Part 1

“You look lost, little boy. I can tell you’ve been through a lot.”

“Yeah, well I didn’t ask for your help. You’re trying to catch me, remember.”

“I don’t see a criminal in you that needed to be placed in justice. I see a human being trying to survive.”

“…!”

“Tell me. What is your name?”

“Katsuo. Katsuo Kiyabu.”

“Little Katsuo, huh? The Child of Victory. I see great power in you. Why don’t you let me teach you how to use it to help?”

“Who…who are you?”

“Me? …Just call me what everyone else is calling me…”

Katsuo wakes up from his dream. Bright light penetrates his eyelids, but not from the rising sun that is merely peeking from the horizon.

A monitor on the desk is on at full brightness catches his attention which Henrietta is in front of.

He sits himself up from the cramp bed and does some quiet stretches. He then walks over to take a quick peek over Henrietta’s shoulder to check on what she’s doing. What is on-screen made Katsuo lost for words.

On it is an online forum that discusses a particular topic. And from the sound of her enthusiastically typing away on her keyboard, she is very passionate about the contents of this particular site.

On it are pictures and comments about one particular subject. Something that is so unbelievable that Katsuo is forced to be taken aback. Every post on it has the same two words:

Gilded Saber.

Katsuo continues to step backwards in disbelief until his foot hits the bed behind him. This makes Henrietta quickly stand up try to hide the monitor behind her back; knocking the chair she was sitting on over.

“Y-you’re up! Didn’t see you there...” Like she is a different person, Henrietta’s face gained a noticeable tint of red as she looks away flustered.

Her usual cold demeanor seems to have thawed with the sudden discovery. She plays with one of her hair tails to try and calm herself down as Katsuo regains his footing.

“Sorry. Probably shouldn’t have walked up to you like that.” Katsuo scratches the back of his head to try and apologize.

“It’s okay, no problem. Geez, this is embarrassing. You must think that I’m so childish believing in tall tales like this.” Henrietta bashfully asks.

“No! No, I don’t think that at all. It’s nice that you still have a noble heart like that.” Katso tries to cheer her up.

“I suppose you’re right. I’ve heard stories of the Gilded Saber all my life ever since I was a little kid. I know there’s no way she’s real, but she still inspired me to be who I am.”

Something from what Henrietta has said catches his ears.

“She?”

“No one actually knows what the Gilded Saber’s gender really is, but there are some substantial accounts that describe her voice to be quite feminine.” Henrietta so graciously points out.

Katsuo hangs his head in dismay.

(“Oh great…”)

“But still, whether the Gilded Saber is a man or a woman doesn’t matter. I see the Gilded Saber as a hero who fights for justice.”

Henrietta looks at her hands like the first time her Alter Abilities have appeared, and continues to tell her story.

“When I got these powers, I knew I received them for one purpose: to protect. Despite what people think about my powers, I continue to strive to do what is right. Eventually I got a recommendation to enroll in a school that can help train my powers. Safeguard and I have been working hard since.”

“Is that why you joined the Disciplinary Committee?” Katsuo curiously asks.

“I figured that it would be the best place for me to be able to protect people. I’m not doing it for the glory or the kicks of being able to tell people what to do. I just want to protect everyone in my own way.”

After getting that off her chest, Henrietta takes a deep breath to calm her mind.

“Say…Miss Thompson. If let’s say…you could meet this Gilded Saber person, what would you tell her?” Katsuo tries to keep the conversation going.

Another tint of red goes over her face as she lightly scratches her cheek.

“Well…I’d tell her…‘Thank you’ from the bottom of my heart.” Henrietta says with a smile.

“I see…” Katsuo stands up and walks over to Henrietta.

“Well, the truth is…tha—“ His thought was interrupted by a harsh bombardment of electronic beeps from a device on Henrietta’s desk.

“Well, look at the time. Better get a move on or we’ll be late. Go ahead and use the bath first. I’ll sort out some things first.” Henrietta tells him while rubbing one of her eyes under her glasses.

Katsuo walks over to the dorm room’s own bathroom and closes the door behind him. All the while, Henrietta fixes the mess she has accidentally made while being flustered.

But just as she was doing so, she hears a short sequence of electronic sparks from the window behind her.

She quickly turns around to face it, but it is too late. The windows swing open and the person responsible barges in with a thud.

“Aha!! So you WERE serious about having him stay over to your dorm room!” the intruder extends an index finger towards Henrietta with another hand on its own waist.

“Miss Ishihara, please stop this foolishness. And how did you even bypass the security features on the window?” Henrietta places a few fingertips on her forehead and shakes her head in response.

“Hehe! I shorted out the electronic locks and sensors using my Alter Abilities. You can deny it all you want, but I can tell that you’ve been up to something by— “ Kanade is about to bring something up when she notices something amiss.

“Hey, there’s only one bed. Where did he sleep? The couch?” Kanade asks with both of her hands on her waist.

“No, he slept in with me.” Henrietta answers bluntly.

Kanade squints as she tries to process the sheer absurdity that she has just heard.

“You…what?! Don’t you think he’ll be uncomfortable with you using him like a body pillow?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I have properly informed him that this is all for the sake of security.”

Kanade’s face is petrified in confusion and frustration at the responses she’s hearing from the so-called respected Disciplinary Committee chairperson.

“ARE YOU DENSE?!?!?!?! What kind of idea of protection is that?! UGGGH!!!! This is so stupid!! You mind if I wash up in your bathroom? Staying outside your window really placed a lot of dirt in my eyes.” She request as she casually walks towards the bathroom door.

“Just do whatever you please.” Henrietta then proceeds to resume what she was doing.

But the moment she leaves Kanade alone, a sudden realization strikes her like a bolt of lightning. She has forgotten to mention one particularly important detail: someone else was currently inside the bathroom.

Henrietta panics and makes a break for Kanade, whose hand is mere inches from the bathroom’s doorknob.

“No! WAIT!!!” Henrietta shouts in vain.

While still rubbing her eye, Kanade swings the door open. She stops briefly to take a look at the interior of the bathroom…which is a mistake that she has immediately regretted to make.

Katsuo, who is still in the middle of a hot shower, looks at Kanade with the identical look of confusion.

Lather and steam is covering anything that might appear inappropriate for younger audiences. Both of them try to say anything, but the mere shock has frozen both of them in place.

They both continue to stare at one another as the bar of soap that Katsuo has on hand slips away from his hand. Nothing but the splashes of the overhead shower is heard for a brief moment of time.

“I…uhh…” Kanade is about to say something.

What follows are a series of quick thundering footsteps and the sound of a dropkick connecting to Kanade's right cheek. This sends both her and Henrietta, who has kicked her in the first place, tumbling out of the dorm room and into the hallway.

Henrietta regains her footing and dusts off her clothes.

“Kanade, you pervert…” Henrietta hisses with a disgusted glare as she adjusts her glasses with one of its lenses reflecting white light.

“Wh…why is it always me…” The beaten pulp which was Kanade tries to voice out.

Part 2

Later that day, Katsuo receives a word to head on over to the Headmistress’ office. He is to be excused for the time being, so he will not receive sanctions for being tardy. But right now…

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!”

Katsuo has a look on his face that says maybe complying is not such a good idea.

“AHAHAHAHA…ahahaha…haaa… SHE CALLED YOU A GIRL!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Miss Violet continues to crackle harder than a madwoman while clutching her sides and hammering her desk with her fist.

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Katsuo expresses genuine concern to the person who has been making his life a living hell.

Katsuo has been so close to revealing Henrietta something about the person she admires so much. For some reason, he could not bear to tell her the truth at the time.

(“To be fair, it’s not a complete lie…”) Katsuo sighs as the manic headmistress amuses herself with her newfound information he regrettably shared.

“Sure…okay…I’ll stop now…” Miss Violet wheezes as she tries to catch her breath and wiping a tear from her eye. “…MISS KATSUO!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” she continues to laugh harder out of nowhere.

“Are you quite done?!” Katsuo obviously about to blow a gasket is mere inches away from storming off of her dimly lit office.

“Ahahaha…okay.” Miss Violet wheezes, coughs to clear her throat, and then proceeds to the matter at hand. “I have something important to ask you.” Miss Violet leans back on her chair and clasps her hands together.

“What is it this time? And I swear, if it’s—“

“Oh don’t worry, it’s nothing like that. Trust me.”

“I can do a lot of things, but trust you may not be one of them.”

Miss violent chuckles in response while daintily covering her mouth.

“That’s beside the point. Anyway, have you used your Alter Ability in the presence of someone you haven’t properly met?” She posts the curious question.

Katsuo remembers showing his powers off to Alex and another time when he has helped in saving Toshiko from the building collapse.

“..not that I would recall.”

“That’s good then. Listen, from here on, I’d like you to be careful on when you use your abilities.” She says as she taps her fingertips together. “Part of the effort to keep you safe is to hide the fact that you are the person they are after: a male Alter user with the Alter Ability of Weapon Construct.”

“So that’s why you said my involvement with Gilded Saber was a mistake.”

“Exactly. Right now, the academy is placed on lockdown since the break in that resulted in the theft of the evidence. You were able to come in here because of my recommendation. No one else is notified in order to hide that fact from the suspect. Needless to say, that person has been trying to escape with the data since.”

“How did you know that?”

“Miss Kanade was able to thwart one of those escape attempts. Also from the looks of it, the same perpetrator was responsible for the collapse of the old building where she was known to be in.”

“Miss…Ishihara…?” Katsuo thinks back.

(“I hate being in debt. It feels weird.”)

(“It’s too dangerous to get involved with me!”)

Katsuo remembers these voices from Kanade.

“So that’s why…” Katsuo whispers under his breath.

“Well…if there are no other questions--”

“Actually I do have a couple…” Katsuo interrupts as he posts another inquiry. "If what they after is the data in that thing, why can't they just send it over a network?"

"We're talking about petabytes worth of data here. This would require a setup that won't be easily kept under the radar, let alone under a military-monitored network." Miss Violet points out. "Anything else on your mind?"

“Yes. Why are you going out of your way to protect me? You used to force me to do so many humiliating things for your own amusement back when you picked me up. Why the change of heart?”

The immediate response Katsuo received is a giggle that emanates intimidation rather than attraction.

“Oh believe me, my little Katsuo, there is no change of heart at play here. Rather it’s something much simpler. I always keep close tabs of anything that would be of proper use to me.” Miss Violet gives a prompt yet cryptic response. “Now run along. I think I’ve excused you from class long enough. The other students might suddenly get the wise idea of taking a page from you should they not feel like attending class.”

Knowing Katsuo has hit a dead end; he silently excuses himself and exits the office from where he came.

Immediately after he leaves, a call comes in from Miss Violet’s intercom. After a few short beeps, she presses a button to make it stop.

“What is it?” Miss Violet answers in her usual cold voice.

Part 3

After making his way to the main campus, Katsuo opens his shoe locker for a quick change of footwear.

Upon opening it however, a conspicuous envelope placed on top of his spare pair of shoes welcomes him. The strange part is that it’s not the plain business type of envelope, rather a small decorated one with cute patterns printed directly on it.

Katsuo looks left, then right, but sees no sign of anyone that may have placed it there.

Since his locker is on such a low position, he hunches over and picks up the piece of stationery. He turns it around and not even a name is written on the front.

He lifts the flap and takes out the letter contained inside.

I never got to thank you properly for saving me yesterday, Mister Katsuo. Meet me at the Class 1-B’s classroom alone. Hopefully I’ll be able to repay you once we meet.

“Huh…no sign?” Katsuo wonders to himself.

But even without a name written anywhere on it, he has a good idea on who wrote it. He recalls saving a girl that day during the collapse of the old building.

(“Come to think of it, we never did properly introduce that day.”)

While Katsuo thinks by himself…

“What’d you got there?” A voice calls right behind him.

He quickly turns around and sees Kanade with a bandage crossed over her right cheek. Despite the small bandages from the injuries she has received from a certain Disciplinary Chairperson, she’s pretty cheerfull and energetic.

“You seem upbeat. What happened to ‘I never asked for your help’, or something like that?” Katsuo mockingly makes an impression of her.

“Hey, I was just trying to protect you from something you were not involved in, in the first place. If that thing comes and tries to break your windpipe in half, then it’d be on me.” Kanade points out with a thrust of her finger towards Katsuo’s face.

With him distracted, Kanade nabs the pieces of paper on Katsuo’s hand and takes a quick read at it.

“Hey! Hold o—!!”

“Oh hoh wow!! If that’s not cheesy, I don’t know what is. It’s not even after one week since you transferred into the school and you already got a love letter? Talk about sappy.” She shoves the letter to Katsuo’s chest mockingly.

“Hey now, don’t go messing with a girl’s feelings, you hear? Don’t you have, I don’t know, someone that’s your type?”

"!!" Kanade gulps in embarrassment.

Almost immediately, Kanade’s face shines a bright scarlet. Arcs of electricity violently jump around every follicle of her hair as though a miniature lightning storm is forming on her head.

“Are…are you okay?!” Katsuo asks with complete concern.

Kanade shoves him to the side towards the lockers and storms off. She then stops on her tracks for a brief moment then swiftly turns her body to face Katsuo.

“…you damned idiot!” She then continues to walk off angrily afterwards.

Upon doing so, Katsuo is left dumbfounded and alone. A look of complete confusion is left etched on his face.

Part 4

At the Disciplinary Committee’s office, Henrietta is piecing together all the information that she has gathered, including the collapse of the old building.

“Dammit, if only I wasn’t able to lose track of that Toshiko girl…” She massages her temples as she clamors through the various documents, photographs, and analyses that are scattered on her desk. “I can’t believe that armored freak was able to sneak up on me while I was looking for her.”

Her computer monitor is looping the surveillance footage from both the break-in at the evidence room, and the escape attempt two days ago. They all point out the very same dead end: the perpetrator, all of a sudden, disappeared without a trace. However, as she thinks up of an angle, another stack of paper slams down with a thud on top of the already cluttered desk.

“You won’t find anything with this kind of mess, you know boss.” One of Henrietta’s committee members told her with concern.

“I suppose you’re right, Erica. These’re the results of the pill?” Henrietta asks the committee member in front of her.

“Sorry this took all day to finish. Wasn’t exactly easy. We had to outsource the means of being able to get what you asked. Forensics isn’t exactly within our scope, you know.” The girl named Erica adds.

“Well what matters is we finally got what we need.”

“Oh, and by the way, just got a word from Security. They’ve picked up an anomaly from the security feed program.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“There was a process that’s been tapping through the facial recognition algorithm; looks like someone’s set it to be notified whenever the system’s detected someone at a given time.”

“They manage to trace the source of the hack?”

“That’s the thing. It’d be easier if it was through an external connection. But it’s almost like the system itself is the one willingly giving the data away.”

“Just let one of the new recruits handle it. I’m sure even they can…hold on.” Henrietta suddenly stops as she scans the contents of the analysis report.

“What’s wrong?”

“It says here that the medicine was developed by Lance Corp. as part of a neural enhancement drug. It is meant to stimulate brain activity by improving the link between nerves, but the effects gradually last shorter as the body eventually builds resistance to it.”

“Lance Corp.? You mean the company that used to have the monopoly on Alter research?”

“Until they went bankrupt, yes. Eventually the defense ministry subsidized their researches to the point that its entire staff now works for the military.”

“But I thought all of their projects have been canned for good as they were deemed impractical and their Alter research restarted from scratch?”

“The bigger question is how did a student got a hold of what essentially is an experimental drug?”

Henrietta lays down the report along with the numerous piles of paper that line her desk. That is when her eyes are drawn towards the file of one Toshiko Sakawa’s infirmary records.

“…I knew it. It says here that the reason she frequents the infirmary was to pick up prescription painkillers given to her by her doctor for her.”

Henrietta remembers the reason for Toshiko’s medicine.

(“The doctors say my problem is somewhere in my central nervous system! My brain can’t send anything to my legs which is why I’m confined to the wheelchair. Those were supposed to keep whatever is causing this in check!”)

She brings up a point brought to light by the analysis of the pill she took from Toshiko’s container.

“According to the analysis, whatever was on that pill has no pain relief effects. It optimizes neural circuitry and improves the pathways of the central nervous system that will provide the prime conditions to improve the chances…”

“…of an Alter manifestation!” Erica concludes along.

“That’s not all. The only reason Toshiko Sakawa’s managed to get away from being the suspect was because of her disability. But now that we have something that actually lets her get around that…”

“…we now have an angle!”

Henrietta jumps up from her chair and fixes up her utility belt.

“Call the rest of the response team. We’re making a move before she does.” As Henrietta makes her way out of the busy office, Erica signals for other members to follow them.

The small squadron of the disciplinary team casually walks the halls as to not cause any trouble when Henrietta comes across a familiar Short Fused Shocker.

“Ah. Disciplinary chair…” Kanade walks alongside Henrietta as they chat.

“Not now, Miss Ishihara. We’re finally putting an end to a long case and we can’t afford any delays.”

“Well fine then. Looks like I’d get to enjoy seeing that idiot boy get all mushy on my own.”

Those words made Henrietta screech to a halt as something made her ears twitch.

“Why? What’s Mister Kiyabu up to?”

“He received some sappy love letter earlier today. Said to meet someone alone at Class 1-B after school.”

Henrietta blows a gasket and grabs Kanade by the collar and raises her up in the air and Safeguard stands at the ready behind her.

“Boss!!” Henrietta’s team members gasp.

“Tell me…who sent him the letter.”

“Hey, take it easy! I-it was that girl we rescued last night. Probably just wants to thank him or something. I won’t do anything funny, I swear!”

Her pupils dilate in shock. Henrietta lets go of Kanade and then checked the clock on her phone for the time.

Classes have come to an end mere minutes ago. Class 1-B is practically next door to Katsuo’s classroom. It’s a matter of waiting for everyone to leave and they will be alone. The sun starts to sink with an orange hue, and with it, the chance to save a life.

“Miss Ishihara…no, Miss Kanade. Listen to me…” Henrietta proceeds to put her down gently.

“…Mister Kiyabu is in danger.”

While all this is going on…

Part 5

Lance Corporations.

It is a pharmaceutical company that sidelines in Alter research. Their main products are usually physical supplements and augmentations along with the tools to use and perform them, ranging from muscular growth enhancers to tissue growth boosters that accelerate the healing of wounds.

They see the body as a potent source of physical growth and they revolve their products around the unlocking of such potential.

Ever since the military has started subsidizing for their Alter research, more and more focus gradually shifts over to it. Days go by, and it has become clear to be a fruitless endeavor.

The company has sold off many of its divisions to continue performing their Alter experiments, until eventually, they go under.

Currently, Lance Corp. has declared bankruptcy and a majority of their staff now works for the military. With a lot of its assets dissolved, it is nearly impossible to reacquire them.

That is when they have decided to start the new project from scratch to both backtrack the dead ends they keep on hitting and focus more on what aspects of their research work and what doesn’t.

The field of Alter research has taken a drastic change with the fall of Lance Corp. However...

“Hey, have you heard?” A student whispers to her group of friends who are closely together at one corner of the classroom.

“…some big company was keeping experimenting on a kid to cure some sort of ailment.

But not everyone has been affected positively by that change.

“Yeah I heard that too. Didn’t they say that they eventually went bankrupt?”

“Why do you think they just suddenly went under?”

“Maybe they spent all their money to treat the poor child.”

“What kind of sickness do they have?”

“Something to do with nerves, they were never specific.”

“Sounds serious…”

“It’s just a bunch of tall tales, right?”

“I don’t know, it sounds pretty big for someone to just make up.”

“Oh come on, people make up urban legends all the time.”

One of them looks at their phone and notices the time.

“Oh darn, we have to get going!” The student says as she places their bag’s strap over their shoulder.

The others follow and soon they leave the almost abandoned classroom, and with it, the fact that the tall tale they’ve been talking about…

“Tch. What a load of garbage…” A girl confined to a wheelchair whispers to the wind.

…is much closer to reality.

Toshiko stares at the orange-lit sky as she waits in solace.

All of the sudden...

“This plan of yours won’t work, you know.” A voice calls out from the doorframe of the classroom.

However, it did not belong to the person she is waiting for. This person wears the same uniform as her, and pink flowing hair. A silver mask hides the top part of her face.

“Regardless, this is something I have to do. You’ve already done your part, Deathwish. Now it’s up to me to finish it.” Toshiko says with her gaze fixed on the sunset sky.

“They’re catching wind of the wiretap I placed on their facial recognition system. You already got more than enough heat on your tail right now.”

“It doesn’t really matter. The moment they get a hold of me, it’ll be too late.”

“You still have to deliver the evidence, you know. Kinda hard to do once you’re caught.”

“I can leave that to you. You still have it safe, right?”

The person Toshiko is talking to shakes its head with a smile.

“Trust me, there’s no way anyone’s gonna get it.” The person is alerted to the sound of footsteps approaching from a corner.

Since the halls are practically empty at this point, the echo is so loud that even the lightest steps can be heard.

“Well then, looks like whatever scheme you have is about to begin. I’ll let you sort this out on your own, just like you asked.”

And with that, the person slides the door shut and walks away from the classroom. By the time Katsuo turns the corner, that person’s gone.

Part 6

In a dimly lit office where a lady clad in violet sits, the gears of fate turn ever so gradually.

“Everything is starting to come together. I thought for sure I have finally gotten rid of every trace of them.”

The lady in violet twirls a pen between her fingers as she takes a look at the gaps in the pieces left in her little puzzle:

An infiltrator that leaves no trace…

The evidence that will shed light to the countless deaths five years ago…

The lone survivor of that attack…

The urban legend of “The Hero” and “The Damsel”…

The pioneer of Alter research…

“I have to be honest, I never anticipated Lance Corp. to rear its ugly head again. Looks like things are going to get a little more fun.” The lady grins at the dark space.

She is known by many names; each name different from the other. There would come a time where she changes her name and there are times where she doesn’t have a name at all.

“Oh my little Katsuo, you never were a step ahead of me. It’s rather impolite for a gentleman to keep a lady waiting so long.”

Four years ago is when the chronicles of that legend has ended. Although word of it still spread far and wide…

(“I could still be out there saving people!”)

(“And you’ll do what?! HUH?!?!”)

…the time for when the Gilded Saber sheathes its sword for good has already passed. It is on that day when a young boy has stained his hands with blood.

“You always told me that you’d give anything to have the chance of saving people again. Let’s see if you can save yourself from this.”

The sky is bathed in an orange glow. The sun is about to sink to the horizon.

Time ticks away as The Hero falls prey to his eventual demise.

Part 7

(“Okay…here we go.”)

Katsuo sets his mind at ease as his trembling hand reaches for the door. He checks back at the letter on his hand again and takes a quick glance at its contents.

He takes in a gulp of air and gently slides the door open.

What welcomes him is the sight of a lonesome young girl.

Her chestnut brown hair sways with the gentle breeze from the open window. Her eyes speak of longing with her long gaze aimed at the dusk sky.

She sits quietly on her wheelchair with both of her hands on her lap and a light smile on her face.

“Ah! I’m so glad you could make it.” The cheery girl responds to the clatter of the door opening.

“Hi. Sorry I’m late. You wanted to see me?”

The girl responds with a shake of her head.

“Oh, that’s not important…” As the girl talks, she takes out a tablet from a small cylindrical container and pops it in her mouth with a bite. “…what matters is that we are finally alone. And…I can finally get my feelings off my chest.”

“Feelings?”

The girl responds with a nod.

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about you since last night. Needless to say, I couldn’t get any rest because of it.”

“Really? Oh man, I’m so sorry…”

“No. No don’t be. In fact, I was happy. But still…” She places a hand over her chest and takes a deep breath. “I got plenty to say so I hope you’d listen. Tell me, you ever get the feeling that it’s best to take action when you see fit?”

Katsuo looks at her confused.

“Well…I suppose, I guess?”

“But let’s just say that you know something is in your way, won’t you do anything to get rid of it?”

(“Oh I get it. She’s embarrassed or shy about it.”) Katsuo thinks to himself.

“It looks to be the best idea. I mean, you have to take the first step otherwise you won’t get there.” He gives his response.

“Really?! Oh that’s great to hear!” The girl places a hand on her chest as she breathes a sigh of relief.

“Then…I suppose you don’t mind if I ask you another question?”

“Hmm? Sure, why not.”

At this moment, Katsuo’s lost in his own thoughts.

(“Oh great, she’s gonna break the question. How am I supposed to tell the Disciplinary Chair? Or Alex? I’m sure that Short Fused Shocker has no care on the matter, anyway…”)

“Very well. Kiyabu…”

Presently, Katsuo is not listening to what was going to happen; a mistake that he will soon dread.

“Would you…die for me?”

(“Wait wha—?!”)

A thunderous metallic step is heard and Katsuo finds himself being grabbed by the neck and slammed to the hard floor.

The girl with the brown hair tied with two tails on the back who, moments ago is confined to a wheelchair, is now overpowering him.

Out of reflex, Katsuo forms a knife with his powers and drives it towards his assailant’s shoulder. Problem is, it just shatters like glass upon impact.

“What the--!!”

“Sorry. Nothing can cut me when I have my Alter Ability active.”

Katsuo vainly tries to pry her fingers off his neck.

The girl tightens her grip on his throat as less and less air gets to his lungs.

Using what little strength he has, he kicks her off, but only causing her to stagger a bit. Each step she takes echoes the sound of metal feet despite her not wearing any metal footwear.

Katsuo takes a moment to slowly stand up and breathe air back into his systems. He coughs and heaves a few times as the girl who has just attacked him recovers from the counter.

“Why do you want me dead?!”

“Simple. We’ve been looking for you for the past five years…Katsuo Kiyabu!” The girl sends one of her fists flying which Katsuo quickly blocks.

“Ghhh—!”

His arms barely held off against the tremendous force; sending him again flat on his back again.

“Wait…you’re with them?! You’re with the people who destroyed an entire village just to eliminate one person?”

“Honestly I couldn't care less for their reason to wanting you dead. It's funny, actually. She wasn't fully onboard with it at first. But that weakling in the wheelchair isn't here right now!”

"Wait, what are you—?!"

Before Katsuo could let out his question, Toshiko slams her fist to the ground.

Katsuo rolls out of the way then scrambles for the door. However, the girl, now with a frightful grin on her face, comes out of nowhere and kicks him away from his escape.

“Come now. Don’t go out there where peeping eyes can see us. We’re having a private moment together.” She mockingly taunts him.

(“Dammit, I gotta come up with something! Let’s see, her Alter Ability may be using her skin as armor. So if I can just injure her internally…”)

With that thought, Katsuo uses his powers again to form a mace. It's in the shape of a bludgeoning cylinder with dull bumps around it.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Come on, Katsuo. Can you at least form a more elegant weapon with your abilities?”

Katsuo swings the hefty mace towards her head, but she just uses the back of her hand to block the attack without a flinch. And just like the knife earlier, it also splinters into the parts he has assembled using his powers, each shattering into shards.

“Too weak!” She grabs him by the collar and hurls him across the room and right at the chalkboard.

The impact knocks all of the air in Katsuo’s lungs out through his mouth as he collapses like a ragdoll on the ground. Heavy metallic steps resound on the nearly empty classroom.

“I was planning on making it a clean death, but you’re putting up way too much of a struggle. Well then, if you don’t want to go out like that, then I’ll splatter your guts all over the floor instead!!”

The girl charges towards Katsuo, who is still in the middle of regaining his strength.

She launches herself right at him with a fist cocked and ready to wail at him. A wide deadly grin plastered on her face while her pupils dilate. The fist then flies towards his face at an astonishing speed.

Time slows down for Katsuo’s final moments. He clamps his eyes shut hoping that will dampen the pain. And that was when…

(“…huh?”)

Something has caught the girl’s punch, but it was not any part of his body.

A wall of light has protected him; stopping Toshiko’s fist dead on its tracks. He knows who it is that has arrived to rescue him from his pinch.

“Toshiko Sakawa!!” The familiar girl shouts while pulling the armband around her left arm inwards.

“In accounts of possession of undocumented medication, theft, disruption of Disciplinary Committee actions, and property damage…”

Beside the girl is a certain ill-tempered shocker, who is busy cracking her knuckles as an aura of electric bolts surrounds her.

“…you are under arrest!!”

Part 8

Toshiko Sakawa’s attack on Katsuo Kiyabu is successfully halted. The assailant puts her hand down and hangs her head so that her eyes look at the floor. Both of her arms go limp as they dangle lifelessly.

“Come quietly and we won’t have to hurt you.” Henrietta negotiates with the suspect they are moving in to arrest.

The other members of the Disciplinary Committee are on standby at the back door of the classroom.

All of the sudden, Toshiko's shoulders start to shake.

“Hmhmhmhmhm…hahahaha…”

Henrietta quietly signals for her teammates to move in for the arrest, but as they approach her from one side, a single swing of her arm with a snarl sends them all flying back.

“AHAHAHAHA!!! Oh man, this really is embarrassing! I never thought that you would actually be able to connect the dots to me.” Toshiko gloats as though her victory is certain at this point.

As she talks, pieces of metal start to form around her body from the feet up. They appear out of thin air and slowly assemble and fold and slide into a suit of armor.

“But now that it has come to this, I have no choice but to eliminate all of you since you’re all getting in my way. If he dies, then the evidence I stole won’t have to be used against the school, and this whole fiasco will come to an end and this girl's life goes back to what it was.” As she talks, her voice becomes hoarser and more robotic.

(“Against the school? What does she mean by that?”) Katsuo wonders what she meant by that.

“But hey, I’m not the one who chose the difficult way out. I will, however, grant you all a quick death. It will be rather messy, however.”

At this point, the armor Toshiko is wearing resembles a familiar form.

It is a suit of armor with stray electrical ports scattered around its body. Cables connect to some of them which materialize as though it flows like liquid out of the port that they connect to. The only piece missing is the helmet.

“This is your final warning! Surrender now, Toshiko Sakawa, and there won’t be any further trouble.”

“Toshiko?!” The girl sneers with a distorted puzzled look on her face.

With that, the helmet appears and snappily clamps around her head like an oyster shell. The face plate finally folds down in place with a clank.

“I! AM! ARSENAL!!!!” The tremendous roar shakes the room and knocks loose the dust on the ceiling.

Arsenal picks up the table the teacher uses, which is supposed to be embedded on the floor, and chucks it right at Henrietta. She blocks the desk by using her Absolute Territory which shatters into splinters from the impact.

This provided Arsenal the distraction it needed to charge right at the pair.

Once all of the pieces of what once was the teacher’s desk scatters away, Henrietta counters by dropping her Absolute Territory, crouches down on a low position and launches her right foot on a high jabbing kick squarely at the armor’s head.

(“Blast…just as I thought. Not even a dent!”) Henrietta thinks to herself as she feels strong resistance on her legs.

The resulting impact sends Arsenal arching backwards. Kanade follows up by grabbing it by the head, places it on her left shoulder, and both of them slam their backs on the ground.

“Hey idiot!! Don’t just sit there! Get a move on!!!” Kanade shouts towards Katsuo who was just getting his bearings straight.

“I can’t just leave you to fight by yourselves!” He shouts back.

Henrietta barges in struggling to subdue the rampaging suit of armor with a flurry of kicks. “Toshiko’s Alter Ability is Material Enhancement. Unless you can somehow harness your ability to attack her Alter instead of her body, you won’t have a fighting chance!”

(“Attack her Alter instead of her body?! What does that supposed to mean?”)

“Ugggh…right!” Katsuo, not being able to make sense of what Henrietta has said, staggers himself up and makes a dash for the back door.

(“Guess I’d just have to figure it out once I get some place safe—“)

But just as he is about to escape, something grabs a hold of his ankles which almost causes him to trip over.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Arsenal calls out using Toshiko’s distorted voice.

The malicious threat is immediately interrupted with a loud metallic clank coming from the armor’s jaw.

“HANDS OFF!!” Henrietta exclaims as she furiously connects her knee to Arsenal’s head and blocks its way with her Absolute Territory.

The sudden shock forces it to let go of Katsuo who stumbles towards the back wall. He directs his right shoulder in order to catch the force of the impact. All while he’s trying to reclaim his balance, he hears a clatter of plastic coming from his feet.

“What are you waiting for?! GO!!” Henrietta continues to pressure Katsuo to flee.

While she’s holding the hulking armor back, Kanade jumps on its back and shocks it a bit with her Alter Ability.

(“This thing’s tough! What’s it made of? It doesn’t feel like metal at all.”) Kanade thinks as she continues to flow current through the suit of armor.

The electric surge stuns Arsenal for a bit. But after a few seconds, it reaches for one of her arms and hurls her towards the window. Luckily, it is locked, so she just bounces off it and down to the ground.

Katsuo crouches down to pick the source of the rattling sound up and quickly examines it. It is the same pill container that Toshiko uses to awaken Arsenal.

“Hey, did you find out anything about the medicine she takes?”

“WHAT?!” Henrietta tirns her head towards Katsuo.

“You said that you’re here to arrest Toshiko, so I assume there was an investigation. Did it include any kind of medicine that she may take?”

Arsenal makes a mad dash towards Katsuo and Henritta who are having their little dialogue. Henrietta moves closer to Katsuo and extends the area of her Absolute Territory to protect both of them.

(“Dammit, I can’t move when I have my Absolute Territory out! If only…”) Henrietta tries to think of other ways to get to safety.

Once Arsenal reaches the perimeter of Henrietta’s Absolute Territory, it starts hammering away at it to vainly try and breach it.

“It’s an experimental drug developed by Lance Corp. as part of their Alter research program.” Henrietta divulges the details her Disciplinary Committee uncovered. “It improves neural connections and overclocks the brain.”

“She said that the nerves for her lower body are messed up. You think this fixed it?”

“It’s possible…” she is interrupted by a loud clack made by a stronger hit from Arsenal that causes the Absolute Territory to flicker a bit.

At that moment...

"Let's go, Circuitbreaker!!" Kanade calls on Circuitbreaker which then hurls a right hook at the Arsenal’s abdomen.

“HEY!! Have your little talk elsewhere! Unless you wanna die in the crossfire or something, then please! Keep on blabbering!” Kanade barks at the two.

Henrietta swiftly grabs Katsuo by the waist and hauls him at her side.

“Hey, what are you--?!”

“No time to ask!” She tells him as they both promptly flee the classroom while Kanade holds it back.

Once they make their way out at the hallway, they continue their little exchange of information.

“It was designed to optimize the brain’s circuitry to awaken their Alter quicker. The downside is that the Alter’s personality runs wild and overwrites a person’s consciousness whenever they are active. They go out of control, causing them to develop symptoms similar to a split personality. It’s an inherent side-effect of anyone switching from Category 2 to Category 3 too quickly. The sudden shift in data flow places the body in shock as it is given no time to adjust.”

“So that means Arsenal…”

“...is Toshiko Sakawa’s Alter stuck in her body.”

Due to the experimental drug Toshiko is taking, her alter manifests as a separate personality from her own. While not within the medicine's effects, Arsenal uses Toshiko's body, exhibiting symptoms nearly identical to a split personality.

In order to manifest Arsenal physically, Toshiko takes the experimental medicine to call on her Alter in the form of a suit of armor.

"I see..." Katsuo nods in agreement to Henrietta's explanation. “How long does it work?”

They continue talking as they take a flight of stairs down.

“Depends on the person’s metabolism and how often they take it. The effects wear off earliest about five or fifteen minutes.”

“The longest?”

As they run along the corridor, their train of thought is interrupted by something falling through the ceiling which they jump away from. What emerges from the cloud of dust the collapse has caused is the form of a suit of armor bearing down on Kanade.

“Give it up! I can take you on for another hour or so and still have time to go after the boy!” The heavily distorted voice of Toshiko boasts.

“That.” Henrietta points out.

At that moment, Arsenal’s metallic body resounds oddly. It senses a presence that is enough to give it a full stance of confidence as it manages to track down its prey again.

“Well…that saves me a lot of trouble.” Arsenal takes its weight off of Kanade and walks towards Katsuo.

Henrietta places an arm in front of Katsuo as though to shield him.

(“Bladed weapons have no hopes of penetrating the armor. But…”)

He remembers the time when that dull physical hits like normal punches and kicks have a better effect against its metal body.

To try and defend himself, Katsuo forms a tonfa with his hand. But that’s when another memory comes to mind.

Earlier when he tries to hit Toshiko with a mace, it just shatters into the base parts he assembled with his powers once she uses her own Alter Ability against it.

(“…what if…”)

Katsuo awaits for a moment. He needs an opening to try and test his idea; something that will get its attention.

That distraction comes in a form of a concentrated electric blast that causes Arsenal to spastically spasm as presumably hundreds of thousands of volts surge through its metal body.

As soon as the bombardment stops…

(“Now!”)

Before Arsenal could recover from the electric blast, Katsuo ducks under Henrietta’s arm, and with an arcing motion, jabs the short end of the tonfa to the armor’s abdomen.

Surprisingly, this knocks it backwards and hurling right towards Kanade. She follows it up with calling forth Circuitbreaker to smack it towards a nearby wall, embedding it in place with a resounding clang.

“How do you know how to pull something like that?” Henrietta stands amazed at how Katsuo has slipped pass her.

“Long story.” He replies as the tonfa scatters into shards of light as it falls apart like broken glass.

“Still, that usually doesn’t work, right?” Kanade asks curiously.

“You’re right. Every hit I dish out usually gets blocked no problem. Even destroying every weapon I make, but…”

“Before only our attacks were the ones that make any sort of damage. Maybe you think…” Henrietta ponders on the presented situation.

That was when something clicked in everyone’s head.

Kanade took Arsenal on and was nearly killed if not for Katsuo stepping in that night.

Any attack Katsuo made in the classroom against Toshiko was blocked with her Alter abilities.

And the reason Arsenal kept on fleeing in the first place is…

(“She can’t keep up using her Alter abilities when she’s up against more than one!”)  Everyone gets the same idea.

A series of eerie metal clanks steals their attention. The metal form slowly pries itself offof the wall as the red light on its visor flickers back on.

“I’ve…had…ENOUGH!!!” Arsenal uses Toshiko's distorted voice to growl in rage.

A metal fist slams down on the concrete floor creating a thundering tremor that knocks all three of them off their feet.

It goes for Katsuo who is then raised up high in the air. He holds on to Arsenal’s arm as he swings his legs wildly to try and shake its grip off.

Kanade comes to his aid and dropkicks the armor; sending Katsuo tumbling to the floor again.

He quickly recovers, and so did Arsenal who gazes with overflowing hatred towards Kanade.

“You’ve gotten in my way for far too long!” Arsenal turns its back on its intended prey.

However, that is when a dome of light forms around it, along with the one who created it.

“You’re facing me this time!” Henrietta gives a cocky grin as though taking a page from Kanade.

The giant suit of armor pulls a hand back and reaches for the Disciplinary Committee chairperson, however she quickly pivots out of its way, like a matador to dodge an incoming grab.

She drops her Absolute Territory and what waits at the other side is Katsuo charging right at it. On his hand is a two-handed sword which he has formed with his Alter abilities.

He screams at the top of his lungs to pour in all of his strength to every swing he makes. He keeps on slashing and hammering away at Arsenal who is trying to block every attack with its forearms.

Every impact that is made causes small cracks on the sword that gradually expand and multiply with every hit.

After one big slash, the sword shatters into shards of light.

Arsenal moves in for the counter, and Katsuo sets his hand to prepare another weapon to use against the gigantic armor. But that was all he ever did.

With Arsenal left open for another attack, Safeguard appears between the two and performs rapid consecutive palm strikes to Arsenal’s chest.

As it staggers backwards from the rapid succession of attacks, Henrietta follows up with a roundhouse kick to its head which sends it flying.

Kanade’s Alter, Circuitbreaker, catches it by the ankle while it is in the air and slams the Arsenal to the ground like a ragdoll, leaving a thunderous metal clang.

The armor slowly stands itself up and sees the girl and her Alter who both drive their fists straight at Arsenal’s face.

The armor falls on its back again; however the silver and red glow that emanates from it burns more intensely as it shoots itself upward.

(“This is it!”) Katsuo says to himself in anticipation.

Katsuo, who is standing behind Arsenal, forms a fencing rapier. He slides between its legs and thrusts the sword in his hand right through the armors chest. And to his surprise, the weapon not only connects, but skewers right through Arsenal.

Their plan is a success. However, instead of relief, dread slowly fills Katsuo.

He has been in a similar situation before.

With a bladed weapon on hand, he stabs someone through the chest. Unimaginable amounts of blood everywhere and his victim still gurgling in the same crimson fluid.

(“…you’re no hero…”)

The spine-chilling whisper of the life he has claimed before echoes once more. The time of the legend of the hero wielding a golden sword closes with that quiet murmur.

Katsuo quickly pulls out the rapier stabbed at Arsenal’s chest. The armor drops to its knees on the floor and Katsuo takes deep hoarse breaths.

He takes a look at the weapon that he was certain penetrated the body of a human being, however what he found most puzzling is what is not on it.

There isn’t a single drop of blood anywhere on the weapon or on the floor.

Arsenal crutches its abdomen as though an actual wound is there. The faceplate of its helmet swings upward and the rest of it opens at a hinge on the back of the head.

“What…did you do?! Arsenal…is fading!” Toshiko demands as she staggers to stand herself up.

“I…I don’t even know.” Katsuo answers with his gaze still affixed on the rapier he has used.

(“How did that not kill her? Not like I intend to, I’m sure. But still…”) He wonders on his own.

Footsteps approach as they resound around a distant corner with a thundering echo.

“Disciplinary Committee, nobody move!!”

The members of the Disciplinary Committee, who were knocked out upstairs, block the other end of the hall and pull their armbands inwards to clearly display the insignia.

With both ends of the hall blocked off, there is only one way of escape for her.

Toshiko quickly gets up and dashes through the glass window which shatters it into pieces of glass and metal. Luckily they are on the ground floor, so there is no risk of falling.

She rolls off the rest of her momentum and runs into the thick trees that comprises the school’s outer area

“After her!” Henrietta barks as everyone hops through the broken window to give chase.

Part 9

Around a quarter of an hour has passed since Toshiko Sakawa took a dose of an experimental drug. Everything from the waist up of the armor which is her Alter that she calls Arsenal has disappeared.

She wanders the shadows created by the shadow of the tall thick trees crutching her abdomen after the hit she has taken from Katsuo.

(“Dammit…if only I can keep up with how much this power requires of me.”)

Beams of orange light from the sunset leak through the gaps between the leaves of the trees. She staggers with every step as the sensation of her legs start to leave her. She leans on the trunk of every tree she passes just to maintain her balance.

(“I know I still have more time. The drug isn’t supposed to wear off until another hour.”)

After a few more meters, her quivering knees finally give way. She drops to the grassy field as the sensation of hundreds of needles prick her legs slowly start to set in.

(“I can’t lose. I have to prove my worth…only they can cure me…”)

Only the metal boots of Arsenal remain on her as she tries to crawl the rest of the way while dragging her feet. But just then, a familiar, yet somehow different, form basks in the deep amber sun and looks at her with the sunset behind it.

All of the sudden, a voice taunts her currently helpless state.

“You really shouldn’t have challenged that boy so soon.” The cocky figure with one hand on its waist taunts at the girl wallowing on the ground.

“Do you really think…I work alone?”

“You mean your accomplice? She has left you for dead. You have been deemed expendable.”

The warm breeze of the impending night sweeps across both of their faces. Toshiko gazes at the shadow right at where its eyes are supposed to be.

“You’re lying…” Her trembling voice accuses it.

“Believe what you want. It won’t bring back the doctors that have the skills to treat your condition.”

Rage fills the young girl’s eyes. Her hands clench at the blades of grass that are sprouting on the ground. She uses what little strength she has on her legs that are already starting to leave her.

“I’LL KILL YOU!!!” Toshiko pounces towards the shadow with hostility.

However…

“Destroy, Necrosis.”

An apparition comes in between them resembling a cloud of black mist with a leather cloak.

The moment she goes through it, her muscles start to lock up. She drops mere inches away from her target with her breathing constricted. The shadow kneels down and places its head beside Toshiko’s to whisper to her ear.

“My Alter Ability is being able to temporarily cease the function of biological systems. They have a catchy name for it: Bio-disruption. Right now, I have paralyzed your body and limited your breathing. The first part I’m sure you are all too familiar with as you did grow up with your nerves unable to move your motor functions properly. But…I’m sure the breathing part is something you haven’t experience yet, am I right? Now…will you be a good girl and stop bothering the nice people?”

The shadow places its ear right by her mouth which is still gasping to catch her breath like a fish out of water.

“That’s a good girl.” The shadow pats Toshiko’s head.

It then stands up and snaps its fingers. Toshiko wheezes air back into her lungs and coughs for a good amount of time. However, she still can’t move the rest of her body.

The shadow pulls what looks like a smartphone and places it to the side of its own head.

“Headmistress, it’s me. I have apprehended the perpetrator. I’ll turn her in to the Disciplinary Committee just as we arranged.”