A Certain Academic City Quest II Ep 63

Welcome to Academy City. The time is late afternoon, the weather is stinging, and the date is February 16.

You are Kyril Torikov, Level 3 telekinetic combat cyborg and you were being scolded. Nayuta in her usual manner could only be exasperated at the state of your equipment. You had told her that it couldn’t be helped. There were only so many times you could take a thermite explosive in the face before the armour failed. The ensuing explanation of your little fracas with Hamazura earlier in the morning only made her more annoyed at you. It didn’t help that she had told you to take it easy for the next few days. She said she sounded like a broken record at this point.

Your helmet couldn’t be folded up while still missing its left half so you were sitting on a chair whilst the rest of Judgement Branch Office 49 looked on, mostly amused. MINERVA just kinda stared in to space. Kaoru was of course doing her best to not laugh while agreeing with Nayuta whilst Kongou had a shallow smile as she kept doing the paper work. Nayuta clambered about your shoulders. As she repaired your helmet, she continued to scold you about taking better care of yourself and the trouble this today brought.

After your rather public outing with MINERVA yesterday, the grand public of the City had gotten it in to their heads that VERDICT was hiring. Well, it wasn’t hiring so much as finding a replacement, or some kind of back up. Now the crazies were really popping out of the wood work. By that, you meant, people were going around in masks, beating up random thugs, and posting videos of them doing it on the internet. This was not entirely your fault of course but since you were free, Nayuta had told you to deal with it.

>Issue a blanket condemnation
>Welcome it, make it a spectacle
>Let someone else deal with it
>Other (write-in)

Info: pastebin.com/x6GsFVTj

> blanket condemnation

Can we also take a jab at a certain other vigilante?

It's a given.

"We Are VERDICT" angle huh

>Let someone else deal with it
we don't need more Grímsdóttirs but VERDICT talking to the media never really panned out.

tell Kongou to tell them vigilantism is a crime and its bad m'okay

not like it will do anything anyway

showing off his scars, prostheses, duct tape, and what ever else is holding him together should be a good enough "Please do not try this home"

You turned to Kongou. As far as you were concerned speaking with the Press only invited trouble, as evidenced by the current situation. Kongou had appointed herself as your spokeswoman so she might as well deal with this.

“Kongou, deal with it.”

“Of course Torikov-san.”

Her fan snapped shut as she produced a smartphone. She pointed it at you and started narrating along as Nayuta continued to fix you up.

“VERDICT is a professional.”

Kaoru snorted.

“Sanctioned agent of Academy City. For your own safety, and the safety of those around you, please do not emulate him. Vigilantism is a crime.”

Kongou lowered her phone.

“There, that should be the start of a public service announcement,” she said happily.

“As always, you do good work Kongou-chan,” Nayuta agreed, “alright nii-chan, this is all I can do for now. Try not to lose your head or I’ll have trouble gluing it back on.”

You got up from the chair, stretching this way and that as Nayuta hung from your neck. Several aches made themselves apparent but it wasn’t life-threatening. You assumed it wasn’t since Nayuta hadn’t said anything.

“What’s the plan today?” you asked.

“It’s a Friday afternoon,” Kaoru replied, “I’ve made plans to patrol District 7 with Shirai-san.”

“Far be it from me to question how you spend your free time Kaoru-chan,” Nayuta interrupted, “But that sounded like a very roundabout invitation for nii-chan to join you.”

“It’s especially important given the news that has broken,” Kaoru continued, “People should be accustomed to his presence, rather than fearful of his arrival.”

“Right.” Nayuta remained unconvinced. “Noukan-jii-san wants me to do a follow up with that Kamijou boy. He’s your friend right?”

You nodded.

“Well it looks like Teacher is hanging around him, or the Brits have given him shelter, either way, someone wants eyes-on and who better else than you nii-chan?”

What are your plans this afternoon?
>Fly the flag with Kaoru
>Follow up on Touma
>Something else (write-in)

>Fly the flag with Kaoru

>Follow up on Touma

Teach me Teacher

>>Follow up on Touma
reminder hes our buddy no matter how much crap we give him.

You hoped Kaoru didn’t take offense when you said that you didn’t do street crime unless it came at you. Given your reputation, it was rare that someone sought to start trouble while VERDICT was out and about. Maybe that was why she wanted you present. Regardless, you went to check on Touma. You may not have played a major part in ousting the Mad King Ollerus but you wanted to make sure the situation was resolved all the same. Unsurprisingly, you found him at the British Embassy. He was taking tea. Surprisingly so was Sparky.

“Ah, my student, how nice of you to join us.”

Naturally, Teacher was there as was Princess Carissa.

“How many students do you actually have?” Her Royal Highness asked.

“Too many that I care to name,” was his reply, “Though you know most of the last two generations.”

You sat down and was offered tea.

“Looking a bit rough there buddy,” Touma greeted.

“Thermite’s rough on the armour.” You shrugged. “Is this your normal afternoon?”

He sighed.

“It was supposed to be my peaceful relaxation time.”

“I would assume VERDICT is one,” Her Royal Highness mused, “the THIEF is another.”

“Include Lupin’s consort, the Lord London’s daughter, and Kyril’s right hand man then you would be quite right,” Teacher confirmed, “At least in regards to the latest generation.”

“And before us you taught Ben-jii and Asuka’s uncle,” you finished.

“And a few more besides.” He turned to Sparky with a smile. “What do you think?”

All eyes turned to Sparky. She had been quietly drinking it all in, no doubt having patience drilled in to her. Setting her tea cup down, Sparky spoke easily,

“I’m just keeping an eye on him.”

By that she meant Touma. Teacher seemed amused, unlike Her Royal Highness who seemed to trying to tolerate her presence as much as possible. You turned to Touma and whispered,

“Girl problems?”

He hung his head heavily.

[1/2]

“I assume this isn’t a social call so what can I do for you kid?” Teacher asked.

You asked him about,
>The Magic God
>About your lesson
>Something else (write-in)

>About your lesson
"Boyish charm, state of the arm tech, and a thick skull can only take me so far."

*state of the art

“Roguish charm, state of the art technology, and a thick skull can only take me so far Teacher,” you answered.

That earned you smile from him.

“I would have thought you would enquire about the Mad King Ollerus,” Princess Carissa remarked.

“The what?” Sparky seemed surprised.

“Touma was on the case,” you replied, “I trust him to have it handled.”

The Princess smiled at that and nodded.

“And handled it he did,” she confirmed.

“Alright, what kind of trouble did you get yourself in to this time?” Sparky interrogated Touma.

You ignored their antics, instead focusing on Teacher. He set down his cup.

“You are thinking of the future aren’t you?” he asked, “Ready to stop being a kid and become a man?”

You couldn’t help but nod.

“That’s good.” He nodded again. “Very good. It means I don’t have to tell you that you can’t keep doing this.”

He tapped his temple. If you mirrored his actions then you would be touching the patch job that Nayuta had made of your helmet.

“Unless it was your plan to die young?”

You shook your head.

“I already did that once.”

He grimaced.

“Of course, I keep forgetting,” he muttered bitterly, “Well your next lesson seems pretty clear to me. You ready to retire?”

“I’m not going to have to fake my death am I?”

“No, nothing so drastic. I hope you have a replacement lined up.”

“You don’t keep up with the news at all do you?”

“Consider things from my perspective,” he said.

Then he got up.

“Come on, let’s go. We’ll need to talk to a few people and I want to see you work that ‘roguish charm’ of yours.”

“What? Like right now?

“Of course, strike while the iron is hot and all that. That is what you want right? A nice, neat retirement package.”

>Yes
>No

>Yes
But how much of a retirement will this be?
we get into trouble VERDICT or not.

>Yes

i hate my internet provider

“Where are you two going?” Her Royal Highness asked.

Her question stopped the two of you by the door.

“To see a few people,” Teacher answered.

“Are you forgetting that you are not welcome in the City?”

“I’ll be fine.” He dismissed her concern. “I’ve got VERDICT with me.”

Her worry was not unfounded it turned out. You weren’t sure who or what Teacher was going to see. Once he stepped out of the car Anti-Skill were alerted to his presence immediately. Apparently they were fine with him hiding out in the British Embassy. Now that he was wandering the City again, they were scrambling a response.

The office building wasn’t a particularly noteworthy one but now you realised why there was such a response was warranted. It was the office of one of the members of the Board of Directors. The security waving you in contrasted with how the rest of the City was treating you. Sitting at his desk, Kaizumi Tsugutoshi looked up from his paperwork.

“Teacher, good to see you,” he greeted jovially.

“It’s good to see you too.”

The director eyed you carefully. Outside Anti-Skill gathered. It looked like they were going to storm the building.

“I’m calling in that favour,” Teacher continued, “For a student of mine.”

“Sounds perfectly reasonable. I don’t think it’ll be hard to convince Oyafune but the others.” He trailed. “Well let’s not get ahead of ourselves right now. VERDICT is it?”

“Yes?” you spoke for the first time.

“Me and your Teacher are going to try and work things out.”

There was a small explosion on the ground floor.

“And it looks like there are people that want to stop me from doing so. So in the interest of hearing you out, can you make sure I stay alive long enough to do so?”

That didn’t seem hard but Anti-Skill wasn’t like the average crook. The member of the Board started towards an escape route. Teacher followed. How were you going to stall Anti-Skill?

>Barricade up
>Go on the attack
>Accompany Teacher

>Barricade up

>Barricade up

They were only doing their job, you kept reminding yourself. Another flashbang came through the doorway and you returned it to sender with but a thought. You had barricaded yourself in the Board Member’s office. Hopefully he could call them off before Anti-Skill escalated. There was a crash as two more members of Anti-Skill leapt in through the windows, grenade launchers primed in their hands. You moved quickly as they tried to reorient themselves. Your blade cut clean through the barrel and the projectile inside. The second grenade rammed in to your stomach, not having moved far enough to trigger the detonator. You flung both officers and the unexploded ordnance out the window before anyone got any ideas.

The doorway exploded in a shower of wooden splinters. You hoped that the Kaizumi didn’t mind losing that desk. A powered suit stepped through the gap levelling yet another grenade launcher at you. You could only divert its aim before it barrelled in to you. You barely managed to hang on before it got its bearings again, this time, opening fire as you hung from the window frame. Letting go, you dropped in through a window on the floor below. The grenade burst in midair just as you made it inside.

Taking a brief breather, you noticed that the powered suit was heading straight for the secret escape route. You burst through the floor mindlessly and grabbed it. The operator was trained enough to retaliate as you attacked from behind. Your arms were screeching in pain from the stress and abuse as you wrestled with the powered suit. The one advantage you had was your Ability. It helped you find the leverage you needed as you dragged both yourself and it through the open window before you let go. At this height, the fall wouldn’t even scratch it. You watched as it reoriented itself midair before coming to a stop as well. Its legs glued to the side of the building purely by the engineering prowess of the City.

[1/2]

>Retreat inside now
>Keep its attention
>Try to dislodge it
>Other (write-in)

>Keep its attention

I do not have fond memories of powered suits

>Retreat inside now

>Keep its attention

You had bad experience with powered suits and you weren’t going to dismiss it out of hand. Pulling the grenade launcher that it had dropped during your grappling to your hand, you levelled it at the suit. There was a brief jerk of its body. The pilot well aware of what you were doing. You pulled the trigger and it skidded out of the way. Concrete and plaster tearing away underneath its feet as it climbed up to meet you. You loosed another two grenades, anticipating its evasion patterns with CADRE. Its armour held and you kept firing until the launcher was empty.

You backed away from the window. Apparently they had thought that one powered suit would be enough. You were almost insulted. When you had run from the City there had been a veritable platoon of them. You suspected that they were getting conflicting orders as the Board of Directors scrambled to try and take advantage of the situation. Whether to get rid of a rival, or simply you, in an unfortunate accident remained to be seen.

“All units stand down.” A voice was broadcast over all channels. “That means you too VERDICT.”

You recognised the voice. Looks like Teacher succeeded after all. You didn’t let your guard down of course.

“Bring him in to custody.”

Or maybe not.

“We’re all going to talk about this like civilised human beings, he can bring himself in.” This was a different voice now. “VERDICT, you are hereby summoned by the Board of Directors to explain your actions.”

And just like that your audience with the powers that be was granted. It wasn’t in person of course. They were smart enough to at least have a conference call. Each of them were hidden behind a screen but you recognised both Kaizumi’s and Oyafune’s voices when the meeting was called to assembly. The latter was the leading voice as the meeting got underway.

“It has come to our understanding that it is your intention to retire from active service?”.

>Yes
>No

>Yes

>Yes

So now what? Adventures with teacher? Normal civilian life? Quest end?

>Yes

We become a PI

probably
maybe
season II end maybe I dunno

or you know, we piss off crowley by leaving and shit again, you know last time we completely fucked his shit and he sent a literal army after us, we died, then became his personal bitch for a while?
this is an equally likely possibility, might actually happen you know.

>No

>Yes

we're asking permission this time though

in b4 he says no, gets outvoted by the entire board, and he gets way pissed.
its very possible.

>Each Board of Directors member asks for a favor before Kyril can retire

Oyafune's is a night with Kyril

“That’s impossible. It does not get a say in what it wants. We provided for it out of generosity and we certainly are not going to let it abuse that!” One of the Board Members shouted.

“You say that as if machines don’t become obsolete or need replacement,” another rebutted.

“Obsolete machines are used until broken and then scrapped.”

“And you would trust the defence of the City to such a thing?”

“It is completely functional despite its track record. I see no reason why it should be retired now.”

“The replacement is already prepared?” another voice hummed, “It’ll require further test of course so we aren’t in a complete bind.”

“How convenient, that we can get rid of it now without repercussion.”

“He must live.” This was Kaizumi’s voice. “That is Teacher’s condition.”

“See, it’s colluding with the very elements it was meant to deal with.”

There were more cries of agreement after that.

“The majority is in favour of terminating this malfunctioning piece of equipment then.”

“No,” another voice cut in.

Cries of “Chairman” and “Chief Superintendent” resounded throughout the chamber.

“I want Teacher gone, out of this City,” the monotone yet chilling voice commanded, “Make it so.”

Whatever protests there were was silenced by the declaration. Apparently, the Chairman of the Board really, really didn’t like Teacher in the City. Understandable since the last time he had caused as much damage as the time you brought down a Code M flying machine with a KKV.

“You VERDICT.” the Chairman’s voice addressed you. “Will be reassigned shortly.”

With that his voice disappeared. The silence that ensued only served to get even more awkward as one by one, the Board Members logged off. Kaizumi’s was last to go but before he did he told you,

“Good luck kid, you’re going to need it.”

[1/2]

Waiting by your Camaro was a familiar figure. Dressed like a delinquent, the Level 4 Move Point, Musujime Awaki sat on the hood. If she was trying to be some kind of race queen then she was making a bad showing of it. You prepared yourself for another fight.

“Yo VERDICT.” She teleported you piece of paper. “Welcome to the shit show now.”

You snatched it out of the air. It read,

“Escort Teacher out of the City then standby for further orders.”

It was signed by the Chief Superintendent herself. Whoever they were, they worked fast. Musujime seemed to touch her ear before turning back to you.

“Looks like we got our marching orders,” she said, “Grab on.”

She held out her hand.

>Grab on
>Decline

>Grab on

>Grab on

>Grab on

is it bad i literally want us to go start mass killing these pieces of shit?
i mean god damn, just we seriously need to clean house.
also i don't like what crowleys plotting, theres gonna be some shit to be had.

I hope further orders don't involve exploding

Without hesitation, you took her hand. Instantly you were teleported to Teacher. Musujime was of course not with you, and neither was your car, but that was but a small price to pay you supposed.

“Very well,” Teacher spoke, “It seems dear old Crowley managed to get the final word in, but your wish has been granted, has it not?”

“That remains to be seen,” you answered, “For now, they want me escorting you out of the City.”

“A pity.” He frowned. “I had wished to stay longer but what is a trump card when you do not use it?”

You led him towards the towering walls of the City.

“I still didn’t get a lesson.”

Teacher smiled.

“Oh really? I thought this one was pretty simple, as far as things go.”

“And what is it?” you couldn’t help but ask.

“Be careful of what you wish for kid, because it might just be a tragedy when you get it.”

It was with that last line that you watched Teacher walk out of Academy City. When you turned around, Musujime was waiting for you, still sitting on the hood of your car.

“Well looks like you can still follow simple orders huh?” she said.

“Get off my car before I run you over.”

She teleported in to the passenger seat.

“Come on, don’t be such a downer,” she continued, “I don’t want to put this in your brain you know?”

In one hand was a railroad spike, in the other was another paper missive.

“Remain on standby until further orders.” It read.

“So you’re going to be my messenger now?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” She shrugged. “Oh come off it Torikov, it ain’t such a bad gig. We can do what we want until the big man comes calling. And you know he will, he’ll make sure you know it.”

The time is now morning, the weather is now brighter, and the date is now February 17.

It looks like,
>Asuka was calling
>Nayuta need you

>Asuka was calling

>Asuka was calling

>Asuka was calling

>Nayuta need you
Asuka a shit

>Asuka was calling

>Asuka was calling
Asuka a best

did bored dun died?

She had arranged for you to meet at a nearby josePH. The lights were out as you drove up to the family restaurant. A quick thermal showed people hiding behind various booths and tables. You weren’t sure whether it was a bad ambush or their attempt at a surprise party for you. Though in the latter case, you had no idea what they were celebrating for. Still, it didn’t hurt to be cautious. Your helmet emerged and folded up around your head, your pistol was drawn, and a crowd started to gather. You stepped inside and the lights came on.

If the fools thought they could surprise you by the rapid change of lighting levels they had another thing coming.

“Surprise.”

A target jumped out and you put two rounds in them before you registered their appearance.

“Ow fuck that hurts Pops.”

Kyouko was splayed out on the table she emerged from.

“I did inform you of the idiocy of this idea yes?” Asuka’s voice emerged from behind another table. “I told you so.”

“But you obviously didn’t stop her stop,” Sagara piped up next, “It’s almost as if you wanted her to get shot or something.”

“Perish the thought.”

“That’s all well and good,” you said, “So will someone tell me what’s going on?”

“Kyouko wanted to arrange a surprise retirement party,” Kyousuke answered.

The rest of the Problem Children emerged from behind their respective tables.

“So we rented out a josePH’s and well.”

He gestured towards Kyouko as she was trying to dig out the bullets from her stomach. A sickening squelch followed her every movement.

“Pops, please tell me you didn’t load hollow points,” she said, “They’re a bitch an a half to dig out.”

“We shall find you an electromagnet later Wanko-chan,” Asuka assured.

“It hasn’t even been a day.” You sighed as you holstered the pistol. “When did the news break?”

“Oh it was the first thing on air this morning dear, even Mitsuko made an appearance.” She gestured to the TV. “I think she has found her calling.”

[1/2]

Once the staff were done ducking under the counter from the gunshots, you all got some brunch as you pondered the future ahead of you. Despite being called to do odd jobs on occasion, you think Musujime had the right idea of it. You could do what you wanted since you were already financially secure. All that was left was to alleviate the boredom but with friends like these, you don’t think that was going to be too hard.

Season II End.

Thanks for running Bored!
So, if you don't mind me asking, what're your plans now lad?

oh well fuck.
anyways this has been one hell of a ride, thanks bored.

it always makes me a bit sad and a bit excited when this happens, thanks for the thread brored

thanks for running. a season III down the line some time?

can't hold back that Macross itch any longer?

here on tg or gonna give qst a shot?

oh dag yo! Thanks for it all bored! Been a fun ride and I can't wait to see what else you do so be sure to let us know.

i kind of want a hypothetical season III to be about the stupid shit quest touma did with his memories intact, thats gotta be one hell of a story and we only got bits and pieces of that one.

>Season 3 starts with us getting all fucked up again
The adventures of Ghost Torikov

archived

thanks for Season II

touma is worst mc of all time
pls no

I'd say Kira Yamato is worse

The start of today’s thread was a bit of a curve ball since you all chose what you did but I suppose it made for a fitting end point of Season II. I’ve been running for pretty much over two years now and I don’t want to drag this out longer than I needed to. If and when I do revisit this, it’ll be more episodic with in-universe timeskips, as opposed to long drawn out arcs because of the day by day thing I had going here. Frankly, it wasn’t even /qst/’s fault that questing has never been the same for me. Running for 8-10 hours, pumping out ~300 words under an hour each is super stressful, rewarding, and bad for IRL. There’ll probably never another place to quest like Veeky Forums for me though. I might do other quests under this trip but with a different name but right now I’m just done. I might put out some pastebins for interludes that are half written as well. If there’s any more questions, comments, or things you want to say, now’s the time.

thanks for all you have done bored, seriously, thanks.

ah but the final interlewd! will it never see the light of day?

QMing is quite the time sink and stressful.

you earned a break imo

got any missed stories opportunities/plot stuff VERDICT never got around to you remember?

Thanks for all the fun lad, we had good times.
If you wish to revisit it an episodic more short thing is a good idea, you get less chained down and don't really have to make a schedule to accomodate it.
Also the weight of such a lenghty story takes it's toll on the writer.

If you run something else will you tweet about it to announce?
Also, would you consider doing a short epilogue if you decide not to make the episodic deal?

this quest was pretty much one of my favourites ever, probably sharing the top
thank you for everything, and I hope you have a good and well earned rest

Do you know how rare proper SDFM fanfiction is? All of it's pretty much Robotech. YES I MAD.

Yes and it will be, unfortunately for most, still in French.

There was the time travel plot that was sort of DOA so I just didn't bother with it.

If I do run a quest on the Veeky Forums I'll be sure to let people know. Over the week I plan to get the interludes (and lewds) done before I become just another office drone.

Its this quest's fault that I gave To aru a second chance and ended up liking.it.

That's nice to know, it'd be a shame to miss it!
In the fond memories I'll have of this quest you'll never be just another office drone, you'll live eternally as Based Bored.

...Until I die in like ten years of cirrhosis but that's beside the point.
Anyway, looking forward to the interludes/lewds.

I didn't even know about it before this quest came up.

odds season III a guy can assume can't he? starts with Asuka preggers?

Rolled 45 (1d100)

Let the dice decide.

And by assume you mean hope right?

I'm being optimistic about it and you can't stop me user

You're right, fuck this actually made me go and reread thread 1, it always feels kinda surreal when you keep up with something for so long and then a change like this happens. It makes you look back and realize how it all had already changed

So that last choice was Nayuta or Asuka end?!

Anyways, thanks for running bored, first quest i followed begining to end, it was really fun.

I think he left already.

>04/28/16 New trial board added: /qst/ - Quests