[SS] Watery Paradise in the Concrete Jungle

“It’s too damn hot.”

As the sun rained light upon the world on that sticky summer day, there seemed to be no end to the sentiment.

“There’s no point in even going out.”

As people refused to go outside, the sentiment remained prevalent in the minds of many. After all, the grace of Amaterasu felt like an isolating cage with the air conditioners and fans being the sole things keeping the students sane.

“It can’t go on like this.”

Even the Nagatenjouki Academy Student Council wouldn’t find themselves caught dead outside as they conversed over video chat from the comforts of their own dormitories.

“But, it’s not like we can do much.”

The world would not listen to their pleas. The sun would continue to rain down upon without remorse upon the hapless children of Academy City. That was, until one of them raised a hand and brought upon the world its greatest mercy.

“What about...”

---

August 21st, 12:58 p.m.

“That’s about how it went.” A tall and slender boy with short black hair spoke up, seated behind a table in a small tent. In contrast to how one would see him normally, he was wearing nothing but glasses, a pair of camouflage swimming trunks, and a pair of sandals.

“Uh-huh.” Standing across the table was a silver-haired girl carrying a clipboard. Much like the person she was talking to, she wore a swimsuit—a blue bikini with white frills on the rim of the top. Despite the oddity of the choice in swimwear, it seemed to go surprisingly well with her. Even if she was not a maid, it gave her an odd maid-like quality. One had to wonder what thought process went into picking out such a swimsuit. “Did they really approve of the idea that quickly? You guys even brought Kirigaoka on board with this.”

They were Kanazawa Reiji, a class representative with connections to the Nagatenjouki student council, and Kira Kohaku, a medical nut who had been assigned to oversee the event’s Medical Committee.

“Let’s just say the summer heat is that bad and that it’s quite easy to appeal to people with the idea of swimsuits.”

“So, the student councils are all closet perverts?”

“Despite the stereotypes, women have surprisingly high libido. The thought of guys topless in the sun got them drooling even faster than the thought of girls in bikinis did for the guys. Needless to say, the approval was unanimous across both schools.”

“Of course that’s the reason.” Kohaku couldn’t deny what Reiji said about the thought of topless guys getting her motor running, but she really did not want to admit that out loud to Reiji. Moreover, she really didn’t want to believe that the stereotypically uptight Nagatenjouki and Kirigaoka had folded to such reasoning.

“Just don’t question it, Kohaku. Accept it and move on.” She muttered as she forced any strange outbursts down before they could start.

“That’s the right way to deal with it. Thinking upon how any of this got started would be unnecessary for you to fret for. Just spend some time in the sun and enjoy it.” Hanging his hand loosely, he gave off a dismissive wave to Kohaku.

“But are you comfortable about...you know...” Reiji motioned is finger down his trunk in a line before pointing towards Kohaku’s own. “You aren’t self-conscious about it? You’re not going to wear something like a racing swimsuit over it?”

Kohaku, almost unconsciously, placed a pair of fingers on her chest and moved them down along the lines of what Reiji was referring to—a large, scar running from between her breasts to her lower abdomen. She frowned and took a moment to look away from Reiji, who had called attention to it.

“Ah, sorry. I guess that was a bit rude of me. I just—”

“It really shouldn’t be something to be self-conscious about. I’d rather not show it, but Nanami and Haruka chose this one and said it looked good on me.” She turned back with a smile. “I think that makes it worth it on its own.”

That was all it had to be. Fretting over a scar that was long since a permanent aspect of her existence would not change it and trying to hide it forever was not worth the effort in the long run. Her friends acknowledged her wholeheartedly so that was all that it had to be.

“In that case,” Reiji said as he got off his seat and placed his hands on Kohaku’s shoulders. With a quick spin, he about-faced her to face the exit of the tent. “Go get ‘em, Miss Medical Committee.”

He, too, was her friend after all. Was it not a friend’s duty to give a hearty push forward from behind.

---

“Welcome, everyone, to the First Great Academy City Water Gun War!”

Considering District 18’s seemingly efficient nature, perhaps it was counter-intuitive for there to be a park capable of containing hundreds of people. But, the district planners managed. The logic likely had to do with the idea of relaxing also playing an important part in the efficiency of people. People were hardly efficient when they completely burned out.

Those little bumpers and spaces were truly necessary in the quest for maximum efficiency.

The park was littered with tents, tables, and a stage from where the announcer spoke his grand morning fanfare. Behind most of the tables was a pair of chairs with students from the council sitting in their swimsuits.

“We all know the summer is a hot and testy mistress, but today we have all gathered with one common purpose—to cool the hell down and break through this hellish summer weather!!”

Students from all over the city were gathered. And it wasn’t just a simple demographic either. Young and old. Poor and rich,. Students from all walks of life had gathered in that very park.

“The main rules of the war are simple. Everyone will have a colored headband to represent the two teams. These can be placed anywhere on your person like your arm or leg as long as it’s visible. Everyone will also have a target badge. These are to be pinned onto your swimsuit or to be worn around your neck like a necklace.”

The headbands in question were thin red and white ones reminiscent of the ones used in the Daihaseisai. The badges, on the other hand were all hexagonal shaped bands that matched the color.

“These badges are the targets. If they’re hit, they’ll add a point to the enemy team’s score. You are not able to hit yourselves as the badge’s sensors can tell if you’re hitting yourself. Moreover, each target has a refractory period of five minutes where striking it again will not net you any points. The team with the higher score at 6:00 pm will be crowned the winner~”

It was a simple set of rules that anyone could follow. It would allow for the game to be played without anyone being eliminated. At its base, it was a game that incentivized the high-risk high-reward schemes and allowed the creation of zombie players.

In other words, everyone would be able to drench themselves multiple times before the day was done.

“Refill stations will be set up all over the district and these will be the only places where you can refill your water guns. While you can use powers, you cannot use them to refill your water guns. Besides, they will be numerous so feel free to unload water as much as you see fit. And lastly, we will have numerous little obstacles and twists set up all over the city.”

As the announcer said this, Kohaku walked up to the side of the stage.

“With that, I’ll turn the microphone over to our Medical Committee.”

She slowly walked up and picked the microphone up.

“I have two things that I need to make clear before this begins. Under no circumstances are you to attempt to harm someone. Lastly, with if anyone gets hurt during the process of the war, please bring them back here to the medical tents and we will provide proper attention. That is all.”

Blunt as usual, she handed the microphone back to the announcer before walking off the stage. One could liken that scarred girl to a stern mother of sorts as she kept gazing out upon the audience in the process of her walk off-stage.

“The sign-up desks are open. Please make your way in an orderly fashion and we will provide you the team bands, badges, and the water guns you request, though, do try to be reasonable. The war begins in T-minus 45 minutes, so good luck everyone~”

---

The blazing summer sun hung high in the sky over Academy City. Sweaty people dragging their tired bodies from place to place under it's unforgiving light. Aiko however, was not among them. Her ability allowed her to block out the infrared rays from the sun, leaving the area around her noticeably cooler. This didn't mean Aiko wasn't going to jump at the chance to participate in the "First Great Academy City Water Gun War!", or so the notification that had arrive in her inbox had called it. A whole day of students blasting each other with water guns, it was sure to entertaining at least and at most so chaotic it could also be the last water gun war. Might as well join in before the chance is gone.

Aiko didn't have a swimsuit on hand when the war was announced and had put off picking one up till the day of. It seemed many people had done the same as the stores were flooded with people and swimsuits were going fast. Luckily Aiko managed to find a cute two piece one with a small frilled skirt bottom, The reverse side of which was colored red.


Unfortunately, the chaos in the stores almost caused her to be late for the start of the war. When she arrived it seemed like the rules explanation was just getting underway.

"The main rules of the war are simple. Everyone will have a colored headband to represent the two teams. These can be placed anywhere on your person like your arm or leg as long as it’s visible. Everyone will also have a target badge. These are to be pinned onto your swimsuit or to be worn around your neck like a necklace...."

The rules seemed fairly straightforward. The fact that ability use was permitted could definitely make for some chaotic outcomes. Once the explanation was over, Aiko made her way to the registration desk. "Name, Aoki Aiko, Red Team please, and I'll take two squirt pistols please." Why Red Team? It matched her swimsuit of course.

Some men just want to watch the world burn and Nori definitely counted himself among their numbers. Fortunately for him, there were days like today where he got to watch such an event unfold quite literally. As the Sun's hateful rays rained down from the heaven, scorching everyone they could, Nori would walk the streets unfazed. Watching with a barely concealed evil grin as he watched people retreat inside to escape the unbearable heat. Unlike some other city residents Nori's ability allowed him to avoid the Sun's wrath simply by freezing his clothing or his own body temperature if absolutely necessary. Once the temperature started to reach an uncomfortable high again, he'd just start the process all over again. It was the perfect plan as long as he didn't overstrain himself. All he had to do was use it to get from place to place before returning to the safety of the dorm.

At the very least that had been his original plan until he felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he found he received a new message. A water gun war, it was definitely something more interesting than what he had been planning to do the rest of the day. Breaking someone's air conditioner and watching them freak out would've been amusing but given the option between that and a city wide water gun war? There was a clear winner between those two options so the Masked Villain changed his plans for the day and return to his room to find a bathing suit.

Upon arriving at the event Nori's eyes had quickly made his way to the stage as the rules were being announced. Once all the rules had been announced Nori made his way over to the sign up table. He felt a bit naked without his usual red eye mask and blue track suit but it was better then letting them get soaked. Instead of his usual outfit he was wearing a dark blue swimming trunks decorated with wave like designs and that was it. Regardless, once he got to close to the table and heard the team the person in front of him had chosen to join he decided to go with the opposite. After all he already wore a red eye mask everywhere might be some fun to try a different color and he also hadn't taken the time to identify who the person in front of him was.

"My name's Kinoshita Nori and I'd like to be on the white team. I'll just take any medium sized water gun."

Close eyes, breathe in.

The flesh is only an illusion, a construct of the mind, a coalescence of dust. If one truly wills it, this mirage of a world can do nothing but bend under one’s command.

Breathe out,

open.

An arctic landscape greeted Hirashi as he lifted his lime smoothie off the cool, white table which conveniently materialised next to the deck chair which he was lying on.

“Everything is perfect.” Hirashi thought as he took a sip of his drink, he closed his eyes once more, trying to enjoy the coolness of the liquid as it slid its way down his throat. The sunlight beat down on everything around him, bouncing off the snowy surrounds and making its way onto Hirashi’s eyelids. “Hmm, it seems the sun is getting rather bright…” Hirashi thought as he looked up at the source of the scorching light….

...and realised the magnitude of his mistake.

Hirashi immediately was consumed by the sensation of being plunged into an inferno.

The mental image which Hirashi had so carefully built shattered into a thousand pieces as the full brunt of the hot and humid Japanese Summer plowed through it. Hirashi looked in mild disappointment as his lime smoothie turned into lukewarm water as his thoughts were pulled back into the reality of his room.

“Ugh, so hot.” Hirashi groaned as he collapsed on the warm floor and rolled about. The air conditioner in his room had been broken for as long as he could remember, Hirashi had coped in the previous summers without it, but this year’s heatwave was one of a higher level altogether. As Hirashi was writhing around the floor, the ding of his phone caught his attention; Hirashi does not often get messages, as he preferred to speak face to face with his peers, so any message that he does receive usually gets immediate attention.

“A city-wide water fight, huh.”

---

Hirashi arrived at the park a few minutes before the rules were announced by a particularly terse girl, and made his way to the sign-up desks.

“Good day, I am Saito Hirashi and I would like to join the red team please.”

Hirashi chose the red team not due to his love for the colour or through any tactical reasoning, but rather because he wanted to avoid the colour white as it would get dirty too quickly.

“Weapons? Oh, I would like something light and precise. A small pump water rifle would be great.”

As Hirashi collected his gear, his usually formal personality softened somewhat, he felt that it might be a good idea for him to loosen up like this more often.

"White team! White for white-hot! OOOOOOOOAH!"

The student manning the signup desk seemed unfazed by the sight of a somewhat dangerous-looking character yelling at the top of his lungs, and simply marked down the registration. Pushing up his glasses, he asked in a flat voice, "Affirmative, I'll put you down for White. Though it'd be difficult without a name..."

"...Oh. Right. It's Adachi Tetsuya. Remember that, because it'll be the one they call out from the winner's platform!"

The black-haired boy was equipped in red swimming trunks with a black stripe down the side, and a thin white button-down shirt, left unbuttoned in classic summer fashion. Receiving the headband and the badge, he tied the former firmly around his forehead and pinned the latter to the right side of his swim trunks.

Tetsuya was already stepping away from the booth when the student called back to him with a sigh. "You're not winning anything without a water gun!"

The slick-haired boy turned on a heel and strolled back, a confident smile plastered across his face.

"For a gun... just gimme something big that can put out a ton of water, fast. That's all."

---

A few minutes later, Adachi Tetsuya was filling up the six-liter backpack reservoir in preparation for the upcoming battle. The gun itself was connected to the reservoir by a tube, and had the simple mechanism of a pump: Push a handle forward and it fills with water from the tank, pull it back and it shoots the water out the front.

A strong weapon, but some of its weaknesses were already showing: the water tank wasn't exactly the quickest thing to fill, as Tetsuya was currently finding out. Still, at least he'd be starting the game off with a full tank! Refills, he'd worry about when he got to them. Firing off a celebratory stream into the air, the boy roared.

"All RIIIIIIIIIGHT! Reds won't know what hit 'em!"

---

To say that Tetsuya was here of his own thinking would be wrong. Rather, it was the first message he'd received from Shizuka since the one congratulating him on his release from reformatory, just over a month ago. "Adachi, if you're serious about having turned over a new leaf this fast, here's a way to prove it." A link in the email led to a webpage for the water gun event.

"Either win it fairly or go down honorably with a good fight - I'll accept either one. But if anyone ends up with worse than a road rash because of you, or if you forfeit..." The taunting face of a character from some animation or other punctuated that sentence better than any words the girl could have chosen to finish it with.

"...And by the way, if you skip out, I'm counting it as an automatic failure. Good luck!"

And so here the boy was, ready to lay his honor on the line and relieve as many students of their summer heat wave woes as he could in the time provided. Adachi Tetsuya put his phone back inside its plastic bag (to protect it from any stray water), and shoved that back into his pocket. It was time to get serious. With heat waves shimmering off the sidewalks and windows, it was the perfect day for his blazing-hot spirit to fire itself up as well.

August 21st, 1:59 p.m.

The preparations had been made. The teams had been assembled. The water guns had been distributed. The recovery points, supply points, and obstacles had all been set. With the time slowly ticking away, the promised start would soon take place.

The students had begun moving to their start points, destinations, and various locations all over the district. Upon the various speakers and monitors the slow countdown echoed and reflected into the eyes and ears of the people who were scattering. One had to wonder what influence the student councils of Nagatenjouki and Kirigaoka had to have in order to clear out the adults from the streets for such an event.

“Five!”

And so, the countdown to the start commenced.

“Four!”

“It’s about to start, huh.” Kohaku, standing outside the infirmary tent, looked out to the announcer who had taken his place back on the stage.

“Three!”

“Two!”

In the park at the start, some of the excited kids began to count down along with the excited announcer. Some of the students who had organized the event had also joined in with the excitement.

“One!”

“LET THE WAR COMMENCE!”

With that great shout, chaos began to erupt across the streets of District 18. Not one to just get let out of the fun, the announcer himself picked up a water bazooka he had left by his side and bolted off into the watery unknown.

As the concrete jungle’s fate to be drenched with gallons of water was sealed.

The games had commenced.

“LET THE WAR COMMENCE!”

The game was afoot. As soon as the countdown finished Aiko switched her Electron Shell from her favorite Air Conditioning mode to block out all light that would leave its interior. To anyone who looked at her she would appear as a large dome of pure darkness. The last time she'd had to use this, the clothes she was wearing had made the heat neigh unbearable. This time however it was cooler and her swimsuit was light. Aiko kept the shell a just a few meters radius, mush smaller than her max ranger, but better to make sure people didn't get inside it to quickly.

Aiko tore off down the street, blasting people with water and scoring points. Was Aiko a good shot? Not really, but it certainly helped when your opponents couldn't see you to shoot back. Even if they deduced that Aiko was at the center of the dome, they'd have no idea where on her body the badge was to shoot at. All in all it was an effective gambit. Aiko made her way to a refill station at the intersection of two streets, narrowly escaping a few people after her guns ran out of water. A quick refill and that problem was solved. Aiko turned the corner and hurried down the street to find more targets.

Aiko came to a stop once she ran into another person on the enemy team. They appeared to be some kind of delinquent with a big gun that looked like it could put out a lot of water real quick. With that amount of water it looked like it could put out, it might just manage to hit her badge without him needing to aim too well.  This one could be tricky...

The war had begun. A battle of water underneath the blazing rays of the sun. That was what Nori had come here for. A way to pass the time while having some fun at the same time. At the same time he also had no intentions of fighting this battle fairly. He technically wouldn’t be breaking any of the rules but freezing the water inside his opponents’ water guns hardly seems like something you could call fair. He was sure some people would likely complain about his tactic but he’d have to worry about that later.

For now, he’d enter the fray and a fog would begin to form around his body as he began to freeze the water vapor out of the air. A hot and humid days was the ideal condition for this aspect of his abilities and while the fog would give away his general position it would hide his precise location. Unfortunately, it also meant he didn’t have a clear view of his enemies either. With that in mind Nori would move throughout the district with his cloak up and would freeze up the gun of whoever got close enough to see clearly. After that all he needed to do was hit their badge.

However, creating and maintaining the fog was an energy consuming process and eventually he was going to need to find a refill station. Trying to find one while wandering aimlessly in his own fog was foolish so with his energy and water running out he dropped the mist. It didn’t take him long to find one though it was a bit irritating having to get there without water in his gun to protect himself with.

As he was refilling his gun an idea began to form in his mind. What if he found away to force the members of the other team to a specific location. There was one set of locations that every participant would eventually have to go, the refill stations. Now all he would have to do is force them to a specific one. After filling his water gun he’d turn his attention to the refilling station. It would only take a few moments as the temperature would rapidly lower and all the water within the tank froze over. Immediately after he fled the scene to find other tanks. He just needed to make sure he left at least one over to funnel everyone to.

“LET THE WAR COMMENCE!”

And with that signal, the (metaphorical) gates were open. Hirashi barely managed to make his way out of the narrow alleys and side roads leading to the park, thanks to the fact that his rifle was coloured bright, life-jacket-esque orange. As expected, the higher level espers were raking in the kills with the aid of their powers. It would be almost impossible for Hirashi, whose power was both low level and unsuited for this event, to take one head on. However, with Hirashi being Hirashi, this was already anticipated, and as always, he has a plan.

His arrival at the park was not merely coincidental, the park contained various trees and shrubs which are more than capable of hiding a child. If a direct approach would not work due to a vast difference in strength, then all Hirashi needed was the element of surprise to level the playing field. Lying down behind one particular bush near one of the entrances to the park, Hirashi took up his position and sighted down his orange rifle.

A few minutes passed, but Hirashi did not get as many kills as he would have liked. Due to the nature of his tactic, he had to be careful to pick on isolated targets or risk his hiding spot being discovered, courtesy of his luminescent weapon. Hirashi was pondering switching his position when a blue-haired boy came rushing towards the direction of his hiding spot. Seeing an opportunity, Hirashi would stick out the barrel of his rifle out of the bush before taking aim at the approaching target.

“LET THE WAR COMMENCE!”

Tetsuya roared with enthusiasm, head shooting up from his hiding place and catching a group of students by surprise. "Your badges... I'm gonna take them all!" The delinquent had concealed himself and his water gun behind a group of trash cans, news dispensaries, and other necessary infrastructure which made an L-shape on a street corner. From this makeshift pillbox, his badge was only barely visible, and protected 97% of the time by the metal structures if his opponent were on the street. Not that he'd crunched the numbers himself or anything - He just knew that it was a lot of protection, and that protection was good when you're trying to not get shot.

The pillbox operation worked perfectly for the first group and the surprise attack, netting Tetsuya a whole six badge points. The students were understandably a bit upset that their grouping-up strategy hadn't worked as well as they'd expected, but even though they rushed him afterwards - one badge for seven wasn't a bad trade. The leader, a tall student with sandy-brown hair, was able to laugh it off with him for a few seconds while the two were enjoying the invulnerability period.

"Man, you really got us! That's a nice setup you've got here. I'm gonna make sure to tell my friends to stay away from this area!" He laughed as he took out his smartphone, tapping out a brief message or something. "Good luck with the rest of the game. That gun's a scary piece of work."

Tetsuya agreed. Being able to take out a group of seven at once (though admittedly with more than one shot) was only something he could've done with surprise, but with his gun's ability to shoot a continuous stream, he could easily score multiple targets with one pump if he was good. The slick-haired boy crouched down again, re-setting his trap and scoring a few more easy targets before the flow of people stopped coming down his street, or slowed to a trickle of already-invulnerable students. It seemed like the word was spreading... With a huff, the boy vaulted out of his pillbox setup and started off down the streets. If the targets wouldn't come to him, he had no choice.

Only a block away, however, the delinquent-looking boy stopped in his tracks. Some black dome was swallowing the street coming towards him, and it sure didn't look too friendly. He cocked his gun, loading the chamber full of water, but then paused.

This was clearly an esper ability - but what sort, he couldn't tell at all. Was it a distraction, and the other player was somewhere out of sight trying to lure him somewhere vulnerable? Did it work like a shield to block someone inside from getting wet? He couldn't see through it at all, so he had no way of even confirming whose team they were on. Shifting the hip which held his now-dried badge so it pointed away from the dome, he yelled.

"Gun in the air! One shot for Red! Two shots for White! I'm warning you!"

"Gun in the air! One shot for Red! Two shots for White! I'm warning you!"

Aiko smiled, not that the delinquent could see. Aiko could tell from his headband that this boy was on the white team, her enemy.  "Oh good, a friendly face." She pointed one of her guns up towards the sky and fired out two shots signifying white. Of course this was not true even the slightest bit true, but the boy had given Aiko an opportunity to get him to lower his guard somewhat.

"I'm glad you're on the white team too. I'm almost out of water and was looking for a refill station. Is there one around here?"

While she was distracting him with her words, Aiko was scanning the boy's body for where he had placed his badge. It looked to be pinned to the right of his bathing suit. The boy was cautiously angling his left side toward Aiko making the shot to hit it rather difficult. She'd wait until she had a better opportunity to actually fire a shot at it. If the boy dropped his guard at all, Aiko would be in an extremely advantageous position. As the boy couldn't see her, he wouldn't know where to shoot, if she was lying, or the fact that she actually had 2 water guns rather the one. Aiko waited for the boy's response.

'This is starting to be a bit much...'

Thought Unimato as he sat in the center of his dorm, reading a book, or at the very least, trying to do so. Though usually wearing his very loose fitting hoodie, it would be found actually tossed to the side, laying on the floor in a heap. He'd been been spending the last few hours trying to take his mind off of the incessive heat by reading the aforementioned book, while truthfully, he hasn't even turned the page in that time. As ironic as it was, it was the heat, the very thing he was trying not think about, that prevented him being able to get anywhere in this attempt, which was saying something with how he normally was able to endure the heat with his hood on and how high up he had his AC going. He has also gone as far as using his ability to phase out the warmer particles in the air around him, but of course, even that hasn't seemed to help at all. Right as his head began to slump forward, in defeat, his phone went off, causing him to jump, slightly.

'Who would even be contacting me?'

He thought as he slowly moved his sweat drenched hand towards his phone and bringing it up to look at.

"A water gun war, huh... not my kind of event, but the usual methods haven't been working, thus far..."

Speaking out loud as he read over the notification.

"...p-perhaps its about time to step out of my comfort zone, otherwise I might pass out from heat stroke."

After deciding this was for the better, he got up and began rummaging through his clothes for something more befitting of the event, and well, the long sleeve shirt and pants he was currently wearing, which in retrospect might have been why he couldn't cool down for the life of him, where so soaked in sweat they were clinging to his rather slim and compact frame. After awhile, he decided upon a dark blue t-shirt and black shorts.

'Though the dark colors would absorb the heat, at least they wouldn't become transparent from getting wet'

He thought as he finished putting them on.

'And well... all I had were dark colors...'

Right before heading out the door, he grabbed a grey beanie off of his desk that appeared to have the same ears as his hoodie, throwing it on  his head as he left.


He arrived at the destination the event was taking place in right as it sounded like the rules were being rattled off, and upon seeing the massive gathering of people, Unimato decided to hang back where it wasn't quite as dense and he was sure no one would notice him. After standing there for a bit, he started to have the urge to leave, since the sheer number of people was making him uncomfortable.

“The sign-up desks are open. Please make your way in an orderly fashion and we will provide you the team bands, badges, and the water guns you request, though, do try to be reasonable. The war begins in T-minus 45 minutes, so good luck everyone~”

And almost on cue, everyone began to file towards the various desks, in which Unimato sighed in relief since there was no longer anyone within the general vicinity of him, in a matter of seconds. However, that relief became annoyance as he realized how long each of the lines were, deciding to hang back and wait until one of them cleared out significantly enough, which of course took the majority of the time. After he finally decided on a line that seemed manageable enough in the way of people, a few minutes later he got up to the actual sign-up, in which the person asked whether Unimato wanted to join the red and white team and what kind of water gun he would want to take.

"oh um, white team, I-I guess..."

He answered, sheepishly

"As for a gun... Accuracy isn't my strong suit, so... I guess give me something that can cover a decent area..."

The person then offered them what that looked like some kind of glorified sling shot, pull back mechanism and all, that was about half the length of Unimato's arm. They explained it was simply a water balloon launcher and they handed to him along with the badge and white band signifying his team color. After he wrapped the band carefully around his neck like a choker and placed the badge in the center of his chest, the person pointed him towards the refill station, saying that he can find already made water balloons as well as handing him some kind of side bag, which he could guess was meant for carrying them.

Sometime after packing the side bag, which could roughly fit about ten balloons or so, the announcement was made to begin...

“LET THE WAR COMMENCE!”

Reflexively, Unimato phased out of sight and immediately booked it, trying to get as much distance from the others as he could, taking a turn into an alley. After a few additional twists and turns, he hid behind a dumpster to catch his breath, phasing back into sight right after someone ran past.

"W-well... guess this would be good practice... for managing time... with my ability"

He spoke between breaths, realizing he ran for almost the full duration of his ability.


After taking some time to lay low and catch his breath, taking the occasional cheap shot, and making sure his heart rate was manageable enough so as to be able to phase on a short notice, he decided to move further along the alley. As he made another turn, he came across what appeared to be a pure dome of darkness. Without a second thought, he phased, once more, but only to the degree of being seen through, hoping he wasn't already noticed. Taking a look around for anywhere he could run to from here, he heard a really loud voice, not sure whether it was coming from the dome before him or someone else entirely.

"Gun in the air! One shot for Red! Two shots for White! I'm warning you!"

In which two shots came out from the dome, in response, along with a voice.

 "Oh good, a friendly face."

Unimato continued to remain absolutely still, or at least as still as possible, attempting to keep his breathing steady and heart rate in check in order to keep the phase up.

"I'm glad you're on the white team too. I'm almost out of water and was looking for a refill station. Is there one around here?"

'You really expect someone to believe that when they can't even see you?'

He thought to himself, carefully loading his launcher. Though no matter how carefully and slowly he did it, it still made the audible click sound as it was pulled back, Unimato winced in response.

'oh no...'

He thought, slowly beginning his mental panic.

CLICK

Aiko spun around. She wasn't sure what the clicking noise was, but given the context of their situation she could probably assume it was a water gun. However, when she spun around, there was no one there. A more inexperienced Aiko may have turned around and ignored it, however this Aiko had already fought invisible opponents before, so she was going to investigate. Aiko blocked all light from entering her field as well, throwing it into darkness. Then, she rapidly expanded the field to it's full size, a 10 meter radius. To the invisible boy behind her, the dome of darkness would have looked as if it rapidly grew in scale until it swallowed him and everything else around it. The inside was just as pitch black as the surface of it was. Aiko let a small grin creep onto her face, not that the boy could see. She still couldn't see the boy, but she could sense him. While light may be passing through him, Aiko could sense with more than light.

"Invisibility is a nice trick, but it won't let you hide from me."

Aiko took aim at the fuzzy shape of electrons that made up the basic shape of the boy. She was blinded by the darkness as well, and even with he ability to sense him, she couldn't make out fine details like the position of the badge on his body. Since she couldn't see the badge's location, she just aimed at what seemed to be the boy's head.

"Now, what team are you on?"

If the boy tried to run, Aiko would follow him. Trapping him in a pitch black void until she had gotten her answers.

As soon as Unimato was realizing his mistake, everything around him had plunged into darkness, seeming almost as if the dome that was sitting right before him not even seconds ago, had completely engulfed the surroundings. Trying to remain calm, he looks around assessing the situation while reminding himself that this a just a game, and that he would most likely not be harmed.

'Only thing is... how far can I trust they will stick to the rules?'

He thought to himself as heard the voice from before, amongst the darkness, almost as if the shadows themselves were speaking.

"Invisibility is a nice trick, but it won't let you hide from me."

'Sounds like my current state won't mean anything to them, though I still doubt they can actually see with how dark it is'

Thinking about this, he decided it was best to end his currently invisible state to conserve his energy. However, just encase they decided to make a lucky 'shot in the dark,' so to speak, he delegated a bit of his focus into making his badge intangible, but still visible.

"Now, what team are you on?"

Came the voice, once more.

'N-nope, not creepy at all...

He thought, feeling the panic set in and his heart slowly beating faster

'No, relax, Uni, assess the situation.... I could either lie, assuming their response before was a lie as well and then run once they let their guard down along with this dome... but if they weren't lying, then they would take advantage, of course... in that case, I'll have to keep whatever focus I can on keeping the badge in its current state'

Unimato takes a breath in before deciding on his response

"R-red team, of course"

He replied in probably the most pathetic tone possible, completely failing at sounding like he's actually sure, himself.

"I-I mean, why else would I... try to make a shot at ya?"

From his voice alone, it was pretty clear he was either lying or just deathly scared of talking to others.

"R-red team, of course. I-I mean, why else would I... try to make a shot at ya?"

Aiko enjoyed lying. Nothing serious that could cause harm, but little white lies for pranks. In her line of work, she didn't have opportunities to do that kind of thing, it would get you or someone else killed. Even for someone who lied a lot like Aiko, lies aren't always easy for people to pick out, especially while not being able to read any body language, however this boy was either a terrible liar, or very scared... maybe both.

"Oho, well then you'll have no complaints if I take you out right here then right? Or maybe you're lying to me, but what reason would you have for that? We'd be on the same team, right?"

As soon as Aiko finished speaking and gave the boy a chance to respond, she carefully crept from her position directly in front of him, to a spot directly behind him and leaned in towards his ear.

"Red or White? Lets find out?"

At the same time as she whispered those words into the boy's ear, the area within the field was suddenly illuminated, bathed in a deep red light followed by a blinding white light to accompany her words, then it was thrown back into total darkness.

"Ah, white team. So that's the answer. Well, I guess it's time to dance then. Hope you can shoot in the dark.

With that Aiko backed up and began circling around the boy taking pot shots. In the brief moment the light had been let it, she still hadn't seen where the badge was.

"Oho, well then you'll have no complaints if I take you out right here then right? Or maybe you're lying to me, but what reason would you have for that? We'd be on the same team, right?"

"W-well its simple, with the response s-signal you gave to that... other person, y-you answered white, no?"

Unimato replies rather sheepishly before hearing the footsteps of this shadowy being approach him then slowly circle behind him, tensing up as they did so.

"Red or White? Lets find out?"

As they spoke the corresponding colors, the area around them flashed them for a split second, burning the colors into his retinas. Rubbing his eyes, he visibly jumped as the person found out his team color, speaking it a loud before the sounds of battle commenced. Though instead of immediately retaliating to this sudden response, he stood still, listening for the foot steps, feeling the water shots hit him in various places, and those that could have landed on his badge merely phasing through.

'They mentioned earlier that they were low on water, if that's to be believed, I just have to wait until they run out. In the meanwhile, I can figure out their pattern'

He shut his eyes, listening closely, feeling the water hit him every few steps. Unimato slowly raises his launcher, phasing it invisible in hopes to make it slightly more difficult to track. He points to his left and fires, awaiting for the sound of impact.

Aiko circled the boy, firing shot after shot at him. Much to her surprise though, the boy didn't move. He just stood there taking each shot before finally firing a water balloon at her from the launcher on his arm. Luckily for Aiko, aiming without sight at a moving target based just on sound would have been a tall order for most people and the balloon sailed behind her, exploding against a wall. If he was still firing at her, that would mean that all her shots had missed there mark. After avoiding the shot, Aiko stopped in front of the boy, retracting her field and switching it to a more offensive configuration. For the first time, the boy in front of her would be able to see his opponent.

"Oho, still in it are you? Where'd you hide the badge in order for all that to miss?"

Aiko got her answer as soon as she finished that sentence. It was right there in the middle of his chest. However, despite the fact that the rest of him was all wet, including the spot behind the badge, the badge itself was untouched.

"Interesting. I thought your ability was just invisibility but there's another trick to it isn't there? I might have to take some more... drastic measures."

Aiko slipped the laser pointer that was tucked in her swimsuit into her hand. In a swift motion she fired a laser towards the boy's arm. She couldn't see the launcher, but it was probably still on his arm. If the laser made contact it would be devastating to the launcher's function. Plastic melted much faster than metal.

After hearing the impact, the shots seemed to have abruptly stopped. Unimato opens his eyes, wondering if that meant it hit, the darkness dispersing as if to help answer. He looks over in the direction it went, seeing that the bits of rubber from the balloon had since phased back into sight. Though the contents of it merely covered a small spot on the wall. He sighed as he turned his toward the now visible attacker, feeling his face going a little red.

'oh, right, I'm the only weirdo not wearing a swimsuit'

Thought the awkward boy who was wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and a beanie, of all things, to this event.

"Oho, still in it are you? Where'd you hide the badge in order for all that to miss?"

He noticed her eyes falling upon said badge before he could answer.

"Interesting. I thought your ability was just invisibility but there's another trick to it isn't there? I might have to take some more... drastic measures."

He took a step back, a little worried as to what they meant by 'drastic measures,' just for them to pull out a... laser pointer?

'What do they plan to do? Blind me?'

Which apparently wasn't the plan, as he noticed they were aiming nowhere near his face. Before he could inquire as to what they were trying to do, the distinct smell of burning plastic hit his nose. He looked down and unfazed his launcher, which now had it's pull back mechanism melted.

"Photokinesis..."

He mumbled, tossing the gun to the side. Then in a last ditch effort he swung his bag, with the strap still slung over his shoulder, containing what was left of his ammo, not to actually throw it at the girl, no. Instead right as it reached the furthest point in front of him in the arc, the bag phased out of sight, causing roughly five or six water balloons to be thrown into the air towards the girl. Then almost immediately after, Unimato phased himself out of sight. The sound of hurried footsteps following, quickly getting fainter as it was pretty obvious he booked it in the opposite direction from the laser pointer user.

'Darn it! That was such a dumb move! Now I have nothing to use... no, its fine, just have to look for a refill stati-'

His thoughts being cut off right as he came across one, however, all of the water was completely frozen. He phased back in to sight, catching his breath.

"W-wouldn't that... be against the rules...?

He inquired, between breaths. Unsure as to where to go from here.

"The closest one would be the starting point... but going back the way I came, I would risk running into them... I'm gonna have to find somewhere to hide until I can get my breathing completely in check before taking that risk... either that, or locate another station and just hope it hasn't been frozen over."

Unimato planned aloud, not aware or seeing anyone else currently in sight. At least, that he knew of...

The beam from Aiko's laser found its mark on the launcher mechanism and it was quickly melted and rendered inoperable.

"Photokinesis..."

The boy's guess wasn't right, but it also wasn't too far from the mark. With that, the boy tossed his gun to the ground and Aiko, assuming she had already won, poised to finish things. However, suddenly the boy started swinging his bag towards her. The continence of the bag seemed to phase right though the container and suddenly there there were several water balloons flying straight for her. If her field had been expanded still, Aiko might have been able to sense their trajectory and avoid them, but she'd needed to retract it for firing the laser. As such, she was taken aback by the sudden wall of rubber that was suddenly upon her and while a few of them missed, another few found their mark, drenching the girl. The boy had turned and fled, not even bearing witness to his triumph.

Well, I wasn't expecting to lose that, but I'm not sure how I would have won since his ability seems to be intangibility. I need to be a bit less cocky next time. If this had been a mission I'd probably be dead. Well, I'm out for the next 5 minutes. Might as well follow and see where he ended up. Hopefully a refill station, I used too much water there.

While the boy had turned invisible to run away, there wasn't much he could do about the footprint that his now soaked person was leaving behind him. Aiko returned her field to it's max range, however she didn't hide herself. She was already out for a bit so there was no need. It took a couple minutes to catch up to the boy, following a trail was a bit harder than just following a person she could see. When she arrived, the site before her was something unexpected. The entire refill station was frozen solid. Though she had no solid proof, Aiko had a feeling she might know who was behind this.

"The closest one would be the starting point... but going back the way I came, I would risk running into them... I'm gonna have to find somewhere to hide until I can get my breathing completely in check before taking that risk... either that, or locate another station and just hope it hasn't been frozen over."

"Didn't I tell you that you couldn't hide from me? Now, before you jump and run again just look, you got me. Intangibility right? I wasn't expecting that. Well played. Here, have this, the reward for being the first to score off me."

Aiko walked over to the boy and handed him one of her water pistols, notably the one that was out of water, though her's still only had enough for a few shots at most.

"I'm... more used to just a single pistol anyway."

An astute observer would notice a quick flash of what could be described as sadness or guilt flash across Aiko's face before she returned to her normal demeanor.

"Also Photokinesis isn't quite right, but a good guess from what I was doing. I can also do things like this though."

Suddenly the temperature around them started to rise and be sweltering. However, with the rise in temperature their swimsuits would dry off in mere moments. After which the temperature would drop rapidly again to be reminiscent of an air conditioned room.  

"Pretty handy right? Though it seems neither of us are much good to our teams without water, we might as well try and find a not frozen station. That, or maybe we can find a friend of mine. I feel like he might be behind this."

"Didn't I tell you that you couldn't hide from me? Now, before you jump and run again just look, you got me. Intangibility right? I wasn't expecting that. Well played. Here, have this, the reward for being the first to score off me."

Still trying to catch his breath, Unimato jumped slightly, causing himself to flicker in and out for a second before turning around to face them. Due to his heart rate still being rather high, he couldn't make his badge intangible in attempt to set up some kind of defensive, instead it flickered in and out of sight, feebly. Still breathing heavily from his earlier escape, he looks down at the ground, trying not to make eye contact, knowing he got himself cornered. However, to his surprise, instead of taking a shot at him they were offering him one of their water guns. He hesitantly takes it, giving a nod at their guess at his ability, before returning his gaze to the ground, being the socially awkward person he is.

"I'm... more used to just a single pistol anyway."

He merely nods at that, as well, noticing that the pistol he was handed happened to be empty.

"Also Photokinesis isn't quite right, but a good guess from what I was doing. I can also do things like this though."

He noticed the air around him steadily getting hotter until it was just as, if not, worse than how it felt when he was futilely attempting to ignore the heat, earlier that day. Though it did dry off his clothes in a matter of seconds before the air suddenly lowered to a much more comfortable temperature.

"Pretty handy right? Though it seems neither of us are much good to our teams without water, we might as well try and find a not frozen station. That, or maybe we can find a friend of mine. I feel like he might be behind this."

"I-I'm guessing this f-friend is a cryokinetic, then?

He asks in a low tone, still looking at the ground.

"A-also, why would you help me if your on the opposing team? H-how do I know y-you don't still have at least a shots worth in your other pistol? This i-is the clearest shot you'll get..."

He says pointing towards the flickering badge.

"I-it's difficult to keep it going when not in a relaxed enough state... m-might as well take advantage of your invincibility, right?"

"I-I'm guessing this f-friend is a cryokinetic, then?

"Yep, that's right. I don't know if he's even participating in the event, but I don't know how many cryokinetics there are at this level in this city. Can't been too many right?"

"A-also, why would you help me if your on the opposing team? H-how do I know y-you don't still have at least a shots worth in your other pistol? This i-is the clearest shot you'll get... I-it's difficult to keep it going when not in a relaxed enough state... m-might as well take advantage of your invincibility, right?"

"Huh, you're a weird kid, asking me to shoot you? I just assumed that during the 5 minutes I can't be hit I also couldn't hit others. Made sense in my head anyway but I don't know if that's the case or not. Well, I guess I can test that."

With that, Aiko help up the other gun and shot the mark right at the center of her now tangible target.

"There you go. Now, If the refill stations are being frozen. People will probably be gathering near the ones that do still work if any. So I say we look for a large crowd."

"Huh, you're a weird kid, asking me to shoot you? I just assumed that during the 5 minutes I can't be hit I also couldn't hit others. Made sense in my head anyway but I don't know if that's the case or not. Well, I guess I can test that."

And just like that, right as the badge stopped flickering as Unimato completely gave up on attempting to phase it in any way, they shot him, right on the mark.

"There you go. Now, If the refill stations are being frozen. People will probably be gathering near the ones that do still work if any. So I say we look for a large crowd."

He tilted his head at this in a confused matter as he looked back up at them from gazing at the ground.

"O-oh... so you were actually... serious?"

He said rather hesitantly. Feeling his face go red, he bowed his head, apologetically with his hands together.

"I-I'm s-sorry for being so dramatic!"

Unimato said quickly, tripping over his own words. It was pretty clear he did not get out very often, let alone, communicated with others just by the way he seemed to have trouble getting a sentence out.

"I figured it was only fair... you said I got you, then you successfully tracked and cornered me... so of course you still deserved the shot."

Taking a breath, with his head still bowed, he continued.

"If I haven't made too much of a fool of myself... I'll help you locate this friend since they'll end up causing problems for both teams... your current plan sounds like a good start."

He looks back up at them as he finished the last bit of his apologetic monologue, face still somewhat visibly red.

"O-oh... so you were actually... serious?"

"Hmm? Yeah."

"I-I'm s-sorry for being so dramatic! I figured it was only fair... you said I got you, then you successfully tracked and cornered me... so of course you still deserved the shot. If I haven't made too much of a fool of myself... I'll help you locate this friend since they'll end up causing problems for both teams... your current plan sounds like a good start."

"It's no problem. You didn't owe me anything. You defeated me within the rules of the encounter. Even if it was a last ditch effort, those are the efforts that will keep you alive... I mean, keep you in the game."

Again her demeanor seemed to change with that statement before quickly returning to normal. Something was weighing on her mind and kept almost pulling her out of the moment.

"Anyway, I think it's this way to the starting area and if there is any refill station that is still open, it's likely to be that one."

With that, Aiko spun on her heels and started making her way down to the starting area.

"It's no problem. You didn't owe me anything. You defeated me within the rules of the encounter. Even if it was a last ditch effort, those are the efforts that will keep you alive... I mean, keep you in the game."

Unimato merely raised an eye brow at the mention of being 'kept alive' but decided not to think too much about it, though he was starting to get the impression something else was on this person's mind from the way their expression changed for a moment.

"Anyway, I think it's this way to the starting area and if there is any refill station that is still open, it's likely to be that one."

Not wanting to press the matter, further, he nods his head and follows behind, keeping a bit of distance away with his gaze on the ground.


While getting a replacement for his launcher, back at the starting point, and restocking on his water balloons he came across a gun with a similar design and shape to that of a flintlock with a tag attached to it reading:

-Fires in short bursts with a small AOE, only holds two to three shots-

'hm, wouldn't make a bad backup'

As he pocketed it, something came to mind.

"D-do you think they plan on filtering the other participants to this point? Or do you think its too obvious and they might circle back around here to take care of it?"

When Nori entered the park the fog was no longer cloaked around him. He hadn't given up on hiding within the haze but there was simply no way he was going to be able to hold it for the entire match. As such he had no chose but to take temporary breaks in-between uses in order to give his brain a rest.

Even though his first line of defense was down though it didn't mean the Masked Villain was defenseless. Without the fog he could see clearly now and was paying close attention to his surroundings. The sound of footsteps, the rustling of nearby bushes, or any bright artificial colors that would give away the presence of a water gun. As long as he could quickly identify the opponent it would only take a moment to nullify any attack they launched at him. The benefit of having of freezing ability in a war completely fought with water.

Unfortunately for the masked villain around the same time Saito had caught sight of him he had caught sight of the next refill station. With his focus shifted entirely shifted to making his way to the station he hadn't noticed the gun muzzle starting to make its way out of the bush. At the same time though Nori would quickly change his pace as he began to sprint over to the station so he could freeze its content and then quickly move on to the next one.