Ishikawa Aoi
Starlight Academy - Nurse's office
Monday - Morning
Sigh, what a mess.
An azure spark lit up the cigarette in her mouth, filling the room with the slightly acidic smell of ozone.
Taking a deep drag of her cigarette, Aoi Ishikawa’s eyes fell onto the student lying a bit further away on the steel bed. An idiot of a brat to be sure, but not even idiots deserved a fate like this. The boy’s eyes were completely glassed over and did not even bother to register their presence. A stream of incomprehensible mutterings escaped from his lips in an almost ceaseless stream. A bitterness, one that had nothing to do with the cigarette that Aoi was smoking, permeated throughout the entire body of the violet-haired teacher.
It reminded her too much of the past for her liking.
"I couldn't find the presence of any common drug within the organism, and his body shows no injuries of any sort. Quite the opposite actually, it's been a while since I've seen a student this physically healthy... However, he does not respond to pain or any other outside stimuli. Feeding him has been quite a bother, that with our limited equipment."
“His mind has shattered, Akane. It's plainly obvious that he won’t react to any stimuli you throw at him.”
Aoi let out a small puff of shimmering smoke.
“Honestly, if you can’t find it are you even sure that this is a drug, Akane? From the looks of it, I would say that it is more likely that his mental state was attacked directly. Botched brainwashing magic or memory erasure. Would explain why he is so transfixed on one image, instead of just blanking out. It's far easier to do something like this using magic, rather than mess about with something so indirect and imprecise as drugs.”
“Granted, that would mean that someone can do something like this without being ferreted out by Nanako…”
Which, considering the headmaster's prowess (at least in that area), would open up a whole different can of worms. There were only a limited number of people in the world who would be capable of doing something like this under the very nose of Hishikawa Nanako. All of whom would be exceptionally troublesome to deal with, to say the least. Well, a mysterious drug of some description would definitely make things easier to deal with.
"The B.A.L.D.R. Force is already on the case."
"... However, Hishikawa has asked us to investigate on our own as well. And I agree, that's part of our duty as teachers. I want to find out what happened to him."
“There are reasons that make B.A.L.D.R. suspect the culprit may participate in the WWMT, so it would be reasonable to have someone on the inside. I would take care of it myself... But I am afraid my hands are tied, literally and metaphorically. I can't take part in any official event, not even as a supporting role."
A brief chuckle of amusement escaped from Aoi’s lips, but it was devoid of any actual humor.
He was right, of course. Domon’s parole was tenuous at best, with B.A.L.D.R ready to pounce at any moment. In fact, it was probably only Aoi’s own past connections along with Hishikawa’s considerable influence which had kept them at bay for so long. Not only that, but B.A.L.D.R would never accept a former convict like Domon snooping around one of their investigations. In part, because B.A.L.D.R would never trust Domon to tell them the entire story. Perhaps justifiably, considering that there was still a part of the story, albeit how irrelevant, that the black and white haired teacher was keeping to himself.
And in part, because they were simply too arrogant and confident of their own skill.
The would never be able to accept the fact that an ex-convict might notice something that they hadn't.
"You already had plans to join, isn't that right, Ishikawa? Many want to see the most successful operator in history in action once again."
Nononononono. Not this bullshit again.
Burning up the entire cigarette in her mouth with a single breath, Aoi’s light-green eyes suddenly sharpened, losing their normal, rather lazy, tint. Irritation was clearly visible in the older woman’s body language as she pointed furiously at the man in front of him with her remaining cigarette stub.
“Oi. Don’t tell me you are taking those bloody rumors seriously, Domon. You of all people should know better than that. I have no intention to join that bloody tournament. What do you think I am, a young fifteen-year-old punk looking for some glory and recognition?”
And then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the violet-haired woman’s rage vanished, leaving behind only the tired form of a woman who had seen too much.
“I have had enough of battles, even elaborate mock ones, to last me a lifetime.”
The lazy teacher let out a self-depreciating chuckle.
“Besides, “the most successful operator”? Don’t make me laugh. All I did was allow myself to be badgered into doing some replacement fights, that’s all. One off affairs. All that meaningless hyperbolic nonsense was added in later by rumors and loose tounges, nothing more.”
A momentary silence filled the room.
“I won’t do it, Domon. If you want me to look into this, that's fine. But I’ll do it my way. If you want someone to go into the tournament, have Akane do it.” Aoi’s thumb briefly poked out towards the cheongsam-wearing nurse. “She’s a Bishop, right? That should be fine enough, no?”