The Fixers - "School Daze" 28-9-15

[Decadent Albatros]

I shudder in what Mutou might have as a power in this one

Given that the whole school militia/student council thing is an overt reference to a certain anime (Kill La Kill), Mr Mutou would obviously be the equivalent of this fella (Mr. Mikisugi, the head of Nudist Beach), humble teacher by day, dashing military commander by night.

Thanks for the explanation! Tho I never watched that anime :C

[Sharp-O]

It's worth a look, purely because of it's insane art style.

[swampie2]

Kill la Kill is my favorite anime, the style is crazy, the story is even more insane, the music is great and the dub is one of the best I've heard.

It is filled with fanservice, so don't watch it with your parents.


Is Mutou allergic to clothes?

[Sharp-O]

Chapter 04: Bonding

-----Kenji-----

“So this is my life now, huh?” I mutter quietly into my rather luxurious new room. When Yuuko said that she’d made up rooms for us, I thought they’d be a little more Spartan. Then again, everything here in The Nexus has a certainly extra flair to it.

After our first mission, while the others celebrated, I took the liberty of exploring this bizarre place we now find ourselves in. The main meeting area is like a fancier version of the Shanghai but with a fully stocked library, combining Yuuko’s twin jobs. Makes sense since she’s the caretaker. And our den mother. And mission briefer. She has a lot of jobs. Plus there's her more overt capabilities. She's quite the jack of all trades for just a ‘regular college student’.

As well as our main meeting place, there are also our quarters; each specifically tailored to our tastes and includes an en suite bathroom. I wonder what the others look like…

Then there’s a small medical facility, for which Yuuko acts as our own on-call nurse. Apparently this Yuuko was studying medicine, not architecture like ours. Then there’s a training room and a few other doors that I hadn’t gotten to before Shiina collared me and dragged me back to the party. For everything that’s different, there’s still one constant for me.

“Kenny… What time is it?” A small voice mumbles from beneath the covers as I finish getting dressed.

“Almost 10am. Thought you’d appreciate the lie-in.” I smile to myself as I see the covers rustle in the mirror. I prepare to do my tie and a thought occurs to me. I don’t have to get dressed for class anymore… Maybe Yuuko can outfit us all with a new wardrobe too?

“You butthead! Why’d you leave it this long? Everyone’s going to get the wrong idea.” Shiina mutters as slips on her socks.

Hmm. I guess she’s right. A girl emerging from a boy’s room the morning after they went to separate rooms would definitely give the wrong impression… I guess I got so used to her sneaking into my room back home that I don’t even think twice about it anymore.

Ever since… that happened. I shake the thoughts of that dreadful night out of my head, mussing up my hair in the process. To hell with it.

“I’m going to see what’s for breakfast, remember to go take a shower, get that boy smell off you.” I chuckle as I toss my tie over the back of the same chair that my jacket is on as I walk to the door.

“Yes, mooom…” Shiina sticks her tongue out at me as I leave.

-----Shin-----

“You’re going to have to tell me how you do this, Yuuko…” I give her a semi-serious look and she plays coy.

“A girl is allowed her secrets, Shin! I’m sure you have more than a few skeletons in the closet!” She smirks as she moves away from my table and back to the counter.

“Very funny…” I give an amused snort before taking a gulp of coffee. Everything here tastes delicious, and the fact that it doesn’t pass right through me is a plus too. I don’t feel hunger or thirst so to speak but it’s still something I missed doing since I found out about my condition. Not that I recall much of my time before then.

“Good morning, Yuuko! Morning, Shin.” Kenji waves as he enters from the wings. I place my mug down to great him.

“Good morning, Mr Setou. Did you sleep well?” I ask, folding my hands together in front of me with a smile.

“I did! Those beds are super comfy. How was your room?” He asks and I smirk ever so slightly. Barren would be the word. Yuuko personally escorted me to my room. She stressed that I do not have to stay in there and that I have free run of the place, since I don’t need to sleep. She at least gave me a very comfy chair and lots of reading material to sift through.

“It was pleasant. Yuuko is quite the gracious host.” I raise my voice a little so she can hear the compliment but she’s already returned to the table with a drink for Kenji and a plate of toast.

“I’m not hosting you guys… This is your home away from home.” She announces cheerily. “That said, you make a mess and you better clean it up.” She tutts with a wagging finger and Kenji laughs.

“Are the others not up yet?” He asks, taking a sip of his drink. It appears to be a milky coffee.

“Molly and Lilly have been up for a while. They went to the training room to test out Molly’s new sword.” Yuuko informs Kenji and he raises his eyebrows.

“You mean she swiped the katana from that other Lilly? She’s certainly brazen.”

“I believe she considered it a souvenir.” I chuckle.

“I’ll have to swing by and see what they’re up to.” He mumbles as he munches on his buttered toast.

-----Shiina-----

Where the hell is that noise coming from? I try to follow the odd sound I heard when I came out of Kenji’s room and find a set of double doors. I go to open one cautiously only for it to fling open towards me and sends me stumbling into the wall behind me.

“I am so sorry, Shiina!” I shake my head and look up to find Molly holding her left hand out to me and a katana in the right. I take her hand and she pulls me up.

“What the hell happened?” I furrow my brow and she looks down sheepishly.

“I kinda let that last gust get away from me… Sorry.” She looks at my with big eyes full of guilt.

“Just… Warn a girl next time? Maybe hang a sign on the door?” I smile and she perks up.

“Are you okay, Shiina?” I hear Lilly’s voice as she opens the other door and I burst out laughing. “I guess you are…”

“Sorry, sorry, Lills… It’s just…” I cover my mouth and look at her hair again. “Molly did a real number on your hair…”

She furrows her brow and stares at Molly for a few seconds before recoiling in horror, frantically patting down her wild golden mane.

“Why didn’t you tell me!” She asks, blushing a little in frustration, making me snicker more.

“Sorry! We were training so I didn’t think it mattered!” Molly chides with a hint of sarcasm. “Wait, did you just use your eye-thing on me?”

“Well yeah! I had to see what Shiina was talking about!” She’s patted it down for the most part but she really needs to brush it to get it back to normal.

“Then why didn’t you do it to Shiina?” Molly asks, annoyed.

“Who’s doing what to me?” I ask, completely lost. Lilly sighs and turns to me.

“I explained how my radar works, right?”

“Viderelocation, sure.” I say. I think a guy in 3-2 had that as his element. Good in a battle scenario but he mostly used it to peep on the girls' locker room until Miss Konepi slapped a power dampener on him.

“Well I can focus it, for lack of a better term, and see solely through one person’s eyes for a few seconds. Gives me a clear picture rather than a blurry wire-frame.”

“Oh, so you used Molly’s eyes to see the state of your hair. That is possibly the most convoluted way of doing that I’ve ever heard-slash-seen.” I chuckle and they both look to each other before joining me.

“Have you had breakfast yet?” Lilly asks and I shake my head.

“Nah, Kenji was just leaving to get some when I woke up.” I say and the two girls look at me with quizzical eyes.

“You and Kenji, eh?” Lilly smirks, crossing her arms. Oh balls… I just blurted out the exact thing that I warned Kenji about.

“It’s not what it sounds like, okay?” I sigh and Molly blushes. “I sometimes end up sleeping with Kenji. I mean actually sleeping, Lills, wipe that smirk off your face. I get night terrors and Kenji is… He makes me feel safer…”

“Oh.” Lilly says in surprise.

“Are you okay now?” Molly asks with a genuine expression of concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I smile a little and Lilly pats my arm.

“Well if you need to talk, I’m always here.” She smiles warmly and Molly nods in agreement. It’s so weird that these two strangers, one wearing the face of someone I knew, are so eager to comfort me. If I were at my Yamaku, I’d find that suspicious but with these two… I dunno. They seem on the level.

“Thanks.” I grin. “So what do you guys have planned today? I mean, what do multiversal saviours do on their day off?”

“You could always come train with us?” Molly beams, bouncing in place with her braids jumping in rhythm.

“Sure, why not. Lemme go get some breakfast though, yeah? I’ll meet you guys back here in twenty minutes.”

-----Molly-----

I place Kusanagi back in the weapon realm and flex my fingers. Lily sure is one tough teacher. Well, I guess sensei is the term since she’s been training me how to use a Japanese sword correctly.

“How’s my hair?” Lilly asks a little sarcastically, causing me and Shiina to giggle.

“You look great, Lills.” Shiina says.

“Yeah, barely a hair out of place. I think I’m getting the hang of Kusanagi’s wind powers. Sorry. Again.” I say ruefully, rubbing the back of my head.

“It’s fine. I’m just glad neither of the guys saw me looking such a mess.” Lilly half-smiles, retracting her cane and slipping it back into her jacket pocket.

“Why do you carry a cane, Lilly?” Shiina asks with a tilt of her head. “I mean… You can see mostly, right?”

“You have seen my eyes, right?” She laughs airly, almost like the Lilly I know. “To the outside world, I’m still blind so if I walked around without the cane, people would ask why I have such fucked up eyes. It’s just easier to play the part.” She explains with a shrug.

I take a seat and idly kick my legs, rotating the ankles just to keep the motors moving.

“Personally, I’m interested in Molly’s prosthetics. They seem very advanced for 2007.” Lilly comments and my eyes go wide.

“Wait, what? What do you mean 2007?” I ask, furrowing my brow. “It’s 2020.”

Apparently this comes as a surprise to both of my new friends, judging by their shared shocked expressions.

“It’s 2007 where I come from…” Lilly mutters with shocked eyebrows.

“Same here! Holy shit, you’re from the god damn future!” Shiina grins widely.

“I… guess I am?” I laugh nervously. Just when I thought things were weird enough, it turns out I’m a bloody time traveller.

“Well… That’s probably the weirdest thing to happen to us so far.” Lilly laughs. As if on cue, Kenji pops his head through the door.

“What’s weird?” He asks, holding the door open.

“Molly’s from the year 2020! That’s definitely going to be the weirdest thing to happen today.” Shiina laughs and Shin opens the other door.

“We have a mission, ladies. And as for weird, well…” He smirks at Kenji and the rest of us look at them confused.

“How do you feel about a haunted school?” Shin smiles with a raised eyebrow.

[Sharp-O]

Chapter 05: Mystery

-----Shiina-----

“‘I think we should split up and look for clues!’ Seriously, has he never seen a single episode of Scooby-Doo?” Molly deepens her voice, trying her best to imitate Shin before reverting to her normal voice, a thick vein of cynicism running through it.

“Y-yeah… What was it he said it c-could be?” I ask, trying my damnedest not to show how freaked out I am.

“Chupacabra. Though that’s a Mexican thing.” Molly furrows her brow a little in thought. “You okay? You look pale.”

“Tooootally fiiine!” I chuckle nervously and Molly gives me a look that says she’s not buying it.

“You don’t have to be scared, y’know. Monster-slaying is kind of in my job description.” She grins and I only feel a little less tense.

“I know, just wish Kenny was here…” I mumble, swinging my flashlight behind me to look at the decrepit hallway we’ve just walked through. We did a little recon in town about the mysterious crying and why the school was left to rot. I hate seeing this place so… dead. Nothing has lived here in a long, long time.

“I’m sure he’s fine. His shields seem pretty tough!” Molly reassures me with a pat on the back and I flinch. I know she’s a magical girl but does she have to be so damn cavalier? I've never liked the dark and throwing the word 'haunted' around all the way here didn't help my nerves one bit.

“Let’s just k-keep looking. Sooner we finish this sweep, the sooner we get back to the others.” I mutter. I’m too busy internally freaking out and looking behind me to notice that Molly stopped and I bump into her back.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” I whisper and she points her flashlight at the T-junction ahead of us, slowly moving it’s beam across the floor. “A-are those tr-tracks?”

She nods once and creeps closer, motioning for me to sidle up to the other wall. We reach the corner and she nods, giving me the signal to turn the corner to shine my light down the hall in the opposite direction to her.

“Clear.”

“C-clear.” I sigh heavily in relief and turn back to Molly.

“It’s big… Bipedal, I think.” Molly says, placing her dainty foot inside the clear track mark in the dust on the floor.

“So much for nothing living here…” I look around with my light, following the path towards the stairwell.

“Jinkies.” Molly says with a wry smile, adjusting her glasses. At least one of us is having fun…

-----Lilly-----

“I’m not sensing anything, Shin… Smells dank though.” I mutter as Shin leads me through the derelict school. From the others’ perspectives and Shin’s description, this place has succumb to decades of misuse and decay.

“It looks as dank as it smells, I assure you.” He says, coming to a stop and turning to me. “May I ask you a question, Miss Satou?”

I wish he’d just call me Lilly… I nod slowly to give him the go ahead.

“Why did you partner up with me? Surely one of the others would have been a better choice for navigating this labyrinth.” His voice is so neutral that I can’t gauge his mood, nor can I see his expression. I should be honest with him.

“Out of everyone, I think I need to spend the most time with you. Unlike the others, I can’t sense or see you. You’re something completely new to me. A blind spot. I’ve never had one before and it could become an issue if we don’t find a work-around to it. We worked well last time so I figured partnering up would be the best thing for us to do.” I explain sincerely.

“You weren’t serious when you said you’d put a bell on me, were you?” He asks but I can tell that he’s smiling from the inflection in his voice.

“Only as a last resort.” I smirk a little.

“I will endeavour to help as best as I can then. Both for you and the team.” He pats my shoulder and I nod in appreciation.

“That said, I feel I should be honest with you too.” He says, the timbre of his voice changing to something more sombre. “I believe the reason you cannot see me is because of my… unique condition.”

“Corporeal Absentia?” I tilt my head quizzically. I’d never heard of it before I met Shin, but then I’d never heard of elements or weapon realms either.

“That’s just a clever name for it, that I made up, to put people at ease. The truth is… I’m a ghost.”

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” I feel my grin widening at the mere mention of the word ghost. That’s silly! There’s no such thing as ghosts… Or elements. Or blind girls with telepathic radar. Hmm.

“Before meeting all of you, I only ever had a visible form in Class 3-3 of my Yamaku. But even then, only I could see my actual body while in the classroom apart from a select few. Those who’ve had a close brush with death. Miss Ikezawa and Mister Nakai, specifically. They were my only friends, in a way…” His explanation trails off as his voice drops all together at the mention of his two friends. He must have been so lonely…

“Shin…” I reach out my hand towards the sound of his voice but I can’t quite find him.

“I’m alright, Miss Satou. Just… a moment of melancholy. Perhaps we should table this conversation for another time? We should get on with exploring this floor.” He gently takes my hand and places it on his shoulder before turning again.

“Thank you for your concern though. I appreciate it immensely.”

-----Kenji-----

“Aconitum…” I mutter idly as I flick through the information on my display. Yuuko informed me of the bracelet’s scanning function, saying it could prove useful. I could have chalked up the strange flora around the school to simply being one of this universe’s quirks but something about it struck me as odd. Scanning it and reading through the Nexus’ database isn’t helping me though. Maybe it is just a quirk.

I reach the final intersection and look around, closing the holographic display and sweeping my flashlight down the hall I just came from.

“So much for this place being haunted…” I snort derisively as I bring the light across a corner and down the hall I’d previously explored. Every room is a mess. The broken windows have allowed all manner of dirt and creeping foliage into them, not to mention all the tossed furniture, broken glass and…

Foot prints. My light hits the stairs in the corner of the junction and I see small human footprints descending the dirty stairs, becoming larger and more beastial as they go. No one said they’d check the roof and I suppose I am the closest…

Since the foot prints lead down the stair-well, I can assume that whatever left them is not up there now and I bolt up the stairs to the roof, to find the door has been reduced to little more than splinters. Cautiously, I step out onto the rooftop, the soft crunch of gravel beneath my feet the only noise in the airless night bar my own breathing.

“What the…” I rush to the chain-link barrier surrounding the roof and peer at the dark ground below. I jog around the fenced edge to confirm my suspicion. There’s a violet ring of flowers around the edge of the school. A perfect ring, clearly planted for a purpose. I bring my wrist to my face and contact the others.

“Guys, I’m on the roof. I think you should come and see this…” I say, dumbfounded by the bizarre flower arrangements and its meaning.

“Are you okay, Kenji? You sound out of breath.” Lilly responds and I furrow my brow. I give myself a few seconds and yes, I’m breathing normally through my nose so…

“Haaaaaaah…”

Who…

“Haaaaah…”

Is breathing…

“Haaaaah…”

I complete my 360 turn and my jaw drops. I get it now. Why some of the townsfolk heard cries in the night while others heard howls. Why the place is supposedly haunted. What the flowers around the school mean.

Aconitum; also known as Wolf’s Bane. This isn’t an abandoned school at all. It’s a prison. For that.



“HrrrrrrrrrrrrOOOOOOOOOWL!!!”

-----Molly-----

Shiina and I are the first to reach the rooftop after Kenji's comms are cut short. What we find isn’t what we expected at all.

Standing near the edge of the roof, with a limp, bleeding Kenji in it’s mouth, is a werewolf. I bloody hate werewolves…

“Let him GO!” Shiina cries in equal parts fear and anger, firing off one of her bolts. Her unsteady aim merely encourages the beast to leap right and my legs kick into gear and launch me to a flanking position.

“Brand the Wicked: Dyrnwyn!” I call the burning sword of legend to my aid and bring it to bear on the beast.

I will not lose another person to a goddamn werewolf!

[swampie2]

“I’m not sensing anything, Shin… Smells dank though.”

They were my only friends, in a way…

So did other observers just see Hanako or Hisao talking to themselves?

Interesting chapter, I hope Kenji doesn't kick the bucket just yet.


I also forgot to post about my thoughts on the last chapter; I think it's great that you're including some of the less action-y / slice of life stuff instead of constant fighting. The fights are cool but the character development is always fantastic, great job!

[Sharp-O]

They were my only friends, in a way…

So did other observers just see Hanako or Hisao talking to themselves?

I figured Shin would only ever approached them together or alone, just like in his one-shot. He's very polite afterall.

Interesting chapter, I hope Kenji doesn't kick the bucket just yet.

That's the fun thing about a story like this. NO ONE IS SAFE. *rubs his hands gleefully together*

I also forgot to post about my thoughts on the last chapter; I think it's great that you're including some of the less action-y / slice of life stuff instead of constant fighting. The fights are cool but the character development is always fantastic, great job!

It's not all going to be action for sure, the team's dynamic is a key element to this story. How they match their abilities to each other, how they connect as friends despite being strangers wearing familiar faces, that sort of thing. Glad you're enjoying it, Swamp!

[Yukarin]

When I saw that picture of the werewolf, Wolfir Avenger came to mind.

Nice chapter! Also...

dank

ehehehehe

[Mirage_GSM]

So... Any guesses as to who the werewolf is?

[swampie2]

So... Any guesses as to who the werewolf is?

I'd say Hanako right off the bat, but I'm not really sure about that just yet.

[Sharp-O]

So... Any guesses as to who the werewolf is?

I'd say Hanako right off the bat, but I'm not really sure about that just yet.

Why Hanako?

[swampie2]

Why Hanako?

I'm not really sure, it just feels like Hanako would be a good fit. Perhaps she's shy because she knows she'll easily kill anyone who comes near her by accident in this universe?

[Sharp-O]

Hmmm, interesting theory. We'll just have to see...

[AntonSlavik020]

I was actually kinda hoping it was ghosts since I'm a huge ghost nut, but werewolves are cool too. Looking forward to seeing if Kenji made it, but it doesn't look good.

[Decadent Albatros]

Right, I'll try and switch it up and try to write my impressions live. Hope it'll be fun for both, since I really wanted to do this! Anyway, the group doing Scooby-Doo (kinda) is funny. Plus I must say that I'm kinda of a sucker for placed like haunted schools, mostly because I like paranormal stuff so that's a bonus in my book! I wonder what there will be, tho I'm sure it'll be something good.

"...Monster-slaying is kind of in my job description.”

So, Molly's ALSO a bloody witcher? SIGN ME UP!

dank

ehehehehe

Goddamit... I chuckled more then I should've D:
Anyway, I liked the dynamic of Shin and Lilly, not just about how she struggles in sensing him (you better fucking put a bell on him one day >:T) but also how they feel together. I don't know, I'm happy how Shin is finding a friend in Lilly but I also could be wrong and just making shit up. Long story short? Nice in explaining Shin's power(?) and good job in giving it more meaning, instead of just using it to fight bad guys.

“So much for this place being haunted…”

I have a bad feeling about it.

I complete my 360 turn and my jaw drops.

*sigh*, GJ Kenji.

In the end, well DAMN. I like it for sure and I hope things won't go terribad for the poor guy :/
Also, I agree with everybody that said that the werewolf could be Hanako. Idk, their theories made a lot of sense to me. Regardless, another good chapter and well done Sharp! Let's hope this fanfic has a lot more in store.