Inside the school hallways…
After changing back into normal clothes, Okuda led Dachii and the others out into the hallways while the crowd piled out of the gym.
"Needa hurry," Okuda insisted. "Sure, since I'm super likable they let us use the gym for the night, but they won't tolerate this sneaking around and stealing!"
"We got it," Marachii said.
As most of the crowd left, Mihina caught up to them. "Hey, Dachii! Marachii! You both did well out there—-!"
She noticed Okuda. "Oh. You."
Okuda winked at her. "Miss me, baby?"
"Ugh." She folded her arms.
While the Voltians watched curiously, Marachii cleared his throat. "Is there something going on between you two? You guys were like peanut butter and jelly last time we were here!"
"Yeah…" Dachii noted, his face covered. "Very…odd…"
Mihina looked away. "Like I said. It's nothing."
Okuda laughed. "Don't lie, Mihina! You miss me! You just don't wanna admit it! You can stop acting now, just come on and say you love me!"
"No!" she refused. "Leave me alone!"
She stormed off.
"Mad…" Dachii remarked. "Very…mad…"
Marachii put a hand on Dachii's back. "Maybe you should go talk to her? The rest of us can grab the equipment."
"Leaving Dachii alone with her?" Akari interrupted. "Is that a smart idea?"
"Yeah," Hikari agreed. "She seems a bit heated."
"It's okay, she's gentle at heart," Marachii pointed out.
"Yeah, it's why she can't handle my coolness," Okuda boasted. "Now come on, brats! Let's grab some gear!"
"Do we really need him?" Aoki pointed. "He's annoying, let me stab him."
Marachii signed. "Okuda, please lead the way before they kill you."
Okuda took them up the stairs, leaving Dachii on the first floor. Zentaruo and Chiho came outside of the gym, giving Dachii some slaps on the arm. "That was some extraordinary hooping, bro!"
"Thanks…" he replied.
"You seen Mihina or Haruta anywhere?" Zentaruo asked. "They both kinda got lost in the crowd. We tried to find them but it was a LOT of people."
Chiho held up a handful of wallets. "So many that we managed to score these!"
Dachii analyzed the wallets. "Oh…stealing again…"
"It's not stealing," Chiho clarified. "It's borrowing. We'll put these in the lost and found later, once they've done their job."
Dachii pointed down the hall. "I think…she's down there…I'll go see…"
"Right on, bro," Zentaruo replied. "Catch you in the front!"
He and Chiho walked through the doors of the school, leaving Dachii to walk down the hall, looking for Mihina. As he walked past lockers and classrooms, he finally found her sitting on the benches right outside the back of the school, with Haruta comforting her.
"It's okay, bestie," Haruta said, softly. "Just breathe."
"I can't," Mihina cried. "His face, he just…he just sickens me!"
"Well, soon you won't have to deal with him anymore," Haruta pointed out. "I know things are not like they used to be, but the future can be better!"
"Can it?" Mihina questioned. "He's still around, and Dachii is—-"
She looked up. "Dachii! Hi! I didn't see you there!"
Haruta turned around. "Oh! Hey, Dachii, when did you get here?"
"Just…now…"
Mihina wiped her tears. "What's up? Did you need anything?"
"Are you…okay…?" Dachii asked.
She looked away. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Are…you sure…?"
She nodded. "Just having…relationship trouble. That's all. It's nothing."
"I see. If you insist…"
He turned to head back into the school, but Mihina stopped him. "Wait! Could you maybe stay out here with us?"
Dachii stopped. "Sure…"
Haruta whispered to Mihina. "Look at him! He's so different! And so much…hotter!"
Mihina slapped Haruta's arm. "Haruta!"
"What? Just saying!"
Mihina rolled her eyes. "Dachii, please sit down."
She scooted over so Dachii could sit between her and Haruta. Once he did, both of them turned towards him, but he remained still.
"Can I ask you a question?" Mihina wondered.
"Sure…"
"Do you believe that people change?" she questioned. "Or do you think that they only show who they truly are?"
Dachii remained silent for a long time before answering. "Both."
Mihina fiddled with her hands for a little bit. "Well…you changed, haven't you?"
Dachii sat there as she continued.
"I remember the quirky, goofy, sometimes obnoxious little boy that I used to hang around all the time," she smiled. "That would make jokes and try to act all cool. Even when you couldn't walk, being around you was still pretty fun!"
Dachii didn't move a muscle or react in the slightest.
"But now…you seem more serious. More distant. More…mysterious. And you're moving and walking with no issues at all!"
She moved his hair so she could see his eyes. "Don't get me wrong! It's still awesome to be around you and everything, and the new look is super cool, but you must have been through a lot, and I just have to ask…"
She gave him a vulnerable look. "Do you still care about me?"
"The hell…" Dachii thought. "Where's all this coming from…?"
He turned his head toward her. "Well…yeah…?"
Haruta interrupted them. "Mihina! You don't need to be so dark and gloomy! We're supposed to be out here cheering you up, not making you emotional!"
Mihina turned red. "I just had to know! That's all!"
Haruta shook her head. "Honestly, you'd darken even the sun if you got the chance. Let's change topics. Dachii, tell us about your new home!"
"Uh…it's very…"
"Insufferable?"
Both Mihina and Haruta jumped back as a female's voice could be heard. Dachii immediately got up, his hair falling back into place.
"Who said that?" Haruta asked.
"I don't know," Mihina worried. "I thought it was just the three of us out here!"
"I think…we should go back inside…" Dachii suggested.
"Why?" Mihina inquired. "Is something going on?"
"No…I'll just…escort you back inside…weird people roam at night…I've seen them…"
"Alright," Mihina sighed. "We can head to the front with everyone else. Are you going to come with us?"
She took his hand in hers. "Pretty please?"
"…Okay."
"Great! Let's go!"
She and Haruta walked back inside the school hallways, but as Dachii moved to follow, he stopped. "Who—?"
In the blink of an eye, a woman appeared at his side. One with fair skin, almost pale, light blue eyes, and light blue hair. She was wearing casual attire, and she had a cold but curious look on her face. "I thought I'd find you here, Dachii."
"Who are you…?" Dachii asked.
"I don't tell, I show," she answered.
BOOM.
With a powerful blast of water, she launched Dachii into the air, causing him to land on the roof of a building nearby. "An Elite!"
A wave of water carried the girl on top of the roof, who dropped elegantly and made her way to Dachii. "That's right. I'm the one they call…the Water Witch. You can refer to me as Vortessia."
"Vortessia…" Dachii wondered. "So she's even stronger than Runea…"
A barrage of water spikes emerged from her back, floating in the air. "I will only warn you once. Our current mission does not concern you. Stand down."
"Not my jurisdiction…" Dachii remarked.
"That so? Then how about you tell that to the one who brought you here!"
Dachii ripped a nearby door off its hinges and launched it at Vortessia, who effortlessly blasted it back with a wave of water. "I have a better idea…that fiery piece of crap that you call Ravos…you tell him I'm coming for his head…along with the rest of you!"
The girl laughed an evil, but eerily familiar form of laugh. "You're funny! I appreciate the laugh."
BOOM.
A watery hand emerged through the floor of the building and slammed Dachii into the ground, but he managed to punch out of it with his gauntlet. Vortessia formed a large truck out of water with spikes on the front, which drove towards Dachii, forcing him to jump out of the way.
"Runea lost to this?" Vortessia scoffed. "I expected more out of that poor girl."
Dachii closed the gap between them and tried to punch her, but as soon as he did, her body shifted into water, causing his punch to go right through her.
"Hardly competent."
She punched him in the face, blowing his entire head off. He regenerated his head, punching her in return, but she simply took the blow without moving, winding back a punch of her own.
"This was fun. If you see your little Voltian friends, next time tell them not to leave you alone, Holder."
Dachii attempted to strike her once more, but she punched him hard enough to send him flying from one end of the city to the next, punching a hole right through his body and causing him to crash into a parked car.
"Damn her…what the hell IS she…?"
Meanwhile, inside the school…
Okuda guided the group to the third floor, where he pointed to a flight of stairs at the end of the hall. "All you gotta do is reach those stairs and the band equipment will be yours for the taking!"
"It's that easy?" Aoki scoffed. "What use even are you, human—-?"
Marachii covered her mouth as a lady walked by. "Ms. Michiko? What's she doing here so late?"
"The history teacher likes to stay late and work on cleanup," Okuda explained. "She's a total goon."
"Well, do we just sneak past her?" Marachii wondered.
"That old lady's sharp. I could probably make up an excuse if you fools are quick. Hold tight."
He got up, approaching the history teacher. "Hey, Miss!"
She turned around. "Okuda? What are you doing here? And why so late?"
Okuda gave her his best smile. "Well, I was just using the gym since I got permission from the principal, but now I think I might need your help to open my locker, since I left my computer inside it."
"Oh, dear! Why didn't you say anything about this earlier?"
"Because I don't check to see if my computer's in my bag after school."
She took a long sigh, fumbling with her keys. "Come on, I'll open it for you."
She took him downstairs just as he looked back to wink at the group. Marachii got up. "Okay, should be easy pickings!"
They all hurried to the stairs, walking up them and opening the door to the roof. Marachii noticed another room on top of the roof. "That's gotta be the band room!"
They all approached the door, but when Marachii tried to pull it open, it wouldn't budge. "Locked."
Aoki pushed past him. "Step aside."
With one practiced kick, the door flew off its hinges. Marachii slapped his forehead. "And that's not only property damage but also a clear sign we're robbing the place."
Saori tumbled inside the room. "Ooh! Ooh! What do they have in here?"
Marachii turned a light on, noticing pianos, drums, speakers, guitars, microphones, fog machines, firework launchers, and even leather outfits in a box. "Wow. They really do have everything."
Aoki looked at him, impatiently. "So what do we need, Marachii?"
"Okay, okay! Probably drums, speakers, microphones, the machines could work as well, maybe even throw in a guitar, and snag those outfits too!"
"These leather things?" Akari picked one up. "For what?"
"Those make for the perfect outfits!" Marachii replied.
"You're kidding."
Marachii stepped out and shifted into his car form. "Nope! Everyone load up and stuff the items into my trunk!"
"Is he…a CAR?" Noriko gasped.
"Wow, then I didn't even need to ride with Yamato all those times," Reika realized. "You guys just have a humanoid CAR in your possession?"
"Yes, and he's our car," Aoki clarified. "Now get the stuff so we can hurry and leave this place behind."
They began stuffing items into the trunk of Marachii's car, and once it was filled they all loaded up inside. "Elara! Drive us outta here!"
"Only exit is off the roof," Elara responded.
"Then off the roof we go!"
"Wait, Marachii," Hikari worried. "You're not going to actually drive off the roof, are you—-?"
VROOM.
The car sped off the roof, causing Hikari to scream.
Meanwhile…
Toru walked into a fast food restaurant, scanning the area for any mysterious traces. "Nothing here. Just a typical human burger shop."
As he turned to leave, he noticed Uta inside the shop, eating a burger while wearing a hoodie. "Hmm…"
Toru left the shop, but the moment he did, he bumped into a girl with light blue hair, who stopped in place. "Sorry. My mistake."
"Do not worry about it," Toru stated. "It was merely an accident."
The girl put a hand on his shoulder, her grip unnaturally tight. "An accident…just like you…"
She stared into his eyes, a fierce storm brewing behind hers. "Kaneko."
Before he could question further, she walked and sat down with Uta, who laughed and greeted her as she sat down.
"That girl…" Toru remarked.
"…do I know her?"
—-