"So what did you want to talk about, uhhh?" Fujiko asked.
"Did you really forget my name already? It's been barely four or five years since I left. Anyway it's Senzo Kazuko; just call me Senzo."
"Ahaha, my bad, Senzo. So why did you want to chat when you're clearly aware of what our orders are?" Fujiko stared straight at him with a stoic expression.
The earlier playful atmosphere was nowhere to be found; Kaoru and the others also felt it and clenched their fists.
Senzo casually waved his arm once more, making sure not a single sound would leak out.
"That's better," he muttered.
Then he turned his gaze straight to Fujiko. "Nothing much, actually. I was just hoping to avoid the confrontation. How about it? Do you have any ideas on how to avoid it?"
Fujiko looked at him with her mouth slightly hanging open. Did he really just say that?
"..."
"Pffft!" She suddenly burst out laughing; it had been a long time since anyone had mentioned him, but it seems like spending time with that douchebag has changed him for the better.
"I can feel Kyousuke's influence from that sentence, you know. And I don't think so; you and Kyousuke working together as Pandra is problematic for the whole world."
"I know that much; I'm asking for a solution for our current problem. I'm currently a guard and babysitter, so I would prefer if I didn't have to fight."
Senzo explained with a shrug, a sigh escaping his mouth.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Fujiko raised an eyebrow after hearing what Senzo said.
"Oh. Don't worry about it; it's just some trivial stuff. So have you got any ideas on how to avoid fighting? Or do you just want to start and get it over with?"
"I will leave the choice to you."
Fujiko turned around and glanced at the three girls floating behind her. His offer was tempting, but it was almost impossible to not engage in a battle, and even if she agreed with him, those three over there were always way too serious.
"What other options do I have? Koichi has ordered us to try and get you out of the picture to try and capture Kyousuke and some other members from Pandra."
Senzo closed his eyes for a moment and thought about what the other options were.
"How about we make it a grand play then? That way Koichi can be happy that he almost caught the major, and those three chicks behind you can gain some more experience."
"Tell me more; what do you have in mind?"
"No! Minamoto gave us our orders, Fujiko!" Kaoru suddenly interrupted, glaring at the young man who was bringing up weird ideas.
"That's right! We have our orders; if we're too weak to carry them out, that's fine, but not executing them is impossible!" Shiho chimed in, now also glaring at Senzo.
"Hah," a tired sigh came out of Senzo's mouth.
Then he looked at the three girls, and they all felt their bodies freeze in place, as if they were Senzo's puppets and he cut off their strings.
"Don't worry, I won't harm them; let me explain the plan."
Fujiko tensed up for a moment, feeling but after she heard him say that, she heaved a sigh of relief.
It is impossible to beat Hyoubu and this guy with just the four of us, she thought, staring straight at Senzo.
"So we will fight, and you get me away from the Catastrophe, and the Queen can draw Hyoubu out again, and then the other two will take control of the ship with that nanochip and change the course of the ship like you originally planned. And after that… uh, well, I haven't thought that far ahead, to be honest."
"Senzo," he said, scratching his hair awkwardly.
Fujiko was speechless. How did he know what their plan was? It didn't make any sense, but if that happened, Minamoto would definitely get off her back because she did what he wanted from her.
"Deal!" She immediately replied.
"Alright..."
But before Senzo could continue, Fujiko interrupted him.
"But why would you recommend something like that? What is there to gain for Pandra and you personally?"
It just didn't make sense to her; this deal was ultimately very disadvantageous for Senzo and Pandra.
But Senzo just shrugged, "So? At the end of the day, nothing changes. Babel won't see me as a huge threat, and you will have almost bested Pandra. Isn't it a win-win?"
"..."
"You know I could tell them about all this, right? And you overpowering those three as well," she said, pointing at the three girls behind her that were still frozen in place.
Even she couldn't believe it; how could he alone overpower those three so effortlessly?
"Hahaha, like you would do that. I know you better than that, you know. Hyoubu said you hate working a lot, and reporting this would only give you more work." he casually stated.
"T-That is true..." Fujiko muttered.
Now she understood him better; it looks like they had misjudged him. He wasn't some uncontrollable esper that they needed to get rid of; he just wanted to live his own life on his own terms.
"But wouldn't Koichi still be rather suspicious just seeing us sit here casually having a chat?"
"That won't be an issue after all; while we were chatting here, I have been showing them a grand fight between all of us." Senzo explained, a smirk on his face.
"So your last psychic ability is creating illusions? But wouldn't Kyousuke be able to see right through that?"
"And that's where you're wrong. Fujiko, it's not just creating illusions; it's distorting reality to make the illusions so lifelike, and by controlling vectors so precisely with it as well, the illusion basically comes to life."
Silence followed; Senzo sat there with a confident smirk, staring straight at Fujiko, who looked at him in a daze.
"Is that also how you made that hamster sit on the horror creature you created?"
"As expected of you, that's right. And I also used vectors to freeze them in place like that when it looked at the two. But then that's decided. I'll release the three over there, and then we just fly away, and I'll let the illusion conclude the fight. Then the rest should go as expected."