Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter Five: Spider in a Bottle
Beta:
"You really are a Meathead."
Namikaze's words were as sharp as ever and left Mikoto wincing in her hospital bed. Neither she nor Kuroko had been too badly hurt, but the doctors had wanted to be sure they alright and so insisted that they stay overnight for observation. The Chibi had come to visit them and was currently sitting in a nearby chair, critiquing what they'd done.
Depressed, the [Railgun] didn't reply to the Number 2's disparaging assessment.
She didn't want to put much stock into what Saten had said during their fight. That such a gap existed within the Level 5s, but this fight had proved it.
She balled her fist in frustration.
"It was a difficult situation!" Kuroko objected, but it did little for Mikoto's bruised pride.
"I told you it was a mind game, Uiharu-chan seemed to be the only one to get that."
"Well maybe if you were less cryptic…"
"I was clear as day. In your little scuffle, what chance did you think you had considering what resolve Saten-chan had? Considering what her main objective was, she clearly was not going to back down."
Scuffle? Saten had told them that if they even wanted a chance at winning, they would have needed Namikaze. Since they hadn't then to her the whole thing was probably more like a distraction at best.
It was a bitter pill to swallow to learn that in spite of how hard she worked to reach Level 5, Mikoto was still so far behind her own kohai.
Namikaze stood up, giving them both a parting glance. "Feel better, text me when you're out. Also, try not to bother the Senseis with your lovey dovey time!"
She blinked away in a teleport, leaving a red faced and sputtering Mikoto in her wake.
"W-What?!"
Kuroko giggled perversely.
"Don't even try it!" Mikoto warned as she released a handful of sparks for emphasis.
"I can't believe I'm even suggesting this," Kuroko said with a exasperated sigh when they were discharged later that day. "But Onee-sama, if you're really spoiling for a fight then how about beating on some Skill-Out lowlifes? That usually cheers you up."
"You're suggesting that like you have a specific group in mind." Mikoto observed as they walked back to their dorm together.
"Nothing of the sort." Kuroko said evasively. "All I'm saying is that if you must let off some steam, then I wouldn't mind if you directed that frustration at that Big Spider gang."
"They've been causing Judgement trouble?"
Kuroko nodded. "They've been quite the nuisance lately, at least that's what I can tell from the latest reports. There have been no less than a dozen reports of them ganging up on Espers and mugging them recently."
Mikoto balled her fists as sparks arced from her forehead. "They're just jumping random Espers?"
"Pretty much."
"Then I think I'll be paying them a visit." The [Railgun] confidently declared. "I'm not about to sit back and do nothing when a bunch of thugs goes around causing trouble for innocent people."
Kuroko just smiled at Mikoto's restored mood.
Naru hummed as she strolled over to the entrance of the Academy City headquarters of the Vishkar Apparel Company, whose swimsuit division her roommate Awatsuki had roped her in to help model for. Awaiting her in the entrance lobby was Awatsuki, along with a small group of others - which interestingly enough included her friends - that her roommate invited.
"Yo!" Naru greeted with a wave as she jogged over to the group.
"What's the Chibi doing here?" Misaka-sempai asked, as Naru walked up to the group.
"The same reason Kongou-san is." Awatsuki replied easily with a smile. "We invited them along too."
"Yup yup." Naru confirmed. "So don't worry your pretty little head, Sempai. There isn't any nefarious reason behind me being here."
"I didn't say there was!" The Electromaster said defensively, even crossing her arms as she did so. "I was just curious."
"So you say~" Naru singsonged teasingly.
"Namikaze-san." Awatsuki said in a soft chiding voice. "Aren't you going to greet everyone else?"
"Ah, Wannai-chan, nice to see you again." Wannai Kinuho, a girl with short wavy brown hair, ocean blue eyes and a relatively large bust nodded back in greeting. She was Awatsuki's best friend and fellow swim team member. Thus she was someone who Naru had met quite a few times.
"You too, Kongou-chan."
Kongou Mitsuko was the heiress to the very successful Kongou Airlines and a recent transfer to Tokiwadai. She was a close friend of both Awatsuki and Wannai, so her presence here was not unexpected.
She had the appearance of a traditional yamato nadeshiko with long, well kept black hair, two fringes that flanked her forehead and an attractive, well endowed figure. She was as usual carrying her antique folding fan.
Naru would sometimes see the girls in her room when Awatsuki would invite them over. They were nice, even if Kongou was an over the top ojou-sama. It was great fun to tease her though.
"Salutations, Namikaze-san." Kongou replied in the overly formal way she often used.
"Hi Konori-sempai. Hi everyone else." Naru said in greeting to the rest of the girls.
"Everyone else? Is that what we've been reduced to?" Shirai muttered under her breath. Uiharu just looked at her Judgement partner with exasperation while Saten just shook her head while sporting an amused little smile.
Damn. Saten really is thawing quite a bit, isn't she?
Looks like. Naru's pet demon replied unnecessarily to her rhetorical question before snoring loudly and going back to sleep.
Nobody asked you, you somnophilic busybody.
"Oh my, coming in such a large group." Kongou noted with amusement. "I hadn't expected there would be so many of us."
"Yeah, well we didn't expect you to show up dressed like that. What are you doing here in that getup, anyway?" Shirai asked her fellow Level 4, who was dressed in a very fetching yellow kimono, with a raised eyebrow. "Have you perhaps forgotten the school policy that you must wear your uniform even on days off?"
"Hm hm hm, I'm not a Tokiwadai student today." Kongou said as she snapped her fan open, "I came as a model."
Awatsuki and Wannai both exchanged an exasperated look at that.
"So did I, but I didn't change out of my uniform." Naru teased the girl, mischief in her eyes.
"Which is a shame since you have such wonderful apparel in your room. A crime one could say!"
"Right!" Wannai said in a slightly raised voice as she took control of the situation. "So now that the greetings are out of the way-"
Awatsuki continued from there.
"Let me just say that on behalf of the Swimming Club we would both like to thank you Misaka-sama for helping us out with this." At this both Awatsuki and Wannai offered the Number 5 a bow. "Not only did you volunteer, you even got your friends to help."
"It was nothing." Misaka-sempai said while rubbing the back of her neck.
"That's not true." Awatsuki insisted. "I mean you even got Konori-san to help us fill the high schooler spot the company wanted, even when we couldn't find any alumni to help out."
"Well, I'm just glad I could be of help."
"Likewise." Konori-sempai said with a smile to the two swimmers.
"Since everyone is here, I'll go call the Vishkar rep." Wannai said as she ran off to do just that.
As everyone just milled around waiting for Wannai to get back, Awatsuki came over to Naru and flashed her a smile. "You've really started to change."
Naru squinted her eyes in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"You know, when I first found out I was rooming with you, I got really nervous." Awatsuki laughed, before smiling in that sweet way she often did. "I mean, here I am, hanging out with a Level 5! I didn't know what you were like, but you were friendly and cheerful right from the get-go. Even if it felt a bit forced. You never talked much about yourself and never truly bothered to hang out with people that weren't in your Faction."
"What about Misaki-sempai?" Naru argued.
"[The Queen] doesn't count. Not for this. I meant people you spent time with just to have fun. Not someone you talked to because of school politics. Your friendship with Misaki-sama always seemed more like a business relationship to be honest."
The Level 3 looked towards Misaka and the rest. "I think spending time with them? Inch by inch, you're coming out of your shell." She flashed her another bright smile. "And I think that's wonderful."
Naru felt stumped, she looked back to the others, confusion settling in her heart over the matter.
The fact that Saten - the damn eavesdropper - shot her a thumbs up in seeming agreement to what Awatsuki said, didn't help her bewilderment in the slightest.
The blonde was still thinking about what Awatsuki had said when Wannai returned a couple minutes later with the company rep who proceeded to escort them to the changing room.
Was what she said, right?
Sage knows. A confused sounding Kurama chimed in. What did she say anyway? And who is this "she"?
Oh shut up and go back to sleep.
They walked into the changing room and saw rows upon rows of swimsuits of high quality and taste.
"Now then, please choose any swimsuit you like." The woman who was the Vishkar rep said to them while gesturing to the racks of swimwear.
"Okay!" Everyone cheered.
Everyone broke into little groups as they looked around for a suit that caught their fancy.
It didn't take long for Mikoto to find a really cute suit that she liked.
It was a light pink frilly two piece with random colored polka dots all over.
Her admiration of the garment hadn't gone unnoticed though as Uiharu and Saten strolled over to have a look at what had got her attention.
"That's cute, isn't it?" Saten said, in an encouraging voice. Idly Mikoto noted that she pulled it off quite well, even if it still sounded a little mechanical.
"It is! The frills look great!" Uiharu chimed in.
Mikoto looked between them and blushed, "Ah, that's not it…" She mumbled, "I didn't want to wear this."
Saten smirked slyly. "I want to see Misaka-sempai in this swimsuit!"
"Me too, please try it on." Uiharu added.
"Eh!" Mikoto blushed further, "But it's really a bit…" she tried to argue.
"It'll definitely be cute!" Uiharu urged.
"R-Really?" Mikoto asked with a happy look, only to receive a pair of heartfelt nods. "Well if you insist…"
Just as Mikoto was about to head to the changing rooms with the suit, Konori-sempai walked by and glanced over.
"Misaka-san, you're a fan of some pretty childish designs, huh?" She asked curiously.
Saten turned to shoot Konori-sempai a cross look, before replying frostily. "So she does. Is that a problem?"
Konori-sempai was taken aback by the response and was about to say something when Misaka cut in.
"Th-That's not true!" She said as she placed the childish suit back and grabbed a one piece and held it up proudly, "I'm going with this one! Time to change!"
As Mikoto rushed into the safety of a stall, she heard both Uiharu and Saten sigh.
"What?" A concerned and surprised sounding Konori-sempai asked, "Did I do something?"
It took about ten minutes but even as Maaya stepped out of her stall, she found herself one of the first few to have finished changing. Besides herself, only Saten-sama, Kinuho-chan and Uiharu-san were ready.
Maaya herself and Uiharu-san had both picked one pieces. The bluenette's was a blue and black affair, while the Judgement agent had chosen something in yellow that had a skirt and red flower patterns.
Kinuho-chan and Saten-sama in contrast had chosen two pieces. Kinuho-chan had gone for a standard set in green that was accented by orange straps. Saten-sama had chosen a white set which she had accessorised with a matching blue sarong.
Uiharu-san wiggled around a bit with her hands together. A blush spread across her face. "It's a bit embarrassing…"
Saten-sama just placed her hands on her best friend's shoulders, in the process stopping her fidgeting. "Uiharu, relax. We're all girls here, there's nothing to be shy about."
Deciding it was only right to back up her schoolmate, Maaya tilted her head and smiled. "It suits you."
Uiharu-san brightened, happiness ringing clear in her voice as she replied, "Really?"
Kinuho-chan answered her with a warm smile. "With bikinis, the focal points are split between the top and bottom, but with a one piece your curves show, so they only suit slim people."
"Oh, as expected of a swim team member, you sure know your stuff." Misaka-sama commented in slight awe as she walked up in a dark blue athletic one piece with yellow trimmings.
"Do you have any other advice for choosing swimsuits?" Saten-sama asked in interest. "I still have to get a new one."
"You still haven't gotten one?" Misaka-sama asked, sounding exasperated. "It's been days since you said you needed it."
"I've been busy." Saten-sama shot back defensively.
"Oh." Misaka-sama said as if that explained everything. "I'm sorry."
What are they talking about, I wonder. Maaya mused, her curiosity peaked. Level Upper? Better not ask, just in case. I don't want to bring up something unpleasant.
"Let's see…" Kinuho-chan said quickly in a transparent bid to redirect the conversation, looking at Saten-sama as she did. "For example, sarongs are stylish, and they are also useful for hiding your lower body."
Everyone eyed Saten-sama as if she was hiding something under her sarong.
"I'm not trying to hide anything!"
"Hey so how about mine? Does it suit me?" Namikaze-san asked as she joined the girls in a rust orange colored one piece with black trim. Unlike the others' choices though, her one piece featured a cut out over her navel. Her natural sun-kissed skin and western blood made her look like a regular at a Mediterranean beach.
"Stylish. Very stylish." Maaya complemented. "As expected of a model."
Any further conversation was stifled by the opening of Shirai-san's curtain and the teleporter walking out in a swimsuit that left everyone speechless.
"Sorry for the wait!" Shirai-san announced. No one replied though, they were still too shocked by what she had chosen.
It was a purple string bikini that was so short that it seemed to have been designed to only cover the absolute minimum needed to preserve her modesty.
"I was a bit disappointed they only had reserved designs." She said as she played with the stringy thing and walked up to them, "But I guess this is all you can expect from ready-made clothes." The twintail haired girl stated as she looked herself over, but turned to see everyone staring at her.
"How do I put it…" Saten-sama muttered shooting Uiharu-san an uncertain look, clearly asking for some help from her best friend.
Said best friend however could only sigh in resignation and comment that it was, "As expected of Shirai-san…"
"Individuality is important!" Kinuho-chan tried to say encouragingly as she clapped her hands.
"Yeah…" Maaya managed to weakly add.
"Trying to seduce Misaka-sempai huh?" Namikaze-san teasingly observed.
Shirai-san didn't even bother acknowledging them, instead going right ahead to proving the blonde Level 5 correct. She started to wiggle her body provocatively with one hand behind her head and the other on her hip, "This probably doesn't fulfill your desires, but please bear with it Onee-sama."
Misaka-sama sweat-dropped and waved her off. "No, I've had more than enough thank you."
"Oh my, is that all you've got everyone?" The voice of Kongou-san asked as everyone turned to face her only to tense up in shock and edge away from her. Well, almost everyone at least. Uiharu-san and Namikaze-san just got excited instead.
She was wearing a very exotic red one piece, but that wasn't what had everyone startled. That honor went to the large snake wrapped around her with a red bow on its head.
"Take a look." Kongou-san said, oblivious to the response her pet was getting.
"Sexy and exotic!" She purred, "This is the extreme swimsuit model the audience is seeking!"
"A snake!" Almost everyone screamed, while Namikaze-san and Uiharu-san went forward to pet the reptile affectionately.
"She's called Ekaterina-chan."
"Ah, Ekaterina-san!" Uiharu-san said as she gave it another pet.
"Nice name." Namikaze-san complimented. "And a nice pick for the suit."
"Uiharu get back from that thing, it's dangerous." Saten-sama warned while clutching a blade of silvery gray metal that she'd conjured from thin air.
"Oh calm down, [Multi-Skill]." Namikaze-san chided as the python tickled her cheek with its tongue. "Ekaterina is perfectly tame."
"Still-"
Any potential violence was averted when the last member of their group made her appearance. Konori Mii was dressed in a white bikini with black polka-dots and frills. An outfit that showed off her figure.
And what an impressive figure it was.
In the face of her truly amazing bust all the girls couldn't help but do a quick comparison with their own and give defeated sighs.
The high schooler shot them all a confused look, but they waved it away as nothing. No one was willing to admit to their feeling of inadequacy when stacked up against a true bishoujo.
"Is everyone ready?" The company rep asked as she came in, just as the tension in the room was starting to rise.
At everyone's nod, she smiled and continued. "Then follow me."
Everyone entered a large white room with a cubic pattern on the walls and ceiling.
"There's nothing here…" Misaka-sempai pointed out.
"Are we taking the pictures here?" Uiharu asked the female representative, a hint of confusion in her voice.
The woman just smiled and held out a remote. After a few clicks, the room changed into a tropical beach.
Nearly everyone had a look of awe on their faces, well everyone but Naru and Saten. Though even they sported impressed looks.
The woman clicked the remote once more and the area changed to the Vegas strip. "This studio can recreate all sorts of scenarios." She said as it changed to a mountain setting, a classroom, and finally back to the beach.
"Wow." Naru said in surprise. "I didn't think an apparel company would have one of these."
"The Vishkar Corporation isn't just limited to our Apparel subsidiary," The company woman explained. "This particular 'holodeck' as some of my colleagues call it, is used by multiple divisions of the company."
The blonde cocked a brow. "And your division managed to book a slot on this state of the art, even by Academy City standards, facility?"
"You've seen this before, Namikaze-san?" Uiharu asked with a inquisitive tilt of her head.
Naru gave a positive nod and assumed a lecturing pose. Her left hand holding her right elbow and her right hand pointed in the air.
"Yep! I practice my powers in rooms like this all the time. They are great in creating simulated environments to train in. Thanks to its use of hard light constructs and advanced climate control it can duplicate practically any place you can think of."
"I didn't think something like this was even possible." Konori-sempai observed. "Not even for Academy City."
"Yeah," Misaka-sempai agreed. "I'd thought something like this was something that I'd only see in Sci-Fi."
"Welcome to Academy City, where Sci-Fi is reality."
"Ha-Ha." Her sempai gave a mock laugh at the blonde's cheeky reply.
"Joking aside, I do think it's kinda extravagant to use this just for a photo shoot." Naru pointed out.
The company rep looked ready to respond, but Saten beat her to it.
"As the lady said, other divisions use it too. Besides, I'd bet that they loan it out for training and experiments too."
"I would assume that film studios line up for the chance to shoot here too." Uiharu guessed.
The Vishkar rep just smiled. "You are correct on both counts. We maximize the use of the holodeck as much as possible."
"Makes sense I guess." Naru shrugged as she looked around. "So where's the camera guy? Or are we doing this automatically?"
"Ah, I hadn't thought about that." Wannai said as the issue of the cameraman dawned on her.
Konori rubbed her arm. "I kind of knew, but it's still a bit…"
Kongou smirked haughtily as she snapped her fan open. "How amateurish! Models only shine when they're on display."
"It's all done entirely automatically." The woman reassured. "There's little chance you'll even see the camera, so please act naturally."
"Eh?"
"What she means is that there are concealed cameras scattered all over the room." Saten explained even as she pointed out random spots throughout the projected beachscape.
The woman shook her head in amusement. "Indeed. Though I had not expected any of you to have been able to identify the cameras. I should have."
"If it's any consolation." Misaka-sempai chimed in. "We probably all could with a little effort, we just didn't bother. Saten is just paranoid."
"Totally." Naru said in total agreement.
Saten gave a disgruntled sigh, which earned her a consoling pat on the shoulder from Uiharu, but didn't dispute the accusation.
"Well," the amused older woman said as she watched the scene. "Does anyone have any more questions?"
The group just shook their heads in the negative.
"If that's the case, then I'll take my leave. Enjoy yourselves, girls."
With those parting words the lady left the girls to their own devices.
Taking the woman's departure as her cue, Naru used her wind powers to undo the ribbons holding her pigtails, thereby allowing her golden tresses to fall and sway in the artificial breeze.
"Let's have some fun people!" She declared while pumping her fist in the air, earning a cheer from everyone.
A little over two hours later, the Vishkar company rep returned alongside a office lady who was pushing in a trolley.
"Hello girls, enjoying yourselves so far?" The woman greeted with a smile.
She was met with a chorus of mostly positive replies. Misaka-sempai being the only exception. She was still grouchy over being soaked by Naru with a super soaker that they the blonde had discovered had been left in the room, likely as a prop for the shoot.
"Well, it's time for lunch." At this she gestured to her colleague who proceeded to lift a lid that had been obscuring what had been on the trolley, which quickly revealed itself to be a wide assortment of fresh ingredients.
At the same time, the environment of the holodeck transformed into that of a campsite, one which included a shed that housed an outdoor kitchen.
"These are some leftovers from a cooking show that booked the holodeck yesterday." The woman said sounding a little embarrassed. "We thought you might prefer to cook something yourself as part of the experience rather than provide you with some packed lunches."
Or your bosses just thought this was an easy way to save some money. Naru deduced dryly.
"The kitchen is another hard light construction," the uneasy woman continued, clearly unhappy with the set-up. "So there's no running water or gas, but we've provided you with camping stoves and some bottled water. So go ahead and use those."
Without waiting for a reply, the woman and her colleague beat a hasty retreat.
The girls exchanged shocked looks at this. All of them clearly surprised that a company which could afford a holodeck would skimp out on providing them with a proper lunch.
"She says go ahead, but what should we do?" Saten asked after a long moment of stunned silence, picking up one of the mess tins that they had been provided as she did so.
Cupping her chin and supporting her elbow with her other hand, Konori-sempai examined the ingredients provided to them. "With just these ingredients and in this situation…It's gotta be curry!"
"Curry?" Naru frowned at the mention of the dish that was so wildly popular with the Japanese. "Can't we try something else?"
"Have something against curry, Chibi?" Misaka-sempai pressed with amusement.
"No! I'm just saying we have a whole slew of ingredients. And Saten-chan can probably get us some amazing recipes for something else."
"Don't feel like it." Saten replied as she looked over the ingredients. "I'm all for curry."
Kongou huffed and waved her hand. "I agree with Namikaze-san. Why curry? It's a commoners' meal."
Saten actually looked offended. "Because it's delicious."
"Don't you like curry?" Uiharu asked the fan wielding girl.
"She just doesn't know how to make it, right?" Shirai suggested slyly.
Kongou flushed brightly. "Of course I can! I'll have you know the Kongou family has an ultimate secret curry! It will blow your pallet away!"
Heh, sounds like hot air to me. Naru smiled in amusement. She'd be surprised if Kongou even knew how to use a rice cooker, much less know how to cook anything.
"Eh? Sounds exciting. I'd love to try it." Misaka-sempai said, making Kongou's face stiffen nervously.
Called it.
"How about we just focus on making our own dishes so we have some variety?" Naru suggested to save Kongou some face.
"T-That sounds fair." Kongou agreed as she snapped her fan closed in front of her face.
"If that's the case, let's split up the rice and curry preparation." Konori-sempai said, taking charge of the situation.
With that the group split up. Kongou, Awatsuki-chan and Wannai-chan went off to make Kongou's supposed secret family recipe, only to return not long afterwards empty handed.
Uiharu and Saten took charge of preparing the rice. They quickly discovered that the camp stoves they'd been provided didn't work.
As if Vishkar wasn't cheapskate enough already.
However, Saten had just shrugged and simply used an amped up version of Uiharu's Thermal Hand ability to do the cooking. The Level 1 helping out by using her own power to help regulate the temperature as need be as well.
Naru herself had tried to go for the position of taste tester, that was until her mean [Railgun]-sempai forced her to prep all the ingredients. It was easy, but she still found it annoying. She was here to relax, not work!
At least she showed Misaka-sempai and Shirai-san up by conjuring a whole set of chakra blades and proceeding to finish all the cutting in a blur of frenzied movement. Leaving them nothing to do by stare at her in awe.
Yeah right. Her furry tenant snorted, but Naru just ignored him.
Throughout all this, Konori-sempai was working on her curry dutifully.
In the end, after a little over half an hour of hard work, the group of girls were able to enjoy a wonderful meal together.
I guess it wasn't so bad in the end. Cooking together with everyone was actually fun.
Lunch marked the end to the modeling job and after cleaning up and changing back into their own clothes, the group went their separate ways.
Awatsuki-chan was heading back to their dorm and had asked if Naru wanted to go home together, but the Level 5 had declined.
She had one last appointment for the day to keep.
"Honestly Naru-chan! How could you do this to me? The Tokiwadai Trinity? I'm hurt! Offended! I nearly cried myself to sleep!" A girl whined as she sat across from Naru at a fancy wrought iron table. The table was set up for a tea party, with sugary treats of the highest caliber laid out on various serving trays and the wonderful aroma of tea leaves in the air.
"Sorry Misaki-sempai, it just happened. Can't change it now." Naru shrugged as she took a moment to sip her tea.
"Hmph! A pitiful excuse. I think our relationship ability is going down." Said the Number Seven Level 5, Shokuhou Misaki, otherwise known as [Mental Out], the most powerful telepath in Academy City.
Her sempai was without question an elegant beauty. Sporting long straight golden hair much like Naru's own. Her distinctive eyes were of the same color with irises that were oddly shaped like a star. One would say it was her second most eye catching quality, next to her bountiful bosom that is. Being a Tokiwadai student herself, she was clad in the school's uniform as all its students were expected to most of the time. She had however added her own touch to the outfit in the form of lacy white gloves and stockings and a shoulder bag adorned with a clasp in the shape of a star.
"Now don't say that, you'll hurt my feelings." Naru said with a trembling bottom lip.
Misaki-sempai pointed her remote control at her fellow blonde. "Then know my pain!"
"You do remember that your powers don't work on me, right?" The blue eyed blonde said as she rolled her eyes.
The older girl just pouted.
"You know," Naru continued, unaffected by her companion's display. "If you're going to whine so much, maybe you should try to get out more and go spend time with the other Level 5s."
Her sempai scoffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "As if I want to waste my social power by being around that boring [Mult-Skill] or the brutish [Railgun]. I do have standards."
"Glad to know where I place."
"Still," Misaki-sempai pursed her lips as she put her remote down and stirred her tea thoughtfully. "I don't know why you and that Meathead are such good friends with [The Robot]. The two of you are even going as far as to stand up for her after the Level Upper incident."
At the older girl's sour face, Naru understood. There were those in the Queen Faction that had used Level Upper. The socialite felt offended and annoyed at both Saten and her own followers. The former for setting up the network in the first place and the latter for being big enough idiots to use it.
"You're still cross with her because some of your followers got caught up in the Incident too, aren't you?"
"I'm getting over it." [Mental Out] waved off as she took a bite of a cookie. "I'm also upset that that girl has yet another ridiculous application of her already overpowered power!"
"Says the girl whose power has so many applications she needs to set limits on herself to use it properly at all." Naru countered easily. The Number 7's powers were so versatile that she did not have stable control of it and had to create 'boundaries' for herself. 'Boundaries' that she had established by using remotes as foci of sorts for her ability. Without them she was as helpless as your average Level 0.
"My brain ability is nothing to sneeze at, but I still find her abilities ridiculous." Her sempai said with a pout as she finished her cookie.
"Just don't force the issue. I'm not going to pick sides if you two get into a scuffle." The Number 2 told the girl as she took a bite out of a cupcake.
"You'd abandon me?! Another hurtful slight!"
"Saten-chan's too annoying to fight."
The older blonde hummed as she stroked her chin. "You bring up a fair point. Very well, I'll let it go."
Naru smirked.
"Don't look smug, I have something else to discuss with you." She said while holding up her teacup, one of the dozen of her followers who had been dutifully standing by while the two Level 5s talked, came over and grabbed the china tea pot and refilled her cup.
"About?"
"A group of neanderthals. Skill-Outs who call themselves 'Big Spider'."
Naru glanced at her sempai. A web maker talking about spiders, funny.
The Number 7 pouted at her, starry eyes narrowed. "You're thinking something unpleasant again, aren't you?"
"Read my mind?"
Misaki-sempai huffed and leaned back in her seat. "You know I can't read your mind. Your expression told me all I needed to know."
"How careless of me."
"Indeed. Now back on topic, these Skill-Outs are targeting Espers. Normally, they wouldn't be such a problem to those with powers, but that's the snag. They have some kind of sound based device that disrupts Esper powers."
Naru's eyes narrowed for a second, something her Sempai had said having caught her attention.
Taking note of Naru's expression, [Mental Out] shot her a curious look. "Have an idea of what it is?"
"I might have a clue about what system they're using. I have to check though."
"Keep me informed."
"You're worried?"
Misaki-sempai let out a giggle. "Please, like this would worry me. I'm just curious."
"Alright," Naru stood up after finishing her tea. "I better get on top of this. Thanks for the snacks, Sempai."
[Mental Out] waved her away, all the while eying her suspiciously.
She's definitely caught on that I know more about this than I'm telling her. Naru noted.
She just hoped her Sempai's curiosity didn't lead her to interfere in some way.
Now that would be a pain to have to deal with.
Mugino Shizuri, the Number Six Level 5, [Meltdowner] and leader of the Dark Side team ITEM was a tall and slender but well endowed young woman with soft tea-colored hair. This combined with her knack for stylish clothing, made her look like a model.
Due to her trendy appearance, she was quite out of place where she was now. For she was currently waiting in a dark alley in a forgotten part of the City alongside her team for a meeting with an information broker. Normally, this would be a task reserved for their handlers or some other flunkie, but this broker was in possession of some vital intelligence that ITEM needed for an upcoming job and had demanded that she meet the team, all four of them, in person before she was willing to hand it over.
"This is super boring!" Kinuhata Saiai complained. She was a young girl of twelve with short brown hair in a bobcut. More importantly in Mugino's opinion was the fact that she served as the team's tank, a role she was well suited for thanks to her Level 4 ability, Offense Armor. It allowed Saiai to control the nitrogen in the air and use it to create a thin barrier around her that protected her from all but the most powerful of direct attacks.
"When is the stupid broker going to show up, anyways?"
"Well, we are a little early." A girl with blonde hair and blue eyes replied. She was dressed in a black sailor top, a pleated skirt, a pair of pumps, dark-colored pantyhose and a dark-colored beret. This was Frenda Seivelun, the team's weapons specialist. While an esper in her own right, the European girl preferred the use of various weapons to her own powers and had quite the expertise in them.
"Frenda is right," Takitsubo Rikou, ITEM's final member and tracker chimed in tiredly, as she so often was. She had black hair that was cut evenly at shoulder length and was wearing that pink track suit of hers, the one that Mugino swore she never took off.
"You should calm do-"
Rikou, the normally expressionless girl, suddenly froze mid-sentence and broke out into a nervous sweat, her eyes wide as saucers. "Oh no. We have a problem."
"What is it?" Shizuri demanded. "Is it an ambus-"
"For a covert group, you're very loud." A voice in the darkness stated.
All of ITEM tensed, except for Rikou, who started to take steps back, looking like a frightened animal looking for cover.
"Hello, [AIM Stalker]." The still unseen voice greeted. "I take it you sensed my AIM field?"
"It's the biggest in the city, kinda hard to miss." Rikou admitted timidly.
Mugino felt ice flood her veins at hearing that. She knew who Rikou was talking about now, and it was most definitely not someone she wanted to meet while on the Dark Side. Even if she herself was a Level 5, facing the [Army Slayer] with just her team was suicidal.
Her team paled, all quickly realizing just who they were dealing with.
Stepping out of the shadows into the dim light available in the alley, Saten Ruiko eyed ITEM with thinly veiled amusement.
"So easily spooked." [Multi-Skill] said with a shake of her head. "And you call yourselves Dark Siders?"
Unable to allow an insult to her pride like that go, Mugino pushed aside her fear.
"What are you doing here, [AIM Sovereign]?"
"To pass on the intel that your bosses are paying me for." The Tokiwadai student responded unfazed by Mugino's hostility.
"You're the info broker?" Mugino asked incredulously.
Saten just nodded.
[Melterdowner] did a quick review of everything she knew about the Number 3 and quickly realised there was only one reason why the girl had returned to the Dark Side. As the realization set in, she began to laugh.
Clearly figuring out what had set her off, Saten sent her a withering glare. Something which had her teammates all backing away and eying the both of them warily.
"You're doing this to get your mother out of prison, aren't you?" Mugino asked with a demented grin on her face after she'd finally calmed down.
"I won't deny it." The younger Level 5 freely admitted.
Tch. At least get defensive about it.
Mugino was about to keep trying to get a rise out of the Number 3 but was interrupted by Frenda.
"Is [Manforce] here too? I mean, you're partners now right?" The blonde asked as she looked around nervously.
"I don't sense her." Rikou informed them from her cover behind a dumpster.
[Multi-Skill] shook her head. "We are not partners. We are friends."
Frenda paled and started to shake in fright.
"Friends?!" Shizuri looked outright flat footed at the notion. "That lunatic? She doesn't have friends. She has toys that she plays with for her amusement. I didn't think someone like you of all people would mix up those concepts."
"I disagree, but I'm not going to bother trying to convince you." Number 3 said with a frown. "Now are we doing this deal or not? I have places I'd rather be."
Shizuri nodded and gestured to Saiai to hand over the briefcase full of money, Saten's payment, to the Tokiwadai student.
Accepting the briefcase and without even bothering to open it to check that the money was all there, the higher ranked Level 5 nodded and passed a data drive over to Saiai.
"Everything appears in order." The Number 3 said as Saiai backed away from her as quickly as she could. "Before I go, let me just give you a little extra bit of intel. My good deed for the day as it were."
Number 3 doing a good deed? I'll see it before I believe it. Shizuri thought to herself as she snorted dismissively at the mere suggestion.
Saten didn't pay the skepticism that ITEM's leader displayed any mind though and just continued speaking. "Be careful of 'Big Spider', they have something troublesome even for Level 5s."
What the hell is Big Spider?
Having apparently said her piece, Saten Ruiko teleported away. As she disappeared, Frenda fell to her knees with relief.
"Mugino! Don't taunt that monster! I'm too young to die!"
"Shut up!" [Meltdowner] snapped, trying to rally her nerve to not follow the blonde's example. She might have managed to push aside her fear earlier to heckle the other Level 5 as a show of strength, but now that she was gone reality was sinking in again. She had been one wrong insult away from being reduced to a bloody stain on the ground.
Saiai raised her hand. "Can we super get out of here now?"
Shizuri gave a stiff nod and ITEM fled from the scene.
"You're yanking my pigtails." Naru said dryly through the facecam on her phone. On the other end was the Superintendent himself. "The Anglican Church? I thought the Magic and Science sides were still nipping at each others' butts?"
It was late at night and Naru was currently perched atop the roof of her dorm. She decided it was the best place for this private conversation.
"For the most part, that is true." Aleister Crowley agreed. "However, a series of events have taken place recently that has led to this alliance."
"What events?"
The upside down man -He adamantly refused to rotate his image to make himself look normal even on a video call- began to explain about how the Anglican Church's Index Librorum Prohibitorum had got herself and the Church tangled up with [Imagine Breaker].
"So [Imagine Breaker] got mind wiped? As if he wasn't a heartbreaker already. Sempai's going to cry." Naru snickered.
"Perhaps." Aleister said with a smirk. "Though more importantly this has resulted in the Index coming under the protection of [Imagine Breaker]. Since this means she will be residing in the City, the Anglicans reached out to us to form an alliance to ensure that she's kept safe."
Naru nodded. She could see why Aleister had accepted. Having a major magical power like the Anglican Church on their side would strengthen them greatly, especially against other magic side groups. Which was probably one of the reasons why Aleister had allowed everything to happen as they did.
After all, nothing in the CIty happened unless Aleister wanted it to happen, especially not something as high profile as this. There was no way that walking magical library and those two other agents of the Anglican Church could have gotten into to the City otherwise.
"Why leave her with Kamijou though? I'm sure we have more secure facilities." The blonde pointed out, only to see Aleister smile. "Unless you want him to get involved in some crazy magic stuff that is...You're preparing him for something."
At her keen observation, her sponsor nodded. "Exactly."
With how vital [Imagine Breaker] was to Aleister's plans? This sudden development? It could only mean that major changes were coming.
Most importantly, these changes were to push forward whatever big plans the Superintendent had.
Naru would admit, she was not privy to most of the details to whatever the wicked genius that was known as Aleister Crowley had in mind, but the blonde knew more than most. So it wasn't exactly difficult to read the signs. She was observant like that. The man had trained her to be.
It was why she could see how all these little events were linking together to form a bigger picture. Just what that picture was still alluded her though, she'd need more information before she could pin that down.
"So what do you want me to do? Play nice nice and all that? I don't have to keep an eye on them do I? Tsuchimikado better not call for backup because his workload is increasing." Naru released a yawn and started to rub her eye.
"No, only if something extreme happens would you have to get involved. I just wanted to inform you so you don't attack our new allies if you see them in the City."
"Can I annoy the hell out of them?"
"So long as that doesn't lead to too much property damage. I do not want to hear more complaints in regards to that tied to you. There are enough of those as is." The magician said with a smirk.
"I'm not that bad!" Naru puffed up her cheeks in anger. "Anyway, have I told you that you are just the best boss ever? I can't wait to see how these Magicians tick."
"I'm sure you will find someway to get your jollies from them no matter how they are." He replied with amusement, before growing serious. "I will send you their files in the morning."
"Thanks, I'll look through them." Naru said with a salute. "So mind answering a question of mine?"
Aleister narrowed his eyes in silent warning. "That depends on the question. Ask and we shall see."
Naru smiled knowing that the Superintendent offering even that was proof of just how much he trusted her. Being in the confidence of the most powerful man on the Science side was something to be proud of, and Naru was most definitely proud of that fact.
"So I'm curious about why you needed that data on Saten-chan's Angel Mode thing anyway?"
"Hmm." Aleister said consideringly for a minute before properly replying. "I need it for some research on AIM lifeforms."
"AIM lifeforms? Do they exist?"
"Not yet." Aleister said before giving her a mysterious smile.
So he's using the data to help him create a AIM lifeform? What for?
The Level 5 knew better than to ask though, Crowley's smile was a clear indication that he would say no more on this issue.
Time to let it go. The blonde though with a sigh. Too bad. Well, it's getting late anyway.
"Anything else? I'm tired." Naru said with a yawn.
"There is one last thing." Her superior said as Naru itched to end the call. "It appears that the shinobi are once more out and about. As their primary target, you need to be wary of them."
Naru snorted at the suggestion that she needed to worry about those fools. "Like I'd need to. They aren't a real threat."
"Do not underestimate them." Crowley warned.
"Yes sir." Naru drawled insincerely.
The magician just rolled his eyes at her attitude but didn't pursue the matter. Instead with a final admonishment for her to "Get some sleep.", he ended the call.
Yawning once more, Naru put away her phone and headed back to her room. It was getting late and she had a full day of investigating to do tomorrow.
Hopefully I can clear this Big Spider thing up quickly. I really don't like playing detective.
"So everything is going smoothly?" Kuroko asked Uiharu, who nodded happily. The two of them were taking a break from their duties at the 177th Branch and were chatting about the aftermath of the Level Upper Incident.
"Yes, the Special Workshop for the victims went well."
"I wish they would just call it a punishment like it is." Kuroko confessed with a shake of her head. "While I do feel sympathy for some, most were Skill-Outs and other rabble trying to get a cheap boost."
Uiharu fidgeted at that, uncomfortable at how Kuroko had described the Level Upper victims. She was right though and her partner was being too much of a bleeding heart to acknowledge that.
"Saten-san wanted to go there and apologize to them." The computer wiz said, changing the subject. "Thankfully Yomikawa-sensei and I managed to talk her out of it."
Kuroko gave her a dry look. "There would have been a riot if she did."
Uiharu shuddered. "That's what Yomikawa-sensei said too."
"How is the the Big Spider case going?" Kuroko said as a means to shift the subject away from Saten-san. Uiharu could get weird when talking about her, oddly overprotective at times and at others sad. Kuroko really didn't want to deal with that. Not at the moment at least. It would ruin their break.
The flower wearing girl frowned and scooted over to her personal computer. Kuroko wheeling towards her to get a closer look.
With a couple of keystrokes, the case file was up on the screen. "Their activity has skyrocketed lately, we have over a dozen in the hospital from the beatings. And that's just in the past few days!"
Kuroko's fist tightened. "The question is how these Skill-Outs are stopping the Espers from using their powers. From what the conscious victims told us, it was as if their abilities weren't responding correctly. But what caused that, we still have no clue."
"And that's the problem for us in Judgement, who are mostly composed of ability users. It's why we're teaming up with Anti-Skill already due to the threat this gang poses to us." Uiharu informed her.
"I know that."
Uiharu glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "That means no flying solo, Shirai-san."
Kuroko pouted and crossed her arms. "I have no clue what you are accusing me of."
"Uh-huh."
"Maybe they are using AIM Jammer like in the Reformatory?" Uiharu suggested.
"It doesn't match." Kuroko said with a shake of her head. "The side-effects of whatever these thugs are using are very different from those caused by the Jammer."
"True." Uiharu agreed. "But maybe some kind of similar system?"
"Possibly. But where would they have acquired it?"
Naru placed her palm on the fingerprint scanner as a camera shined a ray of light that read her retina. "Open up already."
At her crisp demand, the heavily fortified facility opened its doors for her.
"Greetings, Naru-sama." The security chief himself greeted her as she walked into the primary research facility that her personal Power Development Team were based.
"Hey. Can you tell me where the researcher in charge of my equipment is? I think we might have had a breach."
The man tensed, pausing midway as he walked out of the security office by the entrance, no doubt worried about his job. "Naru-sama, we've had no incidents at all-"
"Just let me talk to the researcher." She ordered the man, who gave a meek nod.
He led her down the hallway, passing by a few other researchers. Naru recognized faces that she could remember well and spotted a number of new ones too. Some waved hello, others looked at her with interest, and the rest were too into their research to even notice she was there.
"Good to be home." Naru muttered to herself.
Until she recently started living at Tokiwadai's Interior Dorm, this had been where she had grown up. In an environment filled with computers, test tubes, needles, scientists, and testing rooms.
Everything a happy growing child needs.
"The researcher you're looking for is in here, Naru-sama." The security chief said as he swiped a keycard near the door handle to unlock the door. He opened it and the blonde entered the room, alerting the staff inside to her presence.
"Ah! Naru-chan, welcome home!" One of the female scientists greeted her, Naru returned it with a small wave and headed for the man at a terminal at the far end of the room. The researcher in charge of the development of equipment to enhance her power.
"Take a look at this." She said, handing the man a thumb drive. He blinked at her abrupt demand but just shrugged. He was used to her attitude.
"Of course, Naru-chan." He smiled kindly and plugged the device into the closest computer.
The Number 2 waited a few minutes for the man to get caught up on what she knew.
"Hmm." The researcher muttered as he examined the data Naru had handed to him. "From the looks of this, it looks like Capacity Down was used against the victims."
"Knew it." Naru said triumphantly.
Capacity Down was a system that had been devised by her team as part of their efforts to assist her in recreating the many powers that the shinobi from her homeworld had been capable of. Efforts that had allowed her to discover that she could use chakra to shift herself into the upper dimensions and thus teleport, something that was considered a basic skill that the shinobi used in a technique they apparently called "Kawarimi no Jutsu". Though most of them never used the ability to anywhere near its full potential.
In contrast to that, Capacity Down was more of a derivative. It was a byproduct created from an attempt to create something that would allow Naru to duplicate the illusion creating abilities of shinobi. Something that despite her best efforts, the Level 5 could not manage on her own. While that goal had eventually been reached, along the way their experiments had stumbled upon the phenomenon that led to the creation of Capacity Down. A device that used certain high pitched sounds to cause disruptions in the parts of Esper's brains that regulated their AIM fields and made their powers difficult to control. All while giving them an intense headache.
"Oi! You blonde bitch! Get over here so I can eat your eyes out!"
Turning to the source of the voice, Naru eyed the decapitated but somehow still living head that had spoken to her. It had tanned skin and brushed back silver hair, that gave it an appearance that might have been called ruggedly handsome. Not that it mattered when it was now nothing more than a head in a jar.
"I thought someone gagged Specimen One?" The researcher complained. "You know it gets annoying if left to talk for too long."
"Fuck you, you limp dick prick! I ate out your wife last night!"
"Now!" The man ordered, glancing at the security chief.
Nodding, the man picked up a set of prongs -They had quickly learned not to go anywhere near the Specimen's mouth. He had quite the painful bite- and moved to stuff a dirty rag into his mouth.
They're using a dirty rag for his gag? He must have pissed them off lately. No surprise.
"Hey, hey! Keep that away from me! No, I will not be sil-mmcs!" Peace was restored when the head was quieted with the rag firmly in place.
"So if they are using Capacity Down, how did they get it?" Naru asked with an edge in her voice, that made the staff in the room break into a cold sweat. "Last I checked, this place was supposed to be heavily fortified. Am I wrong?"
"I-I don't know. There wasn't any break in here." The research stammered, scrambling for an answer. "There are other facilities where the data for Capacity Down is stored. Maybe they got it from there?"
"Can we check?"
The researcher nodded and turned to the security chief who was already moving to a nearby computer. "We can access the security logs from all affiliated facilities via our network. It will take a while to check through them though."
"I have time. I'll wait." As she said this, another researcher, the head of her power applications team, came in through the door, holding a tablet in his arm.
"Naru-sama, it's good you stopped by. I've been trying to contact you to arrange a visit." The man said as he walked up to the blonde.
"I've been busy." Naru looked away from the man, waiting for the results she wanted. "I've got a few minutes. Give me the cliff notes of whatever you wanted to talk about."
"Of course." The man said with a nod. "Basically, my team has a proposal for a possible new line of research. Something with the possibility to transform you into a Level 6."
Naru cocked an eyebrow at this. She knew that she had a good chance of becoming a Level 6, Specimen Four proved that. However, all projections had so far had her not being able to fill that potential without some kind of external intervention. The means of which was something that no one had figured out.
"You've made a breakthrough?"
"We believe so."
"Hogwash." The equipment development chief critiqued. "He's only saying that because he doesn't want to lose out to the folks working on Number 1's Level 6 Shift. His proposal is just grasping at straws."
The other man sneered in return. "Go back to playing with your toys, we're doing the real work!"
Naru groaned, covering her eyes with her hand. Her department heads seemed to enjoy butting their heads more often than not. It was a pain.
Thankfully, she was saved from the brewing argument by the security chief calling out, "Found it."
"That was fast."
"I didn't have to look far back or hard. The breach happened only a couple of months ago at one of our lesser affiliate labs and the culprits didn't even bother to cover their tracks well. The system even logged the intrusion. They just disabled the automatic reporting functions."
The Level 5 narrowed her eyes. "Then how did we miss it? Someone goes over the system alerts manually regularly, right?"
"If I had to hazard a guess? It's likely that whoever did it arranged for someone to sweep it under the rug, by making sure it never came to our attention."
Everyone exchanged a look at that. It took quite a bit of influence to pull something like that off.
"I want a name, give me a name!" Naru hissed, anger boiling within her like a raging fire.
"That I'm afraid that will take a proper investigation, Naru-sama." The chief offered apologetically. "We can however call up footage from what seems to be the theft. The culprit was smart enough to avoid setting off our automated alarms for tampering and left the records themselves alone."
"Heads are going to roll for this." Naru not so subtly warned.
Everyone paled at that.
One of the young lab assistants raised her hand, and in a shaky voice asked, "Literally?"
The rest of the staff in the room glared at her.
"Depends on my mood." Naru commented offhandedly before turning stern. "Show me the video."
"Here you are, Naru-sama." The chief said as he complied. "I've narrowed it down to the time when the break in happened."
The Esper nodded as she watched the video intently. Most of it seemed normal for a lab, but then a man dressed all in black seemed to appear as if from nowhere inside one of its data hubs. The video showed that a silent alarm was triggered but was immediately shut down via an override. The man in black meanwhile just proceeded to access a terminal and download what he wanted. When he was done, he turned to the camera for a brief moment and nodded, likely to inform his accomplice that he was done and in that moment, Naru recognised what he was.
It wasn't difficult. Not when he was wearing the distinctive Hitai-ate that all shinobi did.
"Shinobi." The Level 5 hissed in anger. First they attack me and now they steal from me? They'll pay for this!
Furious, Naru turned to leave. It was time to hunt down and crush some ninja wannabes.
"Naru-sama, about your Level 6 Shift!"
"Not now!" She barked as she stalked out of the facility.
I have more important things to deal with right now. Your little pet project can wait.
Ugh! A whole day wasted and nothing to tell for it. Naru grumbled as she walked back into her dorm room intent on going to bed after a frustrating day.
"Namikaze-san!" Naru nearly fell over at the triple exclamation of her family name. In the room was Awatsuki-chan, Wannai-chan, and Kongou-chan, surrounded by snack wrappers and tea cups placed on the coffee table.
Rubbing her ringing ear, the blonde asked. "You guys hanging out?"
Awatsuki-chan shook her head. "No, Kongou-san is actually staying with us tonight."
Naru looked to the side, a hand covering her mouth. "I didn't know you were like that. I can find someone to bunk with if that's the case. Just leave my bed be."
Both Awatsuki-chan and Kongou-chan were reduced to stammering messes, both failing to form words.
"Th-They aren't like that!" Wannai-chan shouted, her face bright red as she glanced at Awatsuki-chan. "Kongou-san was attacked earlier!"
All humor left Naru's face, her features taking on a cold demeanor. "Explain."
Kongou-chan fiddled with her folding fan nervously. She proceeded to explain how she was assaulted by a group of Skill-Outs. She had been about to fight them off with her power but just as she was about to act she ended up hearing a terrible noise that gave her a debilitating headache so intense that she had passed out. By the time she came to, the men were on the ground and she found that she had been saved by an another man, one with red hair, dressed in a leather jacket, with a large tattoo of a spider on his back.
The room was silent as Kongou-chan shrunk into the care of Wannai-chan and Awatsuki-chan's comforting arms for emotional support. Obviously a little uncomfortable with having to retell what had happened.
"Don't worry about it." Naru assured in a dead calm voice. "I'll handle this."
"Namikaze-san, what do you mean by that?" Awatsuki-chan asked, her concern clear in her voice.
Naru just gave her a smile, and headed to take a fresh uniform from her wardrobe.
"I'll just take a shower and head out. I'm going out and settle this."
"What do you mean?" Wannai-chan asked.
"I'm gonna go step on a few bugs."
And we're halfway done with the Big Spider arc, yay! Thanks to the writing team as always, show the love!
Ugh, this was a lot to write. Now Nameless, tell them the scary part.
Nameless: Yeah, so we intended to do this whole arc in a single chapter, but it got way too long for our tastes. So we split it after leaving you on this minor cliffhanger.
We have too many ideas! I know, the dread of any author. Hope you enjoyed the holochamber scene and some of you picked up that little homage for the company name. And no, they do not exist here, it's just a homage.
Nameless: So we have some reviewers who are a little put off by the fact that there is a higher level of rule of cool and use of tropes in this fic compared to our PJOverse works. I would like to make clear that is the result of our respecting of the Toaruverse which incorporates these things a lot more than the PJOverse and because we want to play with these things once in awhile too. In fact, it is because of this that we chose to write in this particular fandom in the first place. That said, we're also not going full tilt rule of cool. So if you're not liking the difference, then all I can say is that perhaps this story is not your cup of tea.
E4E: Exactly, sometimes even we want to just go a little off our usual beaten track to do something new and invigorating. Does that make our work any lesser? No. This is for fun guys, so have fun with us!
Nameless: In other news… Saten became an info broker. As is stated in-story, she's doing so to build up influence to get her mother out of prison. Plus it really is what she prefers to do rather than fighting on the frontline. She knows she can't fully escape the Dark Side but she wants to stay on it on her own terms and so she's setting the foundation for it.
Itherael: Well, my first comment as part of the team, what can I say? Maybe that it's awesome being part of this project, and Naru is just so Moe, so I'm quite happy, you know. I'm not a lolicon, though :P While I usually write long chapters, I think this story works perfectly with this size of chapters, so don't get desperate peeps, the next update will come, and it will make you scream in joy!
Nameless: So I dunno if you spotted it, but we left a few clues as to why Naru and Saten are ranked the way they are. For those of you who didn't get it, here it is spelled out for you (with some spoileristic details):
1) Naru: They know she can go Level 6. They have a sample of a being (Kaguya aka Specimen Four) that proves that her breed of Gemstone can do it. They're still working out how though, but it's a low priority for Academy City since she's only one person and any method created is not applicable for others so if they fail with her that's the end of the road on that bit of research. The latter point is why she's Number 2 and not 1. Breeding her is an option but would be a long term thing which further adds to her lower ranking. Plus they aren't 100% sure that her abilities are fully inheritable, not if she breeds with non-shinobi, so that contributes negatively to her ranking too.
2) Saten: She is roughly equal in potential to become a Level 6 as Kakine being an AIM being like him. Her nature is more useful as a source of data for other aspects of Aleister's overall plan though, like creating Kazakiri and Aiwass' body, thus her higher ranking. Plus her ability to disrupt AIM fields makes her a bane to Kakine who is vulnerable to such attacks. She's also a backup for Kazakiri who is supposedly as important to his grand plan as Accel.
E4E: Now smash that review button in the face! No flames and peace off my peeps!