Project IZ*ONE: Secret Files

ZOZI: Part 3

After a couple hours, the train conductor announced that they would be arriving at Nagoya station shortly. It had been a rather uneventful ride, both girls taking turns staying awake. It was times like these that they were thankful that Sakura had lent the mastercard she created months ago before they left for Japan. It allowed them to get food and travel around without any problem. In this case, it allowed them to secure VIP tickets for the train ride. The extra leg room and comfy seats really helped the duo rest up for the battle that was to come.

"Hey, Hii-chan, we're almost there. Wake up." Nako whispers to the sleeping girl, softly patting her head. This was surely a difficult time for the peach-cheeked girl. The older girl knew that she'd probably be doing the same thing if someone had done that to her parents. All Nako knew right now was that she wanted to be there and support her partner.

"Thanks for letting me rest a bit longer, Nako-chan. We're supposed to be meeting Jurina near the SKE building, right? You know where that is?" Hitomi asks. At this, Nako brings out a map, pointing at a location in the Sakae district.

"Remember, we're going to work with Jurina, but we can't let her kill Koyama. We need information from her, and it wouldn't be right for us to decide her punishment." The short girl reminds her girlfriend. From the way she said it though, Hitomi could definitely tell that the "don't kill Koyama" part applied to herself as well. She may have calmed down since her breakdown earlier, but you never know what emotions will arise when facing someone who's wronged you the way Koyama had wronged her and her family. Nako had good reason to watch both her and Jurina for this mission.

"You have any ideas on how to deal with Zozi? I don't want you getting hurt again." Hitomi ends up saying to change topics.

"Hmm, I'm assuming we'll find something in Koyama's database. The problem will be getting there. Ugh, this sounds like an IZ*ONE level threat." Nako responds, racking her brain in frustration. This was usually the time Eunbi would make some inspirational speech or Sakura would come up with an intricate plan. Hitomi senses this and places a hand on her partner's shoulder.

"Hey, just because the others aren't here doesn't mean it's impossible. This is an IZ*ONE level threat which is why we're both here. Besides, we both know Jurina's no slouch. We'll figure something out like we always do." The younger girl says reassuringly. This was the beauty of the duo's lowkey relationship; they could both easily pick up on each other's emotions and take turns picking the other up.

"You're right. Let's take Koyama down and have a nice meal after." Nako says with a cheerful smile. A couple moments later, the train begins to slow down before fully stopping at their destination. The duo gives each other a confident nod before heading over to Sakae.

~~~~

"Took you two long enough. I was beginning to think you two had flaked on me. Are you sure you didn't make any detours?" Jurina says snidely after walking out of the shadows. The three had met up in an alleyway in front of the five-story high building.

"Yah, of course not! It just took us a bit to get to the train station from the forest you shadow-traveled us to." Nako says with reddened cheeks because of what the older girl was insinuating.

"It's still a lot more effective than what you used to get here. I finished scouting half an hour ago."

"It's certainly not that effective at keeping my nausea away." Hitomi quips before moving on to the matter at hand. "Let's just get this over with. Did you find us an entrance?"

"Well, since you two seem to hate shadow-travel so much, we're going to have to enter from the top using the other building. There's only ever one sentry up there." Jurina says, pointing at the shopping center next to their target.