Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item Chapter3 (section)

===Part 7===

“Did you hit the switch?”

“I did.”

Still handcuffed to the pipe, Hanano Choubi blankly watched Waniguchi Nokoba and Inoue Laspezia converse in the bathroom where the bathtub and sink’s faucets were locked down with wires.

The confusion must have been plain on her face. Or maybe Waniguchi was simply feeling the relief of finishing a job. Either way, she answered the question Hanano hadn’t asked out loud.

“Your friends have failed.”

“…”

“This isn’t any of our five hideouts. Those dumbasses ''attacked the wrong place'', so we got to watch them through an ultrasound-transmitted camera while remotely activating a trap to fill the entire tunnel with poison gas.”

“When we know they’re looking for us, why wouldn’t we go even deeper into hiding?”

“Who knows if this will actually kill them, but there’s no way they’ll arrive in time to rescue you.”

Hanano’s pupils shrank.

Amused by that reaction, Inoue and Waniguchi continued their conversation.

“Besides, did they really expect a bunch of girls to live somewhere like that? We certainly couldn’t bring Kaede there. Abandoned tunnels are a treasure trove of bugs and rats.”

“Ugh, my thigh is itchy all over again just thinking about it!! I’m only ever living at the top of a skyscraper where there aren’t any mosquitos or flies. And with all the cargo stored in District 11, you can’t find convenience stores anywhere. That’s a dealbreaker for me since I need to resupply once every three hours or I go crazy.”

Inoue noticed something and pulled her phone from her skirt pocket.

She checked an email and looked up.

“This says the support organization has finished their other job. They should be back soon.”

“So what was that other job anyway?”

“The battery’s low,” murmured Inoue while staring at her phone. There was a dusty old power outlet at the bottom of the wall, but she hadn’t brought a power cable in here with her. “Apparently they don’t care if we know now that it’s over. It turns out some moron tried to attack the Board Chairman’s Windowless Building.”

“Damn, I wish that’d worked. Without that shithead at the top, the Chief and I could create our own private love paradise.”

“Sounds like a hell I would do anything in my power to stop.”

The return of the support organizations meant the return of the corpse disposal infrastructure. Which truly eliminated all reason to keep Hanano alive.

“So. With that restriction gone, how should we kill her?”

“You have the worst taste.” Inoue sighed. “What if Kaede hears you beforehand?”

“Nice joke. If she really cared, she’d have stopped meditating and joined us. Besides, she’ll be happy as long as she can surround herself in death. And once she’s bored with that, we can use this girl to ''frame'' our enemy. You knew from the get-go we needed to kill her, didn’t you? It’s like the rest of you keep ordering more food but refuse to eat the bell peppers, so I get to eat them all myself. Think of me as the saint of volunteer work who completes all the tasks no one else wants to do.”

The small girl chuckled.

She bent over and leaned toward Hanano.

“I still can’t figure out what such a weak person is doing on the dark side. It takes a pretty dumb person to not follow the most beautiful of rules: survival of the fittest. But not even that rule applies to the dark side. This is a much simpler and purer world.”

“(Survival of the strongest, you mean? That sounds arrogant, but you’re really just trying to make yourself look powerful because you’re afraid of being bullied if people see you as weak, aren’t you? Oh, Hiyoko-chan. Don’t think I didn’t notice that your workout regimen with those rubber balls ''has nothing at all to do with your power''.)”

“I heard every word of that, you Kyoto girl who somehow can’t pass a history test. And use my ring name.”

The way the 12-year-old blushed and cleared her throat was quite cute, but she was also an expert in crushing and destroying people. She wasn’t about to go easy on anyone.

(Kaede isn’t coming to save her. And after she went to the trouble of taking her in.)

Inoue noted that, but she made no attempt to stop Waniguchi.

That was because ''this happened all the time.

“I have no interest in violence, so can I wait outside until you’re done?” asked Inoue.

“Ehh!? I’m a performer, you know!? I need an audience to really get into it!! Even when I’m punching the sandbag at the gym, there are at least people around! If you’re going to leave, at least call the Chief in here.”

“You must be joking. I can’t let Kaede see this.”

Just before she left, Inoue’s eyebrows twitched. There was something about Hanano. No, it was the lack of any kind of reaction that Inoue found unusual. She should have struggled in any way she could. Sure, she was handcuffed to the pipe, but she would be killed if she did nothing at all. Would she really give up and accept that fate?

Inoue sensed something from the girl’s apparent lack of concern.

The first to take a step forward was plain and whispering Inoue, not short-tempered Waniguchi. The silver-haired art club girl grabbed the chest of Hanano’s clothing and jerked her hand forward. Hanano’s short-sleeved sailor uniform audibly tore, revealing her chest.

Her modest chest was covered by a plain bra.

Something hung at her chest: a cylinder about the size of a AAA battery.

''That was a fuse.

The device was used to ensure a destructive explosive would detonate at the desired time. However, the fuse alone was no more powerful than a firecracker.

But it seemed unlikely she would have that hidden away for no reason. If it was her secret prize, it had to be worth entrusting her life in.

“Eh?”

Inoue was speechless. But she did not doubt the reality before her eyes. Her small nose detected a scent other than sweat staining Hanano’s bra.

“''Liquid explosive''!!??”

Meanwhile…

“You gave me an entire week to work with.”

Hanano managed a weak but unmistakable smile.

When she had asked Frenda to tell her where Mugino’s mines were located, Frenda had told her to find them herself. She had found that heartless at the time, but now she knew better.

You didn’t reveal your teammates’ secrets, even as a joke. If you couldn’t manage that, you could never earn the trust of your team.

Which led to only one possible conclusion: ''this was the best option available to her.

The triumphant girl spoke with no attempt made to cover the chest exposed by her torn sailor uniform.

“If you want to be villains, you really should have stripped off all my clothing.”

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