[SS] Easy Money (Side B)

With the pound of the call button, the dial tone began to resound over the phone’s speaker. As the each beat of the dial tone rang, Maria could feel herself sweating. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, but each beat of the dial tone felt like it took a minute to conclude despite the fact that it likely only took five to six seconds. But, as she heard the third beat, the Kamijou’s voice began to emanate from behind her.

«Sorry, but I can’t put the two of you on risk, either.»

As she turned her head back to Kamijou, she saw the elevator doors beginning to open up and Kamijou sprinting out of the elevator.

Without hesitation, she followed suit. “No! Don’t!”

However, her call was useless as within a few meters of exiting the elevator, Maria found sharp, tight pains beginning to erupt over her legs and feet. Her next step could only be called a disaster as the moment her feet landed on the ground, the pain in her thighs and shins had intensified so much that she found her thigh, shin and even her hip muscles giving out. She began to feel the consequences of constant, strenuous exercise.

This lapse in contraction at the proper time led to what could only be described as a nasty fall as the maid landed face first on the ground and slid forward for half a meter.  As soon as her great fall had come to a halt, she immediately noticed that while the phone was somehow still in her hand, her modest chest was touching the ground. That could only be a bad sign. Somehow the force of her fall crushed the cat, though it was unlikely as animals were fairly robust, or the cat had deftly jumped out of her arm during the fall. As she used her free arm to push herself up, she forced herself to sit on her knees, ignoring the cries of her thighs, shins, and ass.

Panting, she put the phone back to the ear and quickly turned her head back and forth until she saw the cat sitting down a few feet away from her, doing its own personal grooming.

“Mreow.”

“At least it’s not still running away, yet.” She could almost feel one of her eyelids drooping as she made that note and gave a deep sigh. She just needed a few minutes of rest to stave off that fatigue and digest the lactic acid forming in her muscles.

Unfortunately the chance for rest flew away into the aether as the dial tone was cut off by the sound of someone picking up the phone. She was ready to give off another sigh of relief. Unfortunately for Maria, however, the voice that came afterwards made her redact the sigh.

«Moshi Moshi~! It seems the partner you’ve been trying to reach is unavailable, so you’ve got to stick with me~even if you mind!»

The voice of the young woman from before was the last thing Maria wanted to hear from the speaker. Unfortunately, this meant that her ojou-sama, whatever her name was, was in that woman’s hands. Either that or the dreamer’s option of the woman somehow getting her hands on Maria’s phone without laying a finger on Himegami. Of course, given what she could glean off the nature of that woman, Maria would have to be naive beyond belief to hope for the latter.

Maria could find herself struggling not to curse out in light of recent events. Having her ojou-sama taken hostage was a disgrace upon the name of the maid. She clenched her free fist and gritted her teeth. But, now was not the time to throw a fit. She could scream and cry as much as she wanted later. She just needed to redeem herself after her disgrace. There was only one way to do that: confirm and maintain the safety of her ojou-sama.

“I imagine this means you’re holding milady hostage, then…” She spoke in a calm manner, or at least as calm a manner as she could manage while regaining her breath. Even if that pressure was still there, she had to combat it somehow. Otherwise, she would never be able to…

“What are your current demands?” Unfortunately for Maria, hostage negotiation was a skill Ryouran had not taught her yet. It was likely a high school class but she was just a middle school student. As such, she could only fumble around on instinct to make sure Himegami was not harmed.

Of course, she had no way of warning Kamijou about this either.

«I imagine this means you’re holding milady hostage, then…»

«Milady, huh? How cute.»

«What are your current demands?»

«You know what I want. Bring it to the toilet farthest to the east. Sit down in the cabin in the back of the room and then wait for my call. Oh and come alone.»

Immediately after listing her demands, she cut the connection, stowing the phone away in one of her dress’ pockets. She had already walked enough to enter the Dianoid through the main entrance, all by herself. The owner of the phone, the long black hairs was still lying there on the cold ground of plaza. Mugino had never bothered to drag her along, chain her up, let alone take her hostage. The assumption was that she’d remain knocked out or be dragged away to a hospital or doctor by an onlooker that had a heart stronger overshadowing the curiosity driven by schadenfreude.

As for her plan, she could only think of it as child play. Child play she’d greet with a grin of her own.

The other party would of course assume she’d had taken a hostage and arrive at the spot she’d named all alone, sitting down in that cabin. Since preventing people from entering a public toilet was rather easy, the two of them would be undisturbed which on the other hand gave her the final advantage. She’d simply take the cat and convince the other party by sending more threats their way. In the end she might reveal the true fate of the «hostage», then take off. That was all it’d take.

A child’s play.

If being an idiot was an actual sport, Kamijou Touko would likely rule the world cup.

She had run off, making sure that the yellow-black maid wasn’t able to catch up and then once the distance was actually even greater than that, she abruptly came to a halt, gasping for breath. However she didn’t (officially) take a break because she needed rest, but because she had realised once again how quickly she had shot forward without even having a hint of a plan or objective or even an idea of what she was actually supposed to do.

Save the cat, save everyone else who was drawn into this. That’s what she had thought at first, but she had quickly overlooked the fact that to do so one needed a plan or at least an idea of what they were doing.

Of course she had neither.

So she sat down, or rather held herself up by supporting her own weight with a nearby wall.

«There are two people after us. The one who spat the threats and the girl that was with her. At least the leader seems to have an ability, probably strong, but with Imagine Breaker I could do something about it. Still I should be careful…»

Mumbling to herself, Kamijou tried to sound as much like a shounen manga protagonist in an internal monologue, that was standard for any fighting scene, as she could, succumbing to the cool vibes such view would usually give off.

«As for the other. I don’t know. She might be in elementary school. So maybe she’s also only about her ability as well? Hmm…but two of them at the same time? Are they even still at the same spot? How do I actually find them? The Dianoid is large enough. Good, they’re after us, but I haven’t seen a trace of them so far. Maybe lure them in, but how? Mh. […] Maybe Costumes? […]»

Mumbling back and forth, the heroic action of charing straight towards the battlefield like shounen hero A to Z would do it, had quickly changed into the scene of a deadly exhausted girl mumbling to herself while somehow holding herself on her feet clinging to a wall pitifully.

Saiai had made a crucial error in her plan. Her aim was to go around to make sure they didn't exit the building and keep them from leaving. They would be trapped in the Dianoid with no real way to leave without getting caught. Isolating them in one location would be essential as it also keeps the cat from running around the concrete jungle of a city making it virtually impossible to find again.

However, what she didn't account for was just how big the Dianoid was. It was a very large structure and those two girls had access to basically any floor open to the public. That's a lot of ground to cover, especially with a couple thousand people coming in and our frequently whether to shop or there to stay. They would a needle in a haystack, a needle with a big fluffy white cat that is. Even so, by the time she went around to the other side, she was wandering the first couple of floors to possibly find them. Sadly, not a single sign of the target or the two girls.

Kinuhata sighed a bit as she held her head feeling a headache coming along. This wasn't what she wanted personally. She thought chasing the cat would be amusing, but she wouldn't want to kill anyone for it. It was so childish to her. She can make plenty of money on missions, and this felt like more of a casual game then something involving life and death.

However, as soon as Mugino got involved, that went out the window. There is no defeat for her, only Victory. She wouldn't say Mugino is after the cat solely for the money, but primarily because she wants to win. She always desires to be on top of everyone else, treats others like dirt, and is willing to sacrifice so easily just to get one leg up on someone. And because she can win, she has to.

It can't be helped. They just decided to get super involved with the wrong goose chase. Saiai convinced herself. It was rather odd, as Saiai was stone cold during missions but considering this was her free time doing a light hearted activity, she didn't act that way.

Trying to throw away such useless emotions such as pity and guilt she would turn to her phone. She should report to Mugino that she cannot find them. Perhaps she has had better luck at tracking them down. She dialed her number and sighed. "Mugino. It's Saiai. I am super unable to find them at the moment. How are things on your end?"

Once the woman had finished giving her demands, the sound of the cut in the call caused by the phone being hung up echoed from the speakers. There was no room for negotiation. The end of that call had signaled that a majority of her wiggle room had been cut.

Then again, all Maria could really focus on was Himegami’s safety. Even if she had the wiggle room necessary to make some negotiation, she likely would not be able to do it. It would have been quite a farcical scene to watch, though, if there were anyone who enjoyed a good, cringe-inducing conversation.

She looked to the cat who seemed to be looking back at her quizzically and meowing every so often with a look of desperation. The facade of calm she had on the phone broke down once again. In the end, someone as dangerous as that man was holding someone else hostage. It was a situation she wanted to be prepared for but was horribly underprepared for.

Dammit, Maria. What do you think you’re doing?! You’ll never be able to reach sensei at this rate! The maid struggled not to slam her head against the ground to shake out her doubts. Face it. If you don’t, you’ll just stay the same and never get the chance to tell sensei—

Yeah. I just need to push forward. Even if I don’t have the ideal answer…I know what I need to do. I’ll plunge straight in and bring her out of this. I’ll wrack my brains until I can reach that ideal answer.

The girl felt herself start to lose control of her diaphragm as she started to let out a long hearty laugh towards the sky while the cat continued to stare at the maid in confusion. As her laugh slowed down and her muscles started to relax, she looked back forward with a relaxed smile on her face.

Still unsteady, she forced herself back onto her feet, made her way over to the cat and gently picked it up, cradling it in her arms. Without another word, she walked forward, step by step. Her pace picked up as her feet began to move at a more brisk pace. It was the most she could pull off as her legs continued to let out searing pain.

In a few minutes, Maria had reached a few feet away from the the specified bathroom. However, before she could enter, she felts a painful sensation in her arms as well as a loud, angry meowing.

“AH!” She reflexively loosened her arms as the cat jumped out from her arms and started to run away. She tried to pick up speed and pursue but her leg pain once again became too much to bear as she found herself on her knees again, rubbing at her shins while watching the cat run off into the crowds of people.

“Of course…” She could feel a small amount of blood trickling from the location where the cat had dug its claws into her. She hated the fact that everything she had worked for that day had been for naught, but the entire purpose of holding a hostage had gone away as Maria no longer held possession of the cat. In other words, that woman would have to let Himegami go.

While forgetting the possibility that she might kill the hostage out of anger, she decided to call back to the young woman. She picked up the phone and dialed her own again.

She could not tell if the phone had been picked up or whether it had gone into the answering machine, but she answered anyway. “I’m sorry but it looks like the cat had other plans,” Maria said with a smile.

Quickly after the first call, a second one arrived, this time announced by a rather specific vibration, not a ring tone. The signal that this time it had indeed been a private call, to her private phone.

While Mugino was still in a state of amusement, she grabbed her phone and accepted the call with no second thought, actually greeting the one on the other end joyfully, before listening to what they had to tell.

«Mugino. It’s Kinuhata. I am super unable to find them at the moment. How are things on your end?»

Fortunately she had been in a rather good mood, due to successfully cornering those girls with the cat without much effort to begin with, otherwise the words she had heard would have tasted a bit too sour.

«Don’t worry, Kinuhata. They will come to the ground level. You should do so, as well. There’s a restroom in the far east area, I’ll meet them there. Just in case something might go wrong, like them actually believing that countering us with a trap, I would like you to stay around the area and keep an eye from the distance. Understood?»

She quickly gave a simplified rundown on the plan she had made up on the spot. Experience told her not to simply accept things as they were given to her, even if the odds were that extremely positive. In cases like that the unforeseen would often lurk around the next corner, ready to jump at one’s face any moment. With at least a tiny amount of additional preparation that girl striving for the simplest of victories was hoping to fend all of that off, just in case.

Pressing away the call with the usual button, Mugino would already notice the large sign hanging from the ceiling marking their meeting spot from the distance. A small grin of one who was sure they had already claimed victory, ran across her lips.

However right when she was bathing in those thoughts, the other phone would ring again.

Quickly accepting the call, she was ready to hear the simple words she’d need to wrap the game up. Something like a simple «I’m there» would end it all, finally.

«I’m sorry but it looks like the cat had other plans.»

Silence. Lasting for at least half a minute, the silence would well between the two of them.

Taking a deep breath, while loosening her extremely tight grip that had at some point even caused cracks in the phone’s body, she was trying to find her way back to calm.

«What? What is that supposed to mean?«

Even though she was struggling to sound as cheerful as possible, it was noticeable in her voice that she had difficulties keeping her calm, had she very well understood the meaning behind those news.

«…where is it?»

Far too useless heroine Kamijou Touko had at some point broken off her shounen manga protagonist planning phase act, coming down to the realisation that none of her brainchildren would ever have a good success quota, even in her fantasies. Therefore she had settled on taking a stroll through the gigantic building in hope of stumbling across something rather useful on the way.

And that had actually worked out perfectly!?

Just after merely a two minutes of following that half-assed strategy, she actually saw someone familiar in the crowds. An orange hoodie, white t-shirt, hot-pants and a body that wouldn’t make any of that look remotely sexy.

Wait, isn’t that…?

Quickly taking cover around the next best corner, Kamijou would shoot many occasional glances towards the pursuer, eying them carefully as they were occupied with their phone, likely calling their comrade. From the distance, though, she wasn’t all too sure, since she could neither hear anything spoken nor make out any facial expressions. To be fair, though, Kamijou was no such thing as a profiler, so she wouldn’t be able to read too much from people’s faces unless their emotions were truly overflowing.

She gulped. She was sure, it was her time to shine, but what should she do?

Charging straight at them while shouting something from the bottom of her lungs, or approaching them and starting to threaten them were both options that sounded far too stupid to ever work out. Maybe against an actual little kid, but this one? She could tell the girl was far more adult than it’d fit her appearance. Likely she was even more adult than Kamijou herself. Then again, wasn’t that what children of this age would always behave like?

For a moment she pondered, then she simply stepped forward.

«Hey you! You want ice cream? Or maybe a milkshake? Kamijou-onee-chan knows just the perfect spot for that right around the corner~! What do you say? Let’s just burry all that and become friends!»

A little girl was still a little girl. No matter how adult they were trying to appear as, you’d just have to treat them the way they really were. That’s the thing that’d either annoy them the most or actually touch their heart the most. And besides that, no one of that age would simply decline an offer to super tasty ice cream or the ultimate creamy milkshake! Placing the cherry on top of the cake, she committed the final move! Kamijou-onee-chan’s secret art: The sisterly pat on the head!

«What? What is that supposed to mean?«

It seemed the woman’s calm had started to break. Whatever superiority she may have gained had crumbled away as a monkey wrench known as an unexpected (and probably somewhat predictable, in retrospect) event.

“I mean exactly what I said. The cat dug its claws into my arm while I was carrying it and ran off into a crowd.”

She continued to pant as she stood, leaning against a wall next to the entrance of the girls’ bathroom she was told to wait at. In the end, she had lost the cat and it had become the equivalent of needle in a haystack at this point. She likely would be unable to find it anymore. She was too tired to run and the cat had likely long since disappeared to somewhere else far away.

«…where is it?»

“It went north from where you told me to wait…well, north from the entrance. Though, it’s been about two minutes since then, so I don’t know where the cat ran off to at this point.” She gave the simple honest answer. She no longer had possession of the cat in question, so Himegami’s use as a hostage had likely expired. “What does this mean for milady?”

In the end, though, she still had no idea how to predict this woman. It would be a waste of effort to kill the hostage, but there was no guarantee she would not go on a rampage and kill her anyway. After all, she seemed like the type who would flip out the moment something did not go her way. In the end, she could only hope that this meant Himegami’s safety.

Kinuhata would sigh as she put her phone away as soon as the call ended. Mugino was making plenty of progress it seemed, as expected at her. Despite her bold and almost out right thick headed desire to win, she is very clever in terms of psychologically bending the will of others. It's always in her words, her tone, her face. Everything is calculated in order to get the quickest and most efficient result possible. That's why, at times, she would be seen as heartless, even with the most gentle of smiles.

And that is also why she always get's the job done. Kinuhata, however, respected her in that regard, but also felt a bit discouraged at times when she may use those calculated faces on ITEM. On her allies. Sometimes she would pretend she cared for the sake of ensuring the trust and relationship would flourish. But other times, she only secretly treated everyone like an asset. A tool. A pawn. She doesn't show it easily, but Kinuhata knew that more than most.

This time was no different, even if it was only a cat chase around the city, or specifically the Dianoid. Regardless, Kinuhata was given the task to proceed toward the rendezvous with Mugino toward the bathroom, so she should start heading there.

«Hey you! You want ice cream? Or maybe a milkshake? Kamijou-onee-chan knows just the perfect spot for that right around the corner~! What do you say? Let’s just burry all that and become friends!»

Kinuhata would tilt her head over her shoulder to look at the person approaching her. A spiky haired girl that was speaking to her in a rather friendly tone. In only took a moment before she realized who exactly it was. "...Ah. Found you." Kinuhata simply stated, completely ignoring her peace offer and before her hand might reach her head, she suddenly ducked and forced her legs out from under them with a sweeping kick, in an attempt to send her belly down to restrain her. This person no longer had the cat, but she may still hold valuable information, if not to make better hostage incentive. "Apologies, but I would super appreciate the whereabouts of your compatriots. Your cooperation is super encouraged." Kinuhata said, hoping to get something new out of this girl.

Kamijou-onee-chan’s secret art: The sisterly pat on the he—

Would never arrive.

Before the right hand that could give every little girl onee-chan’s sisterly love could even arrive at its destination, her legs were suddenly hit with surprising force and her face hit the ice-cold carbon floor.

«Hey! Wait! You aren’t supposed to! You’re the imouto-type not the ice-cold-kuudere-that-will-kill-you-once-you-even-lay-a-finger-on-them-type!!»

Desperately shouting more nonsense, Kamijou quickly reacted before the girl could go down on her, by simply accelerating into a quick roll to the side. Of course that was only an action to break away temporarily and quite sloppy in execution, did it seem more like a spring roll on the run than anything a professional would pull off. But that still worked…until she hit a pillar.

«Ouch! Ow Ow Ow!»

Emitting a collection of rather comical sounds, she tried to force herself back onto her legs while cringing in pain.

«What was that even?! Kamijou-onee-chan was just trying to be friendly and you just!! No ice cream then! What kind of person are you even?! Wearing such ultra short hot pants at that age!?»

Upon unleashing a barrage of desperately way too casual comments, she stumbled across an idea or rather she recalled something. That maid’s face, the chase, that time when she had been on the bus. Maybe…

«Your body is still way too underdeveloped for that kind of sexiness to work out! Just look at those thin legs! They’re way too thin and your butt still lacks shape! Like this you won’t attract any boys or anything! Maybe some super perverted lusty lolicons, but for that diapers would do a much better job!»

The return of the other secret weapon. The knife that were words. How little did she know that she’d hit right on the spot.

«It went north from where you told me to wait…well, north from the entrance. Though, it’s been about two minutes since then, so I don’t know where the cat ran off to at this point.»

Silence. Pressure. The sound of plastic snapping.

«What does this mean for milady?»

As if in reply to this question, the connection cut.

Mugino Shizuri held onto the phone, that had finally given in to her grip’s force, for quite a while, before casting it away finally. Covered by the blood its many splinters had drawn, it’d lay there and soon be consumed by the masses of pedestrians passing by. Before long someone might actually notice the item that no longer looked anything like what it was originally supposed to be, but that was hardly any of her concern.

She had already moved on.

Both of her fists clenched to fists, gritting her teeth and boiling of anger.

Trudging with the intensity of a T-Rex that high class girl truly became the kind any person with at least the slightest idea of common sense would walk a wide arc around, knowing fully well how big the collateral damage would be when stepping into an angry gal’s path.

The cat had been lost, she no longer had a trace of the people who had last seen it and the «hostage» had most likely been brought away from the place where she had left them.

In the most roundabout way, this was defeat.

She had lost to them. They had defeated her.

Those little pests without any idea of who they were meddling with had beaten her.

Her of all people.

Not many would know what that actually meant. Even those that knew could no longer arrive at the state of knowing.

Most certainly, now that she had lost the chance to take away victory from their hands directly, she would find another way, something worse. She would she would she would.

But how…

Maybe, find that cat herself and then instead of cashing in…doing something like that on a public line? Even if she had no means of tracking those people down, it would reach them. And not only them, but all of those pests.

Yes, that was great…!

As soon as her question addressing Himegami’s safety was finished, the call disconnected. Maria stared at the phone in confusion for a few seconds. It was possible that the phone simply was moved out of service so, she called her phone back once again.

“We are sorry, but this number is no longer in service. If you have misdialed, please—“

That definitely was not the message one would expect from a phone out of service area. It would normally be a dial tone or a message saying that the phone was not within the vicinity of any cell towers. That was the message once received when their phone number was no longer functional. She closed the phone, realizing that using it was no longer going to get her anything useful, and put it into her pocket.

“She destroyed it out of anger…”

With all that, she was certain that the woman was definitely not in the best of mental states. At this point, there was no telling what she could do to the hostage. In that case, she needed to find either this woman or Himegami as soon as possible. She could not confirm anything without finding the other.

She moved around aimlessly through a few places for a few minutes until she eventually saw the familiar lavender designer dress and wavy hair. But, before she could make any observations, she heard the rumbling of the ground. Surely, it was not an earthquake. After all, she was fairly high above ground and the carbon-based building was likely designed to absorb earthquake shocks. In that case, there were only a few other options.

“I heard the cat passed through here!”

“After it!”

“I’ll get it first!”

“STOP SCRATCHING, ASSHOLE! ACTING LIKE A CAT WON’T MAKE IT SHOW UP ANY FASTER!”

“Here, kitty kitty kitty!”

She turned around only to see the a large mob of people running coming from the hallway towards her. In retrospect, it only made sense that mobs would form in search of the cat shortly after it was allowed to run loose on its own. Before she could even react, the mob collided into her, pushing her along with them and straight into the lavender dress woman. Not even two seconds after the collision with Mugino, she felt another collision as Mugino must have collided into something else due to a sharp turn made by the mob next to a wall so as to not collide with…another mob.

Maria almost wanted to complain about the ridiculousness of the situation as she was pulled away from Mugino so quickly that she could not see what happened to her after that collision with the wall. Not even another five seconds later, she ended up colliding with another wall before finally breaking loose from the mob as she fell down.

She could not tell up from down any more as what may have been a concussion caused by her head slamming into the wall caused her consciousness to slowly drift away.

Saiai would've had the advantage when dropping down to bring the disrespectful girl to her appendages. How could she so casually approach her as if everything was dust in the wind? Saiai was a girl who was trained to only achieve one thing. Results. While ice cream sounded surprisingly nice on a hot summer day at that, she was not about to abandon her post for a nice icy treat.

Surprisingly, the spiky haired girl was nimble and quick to react to Saiai's techniques. Even if they were somewhat athletic, it was the reflex of the girl that was abnormal. While her roll was sloppy, the fact she acted so quickly borderline impressed Saiai.

«Hey! Wait! You aren’t supposed to! You’re the imouto-type not the ice-cold-kuudere-that-will-kill-you-once-you-even-lay-a-finger-on-them-type!!»

"You're certainly the super arrogant type to think I'd let someone with super disgusting hair like that to touch me. At the end of the day, I require your cooperation though." Saiai wanted to get this over with at this point. Mugino would be getting impatient if she didn't bring results soon, and she won't be a hindrance to Mugino's desires.

While walking over to the girl, it seemed the irritated girl would continue to spout some stuff that would kind of poke at Saiai's own internal pride regarding a certain subject.

«What kind of person are you even?! Wearing such ultra short hot pants at that age!? Your body is still way too underdeveloped for that kind of sexiness to work out! Just look at those thin legs! They’re way too thin and your butt still lacks shape! Like this you won’t attract any boys or anything! Maybe some super perverted lusty lolicons, but for that diapers would do a much better job!»

Saiai would seem to stop for a moment, her expression seeming shocked for a moment at that out burst. Her body being underdeveloped? Too young for that kind of sexiness? Saiai would look down to herself for a moment as if shocked by something. "Could it be..." She muttered for just a mere moment. There was only ONE possible explanation as to why the girl suddenly insulted her image.

It was considered common for girls to insult each other in higher forms of education. Criticising look and appearance often for reasons very trivial. But one huge driving force for this behavior was.

"...This is the first time I ever had someone super jealous of my perfect figure. I'm always around Mugino though so I obviously pale in comparison, but it would make super sense now that I think about it. I mean, you insult me because you are super insecure about your own body, correct." Saiai would get distracted as this was the first time someone ever admitted to be jealous (although it's part of her own delusion). Her body was flawless, wasn't it? So there is no way she's being insulted UNLESS the prosecutor was envious of her.

Upon approaching a bit closer, stopping a bit of way, Saiai would tilt her head at the girl, trying to imagine her in the same clothes or at least a similar fashion statement. "...No. It would never work on you." Saiai waved her hand dismissively for a moment, actually forgetting her objective somewhat being so distracted at this revelation.

Agony. Suffering. Pain. Fear. Sadness. Despair.

Mugino Shizuri would once again serve those to what she considered her enemies.

As she was slowly making her way through the Dianoid’s entrance hall, her mind was already spinning the wildest thoughts and ideas for her to grasp exactly this kind of success. While from the outside, she’d only reveal a weak dreamer’s smile, on the inside she had already fallen into ecstasy. That was how terrifying the contrast.

However that had been exactly her mistake.

Before she could even adjust her head from the clouds back to the grounded earth, it had already arrived. The tsunami formed from those consumed by greed. Without any warning or any sense of mercy, it simply flushed through the large hall, eating up all those in its way. You could be a Level 0 tea club president or a Level 5 killing machine, it wouldn’t matter if you weren’t able to dodge its path right away. So before she even knew it, it hit and once it passed there was no trace left of her any longer.

«Who the hell…DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?!?!»

Body contact in places, shouts hitting her ear directly, bruises she received here and there and not even the slightest dignity in shape of mercy or respect. A usual person would have despaired, some may have grown angry, but Mugino would literally explode. Ready to rip to shred all those that’d literally trample on her at the full extent of her capabilities.

She’d use her strength, she’d use the torture techniques she had acquired, she’d use her ability of instantaneous death, she’d crash against a wall full force, head first.

A single crunchy full force impact and instead of a scene of gruesome gore painted by her very own hands, all she’d see was stars.

No longer in a state of resistance, she’d just be dragged along for another while, before eventually falling off the mob like a leaf off a tree.

And that’s all.

Kamijou Touko had reached a conclusion. Our spiky haired heroine would closely abide to the teachings bestowed onto her by Tsuchimikado Motoharu. It wasn’t only maids, but everyone that could be brought down by the knife that were words. No, it wasn’t even a knife, it was the highest level holy sword you’d only obtain after defeating the most difficult secret boss in that dungeon you could only find if you read the entirety of the game’s extra guides.

Obviously she had reached the stage to swing this final weapon. And she’d bravely unleash it mercilessly.

However, only little did she know.

«[…] someone with super disgusting hair like that […]»

«[…] you insult me because you are super insecure about your own body, correct.»

«...No. It would never work on you.»

The daggers, they rained down on her like a hail storm, each of them piercing her heart cruelly, each simply digging right through her, each of them dealing a dastardly sharp pain never felt before. And it wouldn’t stop. She had thought it had been powerful, but becoming target of it herself, Kamijou finally understood just how far the holy swords true power could reach.

She nearly fell into the abyss, but then she remembered. Only for the short flash of a moment, an image crossed her mind, a sensation she recalled. That fluffiness, that cute innocent face of a feline totally unaware of the insanity that was this world. That was what she had been struggling to protect. That innocent meow shall never be tainted by this world’s cruelness. She couldn’t give up.

She had to…

Destroy this girl’s illusions.

«Ahahaha, you’re clearly underestimating Kamijou-onee-chan. But see and have your jaw drop!»

Announcing it with the most heroic voice she saw herself capable of producing, she pulled her skirt up only slightly, to reveal the thighs otherwise hidden. She didn’t pull it all the way up, but only to an extent that’d allow for their full charm to unfold. And in fact her legs for some reason had an amazing femininity, were they both slender, frail and yet perfectly shaped for a girl’s. Her adeptly used poses of course underlining this gift granted to her by Haimura God.

«This is what real legs are, kid! This is not something you can compare to these unshaped stripes you have! Come again when you’ve grown and allowed your body to develop! Then I will accept your challenge, but for now drop dead!»

Going on with her triumphant posing a bit, she was overcome by the blood lusting urge to not yet stop swinging down her sword. Blinded by a feeling of triumph she’d ravage even the corpse.

«Also, unlike you I do not even need to lower myself to such cheap plays like exposing the entirety of my legs! It’s the mysterious! The surprise that works the best! You can’t just bluntly throw this at others, you need the technique, you need flavour, note that down you inexperienced amateur!»

Ah, the wisdom of one who had long since given up on the hope of any evolution in the chest department.

There was something that festered in the depths of the human brain. It was a dark, cold, and dangerous portion of the human psychology that people suppressed until the right circumstances caused it to cut loose. When it did, the humans who were consumed by it were naught but unsightly beasts.

Such was the danger of mob psychology. It would fester and fester and release at the opportune moment only to continue to be nourished by the mob psychology of others. It would then coalesce into a monster which would cover everything with its great pseudopods.

Such was the mob.

Such was the monstrous entity that birthed over a chance for over a hundred million yen.


Some were carrying crowbars. Some carried pick axes. Some simply barreled through barehanded. But, such was a sight to see in Academy City as it all converged for the sake of one cat. It was unknown if the cat would even be safe after it, but the mob would swallow it up just like the many other objects and people it had taken in and spit out before.

It was only inevitable that the interior of the Dianoid would begin to resemble the location of a large scale riot as it flooded further and further. In the end, the moment the cat had escaped from Maria’s grasp, fate had directed the people in the Dianoid and many who were outside to this path.

Of course, the two arguing about the shapeliness of were no exceptions to the all encompassing pseudopods of the mob.

Perhaps they were already too invested in the bragging war before the sounds of the ground rumbling reached them too. But, by the point it had reached their ears, it would be too late.

“It should be nearby!”

“HERE, KITTY KITTY KITTY!”

“I SAID STOP SCRATCHING ME YOU ASSHOLE! ARE YOU TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT?!”

The amoeba-like mob had consumed another set of people. The spiky-haired girl and middle schooler were separated and tossed around by the mob before the pseudopod they were in crossed with another, separating the two completely as they were forced into separate pseudopods.

In only a few minutes, the spiky-haired girl was thrown out near the entrance to a men’s bathroom whereas the middle school girl was thrown out into a specialty shop for dolls. Whether either of them would be able to maintain consciousness would be a difficult question to answer.

Saiai would stare at the girl as suddenly her face broke in despair. What was wrong with her? She acted as if she were just stabbed by a pocket knife about a dozen times. She seemed to be faltering over what Kinuhata thought were just simple facts. Kinuhata was the semi-perfect model of beauty in comparison to the ugly haired girl. Then she would realise soon after, it was just as much significance to her as it was for the girl whom she had defeated at that very moment. Perhaps her factual interpretation of the girl and herself had destroyed her motivation to do anything.

Perhaps I was a little too harsh? I suddenly feel bad about this super ugly person... Her thoughts weren't as merciful as she wanted it to. However, she began trying to think of how to help this girl regain her confidence, seeming to have COMPLETELY forgotten the entire reason they were in a fight. The girl wanted ice cream, Kinuhata wanted money. How could that so easily slip her mind at that moment?!

«Ahahaha, you’re clearly underestimating Kamijou-onee-chan. But see and have your jaw drop!»

"We are not sisters, nor are you my senior." Kinuhata speaks bluntly about Touko assuming the role of a superior to her. She was an assassin, a member of ITEM, so being belittled by a high school student would be incredibly insulting.

However what Saiai didn't expect was the Touko's resolve in trying to shatter her illusion! Touko was not going to give up, as she had the advantage of maturity, as she slowly lifted her skirt only slightly but revealed something Saiai couldn't possibly fight. Her legs. In all honesty, Saiai didn't see what Touko was trying to defeat her with, but the girl would soon explain the horror of those legs.

«This is what real legs are, kid! This is not something you can compare to these unshaped stripes you have! Come again when you’ve grown and allowed your body to develop! Then I will accept your challenge, but for now drop dead!»

...!! Kinuhata was suddenly intimidated by the girl's confidence. She took a single step back as if she were just blinded by the the tenacity and glory that was matured legs.

«Also, unlike you I do not even need to lower myself to such cheap plays like exposing the entirety of my legs! It’s the mysterious! The surprise that works the best! You can’t just bluntly throw this at others, you need the technique, you need flavour, note that down you inexperienced amateur!»

"N-no way..." Kinuhata didn't know this feeling well enough, but she has experienced it enough to identify it. She was cornered and her face showed actual worry as the girl had found a flaw in her armor. How...How can I possibly be super defeated but this stranger....I'm inexperienced? That's a super lie! You haven't won this round yet! Saiai however had a secret weapon, one in which she didn't wear too often, but one that would entirely debunk the argument the girl was mentioning.

Knee-socks!!! It was the perfect weapon she needed at this moment. She wasn't currently wearing anything, but the power of imagination could bring this girl back to her knees. All she needed was to say it.

However, fate had decided it was time to end it while she was on the losing end. An angry mob soon started running down the corridor, yelling and screaming about some sort of...cat? Wouldn't that mean the target was nearby. Kinuhata wouldn't see any cat however as the Mob soon came in a collision course with her. "UWAAAAAAAAHFIOKSPJGDFGLHK!" The mob of angry cat hunters were entirely inhuman, not giving any sense of morality or fear. Only pure anger and blood lust to the naked eye. This was far more terrifying than Mugino's face her anger had lifted. Who were these people? What could've caused them to be driven to madness?! Her shield protected her, but the incident was so traumatizing she couldn't move an inch and got swepped away by the tide.

It seemed Kamijou Touko would become victor of this battle.

Her blows had landed exactly the way she had hoped them to and her final attack’s impact had been enough to knock them into paralysis. Only the finishing blow, and everything would be done.

She was aware of how serious the situation was, was aware how much depended on this comeback. Screw world championship finals. Screw the last match of the play-offs. Screw the inter high preliminary round. Wait, wasn’t that anti-climatic…?

Realising the mistake in her own train of thought’s order, just for a moment she hesitated.

That was the moment when it arrived.

«It should be nearby!»

«HERE, KITTY KITTY KITTY!»

«I SAID STOP SCRATCHING ME YOU ASSHOLE! ARE YOU TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT?!»

Only tilting her head to face the calamity charging at the both of them with a shinkansen’s speed, her eyes widened in utter shock.

Right, that’s what she had been fleeing from all day long. That had been the true danger all along. Neither that leg obsessed kid before her, nor that murderous gal. How could she have forgotten?

«SUCH MISFORTUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNE!!!!»

With only her loud curse echoing through the entirety of the Dianoid, Kamijou Touko’s story ended. She was gruesomely eaten up by the masses of humans, instantly disappearing from the face of this world, while diving deep into its rulers’ abyss. And the abyss was deep, oh so deep.

All she had wanted was a cheap lunch to grab from a convenience store, then she had been drawn into this worst possible incident, solely following her kind hearted desire of saving an innocent feline from madness; a desire she’d even follow once she realised what this had been really about, actually fighting off the insane greed anyone had been befallen by. And that was what she’d get in the end? What rotten luck.

Unable to keep her consciousness any longer, the gods at least granted her an escape from this new hell. Even if it meant missing out on her own story’s epilogue.

After escaping that nonsensical and honestly terrifying crowd, a small mass of white fur had curled up in a ball inside a cardboard box abandoned in an alley not too far from the Dianoid. Its legs and paws were tired, its fur was unkempt much unlike how perfectly it would be taken care of on a daily basis, and its preferred accessories were now far too dirty and damaged to its own liking.

The small cat named Yuffy had many reasons to be displeased, but out of all the most important one was that she had found herself separated from her loving home for far too long and as a cat raised as a domestic animal, suddenly being thrown into the situation of a stray cat without even knowing where and what to eat and being touched by so many strangers whom she could feel didn't always have the best intentions towards her was nothing short of alien and unpleasant.

All of today's events had only served towards the small, pathetic and sad meow she emitted from within her hiding spot.

"Ah, there it is! I'll get you, money cat!!!!" Immediately, she leaped to flee as she heard a voice filled with the same dreadful intentions as before

***

A few more hours had now passed since her escape from the Dianoid and she had been forced to flee from and change her hiding places whenever she felt human steps coming near her every few minutes, finally ending up cornered in the filthy dead end of a pitch-black alley much further away than any location she had previously been in now that night had completely set in. Thankfully, curfew had struck long ago and since hearing the ring of a very familiar alarm that would always go off at the same time of the day, one she noted would always cause the population to decrease whenever taken out on a walk at around that time, she had not met many people still coming after her.

However she was cold, hungry, in dire need of hygiene and in even more need of affection.

And so she simply meowed pathetically more and more as she hoped her owner would come soon.

Attracted by those small, pitiful whines was a young girl in a distinctively masculine professional outfit, with long hair tied back into a massive bun at the back of her head and amber eyes riddled with various sorts of confusion.

“Are you lost?” She asked as her cold eyes slowly analysed the ball of fur: Yuffy's appearance definitely did not speak of a cat that knew how to survive outside, and she appeared to be far too tired to even try escaping, having to resort to hissing her lungs out at the sudden stranger.

The girl simply hushed her into calmness as she pulled out a wrapping from one of her many pockets, unveiling a small snack that she crumbled in her hand before extending it to the originally suspicious Yuffy. But her impoverished stomach's call was far too strong now, and the next thing she knew, she was slowly eating out of that girl's hand as her tail moved around happily.

She was certainly odd, Yuffy thought, since she did not emit any kind of particular longing like she had felt from everyone else she had met today. In fact, it was as if she was just one of many other stray cats so even though she knew better than to be completely careless, Yuffy felt her tension go down as she ate; she didn't exactly feel only positive vibes from the girl but at least she didn't bear the longing she had grown used to today.

“Oh, so you are lost...”

Taking the occasion to pet the animal with her other hand, the girl had taken a quick glance at the ribbon-decorated collar around her neck and though it was written in very fine font, she could still make out an address on it.

After she finished eating, Yuffy found herself lifted against her will and made it known by struggling, but the girl's grasp on her did not falter in the slightest and she found herself calming down when she slowly started recognising her surroundings after understanding that fighting was futile. Without any word coming from the girl, the small cat was now figuring out that she was being brought back home and now felt much more at ease in the girl's arms.

***

Now within the Dianoid's apartment complexes, the bell of a certain door would be rung in the middle of the night only to reveal Yuffy, cuddling against the door with no one in sight.