Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item3 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 12===

This damaged more than just the piles of containers.

A massive beam tore through the entire Reserve Meal warehouse, melted a round hole in the outside wall, and blew away two or three government buildings in the administrative district. Unless the government workers had all closed up shop to avoid working overtime, there was no telling how many people had just died.

The scent wasn’t quite the usual rusty one.

The stench of even the metal scorching filled the frozen air.

Mugino must have just barely dodged it.

But she was still sent soaring through the air, slammed back-first into a collapsed container, fell to the frozen floor…and didn’t move.

This was all without a direct hit.

“There are only so many Level 5s and none of us are one. On our own, maybe none of us could defeat Mugino Shizuri.”

Inoue Fox, wearing the white uniform that symbolized justice, displayed her bloody teeth with a sneer.

She was the leader of the Special Exception Cleanup Team that made a living doing ''this''.

“But that changes if we work together. Our combined power is far greater!!”

Their comeback had come together with disturbing grace.

The heroes had joined forces for a group attack.

Just like in a children’s morality tale.

“Pwa ha. Item isn’t half bad, but you can’t work together. It all amounts to no more than some eyesores fighting on their own. Ah ha ha ha! But that’s what you get with the morons who chose the path of evil. You can never defeat us when we combine our powers with love and courage!!”

“!”

“You all need to be working toward a just goal. Anyway, I guess we won’t be seeing any more teamwork out of you.”

“Tch! In the end, I don’t care what you professional killers have to say. We’ll find a way to turn this around. Takitsubo!!”

They had lost Mugino.

They didn’t want to imagine how much that reduced Item’s firepower.

And losing their Level 5 leader did not mean the fight was over.

Even in the -40-degree temperature, Kinuhata felt a sharp chill down her spine. But Takitsubo remained calm even now.

She suddenly spoke up.

“''Why aren’t they firing a second laser''?”

“!?”

If they had a trump card greater than Mugino’s Meltdowner, they could simply fire it repeatedly. Item wouldn’t have stood a chance if they had stayed outside of Reserve Meal and filled it with holes.

Yet they hadn’t done that.

Why not?

Did justice find value in a direct confrontation with a villain?

Did they need to kill their target in some way that left enough of a body to confirm the kill?

No…

“There’s a reason why they want to hold that in reserve and why they can’t fire it repeatedly.”

Takitsubo was confident. She wasn’t going to accept defeat.

“At least one of them needs some time between shots, maybe to charge up or to cool down. Whoever that is is the true core of the execution squad.”

The tongue click didn’t come from Item.

The benevolent execution squad took action.

“Lycaon, they’re onto us! Now how am I supposed to get a high score!?”

“It doesn’t matter. Once I control my breathing, expel the filthy carbon dioxide from my blood, and manage to focus again, we can finish them off with a second shot. Support me until I’m done charging.”

One of the white uniformed girls, Yamada Coyote, took position to guard Satou Lycaon while she charged up and she aimed her exceptionally light shotgun at one person in particular.

At collapsed and unmoving Mugino.

A direct hit now would kill her instantly.

(This is super bad!!)

“Don’t worry, Kinuhata.”

Satou Lycaon, who could turn electronics into bombs, noticed before their targeting supporter did and looked up with a gasp.

“Fox! Get back!!”

It was too late.

In fact, the result would be the same even if she detonated it right away.

Takitsubo was already done.

A great roar burst out.

A container fell from the ceiling crane five or six floors up, separating unconscious Mugino from the execution squad.

It ruptured from within and a white explosion spread out.

The frost covering the floor rose up into the air all at once.

The surrounding piles of boxes all collapsed this way.

“Kinuhata!”

“Drag Mugino to safety and stop her bleeding. In the end, her wound isn’t going to freeze shut on its own!!”

“Super really!? Dammit!”

[[Image:Item3 BW6.jpeg|thumb]]

Kinuhata cursed, but she couldn’t abandon unconscious Mugino. She activated Offense Armor, reached her arms below Mugino’s arms from behind, and dragged her back.

She wasn’t quick enough.

Bright lights flashed out in several straight lines.

Inoue Fox’s Illuminate Fencer had sliced through the obstacle.

Frenda and Takitsubo’s attempt to recover hadn’t even lasted 10 seconds.

“Tch.”

Frenda clicked her tongue and took a step forward.

Her thin poncho whipped at the -40-degree air and she tossed a grenade without its pin.

“Kinuhata, continue on back. In the end, I’ll buy you the time!!”

The white uniform girls’ leader, Inoue Fox, actually smiled as she whispered a name.

“Lycaon.”

“Understood.”

The brown-skinned girl with silver ringlets kissed a phone battery and tossed it into the air.

The two explosives collided at the midpoint.

And detonated.

“Gyah!?”

The unexpectedly close explosion made Frenda scream.

She was also knocked down.

Her skin had to be freezing to the cold floor, but she didn’t move.

Kinuhata knew she couldn’t let her concern show, but she felt it clutching at her heart.

“Kh!!”

Mugino Shizuri and Frenda Seivelun.

As inhumanly strong as Kinuhata was, she couldn’t protect both unconscious girls at the same time. The two of them were located too far apart.

And…

“Excuse me.”

In the brief moment Item flinched, Inoue Fox moved right up to Takitsubo and held her Illuminate Fencer right against the girl’s throat.

They were 10m away – too far for Kinuhata to arrive in a single step even with Offense Armor. If she boosted her leg strength too far, her foot would break through the floor.

“Malicious or accidental, any involvement in a Judgment death must not be tolerated. If you were there and capable of making your own choices, you should have saved her. No matter what.”

Inoue Fox spoke quietly, but with an earnest voice that rang with fearsome purity.

“Then we would have used our lives and justice to repay your kindness.”

That was their way of life.

Their goodness.

While their job was to kill, they must have unofficially wielded their powers to save lives as well. And they had ultimately increased their strength to the point they could hunt down villains like this.

The justice leader laughed as she spoke.

“Now! Mugino Shizuri or Takitsubo Rikou!? Which one do your villain’s rules tell you to save!?”

“Kh.”

Kinuhata could move more nimbly if she let Mugino go.

If the execution squad was assuming Kinuhata couldn’t move very quickly while dragging the unconscious girl and thus assumed they were at a safe distance, she might be able to make a counterattack.

She doubted she could defeat the entire execution squad at once.

But if she could take just one of them hostage, then they could possibly negotiate from equal footing. With even one of the four missing, they wouldn’t be able to fire a second Asteroid Destruction Strategic Defense Laser Attack.

(Don’t think about it.)

Mugino Shizuri.

Takitsubo Rikou.

Frenda Seivelun.

(Super don’t think about it!! Don’t think about the possibility of losing one of them! You have to stop the second shot no matter what!! If you don’t, all four of us will be obliterated with no chance to negotiate!!!)

She knew that.

She understood it all.

''And yet…

“…can’t.”

A soft voice spilled from her trembling lips.

She was still holding Mugino’s limp form.

And she spoke words she herself hadn’t expected.

“I can’t… I can’t betray anyone in Item.”

She owed Item for taking her in.

If they hadn’t attacked that lab for a job and messed with the cold sleep device on a whim, Kinuhata never would have experienced life on the outside.

That had led to everything she took for granted now.

She understood Item had their own selfish reasons for what they had done. They had wanted a high-level defensive esper to protect Takitsubo who couldn’t fight on her own. That was probably the only reason they had taken her in.

But that didn’t change the fact that they had saved her.

“Foolish.”

Yamada Coyote rejected the idea with a single word.

The disinterested white uniform girl spat out her words.

“You poor thing. If you aren’t going to save any of them, you could at least betray them all and escape on your own. You villains can make those decisions that we can’t.”

“One final good deed does not cancel out all the eyesores you’ve done in the past.”

“In fact, this isn’t even a good deed. Your score’s still zero. I don’t know why you’re getting all emotional about it, but protecting a criminal is called ‘harboring’ and it’s a crime.”

(Dammit.)

Kinuhata wished she could have been the hostage.

(Dammit! Dammit!! Super dammit!!!)

Then the original three Item members could have betrayed her and gotten away. She could have repaid their kindness that way, so how had it all gotten backwards!?



''“So how do you like your first taste of freedom?”



After freeing Kinuhata from that shitty lab, Mugino had asked that with a wicked smile.

Item had a calculated reason for needing her. She understood that, but they had wanted her all the same.



''“Kinuhata. In the end, are you hurt anywhere?”



After destroying the illegal casino, Frenda had spoken to her and they had laughed together.

She had felt invincible.

But she wasn’t.

When the time came, it could all be taken from her so easily.

Justice would trample over evil to a refreshing degree.

(They let me out and this is how it has to end? Is this the most freedom a villain can hope for? Are we doomed to be trampled and exploited by justice?)

“You criminals ignore the laws created to keep us all safe, so we all know you can’t keep your promises and rules. If you could do that, you wouldn’t have broken the law in the first place.” Inoue Fox scoffed. “You will die.”

Kinuhata’s vision blurred.

She didn’t understand.

She only noticed the tears running down her cheeks after she had already shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Why the hell should that matter!? I won’t betray the people I super decided are like family to me. That’s the one thing I will never do!!!”

Even with the light sword touching her throat, Takitsubo smiled a little.

She smiled for Kinuhata.

Even though, in a way, Kinuhata’s indecision was dooming her to die.

But she did it anyway.

“Illuminate Fencer – light source active. Pumping Bomb – external energy received. Perfection Hit – target locked. Swing Shield – heat and shockwave protection established. Sequence complete – final check complete.”

The light sword vanished from Takitsubo’s throat.

No, now that palm was directed toward Kinuhata.

“Asteroid Destruction Strategic Defense Laser Attack is ready. Ah ha ha! You idiot!! You couldn’t even make a choice. That’s a crime, just like how this all began! So to protect justice, we will fire a second shot to eliminate you and Mugino Shizuri. With no one left to oppose us, we’ll crush the two leftovers easily enough!! Justice will always exterminate our enemies!! That is our job as Judgment Branch 000 – the Special Exception Cleanup Team!!!”

Light flashed.

The cleanup found after a mistaken decision had begun.

(Oh, damn. I super never managed to rewatch Momentary Blues in a theater.)

Kinuhata needlessly held her leader close while that thought rose in the back of her mind.

And in that final moment, Takitsubo’s lips moved slightly.

She spoke with a definite smile.

“''Here it comes''.”

No.

One of Item’s oldest members wasn’t smiling out of resignation.

“Ha…”

Kinuhata heard an impossible laugh.

It came from within her arms.

Along with some movement.

“I like the way you think, sister.”

Mugino Shizuri.

She still couldn’t get up, but Item’s leader did raise her hand with a belligerent smile.

The clear drops scattered from Kinuhata’s eyes.

And a moment later…