Inside the Auditorium…
Aoki suddenly woke up, wearing her S-1 outfit. She immediately tried to move but noticed she was in chains. As she scanned her surroundings, she saw she was in a cage, along with Luca, Hikari, Akari, and the rest of Squad S-6.
"Hey, idiots, wake up," she ordered, shaking the chains connecting them.
She saw that the door to the cage was open, and she caught glimpses of fighting below.
"That old asshole," Aoki scoffed. "He left on his own?"
Aoki tugged on the chain, causing her squadmates to fall over. "Hey! Get up!"
Akari rubbed her head, groaning. "Girl, why are you so loud?"
The other two got up as well.
"Break these chains," she demanded. "They need our help."
"Who?" Hikari asked.
"Our allies," Aoki said, pointing down to the stage. "One of you, use your powers and break us out!"
Luca concentrated and shifted into a large gorilla, breaking the chains around him before doing the same to the rest. Akari rubbed her wrists. "That girl who attacked us, she seemed kind of familiar…"
"Yeah," Hikari agreed. "I feel like I've seen her around before…"
Aoki pulled out her black card, which formed an inky black katana from her arm. "Less thinking, more fighting!"
She jumped out of the cage, and the other three did the same. Down below, Toru and Noriko were doing their best to fend off Melodar, who was aggressively attacking them with sound attacks that ripped the stage apart piece by piece. Reika used her powers to move them around, allowing them to repeatedly attack.
"Wait," Aoki realized. "Who's that other girl?"
"Is she the Vice-General?" Akari wondered. "But she's like a totally different person!"
Noriko got pushed back, sliding next to the four. She studied them with a dismissive look. "Wow. You're all free. Only took you long enough."
They all stared at her, confused.
"Don't act so surprised," she remarked. "Did you think I was some wimpy little girl all this time?"
"Well…yeah?" Hikari admitted.
"What's going on here?" Akari asked. "Where's the rest of our teammates?"
Noriko dodged a blast from Melodar's guitar. "Don't you have eyes? The person you have to kill is right in front of you! And your friends, they've been taken out of commission."
"What?"
"Toru's plan," she replied. "Now hurry up and get to work! I want to go home!"
Noriko moved to help Toru, who was locked in a clash with Melodar. He easily blasted him away. "I expected better, General! The Generals I've fought in the past gave more of a challenge than you!"
Toru attempted to pierce him with his lance, but Melodar caught it between his hands, his face suddenly serious.
"Where's my friend, Kaneko?"
Toru moved his lance, barely grazing Melodar's chest. "The one they call Runea? I would imagine she's been locked in the deepest, darkest prison we have. Her mass slaughter and assault on our capital cannot go unpunished, so she must atone!"
Toru moved his lance in an arc, but Melodar flipped over and evaded it. "That's rich. I've always told her to keep her emotions under control, but she never listened."
He blasted Noriko back as she tried to ambush him. "Even when she put on a smile, all I could ever feel was her pain. We all carry pain in some way, but my music shines through that pain. And I will free her, that I can promise, even if your precious nation must be reduced to ruin!"
His eyes began to glow purple. "Drum of the Ancients!"
He formed a large drum from his hands and began to beat it, which ripped the room in half and paralyzed everyone in the vicinity.
Luca threw an axe at him, but he caught it. "You guys are free? Huh. I need to work on better containment."
Akari and Aoki both tried to rush him, but he stopped them in their tracks with a beat of his drum.
"This is gonna be tough," Aoki noted. "This guy's clearly on another level compared to Runea."
"We beat her," Akari pointed out. "We can beat him too."
"That's the spirit!"
BOOM.
He sent them both flying out of the building with another beat of his drum. Noriko threw her blade at him, but he blocked with his drum. She caught the blade out of the air and began rapidly slashing at him.
"You move like a true dancer," Melodar commented. "Such a remarkable art…"
As she aimed for his heart, he grabbed her arm in his hand. "But not good enough!"
He snapped her arm in his hand with ease, but she didn't even flinch, surprising him. Without missing a beat, she tried to kick him in the face, revealing a small blade hidden in her heel that nearly stabbed his eye.
"Whoa! You're crazy!"
He stepped back, and she did a couple of backflips to get away, looking at her broken arm. "Hmm. Merely a scratch."
Toru whacked her in the back of the head, to her annoyance. "What have I told you about being reckless and impulsive? You can't simply heal yourself."
"Not with you beating me every second, I can't!"
Hikari grabbed her arm. "Here, I can help!"
A pink glow enveloped Noriko's arm, and she could feel the bone putting itself back together. "That DOES feel better. Why don't we have one of her at our place?"
Toru shot her an unamused look. "Well? At least crack a smile, you old dimwit."
Reika used her magic to move the three out of the way as another wave of sound decimated the floor where they were standing. Melodar appeared behind her.
"Gosh, Reika. That magic is such a pain."
She quickly used her magic to move him to the middle of the room before he could attack her. Luca walked over to her. "Why don't you just send him to the bottom of the ocean, or outer space?"
"I can't control where it sends people! It just acts on random!"
With a beat of Melodar's drum, everyone's body slammed into the ground.
"It seems the music is a little dull in here," Melodar stated. "DJ, spice it up."
Meanwhile…
Okuda dragged Mihina and her friends outside while other confused people piled up into the streets. Mihina still had an aloof look on her face, even as Okuda shook her repeatedly.
"Hey! Hey! We're outside! Wake up!"
She didn't respond.
"Is she under some kind of spell?" Okuda wondered.
A large blast knocked a part of the penthouse roof clean off, sending it spiraling toward the ground. Okuda pulled Mihina, Haruta, Zentaruo, and Chiho out of the way while other civilians screamed and ran.
"Dude, is this some fantasy battle?" Okuda questioned. "It's like a video game! What the hell did Dachii get himself into? And what was that weird crown they wanted?"
Mihina began to murmur, dazed. "Dachii…Marachii…guys…?"
She looked at Okuda, seemingly not recognizing him. "Nah, it's me! It's Okuda!"
"Okuda…? I hate…Okuda…"
Okuda sighed. "Even when she's out of it, she still despises my guts. Man, that sucks. Guess I can't blame her, though. I miss the good old days."
Months ago, in Silver Oak High School…
Okuda was sitting at a cafeteria table with a couple of football players, laughing as they played dice. "Hey, looks like I win! Go ahead! Cough up all your money!"
The biggest one got up, slamming his hand on the table. "Hell no! Go again! One more round!"
Okuda shook his head. "Nope. Give me all you've got."
A gentle voice suddenly cut through the air, and Okuda turned his head to find Mihina, who had a box of cookies in her hand, a warm smile plastered on her face.
"Hey, guys!" she greeted. "Baby, this is for you."
She set the cookies down in front of him, hugging him. Okuda grinned. "Thanks."
"Do you need anything else?" she asked.
"Nah."
"Okay, well once lunch is over, wanna walk to Art Class together?"
"Sure thing," Okuda agreed. "Love you."
"Love you too!"
One of the football players gazed at Mihina. "She's nice, and she's cute. Man, you got a good one."
"I know," Okuda remarked. "But she's been kinda obsessed with her two best friends these past few months. I can tell she misses them, she's been bringing them up in a lot of conversations."
"Well, that's how girls are when a close friend leaves. Don't take it too seriously. I don't think she's planning to leave you."
"I hope not," he worried.
Soon after, the bell rang, and Mihina was waiting for Okuda in the hallway. "Hey, baby!"
He wrapped his arm around her. "Hey. I see you're right on time."
"Of course!" she giggled. "Hey, do you think we should go see a movie tonight?"
"I'm down," he replied.
As they walked to class, Mihina's face suddenly turned into a frown. "Usually Dachii and Marachii would be here to watch movies with us as well. I wonder how they're doing?"
"They're probably fine," Okuda stated.
"Do you think so?"
"Yeah, I doubt their mother would take them to a place where they'd be hurt. No need to worry about them 24/7."
"I know! It's just…Marachii gets so nervous and fidgety a lot, and Dachii is…you know, crippled! Plus they haven't been texting me back lately!"
"Like I said. Their mom isn't dumb. Just relax."
"Okay," she said. "Okay."
Okuda led her into the art class, and they sat beside each other.
A month ago…
Mihina walked up to Okuda's house with some flowers and a present in her hand. She knocked on his door, and it opened. "Happy Birthday—-!"
To her shock, when she looked inside, Okuda was sleeping in another girl's arms, who was cuddling and kissing his face. She immediately dropped the items she was holding. "What…what's going on?"
The girl jumped up. "Who are you?"
"I'm Okuda's girlfriend!" she answered. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm his girlfriend!" the other girl claimed. "Mika! See, I've even got the pictures to prove it!"
She pulled up a picture gallery on her phone, revealing pictures of her and Okuda on various dates. "We've been together for a month now!"
Mihina nearly fell to the ground. Okuda opened his eyes. "Babe, what's all the fuss—?"
He noticed Mihina. "Oh, Babe!"
Miku punched his arm. "What do you mean, 'Babe?'"
"Ha! Uh, well, I can explain!"
Miku got up, folding her arms. "Don't bother. I'm out of here."
She stared at the items on the ground. "Now I know where you've been getting all the gifts you've given me."
She stormed out of the house, leaving Mihina there to stare at him in shock. Okuda scratched his head. "Uh…Mihina? You alright?"
"A month…?" she gasped. "You've been lying to me for a whole month…? Using me…?"
"Nah, nope!" he declined. "I would never! Come on, let's go out to eat!"
He approached her, but she put her hand out. "No…stay back…"
He continued walking forward, and she snapped, pushing him to the ground. "Get away from me! Don't touch me! I hate you!"
"Babe, come on—-!"
"Don't call me that! I'm done with you, you hear me?" she exclaimed. "I never want to see you again! I wish I never met you!"
As he got up, he tried to reach out for her as she walked out the door. "Come on, you don't mean that!"
"Goodbye, Okuda," she replied. "I'll find someone else."
Then she was gone. Okuda sighed. "Damn it. Wait, what if I tried her best friend?"
A few hours later, he walked over to Haruta's house, knocking on her door. Haruta opened the door, giving Okuda a less-than-impressed look. "Yes, Okuda?"
"So…me and Mihina aren't really a thing right now…wanna go on a date?"
Haruta shot him a glare before stepping aside to reveal Mihina sitting on the couch, crying. "Oh. Crap."
"You're a terrible person, you know that?" Haruta insulted. "Get off my lawn."
She slammed the door and left to comfort Mihina. Okuda shrugged. "No need to rush things, anyway. It's not like anyone else will have them. I just gotta wait and play the long game. That's all."
Present Day…
Okuda dragged the group into an Uber, closing the door before giving the driver a handful of bills. "Get them back to Silver Oak."
"And what of you, sir?" the man asked.
"I'm staying to watch," Okuda said. "I've got to talk to Dachii anyway, and I'm sure his friends won't be any good to him dead."
"Alright," the man remarked, confused.
He pulled off, leaving Okuda outside the building. "Man, what the hell is going on? All I can say is Dachii…."
"…you've got yourself one pretty crazy life."
—-