Super Hero Time!

Rui: Symphogear X2!

Kyoko: Nothing, but the Truth!

Rui: You saved your friend, but the mystery deepens, doesn't it?

Kyoko: It seems some secrets of your sister will be revealed to Miku.

Rui & Kyoko: Super Hero Time, start!

Chris Yukine was standing on the edge of a dock, deep in thought and holding some kind of cane.

Finé said that a huge amount of phonic gain is required to activate a complete relic. She thought. I spent half a year preparing for Solomon's Cane, but she was able to handle that sword instantly.

She narrowed her eyes. And that's not all. She even managed to release its power!

"That monster..." She grit her teeth and looked at the cane in her hand. "If Finé wants me to capture that girl, she must be obsessed with her."

Painful memories came to her mind. "And then... we'll be alone again..."

"Oneesama?"

She turned around to see a girl that looked just like her, but had a much more innocent and kind expression, with longer hair.

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh? N-No, it's nothing, Shuri."

Shuri pouted. "I know that's not true. What is it?"

Chris continued to say nothing as Shuri walked forward and hugged her older sister. Chris felt the warmth from her younger sibling, and it did make her feel somewhat better, but she still felt a bit of pain. As the sun rose, Chris saw a blonde haired woman in a black dress staring at them. Shuri didn't seem to care.

"I know." Chris said. "I know what you're expecting of me."

She held up Solomon's Cane. "I can do what you want without needing stuff like this." She said, tossing it to her. "I'll prove that I'm better than she is. I'll crush anyone who has power with my own two hands! That's my goal!"

Shuri shed some small silent tears at her sister's words and tightened the hug. Was the kind sister she knew no longer there?

The sounds of a crutch and iv pole echoed throughout the school's hospital, as Tsubasa Kazanari took some slow steps forward, breathing heavily with every movement.

Kanade... I want to see it too... She thought. Otherwise, I just can't see things the way you do. What's out there, beyond all the fighting...? I want to find out...

Tsubasa almost fell forward with the next step, but a pair of arms caught her.

"Easy there."

Maia helped her lean against the window.

"I'm sorry, Maia." Tsubasa apologized.

"You don't have to. You know that." Maia said with a smile.

Tsubasa stared out the window, and looked down at the jogging track around the field. She saw Hibiki running along with Miku and Rui. The two of them had stopped a bit to catch their breath, while Hibiki simply ran even faster.

"Hibiki's been working hard ever since your accident." Maia said, looking down from the window at the girls. "She might just be as determined as you are."

"I see..."

"And Rui... I've talked to her a bit. She's not as sour as she seems."

Tsubasa put a hand to her cheek, remembering the strength behind Rui's punch, and remembered her words. She couldn't help but wonder, was Rui right? Was there something wrong with her?

Rui had returned to the dorm and was waiting for her turn in the bath. Hibiki and Miku always got in together, and she didn't want to interrupt them. Instead, she was reading a book on her bed, but could hear Hibiki and Miku talking.

"Hibiki, you've changed since we entered Lydian. You never liked putting effort into anything before."

"Have I? I don't really feel like I've changed."

Rui smirked.

"Huh?" There was a splash of water. "You've gotten muscular. And you're covered in wounds! What happened? Even here, and here!"

"Waaaah! That tickles! Stop, stop, stop, stop! Waaaaah!"

Rui pulled the book closer to her face, trying to hide her blush even though no one was watching. Trying her absolute best to tune out those two resulted in her freaking a bit when she got a notification on her phone. Picking it up, she saw it was a text from Maia.

yo wen yo sis gets a call go wit her

Rui's eye twitched, before she texted a response.

Text me again, except speak like a normal person.

Ogawa's got a mission tomorrow. He's gonna give Hibiki a mission after school.

A mission?

Yeah. It's real important. I'll be there too. And pick up some flowers.

What?

Maia didn't send another text. Rui sighed and laid facedown on the bed. Just what was in store for tomorrow.

"Remind me why I had to be flower girl again?"

"Because you ditched class again, oneesan. So you could go pick them up!"

They were standing outside of a hospital room. Turns out, the big important mission was visiting Tsubasa. Rui wasn't really looking forward to it.

"I'm not handing them to her." Rui said, shoving the flowers into Hibiki's arms, before leaning against the doorframe.

Hibiki briefly pouted, but then took a deep breath. "Excuse me!"

The door slid open once the input was done. Hibiki took a few steps and called Tsubasa's name, before dropping her bag in shock. Rui pushed herself off the doorframe and looked inside.

"Hibiki, what's-"

Rui was also put into a stunned silence as she looked inside.

"N-No way..." Hibiki said. "That can't be-"

"What are you doing?!"

Almost instinctively, Rui delivered a roundhouse kick behind her, only for it to be intercepted by an arm block. She was face to face with Tsubasa. Maia was right behind her.

"Man Rui. Didn't take you as the type of person to attack someone that's hospitalized." Maia joked.

Rui groaned as she lowered her leg, while Tsubasa readjusted the grip on her crutch.

"Are you all right?" Hibiki asked Tsubasa fervently. "Are you really okay?"

"You're seriously asking a hospital patient if they're all right?" Tsubasa asked.

"Well forgive us for thinking otherwise when we saw this fucking crime against humanity." Rui said, pointing into the hospital room.

And if one were to describe the hospital room, it would be impossible to explain everything, but the summary was, Tsubasa's room was a mess. There was garbage all over the floor, spilled food and drinks, and random clothes were strewn about everywhere.

Maia started laughing as Tsubasa's stoic façade broke with some embarrassment.

"We thought you had been kidnapped!" Hibiki said, worried. "The people at the second branch had just been talking about international conspiracies too..."

Hibiki continued to drone on as Tsubasa's face slowly became redder.

"Hibiki, you're talking her ear off." Rui said, pulling her sister back. "How about we clean up this place first?"

"Eh? Oh, right. Good idea, oneesan!"

The Tachibana twins got to work cleaning up the room, working like a well-oiled machine. Maia helped out as well as Tsubasa sat down on the hospital bed, watching them work. The girl was blushing a bit, watching them all clean the hospital room.

"Geez... you don't have to do that for me." Tsubasa said.

"No, I don't." Rui said. "But I will because I can't let this landfill grow any bigger."

"I'm usually the one that ends up doing the cleaning." Maia explained.

"Well, Mr. Ogawa asked us to help look after you." Hibiki said. "So we can clean up, at least."

Tsubasa bashfully looked away. "I don't really think about stuff like that."

"That's really surprising!" Hibiki said, carrying a fold of clothes. "I always thought of you as someone who does everything perfectly."

Maia chuckled. "Couldn't be further from the truth. Unless it's kicking Noise ass, my little sis is a total mess."

"Huh, sounds familiar." Rui said, tying a garbage bag tight. "Alley oop!"

She tossed it into the garbage can, a perfect shot.

"And we're done!" Hibiki said, clapping her hands.

"Thus we end the Trash of the Titans." Rui snarks.

"Thanks." Tsubasa said. "Usually Mr. Ogawa does it for me..."

"Wait, you let Ogawa handle your cleaning?" Maia said, raising a brow.

"Hm? Yes, is there something wrong with that?" Tsubasa asked.

"...you're letting a guy clean your stuff." Rui bluntly stated, while Hibiki blushed.

Tsubasa was silent for a good three seconds before she registered Rui's statement and started blushing as well.

"W-Well, when you think about it, I guess there are a lot of problems with that." Tsubasa said. "But I'd rather that than leave my room in a mess."

"Then learn how to clean for God's sake." Rui muttered under her breath.

"I know I'm stuck here for the time being, but I'm still reading the reports." Tsubasa continued, before turning to Hibiki. "I know you're doing a good job taking my place."

"T-That's not true at all!" Hibiki said, waving her hands. "Everyone at the second branch is always helping me!"

Tsubasa smiled, while Hibiki nervously laughed.

"Oh and oneesan had something she wanted to say to you." Hibiki said.

Rui looked away, before Hibiki pushed her forward. Tsubasa stared at her, and Maia made a gesture as if saying "Go on."

"...I'm sorry for saying some rude things." Rui said. "And for punching and kicking you."

Tsubasa looked surprised at the apology, but shook her head. "No, I should be the one apologizing, for treating your sister like that."

"Well uh... I... um..."

It was clear that Rui was not used to this sort of thing, as she stuttered to say something.

"Maybe to get even, you could punch me in the face?" Rui offered.

Tsubasa shook her head again. "It's fine."

She held out her hand, and Rui took it, shaking as a sign of agreement.

"Well, now that you two made up, we'll take our leave." Maia said, grabbing Rui by the shoulders.

"Eh? Where are you going?" Hibiki asked.

"You two should talk too." Maia said. "We'll meet up with you guys later. Seeya!"

"Stop pulling on my hoodie!" Rui shouted.

Hibiki and Tsubasa watched as their older sisters left the room, before turning to one another.

"I... suppose we have a lot to talk about, Tachibana."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So... why here?" Rui asked.

Maia had dragged Rui off with her to a batting cage, while Hibiki and Tsubasa had their time to talk.

"I come here sometimes to blow off some steam." Maia said, holding up a bat and getting ready.

The ball shot out, and she gave it a powerful swing. It went flying quite high. Maia hit every ball that came her way.

"Here, give it a shot." Maia said, holding out the bat.

"But I've never actually done this before." Rui admitted.

It was true. She had always been more of a martial arts person over field sports. But Maia insisted, so Rui took the bat in her hands. Gripping it tightly, she moved in front of the safety net and got ready.

"Wait, Rui. You're standing-"

Half a second later, Rui was holding her hip in pain, hopping around and cursing.

"-in the line of fire..."

"I would have appreciated the heads up earlier, Maia." She said, glaring.

Now out of the way of the ball, Rui held up the bat. She was a bit angry now, so maybe she needed this.

Though perhaps the anger clouded her judgement a little too much, since the second ball whizzed past her. She grit her teeth, getting ready for the next one.

"Is there any specific reason you brought me out here?" Rui asked, swinging and missing the next ball.

"Hm? Is there something so wrong with wanting to hang out with my best friend?"

Rui turned around at that, missing the ball again. "And since when was that a thing?"

"I mean, I kinda figured." Maia said, shrugging. "We're two of a kind, you and me. You ever think about that?"

"Not particularly." Rui said, swinging and missing once more.

"Come on Rui, why are you so cold?" Maia asked.

"It's just who I am." Rui said. "Nothing more, nothing less."

The ball shot past her again.

"I never had friends growing up, actually." Maia said.

"How? I thought a person like you would be able to get along with a ton of people." Rui said, swinging.

"Nope. Everyone just knew me as "the girl that looks like Tsubasa Kazanari."" Maia said. "I couldn't really reveal my relation to her because of the paparazzi, so for most of my life, no one knew the real me."

"I see..."

"The only people that knew the real me were S.O.N.G. and my family. Well, Kanade too, I guess." Maia said.

"...what kind of person was Kanade Amou?" Rui suddenly asked.

Maia looked surprised at the sudden, but decided to tell. "Well, she was kind and friendly. Kinda playful too. If she said she'd do something crazy, you'd never know the answer. She was the big sister for Tsubasa whenever I wasn't there."

"Why did she choose to fight?" Rui said, taking another swing.

"...she lost her family to the Noise." Maia said. "She joined us originally for revenge, but then found that helping people was even better. She was just... cool. There's no other word for it."

"So that's the type of person Hibiki has to live up to, huh." Rui said, swinging the bat again.

"What about you, Rui?" Maia asked. "What's your big story?"

Maia saw as Rui gripped the bat so hard, she thought it might crack.

"Why ask? I'm sure you and S.O.N.G. have all that information at your fingertips." She said, bitterly as she missed another swing.

"We don't." Maia said. "While we do have your personal information, we don't have your entire life history."

"Oh wow, that makes it so much better." Rui said, sarcasm heavily dripping in her voice.

"Shouldn't you learn to trust people more?" Maia asked. "I mean, you've kinda been working with us for quite a while now, but-"

WHACK

On the last shot, Rui had finally hit the ball. There was so much strength behind the hit that it through through the catching net and caused some damage to the bat.

"...we should get out of here." Maia said, standing up.

"No, I'll pay for the damage." Rui said. "It was my fault, after all."

Maia looked surprised as Rui explained what had happened to the owners and offered to pay. Thankfully, they were kind enough to see that it had been an accident and let bygones be bygones.

The two walked away from the batting cage. Maia was still observing Rui.

"So, you were saying something?" Rui asked.

"Yeah. I was asking why you don't want to trust some of us. Did something happen to you in the past or something?"

Rui tightened her fist. "It's not my place to say."

"Huh?"

"What happened affected Hibiki a lot more than it did to me." Rui explained. "I'll only talk about it if she's ready to share it."

"I suppose that's fair." Maia said. "Guess I should respect my best friends wishes."

"Oh for the love of-"

"Come on, can't you admit we're friends at least?" Maia asked.

Rui sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, that much I can say."

"It's a start, but thanks!" Maia said, putting her arm over Rui's shoulders.

Rui turned away to Maia couldn't see her smile. She wouldn't admit it, but she did like the feeling of having a true friend. The only other person that really treated her like one was Miku.

And speaking of the girl, she saw that Miku was walking down the street away from them by herself. Was Hibiki really still talking to Tsubasa?

Maia's phone started to vibrate, before she pulled it out and put it to her ear. "Yeah? What is it, old man?"

Her expression changed to that of alarm. "What?! Where?! ... Crap. Alright, I got it!"

She put it back in her pocket, before letting Rui go.

"What's going on?" Rui asked.

"That girl in the Nehushtan armor, the one that attacked Hibiki and Tsubasa, is heading this direction." Maia explained. "Hibiki's already been contacted. We need to get to S.O.N.G. as soon as possible-"

"Wait, she's coming our way?"

"Yeah. Didn't you just hear me-?"

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Rui said, turning and running in the opposite direction.

"Wait, where are you going?!" Maia called.

Rui didn't answer as Maia groaned. She knew it was probably stupid, but she followed her friend.

Rui kept on running. Miku was no longer in sight, but she had a good idea of which way she went. Maia was right behind her.

"What gives?" She asked, as they ran.

"Miku was walking this way earlier." Rui said. "That means-"

BWOOM

The two held up their arms as they felt a huge shockwave.

"Dammit!" Rui cursed, continuing to run.

Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~

The two arrived on the scene to see that Hibiki, transformed, had just punched away a car. Miku was lying on the ground, looking up at her best friend's new appearance. The Nehushtan Armor user was standing several feet away from them, with it being clear who caused all the damage.

"This is the worst..." Rui muttered, running up.

Miku didn't even seem to notice them, her eyes only on her best friend. "Hibiki...?"

Hibiki didn't turn around, but had an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry..."

"We'll take care of things here." Maia said. "Go kick her ass, Hibiki."

Hibiki nodded, before running into the forest, with the Nehushtan Armor girl chasing after her.

"Miku, can you walk?" Rui asked, holding out a hand.

"What... Rui... did you just see-?"

"Yeah. I did." She said. "Come on."

"You knew?" She asked, with hurt and betrayal in her voice.

It stung her, but Rui kept on the hard façade she always had. "Yes."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

The questions started to hurt. "Miku, please-"

"Why?"

Rui grit her teeth. Could Miku just stop asking? There were bigger problems on hand.

But Maia knelt down to Miku. "Hey. Miku, right?"

Miku was surprised at seeing someone that looked identical to Tsubasa Kazanari, that it almost snapped her out of shock.

"Listen. I know you're confused right now, but there's some dangerous stuff happening around her." She said in a soft voice. "I promise that we'll try to explain everything to you, but I need you to understand that this isn't the time for questions."

Miku nodded, as Maia smiled at her. Rui was surprised at how well Maia was handling the situation. Had she done this before? Maybe with some survivors of Noise attacks?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another explosion. They looked to the forest, to see that there was a huge plume of smoke rising through the trees. Miku stood up and looked at the destruction, a few tears running down her face.

"Hibiki..."

A/N: I'm sure most of you saw Chris having a sibling come from miles away.

XDU recently dropped a lot of new content, so that's going to cause some interesting new developments in the story. As a result, there's actually going to be 7 Seasons instead of the original 5. Yeah, I might be crazy (actually, no "might," I AM crazy), but that's what I'm doing.

There's not much else I can say at the moment, but I do want to give a good thank you to all the writers on the /r/Symphogear Discord for giving me feedback on the story. I will be trying to implement some of those fixes as I continue to write this.

Till then, see you all next time.