[SS] Curfew Carnival

Vicious Circle had introduced themselves by threatening to kill everyone in the mall so a fight was inevitable. After all, no one here was going to simply follow the assassin's orders because of some threat. Also considering Nori had decided to spare Izumii there was no telling how much trouble they would be in if they just handed Akirin over. The masked villain had hoped to buy some time to think up a plan of attack with his offer to talk things out but it seemed Kisaragi had already come up with a plan of her own.

It was a bit frustrating to watch his idea fall apart mere moments after opening his mouth but he trusted in the ninja's skills. If she had decided to launch a direct attack on the assassin it wasn't just because of an impulse especially considering she had only jumped into action after seeing Saito's hand gestures.

As such Nori would follow her as she charged in though would hang back after Kisaragi took the assassin down. He'd make the target was still in range of her ability but there was no point in getting any closer than that consider they'd been pinned down. For a moment it seemed they had won themselves a flawless victory and an easy one at that. Then the mall began to shake, the psychopath really was going to bring the whole building down on top of them.

"Finish him off, we got to get out of here. I don't feel like being turned into a red stain buried beneath a pile of rubble. "

«Well played. You still lose.»

A chill shot through Nori's body at the sound of those words but there was no time to react. As the cloud of unknown gas surrounded Kisaragi Nori did the only thing he could think of; holding his breath, grabbing the back of her tracksuit, and pulling her out of the cloud before throwing open the cap of his last CO2 canister. He'd aim the escaping pressurized CO2 at the cloud in an attempt to push the poison away from them and into Vicious Cycle while simultaneously running the necessary calculations to freeze the gasses.

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

And with those words Miss Scary Eyes, Hirashi’s cavalry, collapsed like a sack of potatoes.

Well…

It was certainly an unexpected turn of events. Hirashi did not doubt for a second that their Masked Adversary was a dangerous foe, but after witnessing Miss Scary Eyes’ many, many effortless takedowns and just general displays of ass-kickery, Hirashi genuinely thought she’d do her usual and just punch the bloke and win.

Blue Tracksuit pulled her away and appears to be using some pressurised gas to disperse the poison, but seeing how Miss Scary Eyes has already collapsed, he doubted it would be of much use.

I guess this is why you never monologue before dealing the final blow…

But the words which Miss Scary Eyes said during her attack gave Hirashi a valuable new line of thought. The building was already collapsing, which will eventually take the turret along with it. It would obviously be ideal for Hirashi to save the day, battling the villains and defeating them. However, with Hirashi’s current power, that was not possible.

This meant Hirashi would have to get creative and/or play dirty. As long as he stays alive until the turret is disabled by the falling debris, he will be able to get out of the mall and escape. To guarantee his safety up to that point, Hirashi can take this unconscious girl (no, not Miss Scary Eyes, and not that spiky-haired one either, gosh there are a lot of unconscious girls here aren’t there?) and make a run for it, as it was already established the turret cannot fire without destroying everything around the target as well.

If the Masked Adversary chases him, it would buy Blue Tracksuit valuable space to shift Miss Scary Eyes and Spiky Hair somewhere else, if the Masked Adversary didn’t chase him, once he has gotten to safety, he’ll probably call an ambulance or something for Miss Scary Eyes, or at least try getting some outside help.

Running away might feel like an admission of defeat, and in this case, it pretty much was. At this point, Hirashi was doing damage control. Whilst the gas can of Blue Tracksuit was hopefully disorientating the Masked Adversary, Hirashi would make a dash towards his intended hostage and run away with her in a fireman’s carry.

At no point had that one kick and bounce against the wall been enough to knock Kamijou Touko out. Having undergone a whole night and day of extensive fighting, running and being obliterated here and there, that would have been an ironic end.

However, she had still been dizzy as a result for long enough to not interfere. When she finally had regained that ability, things had already escalated beyond anywhere she could catch up with.

The tracksuit lady had collapsed in a cloud and the other boy attempted to pull her out of exactly sad cloud, unleashing gas of his own to counter. At the same time the nosy boy had set off in a sprint carrying Akirin on his shoulder. A lot was going on. A lot more than the spiky haired girl could process. Except for she had to.

Not only for those reasons but because the very roof above them was falling apart, nearly crushing her, her masked friend, their friend and the Vicious Cycle. Why was it that she only knew the name of her enemy?!

Mustering every last ounce of strength she returned to her legs, pulled back the masked tracksuit and at the same time attempted to help him raise the weight of the incapacitated girl – however, not without at least some internal objections.

«We need to get her out of here! After Akirin!»

She nearly shouted at the boy, while trying to make out a path for them to take. Naturally, that would lead her after the one girl she had been chasing all night. Down the corridor, through the falling debris and hopefully somewhere safe.


The Vicious Cycle had caught up to the turn of events within mere seconds. As that dying girl’s ally had unleashed the cloud of unknown gas, they would remain just as unaffected as they had been the entire time. It was just another condition they had to adjust to and overturn to gain full control of the playing field. Such was their M.O.

As such all they did was start up the halo and balloon floating above their head to emit a soft glow caused by feint LED lights. The next instance they were meant to deal with the attackers. All of them in one go.

It would have gone like that, if it wasn’t for the ceiling above their heads falling apart with perfect timing, driving a large chunk of debris between them. Essentially forming a thick wall separating them from their prey while also destabilising the floor beneath. As clouds of dust emerged around the assassin, they fell through the collapsing floor into a lower level of the mall’s internal structure. Only to then be showered by further debris.

However, none of it was in any way lethal or even injuring.

By twist of cruel fate, the Vicious Cycle had made it unscathed.

With only one problem remaining.

They had taken the girl.

«…»

They had taken the one thing they should not have.

Their orders had been absolute.

PHARMACY would not be pleased.

This couldn’t be left like this.

At the end of their run through the ever collapsing building, the small group consisting of a spiky haired girl and three other people she never had learned the names of, arrived at the mall’s loading bay. Finally, an exit into the free air.

Upon arrival, though, they would meet a number of familiar faces. Or rather furs.

Instead of having formed a proper greeting committee for their enemies, the mascots were currently in progress of loading themselves into the back of a delivery truck obviously serving as their escape vehicle. By nature that was only one of the crafts they used, but the last one to leave.

Some of them had run away by themselves, others been arrested by Anti-Skill. It had been too hectic to pull off a full closed escape strategy, but this was sufficient.

And to make matters worse, two even more familiar face stepped into their path. The pirate alpaca and skull masked biker Izumii. The latter being forcefully dragged along by the former.

«Akiko? You brought her?»

There was a difference to before. He no longer wore that cocky grin of someone who had lost all attachment to reality, but showed visible signs of worry that could even be read through his mask. Yes, that was how much that girl meant to him.

«We can’t talk right now. But if you really saved her, get on board. We can talk on the ride.»

That much that he could turn over a new leaf nearly on the whim.



The computer room was hardly close to the dark space one would imagine. No, it was the same brightly lit indistinguishable hell scape they had seen before. Now, without the threat of an invisible assassin lurking shrouded by the white, it was at least a more comfortable working atmosphere.

«Let’s see.»

By no means would one assume a boy like Tsuchimikado Motoharu was a computer expert. if anything the only thing he should capable of was finding the most raunchy of adult sites out there. But wasn’t exactly that what gave one the skills to dig deep into a system, breaking through all kinds of digital barriers? Youth protection and the deep web both formed far greater challenges than anything else.

«They’re not even trying, are they?»

A lot mouse clicking and typing, underlined by an imaginary theme song playing in the back of his head. At its end there being a bright announcement.

«Here we go, nya~!»

A single thing displayed on the screen before him. A map of Academy City with a red dot marking a single destination somewhere amidst the abandoned ghost town that was District 19.

«That’s where the ambulance came from. PHARMACY’s lair, nya~!»

When the pair arrived in the computer room, it wasn't like most computer labs Aiko had been in before. Though she was hardly surprised considering it was the same stark white as the rest of the building. Tsuchimikado approached one of them and quickly began typing away.

«Let’s see. They’re not even trying, are they? Here we go, nya~!»

Tsuchimikado found the info they were looking for with the kind of speed that would clue someone into the fact that they've done this a number of times before, though Aiko had already gathered as much. In a matter of moments Tsuchimikado had laid bare the the info they were searching for.

«That’s where the ambulance came from. PHARMACY’s lair, nya~!»

The dot on the map marked a single building located in District 19. Aiko was familiar with the district, though less so than others. She'd travelled around most of the city as long walks and exploring were fun for her, and while the abandoned buildings of District 19 certainly offered places to do just that, it was also a much more dangerous and all around inconvenient place to be. Aiko pulled out her phone, snapping a picture of the computer screen as a record of the lair's location.

"Excellent. Now I guess we should take our leave before any potential backup arrives. I don't know about you, but I don't think I have another fight in me right now."

With that, Aiko turned to head towards the exit, it was about time they got out of this hospital. It hadn't started as such, but this had turned into quite the solo mission, well with a plus one. Once they got out of here, Aiko was looking forward for a nice break for a bit... or a least a chair.

Fighting Vicious Cycle was not ideal, in fact it was probably the furthest thing from it. Kisaragi had been taken down in a matter of seconds due to the poisonous gas and there was no telling what other hidden weapons the assassin might have. They were fighting a battle uphill but at the moment Nori didn't see any other option. They could try running but with two members of the group already unconscious there was no way they were going to get away.

Even if they split up wouldn't help since Vicious Cycle would simply go after whatever party was carrying Akirin and complete their mission. Sure Akirin really didn't matter to them but after poisoning Kisaragi Nori had no intention of letting them succeed. Moreover it would be significantly hard to deal with Touka if they simply handed the girl over after she had spent so much time looking for her.

«We need to get her out of here! After Akirin!»

The sudden pull at his back snapped the masked villain and the sound of Touka's yelling dragged Nori's focus away from Vicious Cycle undermining all the motivation he had built up to fight up until that point. The spiky haired girl was right, they needed to get out of here and it seemed some part of the universe was on their side. As a part of the ceiling fell and separated them from assassin Nori would immediately grab Kisaragi and start fleeing from the scene as the building collapsed around him.

«Akiko? You brought her?»

«We have her but it seems like someone put a price on her head. I guess that's what happens though when your crazy enough to take an entire mall hostage.»

Was Nori thrilled to see Izumii and the alpaca? Not really, but it was far better than running into Vicious Cycle again. More importantly, it seem their fight was over or at least a temporary truce had been called. It was a good thing they had kept Akirin with them or this could've gone very differently. There were also no words to describe how happy Nori was that one of his gambles had paid off after an entire day of misfortune.

«We can’t talk right now. But if you really saved her, get on board. We can talk on the ride.»

At this point Nori was too tired to even question any of it. He'd simply follow Izumii's order and get on to the escape truck with he hope that Vicious Cycle wouldn't catch up with them.

«We need to get her out of here! After Akirin!»

It sounded like the others were trying to follow him, so that spiky haired girl was not unconscious after all.

As Hirashi rounded a corner into the open air loading bay, he found himself face-to-face with several mascots.

«We can’t talk right now. But if you really saved her, get on board. We can talk on the ride.»

It seemed these armed and furry mascots knew Blue Tracksuit, and refreshingly, was not actually trying to kill them. They were also interested in the girl which Hirashi was carrying on his back, apparently they were under the impression that they rescued her. Too tired to argue, Hirashi loaded the girl on his back onto the van and shortly followed suit himself. It had seemed he had finally got a lucky break.

Stuffed to the brink. That was the state the loading area of that truck Kamijou and her new friends had boarded was in. There had been a small bench like structure made up of hastily aligned crates, but given that the entire area carried more people than it should ever carry cargo, sitting down was far more uncomfortable than standing upright. Still, with how much she had run around today, taking a seat was the only option left to her. To make matters worse, she had been seated right across of the orange haired skull mask of all people. Talk about unfortunate turns of events.

At least the unconscious Akirin and the tracksuit girl had somehow been allowed to lie down comfortably amongst the forest of colourful for.

For a good while an awkward silence lingered as the truck randomly shook left and right as though it was a flight simulator, throwing around the weight of all of its passengers, while the sound of sirens was building the motion score of their escape.

If Touko took a guess, she would immediately assume those were the forces of Anti-Skill the amateur driver was trying to shake off.

«You said you wanted to talk. So talk. What the hell is going on here?»

At long last she formed the question needed to pierce the cold silence. As much as the despised the him, Izumii clearly knew more than anyone else about today’s ongoings. Not to forget that there must have been a reason for why he had decided to lend them a saving hand.

«What the hell did you drag Akirin into?!»

Still, she couldn’t hold back the bitingly aggressive tone in her voice.

«It’s complicated…»

And she wouldn’t let him play that card, no matter how exhausted that bastard’s voice sounded all of a sudden.

«Don’t pull that. I want to know. I need to know!»

«Fine. I’ll tell you.»

Izumii finally admitted defeat.

«Akiko. She’s in danger. And that’s my fault. You see. There’s this guy, PHARMACY, he’s pretty huge in the cities drug business. I…» It was hard for him to voice this truth. That was why he diverted. «He’s after her. He’s prolly after all of you guys now, too. At least his errand boy is. You know the Vicious Cycle. Creepy guy. Really troublesome stuff.»

Clearly, with how the mood in that small cramped space had changed, this information may have been a first for everyone present. Not only the ‹guests› but also the mascots who should have been Izumii’s comrades. Confusion and surprise had spread among them as he had begun speaking of a world that was seemingly foreign to them all.

«Vice president-dono…? What’s going on with the president?»

«Don’t worry. They don’t wanna kill her. They need her alive. Unlike the rest of you. Seriously. You should just run away while you can and hope that freak doesn’t catch up to you. Maybe you’ll have a—nah, you’re pretty screwed right now. That guy’s no easy business. For real. Wherever you’ll go, he’ll find you. Like he found m—»

Cutting himself off mid-sentence, the boy in a biker’s outfit instead turned towards one of the sleeping beauties. The black haired one to be precise. Seeing sweat pouring from her every pore while her breathing remained in a terribly erratic state, he bit his tongue out of compassion.

«We need to take her to a hospital, ASAP.»

Just when Aoki Aiko had crossed into the domain of the hospital’s exit, past the first unmoving body left on the no longer fierce battlefield, she would find herself victim to another – far more powerful – attack.

«Hug ♡»

As the light weight of a pink haired cutie bounced into her back, a pair of thin arms wrapped around the core of her torso, embracing her defenceless form softly but inescapably. The trap of a pink bob-cut clad in the typical uniform made up of a white short sleeved blouse with red tie and navy miniskirt had snapped shut, overwhelming the innocent victim right at the pinnacle of their journey, jollily dragging her back into the abyss.

«Where do you think, you’re going, Aiko-chan? ♡»

Yes, the abyss would not let her go, yet. And, oddly enough, it smelled like fresh strawberry cheese cake.

It had been a long fought battle, though now that it's conclusion had been reached Aiko was at her limit. Aiko slowly trudged her way out of the computer room and back down the stairs. She moved down the final stretch of hallway and over the gruesome spectacle, keeper her eyes averted as she past by. Placing her weight against the de-powered door she slid it open and took her first steps into the lobby and towards freedom from this place. Just a few more steps and...

«Hug ♡»

"Aah!"

Aiko nearly jumped at the sudden hug from behind. In fact she very while might have had she the energy to do so.

«Where do you think, you’re going, Aiko-chan? ♡»

"Ahh, Ai-Chan it's you. Don't scare me like that. What are you doing here anyway? Regardless, mission complete I got the info we were looking for. Wait... you're not here to tell me that there's something else we need here are you?"

Ichigo Ai's presence didn't bode well. Especially since she was stopping her from leaving. There was nothing Aiko wanted more in this moment then to go back to her dorm and fall into her bed.

"At least tell me that whatever you're here for involves sitting down for a few minutes."