Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item3 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 4===

The restaurant was a maid cafe.

But instead of a classic restaurant style or an old-fashioned cafe style, for some reason classroom desks were gathered together with table cloths thrown over them. Apparently the true connoisseurs most enjoyed the school festival style.

Despite being a cafe, they only offered a single kind of coffee and tea. The recommended items were curry rice, omurice, spaghetti napolitan, and so on. It all seemed to fall into the category of mysterious Showa-era Western-style foods that didn’t actually exist in America or the UK.

“Ooh, they have pancakes topped with ice cream.”

“Takitsubo-san, are you sure that super sugary thing counts as a cold meal?”

While those two opened their menus and discussed what they saw, Mugino irritably rested her head in her hand as soon as they were shown to their table.

“Maids by day and a band by night? How do people so young become workaholics?”

“Oh, shut up. If you want to create a trend, you need to get it out there in waves so it has time to spread. The idea of making it big after putting out a song or two is nothing but a fantasy. And until we’ve become ‘established’, we still need to make a living.”

Meg looked disgusted at having to do so, but she still replied.

Was that because she was in maid mode, or did she not like having someone take her band so lightly.

“In the end, how long do you expect to wait until you’re ‘established’?”

“It wouldn’t take long at all if we could get in with a major advertiser. It only takes so long because we’re working at it on our own. But our rough estimate says we’ll have what we need in another month’s time. Then we’ll be able to make this our era. We’ve calculated it all out already.”

If that was true, Item could ask for a ton of autographs now as an investment for when they were worth something, but unfortunately they were in no position to do that here.

Guitarist Meg grinned and whispered.

“I don’t want to cause the cafe or the other customers any trouble, so will you come with me?”

“…”

Time froze.

It was like this one table was spatially cut off from everything else.

The cafe’s manager must have been doing the part-timers a favor because the Sadistic Dolls’ new song was playing in the cafe.

The Color of the Whip.

The customers may have only been interested in the rhythm because they didn’t seem bothered by the (fairly crude and dark) lyrics.

Good prevailing over evil might sound nice, but it still meant one side was slaughtering the other. And while evil could respect the shittiness of an evil opponent, good stripped evil of all dignity before slaughtering it.

Instead of pure evil, this was a twisted form of good.

Which of those was really more horrific?

“If we tried anything here, ordinary people will die over dark side business. We don’t want that, which is why we’re just sitting here. And we both know that stacking some cash on the table isn’t going to make this problem go away, right?”

This had been Mugino’s intention from the beginning.

When in enemy territory, eating food cooked in an unseen kitchen was a bad idea. Who knows what they could slip into it. Takitsubo was staring hungrily at the menu, so Mugino stopped her with a glare and then stood up.

Guitarist Meg guided Item through the staff only door. They walked down a narrow corridor and across the industrial kitchen.

Doors silently opened and the number of maids grew. They were gathering.

Five in all.

They were all members of the Sadistic Dolls.

“Walking through the staff only door s-sealed your fates,” nervously said Saki, the vocalist with shoulder length hair.

She seemed aware that a deadly fight was about to break out.

But she should have stopped there.

“The poor things.”

“I-if you really think so, we can spare them. It’s not too late!”

That sounded nice.

But her heart wasn’t in it.

It was obvious she wasn’t really worried about Item. Yuami, the synthesist with a ponytail, just wanted to show off how reasonable she was.

“Saki. And Yuami too. They call themselves Item, choose for themselves to walk the path of evil, and use violence to get their way. They always had an unpleasant end coming, right? It’s what they deserve.”

Was the one with twintails the bassist called Suzuran?

She spoke like it was her job to punish all of humanity’s sins.

Amamo, the drummer with a braid, grinned and assessed Item.

“Huh, you look a lot different in proper lighting. I was expecting more chiseled faces with maybe an old scar or two.”

Mugino clicked her tongue.

It was all so saccharine it made her sick. Her disgust here was of a different sort than when she faced someone truly evil. If Takitsubo hadn’t been expressionlessly glancing around noting the location of the dangerous gas pipes, she might have shot them all to death right here.

“You think you’re the good guys? When you kill people to put food on the table?”

“I’d wondered about that too.” Guitarist Meg’s bright voice seemed out of place here. She sounded like like she was speaking to a classmate. “All we’ve done is complete some jobs, but for some reason, we’ve been placed on the side of justice. Of course, if that comes down to what jobs you choose to do, then maybe we should all be thanking the people who keep society running.”

Takitsubo tilted her head.

“You wanted us out of the cafe, but where exactly do you want to fight? This is the 25th floor of a skyscraper.”

“Yeah, about that.”

''Zap!!!

18 million volts of electricity erupted out without warning.

Meg had reached back behind something as they walked along.

And just as she turned toward Item, the thick electric blast shot out at close range.

But Mugino didn’t bat an eye.

She unleashed a Meltdowner beam straight up and an aluminum duct running near the ceiling fell down as a clump. The killer current tore into the closer object with higher conductivity than a human, causing it to rupture from within.

“''Saw that one coming,''” said the Level 5.

Item intentionally took the side of evil, but these girls carried a twisted form of justice. The Sadistic Dolls were the kind of maggots who hunted as they pleased, not worrying about the ordinary people on the side of the street and even taking villains’ family members hostage.

And yet they had asked to move away from the cafe. The only possible benefit for them was catching Item in a trap.

They wouldn’t care a whit about the customers and workers on this floor.

Several sharp metallic clanking sounds rang out.

The Sadistic Dolls pulled their customized instrument weapons from their hiding places around the kitchen. The cooks appeared to be ordinary people since they paled and foamed at the mouth, so Frenda used a non-fragmentary explosive to knock them out with a concussive blast.

That acted as the starting signal.

Some ran along the floor and others hopped onto the silver countertops as the four and the five clashed.

Something sliced loudly through the air.

Vocalist Saki had drawn a rapier hidden in her mic stand.

Kinuhata blocked that head on and then casually grabbed the blade. With her bare hand.

“?”

But then she furrowed her brow.

She had crushed it with her Offense-Armor-enhanced hand, but she hadn’t heard it break.

Vocalist Saki smiled timidly while holding the mic stand rapier and with small, lightweight speakers attached to her shoulders like angel wings.

“The blade is made by condensing and shaping cellulose nanofiber, s-so it won’t break so easily.”

Kinuhata didn’t have time to respond.

With a dull “crash!!”, her small body was launched sideways. While she failed to deal with Saki’s rapier, Amamo’s drum set had tackled her. To send Kinuhata flying, the drum set, which moved autonomously on mechanical legs, must have weighed more than a ton. A stainless steel sink bent and broke when its silver legs climbed up on top.

“Tch! In the end, I’ll help Kinuhata, so you protect Takitsubo, Mugino!!”

“It’s already too late. We’ll just crush you each in turn. Amplifier: extra charge complete! Move aside, everyone!!”

18 million volts of electricity shot from the end of the electric guitar like an artillery shell.

Frenda knew it was risky, but she reached out a hand to grab Kinuhata from the floor and pulled her behind the counter. If not for that, the electricity would have broken through Kinuhata’s nitrogen barrier with electrical breakdown.

Guitarist Meg roared while accompanied by a giant boxy amp walking on metal legs.

“I’m beginning my extra charge. Don’t let the enemy get close until it’s ready!”

“Got it.”

“O-okay.”

“No, wait. It would be safer in the long run to finish them off now!!”

“The rest of you can do what you want. We’ll be roasting them to speed things up!!”

“?” Mugino frowned.

This enemy was supposed to be the Sadistic Dolls, a killer girls band.

But with close observation, Mugino had noticed a tendency among them.

The vocalist, the guitarist, and the synthesist.

The bassist and the drummer.

They were frequently trading positions, but there were two definite groups there. Furthermore, the different groups sometimes had conflicting plans and strategies.

“Not the best of friends, huh?” Mugino sounded exasperated. “Are you about the break up over ‘creative differences’?”

For one thing, five was too many people for the high level of coordination needed on a single team. With more members, there was a risk of the team splitting into smaller groups and breaking the team’s unity.

And a small fraying like that could change the course of a battle in no time.

“I don’t think they have any decent esper powers,” said blank-faced Takitsubo.

“What makes you so certain?”

Mugino thought maybe Takitsubo had run some kind of scan with AIM Stalker, but…

“They’re a struggling girls band. If any of them was a high-level esper, they would be using that to advertise themselves. Like having a ''Level 5 idol'' or something.”

This one hit home, so Meg’s shoulders began to shake. How could she be so mean?

But it was the truth.

(The biggest concern here is igniting the gas and causing a major explosion. So the one we need to take out quick is…)

“Suzuran, the bassist!! The dumbass came to the front line herself. We already saw her flamethrower, so take that out first!!”

Takitsubo expressionlessly opened the big door to an industrial refrigerator and Mugino kicked the bassist in the gut so hard it knocked her through the air.

“? Ugh!”

The door shut.

The biggest fear for anyone using a flamethrower was for the flames to accidentally hit a nearby wall or obstacle and then catch the wielder in the flames. So trapping her in a small space kept her from using her weapon.

A thick beam of light scorched the air.

This ''was not''  Mugino Shizuri’s Meltdowner.

“Tch!!”

“Go to hell! Open up!! Photon Bullet!!!”

This definitely wasn’t a flamethrower or oxyacetylene torch. A red hot beam of light burst sharply from within the silver refrigerator.

Mugino twisted her body to just barely dodge before aiming her palm that way.

This time, it was Meltdowner.

She launched several thick beams to tear through the refrigerator from a variety of angles. It was like the sword box magic trick...just without the trick part.

“Dammit, Takitsubo! Don’t get all smug and then have your plan not work at all! ''You’re getting punished later''!!”

“Ehh?”

“But that’s one down! ...Come to think of it, I just killed a minor celebrity. Don’t these shitheads have a fan at my school?”

“I super got one too.”

The shriek and scream were so shrill it was hard to believe they came from a human being. With Offense Armor boosting her arm strength, Kinuhata grabbed the drummer by the collar and shoved her face-first into the blazing hot industrial oven.

The enemy had been split three and two. So with the bassist killed, her drummer girlfriend had been left all alone. Kinuhata had gone ahead and finished her off before she could recover.

“Got-”

That was when a brutally high-voltage blast of electricity flew through and Mugino had to quickly duck below it.

She didn’t have time for a celebratory “got another one”

Two were dead, but the battle wasn’t over.

“Oh, god!! First the cult and now this girls band! Why does everyone have to use ''electricity''!? I never want to another electricity user as long as I live!!”

Mugino shouted in desperation and reached just her hand from behind cover to return fire with several Meltdowner beams.

Guitarist Meg, Vocalist Saki, and Synthesist Yuami.

More than half the enemy remained.

Item had four, so their numbers weren’t all that different. If they were careless this could easily go the other way.

“Frenda! Fire a barrage of killer skyrockets!! Don’t let them near the rear exit. Once their way out is blocked, Kinuhata and I will charge in!!”

“Got it.”

“Super got it.”

However, the mood on both sides was different. With one side losing two members in quick succession, the other side had the momentum.

“Nothing to do.”

Takitsubo was in charge of targeting support, so she just stood there. That alone showed who had the advantage. The Sadistic Dolls were losing members fast, but Item had a member who could indulge in some idle time on the front line.

With some metallic clanking, powerful stage lights with metal legs gathered by Synthesist Yuami who held a keytar likely installed with modified laser pointers.

“I’ll confuse them to turn this around!! I’ll blind them with my laser strobe lights, so you two use that opening to-”

“Are you stupid?” spat Mugino. She was Meltdowner, one of Academy City’s seven Level 5s. “Did your rotten justice never teach you the villain’s logic that you begin to lose as soon as you let your fear show? And did you really think you could outdo me when it comes to beam power!?”

An explosion overpowered the artificial beams.

Frenda had fired a portable rocket launcher the size of a potato chip tube and Mugino had launched Meltdowner. Steel racks were blown away and a microwave and rice cooker broke apart before their pieces stabbed into the wall.

The human body would not fare well in such a dense concentration of sharp shards flying horizontally like that. Especially when standing upright.

The gray dust cleared away.

The floor was littered with rubble, the ordinary cooks who had been safely knocked out earlier, and the bloody corpses of the villains who had taken the brunt of the razor-sharp rain while standing up.

The cooks could be safely ignored because they could be ''peacefully'' silenced by hiring a “negotiator” (whose primary tool was threats).

Track suit girl Takitsubo’s eyes wandered through empty space.

“One’s missing.”

“Tch. That damn guitarist is gone! She must’ve survived by using her bandmates as a shield!!”