Whiplash

In the hotel lobby, Safumi, Doraaki, Tenju, and Taira all gathered.

"So why are you all here?" Safumi grumbled.

"Mizuse called and said the maestro had something important to discuss," Doraaki replied.

Suddenly, paramedics rushed into the lobby with a stretcher in tow. Realizing that they were heading in the direction of the salon, everyone grew worried and immediately rushed after them.

They arrived at the salon to find Michiko on the ground in tears. "She- She's not responding! I thought she was snoozing or playing a prank!" she cried as Daria was loaded onto a stretcher. "That woman. She's my friend. I'm sorry, but I gotta go with her."

"We understand. In fact, we'll cover for you should the maestro get upset. Though I'm sure she's the kind of woman that would understand," Tenju nodded.

Michiko thanked everyone before running off after the paramedics. As she did, she noticed Ai and Mizuse out of the corner of her eye and briefly stopped as she noticed something slip out of Mizuse's pocket without her realizing it.

She cautiously ran over once the coast was clear, and to her shock, noticed a deactivated DESPER laying on the ground.

...

At school, Mimoko let out a groan as Mei called her to the office over the loudspeaker. "Ugh, am I going to get chewed out for something the others did? Or did Okaa-chan fail to properly inform them that I was out. Or maybe someone saw me and thought I was playing hooky. Ugh."

Iori scowled as she watched Mimko leave. "That wasn't Mei's "Your ass is busted" tone. In fact, it sounded eerily professional. That's not good. I hope everything's alright with Mimo-chan," she thought.

Mimoko exited the classroom and made her way to the principal's office. When she entered, she found Mei, the acting principal, and the guidance counselor all present. She quickly feared this was going to turn into a lecture until Mei stepped forward.

"Mimoko Inoue. Please remain calm while I inform you of what has transpired. Your mother has fallen into a coma."

"Huh?"

...

Mimoko huffed and puffed as she frantically ran down the hospital's halls. "OKAA-CHAN!" she shouted as she entered a room to find her father and brother by Daria's bedside.

Kotora was in tears while Ichimitsu sat with his newspaper obscuring his face.

A nurse was also present and approached Mimoko. "I assume you're her daughter then. In that case, I shall fill you in on what happened. She was reportedly found unresponsive in the Triple Cedar hotel's salon. The chief stylist said she was fine one moment, but when she returned from a meeting, she found her unresponsive."

"Mi- Michiko-chan?"

"I believe that was her name. She was here until just a short while ago. In fact, she might still be around."

Ichimitsu suddenly stood up, still holding his paper over his face, and walked out.

"Otou-san, where are you going!?" Mimoko cried.

"Business," Ichimitsu mumbled as he left.

Mimoko wanted to chase after him, but decided to stay and comfort Kotora as they both cried before their mother.

...

After 15 minutes of crying, Mimoko decided to grab some food for her and Kotora. As she made her way down to the cafeteria, she noticed Michiko somberly seated at one of the tables.

"Mi- Michiko-chan?"

"Mimoko? I'm so sorry," Michiko sniffled as Mimoko sat down next to her. "I just thought she fell asleep, but she was unresponsive. Why!?"

"It's not your fault."

"But I still feel guilty. If I had just stayed with her then maybe I could have saved her."

"What do you mean?"

Michiko went silent before nervously darting her head around the room and leaning into Mimoko's ear. "That's the strange part. They don't know. But I fear it might be connected to the strange occurrences that have been happening."

"'Strange occurrences'?"

"Yes. You remember meeting Maestro Himitsu, yes? Well lately, she's been acting more and more, shall I say, malicious."

"'Malicious'?"

"Yes, at first I thought nothing of it. But then something happened."

"What?"

"As I was rushing out with the paramedics, I noticed the maestro maliciously watching from a distance along with Mizuse. As the two walked away, something fell out of Mizuse's pocket. Curious, I quickly ran over, only to find this, much to my horror," Michiko stated as she pulled the DESPER she found out of her pocket.

"Th- That's-"

"I know. Since us SPCMs are technically direct WWCF employees, we know about the Desperado league and their antics. We even take training courses on what to do should a member try and trigger a DESPER in a cafe or target us outside of it. However, I never would have imagined Mizuse would possess something like this. Worse, the device is deactivated, meaning it was previously in use. Perhaps Mizuse is responsible for the Maestro's sudden shift, or perhaps, it was the maestro all along."

right?"

"Why's that?"

"Because she's one of the strongest maestros and has a rating of 3200."

"Th- That high!?"

"Yes, and the Ultima-master reportedly is also rated 3200. It is not far-fetched to assume they are the same person."

"I- If she's the leader of the Desperado league- No, was Okaa-chan targeted because of me!?"

"The league is targeting you?"

Mimoko quickly filled Michiko in on how the Desperado league had began targeting her, following her first meeting with Gyro.

"Y- Yes, before I got a rating, Mr. Gunnerson tried to kill me, but Tanabe-kun beat him and saved me."

"I see. Mimoko, be careful. They will likely come after us again."

"I'll let-"

"No, the less people we drag into this the better. Now stay vigilant. I'm going to return to Triple cedar."

"We should stick together."

"No, the maestro will likely be warry since I took Mizuse's DESPER. I want to try and hide it somewhere she'll never be able to retrieve it so if I do get caught, she'll never be able to use it again. Mimoko, take care," Michiko smiled before running off.

"...Michiko. I understand. Just... Please be careful. I don't want to lose anyone else."

...

As Mimoko returned to Daria's room, she found that Kotora was gone. "Did he leave already? Maybe he went looking for me since I was taking a while," Mimoko thought as she sat down. "Okaa-chan... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything!" Mimoko cried as she sobbed into Daria's blanket, unaware that she was being watched.

As the time continued to tick by, Mimoko began to get worried about Kotora. "Is he in the bathroom, or did he really leave. Guess I'll call him.

"Put the phone down, nya!"

Mimoko froze and turned to see a girl with a fleshy cat tail clad in a cat-ear knit hat and school uniform emerge from the curtains nearby. "Who are you!?"

"Nyoan Nyakuoji, nya," the girl smiled as she whipped out a DESPER with her tail.

...

As Michiko arrived back at the salon, she froze as she noticed Ai, Mizuse, and the hooded woman all waiting for her.

"Well you certainly took your time," a voice sneered from behind.

Michiko turned to notice Xiao Lin, and before she knew it, she was grabbed by Ai and Mizuse and dragged into a salon chair.

"Mi-chi-ko. Seems like you're gonna go bald before me too," Ai maliciously giggled.