Another week later...
"Kazuma."
"What?"
"Don't what me. You need to fix this." Takuto slings his school bag on his shoulder. "Since going to Niika's house, things have only gotten worse with Midori no me. Now she won't speak to me at all. And it's your fault."
Kazuma slouches down at his desk as the rest of the students leave class for the day. "I know. I royally screwed up."
Takuto prompts the whitenette to pack his school bag so they can head out. "Did you know, she left school with Sugata yesterday? Sugata's still not speaking to Wako, and yet he's getting closer with Midori no me." Takuto scrunches his nose. "I don't like it. Not one bit. Something is up. And I want to get to the bottom of it today."
Kazuma sighs and stands up, "Where did you last see her?"
"Sugata told me she was walking home with Wako today. But Wako's still here at school with Sarina." The two exit the classroom and start walking down the hall. "He lied to me. And I'm afraid to know why."
"You don't think they've started going out, do you?" Kazuma theorizes, "I mean, Sugata always seemed like the "Mr. Steal Your Girl" type, but I didn't actually think he would..."
"How is that the first thing you boys think is going on?" Wako joins their walk.
"Because...it's a plausible explanation for her consistent disappearances. Especially after learning, they coincide with Sugata's whereabouts."
"Still, that can't be true. There's still the factor that Wako is his fiancee. Sugata wouldn't cheat..."
"Are you sure? She could turn out to be his mistress?" They both pause. Wako pauses. The boys shake their heads violently. "No no no no no, no way."
"As the fiancee he'd be cheating on, I second that." Wako jokes, "I've known Sugata for years. If he wanted to officially break off our engagement, he'd tell me first. Even if we weren't talking to each other."
"We'll take your word for it, Miss Wako."
"It's true!"
"Let's find Arata-kun. Maybe he'll be able to help. He is her brother after all." Takuto then shivers, "He'll either help us find her or help her hide..."
On the current day, Takashiro Arata had Boxing Club. The blonde, the whitenette, and the redhead all hesitate to enter the clubroom full of sweaty, shirtless boys. Well, Kazuma and Takuto rather than Wako. Luckily for the boys, the Boxing Club president approaches them at the door. "Takuto-kun? Is that you? Finally thought about joining?" Honda George asks, "Or did you bring me some new recruits?"
"Not exactly..." The redhead tells him, "Is Takashiro Arata-kun in there?"
"Our Vice Prez?"
"He's the vice president!?" Wako exclaims.
"Yup, we call him the Hurricane here. Look for yourselves." The buff green-haired boy points at the back corner of the room. The focused brunette is slamming his gloves into a punching bag several times a second, at lightning speed. The trio's mouths drop open. "We'd call him Bonecrusher, but we haven't seen him hit any humans yet, haha!"
Takuto grasps Kazuma's shoulder, "And just think, you might be his first victim."
"S-S-Shut Up!"
"How do you know him?" George asks.
"We're friends with his little sister, Niika-chan," Wako says.
"Oh, little Niika? She's adorable isn't she?"
"Have you seen her today?"
"Nah, Arata never brings her around here."
"That's obvious. He has a stigma about her hanging out with us. Imagine him witnessing her in the middle of a bunch of sweaty, thirsty shirtless men?"
"They'd try to devour her and he'd kill them all!"
"That's about right." The three scream and hug each other tight when Arata appears behind them. He had slid his workout shirt on before approaching. Takuto and Kazuma sigh in relief and Wako pouts. Arata takes a sip of his water bottle. "Why are you guys here?"
"W-We're looking for M-Midori no me." Takuto stutters.
Arata scrunches up his nose, "Who?"
"Niika-chan." Wako tells him.
"Oh. I don't know where she is right now. Doesn't she walk home with you guys now?"
"She hasn't been since Kazuma yelled at her."
Arata shoots a glare in the whitenette's direction, "He did what?"
"Don't you dare Takuto! She's hasn't been before that!"
"By yelling you're only proving my point." Kazuma makes a "tch" noise.
Arata had already dialed Niika's cell number. When he gets a voicemail, he dials again. It's the same outcome. "She always answers her phone..." He takes a moment to breathe. "Honda-kun, I'm leaving early. I'll leave the rest to you today." He grabs his schoolbag off the nearby bench with his left. As he passes the others, he picks Kazuma up by his school blazer. The emerald-eyed male wriggles furiously as he is slung across Arata's right shoulder like a towel. Wako and Takuto gulp in unison. "Let's go."
"ARATAAAAAAAAA! PUT ME DOWNNNNNNNNNNN!"
____________
"Stop." Sugata holds out a hand. Both he and Niika rest after sparring in the dojo. "You seem unusually down the last few days. I haven't said anything because it wasn't affecting our training sessions. But I'm concerned about how it's affecting you personally. What's the problem, Miss Taka~I mean Niika-chan?"
"I'm alright, Sugata-sama."
"We've stopped training for the day, so you don't have to call me that." He tells her, "I'm asking as your friend, Sugata, what is wrong?"
"S-Sugata, then." Niika sighs, "I don't mean to act this way. I just..." Niika grips her bo staff. She sits normally on the dojo floor. "Even though you've praised me a lot in the recent days, I feel like...it's not...amounting to much."
Sugata put away the other pieces of training equipment. "How so?"
"I-I still feel weak."
"Why?"
Niika bites her lip, "Last week, Hyou came to my house. Takuto and Kazuma came by too. I'd never had friends over before, and I was excited to see them. Everything was going well...until Kazu-kun found out that Hyou-chan was the northern maiden."
"Ah. I can only imagine how well he took that."
"It was not well at all." Niika tells him, "He immediately got all dark and angry with her. He started yelling at her before she could explain herself. I tried to, but he wouldn't listen. And somehow I...I yelled at him back." Sugata looks her way, "I tried my best, to get across Hyou's feelings. He doesn't know what she had to go through! Taken against her will? Falling in love out of the blew, only to have that love torn away from her without a warning!" Niika tears up at the thought of Hyou's pain. "Hearing her story made me sad; I felt so sorry for her. I had no idea what I could do to make her feel better. With Kazuma not knowing Hyou's circumstances, I knew he'd react the way that he did. I just wanted him to hear the whole story and feel like I did. But instead of standing there protecting my friend, I ran away." The hand she had laid on the floor grips into a fist. "I felt like I had lost the battle before I even really began to fight...How can I end up piloting a cybody feeling this way?"
"You won't be able to." Niika rubs her forehead, "At least you stepped in. That's a step in the right direction. Confiding in me about your cybody was another. So was asking me to train you." Sugata says sitting across from her. When Niika still seems depressed, he goes on. "Regardless of what you think right now, I personally believe that you've become rather strong. You've proven yourself to be taking our Star Driver drama serious enough, working hard to be able to do your part in all this. In fact, it's even starting to physically show, how hard you've been working." Sugata points to her arms, "Whether you think so or not, your training is baring its fruits, Niika-chan."
"Really?"
Sugata closes his eyes for a second, "In fact, I believe you were plenty strong before you started training with me. Perhaps even before you came to this island. The weakness you're really feeling...isn't physical. It's mental, isn't it?" Niika looks down. Sugata opens his eyes and stares at her. "Niika. All it takes is a little time getting to know you to get the sense that you've been mentally oppressed. You don't have any confidence, in yourself, or your personal abilities. I bet you believe that those qualities don't exist."
"You're right, Sugata. I don't." Niika hugs her knees, "If I did...if I had any backbone at all, my brother and I wouldn't be on this island at all. He wouldn't need to feel he has to protect me so much, and we'd be living a normal life. One where both he and I know things, and I'm not the only one literally left in the dark."
Sugata starts to pry, but upon seeing the darkness in Niika's expression he waited for the girl to elaborate herself. When she didn't however, he sighs, leaning back on the floor. He looks towards the window, the sunset extremely low and the sky becoming dark. Finally, he speaks, "I don't know why, how, or who oppressed you, Takashiro Niika. But the fact that you are not strong is a lie." Sugata points to the cybody mark at her chest. "The fact that you harbor a cybody, is proof of that alone." Sugata then stands, "Please get changed. Before you leave tonight, I would like to take a walk with you."
____________
"We better find my sister, Fujimoto. Otherwise, I'm going to kill you."
"WHAT THE HECK WHY JUST ME?!"
"Technically it's your fault for her disappearing." Takuto accuses, casually putting his hands in his pants pockets.
"But she was avoiding you at first! You're the reason I tagged along to her house! If I hadn't gone, that wouldn't have happened!" Kazuma defends, digging a finger in his shoulder.
"I didn't make her upset."
"Who says, ahhhh!?"
"Give it a rest you two," Wako says as they approach Sugata's mansion from the dirt trail. "Sugata is the only person we haven't asked. If he doesn't know, that's when we should worry."
At that same moment, Sugata and Niika, back from their walk, rest in the foyer. "Sugata, I've been meaning to ask you something for a while."
"Shoot away."
"Why haven't you been speaking to Wako-chan? She's your fiancee, isn't she?" Sugata's face falls, "Since you woke from your c-coma they called it, you've been acting strange around her. Takuto noticed it first, but seeing your face now, even I can see something is wrong. What is it?"
"It's none of your business, Miss Takashiro." Sugata's tone was firm. He stood up not wanting to continue the conversation.
But Niika didn't back down. "Sugata-kun, I'm asking you as your friend, not your pupil." She threw his words back at him, "I-I'm genuinely concerned...about you and Wako. It's okay. Y-You can tell me, I won't say anything. Please, Sugata?"
Sugata took one look at the brunette and sighs, "Using my words against me. Well played, Niika." The bluenette male leans against the wall, "Look, Wako and I are childhood friends. We've known each other practically since birth. Your brother to you is the same way I am to Wako. We're just not related by blood." He leans his head back, looking up at the ceiling. "She and I are trapped on this island, her by her cybody and me by the Shindo family law. I found this out on my birthday years ago, and I hated it ever since. The last time she and I spoke, she was holding what I knew was a birthday gift for me. Even though I hate my birthday, even though she knows of our terrible fate as cybody holders, she still does her best to try and make me smile. Instead of accepting her kindness, I push it away from my reach. I always have." He closes eyes, "Why should I start now? She lives with hope, while I live with reality. I can't say, that it doesn't get me down, but that's just how it is." Niika stands up and hugs him around the waist, too short to reach his shoulders from her height. Sugata is startled, "Huh? Niika-chan?"
"I wish that changes for you one day."
Sugata pats her head in return, "I do too."
DING DONG!
The two look up at the source of the sudden sound. They separate when Jaguar and Tiger pass them and answer the door. "Miss Wako! What are you doing here?"
"Did I jinx myself?" Sugata pales. Niika pats his back to comfort him.
"Is Sugata home? We're looking for Niika-chan." The blonde says, "Me, Takuto, Kazuma, and Arata."
Niika hides behind Sugata, "Perhaps the jinx is upon me!"
When Tiger shoots him a look, Sugata comes to the door. "Niika's not here."
"Sugata!" Wako shouts startled, "Are you sure?"
"How dare you lie?" Arata's eyes narrow, "I smell my sister's perfume on you."
"YOU WHAT!?" The other two boys exclaim.
Kazuma pulls on his bangs, "Don't tell me our initial suspicion was true!?"
"What suspicion?"
"That you were dating Niika!"
"What? How absurd. What idiot made that conclusion?" Kazuma immediately points to Takuto.
"Kazuma you make me sick." Was Takuto's response. It was obvious that Takuto's mood had declined once he saw Sugata's face.
"I also sense Niika's mark in the house. You're definitely lying, Sugata." He looks away from Wako.
Niika decides to fully open the door. Tiger, Jaguar, and Sugata step back. "H-Here I am."
"Niika thank god!" Arata hugs the brunette girl. He pulls away awkwardly after feeling Niika's newly sharpened body muscles. "What happened to you? I know I haven't been around that much recently. What have you been doing to get like this? Sugata what have you been doing to my sister?!" He automatically accuses the bluenette male.
Niika holds him back, "Stop, Onii-chan!" Arata notices the lack of the -sama suffix. "He's been training me. I asked him too, right after meeting Hyou again." Everyone comes outside in the yard.
"Niika-chan, about Hyou, I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have yelled at you or Hyou. I didn't know." Kazuma tells her. "I let my emotions about the Crux control me again. I'm working on it, you have to believe me."
"I understand Kazuma. But I think Hyou deserves that apology, not me." Niika tells him, "In fact, I need to apologize to you."
"To me?"
"I shouldn't have told Hyou to hide her truth from you." Niika's emerald eyes gleam with an earnest as she spoke, "I told her how you would react but she still did anyway, and she was right for doing so. It was her past, and she can't change any of it. Just like they can't change theirs, you can't change yours, and I can't change mine."
"Hey hey, Little Sister hold up." Arata holds her left shoulder, "What brought this on?"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, all of you. I feel like I failed you all." Niika's mouth flattens, "I know the least about all this. The Crux, the cybodys, Zero Time. Since I got here, I've been nothing but the biggest b-burden on you all. And just another person you've been r-risking your lives to protect."
"Niika, you're not a bother to us! It's not a problem, protecting you and the maidens!"
"It bothers me. It has bothered me since the beginning. And I wanted to do something about it." Niika says, "I refuse to be the helpless one anymore. I'll use my power to fight the Crux just like you. I promise myself and all of you that!"
A silence looms over the group. Sugata is the first to speak, "Well then. Since all has been said and done, all of you please leave. It's late; there's school tomorrow." The amber-eyed male basically tells them to get off of his property. He goes for the steps of his manor.
Suddenly a hand reaches over to grab him. "This isn't over yet. There are still some questions that haven't been answered." Takuto tilts his head, his bangs wildly graze his face. "You don't show anyone your true face, do you? You'd rather stay isolated from everyone, in your far off-world, with walls all around you."
"Well, aren't you forward today." Sugata turns around to him, "I don't like beating around the bush, Takuto-kun. If you have something to say to me, please say it." He releases his own arm from Takuto's grasp.
"Back then, during the fight with Merimaidoll, you pulled out a knife from your pocket and attacked. Wako had wondered why you've had it since you were a child, but she had been too scared to ask." The redhead spoke in a low voice. "She had once told us that you hated your birthday since you found out about your fate according to the cybodies then. Not just yours, but Wako's too." Takuto's ruby eyes narrow, "Let me ask you something. The day after you woke up from your coma, Wako wanted to talk to you, but you pushed her away. That day, she was holding a bag behind her back, one that held your birthday present for this year. But you knew that, didn't you?" Sugata didn't answer. Takuto asked again, "You knew and you refused it, didn't you?" In a quick flash, Sugata had caught Takuto's punch. It was so fast, no one saw him throw it.
Arata threw his hands up, "Alright, I've had my fair share of stopping fights over the course of the last couple weeks. Let's not do this again."
"What fight are you talking about, Arata-kun? Takuto and I are just having a little chat." Sugata says, still holding Takuto's gripped fist. "Before, I'd asked who slapped me. It's only obvious to me now that it was you. You're the one that wanted to die." Sugata throws Takuto's fist away from him. "I find it funny how not too long ago, I already explained myself to Miss Niika. Unfortunately for you, you weren't there. And unfortunately for you, I'm not repeating myself." The two are equal distance from each other. "Don't be stupid and attack me. I could kill you with my first phase."
"You won't?"
"Oh, you think so?"
"Guys seriously...please..." Arata is ignored.
"Ignoring your friends? Distancing yourself from your fiancee? Confiding in an "outsider" rather than those closest to you? What are you trying to do?! Did you take on Midori no me as a charity case?! To show the world that you can do some good?!" Takuto throws another punch, closer to Sugata's face. The bluenette catches it again. "You'll kill me? Don't make me laugh. You can't love or hate anyone enough to kill someone. You don't care about me enough to want to kill me. I don't think you even care about yourself beyond staying alive!"
"Oh? And you're no different?!" Sugata catches Takuto's next strike, "If you're going to call me out, prepare for yourself to receive the same punishment. You see, I've been curious about you since the day we met you, Tsunashi Takuto." Sugata bears a harsh grin, "Why did you swim over when it could have cost you your life? You can't fool me! You were testing yourself and your willpower in a matter of life or death! I don't show my face to anyone? Ha! How much of yours have you shown?!" Takuto doesn't respond. Sugata releases him once more. "You weren't going all out with that punch just now, were you? Or is that really the power you're going to defend your friends' honor with? If it is, I don't need to use the King's Pillar. I could kill someone like you whenever I wanted!" Sugata leans back with a taunting hand. "Come on. I'll put you in your place." An air of silence passes with the wind. The bystanders around them gulp under the tension. How had things just escalated like this?
Mau yuki wa hoshi no kakera tentai ni te wo nobashite
ikikau negai kanjiteiru ne
subete wa ima MONOKUROOMU no naka...
Arata looks up confusingly, "How random." He says, seeing the northern maiden songbird standing on one of Sugata's balconies.
"You weren't the only one who heard it this time, Niika-chan." Kazuma jokes, "The maiden singing."
"But, yet," Niika holds her chest as her cybody mark glowed. "The door to another dimension has been opened."
When time stops, the six are whisked away into Zero Time.
____________
Niika, Takuto, Kazuma, and Arata stand on the grounds of Zero Time, while everyone else was in bubbles. Sugata floats in a bubble a few yards away from them as an unknown cybody approaches him from behind. He turns around just in time to be grabbed and absorbed into the cybody's chest. Sugata was in danger. After the last exchange of words, without question, it was obvious who the next fighter would be.
The remaining three float upward and away into the air. Tsunashi Takuto's x-shaped mark glows a bright sparkly blue. "APPRIVOISE!" A cybody pierces the space itself, breaking out of the thin air. It's folded joints unfold as Takuto appears in the blue chest orb of his resurfaced cybody, "Dazzling the stage!" He spins around as a white and red majorette-like uniform graces his skin. "Galatic Pretty Boy!" Takuto swings his bangs and they change color from red to yellow. He moves his arms right to left in his transformation end pose. "TAUBURN!" The cybody, the myth, the legendary Tauburn had appeared.
It's tall form mirrored the pink cybody in front of it. A giggle is heard coming from it, "Shindo Sugata is under the control of Scarlet Kiss's first phase. He's all mine now!"
"Scarlet Kiss? How and when did she do that? And who is that!?" Arata exclaims.
"Arata, sometimes you need to be quicker when putting two and two together okay, my driver?" Anaki speaks clear as day as if he was physically with the whole group.
"We met her the night Sugata woke up." Kazuma explains, "And it must have happened at that time when she kissed him. I should have known..." He mutters lowly.
"Sugata's overflowing libido pours into my Peshent! With Samekh's power added to its own, Peshent is invincible!" A big blue stream of light engulfs the pink cybody. When the light calms down, the pink cybody is now larger and all blue.
"What does this mean, Kazuma-kun?" Niika asks, "What did she do to Sugata?"
"In lamens terms, she's using him like a puppet inside her cybody. That witch~!"
"With this alone, I've won. I'm the one who'll beat Galactic Pretty Boy! HAHAHA! Huh? Hey, why aren't you attacking me yet?" The Crux driver questions, "Whatever! I'll go first! Let's go Peshent!" The cybody doesn't move. "Huh? What's going on? I said move!"
"Sugata..." Takuto growls in his throat. "Sugata..." He growls again. He then shouts it, "SUGATA!"
"Takuto..." Seconds later, a loud growl is heard from the opposing cybody. "TAKUTO!" Sugata yells from inside.
Kazuma blinks, "Um, ya'll good? Ya'll gonna fight or make a yaoi right now? Make a choice."
"You want to pick a fight with me, FINE! I'll take you on! But don't say I didn't warn you!" The blue cybody powers up, "Come on, Takuto!"
"I won't let you devalue yourself or our friends!" Tauburn powers up, "Let's do this, Sugata!"
"Whoa! Shindo Sugata-kun already has broken free from Peshent's control!" Anaki shouts as the others gasp. "He's freely controlling it!"
"Sounds like something Sugata would do..."
"I just hope they don't go all out. If Takuto loses, he dies."
"I think he knows that. Which is why he's going all out."
"This is still a Crux fight after all. Who would've thought they'd bring a personal grudge into Zero Time?"
"Meh, it's just make's it more entertaining."
"Shut up, Anaki."
Tauburn slides across the ground to throw the first punch. Peshent jumps up to dodge, landing a kick to Tauburn's head. Peshent throws the next punch and it's Tauburn's turn to dodge. A stream of energy shoots off towards Tauburn but it flys away just in time. Peshent then sends a large ball of it flying in its direction. Tauburn uses the opportunity to land a punch, but Peshent catches it, just like Sugata caught Takuto's punches from before. Peshent flips Tauburn into the ground. Tauburn slides away before Peshent can land a follow-up blow to its head. Sugata's and Takuto's grunts just made the fight all the more dramatic.
"Uh... what's going on?! This isn't me! Sugata's piloting it! He's taken control of my Peshent!" Scarlet Kiss cries from inside the blue cybody. She's ignored of course.
"What's wrong? Is that all you've got?" Sugata asks. Takuto takes a second to breathe. "For someone trying to defend their devalued friends, it looks like your resolve isn't very strong!"
Takuto grunts. Tauburn stood up straight, "Why have you been ignoring Wako? You've made her sad...You've hurt her, Sugata!"
Sugata huffs, "You don't know anything! You'll never understand how hopeless it is for me and Wako to know that we're trapped on this island! You're an outsider!"
"Wako hasn't given up hope."
"Is that what she said?"
"You and Wako will be able to leave this island! I'm going to destroy all of the Crux's cybodies!" Takuto shouts. He then pauses, "No. Not just me, but me and those three will!" He gestures to Niika, Kazuma, and Arata. "That's what you should believe in! That's why you've got to hold out hope too! In fact, you are! If you weren't, you wouldn't have taken on Midori no me! Stop being so hot and cold, and just believe in your friends!"
Sugata audibly falters. He's silent for a moment. Everyone wonders if the fight is over. "You know, that knife I carry..." Peshent looks in the direction of the blonde, "...is to protect Wako with. She's been trying to make me smile even when there wasn't a reason not to. How could I not want to protect her?" Peshent then looks back at Tauburn. The blue cybody suddenly lunges at the red and white one. They grip each other's hands pushing against each other, "Just because the lot of you've shown up, I'm not just going to put that knife down if that's what you're trying to tell me. I'll fight too." You could hear the smile in Sugata's voice.
"Ha, you're so awkward, islander."
"Shut it, outsider!"
Everyone blinks, "They're...cracking jokes?!"
"Also, I may not "hang out" with the rest of your little gang as often as you do, but I am not stupid. You didn't think I would find out?! That you took my fiancee on a date!?" Sugata uses Peshent to kick Tauburn away. "So much for the bro code, aaaahh!?"
"You got me!" Peshent lands a jab and uppercut combo. Tauburn lands a punch to the head. "It was for a good reason!"
"I don't care!" Peshent punches Tauburn so hard it flys back a good distance away.
"STOP THIS!" Scarlet Kiss finally screams, "MY PESHENT CAN'T HANDLE SAMEKH'S POWER ANYMORE!"
What do you know? She's ignored.
Peshent and Tauburn simultaneously fly towards each other at a fast rate. As they get closer they each pull back a fist.
"TAKE THIS, TAKUTO!"
"TAKE THAT, SUGATA!"
The cybodies' fists clash and an explosion of energy erupts.
"That's a deciding blow..."
"Who won that?!"
"You better hope Sugata lost~Because as Fujimoto said, Takuto would die otherwise."
The smoke clears away and the two cybodies are revealed intact, fists collided. Seconds later, cracks form in Peshent and a second explosion erupts. Sugata's bubble floats into Tauburn's hands.
"Takuto did win!"
"WAS THERE EVER ANY DOUBT!?"
"I swear on my life I hate you, Anaki."
With the fight over, Takuto defuses with Tauburn. He floats with Sugata back to the other's sides.
Kazuma blinks, "Huh? Aren't they done? Why didn't time start again yet?"
"That's right. Don't things go back to normal by now?" Takuto holds Sugata up around the shoulders when their bubbles connect.
"No way!? Niika-chan!"
Arata's eyes widen, "That's right?! Where'd she go?"
"Down there fool!" The group turns its attention to the ground-floor on Zero Time. "Ooooh! Little Niika looks like she's ready to squad up!"
"Niika!?"
"Niika-chan!?"
"What is she doing!?"
"Another failure...alright! We're done here! Let's get out of here!" Professor Green commands.
"Um...excuse me?" Niika shyly looks up towards her. She, President, Ivorgne, and Scarlet Kiss look down in her direction.
"Eh? Who are you suppose to be?"
"What do you want, girly?"
"You don't dare to kick us while we're done do you?"
"Because we'll make you think twice!"
"Uh...no." Niika was struggling to find the resolve she had moments ago. "~I just..." She calms herself, "I would like to speak with your leader."
Both sides' voices join together in a chorus, "HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!?"
"Girl do you insult us!?" Professor Green shouts, "You want to see our leader!?"
"Niika! What are you doing!?" Arata yells to her, "Don't provoke them any further!"
"No shut up! I want to see this!"
"Anaki now is not the time!"
"Oh please, now is as good as any!"
"I agree." The group looks at the bluenette as he defends the talking cybody, "She can always retreat if things get too out of hand."
"Sugata?! Are you kidding me?!" Kazuma shouts angrily. "Niika doesn't know the first thing about the Crux! Why on earth would it be a good idea to confront their LEADER!?"
"It's just as Takuto said to me," The redhead looks over. Sugata folds his arms, "It's called believing in your friends."
Takuto sweatdrops, "I think this situation is a little different, Sugata..."
"Just turn around no name! You're not meeting our leader!" Ivorgne says, "We've already been humiliated enough for one day!"
Niika grips her fists, "Please." The girls are taken aback.
Scarlet Kiss gets mad, "Now you look here! I've just got my butt kicked by Galactic Pretty Boy this day, and you just randomly appear wanting to speak to the one in charge like a Karen at a fast-food establishment!?" She floats in front of the brunette. "How dare you! Who do you think you are!?"
"I-I'm Takashiro Niika. Galaxy Star Girl." Niika says, the shaking in her voice minimizing, "And I'm here on behalf of Matsuri Hyou!"
"Who!?"
"Matsuri Hyou is the northern maiden." A random voice was suddenly heard. The person it belongs to floats down in front of the Crux department leaders. "The same northern maiden whose seal was already broken."
Niika backs up, "W-Who are you?"
"The person you wanted to speak to of course. I go by Head."
Niika grips a fist, "How do I know you're the real leader?"
The man smirks, "Because they bow to me." He snaps his fingers. The hundreds of masked people in the bubbles around them respectfully fall onto one knee. "Besides, I'm the only one that reacted to the name Matsuri Hyou."
"It could be a ruse that they're all in on!" Arata leans against the bubble with his hands.
Kazuma narrows his eyes, "No that's him. I'd recognize that evil voice anywhere."
Scarlet Kiss looks up from her bow, "Head, allow me to put this girl in her pl~"
"~Silence." Head is quick to scold her. She keeps her mouth shut. "So, Niika-chan was it? Did I hear you correctly just now?" He asks moving closer towards the ground. "You're here on behalf of that girl? What could that have possibly do with me?"
"You...you allowed Hyou-chan to fall in love with you, and then you just broke her heart." Niika tells the Crux leader, "You left her hurting and alone."
"What of it?"
"As her friend, I felt her pain." Niika looks him in the eyes, "The least you can do, is apologize to her."
Head pauses before bursting into laughter. The sounds echo through the silence of Zero Time. "You're serious aren't you?" Niika didn't falter, "I see. And what if I...refuse?"
"...I won't let you."
"And what do you mean by that?"
"If I have to..." Niika presses a hand to her chest, "I'll fight you." The dead silence of space is filled with gasps.
"You'd challenge me to a fight? Me? The Leader of the Crux? Just for an apology to some girl? Is it that important to you?" Head asks.
"Yes. Yes, it is."
"How interesting."
"Niika! Are you out of your mind!? Stand down now!" Kazuma yells down at the brunette. "You've never even apprivoised!"
"Yeah stop before you get hurt, Arata's little sister! Or don't, that's fine too!"
"Anaki!"
"What!? I REALLY want to see this fight!"
"Me too," Sugata says.
"No one asked you!"
"Are you sure, Galaxy Star Girl? From what your "friends" are saying, you've never even activated your mark before." Head then gets an idea, "Tell you what. Would you be willing...to bet your cybody?" Niika holds her chest. "You can't just give me terms without having some of your own. I'm also the Leader of this whole shebang. People don't get to fight me every day." Head points to Niika, "If you win, I'll apologize to the north maiden. But if I win this fight, I win your cybody from you."
"That's not fair!"
"Don't do it!"
"Actually, please do it!"
"Do-it! Do-it! Do-it!"
"ANA~!" Arata starts to shout again until he realizes that it was Sugata who started it this time. "Sugata-kun!?"
"What? I'm believing in my friend. When she wins this fight, I'll get to be the one with the bragging rights. Since you all think she'll fail."
"That's not..." Takuto trails off.
"Arata winning last time was a fluke! Niika is a beginner; she just started in all this! If this was a game, common sense would say not to let her take on the FINAL FRICKIN BOSS!" Kazuma's eyes narrow, "This isn't a game! Sugata! We don't know what that guy's intentions are!"
"You're right, you don't. You should listen to Phantom. He should remember what happened last time he tried to pick a fight with me, hahaha!" Kazuma grits his teeth in frustration. "So are you going to back out finally? Or are you going to risk it all!? What will it be, Galaxy Star Girl?"
Niika opens her mouth without hesitation, "I accept."
Head grins cynically, "Fine."
President kneels down again, "We'll get a cybercasket ready at once!"
"That won't be necessary." A backward triangular P-shaped mark glows on Head's chest. "Apprivoise!" A white and blue cybody appears in specs of light. Identical in likeness to Tauburn, a light blue orb forms in its chest, and Head appears inside. "Come, Reshbal!"
"That was a real..."
"...cybody mark!"
"It's only fair I fight with a natural mark just like you. If you risk your life, I'll guess risk mine too." Head points in Reshbal at Niika. "So come on! Let's see it! Let's see your cybody, Galaxy Star Girl!"
"He just wants to see your powers Niika-chan! Please!" Wako cries. "It's not worth this risk!"
"You can do this, Niika-chan!" Sugata screams the exact opposite.
"You know what? I really like you, Shindo-kun. He's such a good friend."
"Urrraaaaaahh!" Arata screams. He grabs Sugata by the collar, "What is wrong with you two!? I'll kill you if my sister gets hurt!"
"Wait, Arata-kun." The redhead finally speaks up, "Sugata is just as terrified as you are. He doesn't want to see Niika get hurt either."
"Oh yeah, Takuto!?" The brunette male glares with a fury in his ocean blue eyes. "Then why is he egging her on like my idiot cybody, instead of trying to stop her like the rest of us!?"
"Because it's exactly like I said before!" The bluenette male yells in his face. His firm voice echos in through the space around them. "I choose to believe in my friend! Niika is strong, I've seen her strength! And I trust her to beat this azzhole!"
"He's right." Kazuma murmurs, "I give up. Niika! Kick this bastard's azz!"
"Fight with your own power...show us what you can do! Midori no me!" Takuto yells.
Hearing that gives Niika all the strength she needs. "Thank you, guys." The box-like W-shaped mark on her chest glows a brilliant green. "APPRIVOISE!" Niika disappears from the ground-floor of Zero time. A large circle appears, sliding slowly from left to right, a new cybody appearing from the empty space. Similar to the others, it's slender, white frame with light pink accents and green trim unravels like a butterfly in a chrysalis. Sparkly, sheer, light pink wings appear on its back and pink energy circles appear on the balls of its feet. In its green chest orb, Niika appears in the middle. "An Elegant Arrival!" A sparkly light green romper formulates on her as she arches her back. A long, sheer white jacket covers her outfit, and white knee-high boots cover her feet. Pink leaf-like plates form on the edges of her shoulders and knees. "Galaxy Star Girl!" As she spins, Niika's long brunette locks pinup into a high ponytail, a pink streak flowing down it. Light green lace, one finger gloves wrap around her hands as she stretches her arms up and out. The cybody's wings snap unfolded as it copies her pose. "Take flight, Wataru!"
"How cute." Head comments, "However, no matter how girly you look, I won't go easy on you. Your chances for that left when you transformed!"
"Don't let my girlish appearance fool you, Mister Head." He notices the change in Niika's voice. A firmer tone he was not used to hearing. "Clearly if I was serious enough to challenge you, I hadn't planned on revealing my cybody just for show. I may lack self-confidence, but there's still something I can fight you with. And that, Sir, is...my perseverance!" Wataru straightens out its left arm to the ground, "Prism Rod, Aoi!" Wataru pulls an indigo energy staff from its chest orb, holding it at its left side. "Prism Rod, Murasaki!" It then pulls out a violet energy staff, holding it at its right side. Once both in hand, Wataru tilts the staffs outwards. "Saa, Head. It's courteous for the elder to start. Come!"
"Wait, Head!" Professor Green floats down to Reshbal as once last attempt to stop this fight. "Weren't we suppose to wait for, that person to proceed on Galaxy Star Girl?!"
"The circumstances have changed. An opportunity presents itself, Professor Green. So I'm going to take it. Think of this as plan G."
"Plan G, Sir?"
"It doesn't have to work. And if it does, good." Head ramps up Reshbal, "Star Sword, Diamant!" Reshbal pulls an energy sword from his chest. "You'll regret giving me a head start~Galaxy Star Girl!"
Reshbal leaps at Wataru. Wataru stands ready for impact. Wataru is unprepared for the weight of Reshbal's star sword and it slips through Wataru's defensive block. Reshbal pushes Wataru back and Wataru falls to the ground.
"Your turn. Hit me." Head taunts. Niika growls.
Wataru gets up and leaps for Reshbal with its Prism Rods. Reshbal dodges the attack with no effort. Wataru spins the Prism Rods and tries again, but the other cybody evades that too. Reshbal pushes Wataru back again. Wataru takes the opportunity to shoot the Prism Rods at Reshbal from that distance, spinning towards it like boomerangs. The piles on Reshbal's behind glide off the cybody and form a shield in front of itself then return. The staffs bounce off before returning to its owner.
"He's playing with her!"
"He's not even using his sword! That bastard!"
Finally, Wataru goes more offensive. Trying for close combat, Wataru brings the Prism Rods in front of it. "Getting close are we? I don't think so!" Reshbal sweeps Wataru up off its feet with a swift kick. It uppercuts Wataru when it gets an opening. Wataru starts to fly back but catches itself, countering with a kick to its stomach. Reshbal flys back and Wataru follows it only for Reshbal to catch Wataru by the neck and slam it into the ground before throwing it away from it. "Would you like me to get serious now, Dear?" The piles remove itself from Reshbal again and attack Wataru on all sides like mosquitos in the summertime. Wataru blocks but squirms as some hits land. Reshbal then lands a punch to Wataru's stomach following up with a punch on Wataru's head. Wataru falls on its stomach, back onto the ground again.
Wataru twitches on the ground abnormally. Reshbal steps on Wataru's back so it can't get up. "Urrah!" Niika grunts in frustration.
"Midori no me!"
"Niika!"
"Niika-chan!"
"This is it? This all you had to offer me, Galaxy Star Girl?" Head asks, "I figured you were weak, but I didn't think I'd be this disappointed. My dog could fight better than you!" Niika tries to move Wataru's hand to pry Reshbal's foot off, but Reshbal only uses the other foot to slam pin it down. Reshbal then jumps, slamming Wataru deeper into the ground. "This is sad!" The prism rods disappear. Wataru's eyes stop glowing and it stops moving. "Tell you what. Because I'm such a nice guy, I'll give you another out." Head points the star sword at Niika's cybody beneath him. "If you stop moving and give up for ten seconds, I'll end the fight. If you move again, however, I'll do everything in my power to destroy Wataru in a matter of seconds. You ready?!"
"W-Why is this happening?" Niika mutters to herself. "All I wanted to do was avenge Hyou-chan...I can't drive this thing. Even though everyone else could I can't..." Wataru's head falls flat into the ground. "If I can't even protect my friends, then I deserve to die. I'm too useless for this world."
"10! 9!"
"The Crux is laughing..."
"No! Stop this! I won't let this bastard harm her!" Kazuma and Takuto hold Arata back. "What are you doing!? He's going to kill her! Let go!"
"Niika just stay still!" Wako pleads, "We'll get you out of this once this is over!"
"8! 7!"
"Niika! Don't give up!" Sugata shouts again opposing Wako, "I know what you can do! You're stronger than you know!"
"You want her to die!? She can't handle this fight!" Sugata growls in response to Arata.
"6! 5!"
A vision plagues Niika's mind.
"2! 1!" Reshbal takes the star sword Diamant and holds it above its head. "Time to end this chapter of the story before it even begins. Bye-bye, Galaxy Star Girl." The star sword slices off Wataru's head. An explosion erupts as Wataru is destroyed. Niika's unresponsive limp body remains after the cybody turns to particle dust.
"MIDORI NO ME!"
"NIIKA! NOOOOOO!"
"Even to top this terrible experience, I get a vision showing me how I'll die..." Niika's green eyes water. Her eyes then widen, "...He's...going to kill me..." Her lips stop quivering, "...regardless." A blind fury suddenly fills the girl.
"3! 2! 1!" Reshbal takes Diamant and holds it above its head. "Time to~"
"Before you kill me," Niika says, and Head freezes. "Wondering how I knew? It doesn't matter. But do you know what I hate the most in this world?" Head looks down at her. Wataru's eyes glow again. Niika struggles to look back at his with Wataru. She yells in a dark tone, "People like you!" Prism Rod Murasaki forms in Wataru's right hand. Wataru drives it in Reshbal's leg and pulls it out just as quickly. A kick sends Reshbal flying back. Wataru jumps up and kneels.
FLASHBACK
"Niika. Wataru moves differently from the other cybodies. It moves with poise, grace, and elegance, just like it's driver, Galaxy Star Girl." Sugata holds Niika's hands in his own. "The reason I brought you out on this walk to this area, was to quietly show you an easy way to manifest those qualities." He places her left hand on his shoulder and holds her right. "The art of dance. If you can master this, you'll finally understand how Wataru operates."
FLASHBACK END
Wataru's wings shine, "Sorry Sugata-sama. But your student has finally decided to enter the fight!" Prism Rod Aoi forms in Wataru's left hand. "I'm sorry for being so slow."
"You dare trick me? To land a single hit?!" Head yells inside Reshbal, "Fine! Clearly you want me to take you out, so that's what I'm going to do!" He holds Diamant with both hands. "Let's go, Reshbal!" It shoots towards Wataru in at lightning speed. "UrahhHh!" Wataru stands, waiting for impact.
Until it doesn't.
Wataru dodges the swing of Diamant by arching it's back. "I've been piloting Wataru wrong. Galaxy Star Girl isn't supposed to move like the standard sword fighter. Stiff, coordinated, and heavy on the feet. No..." Wataru lands a kick to Reshbal's side, following up with a strike from Prism Rod Aoi. It winces, falling back a distance. "She's known to move like gracefully and swiftly. Light, airy, but balanced." Wataru starts to glide on its heels. It's skates rather than steps. It holds its rods at its sides. Reshbal starts to swing Diamant but Wataru spins around it, attacking from the back. A kick sends it flying forward. Reshbal recovers and tries to jump Wataru. But Wataru flys out of the way into the air. "Also, she has wings. Niika, you dummy." Wataru flies around in the air, Niika getting used to its aerodynamics. It curls and circles before landing. Wataru spins the Prism Rods, sending them like boomerangs at Reshbal again. But as Reshbal goes to block with his piles from the front, its back is exposed for a close-range attack. Wataru punches Reshbal so hard it falls forward again and it can't recover. These small, spontaneous attacks speed up. For Head, it was like a tornado had blown in and the eye of the storm was nowhere to be found. "Graceful and swift means...stylish but fast!"
"S-She's actually landing hits on me!" The Prism Rods graze the edges of Reshbal, spooking Head. Wataru hits Reshbal in the head with an elbow, disorienting the driver momentarily. System Errors appear on Reshbal's screens. "I-It can't be~How could she mature as a driver so fast!?"
Wataru's chest orb gets close enough to Reshbal's for Head to see crazed emerald eyes. "It's in my DNA."
"T-That face~I've seen it before!" He stutters.
"Head! Even when I was going to give up, you were going to go against your own words!" Wataru ascends to the sky, "Breaking a girl's heart is one thing, but lying is another! I can't stand monsters like you!" Wataru lifts Prism Rods Murasaki into the air and Prism Rod Aoi on its left, creating an L. The energy the pose generates follows through the cybody. "Galaxy~!" Wataru crosses its arms as its chest orb shines. "Cosmic~!" Wataru brings them down and out as they glow. "Wave!" A surge of energy releases in a stream towards Reshbal. When the shield created by its piles fails, the energy seems to send the blue and white cybody into shock. Head screams inside. "Take that! YOU INCONSIDERATE BULLY!" Wataru flys by its wings toward Reshbal with Prism Rods at one side for a final swing. "Dooorrriiaaa!" When it goes for the attack, there's nothing but a small cloud of smoke where Reshbal once stood. The council of the Glittering Crux is in an uproar.
"He's...gone?"
Kazuma can't believe the sight before his eyes, "What the frick!? That bastard retreated!"
"See Arata? Sometimes odds don't matter until they do...oh that's not it, is it?"
Arata slouches down in his bubble. "My hair is going to go gray dealing with all of this..."
"You and me both." Says the Southern Maiden, slouching down in hers too. At Wako's words, Sugata smirks.
"I told you so." Time starts and Zero Time fades away.
_____________
"Niika-chan!" Niika awakes to Hyou calling her name. "Oh thank goodness. You're okay!" The light blue-haired girl hugs her tightly, "They told me everything that happened! I'm just glad you came out okay!"
Niika's happiness is short-lived after processing her last few moments. "He ran away!" She covers her mouth with a hand. "I'm sorry, Hyou-chan. He ran away~" She covers her face, extremely sad.
"But you beat him." Suddenly everyone looks to Sugata as he speaks loudly. "He ran away, but you won, Niika-chan." Niika's emerald eyes widen as she gasps. The bluenette male smiles, "I told you all, didn't I? Congrats on your first win, Galaxy Star Girl."
Wako tilts her head, "How's that for weak?"
"Yeah. Although challenging him at all was a pretty stupid move, a victory by forfeit is still a victory!" Arata nudges Kazuma in his side, "OWW!"
"I think it was gutsy. My sister's always been the brave type." He sits on the left side of the bed beside Niika. "You gave the leader of the Crux a run for his money! If that isn't strength I don't know what is!"
Niika puts her hands to her mouth in shock, "I did, didn't I?"
Takuto sits on Niika's right, "You fought with your own power, just like you wanted, Midori no me. You should feel proud." The redhead smiles down at her, "Now the Crux has seen what all of us can do. If they attack again, we'll just return the force tenfold~All of us!"
Niika smiles brightly, "Yes!"
And the adventure of life goes on.