Hagure Yuusha no Kichiku Bigaku

The s.p.a.ce was filled with many people creating an atmosphere full of vigor.

There was food, clothes, travel, and household goods that went beyond the basic elements.

Also it had the everyday "food" available in most markets or shopping centers an ordinary family needed.

There was light music playing in the background as the limited time specials were announced to its shoppers. He was shuttling back and forth through the brouhaha in the store planing tonight"s dinner.

In the crowded supermarket Onizuka was slowly carrying his shopping basket.

The menu has been decided that tonight was going to be curry, and tomorrow morning was also going to be curry.

In order to satisfy Tiana"s insatiable appet.i.te, he decided to prepare breakfast at the same time to make it easier on him.

It should be fine to just put the left overs in the fridge.

Tiana had every intention of letting Onizuka pick out the dinner for the household. Even thought he loathed the idea, he still went to the store to buy it.

Before he put the curry into the shopping basket, Onizuka checked out the instructions on back of the package.

"...... It seems very troublesome."

After reading the cooking steps, Onizuka slightly knitted his eyebrows.

Onizuka was used to eating fast food packages of curry, but instant curry and curry are different. It was more than just putting the pouch into boiling water for a few minutes.

"Do not underestimate curry. You have to have patience and take it one step at a time to have delicious curry, uh-huh."

Tiana was walking next to Onizuka while waving her index finger from side to side, she knows all too well the details of good curry.

"Ah, okay okay."

Onizuka was already out of patience.

"The question is, which type of curry do I want more......"

The popular preference of curry was nothing more than beef, pork or chicken.

Seafood curry was certainly a choice. However, it was too c.u.mbersome of a food, and obviously not suitable for a beginner.

It would be a better to choose simple meat Curry -- Onizuka thought. He also thought that way because chicken or pork was on sale.

"Pork curry! I want it with streaky pork! Once its cut into bite sizes, then sits in the stew for awhile it becomes so delicious. Oh and it"s hard to mess up......"

Tiana then went on and on, describing the taste of plump and tender streaky pork intricate detail.

Just the very mention of food, and Tiana doesn"t know how to moderate herself.

Onizuka casually chimed in several times to make it look like he was paying attention.

"All right. Well, since you understand it so much and said its your favorite so many times, you can go to the meat counter and pick it out."

Onizuka then directed Tiana to the deli area.

He watched an ecstatic Tiana leave to the fresh meat section, while Onizuka went to the produce section. He still needed to buy the carrots, onions and potatoes to go in it.

Onizuka got his vinyl bag ready for the vegetables, and then grabbed whatever was on top of the pile -- without even looking once, before he tossed the bag into the shopping basket.

He basically did not care whether the ingredients were fresh or not.

After all, he"s not a chef and as long as they don"t get sick its fine.

After picking out the necessary vegetables, Onizuka made a u-turn and headed to buy some more coffee since last night he ran out.

"...... Oh, that"s right."

Then Onizuka suddenly stopped, he seemed to remember something.

Next to the produce just happened to be where they kept the rice.

The hand-rolled sushi they had yesterday significantly reduce his stock of rice.

After all, he had cooked six cups of rice equivalent to twelve bowls of rice, of which about seventy or eighty percent went to fill Tiana"s stomach. And tonight it was curry, a dish that mainly relies on rice again.

"Just in case, I better buy more."

Onizuka picked up a cheap five kg bag of rice.

"..........."

After he thought for a moment, he switched it with a ten kg bag of rice.

The shopping basket instantly weighted more than ten kilograms, he now to struggle to carry it.

"Uhh, this is seriously heavy. d.a.m.n......"

Onizuka swore loudly.

He was voluntarily doing something troublesome for others now. And deep down he felt pretty good about it. Maybe he wasn"t just thinking about himself anymore, and started to care about someone else"s burden?

Some time later......

"Ken-chan, Look, I found some big chunks of streaky pork. SUGOI!"

Tiana had come back with a big smile on her face.

Onizuka looked in her basket filled with chunks of streaky pork, and later found that Tiana munching on something.

"...... Are you eating something?"

"I got a sample of roast beef from that Oba-chan."

Tiana said as pleased as punch.

"Oh, I got a piece for you."

After saying that, Tiana gave him a toothpick with some roast beef stuck to it.

"It"s free...... you can eat it. "

Mildly embarra.s.sed Onizuka shook his head to refused, but Tiana wasn"t about to let him off so easily.

"I"ve already got this one, this one is for YOU, Ken-chan."

"...... Tch!"

Having experienced her stubbornness before.

Reluctantly, he took the roast beef from Tiana. But after he chewed on it for a bit.

"...... This isn"t roast beef. This is bonito."

The fish station was ahead of the meat station, and they were giving out samples in front of the vendor"s booth.

"..........."

After hearing that, Tiana blinked her eyes in surprise.

"Ooooh...... the taste of roast beef and bonito are extremely close."

"You"re like a pork curry aficionado, I can"t even imagine that you didn"t know the difference between the two after eating them."

Just when Onizuka was shaking his head in amazement, suddenly a melody could be heard playing.

"-- A text."

Tiana took out her cell phone and after she read the message......

"--------"

She got really quiet, and exuded grim look completely unlike her usual self.

Onizuka held his breath, it was like the busy supermarket froze for an instant.

Although he tried to asking her "what"s the matter," he couldn"t get the words out.

Her imposing demeanor completely suppressed him.

After some time......

Tiana slowly put her phone away.

"Oh...... I"m sorry, you were saying something."

At once, she restored her expression even the giant smile on her face, as if nothing happened.

The ice-cold atmosphere just like that was gone.

But......

"Ken-chan, I find it hard to talk about that......"

"......What on earth?"

It was still her usual smile and tone.

But her words were like they came from a totally different person, Onizuka response was short.

Then her natural voice returned to an eerie one:

"I have immediately hurry off somewhere, let me say goodbye here."

The words themselves gave Onizuka a bad premonition.

"......"

Onizuka silently thought -– where you go was your choice, and had nothing to do with me.

Its not like I"m you master and you need to ask permission first. She was just someone who forcibly started to live with him, so its not something he needed to worry about.

"...... What about the curry?"

The shopping basket was already full with the ingredients that Tiana and Onizuka picked out.

They decided to have dinner together, that was why there were so many things.

If it was just Onizuka, he would of simply eat instant curry and not picked out so much.

"It is regrettable that I can"t eat Ken-chan"s curry, but......"

Tiana"s expression looks somewhat lonely, and felt very apologetic.

"The truth is this matter is much more important than food."

-- And the way she said it sounded like she was saying goodbye forever.

"Well......"

Kaidou Motoharu just sent a text to Tiana and folded his cell phone closed.

At the moment he was at the closest station to JPN Babel.

He was sitting on a platform bench watching the commuters exiting and entering the tram.

The text he sent contained the necessary information on how to take the .

Include with the message was a pdf with blue prints of JPN Babel he covertly made while attending cla.s.ses. Also included was the best infiltration route, and the most likely place the were being kept. It could be said that Babel"s security guards and security system made the campus watertight.

However, it wasn"t foolproof. The back up security system had a hole, moreover it was intentional.

Because,

"In the best case...... they can eliminate intruders in one fell swoop."

Babel -- namely COc.o.o.n, were most wary of anti-Babel terrorists with special abilities. These terrorists were alternate world returnees who didn"t want Babel to manage their lives and preferred to resit the world.

However, only a handful were extremists that take hostile action. Most have chosen to live incognito to escape the reach of Babel, while the extremists were the ones willing to fight on the front lines. After all, Babel or COc.o.o.n manages -- rules the world, compared to that power the terrorist"s power was far too small. Thus any terrorist actions were limited to guerrilla warfare, such as sabotage or suicide bombers. The best way to lure out these terrorists were to give them an opportunity to attack. For a terrorist this was known as hole.

Then COc.o.o.n could eliminate these terrorist they exposed one by one.

Such as Tanaka, who made the training program go out of control.

Or how Phil Burnett took advantage of the undermanned security during the ranking tournament.

"But now, my situation will be very dangerous."

Although Kaidou hadn"t let been caught by his short and curlies, he was now up against Hikami Kyouya.

Kyouya was trying to use a long line to catch a big fish -- This was not the first time Kaidou sensed this.

Kaidou tried to keep his free and carefree Babel student lifestyle, he had better bravely jump into the trap...... because the situation had changed.

The calm and collected Hikami Kyouya unexpectedly started to act arbitrary.

If Kyouya was a.s.suming the risk of betraying COc.o.o.n, at first glance –-

His goal must be worthy of throwing away being apart of the top of the world -- COc.o.o.n.

"Though I hate troublesome things...... I guess I have to take the initiative over there."

It doesn"t seem like Hikami Kyouya would betray COc.o.o.n, and become an ally of "Crimson Twilight."

A troublesome enemy will be born besides COc.o.o.n if "Crimson Twilight" sits back and waits.

It might have been foreseen by their leader Cecil, and was why she ordered Tiana and himself to seize the from Kyouya.

However normally there was no way of knowing where Kyouya was concealing the , or if he even had them. The vast campus had numerous school buildings, furthermore was the gargantuan size of the tower of Babel. Even Kaidou, who was familiar with the campus, couldn"t put up a guess to where the were stored.

However their leader Cecil · Endheart inspected Kaidou"s floor plans, and after categorically looking over it.

-- She pointed to where the were now being kept in JPN Babel.

That was purely woman"s intuition, and there wasn"t any corroboration. At first glance it would look like speculation without any basis.

However, that was intuition of the leader of the world"s most powerfull terrorist group "Crimson Twilight."

"...... Ah, they should be right here."

Kaidou knows that Cecil"s intuition had never been wrong before.

That night when the where being delivered, Cecil made it a priority to meet with Akatsuki by chance. She already seemed to know the route was just a decoy.

To be the first to inherit the leadership after the found of the world"s most powerfull terrorist group "Crimson Twilight" her strength naturally can not be underestimated.

"Tonight"s the......"

Kaidou muttered. The next step in the plan was for Tiana to seize the . Babel was already keeping their eyes on Kaidou, so he will play a diversionary role to scatter the enemy. Kyouya"s end game was still unknown. It seemed though the played a very important role in his plan, as long as the were taken from his hands all his plans would be impeded.

On the other hand, if Kyouya had some other goal in mind --

Then at that time......

"Well......it still a good story that ends in murder."

Even if he was up against Hikami Kyouya the result would be the same.

He was only one person, but as long as he teamed with Tiana there was no way they will lose to Kyouya.

While thinking over the odds of success, Kaidou slowly lowered his head.

Since it was the evening, the platform was jam-packed with the after work crowd.

Still sitting on a bench Kaidou Motoharu momentary smiled wryly, but it looked too ghastly to be called bitter smile.

The Monorail Tram also happened to arrive at that same time on the opposite platform.

Kaidou slowly looked up. The shrill look of a terrorist disappeared, replaced by a neutral look.

"......EH? Is that......"

The tram slowly departed. On the other platform among the crowd Kaidou spotted two familiar faces. Even mixed in with the crowd the two striking beautiful young girls attracted his eyes.

Ousawa Miu and Nanase Haruka.

A rather unusual combination. They both had a serious expression, not one found on a holiday outing. They also had several men following a little behind them.

There poise was impeccable, no doubt part of Babel.

Miu and Haruka also seemed to have noticed they were being shadowed.

But they were simply ignoring them.

"Oh, G.o.d forbid if I don"t already have enough trouble on my plate."

He watched them walk through the ticket gate and start to descend down the escalator. He mumbled as he also took action.

As the debug mode Gouki disappeared the exercise program ended.

Because of the special barrier in place all physical damage was converted to mental damage. Even if it was not life-threatening, still the pain felt from the attacks remained. Akatsuki change the flow the Ki inside his body using renkan keikikou to allow his body to recover.

After some time, it recovered to the extent that there wasn"t any problem to move around.

"-- Old man, I will be over there shortly."

Akatsuki left the laboratory, and headed to Kubota"s workshop.

The sun was gradually setting, lengthening Akatsuki"s shadow. It looked like he was chasing his own shadow. After walking for some time......

"......Your back?"

Kubota said while waiting with Sleipnir in front of the workshop.

"How about it --- your impression after trying my exercise program."

"Well...... I did work up a sweat."

Akatsuki smiled.

"For merely killing time its not bad, but I was nearly crushed along with the spare time --"

Akatsuki said while looking down at his fist.

"-- Anyway, I was able to obtain a reward, and I think for anyone trying to get stronger the program isn"t that bad."

"Ah...... That"s good."

Kubota asked for Akatsuki thoughts, and then changed the subject.

"The maintenance on Sleipnir you asked for and your AD synchronization are complete. Here."

He pick up the AD and threw it towards Akatsuki. He readily caught it with one hand.

"Thanks. This will be a big help."

Akatsuki slipped the AD on his wrist, and tossed the borrowed one back to Kubota.

After Kubota received the AD he turned around and headed to the back.

"I have other things to finish, you better head back quickly. There is a comprehensive system update today. If you are too slow in leaving the campus you will be trapped inside the barrier."

"Eh...... the Old man still has work to do?"

Akatsuki said.

"That was my bad, I would have came back another day when the Old man"s talents weren"t as needed."

"There is no nothing to worry about. I said system update, but the ones implementing it aren"t our engineers. And Hikami Kyouya is overseeing JPN Babel."

Kubota continued,

"In order to facilitate the management and operation of Babel, COc.o.o.n needs the most efficient system. However each Babel has very different operational policies drawn up by COc.o.o.n, as well as the management of each school. One way or another they are involved in highly cla.s.sified intelligence, so the system updates have always been handled by COc.o.o.n. Then the data and parameters are lowered so that our engineers can manage the system."

"Hmm...... very cautious."

Akatsuki was looking up at the tower of Babel.

"-- In other words, JPN Babel is Hikami Kyouya castle, huh?"

He was looking at the top floor -- the Student Council"s room.

Akatsuki narrowed his eyes.

"..........."

A few days ago, in order to prevent a war between humans and Demons, Akatsuki along with Miu once again visited Alayzard. And when they achieved their goals they returned to this world --

The dimensional shift would have been detected by Babel and recorded on their "Apocalypse" network server. Naturally there was possibility that a system error occurred.

However, there was no response by Babel, who must not let any returnees from alternate worlds slip through.

In other words, someone deleted the record.

"Hikami Kyouya...... did you do a good deed?"

During spring break the school was a ghost town.

A person with proper access to delete a dimensional shift recording from the "Apocalypse" server, which contained highly confidential information on alternate world returnees, would be very limited.

When Akatsuki heard the news from Haruka over the phone, he didn"t reveal his inner doubts.

However, if someone entered the server archives and deleted the dimensional shift recording --

The most likely suspect would be Kyouya.

-- Of course, he didn"t know what his end game.

That was probably why Haruka said not to be rash.

Even if the perpetrator was someone else, they surly have an ulterior motive.

...... It was probably fine.

Akatsuki turned his back to the tower of Babel.

If they try to harm me or my other companions, Akatsuki will crush them without mercy.

Even if the other person was one of COc.o.o.n"s managers of the world like -- Hikami Kyouya.

After the end of the battle, they should be able to know the answer.

Not in an exercise program that renders the "past."

Currently, my father and brother are standing at the top of the world –- Its up to me whether or not I have qualifications to confront them.

The setting sun dyed the sky a fiery red.

The night sky gradually covered the vicinity. This time of the day inspired nostalgic feelings in wandering hearts.

A quite voice could be heard echoing throughout the hallway of JPN Babel"s school building.

"Oh...... I"m sorry to hear. Thank you for working so hard."

The owner of that voice -- Uesaki Ryohei quietly pushed the end b.u.t.ton on the cell phone.

Ending the call.

Then, he ruminated again the contents of the conversation he had an hour ago.

"......As expected."

Ryohei scratchs the back of his head.

Then Minami standing next to him asks with a wooden expression:

"Ryohei...... are you definite yet?"

"Un, apparently no mistake."

Ryohei suddenly sighed.

"There"s nothing we can do about it."

"Ah......"

Minami nodded, and both of them began to slowly walk.

Towards the student council room.

-- In JPN Babel"s student council Uesaki Ryohei serves as a secretary .

When you say "secretary" it refers to writing down the minutes of their meetings, or a person in charge of all the doc.u.ments.

However, JPN Babel"s student council secretary also had another job.

Like Vice President Nanase Haruka who a.s.sists the student council president Kyouya, and at the same time serves as the chairman of the discipline committee that the maintained the order and security of the school.

JPN Babel"s secretary in addition to transcripts of the student council was also responsible for "information management." A few hours ago, certain information was brought to his attention.

It was data about an unusual event that occurred in this special autonomous region two days ago. It was a report from the that links two or more incidents and accidents together.

The report itself wasn"t a problem.

The a.n.a.lysis and details of the accident or incident in the initial investigation and the subsequent investigation were complied into different formats and both showed nothing suspicious.

So naturally this had to do with content.

"The problem is here."

Uesaki Ryohei painfully mutter.

There weren"t any problems with the content in the reports.

However, the problem lied in the number on the reports.

Exactly what is the problem?

The file creation date displayed on the screen.

Almost all the written reports were filed today or yesterdays after the events took place.

Only there was an exception -– at midnight the day of the incident. When the highway traffic cameras system failed, and the reports of suspected man-made explosion damaging the tunnel the archive date on that file was three days ago. Which would mean it was created the day before the event occurred.

A very rudimentary mistake was made when someone tried to make a fake report. According to the date on the report the had predicted it would happen.

In fact, it was unnecessary for the to be autonomous. However, this was an error that should never occur.

Inconsistencies in the file creation date and time were held in highest priority to watch out for.

If such a mistake occursed then that leaves only two possibilities.

The person in charge was too careless -–

Or there was a strict order to falsify the prepared data in advance.

A person with any brains would automatically disregard the first possibility, Ryohei naturally was no exception.

After that, a new problem arisen besides determining if the betrayed us.

The report in question, made a reference about quickly blockading a highways around midnight. And that night all the highways in the special autonomous region were sealed off.

However, highways in the special autonomous region were not just simple roads.

They were distribution routes of very significance.

Besides the people in charge of the special autonomous region, COc.o.o.n -- namely Kyouya. No one else had the power to block those highways which supply vital goods.

Also in an erroneous report, it mentioned that Kyouya ordered the closure of the highways. Even if this was the acting on their own, specifically stating that COc.o.o.n / Kyouya issued the order was undoubtedly asking for trouble.

The only explanation for that erroneous report could be it was all Kyouya"s idea.

Just to be sure, Ryohei contacted an acquaintance in the and subsequently confirmed the truth. The name on the account that examined the report that evening turned out to be the corps superintendent general.

As a result, he had a rational reason to believe there was no mistake.

It was because their was absolutely no way the corps superintendent general would have the nerve to betray Kyouya.

...... After all, he was a middle-aged man that Kyouya personally selected to be the superintendent general to be his figurehead. He didn"t have any real power.

Then the answer becomes easy.

Kyouya shaped the events that occurred two days ago.

"But Ryohei...... isn"t possible this was a secret order from COc.o.o.n?"

"Unlikely."

To Minami"s possibility Ryohei shook his head.

Denying this possibility.

"If it really was secret order from COc.o.o.n, why forge a report? And in first place why publish a highly cla.s.sified doc.u.ment? After all, a secret operation of COc.o.o.n"s his high would only be carried out with their personnel."

"Then......"

"Uh huh...... this is an arbitrary decision of Kyouya"s."

Mostly likely the superintendent general was called by Kyouya beforehand to make a report in a hurry and panicked. After all, Kyouya was a member of COc.o.o.n, and was personally asked and entrusted with an extremely important matter. Because of the tension cause by the urgency not to fail and because of the excitement of gaining a favor from Kyouya the superintendent general presumably lost focus and unknowingly made a mistake. Even the admittedly astute Kyouya miscalculated in the rush.

"...... Does this not need further investigation?"

Minami asked.

"There are several other events related to the highway incident, perhaps......"

"Hmm, there might be a relationship."

Ryohei nodded, and the fact was he was also thinking about such a possibility.

Indeed further investigation may unravel some additional clues and establish a better connection between the incidents, which is likely to clarify the reason behind them. But then, you have to consider the worst case scenario.

"In any case, lets talk to Kyouya first before we explore any deeper than this."

So......

Ryohei and Minami stopped. They have arrived at their destination -- the Student Council room.

Uesaki Ryohei thought -– they had the right to know.

They should know what Kyouya was thinking as well as his plans for the future.

And if Kyouya wasn"t taking the right path.

Then this shouldn"t fall to other people -- They should stop him.

The reason was very simple.

"We are...... not just Kyouya"s subordinates, but his friends."

They opened the door, and walked into the cla.s.sroom.

To know their best friend"s real intentions.

Surrounded by silence, it was as if the lively commotion of last night"s pajama party never happened.

In the Ousawa home only one person remained. Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Listy muttered:

"I see...... this is the first time for me."

Since she followed Akatsuki to this world......

Today was the first time she was left all alone.

...... Very unpleasant.

Anyhow, she still couldn"t settle down.

The silence after dusk when the world began to darken brought unspeakable loneliness to Listy.

For Listy, this place was in an unknown country in an unknown world.

Once Akatsuki and her other friends were not around, Listy didn"t know what to do.

-- However, now wasn"t the time to be complaining.

The reason was very simple.

"Its all my fault......"

Listy muttered.

The reason why Miu and Haruka went to JPN Babel was not entirely for Akatsuki.

It was also because they wanted to keep Listy"s existence a secret.

As a result -- intense guilt overwhelmed Listy"s heart causing her great suffering.

When she though about how her own existence became a burden to Akatsuki and Miu, Listy was beside herself.

What she wants was to be able to do something for everyone.

She also knows that nothing could be done.

Listy now can only keep silent in order to avoid any more trouble for them. Her powerlessness only added the regrets in her heart. She could no longer withstand the unbearable silence that she brought about.

"......!"

She got up from the sofa and walk out of the living room. Then she walked over to the stairs headed for the second floor.

Listy was not going the room her and Miu"s share, rather to the room of the current owner of the Ousawa home -- Akatsuki"s.

Standing in front of the door Listy hesitated for a moment.

".........."

After gently turning k.n.o.b, she opened the door to his room.

She was here along with her other fiends last night to save Chikage.

"Ah......"

Listy was standing in the center of the room, and blushed a little while lightly hugging herself. It is because she recalled last night when Akatsuki was touching her.

Listy could not help but think at that time Haruka never tried and stop Akatsuki –-

What kind of influence do you have on everyone?

If something really bad happens –-

Right now......how can I think of such a thing?

Listy slowly walked to the bed against the wall and sat down on top of it.

She pick up the pillow resting on her lap and wrapped her arms around it.

She tightly hugged the pillow.

Along with the soft feel, she could faintly smell Akatsuki"s scent.

"Finally calmed down......"

When she felt a little bit of Akatsuki here, Listy felt relief.

Her entire body relax and she naturally toppled over on top of the bed.

The spring mattress gently supported her body.

"Hurry back ... ... idiot."

After quietly complaining, Listy slowly closed her eyes.

Her cheek pressed up to the pillow is expelled the anxiety in her heart a little.

She could smell Akatsuki"s scent as she breathed in, gradually her breathing became lighter and lighter.

Her body gradually warmed as she is slowly sinking into the darkness after closing her eyes.

She immersed herself in this feeling, and lost track of time.

"-- Hey."

After being calling out to, her shoulder were gently shaken a few times.

"Huh......"

Listy slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyelids were heavy it seemed she unconsciously fell asleep.

She looked carefully at the cheeky grin Akatsuki had on before her.

"You were so at ease sleeping in a mans bedroom......I"m gonna have to eat you."

"Food............EH--!?"

Listy had completely awoken, panicking she sprang to her feet.

She saw the marble clock resting on the nightstand, its hand showed she had been asleep for quite some time. Miserable, she originally only wanted to stay for a little while.

"Th-this is......"

Listy"s face was flushed red as she tried to collect herself.

"Seeing you sleep so soundly, I really didn"t have the heart to wake you."

Akatsuki smiled.

"Since I"m back, you wont need a pillow."

"I-its just, I am......!"

Akatsuki saw through her loneliness at first glance, Listy look very embarra.s.sed.

"Umm... ... why are you all alone? Where did the other one go?"

Akatsuki voice had some displeasure in it, Miu is obviously not home.

Listy said alarmed:

"Y-you got it all wrong! Miu just left with Haruka ... ... "

"The Vice President? Are they out shopping or something?"

Akatsuki nonchalantly asked.

Listy couldn"t help but gasp.

--If you nod right now, you will undoubtedly deceive Akatsuki.

"Uh huh ... ... ah, that"s right."

Even with extreme disgust in her heart, Listy choose to nod.

Akatsuki is back now, how to explain it to him? Miu and Haruka before leaving had consulted with Listy. Akatsuki clearly holds hostility towards the managers of this world COc.o.o.n.

And Hikami Kyouya is part of the COc.o.o.n.

Once she reveals his name, there is no guarantee that Akatsuki will not lose his cool. When faced with the formidable opponent sentimentality will undoubtedly lead to defeat. Everyone made up their minds to become the Akatsuki"s biggest supporter.

She doesn"t want to be protected by Akatsuki forever -- from now on she wants to fight alongside him. However this is not the time for Akatsuki to have a showdown with COc.o.o.n.

If it can be avoided, it should be avoided.

"Oh ... ... okay then."

Akatsuki scratched his head, it seemed he accepted Listy"s words.

"In that case ... ... Before that one gets back, can you give me a minute? There are some things I want to tell you."

"Yes, of course, but why was so mysterious?"

Its rare for Akatsuki to make such a request.

Actually as long as it was important neither Miu or herself would refuse. By how seriously he requested, this matter should be very important.

Then Akatsuki nodded "Ah", before pausing.

While staring into s.p.a.ce with a serious look he continue to say:

"I want to also tell you two about my past."

After the sun set, the night sky was about to fall.

By the time Haruka brought Miu to JPN Babel campus, they were already surrounded by the darkness.

"There seems to be no one here......"

Walking beside her Miu said in an uneasy voice.

Haruka returned "Yes" with a nod.

"Its now spring break, plus the comprehensive systems updated is tonight. Except for a few staff members, no one else is allowed to be in the school."

However, the number of guards increased to be on the safe side in case of terrorism.

However, to prevent terrorists from taking advantage of this opportunity to create chaos, the security level was enhanced.

Moreover not just by increasing the number of guards, but improving the fundamentals.

...... It seems to be starting.

Haruka confirmed the reaction with her wristband that only members of the student government have.

In addition to the boundary system that converts physical damage to mental damage--

Babel currently launch another system designed to confront illegal invaders.

It was named the "guardian beast system" security program.

Like the training program the that summons monsters. Once an unknown power fluctuation is detected or a fight is detected, immediately Guardian beasts are summoned to suppress the situation.

"But for us...... this may not be a good thing."

Haruka continued,

"In case things go wrong -- we would be considered the enemy."

"Ah...... that"s right"

After seeing Miu quietly nodded, Haruka once again reminded herself to be on alert.

She couldn"t forget where they are, also couldn"t forget their next move. This was JPN Babel, an organization that manages all things related to alternate worlds. In case Miu"s true ident.i.ty was exposed, they both would to charged with serious violations of the rules and immediately restrained. Sill it was the worst case scenario, but they must be prepared for it.

If this should happen and their fears become reality. Their only chance was to give it their all at escaping to join up with Akatsuki. Then they could determine what to in the future.

At that time it might be possible to flee to a third world country where Babel doesn"t have a special autonomous region -- No, even then getting fake ident.i.ties to illegally enter may be impossible.

Haruka already contacted Kuzuha and Chikage and informed them on the possibilities. Including of course the worst case scenario.

...... But......

Nanase Haruka couldn"t help but thinking that today they are going to be fortunate, and they shouldn"t encounter this bad end.

Last night everyone spent the night at the Ousawa home.

At that time everyone had reached a consensus, and decided on the path they wanted to take.

Therefore everyone was already prepared in their hearts.

In case of an emergency, Kuzuha and Chikage will team up and then take action together. There was nothing to worry about.

Besides the student council may not know Miu"s true ident.i.ty.

Perhaps it was all just baseless fear.

So Nanase Haruka spoke her inner desire,

"Let"s go and end this quickly...... and return to Ousawa Akatsuki"s side."

After entering the main campus in the tower of Babel the silence made the air feel heavy.

Inside the uninhabited campus only faint lighting was needed for the system update.

The moonlight that pa.s.sed through the windows was brighter.

Haruka and Miu slowly walked towards the elevator.

Only their footsteps could be heard in the dark and deserted corridor.

They went to the student council"s private elevator that has access to the top floor of Babel. Inside the fast rising elevator a weird atmosphere was created in the confined s.p.a.ce.

"......"

"......"

Haruka and Miu invariably tightly closed their lips not saying a word.

The silence inside only added to the atmosphere in the elevator, but now is not the time to talk or laugh easily. While they waited, and kept waiting they were trying to suppress suffocating tension until the steel doors in front of their eyes automatically opened. After some time, the elevator reached the top floor.

Haruka was the first out of the elevator.

"--This way."

Under Haruka"s guidance the two walked down the empty corridors.

Other than Haruka and Miu, the top floor also was naturally uninhabited.

While walking in silence, Haruka couldn"t help thinking –- this is a long corridor.

She walked this way almost every day, but today it was exceptionally long.

However, having thought that the corridor soon came to an end.

They arrived at the door to the student council"s room.

Haruka stood in front of the door and looked back at Miu:

"...... Are you ready?"

"Uh huh......"

After their final confirmation of their wills, they nodded at each other -- and slowly open the heavy door.

The moment they set foot into the student council room. Haruka thought she had walked into a freezer.

She heard Miu gasped beside her, she might of sensed the same thing.

Of course -- that is not possible.

Because their breath is still transparent and colorless.

The room was just as dark as the corridors, she couldn"t help but wonder if anyone was inside.

"--Hey, come in....... I"ve been waiting for you."

From deep within the darkness in the back of the room where the moonlight through the windows didn"t reach Kyouya slowly emerged.

He stopped in front of student council"s president desk.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, President...... "

Haruka said, then gave a little nod.

She wanted to switch on the light sensor, however, since this is Kyouya"s cla.s.sroom he must of wanted it dark. She would need his permission, so naturally there was no choice.

...... No signs of life...... besides them.

Haruka thought Kyouya planned to have staff lying in wait in the cla.s.sroom, then as soon as they entered they would arrest Miu. But judging form the situation at hand, there apparently was no need to be worried.

Also along the way from the elevators she did not feel any other presences either.

"......" "......"

Haruka and Miu remained silent, they only winked at each other.

For now, it seems the worst case scenario was unlikely.

They both slowly walked towards the back of the room.

-- Then Haruka suddenly tripped on something hard on the ground.

"--Ugh!"

Haruka kick out her opposite foot firmly planting it on the floor, avoiding her from stumbling down.

She walked into the room almost every day, naturally she was very familiar with the furnishings inside. And although it was dark inside she did not pay attention to her feet. Perhaps since inside and outside of the room there was no one waiting to ambush them, she let down her guard.

She was really careless she thought, then Haruka"s looked to the left staring at what she nearly tripped over -- his body.

".......................EH?"

At that moment, Nanase Haruka stopped thinking.

That was not an object, but its a person.

Uesaki Ryohei and Aihara Minami -- her two best friends were lying in front of her.

Although she had stopped thinking, Nanase Haruka immediately understood what that scene represented.

They didn"t trip, they didn"t fall asleep, and they didn"t faint. The object she almost tripped over was Ryohei"s right leg -- from the knee it was broken in two places. Not just the bone but the entire leg itself.

Both of them were covered in a white powdery substance.

It was frost.

Ryohei and Minami"s bodies were frozen.

And......

They -- have been killed.

"H-how can......"

Dumbfounded, Haruka couldn"t help muttering.

She had convinced herself that she envisaged all the worst case scenarios.

She even thought about the possibility of being attacked as soon as she opened the door, and even thought of countermeasures for that situation.

But......

Ryohei and Minami -- her two close friends dead was completely beyond Haruka"s imagination.

"...... What...... have you."

Haruka could only stare, frozen in place.

-- Still, it was less than a few seconds that Haruka had stopped thinking.

However, it was a opening that could be exploited.

In that split second.

"-?"

Haruka felt a tremendous murderous intent run through her back.

She thought she was dead.

Then suddenly a heavy thud was heard behind her.

"-- Miu!"

Haruka instinctively screamed.

She immediately turned back to look. Miu was lying unconscious on the ground, and her long double ponytail was still floating down to the floor.

"Hmm...... I didn"t expect it to go that easy."

Kyouya sneered, it seemed like he was a little disappointed.

"President......!"

Haruka was biting her lower lip as she stared straight at Kyouya.

-- Ryohei and Minami"s death, and now Miu"s attack cause her to be shaken.

In her mental state she was not in any position to put up any defense, when Kyouya"s sudden murderous intent was released.

However, Haruka and Miu were not defenseless.

They had set up an invisible barrier around them.

But, the magical barrier"s protection would only be effective against a magical attack. There was no no defense from "murderous intent." Moreover that wasn"t just any ordinary murderous intent.

Rather it was from one of the world"s strongest in COc.o.o.n -- Kyouya unleashed his murderous intent in earnest. Even just standing nearby Haruka thought she was dead.

The impact might not have any effect on the building, but Miu received a direct impact and as expected lost consciousness.

Haruka was now alone to face Kyouya, it became almost impossible for her to move. Still, she desperately began to squeeze out words.

"Why would you do all this......"

"-- In order to realize my ideal."

Kyouya did not hesitate to answer in a cold voice without a trace of emotion.

"However, this is not COc.o.o.n"s ideal, but my own."

"To achieve that -- it was necessarily to kill Uesaki and Minami?"

Haruka couldn"t help but raise her voice.

The fact that her two friends are dead was not easy to accept.

But now was not the time to escape from reality.

So Haruka accepted the facts, and an intense emotion emerged inside her –- anger.

Whatever the reason it was unforgivable.

But......

"......There was no other choice."

Kyouya said while smiling wryly.

"Before you came, Aihara-kun and Ryohei notice that I was moving secretly and came to find me. They wanted to know what I was thinking so I informed about my plans thinking that maybe they would want to help with it. Unexpectedly...... they wanted me to carefully reconsider."

And Kyouya lightly sighed "What a pity,"

"I didn"t want to do it this way, but they both refused to quite about it. This plan must absolutely be keep secret from COc.o.o.n, any possible risk factors must be eliminated on the spot."

"They were not only your loyal subordinates, but also your best friends...... they could of const.i.tuted a risk to achieving your ideal so you had to kill them. This is your so called "no choice"......!"

Her suppressed anger turned into words, that overflowed from Haruka"s mouth.

There was no way such simple words, could be used for justification.

After all, her original reason for joining the student council was because she believed in Kyouya"s ideal.

But......

"Is it so wrong to prefer one"s ideal over their friends?"

Kyouya had an ice-cold smile.

Haruka instinctively swallowed as if she was looking into a dark abyss in his eyes. Suddenly she had a feeling of deja vu from that coldness.

...... Those eyes......

She has seen the same eyes as Kyouya before.

So......

Back when she visited Alayzard with Akatsuki and her other friends.

In the religious kingdom of Aleclasta there was an archbishop in the church of Richard.

...... If she remembers correctly she was called Miranda......

The face that woman had when she crushed Haruka"s theory at the peace negotiations.

She always felt she looked like someone very similar.

At last, Haruka understood the answer.

Hikami Kyouya is simply a second Miranda Quenty.

"In short, this is a question of priority. Friends are important, but not compared to achieving my ideal. If needed I would sacrifice everything -- not everyone would make the same choice."

Kyouya continued,

"Just like how you gave up your JPN Babel"s student council"s Vice President responsibility and discipline committee chairman duty to stand by her and Ousawa-kun side......"

"...... President, you already knew Miu"s true ident.i.ty."

Haruka only said she resigned as the Vice President and discipline chairman for personal reasons. Since her primary reason "protecting friends" would be unreasonable, because Babel and COc.o.o.n were already protecting alternate world returnees.

In this case however Haruka obviously must protect Miu from Babel and COc.o.o.n.

If Haruka revealed her true intentions, they would have been used against Miu in an in-depth investigation. Then also figure out that Haruka was involved in the situation.

...... Wait, maybe......

According to that logic, then it was probably Kyouya who erased the dimensional shift record.

"What are you going to do with her......?"

Haruka asked and,

"Are you going to make her a hostage to force Ousawa Akatsuki to surrender to you--"

"Ousawa-kun? Come on......"

"Ha" Kyouya laughed and,

"His power certainly is attractive and caught my interest. And if it possible I want to obtain it...... however, he is unrelated to my plans, instead it"s only a matter of time before he becomes an obstacle."

He looked at the unconscious Miu laying on the floor.

"As for what I"m going to do with her? The answer is simple, she is a necessary piece in achieving my ideal."

"...... Miu is?"

"Yes, she can help me create a true utopia -- a world where the strong and the weak are equal. There would be no difference in treatment nor prejudice. Turning back time to before people were summoned and granted power. So they can enjoy the most basic human rights and freedoms."

"How is that possible......?"

"As long as she is -– with me, nothing is impossible."

Kyouya smiled. All the preparations will be completed soon.

...... This much confidence..... It seems that Miu must have some sort of special ability.

For Kyouya to take such a risk.

Miu must be well worth it.

Worthy of betraying COc.o.o.n, besides being from an alternate world.

"-- Nanase-kun, I do want your help, like I said before I admire your abilities. You"ll been to an alternate world twice now, you might not even be aware about the new power you obtained. You are now an existence that rivals COc.o.o.n or Crimson Twilight."

"...... You really know everything."

"That"s right. I know you went to the alternate world Alayzard, and know her true ident.i.ty. I also know when Ousawa-kun came back from Alayzard he brought along a new girl. I didn"t want you be investigated for your failure to report your duty. I only wanted you to think it over. Your obligations outstanding, to a.s.sist all the returnees and keep them from being harmed by the outside world. To achieve this, modest sacrifices are inevitable -- originally you swore allegiance to me, and now that the moment has arrived."

And Kyouya finally said,

"Nanase-kun -- Its time for you to carry out the justice you firmly believe in."

A world where returnees won"t have to suffer.

For the Nanase Haruka that was also the utopia she dreamed of.

If as he said modest sacrifices were inevitable. She also would be willing to sacrifice herself.

She couldn"t find a mistake with what Kyouya said.

"................"

Haruka"s mind was in chaos, and she returned to being silent.

A silence that neither answered with an affirmative or a negative.

So......

Haruka decided to answer with actions instead of words.

She focused her mind on her AD to summon her half-moon sword while transforming her uniform into combat clothes.

"...... Its too bad."

Kyouya without a hint of disappointed on his face.

He was just indifferent.

"In order to protect Ousawa-kun and the others, you prefer to become an enemy of the world? Compared to the well-being of several thousands of people -- no, the billions of people around the world, still you chose only a few people to have happiness."

"In the ideal world the President speaks of even if several billions of people are saved, Miu would not be saved...... and perhaps Listy."

Haruka replied and,

"However Ousawa Akatsuki and our desire for this world, will not only save all those billions of people it will also save Miu and Listy. However sacrificing the President is also a given. We want to create a world in which everyone can happily laughed together, and live together in the same world...... This is Ousawa Akatsuki ideal. I will not give up this world he aims for."

Haruka"s tone was resolute.

That was the justice she upholds.

"President Hikami, I will not help you -- nor will Miu!"

Haruka screamed, while finishing her magic release chant letting loose her wind magic.

Her wind tore through the room wiping out everything on its path towards Kyouya.

But......

"I"ll say it again."

Kyouya leisurely smiled.

"-- Its too bad, Nanase-kun."

He gently waved his right hand.

The wind created by Haruka suddenly disappeared without a trace.

"Uhh......!"

Haruka couldn"t help but lower her head.

-- Back in Alayzard, for some time she was completely unable to use magic, because her consciousness wasn"t link with her body. But then, her magic power along with the others increased a lot.

She single-handedly suppressed the enemy"s large army at Gorudono Canyon with her new power.

But, she couldn"t believe that even with her new power.

....... She was still no threat to Kyouya.

Kyouya just called her "an existence that rivals COc.o.o.n or Crimson Twilight", meaning that after visiting an alternate world twice new powers would be awakened.

She however just awakened to her new powers, and was only at the starting point. In order to harness its full power, extensive training of course was required.

In other words.

There was an overwhelming difference in ability between Kyouya and Haruka.

...... Even so......

Haruka Nanase doesn"t care.

From the beginning she never thought she had what it took to beat him.

What Haruka must do now was not defeat Kyouya.

But protect Miu -- right now she needs to try to flee with all her strength, then meet up with Akatsuki and her other friends.

Of course, because of this difference in ability it won"t be easily to elude Kyouya. However, if Kyouya showed a slight flaw even momentarily, she would have a chance --

It was possible to use the high-speed of her wind magic to fly away.

So......

The first step in her escape plan was to go all out with one strike.

...... Next...... was the timing......

Haruka began counting down in her mind.

...... 3, 2, 1 --

"-- Zero."

As she said it out loud, countless particles of light appeared in the student council room.

Haruka by using her magic was able to trigger the security system used to stop intruders -- the "guardian beast system."

Both physical and magical attacks were completely ineffective against those guardian beasts.

Then two Gargoyles appeared.

At the same time, Haruka increased her speed with her wind magic.

-- The system reacted because she was not the only one to use magic.

In order to neutralize Haruka"s charge, Kyouya must of used his magic.

The two Gargoyles appearing proved it.

Of course, the system will not attack Haruka or Kyouya because they are students in Babel.

The system most likely detected a conflict between two students.

To resolve the conflict the two Gargoyles were summoned in between Haruka and Kyouya

Forming a makeshift wall immune to physical attacks as well as magic attacks.

Haruka seized the opportunity and used the high-speed of her wind magic to charge to Miu"s side. And then to simply carry Miu using the momentum created from the wind magic to flee the cla.s.sroom -- that was Nanase Haruka plan.

However, only one step away from Miu -- no, half a step away......

"It really is too bad. In fact, your timing was perfect."

"-!?"

Suddenly, Kyouya appeared in front of her.

...... Its not possible......!

Haruka couldn"t hide her surprise.

The two Gargoyles were in between Haruka and Kyouya.

The shortest distance to Haruka and Miu, Kyouya must first bypa.s.s the wall made up of the Gargoyles.

In terms of speed, Haruka believed there was at least a chance of winning.

And for insurance, she created a situation where he would have to travel a longer distant.

But......

"Hah -- Ah Ah Ah Ah!"

Haruka didn"t stop there, instead she slashed her half-moon sword at Kyouya.

Intended to stop Kyouya"s movement for a second -- creating an opportunity to escape.

Then......

"Kin" an ear-piercing metallic rang.

"...... Huh......!?"

Her half-moon sword shattered into pieces.

It clashed with the absolute zero barrier that Kyouya invented. The barrier defends against all attacks while freezing any object that comes in contact with it.

...... He even used...... such a technique......!

In that moment, Haruka tasted true shock and despair.

Haruka knew about the absolute zero barrier of Kyouya"s, because she had seen it once before.

However, creating that absolute defense required a significant amount of time to activate.

Though it was triggered at that instant, Kyouya must of chanted the barrier in advance. The same way they already prepared a battle plan--

Kyouya was also carefully prepared.

He prepared everything to make sure he got Miu at all cost.

"Oh --"

Haruka stared blankly was Kyouya outstretched his palm, and place it right in front of her face.

A combination of blue and white light gathered in his palm.

Haruka had absolutely no way to dodge at that range.

Kyouya sneered at her,

"Goodbye Nanase-kun......"

She was only able to see his lips move.

"-!"

At that moment, Haruka Nanase was aware she could not escape death.

She closed her eyes before the oncoming attack would hit her.

She felt a burning sensation rather than a cold one all over her body simultaneously.

Exposed to Kyouya"s ice magic her body must of sensed the pain from the ultra-low temperature as a burning sensation. Confronted with the fear of certain death, and the severe pain that will accompany it, her body reflexively stiffened. But -- she didn"t feel any other pain after that.

Instead she couldn"t catch her breath.

"!!!!"

The pain was different from what she had imagined. She struggle momentarily, widely moving her hands around.

-- A hand forcefully grabbed her.

Then it wrapped around her her waist, and powerfully pulled her close.

"Huh......?"

Haruka was perplexed, and instinctively opened her eyes.

A familiar face appeared before her eyes.

"OUSAWA...... AKATSUKI......?"

This person shouldn"t be here, Haruka couldn"t help but shout out his name.

"Its all right, vice-president."

Akatsuki told her.

After hearing Akatsuki"s voice, and feeling the warmth of his embrace Haruka was sure of one thing.

That it was definitely not a dream.

But...... what on earth was going on? Haruka then suddenly noticed where Akatsuki and herself were. Akatsuki had his arm around her waist, while in his birthday suit.

However, the improper one was Haruka. The reason was simple, they were immersed in hot water and she was familiar with the location.

She was in the Ouswa home"s bathroom.

Akatsuki appeared naked in front of eyes, Haruka screamed and desperately tried to escape.

Everything happened too fast.

"......"

Haruka"s brain could not keep up, she stood there and repeatably blinked. She completely had no idea how to react.

-- Up till now, she was in JPN Babel"s student council room meeting face to face with Kyouya. Why am I in the Ouswa bathroom, no where near were I was?

Then......

"You"re shaking... ... What happened?"

The moment she heard Akatsuki"s question.

"-!"

Haruka gasped.

She remembered her best friends -- Ryohei and Minami were dead.

And Kyouya"s ice-cold eyes.

Also how Miu was laying unconscious, and that she was almost killed.

"...... Me and...... we......"

"Despair" that word echoed in Haruka"s mind.

No more words could come out her mouth.

Extreme fear froze her mind and body, chilling her to the bone.

Even though she was in the bathtub filled with hot water, the trembling of the whole body wouldn"t stop.

However......

"-- Haruka."

The shout was like a bolt of lightning shot into her ear, while his two hands gripped her shoulders. Akatsuki forcibly pulled back her consciousness.

"You don"t have be scared anymore. I"m right here, there"s nothing to be afraid of anymore."

"Ah......"

Those words permeated Haruka"s heart. The icy tension gradually began to melt away.

Her body slowly regained its warmth.

"Good...... that"s it."

Akatsuki gave her a gentle smile.

Seeing his smile, Haruka"s intuition told her -–

It was Akatsuki who saved her at that critical moment.

...... But, how?

Before her brain found the answer, Haruka"s heart told her; however she never could of expected him to save her, there must of been some way. Haruka started to look at it retro respectively.

Reflecting on how Akatsuki devised a method to help her from a remote place.

The results......

"Oh --"

Nanase Haruka finally remembered.

In the world of Alayzard, that she went too along with the Akatsuki and the others.

Miu and Listy became hostages, and the method by which Akatsuki saved them. They said was,

"Transfer...... seal."

Sometime later they all learned of it.

It was a miraculous reversal at the end of the war by Akatsuki.

Even if they believed that peace would soon be realized, he still did not forget to prepare for the worst. He affixed a seal to Listy during the duel that was used to prove his power.

Miu had a seal affixed the evening after he went into Sherfied looking for an antique shop to buy the seals. They were waiting at the brothel after accidental ingesting too much of an aphrodisiac. They needed Akatsuki to detoxify them.

"Don"t tell me...... at that time......"

She knew the answer already.

Prior to the peace agreement, even if Akatsuki was on good terms with the Kingdom o