Chapter 9 – War Clouds

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“Ahh, finally.”

[Affiliated Club: Paranormal Special Task Force]

One of the previously blank spaces on my student ID was now filled.

Paranormal Special Task Force. Even the name itself sounded cool.

Who am I? 

One of only three members of Millennium’s Paranormal Special Task Force. That’s about as perfect as it gets for maintaining a “normal” student identity.

Of course, my name field was still blacked out, but that would probably change eventually.

I’d more or less given up on that part, though. If my name still hadn’t appeared, there had to be a special reason behind it—I just didn’t know what that reason was.

At least, thanks to some convenient settings at play, people naturally called me “Nanashi (No Name)” whenever they addressed me. It didn’t interfere much with daily life.

Maybe once I finally got a real name, that would change, too. For now, I just kept that hope tucked away in a corner of my mind.

“Well, almost everything’s in place now.”

It had already been two weeks since the complete shutdown of Sanctum Tower.

The experts seemed flustered by the prolonged state of anarchy, which had lasted longer than their predictions. But I could feel it in my gut—things were about to start moving again.

The main story of Blue Archive. The moment that the Sensei arrives.

“Wakamo has started making serious moves, SRT is practically dissolved… Around this time, Kaya must be approaching the FOX platoon.”

The things I once debated—Should I stop them?—but now that I was actually out in the field, I wasn’t getting enough information. Plus, physical distance made direct intervention difficult.

Even now, I was constantly thinking of ways to interfere, but the feasibility of it was another matter. Just dealing with the crime happening in Millennium and the central autonomous district was keeping me busy enough.

Occasionally, I extended my activities to Gehenna and Trinity, but for now, the central district had a higher crime rate, so I focused my efforts there.

The only real silver lining? 

Thanks to Himari’s help, I could actually listen in on Valkyrie’s police communications—just like Spider-Man.

Having someone to handle things outside my capabilities made hero work significantly easier. After all, I couldn’t rely solely on my own instincts forever.

But maybe because of that…

Now that I no longer needed to rely purely on my senses to track crimes, those very senses started evolving in a different direction.

How should I put it? 

My ability to detect danger became sharper, more precise.

Originally, I could only sense actions—people moving, acting with intent. But now, it felt like I could sense incidents themselves, before they even happened.

“Maybe that’s why I’ve been feeling so uneasy lately.”

Despite saving citizens daily and constantly training, the sense of foreboding in my mind refused to fade. Like something was about to happen.

I told Himari and Eimi about this, but even they couldn’t pinpoint the cause.

“At least, Millennium is safe,” they had said.

So then, was something happening elsewhere?

No way to know. Unless I had Seia’s ability to literally see the future, there was no way to be sure.

All I could do was stay cautious—over and over again.

BZZT—!

[Disturbance at Kawaminami Station! Immediate assistance requested! Repeating: A disturbance at Kawaminami Station! The suspect is believed to be an escaped Correction Bureau convict—]

[Currently holding civilians hostage! Immediate assistance required!]

But of course, that didn’t mean I was going to sit still. 

The moment Valkyrie’s emergency transmission came through, I rose from my seat and donned the familiar mask.

It was time to move.

***

“Phew…”

Late into the night, I finally made it back home, letting out a long, exhausted sigh.

I removed my mask and shrugged off my outer layers, watching as the dust and grime from tonight’s work stained the floor.

Ugh, great.

I’d have to clean this up later.

“It’s a hassle to clean it up, really…”

Couldn’t someone assign me a maid or something?

I muttered, staring at the mess. 

Tonight had been a rough one. I’d gotten covered in dust and debris while handling multiple incidents all over the city. For some reason, there had been an increase in bomb-related and arson cases lately.

…Or maybe that was always the case?

With grenades going off and tanks rolling around on a regular basis, common sense felt like it was breaking down.

“Damn… Gotta replace this mask, too.”

I picked up my fox mask, now dirtied from weeks of use. Maybe it was time to switch it out for something else. I’d grown somewhat attached to it, if I kept using it like this, it’d break for sure.

“…First, a shower. I feel like I’m gonna die.”

Since no one was watching, I stripped down completely and staggered into the bathroom, practically crawling.

Sweeping my bangs back, I glanced at my reflection.

A face that still felt unfamiliar stared back. All the right parts were there—slender frame, fair skin, striking blue eyes.

…No, let’s not think about this.

I forced a wry smile and pushed those thoughts aside, focusing instead on my body’s condition.

Snow white hair, messy and dry. Hollow, tired eyes.

Himari had told me before—

“Even when you’re zoning out, your sharp eyes make you look intense.”

I guess she wasn’t wrong. 

And then there were the bruises. Dark, splotchy bruises and fresh cuts covered my body, with thin trails of blood still leaking from some of them.

I definitely did not look like a high school girl.

I chuckled to myself.

So this was why Spider-Man was always covered in bruises despite having superhuman reflexes.

No matter how sharp my instincts were, I couldn’t dodge everything.

Especially not when the attacks were aimed at civilians.

I had to take the hit.

“God, this hurts.”

Letting my usual restraint drop, I grumbled under my breath as I leaned against the shower wall and turned on the water.

Shhhhhhh—

“Nngh.”

Every drop of water stung like hell.

I knew letting water into open wounds wasn’t great, but I didn’t stop. Because—

“…It’s still so weird.”

The bleeding had already stopped.

Where fresh wounds once were, only dried scabs remained.

One of the abilities I gained when I arrived in this world—accelerated healing.

Of course, it wasn’t on the level of Deadpool or Wolverine. I couldn’t instantly recover from being impaled or having limbs blown off.

It just sped up my natural healing.

Minor cuts closed up quickly. My stamina replenished faster. Even deep bruises faded after a couple of nights.

Honestly, without this power, I’d probably be dead by now.

I really wished it reduced pain, too, but no. This damn ability made healing hurt.

If I didn’t shower like this, I might scream in my sleep without realizing it.

…It had happened before, back when I first started this.

I sighed again.

As I let the warm water wash over me, fatigue crashed down all at once.

“Why am I so damn exhausted lately…?”

My routine hadn’t changed.

Same hero work, same training. And yet, every mission felt so much more draining.

Maybe it was just the stress. Or maybe—

“Ugh… shut up, instincts.”

That damn sixth sense had been going off like crazy lately. It kept screaming about incoming danger, but never what the danger was. And then there was the unsettling trend…

Almost every criminal I caught recently had been an escaped convict from the Correction Bureau.

I knew a lot of prisoners had broken out after the Sanctum Tower collapsed, but still—this felt off.

Too organized.

Like someone was pulling the strings.

But who?

I had no one to ask—

“…”

Wait.

“Oh. That could work.”

I grabbed my phone and dialed, putting it on speaker.

♩~ ♪♩~ ♬~~

An oddly old-fashioned ringtone.

After a few rings, a familiar voice answered.

[Oh? Nanashi, my junior. What’s the matter?]

“Himari-senpai. Got a minute?”

I’d called Himari. Keyboard clacks echoed from her end.

…Working at this hour?

What happened to “delicate, sickly beauty”?

[Hehe~ Of course. But your voice sounds echoey—are you still out on patrol?]

“Bathroom.”

[Huh? Bathroom? Then…]

Senpai, you really shouldn’t ask.

I grinned.

“I’m naked.”

[…]

“Completely. Not a stitch.”

[D-Don’t phrase it like that!]

“But it’s true. Just started washing, so I’m all wet—”

[S-Stop! That’s so… indecent!]

Himari stammered, flustered.

Good enough.

I chuckled. Hearing me, she pouted adorably.

[Grr…! Teasing your senpai? I didn’t raise such a bold junior!]

“Eimi’s worse, though.”

[T-That’s different!]

Koharu from Trinity screams “death penalty” at anything risqué, but…

Never mind.

“Anyway. I called because I wanted to ask you something.”

[Ahem! Well, as your kind and generous senpai, I’ll gladly help. What do you need?]

I explained briefly.

After a thoughtful pause, Himari said something ominous.

[…There must be a mastermind behind this.]

“Huh?”

Now I was stunned.

Wait, what? If there’s a mastermind, that means the Correction Bureau incidents were orchestrated?

[I’ve heard rumors—large quantities of explosives and weapons are circulating on the black market. Likely connected to recent events.]

“So the suppliers are the masterminds?”

[No. Even skilled suppliers couldn’t coordinate mass attacks like this. Money alone wouldn’t convince convicts to risk re-arrest.]

Right. No one would take that deal.

Then who’s pulling the strings?

“So who do you think it is, Himari-senpai?”

[…Do you think I’m some all-knowing robot?]

“Eep.”

Busted.

So much for “Omniscient.”

[Hehe~ Just this once, I’ll indulge you, Nanashi. But next time, there’ll be a price~]

“T-Thanks.”

[Kidding. You’ve probably heard of her.]

Himari paused for effect.

[One of the Seven Prisoners—Kosaka Wakamo.]

What the hell?

Why her?

“W-Why do you think that?”

[“The Fox of Calamity beguiles others with her honeyed words—a single whisper, and feet move on their own.” Heard of it?]

“…”

Wakamo had that kind of lore, but…

Himari explained:

The Correctional Bureau riots had to be orchestrated—and Wakamo was the only one who could command convicts like that.

[Her title, “Fox of Calamity”, isn’t just because she’s uncontrollable. Her words, actions—everything brings disaster.]

[…]

[The recent bombings in D.U.? Her signature.]

Kosaka Wakamo.

Hyakkiyako’s disciplinary student. One of the Seven Prisoners. If she was behind this…

‘Am I gonna have to fight her? Wakamo, before the prologue even starts?’

Exhaustion loomed.

“Ugh. Seven Prisoners already? This sucks.”

[Hehe~ You’ll face worse someday.]

Her tone hinted at something.

I knew what she meant.

Decagrammaton. Gematria.

Blue Archive’s main antagonists.

“Thanks, Senpai.”

[Of course~ What kind of delicate, sickly beauty would I be if I didn’t help my cute junior?]

“Yeah. Himari-nee’s the best.”

[…Nee? I like how that sounds~]

As Himari basked in praise, she suddenly asked:

[By the way, junior.]

“Yeah?”

What now?

[Can you beat Wakamo?]

I stayed silent.

How should I know?