Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter Fifty Six: Family Time Medley
Beta:
Materializing in the material world from the City of Shimmers, the gestalt world created by the combined AIM fields of Academy City's Espers, was always a disorientating experience for Kazakiri Hyouka. The transition itself was simple enough. One second she was in the perfect if somewhat distorted, almost mirage like, recreation of the City, and the next she would be in the physical counterpart which had created it. No, the disorientating thing about the transition was that where she was inside the City of Shimmers did not factor into where she appeared in the material world.
Which was why despite having been comfortably ensconced inside her own dormitory apartment in the City of Shimmers, when she'd materialized in Academic City she had instead found herself instead inside an unfamiliar office. A very fancy office, if the high end fittings were anything to go by.
"Oh, what a surprise." A girl with long blonde hair, aquamarine eyes, and fair skin and was dressed in an eccentric checkerboard patterned outfit said as she put down the cup of tea she'd been drinking. "A visit from Aleister's Angel. What an honour. Might I know why you're here?"
"You're Ladylee Tangleroad!" Hyouka noted, recalling the immortal from the glimpses of her she'd gotten from within the City of Shimmers. "That means I'm probably inside Endymion… Oh no! I'm inside an off-limits area aren't I?"
The immortal child just nodded, an amused grin playing across her face.
"Sorry~!" The AIM Angel said as she bowed in deep contrition. "I didn't mean to trespass."
"It's quite alright," the ancient child said, giving a dismissive wave of her hand. "I understand that you have little control over where you materialize. Though, I would like that you left soon. This is a secure facility."
"Uh… I don't know how to get out of here." Hyouka admitted, blushing in embarrassment.
"Glad to know that my security isn't an absolute failure then." Ladylee-sama said with a grin. Why did that grin feel like something Naru-sama would wear when she's hunting? Why were blondes so scary! "Why don't you tell me where you want to go and I'll have someone send you there."
"Thank you for the lift," Hyouka said gratefully as she stepped out of the car that one of Ladylee-sama's Black Crow operatives had used to drive her to Onee-sama's house.
He just nodded in reply and waited for her to finish exiting the vehicle before driving off.
"Hyouka, why were you driven here by Black Crow?" Onee-sama said as she teleported to stand beside her, startling Hyouka slightly.
It took a second to calm her rampaging heart and reply.
"I materialized in Ladylee-sama's office inside Endymion," she explained. "She was nice enough to arrange a lift over."
Onee-sama nodded and put a hand on Hyouka's arm to guide her into the house.
Guess Onee-sama realises teleporting with me wouldn't work.
Being an AIM being without a physical body outside of one she occasionally managed to construct through sheer will, the specifics of how she did it was something that she was still figuring out, transporting said body through the upper dimensions used by teleportation would likely just cause her body to break apart.
Onee-sama really is a genius. Hyouka thought with a proud grin.
"Have a seat," Onee-sama said as she gestured to a couch in her living room. "I take it you're here to talk to me about the Mercenary Terrorist Incident?"
"Yeah," Hyouka admitted freely even as she accepted the cup of tea that floated towards her from the kitchen courtesy of Onee-sama's telekinesis. "I would've come sooner but I can't control when I materialise in the physical world and you only rarely visit the City of Shimmers where I live. And you haven't visited yet. And I'm not complaining, I know you're busy-"
Onee-sama seemed amused by her blubbering and Hyouka called that a win in its own right, her sister's mood hadn't been the best lately and any good humor on her part was to be cherished, but she had embarrassed herself enough already.
"So, um, yeah, I came as soon as I could." She finished lamely.
"Don't worry Hyouka," Onee-sama said, patting Hyouka's arm reassuringly. "I understand. Besides, if anyone needs to apologize it's me. I should visit you in the Imaginary Number District more often."
"That's not true, Onee-sama." Hyouka said, waving her hands in fervent denial. "I know you're busy."
"Even then," Onee-sama insisted. "I should try to make more time for you."
"You do, Onee-sama. You do." Hyouka countered.
After all, Onee-sama was under no obligation to even care for her. Yet, she did. She really did. And for that Hyouka was grateful beyond words.
Sadly, it seems Onee-sama didn't really believe her. Not if the self-deprecating smile she wore was any indication. Whatever the case, it seemed the Level 5 didn't want to talk about it and so changed the topic.
"So what do you want to know about the Incident?"
Hyouka frowned a little at her sister's deflection but let it slide. If she didn't want to talk about it then she wouldn't press. Not now at least.
"I didn't really get the full picture in the City of Shimmers. Were those terrorists really targeting our family because they were hired to do so by our business rivals?"
"Hardly," Onee-sama scoffed. "That's just the lie the Superintendent is selling to the public and an excuse he's using to coincidentally justify getting rid of some people who annoyed him. In reality, Gruber's group was motivated by revenge against me for what I did to their families as the [Army Slayer]."
"I expected it might be something like that," Hyouka said with a frown. "Did you get all of them? Will there be anymore people targeting our fa-"
Before she could finish her questions, Onee-sama raised a hand to signal for silence and turned to look at the front door.
"We'll continue this conversation later," her elder sister ordered. "The twins are back."
"Okay," Hyouka agreed easily, wanting to avoid bringing up their rather unpleasant topic of conversation in front of her nieces as much as their mother did. "Think Janie and Febrie will be happy to find me visiting?"
"They'll be thrilled," Onee-sama assured her as they both walked to the entranceway just as the front door was pushed open and the two Chemicaloids scampered into the house just ahead of Nunotaba-san.
"Okaerinasai Janie, Febrie, Shinobu-san," Onee-sama greeted them with a welcome smile. "Girls, look who's visiting?"
The twins looked towards them then and their eyes widened in pleasant surprise.
"Hyouka-obachan~!" The two adorable blondes shouted in joy as they threw themselves at Hyouka in a hug.
It was the first day for Janie and Febrie at their new daycare. With their old daycare having been bombed by those nasty terrorists in the Mercenary Terrorist Incident they had been forced to switch centres.
They were thus very nervous. Not only was this a new place and that was never very fun. But they were also still very worried about their Mama who they know was feeling very down lately because of what those big mean terrorists did. So they weren't very happy to be there.
"I want to go home," Janie said with a barely suppressed sob as she clutched Febrie in the corner of the playroom they'd claimed for themselves.
"Me too," Febrie agreed as she clung to Janie just as tightly. "I want Mama."
"Hello you two," a pretty teenager slightly older than their Mama with brown curly hair flowing down to the middle of her back and violet eyes said as she came over and knelt down in front of them. "What's the matter? You two look sad."
Neither Chemicaloid replied, just shrunk away from her slightly.
"There's no need to be scared." She said reassuringly. "My name's Nunnally. I'm a part-timer working here? What's your names?"
"Janie."
"Febrie."
The twins said automatically. Their Mama had taught them to always be polite and give your name whenever someone else gave you theirs, and the twins were good girls which always tried to listen to what their Mama said.
"How about we play a game and get to know each other?" The kind looking teenager asked them.
Janie frowned. She wasn't really feeling in the mood to play any games.
"What kind of game?" Febrie asked, apparently more open to the idea.
"What would you like to play?" Nunnally-san asked, smiling at them kindly.
"Mama, Misaka Misaka greets happily." Last Order said as she finished switching out of her outside shoes and into her indoor shoes.
"Welcome Order-chan," Mama said as she greeted her with a hug.
"Yo Ruiko," Papa said as he leaned against the wall of the entryway to Mama's house trying to look all sexy.
"Hi Accel," Mama said as she pulled away from Last Order and smiled at Papa whilst sporting a pretty blush.
"Order-chan, you want to go play with the twins?" Mama asked, patting Last Order on the head almost distractedly as she stared dreamily at Papa.
"Yes, please. Misaka Misaka agrees, hiding her knowing smirk."
"Cheeky brat," Papa said, poking Last Order in the back with his cane. "Go meet the twins. They're in the playroom?"
"Yup," Mama agreed as she too pushed Last Order further inside the house.
"Okay, Misaka Misaka says with an amused grin." Last Order said as she obliged and walked the familiar path to the playroom, glancing behind her to see that Papa and Mama had already forgotten she was there and were busy kissing.
Smiling happily at the sight, Last Order ducked behind a corner and watched her parents kiss for a moment before pulling apart. Looking very happy and with an eager look on their faces, Mama grabbed Papa's hand and dragged him upstairs to her room.
Misaka hope Papa and Mama don't go too far with their hanky panky. Last Order thought with an amused shake of her head as she continued to the playroom. As much as Misaka loves her sisters, she doesn't want another new sibling so soon.
"Janie, Febrie, your Onee-sama is here! Misaka Misaka declares happily." Last Order said as she swung the door to the playroom open.
"Onee-sama~!" The twins greeted enthusiastically as they both jumped to their feet from where they'd been sitting on the floor discussing something and rushed over to pull her into the room. "Welcome!"
"Now that you're here we can start our dance party." Febrie declared.
"Dance party? Misaka Misaka asks, curiously."
"Yup, yup." Janie agreed, nodding. "We listen to some music and then dance to it. It'll be fun!"
"Sounds like fun. Misaka Misaka says, enthusiastically."
"Shinobu! Can you help set things up?" Febrie turned to their nanny to ask.
Shinobu chuckled at the request. "And what kind of music do you want as accompaniment?"
"Accompaniment?" Janie asked, blinking in confusion. "What's that mean?"
"It means what music we want to dance to, Misaka Misaka explains." Last Order explained to her younger sister. "And I'm thinking that new song from Meigo Arisa? Misaka Misaka suggests."
Last Order had heard the single quite a lot lately when she'd been up and about the City. As part of its promotion, it was regularly played on various P.A. systems. Plus it was used as part of the advertising for the opening of Endymion too, which just gave it more exposure. Despite hearing it so much, she found that she very much liked the song.
"Oh~! I've heard it too." Febrie said, jumping on the spot excitedly. "Let's listen to that!"
"Janie? What about you?" Shinobu asked with a smile.
"If Febrie and Onee-sama says it's good then I'll give it a try."
Febrie and Last Order cheered and Shinobu smiled as she searched through Spotify for the requested song.
"Enjoy girls," Shinobu said as she plugged her phone into the playroom's soundbar and the soothing tones of the pop song began to fill the room.
After a dozen songs, Last Order and the twins decided to take a break by having some tea. It was just the three of them though. Shinobu had after having provided them the tea and some snacks chose to retreat to her little corner of the playroom where she had a workstation to do some of her own work while Last Order and her little sisters had their tea break. Or as Namikaze-san coerced them into calling it 'Holding Court' amongst their plushie subjects.
"So Janie, Febrie, anything interesting happened to you two lately? Misaka Misaka asks as she sips at her tea."
Both twins looked thoughtful for a long moment before Janie suddenly jumped in her seat.
"Oh~! We met Nunnally-neesan!"
"Un." Febrie agreed enthusiastically. "She's very nice."
"Nunnally-neesan? Misaka Misaka asks curiously. Is that a new addition to the family? Misaka Misaka asks with a weary sigh."
Both twins giggled at that even as they shook their heads.
"No, Onee-chan," Janie assured her. "Nunnally-neesan is this helper at our new daycare."
"She's like the nicest person there," Febrie elaborated. "She's like super, duper nice!"
"Really? Misaka Misaka asks skeptically." Last Order replied, her eyes narrowed.
"Really, really!" Both twins said in unison.
Now Misaka is curious. Last Order thought to herself with a frown. Misaka wants to meet this super, duper nice person too.
"Why are Misakas doing this again? Misaka asks in exasperation." 19090 asked Last Order as they and the rest of the Academy City Sisters crouched behind the hedgerow that surrounded the backyard of Janie and Febrie's daycare.
"Because you all owe me a favour for moderating the Network, Misaka Misaka reminds 19090." Last Order said with her hands on her hips, her short stature allowing her to stand upright without having to crouch like the rest of the Sisters. "Do you know how many cat pictures Misaka has to filter through?! Madness! Misaka Misaka exclaims."
"Sorry, Misaka says apologetically." 10032 said with a blush. "But Kuro is just too cute."
"Now, your mission, which you Misakas have automatically accepted-"
"Rub it in that we have no choice, why don't ya. Misaka complains." 10287 said with a frown.
"- Is to find more about this… Nunnally girl," Last Order continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "That the twins are fawning over, Misaka Misaka pouts, feeling grumpy."
"Does 20001 request a cookie too? Misaka asks dryly." 10287 said with a roll of her eyes.
"No, Misaka Misaka scoffs." Last Order said, shooting 10287 a glare. "Why are 19090 and 10287 being so difficult? Misaka Misaka asks in exasperation."
"19090 is just crabby because she's on her period. Misaka explains." 13577 said as she peered through a set of binoculars she'd stealthily pushed through the hedge. "And 10287 is just annoyed we aren't spying on Naru-sama instead."
"Don't say that, Misaka whines feebly!" 10287 said, looking flustered.
"How does 13577 know Misaka is on her period? Misaka demands, blushing in mortification." 19090 asked, looking pale.
"19090 is fidgeting like her pad isn't fitting well, Misaka explained." 13577 said dispassionately, ignoring how her Sister was mortally embarrassed. "Misaka will take you to buy something better later, Misaka offers. Tampons? Misaka suggests."
"Thank you, Misaka says mollified." 19090 said with an embarrassed nod.
"13577's observational skills are terrifying. Misaka opines. It is good that 13577 is on our side or our intelligence gathering capabilities would suffer greatly." 12873 said with a smile.
"One of my drones could make up for it! Misaka counters." 11132 said defiantly.
"Like that new unicorn plushie you got on sale on Tuesday at six twenty-one P.M., Misaka muses. She might get one herself later." 13577 said with a taunting grin.
"Misaka takes that back… Misaka squeaks in fright." 11132 said, her eyes wide in awe.
"Enough distractions from our heroic task Misakas! Misaka declares." 14091 cut in. "13577 has the target been spotted? Misaka asks."
"Target has just entered the observation area, Misaka informs." 13577 said, as she pulled back from the binoculars and gestured for Last Order to take a look.
"Thank you, Misaka Misaka says politely." Last Order said as she took position so she could look through the binoculars.
"Now what nefarious things is she doing? Misaka asks." 14091 said as she pressed against Last Order, clearly eager for a turn to look through the scope.
"Target is currently playing dollies with the children, over. Misaka Misaka informs." Last Order said feeling disappointed as the aforementioned teenager sat down with a group of children younger than even the twins' legal age and had a pretend tea party with them and some dolls.
"Evilly? Misaka asks."
"No, rather well to be fair, Misaka Misaka pouts."
"That sounds like wonderful fun, Misaka says, confused." 11118 said. "Misaka thought she was evil? Misaka questions."
"No one said she was evil, Misaka reminds everyone." 13579 said with a roll of her eyes. "Everyone just assumed she was because 20001 was making a fuss about her, Misaka explains with a sigh."
"20001 was just having a fit at not being the best Onee-sama to the twins, Misaka points out." 10287 said whilst shooting Last Order a dark look.
"Last Order~!" A very annoyed sounding voice said from behind the gathered Sisters and as one they all squeaked in alarm and spun around to see a thoroughly unamused looking Papa glaring at them. "The shit is this? This is what you and your Sisters ran off to do? To spy on the twins?"
"P-Papa, Misaka can explain! Misaka Misaka begged."
"No, you're grounded for the rest of the week." Papa said with no mercy. "You do not go sneaking off to spy on your sisters with your fellow Sisters. Respect their damned privacy, brat."
"She felt threatened by the new caretaker girl at the twins' daycare, Misaka supplies the scary Accelerator-sama!" 10287 blathered in a panic.
"Traitor, Misaka Misaka cries foul!" Last Order said, shooting her Sister a betrayed look.
"Accelerator-sama is scary, Misaka shoots back honestly." 10287 replied defiantly.
"Yeah, I am." Papa said with a smirk. "Now come on brat. We're going home. It's almost dinner time already. You girls better go too."
"Yes, Accelerator-sama. Misaka says dutifully." The other Sisters all chorused as Last Order trudged defeatedly over to her Papa.
"Misaka is sorry for worrying Papa, Misaka Misaka apologizes." Last Order said as she took the hand that he offered her.
"Then don't wander off to do silly things next time," Papa said, revealing that Last Order had guessed correctly why he had come looking for her. "Also, just for making me worried, no dessert tonight."
"...Kill Misaka, Misaka Misaka begs." Last Order said as she let her Papa take her home whilst offering her Sisters a distracted wave goodbye.
"Over my dead body."
Naru was having a free period and had decided to do some research on expanding her elemental techniques. And in a bid to do so, she was shamelessly abusing her credentials to review Mikoto-Sempai's Bank data for some creative ideas for lightning generation and related techniques. She was hoping for an eureka moment or two that would inspire her to come up with some new techniques to add to her repertoire that might come with them. And as she worked she listened to covers and new singles performed by the up and coming idol, Meigo Arisa, that had been recommended to her by some of the bunnies in her Faction.
"Oi, Naru. Is this where you're hiding out?" Spoke the lightning devil herself as she appeared.
"Yep." Naru answered simply as she lowered the volume of the music even as she continued typing out some notes for her research team to follow up with her on.
"Missed some homework?" The chestnut haired girl asked, walking behind the blonde to spy on what she was doing, only to balk at what she saw. "H-Hey! Is that my Bank data?!"
"Yeah, I was hitting a wall with lightning element research for some damn reason." The blue eyed girl scowled. "According to a uh, consultant I have, the bastard commented I'm aligned too much with wind to get a handle on lightning. Which is BS since what do alignments to certain elements matter? This isn't Pokemon! Am I right?"
Damn that stupid talking head for pointing out my flaws! How dare he! Naru inwardly fumed.
You're finding fault at him being right? Kurama added with a raised eyebrow. Normal Esper powers might not really have alignments but chakra definitely does.
You're supposed to be on my side!
And telling you the truth so you don't get false expectations and/or try something stupid is doing that.
Party pooper.
Love you too~! The demon fox replied with a laugh.
"That's not the problem, the problem is you're looking at my data!" Sempai whined even as Naru finished her conversation with her inner demon and looked ready to throw a fit if the sparks arcing off her forehead was any indication. "That's practically a sin!"
"Huh?" Naru leaned her head back, looking at her Sempai upside down. "Please, if I have the access, I can look. And it's not a sin, it's more like I'm just taking a peek at your panties or something along that level."
Satisfied with the slack jawed look she was given in reply, Naru nodded and returned her eyes to the screen she was looking at.
It took her a minute but Sempai eventually regathered her wits and dragged a chair over.
"Well if you're going to peek, at least let me navigate you through it properly seeing as you seem to be jumping at an attempt to copy my railgun."
"Honestly it's the magnetism that I'm leaning more into. It has so many possible applications. I'm thinking of something that will let me ping an individual and have metal home in on that magnetic field."
Resting her chin in her palm, Semapi dryly quipped. "A sadistic approach, isn't it?"
"And if it works?" Naru pouted at her genius being doubted. Chakra was crazy in the spectrum of abilities it allowed its users. Certainly this was well within its capabilities.
"Then you are still a crazy sadist."
"Shut up and help me with this wavelength formula." Naru childishly demanded as her Sempai rolled her eyes.
"If the child needs me to double check her work~" Mikoto-Sempai tutted as she scooted over close to the point they were shoulder to shoulder. "Besides it's not going to work. An individual person's magnetic field isn't too different from any others to single them out in a crowd or over distance. Not if any other people are nearby."
"Meh, I'm sure I can create a tag type application to work with it. It might be an extra step, but it can also double as a possible tracker?"
"Yeah, that'll work." Sempai mused, rubbing her hand against her chin thoughtfully. "Though if you've tagged them, it doesn't really matter what you hit them with. Not sure using EM as the medium for a tag is the best though. Blocking EM is easy."
Chewing her bottom lip, Naru turned her head to the side, resting it on Mikoto-Sempai's shoulder as she narrowed her eyes to look at her formula. "I think you're right. Drats."
"Well, the tag idea is good." Sempai offered comfortingly. "Maybe try and figure out how to create one with your chakra? Besides the shinobi idiots, no one else uses it right? That means there'll be less effort to come up with counters to it, so it'll be more likely to work."
No dice. Kurama commented tiredly. You'd need to be a sensor type to make that work and you're not. At best you'd have a very short range. It's not worth the effort.
"Hmm… I'll think about it." Naru told her Sempai, pouting in dismay at a good idea going down the drain. Can't you act as the sensor for me?
I already give you negative emotion sensing. Plus you have enhanced senses. I think you're good. Besides, I never needed something like what you're suggesting, I already have all the above, so why by the Sage would I know how to do it?
Boo, spoilsport.
"How about something else? Maybe some way to affect the iron in someone's bloodstream…"
Short haired girl put a hand on her head with a weak smile. "Please stop thinking of ways to everiserate people."
"I promise to only try."
"Good," Sempai said with a sigh. "And again, not gonna work. Too little iron in someone's system. If you can create enough of an EM charge around them to control that iron, you'd have already fried them."
"Science dammit." Naru pouted. "Sempai, make EM work for me!"
Sempai just laughed. The meanie.
"Don't be so impatient, kohai." She said in a mock teacher voice. "It'll take time but you'll get it. Some day."
Naru just pouted further.
"By the way, nice choice in music." Mikoto-Sempai praised to change the subject as she leaned in to listen to the earbud. "Meigo-san has a good voice."
"Why does it sound like you know her personally?" Naru asked with a raised eyebrow.
"'Cause I do?" The Electromaster said with a playful grin. "Kuroko, Uiharu and I ran into her the other day."
"Really?" Naru asked, mildly interested. She wasn't much into music, much less over commercialized pop or idol music, but meeting a celebrity was noteworthy enough to get her curious. "What's she like?"
"Surprisingly down to earth to be honest." Mikoto-Sempai explained. "She's still new to being a celebrity though. She's just broken out. So maybe she's just not been infected yet."
"You make being a celebrity sound like a disease," Naru laughed. "You do remember that as Level 5s we're celebrities too, right?"
Mikoto-Sempai shrugged. "And you don't think we're all slightly off-kilter? And I'm even counting myself in there, even if I'm the most normal of us all."
"True," Naru allowed. "But more importantly! You admitting you're not normal? Have you been replaced by a pod person?"
"Very funny," Mikoto-Sempai said with a roll of her eyes. "Just stating facts. After everything I've seen and done, I am brave enough to admit I'm not normal."
"Good for you, Sempai." Naru said honestly. "Acceptance is a big step."
Any further conversation was put on hold when the bell rang, signalling that the next period was about to begin and students had to head to their next classes.
"I've got Chem," Naru said, quickly putting away her things. "Gotta go."
"I have Physics," Sempai said as she helped Naru pack. "They're both in the Science building. We can walk there together."
"Sure," Naru said as they were done. "Let's go before we're late."
At Sempai's nod, the two friends set off, chatting amicably all the way.
"Try this tea, Rui-chan." Naru said as she poured a cup of the aforementioned tea for her best friend. "It's pu'erh. You'll like it."
"Hmm…" Rui-chan said consideringly as she took a sip from her cup. "It tastes pretty nice. Good choice."
"Thanks!" Naru said with a smile, cheered by the compliment and poured herself a cup. "Misaki-sempai recommended it."
"The Queen does have good taste when it comes to the finer things in life."
"She does have very expensive tastes," Naru agreed with a chuckle.
"Did she recommend this salon too?" Rui-chan said as she looked around the private room in the exclusive salon that Naru had chosen for their meetup today.
"Nah," Naru said with a shake of her head. "It's actually run by one of my subordinate organizations. It caters for secure meetings."
"I was not aware that this salon was associated with you," Rui-chan nodded with a frown. "It looks like another oversight on my part."
"Don't worry about it," Naru reassured her. "It's one of Aleister's. Even you have trouble keeping track of all his organizations and which of his subordinates are aligned with whom."
"Still, it's an area for me to improve on."
Naru sighed and conceded the point.
"So~!" She said, changing the topic. "Did you hear that Sempai and the others have seemingly befriended that upcoming idol, Meigo Arisa, without us."
"Well, they have to do something while the two of us are out on dates with our significant others." Rui-chan said with a smirk.
"That we do," Naru said with a giggle. "Though~"
Rui-chan raised an eyebrow curiously and gestured for Naru to continue.
"I'm just a little worried that Meigo-san might be more than she seems."
"I don't think so," Rui-chan said with a shake of her head. "I've checked. The only thing that is even vaguely suspicious about her is that she's the mysterious extra survivor of the Spaceplane Orion Incident."
"Oh, I remember that. She's the 89th person out of the 88 passengers and crew involved in the Miracle 88." Naru said with a nod. "So that's Meigo Arisa, huh? Do you know where she came from?"
"It seems Ladylee's explanation that her presence on the plane was just overlooked by the system is logical."
"Logical but not true, right?" Naru asked, with a smirk.
The brunette just nodded. "I do not know the truth though. The truth, if it is known, is classified by both Aleister and Ladylee."
"Suspicious. Very suspicious."
"Indeed," Rui-chan agreed. "But beyond that Meigo Arisa is an entirely normal girl."
"And how did she get picked to become an idol? Nothing suspicious there?"
"Nope," Rui-chan said, shaking her head. "She was recruited entirely normally by the Euterpe Recording Company."
"Ladylee's company? A coincidence?"
"Probably not, but if it is it's Ladylee who is up to no good. And as far as I can tell, she's not clued Meigo-san into her plan."
"Hmm...," Naru hummed thoughtfully. "So she's not a threat?"
"I do not think so. But I'll keep a close eye on the girl just in case and if she is a threat, I'll kill the girl myself."
"Whoa, whoa, cool your horses, Rui-chan! We can't just go around the City killing threats or we'd be living in a graveyard by the end of the week."
"Mou, I know that!" The brunette pouted and crossed her arms. "But if anyone hurts my family and friends again…"
Reaching over, she took her bestie's hands and squeezed them gently. "If anyone stupid enough does bother them, I'll be right by your side as we massacre the fools. We can't be rash though!"
Rui-chan let out a sigh of frustration, but conceded.
"Good! Now let's change the topic. How about Endymion finally going online? I hear the opening ceremony is going to be amazing! I got tickets for it so I think I'm going to take some girls from my clique as a reward for all their hard work."
Omake: A day in the life of the Obāchan in a lab coat
0700-0715: Wake up
"Urgh!" Kiyama Harumi cried out in dismay as her phone alarm blared and woke her from her slumber.
Without a word or even opening her eyes, she reached out and grabbed her phone, promptly put the alarm back on snooze and put it back in its charging cradle before snuggling back into her covers.
She was just dozing off when her attempt to go back to sleep was disrupted when the door to her bedroom slammed open, flooding her room with light from the hallway beyond.
Cracking her eyes open and looking towards the door, she saw two golden blurs dash towards her whilst Ruiko stood at the door looking at her with a smirk.
"Obāchan! Wake up!" Febrie shouted enthusiastically as she jumped onto the bed.
"Wake up! Wake up!" Janie said, adding her own voice to her sister's cries as she too leapt onto Harumi's bed.
Well played Ruiko. Well played. Harumi thought as she bowed to the inevitable and threw off her covers, shooting her victorious daughter a slight glare.
In response, Ruiko's smirk just grew even more amused.
0730-0830: Breakfast
Breakfast was always with her family at least whenever she could manage to do so.
Most of the meals were cooked by Shinobu-san, but the twins liked to jump in and help where they could. Such as with today's eggs.
As she ate the twins' effort though, Harumi noticed the strange looks that her daughter and assistant were giving her.
"Kaa-san, you know those are burnt, right?" Her daughter pointed out.
"Huh? Really? I didn't notice," Harumi said, looking at the very brown eggs and tilting her head in confusion. "It's okay. Not great, but still edible."
The twins preened at this even as Shinobu-san and Ruiko shook their heads in exasperation.
Huh? Why are they reacting like that? Harumi thought, genuinely confused.
0830-0900: The kids go to school
"Bye Janie, Febrie," Harumi said as she leaned against the doorframe of the front door to her house and watched as the twins and Shinobu-san got into the car that would drive them to their daycare.
Being driven to school was an allowance Harumi had arranged due to recent events out of an abundance of caution, but normally the twins traveled via public transport, meeting up with one or more of their aunts and uncles on the way and traveling at least part of the way together. The twins had even drawn up, with a lot of help from Ruiko, an adorable chart for which of their Mama's siblings they would meet when.
Getting used to using public transport from their age, even if escorted, built independence. At least, that's what Harumi's study of child rearing research suggested. Besides, she had to give the girls a chance to spend time with their extended family. Now if only she could come up with a way to devise something similar for Last Order...
"Kaasan," Ruiko said as she too finally stopped waving once the twins' car disappeared from sight. "And I'm off too."
"Have a good day at school," Harumi said with a wave.
"Have a nice day too Kaasan," Ruiko said as she returned the wave and teleported away.
Harumi couldn't help but shake her head at the sight.
Ruiko is so lucky she can teleport. She mused as she closed the front door and retreated back into the house. There's no way she'd be able to make it to school by the 0845 reporting time if she couldn't.
Speaking of being late… The scientist thought as she began stripping off her sleepwear as she made her way through the house to her bathroom. Time to finish getting ready for the work day.
0900-1200: Working in the labs
Starting work always got Harumi's brain into gear. The code and formulas just lighting up inside her logical heart with the beginning of the day. So it was with a mind full of science that she descended into her labs below the house with Shinobu-san by her side, who just returned from dropping off the twins, to start their work.
"Oh, how is Kirigaoka Girls' Academy treating you?" Harumi asked for conversation's sake. It'd be rude not to ask the young girl after all.
"You do remember I'm only enrolled there on paper, correct?" Shinobu-san reminded her. Oh, right, that was true. "I'm spending most of my time taking care of the twins and doing research."
Harumi could only shrug at that. "At least you can't be labeled as a dropout now, right?"
"That's true, I suppose." Shinobu-san said with an uncaring shrug. "Though I'm honestly surprised Kirigaoka dropped the Level 2 minimum requirement for enrollment."
"Oyafune-sama might have made a sizable donation to make that happen," Harumi explained.
Shinobu-san shot her a startled look at the revelation.
"Kirigaoka is involved in a sizable amount of dubious research associated with the Dark Side," Harumi clarified. "Oyafune-sama wanted access to it, to see what it was about. That this granted her sufficient influence to convince them to relax their enrollment standards and thus reward some of her associates is just a plus."
Shinobu-san nodded, seemingly mollified that Oyafune-sama hadn't spent a fortune just to help her get back into school. Harumi barely kept from shaking her head at that. The blue haired girl was far too humble for her own good in the older scientist's opinion.
"By the way," Harumi said, changing the subject. "Why didn't you use the public access to the labs today like you usually do after sending the twins to school?"
"It was too crowded." Shinobu-san said with a shrug. "I did the math and it was just quicker for me to head back to our house and use the private entrance rather than queue and wait for my turn to get through security."
"We have hired a lot of people lately," Harumi noted, thinking of the dozens of personnel they'd employed to help them manage the new Level Upper Network. "Was security really that overwhelmed?"
"Not usually," Shinobu-san said with a frown. "I think something happened and they were short handed today."
Harumi nodded in understanding. "Still, I think that looking into hiring more security staff might be prudent."
"Probably," Shinobu-san agreed.
They were almost at the floor that housed the younger woman's lab by this point so rather than starting up a new topic of conversation, both scientists lapsed into a companionable silence.
"I'll see you later, Kiyama-sensei." Shinobu-san said as the lift came to her stop.
"Yes," Harumi agreed as she offered the family nanny a wave as she stepped out of the elevator car. "See you later, Shinobu-san."
As the lift continued its descent, Harumi found her mind wandering to the work she'd be doing once she reached her labs. It was in this preoccupied frame of mind that she walked out of the lift once it reached her floor and began her work day.
1200-1300: Lunch
It was lunch time but as usual Harumi was too busy to step away from her work entirely. So her thoughtful daughter had packed her a lunch that she could eat whilst she continued working.
"Kiyama-sensei!" Shinobu-san shouted from behind her and Harumi jerked away from the computer she was working on to spin around to see the younger scientist standing behind her.
"Hello Shinobu-san, looking for me?" Harumi asked, hiding an amused grin at how she seemed to be one of the few things that was able to get a rise out of the normally quiet girl.
"Yes," the blue haired nanny said, eyeing her half eaten packed lunch with a frown. "You're eating at your workstation again? Can't you just take a proper lunch break? At least then maybe you wouldn't stain another blouse."
Looking down at her top, Harumi realized much to her chagrin that the younger scientist was right. There was a little oil mark from when a piece of the cutlet that Ruiko had made her had landed on it.
Sighing in resignation that she'd be getting scolded by her daughter, she shrugged off her lab coat and proceeded to strip off the stained shirt, tossing it into the conveniently placed laundry hamper in the corner of her lab to be washed. She'd get a new blouse after lunch, she had several bits of code for that new simulation she was programming that needed to be combed over.
"Kiyama-sensei!" Shinobu-san shouted indignantly at her.
"What?" Harumi asked, blinking in confusion even as she slipped her lab coat back on.
The younger girl facepalmed and pointed with her free hand at one of Harumi's lab assistants.
"There are people - Men! - around!" The usually quiet teenager said, her voice still raised in annoyance. "Don't you have any modesty?"
Harumi just tilted her head in confusion. "But I'm more covered than if I was wearing a bikini."
"And honestly we're used to it," one of the male technicians said with a tired sigh and a pinched look. "Kiyama-sensei got the moniker [Stripper Lady] for a reason, Shinobu-san."
"Don't encourage her," the blue haired girl said, stomping her feet in frustration. "And Kiyama-sensei put a top on now! You're setting a bad example for your granddaughters."
Harumi pouted. Shinobu-san just had to play that card, didn't she?
"Fine," Harumi said in a whine as she got up and walked to a small closet set up next to the laundry hamper and pulled out a sweater, pulling it on. "Satisfied, Shinobu-san?"
"Very," the younger scientist said, the volume of her voice finally back to normal. "Please enjoy the rest of your lunch."
"You as well," Harumi said, nodding in agreement.
With that, Shinobu-san left, leaving Harumi back to her own devices and she settled back in front of her computer to get back to work whilst distractedly eating the lunch Ruiko had prepared for her.
1300-1800: Administrative work
As much as Harumi would've preferred that her work consisted entirely of research, reality was a cruel mistress and whilst she'd managed to spend the morning working in her lab doing just that, her afternoons found her stuck inside an office doing paperwork.
"This is boring," Harumi complained with a sigh as she unenthusiastically plowed through the huge pile of paperwork she's been saddled with.
In a way that there was so much administrative work was a good thing. It was indicative of just how much her humble business had grown. She wasn't just a small lab whose only claim to fame, though admittedly a rather grand one, was that it managed the Power Curriculum Program for a Level 5 anymore. Now they were also the ones running the Level Upper Network, the fastest growing power development tool in Academy City!
Despite that…
"There's just so much paperwork!" Harumi griped. "How did Ruiko talk me into this again? Oh right. Oyafune-sama forced us to do it."
That said, the level of paperwork was reaching unbearable levels. There was simply too much work for her to realistically keep track of on her own.
A point proven when after hours of work she'd still only barely made a dent in it.
"Kiyama-sensei," Shinobu-san said, knocking on her door and shouting at her from the opposite side. "We have a meeting."
"It's that time already?" Harumi asked, startled at where the hours had gone. "Damn. It is."
"Yes, it is." Shinobu-san confirmed from outside her office. "Now hurry up please. The department heads are waiting."
"Alright," Harumi said in a tired, annoyed huff as she saved what she was working on and got up to leave.
This is untenable. She concluded as she opened her office door, exchanged a nod with Shinobu-san and proceeded to walk alongside her to the assigned venue for their meeting. I will need to hire more administrators.
Her stomach churned a little and she was reminded that she hadn't eaten anything since lunch, which had been hours ago.
And maybe an assistant to fetch me some snacks.
1800-1900: Dinner
At the end of every day, Harumi made it a point, no matter how busy she was, to have dinner with her family. Sometimes this meant having some of her children who weren't living with her or Ruiko's boyfriend and Last Order drop by. Tonight though it was just her, Ruiko, the twins and Shinobu-san.
"Kaasan, please do not strip at work." Ruiko scolded her. "It's the tenth time this month! We don't want another sexual harassment complaint that we have to sweep under the rug!"
Harumi just nodded along. It wasn't like anything Ruiko was saying was new. It was just the same old scolding her daughter subjected her to every time she did something that was considered indecent in public.
"Mama?" Febrie asked, cutting into Ruiko's rant much to Harumi's relief.
"Yes, Febrie?" Ruiko asked kindly, her tone changing completely as she addressed her daughter.
"Can me and Janie strip in public too?" Febrie asked. "Just like Obāchan?"
It wasn't a new question and like the half dozen times the twins raised the issue in the past, Ruiko looked pained. Something which confused Harumi immensely.
It was a reasonable request. It wasn't like the twins had anything mature to show at their age. There wasn't that much of a difference between male and females at their state of physical development. Boys took off their shirts in public all the time! Why should they be treated differently? Though, to be fair, even that was generally discouraged unless absolutely necessary. But still!
"It's 'cos good girls," Ruiko said, shooting Harumi a look when she opened her mouth to question the sexism of singling out girls. "And good boys for that matter, do not just start taking off their clothes in public."
"But why not?" Janie asked, frowning. "If your clothes get dirty why not just take it off and change it?"
"Yeah, why not?" Febrie said, nodding in agreement with what Harumi felt was Janie's perfectly logical argument.
"Because it's indecent." Shinobu-san said with a glare at Harumi.
"But why?" Janie asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Because you'd be naughty if you did so. Obāchan here just doesn't care." Ruiko pouted her way.
It wasn't as effective as when she was younger. Ruiko was just that much cuter as a little girl. A quality that had dulled as she grew older. Especially now that Harumi knew she was using the same look to get her boyfriend to do things to her that as a mother Harumi really didn't want to know were happening to her little girl.
I'm just glad Accelerator is smart enough to not cross the line. Ruiko does not need to add raising a baby to her already long list of responsibilities.
She should probably object more to what the couple got up to. Ruiko walking around sporting hickeys had become a distressingly common occurrence lately. But Harumi was a scientist first and foremost, and she knew from established science that teenagers would explore their sexuality regardless of any prohibitions society or parents put on them. It had been the case since time immemorial and nothing was going to change that. So she permitted it. Within certain boundaries of course. Even she had limits.
"Why is stripping naughty? We do it when we go to the toilet or take a bath." Febrie asked, looking adorably bewildered.
A sentiment her twin and Harumi herself admittedly shared.
Ruiko gave a long-suffering sigh for some reason and looked to Shinobu-san.
"Janken?"
The blue haired girl shook her head. "You're their Mama."
Ruiko pouted but nevertheless nodded.
What's that about? Harumi thought, getting more confused by the minute.
"There are several reasons why it's naughty to strip in public." Ruiko said, adopting a lecturing tone. "One, it's illegal and will get you a fine."
"That's true," Harumi nodded, having been subject to quite a few citations for public indecency in her time she could attest to that.
Ignoring her contribution, Ruiko just continued her lecture.
"Two, if you run around without being properly dressed you'll be more likely to get sick from exposure to the weather."
"Like getting a cold from playing in the rain?" Janie asked and Ruiko and Shinobu-san both nodded.
"Three, you will give people a look at parts of your body that are private."
"That part I don't understand, since even in my underwear I'd be just as covered as if I was in a bikini."
"The context matters, Kaasan." Ruiko said, sighing. "Wearing a bikini to the beach is expected. It's accepted. But running around in one when it's not will just get you labelled nasty names and have other people think bad things about you. Especially certain particularly bad people."
Bad people? Does she mean who I think she means? Harumi thought as her mind wandered in the direction of people of a certain predatory persuasion. I honestly never thought that was the kind of signal stripping in public sent.
"And do you want that Janie, Febrie?" Shinobu-san added. "For people to think badly of you?"
Both twins shook their heads.
"Ruiko?"
"Yes Kaachan?" Her daughter asked, turning to her in surprise.
"Why didn't you tell me all this before?"
"I did," Ruiko said, sounding aggrieved. "Dozens of times. You just keep forgetting it!"
"Oh!" Harumi said repentantly. "Sorry?"
"You say that but you keep doing it!"
Harumi found her dinner to be very interesting at the moment.
"Why don't we just eat," Shinobu-san said with a sigh.
The rest of the meal went about as well as Harumi expected, which was not really all that well. Ruiko was upset with her, something the twins picked up on and left them uncomfortable despite Shinobu-san's attempts to distract them. Thus passed an awkward hour.
1900-2100: Family time
After dinner was family time and today Harumi had decided to use it to have a video chat with her other children whilst Ruiko was spending time with the twins and her boyfriend and Last Order via video chat too, at least that was what they seemed up to if the glimpse Harumi took into Ruiko's room earlier was any indication. Usually the trio would be there too, but at Harumi's insistence they were staying out today so they could plan a surprise for Ruiko to help get her out of the 'funk', as her children described it, she'd been in lately.
"Yeah, but what if she spies on us and spoils the surprise?" Kenta said, looking around him nervously. "What if she's spying on us right now?"
"Ah." Harumi nodded to this, it was understandable. "Have no fear, while your sister has upped her surveillance lately, she's not that nosy. Plus, I explicitly told her that we were planning a surprise for her and not to pry."
"What?"
"Kassan! Why?!"
"That ruins the whole point of a surprise!"
Harumi nodded to her mewling litter, but their words fell on deaf ears. "It was either that or Ruiko will think something's wrong and spoil it entirely by using her intelligence network to figure out what we're up to thinking it's some kind of trap. Surprises aren't good for her right now if they are surprises."
"Fine." "I guess so." "There goes the fireworks ideas…"
"Why don't we just discuss what the surprise should be?" Banri suggested. "Any ideas? It's gotta be something Imouto-chan will enjoy and you know how bloody picky she can be."
"Not that she ever shows it," Ai said with an exasperated sigh, something that was very common in the family when they dealt with Ruiko. "She always just pretends she likes everything we give her or organize!"
"Yeah, robotically." Ryo said with a shake of his head. "I can totally see why people used to call her [The Robot]."
Everyone shot the boy a glare at that.
"Hey! I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying that it's a huge tell that she's lying when she goes all robot on us. That's all!"
"You might have a point Ryo, but never bring up [The Robot] again. Understood?" Banri said, pointing her finger at her camera angrily. "You have no idea what Imouto-chan went through that made her like that."
"'Cos she won't tell us." Shengxi pointed out.
"For good reason," Harumi reminded them. "What Ruiko went through will give you nightmares. I only know the bare gist of it and even I'm unsettled. Do not push your sister for details. Whether Ruiko wants to share is her choice."
"Hai~!" Her children chorused just like they used to back in the classroom where they'd first met.
"Okay, setting that all aside. Any ideas on what we can do to cheer Ruiko-chan up?" Takeshi asked, getting the ball rolling again. "Akihiko, you spoke to her last right. She mentioned anything she'd like doing?"
"Not really, we mostly just talked about school." Akihiko said with a shrug. "And let me just say that for a bunch of supposed Ojou-samas, her classmates at Tokiwadai are brats. She told me they were avoiding her. Like literally running away scared when they see her."
This was met with indignant exclamations from his siblings.
"It's only some of them," Harumi reassured them. "Her friends have stood by her."
"Ruiko-nee has good friends." Hye-kyo said with a smile.
"Hye-kyo is right." Harumi said, causing her youngest daughter to frown. She hated her first name. "Namikaze-san, Misaka-san and the rest have been wonderful influences on Ruiko. Stalwart friends and allies."
"They are," Khulan agreed. "I saw Misaka-san zap a bunch of idiots badmouthing Ruiko-chan on the street the other day."
"At least you didn't get another citation for punching them." Maki said, shaking her head. "Deserved or not. You don't need another mark on your disciplinary record."
"Meh. It would've been worth it and Ruiko-chan would've just made it go away anyways."
"She does that for you?" Ryo asked, curiously. "Would she do the same for me?"
That reminded Harumi. She had to talk to Ryo about always getting into fights at school. He might like kung fu, and was even decently skilled all things considered, but it was no excuse to go around getting into trouble just 'to prove his mettle'. That was however a discussion for another time.
"You just need to bribe her. Buy something nice for her girls and she'll do it." Khulan told him with a smirk. "Don't take them to Dairy Queen though. She always gets angry when you do for some reason. Something about a fox? She didn't want to elaborate."
"Khulan, please don't encourage your siblings to break the law." Harumi chided.
"What Sensei said," Ai said as Shengxi nodded, adding their weight as the eldest siblings to her rebuke.
Khulan and Ryo both pouted but nodded in understanding.
"Oh, I got it!" Maki said as she suddenly shared her screen, blanking out her video feed and replacing it with her browser which showed Endymion's website. "The Endymion opening ceremony! We can go together, as a family. What about it?"
"Maki-chan! That's a great idea!" Ai said as everyone else chimed in with their own agreement.
"I'll see what I can do." Harumi added, doubtfully. "Getting so many tickets won't be easy but I'll try."
2100-2300: Personal research
Finally after signing off from the chat platform with admonishments to her children to go to bed, Harumi got some more personal time out of her busy schedule.
Typing away on her laptop, she did some research on current child care trends. While she was a mother for Ruiko… Her daughter was very low effort as far as mothering went. She was just too independent. Being a Level 5 did that. And her siblings were much the same, even if they were lower Level. But now Ruiko was a mother herself? She needed help and loathe as she was to admit it, Harumi was not exactly equipped to provide it hence the research.
"With the twins, she's been doing good, but this is an important age for them. Their development can affect them a lot, like how Ruiko's own forced missions scarred her mind."
Harumi didn't get to take part in those years of Ruiko's life until she managed to get her back, but that didn't mean she would let the twins not get the best chance they could get.
Especially since her darling little girl was getting far too close to that older boy and if she wasn't careful might just somehow end up giving her a fourth grandchild.
She opened another tab on infant care, just in case.
Thankfully her eldest grandchild, Last Order, was mentally ten years old and something that Harumi could easily deal with. She had first started raising her children when they were around that age. Even if Last Order could be far too over dramatic about things. More so than even her most over the top aunts and uncles.
No one ever said being an Obāchan was easy, but by Science, Harumi was determined to be the best one she could.
It was the least she could do with how she had failed so much in the past.
2300-2315: Getting ready for bed
It was an exhausting day and despite the relatively early hour, Harumi was retiring for the evening.
Once changed into her sleepwear, the woman began her trek to check on everyone in the house.
"Good night, Ruiko. Try not to stay up to chat with Accel too long." She told her daughter, who was fiddling with her phone as she peeked into her room.
"Kaachan!"
Next was Shinobu-san who seemed to be doing some light reading by reading a… romance novel? Eh, if that was what the young woman was into, more power to her.
"Night, Shinobu-san."
"Good night, Kiyama-sensei."
The twins were already out like the cute little lights they were. Of course she crept into the room with ease and offered gentle kisses to their temples.
With that, she finally made it to her own room where she could slip into her far too comfortable bed and finally enter dreamland. Satisfied that her household was all home and safe, her eyes fluttered shut.
Harumi certainly lived a charmed life.
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless as always!
Alright, here we go. Little snippets and lead ups into the coming arc. The Endymion arc/movie! Though I have to say, the part where Naru and Mikoto just talked powers was by far the most fun I had in this chapter. The scene just came out so organically to me.
Nameless: So we're releasing this out of our usual posting order because IRL reasons has slowed down the release schedule for the usual fic we post in this slot in our rotation. Hope you guys enjoy!
So we noticed an issue with the Sisters we assigned unique personalities in our verse. Namely that we made a canon Sister, 13577, into Conspiracy Nut. Our original intent was to avoid using any of the canon Sisters for this since they might show up in later arcs doing stuff, but we erred. E4E, the legend, has gone back to change the other 13577 (i.e. not Conspiracy Nut) to 13579. We think we've caught all the bits which needed changing but do let us know if you guys find any.
E4E: Of course we have the omake that was practically half the chapter in some way. Harumi hasn't been as focused on since the start of the fic, but it's nice to see and catch up on what she's doing in the background. Truly, being the granny is tough, but she's up to the challenge.
Nameless: We considered just combining it with the chapter and labelling the two parts as Part 1 and Part 2 but decided against it but if you want to see it as such, you wouldn't be wrong since as previously stated unless explicitly stated all omakes are canon to the TOTverse. Some might suggest splitting the chapters and we considered it, but really this is a transition chapter to the next arc so we didn't want to drag it out into its own mini-arc so we didn't. Hope you guys don't mind.
PAID FANART COMMISSION REQUEST! Okay, dear readers, some of you might have realised that we've started cross-posting this fic over on AO3 and that platform allows us to post fanart in the body of the story. In light of that, I've found myself feeling like commissioning some fanart. I am willing to pay for it, so if anyone is interested please do contact us.
E4E: You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!