Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item Chapter3 (section)

===Part 2===

Fifteen Bells, District 15. Lower levels.

“Super good morning.”

“You seem sleepy. It’s already 3 in the afternoon. That’s snack time, Kinuhata.”

Takitsubo Rikou replied while adjusting the shoulder of her pink track jacket which must have slipped out of place as she moved.

“Oh, it’s only 3? I super shouldn’t have left that theater yet. Yawwwn. Ugh, the movies where they were intentionally trying to make a silly C movie are the worst. Real C movies are great because they were trying to make something good but things went wrong.”

If Kinuhata Saiai wasn’t even aware where the sun was in the sky, it was probably best not to ask her how long she had been in that windowless movie theater. Takitsubo had heard the girl liked movies, but this made it sound like she had been in the theater more than her bedroom at the apartment.

But Takitsubo’s thoughts were interrupted by…

“That apartment feels so gloomy right now. I’m staying close enough to super come running once I’m summoned by phone, but it’s honestly super easier to be out of the apartment. I’m not even sure what has Mugino-san so angry.”

“You were staying away on purpose.”

“I’m super ashamed to admit it. They super have showers at the spas and internet cafes and I can get my sleep when a movie turns out to be bad.”

Expressionless Takitsubo blinked twice.

No matter what happened, she always kept to her usual routine from when she woke up in the morning to when she went to bed at night, so the idea of making herself scarce for the time being hadn’t even occurred to her.

“With Hanano gone, aren’t you guaranteed your spot on Item?”

“I super don’t want to win that way. And I wouldn’t mind if I ended up in the support organization. It’s not like being a super elite of the delinquent world gets you anything special. So as long as I’m super guaranteed an ID and the basic necessities, I’m happy.” Kinuhata breathed a disinterested sigh. “But not if the person who holds the team together is super on edge all the time. If this place isn’t safe, I’d prefer to super leave and find the bare minimum elsewhere.”

Kinuhata didn’t need her home to be in Item. That was why she had started an illicit part-time job before all this had happened.

“She can’t help it,” replied Takitsubo, leaning against a fancy pillar in the mall of luxury shops. “Hanano is gone.”

That put a puzzled look on Kinuhata’s face.

She frowned and chose her words carefully.

“I thought Mugino-san super doesn’t value human life? Why would the loss of a single teammate super affect her like this?”

Financially, they had suffered a loss.

The suitcase filled with 80 billion yen worth of money cards had gotten away from them and they hadn’t received payment for the job from the voice on the phone either. And on top of it all, they had lost one of their team.

“I mean, I get that maybe it hurt her pride to be beaten by a group super calling themselves Item.”

“It’s not about that. Mugino is a kind person who cares deeply about her teammates.”

This time, Kinuhata’s thoughts ground to a complete halt.

Her mind refused to function, so her mouth flapped wordlessly. It took several seconds before she finally got some words out.

“Um, super what? Are we talking about the same tyrant queen here? Was there a movie version that was different???”

“I mean the real Mugino,” insisted Takitsubo. “Kinuhata, why do you think I joined the dark side?”

“Well…hm? That is strange now that I think about it. You can super keep to a normal schedule without anyone getting after you about it, can’t you? That’s super rare on the dark side. You don’t strike me as the kind of person who had to make a run for it after super killing a teacher that pissed her off.”

“I was arrested on false charges.”

She opened up so readily.

Everyone in the dark side had a reason for being there.

“My AIM Stalker is an unusual power, so some lab apparently wanted to gain custody over me. It was probably a project related to this dangerous Body Crystal drug and they wanted to keep it all a secret. I think the plan was to frame me for a crime to get me thrown in prison and then make me disappear once interest in me faded.”

“…”

A legal abduction to facilitate an experiment.

That was a strange phenomenon that could happen when the right person viewed a list of names and pointed at the one they wanted.

Kinuhata herself had been imprisoned and experimented on against her will in the Dark May Project.

Academy City really was shit.

“But Mugino saved me. The case against me was dismissed, but the reason why was never revealed. So I don’t actually know what firepower-obsessed Mugino did.”

Takitsubo smiled thinly as she explained this.

It was the smile of a girl revealing a small admiration.

“She said she wanted an esper who could support her since Meltdowner is too powerful and I don’t think she was lying about that. But if that was really ''all'' she wanted, she only needed to put me in a tiny cage in the corner of the room and give me food and water. Or if looking after a human was too burdensome and risky, there are specialized ‘pet sitters’ you can pay to do it for you. This is a city where ''people really will do things like that'' if they feel it’s necessary. But Mugino let me choose what clothes I wanted to wear, fed me whatever food I wanted to eat, gave me a room to sleep in, and – most importantly – gave me freedom and safety. I don’t care what anyone says – even Mugino herself – I think that came from a kindness in her that sets aside things like logic or efficiency.”

“So you think she’s super on edge because Hanano-san disappeared? That super doesn’t sound like the Mugino-san I’ve seen.”

“Aren’t you much the same? You don’t feel awkward in the apartment because of Mugino. When you’re there, you feel Hanano’s absence more starkly. Isn’t that what you wanted to avoid? Otherwise, you would never badmouth movies. Or fall asleep during them. I bet that was because you couldn’t focus on what you were watching.”

“…”

Strangely, Takitsubo’s words hit her right where it hurt.

What signals had she picked up coming from Kinuhata? She may have known more about Kinuhata than Kinuhata herself.

It was true. If Kinuhata had dealt with the two enemies in the library, then they couldn’t have gone after Hanano.

“Hanano is a part of Item now,” said Takitsubo. “And so are you for being so bothered by her absence. People who can care about others think everyone feels that way, but the dark side is where the people without those ordinary feelings end up. So the way you and Mugino are feeling shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

“Is that super so?” said Kinuhata as she changed direction.

She approached the elevator hall.

“Hanano-san was captured to super help you escape the Colosseum, right?”

“Yes.” Takitsubo nodded. “That gives me a reason to save her.”

“If I had been the one who didn’t fall from the library ceiling, ''I would super be in Hanano-san’s position now.'' I would have played my bodyguard role like normal and got super captured in the same way.”

Kinuhata clicked her tongue.

At times, the dark side had a way of highlighting the irony of fate.

“Damn, that super gives me a reason to fight too.”

“We all have one. No, we don’t even need one. When you get down to it, the question is whether or not you want to risk your own life to save her. I do. I can’t leave Hanano there.”

They boarded the elevator.

A palm scan and the press of a button brought them straight to their top floor hideout.

Kinuhata felt the ascent of the elevator as she watched the LCD floor number display and asked the other girl a question.

“I’ll super give you what you want here, Takitsubo-san. L-let’s just say I’m willing to let you talk me into it just this once. But super what if Mugino-san is against a rescue attempt?”

“Item generally acts on Mugino’s decisions, so I don’t think there is a way of dissenting outside of explaining how I feel.”

Takitsubo stopped there for a moment.

Until…

“But I don’t think that will be an issue.”

The elevator doors opened.

They opened the apartment entrance beyond and walked in.

“I see.”

Kinuhata put a hand on her hip and spoke with exasperation in her voice.

And a hint of amusement.

“''She’s super serious about this, huh?''”

The living room wall was entirely covered.

Documents and notes concerning the Enemy Item were pasted all across it.

The library that had been used as a Colosseum stage.

The people capable of secretly renting out the public facility, any suspicious payments they received, or any blackmail material.

Possible people who could have acquired and supplied that material.

Their personal information.

Especially anything that could be used to threaten them.

Which targets had a checkered past?

Etc., etc., etc.

The living room was large enough for an indoor game of tennis, but the entire wall was covered like a walking path covered by autumn leaves. It included the special camera equipment, the DJ who was clearly no amateur, the dark web setup, and the audience gathered at the library. Including the important and unimportant, there had to be at least a few thousand notes there in all.

But that must not have felt like enough because the lonely work was still underway.

All as a means of tracking down the enemy.

“…”

Mugino Shizuri did not even look their way. She showed no interest in the freedom and liberation of the midsummer shopping district outside and she continued her work while staring at the wall with the irritation written plain on her face. Mugino was known for being self-centered – for caring more about her nail polish than the foolish enemy’s cries for mercy – but now she had deep ''bags'' under her eyes. That was a sign of just how serious she was taking this. How long had it been since she slept? Kinuhata couldn’t say since she had been avoiding the apartment, but Mugino may have been doing this ever since their failure on July 7. That would mean a full week with no real sleep or rest.

Colored yarn extended in all directions from the known information – the library – creating something like a spider web. People, groups, money, buildings, information, equipment, fighting forces – any online information the slightest bit related had been printed out, cut out, and pasted up on the wall. The colored yarn visualized the relationships of interest, friends, enemies, superiors, subordinates, and group affiliations. It was all meant to build a giant web capable of snaring the unseen targets. The suitcase and the 80 billion were technically up there, but they were mostly buried by other notes.

That must not have been her priority any longer.

A few photographs of familiar faces were pasted at the edge of the spiderweb.

Mugino may have found the photos online, but they were the four members of the Enemy Item. The photos were fairly grainy, so she had probably found photos of other people where those four happened to appear in a corner or something.

They were pasted up there like it was nothing, but it was a miracle the spiderweb had managed to capture them at all. Tracking down those elusive girls had to have taken an unhealthy amount of effort and persistence. Mugino was known for vaporizing anything that pissed her off, but she had managed to restrain the part of her that always responded with thoughtless rage.

And.

There was also a photograph of missing Hanano Choubi’s face.

It came from the group selfie Frenda had taken as camouflage while tailing the Colosseum contestant.

Since that was pasted on the wall too, Mugino couldn’t be taking it lightly. In fact, she may have been the real center of the spiderweb, not the library.

Mugino would not let that girl become an unreachable memory.

She was the one who had ordered the girl to take Takitsubo and escape.

It would be one thing if Hanano had screwed up or run off without doing her job, but this was the result of carrying out Mugino’s order.

Mugino had to have her thoughts about Hanano for remaining faithful to the end despite being on the dark side.

She had kept her promise.

So it was only natural to risk your own life to repay the favor.

Takitsubo elbowed Kinuhata in the side and winked.

“See? I told you.”

“Yeah, yeah. You super win this one.”

Then they heard the front door open without the doorbell ringing.

Someone entered the apartment.

“Sorry. In the end, I know I’m way late. It took forever to buy up all the mackerel cans at the store.”

“You’re last, Frenda? Then you’re buying everyone dinner.”

It had been so long since Mugino spoke.

She may have forgotten how to do so over the past few days, so it came out as a low growl as she glared at the wall. Frenda complained through a cheerful smile.

“Eh? You aren’t even going to ask why I’m late? I had my own preparations to complete.”

That was true.

Frenda Seivelun was carrying so many bags you would think she had run away from home. First, she had a large suitcase in each hand. Then she wore a long mountain climber’s backpack on her back. But that must not have been enough because she had a sling bag worn diagonally across her front. It was July, shortly before summer break, so it was a miracle she hadn’t been taken in for questioning by Anti-Skill or Judgment while wandering around Academy City’s largest shopping district with all that luggage.

And she would have been in serious trouble if she had been taken in for questioning.

She lay down one of the suitcases and inserted a small key. It opened up like a pop-up book, revealing explosives in a variety of shapes and colors. Kinuhata didn’t know what they were all called and she doubted she would understand if Frenda explained what they all were. Since she had gone out of her way to bring them in from outside the hideout, they probably weren’t something that could be safely stored here.

She had gone around collecting them all for this.

Frenda winked.

“In the end, we need to pull out all the stops, right? If I’m going to save a friend, I’m going to give it my all.”

They wanted money, but what for?

As long as they didn’t lose sight of that, those girls would not lose their way.

What was a mere 80 billion worth?

If they couldn’t smile together with everyone they had accepted as a teammate, it wasn’t worth a damn thing.