A/N: I apologize for the long wait guys! O: College is intense, but a lot of fun so
I've been getting distracted. That and a lot of things keep coming up to make me take breaks, but don't worry
this story has not been abandoned! I promised myself that I would finish this one because I usually never
finish any projects I start on unless they are drawings. (I won't let you guys down c:)!
Disclaimer: I do not own K-ON! it belongs to Kakifly and KyoAni.
I do not own Running for Cover it belongs to Ivan and Alyosha.
Chapter 9: Running for Cover
Yes we're running for cover
Yeah we're running afraid,
as we roll with one another,
Oh the mess that we have made.
"Well, Yui-chan, aren't you going to read it?"
The blonde's blue eyes looked questioningly into Yui's own.
Yui bit her bottom lip anxiously before glancing at Ritsu who had been shaking nonstop since she had arrived.
"A-alright, Mugi-chan," Yui whispered before carefully unfolding the small paper in her hands.
"To H-Hirasawa Yui and Tainaka Ritsu, you have not h-heed...h-heeded my warning…" Yui started, but then paused to prevent herself from further stumbling over words. She bit her lower lip again before examining her two friends.
Mugi had put an arm around an exasperated Ritsu. Yui watched as the blonde attempted to calm the smaller girl down before she glanced back at her and nodded.
Yui sighed once more before glancing down at the letter and continuing,
"E-even though I warned you to stop interfering, y-you still continue to be quite the n-nuisances. Although, I'm not one to go on, I-I feel that I should say something important. I k-know Captain and Private are on this island, although I'm not sure your l-little f-friends do. To make a long story short, come to the clearing in the forest as soon as you can unless you want your two raven-haired friends to-"
Yui cut herself short once she realized the note's implications. She felt her heart drop and her hands grow shakier.
J-Just a few m-more lines… oh kami, please.
"...To have some fun with me. I-I don't k-know about you two, but I for o-one can get bored v-very easily. I hope to see you soon… W-well, I would come ASAP for the assurance of your friends' safety. P.S. I have a surprise for the two of you if y-you hurry… I think it's something that the two of you would enjoy seeing a-again."
Yui crumpled up the letter before squeezing it tightly in her hands. She frowned before shouting in frustration and chucking it against the wall.
Her surroundings seemed to grow colder as she registered the words of the letter; it felt as if time had stood still. All of the happiness and optimism that had previously filled the room had immediately dissolved at her reading it.
Out there somewhere, the imposter had two of her friends held hostage and it was because of them. Just the fact that she knew that she was partially at fault made Yui sick to her stomach.
To think that Azunyan and Mio-chan are getting caught up in all of this because of us...
Yui clenched her fist before looking up at Ritsu's pale face. Next to her, Yui watched Mugi out of the corner of her eye as she coughed into her hand.
"I wouldn't say not to panic, but you two...no...Captain and Private need to step in," Mugi seriously said, her large eyebrows furrowing as she did so.
Yui watched the blonde's internal struggle. She wanted to help keep Ritsu safe, yet here was a situation where the drummer could easily get hurt as they faced yet another unknown danger.
"Well, then you know what we have to do, Yui... We're the only ones who can do this," Ritsu frowned and then met Yui's eyes.
"H-hai, Ricchan," Yui whispered.
The two girls ran over their bags and quickly went to suit up once again. Yui noted that putting on her costume was much harder than usual since her hands were so shaky.
Azunyan and Mio-chan are going to be okay! I-I shouldn't panic!
Yui quickly pulled her shirt over her head and then worked to place the gloves quickly on her hands. She leaned down to pick up her mask before frowning.
This…This all started because Ricchan and me wanted to make our city a better place. We never meant to hurt anyone…
"Ne, Yui."
The brunette turned around to look up at the tawny-haired girl. Ritsu was placing her goggles on her head. The drummer's amber eyes looked misty as she gazed at the wall.
"What, Ricchan?" Yui asked before standing up and glancing at the drummer's blank expression.
"You don't think this is our fault, do you?"
"…I'm not going to lie to you Ricchan, but I honestly don't know," Yui quietly replied.
"I see," Ritsu whispered before pulling her goggles over her eyes, shielding Yui's gaze from their blankness.
"You two, please don't think badly of yourselves! You never expected something like this to happen!" Mugi jumped in and frowned at the two of them.
M-Mugi-chan, you...
"All you two need to worry about right now is getting Mio-chan and Azusa-chan back! As long as they are safe and sound you needn't blame yourself for anything!" Mugi continued.
"Mugi's right, Yui," Ritsu sighed before pulling her goggles back up.
A smile crept onto Yui's face once she noted that in the drummer's eyes, a spark of had appeared.
If Ricchan is smiling...then there's hope after all!
With that thought in mind, Yui beamed and secured her mask on her face. When she finished, she saluted Ritsu who was taken aback by her sudden burst of energy.
"Captain, we can do this! I will never fail my leader!" Yui proudly stated as she watch the life completely return into Ritsu's eyes.
The tawny-haired girl chuckled and brought her hand up to salute also.
"That's right, Private. I'm sorry for my moment of weakness," Ritsu smiled.
The two girls smiled at each other for a bit before glancing up the stairs and nodding.
"We know what we have to do, Ricchan," Yui whispered.
"Yeah, make sure Sawa-chan doesn't do anything dumb, Mugi," Ritsu replied before walking over to the blonde.
Mugi looked at both Yui and Ritsu with tears in her eyes. The airhead watched silently as Ritsu placed a hand on Mugi's head and gently caressed it.
"It'll be okay. Everything's gonna be back to normal in no time," the drummer grinned before flashing her a thumbs-up.
The blonde slowly nodded before hastily wiping the tears from her eyes. Yui felt her heart ache at the sight.
Of course Ricchan wouldn't know why Mugi-chan is more upset than usual...this makes things a bit harder.
"Well Yui, time to head up! See ya up there!" Ritsu shouted before taking off and running up the stairwell.
"E-eh?! R-Ricchan wait for me!"
~K-ON!~
"Why are you doing this to us?!"
Azusa scowled as she tried to shake her bound hands. It didn't help that their kidnapper had blindfolded her so she couldn't see.
"A-Azusa... don't make him mad."
Mio's soft voice came from Azusa's right, the younger girl instantly turned to face her, but all she could see was black.
Ah, this damned blindfold!
"But Mio-senpai we haven't done anything wrong! It makes no sense at all," Azusa furiously whispered back.
"I-I know that, but...I believe in our f-friends. They will find us," Mio hesitantly whispered.
The young girl frowned, Azusa couldn't see it, but judging from the hesitance in the elder girl's voice, she knew that Mio was trying to put up a brave front.
Azusa scowled as she bitterly thought to herself.
If we were back in the city I bet Captain and Private would save us!
"What's taking so long? Your friends ought to know better by now," the voice of the stranger calmly said.
"Why does it matter to you? Why are you doing this?" Azusa hissed.
The sudden chuckle coming from her right caused the younger girl to tense up. She sharply inhaled when she felt movement come from in front of her. Moments later she felt a gloved hand press her cheeks together.
"I have my reasons. I can see why that clumsy one is so fond of you, you're adorable," the stranger venomously whispered near Azusa's ear causing her breath to hitch.
P-Private is fond of me..?!
After trying to calm her beating heart, Azusa remembered that this stranger was touching her. She shook her head furiously to make him stop.
"G-get away from me…!" She gasped.
The small girl felt a warm breath on her ear before the stranger's voice continued.
"Ah, but that's no fun…why don't I just make you mine?"
"L-leave her alone!"
Azusa immediately felt the stranger let go of her face and could hear an amused chuckle as the stranger's footsteps grew faint.
What exactly does this stranger want with us? We don't even know what we've done wrong!
A pained groan from the right led Azusa to turn her head toward the noise. After what sounded like a struggle, the groaning stopped. In the distance between herself and the stranger, Azusa could hear him whispering to himself.
"…damn drug…not lasting long enough…stay still…"
A…drug? Is he going to drug us?! NO! This can't be happening!
"Azusa, is this you?"
The younger girl felt a nudge come from her right before gently nudging back.
"Y-yes, what's wrong, Mio-senpai?"
"I…just wanted to make sure that wasn't you he was struggling with…How should we get out of this…? Mio whispered back.
"I have no idea, senpai," Azusa weakly replied.
In the distance, Azusa heard a rustling noise. The longer she listened to it, the more aware she became that whatever it was, it was rapidly approaching.
"Mio-senpai, do you hear that…?"
"Yes, Azusa, but who do you think it I-" Mio started to speak, but was cut off by a foreign voice.
"Oi, criminal hand those two poor girls over to us! You need not torture them further!"
Wait…that voice…it can't be.
"So you've finally arrived," the stranger stated in a bored voice.
"Of course, there's no way Team CaptIvate would let denizens of the town down!"
Azusa felt her stomach jump at the sense of familiarity of the second voice.
That's Private! It's them! It's really them!
Even though she still couldn't see, Azusa could perfectly picture the two heroes running through the forest. They had actually come for them! They had found them! Private was actually in the forest with her at the same time!
Now everything would be okay, there was no way that the two heroes would let anything happen to them.
~K-ON!~
"Well, well, Captain and Private, how very nice of you to join us."
Yui felt her blood boil at the nonchalant manner that the imposter stated the words. Now that she let her eyes adjust to her new surroundings, she spotted Azusa and Mio. Her heart jumped with relief when she noted that they were safe, but immediately came crashing down when she saw that they were blindfolded and tied up.
A hand being placed on her shoulder alerted Yui to the fact that Ritsu had noticed the same and was trying to keep her calm.
"What do you want, imposter? Didn't you cause enough trouble back home?" Ritsu growled in a voice that was an octave lower than usual.
Oh that's right! We've gotta lower our voices!
"Y-yeah, I thought we got rid of you for good!" Yui said back.
"You can't get rid of me so easily, oh 'famed' town heroes," the imposter smirked before bowing slightly as if pretending that they were royalty.
"As for what I want, I don't really want anything except to conclude my test," the imposter sighed before turning around and rapping his knuckle on the tree trunk.
"Test? What the hell are you getting at?" Ritsu bellowed, Yui could tell that the drummer was growing frustrated since the conversations were going nowhere.
"You'll see momentarily, as for now, enjoy yourselves and take the 'hostages' back" the imposter flashed a peace sign.
Yui and Ritsu stood there momentarily stunned until the imposter sprinted forward and tackled Yui to the ground.
The airhead struggled under the boy's grip while he seemed to fumble with her belt. She gasped in frustration as she fought to get him off.
"Oi, y-you, get off!" Ritsu jumped back in after reassessing the situation.
The imposter immediately rolled off of Yui and knelt. As Yui sat back up, she watched him smirk one more time before letting a small sphere drop onto the ground.
"Wha-?" Yui whispered as she realized what it was.
"Nghhhh-NOOOOOOOOO!" Ritsu shouted as she ran toward the imposter before the smoke bomb exploded and engulfed the area.
Within moments, the whole clearing was covered in smoke. A loud thud led Yui to assume that the drummer had failed in her assault and had crashed into a nearby tree. After the smoke cleared, she realized that Ritsu was nursing a newfound lump on her head.
"Urgh Yu-Private, we better free these two before that surprise he was talking about comes," Ritsu mumbled as she walked toward Mio.
While Ritsu began to talk to Mio and tell her that she was just going to free her, Yui made her over to Azusa.
Hehe, I can have some fun with this…Azunyan won't suspect a thing!
~K-ON!~
"Ahh, we meet again, koneko-chan."
The young raven-haired girl felt her cheeks blush at the familiar nickname. Private was standing in front of her and he was helping her.
"H-hello," she managed to weakly spout.
After he chuckled, Azusa felt Private's gloved hands immediately start fiddling with her blindfold. Her eyes took a few moments to readjust from the darkness, but when they finally focused, she blushed when she noticed how close Private's face was to hers.
"I hope you've been well, koneko-chan. I haven't seen you since that day in the alley," Private whispered.
Oh thank Kami, that it's dark otherwise he'd see how red my face is!
"I-I've b-been well," Azusa squeaked.
I need to calm down! Oh gosh, I'm so nervous.
The young girl attempted to even out her breathing as Private then began to carefully undo the knot that had bound her hands. Off to the side, she could hear Mio struggling with Captain. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that it was because Captain was trying to undo the rope on her legs.
"H-hey who said you could touch me!" Mio shouted.
"Ehh, I'm trying to help you!"
"I never asked for your help!"
"Would you rather I leave you like this for someone else to find you?" Captain grumbled back.
After the few moments of silence, Azusa knew that her senpai had given in and was going to let Captain finish the task at hand. She smiled before realizing that her legs didn't have a force keeping them together. She slowly stretched her legs in relief when she noted that the rope was gone.
"There, that should do it," Private grinned before standing up and holding his hand out to her.
Azusa immediately grasped the gloved hand and allowed herself to be pulled up. A pained yelp coming from her right led her to see that Mio had accidentally kicked Captain in the face.
"I am so sorry!" Mio apologized when she saw that she had caused the hero to bleed. Her eyes then widened in horror when she watched the blood drip down the hero's face.
" 'ss fine, nuthin te worry 'bout," Captain weakly smiled before pinching his nose.
"You two should head back, there is something out here, but we aren't sure where it is yet," Private said.
Azusa walked over to Mio and pet the bassist's back as she regained her composure. Mio looked up in realization before she spoke up.
"Oh, could it be what that stranger was talking about?" She asked.
"That's right! There was someone else in the woods with us! The stranger said something about staying still and a drug," Azusa recalled.
The garnet eyed girl watched the two heroes exchange a look before they faced them again.
"You two should try to head back and go to your home immediately," Captain said.
"We will do that, t-thank you for h-helping us," Mio stuttered.
Mio-senpai's brave front is weakening again…
"I'll help lead her back, thanks for everything!" Azusa smiled and then glanced at Private before continuing, "Maybe, we'll meet again someday!"
The younger girl watched the heroes nod before taking off into the forest.
She then grabbed Mio's arm and started to drag the elder girl through the forest.
"Ritsu was right, Azusa…maybe Captain isn't so bad," Mio whispered.
When the younger girl looked up at the bassist, she could have sworn that she saw a small blush on the girl's face. She smiled to herself as they neared the villa.
Well, I guess some things DO change.
~K-ON!~
"You heard them, Ri-Captain. That imposter has something hiding in the woods."
Yui folded her arms before glancing at Ritsu who was now checking to see if any permanent damage was done to her nose.
The tawny-haired grunted in pain as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Ack, it's a bit sore and there's maybe a bruise, but I think I'm good." She stated as she glanced around. Ritsu sighed before continuing, "Either we go searching and get lost or we wait here for it to show."
Either way, it's kind of risky...I don't like this.
Yui bit her lip nervously before picking at the edge of her glove. Time passed by slowly as both girls silently stood there.
"We might just be able to go back, though. He might have been bluffing," Ritsu added.
Yui nodded before glancing up at the drummer. She smiled at Ritsu before she noticed a slight movement right behind the girl's head.
"R-Ricchan, turn around!" Yui shouted as she backed up.
Moments after Ritsu turned, a figure clad in black burst out from behind the tree.
"W-what the hell? What do you want?" Ritsu shouted.
The mysterious figure merely stood there for a few seconds as they waited for a response.
"Hello? Can you even hear me?" Ritsu asked.
"It's futile, unless given a command, this puppet won't listen," the imposter's voice said.
Yui tilted her head upward to find the imposter's location. She eventually noticed that he was sitting on a tree ledge over the mysterious figure.
"What do you mean by puppet?" Yui asked.
"By puppet, I literally mean, a puppet. You know like a marionette that I can use to do what I want," the imposter continued in a monotone manner.
Yui glanced back down at the still figure at the base of the tree. It had not budged since they had first noticed it. She then looked over at Ritsu and saw that the drummer was scowling.
I see that Ricchan is really frustrated by this situation…
The brunette looked back up at the imposter before sighing. The distance between them and him would be too difficult to overcome unless they made it obvious that they were moving.
In other words, they had no chance of getting to the imposter without a reaction.
"Trying to attack me is also futile," the imposter stated.
Yui tensed up and stared at the imposter in shock. She nervously licked her lips and swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Yui, we need to do something, but we gotta be careful," Ritsu hissed.
"W-what do you mean?" Yui whispered back.
"I'm saying that we can take him down once and for all if we act quickly. I think a smoke bomb will do," Ritsu continued.
Yui slightly nodded before reaching down and carefully grabbing for a one. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized that the pocket that normally held them was empty.
"Looking for these?"
Chocolate brown eyes looked up at the imposter once again before they watched a tiny sphere drop from the tree. As soon as the sphere landed, a burst of white smoke engulfed the area.
"Damn it! Private go now!"
Yui heard Ritsu shout before she sprinted into the smoke. The brunette followed, but then instantly regretted the decision. The smoke would dissipate soon, that was true, but for now she was blind.
I know that these goggles can see in the smoke, but it being dark really doesn't help much.
"Over here!" A voice shouted.
Yui immediately turned around to face the speaker, but then felt a knee collide into her stomach. She gasped in pain as her back hit the ground.
I-I can't stop n-now.
As the white cloud of smoke seemed to clear away, Yui caught sight of a dark figure looming over her. As it reached out to grab her, she slapped its hand away and lunged forward.
Using all of her body weight, she tackled the person onto the ground.
"Ah, crap, Yui, be careful!" Ritsu groaned in pain.
"S-shoot, sorry Ricchan!" Yui apologized as she immediately got up.
When she turned around, she noted that the imposter was standing next to the mysterious figure. Now that the moonlight had shone through the clouds that had once covered the sky, Yui noted that the mysterious figure had short hair and was wearing a cloak similar to that of the Revolution.
She observed as the imposter whispered something to the figure before catching the end of what he was saying.
"…And now, you will act on my words. The Revolution is here."
Yui brought her arms up in a defensive manner before preparing herself for an oncoming attack. She stood there in shock as she watched the imposter raise a hand.
"Too long it has been since I ever properly introduced myself and I'm tired of the media labeling me as just as an imposter," the imposter stated.
"But that's what you are! You're a dirty copycat who's just doing bad things!" Ritsu growled.
"I have no intention of being a copycat of such a weakling. You lack the capacity to do great things. I've done enough to attempt and frame you, but obviously since that has failed, measures must be taken," the imposter droned on.
Yui frowned at the statement and then glanced down at the ground.
But I don't want people to get hurt. The only reason we did this was to stop people like him!
"But why are you doing this?" Yui softly asked.
A pregnant silence ensued following Yui's question. When they heard a sudden laugh come from the imposter both girls to tense up.
"I have my reasons. From now on though, you can address me as the Commander," the imposter smiled.
"Eh? The commander? That's like a rip-off of our names," Ritsu bluntly stated.
Yui had to suppress a laugh when she saw that the imposter took a step backward and became flustered.
"S-shut up! It took me a long time to come up with this name!" he shouted.
Though, when he talked, Yui noticed something off about his voice. When the Commander had shouted at them, she could have sworn that she heard his voice go up an octave.
That voice…sounded familiar for a bit.
Shaking her head at the ridiculous thought of the Commander being someone they knew, Yui frowned again.
"Enough's enough, I'm done playing around. Have fun with them my puppet, we'll see if you two are worthy of being my opponents when its done with you," the commander maliciously grinned before patting the figure's back.
At the action, the previously frozen figure launched forward. Yui watched in shock as the figure immediately reached out to punch her.
"Shoot, Yui watch out!" Ritsu shouted.
The brunette quickly ducked the punch and sidestepped the black-clad figure. She heard him hiss in frustration as he immediately swung with his other arm to try and hit her in the chest.
Out of the corner of her eye, Yui watched as the Commander ran away into the forest.
"Ricchan, go after hi-"Yui began, but was interrupted as the puppet elbowed her side.
The brunette staggered sideways as she fought to regain her balance. The puppet used this moment in time to sweep his leg and aim for the back of her leg. Once she noticed that the puppet was rather clumsy with his fighting moves, Yui narrowly avoided the sweep and jumped forward before launching herself against him.
She managed to successfully pin him against the tree as she looked around for Ritsu. Once she spotted the tawny-haired hero still standing there as if deciding whether to stay or go, Yui shouted,
"Ricchan, just go after him! I'll take care of this puppet!"
Seeming to snap out of her thoughts, Ritsu looked at her before nodding and sprinting after the Commander. While Yui watched her friend run away, she did not notice that the figure underneath her was adjusting his arm in order to jab her stomach with the tip of his hand.
Once Yui felt the tips of his fingers jab sharply into her stomach, she hissed in pain and loosened her grip. The moment that she did this, the puppet folded his arms into an X and shoved her away.
"W-who are you? Why are you just listening to him?" Yui asked him as she staggered back.
The silence that ensued after her question lingered momentarily as the puppet suddenly jumped forward to uppercut her. After narrowly avoiding the first hit, the puppet immediately twirled and went to punch her with the opposite arm.
The Commander was right…this person really IS like a puppet! He won't even answer at all! There's no hesitating.
Yui quickly ducked as the puppet tried to do a roundhouse. As he went to turn back into a normal standing position, she took the chance to tackle his leg and knock him down to the ground.
"Oof," the puppet gasped as he harshly hit the ground.
Now that he was on the forest floor, Yui noticed that the hooded figure was wearing a mask. She slowly stood up and observed his still body before walking over.
After a few seconds of no movement, she reached out her foot and gently kicked his side. When she still received no response, she decided that it was safe enough for her to bend down and find out who it was.
I mean, it couldn't hurt…maybe I can convince him that doing bad things will make him feel bad about it later.
Yui slowly knelt down and stretched her right hand out to grab the puppet's mask. She felt her heart pound loudly in her ears as a rush of adrenaline consumed her system. She nervously licked her lips before placing her hand over the mask.
Just a little bit more…
As soon as she got a good grip on the fabric of the mask and began to pull it off, the brunette felt something grip her arm. She glanced down and gasped when she saw that the seemingly still person had grabbed onto her arm.
As she tried to shake her arm from his grip, Yui felt his left hand on her back before he shifted and pushed her onto the ground. Now that she was under him, Yui stared at his face.
The puppet wore a mask that covered the area above his nose. The one distinguishing feature on his face was the cold sneer. Yui watched in utter dismay as he pinned her down using his knees and reached out toward her face.
"N-Ngh, noooooooo!" she bellowed.
As tears began to gather in her eyes, Yui heard herself start to whimper. She couldn't help but tremble under the Puppet's weight.
This is it! He's going to k-kill me! I'm s-sorry, Ui…
Yui closed her eyes and felt the warmth of the tears as they made their way down her cheeks. An image of her younger sister wearing black clothes and crying in front of a grave filled her mind. Yui's heart began to ache at the thought.
When she noted that the Puppet was not doing anything, she slowly opened one eye. The Puppet was looking down at her in shock.
"Y-Yui…is that you…?"
Yui sniffled before glancing directly into the Puppet's face. She felt a gloved hand gently reach out and remove her mask. A quiet gasp escaped the Puppet's lips as realization seemed to cross his face.
"Y-Yui, listen to me, there's not much time," the Puppet began.
"H-how do you know who I am?" Yui interrupted.
"That's not important right now! I don't have much time before this bracelet activates again and injects me with that drug!" The Puppet continued.
The sense of familiarity of the voice led Yui's eyes to widen. Why was it that this person's voice seemed to sound comforting when moments earlier they were trying to kill her?
"Yui, you have to knock me out or something…I don't want to hurt you," the Puppet pleaded.
He immediately rolled off of her and pulled off of his gloves. Yui quickly sat up and saw the bracelet that he had been talking about.
"Yui, I'm telling you, there's not much time. Once she realizes that the drug wore off, she'll activate the bracelet so it can give me another dose," the Puppet said in a panicked tone.
"Who is she and w-who are YOU?" Yui questioned.
The black-clad figure smacked his forehead before muttering something that sounded like "right this damn mask". The brunette observed as the Puppet slowly undid the mask.
Once the fabric landed on the floor, Yui took in the Puppet's appearance. A shocked gasp escaped her lips as she backed up against the wall.
N-no, this can't be!
"Yui, I know this looks bad, but please listen to me, I didn't do this because I wanted to!" The Puppet pleaded.
"I-I can't believe it, I really can't! Why would you do this?" Yui shouted.
"For the last time, Yui, grow up for a few seconds and listen to me! You can't beat her, not right now at least. S-she's got this drug that can control peo-" The puppet started before Yui cut her off.
"Nooo, I really can't believe this. I just can't! After all this time...you...please tell me that this is all a dream," Yui moaned as she collapsed to her knees in shock.
"Yui…"
The brunette looked up at the black-clad person standing in front of her. Even though she was covered in dirt and her short brown hair was tussled, there was no mistaking who was in front of her.
"But…Nodoka-chan, why would you do this to us?" Yui weakly whispered.
The bespectacled girl weakly smiled before pinching the bridge of her nose. From the proximity that they were at, Yui noticed that there was a crack in the girl's glasses and that her cheeks were scratched.
"Listen to me, Yui. I know this looks really really bad, but-"Nodoka began, but immediately stopped as three beeps cut the silence; her eyes widened in horror as realization entered them.
"Nodoka-chan…?" Yui softly asked.
Nodoka backed up before glancing down at her wrist.
"No, no, no, not now, please not now," Nodoka pleaded the inanimate object on her wrist as she ran toward a tree.
Yui watched in dismay as her normally bespectacled friend began to smash the bracelet against the tree trunk.
"Nodoka-chan, please don't hurt yourself!" Yui shouted as she stood up and ran over to her friend.
She grabbed onto Nodoka's arm before the girl did any further damage to it.
"Yui, get away from me, right now," Nodoka weakly whispered.
The brunette shook her head as she tightened her grip on her friend's arm.
"No way, Nodoka-chan, I'm not going to just stand back and watch you hurt yourself!"
Nodoka faintly chuckled before reaching up and gently flicking Yui's forehead.
"You're too naïve, Yui. At this rate, you better hope that, Ritsu can pick up the slac-"
Nodoka involuntarily shivered and suddenly tensed up. Yui looked into her friend's eyes and noticed that the misty look from before had entered her friend's eyes.
The seemingly docile girl suddenly growled as Yui heard a faint voice whispering something. After looking around to see where the noise could be coming from, Yui noted that Nodoka had an earpiece on. The airhead immediately reached over and removed the headset.
As soon as she did so, Nodoka howled in anger and tackled her against the base of the tree. Yui felt the air get knocked out of her lungs as her back collided with the tree.
While she struggled to regain her breath, she felt a sharp pain come from her chest area. She hissed as Nodoka grabbed her by her collar and pinned her against the tree.
"N-Nodoka-chan, p-please don't do this," Yui begged as she looked into her friend's eyes.
The lack of recognition in her childhood friend's eyes led a sense of emptiness to fill Yui's stomach. Since this "person" she was fighting was technically not her friend, she wouldn't hesitate to kill her.
A sudden movement from down below and watched as Nodoka's knee jerked upward only to land in her stomach. Yui gasped and watched as blood sprayed from her mouth. Once she felt that the inside of her mouth was stinging, she realized that she had bitten her cheek.
The pain that had been in her chest seemed to intensify as Nodoka held her strongly against the tree's rough bark. The moment that the shell of her friend let go, Yui crumpled to the ground. She squeaked in pain as this cruel version of Nodoka dug her heel into her left leg; Yui felt a wave of nausea as the metallic taste of blood re-entered her mouth.
The pain…it hurts too much…I-I can't focus.
The brunette watched Nodoka turn around and begin to walk in the direction of where Ritsu and the Commander had disappeared.
N-no, I can't let her go!
Yui ignored the jabbing pain in her ribs and slowly crawled over to Nodoka. When she was close enough, she grabbed onto the back of her foot. The bespectacled girl merely turned around and glared at her.
The brunette watched as her friend lifted her leg to ready herself for a kick.
T-this is where it ends for me…
Yui closed her chocolate-brown eyes as she waited for the blow to her head to come. As soon as she heard a loud thump, she immediately reopened them.
"R-Ricchan!"
Yui watched as Ritsu pinned Nodoka down to the ground and readied herself to punch her.
"W-wait Ricchan don't!"
"Why shouldn't I? This bastard almost killed you, Yui!" Ritsu hissed in anger as delivered a few angry blows to the Puppet's face; she then turned to face Yui.
The brunette felt herself recoil once she saw the amount of hatred in the tawny-haired girl's eyes.
"Ricchan, you can't punch her though, it's not her faaack," Yui began but then hissed in pain as she tried to sit up.
"Give me one good reason why I can't punch the living daylight's out of this psycho, Yui," Ritsu scowled.
"B-because Ricchan…we finally found Nodoka-chan," Yui whispered as she crawled over to where the drummer was.
The pain was becoming unbearable, but she had to stop Ritsu before she did something that she would regret.
"Really where..?" Ritsu demanded as she began to glance around, Yui noted that Nodoka had stopped struggling and assumed that her friend had passed out from the blow.
"You won't find her over there…"
"And why not, it's not like she could have gone far!"
"Because you're pinning her down right now," Yui softly continued.
Her tired chocolate brown eyes watched as Ritsu's amber widened in shock.
"Holy crap," Ritsu gasped as she got off of Nodoka's still body.
Nodoka-chan… I can't believe we let this happen to you…
"I tried to chase after him, Yui, I really did, but-" Ritsu began, but Yui cut her off by silencing her with her hand.
"Nodoka-chan knows something, Ricchan. She told me before she went back into this trancelike state," Yui whispered.
"What should we do now?"
Yui sadly smiled down at the irony of the situation. For the past week, the two of them had been trying to hunt Nodoka down and prevent the imposter, well "Commander", from doing anything, yet it was she who had tried to kill them instead.
"We have to take her back and tell Mugi-chan…the imposter might be covering up something else that we don't know, Ricchan," Yui seriously said.
"I see what you mean…Want me to carry her back?" The drummer asked.
Yui shook her head before glancing at Ritsu.
"It's partially my fault she's hurt…I want to help too!" Yui weakly grinned before pumping her fist into the air.
She immediately regretted the decision as a pain shot through her arm. She quickly placed her other arm on her chest and staggered backward onto her non-injured leg.
"Yeah, I'll carry her, you're gonna struggle on the way back as it is," Ritsu softly chuckled.
Yui merely smiled before glancing down at Nodoka's sleeping face. As she examined her friend's placid state, she recalled what the note said.
["P.S. I have a surprise for the two of you if you hurry… I think it's something that the two of you would enjoy seeing again."]
Yui swallowed the lump in her throat before following Ritsu out of the forest. She shakily sighed as she tried to ignore the pain jabbing at her from her ribcage and leg. Even though Nodoka was back, what bothered the most was what her friend had said.
If a drug existed that could control someone merely by using words and it was in the hands of someone who wanted to destroy the foundation of the city that they lived in, she and Ritsu really needed to step up and find out the source.
And Nodoka-chan kept calling the Commander a she...does that mean that he, I mean she's just like us and covering up her gender? Ah, this soo confusing!
As the two girls walked out of the forest and toward the garage, they didn't notice that a hooded figure stood by a tree taking notes.
"Tch, that drug didn't last very long, what a waste of money," Akira grumbled. She scratched her head before continuing, "It's useful to know that the bracelet did work though, but an overdose can lead the person to pass out after a short moment of time."
Her violet eyes trained themselves on the two retreating heroes. She couldn't help but smirk to herself when she noticed that Yui was limping and clutching her side.
"At least Manabe did one thing right," Akira whispered as she kept her eyes trained on Yui.
She was honestly impressed by the airheaded girl's potential to shape up when the situation called for it. That was something that she really needed to get rid of, otherwise it would mess up her plans.
"Interesting," Akira muttered as she watched a blonde girl and a bespectacled woman run up to the two "heroes".
A small smirk made its way onto Akira's face as she ran a finger through her short black hair and retreated back into the forest.
Just as she had predicted, Manabe was back with her friends. Akira had never intended to keep the class president, but merely experiment with her on how she could work on the drug and the skills of the two heroes.
"What a hassle this was. Hopefully next time is more fun," Akira added.
She smirked before glancing down at a bracelet on her arm. The only thing that kept her connected to that dumb fool Maede before he went to jail.
Damn fool leaving me with his task. If I didn't care for him so much, I wouldn't be doing this.
"Well, at least now that the pieces are moving, things are going to become interesting," Akira murmured.
The short haired girl stretched her arms before walking through the forest and toward the main road. The fun was just beginning, now all she had to do was stand back and watch as the rest of the pieces fell into place.
A/N: Once again, I apologize for taking so long to update! I've been stuck on chapter 10 for the past few months and because I left off with a sentence half finished, I had no urge to continue. I've started University, but this hasn't deterred my imagination from running rampant. Thanks for the support guys! Reviews and criticisms are appreciated. So far this is the darkest chapter…and we are approaching the end…of Arc 1! O:
~Le Gasp! Haha, What will happen next? Stay tuned for next time's Episode of BAS!
Have a nice weekend! C;
~imuffinator out!