're being a meanie!
Arisa!
Fine! Fine! I'll leave you alone then. Arisa said in a whine as she retreated back into a corner of their shared mind to sulk.
Shutaura knew she would have to apologize to her other half later but for now, she was just relieved that she could proceed with this meeting without being distracted by her magical half and her libido. It was like they hadn't just spent last night making out with Naru-chan!
"It's the moral thing to do. At least by the prevailing moral paradigm." Kumokawa-san as she fidgeted nervously under the intense stare down that Shutaura had inadvertently subjected her to courtesy of Arisa's antics. Which thanks to the superhuman speeds their internal conversations could be at times, had thankfully only lasted less than a minute. The Saint-Esper hybrid hoped that the genius hadn't figured out the truth of why she had done that. She would be mortally embarrassed if she did. But she couldn't be sure either why, not when the other girl was a Brain.
"Besides," the Brain continued. "It's only logical to support the City's new rising power, especially when it has allies as dangerous as Sequenzia-sama."
Shutaura cocked an eyebrow at that. She didn't think she was a particularly noteworthy ally of Monaka-sama. Yes, her Black Crows represented an not insubstantial paramilitary force and she herself was a unique Saint-Esper hybrid. However, considering that the grandmotherly Director had access to other paramilitary units under her command, some larger and more well equipped even than her Crows, and Arisa had not yet managed to figure out how to use their magic, she did not see how she was worthy of the Brain's special attention like this.
No matter. Shutaura thought, dismissing Kumokawa-san's curious response. So long as we get what we want out of this meeting, I'm not particularly concerned about the reasons behind that being the case.
"To that end," Kaizumi-sama said, causing Shutaura to turn her attention towards the elderly man. "The Board of Directors will be issuing an announcement on the evening news declaring a review of the City's Dark Side, not that we will call it that of course."
"Yes, we'll keep it vague enough to not let slip the Dark Side's existence but clear enough that the opposing Directors will understand what it means," Kumokawa-san continued where her sponsor left off. "Namely that the majority of the Board is behind Monaka-sama's reform initiative and will add their weight to it. A move that should at least give them pause about trying to oppose it openly."
"Because doing so would put them in opposition with the majority of the Board." Shutaura said, nodding in understanding.
"And the General Superintendent." Kaizumi-sama added meaningfully, causing Kumokawa-san to shudder at the mere mention of the infamous Magician that was the City's well hidden leader. "No announcements by the Board are made without his approval."
"Let us hope that proves to be a sufficient deterrent."
"Rest assured, Sequenzia-san, it will." The elderly Director said confidently. "If any of the other Directors do not heed the warning then they are too foolish for their position and will be replaced."
Shutaura nodded. She couldn't agree more. Any Director foolish enough to not only pick a fight with the majority of the Board but Aleister Crowley as well deserved whatever fate befell them.
Raising the cup of sake that he had been nursing the whole meeting, Kaizumi-sama proposed a toast. "To the success of Monaka-dono's reforms."
Clinking her own untouched cup of iced juice with the man's sake cup, Shutaura echoed the man's sentiment. "To their success."
Back at the tea party, as things wound down, Naru unknowingly echoed her girlfriend's actions and raised her tea cup in a playful toast. "To these reforms making the Dark Side a better place."
"I can toast to that." Mikoto-senpai said with a grin as she clinked her own teacup against Naru's.
Rui-chan rolled her eyes, probably miffed by how such behavior was unbecoming of their station - She was such an ojou-sama nowadays that she honestly couldn't put it past her to think that way. - but followed suit anyway.
"The same." Kuroko-san piped up as she too clinked cups with the rest of them.
"To the Dark Side being a better place." Kazari-san said with cautious hope as she did the same.
Monaka-sama, for her part, just giggled as she joined them in their little bout of childish whimsy. Even Suama-sama did, though she did so with a look of amused exasperation.
Considering even you describe what you're doing as childish whimsy, can you blame her? Kurama said with a chuckle.
Hey! At least I'm self-aware as I'm behaving childishly.
Sure you are. Sometimes!
Kurama!
The fox's chuckles just turned into a full blown laugh at her whining, though he was considerate enough to retreat deeper into her mind while he worked the amusement out of his system so it wouldn't distract her.
"Seriously though," Naru said after everyone had finished the customary drink from their cups that completed a toast. "I think this might actually work. I mean, we have the support of the majority of the Directors. And, yeah, I know, they're mostly motivated by things besides morals but not all of them are monsters. Some of them might actually support, if not welcome, the move outside of self interest. For the right reasons even."
"Maybe." Mikoto-senpai said with a disbelieving snort. "But the current company notwithstanding, I'll see it before I believe it."
"As much as I wish I could disagree with you Mikoto-chan, I'm afraid that I cannot." Monaka-sama admitted with a sigh. "But enough of this serious talk. There is still plenty of fine food and tea. Let us set aside everything serious and focus on enjoying ourselves as we finish it shall we?"
"Now that's a plan!" Naru said eagerly. She was always up for good food and drink!
"And so it seems that Monaka-sama's plans for reforming the Dark Side are proceeding apace." Ruiko told Accel as they enjoyed some drinks after having just finished their dinner at a nice little hole in the wall ramen bar hidden away in the back alleys of District 19 that he'd apparently learned about from his former GROUP teammate, Musujime Awaki-san, the evening after the tea party. "She even has the support of the majority of the Board."
"Reforming the Dark Side?" Accel said with a snort. "I'll believe it when I see it."
"Mikoto-senpai said the exact same thing." Ruiko told him, chuckling at the coincidence.
Grimacing in distaste at that fact, Accel changed the topic. "Right, that's enough talk about other people. The two of us are together on a date, we should be making the best of it."
Smiling at his sweet words, Ruiko leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You're right about that. Sorry."
"If you want to apologize, instead of just saying sorry, why don't you do something for me instead?"
"Oh?" Ruiko asked, looking at her albino knight with half-lidded eyes. "What would you have me do then?"
Accel's answer was to smirk and put one hand behind Ruiko's head that he used to gently guide her into another kiss.
"Ahem!" A voice cut in just before their lips could meet, causing them to freeze.
Turning their heads without pulling apart, the couple eyed up the person who interrupted them and found to their annoyance that it was none other than Naru-chan's girlfriend, Meigo Arisa-san. Oh, she might be controlling the body of her other half, Sequenzia Shutaura-san, but it wasn't hard to tell that it was the songstress in charge at the moment. Sequenzia-san was too polite to interrupt a couple when they were about to kiss.
"Yes, Meigo-san?" Ruiko asked her best friend's girlfriend coldly. "Can we help you?"
"Just wanted to remind you that public displays of affection are unbecoming." Arisa-san said with a smug grin. "And to pay you back for ruining our last date night by getting Naru-chan to act as your twins' babysitter. Janie-chan and Febrie-chan have a nanny! They don't need a babysitter."
"They wanted to see their Naru-nee." Ruiko replied unrepentantly. "Besides, Naru-chan was the one who agreed to it when the twins called her to ask if she wanted to come over. Isn't that right, Naru-chan?"
"Uh, yeah." Her best friend said hesitantly as she eyed her girlfriend warily. Clearly they were here for their own little date and not having expected Arisa-san to suddenly create a scene like this, Naru-chan was now unsure how to proceed. "I did."
"You know full well that Naru-chan is weak to those girls. And I'm betting you exploited that fact to egg your twins on to get them to make that call so you could ruin our date night!" Arisa-san insisted.
"I will neither confirm nor deny that."
"Aha! That's as good as an admission!" Arisa-san crowed.
"Call it what you want, Meigo-san." Accel said at last. "Just go back to your date already and leave us to ours."
"We will." Shutaura-san said, having visibly reclaimed control of her body as indicated by the sudden change in its demeanor from triumphant to apologetic. "Enjoy your date, Ruiko-san, Accelerator-san."
"Yeah, have fun. See you later!" A relieved Naru-chan said with a wave before she walked up to Shutaura-san and taking hold of one of her arms began dragging them over to find seats on the other side of the restaurant.
"Argh! Why does this keep happening to us?"
"I don't think we get interrupted all that often." Ruiko mused, only to receive an unimpressed look from her boyfriend.
"Once is one time too many and I can think of more than that just off the top of my head."
"Fair enough." Ruiko allowed. "Karma?"
"I refuse to believe that the Chibi is the instrument of karma!"
Ruiko just rolled her eyes. "Oh, just drop it and get back to kissing me already!"
In a genius move that earned him plenty of brownie points, Accel happily obeyed, pulling Ruiko's face to his own and into a passionate kiss.
Omake: Kiyama Harumi, member of Academy City's Board of Directors?
Several days after her meeting with the Trinity and their friends to discuss suggestions about her plans to reform the Dark Side, Monaka found herself in a meeting with the other ten active members of Academy City's Board of Directors in a heavily guarded and carefully hidden meeting room somewhere in District 1. They had just finished discussing the preliminary plans for the reforms that she had presented after firming up the ideas she had brainstormed with Suama and the young ladies and refining them according to input from her allies on the matter on the Board. Plans that she was pleased to note had been approved despite some expected abstentions.
"Okay. With that order of business done, shall we move onto the next item on the agenda?" Unabara-dono, the chairwoman of Tokiwadai Middle School, who despite being Monaka's own age and had a teenage grandson looked like a young woman, said suddenly.
"The next order of business?" Monaka asked, curiously. "I was unaware that we had other matters to discuss today."
"We do have to replace the seats left vacant after Vento of the Front killed three of our colleagues during her rampage through the City."
"Ah! That is true." Monaka said with a nod. "Have we found a candidate then? To my understanding, with the rapid loss of so many of our fellows in recent times, both to Vento and attrition due to other reasons, finding replacements has not been easy."
"Indeed, but I believe I have identified a potential candidate." Unabara-dono said with a smile.
"And who might that be?" Yakumi Hisako-dono, a Director who yielded considerable influence over the medical industry, asked. A woman who looked like she was in her thirties despite her real age being over seventy due to special anti-aging treatments she was known to use.
Truly my fellow female Directors are so very vain. Monaka thought with a bemused shake of her head. To go to such lengths just to appear young.
"Why Kiyama Harumi of course!" Unabara-dono said with overly enthusiastic cheer. "With the success that her Eden Corporation is enjoying, Kiyama-sensei certainly possesses both the wealth and influence as required of a Director."
"I can't argue with that." Hisako-dono said with a shrug. "Kiyama is certainly more qualified in both those fields than I am."
"I too support Unabara-dono's proposal." Kaizumi Tsugutoshi-dono, the only other elderly member of the Board who, like her, looked his age, said with a nod. "Kiyama Harumi does indeed fit the criteria to be a member of this Board."
"Yes, I do believe she does." Monaka agreed. "I support her appointment as well."
"Of course you would." Neoka Norito-dono, a man who looked around thirty and was dressed in a fancy suit that did little to hide his impressive muscle tone and who was perhaps the youngest person on the Board, said. "Except for Hisako-dono, the rest of you are just trying to strengthen your position on the Board. Considering Kiyama's known stances on issues mostly align with their own, Monaka-dono and Tsugutoshi-dono just want someone that will likely be an ally on most matters. As for you, Unabara-dono," the man turned towards the Tokiwadai chairwoman before continuing. "You just believe that your authority over the Tokiwadai Middle School will allow you to influence Saten Ruiko and through her, her mother. And I suppose you all also think that since Kiyama has so many children, or more accurately in your eyes potential points of leverage, she'd be easy to manipulate."
"That's all valid observations." Valart Signal, the Director in charge of exercising influence over the construction sector, said. He was a very large man with the shape of a round barrel that sported a black beard with some gray peppered in. "However, it does not change the fact that Kiyama definitely qualifies for the position and besides such politicking is part and parcel of our position is it not?"
"I agree with Valart-dono." The Director specializing in the aerospace industry, who out of sheer paranoia refused to share either their name or appearance and was attending the meeting whilst wearing a full body stealth suit that revealed nothing of their appearance and filtered their voice into a mechanical monotone. "Kiyama Harumi has my vote."
"I would like to clarify my position. I formally vote for Kiyama Harumi's admission to this Board as well." Valart-dono said. "What about the rest of those who have not yet voted? What is your vote? Should we extend an invitation to Kiyama Harumi to join us on the Board of Directors?"
This was met with murmurs of agreement from the remaining Directors, all of whom voted in favor of Unabara-dono's proposal to invite Kiyama-sensei to the Board. In light of that, Norito-dono sighed. "Looks like I'm the odd one out. In light of that, I will not stand in the way of an otherwise unanimous decision, so I will vote yes as well but with protest."
"Your protest is noted." Unabara-dono said dismissively before turning to Monaka. "Monaka-dono, I believe you have a personal relationship with Kiyama-sensei, do you not?"
"You could say that." Monaka conceded. "As a major investor in Eden Corporation and as the Trinity's backer, I do occasionally speak with her. You want me to be the one to offer the invitation?"
"If you'd be so kind?" Unabara-dono said with a disarming smile.
Monaka was not fooled by the pretense. Having her make the invitation was a political move on Unabara-dono's part. That she was Kiyama-sensei's acquaintance made it more likely the scientist would accept the invitation which as the proposer of this course of action was surely something the Tokiwadai chairwoman wanted. Beyond that, since Monaka would be making the offer and gaining an ally on the Board should Kiyama-sensei accept, both because of their shared opinions on many things and also because she'd be the one to induct her onto it, she would owe Unabara-dono a favor for strengthening her position by setting things up. A favor that Monaka was sure would be cashed in eventually.
"Then I suppose I will prepare a formal invitation to Kiyama-sensei once this meeting is concluded and present it to her."
"Good," Unabara-dono said with a smile. "Then if there are no other matters to discuss?"
This was met with negative statements from the rest of the Directors, prompting the Tokiwadai chairwoman's smile to broaden even further.
"Then, this meeting is concluded." Unabara-dono said with a nod. "And if all goes well, we will have a new colleague in our midst by the next time we meet."
Just the day after the latest Board meeting, Kiyama Harumi found herself sitting down for tea with Oyafune Monaka-sama in an exclusive saloon in School District 6. A meeting to which Harumi had naturally brought Ruiko along for. She knew better than to deal with a Director, even an ally, without her Level 5 daughter around. And considering the bombshell that Monaka-sama had just dropped on her, that had proven to be a sound precaution.
"Are you serious, Monaka-sama?" Harumi asked, looking at the Director with shock. "I am being offered a seat on the Board of Directors?"
"Yes, I am." The elderly Director assured them.
"I am sorry to repeat the question, Monaka-sama." Ruiko said, speaking up. "But considering the weight of this invitation, just to confirm, this is an official, completely legitimate, offer for Kaasan to become a Director on the City's Board?"
"No need to apologize, Ruiko-chan. It is completely understandable." Monaka-sama said with an amused grin. "And yes, I am totally serious."
"I see." Harumi said with a frown before she turned to her daughter with a questioning look. "Ruiko, what would becoming a Board Director mean?"
"Well, it would substantially strengthen our position in the City." Ruiko said as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "The official authority it will grant us will give us significant advantages in a whole host of different ways."
"So we should accept?"
"I would recommend that you should." Ruiko advised. "But the decision is yours to make. The responsibilities will be yours to bear after all."
"Well, I could have you sub for me at meetings." Harumi joked as she poked her daughter's cheek teasingly, earning her an adorable pout and glare from the Level 5.
"As amusing as that might be, it's impossible." Monaka-sama said with a giggle. "Ruiko-chan can be there to support you during the proceedings as your Brain but she cannot take over your responsibilities for you. The offer was made to you, not Ruiko-chan."
Harumi frowned at this. She understood that accepting the offer would greatly improve her family's position in the City. It would make them part of its highest echelons of decision-making if they accepted and no longer just subject to its whims. And the added danger of having a target painted on their back wasn't any more substantial than what they'd had to endure thanks to Ruiko and, more recently, the Trinity's history and actions. But…
My free time… All of it will be gone if I accept this. Kiyama lamented.
Despite that though, for the good of her family there was only one answer she could give.
With a sigh, she gave the only answer that she ever could have to the offer. "I accept."
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
Ah, the great tea party of many overpowered girls! Truly something to be feared. It was nice to do little side stories away from the main focus once in a while as Nameless said to me. And I have to agree. The Scavenger team thread tied up was good, Touma getting a hero moment without every other character we use as our mains was nice. And no one to get annoyed at him was a treat too.
Nameless: I know we skipped over the finale of the Wataru and Mii sets of scenes. Honestly, I think having the finales for both 'side stories' (Yes, they were 'side stories'. The most important part of the story takes place in the tea party.) take place 'off screen' is fitting. The endings we wrote were just too fitting to stretch it out any further. Hope our readers agree with our decision.
And now we have Mama-Kiyama as a Director on the Board. Finally we got a second good person on it. Maybe a bit more of an honest one that actually cares about the wellbeing of the kids in AC. And praise Omakes for their canon power! Woot!
Nameless: Okay, just want to re-emphasize that all our omakes are canon to TOT unless we say so or it's obviously so. The only one which comes to mind as being non-canon is the "Omake: Canon's Thoughts" way back in Chapter 18. So yeah, going forward Kiyama Harumi will be a member of the Academy City Board of Directors. Not sure what kind of impact that'll have yet. (Or do we?) But there should be some. Let's see how it goes, no?
You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!