“You guys… why are you here?”
It was after school and the Elites were at the old playground. Point Alpha was an expansive and easily accessible area, so many other people frequent this spot as well. Today, quite a few other children were present in the playground, so the Elites were huddled together at a corner, away from the little kids.
But it was not just the Elites that were present. The Jupiter sisters stood there too, opposing them. It was a remarkable crowd of extraordinary third-year students.
“The Elites are planning out their great adventures, so naturally the Jupiter sisters are there to bear witness to the spectacle. It’s merely a law of nature.”
The soft, refined and beautiful voice belonged to Callisto Mirabelle Jupiter, the oldest of the Jupiters, Class B representative and student council president. Her silky black hair was tied at the shoulders in two majestic pigtails that flowed smoothly over her generous bosom; it was not the great size like Evie’s, but it still was as bounteous as Teto’s. Mirabelle’s front bangs were very prominent as it almost covered her eyes. As the eldest sister, she was the de facto leader of their playground band. Not only was she a cheerful and easygoing young lady, she was also perfect in every aspect, being at the top of her class as well as being physically superior. For an unknown reason to Kato, around the time Evie started wearing pantyhose, Mirabelle followed suit as well.
“Mira, we can just leave them be. The people involved aren’t from Class B, so there’s no need for us to get involved too.”
A cynical and cool reply from the student council treasurer came from behind Mirabelle. Though she was the third sister, Ganymede Bianca Jupiter was Mirabelle’s right hand woman. She also had impressive but dishevelled bangs in the front and sides, but she tied her messy black hair back in a loose low bun. Unlike the others, her skirt was frilled and she wore white thigh-highs. Appearance-wise, she mirrored Mirabelle, curves and all, but unfortunately, she was not physically superior. Historically, it was Bianca and her fiery passion that triggered many of the wars between the Elites and the Jupiters.
“Bia, it’s fine to just watch them. It’s fun to.”
The owner of this tame, velvety and composed voice was the fourth sister and student council secretary, Europa Ariel Jupiter. Unlike her sisters, she was much shorter and smaller than them, and tended to be reserved and of few words. Her smooth, straight hair was platinum silver like Evie’s, and her hime cut flowed brilliantly all the way down to her small waist. At the very least, her specs from top to bottom were not as regrettable as Sisi’s. Surprisingly, contrary to her aloofness, Ariel was exceptionally good at games and also very competitive, to the Elites’ horror; activated by competition, many of the Jupiters’ victories were carried by Ariel.
“Yeah, Bia. We can leave them be, but we can also watch them from a distance. Like Ariel said, it sounds like it’s gonna be fun!”
The last of the Jupiter sisters, the second sister and student council executive manager, spoke up in excitement with her lively voice. Io Scarlett Jupiter stood almost as tall as Evie, and matched her physical strength as well. Actually, most of her physical appearance roughly mirrored Evie too, curves and chest included. Though she was blessed with immeasurable strength, she was nowhere near as clever as her sisters; in fact she was known for being a big airhead, and it didn’t help her rep that she was a fashionable gal too. Her brown pixie cut stood in contrast with her sisters’ longer hairstyles.
Though the Jupiter sisters were born as quadruplets, it was easy to recognize that only Mirabelle and Bianca were twins. They all shared the same gold-coloured irises that came from their father’s side of the family.
“This is serious business, everyone. Someone’s livelihood is on the line here, so we’re not doing this for fun.”
Kato rubbed his eyes in weariness. Unfortunately, the Jupiter sisters were on to the stolen key the moment they entered the student council room. On the flip side, the Jupiter sisters were not really enemies of the Elites; they were definitely a group of friends they can rely on. Including Sisi, Yui’s situation was known to all those present here in this gathering. As a side note, Yui takes the bus back to the ghetto and was, of course, not present.
“Even so, I didn’t expect Kato to be the one who started this. I thought it would have been another one of Eon’s dumb ideas.”
“Me too. I thought I’d be the one to drag us into the battle, but I let Kato do it this time.”
Bianca started off bickering with Eon, with whom she had a long-time rivalry with.
“I’m glad to hear that you haven’t changed at all, Eon. Luckily, in today’s student council meeting, it was all announcements. There wasn’t a chance for you to make a fool of yourself.”
“If you’re worried that I didn’t get a chance to, then rest assured. You won’t be disappointed tomorrow after school.”
“As long as you stay in your chair, really, no one has any problems with it. Just don’t lean back and fall off of it like last time.”
“That was one time, and it was in middle school.”
“And yet you still haven’t learned to chill.”
“If it means I lose my swagger, I refuse to chill.”
“Eon! You must chill!”
“Nyeh-verrrr!”
Often times, it was because of these two that the Elites and the Jupiter sisters remained rivals. However, their rapport was quite in sync, likely even as close as between Eon and Caius. Bianca getting sucked into Eon’s rhythm just now was as commonplace as their arguments.
“What I’m interested in is that Kato was bold enough to promise that girl that he’ll take care of her. That’s a dangerous promise to make to a girl~”
“I… got caught up in the moment.”
Mirabelle winked at Kato, who could only scratch at his head and laugh nervously. Mirabelle had always taken a liking to Kato. In fact, Kato could guess it was probably more than just a liking, but Mirabelle’s lips consistently remained tight about it over the recent years.
“I’m surprised that Evie didn’t make a fuss about it.”
“On the contrary, Mirabelle, I’m surprised that you’re not making a fuss yet.”
Evie said rigidly as her eyes narrowed, wary of Mirabelle as always.
“Oh? What do you mean by that? I’m not the one who gives Kato the cold stare every time he makes a pass at another girl.”
Mirabelle smirked as she folded her arms.
“If I don’t, it’ll only encourage him further. Babying him like you do only makes it harder for yourself.”
“Ah, I’m glad you’re looking out for me too. But your method only keeps him away from you, doesn’t it?”
“It means that I’ve already progressed way farther than you have, so you should be looking out for yourself. How many years has it been already, and nothing has changed?”
“I could say the same to you. What else have you been doing this whole time? A rival who can’t challenge me is not a rival.”
“I never thought of you as a rival to begin with. In fact, you’re not even a threat, much less a rival. Go back into your stables, little pony.”
Evie flicked one of her pigtails. Needless to say, Mirabelle was up for game too.
“Likewise, an obedient sow should stay fenced up where she belongs so she doesn’t get in my way.”
Suddenly, in a moment of revenge, Mirabelle grabbed onto Evie’s left breast as she said that and gave it a good squeeze. Evie stared on unperturbed.
“It doesn’t matter if that’s what’s desired. Ponies can just flip off with their stupid tails.”
Evie flicked the other pigtail. Perhaps not surprisingly, Mirabelle maintained her composure just as well as Evie’s poker face.
“We don’t know that though, and all this only confirms your lack of progress. Dead-end for you, perhaps?”
“If you want to measure it this way, then you’re dead-ending just as bad.”
“At least I’m not the sister. I won’t be dead-ending on that route.”
“News flash, but Teto is not a dead-end. Not to him.”
“I’m not a part of this.”
Teto cheerily cut the exchange between the two beautiful girls. Evie and Mirabelle had been advancing towards each other with each passing remark. By the time Teto interjected, their faces were only inches apart and the onlookers could feel the electricity in the air around them.
But Teto’s existence reminded the two of them that they were both trailing far behind Teto in the metaphorical race, and they clutched each other’s hands in gloom. Cynically, Teto’s response could have been a pun referring to exactly this.
“I don’t need you to remind me about that, Evie.”
“It bothers you as much as it bothers me. If you can just ignore it, it can make living more bearable, Mira.”
Though they were eternal rivals, they did share some common ground. They both grimaced at Kato, clearly putting all the blame on him. Kato held up his hands in defeat. A scene like this happens on occasion, and he could only watch on. More amazingly, they always seem to be able to come to an understanding after the fact, which confused Kato to no end.
“Okay, boys and girls, if the obligatory flirting session is finished, we can go back to the master plan, eh?”
Eon clapped his hands together to get hold of the attention of the group. As Evie and Mirabelle returned to ground zero, they blushed in embarrassment. The rest of the group wore different expressions, ranging from indifference to incredulity to smugness.
Caius was sitting on the rubber mulch, clutching onto a huge piece of luggage perched on a tiny trolley that he brought with him from his home. Eon returned the favour for Caius in morning recess; Caius went home early to pick it up and bring it to the playground while Eon sat in student council. Caius opened the luggage to reveal to the group a set of electronic devices, fit snugly in their hollow plastic moulds. The devices were hand-sized metallic boxes with several buttons and ports, as well as an attachment that seemed to allow it to be hooked on other objects.
“These are the sets of radios that pops used to use in the reserves back in the day. Today, these kinds of devices are smaller, more durable and last longer in the field, but for a budget platoon these would have to do. I’ve already configured all of them to communicate through a single, open channel.”
Caius began to explain the set of what were really walkie-talkies. He took one out from its mould, and then pulled out a pair of earphones that were hidden underneath, which was also fit snugly in the mould. He plugged its connector into the radio box, wore the earphones, and snapped the attachment on the radio box to his belt. He adjusted the microphone that was on the wire of his earphones. There was a pin on there too, and he clipped it to his tie.
“And this is how we will communicate.”
“Really? The plan is this complicated?”
Ariel questioned Caius lazily as she mindlessly started twiddling with his earphones and the radio box. Evie and Teto joined her in admiring the piece of technology. Together, Teto and Ariel were at the same height while Evie stood tall and proud above them.
“So this is how we’re gonna do it. I guess there are no better options.”
“No. I’ve tried to come up with something that didn’t involve anything physical, but frankly, without knowing the tendencies of the ghetto dwellers well enough, any outcome would probably remain unstable. From what I understand, that Ethan fellow is a nasty piece of work. The physical alternative has the greatest chance to succeed in the long term.”
Eon explained to Kato as he picked up three sets of radio boxes and their earphones, and passed one set each to Kato and Franco, who put them on like Caius demonstrated. Eon then put on his set and jogged to the opposite side of the playground and out of vision.
Mirabelle also speedily picked up a set from the open luggage and put it on as well. She was just in time to catch what was being said in Eon’s testing.
“Testing, testing. Those who are tired of Kato forever being the target of affection by all the girls, say ‘go die in a fire, Kato’. Those who are named Kato, say ‘okay, I’ll go die in a fire now’.”
“Go die in a fire, Kato.”
“Go die in a fire, Kato.”
“Go die in a fire, Kato.”
“…”
Kato didn’t speak yet. Instead, he looked nervously in the direction of Mirabelle, who noticed it and turned and smiled innocently at him. Kato was sure that not only Mirabelle caught all of that and responded accordingly, but Eon knew full well that Mirabelle was on the comms too.
“Okay, I’ll go die in a fire now. And the radio is working perfectly, so let’s wrap this up and get out.”
Kato spoke into his mike in exasperation. At the very least, Evie didn’t get to hear what Eon had said.
“Wilco. So Kato admitted that he is a lucky bastard. Over and out.”
Eon’s parting jab brought snickers to the other radio users besides Kato, who was feeling his face heating up. Not only was Eon burning him figuratively, but he was burning himself up literally too.
“He’s not wrong, you know.”
Suddenly, Mirabelle put herself in front of Kato, her bright and beautiful face filling up his field of vision. Staying outside Evie’s line of sight, she gave him a radiant smile, one of pure bliss and happiness.
“Mira…”
“Yes?”
She continued to smile at him, somewhat enigmatically. Kato didn’t respond either, preferring to continue watching her beautiful, timeless smile. In moments like these, Kato felt as if he was looking on from afar, just as a god watching the world move forward, from outside of the glass case that encapsulated it. It was her smile that made him forget his sense of self, and compelled him to indulge in this moment of aesthetic perfection and disbelief.
Moments later, when Eon returned to the group, the two of them snapped out of their trance and joined the rest of the group without a word. An abrupt end to the incomplete dream.
Most of the other girls were digging through Caius’ luggage for more funky gadgets. Things like flare guns, ammo spares, gun cleaning tools, spray cans, a camouflage camcorder set, and even a portable encrypted typewriter were pulled out, all laid out on the playground floor.
“It doesn’t look like we’ll be going home without digging through all the treasure in that case.”
“I just hope that nothing breaks. It’s not really my stuff——woah.”
Eon and Caius exchanged a bit of conversation until they heard a large crackling from the earphones in their ears.
“By the way guys, how do I turn off this thing?”
Franco came up to them with his radio set still hooked to his belt and the radio itself still broadcasting. The crackling was most probably from Franco messing with the mouthpiece.
“You are just comprised of fail, aren’t you?”
Eon shook his head, and showed Franco how to disarm the radio set. Then, out of nowhere, Franco made a triggering offhand comment.
“You know, I found some weird-looking pills in a bottle, prob from the pharmacy, in Yui’s schoolbag when I was grabbing it as we went for the rooftop, but I didn’t make the connection until she mentioned the Shamshuipo part.”
The guys turned around, stone-faced. Eon made a really frustrated face, and sighed in irritation.
“Once again, you are just comprised of fail, ain’tcha. If Yui wasn’t as agreeable as she was, we would have been running in circles trying to figure out what was happening to her, so that detail could have saved us time if you had told us sooner. We could confront her directly if she refused to tell us the truth.”
Franco blinked at Eon, who sighed again after explaining. Caius and Kato sighed as well.
“His stupidity knows no bounds.”
“You’ve got that right.”
“How was I supposed to know if it was important?”
“You idiot! As a student holding onto something as suspicious as drugs, it would have triggered a big red warning sign for anyone who discovers something like that.”
“You’re the only one who doesn’t respond to a signal like that.”
“…”
“At least we can confirm the nature of Yui’s line of work.”
Franco fell silent, and with Eon’s final comment, they dropped the subject. Franco hung his head in shame as the rest of them left him behind and joined in the gold digging.
More than half an hour passed before the inquisitiveness of the girls has abated and they decided to vacate the grounds for the day. From the playground looking on over the ridge from which they came, they could see the sun setting over the city and the surrounding rocky mountains. The road and buildings behind them were bathed in full orange from the sun’s rays, while the playground had gotten busier and crowded as more children finished dinner and went out to the park to play.
“So we’re meeting up here early tomorrow then? Get here by seven?”
Caius asked as they were, once again, about to part ways. The three younger Jupiter sisters were already making their way home, in the same direction that Caius and Franco would go, towards the rich neighbourhood.
“Seven. Everyone remember to bring your radio sets.”
“Got it.” “’Kay.” “Alright.” “Understood.” “Of course.”
Upon hearing more than two female voices, everyone turned to look at Mirabelle, the one Jupiter sister left remaining.
“Are you joining us on this charade too?”
Evie challenged her immediately, narrowing her eyes again.
“As student council president, I have to follow up on dangerous plans like these.”
Mirabelle shrugged at Evie again.
“Besides, I want to know more about Yui, her own future and her future relationship with the people here.”
Then she revealed her true intentions nonchalantly; not that she intended to hide them anyway. Although they haven’t brought it up with Mirabelle, the question was what the fate of Yui would be if the plan succeeded. Most likely, Yui would not be able to live in that orphanage anymore, so what would happen to her then?
Also, just as obviously, Mirabelle made it pretty clear that she was interested in Yui and her intentions towards certain members of this group of kids. There was no doubt about who those certain members were.
“In any case, I will make sure I get the green light from our side. Sisi is already on board, so I only need old man Karl to confirm it for us.”
Kato quickly dodged the topic and moved on to another, fearing Evie’s wrath if they continued any further.
“If everyone is okay with the plan, then let’s call it a day here and prep for tomorrow.”
With Teto closing out the conversation, the three siblings and Eon waved their goodbyes at the rich boys and girl. Mirabelle sprinted to catch up to her sisters, leaving behind both squads of Elites, who leisurely made their ways home.