Chapter 02: Clash of Steel
-----Shiina-----
“And who exactly made
you leader, blondie?” I ask with an accusatory tone. I don’t know why I’m pointing, I don’t even know if she can ‘see’ it with her weird radar sense or whatever it.
“Nobody, Shiina… This was just the most prudent option available.”
“Oh yeah, and it’s working out great for us!” I throw my arms wide, gesturing to the dank, dark cell we now find ourselves in. “Enlighten me, how does getting captured five minutes into the mission achieve anything?”
“We infiltrated deep into the heart of this…
school… and we didn’t have to expend any energy to do so. The enemy is unaware of our capabilities and we’re about to meet the leader of this despotic Student Council.” Lilly explains calmly. Okay, that’s a good plan but still… “Shin, do you have any more information?”
“Over here, Miss Satou.” He says and she turns toward the sound of his voice. Whatever Shin’s power is, it makes him invisible to Lilly. Interesting…
“Skimming through the data, I’ve managed to gleam that this world saw the school in dire straights only to be saved by a conglomerate of rich families; namely the Satous and the Hakamichis.” He explains, flipping through the holographic display, projected from the bracelets Yuuko gave us. Kenji is also flipping through the information while Molly is on lookout.
“A global conflict erupted in the west and the Japanese government closed it’s borders. It seems the Shizune Hakamichi of this universe only recently organised the student body into a militia.” Kenji offers.
“What does she think a bunch of kids are going to do?” I ask incredulously. “Isn’t this one of the universes where the students are disabled?”
“Yes, but with the right financial backing, coupled with scientific and biological augmentation; they’ve turned the students into living weapons… It’s quite
monstrous what they did to these kids.” Shin’s face drops.
“Sounds like Shizzy to me. Queen Bee finally got her hive…” I growl a little and Kenji closes his display.
“We’ll stop her, Shiina.” He says, placing his hand on my shoulder.
“You bet your ass we will.” I nod with a smirk, patting his chest with the back of my hand.
“Hmmm, interesting.” Shin raises his eyebrows. “There’s also a run-down of the Student Council members… I think, given time…”
“Time’s something we don’t have, Shin. Gears turning, three meters above and eight meters below.” Lilly looks up and, sure enough, the ceiling above slides away to reveal the bright blue sky.
“This isn’t a cell, it’s a lift…” Molly says, stepping away from the bars as the floor beneath us vibrates and we slowly begin to ascend.
“Here we go~” Shin beams. It’s kinda freaky how into all this he is.
“If we’re going to meet the Queen Bee, we might as well make an impression! Line up side-by-side!” Molly says excitedly, hurrying into a place beside Lilly. Me and Kenji look at each other before moving to Shin’s right. I guess Molly thinks we deserve a cool entrance. I’m inclined to agree. At the very least, we should look badass.
-----Shin-----
I’m glad my companions are getting into the swing of things. Flanked on either side, we actually look like a team. The platform screeches to a stop and the air is filled with a raucous chorus of booing.
“Christ, what the hell is that!?” Lilly winces to my left. Her hearing must be very sensitive and this cacophony of sound certainly wouldn’t help.
“It’s… an arena, Lills. Like in Rome. There’s a crowd and everything.” Molly says looking around.
“Looks like the whole school turned out for our audience with the queen…” Shiina snorts with disdain.
“It’s certainly…
ostentatious. Are we going to be attacked by lions or something?” Kenji smirks and I chuckle.
“Much worse than lions, trespassers!” A voice yells behind us and we all turn to face what appears to be a throne. A young woman sits cross-legged upon it with a young male standing next to her.
“Shizune and Hisao? Those two are in charge?” Molly peers at the two in the distance.
“That is
Lady Hakamichi to you, foreigner! Behold her majesty and tremble!” The voice is being relayed through speakers somewhere though how they’re hearing us is a mystery.
“Foreigner? Keep that up, pal and I’m gonna smash your {bloody} face in!” Molly growls before Lilly’s hand on her shoulder restrains her.
“It’s been quite some time since someone last dared to question my authority…” Hisao continues, clearly translating for Shizune. “Though I have to say, I never thought it would be such a… strange assortment of rebels. Just who are you and why are here?”
“We’ve come to put a stop to your regime, Lady Hakamichi.” I say with a smile, earning bemused stares from my team. “What? There’s no point lying.”
“Stop me? Ha-ha-ha! You’re very funny, though I think you’ll provide more entertainment… as
sport!”
The ground rumbles again and another elevator rises between us and the throne.
“You just
had to piss her off, didn’t you?” Shiina pushes my shoulder lightly.
“A fight was inevitable, Shiina. Shin, you said something about a plan?” Lilly tilts her head slightly to me.
“I only had a chance to glimpse the stats but I believe our opponents…” I say as the other elevator halts with a thud, revealing the other four student council members, clad in black suits.
“Holy shit.” Molly curses.
“I’ll second that.” Shiina agrees.
“Thirded…” And Kenji makes the trifecta.
“Please tell me that’s not who I think it is…” Lilly mutters.
“You see now why I said you are such a weird group. I believe you already know Lilly Satou, Misha Mikado and Kenji Setou. The big fellow is Taro Arai. The Studeeeeeent… COUNCIL!” Hisao announces their arrival and the crowds roars with applause.
“Son of a bitch, do they have to be so damn loud?” Lilly holds her hands over her ears.
“What’s your plan, Shin? You said you had a plan.
Please say you have a plan.” Kenji turns to me with a nervous quiver in his voice and I nod with a smile.
“Of course, Mr Setou.” I activate the bracelet’s display and find the function I saw earlier. A holographic keyboard appears and I quickly type out a message to Molly, Kenji and Shiina.
[Miss Kapur, I would like for you to take the other Lily down if you feel up for it? Mr Setou & Miss Mikado, would you mind facing your doppelgangers?]
“Since they seem to be able to hear us, I thought it best not to give away the strategy.” I say and as they read the message they just received, they all nod in agreement as Lilly looks to the sound of my voice. “Miss Satou, would you kindly team up with me?”
“Um, sure. Which one do we have?” She asks, retrieving a thin, metallic cylinder from her jacket’s inside pocket.
“The large one.” I say and, to my surprise, she smiles.
“This is gonna be
fun.”
“That’s the spirit, rebels! Now! Let the bloodsport begin!”
The crowd roars and my companions shift around to face their designated opponents.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if we had a theme song to kick in right now?” Molly smiles and we all laugh.
“Definitely, Molls. Good luck out there, guys. Try not to die.” Shiina gives a thumbs up to the girl at the other end of our line-up.
“Let’s do it… Huh, I guess we need a theme song
and a team name…” Molly sighs a little dejectedly.
“We’ll think of something later. Team, take them down.” Lilly commands and we scatter, Lily taking a firm hold of my wrist and dragging me toward our quarry.
-----Molly-----
Man, this sodding day just gets
weirder. First I meet another Lilly and now I’m going to fight yet another one.
“So who’s blood will my blade feast on today?” The taller blonde girl asks as she stops just ahead of me.
“Molly Kapur, nice to meetcha.” I smirk.
“Ah, the foreigner.” She replies, almost sounding a little disappointed. “Such a shame, to cut short a life already so short.”
“Getting real tired of that foreigner {bollocks}…” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“Take heart, child. Not many have the honour of meeting their end by my blade; Kusanagi.” She smiles as she unsheaths the blade from it’s scabbard. It’s a very nice katana, that much I can tell.
“Is it a magic sword?” I ask plainly, taking her by surprise.
“N-no, it is more than enough just to be the sharpest sword in Japan.” She answers and I sigh.
“That’s a shame. I was hoping for a fair fight.” I spread my arms wide and bring them together in a thunderous clap.
“Justice Like Lightning:
Rhongomyniad!” I cry as I launch myself into the air, my legs releasing a burst of compressed air as I do. I thrust my arm forward to pull forth the mythical spear of lightning from a tear in space, a tear that allows me to summon my magical arsenal.
I use my momentum to perform a front flip, bringing the spear to bear against the black-suited Lilly. To my surprise, she manages to deflect the blow but I just circle around with the less-pointy end, only to be deflected again. She shouldn’t be able to do that…
“Your bravado will be your undoing!” Alternate Lily declares and swings her katana deftly. She strikes the slender shaft of Rhongomyniad and she gets a slight jolt for her trouble.
“
Gah! What was that?” She scowls, jumping back a little.
“Didn’t I mention? I have
magic weapons. They might not be Japanese steel but they’re certainly the {Best of British}!” I grin as I thrust the spear forward, letting the shaft slide through my hand for extra reach. As I expected, she knocks the thrust away but I let the blow swing me in a wide arc, the kinetic energy and mystical lightning form an electrical pulse that knocks the blonde girl back.
“Impressive.” She smirks. “The last person to give me this much of a fight was Miura. I still killed her.”
Miki? She was pretty hard, even if she was powerless in my world. And she was a friend of mine! Okay, we’ve tried clashing blades, let’s try something else…
“Loose Love’s Arrow:
Drystan!” I cry as I throw the spear upwards, sending it back to the weapon realm before pulling my enchanted bow from another tear. I was never good at first person shooters but with this thing, I don’t even have to aim.
Alt-Lilly prepares herself for an incoming projectile as I draw back the bow and let loose an arcane arrow. She doesn’t even swing as it hits her left shoulder and explodes in a shower of emerald light. She recoils and her face twists from confidence to shock in an instant.
“How did you hit me? I should have heard the arrow coming!”
“
Magic, bitch.” I narrow my gaze and loose three more arrows in quick succession, they hit exactly where I need them to. Right shoulder and both her legs. She crumples in a heap, releasing her sword. My legs launch me forward once more and I deliver a nose-shattering knee to her face, knocking her out. I skid to a halt and the crowd nearest to us can’t decide whether to boo or cheer. That was for Miki.
I pick up her blade and examine it. There’s definitely a magical aura to it… I guess she never realised it’s true power. I sheathe the blade in it’s scabbard and smile to myself.
“Cool,
souvenir!” I say and toss the katana into a tear with Drystan. All done here, how are the others doing?
