KillerQueen
Dynamite with a Laserbeam
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Randomization CAN work, but it's inherently unreliable. Probably good for Bosse's DoTs, but Stun should never be on a roulette.
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Blue Archive: Clock Tower Trinity [OC-Insert] [Blue Archive/Nasu]
- Thread starter Nihilo
- Start date
Randomization CAN work, but it's inherently unreliable. Probably good for Bosse's DoTs, but Stun should never be on a roulette.
Nihilo
Versed in the lewd.
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She does think ahead... for her magecraft projects. Everything else is everything goes school. As seen in chapter 9, she's a side-quest addict, too.
This. Although having conditionals to decide which one of a few options triggers could work, I think.
Chapter 10: Bond Story - Sleight of Hand
Nihilo
Versed in the lewd.
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2016
- Messages
- 1,691
- Likes received
- 10,526
Chapter 10: Bond Story - Sleight of Hand
[MOMOTALK]
>Kaika Fukajo: Final PSA. As has been announced throughout the last two weeks, the JTF HQ will be closed down for renovations for the next 16 hours. There will be mimesis work crews on-site, do not be alarmed. Pardon the inconvenience and please refer to Vice-President Hasumi's own PSA for information on the interim office and hotlines.
>Kaika Fukajo: Thank you for relying on Strength&Junglework Construction.
>Anna Sensei: Huh? Hello?
>Anna Sensei: Kaika-san?
>Paimon: An error occurred. Apologies.
>Kaika Fukajo: That was supposed to be only sent to Trinity students. Sorry for the disturbance, Iolcos-sensei.
>Kaika Fukajo: Paimon, food bribe protocol, please.
>Paimon: Skatakata Shakes, Plata St 30, free bicorn swirl shakes for the next three hours.
>Anna Sensei: It's fine, really, I'm not
>Anna Sensei: Oh wow, that IS a good deal!
It's noon at Justice Task Force HQ. The building is cordoned off, with a squad of first years patrolling the perimeter. A handful of students with SMGs and nun's habits oversee the work force with joyless eyes.
A hundred and eight barrel chests hum as one, the melody felt more than heard as the skinless giants toil, every thumb-like head covered by yellow hardhats with a green stripe entirely stolen from Yakuza.
"Cold: The air and water flowing." Three fingered hands sprout bone chisel heads, digging into the seams of the wooden flooring and prying them loose in a single motion.
"Hard: The land we call our own." Flimsy walls are carved into, wiring and plumbing disassembled, hollow space filled by tightly packed blue clay.
"Push, to keep the dark from coming." Wood, glass and metal fly through the air, tossed by workers and caught without fail by their many-armed brothers. They snap the material down to size and slip it on the baskets strapped to their backs.
For centuries, work songs have guided hard labor, allowing hundreds of backs to lift as one. For as long as humanity learned to make sound, music has been a tool of inspiration and manipulation. For controlling simple creatures such as these, there's little better.
Kaika is grinning like a loon in all her hard-hatted, tank-topped glory, standing over one of the mountains of ether clump bricks like a conquering queen. El Melloi's RTS games have nothing on this, Paimon and Sultore working together to give her the full sprawl of the worksite in a tactile hologram. A wave of her fingers and the Hais scurry off to follow her every command.
Such dutiful children. She's sure the JTF will love the surprise she's worked out for them.
"HALT! THIS SITE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!" Kaika is pulled from her mental reverie by the sounds of a small commotion growing near the worksite. A quick glance only doesn't turn into an outright segfault thanks to her mental discipline.
Anna Iolcos, the Sensei of SCHALE, is standing in the courtyard just outside of the work area. Today, her hair is done up in a tight bun, and she's dressed in an almost immaculately white pantsuit. At her side is a large, refrigerated rolling case. Her hands are raised skywards as one of the Sisterhood observers has a gun aimed at her, while a group of JTF students have guns trained on both of them.
"Hah, guess she got curious. Paimon, tell Nother she's in charge until I sort this out." Her floating phone chirps an agreement and that's that. There's a certain temptation to wrap herself in a notice-me-not effect, but she'd rather not chance jolts when there's a gun trained on the good Sensei.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the notorious Ιωλκός-sensei. To what do we owe the pleasure?" She asks with a genial smile, only jumping to land between the teacher and the twitchy Sister once the latter has whirled around. The Sisterhood ought to do more joint exercises with the JTF, that's piss poor discipline right there.
The JTF member whose gun was pointed at the Sister turns to the rest of her squad. "See? I told you she's Sensei! Stop pointing your guns at her, she's Haloless!" The rest of the squad glance at each other before turning all of their guns at the Sister.
The look on the Sister's face is one of genuine bewilderment. "Wait, why am I the bad guy here!? This strange adult got too close to the mimesises! Does nobody care what happens if these things slip the leash? I'm just trying to protect our school!"
"I care, which is why I programmed them with no less than five failsafes and why I sent you people the manual. Not my fault you apparently tossed it into the same bin as the research papers and hazard primers I keep sending you." Kaika says coolly. She doesn't fully slip into her corpse facade, but that just means her professional offense is in full display, "Seriously, these things are safer than Millenium 'bots, they have fuzzy logic and are immune to hacking."
Well, granted, another magus knowledgeable about ideation could make them go rogue. But, they would need to separate them from the network and spend a while peeling back all her security. The Hais may be mass-produced and closer to her fire and forget mimesises than anything else, but she's never going to compromise safety. Especially when Halo abilities are so unpredictable.
"Please, calm down, everyone!" Sensei pleads. "Everyone here is just trying to do the right thing."
Sensei opens the container at her side, revealing a motherlode of bicorn swirl shakes. "Here, I brought these over to help the work crew cool off on a hot day. It doesn't look like they need it, though. Would all of you like any? There's nothing quite like drinking a milkshake with friends."
"They'll still appreciate it. They aren't people smart, but that doesn't stop a dog from enjoying a treat, now does it?" Kaika chuckles, her pink tank top giving a fantastic view of how her circuits light up as she conjures a simple plastic table for Sensei to start loading with the shakes.
Sensei's eyes light up in wonder as she gives Kaika a genuine round of applause. "Bravo, Kaika-san! You are a lady of many talents!"
"Any two-bit magi could've done that." She waves off bashfully, but the bad mood the Sisterhood had put her in is vanished all the same.
Sensei wastes little time taking Kaika up on the implied offer, loading up the table with milkshake after milkshake. The JTF members on site trickle in slowly at first, before arriving in a torrent for sweet ice cream treats. Even the Sisters begrudgingly partake of the peace offering. Grumbles about how 'safer than Millennium bots is damnation by faint praise' are met with a hand to the back of the head by a more senior Sister.
One of the multi-armed Hais lumbers in, lowering itself enough for its comparatively tiny mother to jump up to its knee. That gave her just enough elevation to squish its cheeks and plant a kiss on its forehead. Her voice is underlined by a soft buzz as she speaks, interfacing with the mimesis' simple mind far better than mere words would. "Such a good child, did my sister send you in?"
A low, happy rumble is her answer.
"I see. Give me a moment, then." With that, she hops up to its shoulder, circuit-lined hands on the baskets. They crawl like ferrofluid under her touch, what was once woven wicker becoming gleaming bronze. It faintly resembles a flamethrower. One with a massive funnel and four sprayers connected to the tank. "There you are, dear. Start loading the shakes, the curses will do the rest."
Once she hops off, it wastes no time posing, muscular frame flexing to show off its mother's gift. She chuckles and claps, all too pleased to see her child being so exuberant. It isn't any surprise, she made the Hais to be social things, all the better to work as a cohesive unit.
"I'm sure you're eager to play with your new toy. Go on, load it up and share the fun with your brothers." She says, the monster happily using its two free arms to load dozens of shakes into the tank, the sound of bubbling and chugging soon echoing from it.
Soon enough, it is off, raining a shimmering blue fog that Kaika's children soak like dry sponges. It is a simple enough mechanism, to burn up food into something spiritual entities can enjoy.
"I understand why the Sisterhood is so wary of mimesises, after having dealt only with wild ones, but can't they see that my children are sweethearts?" Kaika asks Sensei with a sigh as she trots over to the table, finally taking a shake of her own. It tastes like they made a devil's food cake with red velvet and turned that into a drink. Not bad at all.
Sensei fiddles with her tablet, placing a rush delivery order for more shakes before answering. "I know it's frustrating, Kaika-san, but give them some time. If you keep doing helpful things like this, you're going to build good will very quickly."
"Haah. I can only hope. On a related note, would you like to attend my latest kid's birth tonight? The Sisterhood has forced the JTF to allow some delegates into the ritual chamber. I don't really trust them to not get spooked and interfere, so a respected third party being around would go a long way." The magus says, gesturing idly with a fan she hadn't been holding a second ago. "Of course, since it is at midnight, it's probably going to play merry hell with your sleep schedule. I can stick you with a curse to make up for it– just a simple thing condensing your sleep by a factor of two. Not healthy to use repeatedly, but god knows its developer is basically the patron saint of the Department of Curses."
Sensei laughs the laugh of the long suffering. "Thank you, Kaika-san, but I'm afraid that I have a full schedule tonight. There's work that needs my physical presence all across Kivotos. And after that's done, it's back to the office to do paperwork." She offers Kaika a smile. "If there's a light show attached, I'll probably be able to see it from my office window, if that's any consolation?"
"That bad, huh? I'll handle myself, then. My children have ways to keep the peace. Plus, I trust the JTF." The magus says with a bob of her head. After the hell of favor gathering she went through, she isn't going to push more work on someone so busy. "I'd offer to take a commission for something that'll let you zip around Kivotos faster, but my own plate is pretty piled up. Check in sometime after the full moon. As for lightshow… the opposite of it, in the most literal sense. Trinity should be lit up enough for you to see."
Sensei smiles warmly at Kaika. "Thank you! I'll keep that in mind!" Suddenly, Sensei's tablet makes a chirping sound. She looks at it, then at her watch, and her face pales. "Uh oh. Sorry, Kaika-san, but I have to go now. I'm here to teach a class! Don't worry, I've already paid the delivery person!"
"Take care out there. And if you see Hanako, tell her that she can come pick up her book anytime." The magus says openly just for the value of the Sisters in earshot squawking. The JTF (probably) already knows it's just a romance novel with some extra spice courtesy of Kinben having spotted it and her explaining, but the Sisterhood is insular enough they don't hear that kind of gossip. She's also pretty sure that given another month of on and off friendly chats, she's going to get the woman to crack open the real treasure trove.
Trinity's library is great and so is Chie, but Hanako's knack for restricted literature goes beyond smut; she can tell that much. Mostly because the big tiddied troll has learned that teasing her with forbidden knowledge gets more of a reaction than her doing jumping jacks.
The reactions of those around Kaika are almost the exact opposite of what she had expected. The Sisters continue drinking their milkshakes calmly, while the JTF do the spit takes. "No, Anna-Sensei, Hanako may NOT have her confiscated books back! Just the ones she loaned to Kaika!"
"Oh, chin up, after I'm done here Hanako won't be able to steal away with her books again." Kaika snorts. For 161cm of bodice ripper philosopher with bright pink hair, she can sneak around like nobody's business… then again, the JTF was pretty much giving her daily stealth training.
Sensei laughs jovially as she runs. As the sound of chattering students fades into the distance, she can't help but notice that the tense atmosphere from before is a bit lighter.
[MOMOTALK]
>Anna-Sensei: I see what you meant by an un-lightshow. That moonbow was beautiful!
>Anna-Sensei: I take it that the ritual went well?
>Kaika Fukajo: Thank you! And other than my youngest getting shot for flirting with a nun, yes, it went off without a hitch.
>Kaika Fukajo: He's such a little shit, I love him. Although I could've gone without the glares afterwards. Or the comments about me needing to control him.
>Kaika Fukajo: Ah, well, at least it didn't end up being a huge argument.
>Kaika Fukajo: Swing by the JTF HQ sometime, by the by, Schrift says he wants to give you something for your help.
>Kaika Fukajo: He's impressed with how big an impact you made in barely twenty minutes.
>Anna-Sensei: Will do.
>Anna-Sensei: And I'm happy for you. Winning hearts takes time, but this was a good first step.
[MOMOTALK]
>Kaika Fukajo: Good news, I figured out a good method to cut down on your commute around Kivotos.
>Kaika Fukajo: Bad news, I'm going to need to spend a while testing to make sure it is safe, then just as long setting it up. Also not sure where I'd get the right ideation for this.
>Kaika Fukajo: Although that tablet of yours may be able to speed setup a hell of a lot. Depends on if it(? I know it's a terminal, but not if it has a mind) decides to help me out.
>Anna-Sensei: Good news, while I'm not certain what you mean by 'terminal,' I do have a little helper! Her name is Arona, and she's very cute!
>Anna-Sensei: Bad news, she's a shy little sleepyhead who's conveniently never around when I try to introduce her to anyone.
>Anna-Sensei: People started acting like I was crazy, so I gave up trying…
>Kaika Fukajo: I'd ask why you haven't taken pictures of her, but I'm going to assume she can act like an AI and given she's shy…
>Kaika Fukajo: Anyways, don't get too consternated, these kinds of forces like to keep things on the down low. Don't try to force the issue with an analog camera. Just do what feels right and you'll be fine.
It's early morning on the campus grounds of Millennium Science Academy. The air is crisp and clean, with just the slightest hint of ozone on the wind. The buildings are futuristic skyscrapers and glass domes. The ground below Kaika's feet is a careful balance between immaculately clean walkways and carefully cultivated and contained patches of lawn.
If Trinity General School was a religious school through the idealized lens of Kivotos, then Millennium Science Academy was the fantastical city of the future seen through that very same lens.
"Alright, Kaika-san, I'm going to need you to make a sharp left, and vault over that shrubbery while doing a hand-stand!"
Unfortunately, Kaika can't soak in the atmosphere at a slow, meandering pace. Instead, she is jogging around the campus, wearing a somewhat heavy metal exoskeleton.
The device itself is neither bulky nor heavily armored. At its core, it is a collection of limb braces and spine support, held together by wires and artificial muscle. The braces are well cushioned to prevent chafing. Kaika's requested modifications are present, in the form of gloves of interlocking metal plates and a futuristic looking visor with heads up display and camera.
Once everything is properly programmed, the muscles will support the majority of the device's weight, making the whole affair feel as light as a feather. In the meantime, Paimon is acting in place of this programming, resulting in a sensation not unlike swimming as the mimesis applies pressure and records data.
A pair of Millennium students follow Kaika on segways, glancing at their tablets and calling for ever stranger acts of athletics. It's not the weirdest thing she's done in the name of research, especially back when she had to stoop to testing experimental mystic codes. So she carries through with aplomb.
Funnily enough, Kaika actually has to restrain herself. With the exoskeleton being pure tech, Paimon needs to work extra hard propping it up with her possession. That means less focus for coordinating with her motions. It would be far worse if she were having Paimon do anything other than these two things and she'll definitely want to turn the whole ensemble into a mystic code. Thankfully, she has mystic materials beyond her wildest dreams for disturbingly cheap, so making this whole thing able to host both of the eye twins is going to be easy. By the time she's done with this thing, it is going to be objectively better than Spiritual Invocation in most respects.
"Hmm. We're doing well so far, but I FEEL like we're missing something," Natalie hums. "Aika, what do you think?"
"I think I'm a nervous wreck," Aika responds, segway wobbling as she checks and double checks her work. "The Millennium Science Festival is over, and Seminar has already axed the club. We've only got enough money to do this once."
Natalie nods sagaciously. "I understand. When the problem is somewhere between the chair and the monitor, there's only one proper response."
Kaika glances at Natalie. "Take a five minute break then explain what you're trying to do to a figurine?"
Natalie and Aika glance at each other. "Run another diagnostic," The pair answer in tandem as though Kaika hadn't spoken at all.
…At least they aren't data-croppers, she supposes.
"Are you sure about that? Your friend's answer sounded very good. I'm partial to getting away from the computer and asking for a second opinion myself…"
The segway pair do a startled double take at the unexpected voice. "Sumire-san?!? When did you get here?"
Kaika takes a quick glance in the direction of the voice to see a slim, well-toned second year wearing a long ponytail, yoga pants, sneakers, and a sports bra under an open Millennium jacket. She's easily keeping pace with the group at a light jog, and is currently looking at Natalie's tablet with a thoughtful expression.
"Hmm. You have the normal range of human motion mapped out just fine, but what about falls? If safety is your main concern, you should be ready for common accidents, right?"
The pair of young inventors pale as a look of realization crosses their faces. "Thank you, Sumire-san…"
"Alright, time to fall down some conjured stairs, then." Kaika says, slowing down so she can open up a gap (she still needs to figure out how to give them ribbons) to imaginary space and dump out some ether clump bricks. After having spent weeks building up enough for the JTF HQ, she's taken to turning surplus magic energy at the end of the day into the stuff and stashing it away. Much faster and cheaper to dump it out from the Sea than make it on the spot, unless she's conjuring something small.
Sumire tilts her head in confusion. "Why conjure stairs when we can use what's on hand? The Engineering Department's maintenance bays should have everything we need."
Aika comes to a sudden stop. "NOPE! We're not showing the Engineering Department an unfinished prototype. Go ahead with the conjuring–"
Realization dawns in Sumire's eyes. "Wait, you're the former Amateur Inventor's Club, aren't you? Are you trying to put together a portfolio to join the Engineering Department?"
The pair of young inventors deflate. "Yes…"
Sumire nods with a big smile on her face. "That's wonderful news! Kotori-chan ADORES PencilBot. She was so sad when your club was removed from the listings. Your interest in joining the Engineering Department is going to brighten her day right up! Come on, let's go get you introduced to each other."
Sumire quickly gathers up the confused party, and practically drags them to the hangar. The segways are left abandoned on the grass for tiny gardening robots to poke at in annoyance.
Simply walking into the hangar and opening one's eyes is sufficient to see the favor in which Millennium Science Academy's Engineering Department is held. The facility is massive, with two, possibly three stories of floors and catwalks. The machines under construction range wildly, from behemoth mechanical monstrosities to coffee machines with one too many gadgets attached.
While several students are busily working, three in particular stand out. The first is a third year with long purple hair. She's dressed in a fairly standard uniform with a lab coat, pleated skirt and leggings. Her halo looks as though it has cybernetic wings attached to it, though such things are rarely as solid as they appear. The surrounding students appear to defer to her.
The second is a girl with doglike ears and a tail, dressed in a tank top, short shorts, fishnet stockings, and boots under a hooded jacket. Her wavy black hair is done up in a loose ponytail, and she has a pair of goggles around her forehead. Her tail is wagging happily as she talks to–
…No way. Iolcos-sensei is here. She's wearing a business suit with a pencil skirt under a lab coat today, but it's DEFINITELY Sensei.
Twice is a coincidence. It has to be.
But in case it isn't, she enhances her hearing with Reinforcement, just to get an idea of what's going on there without sticking out her neck.
Sumire, Natalie, and Aika continue on to speak to the purple haired girl. Kaika pays them little mind, trusting Paimon to inform her of anything major coming up.
"Thank you, Hibiki-chan! Your work is amazing as always!" Iolcos-sensei is looking inside of a box with a joyous expression on her face.
Hibiki's blush goes nuclear, and her tail wags even harder. "Ehehehe… Thank you, Sensei… It makes me very happy that you appreciate my hobby so much…"
Just her getting a commission. Maybe an accessory? It'd make sense for an engineer to dabble in something like silversmithing and Sensei seems to be a bit of a clotheshorse.
"Hibiki-san! Kaika-san! Anna-Sensei! Come join the huddle!" Sumire calls out. She and a quickly growing group of students are gathered at the purple haired girl's desk. "Utaha-Senpai wants these club applications approved ASAP!"
"Aye aye. And good day to you, Sensei." The magus says with a nod as the teacher comes closer, letting her Reinforcement fade with a sigh of relief. She has enough mental discipline to filter out all the noise of the engineering department, but that doesn't make it particularly pleasant.
"And a good day to you too, Kaika-san! It's a surprise to see you here at Millennium!" Sensei's voice carries genuine good cheer as she joins the growing huddle.
"Wait… Just like that? Rush approval? What's going on?" Aika's expression is one of sheer bafflement. "Don't we need to build a portfolio? Isn't there a waiting period while Seminar updates their records?"
"That's for applying as a Meister. Joining the club as a Lehrling is much easier. You'll have a stricter schedule as assistants, and the Meisters' commissions would take priority over passion projects. But you will get time for those projects, along with the full backing of the Engineering Department while you build your portfolio." Utaha says in an even tone.
The president of the Engineering Department continues to speak as her pen dances across the papers in front of her. "To put it simply, Aika-san, we've wanted you two in our Club ever since you made PencilBot. We would have approached you ourselves, but you appeared to be having more fun as independents. The sudden dismantling of your club made us regret this decision immensely."
Natalie and Aika share a look. "I didn't know that was an option. It's not perfect, but it's still a good deal…"
"We were so scared… We thought that you wouldn't want to keep tinkering anymore…" A first year student with a messy blonde bob cut, black glasses, and a heavy fur trimmed coat says with tears in her eyes. She's holding a small, smooth robot with simple grasping appendages and an LCD screen displaying a big smiley face.
"There there, Kotori-chan. They're here now, so it's a happy ending, right?" Hibiki pats her junior on the head, and speaks in a soothing tone.
"Yes… the pencil is so fascinating, isn't it? It all started with the ancient stylus…"
Utaha turns to Kaika immediately with a patient smile on her face. "We'll have the cushions set up for your fall recordings in just a moment, Kaika-san. Please enjoy some coffee and pizza while you wait."
The President of the Engineering Department quickly moves Kaika and Sensei to another part of the hangar. Kotori continues to regale the rest of the gathered students with the history of the pencil entire, while Sumire desperately searches for an escape of her own.
"So, what brings you here today, Sensei?" Kaika asks conversationally as she grabs a slice of meat lover's. Anti-grease curses are helpful like that.
Sensei smiles happily as she reaches into the box she received from Hibiki. "Well, I came to check on the Game Development Department, and help to finalize some paperwork regarding a new student. Apart from that, I regularly commission Hibiki-chan for new clothes!"
Sensei proceeds to pull several articles of clothing from the box, and lay them carefully across the table. First is a Millennium logo jacket, which Sensei opts to replace her current lab coat with after a brief moment of thought. Then comes a heavy jacket and uniform in the Gehenna style, complete with a fancy hat. Then comes a chinese dress with the Shanhaijing Senior Secondary School logo over the heart (which only doesn't make Kaika hungry because she's in the middle of eating some pizza).
"I see I will have to include an outfit hotswap feature in your commission." Kaika says with a dry chuckle, idly tapping a metal-encased finger on the cheongsam to watch the ideation ripple. Now that she isn't moving around, Paimon can give her some visuals, although Sultore would be better at it, "It should be easy enough, given you're matching each Academy. Do get in touch if you want any of these enchanted, the ideation baked into them would make for a fantastic foundation for any sort of defensive or supportive enchantment. The world may be on your side, but enough bullets will do in anyone."
Sensei smiles brightly at Kaika. "Thank you! I don't want your personal projects to be delayed on my account, but if you have the free time, I'll happily reimburse you for your work!"
"Don't sweat it, my main project is on a schedule since I need certain lunar phases for the big rituals, so I have a deadline but I expect I'll often have everything ready a week or more in advance." Of course, The Magician is proving troublesome. She has a very tempting idea, but it is risky. Oh, well, she still has nearly two weeks. Plenty of time to decide. "You won't hear me say no to payment. Especially if it isn't always just money… then again, from everything I have seen and been told, I get the impression you wouldn't consider helping me and my craft something I have to pay for."
Sensei nods. "If I find something you need, you'll be the first to know." She pours herself a cup of coffee before continuing. "Speaking of which, I'm surprised to see you at Millennium! Do you visit other Academies often?"
"I'd warn against being taken advantage of, but you'd never see as such when it comes to students, would you?" Kaika says with a fondly exasperated chuckle, shaking her head, "As for visiting other Academies… yes and no. I have been around the Shanhaijing and Hyakkiyako districts since I can't live without eastern food, but never their campuses. This is actually my first time in another Academy's campus."
Sensei takes a deep swig of coffee, and sighs in satisfaction. "Haah… the Black Tortoise Promenade makes some amazing food, don't they?
"Yyyep. And the Banchan Boulevard is just decadent, especially after spending a year and change in London." Kaika agrees happily, snapping her fingers in lieu of clapping. No amount of spellwork is going to save her if she makes her pizza slice explode in front of her.
"If you're in Hyakkiyako, the Momoyodo cafe is a lovely place to visit. Personally, I've been craving gyros and mint tea, but I haven't found an excuse to visit Odyssey Maritime Academy yet." Iolcos says as she relaxes into the cushions, setting down her coffee for a moment to try the pizza.
"I'll give it a go. I'm more for izakayas myself, but variety is the spice of life. Speaking of, you have to go to Yosuzume's sometime." The purple haired girl says, gesturing enthusiastically with her free hand. British pubs had nothing on a real hole in the wall izakaya.
"By the way, Kaika-san, why are you wearing that exoskeleton? I'd imagine the pizza grease isn't doing the finger joints any favors." The teacher asks, giving the metal a worried look, already digging around for a handkerchief.
"Oh, don't worry, students will be students no matter how many trappings of nobility they try to put on. Pizza was popular in the Clocktower so everyone had an anti-grease spell of their own." The magus chuckles with a reassuring wave of her hand, before wincing as a memory comes back, "You don't want to see what the librarians would do to anyone who damages the books."
"As for why I'm wearing this, I'm doing a little trade with the RnD girls. Paimon and I help give them the data they need to develop a body prediction program, I get to keep the damn thing. Lets me see and touch ideation, if I shove some of my kids in it." Kaika explains, tapping her visor lightly. She doesn't mention that Spiritual Invocation remains her ace in the hole on account of the sheer power it gives her for as long as it lasts. A magus she remains.
Sensei's eyes light up in childlike interest. "Ooh, you can use stuff like this for your craft too, Kaika-san?"
Before Sensei can say anything more, an unfamiliar voice echoes through the hangar. "Wait, Sensei spent HOW much?!?"
Sensei's expression pales. The sound of scrambling feet echoes through the hangar as everyone scatters. "Uh oh. Yuuka-chan is here."
"Why does Seminar's Treasurer have a stake on SCHALE's business expenses?" At least Kaika assumes they're filed as business expenses, Iolcos is essentially a diplomat. Only an idiot claims a diplomat's clothes for a meeting should be paid out of pocket.
"Because she was there for SCHALE's founding," Sensei answers. "She also helps look after my personal expenses. I had to go Free to Play on Club Smoochie!" Sensei's eyes dart around the room, searching for an escape route.
Before Kaika can ask what business a student has going over their teachers' personal finances, the sound of scrambled running comes to a sudden halt. "BECAUSE YOU WERE SKIPPING MEALS TO PAY FOR IT!!!"
"...Promise me you will have three square meals a day every day that aren't convenience store fare and I'll help you out of here." Kaika says after a moment. She's sorely tempted to let Iolcos have it, but this should be more productive. The poor woman needs all the energy and nutrition she can get just to deal with Kivotos, nevermind whatever the collective unconscious wants from her.
The sound of footsteps resumes with slow deliberation. Sensei quickly gathers her clothes in the box as she haggles in a whisper. "Three meals, one of quality. I can try for three of quality, but there's not enough hours in a day for me to PROMISE it. Acceptable?"
"On the condition that the others be at least convenience store bentos. No instant noodles or meal substitution bars." Kaika whispers back, extending a hand for a shake after the teacher is done stuffing her clothes back in the box.
Sensei takes the offered hand in a firm shake. "Deal. What did you have in mind?"
"Aha! There you are, Sensei!" The sound of running resumes, this time quickly growing louder. The Treasurer's sharp hearing has helped her zero in on her target.
"I am glad you asked." Kaika says with a too-toothy smile, pastel sports bra and yoga pants doing nothing to hide her circuits as they flare up, nor the matching patterns of light crawling across her exoskeleton. That's Sensei's only warning before the magus (gently) yanks the woman to her feet as she gets up herself. Inhuman strength on Kaika's part or not, the teacher feels distressingly light as she scoops her up into a bridal carry, nevermind all the protruding bones she's getting acquainted with right now. Sensei's arms reflexively wrap around Kaika's neck as she makes an adorable "eep" sound in surprise. Her box of clothes is smashed between her own body and Kaika's, cushioning her somewhat against the hard metal.
"Hold on tight!" The magus chirrups. Light hop, springboard off the table, onto the railing. She barely even notices her fellow purplette rounding the corner, the edges of the world fading away as her heart starts thundering in her ears.
The race is on.
"SENSEI! Get back down here and explain these receipts!!! Cosplay outfits? Milkshakes by the dozen? Do you have ANY idea what this looks like?!?"
"You'll never catch us alive!" Kaika cackles. Clangclangclang go her feet on the railing.
"It's business expenses, I promise!!!" Sensei pleads, before turning to her savior, "Keep running! I'll explain in detail when she calms down!"
Music to the magus' ears.
Ozone fills the air. Hair stands on end.
"Here."
Ideation wells up, power shapes it, reality buckles.
"We."
Steel flies and burrows into the window frame. Curses are primed.
"Go."
Lightning strikes.
All she can see is blue. All she can feel is speed.
It ends all too soon, plasma sheath unfurling into fading ribbons of lightning.
They're elsewhere. A gamer's den. It'll do.
Shove sensei into locker, ignore yelp(s?), apply notice-me-not.
Now, time to make sure everyone is too busy to look for Iolcos.
[MOMOTALK]
>Anna-Sensei: Okay! I've made it back to SCHALE!
>Anna-Sensei: It took a while to untangle myself from Yuzu-chan, but everyone's safe and sound. I've sent Yuuka-chan an email as promised.
>Anna-Sensei: How did it go on your end, Kaika-san?
>Kaika Fukajo: It was great!
>Kaika Fukajo: I ended up racing with a couple girls from Cleaning and Clearing! They were really fun!
>Kaika Fukajo: [Speedbumps.jpg]
>Kaika Fukajo: I think I made some friends today. I should visit other campuses more often.
>Anna-Sensei: That's wonderful! Poor Neru, though, it looks like Asuna is suffocating her.
>Anna-Sensei: Let me know if you get in any trouble over this. I'll take responsibility.
>Kaika Fukajo: Will do. Although the Millennium girls seem pretty happy, since I took care not to damage anything and I gave that exoskeleton one hell of an advertisement campaign.
[MOMOTALK]
>Kaika Fukajo: Final PSA. As has been announced throughout the last two weeks, the JTF HQ will be closed down for renovations for the next 16 hours. There will be mimesis work crews on-site, do not be alarmed. Pardon the inconvenience and please refer to Vice-President Hasumi's own PSA for information on the interim office and hotlines.
>Kaika Fukajo: Thank you for relying on Strength&Junglework Construction.
>Anna Sensei: Huh? Hello?
>Anna Sensei: Kaika-san?
>Paimon: An error occurred. Apologies.
>Kaika Fukajo: That was supposed to be only sent to Trinity students. Sorry for the disturbance, Iolcos-sensei.
>Kaika Fukajo: Paimon, food bribe protocol, please.
>Paimon: Skatakata Shakes, Plata St 30, free bicorn swirl shakes for the next three hours.
>Anna Sensei: It's fine, really, I'm not
>Anna Sensei: Oh wow, that IS a good deal!
It's noon at Justice Task Force HQ. The building is cordoned off, with a squad of first years patrolling the perimeter. A handful of students with SMGs and nun's habits oversee the work force with joyless eyes.
A hundred and eight barrel chests hum as one, the melody felt more than heard as the skinless giants toil, every thumb-like head covered by yellow hardhats with a green stripe entirely stolen from Yakuza.
"Cold: The air and water flowing." Three fingered hands sprout bone chisel heads, digging into the seams of the wooden flooring and prying them loose in a single motion.
"Hard: The land we call our own." Flimsy walls are carved into, wiring and plumbing disassembled, hollow space filled by tightly packed blue clay.
"Push, to keep the dark from coming." Wood, glass and metal fly through the air, tossed by workers and caught without fail by their many-armed brothers. They snap the material down to size and slip it on the baskets strapped to their backs.
For centuries, work songs have guided hard labor, allowing hundreds of backs to lift as one. For as long as humanity learned to make sound, music has been a tool of inspiration and manipulation. For controlling simple creatures such as these, there's little better.
Kaika is grinning like a loon in all her hard-hatted, tank-topped glory, standing over one of the mountains of ether clump bricks like a conquering queen. El Melloi's RTS games have nothing on this, Paimon and Sultore working together to give her the full sprawl of the worksite in a tactile hologram. A wave of her fingers and the Hais scurry off to follow her every command.
Such dutiful children. She's sure the JTF will love the surprise she's worked out for them.
"HALT! THIS SITE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!" Kaika is pulled from her mental reverie by the sounds of a small commotion growing near the worksite. A quick glance only doesn't turn into an outright segfault thanks to her mental discipline.
Anna Iolcos, the Sensei of SCHALE, is standing in the courtyard just outside of the work area. Today, her hair is done up in a tight bun, and she's dressed in an almost immaculately white pantsuit. At her side is a large, refrigerated rolling case. Her hands are raised skywards as one of the Sisterhood observers has a gun aimed at her, while a group of JTF students have guns trained on both of them.
"Hah, guess she got curious. Paimon, tell Nother she's in charge until I sort this out." Her floating phone chirps an agreement and that's that. There's a certain temptation to wrap herself in a notice-me-not effect, but she'd rather not chance jolts when there's a gun trained on the good Sensei.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the notorious Ιωλκός-sensei. To what do we owe the pleasure?" She asks with a genial smile, only jumping to land between the teacher and the twitchy Sister once the latter has whirled around. The Sisterhood ought to do more joint exercises with the JTF, that's piss poor discipline right there.
The JTF member whose gun was pointed at the Sister turns to the rest of her squad. "See? I told you she's Sensei! Stop pointing your guns at her, she's Haloless!" The rest of the squad glance at each other before turning all of their guns at the Sister.
The look on the Sister's face is one of genuine bewilderment. "Wait, why am I the bad guy here!? This strange adult got too close to the mimesises! Does nobody care what happens if these things slip the leash? I'm just trying to protect our school!"
"I care, which is why I programmed them with no less than five failsafes and why I sent you people the manual. Not my fault you apparently tossed it into the same bin as the research papers and hazard primers I keep sending you." Kaika says coolly. She doesn't fully slip into her corpse facade, but that just means her professional offense is in full display, "Seriously, these things are safer than Millenium 'bots, they have fuzzy logic and are immune to hacking."
Well, granted, another magus knowledgeable about ideation could make them go rogue. But, they would need to separate them from the network and spend a while peeling back all her security. The Hais may be mass-produced and closer to her fire and forget mimesises than anything else, but she's never going to compromise safety. Especially when Halo abilities are so unpredictable.
"Please, calm down, everyone!" Sensei pleads. "Everyone here is just trying to do the right thing."
Sensei opens the container at her side, revealing a motherlode of bicorn swirl shakes. "Here, I brought these over to help the work crew cool off on a hot day. It doesn't look like they need it, though. Would all of you like any? There's nothing quite like drinking a milkshake with friends."
"They'll still appreciate it. They aren't people smart, but that doesn't stop a dog from enjoying a treat, now does it?" Kaika chuckles, her pink tank top giving a fantastic view of how her circuits light up as she conjures a simple plastic table for Sensei to start loading with the shakes.
Sensei's eyes light up in wonder as she gives Kaika a genuine round of applause. "Bravo, Kaika-san! You are a lady of many talents!"
"Any two-bit magi could've done that." She waves off bashfully, but the bad mood the Sisterhood had put her in is vanished all the same.
Sensei wastes little time taking Kaika up on the implied offer, loading up the table with milkshake after milkshake. The JTF members on site trickle in slowly at first, before arriving in a torrent for sweet ice cream treats. Even the Sisters begrudgingly partake of the peace offering. Grumbles about how 'safer than Millennium bots is damnation by faint praise' are met with a hand to the back of the head by a more senior Sister.
One of the multi-armed Hais lumbers in, lowering itself enough for its comparatively tiny mother to jump up to its knee. That gave her just enough elevation to squish its cheeks and plant a kiss on its forehead. Her voice is underlined by a soft buzz as she speaks, interfacing with the mimesis' simple mind far better than mere words would. "Such a good child, did my sister send you in?"
A low, happy rumble is her answer.
"I see. Give me a moment, then." With that, she hops up to its shoulder, circuit-lined hands on the baskets. They crawl like ferrofluid under her touch, what was once woven wicker becoming gleaming bronze. It faintly resembles a flamethrower. One with a massive funnel and four sprayers connected to the tank. "There you are, dear. Start loading the shakes, the curses will do the rest."
Once she hops off, it wastes no time posing, muscular frame flexing to show off its mother's gift. She chuckles and claps, all too pleased to see her child being so exuberant. It isn't any surprise, she made the Hais to be social things, all the better to work as a cohesive unit.
"I'm sure you're eager to play with your new toy. Go on, load it up and share the fun with your brothers." She says, the monster happily using its two free arms to load dozens of shakes into the tank, the sound of bubbling and chugging soon echoing from it.
Soon enough, it is off, raining a shimmering blue fog that Kaika's children soak like dry sponges. It is a simple enough mechanism, to burn up food into something spiritual entities can enjoy.
"I understand why the Sisterhood is so wary of mimesises, after having dealt only with wild ones, but can't they see that my children are sweethearts?" Kaika asks Sensei with a sigh as she trots over to the table, finally taking a shake of her own. It tastes like they made a devil's food cake with red velvet and turned that into a drink. Not bad at all.
Sensei fiddles with her tablet, placing a rush delivery order for more shakes before answering. "I know it's frustrating, Kaika-san, but give them some time. If you keep doing helpful things like this, you're going to build good will very quickly."
"Haah. I can only hope. On a related note, would you like to attend my latest kid's birth tonight? The Sisterhood has forced the JTF to allow some delegates into the ritual chamber. I don't really trust them to not get spooked and interfere, so a respected third party being around would go a long way." The magus says, gesturing idly with a fan she hadn't been holding a second ago. "Of course, since it is at midnight, it's probably going to play merry hell with your sleep schedule. I can stick you with a curse to make up for it– just a simple thing condensing your sleep by a factor of two. Not healthy to use repeatedly, but god knows its developer is basically the patron saint of the Department of Curses."
Sensei laughs the laugh of the long suffering. "Thank you, Kaika-san, but I'm afraid that I have a full schedule tonight. There's work that needs my physical presence all across Kivotos. And after that's done, it's back to the office to do paperwork." She offers Kaika a smile. "If there's a light show attached, I'll probably be able to see it from my office window, if that's any consolation?"
"That bad, huh? I'll handle myself, then. My children have ways to keep the peace. Plus, I trust the JTF." The magus says with a bob of her head. After the hell of favor gathering she went through, she isn't going to push more work on someone so busy. "I'd offer to take a commission for something that'll let you zip around Kivotos faster, but my own plate is pretty piled up. Check in sometime after the full moon. As for lightshow… the opposite of it, in the most literal sense. Trinity should be lit up enough for you to see."
Sensei smiles warmly at Kaika. "Thank you! I'll keep that in mind!" Suddenly, Sensei's tablet makes a chirping sound. She looks at it, then at her watch, and her face pales. "Uh oh. Sorry, Kaika-san, but I have to go now. I'm here to teach a class! Don't worry, I've already paid the delivery person!"
"Take care out there. And if you see Hanako, tell her that she can come pick up her book anytime." The magus says openly just for the value of the Sisters in earshot squawking. The JTF (probably) already knows it's just a romance novel with some extra spice courtesy of Kinben having spotted it and her explaining, but the Sisterhood is insular enough they don't hear that kind of gossip. She's also pretty sure that given another month of on and off friendly chats, she's going to get the woman to crack open the real treasure trove.
Trinity's library is great and so is Chie, but Hanako's knack for restricted literature goes beyond smut; she can tell that much. Mostly because the big tiddied troll has learned that teasing her with forbidden knowledge gets more of a reaction than her doing jumping jacks.
The reactions of those around Kaika are almost the exact opposite of what she had expected. The Sisters continue drinking their milkshakes calmly, while the JTF do the spit takes. "No, Anna-Sensei, Hanako may NOT have her confiscated books back! Just the ones she loaned to Kaika!"
"Oh, chin up, after I'm done here Hanako won't be able to steal away with her books again." Kaika snorts. For 161cm of bodice ripper philosopher with bright pink hair, she can sneak around like nobody's business… then again, the JTF was pretty much giving her daily stealth training.
Sensei laughs jovially as she runs. As the sound of chattering students fades into the distance, she can't help but notice that the tense atmosphere from before is a bit lighter.
[MOMOTALK]
>Anna-Sensei: I see what you meant by an un-lightshow. That moonbow was beautiful!
>Anna-Sensei: I take it that the ritual went well?
>Kaika Fukajo: Thank you! And other than my youngest getting shot for flirting with a nun, yes, it went off without a hitch.
>Kaika Fukajo: He's such a little shit, I love him. Although I could've gone without the glares afterwards. Or the comments about me needing to control him.
>Kaika Fukajo: Ah, well, at least it didn't end up being a huge argument.
>Kaika Fukajo: Swing by the JTF HQ sometime, by the by, Schrift says he wants to give you something for your help.
>Kaika Fukajo: He's impressed with how big an impact you made in barely twenty minutes.
>Anna-Sensei: Will do.
>Anna-Sensei: And I'm happy for you. Winning hearts takes time, but this was a good first step.
[MOMOTALK]
>Kaika Fukajo: Good news, I figured out a good method to cut down on your commute around Kivotos.
>Kaika Fukajo: Bad news, I'm going to need to spend a while testing to make sure it is safe, then just as long setting it up. Also not sure where I'd get the right ideation for this.
>Kaika Fukajo: Although that tablet of yours may be able to speed setup a hell of a lot. Depends on if it(? I know it's a terminal, but not if it has a mind) decides to help me out.
>Anna-Sensei: Good news, while I'm not certain what you mean by 'terminal,' I do have a little helper! Her name is Arona, and she's very cute!
>Anna-Sensei: Bad news, she's a shy little sleepyhead who's conveniently never around when I try to introduce her to anyone.
>Anna-Sensei: People started acting like I was crazy, so I gave up trying…
>Kaika Fukajo: I'd ask why you haven't taken pictures of her, but I'm going to assume she can act like an AI and given she's shy…
>Kaika Fukajo: Anyways, don't get too consternated, these kinds of forces like to keep things on the down low. Don't try to force the issue with an analog camera. Just do what feels right and you'll be fine.
It's early morning on the campus grounds of Millennium Science Academy. The air is crisp and clean, with just the slightest hint of ozone on the wind. The buildings are futuristic skyscrapers and glass domes. The ground below Kaika's feet is a careful balance between immaculately clean walkways and carefully cultivated and contained patches of lawn.
If Trinity General School was a religious school through the idealized lens of Kivotos, then Millennium Science Academy was the fantastical city of the future seen through that very same lens.
"Alright, Kaika-san, I'm going to need you to make a sharp left, and vault over that shrubbery while doing a hand-stand!"
Unfortunately, Kaika can't soak in the atmosphere at a slow, meandering pace. Instead, she is jogging around the campus, wearing a somewhat heavy metal exoskeleton.
The device itself is neither bulky nor heavily armored. At its core, it is a collection of limb braces and spine support, held together by wires and artificial muscle. The braces are well cushioned to prevent chafing. Kaika's requested modifications are present, in the form of gloves of interlocking metal plates and a futuristic looking visor with heads up display and camera.
Once everything is properly programmed, the muscles will support the majority of the device's weight, making the whole affair feel as light as a feather. In the meantime, Paimon is acting in place of this programming, resulting in a sensation not unlike swimming as the mimesis applies pressure and records data.
A pair of Millennium students follow Kaika on segways, glancing at their tablets and calling for ever stranger acts of athletics. It's not the weirdest thing she's done in the name of research, especially back when she had to stoop to testing experimental mystic codes. So she carries through with aplomb.
Funnily enough, Kaika actually has to restrain herself. With the exoskeleton being pure tech, Paimon needs to work extra hard propping it up with her possession. That means less focus for coordinating with her motions. It would be far worse if she were having Paimon do anything other than these two things and she'll definitely want to turn the whole ensemble into a mystic code. Thankfully, she has mystic materials beyond her wildest dreams for disturbingly cheap, so making this whole thing able to host both of the eye twins is going to be easy. By the time she's done with this thing, it is going to be objectively better than Spiritual Invocation in most respects.
"Hmm. We're doing well so far, but I FEEL like we're missing something," Natalie hums. "Aika, what do you think?"
"I think I'm a nervous wreck," Aika responds, segway wobbling as she checks and double checks her work. "The Millennium Science Festival is over, and Seminar has already axed the club. We've only got enough money to do this once."
Natalie nods sagaciously. "I understand. When the problem is somewhere between the chair and the monitor, there's only one proper response."
Kaika glances at Natalie. "Take a five minute break then explain what you're trying to do to a figurine?"
Natalie and Aika glance at each other. "Run another diagnostic," The pair answer in tandem as though Kaika hadn't spoken at all.
…At least they aren't data-croppers, she supposes.
"Are you sure about that? Your friend's answer sounded very good. I'm partial to getting away from the computer and asking for a second opinion myself…"
The segway pair do a startled double take at the unexpected voice. "Sumire-san?!? When did you get here?"
Kaika takes a quick glance in the direction of the voice to see a slim, well-toned second year wearing a long ponytail, yoga pants, sneakers, and a sports bra under an open Millennium jacket. She's easily keeping pace with the group at a light jog, and is currently looking at Natalie's tablet with a thoughtful expression.
"Hmm. You have the normal range of human motion mapped out just fine, but what about falls? If safety is your main concern, you should be ready for common accidents, right?"
The pair of young inventors pale as a look of realization crosses their faces. "Thank you, Sumire-san…"
"Alright, time to fall down some conjured stairs, then." Kaika says, slowing down so she can open up a gap (she still needs to figure out how to give them ribbons) to imaginary space and dump out some ether clump bricks. After having spent weeks building up enough for the JTF HQ, she's taken to turning surplus magic energy at the end of the day into the stuff and stashing it away. Much faster and cheaper to dump it out from the Sea than make it on the spot, unless she's conjuring something small.
Sumire tilts her head in confusion. "Why conjure stairs when we can use what's on hand? The Engineering Department's maintenance bays should have everything we need."
Aika comes to a sudden stop. "NOPE! We're not showing the Engineering Department an unfinished prototype. Go ahead with the conjuring–"
Realization dawns in Sumire's eyes. "Wait, you're the former Amateur Inventor's Club, aren't you? Are you trying to put together a portfolio to join the Engineering Department?"
The pair of young inventors deflate. "Yes…"
Sumire nods with a big smile on her face. "That's wonderful news! Kotori-chan ADORES PencilBot. She was so sad when your club was removed from the listings. Your interest in joining the Engineering Department is going to brighten her day right up! Come on, let's go get you introduced to each other."
Sumire quickly gathers up the confused party, and practically drags them to the hangar. The segways are left abandoned on the grass for tiny gardening robots to poke at in annoyance.
Simply walking into the hangar and opening one's eyes is sufficient to see the favor in which Millennium Science Academy's Engineering Department is held. The facility is massive, with two, possibly three stories of floors and catwalks. The machines under construction range wildly, from behemoth mechanical monstrosities to coffee machines with one too many gadgets attached.
While several students are busily working, three in particular stand out. The first is a third year with long purple hair. She's dressed in a fairly standard uniform with a lab coat, pleated skirt and leggings. Her halo looks as though it has cybernetic wings attached to it, though such things are rarely as solid as they appear. The surrounding students appear to defer to her.
The second is a girl with doglike ears and a tail, dressed in a tank top, short shorts, fishnet stockings, and boots under a hooded jacket. Her wavy black hair is done up in a loose ponytail, and she has a pair of goggles around her forehead. Her tail is wagging happily as she talks to–
…No way. Iolcos-sensei is here. She's wearing a business suit with a pencil skirt under a lab coat today, but it's DEFINITELY Sensei.
Twice is a coincidence. It has to be.
But in case it isn't, she enhances her hearing with Reinforcement, just to get an idea of what's going on there without sticking out her neck.
Sumire, Natalie, and Aika continue on to speak to the purple haired girl. Kaika pays them little mind, trusting Paimon to inform her of anything major coming up.
"Thank you, Hibiki-chan! Your work is amazing as always!" Iolcos-sensei is looking inside of a box with a joyous expression on her face.
Hibiki's blush goes nuclear, and her tail wags even harder. "Ehehehe… Thank you, Sensei… It makes me very happy that you appreciate my hobby so much…"
Just her getting a commission. Maybe an accessory? It'd make sense for an engineer to dabble in something like silversmithing and Sensei seems to be a bit of a clotheshorse.
"Hibiki-san! Kaika-san! Anna-Sensei! Come join the huddle!" Sumire calls out. She and a quickly growing group of students are gathered at the purple haired girl's desk. "Utaha-Senpai wants these club applications approved ASAP!"
"Aye aye. And good day to you, Sensei." The magus says with a nod as the teacher comes closer, letting her Reinforcement fade with a sigh of relief. She has enough mental discipline to filter out all the noise of the engineering department, but that doesn't make it particularly pleasant.
"And a good day to you too, Kaika-san! It's a surprise to see you here at Millennium!" Sensei's voice carries genuine good cheer as she joins the growing huddle.
"Wait… Just like that? Rush approval? What's going on?" Aika's expression is one of sheer bafflement. "Don't we need to build a portfolio? Isn't there a waiting period while Seminar updates their records?"
"That's for applying as a Meister. Joining the club as a Lehrling is much easier. You'll have a stricter schedule as assistants, and the Meisters' commissions would take priority over passion projects. But you will get time for those projects, along with the full backing of the Engineering Department while you build your portfolio." Utaha says in an even tone.
The president of the Engineering Department continues to speak as her pen dances across the papers in front of her. "To put it simply, Aika-san, we've wanted you two in our Club ever since you made PencilBot. We would have approached you ourselves, but you appeared to be having more fun as independents. The sudden dismantling of your club made us regret this decision immensely."
Natalie and Aika share a look. "I didn't know that was an option. It's not perfect, but it's still a good deal…"
"We were so scared… We thought that you wouldn't want to keep tinkering anymore…" A first year student with a messy blonde bob cut, black glasses, and a heavy fur trimmed coat says with tears in her eyes. She's holding a small, smooth robot with simple grasping appendages and an LCD screen displaying a big smiley face.
"There there, Kotori-chan. They're here now, so it's a happy ending, right?" Hibiki pats her junior on the head, and speaks in a soothing tone.
"Yes… the pencil is so fascinating, isn't it? It all started with the ancient stylus…"
Utaha turns to Kaika immediately with a patient smile on her face. "We'll have the cushions set up for your fall recordings in just a moment, Kaika-san. Please enjoy some coffee and pizza while you wait."
The President of the Engineering Department quickly moves Kaika and Sensei to another part of the hangar. Kotori continues to regale the rest of the gathered students with the history of the pencil entire, while Sumire desperately searches for an escape of her own.
"So, what brings you here today, Sensei?" Kaika asks conversationally as she grabs a slice of meat lover's. Anti-grease curses are helpful like that.
Sensei smiles happily as she reaches into the box she received from Hibiki. "Well, I came to check on the Game Development Department, and help to finalize some paperwork regarding a new student. Apart from that, I regularly commission Hibiki-chan for new clothes!"
Sensei proceeds to pull several articles of clothing from the box, and lay them carefully across the table. First is a Millennium logo jacket, which Sensei opts to replace her current lab coat with after a brief moment of thought. Then comes a heavy jacket and uniform in the Gehenna style, complete with a fancy hat. Then comes a chinese dress with the Shanhaijing Senior Secondary School logo over the heart (which only doesn't make Kaika hungry because she's in the middle of eating some pizza).
"I see I will have to include an outfit hotswap feature in your commission." Kaika says with a dry chuckle, idly tapping a metal-encased finger on the cheongsam to watch the ideation ripple. Now that she isn't moving around, Paimon can give her some visuals, although Sultore would be better at it, "It should be easy enough, given you're matching each Academy. Do get in touch if you want any of these enchanted, the ideation baked into them would make for a fantastic foundation for any sort of defensive or supportive enchantment. The world may be on your side, but enough bullets will do in anyone."
Sensei smiles brightly at Kaika. "Thank you! I don't want your personal projects to be delayed on my account, but if you have the free time, I'll happily reimburse you for your work!"
"Don't sweat it, my main project is on a schedule since I need certain lunar phases for the big rituals, so I have a deadline but I expect I'll often have everything ready a week or more in advance." Of course, The Magician is proving troublesome. She has a very tempting idea, but it is risky. Oh, well, she still has nearly two weeks. Plenty of time to decide. "You won't hear me say no to payment. Especially if it isn't always just money… then again, from everything I have seen and been told, I get the impression you wouldn't consider helping me and my craft something I have to pay for."
Sensei nods. "If I find something you need, you'll be the first to know." She pours herself a cup of coffee before continuing. "Speaking of which, I'm surprised to see you at Millennium! Do you visit other Academies often?"
"I'd warn against being taken advantage of, but you'd never see as such when it comes to students, would you?" Kaika says with a fondly exasperated chuckle, shaking her head, "As for visiting other Academies… yes and no. I have been around the Shanhaijing and Hyakkiyako districts since I can't live without eastern food, but never their campuses. This is actually my first time in another Academy's campus."
Sensei takes a deep swig of coffee, and sighs in satisfaction. "Haah… the Black Tortoise Promenade makes some amazing food, don't they?
"Yyyep. And the Banchan Boulevard is just decadent, especially after spending a year and change in London." Kaika agrees happily, snapping her fingers in lieu of clapping. No amount of spellwork is going to save her if she makes her pizza slice explode in front of her.
"If you're in Hyakkiyako, the Momoyodo cafe is a lovely place to visit. Personally, I've been craving gyros and mint tea, but I haven't found an excuse to visit Odyssey Maritime Academy yet." Iolcos says as she relaxes into the cushions, setting down her coffee for a moment to try the pizza.
"I'll give it a go. I'm more for izakayas myself, but variety is the spice of life. Speaking of, you have to go to Yosuzume's sometime." The purple haired girl says, gesturing enthusiastically with her free hand. British pubs had nothing on a real hole in the wall izakaya.
"By the way, Kaika-san, why are you wearing that exoskeleton? I'd imagine the pizza grease isn't doing the finger joints any favors." The teacher asks, giving the metal a worried look, already digging around for a handkerchief.
"Oh, don't worry, students will be students no matter how many trappings of nobility they try to put on. Pizza was popular in the Clocktower so everyone had an anti-grease spell of their own." The magus chuckles with a reassuring wave of her hand, before wincing as a memory comes back, "You don't want to see what the librarians would do to anyone who damages the books."
"As for why I'm wearing this, I'm doing a little trade with the RnD girls. Paimon and I help give them the data they need to develop a body prediction program, I get to keep the damn thing. Lets me see and touch ideation, if I shove some of my kids in it." Kaika explains, tapping her visor lightly. She doesn't mention that Spiritual Invocation remains her ace in the hole on account of the sheer power it gives her for as long as it lasts. A magus she remains.
Sensei's eyes light up in childlike interest. "Ooh, you can use stuff like this for your craft too, Kaika-san?"
Before Sensei can say anything more, an unfamiliar voice echoes through the hangar. "Wait, Sensei spent HOW much?!?"
Sensei's expression pales. The sound of scrambling feet echoes through the hangar as everyone scatters. "Uh oh. Yuuka-chan is here."
"Why does Seminar's Treasurer have a stake on SCHALE's business expenses?" At least Kaika assumes they're filed as business expenses, Iolcos is essentially a diplomat. Only an idiot claims a diplomat's clothes for a meeting should be paid out of pocket.
"Because she was there for SCHALE's founding," Sensei answers. "She also helps look after my personal expenses. I had to go Free to Play on Club Smoochie!" Sensei's eyes dart around the room, searching for an escape route.
Before Kaika can ask what business a student has going over their teachers' personal finances, the sound of scrambled running comes to a sudden halt. "BECAUSE YOU WERE SKIPPING MEALS TO PAY FOR IT!!!"
"...Promise me you will have three square meals a day every day that aren't convenience store fare and I'll help you out of here." Kaika says after a moment. She's sorely tempted to let Iolcos have it, but this should be more productive. The poor woman needs all the energy and nutrition she can get just to deal with Kivotos, nevermind whatever the collective unconscious wants from her.
The sound of footsteps resumes with slow deliberation. Sensei quickly gathers her clothes in the box as she haggles in a whisper. "Three meals, one of quality. I can try for three of quality, but there's not enough hours in a day for me to PROMISE it. Acceptable?"
"On the condition that the others be at least convenience store bentos. No instant noodles or meal substitution bars." Kaika whispers back, extending a hand for a shake after the teacher is done stuffing her clothes back in the box.
Sensei takes the offered hand in a firm shake. "Deal. What did you have in mind?"
"Aha! There you are, Sensei!" The sound of running resumes, this time quickly growing louder. The Treasurer's sharp hearing has helped her zero in on her target.
"I am glad you asked." Kaika says with a too-toothy smile, pastel sports bra and yoga pants doing nothing to hide her circuits as they flare up, nor the matching patterns of light crawling across her exoskeleton. That's Sensei's only warning before the magus (gently) yanks the woman to her feet as she gets up herself. Inhuman strength on Kaika's part or not, the teacher feels distressingly light as she scoops her up into a bridal carry, nevermind all the protruding bones she's getting acquainted with right now. Sensei's arms reflexively wrap around Kaika's neck as she makes an adorable "eep" sound in surprise. Her box of clothes is smashed between her own body and Kaika's, cushioning her somewhat against the hard metal.
"Hold on tight!" The magus chirrups. Light hop, springboard off the table, onto the railing. She barely even notices her fellow purplette rounding the corner, the edges of the world fading away as her heart starts thundering in her ears.
The race is on.
"SENSEI! Get back down here and explain these receipts!!! Cosplay outfits? Milkshakes by the dozen? Do you have ANY idea what this looks like?!?"
"You'll never catch us alive!" Kaika cackles. Clangclangclang go her feet on the railing.
"It's business expenses, I promise!!!" Sensei pleads, before turning to her savior, "Keep running! I'll explain in detail when she calms down!"
Music to the magus' ears.
Ozone fills the air. Hair stands on end.
"Here."
Ideation wells up, power shapes it, reality buckles.
"We."
Steel flies and burrows into the window frame. Curses are primed.
"Go."
Lightning strikes.
All she can see is blue. All she can feel is speed.
It ends all too soon, plasma sheath unfurling into fading ribbons of lightning.
They're elsewhere. A gamer's den. It'll do.
Shove sensei into locker, ignore yelp(s?), apply notice-me-not.
Now, time to make sure everyone is too busy to look for Iolcos.
[MOMOTALK]
>Anna-Sensei: Okay! I've made it back to SCHALE!
>Anna-Sensei: It took a while to untangle myself from Yuzu-chan, but everyone's safe and sound. I've sent Yuuka-chan an email as promised.
>Anna-Sensei: How did it go on your end, Kaika-san?
>Kaika Fukajo: It was great!
>Kaika Fukajo: I ended up racing with a couple girls from Cleaning and Clearing! They were really fun!
>Kaika Fukajo: [Speedbumps.jpg]
>Kaika Fukajo: I think I made some friends today. I should visit other campuses more often.
>Anna-Sensei: That's wonderful! Poor Neru, though, it looks like Asuna is suffocating her.
>Anna-Sensei: Let me know if you get in any trouble over this. I'll take responsibility.
>Kaika Fukajo: Will do. Although the Millennium girls seem pretty happy, since I took care not to damage anything and I gave that exoskeleton one hell of an advertisement campaign.
chrome23
Getting out there.
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Hey, is that the mystic code feature from FGO?
And now that I think about, are Natalie and Aika the millennium NPCs from the Sports Festival pre-event?
Mr. Whiskers
Not too sore, are you?
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Defunded sadge. But hey at least they're gonna have Senpai's to help them out!
KillerQueen
Dynamite with a Laserbeam
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Yes and no.
Yes, they are another case of Mob Appreciation in the fic.
No, they aren't the same Mobs who tried to sabotage the festival.
We know the design is a Mob design because "Natalie" gets reused in the Seminar Story as the student proposing Cushy Cement.
chrome23
Getting out there.
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Oh yeah, Blue Archive mobs are so cute (gachable when?!).
Idiot444
The third worst thing to happen to myself...
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You don't need a gacha for them, they are just like the ducks in the park.
veekie
Connoisseur.
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Now what did the Gamers get up to with Sensei trapped in the locker
KillerQueen
Dynamite with a Laserbeam
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Given the Notice -me-not preventing anyone outside of the locker from noticing anything happening inside of it? And Aris and the twins not being there to witness the locker cram?
Business as usual until Sensei and Yuzu finally get the door open. Then, hijinks ensue~
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Nihilo
Versed in the lewd.
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Lmao. I actually didn't think of that, but close enough! Except that there would be passives alongside the active spells (if Kaika includes any of those), since while curses get stronger when given magic energy, they don't require it to function. So setting it up to passively syphon mana to load a few charges of big one-off effects would be viable.
The main things that Kaika may add to that effect is a barrier that can be temporarily strengthened if Sensei is about to eat a grenade and a healing effect that auto-boosts if she receives life-threatening damage.
Yep. Further detail, apprentices work as such:
They have a set of daily hours that are assigned to assistant work. This mainly means getting lessons from Meisters and assisting with projects. If they finish work early and there's nothing else to do, they can use the remaining time for personal projects.
They also have a set of hours reserved for personal projects, which cannot be infringed upon by Meisters unless there's a huge emergency that requires the entire department to be all hands on deck.
Finally, because Millennium is Millennium, there's nothing stopping them from staying after hours to do even more work. Unless the source material explicitly says otherwise somewhere, I wholly believe that there's always at least a few people working in the department, no matter the time of day/night.
Mr. Whiskers
Not too sore, are you?
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Given what I've seen from the Engineering Department in game, I would wholeheartedly believe they sleep on site of the club like half the time.
Nihilo
Versed in the lewd.
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No way in hell they haven't installed a dozen different bunks and sleep capsules in random side-rooms.
veekie
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Was thinking of Sensei getting a good chance of seeing their regular shenanigans
Kerrowe
Getting sticky.
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The only hint that Sensei gets about Kaika being an Isekai too.
Blink and you'll miss it.
Stun on the EX, random effects on the Basic.
If Sensei hasn't checked in yet, at least they got to do so then!
I don't think it was made for 2 people!
Business as usual for Millennium I bet.
Excitable kids experimenting on the streets.
Nihilo
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Yep.
She made sure not to damage anything and thus it was entirely kosher. The race was entirely Asuna being Asuna.
Also, fun fact. While Kaika hasn't advertised this, the modular nature of the new JTF HQ means that any given room can be instantly turned into a dorm. She's a bit paranoid about students being kicked out into the streets.
KillerQueen — 12/20/2023 2:15 AM
I AM THE VENGEFUL GODDESS OF HOUSING
Nihilo — 12/20/2023 2:15 AM
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
GET HOUSED GET HOUSED GET HOUSED
Zweibach
Nuclear Diplomacy
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Kivotos, the only place where housing per person is above 1!
Kerrowe
Getting sticky.
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Then Kaika is going to have an interesting first encounter with Reisa when she finds her sleeping on the park benches.
More so if she notices her doing it a lot and doesn't know what's up with her at the time.
And of course a field day once Nagisa goes a bit mental.
And Neru being a bit mad she lost? Hehe.
Nihilo
Versed in the lewd.
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For a moment I thought that was someone from Rabbit Squad, but nope.
No clue what's going on with her, but Kaika is going to at least drape a blanket over her if she finds her.
I have no clue how Neru and Asuna actually do in terms of speed, so the results of the race have been kept vague. KillerQueen can determine it if she wants to.
I'll say that Kaika isn't specifically specced (although she's not eschewing it, either) into speed and the exoskeleton as it currently was hampered more than helped. On the flipside, she's very much on the top 1% of student fitness. She started on the upper 30% and going every day to gym religiously absent extenuating circumstances has gotten her the rest of the way there.
Kerrowe
Getting sticky.
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The RABBITs would probably refuse to use it until they get hit by torrential rain.
Might end up treating the given house as storage mostly.
Well if you want to know about a bit about Reisa, she's featured in the event:
After School Sweets Story: Sweet Secrets and Gun Fights!
She's part of the Trinity Vigilante Crew and liked to duel Kazusa out of a long going habit.
Tends to act first, think after.
According Kazusa, Reisa tends to sleep outside in parks just fine.
A hint of it can be seen a bit in her Cafe furniture.
Nihilo
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Oh, hey, Kaika may know her.
Depends on if she did a stint with the crew before having enough of her time taken up by Roly Poly and AMC to make her stints as a vigilante a "whenever I have the time and inclination" thing.
As a reminder, Kaika gets most of her money by using magecraft to detect and ambush gangs. Sultore also lets her know whether they're homeless or just punks who deserve it.
KillerQueen
Dynamite with a Laserbeam
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I'm gonna say "not yet," on account of her tendency to create and aggravate misunderstandings. She and Kaika would ABSOLUTELY get into a fight over her attacking the wrong delinquents.
That sort of thing should happen onscreen.
Kerrowe
Getting sticky.
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Oh? Was that mentioned before? I totally forgot about that if so!
Reisa does seem like the sort to do ambushes or suddenly raids too, if she percieves her target as an "evildoer." So it wouldn't be out of the picture if they crossed paths during their outings.
Oh one thing of note, outside of Reisa's passionate hero of justice act. She's also quite nervous socially and will overworry about her relationships with others. She really doesn't want to trouble or lose any of her friends.
Yeah that would happen. Haha.
Zweibach
Nuclear Diplomacy
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Young girls on park benches are free. You can take them home with you.
Nihilo
Versed in the lewd.
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Kaika's maternal instincts: "Is this a child up for adoption?"
veekie
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Wait...theres more than one yelp.
Who did she lock in with sensei under the notice-me-not lol
Nihilo
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Only in passing in the first few chapters. Plus the implication on the first of "this is FUN and makes me a stupid amount of money".
It's fiiine. Our lady in olive oil just got to know her a bit better.
Although if Kaika ever realizes how socially anxious the poor girl is, plus the distress she gave her, she'll probably make her a toggleable notice me not charm or blanket or something.
Zweibach
Nuclear Diplomacy
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She has a cardboard box to sneak around with in her maid version. Not using that reference is probably illegal for a gamer.
Nihilo
Versed in the lewd.
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We out here. About to turn a cardboard box into the unholy lovechild of a HP expanded trunk and a caravan.
(RV, in burgersprach)