Mahou Shonen Just Say No Chapter Nine

<-----First Chapter

<-Previous Chapter

"You're really going?" Kotomi questioned, frowning as she pulled open a can of beans that she fully intended to straight-up drink, "I mean, isn't this totally not your assignment, or whatever?  Do I need to call Kaiba-chan?"

"No, you don't," Sayaka rolled her eyes as she finished packing things up into a bag, provisions and the like, "Kaiba-nee doesn't ever need to know that I'm doing this.  I'm not breaking any rules, Blade is fine with me doing it, and you should be too, Tanako-chan.  We both know that I'm more capable than any of those idiot men, if they run into any real danger then they're going to need me there."

Kotomi sighed, stretching one arm out above her head as she lifted the can of beans to her lips, but didn't consume any yet, talking over the edge of it, "You can say that, and I guess I appreciate what you're doing for Rukkun and all, but I still think you'd be better off staying here..."

"Since when do you worry about me?" Sayaka questioned, turning to look at Kotomi.  She glared while her benefactor downed the beans.

Once Kotomi had finished chugging the entire can of beans, she answered, "I worry about you since what happened to him, okay?  I look at you, and I see a kid who's in over her head.  The others are adult men, and maybe you are better at combat than them, but they're more prepared to handle the consequences of their decisions, you get me?"

Sayaka scowled, "You're only what, four years older than me?  You graduated the year before I got to high school.  You can't say I'm a kid in over my head when you and Rukkun are hardly adults to begin with."

Kotomi groaned, tossing the now-empty can to the side and adjusting her mask back on now that she was no longer eating, "I can say that, and I am saying that.  Plus, I may be twenty, but I ain't a magica.  Chew on that, yeah?  Don't lump me and Rukkun together when we both know I'm better at making life-altering decisions than he is."

Sayaka Yamaguchi (Summer)

"Oh, shut the fuck up," Sayaka brushed her off and shrugged the backpack onto her shoulders, "You know I don't have any regrets.  I never will.  Yeah, I know what happened to him, and I don't care.  I've endured plenty of pain in my life, if my mark ever got hit, I'd endure that too.  It isn't like I'm about to die.  Nobody has ever died while in the top 30."

Kotomi stood up and reached out, grabbing Sayaka's knapsack from behind, "Maybe so, but you know what has happened to people in the top 30?  Mysterious, unsolvable disappearances.  So forgive me for not exactly having faith in you based on your ranking."

Sayaka spun back around, snapping, "Stop acting like you understand!  You're not a magical girl, and you just live your life free and easy from one job to the next.  You're not in any position of authority over me, and as grateful as I am for it, I never needed your pity!  Let me be."

"...Fine," Kotomi sighed, releasing her grip on the backpack to turn away, looking at the ground with a defeated look, "You're right.  I don't understand, and I never will.  Just be careful, okay?  Please be careful.  Or as careful as you can be.  I don't want to be the one to explain to Kaiba-chan that I let you go get yourself killed, okay?"

Sayaka laughed, shaking her head, "I won't get killed.  You won't have to tell Kaiba-nee anything."

"Have fun storming the castle," Kotomi gave her final, good-natured offer of a goodbye, and Sayaka nodded before she transformed, leaping up onto a nearby building to make her way towards the train station that she and the rest were departing from.  The train trip to Nagasaki prefecture from Tokyo was a long one with a number of transfers, but it was the only option for a group of five magica.  One magica could get through airport security with some extra measures, but a whole group would definitely be denied flight on the same plane.  Too risky.

Sayaka arrived at the train station in good time, and she was the second of their group to arrive.  She landed nearby, transformed back, and walked the rest of the way.  Upon arrival, she spotted Tsukune, who was standing there beside a woman who she recognized, oddly enough.  She wasn't expecting to recognize that woman, but she did, and she approached the pair of them, hands clasped behind her back, "Shirato-san!  I didn't know that you knew Madara-kun."

"Hm?" Kyoko looked down, being a good deal taller than Sayaka, then offered her a smile which seemed quite forced, "Oh, Shinku-chan.  It's a pleasure.  I can't say I expected to see you here!"

Sayaka froze, then tilted her head to the side, "Oh, I don't use that name anymore.  Didn't you hear when I was on the list of survivors?  My real family name is Yamaguchi.  Anyway, Madara-kun and I met a few months ago.  How do you know each other?"

Kyoko shrugged, "After Korekara, I was kind of homeless.  I mean, we all were.  Headmaster Kira didn't give a damn about us survivors after that happened... I decided I needed a roommate, and he was on the streets too, so I decided if I was going to claw my way out of Hell, I may as well be kind enough to bring somebody with me," She laughed a little, "Don't worry, just because he's a homeless guy several years older than me doesn't mean he's doing perverted things to me!"

Sayaka glanced around, then smirked, "Honestly, Shirato-san, I would worry about it the other way around.  Last I checked, Madara-kun is a very nonthreatening adult man.  You, on the other hand, are a very threatening adult woman," She turned to Tsukune, her tone still joking but with a slightly concerned undertone, "Madara-kun, show me on the doll where Boss Idol Kyoko touched you."

"She leaves me alone, Red.  Don't worry," Tsukune crossed his arms over his chest, looking between them, "I can't say that for most people she meets.  A real man-eater, this one, but I'm safe.  Anyway, I hope you don't mind, she wanted to visit another city along our way, I couldn't be bothered to remember which one, so she's getting on the same train as us."

Sayaka adjusted her backpack, "Why would I mind?  It's not like it matters to me.  I don't care about the five of us as a unit at all, it'd be Moron-sensei that you'd really have to run it by.  He's the one who keeps thinking we're a team.  Him and Rukkun, anyway."

"Right," Tsukune mumbled, shifting between his feet.

Kyoko paused a beat, then looked between the two of them, coming to a conclusion, "Oh!  I get it.  Okay, so that's what this is about.  Jesus Christ, there's five of you in this city?  I can't decide if that number is absurdly low or absurdly high.  I kind of thought that Tokyo was more of a hide of scum and villainy, but I also can't say I thought there were that many of you."

"Don't talk so loud about it, we're in public," Tsukune chided Kyoko, and she actually took a step back physically, seeming to signal her backing down socially as well as her posture turned to a more relaxed one, "And stop acting like I'm the only one who's not a criminal."

"Well..." Kyoko brought up, adjusting her hat, "Yamaguchi-chan is a criminal.  A career criminal.  But I'll take you at your word."

"Only one of the others besides her is a criminal.  Kano-kun and Wang-kun are perfectly fine people who just also happen to be... You know?" Tsukune was really not doing a great job of socializing with the woman who he shared an apartment with.  Conversation wasn't a normal thing between them.  Luckily, he would soon be rescued from the situation when one of the aformentioned non-criminals arrived.

"Hello there," Zhou greeted them, sleepily.  He didn't ever seem to be rested.  He had luggage too, a suitcase which he rolled up onto the train platform and immediately sat down on.  He was also making quite the fashion statement; he was wearing a flannel and a t-shirt, and normal shoes, but those were paired with pajama pants and a travel pillow worn like a necklace, "Tsukkun.  Yamaguchi-sama."

"Those are indeed our names," Sayaka noted, turning to him with a scrutinous look, eyebrows raised, "We're going on a train, you know.  The travel pillow really necessary?"

Zhou looked up at the ceiling of the train station, kicking his legs out in front of himself.  He was short enough that he could do that when seated on a rollerbag, though the intelligence of the action seemed a little lacking, "There's a false culture associating travel pillows with air travel specifically.  Travel, implies that they are perfectly acceptable for any and all uses as long as one is moving from one location to another.  It isn't as if nobody ever wants to sleep through a train trip."

"How can we rely on you if you intend to sleep through a train we are leaving on in the mid-morning?" Sayaka demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

Tsukune stepped forward, "I think, maybe, it means we can rely on him more.  If he sleeps a lot now, then he'll be awake during any fights we might get ourselves into, right?"

"Precisely," Zhou pointed at Tsukune, then laughed a bit, "Though I must admit, even I find it annoying how often I'm resting these days.  It doesn't make much sense, I used to be capable of function on only four hours a night, but ever since I made that contract, I just need to sleep all of the time.  I think it's because my intention is to rescue Mayu.  Her favorite thing to do was sleep, so now that's bleeding onto me.  I guess that means my fixation is a little unhealthy..."

"Yeah, whatever.  Unhealthy fixations are commonplace these days.  We got a stalking problem in the country," Sayaka waved it off, "So it's not so weird that you want to save your dead sister.  That's the plot of at least four animes, anyway, so we can let it slide."

"Jeeze, Ruka-san, I told you that we'd be late..." The three who were already at the station turned to see the approach of their final two members, who seemed to have decided to collaborate their travel given that they lived in the same building.

"Kyosuke-san," Yuuri rolled his eyes as he checked the time on his phone, trailing behind, "We're not late.  Everyone else was just early.  Even the human embodiment of oversleeping, somehow."

"Hello," Kyoko waved, "I'm Madara-kun's girlfriend."

"No she's not.  My girlfriend is the video-game recreation of Maki-chan I made using Ambition's spectacular DGF app," Tsukune corrected her in a deadpan, moving to stand in front of her, "This is my roommate.  She's staying on the line at our first transfer, so none of us have to put up with her for very long."

"Sometimes I forget how much of a NEET you are," Sayaka noted, "Then you say shit like that and I remember why I didn't want to work with you in the first place."

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty," Yuuri joked, trying to diffuse the situation, but he somehow only made it worse, in that Tsukune turned away and ran off to stare at the map of the different train lines as if it was a fascinating book.  He looked over at that whole situation with scrutiny before looking back to the others who were still present, "Uh... What'd I say?"

Zhou gave an exaggerated shrug, "Beats the fuck outta me!"

"Oh my God, are you telling me, none of you know?  Holy shit" Kyoko burst out laughing, bending over herself in her raucous cackling, "How don't you know?  I've seen his outfit, you know!  It's a spandex catsuit, and like, this group that has at least two obviously gay men didn't even notice that what should, y'know, be an extra clear package in a catsuit... Isn't?" She turned to Yuuri with a lopsided grin, "Wow, you were just the biggest asshole!"

"Oh, I see," Zhou tilted his head to the side, "Perhaps I am mistaken, seeing as I haven't known him for an especially long time, but it has been long enough that I can honestly say I didn't take him for the type.  Being that, he is such a nihilist I honestly doubted he would have the capacity to care enough about gender dysphoria to act on it.  Clearly I was mistaken."

"Obviously," Kyoko groaned.

"Shit," Yuuri grimaced, still staring over at Tsukune, "Not just caring, caring well enough that none of us could even tell.  And I was just, accidentally, the biggest asshole.  The has-been's right."

"...So you do recognize me," Kyoko froze, glaring at him, "Doesn't matter, you're still worse right now."

"I'm not going to refute that," Yuuri groaned.

Kanoshi looked between everybody, then held his arms close to himself as he wandered over to Tsukune, "Hey, Tsukki.  You know that Ruka-san didn't mean anything, right?  He was quoting a movie to try and get you to stop fighting.  Like a joke."

Tsukune turned to Kanoshi, his one visible eye narrowed and clearly burning with anger, though his voice didn't reflect it at all, "I know he didn't mean anything by it, that doesn't magically make it that I'm not filled with a vicious fury."

"Tsukki-" Kanoshi started again, only to be cut off.

"That's not how this works, Kano-kun.  I'm not mad at Ruka-san, but I am mad, and I need some time to cool down, okay?  I'm sick of this trend of people insulting me without knowing what the Hell they're even saying," He scoffed, "You calling me a mag, Ruka-san calling me a girl.  I'm really goddamn tired of not being able to even be mad at anyone because it's always an accident.  If someone was being an asshole on purpose, I could just set them on fire."

"I... I don't think that's a good solution," Kanoshi mumbled.

Tsukune rolled his eye, "Look, I'd put them out before any permanent damage was done.  Just ,let them experience the feeling of being burned alive for a few seconds.  I can't do that to people who don't mean anything by it, though."

"I can't say I understand your philosophy," Kanoshi shrugged, "But please try not to set anyone on fire on the train at least, okay?  I understand if you'd rather sit alone.  We've already discussed tactics, so it's not important that we all stay together during the travel."

"Yeah, I know," Tsukune nodded, then walked onto the train as it pulled up.  Kanoshi regrouped with the others, and they got onto an entirely different car from Tsukune.  Kyoko slid in next to Sayaka, with her being the only other magica that she actually knew.  Kanoshi sat beside Yuuri, and Zhou sat across the aisle from them and promptly laid his head down on the table in front of himself.  Long-distance trains tended to have those when the subway cars usually didn't.

"So, I got a question," Kyoko started, leaning forward with one hand twirling her hair, "While you hunks are off doing whatever it is you're leaving for, what's Tokyo gonna do if any of those monster things show up?  Aren't you leaving the city totally unprotected?"

"We aren't," Yuuri explained, drumming his fingers against the table, "A few others are covering for us.  Last I heard, it was Fukushima being sent to Tokyo.  She can get backup from nearby cities if anything really bad shows up, too."

"What sort of name is that?  That's distasteful," Kyoko questioned, then shifted in her seat with a smile, "Oh, let me guess her power!  Fukushima must have either earthquake or tsunami powers, right?"

"Close," Zhou answered without lifting his head, "Fukushima can control any water she can visually see, so I guess she could cause a tsunami, explaining the name."

"Wow, okay," Kyoko picked at her nails, "Anyone know who she really is?  I'd like to give her my number."

"She's too old for you," Sayaka answered, tilting her head to the side, "I don't think you ever met her in your brief time at Korekara, actually.  Her name's Kaiba Rokujo.  She's about eleven years older than me, and my only Onee-san back home."

Kyoko paused, took a slow blink, then stared at Sayaka, "How come your last name is the syndicate's, and hers isn't?  That doesn't make much sense."

"I was an orphan, I didn't have a last name.  I became Yamaguchi when I was adopted," Sayaka explained, shifting, "Kaiba-nee was caught in crossfire.  Her older brother who she was living with picked a fight with the mob, that obviously didn't end well, and she was given the choice to go back to her parents or join.  She chose to join."

"Well, that makes sense," Kyoko nodded, then looked across the table, "Hey, what are your tragic backstories, huh?  Why did you become magical boys?" She then leaned over to shout, "You too, Sleepyhead!"

"My sister died at Korekara, now let me rest," Zhou answered, and that was a satisfactory response.

"I was a middle school teacher..." Kanoshi started to explain.

"Oh, you were at Aoba Public Middle, huh?" Kyoko concluded before he'd even finished, then stretched an arm over the back of her seat, "I heard things about that school.  All sorts of things.  I don't blame you for freaking out after the sort of stuff I've heard goes down  there!"

"...Right," Kanoshi nodded, turning to look out the window, "Yeah, that's true.  Actually, what made me become a magical boy was when I got told I'd be fired at the end of the school year.  Parents were making false correlations between my class and bad things happening to their kids.  Several Korekara victims had been my students before, and those kids who disappeared a few years ago, and with the murders earlier this year... It was too much, I guess."

"It was bullshit, is what it was," Yuuri jumped to his defense, glowering, "With Kyosuke-san gone, there isn't a single good teacher left at that school."

"Oh, goody," Kyoko giggled, leaning in Yuuri's direction now, "Does that have anything to do with your tragic backstory, hot stuff?"

Yuuri rolled his eyes, "I'd appreciate if you didn't call me hot stuff, but yeah, sure, fine.  I'm trouble.  I smoke, and I get in fights, and I'm a disaster, okay?  I'm the one person here who actually fits the profile of who you'd expect to become a magical boy, and that's the extent of what I'll tell you because that's the extent anyone who meets me generally figures out."

Kyoko blinked a few times, then raised her eyebrows, "Huh, so you don't like pretty girls calling you flirty nicknames?"

"I don't like pretty girls, period," Yuuri responded, "Well, I'm sure you're delightful as a friend.  Or not, since Madara-kun doesn't seem to like you much."

"Weird, I could have sworn that out of all of you lot, you'd be the most likely one to be straight.  Or at the very least, bi," Kyoko glanced over to Zhou, "Hey you!  Mister Sandman!  What's your sexual orientation?"

"Tired," Zhou answered with a grumble, sitting back up, "Have enough respect to let me sleep, okay?  Anyway, I used to be bisexual, I guess.  I haven't thought about it in a while.  I've had crushes, and in college I dated a few different people, but I haven't really cared about that sort of thing for a whi- And there you go," Zhou noticed as Kyoko pushed her way past Sayaka, coming to sit down next to him.

"I've always wondered what it would be like to date a magica," Kyoko pressed up against him, "Well, for as long as magica have existed, anyway.  I've had sex with people on drugs before and that was a hoot, so I bet that magic would be even cooler."

"I don't have time for dating right now," Zhou leaned away from her, just bored by her seduction attempts, "I need to spend all my time sleeping, working, and fighting monsters.  That's a very full schedule."

"You have the same job as me!  I have plenty of free time," Kyoko protested, "I mean, I've seen you around.  I fill in on guitar!  You know two instruments, right?  Piano and violin?  You must see more work than me, but that's still not a huge load."

"I sleep at least fourteen hours a day, and that's when I'm especially busy.  It's usually much more," Zhou explained with a laugh, "It's a pain, actually, I think it's because I'm working so hard for Mayu.  I mean, I'd be glad to try going on a date with you once this is all sorted out, but I doubt I'd make for a good dinner conversation partner if I just wanted to go home and sleep the whole time."

"That's good enough for me," Kyoko decided.

"So, Rukkun," Sayaka started, ignoring the one-sided conversation that Kyoko took up with Zhou as he drifted off again, "Your arm.  How's it healing up?  Anything else weird happen with it?"

Yuuri held up his arm, bandage still wrapped around where his mark was, "It's fine.  Healing up no problem, it wasn't a deep cut or anything.  The scab fell off yesterday, but I'm keeping it bandaged just in case until I need to transform.  Oh One said that the only way it would get worse would be if I re-injured it, or if I tried to transform before the injury was fully healed.  Apparently the only time the mark actually gets used is while transforming to magica from human."

"That's good to know," Sayaka nodded, leaning forward, "So if it gets hit in battle, we can technically keep fighting.  We can finish off the fight, anyway, assuming we can get through the pain.  Rukkun, what did you say it felt like again?"

"It felt like every inch of my body all at once was being stabbed by seven simultaneous knives, or you know, something in that neighborhood," He answered, rubbing his fingers against the edge of the bandage, "I don't think anyone would be in a position to continue fighting a monster after experiencing it for even a moment."

"I would be," Sayaka rested her chin in one hand, elbow on the table.  "Kyosuke-kun.  Wouldn't you be?  Wouldn't you fight through the pain for the sake of the rest of us, if you were injured during a really important battle?"

Kanoshi looked over to her, having been invited into the conversation, and shrugged, "I'd definitely try, but I mean, I could probably heal it if it happened during battle.  In order to heal a wound, I need to block a hit with the same level of intent as the one that inflicted it.  I couldn't heal Ruka-san's because there was no way to recreate his intentions, but if it were a monster, I'd just have to block the next hit.  So I guess it would just be the moment, and then I'd fix it, so yeah.  Roundabout, but in the end I would."

"I guess that's true," Sayaka sighed, "Well, it makes sense that I'm the only one strong enough to fight through it without something like that, but it doesn't exactly bode well.  You do realize we're investigating strange monster behaviors?  We have no idea the type of battles we might end up in once we reach Nagasaki."

"Well," Yuuri shifted in his seat, "That's true, but I trust in everyone's abilities.  Plus, I'm getting close to a breakthrough on smokes, I might be able to make a stronger acid that actually has an effect on the monsters, but not on magica or civilians.  It'll take more magic than creating smoke usually does, but I'm sure it would be helpful!"

"Good," Sayaka laughed, "You always were the most useless in combat, for real.  I mean, you're good for what you are, but that baby revolver..."

"Okay, yes, my weapon isn't the best," Yuuri chuckled, shaking his head, "But I'm a good shot, and I'm working to improve upon my magic. I'm just as capable as the rest of you."

"Yeah, that's true," Sayaka agreed, then giggled again, "I'm only teasing, Rukkun!  Besides, you're like, super effective against humans and other magica.  Kyosuke-kun told me all about what you did to Lionhardt, which sounds way more impressive than anything I've seen you pull off against a monster."

"It wasn't that impressive.  I just subdued him," Yuuri shook his head, "We barely engaged, really."

"That's what's impressive about it!" Sayaka insisted, leaning across the table with an enthusiastic smile, "The fact that you were able to finish off the fight so quickly, without doing much at all, is actually really great.  That does take skill.  Sometimes combat doesn't hinge on holding your own throughout, but just one move to prevent a battle before it happens.  That was the sort of thing I had to do all the time when I was a human, and I still do it when I can."

"Well... Thanks?" Yuuri shrugged, "Doesn't feel that way to me, but I guess that's because the type of fights I tend to get into on a human level usually have more honor than that in question.  Like, catching somebody by surprise and ending the fight before it's began is widely regarded as playing dirty.  If anyone catches you fighting like that, you'll have more to deal with than the original one-v-one you avoided."

Sayaka rolled her eyes, "Well, street fighting is different, I guess.  That's like when two cats get in a fight over some roadkill that they found..." She froze, then sighed, "Oh, good grief.  Tanako-chan's rubbing off on me."

"What do you mean?" Kanoshi questioned, furrowing his brow.

"Oh, right," Yuuri turned to Kanoshi to explain, "Kotomi-chan has a thing for cats.  She feeds a lot of strays, and even built a cat playground in a storage unit for the particularly friendly ones.  It's not just her mask design that's cat themed, she really is just... Like that."

"She's my favorite human!" Another voice butted in, and Sayaka looked down to see that Blade had decided to appear in the seat which had previously been occupied by Kyoko, "I don't think she'd make a very good magical girl, since she doesn't care about much and she's already witnessed its horrors firsthand, but she is a great human indeed!"

"Glad to see you could join us, Blade," Sayaka noted, looking down at it, "Weren't you busy with Ribbon Green in San Francisco?"

"I was, but how could I leave my girl to go off into dangerous and trauma-linked territory all on her own?" Blade questioned, jumping up onto the table, "Misa is going to be fine while I'm here.  She's really climbing up those rankings!  She might surpass you soon, you know.  Not that that will change anything.  You're always going to be number one in my book!  I just can't resist your tsundere charms!"

"...Are any of your distributors going to be joining us?" Sayaka questioned of the magical boys across from her, ignoring Blade's comments about the odd friendship that the two of them shared.

"Yes," Yuuri nodded, scratching his neck, "Oh One went with SC to check up on Uamake and Graveyard in Hawaii, but Blem is going to meet us in Nagasaki, and Must Pope will probably join us at one of our transfer stops.  I forget which one."

"I wonder if they'll manage to recruit anybody new while they're at it," Blade commented, looking up at the ceiling, "Those islands could use some extra protection; not that I'm doubting Uamake, but you have to admit, she's got to be tired handling an entire island chain all on her own.  Any monsters that form in the nearby oceans will be going there, too."

"Since when do you encourage Oh One's posse?" Sayaka questioned, glaring at the shitty cat with a click of her tongue, "I thought you had a bitter rivalry."

"Come on, your info's outdated!" Blade protested, "That bitter rivalry was just before Kanoshi Kyosuke became a magical boy.  Since then, I've contracted Ribbon Green and Ribbon Velvet!  Both of them are spectacular, and I think Misa could even reach the top ten!  And Velvet's just the sort of magical girl we needed at a time like this, you know.  Rivalries are silly to have when we're all in a state of confusion and crisis."

"Are you really capable of confusion and crisis?" Yuuri asked, leaning towards the distributor, "I mean, do you have a full range of emotions like humans have?"

"A full range and beyond," Blade answered, "But humans could never understand that.  In any case, we're all very confused, and very in crisis.  Of course we would be, if you think about it.  We've never encountered a mysterious disappearance like these before, let alone the number of them.  Except for Skorgles, who seems to have dropped its compassion somewhere along the line, of course we'd set aside our differences to solve the mystery."

Kanoshi joined the conversation, "You said that Velvet's the type of magical girl needed at a time like this.  What does that mean?  Does she have a special power?"

"Yes, bingo," Blade nodded, looking to Kanoshi as it answered, "Actually, it's useless in combat.  She's making a website, though.  She's clairvoyant towards monsters.  Being, she can tell when, where, and what level monsters are going to spawn.  We're working with a human friend of hers to create an easy web interface to RSVP to certain battles, sorted by level, area, and of course, calendar date and time of day.  After that first level eight, and with magic's best all missing, it's a much-needed creation."

Yuuri blinked a few times, "Hey, that's exactly what I've been all freaked out about!  It took so much work from such powerful magica to take down that first one.  Fizzy Pop and Horace were both involved, and they're both gone.  I was concerned that we wouldn't be able to take down something so strong without them..."

"Everyone's getting better every day, and we're still making new magica," Blade answered, swishing its tail, "And with Velvet giving everyone a chance to know about it and plan, that makes it easier.  The magica of sixteen different distributors can involve themselves in battle with a level eight and still get rewards, and if a bunch of magica all know, for example, that a level eight is spawning in Brazil in four months, they can plan around that.  Quantity over quality can still save the day."

"That's a good point," Yuuri agreed, then pulled his phone from his pocket, frowning as he muttered at it, "Jesus Christ, Yamada.  I can't cover for your shift, I got this time off for a reason and that reason was not so that I'd be free to relieve your lazy ass of Saturday evening duty..."

"I should get a job," Sayaka noted, looking up at the ceiling wistfully, "I'd love to be able to angrily mutter out loud at unfortunate texts from my coworkers."

"Very funny," Yuuri rolled his eyes as he tapped away at his phone with his thumbs, giving back a response that was a somewhat more polite version of the gripes he had.

Sayaka paused, then tilted her head to the side, "Oh, no, I'm being serious.  I don't get hired for any hit jobs these days, so it gets a little... boring.  Not that I don't love living with Tanako-chan, but she won't take me along on transport jobs or anything, so I don't have anything to fill up my days," She pouted as she leaned on the table again, "Plus, I'm still just sixteen.  I went to school in the first place to try and experience normal childhood, but that didn't pan out.  Part time jobs are another normal part of growing up, though, so maybe I should experience it."

"If you have the opportunity to not work a part time job, I would absolutely not recommend that you do," Yuuri shook his head with a bitter chuckle, "Anyone who never has to spend a single moment in customer service is somebody whose life should be the envy of everybody."

"Heh," Sayaka laughed, then looked up as she felt the train stopping.  She pulled out a small notebook from her pocket, then returned it as she stood up, shifting her bag, "Sorry Blade, no room for you in here, you'll have to walk across the station.  This is our first transfer.  After this, we have about a five-hour stretch on the same train before we need to transfer a few more times on some shorter distances," The others followed her, and she tapped Zhou as she passed by him to get his attention.  He wiped the sleep from his eyes and joined his fellow magical boys in following her, "I hope that Madara-kun knows this is where we're transferring..."

"Don't worry, he'll catch up to us," Kanoshi noted with a slight, quiet laugh, "Tsukki's good like that.  He's very reliable.  He's the only person I've ever met who has never had his LP sitting on full."

Sayaka shook her head with a groan, "As if I'd know what that means.  Whatever, I'll take you at your word."

Next Chapter->

Checkboxes Chapter 13

<-Previous Chapter

<--------First Chapter

I am Iwako Same, and I have to say, there are many things that I do not expect to see at a moment's notice.  I do not expect to see vehicles indoors, I do not expect to see animals which are not native to Japan (Or at the least, common invasive species) and I do not expect to see that a food item has suddenly become inedible.  All of these are unlikely scenarios that don't often cross my head as something to expect, though I know they're all possible.

Likewise is what I happen across this morning.  Improbable, but clearly possible, as it's just happened.  I open the door to the infirmary, my infirmary, and I find the target of my disdain is standing there, looking like an absolute fool before my eyes.  Of course she is, because why would she have anything better to do than continue to bother me?  She wasn't a very competent spy, but if she was in here alone, then she could have found any number of confidential things.

Not that I keep incriminating papers just lying about, but my computer at work is a desktop, and all the encryptions in the world might keep an IIA agent from getting remote access, but a determined one who had the keyboard in their hands would stop at nothing to access my email, files, and anything else they want from me.

"Sakazaki Yuu," I address her, and she's startled.  Well, that's a good sign.  She was startled, but not sleeping on one of the cots, instead curled up in the corner of the room, hugging her knees to her chest.  I look at the door, and it wasn't locked or anything.  She very well could have left, so I do have some confusion on why she didn't leave by now, what she could possibly be so afraid of.

"I swear, Doctor, I didn't look through any of your things," She's hyperventilating as she forces the words out, "I came in here because I was hiding from something, and you know, that would be really, really bad spy etiquette I wouldn't do something like that to y-"

"Get out," I cut her off.  She's rambling, and I can't say I give a damn about what spooked her, either.  It doesn't seem like the type of thing which should matter to me.  I don't even care to address the fact that she's clearly already aware that I know what she is, "Get out of my infirmary.  We'll discuss this on Sunday.  I think, Sakazaki, it may finally be time for you to retire from your position.  Box Hako will be a fitting replacement."

"...I understand, Doctor," Sakazaki nods and rushes past me, back out into the hallways where the other students are filing in for the day.  I groan, and sit down at my desk.  My computer... The monitor's off, but I left it on when I left.  As soon as I turn on the screen I realize.  I left it in the middle of a number of updates, which are still going.  I really let them pile up.  I set them up to run overnight because they lock up the computer's functions while they're going.

They're still going.

I suppose, maybe Sakazaki didn't get into my computer, if that's the case.  Nonetheless, finding her here first thing in the morning, and in such a strange way... It's unsettling.  I know that she's still in contact with the main branches, so I may need to make her disappear if our plans are to go off without a hitch.  If she were to find out about Apollo...

Well, if she told the main branch about Apollo, then everything would be ruined.  Roxie would likely be terminated as well, and I have no idea what that would do to my dear Mitsu-kun.  Mitsuru, I mean.  Well, I don't know why I'm correcting my thoughts.  I can call him a cute nickname in my head if I so please.

In any case, now that she's shown some degree of caring beyond observing me through aid periods, it's likely that I'll need to dispose of her.  Her direct superior is somebody who I personally am on good terms with, and who Mitsu-kun will be mad at me for upsetting, but I just can't risk it.  If Tina wants to hate me for it, then I suppose she will, and there's nothing I can do about it.

It's gotten so far that I can't just let it fail now.  I don't even know the details of the project, but what I do know, is that it would be very easily compromised if somebody found out.

-------------

Today, I think, is a pretty good day.  I made plans with my new friend group to hang out in the evening, since Sayaka has the day off of work.  School went normally, and in the time between it ending and when we agreed to meet up, I think that I should make an effort to convince Rei to let me check the cameras, as Natsuki told me the first day back at school after the trip.

She wouldn't let me check them, but she couldn't control what Rei did if I could convince her.  That was a quest objective if I ever heard one!  Shizuka told me last night about all sorts of game stuff while we ate her pasta, and I think it helps to think of my life lately as something like that.  And boy, do I have a lot of quests!

Finding Rei to talk to her seemed difficult at first.  She's in my class, but she always gets out of the classroom right away, and I can never seem to find her after that.  Today's a Wednesday, though, which means that the science club is meeting.  Therefore, I know exactly where she will be, the only tough part now is getting an audience with her.  I take a deep breath, sighing it out, then knock on the door for the science club.

"...Hako-chan," Yamiko answers the door, speaking slowly, and I'm caught off guard.

"O-Oh, you joined the science club too?" It seems a little odd to me that a God of Death would join this club rather than the occult club.

"Of course I did.  I love studying animal biology... Birds especially," She answers, staring a hole right through me, "That's been my hobby for a very long time now.  Hirocchi and I wouldn't be together if we didn't have things in common, and we both love science.  What do you want anyway?  Were you looking for her?"

"She still attends club?" I ask, still just confused by the situation.

"Of course.  Akabane-chan and Nishikikouji-senpai can see her just fine, and Nagata-senpai just has to take us all at our word," Yamiko answers, then gives a slow blink before she asks me again, "So what is it that you want, if you're not here for her?"

"I was looking for Akabane-chan, actually," I explain, leaning to try and look around Yamiko.  Despite her small frame, she's thoroughly blocked any view I could even try to get into the clubroom, "Is she available to talk right now?  I have something I need to ask her."

"...I guess," Yamiko shrugs, then closes the door.  A few moments later, Rei opens it and fixes me with a hard stare.  I fidget under her unrelenting gaze.

"What do you want?" She asks, tilting her head to the side.  Her eyes are red, just like Yamiko's.  That bit seems odd to me, but I won't ask about that.  I need to stay on-message for once in my life.

"I wanted to ask if I could use your cameras to check something," I get right to the thick of it, for emphasis pointing up at one of the cameras in question above my head, "I'm sure you know by now, I'm not sure I was actually sick.  I think there may have been some type of foul play at hand, so I'd like to see if anything happened to be captured on my last day before the coma."

Rei redirects her gaze to the camera I'm pointing at, then takes all the time in the world to shrug, her shoulders hanging for a long time in a tensed position, as if held up by strings, "Oh, those?  No, I'm afraid that I can't let you see any of that footage.  Privacy reasons.  I can certainly take a look for you.  What, as far as you're aware, was the date and time of the potential mishap?"

"Well," I think back, trying to determine exactly when it was, "I think it was June twenty-sixth?  It was sometime near marine day, anyhow.  I do know what the time was, though.  Seven-thirty PM, because I left something at the school and came back after hours to retrieve it.  Which is kind of weird, I know, I was breaking the rules, but I still ended up here and I still ended up... In the hospital."

"Well that does give one very obvious suspect," Rei speaks, narrowing her eyes, "June, after hours?  The only person who's likely to have been here at that time is Yuu-senpai.  I can't see what possible reason she would have to do something like that, though.  Unless you're hiding something, Hako-chan."

"Me?" I question, holding a hand to my chest, "What would I be hiding?  I'm just your average Korekara student."

"That's the point," A smirk plays at Rei's features, which surprises me.  I can't say she struck me as the type to smile much, "You are a Korekara student, and everyone here has got something wrong with them, or something wrong that happened to them at least.  Everyone has something to hide.  Some type of secret.  Don't you?"

"Oh... Well, I'm not really in the business of just giving my secrets away," I give a nervous chuckle, shrugging.  It somehow did slip my mind that everyone who doesn't know probably is under the impression that I've got some horrible secret, like most of them do.  Just thinking about what happened to Natsuki is enough to make me shudder, and she says that there's plenty worse than her.

Well, I guess that if I had to number trauma, then Sayaka had it worse for sure.  Shizuka, maybe, but I don't really think that 'worse' is the right word to use in this case.  After all, the extent of how bad something which happens to somebody is, is how much that person is impacted by it.  One person's worst case scenario is different from another person's, so their worst days to date would have just as much variance.  It's horizontal awful, not really a sliding scale.

"I assumed as much," Rei steps out from the doorway and shuts the door behind herself, leaning in a strange contortion to look up at my face.  She's much shorter than me, but seems opposed to looking me directly in the eyes, "In that case, I have to wonder... are you in the business of trading your secrets, then?"

"I can trade," I nod, rolling my shoulders, "Sort of, anyway.  There's some things which I'm not supposed to tell anybody ab-"

"I know about Artemis," Rei stares right through me, "I know you had an AI called Artemis, before your coma.  You don't still have her, do you?  The coma was related to your AI.  I know that much, but I want to know more."

"How could you possibly know that?" I question.

Rei stands up straight again, looking past me, "That's my secret.  After I tell you, you'll have to answer my questions.  Will you agree to that deal?"

"Yes, I can abide by that," I nod.  If she already knows that much, the seal is broken, and I can't get in trouble for breaking the rules.

"Okay.  See, I know about Artemis because I'm an electropath," Rei explains, pointing to her eyes, "Do you know what these mean?"

I hesitate a moment, but I figure it can't hurt to just give a theory, "Do they mean that you're a demon?  They're the same type of red as Tori-chan's eyes."

Rei nods, "Yes, she did tell me that you knew about her.  You know, it's only because there are so few demons that it's not common knowledge yet.  Humans are gradually coming to accept our existence, though I don't blame them for finding it odd in this day and age.  Every type of magic we once used, humans learned to harness in entirely non-magical ways.  Science is amazing.  And with such amazing science, why take an explanation like magic for anything?"

I can't help but be curious, "Are you a shinigami too?"

"No, I'm nothing like that.  I'm hardly powerful at all, really.  I'm just an electric elemental.  My little sister is a water elemental," She explains, and even goes so far as to demonstrate it by pulling out her phone and showing me the battery level, which jumps up to 100% after a small spark seems to jump from her fingertip to the phone's charge port, "I can manipulate electricity.  Things like this.  I can mess with magnetic fields, too, and I can tell when an electronic device is being used.  The moment I met you, I knew you had that chip in your head.  So tell me about it."

I take a deep breath, then steel myself to give a real answer, "Akabane-chan... It is an AI, you're right about that.  I was in a coma for months because Artemis got... stolen by somebody, is the working theory.  My body shut down because it didn't know what to do without that part of my brain, so I needed to get a new one.  This one's an updated version, it has less of a personality than Artemis did, but more functionality.  It's been helping me make friends."

Rei gives a slow nod, shifting between her feet, "If I had to pick between those, I'd prefer the old one.  If you had an AI with a good personality, then why would you need one that helps you to make friends?  Though I suppose you do strike me as the type to be dissatisfied with anything short of a true human connection."

"Artemis was my friend too.  Why do you think I'm so worried about finding out who stole her?  I'm really worried," I rub the sides of my arms, glancing around, "I just hope that wherever she is, she's happy, and helping whoever took her as much as she always helped me-"

"I can't speak with any authority," Rei interrupts me, "I can't claim to know anything about this situation, I have no part in it, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that wherever... Your AI ended up, they'll be happier there than they ever could have been trapped inside of your head."

That's comforting, somehow, "Thank you, Akabane-chan.  And... You'll check those cameras for me?  It doesn't make any sense to me that it would have been Yuu-senpai.  Actually, I can't say that it makes sense to me that anybody would have done it.  I know some people aren't fond of me, but stealing my microchip is a little extreme."

"That's a good point," Rei says with a nod and a contemplative look, "You got these from Assis-co, right?  Their biggest industry competitor is Feru Innovations, of course.  There's always the possibility of corporate espionage to consider, though I can't imagine how a random employee would have gotten onto campus.  Maybe they followed the steps you took to break in?  I will absolutely check and see if I've got anything on camera."

"Nagata-senpai thought that convincing you would be an impossible task," I giggle, "She said that she wouldn't do it for me, but that I was free to try my very best to convince you."

"Natsuki said that?" Rei gives me a wide-eyed look, but regains her composure moments later with a soft smile, "Huh, she'd never say that under normal circumstances.  It would be a hard no, no negotiation, no going behind her back to me.  I guess that she does have a soft spot for you," She pauses, then a laugh more bitter than anything I've heard before escapes from her lips, "Maybe it's for the best she has no time for things like that..." It's barely a murmur to herself as she returns to the science club meeting.

I'm left standing alone in the hallway, but not for long.  I'm looking up at this hallway's camera when I can see, reflected in the shining black of its dome shape, that Sayaka has walked up behind me.  I didn't even hear her.  I take a few more breaths and put on a smile before I turn to face her with a greeting prepared, "Ah, Sayaka-chan.  Did I make you come looking for me?"

"I wouldn't call it looking for you," She rolls her shoulders, glancing around, "You're out in the open, in the middle of a hallway, in front of exactly the club I would expect you to be in front of.  So, no.  You didn't make me come looking.  However, yes, I did come to fetch you because whatever business you had with the innovators of the future had you miss our meeting time."

"Of course it did," I groan, falling into step with Sayaka as she leads the way to the others without a moment's hesitation, "I... Well, I can trust you.  I was asking about Akabane-chan's security cameras, because I want to know what happened to me."

Sayaka nods, "Yeah, that makes sense.  That's why I figured you'd be here.  You've been curious a lot lately, haven't you?"

I can't help but offer up a nervous chuckle in response to her question, "I guess I have been.  I'm a curious person.  I want to know what happened to me, and I want to know what happened to the class of 2015, and just... I want to know about this place.  I could never live with it if the same thing as what happened to that class happened again, and I could have done more to stop it."

"What happened to the class of 2015 is never going to happen again," Rena states as she approaches me, clearly having overhead.  She has a sad look in her eyes, "I can't say that it won't happen because No Boys will protect it from happening again, but the thing is... That year was the perfect storm, so I've heard.  They look to blame a teacher, or a dead student, but Kaiba-kun says that it really was just a string of disastrous consequences.  The kind of alignment of everything terrible that can only happen once in a century."

"Why do you believe that?" Amai questioned, stepping up to stand next to Rena with her brows furrowed, "Why would you believe it if she says it?  She works for the school."

Rena pauses, then looks between the rest of us before giving a slight shrug, "Kaiba-kun doesn't work for anybody.  She was always going to send people to Korekara, they just finally buckled and gave their blessings.  Besides, I didn't just hear it from her.  There were other members in the school when it happened."

"It doesn't matter what really happened," Sayaka shakes her head and continues walking despite the fact that the others have convened, "It happened, and we can't change that.  Let's forget about it and just focus on having fun this evening, right?"

"Easy for you to say," Amai rolls her eyes, "We're going to see your dumb movie."

"Um," I cover my mouth to stifle a giggle, "Amai-tan, since when do you think romantic comedies are dumb?  Last I checked..."

"Nobody asked for your opinion, Box!" Amai snaps at me, her face flush with embarrassment.  I just let that giggle free.  Mission accomplished.  That's the definite benefit of making new friends while having known her since we were kids.  I can make fun of her all the time.

We go to the movie, and it's good.  Everyone but me tears up at the sappy ending, which I find hilarious.  This new group of friends I've found all front like they're tough, but they aren't, and that's becoming more and more obvious.  Well, maybe they are tough, but not when it comes to bad romcoms.  It's kind of endearing.  By the time we're finished, however, it's late, and we need to part ways to go home and get some sleep before the upcoming school day.  That's the problem with weeknight movies.

-----

My name is Riko Asahi, and I almost went to Korekara Academy.

I had my reasons to refuse the invitation, however.  I had an older sister who went to that school, and for most, that's enough to want to attend a school themselves.  Especially a private school, if they've got something to prove.  I have to admit I felt the same way for a little while there, but the thing is, most people haven't heard firsthand the sort of horrors that await at Korekara Academy.  Usually, the majority of a class graduates, but not the graduating class of 2015.  There were fourteen of them.  By the end of 2013, all but one of them were dead.

That one was my sister, so of course she got the blame.  Why wouldn't they pin it on her, when she was dead too?  It didn't take long at all, after the rest of them were gone.  She was the only one who saw the incoming first years, and then she disappeared too, and I was left alone.  I've never really been alone before.  Yui was always there, ready to help me handle people.  Ready to translate, because I never learned a single spoken language, and I can't much comprehend it out loud.  It's not that I can't hear, but I learned to write, and I learned sign language.  I've never been able to speak.

I guess that's why Korekara wanted me.  They wanted my sister so she wouldn't be left out when a little further down the line, I got a legitimate invite for my 'troubled' nature.  The speech problem is a physical thing, though, the result of a disease, so I can't say I fit their image of a traumatized youth.  Not the way that Yui's classmates must have, to end up that way.  I have all of her letters in a box, every single one, and they tell a story that I'll never share.  How everything just fell apart before her eyes.

Why should Kira be surprised I'd refuse the invitation after hearing about something like that?  I'd rather just work on fixing my own life.  Learning what to do with myself now that I'm alone without Yui's help, and now that I'm the sole heir to my family's company.  Whose bright idea was that?  Surely there's some other relative, maybe less immediate than me but more competent.  Yui was the one who could run a company.

I'm just the shadow who followed her around.

Today is different, though.  Today, I've gotten a personal letter.  Not addressed to Asahi, meaning me, in the business manner, but addressed to Riko Asahi, handwritten.  It's barely noticeable that it isn't just a font with how precise it is, but every 'a' looks a little bit different from the others.  I snatch it up before anybody else has a chance to see this oddity, and take it with me to my room.  I pull it open and find that it's written as being from a doctor.  Not one of my doctors, but 'Doctor Iwako Same'.  I recognize that name.  Yui knew her.  She was new in the infirmary Yui's first year.

After checking the sender, I read the actual letter.  It's similar to the type Yui would send me, telling me the horrors of that school, for a paragraph or two.  The second half is speaking of somebody who's not a horror of the place at all, but curious.  Somebody who's expressed an actual desire to find out what happened to the class of 2015, and that I'm the only possible link to that past.  She also asks me that if a sweet girl with orange hair comes calling and asking me about Yui, that I don't reveal anything.

I was never planning on revealing anything, but this statement just makes me want to do it.  A student who wasn't even there for the year, but wants to learn about it?  I guess that makes sense, in a way.  The ones who would have been there, third years now, were probably so shook by the incidents that they would prefer not to dig any deeper.  This one obviously sees it more as a mystery to unravel than a tragedy, sure, but the very fact that I've been warned against teaching her what happened...

Not like that matters, seeing as I don't have a name of this student.  Iwako's too smart to do something like give me the name.  I have no idea what she's up to, but it can't be anything good if she's on Kira's side, as it seems to me she is.  I have no way of getting in contact with the curious girl to give her the information that I have.  Really, this letter is inconsequential.  How would anyone even find out that I had anything to do with that year?

Most people don't think of me, and I very much doubt a single remaining third year at that school has any intention of thinking about that time at all.  I can only imagine they feared that the fate of the upperclassmen would befall them too, their second year.

---------

Rena arrives home pretty late.  She immediately goes to her room and changes from the uniform into pajamas, which she returns to the living room in moments later.  She sits down on the couch next to Umi, turning her attention to the TV.  Kaiba's the only one who's able to use the remote, but we all have similar taste in television, so that's not too much of an issue.  Today, it's pawn stars.

"How was the movie?"  Umi asks without looking up from her phone.

Rena shrugs, "It was fine.  I mean, I wasn't really the one who wanted to see it, but it wasn't bad either.  Hako-chan has been asking about the class of 2015 a lot, though.  She seems to be under the impression that something so awful couldn't just happen."

"That's what Kira wants them to think.  Let her," A Korekara Alumn named Kotomi waves it off as she walks into the room and approaches to lean on the arm of the couch, "Why bother trying to explain the truth to anyone who doesn't have to deal with it?  The only reason I tell new members about what happened is cause I don't want any of you blaming Asahi-chan, or Mars-sensei, or any singular person but Kira for how Meiko died.  She was one of us, so you need to be able to honor her properly."

Rena sighs and presses her hands between her knees, "I know.  It's Kira's fault for mixing those personality types so badly, if we have to blame anyone.  The thing is, though, shouldn't Hako-chan be allowed to honor Meiko properly if she wants to?" She glances away, "I know she isn't one of us, but..."

Kotomi hesitates, then looks to the ceiling as she answers, "That's too complicated.  Besides, if we started just telling anyone about all of that, who knows what could happen to us.  Kira doesn't have any limits to what she'll do."

Rena pauses before looking to Kotomi, "Have you ever... Met the headmaster?"

"Me?" Kotomi points to herself, and Rena nods.  She gives an answer, "I haven't.  Almost nobody has, and very few people ever will.  Even Kaiba-chan's only spoken with her on the phone.  I guess that's part of how she's able to get away with so much.  If nobody knows who she really is, then she never needs to see any consequences for her actions."

"Oh," Rena notes, leaning back against the couch as she crosses her arms, "I guess... You do have a point there, huh?  We've already suffered because of her, so if we start spreading real information, she wouldn't hesitate to hurt us, right?"

"Yeah," Kotomi agrees with a heavy sigh, "I know you weren't here when Meiko was around, but if you'd met her, you would understand.  The fact that she was in that class was always going to turn out badly.  She was such a sweetheart, she'd always help us up when we fell down.  Maka-chan would have died if Meiko wasn't around during her first year... But don't go asking her or Netsu-kun about it, okay?"

"We won't," Umi says, shaking her head as she finally sets her cell phone down in her lap, "I understand that it was traumatizing for them.  You already saw some of your classmates die, and you had graduation soon, but they had just gotten to the school and suddenly, everyone was dying.  Right?  Is that the reason?"

"It is," Kotomi nods, looking over toward Umi now, "Wouldn't you feel the same yourself?"

Umi hesitates, then stands up as she shrugs, "Well, I can understand it.  I don't think I would be so afraid, myself, though.  I am not very easy to kill, or even to injure."

I roll my eyes and finally decide to join in on the conversation, speaking up from the corner in which I've been reading while sat on the floor, "Umi-chan, you do realize that four of the dead killed themselves?  It wasn't just physical warfare going on between the students that year."

"Randy-kun?" Umi questions as she steps toward me, hands on her hips, "Just how long have you been sitting there?  There's still space on the couch.  Anyway," She flips her hair, "I am not so weak mentally, either, though my upbringing may give a different impression."

"I'm reading," I answer, closing the book on one finger as I look up at her, "I can do that over here just fine."

"You say that," Umi notes, "But I don't think you can be very comfortable here.  Is it because of Rena-san and I?  It's perfectly fine if you come sit with us."

"Are you sure about that?" I question, standing up, "Last year, you were pretty shocked to see me here when I got back from my business trip."

She squirms a bit under my statement, which actually satisfies me more than it should.  I am trying to respect her sensibilities, but there's still a cruel part of me that enjoys calling attention to ways that I've been wronged in the past.  She gives a good answer, though, "You can't blame me for that.  The group's called No Boys, so how was I supposed to know that you're Kaiba-san's close friend?  I was convinced you were an intruder."

I can't help but laugh at the explanation now, holding up my arm to point near my elbow, "Yeah, that was pretty obvious.  I still have the scar from where you hit me.  Well, maybe I should take it as a compliment that you looked at me and immediately thought I was a strange man.  Proves I'm less feminine than I feared."

"Heh.  Well, anyway... I'm sorry that I misjudged you at first.  Don't let that turn you off of spending time with me, okay?"

"Yeah," I nod and offer her a smile, "Thanks, Umi-chan.  Oh, and Kotomi-chan?  I think you should tell that girl about what happened to Meiko."