Junna stared at her shoe locker mournfully. She'd been successful at impressing Aoishii, but less so at only seeming somewhat superior to a regular student. The scores thast had been placed up showed the massive divide between trio who had left together and the rest of the students. Junna had paced herself based on Aoishii and Kenta's pursuit, but apparently they were an unusual talent in themselves. She hadn't considered that, and now the rest of the students around her were showing some kind of aversion to her. That wasn't inherently a problem, but it removed some of her ability to blend in and watch Aoishii from afar.

  Supposedly this would change with time. Sheena told her this was just how teenagers were. Some other fascination would draw their attention and their attitude would normalize. The impression she left on the target wouldn't though. When things got serious, she'd be more responsive. They would certainly come when Junna would need to act in that capacity. Supposedly. It had been a month and a half now. No sign of danger, nonbody seemed to be watching her. There was discussion on leaving a stand-in while she was on another assignment as well. This experience was certainly different, but it was impossible for Junna to not feel like she was wasting her time here.

  The girl frowned as she opened the locker, finding a folded note awaiting her. Peach-colored parchment and a soft hint of something flowery. Junna would pack away quickly, before grabbing a small plastic device. It was an imperfect seal, but she'd place it over her nose, as small gloves slipped over her fingers, so she could inspect the unexpected gift. Her mind raced through a few different wavelengths, before sighing in relief.

            Tsurugi Junna.

        I feel like it is time we had a real talk.

        Heart to heart. We need to discuss it.

        I am waiting for you in the girl's bath.

        We'll settle it all up at once.

            Yukari Aoishii

  Absurd. This was far from Aoishii's character. So it was almost certainly more of that bullying. They'd be cutting into class to meet now, so Aoishii would be secured. The feed in the classroom would let her know what was going on there as well. Dealing with a disruption like this could stem future attempts. So, Junna would place the note within her bag, and switch into her assigned shoes, before moving to head towards the shower and bath that should be totally empty at the early day.

  Entering the place, the sound of water lightly running around the initial bend was enough of a sign that someone was here. Junna wasn't terribly concerned, even as the door closed behind her. Or the soft click that accompanied it. That much was expected. She'd continue forward, as she'd find the expected girl. Tanaka Chie, a fussy blonde with more hair than mindfullness. She seemed pretty satisfied with herself, along with the girl on either side of her as they revealed themselves. Junna stared at them blankly, as she made a quick dive to the earring in her right ear, the communicator inside coming to life. "The angel is in the box, correct? Nakamiri?"

  Nothing. Not even silence, just the thrum of data being quashed. Jammed. It took maybe a few seconds for an assessment of the situation to manifest. Junna stared at the smirking girls. The displaced asset of Yukari Aoishii, the convienent enemy jamming of basic communications. Was it improbable that enemy assets would be placed for a long term plan? Why not act sooner? This Tanaka Chie likely had answers. "Where is Yukari?"

  "Not here~ Don't worry, we aren't going to hurt you, Tsurugi. We thought you might enjoy a makeover. We'll make you lovely-"

  Junna wasn't really listening. Getting someone to talk was always useful. If you were talking, you weren't focusing on breathing, on form, on the situation. Tanaka wasn't going to answer a direct question from a position of power. That is why Junna moved them. Her complete forward momentum into a her fist still at her side, letting it move forward only enough to give it that extra force as it slammed right into the girl to Tanaka's right. Her defense was almost nothing, and she hadn't seemed to expect it, even in the moment she saw Junna running at her. An untrained asset, likely recruited from the student body while the real danger was encroaching on Aoishii as Junna wasted time.

  As the girl crumpled and gagged in pain, Tanaka stared at Junna with wide eyes, screaming something barely coherent, as she reached for the smaller girl, and her remaining friend tried to circle around to grab at Junna's other side. The same trick wouldn't work again. Although Junna was confident in her skill set, her body was not so much superior to an athletic schoolgirl that she could take them lightly either. So as Tanaka reached for her arm, Junna went low. Dropping down, Junna rolled towards the circling girl, grabbing her ankle mid roll and tugging hard as the girl slipped and fell nice and hard. Junna dragged her a meter or so, as she got up. The panicked girl on the ground tried to defend her face, as Junna stepped on her less guarded throat.

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  The loafers assigned for school, combined with a level of restraint made it more painful than lethal. It wouldn't look pretty, but she was running out of time. There wasn't an option of thinking these were anything other than direct enemies, threats to her mission. Junna couldn't fail here. Her failure at Treasure was one thing, but this was Toreshi's mission. Junna began to approach Tanaka, and the girl's entire demeanor had changed. She looked pleading almost. Maybe she'd be useful for interogation...

  And the door opened. It had been locked before, so maybe it was reinforcements. Taking her eyes off Tanaka now seemed foolish. So did waiting for someone more dangerous to come in with a greater advantage. Right as she was entering a range where she could act, her motion was cut as she heard the voice behind her.

  "Tsurugi, you are ok?"

  Aoishii stood in the doorway, as Junna felt her tension dying off, venting out around her. She hadn't failed yet, the target was still secure. "...yes. Why are you here, Yukari?" Even to herself, the words had a slight shake in them. Her concern had sharply risen adrenaline, and Junna was fully aware that she'd been mere moments from completely exposing herself, under the liklihood that Tanaka had assisted in some scheme against her. It was a mistake, a childish err in judgement, even if she'd been correct.

  "Following you. Since you know, you were acting weird. And now you are looking a little psychotic~" Her voice remained cheerful, casual as she approached. Junna hadn't yet moved to face her, and the sudden feeling of a hand on a shoulder drew out a shiver through the girl. It was almost impossible to focus on anything. She'd almost screwed up again. She almost had completely thrown the secondary objective. Remain undiscovered. "So, Tanaka, are you done screwing with her? Looks like she beat the crap out of your friends. Whoeverr is Diving to mess with the phones, call them off. I have things I wanted to look at."

  The apparent villainous simply shook her head. "I didn't do anything to any phones... And you are just going to ignore that she went crazy right now?"

  "No crazier than you. I don't know what your problem is, but this can't possibly end well for you. Even if you could beat the crap out of her, Tsurugi is too strict to not tell whatever authority figure who asked her. Don't you get it? She's not your average weirdo." Junna's shoulders tensed at that. Aoishii had proven to be capable. Perhaps, her insight had had her dig into things a bit more deeply than Junna expected. The smaller girl wanted to move away, but the grip tightened almost at the thought of it. Junna instead focused on Tanaka, who seemed to be puzzling things a bit. Her previous fear from the fight had faded, as Aoishi continued with that spark of excitement. "She's a brat. You came from a Squire Academy, right?"

  "A squire-"

  "Don't get all flustered about it. It's pretty obvious. I don't know why you are finishing up here, you seem too competent to get kicked out. There's just no way that you are a normal student. You are too stern, too paranoid about everything around you. And it looks like you mopped the floor with Tanaka's gang."

  Relief was hidden away as Junna closed her eyes. Aoishii's assumption was close enough that she could probably use it. Denying it wouldn't be of any real benefit here. She reached out again to her squad, but the jamming wasn't going anywhere. This level of proficiency probably wasn't being done by amaturer, either. It was still a concern. "I apologize for not being open with you, Yukari."

  "That wasn't so hard, was it~?"

  Tanaka watched a bit, before sighing, touching the little dive plate she had as an earing, wincing a bit. "You weren't kidding about the phones. I can't even get a short link. What about you, squire girl?"

  Junna's head tilted down, as she properly focused this time. Reaching to her bag, she grabbed her phone and prepared the Dive. She felt the travel of data through it, watched the flight of data through the void. And then it died. The jamming, it wasn't a novice, not even a Diver. There was a field around the school, and moment the phones reached passed it, they corrupted and warped. A thin field of mana specifically made to disrupt communication. Every once in a while, it would pulse on through the building itself severing all Dive links. Junna was pushed out by one such pulse, with the knowledge that there was a Magic-User in the building.