Chapter 70 – Secret History of the Foundation
Mugi's POV
"…Wow. That sounds like a lot of trouble, Onee-chan."
"Trust me. It definitely is."
It was the end of Day 2 of our school trip in Paris. A more relaxing day than yesterday. Aside from the fact that we had 4 extra people joining alongside the tours. One of them being a native to this country.
"*sigh* It feers so good tū be bakku in mai hometown once more. The buirdings, the peopre, the sweet smerru of freshry made croissantsu...Tout cela me rend vraiment la chatte mouillée."
And if I have to hear about how wet Zoé's crotch is one more time, I'm going to go insane.
Seriously! Keep it to yourself! NOBODY WANTS TO KNOW!
…
*clears throat* A-Anyway…it was a short grace period before bedtime and I decided to use this time to call Sumire and tell her what's been going on so far.
"So, I guess that explains why I haven't been seeing the second-years at school as of late."
"Yeah…they're all here. Well…except for Jun-chan. She's somewhere in Los Angeles right now."
"I wonder why the box singled her out specifically. Was it really a random chance?"
"Well, that's what Sakurako-chan said." I then thought to myself for a bit. "But then again…with it being only 5%, you gotta wonder why it activated now of all times."
"Perhaps this "Space-Time Box" is preparing you guys for…the future~! Oooooo~!"
"S-Sumire…please don't make such supernatural claims." I gained a concerned sweatdrop.
"*giggle* Sorry, Onee-chan. I couldn't resist."
"*sigh*In any case…how are things back home? Are you and Mikuru-chan handling being the only ones at the hotel?"
"Oh, it is fine for us. Luckily, it's another slow period according to Tamura-san. So, Mikuru-san and I are more focused on school. A-And, uh…other stuff."
"What do you mean "other stuff"?"
"W-Well…"
"Come on, Mikuru-chan. If you want to be rid of your anxiety, then you gotta take this first step."
"B-But why is this first step so huge~?! A-And why do I have to say…TH-THAT…o-of all things~?!"
"Everyone's gotta sacrifice some amount of dignity in their lives."
"*whine* I-I don't wanna lose any dignity~!"
…
"Is that…Mikuru-chan and Sokabe-senpai in the background?" I asked once I heard two familiar voices.
"Aw, geez…I-I gotta go. Have fun on your trip, Onee-chan."
"H-Hey! Sumire! What are you two doing with…*sigh* she hung up."
"What's with the yelling, Mugi? You okay?" Ricchan asked me as she overheard my phone call.
"Oh, it's…nothing troublesome. Just a little worried about Sumire and Mikuru-chan, that's all."
"Huh…well, Sokabe-senpai told me that she was with them. So, there's nothing to worry about."
"R-Ricchan…that's exactly what I'm worried about…" I gained a huge sweatdrop.
"Salut tout le monde! Nous sommes là!"
"Bienvenue "ici"." I said to Miharu as she and Azusa-chan came into the room.
"Hey, Miharu. How was your first date~?" Danielle teasingly asked.
"Well, I certainly had fun. Though, I'm pretty sure someone else enjoyed it more than I did." She then pointed to Azusa-chan, who was still clinging to her girlfriend in her own little world.
"I see…*giggle*…a few more days and she might turn into a full-on French girl."
"I'm surprised Azusa hasn't considered that yet…" Ricchan whispered to me.
"To be honest…so am I." I added.
"Okay. Everyone seems to be here." Sawa-chan said. "Still waiting for Ohmuro to return with Suzuki…"
"When did she leave?" I asked.
"Shortly after we got back from the tours." Ricchan said. "Said that the box was finished charging and that she could go get Jun in a split second. Then jumped in the box and vanished."
"I see…"
"I still can't fathom how such a thing can actually exist." Mio-chan said.
"It's not the weirdest thing ever, Mio-chan." Yui-chan said. "Remember the time we visited Akari-chan for her birthday and this strange portal to another world opened up? That was definitely something."
"*sigh* You know, I shouldn't be surprised that those girls know people from a different world…but somehow, THAT was the final straw for me."
"Hey, is Japan always this weird?" Éliott asked Ricchan.
"Eh. For the most part it's this one city in the northwest area. That part's always getting the weird stuff."
"It's quite famous for it, too." Eri-chan added. "I kinda wanna go there just to experience something weird and out-of-this-world. It'll definitely be something off of my bucket list."
"Huh…"
"So…we're just waiting for Sakurako-chan to return?" I asked.
And once I did ask, this "Space-Time Box" still in question appeared in the center of the room. And began shaking and rumbling as if something (or someone) was coming out of it.
Here we go again…
"Back by unpopular demand…" Was the first thing we heard before Sakurako-chan popped out of the box and landed on one knee with her hands up in the air. "…ME!"
…
…
…
"Wow. Tough crowd. I would've gotten at least a chuckle from Akari and Ikumi."
"Look, did you find Suzuki or not?" Sawa-chan asked. Already losing her patience.
"Yeah, yeah. I found her. She should be coming up right about now…"
And once that was said…
"Waaaaaaaahhhh!"
*THUD*
"Ow…why can't that damn box just shoot us out normally?"
"Jun-chan! You're safe!" Ui-chan cheered as she went to hug her best friend/classmate.
"Glad you managed to get out of that mess, Jun." Azusa-chan added.
"You mean the same mess that the three of you got me into when I didn't want to be involved in the first place? Yeah…TOTALLY glad I'm out of that."
"Tch. S-See? I told you she would still be pissed."
"Rooku on the bright side, Juné." Zoé said. "At reast you did not end up in the prace known as Detroit."
"Oh, yeah. That is a good thing." Miharu added. "If you had ended up in Detroit, you would've bee dead the minute you stepped out of the box. That place is like America's dump."
"That, oru the entirety of the prace known as Ohió."
"Oh, yeah. Ohio's definitely screwed up."
"If you guys are trying to make me feel better, it's not working…" Jun-chan retorted with a huge sweatdrop.
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
"Uh…why is the box still shaking?" Himeko-chan asked as we all noticed the box still moving.
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
*RUMBLE*
…
"Wooohooo!"
*BOOM*
"Wow! So, THAT was Space-Time travel! It felt like I was flying through…well…space! And, uh…time! Kinda hard to describe it once you've actually done it."
"I've done it twice now and I still can't describe it." Jun-chan replied to the long blonde-haired girl that came out of the box.
"W-Wait, who's this girl?" Azusa-chan asked.
"Oh, right. This is Avery. I met her while roaming around Los Angeles and she's been helping me out."
"Woah…so, you're a full-blown American?!" Hikari-chan asked Avery in an excited tone.
"Yeah…I guess. For all I know, I was born there. So, that makes me a citizen."
"So, then you just gotta know! Is it true that American girls have such ginormous tits?!"
"Uh…"
*POW*
"Please excuse her. She's going through puberty." Mika-chan said after hitting her little sister in the head.
"O-Okay, then…" Avery gained a sweatdrop.
"So, if she was helping you out, why is she here?" I asked.
"Because I brought her here."
"WH-WHAT?!" We all shouted in shock.
"J-Jun, why?! We already have a lot of people here!" Miharu yelled.
"And here I thought you were the only sane person amongst the group, Suzuki…"
"H-Hey!" Azusa-chan, Ui-chan, and Sakurako-chan grew insulted by Sawa-chan's remark.
"I am the only sane person." Jun-chan said.
"A-Again, hey!"
"But I did this to help Avery out. She's got no home, no family…she's been chased repeatedly by these demented cops from this sussy corporation and her only means of escape are these crazy powers she has…"
"W-Woah, woah, woah. Slow down a bit." Azusa-chan said. "Demented cops?"
"Sussy corporation?" Ricchan asked.
"And she has crazy powers?" Nodoka-chan asked.
"Well, I can easily show off the "crazy powers" part." Avery said as she placed a freshly opened lollipop in her mouth.
Where did she get that?
She then reached out her hand to a nearby lamp and…
"Fozu Ferja!"
…Then she made a yellow hexagonal-shaped symbol appear around the lamp. Making it float in mid-air and glow a dark yellow aura.
"W-Woah! Th-The lamp is FLOATING!" Yoko-chan shouted as she and the rest of us were in total awe.
"*giggle* If you think that's cool, then check this out. Fozu Jeavro!"
*SNAP*
With a snap of her fingers, Avery made the lamp duplicate itself to the point where there were multiple lamps scattered across the room. Each one was just as bright as the original.
"W-Woah…"
"*pant* *pant* W-Well…th-that should *TWITCH* b-b-be enough of a…d-d-d-demo *TWITCH* str-str-stration. *TWITCH* Gaaah…" Avery then suddenly fell to the floor and began phasing as if she was shifting in and out of this reality.
"W-Woah! She's glitching like a video-game character!" Yui-chan shouted.
"Jeez…don't overdo it, Avery." Jun-chan said as she dug into Avery's hat, took out a bag of lollipops, and shoved a freshly opened one into her mouth. Replacing the one she already had.
"*pant* *pant*…phew. Thanks for that, Jun."
"Now, you're grateful that I made you tag along with me, huh?"
"W-Wait, what was with her just now?!" Mio-chan asked.
"Well…if she uses her powers too much, she starts doing this glitchy seizer-type thing. And the lollipops help her combat that."
"Also…they kinda keep me alive." Avery added. "So…I'm basically sucking on these things 24/7."
"K-Keeping you alive?"
"Girl, what exactly are you?" Danielle asked.
"Hehhehheh…would you believe me if I said I had no idea?"
"What?"
"It's true." Jun-chan said. "Avery's been on her own with these powers for as long as she can remember. And she believes that the sussy corporation mentioned before, known as the STC Foundation, knows something about her true identity. So, she's been investigating them for a while…"
"…And you offered to help. Right?" Sawa-chan asked.
"Y-Yeah…pr-pretty much."
"W-Wait…did you say "STC Foundation"?" Éliott asked.
"Yeah…why?"
"Tch! Pas moyen...that bastardized group is still around?!"
"Woah. What's with the angry tension?" Eri-chan asked.
"Éliott…was it turrue that youru gurandfatheru used tū worku at such a prace?" Zoé asked.
"Yeah…he did. He's a world-renowned scientist famous for his studies and experiments. That company hired him as a means of extra help…but they soon showed their true intentions and my grandfather quit."
…
"Well…more like "fled"."
"Fled?" I asked.
"They were in the planning stages of this crazy-as-hell experiment. One that involved breaking the fabrics of Time and Space…endangering humanity as a sacrifice…my grandfather wanted NOTHING to do with it. So, he took all of the research he had done with them and ran off. And he's been on the run ever since. Haven't seen the poor guy in years."
"Damn…that's gotta suck, dude." Ricchan said.
"Yeah. It definitely does."
"S-So…do you know anything about them?" Avery asked. "Like…ANYTHING at all?"
"I know some things he's told me. But do you really want to know? If I were you, I would stay away from that group as much as possible."
"Believe me, I've tried. But those bastards keep coming after me no matter how many times I've hid from them. Especially since I caught them in the act of doing such an experiment."
"Y-You SAW them?! W-With your very own eyes?!"
"Even better. I got the whole thing recorded on my phone."
"S-Seriously?! Show it to me!"
"H-Hey, easy, French Boy! Tell me what you know and I'll maybe consider it!"
"Tch! Espèce de petite salope..."
W-Woah…even though I've only known Éliott for about a day, seeing him angry like that is…kinda scary…
"O-Okay! M-Maybe we should hurry and call it a day for today." Nodoka-chan said as she stepped in between Éliott and Avery. Pushing the two away from each other.
"Tch. Fine, whatever. I've got a splitting headache now, anyway." Éliott said as he walked out of the room. Still upset about not getting what he wanted.
"H-Hey! Éliott!" Danielle yelled. "*sigh* Sorry about him. See you guys tomorrow. Éliott! Freaking wait, damnit!" She then continued to chase after Éliott down the hallway. Leaving the rest of us in a bit of an uncomfortable state.
Well, that was…an experience…
Shortly after that, we decided to take Nodoka-chan's advice and called it quits for the day. With Miharu, Yoko-chan, and I resting in our room until it was time for lights out.
And for me in particular…I was going through all of the pictures I took these past two days.
These should be enough, right? I haven't heard from Dreamy Mugi since we landed. So, I still don't know how much it takes to restore a full dreamy city…
"Ahhh~…that was nice~…"
"You were in there for quite a while, Miharu-san." Yoko-chan said after Miharu had come out of the shower. "Is the shower really THAT good?"
"Oh, trust me, Yoko. Once you feel that water pressure hitting your body, you'll forget you're even in there."
…
"Well…specifically on ONE part of your body. *giggle*"
"Huh? Where's that?"
"I-It's nowhere special, Yoko-chan! The shower's just THAT good!" I yelled in a panic.
"Oh…okay, then. If you guys say so."
I then made a sigh of relief before turning to Miharu. "Seriously. Stop using the showerhead to masturbate. That's disgusting."
"Don't knock it till you try it, Mugi."
"Never in a million years will I try such a thing…" I retorted with an exasperated look.
"Today ended up being another eventful day, hasn't it?" Yoko-chan asked.
"Oh, yeah. It sure was. Who would've thought Jun-chan would bring someone from America back with her? And then there was that STC thing with Éliott…"
"He really seemed angry about it. Kinda scary, to be honest…"
"Yeah…" Miharu said before making a small sigh. "…H-Hey, guys. I'm…sorry about Éliott. That thing about his grandfather is a touchy subject for him. I should've warned you guys…"
"It's okay, Miharu. Everyone's got that secret trigger inside of them. It's our fault for not noticing sooner."
"Yeah. We can just apologize to him tomorrow and everything will be good again." Yoko-chan added.
"How carefree of you guys." Miharu gained a huge sweatdrop. "I wish I can be that open-minded."
"It's a personal talent of mine. Chilling out to the point where my mind just melts away has gotten me through even the most toughest of situations. Like the no panties thing."
"I-I'm not sure if that's either badass or stupid…" Miharu's sweatdrop only grew from there.
Stupid. Definitely stupid.
"Well, whatevs. I'm going to take my shower now." Yoko-chan said as she got up from the bed she was sitting on. "You guys don't have to stay up for me. I'll probably be in there for a while."
"I left the showerhead on the special setting if you wanna…"
*POW*
"Take all the time you need, Yoko-chan." I said after hitting Miharu in the head to shut her up.
"O-Okay, then…" I could tell Yoko-chan wanted to question this moment. But then decided not to. "Goodnight, you two."
"Goodnight."
"Gaaah…since when the hell did you care about Yoko's innocence?" Miharu whined as she rubbed the bump on her head.
"She's not innocent. It's just that she has better things to keep in her mind instead of "using water to masturbate"."
"Why are you so against masturbation, Mugi?"
"I'm not. In fact, there are times when I…w-wait, what the hell are you making me say?!" I then gained a huge blush after realizing where this conversation was heading.
"I don't know. Hentai wa omaeda, Mugi. *giggle*"
Of all words, she can say "hentai" correctly?!
"*sigh* Wh-Whatever." I continued. "I got too much on my mind right now."
"Like the thing from earlier?"
"Pretty much. I can't stop thinking about what both Éliott and Jun-chan said before. About this "STC Foundation" group. If they're as suspiciously dangerous as they said, then…"
"Well…maybe we're ballooning this way out of proportion. I mean…is a scientific group based in America really gonna come after a bunch of Japanese and French schoolgirls?"
…
"You…do have a point." I said after thinking about it.
"See? Nothing to worry about. So, let's just hurry and fix my mom's Dream World so we can enjoy the rest of our trip. There's so much of my home that you've yet to see."
"*giggle* Now who's being carefree…" I said with a reassured smile.
Yoko's POV
"Ahh~…what a day. Never did I think that Paris would be this much fun. I can't wait to *yawn*…experience more tomorrow."
After stripping myself of the clothes I wore today, I dipped into the freshly prepared bath (a last-minute decision instead of taking a shower) and soaked neck-deep in the warm water.
The reason for the traditional Japanese soak is…well…I've been feeling a little sleepy recently. I would doze off at random moments and then not remember falling asleep afterward. And it's been happening a lot.
Like this one time…
*A FEW DAYS AGO…*
"Yoko…Yoko!"
"H-Huh?! O-Oh…hey, Mika. Hey, Himeko." I said to my two friends as they stood over me.
"Yoko, what the hell?" Mika asked. "Why did you just fall asleep in the middle of the track field?"
"H-Huh?" I then sat up to realize that I had fallen asleep in the middle of the track field. And the rest of the class was looking at me with looks of confusion and concern.
Aw, geez. It happened again…
"Uh…I-I guess I was just *yawn*…r-really tired today…"
"Today, huh?"
"Yoko…this has been a thing for the past few days." Himeko said. "And the places you've fallen asleep at just keep getting weirder, too."
"Weird? Like how?"
"Your desk, the classroom floor, the middle of the hallway…"
"Across 3 bathroom sinks…" Mika said. "…I didn't think you were even that tall…"
"Eh. Doesn't sound too bad."
"Really? Because then you fell asleep in the line for the snack bar…"
"Fell asleep while changing out your gym clothes…" Tainaka-san said.
"Fell asleep in the janitor's closet with a bucket on your head…" Manabe-san said.
"You even fell asleep on top of the statue outside the school!" Eri yelled. "How the hell did you even get up there?!"
"O-Oh, wow…that does sound bad. Maybe I should…should…sh-should…*yawn* night-night~…" And then, out of nowhere, I fell back asleep.
"H-Hey! Yoko! Don't go back to sleep!" Mika yelled.
"We're only 2 hours into the school day! WAKE UP!" Himeko added as they were both shaking my body in an attempt to wake me up.
…
And to my knowledge…it didn't work.
*PRESENT DAY*
Yeah…it's been that bad. And my sleep pattern has been getting weirder to this day. To the point where I'm constantly drinking coffee in order to stay awake during this trip.
"*sigh* At least I can take it easy now. I'm *yawn*…I-I'm soooo sleepy~. I-If this keeps up, then~…*yawn*…th-then~…I'll have a hard time~…c-confessing to~…A…ki…ya…ma…san…Zzz…"
…
…
…
…
…
"demented giggle* Out like a log. This girl truly is surprising."
H-Huh? A voice? Did Kotobuki-san and Miharu-san come in here to check on me? I told them not to worry…
"So, all I gotta do is take her to the meeting point, right? Heh…an easy as hell job. To think they'd hire me AND pay a lot of money for this. Desperate saps. *giggle*"
W-Wait…"take me"? "Meeting point"? "Pay"? I-Is this a kidnapping?! Somebody PAID this person to kidnap me?! Wh-What the hell?! What's going on?!
As I was mentally panicking, I felt my still-unconscious body being risen up from the water. Exposing my nakedness to the cool air in the room.
"Anyway…sucks that this girl has to be naked the whole trip there. But I can't be bothered with putting clothes on her. So, public shaming it is! *demented giggle*"
Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP! I'm really about to be kidnapped! I wanna scream for help! B-But…I-I can't move! My body's still asleep! SOMEBODY! HELP ME!
Mugi's POV
*CRASH*
"Wh-What was that?!" Miharu asked after we heard a strange loud noise.
"It came from the bathroom. Is Yoko-chan okay in there?"
"She's STILL in there? Geez…I know that showerhead feels good and all, but she can't stay in there forever."
"Will you stop with the masturbation already?" I grew irritated.
*CRASH*
*BANG*
"Wh-What is she doing in there?!" I then asked as the noises were getting louder and…more violent.
"Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good." Miharu said as we both rushed up to the bathroom door. Not even knocking first before entering. And what we saw was…pretty insane.
There was Yoko-chan…still asleep. Or… more so unconscious. Fully naked and being carried by a red-haired girl with a single dark-violet eye.
And I was honestly in so much disbelief. As I…knew this girl.
"Tch! Freaking hell! This girl can still fight back even while she's knocked the hell out?! What kind of power does she have?!"
"A-Akari-chan?!"
"W-Wait…Mugi, you know this girl?!" Miharu asked me.
"Don't you remember? We ran into her in Okinawa during Golden Week."
"Seriously?"
"Oh, great. The rescue team's here." Akari-chan said. "And here I thought I could get this done in under 2 minutes. What a pain in the ass…"
"Akari-chan…what are you doing here?!" I asked. "A-And what are you doing with Yoko-chan?!"
"Tch. What's it to you, you blonde bitch? I ain't got to tell you a damn thing."
"Wh-What…?"
S-Since when was she THIS mean and cruel?!
"Wow…who would've thought that Akari girl would have such a dark side?" Miharu said. "And she was the most relatable of the group, too…"
"Grr…QUIT CALLING ME AKARI, DAMNIT! I'm nothing compared to that goody-two-shoes irrelevant jackass!"
"Huh?!" We both yelled in confusion.
W-Wait…sh-she's NOT Akari-chan?! Then who the hell is she?!
*BZZZT*
"Hey! Quit yelling at random people and get out of there already! We're wasting time!" We then heard a new voice yelling over an earpiece the Akari-lookalike had in her ear.
"Fine, whatever." She said before looking back at us. "As for you two…you've pissed me off so damn hard! I'll knock you both out for getting in my way!"
"Ha! Just try me, bitch!" Miharu yelled. "I'll give ya seven across the ass for messing with my friend!"
Seven across the what? I gained a mental sweatdrop.
"Is that so? Well, then let's see you try with this affecting you! Mulserokgyus Fuxo! *SNAP*"
With a snap of her fingers, the Akari-lookalike made a misty red fog surround us from all angles of the bathroom. And within seconds, we were both feeling extremely tired. Our bodies were weakening and our eyelids were struggling to stay open. There was no way we could continue this encounter. No matter how hard we tried.
So, we ended up passing out on the bathroom floor. Unable to fight back against the kidnapper…and unable to rescue our friend.
"*demented giggle* Sweet dreams, asswipes~."
This was the last thing we heard…before fully passing out.
Author's Note: They thought their troubles would soon be over once Jun was found and Dreamy Paris would be restored. But when Yoko is kidnapped by someone looking VERY SIMILAR to Akari, there's no telling what can go wrong from here.
So, it's probably well-known by now that everything that was broken on FanFiction (that lasted for months) is now fixed. Meaning that I don't have to frantically worry about where to continue this story.
…
For now.
In the meantime, I'm still posting the story on AO3. Doing this has allowed me to go back to previous chapters and fix any errors I've missed over the years. So, it's really a great opportunity.
Also…you know how I said that I was going to write a bit of a spin-off story to this one after introducing Lala in chapter 67? Well…I decided to hold that off for a while. Mainly because…once this arc is finished, The New Band Mate will be around 75% done. And what I've written so far would work better if it's part of the main story. I want to give this story a huge send-off once the time comes.
Thanks for reading. Later.