Fujiko and Minamoto exchanged glances and both nodded at one another.
Readjusting his glasses, Minamoto sighed with a sad expression on his face.
"During the war, are you aware of the existence of a special operations unit, referred to as the 'psychic powers unit' in the Japanese army?"
"Yeah, more or less."
Then Fujiko continued the explanation, her expression completely blank.
"Hyoubu Kyousuke was affiliated with that unit, and just before the end of the war, he was betrayed by his superior."
Now they had Andy's full attention; he himself was also a part of the army from another country, after all.
"That incident transformed Hyoubu Kyousuke into a monster bent on revenge," Fujiko continued, her expression becoming sadder with every sentence she uttered.
"And during that time, he murdered everyone associated with it, one after another. But it doesn't stop there."
Andy was now fully invested in the story Fujiko was telling, as he could finally get a glimpse at Hyoubu's past.
"Almost every founding member of Babel, created to protect espers, has been murdered by Hyoubu."
A deep sigh escaped Fujiko's lips as all kinds of grim scenes flashed before her eyes.
Hyoubu standing in front of a burning building with destruction all around and corpses littered everywhere, or founding members being pierced by spears or their heads imploding—every single one was Hyoubu's doing.
"..."
Andy kept his mouth shut and listened intently.
"He says that he can't trust any esper protection group that's associated with normals."
"This sounds very unrealistic. Do you expect me to believe anything you say just because you say so?" Andy muttered, a grim look on his face.
"Everything is true. I know Hyoubu very well from back then," she replied, staring Andy straight in the eye.
"From back then...?"
Andy said, taking a closer look at Fujiko, and that was when it dawned on him.
"Eh? Then how old are yo—?"
But before he could finish his sentence, Fujiko's fist connected with his face at full force.
"I'm forever 17 years old!!" she screamed.
"You know when you ask a lady her age, you should be prepared to die~," she added, as if she hadn't just punched Andy in the face.
Minamoto stood there dumbfounded; he knew how sensitive the age topic was for Fujiko, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
And he quickly made a mental note to never ever approach this topic if Fujiko was even remotely close by.
After her little outburst, she looked at the floor with a sad expression.
"Before being betrayed, Kyo-- Hyoubu was like a different person. He was a complete angel back then."
"..."
While still holding his face, Andy couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to Fujiko, who was still explaining more and more about Hyoubu, and the more he heard, the sadder he became.
If only that betrayal had never happened, then one of the strongest espers ever could have used his abilities for a good cause instead of seeking revenge.
"Even though the purpose of the psychic power unit at that time was only to serve the military during war, for us, it became a family."
Then a peaceful smile could be seen on Fujiko's face as if she were reliving some pleasant memories.
The moment Andy heard the word "family," he thought back to how it was on the Catastrophe.
"Family… huh."
"So how about it? Will you cooperate with us?"
"We won't ask for your answer immediately, but please consider it." Minamoto added.
"This is also,"
But Minamoto never finished that sentence.
For Hyoubu's sake as well, he thought, but he couldn't tell Andy that.
Then Minamoto's phone started ringing suddenly.
"Excuse me."
"What is it, Sakaki?"
"Sorry, Minamoto, but I lost them!"
"What do you mean?!"
"It's exactly as I said, a moment ago they were just sitting on a bench watching the show, and the next both of them just vanished into thin air!"
And then a moment later, Senzo and Yugiri appeared next to Andy.
"Yo."
Fujiko and Minamoto were immediately alarmed by the sudden appearance of the duo, as both of them got into position to engage them at any moment.
"Heh, I would love to exchange some blows, but not right now. I just came to pick this guy up."
Senzo casually said while pointing at Andy, with a smirk.
Yugiri looked around, wondering where they were and why Andy was together with the people from Babel.
"Huh? How did you know I was here? And what do you mean by picking me up?"
Andy stumbled over his words, staring at Senzo with his eyes wide open.
"Yo, contacted me. It's time to go. And how did I know you're here? That's a secret."
Then Senzo grabbed Andy by the collar, and before anyone could say anything else, the three vanished into thin air.
"..."
Minamoto and Fujiko looked at one another with their eyes wide open.
"Could he have heard what we were talking about?" She inquired.
The moment Minamoto heard that question, he knew they'd have to rush their operation even if it meant not being as prepared as they wished.
"We have to go now! Call everyone and tell them we're going to push the plan up; we need to act fast!"
And just like that, Fujiko grabbed Minamoto's hand, and she snapped her fingers to teleport back to Sakaki to pick him up as well.
"Huh?"
But nothing happened; she snapped her fingers a couple more times, but once more they just stayed at their current position.
"That bastard!" Fujiko hissed, glaring at nothing in particular.
"Uh? Why are we not going?" Minamoto asked, a confused look on his face.
"We'll have to walk until we get out of the area that bastard has locked!" Fujiko grumbled.
"Ah, Senzo? You mean... Wait, he can do that?!"
The moment Minamoto understood what Fujiko meant, he broke out in a cold sweat; someone could actually stop teleportation from a level seven esper, no less.
"This operation might be harder than we initially expected..."