[SS] Curfew Carnival

«I won’t let you.»

Hirashi looked at the spiky hair girl and slightly tilted his head. His face betrayed no emotion, but Hirashi was undoubtedly annoyed at the interruption.

It was fairly obvious that the two of them were dealt a bad hand, despite what he had said earlier, Hirashi had no intention of dying here today, a common trait he was sure he shared with his opponent, If their masked adversary had any desire to walk out of this mall alive, they had to have planned a safe route out.

The bombs which are set up to demolish the mall and kill “you, the hostage, the hostage takers and the innocent civilians still trapped in the mall.” But a structural collapse would of course also kill the bomber themselves, if Hirashi stopped them from leaving the mall, would they really still detonate the bombs?

The autogun, with perfect accuracy and with no shelter which can protect them from its shells. Seemingly with no weaknesses, but at the end of the day it is still controlled by their masked adversary. If Hirashi kept close to them, would they still command the turrets to fire if the shells which are fired will rip them apart as well?

It was obvious the safest place to be is right beside them.

All these thoughts inside Hirashi’s head but no time at all for him to present his argument to his companion. He cannot afford for the masked adversary to use this opportunity to flee and take away Hirashi’s only chance at regaining control of the situation. Hirashi scattered a few nails in a wide arc in front of him.

«I don’t think they’re lying. If we so much as lay our hand on them they’ll either kill you or destroy the building killing many more. I can’t let that happen.»

“We cannot let him go, letting him leave right now is the equivalent to putting the lives of you, me, and everyone in this mall under his sole control.”

“And you, don’t go thinking you can now slip away just because me and my companion here have gotten ourselves in a little bit of a wee disagreement, any one of these projectiles has the ability to end your life just as easily as your turret can end mine.”

«As I said. Any change to my vitals will lead to your and many others’ deaths. Even if I die. You will die, too.»

The reply followed without any break interval and articulated without any sense of emotion. It was cold and dry. Mechanic. Just as mechanic as the steps the figure placed as they continued walking away from the two.

Nothing mattered to them. Not the threat of an attack laid out by the nails. Not the danger to their own life. If anything seemed to matter, then it was the death of their victims.

«No matter how great your struggle. Your death as a result of my actions is inevitable. Such is my vicious cycle.»

It was only now that Kamijou Touko understood.

Standing between Hirashi Saito and the mysterious figure clad in all kinds of odd technology, she had originally intended to be the seeker of a final solution. She had been the foolish idealist who’d seek a solution that would satisfy everyone. One where everyone could smile. Even whoever this person was. Normally she would have found a way to reach them eventually, in line with her typical M.O.

However, this wasn’t someone she could reach with words.

This wasn’t someone she could defeat with a punch in the face.

No. They defied all of those rules.

They simply weren’t human anymore.

Below that oddly futuristic suit made of all kinds of gear there was nothing.

Just a cold, dry and mechanic entity serving a strictly defined cause.

A living process, simply existing for a purpose and nothing beyond.

The Vicious Cycle.

«There’s nothing we can do…»

Finally, expressing her thoughts of defeat, the usually all-too-brave Kamijou Touko gulped. There was no way in hell she would ever accept anyone’s death. But what could she do then? There was no way out. No way forward. Nothing. She couldn’t punch her way through that individual. Nor could she seek any way to escape his scheme. The building would collapse and everyone inside would be in danger either way. Sooner or later.

On top of that, a loud boom in the distance announced another of that figure’s rules’ realisation: The doors had been forced open by means of battering rams. Not simply those of the main entrance but all of them all around.

The sound of rattling gear and hurriedly marching steps made it clear: Anti-Skill had finally made their move.

«Shut it!!!!»

Aiko had struck a chord. The enemy she was fighting clearly wasn't used to anyone evading their grasp for this long, though Aiko herself also wasn't used to evading anyone for this long.

«What??? No…!!!»

Her shot had hit home. The needles from the gun flew wildly off target before ceasing to fire at all. Aiko could sense the bravado the assassin was boasting fall away with their change in posture as they realized their gun was inoperable. Though it may have looked like the tables had turned, Aiko was still small and weak, while her adversary was larger and covered in armor. If this came to fisticuffs, it did not look favorable. However, now that the enemies gun was inoperable, it was time for her counter attack. Aiko fired one more laser directly at the point her bullet had hit earlier on the armor. It wouldn't damage it very much, that had already be proven. The goal this time was not damage though, it was simply to heat it up and make it weaker.

"TAKE THIS!!!!"

Aiko fired the handgun, this time slipping her laser back into her pocket to steady her aim using both hands. She didn't know how many rounds were left in the gun or even how many it held, but with adrenaline burning in her veins she pulled the trigger over and over until it clicked with the sound of an empty magazine.

Aiko didn't know whether or not that would finish him off or even injure him. She just know that he'd taken a bullet before and it dented the armor. Maybe the barrage would do it, but then again maybe not. Aiko wasn't taking any chances though. She ran back over to the doors that were blocking her escape. It was easy enough to see that the doors were automatic, likely with an electronic lock function. The assassin seemed to have control over the cameras, so it was likely he was remote controlling the doors too. If she could disable the electronics in the door, she could probably disable the lock as well. Aiko pulled her field in close and began generating a large amount of energy. It took a few moments to generate enough power for her Gamma shell so it hadn't been possible while the was a gun aimed at her, but now was the time. Aiko rapidly expanded her shell, The electrons it was comprised of ,excited to the energy levels of gamma radiation, would function as a large indiscriminate EMP. Each electronic in a 10 meter radius would be overloading with current as the edge of the shell passed over it.

As soon as the shell finished expanding Aiko dispelled her field completely and dropped to her knees breathing heavily. Fully rested, she could barely keep the gamma shell up for 1 minute. Even though she'd only had it active for a few moments, she was anything but fully rested. With her breaking into and out of the impound lot as well as everything that'd happened in the hospital so far, Aiko was at her limit. Even the adrenaline that had kept her going up to this point was running dry. With the electric lock hopefully disabled, Aiko pulled herself back up to her feet, put her full weight against the sliding door, and pushed, hoping to open the gate to freedom.

«No matter how great your struggle. Your death as a result of my actions is inevitable. Such is my vicious cycle.»

Feigning indifference, Hirashi waved his hand at the dark figure, almost as if he was fanning away a bad smell before putting on a supid grin and repeating his words in a mocking tone.

“Yada yada yada. You will all die because of what I did, I have a wack-ass name that also happens to be my catchphrase that makes me sound like I have 8th-grade syndrome.”

Hirashi toothy smile suddenly dropped as he sent one of the nails speeding past the Masked Chunni’s head, before embedding itself in one of the metal railings nearby, making a loud ding.

“Let me explain this to you one more time, you think that I will die here, and hell you are probably right, but let me make this clear. If I die, you will die too.”

“So you should really get my point through your head,” Hirashi paused for a moment to chuckle, “Or don’t, my point will get through your head one way or another”

Of course that was all a show.

Whilst putting on that front of mutually assured destruction, Hirashi was mapping the shape of Miss Scary Eyes’ flip phone in his pocket.
By first defining a flat sheet of air, then gently pushing against it with his telekinesis and measuring the distortion of the “sheet”, Hirashi was able to get a rough outer shape of the object without touching or looking at it. After some educated guessing as to where the buttons were (thank goodness for actual physical keyboards) Hirashi was able to apply pressure to the keys and dial the last called number.

Hirashi was obviously unable to say much out loud, but he could still press on the buttons during the call, he had faith that someone like Miss Scary Eyes would recognise the universal distress signal “SOS” spelt out in morse code.

Miss Scary Eyes seemed to be the type to have the ability to run from the law, with Hirashi’s knowledge of the camera locations in Academy City acquired from some of his night time outings, anti-skill should not pose much of a problem once they got out of the mall. Hopefully Miss Scary Eyes can do some of her ninja chops on this Masked Chunni and bail them out.

What happened followed the plan Aoki Aiko had laid out just perfectly. With how startled the shift in the situation had left Stinger, his panic only increased the moment the laser hit him. From there on, before he could even muster the clarity to adjust, the girl had already pulled the gun on him, emptying her entire clip onto his armour.

She may not have been the best marksman, but while some of the bullets simply bounced off the armour, a few did not. With blood gushing out where they had dug into his flesh, the heinous assassin at last collapsed on the spot. One chaser down. But weren’t there two?

As she had run off to unlock the door, the memory of that fact should creep back up to her. In the same acoustic manner it had done before.

The irksome noise of metal scraping against marble.

Even as she invoked her ability to overload the devices in the surroundings, it could be clearly heard.

It was coming closer.

A soft click signalled the door’s state shifting from locked to unlocked.

The scraping grew ever louder.

The door gave in as she pushed against it with the little weight of her body. But only for a few centimetres. Enough to let in fresh air.

The noise had reached its highest pitch. It had caught up to her. They were right behind her now.

«Where do you think you’re going? Don’t you have a job to finish, nya~?»

It had been in the back of her mind while she was fleeing. There were two of them, wasn't there. Aiko had decided to push forward and if she could have gotten the doors open, there would have been no reason to be concerned. Unfortunately, the  sliding doors were not so keen to let Aiko go that easily. Even with her weight behind her push, she was still small and light, and these doors large and heavily reinforced. It was at that point she realized she may have to deal with the other as well... and if the scraping metal sounds were any indication, sooner than she would have liked.

Aiko pushed harder against the door, and at last it budged... but only budged. A small crack, she could see escape on the other side, but the small space was not enough for her to squeeze through. It was at that point the scraping noise had reached it's highest pitch and was right on-top of her before...

«Where do you think you’re going? Don’t you have a job to finish, nya~?»

Aiko would have screamed if she'd had the energy left to do so. Her head spun around to see Tsuchimikado standing behind her. Not only Tsuchimikado though, but also the lifeless body of the would be assassin, laying in a slowly expanding pool of red. Relief flooded her body at seeing her ally while the grotesque scene behind her caused her to nearly collapsed on the floor.

"Tsuchimikado... you're alive! Sorry for leaving you behind there, but I though you were... well you know..."

How did you tell someone you abandoned them because you thought they were dead? That's not really an easy sentiment to convey.

"Well, anyway... here."

Aiko handed the now empty handgun back to it's rightful owner.

"Sorry it's empty." Aiko said, glancing slightly at the bloody scene and almost gagging. "I ended up needing to use it myself. Now help me get this door open, I'm not strong enough on my own..."

Had Nori expected the skull masked man in front of him to have a gun? Not at all. Was his entire plan going to go to hell just like this entire day had done? Most definitely. However, Nori had no intention of allowing the Izumii to get a counterattack in so the moment he saw him reach for his belt the plan began to change. Due to the speed of Izumii's reaction the belt wouldn't be cold enough to do any damage by the time his hand reached it so instead Nori would stop running the freezing calculations for the belt and instead shifted the focus of his ability on to the gun. At the same time the masked villain would try to close the distance between them and make use of one of the greatest advantages every villain has over a hero, the ability to play dirty.

As he attempted to close the distance, while also hopefully avoiding a bullet to the brain, Nori would also swing the bat he had stolen early in an uppercut form with the end goal being to have it pass between Izumii's legs and hit him directly in the groin. While hitting his target in an incredibly sensitive area had been one the reasons Nori had decided to charge Hide the main reason was to place himself out of the gun's range. If he could get himself in the arms length of space between Izumii and the gun he'd be able to at least avoid the first shot. After that it would simple come down to a contest of reaction time.

Either Nori would finish the calculations for the mask and shirt causing them both to instantly giving Izumii intense freezer burn followed by the gun freezing up shortly after or Izumii would adjust his aim or unleash some kind of other attack first which would force the masked villain abandon his calculations.

Kisaragi Anko collapsed as the high pitch noise of her deafened eardrum robbed her of all coordination and natural balance. The strained writhing escaping her lips became a testament of her pain for everyone to hear.

However, Izumii’s campaign wouldn’t end there. Next on his agenda was Kinoshita, who – much to Kisaragi’s disbelief – was visibly asking for a quick end. At least, that was what happened when someone with inferior combat skills dared to challenge a master of their craft.

An amused but also cocky «Nice try!» in tandem with the masked boy’s foot simply stepping on the upward swung baseball bat, was all it took to stop the ‹dirty play›. Casually exerting enough muscular force to overwhelm Kinishita’s double handed swing, Izumii began his turn. With a quick jump forward, he’d brutally hammered the metal guard he wore over his other knee cap straight into the tracksuit boy’s face, at least breaking his nose as a result. Then, expecting to have launched his victim’s torso backwards he’d use the momentum of his initial jump to propel himself into the air, only to once more land on that very torso with both of his steel-cap boots’ soles first.

Rarely did one see a literal execution being performed in an ordinary fist fight. To a battle hardened fighter like her that jumpy display had been one of over-the-top absurdity. Certainly, no normal person would ever utilise techniques of that kind.

Still, none of that had been the true centre of her attention. No, unlike everyone else she – even with her ruined ear – had caught up to the erratic ringing of a certain cellphone and immediately understood the true nature of the distress signal.

Time had run out. That boy needed her help. None of this lead anywhere anymore. As such she had to act.

Embracing the minimal time window in which Izumii had been occupied, she immediately recovered her balance and rushed towards her next target, skilfully evading pirate alpaca scimitar interference, smashing the tea cup with her bare hand and picking up a large enough shard while grabbing hold of the fluffy haired princess with her other hand.

«Cease any rash action.»

To everyone present’s surprise Kisaragi had taken hold of the situation, pressing the sharp edge of the porcelain piece against the throat of the false damsel in distress until the point where blood was drawn.

The fighting had ended. With his left arm hanging limply and his other hand holding the assassin’s blade he had been trailing behind himself, Tsuchimikado gave off the impression of a war survivor. Clearly, events on his side hadn’t turned out easy for him, either.

«Tsuchimikado… you're alive! Sorry for leaving you behind there, but I though you were... well you know…»

«No biggie! T’was all part of my plan~!»

And yet his cheerful smile blew away any and all concern. Ultimately, they both had obviously overcome their enemies. But that wasn’t worth downing himself in a hole or celebration in his eyes. Still, he did understand Aoki’s viewpoint just from the sight of the scene.

Dropping the blade he had been holding in his functional hand with a loud high pitch clatter, the sunglasses boy picked up the gun he’d been returned. Then, he immediately proceeded to check it before handing it back to its new owner, alongside a replacement clip.

«You can keep it. You’ll need it more than me.»

In face of her request to help her push open the door, his characteristic grin had faded from his face, making place for an oddly serious and concerned expression.

«I’m sorry, but this isn’t over yet. We still have a job to do. Or do you wanna be spanked for not finishing up in the end?»

Certainly, a person in this line of business running away from a task they had been given was living a far more dangerous life than one who actually took the job head on. The assassins they had fought today may have turned out quite threatening, but that was still little compared to the organisation backing you up in the first place. There was no mercy, no understanding. Especially for someone who’d just spilt their very first blood.

«It’s just a couple of more minutes and I doubt things’ll go back to super bad.»

Yet, it wasn’t like he didn’t understand. Unlike before, his talk had become calm, while he attempted to pat the other’s shoulder softly.

None of Hirashi Saito’s words or actions had had any effect on the assassin as they kept moving in the same line they had been following the entire time. Meaning, all the heroic speeches he’d throw were in vain. Something, Kamijou decided to point out as she carefully tapped his shoulder with her finger.

«Uhm. I don’t think he’s listening anymore.»

In summary: They had been thoroughly defeated.

Besides, there had been a more pressing concern thrown at them. The mall had become noisy again, as of countless steps and shouts echoed throughout the entire building. However, the situation was naturally destined to become worse. Suddenly gun fire joined the already overly hectic sound scape.

«I don’t think we can afford to screw around any longer, either. If we get caught like this, nothing good will happen. And I really can’t afford that just yet!»

She may have succumbed to the feeling of defeat earlier, but that was only regarding the fight they had taken on. There was still something she had to do in this mall. The thing she had originally meant to do. Even if she stood no chance against that technology clad figure, she could at least try to move on and resolve the incident.

«There’s two things we can do. One is: we somehow find and dismantle the turret. But I have no clue how to. The other is keeping close to them. The rules of their ‹game› only said we’re not allowed to fight or hurt them, but they never said anything about walking after them!»

It may have sounded like an idiot’s logic. However, wasn’t that exactly what they needed to overcome the situation? Dumb luck had always been the ideal foil to elaborate plans. The question was: Which option would their ace strategist pick?

«No biggie! T’was all part of my plan~!»

Under normal circumstances, the absurdity that getting shot and almost killed was all part of his plan would have sparked a reaction from Aiko, though at the moment her mind was in other places.

«You can keep it. You’ll need it more than me.»

Aiko instinctively took the gun as it was handed back to her. She could feel the difference of weight from when she'd just handed it to him a moment ago. Somehow though it felt even heavier to her, her hands trembling slightly as she gripped the firearm maybe a bit too tightly. If it wasn't obvious from her actions already, it was plain to see that the events that had just transpired had hit her hard.

"But... But I..."

She tried to protest the gun's return, but for some reason the words just wouldn't come out and she reluctantly accepted the firearm.

«I’m sorry, but this isn’t over yet. We still have a job to do. Or do you wanna be spanked for not finishing up in the end? It’s just a couple of more minutes and I doubt things’ll go back to super bad.»

He was right. She was still in the middle of her mission and if she bailed now, especially when their advisories had been defeated, there would be hell to pay. She'd been so caught up with trying to get out of the area where they held the advantage that she'd forgotten for a moment that getting out wasn't her main objective. Aiko took a deep breath and steadied herself.

"You... Your right. With them... out of the picture, we should continue."

With that she turned and started making her way to their original destination. Once that objective was fulfilled, she could leave this place behind her.

This entire day had been composed of misfortune and bad planning on Nori's part. From losing all his money, to his utter beatdown at the hands of the pirate alpaca, to Kisaragi destroying the plushie the boss had sent him to retrieve, and now this. As Izumii's fist collided with Nori's face any calculation he was running in his head were instantly cut short instantly unravelling his entire plan up until that point. Pain shot through Nori as his nose broke and he was sent flying on to his back.

Through the pain induced haze that now filled his mind Nori asked himself one question: why had he ever thought trying to resolve this fight with close combat was ever a good idea? While the answer to this question alluded the boy with the broken nose it was actually quite simple, the person writing him had been feeling extra stupid the day that post was written.

Fortunately, he wasn't completely out of it after getting his nose broken and saw Izumii leap into the air preparing to stomp his chest in. While he had made many stupid decisions before he had yet another idea to try out in a desperate attempt to save himself. He'd grab one of his two remaining canisters of carbon dioxide and throw it open, shooting a cloud of gas at his attacker and immediately starting the necessary calculations to freeze it while rolling out of the way of Izumii's jumping attack.

The plan was simple, the cloud of carbon dioxide would rapidly freeze around the skull masked thug trapping him inside and freezing him to the bone. In most circumstances Nori imagined it wouldn't be to hard for him to avoid the cloud but now Izumii was in the air which meant unless he had some kind of skill or ability he hadn't revealed yet he'd have no way of avoiding the attack until he hit the ground.

Even if his plan failed it seemed Kisaragi had found her own solution for this situation by taking the girl who had seemingly masterminded this whole incident hostage.

«Uhm. I don’t think he’s listening anymore.»

Sure enough, the masked man began walking away from the duo.

«There’s two things we can do. One is: we somehow find and dismantle the turret. But I have no clue how to. The other is keeping close to them. The rules of their ‹game› only said we’re not allowed to fight or hurt them, but they never said anything about walking after them!»

Bahhh, this guy is either dense as a brick and does not care if he dies, or he is super smart and saw through my bluff. Either way, it seems following them is the best plan. The turrets won’t be able to fire if we stick to them, and maybe I’ll be able to find a lead, form a plan, or maybe bump into Miss Scary Eyes along the way. Whatever happens, it’ll sure beat running for my life away from a deadly auto gun.

What about the spiky-haired girl?

It had seemed Hirashi had obtained everything that she knew, albeit not much, it gave him a lead. She also seems handy to have in a fight, it'd be in his interests to keep her company for now.

Keeping his annoyance hidden, Hirashi looked back at Touko and gestured for her to follow.

For a moment it may have seemed as though her emotions had met a dead end with Tsuchimikado. However, as they arrived at the stairway again, the unmoving form of the other assassin clad in white high-tech armour awaited them. Having fallen into an unnatural position and covered in stains of red that assailant visibly no longer imposed a threat.

A testament to the cold reality of their line of business. Kill or be killed.

«I have no clue how you ended up in this type of job, but you shouldn’t let these things get to you. What you did today couldn’t be helped. You can be lucky you’re still alive.»

It had taken him a while, but ultimately he had addressed the elephant in the room. Clearly, he must have noticed from the beginning on. Yet, he had waited to bring it up simply for how difficult a topic it was.

«Learn how to use it. Then things might go better next time.»

Even as he gave another toothy grin, the lack of his usual ‹nya› left the gesture’s cheerfulness entirely hollow.

The pair continued down the hall in utter silence, save for the sounds of their footsteps echoing around the empty corridor. As they entered the stairwell, there was a scene Aiko had expected, but hadn't quite prepared herself for. The body of the other assassin lying dead and bloody on the floor in a heap. Aiko covered her mouth with her free hand, but the second time wasn't as bad and the nausea passed without issue. The pair took in the scene for a few moments before Tsuchimikado spoke up.

«I have no clue how you ended up in this type of job, but you shouldn’t let these things get to you. What you did today couldn’t be helped. You can be lucky you’re still alive.»

He wasn't wrong. She'd gotten through that fight through strategic use of her ability yes, but also due to no small amount of luck. She'd assumed a lot of things about his armaments and if any happened to be false or not quite true, if he had managed to land even a single shot on her, it would be her laying face down in a pool of her own blood. If she hadn't killed him there, he would have killed her. It was that simple... but then why did she still feel so terrible.

«Learn how to use it. Then things might go better next time.»

Aiko took a deep breath and stepped over the corpse to begin climbing the stairs.

"How... is this something one can get used to? Killing someone, seeing their corpse bloodied on the ground beneath you. It's all so far outside of what I'd call normal, but I guess over here in the dark side that's just what normal is, huh. You've probably picked up by now but I'm pretty new at this and combat isn't exactly my strong suit. If I hadn't picked this thing up from what I though was your body, I wouldn't have been able to do anything. How are you okay anyway? No, never mind, that's not relevant."

Aiko continued climbing the stairs for a few moments not saying anything before stopping and turning back to Tsuchimikado.

"You seem like a pro at this. Someone who's at least more used to it then I am. Do you feel anything when you kill others anymore? I assume you must have at one point, but has that feeling faded? I'm scared to think who I'd be if I could just kill someone and feel nothing..."

The tides of battle can turn in no less than a split second. The moment Izumii had taken his flight into the air, sure of his opponent’s imminent defeat, Kisaragi had grabbed hold of the hostage she had intended to use to seal the deal. However, that very moment was also when she found her own eyes widening at the rash actions of her masked companion. Or rather, at the sight of the overly dangerous Izumii being showered and ultimately frozen in a cloud of gas.

«HIDE!!!!»

«VICE PRESIDENT-DONO!!!»

The shocked shouts of the masked maniac’s comrades expressed the impact of the sudden shift, as his body covered in ice dropped from the air, only being barely caught by the cherry furred pirate with his squishy body armour.

Kisaragi took a moment to confirm the new circumstances, not allowing for her role as the honourable Japanese lady to slide.

«Well done, Kinishita.»

After all, not offering that boy her respect would have damaged her already dented pride.

It wasn’t time to catch a breath just yet, though. A reality that pink haired damsel in distress would hammer into their heads moments later.

«AHAHAHAAHA! YESSSS!!! YOU DID IT!!! YOU BEAT THE FINAL BOSS AND SAVED THE PRINCESS~!!!»

From one to zero, back to one. Raising her voice in mania, she once more demonstrated just how far she had come astray from reality. Even as her comrade had fallen before her very eyes, she still found the ability to return to her delusions. That wasn’t simply concerning, it was dangerous.

«Now what will you do, my dear heroes? Will you return me to my kingdom or will you walk away with me to claim as a prize of your own?»

Actually, that was a good question. Now that the situation here had been kind of resolved, what would her next move be? She remembered.

«Shut up.»

With what could only be described as a swift motion of her hand, in which she both dropped the shard she had used as a knife and struck her hostage’s head, she knocked her unconscious.

From there on, she threw the now no longer babbling princess over her shoulder, ready to carry her like a true abductor.

«We need to find that reckless idiot.»

Following the announcement of her intentions, Kisaragi stormed out of the room, leaving behind the pirate alpaca who was busy attempting to carefully lay down his frozen superior. Now that she had gained hold of a hostage, the tracksuit kunoichi saw herself as prepared enough to face the colourful mob once more.

However, when she stepped out onto the hallway she was greeted by a far worse scene. The pack of mascots had been dissolved and scattered all over the place. To make matters worse, though, the no longer unified mascot army was facing off against uniformed men and women equipped with riot shields and rifles. Both left and right, the these fights were raging, with the mascots throwing around odd objects like fire crackers, rotten eggs but also obvious products of Esper abilities such as fire balls and the Anti-Skill officers answering with gunfire or baton strikes.

It was a mess.

A mess she no longer had the time to deal with. As such, relying on her honed skills as a stealth professional she made sure to dodge attention while picking the less eventful-looking path to proceed. Where to exactly, she did not know yet. At least she had to get away from the chaotic fighting before she would be drawn into any of it. Then in the second step she would aim to find out where exactly that boy was.

For starters she could check the place where they had parted earlier…

Oddly enough, even though they never broke beyond walking pace, they avoided any and all troublesome encounters. No matter how ridiculous the execution of their plan may have appeared, it had worked out just soundly.

Was this the true meaning of playing things slowly?

Kamijou Touko doubted her past actions – even those far beyond the mall incident –, calling into question the possible choices she could have made. Maybe, if she had just walked slowly through Misawa cram school Aureolus would have collapsed due to a random heart attack?

Still, under all that casual walking she had a hard time suppressing her urge to take action. After all, that bastard’s back had been right in front of them the entire time. Placing step after step even more casually than they did. A fact that pissed her off to the point where she no longer questioned how exactly that phenomenon had become possible in the first place.

«So what do we do? I still haven’t had an idea…»

She whispered in defeat towards her comrade in misery.

After a while they had left the main hall of Mandara Mall through what seemed to be the remains of an ice wall, stepping into a corridor system that was so uninviting, it must have been designed for employee use only.

They moved on and on, took turns where the tech-suit did and moved further.

Until suddenly their ‹guide› stopped in their tracks. Their gaze fixating on someone in the near distance.

It was a girl in a reddish tracksuit carrying something like a doll over their shoulders. No – upon closer inspection she noticed – that wasn’t a doll. That limp figure was…

«Akirin…?»

«Finally, I have found you.»

The spiky haired girl’s eyes widened in shock as she connected the dots thrown on the table by that chance meeting.

«Hand over the girl.»

Understanding that the time of remaining idle had ended, she once more clenched her right fist.

The dialogue of an amateur and a long running veteran. It may have been an all too common sight in this isolated world where teenage kids were the majority, but at the same time it always felt like a rare opportunity. Tsuchikado fully well understood the weight his words may have in this situation.

«It’s what you make of it. At least there’s no real getting used to it. It’s better not to anyway. Or do you wanna lose your ability to look into the mirror?»

All one had in the darkness was your own proximity. With an understanding of that reality, it was important to somehow make it through that pitch black world. This was one way to achieve that.

«Don’t fall into despair over what happened today. Suck it up. And make sure that next time you have to pick up this gun, you know where and how to aim to not repeat the same fatal mistake. Everything’s in your hands now.»

Keeping the lead while climbing the stairs Tsuchimikado Motoharu made sure not to face his ‹kouhai›. Otherwise they may have seen an expression too embarrassing for him to ever allow to let surface.

«Oh, and how I made it outta there? I tricked them. That idiot didn’t even check where his needles hit. Turns out they were just local anaesthetics, nothing all too wild. I figured you wouldn’t make it against the other guy, so I dealt with him first. Sorry for taking too long with the other one.»

Fortunately, he found an opportunity to quickly shift towards a more jolly tone.

«Now I strayed off! What I meant to say is: Always keep yourself on top of the game at all times. If you panic, things go out of control and you don’t want that to ever happen, nya~!»

«It’s what you make of it. At least there’s no real getting used to it. It’s better not to anyway. Or do you wanna lose your ability to look into the mirror? Don’t fall into despair over what happened today. Suck it up. And make sure that next time you have to pick up this gun, you know where and how to aim to not repeat the same fatal mistake. Everything’s in your hands now.»

His words brought some relief to Aiko. She hated the feeling of what she had just done, but even more then that, she would hate if that feeling ever went away. But here was a relative pro, telling her that the feeling wouldn't fade, and that if she took the time to hone her own abilities, maybe should wouldn't have to do anything to make her feel like this again, even while still being part of the dark side. Hope and relief were strange feeling to come from someone basically telling her to get better at using a gun, but somehow that is what she felt.

«Oh, and how I made it outta there? I tricked them. That idiot didn’t even check where his needles hit. Turns out they were just local anaesthetics, nothing all too wild. I figured you wouldn’t make it against the other guy, so I dealt with him first. Sorry for taking too long with the other one.Now I strayed off! What I meant to say is: Always keep yourself on top of the game at all times. If you panic, things go out of control and you don’t want that to ever happen, nya~!»

At this point it almost felt like he was giving her a pep talk. Not that Aiko minded one bit. Tsuchimikado's jovial side breaking through the mindset Aiko had found herself in. With a smile Aiko's face returned to it's normal state, though in the back of her mind she knew it'd be impossible to go completely back to how she was before.

"Alright! That's enough moping around. We both came here with mission, and despite some setbacks, it's time to see that through!"

Their discussion on the stairs had taken enough time that the two of them had reached the floor where the computer room should be. Aiko through open the door leading from the stairwell into the halls and stepped through.

"Let's go!"

As they slowly followed the masked figure through the mall, somehow avoiding the turrets and the anti-skill. It seemed their mysterious opponent had a “bubble” of calm around them as they navigated through the chaos of the mall.

The eye of the storm was indeed the calmest.

«So what do we do? I still haven’t had an idea…»

“To be honest I cannot think of anything that I can do to take them on at the moment. I have a few uhh… friends who are busy with other matters in the mall right now. Hopefully they show up soon, as physical trauma is definitely more of their forte than mine."

The calm was short-lived however, as the masked figure came to an abrupt stop. Peering around the suit, Hirashi saw a familiar red tracksuit carrying an unconscious person over her shoulders.

«Akirin…?»

«Hand over the girl.»

It had seemed the unconscious girl might have been the “her” which Touko was talking about when they first met. And just as luck would have had it, their mysterious opponent also had her in their sights.

Hirashi sighed and prepared himself for another round of physical exertion and whispered to the spiky-haired girl next to him.

“So, is this the girl you were talking about saving?”

Finally! Something went Nori's way today. The sound of the outcries from the from the pirate alpaca and the girl who tried to act like a victim eliminated any fears he had that Izumii was going to pull another trick out of his sleeve and escape his frozen imprisonment. At the same time part of the masked villain was still in shock that his plan had actually work as he watched the Vice President fall to the ground before being caught by the alpaca. Needless to say it was time to deal out some punishment so while Nori got up from the ground he'd release his control over the dry ice allowing it to start freezing Izumii.

Meanwhile his attention would turn towards the mastermind of this whole incident who had dived right back into her damsel in distress illusion. After all that had happened here how could she possible think she could still act like she was just someone who needed saving? Had she been hit in the head one to many times? Well, none of those questions were important now and they wouldn't have to listen to her insane ramblings much longer as Kisaragi swiftly knocked her out while simultaneously reminding Nori exactly why he should avoid her bad side. Being stabbed through the heart was definitely high up on his list of things to avoid.

"Touko, right? Well maybe that guy you brought with you had better luck and didn't end up running into anyone like these three psychos."

As Kisaragi ran off Nori would wait behind in the room for a moment looking over at the incapacitated Izumii and his mascot nemesis. It hadn't been too long since he released his control so it was likely that the skull masked thug only had some frost bite spread across his body but nothing much worse. That seemed like enough punishment for breaking his nose and more importantly maybe he could get something out of these two. So he'd focus Atomic Restraint on the dry ice covering Izumii again preventing it from freezing the thug any further.

"You know, I'd love to kick you both while your down but this was kind of fun in a really demented kind of way. I've stopped the dry ice from doing him any damage but I can't stay here too long. So used that shockwave ability of yours or whatever to get the ice off him then get out of here and find a doctor to treat any frostbite he has, if you do that he should make a perfect recovery. Just know you both owe me a favor for this."

If the alpaca went along with the plan and got the ice of Izumii quickly the masked villain who keep his ability focused on the ice until it was done before heading out. If the pirate alpaca resisted the idea, was taking too long, or tried to attack in anyway Atomic Restraint would immediately be released and run from the room to catch up with Kisaragi. Giving Izumii an out from his freezing hell was probably a bad idea but there was a slight chance maybe they'd actually try to payback the "favor" instead of going right back to trying to kill them. It was a risky gamble but then again the pirate alpaca had the proud honorable swordsman thing going for him so maybe it would work and regardless Nori loved the thrill of a risk. Making it just in time to find Touko and Hirashi arriving on the scene.

"There you are Touko! Been looking all over the mall for you, well more like my friend here was but still."

«Hand over the girl.»

Nori would immediately point to the girl Kisaragi was carrying as he rapidly began to put everything together. Hadn't Touko been talking about looking for a girl who had been kidnapped before the mall takeover had started? The girl she had been looking for this whole time was this delusional psychopath?!

"Please tell me you don't know this psychopath Touko"

«Yes, it’s her.»

Her whispering reply was all it needed to confirm the obvious turn of events.

She had finally found her. After what had been a hell ride of a night and day, Kamijou Touko had finally found the underground idol Akirin. But, even though she finally saw the finish line ahead of her, the situation was as complicated as it could get.

«There you are Touko! Been looking all over the mall for you, well more like my friend here was but still.»

«Hand over the girl.»

«…»

Kinoshita. The Vicious Cycle. The red tracksuit.

These new players made the situation far more difficult to see through. Then there was also that game of death. Who was on whose side? How would they claim victory against the impossible odds they had been trapped by?

An idiot like her wouldn’t figure out the final solution. All she could do as read the moment and decide.

The Vicious Cycle was after Akirin, too.

Kinoshita was on the red tracksuit’s side. But why? Who was that person? What was her game?

All she knew was that Akirin wasn’t moving. A fact that gave her a bad feeling in her gut. Something must have happened. That tracksuit girl must have done something to her. And that something didn’t seem to have been an act of kindness.

No.

«I have no clue what you did to her. But I won’t let you get away with it!»

She couldn’t fight the Vicious Cycle due to the rules of their game, yet she still had to act to protect the girl she’d been chasing after the entire day. That was all that mattered right now. The rest would fall into place eventually.

Thus, without any further warning Kamijou Touko set off into a charge towards the tracksuit girl, pulling back her right fist prepared to throw a punch. However, this time she wouldn’t go easy on her enemy. No, something told her that girl wouldn’t go down to such a basic move. Instead, that right fist punch would only serve as a diversion after which she intended to adjust her actual left hand strike to match her target’s reaction. After all, she hoped with both the diversion taking effect and the full weight of another person slowing her down enough, an exploitable opening would appear.

All to give the fight a quick and easy end.

Quick and easy indeed.

Kisaragi Anko had seen through the sloppy diversion the instance the pointy haired girl had theatrically pulled back her fist. Within a mere split second her intentions had been laid bare in the eyes of the experienced professional. And within another mere split second, the fight would end.

Even while carrying the weight of a girl on her shoulder, the kunoichi was fast. Making a simple step aside she evaded the punch thrown at her, moving past the attacker right about when the follow up attack would come in and ruin their posture by swiping away her strong leg, essentially tripping her over instantly. Then, in line with her trademark cruelty, she would kick the falling girl’s torso with her other leg, knocking her against the corridor’s wall full force.

That was all it took to close the pages of that attempt at a fight for her.

Instead, she would shift her attention at the highest priority target.

That person Saito had brought along.

«Why should I?»

They were clad in strange gear from head to toe. Odd goggles on their face, an odd balloon like object and metallic halo floating above their head, a suit with cables and pipes spread all over their rather thin looking figure and a voice distorted to match a machine’s. With all that even those eyes of hers couldn’t get a reading on them.

«Because she is of such great value to my employer that I would allow you to live.»

«Allow me? Don’t get full of yourself, just because you have all that Academy City technology.»

She voiced her disdain loud and clear. This person was not getting past her pride.

«I was not talking about you exclusively. Hand her over and I will allow all of you to live.»

The reply followed drily, yet that person’s arrogance had been expressed clearly. It pissed Kisaragi off.

«Fine. I will have to take you out next, won’t I?»

Enough was enough. First the mascot characters, then that Izumii and now this one. These people had become more and more annoying the further she came. Their arrogance had become insulting. She wouldn’t let it slide anymore. This time she wouldn’t fail. Not even with the girl on her back.

«You do not understand. I have seen what you are capable of at the impound lot. I will no longer be careless with you.»

That figure revealed.

«Touch me and I will cause this building to collapse. Stress me and Saito Hirashi and Kamijou Touko will die. You should be aware that I am capable of these actions.»

There was no killing intent. No single emotion from their side, but the factual tone that delivered their cocky take on the situation did not leave space for any doubt. She had experienced the power of the turret first hand. She had seen the impound lot collapse. She knew what they said was true.

The problem was, if all this was correct, then she was facing a dead end. And she couldn’t stand that either.

Possibly due to all the pent up aggression the Spiky Haired Girl had towards their Masked Adversary, her first response to seeing the cavalry was to attack it.

Miss Scary Eye’s display of fighting prowess which followed was as efficient and effective as ever.

Hoping that Touko, now very well acquainted with the floor, will not rise back up swinging, Hirashi turned his attention back to the Masked Adversary just in time to catch him delivering the same speech he had given to the two of them earlier.

The situation however, is not as hopeless as what the Masked Adversary would have them believe. They still had their safe spot by sticking close to them, the “eye of the storm” per se and now they have something that the Masked Adversary wants.

Despite all the brawn, Miss Scary Eyes certainly also looked to be the smart type, but just to make sure, he looked at Miss Scary Eyes intently, and when their eyes met, he would raise his eyebrows, and make a few small hand gestures.

The Masked Adversary’s turrets and explosives are not precise or controlled enough to kill us without collateral damage. If we stayed close to what they deemed important, such as that girl or themselves, they would not be able to use his arsenal.

Hirashi would continue looking intently at Miss Scary Eyes after the highly improvised signals, wondering if she got the right message.

"Ouch"

Even if Nori hated Touko for her foolish heroism he felt bad for her after watching that kick. At the same time though it was her fault for attacking Kisaragi head on. You could try to justify it by saying she didn't know the girl in the red tracksuit was an actual ninja but in a way that made it even worse. Why would you charge directly at an opponent with just your fist when you know nothing about their capabilities? Especially in academy city of all places where you could grab a random person in the straight and it would be very possible they'd have the power to reduce you to ash. Who was he to judge? He had tried to fight Izumii in hand to hand combat.

Regardless, the masked villain would quickly head over to Touko to see if she was still conscious after being kicked into the wall. She was their current target so it would be bad if they got too injured right? Then again, Kisaragi had never really shared exactly why they were looking for Touka. The goal could very well be assassination but until he was told that he'd roll with the assumption it was a retrieval mission.

More importantly, it seemed they had another freak to deal with. Why was this entire mall filled with freaks? Mascots, skull masked thugs, and now a girl wearing bizarre techno gear from head to toe. Yet the one thing that everyone seemed to have in common is they were all working for or looking for Akirin.

«Touch me and I will cause this building to collapse. Stress me and Saito Hirashi and Kamijou Touko will die. You should be aware that I am capable of these actions.»

"Hey. Hey! Let's not jump immediately to the nuclear option. We're all professionals here, surely we can figure this out without killing each other."

Once more things had become complicated. Kisaragi Anko, unlike Kinoshita, was no naive fool who believed in an easy solution such as talking things out. They had never had that option in the first place.

Ignoring the stupid suggestion, she instead focussed on the message Saito conveyed with his gestures. Replying to them with a soft nod of her own.

I see. Good job

Taking Saito’s information as well as the one the enemy had provided, she finally reached an understanding of the situation. This was the same person who had attacked them in the impound lot. The assassin known as  ‹The Vicious Cycle›. Back then they had used a turret. The lack of precision in their attacks must mean they had one positioned here as well. Looking back at the explosions she had seen earlier, it wasn’t all too far fetched the turret had been the source of these as well. Meaning it must have been at a central location. Certainly, the building would collapse if anyone made a wrong move. However, they had that person’s prey. Meaning they at least had a literal meat shield on their side.

This was all she needed to know to solve the equation.

She needed to act and she knew how to.

At the top of her speed she charged right at the Vicious Cycle.

The rules mattered. If she touched them, the building would collapse. If she stressed him, Kamijou Touko or Saito Hirashi would be killed.

However, she did not care about that other girl.

Thus, when she had come within both the Vicious Cycle’s and Saito’s range, she tossed the limp body she was still carrying over to the boy, neither minding the possible injuries the captive would receive nor whether or not the boy would actually be able to perform a successful catch. What mattered was to remove him from the death row.

Then, in the same swift motion she jumped straight onto her target, knocking the technology clad assassin over with the intention of pinning them down.

«I’m sorry, but I don’t like playing games like a small child.»

Even as the echo of explosions resounded from afar and close by, causing the entire building to shake strongly, the sharp cold in her voice showcased how indifferent she was towards any of these. This person and their games had been too disgusting to let any of that in anymore. For that alone she would not hesitate. Sitting atop him, she would pull back her arm to send a clear signal: The next hit would be lethal.

«I told you. Did I not? Touch me and the building will collapse.»

The tremors kept shaking the entire mall. Slowly but surely the mall must have begun to collapse, ultimately set to bury everyone – the customers, mascots and Anti-Skill officers – under the rubble.

«I know. But you would have ensured for that to happen either way. You’re not the type to let these things slide. You want to win at all cost.»

Those ‹scary eyes› of hers had once more seen beyond the veil. Even if she could not get a reading on them from direct sight, taking everything into account, she was able to reach an understanding. She understood the core essence of this person. They were a child playing games. Nothing more. Nothing less. All she had to do was beat them.

«We’re not the only ones affected by this building collapsing,» she began. «Your turret is, too. You must have positioned it somewhere central. But with the layout of this place, it’s pretty obvious the turret will lose its position and be crushed by the rubble sooner or later. That’s all I need.»

In face of this enemy she discarded the idea of decency, openly bragging about the victory she had just claimed.

However, she had been mistaken.

That assassin was not a puny pushover one could impress by simply shifting the odds. This was the Vicious Cycle. One of Academy City’s most infamous assassins.

«Well played. You still lose.»

All of a sudden gas burst from tiny valves worked into the many cables positioned all over their tech suit. While not reaching far enough to reach Saito and the meat shield, it fully enveloped Kisaragi who had been in point blank range.

Coughing the tracksuit girl bent backwards, allowing the technology clad assassin to push her off themselves.

Still coughing she was left defenceless for enough of a moment to allow the Vicious Cycle to return to their legs.

«However, I have to commend you for your effort. I did not expect to have to rely on this just yet. This is PHARMACY’s special mixture. Savour the experience.»

What the hell is this…? What is…going on…?

She wasn’t simply coughing her heart and soul out. No, the world around her had begun distorting as though all her senses had been under attack. Everything was drifting apart. The voices. The vision. The spell. Her sense of touch. Her very consciousness. It was all falling apart. And the coughing, it did not stop.

«Saito…Kinoshita…run…away…I’ll be…handling this…»

Still, she could not let herself be defeated by just this. She could not give up. She had been trained to not fall to such petty tricks. Whatever this gas was, it would not stop her from finishing her job. She had come here to find the Vicious Cycle. She had come here to bring them down. And she would.

Even as she coughed up blood, Kisaragi Anko returned to a combat stance.

«What…? How can you even stand? You are supposed to be dying right on the spot.»

For only this once that ice cold figure of technology showed something akin to surprise as they faced the sight of something impossible. Yes, this was impossible. The drugs they had unleashed upon her could kill any man within moments. Even if one would survive, they should succumb to the excruciating pain of their body breaking apart as a result of an overdose.

However, Kisaragi still…

collapsed in the end.


«Shit. This hurts!»

Not too far away Izumii cursed as he forced his aching body to move down the corridor.

«Vice president-dono! It’s a bad idea to move around like this! You need to be treated urgently!!»

Of course, the pirate alpaca was still moving by his side, supporting the skull mask’s weight as they moved forwards.

«You heard the explosions, didn’t you? We can’t idle around. We need to find Akiko. This is shit is bad.»

No matter how heavily the pain stung, that masked maniac’s spirit would not break. He was stronger than this. He had to be. As long as that girl was in danger he had to be her knight in shining armour.

Reaching out for his belt, he removed a container, popping a couple of pills from it before swallowing them whole right after.

«You should’ve told me, he was here. This changes everything. We need to find her before he gets to her!»

Gnashing his teeth he could no longer cover his anger.

«He? Who? What is going on, vice president-dono?»

However, before the alpaca’s confusion could be cleared, Izumii tore himself away from his supporting hold. And unlike before he was no longer limping but walking under visible strength. Fully refilled he was ready to move once more.