Bad medicine

“Just because you’re friends with both of us doesn’t mean we’ll just get along with each other,” Serika growled.

“Mmph!” Yuni glared.

“Come on you two,” Madoka groaned.

The doctors had successfully managed to remove all the glue from Yuni's hair without shaving it all off, and had also unsealed her mouth. Her head and face were completely wrapped up in bandages, and while her hair had been saved, it was now much shorter. Her eyebrows would also grow back, and she'd be able to talk and eat properly again in a day. For the time being, she was assigned to Serika's room and was on a beverage diet since she was able to drink through a straw. However, even though Madoka had become friends with Serika, Yuni just couldn't seem to get along with her.

“Well, I guess my opinion on you has SLIGHTLY improved. The video was real and exactly as you described it. Plus, I’m starting to agree with you that Mochi might be a traitor and be with Illumous,” Serika grumbled.

Yuni stared in shock. Why was Serika talking like she knew what Illumous was.

“Oh, yeah Sensei and I secretly worked a bit on exposing Illumous before she told me not get involved and to leave it all to her. I imagine you and Nakajima are continuing to investigate them considering you three would always sneak off together."

“Since we’re all friends and against Illumous, we should all get along,” Madoka pleaded.

“When she’s capable of saving me, then I’ll consider being friends,” Serika growled as she glared at Yuni.

“Wow you’re a tsundere,” Madoka teased.

“AM NOT!”

The girls continued to banter, as an exhausted Emeri entered the room. “Hey Mado-chan, Auntie just finished up, so I decided to come visit Yuni-chan and Celery,” she sighed as she turned to face Serika.

“...How's your hand?” Serika asked.

“Its fine, I can move it around just fine, though it does ache a bit. Anyway, I’m sorry I ran off like that. Because of me- “

“NO! It was my fault. I was in such a lousy mood that I ended up spooking you. I’m sorry. I feel you deserve most of all to know who I really am. You cover your ears though," Serika growled as she glared at Yuni.

“Come on Serika! How about I tell you Yuni’s backstory, would that be fair?” Madoka pleaded.

Yuni nodded her head in approval as Serika begrudgingly agreed.

...

Emeri immediately hugged Serika after she finished retelling her tale. “I’m so sorry I called you Illumous trash! I had no idea how much that hurt you!” she sobbed.

“Its fine, I probably would have acted the same if I were in your shoes. Say why aren’t you covering your face?”

“Oh, I had to give my real name to the police, so I did a face reveal.”

“I’m really sorry, you probably wanted to remain anonymous for a reason.”

“No worries, I had a feeling I’d have to do it sooner or later.”

“Say, do you think we could become… friends?”

“Sure, I’m happy to become friends with someone like you. My name is Emeri Kuramori.”

“Serika Midoriya.”

“Now whip out your phone Serika-chan, I want to see how technologically savvy you are.”

“Heh, I’m actually a pretty decent gamer. Emeri, wanna go a round in Marauder Melee?”

The two began playing as Yuni sat on her bed with an annoyed look in her eyes.

“Don’t worry Yuni, I’ll keep you company. Just let them play for a while." Madoka smiled.

After playing for a while, the two stopped and turned their attention to Yuni and Madoka. Emeri then gave Yuni her phone back, allowing her to communicate with everyone again and tell her story.

As soon as Yuni finished telling her story, Serika let out a sigh. “Yeah, I’m gonna need time to digest that one. So the rescue mission to save Sensei failed because of a traitor?"

Yuni nodded "yes".

"Ugh, just great. But how the hell would Sensei make an oversight. And why the hell would Mochi turn traitor? By the way, what happened to that psycho bitch. I assume you did something to her considering you’re not mentally broken."

“Oh, that was me, let me send you the vod,” Madoka snickered.

Serika's eyes widened as she watched the video. “3.15 seconds!? That’s insane. I guess I should apologize for getting mad at you during the mummy incident. You really are a master of escape, it’s like you have the lock touch ability.”

“Yeah, I’ve also got hypermobility, though I suck at martial arts.”

"I suck at physical fighting too, but I'm one of the best hackers out there, so it balances out" Emeri shrugged.

“I’m glad I made such great friends.” Serika smiled as she closed her eyes.

The four girls continued to hang out with each other until visiting hours were over.

After Madoka and Emeri left, Serika laid down and stared at the ceiling. “You’re telling me Sensei found you because of some rebus?” she growled at Yuni.

“I didn’t believe it either, but I checked the video and it’s there,” Yuni texted.

“No! I’m talking about how the hell Sensei found YOU. It doesn’t make sense. Why would Fubuki hide a rebus in her video that references you? I mean, you lived with your aunt and were just some above average student. Why the hell would Fubuki place so much faith in you to the point where she’d try to get Sensei to look after you? Did she save your life or something? But even then, at best you’d have been some genius child at the time, but why? Was it because you were just some big Fubuki fangirl?”

"An "Above-average" student that got all perfects on her tests and graduated top of the class. When I can talk again, I’ll tell all of you why Fubuki placed so much faith in me.”

Serika clicked her tongue as she looked at her phone. “How long will that be?”

“Maybe a day days at the earliest.”

Serika grumbled as she decided to sleep. Unbeknownst to them, a timid nurse hiding outside their room had heard their conversation.

“Fu- Fubuki!? Th- that’s Ka- Kabuki! R right?”

She immediately bolted outside and made a call. Once the call was over, she entered Yuni and Serika’s room.

“T- Time for your checkup,” the nurse stuttered as she changed Yuni’s IV and walked over to Serika. “A- Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, will I be able to leave tomorrow?”

“N- No! Y- Y- You can’t leave!”

Before Serika could react, the nurse removed her breathing mask and placed a rag over her face.

"Chlorophorm!? Shit," Serika thought as she quickly fell unconscious.

Yuni attempted to attack the nurse, but her vision suddenly became blurry. “No... The IV... That bitch,” Yuni thought as she collapsed to the floor unconscious.

“I- I have to hurry. G -Got to make this look natural," the nurse stuttered as she quickly wheeled in a tray.

...

Madoka pouted as she stood outside the hospital. She had sent a text to Yuni and Serika, yet it had been minutes without any response. “Why haven’t they responded? I want to know if they’re down for some MMO tonight!” she pouted.

“They might be in a checkup; or they went to sleep. We really should get going though. We don’t want the police to spot you," Emeri sighed.

“But it’s been almost 15 minutes, surely one of them would have read it. Besides, didn’t you expose that Col Sanders knock off?”

“Yeah, and he even got arrested. But I still have a bad feeling about this. You said the police were chasing after you, yet I can’t find any public notices about you. The best I can find is simply a news blurb from this morning stating 'Criminal escapes! Be on the lookout for a woman in an orange jumpsuit'. Its so generic, yet I imagine they’re afraid revealing who you are would backfire on them. What concerns me the most is that the superintendent was still at the hotel when I left. If she looked outside on the balcony, which I’m sure she would do, then that makes the police’s silence and supposed inactivity on the matter all the more troublesome.”

“What’s wrong if she found the clothes, they’re hers anyway. Besides I’m starting to get worried about those two. Yuni was still wide awake when we left, yet it still says the messages are unread.”

Emeri shook her head and let out a heavy sigh. “Why not just go back up and ask them, we’ve been waiting here this whole time anyway. If the staff tell us to leave, we’ll just tell them we forgot something important, or I'll ask them for some more painkillers.”

The two waltzed back to the room only to be greeted by a disturbing sight; Yuni and Serika were now in full body casts as they slept on their beds.

“WHAT HAPPENED! HEY WAKE UP!” Madoka shouted.

Serika and Yuni slowly opened their eyes to the sound of Madoka’s shouting. Their eyes went wide as they realized they couldn’t move or speak.

“WHAT THE HELL DID THAT BITCH DO TO ME!?” Serika thought as she grunted in anger.

“My body doesn’t feel like its in pain, so I doubt anything’s broken, but why would she do that? Is she with Illumous?” Yuni thought.

“AHHH! Wh- Wh- Why are you two here!” the timid nurse screamed as she entered the room. Madoka and Emeri turned to face her.

“YOU! What did you do to my friends!? Madoka roared as she charged at the nurse.

“Don’t move or I shoot the girl,” a cold voice stated in English.

Madoka turned to see a mustachioed man clad in a black suit and fedora emerge from the bathroom holding a gun with a silencer. He pointed his gun at Emeri as Madoka screeched to a halt.

“Vi- Vincenzo! I’m so glad you’re here, you should have told me you-“

Bang!

The man fired a warning shot at the nurse before she could finish. “Get out! I’m already pissed enough as is,” he snarled.

The nurse trembled and ran out in terror as a stout doctor wearing a mask entered. “Well, well, it seems your friends have suffered a nasty fracture. I think you two need to join them." the doctor said coldly.

Outside the hospital, the timid nurse spoke to a woman with red hair smoking a cigarette.

“So why are you more jittery than usual, Nadea?” the woman asked.

“W- Well, I overhead some patients talking about how they were Kabuki Dakota’s chosen, or something like that so I assumed they were against Illumous and called someone. He told me how to get rid of them, but when I came back to the room, their friends were there, but luckily Vincenzo was hiding out in the room," Nadea trembled.

“Heh, Vincenzo? Well he’s one of our most skilled assassins, though I’m surprised he would aide a newbie like you let alone answer a phone call from you.”

“Um, he wasn’t the one I talked to, the one I called was… “

As Nadea explained, the red-haired woman’s smug grin began to frown. She took out her cigarette and pressed it against Nadea’s forehead.

“Ouch!”

“Sciocco [Idiot]! How could you do such a sloppy job!? Now there’s a chance they’ll live," the red haired woman glared.

“W- What do you mean?”

“Of all the people, you had to listen to HIM. Nadea, we’re going back to the hotel. I'm going to punish you.”

“Hiiiiii!”

“DID YOU HURT THEM YOU FATASS!?” Madoka roared.

“I only wrapped them up. You wouldn’t come back if there was no chance of saving them.”

“NO Chance!? What are you blabbering on about!? Who are you!?”

“Who AM I? Vincenzo if you please.”

Vincenzo groaned as he pulled out his phone. The sound of a shamisen began to play as the doctor ripped off his disguise and began to sing.

“YO YOI! I am the greatest criminal from the depths of Edo. The great daimyo of organized crime. Everyone fears my name! For every atrocity, I have attained! Murder! Kidnapping! Drug Smuggling! None can match my Might! Theft! Assault! War Crimes! All now fear my wrath! With my evil ninjitsu I will conquer all that’s good. They Jesters are the fools, WELL WHOS LAUGHING NOW DUMBASS! Lalalalalala! Jester is the evil, dastardly, wicked, inhumane, dark ninjutsu daimyo! Oh oh oh oh! Yooooooo!”

“BUWAHAHAHA! DR. JESTER IS IN!”

Madoka and Emeri cringed as Vincenzo face palmed. It was Jester. He was in his usual flamboyant attire, but now had various Band-Aids littering his face and clothes as well as a neck brace.

“MADOKA! We meet again! This time its payback for blowing me into the sky! You thought you could kill me? FOOL! My dark ninjutsu makes me impervious to damage! Why it was only a mere tap on the wrist for- “

“Then what’s with the neck brace?” Madoka glared.

“SCREW YOU! That fall really hurt! If you hadn’t destroyed our paragliders, we would have been fine! They’re still being repaired dammit! Ahem, MADOKA! This time you will not escape. While my army is still recovering from your attack, I have requested the aid of Illumous’ most feared assassin, my younger brother from another mother, Vincenzo Di Luigi! BUWAHAHAHA! Even a coldblooded assassin like him will gloriously aid me in my conquest to best you! Now, everyone! Immobilize them!”

Wounded ninjas suddenly appeared. Many of them had their arms in slings and their legs in casts. They along with Vincenzo quickly encased Madoka and Emeri in body casts and laid them on top of some stretchers.

“BUWAHAHAHAHAHA! NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO HAVE ALL YOUR BONES FRACTURED! Ahem, MADOKA! Last time I tried to blow you up with a mountain of explosives, this time I will just burn you AND THE WHOLE PLACE DOWN! BUWAHAHAHAHA!” Jester laughed.

“Um master, is it OK to just burn down an entire hospital?” one of the ninjas asked.

“Why not? I’ve done mass murder before in the past. Besides, we won’t start the fire until AFTER we’re all outside and safely chilling on the roof of the building across the street. Even if the whole place DOES blow up, we’ll be safe and Madoka will die!”

“Brother, I could just shoot them and then we could just burn the corpses here,” Vincenzo pleaded.

“If you shot, Madoka would just use the bullet to break free! Besides I’m NOT going to risk blowing up again. Safety first as they say.”

“Coming from a man who bragged about mass murder? Iyaiyai! What am I gonna do with you brother?”

Jester planted a device before he, Vincenzo, and his injured ninjas fled. Once they were gone, Madoka glared and immediately got to work on escaping.

“I can’t believe that creep encased me fully clothed, including my shoes. Well, that means my feet aren’t completely immobilized. If I can just finesse my shoes off…”

Madoka made use of her hypermobility to finesse her feet out of her sneakers.

“Ouch! I might need a cast after this. Well, this isn’t a lot of room to work with, but it should be enough.”

Madoka kicked out with the tip of her feet. The plaster cracked, and her shoes plopped out and tumbled off the stretcher onto the floor. Now that her feet were free Madoka began dragging herself to the edge. Once she had reached it, she began tumbling off the stretcher to the floor. The cast shattered and Madoka was free. She noticed a fire was quickly spreading throughout the room.

“How fast do those freaks move!? I though some of them were injured.” she grumbled as she slipped back into her sneakers and went over to Emeri. “Sorry, this might hurt a bit,” she nodded as  she pushed Emeri off the stretcher, causing her cast to break apart.

“Ugh, I think I’m going to need more pain killers,” Emeri groaned as she got up.

She then ran over to Serika's bed and freed her while Madoka freed Yuni.

"Hmm, not bad," Emeri mumbled as she bent down to snag something.

“Can you two move?” Madoka asked.

“Yeah, doesn’t feel like anything’s broken, but who the hell is that daimyo bastard!?” Serika asked as she darted her head around.

“I’ll explain later, first everyone get on the stretcher!"

After everyone got on the stretcher, Madoka pushed the stretcher out into the hallway. The fire had spread to the point where the hallway was now engulfed in flames. Madoka aimed the stretcher towards the elevator before kicking it with all her might. The stretcher shot down the hallway like a rocket as Madoka sprinted to catch up with it.

“WAAAH! TOO FAST TOO FAST!” Yuni screamed in her mind.

The girls barely managed to get off before the stretcher slammed into the elevator door. Madoka grabbed a fire extinguisher before catching up with them and running down the emergency stairs with them.

On the rood of an adjacent building, Vincenzo was pointing his sniper rifle at the emergency exit door. “This isn’t a good idea, if we get spotted, we’re in trouble brother."

“Relax! Those fools would never see it coming. Besides, we’re all the way across the street. There’s no way they can reach us! And you never miss your shots soooo... I WIN!” Jester gloated.

As the girls reached the bottom, Madoka motioned for everyone to stop as she kicked open the door. She then kicked the fire extinguisher like a football straight towards Vincenzo.

“WHAT THE- DOHH!”

The extinguisher smashed into Vincenzo's rifle causing it to dent the barrel and smash into his face. The extinguisher then fell on Jester’s head with a loud BONK before bouncing off and knocking out all the ninjas present. As everyone groaned in pain on the roof, some sticks of dynamite rolled up to them.

“Vinny, are these your sticks of dynamite?” Jester nervously asked.

“DYNAMITE! What do you-”

KABOOM!

Jester, Vincenzo, and the ninjas flew into the air.

"BROTHER! I thought you said we'd be safe! You know I'm not good with sky diving!" Vincenzo cried.

"Relax, We'll survive, our paragliders are finally repaired! BUWAHAHAHAHA!" Jester laughed.

"Do you HAVE your paragliders with you!?"

Snot began to drip out of Jester's nose. "Oh, right, we were going to pick them up before Nadea-chan called me. Oh shit."

“HYELLLLP!”  Vincenzo screamed.

“F*** YOU MADOKA!” Jester screamed.

The girls exited and gave a middle finger salute to the goons flying off into the sky.

“Well good riddance to whoever those bastards are," Serika grumbled.

“Mado-chan, why did they blow up? I thought you just punted a fire extinguisher at them," Emeri asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m glad it did happen," Madoka shrugged.

“Mado-chan, we need to get out of here before the police arrive. Oh, and Yuni-chan, Serika-chan you’re coming with us. It’s too risky to leave you two alone, you’ll be much safer at the Ginkawa mansion," Emeri stated.

As the girls got into a limo, two women watched from the roof of the adjacent building.

"Looks like they'll be heading to safety. Guess we can rest easy then," one grinned as she put a pocky stick in her mouth.