- Pronouns
- She/Her
Technically the kidnapping hasn't happened yet from Tina's perspective. This meeting is taking place during Dolly's afternoon classes before she is kidnapped by Byouri. But yeah the irony is intentional.
A Certain Scientist's Granddaughter
- Thread starter LilyWitch
- Start date
- Mature
-
- Tags
- a certain magical index (raildex) a certain scientific accelerator (raildex) a certain scientific railgun (raildex) sci-fi science-fantasy kitchen sink urban fantasy (fantasy) misaka mikoto shokuhou misaki canon typical violence character death reincarnation self insert kiyama harumi mature content therestina kihara lifeline
Ahhhhh and Byouri the Give up lady probably not properly assessing her attachment to Dolly to the point of just going and blowing the Shadow war Sky High into the Open
Chapter 10 - Deadlock
- Pronouns
- She/Her
TW: I still consider the violence here within the bounds of canon but warning for gore anyway so no one is unpleasantly surprised.
8th of April 2003, One Year and 2 months before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
I'm catching up on the paperwork that my impromptu meeting with Dr. Kiyama delayed when the program I have watching the emergency dispatch system for any incidents near the girls and the other program I have watching for any other power players in the city was messing with the dispatch system both ping me at the same time. I instantly drop what I'm doing and bring up the full details of the alerts. Just like I feared they are in the same location.
"A terrorist attack at Seventh Heaven Mall? Right, Mikoto wanted to go there after school because a limited run Pyonko plush will be going on sale there today. Misaki was going along as an excuse to go fabric shopping. So why are Anti-Skill, Judgement and MAR all being held back?"
I quickly push through an executive override to get the nearest MAR emergency response hub to mobilise a full powered suit response force. I trust Mikoto and Misaki to be able to handle themselves against most random terrorists but the other civilians in the area need to be evacuated and protected. However, who is blocking the emergency services and why? Someone powerful enough to do that could send forces strong enough to endanger Mikoto and Misaki. I set my analyst teams to look into it. I can't risk Mikoto and Misaki getting hurt because I stayed back to track down the person in charge. I grab my service pistol and holster from my desk, no time to get fully kitted out in my personal powered suit, and send Ruri a quick text apologising for leaving her in charge while I rush into danger again. I really need to get her something nice to make up for the trouble I cause her. I tie my hair into a low bun to keep it out of my face while falling and open my office floor to ceiling window to step out into the air.
[Apply Macro "Free Fall" to Object "Tina Lifeline".]
I can't see Seventh Heaven Mall floating where I am but that's not a problem, once I get to District 7 I can narrow down my target area. I'm thankful for my smart glasses which can grip my temples to stay attached even in high winds. Otherwise flying like this would leave me practically blind on arrival.
[Re-apply gravitational attraction between Objects "Windowless Building" and "Tina Lifeline". Set gravitational pull to Macro "Earth Standard Gravity".]
I instantly begin falling horizontally towards District 7. I shift from a belly-first position to a head-first position to reduce my drag and soon reach my terminal velocity of 90 metres per second.
I'm on my way, girls.
================================================================
Seconds later at Seventh Heaven Mall
I'm approaching too quickly to properly take in the information my eyes are sending me. Thankfully my gravitational proprioception tells me all I need to know. There are only 32 moving bodies left in the ruined building. 2 of them match Mikoto and Misaki's gravitational signatures. I don't know any of the other 30 but they seem to be divided into 2 teams, each team fighting either Mikoto or Misaki. I can't sense any other living humans in the structure, Misaki must have used Exterior to control the crowds to expedite an evacuation. Mikoto seems to be doing better between the two girls. 5 of her presumed assailants are alive but not moving while the other 10 are keeping their distance. Misaki on the other hand has only disabled 1 of her foes. She is currently running and dodging attacks from the other 14. I angle myself feet-first at the enemy closest to Misaki and reduce my acceleration to 0.2g. I don't want to break my own legs after all.
I impact their chest feet first going roughly 18 metres per second at a 75 degree angle from the ground. Their ribs instantly cave in, their lungs are squashed flat and their spine snaps as my weight folds them in half. I tuck and roll to bleed off energy, shifting gravity in reverse at the last second to provide counter acceleration. As I come up from my roll I can see the other 13 soon to be dead terrorists chasing Misaki. Miniature jet engines strapped to their backs, inline skate wheels all over the body and armed with pilebunkers. Their suits look like the prototype Queen Diver suits. I thought they had been scrapped to be reworked from the ground up after I was 'compromised' by meeting Misaki. It looks like someone continued my work and altered it to fight Mikoto as well. I can see extra insulating padding, ceramics instead of ferromagnetic alloys and miniaturised AIM Jammers. Not powerful enough to stop Level 5, or even a Level 4, fully but strong enough to make using kinesis to control the suits or their wearers extremely difficult in combat conditions. At least without pumping so much power through them that an esper would risk killing the person inside the suit. This has been planned for a long time and by someone who knew that Mikoto and Misaki aren't killers. So taking their technical ability and knowledge of Mikoto and Misaki into account, this is almost certainly an attack from another Kihara. The question is which one of my relatives did this.
I don't bother drawing my service pistol, the Queen Diver suits are rated for such low calibre bullets. Instead I drag the debris nearby into orbit around me and start slingshotting bricks and concrete at the Queen Divers. Only 2 of them are slow enough to get caught by my wide area attack unfortunately but judging from the snapping sounds their limbs make they are at least out of the fight. As the remaining 11 Queen Divers dodge and back off to regroup I float backwards to Misaki but don't take my eyes or my gravity sense off them.
Are you hurt?
I had to use the trick with my ✧ Mental Out ✧ you showed me to increase my running ability~ to keep out of their reach. I don't think I've taken any permanent damage but my everything is sore right now. Their pilebunkers can smash through concrete so I'd hate~ to see what they do to ✧ delicate maidens ✧ such as myself.
Misaki is putting on a brave face with her mental voice but I can hear her strained breathing and smell the blood coming from her direction. I keep up my barrage of debris to give us cover to talk.
✧ Hey! ✧ It's not nice to call out a lady on a lie you know~! I'll be fine. Really. I can see that you are familiar with their suit's abilities~ but there are bits even ✧ you ✧ don't know. They have tiny rockets as well, it's what caused most of the damage to the mall after the initial bombing. Other than Mikokun's vandalism ability~ of course.
Speaking of which, one of them takes that moment to shoot a pair of micro-rockets at me over the objections of their fellows. I barely have to alter my calculations to drag them into my orbit and slingshot them back at the Queen Divers with twice the acceleration. The idiot who shot them at me manages to dodge but one of their fellows is not so lucky. They catch one of the rockets on their chest plate and are blown into smoking chunks. 10 Queen Divers left.
It's so unfair! You warned me about these suits and their ability to counteract my ✧ Mental Out ✧. I spent 6 months getting ready and I still can't beat them.
You lasted over a minute in combat against 15 people trying to kill you, Misaki. You even took one of them out of the fight before I got here. Trust me, as an experienced killer, that is incredibly impressive. Now. You rest, let me know if Mikoto needs any urgent help and I'll kill these people trying to hurt you.
Suiting actions to thoughts I fall feet first towards one of the 3 Queen Divers which has stayed out in the open in front of us, boxed in by my continuing debris barrage. They activate their jets to skate to the side, which would have saved them if I was simply falling in their direction. Unfortunately for the Queen Diver I am falling towards them. I crash into them and bowl them over, I didn't have enough time to build up to terminal velocity so they are just stunned rather than broken. Before they can react I draw my service weapon and stick it under their chin where the armour is weakest. One shot. Two shots. 6 rounds left in the clip. 9 Queen Divers left. I jump backwards and fall upwards away from the corpse as one of their fellows comes in from behind with their pilebunker. Their missed blow punches through their erstwhile allies stomach and spine in a spray of gore. Before they can recover and retreat I kick one of the chunks of debris orbiting me and accelerate it through their head. 8 Queen Divers left. Leaving a spray of red behind me I turn to the last assassin out in the open. They try to flee by turning on their jets but I set their personal gravity to make them fall back towards me. The force pulling them to me is too strong for their jets to fight. Once they get close enough I have my debris shield speed up and chop them apart like a blender. 7 Queen Divers left.
3 are circling around Misaki and I's right while another 3 take the left. The final one has fled towards the group fighting Mikoto. Now only 6 Queen Divers out of the original 15 are still fighting her. One of the bodies Mikoto has defeated is too limp to just be unconscious or pinned. Damn these terrorists. Misuzu and Tabigake wanted to spare her from killing so young. The two triads trying to flank Misaki and I have obviously forgotten esper extrasensory perception. I turn back to face Misaki for the first time and as I do I tear two of the few walls still standing out of the ground and into the air to orbit above me. I'm probably being overly grandiose but these fuckers forced Mikoto to kill, making me break my promise to her parents, and now that I can see her properly broke Misaki's right arm so badly her ulna is piercing the skin. I'm feeling vengeful today. I slingshot a wall at each group as they cower behind rubble as if I don't know where they are. 2 members of the group on Misaki's right are hit and out of the fight while only 1 Queen Diver is hit on Misaki's left. 3 enemies remaining.
Behind me! I flip into the air above me and set myself to free fall to dodge a pilebunker strike from the Queen Diver I beheaded earlier. Whoever altered these must have moved the computer override out of the helmet or added a redundant backup. The suit I head shot is coming in from above to box me in. I increase my weight and fall through the beheaded suit, bisecting it from nape to groin and covering myself in viscera. Blinding myself but that's fine, I can still feel the one coming from above. As the Queen Diver above me comes down I grab and redirect its pilebunker strike, flipping the suit onto its back hard enough to break the jet engines. Distantly I hear the rapidfire sound of 5 sonic booms. To make sure the suit doesn't get back up I stamp through its pelvis with my enhanced weight, severing its spine and its major muscle attachments, then pull on its arm to tear the body in half. 3 enemies remaining. Again. I take a moment to wipe gore from my glasses so I can see again and reset my weight to normal before I break my own bones as I turn to face Misaki again.
Unfortunately my distraction cost us. The three suits closer to Misaki have taken her captive. The one that went to Mikoto's fight has returned as well and is whispering to the others. One of them is holding a flame in the palm of its hand close to her face while the other two have Misaki's arms and head pinned. Interesting. So some of them are espers. Judging by my gravitational senses Mikoto has won her fight now but is keeping her distance. Good. Hopefully between the two of us we can rescue Misaki.
"Drop the rocks or the Level 5 is going to need a new face." the pyrokinetic threatens. I drop my control on the debris orbiting me and let it scatter around myself in a spiral.
"Satou! Go cuff her for the boss lady."
"If you let Misaki go, I will allow you to flee with your lives. I will not pursue and I will ensure that Anti-Skill, Judgement and MAR all overlook this terrorist attack." I say before the suit that came back from checking on Mikoto can take more than two steps towards me. It pauses and looks back at the apparent leader with pyrokinesis.
"You're not the one with leverage here, Level 5!" What?
"I think there has been a mistake. While the young lady you are holding hostage is indeed a Level 5 I am not. I am a Level 3." Well, a Level 4 but that's not something I'll admit in public to such obvious pawns.
✧ Miss Lifeline ✧. I've looked in their minds. They call themselves Deadlock. They hate Level 5s because they believe a conspiracy theory that our existence keeps their own Levels low. Of the ones remaining only the pyrokinetic has a combat useful ability~.
Thank you Misaki.
"Yeah the boss lady said you'd try to lie about that. I figured she might be full of it. I mean, come on two Level 5s keeping their Levels hidden? But then I saw you tear through my boys just now. The other team is getting beat by that electromaster so I guess that she was telling the truth about her too. Just more proof of how you lot keep us down! Satou! I told you to go cuff her." The suit that paused before starts approaching me again.
He's not going to listen to me. Reason cannot convince a fanatic. Misaki, can you tell who their boss is?
No. ✧ Sorry ✧ but she has never shown her face and uses a voice changer~.
Unfortunate but not surprising.
Can your ✧ Gravity Shift ✧ get this idiot's hand away from my face? His fire is going to damage my cuteness ability!
I can.
Despite her bravado I can see that Misaki is worried from her body language. So I try to project calm from my own body language and my thoughts.
On my mark then~
By this point Satou has reached me and started cuffing my hands behind my back.
I think I know who set this up. My cousin Byouri is the person most likely able to arrange for all of this. Stalling the emergency response. Customising the Queen Diver suits to counter Mikoto and your own likely countermeasures. Manipulating catpaws into doing all the violence for her. Most tellingly of all-
✧ Mark! ✧
Simultaneously I impose a gravitational pull of 20 g on Satou, crushing his body to the ground, and catch Pyro in my own gravity field. Pyro is well outside of my official range for selectively attracting objects I haven't touched so there is no way that Deadlock or their backer could predict this move. Pyro is wrenched away from Misaki's face and falls through the air towards me before managing to stabilise himself with the aid of his jet pack and begins to charge his pyrokinesis to attack us both.
Before the two Deadlock members holding Misaki can recover or Pyro can launch his attack all three are paralysed by Misaki's gambit, whatever it was, and Pyro's hands are smothered by iron sand mittens courtesy of Mikoto.
-it's just like her to set up her patsies to lose.
Idly I cancel my previous Gravity Shift on Satou, grab hold of some heavy debris with Gravity Shift and crush Satou and Pyro's suits in a splatter of gore before they can attack autonomously again. As I'm doing this I rush over to Misaki to help her get out of the frozen clutches of the Deadlock suits, Mikoto close behind me. Before we can reach her a familiar voice comes from one of the suits holding her.
"Honestly that took you all far too long. You are still holding yourself back, Therestina-chan!"
"Byouri." I growl as Mikoto and I reach Misaki and start trying to figure out a way to remove her from Deadlock's clutches without further injuring Misaki. Or her captors I suppose.
"Mou. Not even going to introduce me to my new niece?" That freezes me but Mikoto continues to examine Misaki and her captors.
"Auntie told me plenty about you. You're the one who 'gives up' right? So why don't you give up on whatever you're doing 'Aunt Byouri' and leave us alone already!" Mikoto says.
"No. No Mikoto you're. You're not a Kihara. Don't-"
"Now now Therestina-chan. Don't tell lies now. You adopted her clone as your own daughter. That makes both of them Kihara now."
"SHUT YOUR WHORE FACE!" I scream in the helmeted face.
"So rude Therestina-chan! Even in front of your daughter!"
No. No, Byouri can't have Dolly. Dolly is in the School Garden with her new friend. She's meant to be safe.
"You don't have her. You're bluffing."
"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not? Speaking of bluffing. I'm not sure how you froze the Queen Diver suits in place but you should know I can set them to blow at any time." Even before I can react to call that out as the bluff it is, the Queen Diver suits don't have the room for bombs along with everything else she has strapped to them, Mikoto has cut the arms off the Deadlock members holding Misaki and is pulling all three of us out of range with her iron sand.
"Ohohohohohohoh! Now, that really was a bluff. I'm surprised at your ruthlessness though little niece. We might make a proper Kihara out of you yet Misaka Mikoto."
"She's not bluffing about holding Dolly captive Auntie. Mitori just called. Aunt Byouri kidnapped Dolly while we were busy here and injured Miss Tatsuki." Mikoto says. She must be using her electromaster ability to take the call since I don't see her phone. Also stop calling her Aunt, Mikoto! Don't encourage her!
"Ah Miss Schoolgirl survived to pass on my message. Excellent! She's a bit dim for a student of Tokiwadai but maybe she has promise after all."
"What do you want with all this Byouri? Terrorist attacks in broad daylight? Do you think the board will let you get away with this?"
"I want what I've always wanted, Therestina-chan. For you to give up this ridiculous fantasy that you aren't one of us. I suppose it's okay for you to inspire adopted children like Misaka Mikoto and the clone-
"Their name is Dolly." Mikoto, Misaki and I say at the same time.
"-but I just can't have children like Miss Kouzaku and Miss Shokuhou looking up to a Kihara who helps people. I have to make you give that up. Though, at least you are better than Kagun in one way Therestina. Unlike him, you've never given up easily. No matter how hard I push. You have the stubbornness and strength of will a Kihara should have." she pauses, "As for the board of directors? Well that hag Unabara won't be very happy with me I'm sure but I can handle her. The rest of them will be much more interested in the combat data on their precious Mental Out and their upcoming new 3rd Ranked Level 5 than they are in one measly little mall getting destroyed. Why, thanks to the heroes of the hour there were no civilian casualties. MAR really did a good job today." Her sarcasm is palpable. "Though I think they will be most interested in that bit at the end where you exceeded your Bank data Therestina-chan." she says in a conspiratorial tone. "Bye-bye!"
The world is ringing in my ears. 10 years of hiding. 10 years of staying under their radar and having the comfort of a secret weapon. Gone. Dolly. Gone. Taken. Taken from where she should be safe. I told Kiyama she was safe. Taken by Byouri. Fucking Byouri. I should have killed her after what she did to Kagun. No matter how much he begged to let me give him the first shot. Well fuck him. Fuck her. I'll kill her. I'll tear off her legs and beat her to death with them. I'll deglove her bitch face and then I'll dissect her brain to finally figure out what is wrong with all of us and fix m-
* Click *
==============================================================
"Misa! What did you do to Auntie?"
"Trust me Mikokun~. Miss Lifeline will thank me later once she's calmed down and I've let her remember this."
8th of April 2003, One Year and 2 months before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
I'm catching up on the paperwork that my impromptu meeting with Dr. Kiyama delayed when the program I have watching the emergency dispatch system for any incidents near the girls and the other program I have watching for any other power players in the city was messing with the dispatch system both ping me at the same time. I instantly drop what I'm doing and bring up the full details of the alerts. Just like I feared they are in the same location.
"A terrorist attack at Seventh Heaven Mall? Right, Mikoto wanted to go there after school because a limited run Pyonko plush will be going on sale there today. Misaki was going along as an excuse to go fabric shopping. So why are Anti-Skill, Judgement and MAR all being held back?"
I quickly push through an executive override to get the nearest MAR emergency response hub to mobilise a full powered suit response force. I trust Mikoto and Misaki to be able to handle themselves against most random terrorists but the other civilians in the area need to be evacuated and protected. However, who is blocking the emergency services and why? Someone powerful enough to do that could send forces strong enough to endanger Mikoto and Misaki. I set my analyst teams to look into it. I can't risk Mikoto and Misaki getting hurt because I stayed back to track down the person in charge. I grab my service pistol and holster from my desk, no time to get fully kitted out in my personal powered suit, and send Ruri a quick text apologising for leaving her in charge while I rush into danger again. I really need to get her something nice to make up for the trouble I cause her. I tie my hair into a low bun to keep it out of my face while falling and open my office floor to ceiling window to step out into the air.
[Apply Macro "Free Fall" to Object "Tina Lifeline".]
I can't see Seventh Heaven Mall floating where I am but that's not a problem, once I get to District 7 I can narrow down my target area. I'm thankful for my smart glasses which can grip my temples to stay attached even in high winds. Otherwise flying like this would leave me practically blind on arrival.
[Re-apply gravitational attraction between Objects "Windowless Building" and "Tina Lifeline". Set gravitational pull to Macro "Earth Standard Gravity".]
I instantly begin falling horizontally towards District 7. I shift from a belly-first position to a head-first position to reduce my drag and soon reach my terminal velocity of 90 metres per second.
I'm on my way, girls.
================================================================
Seconds later at Seventh Heaven Mall
I'm approaching too quickly to properly take in the information my eyes are sending me. Thankfully my gravitational proprioception tells me all I need to know. There are only 32 moving bodies left in the ruined building. 2 of them match Mikoto and Misaki's gravitational signatures. I don't know any of the other 30 but they seem to be divided into 2 teams, each team fighting either Mikoto or Misaki. I can't sense any other living humans in the structure, Misaki must have used Exterior to control the crowds to expedite an evacuation. Mikoto seems to be doing better between the two girls. 5 of her presumed assailants are alive but not moving while the other 10 are keeping their distance. Misaki on the other hand has only disabled 1 of her foes. She is currently running and dodging attacks from the other 14. I angle myself feet-first at the enemy closest to Misaki and reduce my acceleration to 0.2g. I don't want to break my own legs after all.
I impact their chest feet first going roughly 18 metres per second at a 75 degree angle from the ground. Their ribs instantly cave in, their lungs are squashed flat and their spine snaps as my weight folds them in half. I tuck and roll to bleed off energy, shifting gravity in reverse at the last second to provide counter acceleration. As I come up from my roll I can see the other 13 soon to be dead terrorists chasing Misaki. Miniature jet engines strapped to their backs, inline skate wheels all over the body and armed with pilebunkers. Their suits look like the prototype Queen Diver suits. I thought they had been scrapped to be reworked from the ground up after I was 'compromised' by meeting Misaki. It looks like someone continued my work and altered it to fight Mikoto as well. I can see extra insulating padding, ceramics instead of ferromagnetic alloys and miniaturised AIM Jammers. Not powerful enough to stop Level 5, or even a Level 4, fully but strong enough to make using kinesis to control the suits or their wearers extremely difficult in combat conditions. At least without pumping so much power through them that an esper would risk killing the person inside the suit. This has been planned for a long time and by someone who knew that Mikoto and Misaki aren't killers. So taking their technical ability and knowledge of Mikoto and Misaki into account, this is almost certainly an attack from another Kihara. The question is which one of my relatives did this.
I don't bother drawing my service pistol, the Queen Diver suits are rated for such low calibre bullets. Instead I drag the debris nearby into orbit around me and start slingshotting bricks and concrete at the Queen Divers. Only 2 of them are slow enough to get caught by my wide area attack unfortunately but judging from the snapping sounds their limbs make they are at least out of the fight. As the remaining 11 Queen Divers dodge and back off to regroup I float backwards to Misaki but don't take my eyes or my gravity sense off them.
Are you hurt?
I had to use the trick with my ✧ Mental Out ✧ you showed me to increase my running ability~ to keep out of their reach. I don't think I've taken any permanent damage but my everything is sore right now. Their pilebunkers can smash through concrete so I'd hate~ to see what they do to ✧ delicate maidens ✧ such as myself.
Misaki is putting on a brave face with her mental voice but I can hear her strained breathing and smell the blood coming from her direction. I keep up my barrage of debris to give us cover to talk.
✧ Hey! ✧ It's not nice to call out a lady on a lie you know~! I'll be fine. Really. I can see that you are familiar with their suit's abilities~ but there are bits even ✧ you ✧ don't know. They have tiny rockets as well, it's what caused most of the damage to the mall after the initial bombing. Other than Mikokun's vandalism ability~ of course.
Speaking of which, one of them takes that moment to shoot a pair of micro-rockets at me over the objections of their fellows. I barely have to alter my calculations to drag them into my orbit and slingshot them back at the Queen Divers with twice the acceleration. The idiot who shot them at me manages to dodge but one of their fellows is not so lucky. They catch one of the rockets on their chest plate and are blown into smoking chunks. 10 Queen Divers left.
It's so unfair! You warned me about these suits and their ability to counteract my ✧ Mental Out ✧. I spent 6 months getting ready and I still can't beat them.
You lasted over a minute in combat against 15 people trying to kill you, Misaki. You even took one of them out of the fight before I got here. Trust me, as an experienced killer, that is incredibly impressive. Now. You rest, let me know if Mikoto needs any urgent help and I'll kill these people trying to hurt you.
Suiting actions to thoughts I fall feet first towards one of the 3 Queen Divers which has stayed out in the open in front of us, boxed in by my continuing debris barrage. They activate their jets to skate to the side, which would have saved them if I was simply falling in their direction. Unfortunately for the Queen Diver I am falling towards them. I crash into them and bowl them over, I didn't have enough time to build up to terminal velocity so they are just stunned rather than broken. Before they can react I draw my service weapon and stick it under their chin where the armour is weakest. One shot. Two shots. 6 rounds left in the clip. 9 Queen Divers left. I jump backwards and fall upwards away from the corpse as one of their fellows comes in from behind with their pilebunker. Their missed blow punches through their erstwhile allies stomach and spine in a spray of gore. Before they can recover and retreat I kick one of the chunks of debris orbiting me and accelerate it through their head. 8 Queen Divers left. Leaving a spray of red behind me I turn to the last assassin out in the open. They try to flee by turning on their jets but I set their personal gravity to make them fall back towards me. The force pulling them to me is too strong for their jets to fight. Once they get close enough I have my debris shield speed up and chop them apart like a blender. 7 Queen Divers left.
3 are circling around Misaki and I's right while another 3 take the left. The final one has fled towards the group fighting Mikoto. Now only 6 Queen Divers out of the original 15 are still fighting her. One of the bodies Mikoto has defeated is too limp to just be unconscious or pinned. Damn these terrorists. Misuzu and Tabigake wanted to spare her from killing so young. The two triads trying to flank Misaki and I have obviously forgotten esper extrasensory perception. I turn back to face Misaki for the first time and as I do I tear two of the few walls still standing out of the ground and into the air to orbit above me. I'm probably being overly grandiose but these fuckers forced Mikoto to kill, making me break my promise to her parents, and now that I can see her properly broke Misaki's right arm so badly her ulna is piercing the skin. I'm feeling vengeful today. I slingshot a wall at each group as they cower behind rubble as if I don't know where they are. 2 members of the group on Misaki's right are hit and out of the fight while only 1 Queen Diver is hit on Misaki's left. 3 enemies remaining.
Behind me! I flip into the air above me and set myself to free fall to dodge a pilebunker strike from the Queen Diver I beheaded earlier. Whoever altered these must have moved the computer override out of the helmet or added a redundant backup. The suit I head shot is coming in from above to box me in. I increase my weight and fall through the beheaded suit, bisecting it from nape to groin and covering myself in viscera. Blinding myself but that's fine, I can still feel the one coming from above. As the Queen Diver above me comes down I grab and redirect its pilebunker strike, flipping the suit onto its back hard enough to break the jet engines. Distantly I hear the rapidfire sound of 5 sonic booms. To make sure the suit doesn't get back up I stamp through its pelvis with my enhanced weight, severing its spine and its major muscle attachments, then pull on its arm to tear the body in half. 3 enemies remaining. Again. I take a moment to wipe gore from my glasses so I can see again and reset my weight to normal before I break my own bones as I turn to face Misaki again.
Unfortunately my distraction cost us. The three suits closer to Misaki have taken her captive. The one that went to Mikoto's fight has returned as well and is whispering to the others. One of them is holding a flame in the palm of its hand close to her face while the other two have Misaki's arms and head pinned. Interesting. So some of them are espers. Judging by my gravitational senses Mikoto has won her fight now but is keeping her distance. Good. Hopefully between the two of us we can rescue Misaki.
"Drop the rocks or the Level 5 is going to need a new face." the pyrokinetic threatens. I drop my control on the debris orbiting me and let it scatter around myself in a spiral.
"Satou! Go cuff her for the boss lady."
"If you let Misaki go, I will allow you to flee with your lives. I will not pursue and I will ensure that Anti-Skill, Judgement and MAR all overlook this terrorist attack." I say before the suit that came back from checking on Mikoto can take more than two steps towards me. It pauses and looks back at the apparent leader with pyrokinesis.
"You're not the one with leverage here, Level 5!" What?
"I think there has been a mistake. While the young lady you are holding hostage is indeed a Level 5 I am not. I am a Level 3." Well, a Level 4 but that's not something I'll admit in public to such obvious pawns.
✧ Miss Lifeline ✧. I've looked in their minds. They call themselves Deadlock. They hate Level 5s because they believe a conspiracy theory that our existence keeps their own Levels low. Of the ones remaining only the pyrokinetic has a combat useful ability~.
Thank you Misaki.
"Yeah the boss lady said you'd try to lie about that. I figured she might be full of it. I mean, come on two Level 5s keeping their Levels hidden? But then I saw you tear through my boys just now. The other team is getting beat by that electromaster so I guess that she was telling the truth about her too. Just more proof of how you lot keep us down! Satou! I told you to go cuff her." The suit that paused before starts approaching me again.
He's not going to listen to me. Reason cannot convince a fanatic. Misaki, can you tell who their boss is?
No. ✧ Sorry ✧ but she has never shown her face and uses a voice changer~.
Unfortunate but not surprising.
Can your ✧ Gravity Shift ✧ get this idiot's hand away from my face? His fire is going to damage my cuteness ability!
I can.
Despite her bravado I can see that Misaki is worried from her body language. So I try to project calm from my own body language and my thoughts.
On my mark then~
By this point Satou has reached me and started cuffing my hands behind my back.
I think I know who set this up. My cousin Byouri is the person most likely able to arrange for all of this. Stalling the emergency response. Customising the Queen Diver suits to counter Mikoto and your own likely countermeasures. Manipulating catpaws into doing all the violence for her. Most tellingly of all-
✧ Mark! ✧
Simultaneously I impose a gravitational pull of 20 g on Satou, crushing his body to the ground, and catch Pyro in my own gravity field. Pyro is well outside of my official range for selectively attracting objects I haven't touched so there is no way that Deadlock or their backer could predict this move. Pyro is wrenched away from Misaki's face and falls through the air towards me before managing to stabilise himself with the aid of his jet pack and begins to charge his pyrokinesis to attack us both.
Before the two Deadlock members holding Misaki can recover or Pyro can launch his attack all three are paralysed by Misaki's gambit, whatever it was, and Pyro's hands are smothered by iron sand mittens courtesy of Mikoto.
-it's just like her to set up her patsies to lose.
Idly I cancel my previous Gravity Shift on Satou, grab hold of some heavy debris with Gravity Shift and crush Satou and Pyro's suits in a splatter of gore before they can attack autonomously again. As I'm doing this I rush over to Misaki to help her get out of the frozen clutches of the Deadlock suits, Mikoto close behind me. Before we can reach her a familiar voice comes from one of the suits holding her.
"Honestly that took you all far too long. You are still holding yourself back, Therestina-chan!"
"Byouri." I growl as Mikoto and I reach Misaki and start trying to figure out a way to remove her from Deadlock's clutches without further injuring Misaki. Or her captors I suppose.
"Mou. Not even going to introduce me to my new niece?" That freezes me but Mikoto continues to examine Misaki and her captors.
"Auntie told me plenty about you. You're the one who 'gives up' right? So why don't you give up on whatever you're doing 'Aunt Byouri' and leave us alone already!" Mikoto says.
"No. No Mikoto you're. You're not a Kihara. Don't-"
"Now now Therestina-chan. Don't tell lies now. You adopted her clone as your own daughter. That makes both of them Kihara now."
"SHUT YOUR WHORE FACE!" I scream in the helmeted face.
"So rude Therestina-chan! Even in front of your daughter!"
No. No, Byouri can't have Dolly. Dolly is in the School Garden with her new friend. She's meant to be safe.
"You don't have her. You're bluffing."
"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not? Speaking of bluffing. I'm not sure how you froze the Queen Diver suits in place but you should know I can set them to blow at any time." Even before I can react to call that out as the bluff it is, the Queen Diver suits don't have the room for bombs along with everything else she has strapped to them, Mikoto has cut the arms off the Deadlock members holding Misaki and is pulling all three of us out of range with her iron sand.
"Ohohohohohohoh! Now, that really was a bluff. I'm surprised at your ruthlessness though little niece. We might make a proper Kihara out of you yet Misaka Mikoto."
"She's not bluffing about holding Dolly captive Auntie. Mitori just called. Aunt Byouri kidnapped Dolly while we were busy here and injured Miss Tatsuki." Mikoto says. She must be using her electromaster ability to take the call since I don't see her phone. Also stop calling her Aunt, Mikoto! Don't encourage her!
"Ah Miss Schoolgirl survived to pass on my message. Excellent! She's a bit dim for a student of Tokiwadai but maybe she has promise after all."
"What do you want with all this Byouri? Terrorist attacks in broad daylight? Do you think the board will let you get away with this?"
"I want what I've always wanted, Therestina-chan. For you to give up this ridiculous fantasy that you aren't one of us. I suppose it's okay for you to inspire adopted children like Misaka Mikoto and the clone-
"Their name is Dolly." Mikoto, Misaki and I say at the same time.
"-but I just can't have children like Miss Kouzaku and Miss Shokuhou looking up to a Kihara who helps people. I have to make you give that up. Though, at least you are better than Kagun in one way Therestina. Unlike him, you've never given up easily. No matter how hard I push. You have the stubbornness and strength of will a Kihara should have." she pauses, "As for the board of directors? Well that hag Unabara won't be very happy with me I'm sure but I can handle her. The rest of them will be much more interested in the combat data on their precious Mental Out and their upcoming new 3rd Ranked Level 5 than they are in one measly little mall getting destroyed. Why, thanks to the heroes of the hour there were no civilian casualties. MAR really did a good job today." Her sarcasm is palpable. "Though I think they will be most interested in that bit at the end where you exceeded your Bank data Therestina-chan." she says in a conspiratorial tone. "Bye-bye!"
The world is ringing in my ears. 10 years of hiding. 10 years of staying under their radar and having the comfort of a secret weapon. Gone. Dolly. Gone. Taken. Taken from where she should be safe. I told Kiyama she was safe. Taken by Byouri. Fucking Byouri. I should have killed her after what she did to Kagun. No matter how much he begged to let me give him the first shot. Well fuck him. Fuck her. I'll kill her. I'll tear off her legs and beat her to death with them. I'll deglove her bitch face and then I'll dissect her brain to finally figure out what is wrong with all of us and fix m-
* Click *
==============================================================
"Misa! What did you do to Auntie?"
"Trust me Mikokun~. Miss Lifeline will thank me later once she's calmed down and I've let her remember this."
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GBscientist
The Empire's Greatest Mouse
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hmm. It appears that Tina is somewhat perturbed.
I concur, she seems to have a, teeny tiny, minor, case of being absolutely livid.
Still amazed that Byouri is taking such personal action but I suppose it makes sense given her obsession and because a Kihara is involved.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
pretty much. Combined with Dolly and Tina being "hard targets" in comparison to Kagun. If Byouri could have just broken Tina like she broke Kagun she would but Tina takes more security precutions for herself and the children in her care than Kagun did. Tina is also an even more publically "good" Kihara than Kagun as the head of what is functionally all the non-police emergency services in Academy City.
Chapter 11 - Slingshot
- Pronouns
- She/Her
8th of April 2003, One Year and 2 months before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
-ina! Aunt Tina!" Mikoto is shouting at me. Why is she shouting at me? Oh. I'm sitting in a MAR ambulance. When did that happen? The last thing I remember was, Byouri had called when we defeated Deadlock and claimed to have kidnapped Dolly.
"Does she have a concussion?" Mikoto askes the EMT and Misaki. They both shake their heads.
"Dissociation from shock and adrenaline I believe Miss Misaka." the EMT, I should know his name, looks to Misaki for confirmation and she nods. That explains the memory loss and the emotional numbness. Also why my hands keep shaking. Misaki's arm has already been reset and put in a splint and a sling. Mikoto looks physically uninjured. I hope she's not taking her first murders and maimings as well as I did at her age.
Don't worry~ She's not. ✧ Mikokun ✧ is just putting on a brave face~.
To avoid thinking about that I ask,
"How did you immobilise the Queen Diver suits Misaki? I can't figure it out."
"Ah. I used my blood to form Bologna Bottles in their joints. Their servos didn't have enough strength ability~ to break the frozen blood in either direction so they got stuck in place."
"That is incredible precision freezing and structural engineering Misaki. I'm impressed."
"Yeah! Misa's been working on it for a couple of weeks now. She wanted to surprise you."
"Well you certainly did surprise me Misaki. Well done."
"Hah. Well It's only to be expected of the 4th ranked Level 5 you know." Misaki tries to play it cool but we can all see her blushing ability.
Hey~! That's ✧ my ✧ thing!
All three of us break down laughing. This is nice. I'm glad we have this moment of respite before Mikoto and I go to rescue Dolly.
"Oh no you don't! You two aren't leaving me behind. We are all saving Dolly together!"
"But Misa, your arm?" Mikoto has gotten uncannily good at understanding what Misaki is saying to others telepathically. If it wasn't for her recently discovered immunity I would think she was being included by Misaki herself in the messages.
"It's already as good as it's going to get today. I won't be punching anyone right handed for a while but I can still contribute in a fight. Especially an esper fight against someone like Kihara Byouri."
"Please don't copy my bad habits of fighting while injured Misaki."
"I'm not. Not everything comes back to you Miss Lifeline. I am making the choice to risk my life for my best friend on my own. If this is a mistake, it is my mistake to make." We don't have time to fight about this and Misaki is right that she can still be useful in a fight even with a broken arm. I sigh and nod to signal to Mikoto that I won't stop Misaki from coming with us to fight Byouri.
Mikoto scowls at me before dragging Misaki a little bit away where the two start whispering angrily and waving their arms about. I tune them out and let them have their argument in private while I change out of my blood soaked suit and pencil skirt into a spare MAR field uniform. It is more difficult than normal with my shaking hands. I really must be out of it. I normally handle stress better than this. Eventually Misaki seems to win as the two walk back over, though now Mikoto is holding Misaki's left hand like a lifeline. Now isn't the time for teasing but I'll try to remember when things are less dire.
Just then Mitori's Liquid Shadow drops down from a roof carrying who I assume is Miss Tatsuki in a princess carry. She quickly rushes over to my ambulance.
"Miss Tatsuki needs medical attention." Mitori's Liquid Shadow says to the EMT, why can't I remember his name? Mitori isn't speaking through her microphone like usual. She must have figured out how to speak with her Liquid Shadows since our last power development session. Her voice is metallic and stilted but understandable. The EMT sets to work right away. Good. I'd have had to fire him if he looked to me for permission or anything silly like that.
Mitori's Liquid Shadow lets Mikoto, Misaki and I know where to meet Mitori's real body and that she was able to have a second Liquid Shadow follow Byouri at a distance back to where she is keeping Dolly, a warehouse in District 17, where she has that Liquid Shadow continuing to monitor the building. I'm sure that Byouri let Mitori follow her as a trap but if it's to save Dolly then I'm willing to spring this probable trap. The three girls agree. I call Ruri to have her deliver the reserve of liquid metal I have been building up, my personal powered suit, the combat suits I've made for the girls along with a squad of Hs-PS-14 Troopers to our mustering location. She wants to come along but I manage to convince her that I need her at base in case anything goes wrong. We can't let MAR fall back into the hands of monsters. We compromise, my normal personal squad is on combat leave today, like I am supposed to be Ruri makes sure to remind me. Instead Ruri is sending Sergeant Nakajima Kenshi, who normally commands my personal escort, with an ad-hoc squad of volunteers still left in the base. Apparently while I have been out more incidents have taken place that are taxing MAR's resources and all of our on-duty units are already dispatched. Byouri must be banking on this, narrowing my options and restricting how much firepower I can bring with me without involving the girls.
I am going to kill her. Crush her into a paste.
While we are talking it doesn't take long for the EMT to diagnose that Miss Tatsuki has broken her 4th and 5th ribs on her left side, puncturing her thoracic cavity and causing her to experience a pneumothorax of her left lung. He gets ready to send her to a nearby hospital when she pushes him away from her and limps over to me.
"You're Dolly's mother right? Dr. Lifeline? I heard you saying you're going to rescue her. Please, let me come too. I can help, my esper power is strong so I promise I won't be a burden."
"Miss Tatsuki, I admire your willingness to risk yourself for my daughter's sake but you are severely injured. You need to see a doctor an-"
"You don't understand! I can't lose her too! Not, not so soon. She's my first real friend. I can't lose her right after mother and father!" Miss Tatsuki says before coughing blood from aggravating her broken ribs and dropping to her knees.
I roll my eyes and groan. I don't have time for this. I need to get moving and save Dolly.
"Miss Tasuki, Your father is alive and expected to make a full recovery. Your family has more than enough money to provide for you both in his convalescence-"
"Auntie-" I hold up a hand to signal Mikoto to be quiet. Thankfully she obeys, I've never tested my borrowed authority from her parents like that before.
"-and with the lawyers your family has on retainer your mother is likely to only be behind bars for a year or two at most. For a very serious crime I might add. Most people found guilty of human cloning can expect much worse."
Miss Tatsuki looks at me blankly for a moment before bursting into coughing hysterics. I turn to walk away when her wheezing voice stops me.
"I've been disowned. All three of us have. We can't afford mother's legal fees, father's medical expenses and my tuition at the same time. Mother made it clear that she would take the fall so father and I can manage. I'll probably never see her again, certainly not outside of prison. Father might make it but he could have died so easily! I can't lose anyone else!"
I clench my fists. This arrogant, ignorant, petty little girl! I have to save Dolly before Byouri hurts her or worse, convinces her to be a Kihara! I don't have time to coddle a spoiled princess during her first brush with consequences! Both of her parents are going to live through this so what is her problem! I spin back around, my hand raised to smack the taste from her mouth and I see.
I see Mikoto looking at me with horror.
I see Mitori looking at me with disgust.
I see Misaki looking at me with pity.
Miss Tatsuki isn't looking at me at all. Her eyes are unfocused and clouded with tears. Her breaths are uneven and ragged.
I did this.
Not Gensei.
Not Byouri.
Not Aleister.
Me.
A Kihara who helps people.
A Kihara who children look up to.
A Kihara who is giving up and letting Byouri win right now.
I'm the one who destroyed this girl's life. I'm the one that is about to strike a child on death's doorstep for having the backbone to stand up to me.
I could have been more careful at Tatsuki General Hospital, it could have waited until today. I rushed because I wanted to give Dolly peace of mind when she woke up but that's no excuse. If I had waited. Done things properly. Then this little girl's parents wouldn't be in the emergency ward or on their way to prison. Move quickly and break things.
Just like I did with Dr. Kiyama's students.
Just like I would be doing if I strike her.
I let my arm fall back to my side and kneel down in front of her again. I gently raise her chin with my knuckles so she is looking me in the eye. Her eyes focus on me at the unfamiliar touch.
"I am sorry Miss Tatsuki. I promise you. I will save Dolly. Please let Mitori take you to MAR HQ. Our medical facilities are some of the best in the city. I'll have your father moved there as well. He will receive top care, don't worry about payment. I'll cover it. I'll see what I can do for your mother as well. Now please, let us help you. You're injured and if you fight in this state you will at best get in the way and at worst die. Just by alerting us to Dolly's kidnapping you have already helped so much. Getting yourself killed won't help get Dolly back."
"But Miss Shokuhou-"
"Misaki is a trained fighter, a Level 5 esper and a ranged combat specialist whose loss of one arm won't hold her back that much. You are none of those things and you have a collapsed lung. Please Miss Tatsuki. Let this inadequate adult save one young woman successfully today."
"I-okay Dr. Lifeline. Thank you."
After that Miss Tatsuki lets the EMT and his fellows, I really will have to look up his name later, carry her into an ambulance which is soon on its way to MAR HQ. I can't look either Mikoto or Misaki in the eye as the three of us roof hop our way to Mitori's location. Mikoto is carrying Misaki in a princess carry, which at any other time I'm sure Misaki would be teasing her for. I would just fall us there at terminal velocity but I don't want to aggravate Misaki's injury by orbiting her around me. Before my realisation with Miss Tatsuki I might have done it anyway. Move fast and break things.
In case you were wondering~. I didn't use my ✧ Mental Out ✧ just then. Stopping before you went too far was all you~.
Thank you Misaki but I did go too far. I'm sorry you all had to see me nearly at my worst.
"I'm sorry." I say aloud for Mikoto to hear alongside Misaki, "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you from Deadlock's attack, that I didn't stop Byouri's kidnapping of -"
"You think we care about stupid stuff like that!" Mikoto yells, her hair sparking, ""We can look after ourselves Auntie! You've been training us for 6 months to do that. But! Miss Tatsuki can't! And you! You!"
"I'm sorry about that too. I could give excuses about not wanting to waste time that we could be saving Dolly with but they wouldn't mean anything." I say, subdued, "I promise I will be better in the future. That won't happen again."
"We all want to save Dolly too Auntie but we didn't-" she clicks her teeth and avoids my eyes.
"Miss Lifeline ✧ is ✧ being honest Mikoto~. She stopped on her own before I could step in. She really does regret what she did."
I take a deep breath.
"Mikoto, I. This was the first time you've killed, isn't it?" She avoids my eyes as we jump to the next roof.
"Yeah. Misaki's as well." she responds despondently.
"Mikoto!" Misaki squawks.
"Misaki? I didn't notice. I, saying sorry so much is making it sound trite. My apologies. Was it the Deadlock member you had already taken down before I arrived?"
She nods, "Him, and the one of the ones whose body you destroyed. When my non-lethal ways of countering the Queen Divers were prevented by their AIM Jammers and my attempts at close combat got me this broken arm I, I didn't have a choice. I didn't want to die so they had to. I froze one of their brains, the one you landed on first, but that didn't stop the suit so I shredded the other's bones and muscles by rapidly freezing and melting his own fluids inside them. The Queen Diver suits can move on their own but they are not endoskeletons. Without the leverage of the wearer's skeleton they can't move. However I had to be right next to them to break through the AIM Jammers enough to achieve that level of power and fine control. Hence, why you found me running from the whole pack of them once they realised I was trying to pick them off one by one. I had fallen back on the plan to alter their hormone balances to make them attack each other when you arrived Miss Lifeline but their AIM Jammers were making it more difficult than it should have been. "
"The first time was an accident." Mikoto says subdued, "Their suits were insulated enough I couldn't electrocute them without killing them so I used iron sand and magnetism on the debris to fend them off. With most of them I was able to break their limbs or bind them in place but one guy, I hit him and, and he hit the wall at the wrong angle. I was too busy dodging the other Deadlocks to save him. The sound of his neck snapping was so loud. Then later, when Misa got caught, she sent a ping my way. I knew she'd only do that if she was in real trouble. I. I had to hurry. So I used the railgun move you suggested back at Christmas, Antu Tina. Only on the ones still fighting! N-not the ones I'd already beaten."
"I realise that my moral authority in your eyes has taken a dive recently but you both did the right thing. It was them or you like Misaki said and they weren't hesitating. You two can't have been the first people they have tried to kill for them to have such little hesitation. In an ideal world all three of us would be taking time off for the rest of the week to recover from this." I swallow past my dry throat, "Sadly we live in Academy City. I'm not going to rush recklessly anymore today but we still can't take all the time I wish we could to unpack this. Just know that I'll be here if you want to talk more about it over the coming days. Ruri, Misuzu and Tabigake will as well. Please remember, you're not wrong or bad now for having killed people. You're the same people you were before today and I still love you both."
They both nod and don't look like they are rejecting what I said out of hand but don't otherwise respond so I let the topic lie. We all stay silent from then until we arrive at the rendezvous point. Mitori and my troops are already there and ready. The three of us begin arming ourselves properly for the fight ahead.
My own suit is based on the design I know Therestina would have worn in a different life, with minor changes made to better accommodate my Gravity Shift. The pods on the shoulders and hips contain grappling hooks and miniature jets like the ones used by the Queen Drivers which, combined with compressed gas jets in my wrists and ankles, allow me to move and even fly in my free fall macro without needing to use Gravity Shift to fall in certain directions. Deployable inline skates and back mounted jets give me enhanced mobility while on solid surfaces. The internals are based on fighter pilot suits to mitigate the effects of high acceleration on my own body and have additional padding to help me withstand high speed impacts. Mikoto only mastered her Railgun last month so, while she has happily agreed to let me study and copy it, I don't have a railgun of my own yet. Instead I'm armed with a standard HsPS-14 knife bayonet and a modified HsPS-14 automatic shotgun, equipped with counterfiring compressed gas to neutralise the momentum that firing the gun in free fall would cause. It also includes Capacity Down speakers, though I doubt those will see use against Byouri since I know she hasn't gone through any version of the PDC.
Mikoto and Misaki, and Mitori for that matter who got dressed before we arrived, are growing too quickly for custom powered suits or Hard Taping frames to be practical. Instead over the last 6 months we've made them modified armoured flight suits optimised for each girl's abilities. All four suits contain packets of a controllable medium (liquid metal for Mitori, water for Misaki and iron sand for Mikoto and Dolly) which the girls can use as both reactive armour/padding and to boost their physical abilities similar to mundane powered suits. Mikoto's suit also has clips of ammunition for her railgun in various calibres and additional containers of iron sand to ensure she doesn't run out. Mitori's suit has specialised interfaces to let her use her hacking skills along with the cameras and microphones in her dolls. It also has dedicated attachment points to let her give herself additional limbs or even more armour with her liquid metal without risking damage to her own flesh. I've been able to stockpile about a ton of her preferred liquid metal for her to use unconnected to her suit as well. Finally Misaki's suit has built in remotes to assist with her mnemonics along with some proprietary tech of her own from Exterior. I can make guesses as to what it is but I haven't asked beyond basic tactical knowledge for working together out of respect for her privacy.
Why thank you Miss Lifeline~. This is why you are still my ✧ favourite ✧ adult.
You're welcome, Misaki.
✧ Hopefully ✧ all of this preparation from your paranoia ability~ won't be needed and I can solve this with ✧ Mental Out ✧.
Agreed. However, Byouri isn't an idiot. While I hope Mental Out or Mikoto and Mitori's hacking abilities will be enough we have to assume that Byouri has counters prepared if she picked a fight with us at all.
I finish my systems check on my powered suit and step towards Mitori. I'm still shaking and even in my climate controlled suit I feel flushed. I'd suspect that I hadn't taken my antipsychotics but my watch marks them as taken so it can't be that. It must just be my worry for Dolly along with seeing Mikoto and Misaki go through their first lethal fight. I need to make sure Mikoto talks to Misuzu and Tabigake. They can be there for her. I don't know where I will find an adult that Misaki feels comfortable talking to though. She needs to not bottle things up so much and find people other than myself to trust.
"Could you work with Sargeant Nakajima to brief the troops please Misaki? Don't worry, despite your age they will respect and obey you as an allied Dark Side leader. I need to work things out in private with Mitori." I say out loud so that the troops and other girls can hear us. Mitori needs to be able to trust me on a mission like this.
"✧ Very well ✧. Don't take too long though~ Or ✧ Mikokun and I ✧ might take your troops and go rescue Dolly ourselves~."
"Mitori? Can we talk in private?"
She looks up at me dubiously and with distrust.
"... Okay."
-ina! Aunt Tina!" Mikoto is shouting at me. Why is she shouting at me? Oh. I'm sitting in a MAR ambulance. When did that happen? The last thing I remember was, Byouri had called when we defeated Deadlock and claimed to have kidnapped Dolly.
"Does she have a concussion?" Mikoto askes the EMT and Misaki. They both shake their heads.
"Dissociation from shock and adrenaline I believe Miss Misaka." the EMT, I should know his name, looks to Misaki for confirmation and she nods. That explains the memory loss and the emotional numbness. Also why my hands keep shaking. Misaki's arm has already been reset and put in a splint and a sling. Mikoto looks physically uninjured. I hope she's not taking her first murders and maimings as well as I did at her age.
Don't worry~ She's not. ✧ Mikokun ✧ is just putting on a brave face~.
To avoid thinking about that I ask,
"How did you immobilise the Queen Diver suits Misaki? I can't figure it out."
"Ah. I used my blood to form Bologna Bottles in their joints. Their servos didn't have enough strength ability~ to break the frozen blood in either direction so they got stuck in place."
"That is incredible precision freezing and structural engineering Misaki. I'm impressed."
"Yeah! Misa's been working on it for a couple of weeks now. She wanted to surprise you."
"Well you certainly did surprise me Misaki. Well done."
"Hah. Well It's only to be expected of the 4th ranked Level 5 you know." Misaki tries to play it cool but we can all see her blushing ability.
Hey~! That's ✧ my ✧ thing!
All three of us break down laughing. This is nice. I'm glad we have this moment of respite before Mikoto and I go to rescue Dolly.
"Oh no you don't! You two aren't leaving me behind. We are all saving Dolly together!"
"But Misa, your arm?" Mikoto has gotten uncannily good at understanding what Misaki is saying to others telepathically. If it wasn't for her recently discovered immunity I would think she was being included by Misaki herself in the messages.
"It's already as good as it's going to get today. I won't be punching anyone right handed for a while but I can still contribute in a fight. Especially an esper fight against someone like Kihara Byouri."
"Please don't copy my bad habits of fighting while injured Misaki."
"I'm not. Not everything comes back to you Miss Lifeline. I am making the choice to risk my life for my best friend on my own. If this is a mistake, it is my mistake to make." We don't have time to fight about this and Misaki is right that she can still be useful in a fight even with a broken arm. I sigh and nod to signal to Mikoto that I won't stop Misaki from coming with us to fight Byouri.
Mikoto scowls at me before dragging Misaki a little bit away where the two start whispering angrily and waving their arms about. I tune them out and let them have their argument in private while I change out of my blood soaked suit and pencil skirt into a spare MAR field uniform. It is more difficult than normal with my shaking hands. I really must be out of it. I normally handle stress better than this. Eventually Misaki seems to win as the two walk back over, though now Mikoto is holding Misaki's left hand like a lifeline. Now isn't the time for teasing but I'll try to remember when things are less dire.
Just then Mitori's Liquid Shadow drops down from a roof carrying who I assume is Miss Tatsuki in a princess carry. She quickly rushes over to my ambulance.
"Miss Tatsuki needs medical attention." Mitori's Liquid Shadow says to the EMT, why can't I remember his name? Mitori isn't speaking through her microphone like usual. She must have figured out how to speak with her Liquid Shadows since our last power development session. Her voice is metallic and stilted but understandable. The EMT sets to work right away. Good. I'd have had to fire him if he looked to me for permission or anything silly like that.
Mitori's Liquid Shadow lets Mikoto, Misaki and I know where to meet Mitori's real body and that she was able to have a second Liquid Shadow follow Byouri at a distance back to where she is keeping Dolly, a warehouse in District 17, where she has that Liquid Shadow continuing to monitor the building. I'm sure that Byouri let Mitori follow her as a trap but if it's to save Dolly then I'm willing to spring this probable trap. The three girls agree. I call Ruri to have her deliver the reserve of liquid metal I have been building up, my personal powered suit, the combat suits I've made for the girls along with a squad of Hs-PS-14 Troopers to our mustering location. She wants to come along but I manage to convince her that I need her at base in case anything goes wrong. We can't let MAR fall back into the hands of monsters. We compromise, my normal personal squad is on combat leave today, like I am supposed to be Ruri makes sure to remind me. Instead Ruri is sending Sergeant Nakajima Kenshi, who normally commands my personal escort, with an ad-hoc squad of volunteers still left in the base. Apparently while I have been out more incidents have taken place that are taxing MAR's resources and all of our on-duty units are already dispatched. Byouri must be banking on this, narrowing my options and restricting how much firepower I can bring with me without involving the girls.
I am going to kill her. Crush her into a paste.
While we are talking it doesn't take long for the EMT to diagnose that Miss Tatsuki has broken her 4th and 5th ribs on her left side, puncturing her thoracic cavity and causing her to experience a pneumothorax of her left lung. He gets ready to send her to a nearby hospital when she pushes him away from her and limps over to me.
"You're Dolly's mother right? Dr. Lifeline? I heard you saying you're going to rescue her. Please, let me come too. I can help, my esper power is strong so I promise I won't be a burden."
"Miss Tatsuki, I admire your willingness to risk yourself for my daughter's sake but you are severely injured. You need to see a doctor an-"
"You don't understand! I can't lose her too! Not, not so soon. She's my first real friend. I can't lose her right after mother and father!" Miss Tatsuki says before coughing blood from aggravating her broken ribs and dropping to her knees.
I roll my eyes and groan. I don't have time for this. I need to get moving and save Dolly.
"Miss Tasuki, Your father is alive and expected to make a full recovery. Your family has more than enough money to provide for you both in his convalescence-"
"Auntie-" I hold up a hand to signal Mikoto to be quiet. Thankfully she obeys, I've never tested my borrowed authority from her parents like that before.
"-and with the lawyers your family has on retainer your mother is likely to only be behind bars for a year or two at most. For a very serious crime I might add. Most people found guilty of human cloning can expect much worse."
Miss Tatsuki looks at me blankly for a moment before bursting into coughing hysterics. I turn to walk away when her wheezing voice stops me.
"I've been disowned. All three of us have. We can't afford mother's legal fees, father's medical expenses and my tuition at the same time. Mother made it clear that she would take the fall so father and I can manage. I'll probably never see her again, certainly not outside of prison. Father might make it but he could have died so easily! I can't lose anyone else!"
I clench my fists. This arrogant, ignorant, petty little girl! I have to save Dolly before Byouri hurts her or worse, convinces her to be a Kihara! I don't have time to coddle a spoiled princess during her first brush with consequences! Both of her parents are going to live through this so what is her problem! I spin back around, my hand raised to smack the taste from her mouth and I see.
I see Mikoto looking at me with horror.
I see Mitori looking at me with disgust.
I see Misaki looking at me with pity.
Miss Tatsuki isn't looking at me at all. Her eyes are unfocused and clouded with tears. Her breaths are uneven and ragged.
I did this.
Not Gensei.
Not Byouri.
Not Aleister.
Me.
A Kihara who helps people.
A Kihara who children look up to.
A Kihara who is giving up and letting Byouri win right now.
I'm the one who destroyed this girl's life. I'm the one that is about to strike a child on death's doorstep for having the backbone to stand up to me.
I could have been more careful at Tatsuki General Hospital, it could have waited until today. I rushed because I wanted to give Dolly peace of mind when she woke up but that's no excuse. If I had waited. Done things properly. Then this little girl's parents wouldn't be in the emergency ward or on their way to prison. Move quickly and break things.
Just like I did with Dr. Kiyama's students.
Just like I would be doing if I strike her.
I let my arm fall back to my side and kneel down in front of her again. I gently raise her chin with my knuckles so she is looking me in the eye. Her eyes focus on me at the unfamiliar touch.
"I am sorry Miss Tatsuki. I promise you. I will save Dolly. Please let Mitori take you to MAR HQ. Our medical facilities are some of the best in the city. I'll have your father moved there as well. He will receive top care, don't worry about payment. I'll cover it. I'll see what I can do for your mother as well. Now please, let us help you. You're injured and if you fight in this state you will at best get in the way and at worst die. Just by alerting us to Dolly's kidnapping you have already helped so much. Getting yourself killed won't help get Dolly back."
"But Miss Shokuhou-"
"Misaki is a trained fighter, a Level 5 esper and a ranged combat specialist whose loss of one arm won't hold her back that much. You are none of those things and you have a collapsed lung. Please Miss Tatsuki. Let this inadequate adult save one young woman successfully today."
"I-okay Dr. Lifeline. Thank you."
After that Miss Tatsuki lets the EMT and his fellows, I really will have to look up his name later, carry her into an ambulance which is soon on its way to MAR HQ. I can't look either Mikoto or Misaki in the eye as the three of us roof hop our way to Mitori's location. Mikoto is carrying Misaki in a princess carry, which at any other time I'm sure Misaki would be teasing her for. I would just fall us there at terminal velocity but I don't want to aggravate Misaki's injury by orbiting her around me. Before my realisation with Miss Tatsuki I might have done it anyway. Move fast and break things.
In case you were wondering~. I didn't use my ✧ Mental Out ✧ just then. Stopping before you went too far was all you~.
Thank you Misaki but I did go too far. I'm sorry you all had to see me nearly at my worst.
"I'm sorry." I say aloud for Mikoto to hear alongside Misaki, "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you from Deadlock's attack, that I didn't stop Byouri's kidnapping of -"
"You think we care about stupid stuff like that!" Mikoto yells, her hair sparking, ""We can look after ourselves Auntie! You've been training us for 6 months to do that. But! Miss Tatsuki can't! And you! You!"
"I'm sorry about that too. I could give excuses about not wanting to waste time that we could be saving Dolly with but they wouldn't mean anything." I say, subdued, "I promise I will be better in the future. That won't happen again."
"We all want to save Dolly too Auntie but we didn't-" she clicks her teeth and avoids my eyes.
"Miss Lifeline ✧ is ✧ being honest Mikoto~. She stopped on her own before I could step in. She really does regret what she did."
I take a deep breath.
"Mikoto, I. This was the first time you've killed, isn't it?" She avoids my eyes as we jump to the next roof.
"Yeah. Misaki's as well." she responds despondently.
"Mikoto!" Misaki squawks.
"Misaki? I didn't notice. I, saying sorry so much is making it sound trite. My apologies. Was it the Deadlock member you had already taken down before I arrived?"
She nods, "Him, and the one of the ones whose body you destroyed. When my non-lethal ways of countering the Queen Divers were prevented by their AIM Jammers and my attempts at close combat got me this broken arm I, I didn't have a choice. I didn't want to die so they had to. I froze one of their brains, the one you landed on first, but that didn't stop the suit so I shredded the other's bones and muscles by rapidly freezing and melting his own fluids inside them. The Queen Diver suits can move on their own but they are not endoskeletons. Without the leverage of the wearer's skeleton they can't move. However I had to be right next to them to break through the AIM Jammers enough to achieve that level of power and fine control. Hence, why you found me running from the whole pack of them once they realised I was trying to pick them off one by one. I had fallen back on the plan to alter their hormone balances to make them attack each other when you arrived Miss Lifeline but their AIM Jammers were making it more difficult than it should have been. "
"The first time was an accident." Mikoto says subdued, "Their suits were insulated enough I couldn't electrocute them without killing them so I used iron sand and magnetism on the debris to fend them off. With most of them I was able to break their limbs or bind them in place but one guy, I hit him and, and he hit the wall at the wrong angle. I was too busy dodging the other Deadlocks to save him. The sound of his neck snapping was so loud. Then later, when Misa got caught, she sent a ping my way. I knew she'd only do that if she was in real trouble. I. I had to hurry. So I used the railgun move you suggested back at Christmas, Antu Tina. Only on the ones still fighting! N-not the ones I'd already beaten."
"I realise that my moral authority in your eyes has taken a dive recently but you both did the right thing. It was them or you like Misaki said and they weren't hesitating. You two can't have been the first people they have tried to kill for them to have such little hesitation. In an ideal world all three of us would be taking time off for the rest of the week to recover from this." I swallow past my dry throat, "Sadly we live in Academy City. I'm not going to rush recklessly anymore today but we still can't take all the time I wish we could to unpack this. Just know that I'll be here if you want to talk more about it over the coming days. Ruri, Misuzu and Tabigake will as well. Please remember, you're not wrong or bad now for having killed people. You're the same people you were before today and I still love you both."
They both nod and don't look like they are rejecting what I said out of hand but don't otherwise respond so I let the topic lie. We all stay silent from then until we arrive at the rendezvous point. Mitori and my troops are already there and ready. The three of us begin arming ourselves properly for the fight ahead.
My own suit is based on the design I know Therestina would have worn in a different life, with minor changes made to better accommodate my Gravity Shift. The pods on the shoulders and hips contain grappling hooks and miniature jets like the ones used by the Queen Drivers which, combined with compressed gas jets in my wrists and ankles, allow me to move and even fly in my free fall macro without needing to use Gravity Shift to fall in certain directions. Deployable inline skates and back mounted jets give me enhanced mobility while on solid surfaces. The internals are based on fighter pilot suits to mitigate the effects of high acceleration on my own body and have additional padding to help me withstand high speed impacts. Mikoto only mastered her Railgun last month so, while she has happily agreed to let me study and copy it, I don't have a railgun of my own yet. Instead I'm armed with a standard HsPS-14 knife bayonet and a modified HsPS-14 automatic shotgun, equipped with counterfiring compressed gas to neutralise the momentum that firing the gun in free fall would cause. It also includes Capacity Down speakers, though I doubt those will see use against Byouri since I know she hasn't gone through any version of the PDC.
Mikoto and Misaki, and Mitori for that matter who got dressed before we arrived, are growing too quickly for custom powered suits or Hard Taping frames to be practical. Instead over the last 6 months we've made them modified armoured flight suits optimised for each girl's abilities. All four suits contain packets of a controllable medium (liquid metal for Mitori, water for Misaki and iron sand for Mikoto and Dolly) which the girls can use as both reactive armour/padding and to boost their physical abilities similar to mundane powered suits. Mikoto's suit also has clips of ammunition for her railgun in various calibres and additional containers of iron sand to ensure she doesn't run out. Mitori's suit has specialised interfaces to let her use her hacking skills along with the cameras and microphones in her dolls. It also has dedicated attachment points to let her give herself additional limbs or even more armour with her liquid metal without risking damage to her own flesh. I've been able to stockpile about a ton of her preferred liquid metal for her to use unconnected to her suit as well. Finally Misaki's suit has built in remotes to assist with her mnemonics along with some proprietary tech of her own from Exterior. I can make guesses as to what it is but I haven't asked beyond basic tactical knowledge for working together out of respect for her privacy.
Why thank you Miss Lifeline~. This is why you are still my ✧ favourite ✧ adult.
You're welcome, Misaki.
✧ Hopefully ✧ all of this preparation from your paranoia ability~ won't be needed and I can solve this with ✧ Mental Out ✧.
Agreed. However, Byouri isn't an idiot. While I hope Mental Out or Mikoto and Mitori's hacking abilities will be enough we have to assume that Byouri has counters prepared if she picked a fight with us at all.
I finish my systems check on my powered suit and step towards Mitori. I'm still shaking and even in my climate controlled suit I feel flushed. I'd suspect that I hadn't taken my antipsychotics but my watch marks them as taken so it can't be that. It must just be my worry for Dolly along with seeing Mikoto and Misaki go through their first lethal fight. I need to make sure Mikoto talks to Misuzu and Tabigake. They can be there for her. I don't know where I will find an adult that Misaki feels comfortable talking to though. She needs to not bottle things up so much and find people other than myself to trust.
"Could you work with Sargeant Nakajima to brief the troops please Misaki? Don't worry, despite your age they will respect and obey you as an allied Dark Side leader. I need to work things out in private with Mitori." I say out loud so that the troops and other girls can hear us. Mitori needs to be able to trust me on a mission like this.
"✧ Very well ✧. Don't take too long though~ Or ✧ Mikokun and I ✧ might take your troops and go rescue Dolly ourselves~."
"Mitori? Can we talk in private?"
She looks up at me dubiously and with distrust.
"... Okay."
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- Location
- America
Hmmm...Well, she's surely taken her anti-psychotics, as otherwise, Misaki would have noticed by now given the mechanics of how she messes with brains and how much her anti-psychotics have been on her mind...despite never taking her anti-psychotics since she dismissed the alert before she got to desk on the assumption she would take them at her desk and then got interrupted by everything, like, worse case scenario, she's already displayed trust in Misaki to appropriately drug her with her power.
So if the EMT was a spy for Byouri, they'd have to be a Sleeper agent bare minimum and whatever drug they'd adminster would have to be undetectable to a level 5 esper brain/chemistry specialist and a high level 4 electromaster (since she's not officially level 5 yet).
So if the EMT was a spy for Byouri, they'd have to be a Sleeper agent bare minimum and whatever drug they'd adminster would have to be undetectable to a level 5 esper brain/chemistry specialist and a high level 4 electromaster (since she's not officially level 5 yet).
- Location
- Reading, Berks, UK
Chapter 12 - Kihara
New
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Tuesday, 8th of April 2003, One Year and 2 months before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
"You were meant to be better than other adults." Mitori says as soon as we are out of the easy eyesight and ear shot of the briefing huddle. We've walked down a narrow alleyway off the main road we are mustering on. She hits the chest of my power suit, "You convinced me to not bomb the windowless building by promising me that you would be better than the rest of the city government and that together with Misaki we would improve things in this city!"
"I know. I try to be better. I'm sorry." I know she hates me now but we need to be able to trust each other if we are going to face Byouri. I have to be honest here, with both myself and Mitori, but not so honest I scare her away or make her so disgusted with me she runs off on her own to get killed.
"That's it? 'I try to be', 'I'm sorry'? Miss Tatsuki was on her knees dying and you were going to hit her! Even before that! You sent her father to the hospital!"
I look to the side guiltily as my hands shake, "I didn't hurt her father. At least not directly. When I made my surprise inspection of their hospital I must have spooked someone working in the Radio Noise Lab under Mrs Tatsuki. They set the fire. I didn't have a full team with me to fight the fire. Before the full response force could arrive Mr Tatsuki tried to be a hero and help some patients to escape but he's not a trained rescue worker. He just got himself and the people he was trying to save hurt."
"Oh. I. We all thought-"
"I know. I was going to tell Dolly and Mikoto tonight before, all of this." I say and make an encompassing gesture, "As far as I can tell he really is a good man and scientist. Completely unaware of the illegal cloning research of his wife. He just likes cutting up dead bodies, hence leading the District Morgue. However, you're right that I am still the cause of him being in the hospital right now. I rushed things last night, which is why things got so out of control. I-I told myself it was about easing Dolly's mind, and it was partly, but I think mostly it was about me feeling guilty."
"Guilty? What for? Yo- For the past 6 months you've been amazing. You helped us all, helped me, so much. What's changed over the last two days!"
I lean back against the alley wall and look up at the sky. It's still a sunny spring midafternoon. Conversations like these should be saved for rainy days and dark nights.
"That's part of the problem. The last 6 months have been the happiest days of my life. I have a daughter who I love." Mitori flinches at the reminder of Dolly and the danger she's in, "I've reconnected with my old friend and made friends with his wife. I've been helping to raise four amazing young women." she perks back up at that, strange, "I'm closer than ever before to-" I can't tell her about the sisters, "To stopping my grandfather from hurting anyone ever again. And I guess, I feel guilty for that."
"For what?"
"For enjoying myself. For feeling loved, valued and happy."
"So that's why you almost beat Miss Tatsuki? Because you don't think you deserve love and are self sabotaging?" Mitori says incredulously.
"Oh. No. I'm afraid we got somewhat off topic. Though it is related. I know I've told Dolly and Mikoto about this because they needed to know about my wider family," Mitori flinches again. She must not like being reminded of her own absent parents, "Misaki knows as well since I couldn't keep it a secret from her. Lifeline Tina is the name I chose but I was born Kihara Lifeline Therestina."
"What does your name have to do with hitting Miss Tatsuki?"
"I'm getting there." I say with a smile, "Have a little patience dear." She blushes, I shouldn't be so patronising. She's practically an adult by Academy City standards. Certainly my opposition wouldn't be hesitating to use an esper of her level as a weapon.
"Our family is united by more than blood, to be a Kihara is to have a certain way of thinking. One even unrelated people can achieve and join the clan. An ability to reach past the scientific method via intuition along with a lack of patience, empathy or conventional morals. I do my best to control myself and I take custom antipsychotics to control my impulses and intrusive thoughts. They don't exactly stop me from thinking like a Kihara but they slow me down. Giving me time to consider the morality of my ideas and other peoples' feelings. The person who kidnapped Dolly, Kihara Byouri, is my first cousin. She has an obsession with making people 'give up'. That is what she wants to happen here. She wants me to give up trying to be better and embrace being a Kihara."
"So what. You forgot your meds and that's why you tried to hit her?" Mitori looks hopeful, I hate to disappoint her like this.
I shake my head, "I wish but no. I have regular reminders and I marked my lunch time dose as taken. I checked on the way here because I had the same thought. Not that being off my meds would excuse my actions. It would also have no bearing on how I hurt her last night by rushing my investigation."
"Right, your self sabotage. Are you sure that's what it was? Couldn't it have been stress from letting Dolly go to school, putting her in danger?"
"I was and will continue to be stressed about that but it doesn't excuse my actions. Even after Byouri kidnapped her today. As commander of MAR I am required to be able to make choices like that without letting my relationships get in the way. My job is to protect people but my raid on Tatsuki General Hospital was as much about punishing Miss Tatsuki for upsetting Dolly as it was protecting hypothetical victims. Even if I didn't admit it to myself until now. I just didn't care enough about her to do the right thing and so did the easy thing that made me feel better instead. Even though I knew it was wrong. I justified it to myself but those excuses just built on each other until the event with Miss Tatsuki back at the mall. It was seeing you three girls and your reactions before I could hit her that brought me back from acting like a Kihara. I almost let Byouri win through my own failures. So I understand why you hate me now," I deserve it, "but please, we need to trust each other long enough to save Dolly."
There is a pregnant pause as I close my eyes and wait for Mitori's response.
"Bullshit."
What?
"Excuse me?" I blink, taken aback.
"I said that's bullshit mu-Miss Lifeline."Mitori says as she raps her knuckles on my helmet before wrapping me in a hug, "You don't need a special name or bloodline or weird mental meme or whatever to be evil. No one who locked me in solitary for a year was a Kihara. None of the researchers who killed Dolly were Kiharas. You got angry, lost your patience and almost hit an innocent girl. My friend. That was bad. I'm disappointed in you. I expected you- I need you to be better than that. But you didn't do it because of somekind of, fucking, evil bloodline. What did you say to me when we found Dr. Ogawa and he begged for his life? 'He made his choice when he locked you up and forgot about you, Miss Kouzaku. He is only admitting fault and begging for mercy now that you have a knife at his throat. Whatever choice you make is on his shoulders.' You didn't make the choice to hit Miss Tatsuki, you didn't wait until she had a knife to your throat to say sorry for the horrible things you said and did to her. I heard you promising to help her father and mother. Maybe you needed help but that's fine. I needed help too. You helped me. Dr. Ogawa and the others are dead and they can never hurt me again. You held me when I cried after killing them. You said I wasn't wrong or broken. That means you aren't wrong or broken either. Let me help you too mum." I'm hugging her back and we are both crying before either of us register what Mitori let slip at the end of her big speech. She jumps back and starts stuttering with a blush. I'm blushing as well but also smiling.
"Is that really how you see me, Mitori?"
"I- Uh. Y-yes." she whispers.
I wrap her in another gentle hug. She's wrong but it is nice to pretend for a moment that I wasn't born wrong.
"Then let's go save your little sister so we can give her the good news hm? I know that Dolly will be thrilled to call you sister." WMitori nods and, after giving me another hug, we walk back to the briefing together just as Misaki and Kenshi are wrapping up.
Despite their objections I insist the girls wear their helmets, based on my own bubble helmet for maximum visibility and designed to form an environmental seal with their armour, as we all pile into the pair of MAR trucks and drive off towards the warehouse Mitori followed Byouri to.
Thankfully being an arm of the city government meant that I could ensure we had clear roads on our approach. Given Byouri knew we were coming anyway I saw no point in pretending this wasn't official business so we had the sirens on full blast while I had city traffic control keep the automated vehicles out of our way. In all it only took 15 minutes to get to the warehouse from District 7. Not as fast as myself, Mikoto and Mitori could have made the journey with our abilities but I don't want to rush ahead without back up twice today. Especially when I am still experiencing the occasional tremors and shakes.
When we get to the warehouse Misaki and I have the girls stay in between my trooper's fire teams, over Mikoto's and Mitori's objections, due to the three of them being the only ones not trained in breach and clear operations. The warehouse, despite how much I've built it up in my mind on the way here, is seemingly empty. However, Mikoto and I, working together, soon find the hidden lab underneath. It is hidden well enough to prevent casual inspection but I still don't understand Byouri's plan. She must know enough from public Bank data to know that Mikoto could find the lab even if she hasn't figured out my own hidden esp.
We consider breaking in through their main door, it wouldn't be hard, but Mikoto and I can sense the ambushers waiting for us. Instead we decide to have Mitori smash our way through their ceiling with her 50 ton Liquid Shadow. The ambushers are more Queen Diver suits but their precautions against Misaki and Mikoto do nothing against an angry Mitori. She smashes them to paste before Sergeant Nakajima's troops can even raise their weapons to take aim. As the rest of us start to descend into the opening Mitori has made I see her hesitating. Of course, her claustrophobia. I wish I could let her kill Ogawa twice.
"Mitori? Why don't you stay behind with Officers Maeda and Ishii to act as our rear guard. Prevent any reinforcements or surprises that Byouri has from flanking us? You can send a Liquid Shadow with us while keeping most of it here for self defence."
I can tell she wants to be with us in person to rescue Dolly but the way her hands shake and pupils dilate when she looks at the underground corridors of Byouri's hideout tells me she is not ready to deal with combat in tight spaces. Thankfully, Mitori doesn't argue, instead nodding after a short pause.
The fight through the lab after that proves insultingly easy. I have Mikoto, Liquid Shadow and myself let the MAR troopers deal with most of the attacks for now so that we can save energy for whatever Byouri's trick is. Waves of Queen Divers attack us and, thanks to pre-warning from the 4 espers in the centre of our formation, are quickly gunned down by Sergeant Nakajima's troops. Despite their repeated failure the waves keep coming, ratcheting up my paranoia about when Byouri's trick will be revealed ever higher. There are also far more Queen Diver suits than the lab should be able to hold while remaining hidden. A quick examination of one of the corpses confirms it, at least some of the suits we are facing are being worn by preserved corpses, weeks old at least, using the human body as an endoskeleton for the drone intelligence of the armour. I was never particularly proud of the Queen Diver as a design but it's just like Byouri to pervert it like this into something even more ghoulish. At least MAR uses large bore combat shotguns as its standard longarm. If Nakajima's troops were using Anti-Skill standard rifles those suits would be tearing through them as the bullets failed to do enough damage to cripple the suit or human body underneath.
We are about 4 floors down when Byouri's voice comes through the intercom.
"Finally. You know you are lucky that my plan didn't involve any timers Therestina-chan or else you'd have run them all down by now. That's not the kind of giving up from you I'm looking for."
Like I ordered before we entered the lab we just ignore her taunting and keep walking.
"You are so boring sometimes, Therestina." she audibly sighs, "I'll save you some time and tell you where I'm keeping Kihara Dolly. Be careful not to use any esper abilities in that room though~. It is filled with AIM Scanners and if it detects the slightest active ability usage then your little Dolly will go Pop!" She pauses for our response but I wave down the girls before they can give into their rage and provide her with one. Eventually she sighs again and grumbles "The door labelled Laboratory Room 7 two floors down and 47 degrees to your right from your current location."
✧ Miss Lifeline ✧, Mikokun has traced Byouri's signal. She isn't in this building but on an airship above the city. She must have an excellent spying ability~ because she is outside of my range even with Exterior's assistance.
Thank you Misaki. I didn't expect her to be here in person but it is good to have confirmation. Between that knowledge and her letting slip that it is specifically esper abilities she is protecting against in the room she is keeping Dolly I'm afraid we have to assume that my troops here are compromised.
The ✧ perfect ✧ case for my ability~
Before Misaki can start checking over my troops, Byouri's voice comes back through the intercom.
"Ah ah ah! Good try little niece but you are a decade too young to out hack me, newly achieved level 5 computing ability or not. I respect your efforts but if you try that again I will trigger my failsafe remotely. Also, don't think I missed your little telepathic conversation with Therestina, Miss Shokuhou. The two of you don't have as good control of your body language as you think. Keep those fingers away from any buttons or remotes or your best friend~ will find her head exploding."
I clench my fists and grit my teeth as we walk, silent and impotent, until we reach the room Byouri directed us too. Sergeant Nakajima leads the breach. While Mitori's Liquid Shadow is forced to stay outside by Byouri's AIM Scanner contingency. As we file into the room behind Kenshi I finally understand Byouri's play. On the far side of the room Dolly lies unconscious in a Crystallized Esper Essence extraction machine. With another empty CEE machine right next to it. Finally I talk back to Byouri.
"So this is your plan? I have to choose between giving up on Dolly or Miss Shokuhou on our grandfather's failed altar?"
"Ah. So I didn't render you speechless back at the mall. That's good. Correct. Either you give up your daughter or your self image as a protector of children. Either way we will get good data. The experiment has never been performed on clones or a Level 5 before. Who knows? Maybe Level 5 Ability Body Crystal is what we need to reach SYSTEM? Though really I would have preferred if you had brought the spare from upstairs down with you. No one would miss her," I clench my hands and grit my teeth to avoid shouting at Byouri for dismissing Mitori like that. "Oh? Or maybe you would~. But regardless. The board will probably chew us out if you kill their soon to be 5th ranked level 5 but we've both been chewed out before. I'm sure we can handle it."
"Don't try to pretend you are a SYSTEM fanatic like Gensei, Byouri."
"Of course not! However I can still be excited at pushing the boundaries of our knowledge closer to it. Now. Someone in this room is going to die today and you have got the final say on who. Choose quickly or my finger just might sli~p." Byouri taunts in a sing-song voice.
"And if I refuse? Will you just activate the machine that Dolly is in remotely?" Of course she would, but that's not what I really want to know.
"Yes but also, Corporal Fukuda if you would be so kind?"
My own troops turn their weapons on me and Sergeant Nakajima while pairs of them grapple Mikoto and Misaki.
"The hell! What do you men think you're doing!"
"Sorry Sarge. But MAR used to be a player in this city. Until this bleeding heart took over. Dr. Kihara promises that it can be again. Plus, she pays well." Corporal Fukuda Rensei, the apparent ringleader of Byouri's attempted coup, says.
"You piece of shit Rensei. I'll kill you my-"
"Hold sergeant." I bark out and Nakajima Kenshi stills. I look down, defeated. "Alright Byouri. You win." I can't look at Misaki as I raise my hand to point at her. "Miss Shokuhou. Get in the machine." Please understand my plan Misaki. Please let the hidden aces you've never shared with me help here.
"What! No Auntie you can't!"
"Ma'am! Don't!"
"No! Mum don't you dare! Dolly wouldn't want this!" Mitori shouts from the corridor but restrains herself from rushing her Liquid Shadow into the room. Mikoto and Misaki barely bat an eye at Mitori calling me mum. Was it really that obvious? Even Kenshi doesn't look surprised. I hope that it's just that none of them noticed her verbal slip up due to the stress.
"Alright. To save Dolly." Misaki looks at me but her eyes are dead and emotionless. "Thank you for trying to protect me, Kihara Therestina but I guess this is the end of our illusion. It was fun while it lasted. Before this hag ruined it." Please. Please.
"No! Misa!" Mikoto turns her head to scream at the ceiling, "Aunt Byouri! Use me instead!"
"I'd love to my dear niece but the chairman would never let me live if I killed his favourite. I'm not afraid to give up my life for science but it's not the plan tonight." Lier. You're just a cowardly bully like you've always been Byouri.
"It will be alright Mikokun~" Misaki says as the pair of troopers holding her drag her across the room towards the machine. "Thank you. For being my friend." Mikoto's screams are going to haunt my nightmares even if we all survive this.
"Hey Sarge wh-"
Two loud shots. Both of the troopers holding Misaki have their heads blown apart like ripe watermelons. Sergeant Nakajima has broken free and now is pointing his shotgun at the back of my head. No Kenshi, thank you but please don't. I have a plan. It isn't what it looks like!
"Sorry Ma'am. But you gave me clear orders what to do if you ever went bad like thi-"
Kenshi's brains splatter against the back of my helmet as Corporal Fukuda Rensei's shell shatters his helmet and his head across the room. I can't even flinch as my friend is gunned down in front of me. I have to sell the illusion to Byouri.
I am going to kill Fukuda Rensei.
"Sorry Sarge." he irreverently copies Kenshi's last words. He is a fool if he thinks that Byouri would bother to protect him once her sick game is finished.
"Oi! You and you. Go make sure the ojou-sama gets in her coffin." Fukuda says as he quickly strips me of my own weapons so I can't copy Kenshi's final act.
"No need." Misaki says, "I can walk on my own." Mikoto is still screaming and Mitori's Liquid Shadow at the door is hurling invective at the MAR troops and Byouri for lack of ability to do anything else. I have to clench my fists to stop them shaking. I can't let Misaki die as well as Kenshi. If she gets in that machine I will have to hope that Byouri's sensors won't trip if I use the self redefinition technique to temporarily boost my level. Brain damage will be a small price to pay to save Misaki, because Mitori is right. Dolly wouldn't want Misaki to sacrifice herself for them.
Misaki reaches the CEE machines and lays her uninjured hand on the equipment surrounding Dolly's head. Yes! That's it Misaki.
"Hello Dolly. I know you can't hear this but I won't get the chance to say this ever again. You are my very best friend~. Everything good in my life, you are the root cause of. You make the world a better place with your brightness ability~. I don't believe in anything so unscientific as an afterlife but if there is one, then I know we'll see each other in the ✧ Good Place ✧. Goodbye Dolly." she pauses as if waiting for a response that isn't coming, "My friend."
"Would someone hurry her up? Wait. What are these readings? How- Fukuda stop her now!"
Byouri realises too late. The equipment surrounding Dolly's head is shaken apart by whatever tech Misaki had hidden up her sleeve. Mikoto, Mitori and I are finally free to act.
I cackle with a mix of relief and rage as I use Gravity Shift to fall towards Fukuda Rensei.
You're next Byouri!
================================================================
AN: I do not actually condone or recommend helping abused children murder their tormentors as a method of therapy. Do Not Do That. It Will Not Help. Depiction is not endorsement.
That said FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK the researchers who locked Kouzaku Mitori in solitary confinement as a preteen for months. They deserve to rot in hell and I hope they all get reincarnated as chickens in a battery farm.
Alternate Chapter Title: Mitori goes through the Five Stages of Grief over her idealised image of Tina.
Nakajima Kenshi is not a shout out to her no. Not really a Nanoha fan so that didn't even occur to me.
"You were meant to be better than other adults." Mitori says as soon as we are out of the easy eyesight and ear shot of the briefing huddle. We've walked down a narrow alleyway off the main road we are mustering on. She hits the chest of my power suit, "You convinced me to not bomb the windowless building by promising me that you would be better than the rest of the city government and that together with Misaki we would improve things in this city!"
"I know. I try to be better. I'm sorry." I know she hates me now but we need to be able to trust each other if we are going to face Byouri. I have to be honest here, with both myself and Mitori, but not so honest I scare her away or make her so disgusted with me she runs off on her own to get killed.
"That's it? 'I try to be', 'I'm sorry'? Miss Tatsuki was on her knees dying and you were going to hit her! Even before that! You sent her father to the hospital!"
I look to the side guiltily as my hands shake, "I didn't hurt her father. At least not directly. When I made my surprise inspection of their hospital I must have spooked someone working in the Radio Noise Lab under Mrs Tatsuki. They set the fire. I didn't have a full team with me to fight the fire. Before the full response force could arrive Mr Tatsuki tried to be a hero and help some patients to escape but he's not a trained rescue worker. He just got himself and the people he was trying to save hurt."
"Oh. I. We all thought-"
"I know. I was going to tell Dolly and Mikoto tonight before, all of this." I say and make an encompassing gesture, "As far as I can tell he really is a good man and scientist. Completely unaware of the illegal cloning research of his wife. He just likes cutting up dead bodies, hence leading the District Morgue. However, you're right that I am still the cause of him being in the hospital right now. I rushed things last night, which is why things got so out of control. I-I told myself it was about easing Dolly's mind, and it was partly, but I think mostly it was about me feeling guilty."
"Guilty? What for? Yo- For the past 6 months you've been amazing. You helped us all, helped me, so much. What's changed over the last two days!"
I lean back against the alley wall and look up at the sky. It's still a sunny spring midafternoon. Conversations like these should be saved for rainy days and dark nights.
"That's part of the problem. The last 6 months have been the happiest days of my life. I have a daughter who I love." Mitori flinches at the reminder of Dolly and the danger she's in, "I've reconnected with my old friend and made friends with his wife. I've been helping to raise four amazing young women." she perks back up at that, strange, "I'm closer than ever before to-" I can't tell her about the sisters, "To stopping my grandfather from hurting anyone ever again. And I guess, I feel guilty for that."
"For what?"
"For enjoying myself. For feeling loved, valued and happy."
"So that's why you almost beat Miss Tatsuki? Because you don't think you deserve love and are self sabotaging?" Mitori says incredulously.
"Oh. No. I'm afraid we got somewhat off topic. Though it is related. I know I've told Dolly and Mikoto about this because they needed to know about my wider family," Mitori flinches again. She must not like being reminded of her own absent parents, "Misaki knows as well since I couldn't keep it a secret from her. Lifeline Tina is the name I chose but I was born Kihara Lifeline Therestina."
"What does your name have to do with hitting Miss Tatsuki?"
"I'm getting there." I say with a smile, "Have a little patience dear." She blushes, I shouldn't be so patronising. She's practically an adult by Academy City standards. Certainly my opposition wouldn't be hesitating to use an esper of her level as a weapon.
"Our family is united by more than blood, to be a Kihara is to have a certain way of thinking. One even unrelated people can achieve and join the clan. An ability to reach past the scientific method via intuition along with a lack of patience, empathy or conventional morals. I do my best to control myself and I take custom antipsychotics to control my impulses and intrusive thoughts. They don't exactly stop me from thinking like a Kihara but they slow me down. Giving me time to consider the morality of my ideas and other peoples' feelings. The person who kidnapped Dolly, Kihara Byouri, is my first cousin. She has an obsession with making people 'give up'. That is what she wants to happen here. She wants me to give up trying to be better and embrace being a Kihara."
"So what. You forgot your meds and that's why you tried to hit her?" Mitori looks hopeful, I hate to disappoint her like this.
I shake my head, "I wish but no. I have regular reminders and I marked my lunch time dose as taken. I checked on the way here because I had the same thought. Not that being off my meds would excuse my actions. It would also have no bearing on how I hurt her last night by rushing my investigation."
"Right, your self sabotage. Are you sure that's what it was? Couldn't it have been stress from letting Dolly go to school, putting her in danger?"
"I was and will continue to be stressed about that but it doesn't excuse my actions. Even after Byouri kidnapped her today. As commander of MAR I am required to be able to make choices like that without letting my relationships get in the way. My job is to protect people but my raid on Tatsuki General Hospital was as much about punishing Miss Tatsuki for upsetting Dolly as it was protecting hypothetical victims. Even if I didn't admit it to myself until now. I just didn't care enough about her to do the right thing and so did the easy thing that made me feel better instead. Even though I knew it was wrong. I justified it to myself but those excuses just built on each other until the event with Miss Tatsuki back at the mall. It was seeing you three girls and your reactions before I could hit her that brought me back from acting like a Kihara. I almost let Byouri win through my own failures. So I understand why you hate me now," I deserve it, "but please, we need to trust each other long enough to save Dolly."
There is a pregnant pause as I close my eyes and wait for Mitori's response.
"Bullshit."
What?
"Excuse me?" I blink, taken aback.
"I said that's bullshit mu-Miss Lifeline."Mitori says as she raps her knuckles on my helmet before wrapping me in a hug, "You don't need a special name or bloodline or weird mental meme or whatever to be evil. No one who locked me in solitary for a year was a Kihara. None of the researchers who killed Dolly were Kiharas. You got angry, lost your patience and almost hit an innocent girl. My friend. That was bad. I'm disappointed in you. I expected you- I need you to be better than that. But you didn't do it because of somekind of, fucking, evil bloodline. What did you say to me when we found Dr. Ogawa and he begged for his life? 'He made his choice when he locked you up and forgot about you, Miss Kouzaku. He is only admitting fault and begging for mercy now that you have a knife at his throat. Whatever choice you make is on his shoulders.' You didn't make the choice to hit Miss Tatsuki, you didn't wait until she had a knife to your throat to say sorry for the horrible things you said and did to her. I heard you promising to help her father and mother. Maybe you needed help but that's fine. I needed help too. You helped me. Dr. Ogawa and the others are dead and they can never hurt me again. You held me when I cried after killing them. You said I wasn't wrong or broken. That means you aren't wrong or broken either. Let me help you too mum." I'm hugging her back and we are both crying before either of us register what Mitori let slip at the end of her big speech. She jumps back and starts stuttering with a blush. I'm blushing as well but also smiling.
"Is that really how you see me, Mitori?"
"I- Uh. Y-yes." she whispers.
I wrap her in another gentle hug. She's wrong but it is nice to pretend for a moment that I wasn't born wrong.
"Then let's go save your little sister so we can give her the good news hm? I know that Dolly will be thrilled to call you sister." WMitori nods and, after giving me another hug, we walk back to the briefing together just as Misaki and Kenshi are wrapping up.
Despite their objections I insist the girls wear their helmets, based on my own bubble helmet for maximum visibility and designed to form an environmental seal with their armour, as we all pile into the pair of MAR trucks and drive off towards the warehouse Mitori followed Byouri to.
Thankfully being an arm of the city government meant that I could ensure we had clear roads on our approach. Given Byouri knew we were coming anyway I saw no point in pretending this wasn't official business so we had the sirens on full blast while I had city traffic control keep the automated vehicles out of our way. In all it only took 15 minutes to get to the warehouse from District 7. Not as fast as myself, Mikoto and Mitori could have made the journey with our abilities but I don't want to rush ahead without back up twice today. Especially when I am still experiencing the occasional tremors and shakes.
When we get to the warehouse Misaki and I have the girls stay in between my trooper's fire teams, over Mikoto's and Mitori's objections, due to the three of them being the only ones not trained in breach and clear operations. The warehouse, despite how much I've built it up in my mind on the way here, is seemingly empty. However, Mikoto and I, working together, soon find the hidden lab underneath. It is hidden well enough to prevent casual inspection but I still don't understand Byouri's plan. She must know enough from public Bank data to know that Mikoto could find the lab even if she hasn't figured out my own hidden esp.
We consider breaking in through their main door, it wouldn't be hard, but Mikoto and I can sense the ambushers waiting for us. Instead we decide to have Mitori smash our way through their ceiling with her 50 ton Liquid Shadow. The ambushers are more Queen Diver suits but their precautions against Misaki and Mikoto do nothing against an angry Mitori. She smashes them to paste before Sergeant Nakajima's troops can even raise their weapons to take aim. As the rest of us start to descend into the opening Mitori has made I see her hesitating. Of course, her claustrophobia. I wish I could let her kill Ogawa twice.
"Mitori? Why don't you stay behind with Officers Maeda and Ishii to act as our rear guard. Prevent any reinforcements or surprises that Byouri has from flanking us? You can send a Liquid Shadow with us while keeping most of it here for self defence."
I can tell she wants to be with us in person to rescue Dolly but the way her hands shake and pupils dilate when she looks at the underground corridors of Byouri's hideout tells me she is not ready to deal with combat in tight spaces. Thankfully, Mitori doesn't argue, instead nodding after a short pause.
The fight through the lab after that proves insultingly easy. I have Mikoto, Liquid Shadow and myself let the MAR troopers deal with most of the attacks for now so that we can save energy for whatever Byouri's trick is. Waves of Queen Divers attack us and, thanks to pre-warning from the 4 espers in the centre of our formation, are quickly gunned down by Sergeant Nakajima's troops. Despite their repeated failure the waves keep coming, ratcheting up my paranoia about when Byouri's trick will be revealed ever higher. There are also far more Queen Diver suits than the lab should be able to hold while remaining hidden. A quick examination of one of the corpses confirms it, at least some of the suits we are facing are being worn by preserved corpses, weeks old at least, using the human body as an endoskeleton for the drone intelligence of the armour. I was never particularly proud of the Queen Diver as a design but it's just like Byouri to pervert it like this into something even more ghoulish. At least MAR uses large bore combat shotguns as its standard longarm. If Nakajima's troops were using Anti-Skill standard rifles those suits would be tearing through them as the bullets failed to do enough damage to cripple the suit or human body underneath.
We are about 4 floors down when Byouri's voice comes through the intercom.
"Finally. You know you are lucky that my plan didn't involve any timers Therestina-chan or else you'd have run them all down by now. That's not the kind of giving up from you I'm looking for."
Like I ordered before we entered the lab we just ignore her taunting and keep walking.
"You are so boring sometimes, Therestina." she audibly sighs, "I'll save you some time and tell you where I'm keeping Kihara Dolly. Be careful not to use any esper abilities in that room though~. It is filled with AIM Scanners and if it detects the slightest active ability usage then your little Dolly will go Pop!" She pauses for our response but I wave down the girls before they can give into their rage and provide her with one. Eventually she sighs again and grumbles "The door labelled Laboratory Room 7 two floors down and 47 degrees to your right from your current location."
✧ Miss Lifeline ✧, Mikokun has traced Byouri's signal. She isn't in this building but on an airship above the city. She must have an excellent spying ability~ because she is outside of my range even with Exterior's assistance.
Thank you Misaki. I didn't expect her to be here in person but it is good to have confirmation. Between that knowledge and her letting slip that it is specifically esper abilities she is protecting against in the room she is keeping Dolly I'm afraid we have to assume that my troops here are compromised.
The ✧ perfect ✧ case for my ability~
Before Misaki can start checking over my troops, Byouri's voice comes back through the intercom.
"Ah ah ah! Good try little niece but you are a decade too young to out hack me, newly achieved level 5 computing ability or not. I respect your efforts but if you try that again I will trigger my failsafe remotely. Also, don't think I missed your little telepathic conversation with Therestina, Miss Shokuhou. The two of you don't have as good control of your body language as you think. Keep those fingers away from any buttons or remotes or your best friend~ will find her head exploding."
I clench my fists and grit my teeth as we walk, silent and impotent, until we reach the room Byouri directed us too. Sergeant Nakajima leads the breach. While Mitori's Liquid Shadow is forced to stay outside by Byouri's AIM Scanner contingency. As we file into the room behind Kenshi I finally understand Byouri's play. On the far side of the room Dolly lies unconscious in a Crystallized Esper Essence extraction machine. With another empty CEE machine right next to it. Finally I talk back to Byouri.
"So this is your plan? I have to choose between giving up on Dolly or Miss Shokuhou on our grandfather's failed altar?"
"Ah. So I didn't render you speechless back at the mall. That's good. Correct. Either you give up your daughter or your self image as a protector of children. Either way we will get good data. The experiment has never been performed on clones or a Level 5 before. Who knows? Maybe Level 5 Ability Body Crystal is what we need to reach SYSTEM? Though really I would have preferred if you had brought the spare from upstairs down with you. No one would miss her," I clench my hands and grit my teeth to avoid shouting at Byouri for dismissing Mitori like that. "Oh? Or maybe you would~. But regardless. The board will probably chew us out if you kill their soon to be 5th ranked level 5 but we've both been chewed out before. I'm sure we can handle it."
"Don't try to pretend you are a SYSTEM fanatic like Gensei, Byouri."
"Of course not! However I can still be excited at pushing the boundaries of our knowledge closer to it. Now. Someone in this room is going to die today and you have got the final say on who. Choose quickly or my finger just might sli~p." Byouri taunts in a sing-song voice.
"And if I refuse? Will you just activate the machine that Dolly is in remotely?" Of course she would, but that's not what I really want to know.
"Yes but also, Corporal Fukuda if you would be so kind?"
My own troops turn their weapons on me and Sergeant Nakajima while pairs of them grapple Mikoto and Misaki.
"The hell! What do you men think you're doing!"
"Sorry Sarge. But MAR used to be a player in this city. Until this bleeding heart took over. Dr. Kihara promises that it can be again. Plus, she pays well." Corporal Fukuda Rensei, the apparent ringleader of Byouri's attempted coup, says.
"You piece of shit Rensei. I'll kill you my-"
"Hold sergeant." I bark out and Nakajima Kenshi stills. I look down, defeated. "Alright Byouri. You win." I can't look at Misaki as I raise my hand to point at her. "Miss Shokuhou. Get in the machine." Please understand my plan Misaki. Please let the hidden aces you've never shared with me help here.
"What! No Auntie you can't!"
"Ma'am! Don't!"
"No! Mum don't you dare! Dolly wouldn't want this!" Mitori shouts from the corridor but restrains herself from rushing her Liquid Shadow into the room. Mikoto and Misaki barely bat an eye at Mitori calling me mum. Was it really that obvious? Even Kenshi doesn't look surprised. I hope that it's just that none of them noticed her verbal slip up due to the stress.
"Alright. To save Dolly." Misaki looks at me but her eyes are dead and emotionless. "Thank you for trying to protect me, Kihara Therestina but I guess this is the end of our illusion. It was fun while it lasted. Before this hag ruined it." Please. Please.
"No! Misa!" Mikoto turns her head to scream at the ceiling, "Aunt Byouri! Use me instead!"
"I'd love to my dear niece but the chairman would never let me live if I killed his favourite. I'm not afraid to give up my life for science but it's not the plan tonight." Lier. You're just a cowardly bully like you've always been Byouri.
"It will be alright Mikokun~" Misaki says as the pair of troopers holding her drag her across the room towards the machine. "Thank you. For being my friend." Mikoto's screams are going to haunt my nightmares even if we all survive this.
"Hey Sarge wh-"
Two loud shots. Both of the troopers holding Misaki have their heads blown apart like ripe watermelons. Sergeant Nakajima has broken free and now is pointing his shotgun at the back of my head. No Kenshi, thank you but please don't. I have a plan. It isn't what it looks like!
"Sorry Ma'am. But you gave me clear orders what to do if you ever went bad like thi-"
Kenshi's brains splatter against the back of my helmet as Corporal Fukuda Rensei's shell shatters his helmet and his head across the room. I can't even flinch as my friend is gunned down in front of me. I have to sell the illusion to Byouri.
I am going to kill Fukuda Rensei.
"Sorry Sarge." he irreverently copies Kenshi's last words. He is a fool if he thinks that Byouri would bother to protect him once her sick game is finished.
"Oi! You and you. Go make sure the ojou-sama gets in her coffin." Fukuda says as he quickly strips me of my own weapons so I can't copy Kenshi's final act.
"No need." Misaki says, "I can walk on my own." Mikoto is still screaming and Mitori's Liquid Shadow at the door is hurling invective at the MAR troops and Byouri for lack of ability to do anything else. I have to clench my fists to stop them shaking. I can't let Misaki die as well as Kenshi. If she gets in that machine I will have to hope that Byouri's sensors won't trip if I use the self redefinition technique to temporarily boost my level. Brain damage will be a small price to pay to save Misaki, because Mitori is right. Dolly wouldn't want Misaki to sacrifice herself for them.
Misaki reaches the CEE machines and lays her uninjured hand on the equipment surrounding Dolly's head. Yes! That's it Misaki.
"Hello Dolly. I know you can't hear this but I won't get the chance to say this ever again. You are my very best friend~. Everything good in my life, you are the root cause of. You make the world a better place with your brightness ability~. I don't believe in anything so unscientific as an afterlife but if there is one, then I know we'll see each other in the ✧ Good Place ✧. Goodbye Dolly." she pauses as if waiting for a response that isn't coming, "My friend."
"Would someone hurry her up? Wait. What are these readings? How- Fukuda stop her now!"
Byouri realises too late. The equipment surrounding Dolly's head is shaken apart by whatever tech Misaki had hidden up her sleeve. Mikoto, Mitori and I are finally free to act.
I cackle with a mix of relief and rage as I use Gravity Shift to fall towards Fukuda Rensei.
You're next Byouri!
================================================================
AN: I do not actually condone or recommend helping abused children murder their tormentors as a method of therapy. Do Not Do That. It Will Not Help. Depiction is not endorsement.
That said FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK the researchers who locked Kouzaku Mitori in solitary confinement as a preteen for months. They deserve to rot in hell and I hope they all get reincarnated as chickens in a battery farm.
Alternate Chapter Title: Mitori goes through the Five Stages of Grief over her idealised image of Tina.
Nakajima Kenshi is not a shout out to her no. Not really a Nanoha fan so that didn't even occur to me.
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Chapter 13 -Byouri
New
- Pronouns
- She/Her
TW: Another Trigger Warning for Gore and Violence
Tuesday, 8th of April 2003, One Year and 2 months before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
Less than 5 feet separate me from Fukuda Rensei when Misaki disables Byouri's insurance plan. If I was still unarmoured and fighting Deadlock at the mall that wouldn't be enough distance for me to work up a dangerous amount of momentum. Now however? With my personal suit and a grudge to work out on this traitor? It's more than enough. I slam into him with my full weight at dozens of metres per second. My personal suit is less massive than the mass produced HsPS-14 Fukuda is wearing but I have more momentum and I've caught him off balance. The two of us slide across the room and crash into the wall with a thunderous crash, leaving his suit half buried in the steel and electronics.
"Commander, I-"
My left hand smashes through the bullet proof plastic surrounding his head, embedding shards of complex crystallised hydrocarbons deep in his face and destroying his left eye. I grip his jaw hard enough to crack bone. Silencing his traitorous mouth before he can waste air on his excuses.
"Shhhhh," I say with a finger from my right hand pressed to my lips, "I don't care." I grip even harder and pull back, Fukuda's lower jaw coming with my hand before getting flung free to land with a wet sound on the floor. "Kenshi was my friend, you son of a bitch." I say, and wait just long enough to see the understanding of just how fucked he is dawn in Fukuda Rensei's eyes before clenching my left hand into a fist and driving it through his head.
That essential reckoning done I return myself to normal gravity and survey the room and the girls for any injuries. Mikoto has non-lethally disabled and bound her captors with her suit's supply of iron sand while Mitori's Liquid Shadow has killed the three troopers who were pointing their guns at me before I left to deal with Fukuda. Mikoto looks physically unharmed but Misaki is cradling her previously uninjured arm close to her chest and crying. I run over to Misaki and Dolly. Dolly has a fever but otherwise appears unharmed, Byouri most likely used a nanomedicine then. Nothing we can do to treat that here. We need to get her to a hospital, normally I would use the medical ward at MAR HQ but that isn't safe anymore. I hate to rely on him but Heaven Canceller is probably our best option right now. I can't see any obvious external injuries on Misaki. Byouri is yelling over the intercom while Mikoto yells back but I block them both out.
"Misaki? Can you tell me where the pain is?" I ask, being careful not to touch her with my bloody left hand.
"My en-entire forearm. The Hag's Hug has a rebound ability when I don't use both arms. I'll have fractures in every bone." I draw her into a gentle hug and she doesn't resist, leaning into my side and sniffling.
Byouri's shrill voice finally cuts out as the ceiling closer to the door collapses and Mitori's main mass of Liquid Shadow falls through, forming into a staircase back up to the surface. Mitori isn't accompanied by Meada or Ishii when she slides down the bannister she made. I don't know if they were also traitors or if she just assumed they were but I can't bring myself to care right now.
"You did amazing Misaki. You were so brave. I'm sorry my failures left you in that position."
"I figured out your plan back in the corridor. When you didn't fight the traitors then. If Byouri knew we knew she'd find some other way to force you to make that choice. She had to be completely confident in her victory before she would let her guard ability go down." she pauses, "I'm sorry about Mr Nakajima."
I swallow, "I. I think he understood the plan as well. I would like to think so anyway. That is why he shot your handlers first. His orders were just to kill me if I really did do something like order you to kill yourself."
I realise that, while I've been comforting Misaki, Mikoto and Mitori have crowded around Dolly's bed and are fretting over her state. Right. 4 young women to take care of at once, not just one at a time.
"Girls." I say to draw their attention. "We can't do anything for Dolly or Misaki here. They need proper medical facilities. Since MAR HQ is compromised, Mitori, I need you to bring them to the hospital Heaven Canceller runs. You know the one?"
She nods, "What about you mum?" Even now the immediate crisis has passed, neither Mikoto or Misaki look surprised at Mitori calling me mum. Why am I always the last one to know these things?
I turn to Mikoto, "Can you still pinpoint Byouri's location?" she nods, "Patch into my comms system and feed me location data while I go and make sure she can never do this again."
"Are you going to kill her?"
"Yes."
"I want to help."
I frown, "Your mother doesn't want you killing if at all possible."
"I don't care!" Mikoto yells, "She tried to kill Dolly and Misa! I hate her! I want her to die!"
"You're angry. There is a difference between that and being ready for cold blooded murder. You don't want her to die. You want her to hurt and to know that it is you hurting her. I know how you feel because I feel exactly the same." I walk over to Mikoto and draw her into a hug, she tries to act tough for a moment or two before crumbling and crying into my breastplate.
"I, I hate her! I was so scared! I thought Misa was going to die! But If I did anything then Dolly would die. And! And! It looked like you were going to let her win!" I stroke her helmet and rub small circles on her back.
"I know. She's hurt us so much and right now it feels like the only thing that will make it better is hurting her back. If you still feel like that in a couple of days when you've calmed down I will hold down the two traitors over there for you to execute myself. However," I step back and tilt Mikoto's head up to meet my eyes, which aren't any drier than her own, "That impulse Mikoto? That is the feeling I was following when I almost hit Miss Tatsuki. It wouldn't be killing to protect or taking justified revenge, it is lashing out at the world to make it feel as bad as you."
A Kihara who protects.
"Byouri is a mad dog who needs to be put down, not just for us but for the safety of everyone in the city, and I am the best suited to do that. I can reach her airship the easiest of all of us and am the only one familiar with her fighting style."
A Kihara who children can look up too.
"So please, show me where to find her, the thing only you can do, and then help your sister and friends get to the hospital."
Byouri hasn't won today.
"...okay Auntie."
Once Mikoto uploads Byouri's location I activate Gravity Shift and fall up through the hole Mitori made in the lab ceilings, crashing through the warehouse roof at terminal velocity before shifting my source of gravity and falling towards Byouri's airship. Sorry Kagun. I can't afford to wait for you any longer.
============================================================
Byouri is already waiting for me when I land on the roof of her airship above District 16. It is still an insultingly clear and sunny day even as we get closer to evening. Byouri's vehicle has a catamaran design which provides a flat space between the conventional airbags. I realise my shakes have stopped since I killed Fukuda, it's probably the adrenalin.
"I always knew you were a hack and a plagiarist Byouri but could you have one original idea in your life?" I say using the armour's external megaphone to ensure I am heard over the wind. Byouri is dressed in a yellow modified version of my own powered suit. It has a larger winged backpack, folded currently of course given the high winds at this altitude, and what look like modular attachment points all over the body.
"Therestina." Byouri hisses back at me, "What was that ace up your sleeve at the lab! I accounted for everything! There was no way you could have hidden that from me. So how!"
"No idea." Not strictly true, having seen the effects I could make some educated guesses, "You may have preyed on my ability to trust to suborn my organisation but that same trusting ability means that I have never asked nor looked into what Misaki does at Exterior. Your guess would be as good as mine, well almost, as to what tech she used to foil your plan."
"You arrogant bitch! Don't you dare act so smug! I beat you! Without your alliance with that Level 5 you would have lost." Byouri starts to side step in a circle across the roof of the airship and I match her pace for pace.
"She's not just my ally, she's my friend. Though I don't expect you to understand the difference. You are right that I would have lost without her though. I would have been forced to give up someone and a core part of my identity no matter who I chose. Maybe you would even have broken me like you broke Kagun. Or worse. But that's the rub isn't it Byouri. You didn't win. I haven't given up anything and I'm not going to. Today, or tomorrow or the day after that. I'm going to continue to be a Kihara that protects. A Kihara that the children of this city can look up to. And you? You bet everything on this. All of this tech and equipment will have cost money and favours. Checks you won't be able to cash now that you've lost. You didn't remove me as a piece on the board or make me switch sides. With Misaki and Mikoto's help I'll clean out MAR within the week. Dolly and Misaki are both alive and free. I imagine that you'll have to run to the ends of the earth to escape your angry creditors." I stop walking and pause in mock thought after we have circled around each other 180 degrees, "That is, if you manage to escape me alive."
Byouri just cackles, in a manner upsettingly close to myself, at my taunt. "Did you forget who I am cousin? I am the expert on Giving Up! Do you think I am not prepared to give up everything! Even my own life! Humans thrive best in challenging situations! What could be more challenging than being an enemy of the world?" There is a distant sonic boom as one of the automated public announcement airships launches some kind of projectile at us. I get ready to defend but it instead slams into Byouri and attaches onto her suit's right arm. I fall towards Byouri to interrupt whatever this is as the object unfolds into a long whip. "Reference: Capelobo." Byouri says as she swings her new limb at me. I could potentially win the fight right here if I can survive getting hit by it but that is unacceptably risky. I reverse and double my acceleration with the aid of my suit's jets, my bones will ache in the morning from the stress but I'm sure I'll cope as I see Byouri's whip slice right through the hull of the airship where I would have been. Leaving a glowing hot scar in the hull. It was the right choice to dodge, that would have cut me in half.
Still, her new weapon may be dangerous but it has also provided me with ammunition. I use Gravity Shift to pull up the sliced hull panelling into an orbit around my body. We fall into a pattern for a short time, testing each other's threat range and mobility with faints and lunges. I notice that her whip can't maintain its heat constantly. Every 5.23 seconds it floods itself with some form of coolant before heating itself up again via what looks like electrical induction. I have no idea how she is countering the thermal stress but I don't need to. The instant the next cooling cycle begins I use Gravity Shift to drag the end of the whip into my right hand before Byouri can react.
[Increase Gravity on Object "Kihara Byouri * 20]
Sadly Byouri is not an idiot like Tanaka Shinji was. She detached the Capelobo as soon as I made contact. Her whip attachment drops to the hull and tears halfway through the airship before I can cancel the effect. Distantly another sonic boom can be heard from a different city airship. I launch my grappling hooks at Byouri but she dodges by falling off the airship and spreading her wings to fly away. I fall after her with Gravity Shift, quickly catching up but before I can her next module attaches to her left arm.
"Reference: Chupacabra!" she shouts as she points what looks like a sonic cannon at me.
Pain
Can't focus.
I slam into the upper floors of a skyscraper and roll to a stop in the middle of an empty c-suite meeting room.
"-untie! Auntie!" Mikoto's voice is coming through my suit's comms system.
"I'm here." I groan, "I'm such an idiot. Of course she would find and alter Capacity Down to bypass my own countermeasures."
"Don't worry Auntie. It won't work twice. I've added a filter to your suit's code. Your audio systems will automatically filter it out now. Just don't let her fire it point blank and you'll be fine. Now go get her!"
"Thank you Mikoto." I say as I fall towards Byouri again, matching her acceleration and then exceeding it. She takes another couple of pot shots at me with her Chupacabra but quickly stops once she realises it is no longer working. She calls two more modules out but this time I am able to intercept one of them. I compact it under its own weight before launching it into the stratosphere before resuming our chase. Her new module attaches to her right arm, unfolding into a tuning fork style structure.
"Reference: Jersey Devil!" She points the tuning fork at me and
Green
I barely manage to recalculate my defensive formulas in time, bending space-time to deflect the particle beam up and to the right. It destroys my right shoulder jet and cuts diagonally through the top of a skyscraper. I can feel the panicking civilians in the slowly falling top portion and see that when it falls it will start a domino cascade knocking down more buildings. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people are going to die.
Damn you Byouri! I'll kill you for this! Before you can hurt anyone else!
A Kihara who protects.
Fuck. I abandon my chase of Byouri and fall towards the collapsing building instead. Dragging as many of the falling people and as much of the debris as I can into orbits around me. However, the main body of the debris is too massive for me to affect with my ability and there are still people trapped inside. It is about to impact the next building over and start the chain reaction.
A Kihara who children can look up too.
Forget tomorrow. I'm going to feel sore and ill for a week. I start running through the mnemonics as quickly as I can, blocking out the screams from the people safely in my orbit and those still trapped in the falling building.
This suit is my body.
4.0
Its polymers are my muscles.
4.2
Our skin is made of metal.
4.4
My heart is a furnace.
4.6
"Yaaargh!"
My brain feels like it is coming apart and my jets scream alongside my lungs but slowly, ever so slowly, the falling building slows its descent. Before finally stopping, then reversing, climbing back towards me. I carefully take hold of the remaining civilians still trapped in the wreckage with Gravity Shift and carry them out. Once they are safe I chuck the destroyed building safely into one of the canals, the surrounding streets will probably take some flood damage but nothing as bad as would have happened otherwise. I gently lower myself and the civilians I am carrying to the ground before taking a moment to gather myself as I let the mnemonic go, coming back to my own body. My heart is a 4 chambered organ which pumps blood through my body. My skin is made of dermal cells. My muscles are made of fibrous organic tissue. My body is not this suit. I have to hold in the urge to retch as I taste copper on my tongue.
"Auntie! Are you okay?"
I am so glad Mikoto can't see me right now. I probably look a state. I can feel blood dripping from my eyes, nose and ears. Normally I would try to comfort the victims until more MAR officers could get here but there isn't time. As I fall back into the sky with Gravity Shift I sniff slightly to clear my airway and reply.
"I'll live dear. I lost Byouri in the confusion. Where is she?"
"She's just reached the northern side of District 7. Dolly and Misaki are checked in to the hospital now. Mitori is with them. I can come back you u-"
"No Mikoto. Thank you but please. Stay there and protect your sister and friends." 'Byouri is probably coming for you all' I don't say on this unsecured channel.
"I- Okay."
My ability lets me travel much faster than Byouri's suit and I quickly catch up to her. Thankfully it seems her knock off Meltdowner beam was only good for one shot, her tuning fork set up is a slagged mess so damaged she can't even detach it from her suit. Byouri sees that she can't out run me in a straight chase so she brings us down in the twisting skyscrapers and alleyways of District 7 where her wings give her a distinct agility advantage. I chase her this way and that across the district, throwing the occasional pot shot at her along the way. While her movement may have looked erratic she was slowly but surely drawing us south, towards Heaven Canceller's hospital and near were her airship was heading while we had our chase. So that's her plan. I have to make sure she doesn't realise I know. Finally Byouri lands on her airship again and I touch down myself seconds later.
"I have to say cousin." She says panting, those high g turns she was pulling can't have been easy on her body, "You are exactly as challenging a foe as I expected."
I'm exhausted myself, I've never used the technique to trick my mind into thinking that my powered suit is part of my body during combat before. I've also never used Gravity Shift to fall for so long or in such a difficult chase. I haven't eaten since lunch. Altogether, I would barely be able to stand without my suit right now. I don't like to engage in mid fight banter but I need the breather as much as Byouri. "You, on the other hand, are proving exactly as irritating a foe as I expected. Cousin." She knows that if I touch her she's dead. Even if she's getting worn out, so am I. I need to find another angle. She's too agile to just pummel with debris. "No more modules to switch out?"
"No. Sneaking four of them into the city airships was already a last ditch contingency plan. I really didn't expect you to get this close to me." She admits. "You know, I'm impressed by your resolve. I still need to break you but your resolve to protect is much stronger than Kagun's. Even after I swapped out your antipsychotics for placeboes you still manage to limit yourself to conventional morality. You are inspiring Therestina. You have been since we were children even before you started acting like Kagun. It will make it all the more satisfying when I finally make you give up!"
I don't want to think about Byouri and I as children. Happier days. When I could pretend I didn't care about the people I hurt.
"So. Hamada is your mole then? Only he and Ruri have the access needed to swap out my meds. I'm curious, did he join you for the same reasons as Fukuda or was it something else?" Part of me is genuinely curious but I also need to keep Byouri talking and not paying attention to the hospital roof.
"Oh Mr Hamada really does believe in your 'kinder, gentler MAR' That is why he sold you out. He came to me back in January if you would believe it. He felt that you were getting too distracted by motherhood and your quarrel with Grandfather Gensei. He didn't want you dead and out of the way like Mr Fukuda, he just wanted you to get your old ruthlessness back. Not in quite the way I do of course."
"Well. That is a novel way for self destructive monomania to manifest in this city. So he swapped my meds and fed you intel. Anything else? It isn't like you can keep using him as a mole even if both of us survive this so you might as well tell me."
"No. That is pretty much it. Well, he helped make sure that my other moles accompanied you on your excursion to my lab today." She pauses and looks sad as she pulls a remote detonator from a hidden pocket on her suit. I tense and prepare myself to use the self redefinition technique again if she blows up the airship, even if using it twice in quick succession risks permanent damage, "You really won't give up Therestina?"
This suit is my body.
4.0
"Never."
Its polymers are m-
"I suppose I will have to be the one to give up then. Goodbye then, cousin." She clicks the detonator.
Nothing happens.
What?
"... Therestina." Byouri says with a flat look, "Did you forget to actually take your medication at lunch today?"
Oh.
"Oops?" I say sheepishly. "I thought I had taken them but if that was meant to do something extra as an insurance policy I guess I must have forgotten."
Thank you so much for distracting me Kiyama Harumi. I do believe you just saved my life.
"So was that some kind of nanobomb?"
"No. I don't want to just kill you Therestina. I could have done that with poison anytime since January. I need to make you give up your behaviour. You are a representative of the Kiharas, it is unacceptable for you to be something so ridiculous as a hero. It was the same paralytic nanomedicine I used on your daughter." Byouri growls and throws the detonator away. I'm sure she still has one final play though. Her body language isn't that of someone who has run out of plans to save their own skin.
The airship is sinking on a collision course with a certain hospital. Just on time to avoid any more awkwardness.
"Were you seriously trying to distract me while you crashed the airship?" Come on. Get overconfident and fall for it again Byouri.
"Yep! Remember, Therestina. I'm a pro at Giving Up. So, will you give up on chasing me? Or saving your girls?"
No.
"Ah I see from your scary face that you get it. I backtraced your calls with our niece before. It was easy to pin down her location." she cackles as she gloats. "All those pot shots and the chase was just to distract you so you didn't see where I was aiming this the whole time! Even if you are hiding things about your ability I saw how much you struggled with that collapsing building! I know an airship this large is outside your mass limit!"
I can't help but cackle myself. I hate how similar we sound.
"You're absolutely right, Byouri! This airship is outside my mass limit. I can't stop it hitting the hospital but! You still don't understand why you lost Byouri. I don't have to do anything. Girls!"
"Right" Mikoto and Mitori's voices sound from my comms system in unison.
The airship suddenly halts as tendrils of iron sand and a giant… jellyfish? Made out of liquid metal latch onto each keel and push up, more than out matching its relatively weak engines. I am prepared for the sudden jolt, but Byouri is not. She got overconfident again, and it is going to cost her. Before she can recover I have crossed the distance between us and punched through her helmet to grab her face in my bloody left hand.
[Increase Gravity on Object "Kihara Byouri * 20]
I don't waste time on a pithy one liner or a taunt as she falls unconscious from the sudden g-forces and drops to the hull of the airship. I simply crush her head between my fingers like playdough to make sure that she is dead. I let go of her headless body and cancel the Gravity Shift on her before it can push her through the airship's relatively fragile hull. The sun is at last starting to set, painting the sky in shades of red and orange.
It's finally over.
Despite it all.
I feel sad.
"Goodbye Byouri."
==================================================================
AN: Aaaannnnnndddd That's almost all of arc 2! There will be one chapter of Denouement followed by a sidestory from a totally new character, then another Dolly Sidestory before beginning Arc 3. See you all there!
I hope this whole arc managed to convincingly portray both Byouri and Tina as smart and capable. It's hard to write smart people out gambiting each other!
Also please comment more
Tuesday, 8th of April 2003, One Year and 2 months before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
Less than 5 feet separate me from Fukuda Rensei when Misaki disables Byouri's insurance plan. If I was still unarmoured and fighting Deadlock at the mall that wouldn't be enough distance for me to work up a dangerous amount of momentum. Now however? With my personal suit and a grudge to work out on this traitor? It's more than enough. I slam into him with my full weight at dozens of metres per second. My personal suit is less massive than the mass produced HsPS-14 Fukuda is wearing but I have more momentum and I've caught him off balance. The two of us slide across the room and crash into the wall with a thunderous crash, leaving his suit half buried in the steel and electronics.
"Commander, I-"
My left hand smashes through the bullet proof plastic surrounding his head, embedding shards of complex crystallised hydrocarbons deep in his face and destroying his left eye. I grip his jaw hard enough to crack bone. Silencing his traitorous mouth before he can waste air on his excuses.
"Shhhhh," I say with a finger from my right hand pressed to my lips, "I don't care." I grip even harder and pull back, Fukuda's lower jaw coming with my hand before getting flung free to land with a wet sound on the floor. "Kenshi was my friend, you son of a bitch." I say, and wait just long enough to see the understanding of just how fucked he is dawn in Fukuda Rensei's eyes before clenching my left hand into a fist and driving it through his head.
That essential reckoning done I return myself to normal gravity and survey the room and the girls for any injuries. Mikoto has non-lethally disabled and bound her captors with her suit's supply of iron sand while Mitori's Liquid Shadow has killed the three troopers who were pointing their guns at me before I left to deal with Fukuda. Mikoto looks physically unharmed but Misaki is cradling her previously uninjured arm close to her chest and crying. I run over to Misaki and Dolly. Dolly has a fever but otherwise appears unharmed, Byouri most likely used a nanomedicine then. Nothing we can do to treat that here. We need to get her to a hospital, normally I would use the medical ward at MAR HQ but that isn't safe anymore. I hate to rely on him but Heaven Canceller is probably our best option right now. I can't see any obvious external injuries on Misaki. Byouri is yelling over the intercom while Mikoto yells back but I block them both out.
"Misaki? Can you tell me where the pain is?" I ask, being careful not to touch her with my bloody left hand.
"My en-entire forearm. The Hag's Hug has a rebound ability when I don't use both arms. I'll have fractures in every bone." I draw her into a gentle hug and she doesn't resist, leaning into my side and sniffling.
Byouri's shrill voice finally cuts out as the ceiling closer to the door collapses and Mitori's main mass of Liquid Shadow falls through, forming into a staircase back up to the surface. Mitori isn't accompanied by Meada or Ishii when she slides down the bannister she made. I don't know if they were also traitors or if she just assumed they were but I can't bring myself to care right now.
"You did amazing Misaki. You were so brave. I'm sorry my failures left you in that position."
"I figured out your plan back in the corridor. When you didn't fight the traitors then. If Byouri knew we knew she'd find some other way to force you to make that choice. She had to be completely confident in her victory before she would let her guard ability go down." she pauses, "I'm sorry about Mr Nakajima."
I swallow, "I. I think he understood the plan as well. I would like to think so anyway. That is why he shot your handlers first. His orders were just to kill me if I really did do something like order you to kill yourself."
I realise that, while I've been comforting Misaki, Mikoto and Mitori have crowded around Dolly's bed and are fretting over her state. Right. 4 young women to take care of at once, not just one at a time.
"Girls." I say to draw their attention. "We can't do anything for Dolly or Misaki here. They need proper medical facilities. Since MAR HQ is compromised, Mitori, I need you to bring them to the hospital Heaven Canceller runs. You know the one?"
She nods, "What about you mum?" Even now the immediate crisis has passed, neither Mikoto or Misaki look surprised at Mitori calling me mum. Why am I always the last one to know these things?
I turn to Mikoto, "Can you still pinpoint Byouri's location?" she nods, "Patch into my comms system and feed me location data while I go and make sure she can never do this again."
"Are you going to kill her?"
"Yes."
"I want to help."
I frown, "Your mother doesn't want you killing if at all possible."
"I don't care!" Mikoto yells, "She tried to kill Dolly and Misa! I hate her! I want her to die!"
"You're angry. There is a difference between that and being ready for cold blooded murder. You don't want her to die. You want her to hurt and to know that it is you hurting her. I know how you feel because I feel exactly the same." I walk over to Mikoto and draw her into a hug, she tries to act tough for a moment or two before crumbling and crying into my breastplate.
"I, I hate her! I was so scared! I thought Misa was going to die! But If I did anything then Dolly would die. And! And! It looked like you were going to let her win!" I stroke her helmet and rub small circles on her back.
"I know. She's hurt us so much and right now it feels like the only thing that will make it better is hurting her back. If you still feel like that in a couple of days when you've calmed down I will hold down the two traitors over there for you to execute myself. However," I step back and tilt Mikoto's head up to meet my eyes, which aren't any drier than her own, "That impulse Mikoto? That is the feeling I was following when I almost hit Miss Tatsuki. It wouldn't be killing to protect or taking justified revenge, it is lashing out at the world to make it feel as bad as you."
A Kihara who protects.
"Byouri is a mad dog who needs to be put down, not just for us but for the safety of everyone in the city, and I am the best suited to do that. I can reach her airship the easiest of all of us and am the only one familiar with her fighting style."
A Kihara who children can look up too.
"So please, show me where to find her, the thing only you can do, and then help your sister and friends get to the hospital."
Byouri hasn't won today.
"...okay Auntie."
Once Mikoto uploads Byouri's location I activate Gravity Shift and fall up through the hole Mitori made in the lab ceilings, crashing through the warehouse roof at terminal velocity before shifting my source of gravity and falling towards Byouri's airship. Sorry Kagun. I can't afford to wait for you any longer.
============================================================
Byouri is already waiting for me when I land on the roof of her airship above District 16. It is still an insultingly clear and sunny day even as we get closer to evening. Byouri's vehicle has a catamaran design which provides a flat space between the conventional airbags. I realise my shakes have stopped since I killed Fukuda, it's probably the adrenalin.
"I always knew you were a hack and a plagiarist Byouri but could you have one original idea in your life?" I say using the armour's external megaphone to ensure I am heard over the wind. Byouri is dressed in a yellow modified version of my own powered suit. It has a larger winged backpack, folded currently of course given the high winds at this altitude, and what look like modular attachment points all over the body.
"Therestina." Byouri hisses back at me, "What was that ace up your sleeve at the lab! I accounted for everything! There was no way you could have hidden that from me. So how!"
"No idea." Not strictly true, having seen the effects I could make some educated guesses, "You may have preyed on my ability to trust to suborn my organisation but that same trusting ability means that I have never asked nor looked into what Misaki does at Exterior. Your guess would be as good as mine, well almost, as to what tech she used to foil your plan."
"You arrogant bitch! Don't you dare act so smug! I beat you! Without your alliance with that Level 5 you would have lost." Byouri starts to side step in a circle across the roof of the airship and I match her pace for pace.
"She's not just my ally, she's my friend. Though I don't expect you to understand the difference. You are right that I would have lost without her though. I would have been forced to give up someone and a core part of my identity no matter who I chose. Maybe you would even have broken me like you broke Kagun. Or worse. But that's the rub isn't it Byouri. You didn't win. I haven't given up anything and I'm not going to. Today, or tomorrow or the day after that. I'm going to continue to be a Kihara that protects. A Kihara that the children of this city can look up to. And you? You bet everything on this. All of this tech and equipment will have cost money and favours. Checks you won't be able to cash now that you've lost. You didn't remove me as a piece on the board or make me switch sides. With Misaki and Mikoto's help I'll clean out MAR within the week. Dolly and Misaki are both alive and free. I imagine that you'll have to run to the ends of the earth to escape your angry creditors." I stop walking and pause in mock thought after we have circled around each other 180 degrees, "That is, if you manage to escape me alive."
Byouri just cackles, in a manner upsettingly close to myself, at my taunt. "Did you forget who I am cousin? I am the expert on Giving Up! Do you think I am not prepared to give up everything! Even my own life! Humans thrive best in challenging situations! What could be more challenging than being an enemy of the world?" There is a distant sonic boom as one of the automated public announcement airships launches some kind of projectile at us. I get ready to defend but it instead slams into Byouri and attaches onto her suit's right arm. I fall towards Byouri to interrupt whatever this is as the object unfolds into a long whip. "Reference: Capelobo." Byouri says as she swings her new limb at me. I could potentially win the fight right here if I can survive getting hit by it but that is unacceptably risky. I reverse and double my acceleration with the aid of my suit's jets, my bones will ache in the morning from the stress but I'm sure I'll cope as I see Byouri's whip slice right through the hull of the airship where I would have been. Leaving a glowing hot scar in the hull. It was the right choice to dodge, that would have cut me in half.
Still, her new weapon may be dangerous but it has also provided me with ammunition. I use Gravity Shift to pull up the sliced hull panelling into an orbit around my body. We fall into a pattern for a short time, testing each other's threat range and mobility with faints and lunges. I notice that her whip can't maintain its heat constantly. Every 5.23 seconds it floods itself with some form of coolant before heating itself up again via what looks like electrical induction. I have no idea how she is countering the thermal stress but I don't need to. The instant the next cooling cycle begins I use Gravity Shift to drag the end of the whip into my right hand before Byouri can react.
[Increase Gravity on Object "Kihara Byouri * 20]
Sadly Byouri is not an idiot like Tanaka Shinji was. She detached the Capelobo as soon as I made contact. Her whip attachment drops to the hull and tears halfway through the airship before I can cancel the effect. Distantly another sonic boom can be heard from a different city airship. I launch my grappling hooks at Byouri but she dodges by falling off the airship and spreading her wings to fly away. I fall after her with Gravity Shift, quickly catching up but before I can her next module attaches to her left arm.
"Reference: Chupacabra!" she shouts as she points what looks like a sonic cannon at me.
Pain
Can't focus.
I slam into the upper floors of a skyscraper and roll to a stop in the middle of an empty c-suite meeting room.
"-untie! Auntie!" Mikoto's voice is coming through my suit's comms system.
"I'm here." I groan, "I'm such an idiot. Of course she would find and alter Capacity Down to bypass my own countermeasures."
"Don't worry Auntie. It won't work twice. I've added a filter to your suit's code. Your audio systems will automatically filter it out now. Just don't let her fire it point blank and you'll be fine. Now go get her!"
"Thank you Mikoto." I say as I fall towards Byouri again, matching her acceleration and then exceeding it. She takes another couple of pot shots at me with her Chupacabra but quickly stops once she realises it is no longer working. She calls two more modules out but this time I am able to intercept one of them. I compact it under its own weight before launching it into the stratosphere before resuming our chase. Her new module attaches to her right arm, unfolding into a tuning fork style structure.
"Reference: Jersey Devil!" She points the tuning fork at me and
Green
I barely manage to recalculate my defensive formulas in time, bending space-time to deflect the particle beam up and to the right. It destroys my right shoulder jet and cuts diagonally through the top of a skyscraper. I can feel the panicking civilians in the slowly falling top portion and see that when it falls it will start a domino cascade knocking down more buildings. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people are going to die.
Damn you Byouri! I'll kill you for this! Before you can hurt anyone else!
A Kihara who protects.
Fuck. I abandon my chase of Byouri and fall towards the collapsing building instead. Dragging as many of the falling people and as much of the debris as I can into orbits around me. However, the main body of the debris is too massive for me to affect with my ability and there are still people trapped inside. It is about to impact the next building over and start the chain reaction.
A Kihara who children can look up too.
Forget tomorrow. I'm going to feel sore and ill for a week. I start running through the mnemonics as quickly as I can, blocking out the screams from the people safely in my orbit and those still trapped in the falling building.
This suit is my body.
4.0
Its polymers are my muscles.
4.2
Our skin is made of metal.
4.4
My heart is a furnace.
4.6
"Yaaargh!"
My brain feels like it is coming apart and my jets scream alongside my lungs but slowly, ever so slowly, the falling building slows its descent. Before finally stopping, then reversing, climbing back towards me. I carefully take hold of the remaining civilians still trapped in the wreckage with Gravity Shift and carry them out. Once they are safe I chuck the destroyed building safely into one of the canals, the surrounding streets will probably take some flood damage but nothing as bad as would have happened otherwise. I gently lower myself and the civilians I am carrying to the ground before taking a moment to gather myself as I let the mnemonic go, coming back to my own body. My heart is a 4 chambered organ which pumps blood through my body. My skin is made of dermal cells. My muscles are made of fibrous organic tissue. My body is not this suit. I have to hold in the urge to retch as I taste copper on my tongue.
"Auntie! Are you okay?"
I am so glad Mikoto can't see me right now. I probably look a state. I can feel blood dripping from my eyes, nose and ears. Normally I would try to comfort the victims until more MAR officers could get here but there isn't time. As I fall back into the sky with Gravity Shift I sniff slightly to clear my airway and reply.
"I'll live dear. I lost Byouri in the confusion. Where is she?"
"She's just reached the northern side of District 7. Dolly and Misaki are checked in to the hospital now. Mitori is with them. I can come back you u-"
"No Mikoto. Thank you but please. Stay there and protect your sister and friends." 'Byouri is probably coming for you all' I don't say on this unsecured channel.
"I- Okay."
My ability lets me travel much faster than Byouri's suit and I quickly catch up to her. Thankfully it seems her knock off Meltdowner beam was only good for one shot, her tuning fork set up is a slagged mess so damaged she can't even detach it from her suit. Byouri sees that she can't out run me in a straight chase so she brings us down in the twisting skyscrapers and alleyways of District 7 where her wings give her a distinct agility advantage. I chase her this way and that across the district, throwing the occasional pot shot at her along the way. While her movement may have looked erratic she was slowly but surely drawing us south, towards Heaven Canceller's hospital and near were her airship was heading while we had our chase. So that's her plan. I have to make sure she doesn't realise I know. Finally Byouri lands on her airship again and I touch down myself seconds later.
"I have to say cousin." She says panting, those high g turns she was pulling can't have been easy on her body, "You are exactly as challenging a foe as I expected."
I'm exhausted myself, I've never used the technique to trick my mind into thinking that my powered suit is part of my body during combat before. I've also never used Gravity Shift to fall for so long or in such a difficult chase. I haven't eaten since lunch. Altogether, I would barely be able to stand without my suit right now. I don't like to engage in mid fight banter but I need the breather as much as Byouri. "You, on the other hand, are proving exactly as irritating a foe as I expected. Cousin." She knows that if I touch her she's dead. Even if she's getting worn out, so am I. I need to find another angle. She's too agile to just pummel with debris. "No more modules to switch out?"
"No. Sneaking four of them into the city airships was already a last ditch contingency plan. I really didn't expect you to get this close to me." She admits. "You know, I'm impressed by your resolve. I still need to break you but your resolve to protect is much stronger than Kagun's. Even after I swapped out your antipsychotics for placeboes you still manage to limit yourself to conventional morality. You are inspiring Therestina. You have been since we were children even before you started acting like Kagun. It will make it all the more satisfying when I finally make you give up!"
I don't want to think about Byouri and I as children. Happier days. When I could pretend I didn't care about the people I hurt.
"So. Hamada is your mole then? Only he and Ruri have the access needed to swap out my meds. I'm curious, did he join you for the same reasons as Fukuda or was it something else?" Part of me is genuinely curious but I also need to keep Byouri talking and not paying attention to the hospital roof.
"Oh Mr Hamada really does believe in your 'kinder, gentler MAR' That is why he sold you out. He came to me back in January if you would believe it. He felt that you were getting too distracted by motherhood and your quarrel with Grandfather Gensei. He didn't want you dead and out of the way like Mr Fukuda, he just wanted you to get your old ruthlessness back. Not in quite the way I do of course."
"Well. That is a novel way for self destructive monomania to manifest in this city. So he swapped my meds and fed you intel. Anything else? It isn't like you can keep using him as a mole even if both of us survive this so you might as well tell me."
"No. That is pretty much it. Well, he helped make sure that my other moles accompanied you on your excursion to my lab today." She pauses and looks sad as she pulls a remote detonator from a hidden pocket on her suit. I tense and prepare myself to use the self redefinition technique again if she blows up the airship, even if using it twice in quick succession risks permanent damage, "You really won't give up Therestina?"
This suit is my body.
4.0
"Never."
Its polymers are m-
"I suppose I will have to be the one to give up then. Goodbye then, cousin." She clicks the detonator.
Nothing happens.
What?
"... Therestina." Byouri says with a flat look, "Did you forget to actually take your medication at lunch today?"
Oh.
"Oops?" I say sheepishly. "I thought I had taken them but if that was meant to do something extra as an insurance policy I guess I must have forgotten."
Thank you so much for distracting me Kiyama Harumi. I do believe you just saved my life.
"So was that some kind of nanobomb?"
"No. I don't want to just kill you Therestina. I could have done that with poison anytime since January. I need to make you give up your behaviour. You are a representative of the Kiharas, it is unacceptable for you to be something so ridiculous as a hero. It was the same paralytic nanomedicine I used on your daughter." Byouri growls and throws the detonator away. I'm sure she still has one final play though. Her body language isn't that of someone who has run out of plans to save their own skin.
The airship is sinking on a collision course with a certain hospital. Just on time to avoid any more awkwardness.
"Were you seriously trying to distract me while you crashed the airship?" Come on. Get overconfident and fall for it again Byouri.
"Yep! Remember, Therestina. I'm a pro at Giving Up. So, will you give up on chasing me? Or saving your girls?"
No.
"Ah I see from your scary face that you get it. I backtraced your calls with our niece before. It was easy to pin down her location." she cackles as she gloats. "All those pot shots and the chase was just to distract you so you didn't see where I was aiming this the whole time! Even if you are hiding things about your ability I saw how much you struggled with that collapsing building! I know an airship this large is outside your mass limit!"
I can't help but cackle myself. I hate how similar we sound.
"You're absolutely right, Byouri! This airship is outside my mass limit. I can't stop it hitting the hospital but! You still don't understand why you lost Byouri. I don't have to do anything. Girls!"
"Right" Mikoto and Mitori's voices sound from my comms system in unison.
The airship suddenly halts as tendrils of iron sand and a giant… jellyfish? Made out of liquid metal latch onto each keel and push up, more than out matching its relatively weak engines. I am prepared for the sudden jolt, but Byouri is not. She got overconfident again, and it is going to cost her. Before she can recover I have crossed the distance between us and punched through her helmet to grab her face in my bloody left hand.
[Increase Gravity on Object "Kihara Byouri * 20]
I don't waste time on a pithy one liner or a taunt as she falls unconscious from the sudden g-forces and drops to the hull of the airship. I simply crush her head between my fingers like playdough to make sure that she is dead. I let go of her headless body and cancel the Gravity Shift on her before it can push her through the airship's relatively fragile hull. The sun is at last starting to set, painting the sky in shades of red and orange.
It's finally over.
Despite it all.
I feel sad.
"Goodbye Byouri."
==================================================================
AN: Aaaannnnnndddd That's almost all of arc 2! There will be one chapter of Denouement followed by a sidestory from a totally new character, then another Dolly Sidestory before beginning Arc 3. See you all there!
I hope this whole arc managed to convincingly portray both Byouri and Tina as smart and capable. It's hard to write smart people out gambiting each other!
Also please comment more
Yaaaa also a further demonstration to the Darkside why going loud is not the best idea atleast to the Extent that Byouri went
So relatable fr
I wonder if Byouri had past experience with Tina forgetting about her things...
Chapter 14 - Escape Velocity
New
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Thursday, 10th of April 2003, One Year and 2 months before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
I am sitting in my hospital bed reviewing Ruri and Misaki's report on how deeply Byouri had infiltrated MAR, and just to be sure we've been checking Lifeline Technologies and affiliated research groups as well. Thankfully, it seems Byouri hadn't extensively infiltrated my organisations. Aside from my Secretary Mr. Hamada and the troops that Byouri manipulated me into bringing with me to her lab she only subverted a few other research project leads and rescue squads. Most of them had come forward to beg for clemency following her death and between Ruri and Misaki we've rounded almost all of the rest up. Only Dr. Hishigata and his team managed to slip my net entirely. He has fled to Director Nakimoto as a new patron so he is outside of my reach for now. At least I know which Director was likely backing Byouri's plan.
Dolly has left their own bed to lie next to me while working on their homework. Heaven Canceller has been kind enough to let us share a room despite that not being common in Japan or Academy City. I'm glad for it, normally I like the privacy of private rooms but right now I want to be able to see that Dolly is safe with my own eyes. When I asked if they would like a room to themselves Dolly said that they didn't think they would feel safe on their own either. Miss Tatsuki, her father and Misaki are on the same ward as us, given the subversion of MAR I had Miss Tatsuki and her father moved here as soon as possible. I don't like owing Heaven Canceler anything but I like dead kids on my conscience even less. Mrs Tatsuki is still safely in Anti-Skill lock up. I have some loyal troops as additional guards to make sure Nakimoto's dogs don't try anything with her. I'll need to talk to her soon to work out just how complicit she is in Radio Noise and how much freedom I can allow her while working for me.
My fingers are still a little numb, and not just from the knuckle rapping Ruri gave me when she learned that I used the self redefinition technique. It always has after effects like this. The pair of us had used to harbour ambitions of using it to reach higher levels after Dr. Hishigata accidentally discovered it 3 years ago. However, no matter how hard we try we can't make it safe. Anything larger than a powered suit risks brain death and even with just a powered suit and increasing by less than 1 level it still has serious, though thankfully temporary provided it's not used too long or too often, neurological consequences. I got off lucky this time with only numbness in my extremities and synesthesia. Ruri went face blind for a week the last time she used it. My refusal to approve additional human testing despite Dr. Hishigata constantly pushing for me to loosen safety restrictions is probably why he defected to Byouri and Nakimoto. Thankfully I don't have any radiation poisoning to go along with the brain damage. However Byouri's knock off Meltdowner worked; it didn't give me or any of the nearby civilians cancer. Obviously Byouri herself is too dead to check.
"Mama? Dolly and I have been talking and I've decided on a name for myself."
I put my work down and turn slightly to give my daughters my full attention.
"Oh? That's wonderful news dear. What would you like to be called?"
"Lifeline Misaka Minori. Spelled 'Beauty from Reason'" She says with a nervous smile, showing me the kanji on some note paper. Her calligraphy is coming along well.
"That is a beautiful name Minori. I'll update the family register. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but may I ask why that spelling?" Someone is approaching our room but I don't recognise their gravitational signature off the top of my head. It is somewhat familiar but not someone who I have felt recently.
"Well, I considered 'Fruit of Progress' in reference to being a clone. But. Well, we are more than clones. We are people, capable of reason and choices. And, I think that's kind of beautiful." Aw. They're blushing!
I draw them into a hug and give them a peck on the forehead.
"I agree. That is beautiful. It's a very well thought out name, Minori."
"Yo! Are you three done being sickeningly loveydovey now?" Kihara Amata says leaning on the open door.
Ah. So the signature was Amata's. It has changed since the last time I saw him. I wonder if he's figured out my esp or if he just got some cyborg alterations coincidentally? My hand surreptitiously reaches for the panic button.
"Oi. None of that now." Amata says, spotting my movement. "I'm not here for a fight, cousin but if you call in your backup then I'll have to call in my backup and it will turn into a whole thing. That would really be a drag."
"So you aren't here for revenge for Byouri, Amata?"
Amata blinks, seemingly genuinely nonplussed.
"Why on earth would I do that? She fucked around and found out. Serves her right."
This fucking family…
"Nevermind. Why are you here then? The last time we talked was when I bought information on Clone Dolly off you a year ago."
"Well officially I am here on behalf of the Chairman and the Board of Directors to congratulate MAR and our three newest Level 5s on their heroic, albeit extrajurisdictional, counter-terrorism efforts."
"Well I will pass on your congratulations to Misaki, Mikoto and Mitori. Why are you here unofficially?"
Amata facepalms. So do Dolly and Minori, which makes no sense.
"Right. I forgot how stupid you can be about compliments. I'll use simple words. You. Are. A . Level. 5. Now. Capsich?"
I blink. That can't be right.
"But I'm not though."
"Well the board and chairman say you are so good luck trying to convince them otherwise when they have already written up the press release."
I collapse back into my pillow and groan.
"This is their punishment isn't it? They have to know that I'm not powerful enough for Level 5. I'm going to be flooded with Skill-Out gangers and ambitious Level 4's trying their luck."
"You did throw a building across a district Mama."
I shoot Dolly and Minori a look of mock betrayal.
"Only a tiny bit of the top of a building and even throwing that much gave me brain damage!"
"Yeah well. All the public is going to hear is 'threw a building'. So suck it up because you're right this is part of your punishment. Unabara's Scholastics and Shiokishi's War Hawks may be happy with you and protecting you from anything too bad for now but the Chairman, Nakimoto's Progressives and Oyafune's Internationalists are all pissed for their own reasons. To say nothing of Gramps. He's liable to take action himself aside from what the board has planned."
"I can handle Gensei."
"Aleister thought you would say that. So I was told to tell you, 'If you try to handle Gensei the way you handled Byouri then I will unleash my Hound Dogs upon you'." he says in his ominous black ops leader voice.
I just raise an eyebrow at Amata.
"Okay so I paraphrased a bit." he says with a carefree shrug, "The sentiment is the same. You're on thin ice now Therestina. Only the fact you were acting in defence of Unabara's precious students and keep bribing Shiokishi with new toys is keeping you out of trouble."
I just hug Dolly and Minori tighter. They return the embrace before asking,
"So Uncle Amata. You said the public level up was only part of the punishment. What is the rest?"
"Yo, Sprog. I'd say nice to meet you but I hate kids and I hate lab rats. I especially hate things that are both." Amata and I give each other the finger while Dolly and Minori look hurt. I wish they would stop reaching out to my family with open hands but I can't stop them if they want to try. "Good question though. Well for a start you are having your Tree Diagram access revoked and MAR's operating budget from the city is getting slashed. I figure that won't be too bad since you're downsizing right now anyway. Shiokishi successfully argued to keep your research budget at its current level since your labs provide so much tech for Anti-Skill. Don't get caught using it to supplement your operating budget or there will be consequences."
Honestly those are both slaps on the wrist and everyone involved knows it. I can fill in the public funding gap from my own wealth. Meanwhile my disdain for Tree Diagram is well known among the upper levels of the city. Having to become a public celebrity, giving false hope to other Gen 2 and 3 espers that they could ever reach Level 5, is much worse. Ugh. They will probably expect me to give speeches.
"Next, the Chairman and Oyafune have organised a series of interviews, public events and international appearances for you to take part in. Additionally, you will from now on be a regular commentator for the Daihasei festival games."
I groan again and scream into one of my pillows.
"Just kill me now. Or at least exile me. That would be more merciful."
Amata just smirks at me and continues. Jerk.
"You will also be undergoing a System Scan to set the Bank details for your new official Level. If you get caught underplaying your ability again the Chairman told me to tell you that, quote, 'he will be very miffed', end quote. Finally, at the direct order of Director Nakimoto, MAR is no longer to be the first responders to escaped animal research subjects connected to the Department of Agriculture."
Amata and I both snort, causing Dolly and Minori to look between us confused.
"We feel like we are missing a family in-joke?"
"The Director has a tendency to enjoy," I remember we are in a public unsecured location, "ah. 'Free Range' meat. When his animals escaped into the city and attacked civilians on the 7th, you remember me telling you about that?" They nod, "I used buckshot to kill them. Given his reaction I assume Nakimoto broke a tooth on one of them."
"Pretty much." Amata confirms, "I'd have loved to see his face when he bit into it but I only got a look at the chipped incisor in the video call later."
"I was only trying to give him an authentic big game hunting experience." I say with a giggle. I straighten up and look at Amata seriously, "The Chairman does understand that I cannot throw buildings on demand right? Even if I was willing to give myself brain damage for a system scan Heaven Canceller won't let me while I am his patient."
"Yeah. Yeah. Aleister and Heaven Canceller already talked about that. Don't worry about replicating that, just don't get caught performing under your normal maximum."
Amata performatively yawns and stands up from leaning against the wall.
"Well. My job here is done. I'd say see ya around Therestina, kiddo, but if I do it probably means we are fighting to the death." Amata says with a wave as he strolls out of the hospital room.
Things are silent for a moment.
"So. Uncle Amata seems nice? Ish? Nicer than Aunt Byouri anyway?"
I shake my head with a sad smile.
"In some ways, he has a moral line against killing children in elementary and pre-school at least, which is more than Byouri or Gensei have ever had. In other ways he makes Byouri look like a saint I'm afraid, dears." images of a shaking and terrified albino child flash through my mind, "He is easier to hold a civil conversation with though. He also doesn't have any personal grudge with me, you or your sisters like she doe-did." Well, not entirely true but Amata and I worked out our differences over me injuring his prized research subject years ago.
They let out a puff of air and lean into me.
"Just once we would like to meet a family member on your side of the family who isn't evil other than you Mama."
I smile with nostalgia.
"Well. I do need to let Kagun know that Byouri is dead. He was the best of us. Better than me honestly. I'm sure he'd love to meet you all."
"Really!"
"Really. He left me a contact number but I don't know his exact location, and I don't know if he would want to come back to Academy City anyway, but we should at least be able to do a video call."
=========================================================
Later that Day
School has let out. Meaning that Dolly and Minori, I really need to ask them what they would like as a system name, have left our shared room to spend time with Mitori, Mikoto and Miss Tatsuki in the park. Mitori is willing to enter the hospital if she needs to in order to see us all but I prefer not to push her claustrophobia and iatrophobia if we don't have to. She deserves to go through her life with as few triggering events as possible.
Speaking of confronting what we fear…
"Misaki, dear. You have spent 5 minutes hovering by the door as if we don't both know that I know you are there. Please, just come in and take a seat already."
Misaki slowly pushes the door open with a mulish expression. She makes a big show of putting her handbag with her remotes on a chair across the room from us both. Well that's a relief. She takes the seat to the right of my bed and crosses her arms, making a point of meeting my eyes. It is times like this, when her mask of maturity slips, that she really looks her 12 years of age.
"Do you understand why I want us to have this talk?" I ask. It isn't easy to do this but I have obviously been too lenient about Misaki's power use so far. Misuzu and Tabigake have been irreplaceable voices of advice for how to deal with this but even they haven't had to discipline a teenaged telepath before.
"You are angry that I used my ✧ Mental Out ✧ to stop your breakdown ability at the mall. That I still haven't given you that memory back. That I didn't tell you that you forgot your meds." she mumbles and then starts speaking passionately before I can respond, "You needed to see that you could be a good person without them though! I don't understand why you are so upset! I was right! You didn't hurt Tatsuki! You didn't hurt me! Or Mitori! You saved a whole building of people!" By the end she is yelling and has stood up from her chair, stomping the floor for emphasis.
I take all this calmly, glad I made sure the other girls aren't here for this. I take a breath to centre myself before speaking.
"Misaki. I am not angry, I am disappointed." yes it's a cliche but it is also true, "I trusted you to act not just with my best interests in mind but to extend to me the same respect that I have shown you. By involving me in decisions about my autonomy. You broke that trust. Now, please sit down so we can talk about this calmly."
She flounces into her chair with crossed arms again. This time she can't make herself meet my eyes however.
"I will start with something positive. Thank you for stopping my breakdown at the mall. I would have regretted acting on those thoughts if they are what I think they are. Given I suspect they scared you as well, I am sorry for that." I'm being too soft. Misaki is looking pleased with herself, "However. You should have given them back to me already without Mikoto needing to tattle on you. You should never have kept that you removed them a secret at all. If you had told me in the ambulance I would have understood and agreed that I shouldn't have those memories until the crisis was over. You took that choice away from me."
"You were thinking about 'fixing yourself' after using your dissecting ability on Kihara Byouri's brain. You are not broken, Miss Lifeline. Even if you are scary sometimes," Misaki laughs with a hint of hysteria, "You were set on torturing her to death, you know? You're not broken. If you 'fixed' yourself with your surgery ability then you wouldn't be you anymore. It would be worse than your additction ability! I could see the kind of changes you were considering! It would have practically been a lobotomy! I-I'm scared that if I give them back you'll try to kill yourself like that again."
Okay that was worse than I thought. I take a moment to centre myself and let Misaki calm down.
"Again, I am sorry for scaring you like that. I hadn't realised just how badly Byouri affected me. I can't promise I won't become," I gulp, "Suicidal again if you give me those memories back. However, I still want them back. You said I wouldn't be the same person after 'fixing' my brain? I am also not the same person without those memories." Misaki goes to argue but I bulldoze through, "Yes I know those are different kinds of continuity of self. But it is still important to me, Misaki. If I do become suicidal again then, as much as I hate to admit it, Heaven Canceller's hospital is the safest place for me to regain those memories. Please."
"Fine." Misaki's expression is still mulish, I doubt this is the last time we will have this argument but she is willing to back down this time so I will take the win.
"Before that however, we need to discuss the other matter. Heaven Canceller and, after he tattled, also Ruri, Muisuzu and Tabigake have all gotten on my case about overusing my antipsychotics. Supposedly my worst impulses are in fact withdrawal symptoms. I'm not sure how much I believe that but regardless my… supposed problem is being dealt with via a new treatment plan." I try to look Misak in the eye but she won't meet my gaze, "Misaki look at me." With great reluctance she does. She looks so scared. I wish I could kill the Clone Dolly staff all over again but comfort will have to wait. She needs to understand how badly she fucked up. "You should have told me that I hadn't taken my medication Misaki. You should never have decided to force me cold turkey without my knowledge or consent. You especially should not have done so during a hostage crisis and combat situation. You put everyone's life at unnecessary risk. Your's, Dolly's, mine, Mitori's, Mikoto's, K-Kenshi's. Everyone. I can't know if I would have made different command decisions if I had been medicated but now every choice I made that afternoon is suspect. Kenshi's death is as much on your shoulders as mine because of what you did. We are all lucky that he was the only person to die." She is crying now, but to her credit she is still keeping eye contact.
"I- I understand, Miss Lifeline. I. What will be my punishment?"
She is visibly tensing to receive a physical blow. Oh Misaki. You poor girl.
"I have spoken to Director Unabara. You will be given additional homework for the rest of the term. Mikoto will be making sure that you personally do it without using your ability to cheat. The homework topics will cover all of your normal classes but also medical ethics and the potential effects of sudden drug withdrawal. In addition, Heaven Canceller has kindly volunteered to run an after school class for you on medical ethics in his very valuable spare time. I will personally be giving all 4 of you girls lessons on the ethics and responsibilities of command as a weekend class. There will be homework for that as well. Finally, you are grounded for the next month and will be swapping rooms with Dolly for the duration so that Mikoto can make sure you stick to it."
Misaki blinks and wipes her eyes with the back of her arm. She giggles slightly.
"That-that is it? I got Mr Nakajima killed and you're just grounding me and giving me homework?"
I sigh gently and reach out to take Misaki's hand. I rub circles on the back of her hand with my thumb and give her a comforting squeeze.
"I meant what I said about being disappointed rather than angry at you, Misaki. I fear that in my focus on Dolly and Mitori these last 6 months I have done you a disservice. I assumed you would be able to make moral and command decisions that took me years of training and experience to get right simply because I wished I had the freedom to make them at your age. I, projected the childhood I wanted onto you. I also didn't push against your independence because I was worried I would scare you off. I should have been clearer and firmer with my boundaries. That things got this bad is just as much my fault as yours. As much as they are punishments, these additional lessons are also to give you the tools to avoid making these mistakes again. But Misaki? This can never happen again. Understand me?"
"Y-yes."
"Good. Would you like a hug?"
She practically leaps into my arms as soon as I make the offer. After a long hug she releases me and slumps back into her chair.
"So I notice you didn't question my authority to ground you." I tease. Ah, and there is the blush and barely concealed smile.
"Well~. It would be simple to organise that through ✧ Director Unabara ✧."
I nod with a knowing smile.
"It would. However, if you want and to be very clear it is only an option and you are free to refuse, I do have some paperwork here which would make everything more official."
Misaki is still smiling but she fiddles with her hands and keeps her eyes fixed on her lap.
"I wouldn't want to steal Mitori's thunder again."
What a pair we make. Both so self hating and self pitying we can't see what is right in front of us.
"Mitori is the one who suggested this, Misaki. She loves you, the same as she loves Dolly." I hold up a hand as Misaki looks crestfallen, "I love you as well Misaki and I would be honoured to call you my daughter. It is just, you've seen how deep my self hatred can go. I don't always see how much others love me due to failing to love myself. Something I think we have in common."
"Heh. Would I be taking your name?"
"That is up to you. Mitori didn't want any reminder of her birth parents but you could take my name like Mitori, keep your birth name or use both of them like Dolly has." I say as I pass the forms over to Misaki.
She takes her time reading the forms in detail, a refreshing change of pace after Dolly and Mitori signed so quickly, and gnaws on the cap of the pen I give her.
"I still want to be Shokuhou Misaki. My parents, I understand why Mitori can't forgive her's for sending her here but mine were, they were good as far as I can remember. They just went silent one day. I know now that they died right before I joined Clone Dolly." We both know who had them killed and why, even if we can't say it in a public hospital. "I don't have anything left of them apart from their name and their money. Even their money is half gone now. I want to keep their name." she says as she signs the paperwork making her my daughter in law as well in practice.
I nod kindly.
"That is completely valid. Don't let Mitori tell you otherwise. Now!" I say as I use Gravity Shift to float out of bed. I still can't walk unassisted thanks to the self redefinition technique but one of the fun perks of my phenomenal cosmic power is that walking is completely optional. "Let's go give your sisters the good news! Dolly has a nice surprise of her own to share with you. No reading my mind to find out what it is now though."
=========================================================
End of Arc 2
AN: So that thing about Tina not adopting a whole gaggle of kids? I changed my mind lol.
I'll be releasing the Arc 2 Bank entries on the 1st or 2nd of November after the special halloween sidestory. Then it will be the next Dolly side story before going into Arc 3 covering Tina's perspective on the summer 1 year before Index starts. Mainly covering ITEM and Mitsuari Ayu.
To be clear, despite Tina now officially being a Level 5 I would still put her below all the canon level 5s both in general ability power and in a life or death fight. Her experience and instant death touch might let her win some fights but she isn't quick enough, tough enough or hard hitting enough outside of the instant death touch to win. This is ultimately a power fantasy story. But the fantasy is more "what if an adult in AC actually tried and had the resources to make things better" rather than "my number wang is even bigger than Accelerators".
I am sitting in my hospital bed reviewing Ruri and Misaki's report on how deeply Byouri had infiltrated MAR, and just to be sure we've been checking Lifeline Technologies and affiliated research groups as well. Thankfully, it seems Byouri hadn't extensively infiltrated my organisations. Aside from my Secretary Mr. Hamada and the troops that Byouri manipulated me into bringing with me to her lab she only subverted a few other research project leads and rescue squads. Most of them had come forward to beg for clemency following her death and between Ruri and Misaki we've rounded almost all of the rest up. Only Dr. Hishigata and his team managed to slip my net entirely. He has fled to Director Nakimoto as a new patron so he is outside of my reach for now. At least I know which Director was likely backing Byouri's plan.
Dolly has left their own bed to lie next to me while working on their homework. Heaven Canceller has been kind enough to let us share a room despite that not being common in Japan or Academy City. I'm glad for it, normally I like the privacy of private rooms but right now I want to be able to see that Dolly is safe with my own eyes. When I asked if they would like a room to themselves Dolly said that they didn't think they would feel safe on their own either. Miss Tatsuki, her father and Misaki are on the same ward as us, given the subversion of MAR I had Miss Tatsuki and her father moved here as soon as possible. I don't like owing Heaven Canceler anything but I like dead kids on my conscience even less. Mrs Tatsuki is still safely in Anti-Skill lock up. I have some loyal troops as additional guards to make sure Nakimoto's dogs don't try anything with her. I'll need to talk to her soon to work out just how complicit she is in Radio Noise and how much freedom I can allow her while working for me.
My fingers are still a little numb, and not just from the knuckle rapping Ruri gave me when she learned that I used the self redefinition technique. It always has after effects like this. The pair of us had used to harbour ambitions of using it to reach higher levels after Dr. Hishigata accidentally discovered it 3 years ago. However, no matter how hard we try we can't make it safe. Anything larger than a powered suit risks brain death and even with just a powered suit and increasing by less than 1 level it still has serious, though thankfully temporary provided it's not used too long or too often, neurological consequences. I got off lucky this time with only numbness in my extremities and synesthesia. Ruri went face blind for a week the last time she used it. My refusal to approve additional human testing despite Dr. Hishigata constantly pushing for me to loosen safety restrictions is probably why he defected to Byouri and Nakimoto. Thankfully I don't have any radiation poisoning to go along with the brain damage. However Byouri's knock off Meltdowner worked; it didn't give me or any of the nearby civilians cancer. Obviously Byouri herself is too dead to check.
"Mama? Dolly and I have been talking and I've decided on a name for myself."
I put my work down and turn slightly to give my daughters my full attention.
"Oh? That's wonderful news dear. What would you like to be called?"
"Lifeline Misaka Minori. Spelled 'Beauty from Reason'" She says with a nervous smile, showing me the kanji on some note paper. Her calligraphy is coming along well.
"That is a beautiful name Minori. I'll update the family register. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but may I ask why that spelling?" Someone is approaching our room but I don't recognise their gravitational signature off the top of my head. It is somewhat familiar but not someone who I have felt recently.
"Well, I considered 'Fruit of Progress' in reference to being a clone. But. Well, we are more than clones. We are people, capable of reason and choices. And, I think that's kind of beautiful." Aw. They're blushing!
I draw them into a hug and give them a peck on the forehead.
"I agree. That is beautiful. It's a very well thought out name, Minori."
"Yo! Are you three done being sickeningly loveydovey now?" Kihara Amata says leaning on the open door.
Ah. So the signature was Amata's. It has changed since the last time I saw him. I wonder if he's figured out my esp or if he just got some cyborg alterations coincidentally? My hand surreptitiously reaches for the panic button.
"Oi. None of that now." Amata says, spotting my movement. "I'm not here for a fight, cousin but if you call in your backup then I'll have to call in my backup and it will turn into a whole thing. That would really be a drag."
"So you aren't here for revenge for Byouri, Amata?"
Amata blinks, seemingly genuinely nonplussed.
"Why on earth would I do that? She fucked around and found out. Serves her right."
This fucking family…
"Nevermind. Why are you here then? The last time we talked was when I bought information on Clone Dolly off you a year ago."
"Well officially I am here on behalf of the Chairman and the Board of Directors to congratulate MAR and our three newest Level 5s on their heroic, albeit extrajurisdictional, counter-terrorism efforts."
"Well I will pass on your congratulations to Misaki, Mikoto and Mitori. Why are you here unofficially?"
Amata facepalms. So do Dolly and Minori, which makes no sense.
"Right. I forgot how stupid you can be about compliments. I'll use simple words. You. Are. A . Level. 5. Now. Capsich?"
I blink. That can't be right.
"But I'm not though."
"Well the board and chairman say you are so good luck trying to convince them otherwise when they have already written up the press release."
I collapse back into my pillow and groan.
"This is their punishment isn't it? They have to know that I'm not powerful enough for Level 5. I'm going to be flooded with Skill-Out gangers and ambitious Level 4's trying their luck."
"You did throw a building across a district Mama."
I shoot Dolly and Minori a look of mock betrayal.
"Only a tiny bit of the top of a building and even throwing that much gave me brain damage!"
"Yeah well. All the public is going to hear is 'threw a building'. So suck it up because you're right this is part of your punishment. Unabara's Scholastics and Shiokishi's War Hawks may be happy with you and protecting you from anything too bad for now but the Chairman, Nakimoto's Progressives and Oyafune's Internationalists are all pissed for their own reasons. To say nothing of Gramps. He's liable to take action himself aside from what the board has planned."
"I can handle Gensei."
"Aleister thought you would say that. So I was told to tell you, 'If you try to handle Gensei the way you handled Byouri then I will unleash my Hound Dogs upon you'." he says in his ominous black ops leader voice.
I just raise an eyebrow at Amata.
"Okay so I paraphrased a bit." he says with a carefree shrug, "The sentiment is the same. You're on thin ice now Therestina. Only the fact you were acting in defence of Unabara's precious students and keep bribing Shiokishi with new toys is keeping you out of trouble."
I just hug Dolly and Minori tighter. They return the embrace before asking,
"So Uncle Amata. You said the public level up was only part of the punishment. What is the rest?"
"Yo, Sprog. I'd say nice to meet you but I hate kids and I hate lab rats. I especially hate things that are both." Amata and I give each other the finger while Dolly and Minori look hurt. I wish they would stop reaching out to my family with open hands but I can't stop them if they want to try. "Good question though. Well for a start you are having your Tree Diagram access revoked and MAR's operating budget from the city is getting slashed. I figure that won't be too bad since you're downsizing right now anyway. Shiokishi successfully argued to keep your research budget at its current level since your labs provide so much tech for Anti-Skill. Don't get caught using it to supplement your operating budget or there will be consequences."
Honestly those are both slaps on the wrist and everyone involved knows it. I can fill in the public funding gap from my own wealth. Meanwhile my disdain for Tree Diagram is well known among the upper levels of the city. Having to become a public celebrity, giving false hope to other Gen 2 and 3 espers that they could ever reach Level 5, is much worse. Ugh. They will probably expect me to give speeches.
"Next, the Chairman and Oyafune have organised a series of interviews, public events and international appearances for you to take part in. Additionally, you will from now on be a regular commentator for the Daihasei festival games."
I groan again and scream into one of my pillows.
"Just kill me now. Or at least exile me. That would be more merciful."
Amata just smirks at me and continues. Jerk.
"You will also be undergoing a System Scan to set the Bank details for your new official Level. If you get caught underplaying your ability again the Chairman told me to tell you that, quote, 'he will be very miffed', end quote. Finally, at the direct order of Director Nakimoto, MAR is no longer to be the first responders to escaped animal research subjects connected to the Department of Agriculture."
Amata and I both snort, causing Dolly and Minori to look between us confused.
"We feel like we are missing a family in-joke?"
"The Director has a tendency to enjoy," I remember we are in a public unsecured location, "ah. 'Free Range' meat. When his animals escaped into the city and attacked civilians on the 7th, you remember me telling you about that?" They nod, "I used buckshot to kill them. Given his reaction I assume Nakimoto broke a tooth on one of them."
"Pretty much." Amata confirms, "I'd have loved to see his face when he bit into it but I only got a look at the chipped incisor in the video call later."
"I was only trying to give him an authentic big game hunting experience." I say with a giggle. I straighten up and look at Amata seriously, "The Chairman does understand that I cannot throw buildings on demand right? Even if I was willing to give myself brain damage for a system scan Heaven Canceller won't let me while I am his patient."
"Yeah. Yeah. Aleister and Heaven Canceller already talked about that. Don't worry about replicating that, just don't get caught performing under your normal maximum."
Amata performatively yawns and stands up from leaning against the wall.
"Well. My job here is done. I'd say see ya around Therestina, kiddo, but if I do it probably means we are fighting to the death." Amata says with a wave as he strolls out of the hospital room.
Things are silent for a moment.
"So. Uncle Amata seems nice? Ish? Nicer than Aunt Byouri anyway?"
I shake my head with a sad smile.
"In some ways, he has a moral line against killing children in elementary and pre-school at least, which is more than Byouri or Gensei have ever had. In other ways he makes Byouri look like a saint I'm afraid, dears." images of a shaking and terrified albino child flash through my mind, "He is easier to hold a civil conversation with though. He also doesn't have any personal grudge with me, you or your sisters like she doe-did." Well, not entirely true but Amata and I worked out our differences over me injuring his prized research subject years ago.
They let out a puff of air and lean into me.
"Just once we would like to meet a family member on your side of the family who isn't evil other than you Mama."
I smile with nostalgia.
"Well. I do need to let Kagun know that Byouri is dead. He was the best of us. Better than me honestly. I'm sure he'd love to meet you all."
"Really!"
"Really. He left me a contact number but I don't know his exact location, and I don't know if he would want to come back to Academy City anyway, but we should at least be able to do a video call."
=========================================================
Later that Day
School has let out. Meaning that Dolly and Minori, I really need to ask them what they would like as a system name, have left our shared room to spend time with Mitori, Mikoto and Miss Tatsuki in the park. Mitori is willing to enter the hospital if she needs to in order to see us all but I prefer not to push her claustrophobia and iatrophobia if we don't have to. She deserves to go through her life with as few triggering events as possible.
Speaking of confronting what we fear…
"Misaki, dear. You have spent 5 minutes hovering by the door as if we don't both know that I know you are there. Please, just come in and take a seat already."
Misaki slowly pushes the door open with a mulish expression. She makes a big show of putting her handbag with her remotes on a chair across the room from us both. Well that's a relief. She takes the seat to the right of my bed and crosses her arms, making a point of meeting my eyes. It is times like this, when her mask of maturity slips, that she really looks her 12 years of age.
"Do you understand why I want us to have this talk?" I ask. It isn't easy to do this but I have obviously been too lenient about Misaki's power use so far. Misuzu and Tabigake have been irreplaceable voices of advice for how to deal with this but even they haven't had to discipline a teenaged telepath before.
"You are angry that I used my ✧ Mental Out ✧ to stop your breakdown ability at the mall. That I still haven't given you that memory back. That I didn't tell you that you forgot your meds." she mumbles and then starts speaking passionately before I can respond, "You needed to see that you could be a good person without them though! I don't understand why you are so upset! I was right! You didn't hurt Tatsuki! You didn't hurt me! Or Mitori! You saved a whole building of people!" By the end she is yelling and has stood up from her chair, stomping the floor for emphasis.
I take all this calmly, glad I made sure the other girls aren't here for this. I take a breath to centre myself before speaking.
"Misaki. I am not angry, I am disappointed." yes it's a cliche but it is also true, "I trusted you to act not just with my best interests in mind but to extend to me the same respect that I have shown you. By involving me in decisions about my autonomy. You broke that trust. Now, please sit down so we can talk about this calmly."
She flounces into her chair with crossed arms again. This time she can't make herself meet my eyes however.
"I will start with something positive. Thank you for stopping my breakdown at the mall. I would have regretted acting on those thoughts if they are what I think they are. Given I suspect they scared you as well, I am sorry for that." I'm being too soft. Misaki is looking pleased with herself, "However. You should have given them back to me already without Mikoto needing to tattle on you. You should never have kept that you removed them a secret at all. If you had told me in the ambulance I would have understood and agreed that I shouldn't have those memories until the crisis was over. You took that choice away from me."
"You were thinking about 'fixing yourself' after using your dissecting ability on Kihara Byouri's brain. You are not broken, Miss Lifeline. Even if you are scary sometimes," Misaki laughs with a hint of hysteria, "You were set on torturing her to death, you know? You're not broken. If you 'fixed' yourself with your surgery ability then you wouldn't be you anymore. It would be worse than your additction ability! I could see the kind of changes you were considering! It would have practically been a lobotomy! I-I'm scared that if I give them back you'll try to kill yourself like that again."
Okay that was worse than I thought. I take a moment to centre myself and let Misaki calm down.
"Again, I am sorry for scaring you like that. I hadn't realised just how badly Byouri affected me. I can't promise I won't become," I gulp, "Suicidal again if you give me those memories back. However, I still want them back. You said I wouldn't be the same person after 'fixing' my brain? I am also not the same person without those memories." Misaki goes to argue but I bulldoze through, "Yes I know those are different kinds of continuity of self. But it is still important to me, Misaki. If I do become suicidal again then, as much as I hate to admit it, Heaven Canceller's hospital is the safest place for me to regain those memories. Please."
"Fine." Misaki's expression is still mulish, I doubt this is the last time we will have this argument but she is willing to back down this time so I will take the win.
"Before that however, we need to discuss the other matter. Heaven Canceller and, after he tattled, also Ruri, Muisuzu and Tabigake have all gotten on my case about overusing my antipsychotics. Supposedly my worst impulses are in fact withdrawal symptoms. I'm not sure how much I believe that but regardless my… supposed problem is being dealt with via a new treatment plan." I try to look Misak in the eye but she won't meet my gaze, "Misaki look at me." With great reluctance she does. She looks so scared. I wish I could kill the Clone Dolly staff all over again but comfort will have to wait. She needs to understand how badly she fucked up. "You should have told me that I hadn't taken my medication Misaki. You should never have decided to force me cold turkey without my knowledge or consent. You especially should not have done so during a hostage crisis and combat situation. You put everyone's life at unnecessary risk. Your's, Dolly's, mine, Mitori's, Mikoto's, K-Kenshi's. Everyone. I can't know if I would have made different command decisions if I had been medicated but now every choice I made that afternoon is suspect. Kenshi's death is as much on your shoulders as mine because of what you did. We are all lucky that he was the only person to die." She is crying now, but to her credit she is still keeping eye contact.
"I- I understand, Miss Lifeline. I. What will be my punishment?"
She is visibly tensing to receive a physical blow. Oh Misaki. You poor girl.
"I have spoken to Director Unabara. You will be given additional homework for the rest of the term. Mikoto will be making sure that you personally do it without using your ability to cheat. The homework topics will cover all of your normal classes but also medical ethics and the potential effects of sudden drug withdrawal. In addition, Heaven Canceller has kindly volunteered to run an after school class for you on medical ethics in his very valuable spare time. I will personally be giving all 4 of you girls lessons on the ethics and responsibilities of command as a weekend class. There will be homework for that as well. Finally, you are grounded for the next month and will be swapping rooms with Dolly for the duration so that Mikoto can make sure you stick to it."
Misaki blinks and wipes her eyes with the back of her arm. She giggles slightly.
"That-that is it? I got Mr Nakajima killed and you're just grounding me and giving me homework?"
I sigh gently and reach out to take Misaki's hand. I rub circles on the back of her hand with my thumb and give her a comforting squeeze.
"I meant what I said about being disappointed rather than angry at you, Misaki. I fear that in my focus on Dolly and Mitori these last 6 months I have done you a disservice. I assumed you would be able to make moral and command decisions that took me years of training and experience to get right simply because I wished I had the freedom to make them at your age. I, projected the childhood I wanted onto you. I also didn't push against your independence because I was worried I would scare you off. I should have been clearer and firmer with my boundaries. That things got this bad is just as much my fault as yours. As much as they are punishments, these additional lessons are also to give you the tools to avoid making these mistakes again. But Misaki? This can never happen again. Understand me?"
"Y-yes."
"Good. Would you like a hug?"
She practically leaps into my arms as soon as I make the offer. After a long hug she releases me and slumps back into her chair.
"So I notice you didn't question my authority to ground you." I tease. Ah, and there is the blush and barely concealed smile.
"Well~. It would be simple to organise that through ✧ Director Unabara ✧."
I nod with a knowing smile.
"It would. However, if you want and to be very clear it is only an option and you are free to refuse, I do have some paperwork here which would make everything more official."
Misaki is still smiling but she fiddles with her hands and keeps her eyes fixed on her lap.
"I wouldn't want to steal Mitori's thunder again."
What a pair we make. Both so self hating and self pitying we can't see what is right in front of us.
"Mitori is the one who suggested this, Misaki. She loves you, the same as she loves Dolly." I hold up a hand as Misaki looks crestfallen, "I love you as well Misaki and I would be honoured to call you my daughter. It is just, you've seen how deep my self hatred can go. I don't always see how much others love me due to failing to love myself. Something I think we have in common."
"Heh. Would I be taking your name?"
"That is up to you. Mitori didn't want any reminder of her birth parents but you could take my name like Mitori, keep your birth name or use both of them like Dolly has." I say as I pass the forms over to Misaki.
She takes her time reading the forms in detail, a refreshing change of pace after Dolly and Mitori signed so quickly, and gnaws on the cap of the pen I give her.
"I still want to be Shokuhou Misaki. My parents, I understand why Mitori can't forgive her's for sending her here but mine were, they were good as far as I can remember. They just went silent one day. I know now that they died right before I joined Clone Dolly." We both know who had them killed and why, even if we can't say it in a public hospital. "I don't have anything left of them apart from their name and their money. Even their money is half gone now. I want to keep their name." she says as she signs the paperwork making her my daughter in law as well in practice.
I nod kindly.
"That is completely valid. Don't let Mitori tell you otherwise. Now!" I say as I use Gravity Shift to float out of bed. I still can't walk unassisted thanks to the self redefinition technique but one of the fun perks of my phenomenal cosmic power is that walking is completely optional. "Let's go give your sisters the good news! Dolly has a nice surprise of her own to share with you. No reading my mind to find out what it is now though."
=========================================================
End of Arc 2
AN: So that thing about Tina not adopting a whole gaggle of kids? I changed my mind lol.
I'll be releasing the Arc 2 Bank entries on the 1st or 2nd of November after the special halloween sidestory. Then it will be the next Dolly side story before going into Arc 3 covering Tina's perspective on the summer 1 year before Index starts. Mainly covering ITEM and Mitsuari Ayu.
To be clear, despite Tina now officially being a Level 5 I would still put her below all the canon level 5s both in general ability power and in a life or death fight. Her experience and instant death touch might let her win some fights but she isn't quick enough, tough enough or hard hitting enough outside of the instant death touch to win. This is ultimately a power fantasy story. But the fantasy is more "what if an adult in AC actually tried and had the resources to make things better" rather than "my number wang is even bigger than Accelerators".
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IndigoPhoenix
Devourer of Citrus
- Location
- Everywehere
Huh. A soft power fantasy. Don't see many of those.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
She absolutely does. There wasn't really an organic way to weave it into the narration, given how angry and focused Tina was, but as kids Byouri and Terestina were basically as close as a pair of sociopath cousins could get. but their deep familiarity with each other is part of why they could predict each other's actions so well, and why Tina's ace that let her win was finally getting over her belief that she was unlovable. If Tina hadn't reached out to the Misakas, Mitori and Misaki in the first arc, instead keeping Dolly to herself, then Byouri would have won in this arc.
Sylent-M
Be Trans, Take to Heresy
- Pronouns
- Was/Were
Really Minori? You're gonna add another 'mi' to this already stacked group.
*gently pats roof of Tina*: This baby can adopt so many abused children.
Should be iatrophobia. Whoever decided that uppercase I's & lowercase l's can look the same is a monster.
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Sidestory 2: A Certain Teleporter’s Judgement Days - Chapter 1
New
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Monday, 14th of April 2003, One Year and 2 Months before The Start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
"1"
I count my push-ups on each breath out. It is a lovely day outside, and I am doing my mandatory fitness hours at the Judgement Training Centre. A year ago, I'd have told anyone who asked that this was exactly where I wanted to be today. However…
"2"
It's not fair. Why do I have to do exercises with the new applicants? Just because I'm 11 everyone treats me like a little kid and not already a member of Judgment for almost a year. Even Miss Konori who joined at the same time as me has been seeing more action and getting promoted over me. I recognise a lot of the people trying out this year from last year. Some of them are over 5 years older than me and still doing worse. This is outrageous!
"3"
"U-uuuggghhh."
"4"
It isn't as if having me do these basic exercises over and over again is more likely to get them to give me proper field time. I could be doing the proper exercises with my peers but instead they stick me in with the FNGs, no one will tell me what that acronym means but it's what we got called last year with Konori when we were new, as if I'm not better than them. Even if they won't let me do the proper member exercises, they could at least give me more training on stuff like paperwork and protocol.
"5"
"U-uuuggghhh."
"Come on Uiharu! You're almost done with your first one!"
"Less talking, more pushing Trainee Saten!"
"Eep! Yes sir!"
"6"
Even worse, they stuck me next to someone who can't even complete a single push up and their barely more competent personal cheersquad! Urgh. They are so distracting! Then on my other side is some monster of a middle schooler from Tokiwadai who is making me look bad. How dare she show me up by being better than me at these exercises, even when I'm a member of Judgement and she's a new applicant! I can accept my limitations compared to a high schooler but she's only a year or two older than me. How can she be outperforming me so badly?
"7, 8, 9"
Well, Shirai Kuroko doesn't lose! Not even to my future upperclassmen!
=============================================================
Later that Afternoon
"Uwaaaaah! I can't believe I came behind her in every exercise so far!" I say as I grab a chilled drink from the vending machine and hold it to my head, closing my eyes as the soothing, chilling sensation helps cool down my brain. Stupid puberty. Stupid grownups. Stupid senpais.
"Good Job, Trainee Uiharu. There is still 20 minutes till the next drill so try to rest up."
"Pant T- pant Tha-ank y-you sir. Pant"
"Come on, Uiharu. Let's get you some water." Miss Saten says as she moves to support Miss Uiharu.
"Tha-nk you, Mi-iss Sa- gasp Saten."
She may not have any stamina but this Miss Uiharu has the right spirit if she stuck out the laps even from 4 laps behind. She probably won't pass the physical exams for field work this year but she might still get in as an office officer. Well. As a good senior, I suppose I should mentor my promising juniors. I grab two extra chilled waters for Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten and walk to meet them on their way to the vending machine.
"Water right? Here. I accidentally got some extra so please accept these as a gift." I say to the pair while holding the bottles out.
"Oh! You didn't have to, we can afford it, but thank you." Miss Saten says as she accepts the offered bottles with, psychokinesis? No, I can feel small vortices of air holding the bottles with my own sense of motion within my range. That is impressive control for an aerokinetic. Turning to Miss Uiharu she opens the first bottle with another small vortex of air, "Here you are Uiharu, let's go sit on that bench, yeah?"
"May I join you? I failed to introduce myself. My apologies. My name is Shirai Kuroko. Please, feel free to call me Miss Shirai." I say as I follow them. As soon as Miss Uiharu's hands close around the bottle of juice, I can see frost start to form. So Miss Uiharu is some kind of hydrokinetic then.
"Oh? I'm so sorry for forgetting to introduce us. My name is Saten Ruiko and this is my best friend, Miss Uiharu Kazari." Miss Saten bows as Miss Uiharu almost collapses on the bench while guzzling water.
"Apologies accepted," I say magnanimously, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Saten, Miss Uiharu." I say with an appropriately smaller bow of my own. Miss Saten's face makes a funny twitching motion. Perhaps she is more tired than she is letting on?
"Uwah!" Miss Uiharu exclaims as she finishes guzzling water, "T-thank you very much for the water, Miss Shirai. I am sorry for bothering you." she sighs, "Miss Saten and I are only here because our Companion Organisation suggested it would be a good fit for us but I'm failing so badly. If this keeps up I mig-" Well that won't do at all! Certainly, Miss Uiharu might not be the most athletic individual, but there is more to being a Judgement officer than running laps! I put my hands on my hips and interrupt her.
"Believe your feelings and follow what you feel! That is one of the most important mindsets of a Judgement officer! If you want to change and have the will to act on it. Then the results will come in time! If you truly wish to join Judgement, then do not be discouraged by mere physical challenges. You may have been the last person to finish our laps Miss Uiharu but you did finish them! When I first did these tests last year several trainees dropped out rather than finish. Keep these ideals close to your heart Miss Uiharu and you are sure to succeed as a Judgement officer!"
Miss Uiharu is looking at me with awe while Miss Saten seems to be sizing me up.
"Yes! I feel like I can do this! I'm going to pass the physical tests with flying colours!" Miss Uiharu jumps to her feet and pumps her arms.
"That might be a bit too optimistic…" Miss Saten and I mumble at the same time but Miss Uiharu seems to not hear us.
"So you did this training and took the test last year, Miss Shirai? Any other useful advice for first timers like us?" Miss Saten asks me with a challenging smirk. Is she implying that I might be lying! I'll show her.
"I did! Not only did I take the tests. I passed them! I am a full member of Judgement."
I say strongly. Miss Saten just raises an eyebrow while Miss Uiharu looks confused.
"Really? So why are you doing exercises with us trainees?" Miss Saten asks.
I collapse on the bench next to Miss Uiharu with a groan.
"They say I'm too young to train with the Middle and High Schoolers. Apparently it would 'negatively impact my musculoskeletal development' and 'Wouldn't be fair to me since they are designed for older bodies'." I pull out my Judgement Armband from my pocket, "However, I really am a member of Judgement. I've been a member for a year now, but I still get stuck with stuff like these basic training exercises just because I'm 11."
"Oh wow. You are a full member of Judgement already and the same age as us Miss Shirai! That is so cool" Miss Uiharu says excitedly. I blink, a bit nonplussed. I thought that Miss Uiharu was at least a year younger than myself and Miss Saten.
"Heh. Yeah, I guess that is pretty awesome of you, Miss Shirai." Miss Saten says as she finally takes a seat herself. "So, about those tips? I figure they are on offer since you already gave Uiharu that pep talk."
Ah. Well, I guess I did want to mentor my juniors. This is what that is about right? I just need to keep them from learning that I've never actually seen any action…
==============================================================
2 hours later
Mentoring Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten took the rest of our break period. Then, we completed the rest of the day's exercises. I still couldn't beat that girl from Tokiwadai. Ghr! She makes me so mad! Thinking she is better than me just because she's older and prettier and more athletic. After that, the trainees had some theory classes while I needed to get ready for today's patrol in District 7 with Miss Konori. Miss Uiharu, Miss Saten and I exchanged numbers and made plans to meet up over the weekend for more mentoring. I am going to be the best senpai those girls have ever had!
"Well, everything looks safe and peaceful here. Let's move onto the next area on our route." Miss Konori says, as she logs no suspicious activity on this section of our patrol on her Judgement app.
For some reason, she isn't wearing her Judgement armband despite being on duty during patrol. I've already brought up the regulations that say she should be wearing it, but she just ruffled my hair and shrugged it off. I'd report it but I've learned over the last year that nothing positive happens when I report rule breaking like that. The perpetrators get off scot-free while I get punishment assignments for 'wasting the administration's time'. It is so unfair! Speaking of wasting time. I've asked the branch captain and the higher ups why I keep getting benched but I haven't asked Miss Konori yet. The scuttlebut has that she is the next in line for the branch captaincy next year when our current captain graduates. I steel myself to ask her, I deserve to be making a difference on the front lines! I've trained so hard for this. Besides, I need the experience to properly mentor Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten!
"Miss Konori. May I ask you a question?"
"Huh? Sure kouhai."
Grr. You are not my senpai. We joined Judgement at the same time!
"Why am I being restricted to these safe patrols and odd jobs at the office? I passed all the same tests as everyone else and I'm a Level 4! I could be a big help in the field. I'm not even being allowed to train with everyone else or do proper office work." I do not pout.
"You know, these are the same duties everyone in Judgement gets, right? We aren't singling you out. Needing to fight criminal students or file proper paperwork is only for when things go wrong. Honestly, I'm jealous of how uneventful your Judgement career has been so far." Well I suppose I simply have more drive than you Miss Konori, "Besides, patrols through safe areas are important. They help the students in the area feel safe, to know that judgement is here looking after them. Plus, they keep crime from moving into the area. Every safe, uneventful patrol is preventing multiple serious crisis responses being needed."
"I know… but!" I want to fight bad guys, I want to be the hero, I want Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten to keep looking at me like I'm their reliable senpai. I don't know if I would have actually said any of these things or something else because Miss Konori interrupts me with a teasing smirk on her lips.
"Oh, I get it. You think you should get special treatment because you're an honour student and a Level 4 right?"
"N-no! It isn't like that." I say with a blush while twisting my fingers, "I just thought that it was because of my age… or something…"
Miss Konori sighs and ruffles my hair again.
"Age has nothing to do with what duties our branch assigns you. It is true you don't do the same exercises as us but that is based on pure physical fact. You will move up to join us next year like everyone else. You get the same patrols and office work as everyone else who has been lucky enough to not face a criminal in combat does. I know that you have great potential and feel like you could get more done on your own, but Judgement is about working with others. That is an important skill for life, you know? Not just your Judgement work."
"... you say that but you're still treating me like a kid." I grumble.
Miss Konori just smiles and keeps talking.
"Speaking of, you'll be moving from elementary to junior high next year. So these patrols in District 7 will be useful to you. Help you get the lay of the land right? Tell you what, when we are done with our patrol, I'll take you on a guided tour of the best spots in the District."
I can see I won't be able to change Miss Konori's mind. I sigh and agree to her offer of a tour to placate her for now.
===============================================================
1 Hour later
We are at our last stop on this patrol. A post office I have seen the inside off far too many times. The staff keep trying to give me sweets as if I'm a preschooler while I'm trying to do my job. It's embarrassing!
"Miss Shirai? What are you doing here?"
"Hmm? Oh, hey, it is Shirai! Yo! Shirai! Long time no see!"
What are Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten doing in District 7? Shouldn't they have gone directly from District 2 to District 13 and the elementary school dorms?
"Miss Uiharu. Miss Saten. A pleasure to see you again. I didn't expect to see you in District 7." I return their greeting, "Also, it has only been 2 hours since we last saw each other. Hardly a 'long time'" I correct with a huff.
"Right back'atcha Shirai. Uiharu and I were scouting out dorms and apartments to apply for next year when we go to junior high here. What about you? Did you have the same idea?" Miss Konori can never know.
"No. This area in District 7 is one of my regular patrol routes. I'm here every monday."
"Wow. You are so dedicated, Miss Shirai!"
"I'll say. Jeeze I don't know if I'm cut out for that. I'm giving Judgement my best go because my Companion Organisation said it would be a good route to being a detective. Like Conan but, like, prettier ya know? But all the scut work like this doesn't appeal to me at all." Miss Saten says with a sigh, "Ah. I'm sure you don't have anything like that though, Shirai!" She continues after Miss Uiharu elbows her in the side.
"No. Honestly, I understand that. I know they are important, but these patrols aren't my favourite part of the job either." I agree with a sigh. Wait. What if this makes Miss Saten drop out? Then I would have failed as her senpai! "N-not that all of the job is like this. If you're interested in investigative work, then we do a lot of that. My own patrol partner today, Miss Konori, has it as her specialty!" Oh no! What if they meet Miss Konori and pick her as a senpai instead of me!
"Really? That's cool. So. Uiharu is trying to get a scholarship into Tokiwadai while I'm trying out for Shidarezakura Academy. Though, being more realistic, I'm probably going to Sakugawa Middle. What about you, Shirai?"
… Or they could just not care and move on to the next topic, I guess.
"I'll be taking the tests for Tokiwadai myself, in fact."
"Oh wow! How cool! I'm hoping so hard I can get in! I heard that most of the students are heiresses and celebrities! Oh, to think I might be in the same hallowed halls as them. Like a fairytale!" Miss Uiharu says with a dreamy expression. Judging from Miss Saten's long-suffering look, this is a common occurrence.
"No. I doubt it is like that. If anything, I suspect that with so many rich families and high level espers involved, the school will be riven with factionalism. I hear that they even have 3 Level 5s that already caused a public disturbance last week! The first week of term and already misbehaving! The nerve. I bet the school is split into camps around each level 5 that compete with each other." Miss Uiharu is pouting at my pointing out reality, while Miss Saten is glaring at me. I don't see why. It is important to be mature and practical about these things! I cough to break the awkward silence.
"Anyway, if you are looking at dorm rooms why come to the post office?"
"Oh. We just need to take out some cash to pay for the trai- sniff sniffsniff" Miss Saten cuts herself off and starts sniffing the air. Before I can ask her what is going on, she holds up her hand to keep me silent. How rude!
"I can smell gunpowder, Miss Shirai." She whispers to me. What?
"Are you sure?"
"Very. It is one of the materials they test me with during System Scans." she taps her nose, "Part of my ability is an enhanced sense of smell."
Crap. What should I do? I've never been in an incident before! Uh. Miss Konori! She'll know what to do. She fights Skill-Out gangers all the time.
"Both of you come with me. Miss Konori is the ranking officer on site. We will report this to her first." Excellent. I sounded calm and professional.
Miss Saten and Miss Uiharu nod and follow me as I weave through the crowd to Miss Konori.
"Miss Konori we need to repor-"
"Shhh!" she quietly hisses to silence us. Why is everyone so rude today? I follow her gaze to an older student who is dressed like a delinquent.
"That man…" she whispers.
"Miss Konori, this is important!" I whisper to her, "Miss Saten has enhanced smell and detected gunpowder in the building!"
"What! Damnit. Well done for bringing this to me, all of you. Now that I have probable cause I can see his pistol with my ability. He also has tools to break into an ATM or a safe."
"W-what do we do, Miss Konori?" Miss Uiharu asks. I'm glad she did, so I didn't have to.
"I am going to alert the staff. Miss Kuroko, you are in charge of the trainees. If things get violent, then organise evacuating the civilians. Under no circumstance are you trainees to engage."
"Aren't we going to arrest him!" I ask aghast at letting this, this criminal get away with his crime.
"Our duty is public safety!" Miss Konori sharply rebukes me, "Leave fighting hardened criminals to Anti-Skill. If his goal is just money, then we will let him take it provided he doesn't hurt anyone." Miss Konori whispers before striding off towards one of the clerks, pulling her Judgement armband from her pocket.
That's so passive! I clench my fists. We shouldn't just let criminals think they can get away with breaking the law because we are afraid of getting hurt!
Before Miss Konori can make it to the clerk, the delinquent pulls his gun out and aims it at the ceiling. Dropping his bag at the same time to create a loud bang. That must be where the tools are, then.
"No one move or do anything stupid."
He waves his gun over the civilians.
"None of you bystanders."
Then the clerks.
"None of you office drones."
Finally, Miss Konori with her Judgement armband now in plain view.
"And especially not you Miss Judgement."
When the gunman takes his eyes off the clerks to point his gun at Miss Konori one of them reaches for a phone.
Bang!
The gunman shoots the phone and then points his gun at the brave clerk's forehead.
"Please… don't…"
"I told you not to do anything stupid, man. Why couldn't you just do what you were told? Now I'm gunna have to make an example out of yo-"
No!
I teleport myself between them and grab the robber's gun. Teleporting it out of his hands and a metre straight down, onto the ground under the desk. There. He is disarm-
He uses my distraction to punch me in the face. I fall backwards off the desk and feel another impact on the back of my head. I think my nose is broken. I can hear Miss Konori fighting the disarmed robber. It feels far away.
"Are you alright, Miss?" The brave clerk from before asks me. His face is blurry.
"Mrrgl?" Speaking is hard. He waves something in front of my eyes. Fingers?
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
"... four?"
"I think you have a concussion, Miss. Please. Stay here while Judgement takes care of things." There is a scream somewhere nearby.
"He's got a knife!"
"M'jugnent." I mumble and fumble to bring my armband out of my own pocket.
"Thank you for saving my life, Miss Judgement. Now please, stay down here where it is safe. You have done enough." I. I saved his life? Then. Am I a hero? Did I do good?
"Oi. You. You're Judgement? Any other Judgment people better step into the open where I can see you. Or this lady gets a second smile."
A pause. I try to get up but the clerk pushes me down again.
"Only one? What about that teleporter from before?"
"S-she has a concussion. She is no threat to you." I can hear the clerk shout over the desk.
"Tch. Drag her out here anyway. I wanna be able to see her."
I can feel myself being lifted and carried. All I can see is the blurry ceiling, however.
"Damn it. Guess you were telling the truth. I figured I could get her to teleport the ATM or the money out of the wall but not in that state. What a dumbass my partner was. Getting beat up by a girl and injuring our best chance of a payday. Oi! Judgement lady. Grab my partner's tools and tear this ATM out of the wall."
"...Okay."
"W-what? Miss Judgement!"
"I'm not getting anymore people hurt for money which is insured, Mr Manager."
Oh. The brave clerk is a store manager. That makes sense. Like the people who work for Papa. I giggle a little as I think about what Papa would say if one of our stores in Japan was broken into like this.
There are several minutes of banging and scraping. Eventually, the second robber speaks up again.
"Good. Now go tie it to the car outside."
"What about your partner?" Miss Konori asks in between grunts of effort.
"What about him? He got beat up by a chick and this way I don't have to split the cash. Leave'em."
What a wastrel.
"There. It is tied to your car. Now let the woman go."
"What? So you can try to beat me up while I walk to the car? Nah."
"I won't let you kidnap her."
"You won't 'let' me do anything Judgement Girl. But don't worry. That's more heat than I want."
"What are you doing?"
There is a metallic tearing sound.
"You like it? It's my ability 'Equal Speed'. My balls may not move fast but once they get going nothing stops them. Now. I'm going to leave two of these balls on either side of this nice lady's head. And if she or you move until I am out of range? They will start moving again and pop her head like a zit. Got that?"
"... Yes."
"Good. See you around Judgement Girl!"
===============================================================
That evening
The constricting bandages on my head feel heavier than they should. I messed up. That robber got away with the money because I got too distracted to dodge a sloppy punch. Daddy and Mummy would be so disappointed. I need to apologise to Miss Konori for my screw up. Which is why I am here in front of our office door. So why can't I make myself open it?
Eventually, Miss Saten opens the door herself from the inside. We stand there blinking at each other for a moment.
"Ah. Miss Shirai. Sorry for getting in your way. Please, come in."
… it is my own office, Miss Saten but thank you.
Once I have stepped inside and can see Miss Konori, it looks like she just got done interviewing Miss Saten for her witness statement and is about to interview Miss Uiharu, I bow deeply at the waist.
"Miss Konori! My apologies! Due to my negligence, the perpetrator was able to get away with the stolen goods. I will accept any punishment yourself or the branch captain deems fit."
The room is silent for a moment before it explodes into noise.
"Miss Shirai, I am the one who should be sorry!"
"But you were totally awesome, Shirai!"
"Miss Shirai, you didn't do anything wrong!"
It is quite overwhelming and makes my headache return. Miss Konori guides me over to one of the staff couches and sits me down next to her with a glass of water. Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten sit down on the couch opposite us. Miss Uiharu is kind enough to use her ability to chill the water for me.
"Thank you." choke out as I take sips of water to help my headache. "One at a time, please?"
Miss Konori takes the lead.
"Miss Shirai. I am the one who should apologise. As your commanding officer in that situation, any injuries are my fault. If I had reacted quicker to your teleportation or your initial warning from Miss Saten then the whole situation could have been avoided."
Then Miss Uiharu cuts in.
"Not to mention you saved that man's life, Miss Shirai. That is much more important than some ATM money." Mummy and Daddy always said differently. 'Those cowardly employees of ours. Why, if we had been there, we would have scared those thieves right off!'
"But the good of the company?" I ask.
"Who cares about that Shirai! You did amazing. You were like zwhip woosh vanish! All the money in ATMs is insured anyway. The post office won't get in any trouble and neither will the bank. Miss Konori didn't either."
"And neither will you, Miss Shirai." Miss Konori interjects. "It is my opinion as your commanding officer that you performed with admirable bravery. I would like you to take more care of your own health in the future, however."
"Oh. Thank you." I whisper.
"Plus," adds Miss Saten casually, "They already caught the guy anyway."
"What!" I shout.
"Yeah. Turns out that Tokiwadai girl in our trainee group? She's the new Level 5 electromaster 'Railgun'. She was passing by while it went down. Like Uiharu and myself she wasn't allowed to step in since she was only a trainee, but she tagged his car somehow and gave the information to Anti-Skill. Led them right to him! I hear they even got to him before he could break open the ATM so the Post Office got all their money back."
I. What. She. How. Why. When.
"'Railgun!'" I shout, making the other 3 flinch, "How dare you keep showing me up! I swear. I will surpass you! That is a maiden's promise!"
We are all quiet for a moment before we simultaneously burst into giggles.
"Yeah. Better look out 'Railgun' because Shirai Kuroko and her friends don't lose to anyone!" Miss Saten. No. Saten backs me up.
"Right! We'll get stronger together. Believing in our feelings and following what we feel! We will be the best Judgement team the city has ever seen!" Uiharu says and sticks her hand forward. Saten and I quickly catch on and put our own hands in as well. Suddenly there is a flash as Miss Konori takes a picture of us. We all break apart, blushing.
"Awww. No. No. No need to stop. It was cute." she says. Making cooing noises and calling us her cute underclassmen.
I am being laughed at and teased by my peers. I am being treated like a junior by a girl who joined Judgement at the same time as me. I am injured after I botched a hostage rescue and allowed a thief to escape. A year ago, I'd have told anyone who asked that this was the exact opposite of where I wanted to be today. However, now that I am here? I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
==============================================================
AN: Thank you to Burnerpower for betaing this chapter.
"1"
I count my push-ups on each breath out. It is a lovely day outside, and I am doing my mandatory fitness hours at the Judgement Training Centre. A year ago, I'd have told anyone who asked that this was exactly where I wanted to be today. However…
"2"
It's not fair. Why do I have to do exercises with the new applicants? Just because I'm 11 everyone treats me like a little kid and not already a member of Judgment for almost a year. Even Miss Konori who joined at the same time as me has been seeing more action and getting promoted over me. I recognise a lot of the people trying out this year from last year. Some of them are over 5 years older than me and still doing worse. This is outrageous!
"3"
"U-uuuggghhh."
"4"
It isn't as if having me do these basic exercises over and over again is more likely to get them to give me proper field time. I could be doing the proper exercises with my peers but instead they stick me in with the FNGs, no one will tell me what that acronym means but it's what we got called last year with Konori when we were new, as if I'm not better than them. Even if they won't let me do the proper member exercises, they could at least give me more training on stuff like paperwork and protocol.
"5"
"U-uuuggghhh."
"Come on Uiharu! You're almost done with your first one!"
"Less talking, more pushing Trainee Saten!"
"Eep! Yes sir!"
"6"
Even worse, they stuck me next to someone who can't even complete a single push up and their barely more competent personal cheersquad! Urgh. They are so distracting! Then on my other side is some monster of a middle schooler from Tokiwadai who is making me look bad. How dare she show me up by being better than me at these exercises, even when I'm a member of Judgement and she's a new applicant! I can accept my limitations compared to a high schooler but she's only a year or two older than me. How can she be outperforming me so badly?
"7, 8, 9"
Well, Shirai Kuroko doesn't lose! Not even to my future upperclassmen!
=============================================================
Later that Afternoon
"Uwaaaaah! I can't believe I came behind her in every exercise so far!" I say as I grab a chilled drink from the vending machine and hold it to my head, closing my eyes as the soothing, chilling sensation helps cool down my brain. Stupid puberty. Stupid grownups. Stupid senpais.
"Good Job, Trainee Uiharu. There is still 20 minutes till the next drill so try to rest up."
"Pant T- pant Tha-ank y-you sir. Pant"
"Come on, Uiharu. Let's get you some water." Miss Saten says as she moves to support Miss Uiharu.
"Tha-nk you, Mi-iss Sa- gasp Saten."
She may not have any stamina but this Miss Uiharu has the right spirit if she stuck out the laps even from 4 laps behind. She probably won't pass the physical exams for field work this year but she might still get in as an office officer. Well. As a good senior, I suppose I should mentor my promising juniors. I grab two extra chilled waters for Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten and walk to meet them on their way to the vending machine.
"Water right? Here. I accidentally got some extra so please accept these as a gift." I say to the pair while holding the bottles out.
"Oh! You didn't have to, we can afford it, but thank you." Miss Saten says as she accepts the offered bottles with, psychokinesis? No, I can feel small vortices of air holding the bottles with my own sense of motion within my range. That is impressive control for an aerokinetic. Turning to Miss Uiharu she opens the first bottle with another small vortex of air, "Here you are Uiharu, let's go sit on that bench, yeah?"
"May I join you? I failed to introduce myself. My apologies. My name is Shirai Kuroko. Please, feel free to call me Miss Shirai." I say as I follow them. As soon as Miss Uiharu's hands close around the bottle of juice, I can see frost start to form. So Miss Uiharu is some kind of hydrokinetic then.
"Oh? I'm so sorry for forgetting to introduce us. My name is Saten Ruiko and this is my best friend, Miss Uiharu Kazari." Miss Saten bows as Miss Uiharu almost collapses on the bench while guzzling water.
"Apologies accepted," I say magnanimously, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Saten, Miss Uiharu." I say with an appropriately smaller bow of my own. Miss Saten's face makes a funny twitching motion. Perhaps she is more tired than she is letting on?
"Uwah!" Miss Uiharu exclaims as she finishes guzzling water, "T-thank you very much for the water, Miss Shirai. I am sorry for bothering you." she sighs, "Miss Saten and I are only here because our Companion Organisation suggested it would be a good fit for us but I'm failing so badly. If this keeps up I mig-" Well that won't do at all! Certainly, Miss Uiharu might not be the most athletic individual, but there is more to being a Judgement officer than running laps! I put my hands on my hips and interrupt her.
"Believe your feelings and follow what you feel! That is one of the most important mindsets of a Judgement officer! If you want to change and have the will to act on it. Then the results will come in time! If you truly wish to join Judgement, then do not be discouraged by mere physical challenges. You may have been the last person to finish our laps Miss Uiharu but you did finish them! When I first did these tests last year several trainees dropped out rather than finish. Keep these ideals close to your heart Miss Uiharu and you are sure to succeed as a Judgement officer!"
Miss Uiharu is looking at me with awe while Miss Saten seems to be sizing me up.
"Yes! I feel like I can do this! I'm going to pass the physical tests with flying colours!" Miss Uiharu jumps to her feet and pumps her arms.
"That might be a bit too optimistic…" Miss Saten and I mumble at the same time but Miss Uiharu seems to not hear us.
"So you did this training and took the test last year, Miss Shirai? Any other useful advice for first timers like us?" Miss Saten asks me with a challenging smirk. Is she implying that I might be lying! I'll show her.
"I did! Not only did I take the tests. I passed them! I am a full member of Judgement."
I say strongly. Miss Saten just raises an eyebrow while Miss Uiharu looks confused.
"Really? So why are you doing exercises with us trainees?" Miss Saten asks.
I collapse on the bench next to Miss Uiharu with a groan.
"They say I'm too young to train with the Middle and High Schoolers. Apparently it would 'negatively impact my musculoskeletal development' and 'Wouldn't be fair to me since they are designed for older bodies'." I pull out my Judgement Armband from my pocket, "However, I really am a member of Judgement. I've been a member for a year now, but I still get stuck with stuff like these basic training exercises just because I'm 11."
"Oh wow. You are a full member of Judgement already and the same age as us Miss Shirai! That is so cool" Miss Uiharu says excitedly. I blink, a bit nonplussed. I thought that Miss Uiharu was at least a year younger than myself and Miss Saten.
"Heh. Yeah, I guess that is pretty awesome of you, Miss Shirai." Miss Saten says as she finally takes a seat herself. "So, about those tips? I figure they are on offer since you already gave Uiharu that pep talk."
Ah. Well, I guess I did want to mentor my juniors. This is what that is about right? I just need to keep them from learning that I've never actually seen any action…
==============================================================
2 hours later
Mentoring Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten took the rest of our break period. Then, we completed the rest of the day's exercises. I still couldn't beat that girl from Tokiwadai. Ghr! She makes me so mad! Thinking she is better than me just because she's older and prettier and more athletic. After that, the trainees had some theory classes while I needed to get ready for today's patrol in District 7 with Miss Konori. Miss Uiharu, Miss Saten and I exchanged numbers and made plans to meet up over the weekend for more mentoring. I am going to be the best senpai those girls have ever had!
"Well, everything looks safe and peaceful here. Let's move onto the next area on our route." Miss Konori says, as she logs no suspicious activity on this section of our patrol on her Judgement app.
For some reason, she isn't wearing her Judgement armband despite being on duty during patrol. I've already brought up the regulations that say she should be wearing it, but she just ruffled my hair and shrugged it off. I'd report it but I've learned over the last year that nothing positive happens when I report rule breaking like that. The perpetrators get off scot-free while I get punishment assignments for 'wasting the administration's time'. It is so unfair! Speaking of wasting time. I've asked the branch captain and the higher ups why I keep getting benched but I haven't asked Miss Konori yet. The scuttlebut has that she is the next in line for the branch captaincy next year when our current captain graduates. I steel myself to ask her, I deserve to be making a difference on the front lines! I've trained so hard for this. Besides, I need the experience to properly mentor Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten!
"Miss Konori. May I ask you a question?"
"Huh? Sure kouhai."
Grr. You are not my senpai. We joined Judgement at the same time!
"Why am I being restricted to these safe patrols and odd jobs at the office? I passed all the same tests as everyone else and I'm a Level 4! I could be a big help in the field. I'm not even being allowed to train with everyone else or do proper office work." I do not pout.
"You know, these are the same duties everyone in Judgement gets, right? We aren't singling you out. Needing to fight criminal students or file proper paperwork is only for when things go wrong. Honestly, I'm jealous of how uneventful your Judgement career has been so far." Well I suppose I simply have more drive than you Miss Konori, "Besides, patrols through safe areas are important. They help the students in the area feel safe, to know that judgement is here looking after them. Plus, they keep crime from moving into the area. Every safe, uneventful patrol is preventing multiple serious crisis responses being needed."
"I know… but!" I want to fight bad guys, I want to be the hero, I want Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten to keep looking at me like I'm their reliable senpai. I don't know if I would have actually said any of these things or something else because Miss Konori interrupts me with a teasing smirk on her lips.
"Oh, I get it. You think you should get special treatment because you're an honour student and a Level 4 right?"
"N-no! It isn't like that." I say with a blush while twisting my fingers, "I just thought that it was because of my age… or something…"
Miss Konori sighs and ruffles my hair again.
"Age has nothing to do with what duties our branch assigns you. It is true you don't do the same exercises as us but that is based on pure physical fact. You will move up to join us next year like everyone else. You get the same patrols and office work as everyone else who has been lucky enough to not face a criminal in combat does. I know that you have great potential and feel like you could get more done on your own, but Judgement is about working with others. That is an important skill for life, you know? Not just your Judgement work."
"... you say that but you're still treating me like a kid." I grumble.
Miss Konori just smiles and keeps talking.
"Speaking of, you'll be moving from elementary to junior high next year. So these patrols in District 7 will be useful to you. Help you get the lay of the land right? Tell you what, when we are done with our patrol, I'll take you on a guided tour of the best spots in the District."
I can see I won't be able to change Miss Konori's mind. I sigh and agree to her offer of a tour to placate her for now.
===============================================================
1 Hour later
We are at our last stop on this patrol. A post office I have seen the inside off far too many times. The staff keep trying to give me sweets as if I'm a preschooler while I'm trying to do my job. It's embarrassing!
"Miss Shirai? What are you doing here?"
"Hmm? Oh, hey, it is Shirai! Yo! Shirai! Long time no see!"
What are Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten doing in District 7? Shouldn't they have gone directly from District 2 to District 13 and the elementary school dorms?
"Miss Uiharu. Miss Saten. A pleasure to see you again. I didn't expect to see you in District 7." I return their greeting, "Also, it has only been 2 hours since we last saw each other. Hardly a 'long time'" I correct with a huff.
"Right back'atcha Shirai. Uiharu and I were scouting out dorms and apartments to apply for next year when we go to junior high here. What about you? Did you have the same idea?" Miss Konori can never know.
"No. This area in District 7 is one of my regular patrol routes. I'm here every monday."
"Wow. You are so dedicated, Miss Shirai!"
"I'll say. Jeeze I don't know if I'm cut out for that. I'm giving Judgement my best go because my Companion Organisation said it would be a good route to being a detective. Like Conan but, like, prettier ya know? But all the scut work like this doesn't appeal to me at all." Miss Saten says with a sigh, "Ah. I'm sure you don't have anything like that though, Shirai!" She continues after Miss Uiharu elbows her in the side.
"No. Honestly, I understand that. I know they are important, but these patrols aren't my favourite part of the job either." I agree with a sigh. Wait. What if this makes Miss Saten drop out? Then I would have failed as her senpai! "N-not that all of the job is like this. If you're interested in investigative work, then we do a lot of that. My own patrol partner today, Miss Konori, has it as her specialty!" Oh no! What if they meet Miss Konori and pick her as a senpai instead of me!
"Really? That's cool. So. Uiharu is trying to get a scholarship into Tokiwadai while I'm trying out for Shidarezakura Academy. Though, being more realistic, I'm probably going to Sakugawa Middle. What about you, Shirai?"
… Or they could just not care and move on to the next topic, I guess.
"I'll be taking the tests for Tokiwadai myself, in fact."
"Oh wow! How cool! I'm hoping so hard I can get in! I heard that most of the students are heiresses and celebrities! Oh, to think I might be in the same hallowed halls as them. Like a fairytale!" Miss Uiharu says with a dreamy expression. Judging from Miss Saten's long-suffering look, this is a common occurrence.
"No. I doubt it is like that. If anything, I suspect that with so many rich families and high level espers involved, the school will be riven with factionalism. I hear that they even have 3 Level 5s that already caused a public disturbance last week! The first week of term and already misbehaving! The nerve. I bet the school is split into camps around each level 5 that compete with each other." Miss Uiharu is pouting at my pointing out reality, while Miss Saten is glaring at me. I don't see why. It is important to be mature and practical about these things! I cough to break the awkward silence.
"Anyway, if you are looking at dorm rooms why come to the post office?"
"Oh. We just need to take out some cash to pay for the trai- sniff sniffsniff" Miss Saten cuts herself off and starts sniffing the air. Before I can ask her what is going on, she holds up her hand to keep me silent. How rude!
"I can smell gunpowder, Miss Shirai." She whispers to me. What?
"Are you sure?"
"Very. It is one of the materials they test me with during System Scans." she taps her nose, "Part of my ability is an enhanced sense of smell."
Crap. What should I do? I've never been in an incident before! Uh. Miss Konori! She'll know what to do. She fights Skill-Out gangers all the time.
"Both of you come with me. Miss Konori is the ranking officer on site. We will report this to her first." Excellent. I sounded calm and professional.
Miss Saten and Miss Uiharu nod and follow me as I weave through the crowd to Miss Konori.
"Miss Konori we need to repor-"
"Shhh!" she quietly hisses to silence us. Why is everyone so rude today? I follow her gaze to an older student who is dressed like a delinquent.
"That man…" she whispers.
"Miss Konori, this is important!" I whisper to her, "Miss Saten has enhanced smell and detected gunpowder in the building!"
"What! Damnit. Well done for bringing this to me, all of you. Now that I have probable cause I can see his pistol with my ability. He also has tools to break into an ATM or a safe."
"W-what do we do, Miss Konori?" Miss Uiharu asks. I'm glad she did, so I didn't have to.
"I am going to alert the staff. Miss Kuroko, you are in charge of the trainees. If things get violent, then organise evacuating the civilians. Under no circumstance are you trainees to engage."
"Aren't we going to arrest him!" I ask aghast at letting this, this criminal get away with his crime.
"Our duty is public safety!" Miss Konori sharply rebukes me, "Leave fighting hardened criminals to Anti-Skill. If his goal is just money, then we will let him take it provided he doesn't hurt anyone." Miss Konori whispers before striding off towards one of the clerks, pulling her Judgement armband from her pocket.
That's so passive! I clench my fists. We shouldn't just let criminals think they can get away with breaking the law because we are afraid of getting hurt!
Before Miss Konori can make it to the clerk, the delinquent pulls his gun out and aims it at the ceiling. Dropping his bag at the same time to create a loud bang. That must be where the tools are, then.
"No one move or do anything stupid."
He waves his gun over the civilians.
"None of you bystanders."
Then the clerks.
"None of you office drones."
Finally, Miss Konori with her Judgement armband now in plain view.
"And especially not you Miss Judgement."
When the gunman takes his eyes off the clerks to point his gun at Miss Konori one of them reaches for a phone.
Bang!
The gunman shoots the phone and then points his gun at the brave clerk's forehead.
"Please… don't…"
"I told you not to do anything stupid, man. Why couldn't you just do what you were told? Now I'm gunna have to make an example out of yo-"
No!
I teleport myself between them and grab the robber's gun. Teleporting it out of his hands and a metre straight down, onto the ground under the desk. There. He is disarm-
He uses my distraction to punch me in the face. I fall backwards off the desk and feel another impact on the back of my head. I think my nose is broken. I can hear Miss Konori fighting the disarmed robber. It feels far away.
"Are you alright, Miss?" The brave clerk from before asks me. His face is blurry.
"Mrrgl?" Speaking is hard. He waves something in front of my eyes. Fingers?
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
"... four?"
"I think you have a concussion, Miss. Please. Stay here while Judgement takes care of things." There is a scream somewhere nearby.
"He's got a knife!"
"M'jugnent." I mumble and fumble to bring my armband out of my own pocket.
"Thank you for saving my life, Miss Judgement. Now please, stay down here where it is safe. You have done enough." I. I saved his life? Then. Am I a hero? Did I do good?
"Oi. You. You're Judgement? Any other Judgment people better step into the open where I can see you. Or this lady gets a second smile."
A pause. I try to get up but the clerk pushes me down again.
"Only one? What about that teleporter from before?"
"S-she has a concussion. She is no threat to you." I can hear the clerk shout over the desk.
"Tch. Drag her out here anyway. I wanna be able to see her."
I can feel myself being lifted and carried. All I can see is the blurry ceiling, however.
"Damn it. Guess you were telling the truth. I figured I could get her to teleport the ATM or the money out of the wall but not in that state. What a dumbass my partner was. Getting beat up by a girl and injuring our best chance of a payday. Oi! Judgement lady. Grab my partner's tools and tear this ATM out of the wall."
"...Okay."
"W-what? Miss Judgement!"
"I'm not getting anymore people hurt for money which is insured, Mr Manager."
Oh. The brave clerk is a store manager. That makes sense. Like the people who work for Papa. I giggle a little as I think about what Papa would say if one of our stores in Japan was broken into like this.
There are several minutes of banging and scraping. Eventually, the second robber speaks up again.
"Good. Now go tie it to the car outside."
"What about your partner?" Miss Konori asks in between grunts of effort.
"What about him? He got beat up by a chick and this way I don't have to split the cash. Leave'em."
What a wastrel.
"There. It is tied to your car. Now let the woman go."
"What? So you can try to beat me up while I walk to the car? Nah."
"I won't let you kidnap her."
"You won't 'let' me do anything Judgement Girl. But don't worry. That's more heat than I want."
"What are you doing?"
There is a metallic tearing sound.
"You like it? It's my ability 'Equal Speed'. My balls may not move fast but once they get going nothing stops them. Now. I'm going to leave two of these balls on either side of this nice lady's head. And if she or you move until I am out of range? They will start moving again and pop her head like a zit. Got that?"
"... Yes."
"Good. See you around Judgement Girl!"
===============================================================
That evening
The constricting bandages on my head feel heavier than they should. I messed up. That robber got away with the money because I got too distracted to dodge a sloppy punch. Daddy and Mummy would be so disappointed. I need to apologise to Miss Konori for my screw up. Which is why I am here in front of our office door. So why can't I make myself open it?
Eventually, Miss Saten opens the door herself from the inside. We stand there blinking at each other for a moment.
"Ah. Miss Shirai. Sorry for getting in your way. Please, come in."
… it is my own office, Miss Saten but thank you.
Once I have stepped inside and can see Miss Konori, it looks like she just got done interviewing Miss Saten for her witness statement and is about to interview Miss Uiharu, I bow deeply at the waist.
"Miss Konori! My apologies! Due to my negligence, the perpetrator was able to get away with the stolen goods. I will accept any punishment yourself or the branch captain deems fit."
The room is silent for a moment before it explodes into noise.
"Miss Shirai, I am the one who should be sorry!"
"But you were totally awesome, Shirai!"
"Miss Shirai, you didn't do anything wrong!"
It is quite overwhelming and makes my headache return. Miss Konori guides me over to one of the staff couches and sits me down next to her with a glass of water. Miss Uiharu and Miss Saten sit down on the couch opposite us. Miss Uiharu is kind enough to use her ability to chill the water for me.
"Thank you." choke out as I take sips of water to help my headache. "One at a time, please?"
Miss Konori takes the lead.
"Miss Shirai. I am the one who should apologise. As your commanding officer in that situation, any injuries are my fault. If I had reacted quicker to your teleportation or your initial warning from Miss Saten then the whole situation could have been avoided."
Then Miss Uiharu cuts in.
"Not to mention you saved that man's life, Miss Shirai. That is much more important than some ATM money." Mummy and Daddy always said differently. 'Those cowardly employees of ours. Why, if we had been there, we would have scared those thieves right off!'
"But the good of the company?" I ask.
"Who cares about that Shirai! You did amazing. You were like zwhip woosh vanish! All the money in ATMs is insured anyway. The post office won't get in any trouble and neither will the bank. Miss Konori didn't either."
"And neither will you, Miss Shirai." Miss Konori interjects. "It is my opinion as your commanding officer that you performed with admirable bravery. I would like you to take more care of your own health in the future, however."
"Oh. Thank you." I whisper.
"Plus," adds Miss Saten casually, "They already caught the guy anyway."
"What!" I shout.
"Yeah. Turns out that Tokiwadai girl in our trainee group? She's the new Level 5 electromaster 'Railgun'. She was passing by while it went down. Like Uiharu and myself she wasn't allowed to step in since she was only a trainee, but she tagged his car somehow and gave the information to Anti-Skill. Led them right to him! I hear they even got to him before he could break open the ATM so the Post Office got all their money back."
I. What. She. How. Why. When.
"'Railgun!'" I shout, making the other 3 flinch, "How dare you keep showing me up! I swear. I will surpass you! That is a maiden's promise!"
We are all quiet for a moment before we simultaneously burst into giggles.
"Yeah. Better look out 'Railgun' because Shirai Kuroko and her friends don't lose to anyone!" Miss Saten. No. Saten backs me up.
"Right! We'll get stronger together. Believing in our feelings and following what we feel! We will be the best Judgement team the city has ever seen!" Uiharu says and sticks her hand forward. Saten and I quickly catch on and put our own hands in as well. Suddenly there is a flash as Miss Konori takes a picture of us. We all break apart, blushing.
"Awww. No. No. No need to stop. It was cute." she says. Making cooing noises and calling us her cute underclassmen.
I am being laughed at and teased by my peers. I am being treated like a junior by a girl who joined Judgement at the same time as me. I am injured after I botched a hostage rescue and allowed a thief to escape. A year ago, I'd have told anyone who asked that this was the exact opposite of where I wanted to be today. However, now that I am here? I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
==============================================================
AN: Thank you to Burnerpower for betaing this chapter.
Last edited:
Act 2 Informational - Bank Entries 14th of April 2023
New
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Act 2 Informational - Bank Entries 14th of April 2023
AN: As before attentive readers will notice that the Bank's information is not 100% correct for all characters. This is intentional. Despite its attempts Academy City is not actually a panopticon and smart espers involved in the Dark Side keep trump cards out of public data files. Future Bank Data Threadmarks will hopefully come out before the arcs end and be updated as the arc progresses but I can't promise that.
| Ranking | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Legal Name | Unknown | Kakine Teitoku | Shizuri Mugino | Shokuhou Misaki | Misaka Mikoto | Kihara Lifeline Therestina | Kihara Lifeline Mitori | Aihana Etsu | Sogiita Gunha |
| Ability Name | Accelerator | Dark Matter | Meltdowner | Mental Out | Railgun | Gravity Shift | Liquid Shadow | [Classified] | Unnamed Gemstone Ability |
Name: Dr. Therestina Kihara Lifeline
ID Photo:
Age: 27
Esper Ability: Gravity Shift [Expand to see previous names]
Level: 5
Description: Able to alter the user's own body or objects user touches' interaction with the gravitational forces of other objects and other objects' (including organic matter) interaction with the user's own body or objects user touches' gravitational forces. The user is limited to imparting a maximum of 20 g to themselves or other objects. The user is limited to imparting a minimum of 0 g to themselves or other objects. User can only apply their ability to objects massing less than 10 tons, though they have no observable limit on the number of separate objects they can affect at once. Under emotional duress, the user has proven able to break this mass limit. User is able to sense the gravitational impact of objects upon each other and 4 dimensional space-time within a distance of 30 yards, with decreasing fidelity the further from the user objects are.
Companion Organisation: N/A. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: Commander of Multi Active Rescue, Director of Multi Active Rescue Research Lab, Fellow at [CLASSIFIED], CEO and Majority Shareholder of Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Previous Employment: Multi Active Rescue Officer (Final Rank: Captain), Fellow at Multi Active Rescue Research Lab, Anti-Skill Aggressor Officer (Final Rank: Lieutenant), Junior Fellow at Kanasaki University Muscular Dystrophy Research Institution, Anti-Skill Officer (Final Rank: Sergeant), Judgement [CLASSIFIED] Branch Captain, Judgement 003rd Branch Captain.
Educational History: Kanasaki University, Kirigaoka Girls' Academy High School, Tokiwadai Middle School, Matsuume Elementary School.
ID Photo:
Age: 27
Esper Ability: Gravity Shift [Expand to see previous names]
Level: 5
Description: Able to alter the user's own body or objects user touches' interaction with the gravitational forces of other objects and other objects' (including organic matter) interaction with the user's own body or objects user touches' gravitational forces. The user is limited to imparting a maximum of 20 g to themselves or other objects. The user is limited to imparting a minimum of 0 g to themselves or other objects. User can only apply their ability to objects massing less than 10 tons, though they have no observable limit on the number of separate objects they can affect at once. Under emotional duress, the user has proven able to break this mass limit. User is able to sense the gravitational impact of objects upon each other and 4 dimensional space-time within a distance of 30 yards, with decreasing fidelity the further from the user objects are.
Companion Organisation: N/A. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: Commander of Multi Active Rescue, Director of Multi Active Rescue Research Lab, Fellow at [CLASSIFIED], CEO and Majority Shareholder of Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Previous Employment: Multi Active Rescue Officer (Final Rank: Captain), Fellow at Multi Active Rescue Research Lab, Anti-Skill Aggressor Officer (Final Rank: Lieutenant), Junior Fellow at Kanasaki University Muscular Dystrophy Research Institution, Anti-Skill Officer (Final Rank: Sergeant), Judgement [CLASSIFIED] Branch Captain, Judgement 003rd Branch Captain.
Educational History: Kanasaki University, Kirigaoka Girls' Academy High School, Tokiwadai Middle School, Matsuume Elementary School.
Name: Hinata Ruri
ID Photo:
[Error: Data Corrupted]
Age: 27
Esper Ability: Uncategorized Clairvoyance or Precognition Ability
Level: 0
Description: User always guesses the colour of hidden objects wrong.
Companion Organisation: N/A. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: Multi Active Rescue Officer (Current Rank: Captain), Minority Shareholder of Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Previous Employment: Anti-Skill Aggressor Officer (Final Rank: Lieutenant), Anti-Skill Officer (Final Rank: Sergeant), Judgement [CLASSIFIED] Branch Member, Judgement 025rd Branch Captain, Judgement 025rd Branch Member.
Educational History: Tonami Technical High School, Minamikawa Middle School, Matsuume Elementary School.
ID Photo:
[Error: Data Corrupted]
Age: 27
Esper Ability: Uncategorized Clairvoyance or Precognition Ability
Level: 0
Description: User always guesses the colour of hidden objects wrong.
Companion Organisation: N/A. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: Multi Active Rescue Officer (Current Rank: Captain), Minority Shareholder of Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Previous Employment: Anti-Skill Aggressor Officer (Final Rank: Lieutenant), Anti-Skill Officer (Final Rank: Sergeant), Judgement [CLASSIFIED] Branch Member, Judgement 025rd Branch Captain, Judgement 025rd Branch Member.
Educational History: Tonami Technical High School, Minamikawa Middle School, Matsuume Elementary School.
Name: Kihara Lifeline Mitori
ID Photo:
Age: 13
Esper Ability: Liquid Shadow
Level: 5
Description: User has free control of all liquids with a specific gravity of 18.56 or greater. User's control range is 300 square kilometres and their controllable mass is 100 tons (No upper mass limit of control found. 100 tons of user's preferred medium is the totality found in Academy City at time of System Scan). Line of sight is not required to maintain or activate control. User can use controlled liquids as auditory sensors, with a range of 30 yards, and speakers. User has no observable limit on the number of separate masses of liquids controlled and has the multitasking ability to control, intake and output auditory data from all of them simultaneously.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Tokiwadai Middle School, Kirigaoka Girls' Academy Middle School, Kirigaoka Girls' Academy Elementary School.
ID Photo:
Age: 13
Esper Ability: Liquid Shadow
Level: 5
Description: User has free control of all liquids with a specific gravity of 18.56 or greater. User's control range is 300 square kilometres and their controllable mass is 100 tons (No upper mass limit of control found. 100 tons of user's preferred medium is the totality found in Academy City at time of System Scan). Line of sight is not required to maintain or activate control. User can use controlled liquids as auditory sensors, with a range of 30 yards, and speakers. User has no observable limit on the number of separate masses of liquids controlled and has the multitasking ability to control, intake and output auditory data from all of them simultaneously.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Tokiwadai Middle School, Kirigaoka Girls' Academy Middle School, Kirigaoka Girls' Academy Elementary School.
Name: Shokuhou Misaki
ID Photo:
Age: 12
Esper Ability: Mental Out
Level: 5
Description: Use is able to finely manipulate the molecular and atomic structure of fluids within their range of 1 square kilometre, human body fluids are the easiest for the ability to control. Using this fluid manipulation the user is able to completely control, and intake sensory information from, 10 other human bodies at once. Alternatively the user can exert simple control and receive no sensory input from 150 human bodies at once. This is a spectrum rather than a hard switch. User is also able to perform mind reading and memory reading of other humans. In addition the user can use psychometry upon objects, able to view the last 24 hours of that object's history. User has also demonstrated the ability to solidify and melt fluids within their range via manipulation of their molecular structure.
Companion Organisation: Clone Dolly Workshop.
Current Employment: CEO and Sole Owner of Clone Dolly Workshop.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Tokiwadai Middle School, Gaienmae Elementary School.
ID Photo:
Age: 12
Esper Ability: Mental Out
Level: 5
Description: Use is able to finely manipulate the molecular and atomic structure of fluids within their range of 1 square kilometre, human body fluids are the easiest for the ability to control. Using this fluid manipulation the user is able to completely control, and intake sensory information from, 10 other human bodies at once. Alternatively the user can exert simple control and receive no sensory input from 150 human bodies at once. This is a spectrum rather than a hard switch. User is also able to perform mind reading and memory reading of other humans. In addition the user can use psychometry upon objects, able to view the last 24 hours of that object's history. User has also demonstrated the ability to solidify and melt fluids within their range via manipulation of their molecular structure.
Companion Organisation: Clone Dolly Workshop.
Current Employment: CEO and Sole Owner of Clone Dolly Workshop.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Tokiwadai Middle School, Gaienmae Elementary School.
Name: Misaka Mikoto
ID Photo:
Age: 12
Esper Ability: Railgun [Expand to see previous names]
Level: 5
Description: User is able to generate and manipulate electricity with a maximum electrical output of 1 billion volts. User can also manipulate phenomena connected to electricity, including electromagnetism, Lorentz force etc via manipulation of electricity.
Besides simply discharging electricity, user can use electromagnetism to move objects made of or containing metal in their surroundings, hack electronic devices and networks, sense and emit electromagnetic waves (utilising them for extrasensory perception), and manipulate the weather.
The user's esp is limited to 30 yards from their body. Their ability to hack devices and networks can only be initiated within 1 foot of a terminal but once a terminal is accessed they have no observed limit to their range or processing capacity. Weather manipulation is not well studied due to political concerns but user has demonstrated the ability to call down record matching lightning strikes from clear skies and to create storm clouds covering District 7. Aside from more general electromagnetic kinesis the user has also demonstrated the ability to control fine grains of metals with enough precision to match the kinesis of the Level 5 Liquid Shadow. However these constructs cannot be used to receive audio data and have a much smaller range, 1 sq kilometre.
Companion Organisation: Misaka Consulting Inc. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Tokiwadai Middle School, Sadamitsu Elementary School.
ID Photo:
Age: 12
Esper Ability: Railgun [Expand to see previous names]
Level: 5
Description: User is able to generate and manipulate electricity with a maximum electrical output of 1 billion volts. User can also manipulate phenomena connected to electricity, including electromagnetism, Lorentz force etc via manipulation of electricity.
Besides simply discharging electricity, user can use electromagnetism to move objects made of or containing metal in their surroundings, hack electronic devices and networks, sense and emit electromagnetic waves (utilising them for extrasensory perception), and manipulate the weather.
The user's esp is limited to 30 yards from their body. Their ability to hack devices and networks can only be initiated within 1 foot of a terminal but once a terminal is accessed they have no observed limit to their range or processing capacity. Weather manipulation is not well studied due to political concerns but user has demonstrated the ability to call down record matching lightning strikes from clear skies and to create storm clouds covering District 7. Aside from more general electromagnetic kinesis the user has also demonstrated the ability to control fine grains of metals with enough precision to match the kinesis of the Level 5 Liquid Shadow. However these constructs cannot be used to receive audio data and have a much smaller range, 1 sq kilometre.
Companion Organisation: Misaka Consulting Inc. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Tokiwadai Middle School, Sadamitsu Elementary School.
Name: Lifeline Misaka Dolly
ID Photo:
Age: 12
Esper Ability: Electromaster
Level: 4
Description: User is able to generate and manipulate electricity with a maximum electrical output of 200,000,000 volts. User can also manipulate phenomena connected to electricity, including electromagnetism, via manipulation of electricity.
Besides simply discharging electricity, user can use magnetism to move objects made of or containing metal in their surroundings, hack electronic devices and networks and both sense and emit electromagnetic waves (utilising them for extrasensory perception).
The user's esp is limited to 20 yards from their body. Their ability to hack devices and networks can only be initiated within 1 foot of a terminal but once a terminal is accessed they have no observed limit to their range and a processing capacity equivalent to a dedicated server farm. Aside from more general electromagnetic kinesis the user has also demonstrated the ability to control fine grains of metals with enough precision to match the kinesis of the Level 5 Liquid Shadow. However these constructs cannot be used to receive audio data and have a much smaller range, 1 sq kilometre. User is also limited to only 1 such construct at a time.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Tokiwadai Middle School, Home Schooling.
ID Photo:
Age: 12
Esper Ability: Electromaster
Level: 4
Description: User is able to generate and manipulate electricity with a maximum electrical output of 200,000,000 volts. User can also manipulate phenomena connected to electricity, including electromagnetism, via manipulation of electricity.
Besides simply discharging electricity, user can use magnetism to move objects made of or containing metal in their surroundings, hack electronic devices and networks and both sense and emit electromagnetic waves (utilising them for extrasensory perception).
The user's esp is limited to 20 yards from their body. Their ability to hack devices and networks can only be initiated within 1 foot of a terminal but once a terminal is accessed they have no observed limit to their range and a processing capacity equivalent to a dedicated server farm. Aside from more general electromagnetic kinesis the user has also demonstrated the ability to control fine grains of metals with enough precision to match the kinesis of the Level 5 Liquid Shadow. However these constructs cannot be used to receive audio data and have a much smaller range, 1 sq kilometre. User is also limited to only 1 such construct at a time.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Tokiwadai Middle School, Home Schooling.
Name: Tatsuki Mirei
ID Photo:
[Error: Data Corrupted]
Age: 12
Esper Ability: Ghost Swim
Level: 3
Description: Ability allows user to pass their limbs through physical objects below a certain carbon content. The ability automatically protects the user by ejecting them from harmful mediums if the ability is deactivated. User employs this quirk as a speed boosting technique.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Tokiwadai Middle School, Tabata Private Elementary.
ID Photo:
[Error: Data Corrupted]
Age: 12
Esper Ability: Ghost Swim
Level: 3
Description: Ability allows user to pass their limbs through physical objects below a certain carbon content. The ability automatically protects the user by ejecting them from harmful mediums if the ability is deactivated. User employs this quirk as a speed boosting technique.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Tokiwadai Middle School, Tabata Private Elementary.
Name: Misaka Tabigake
ID Photo:
Age: 31
Esper Ability: Unnamed Gemstone Ability
Level: 2
Description: User is able to see "what things lack" and can intuit the steps needed to fulfil that lack.
Companion Organisation: N/A. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: CEO and Joint Majority Shareholder of Misaka Consulting Inc
Previous Employment: Judgement [CLASSIFIED] Branch Member, Judgement 103rd Branch Captain, Judgement 103rd Branch Member.
Educational History: Kanasaki University, Nagatenjouki Academy High School, Keigan Academy Middle School, Keigan Academy Elementary School.
ID Photo:
Age: 31
Esper Ability: Unnamed Gemstone Ability
Level: 2
Description: User is able to see "what things lack" and can intuit the steps needed to fulfil that lack.
Companion Organisation: N/A. [Expand to see previous COs]
Current Employment: CEO and Joint Majority Shareholder of Misaka Consulting Inc
Previous Employment: Judgement [CLASSIFIED] Branch Member, Judgement 103rd Branch Captain, Judgement 103rd Branch Member.
Educational History: Kanasaki University, Nagatenjouki Academy High School, Keigan Academy Middle School, Keigan Academy Elementary School.
Name: Misaka Misuzu
ID Photo:
Age: 33
Esper Ability: N/A
Level: N/A
Description: N/A
Companion Organisation: N/A.
Current Employment: CFO and Joint Majority Shareholder of Misaka Consulting Inc
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Kanasaki University Tokyo Branch Campus, Japanese Public Education System.
ID Photo:
Age: 33
Esper Ability: N/A
Level: N/A
Description: N/A
Companion Organisation: N/A.
Current Employment: CFO and Joint Majority Shareholder of Misaka Consulting Inc
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Kanasaki University Tokyo Branch Campus, Japanese Public Education System.
Name: Shirai Kuroko
ID Photo:
[Error: Data Corrupted]
Age: 11
Esper Ability: Teleportation
Level: 4
Description: Able to move the ability user or anything they can touch through 11th Dimensional space, appearing to "disappear" and "reappear" in observable 3 dimensional space-time. User can move objects weighing 130.7 kilograms or less within a radius of 81.5 metres from herself. User can manipulate the positioning and orientation of objects being moved by this ability. User is able to sense the relative dimensions, positions and vectors of all objects within the ability range. Extrasensory fidelity and accuracy of ability movement falls as distance from the user increases. User is unable to differentiate between objects in close proximity.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Current Employment: Judgement 177th Branch Member.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Matsuume Elementary School.
ID Photo:
[Error: Data Corrupted]
Age: 11
Esper Ability: Teleportation
Level: 4
Description: Able to move the ability user or anything they can touch through 11th Dimensional space, appearing to "disappear" and "reappear" in observable 3 dimensional space-time. User can move objects weighing 130.7 kilograms or less within a radius of 81.5 metres from herself. User can manipulate the positioning and orientation of objects being moved by this ability. User is able to sense the relative dimensions, positions and vectors of all objects within the ability range. Extrasensory fidelity and accuracy of ability movement falls as distance from the user increases. User is unable to differentiate between objects in close proximity.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Current Employment: Judgement 177th Branch Member.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Matsuume Elementary School.
Name: Uiharu Kazari
ID Photo:
[Error: Data Corrupted]
Age: 11
Esper Ability: Thermal Hand
Level: 3
Description: User can manipulate the temperature of any object they are touching which has a total surface area of 2 metres cubed or less. User can heat or cool objects being affected by this ability by up to 38.6 K from its temperature before the user used this ability on it. Objects affected follow the normal laws of thermodynamics once contact with the ability user is lost. User themselves has no extranormal thermal resistance.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Hachimori Elementary School.
ID Photo:
[Error: Data Corrupted]
Age: 11
Esper Ability: Thermal Hand
Level: 3
Description: User can manipulate the temperature of any object they are touching which has a total surface area of 2 metres cubed or less. User can heat or cool objects being affected by this ability by up to 38.6 K from its temperature before the user used this ability on it. Objects affected follow the normal laws of thermodynamics once contact with the ability user is lost. User themselves has no extranormal thermal resistance.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Hachimori Elementary School.
Name: Saten Ruiko
ID Photo:
[Error: Data Corrupted]
Age: 11
Esper Ability: Aero Hand
Level: 2
Description: User is able to psychokinetically manipulate air currents with high precision within 1 foot of their body up to a maximum force of 5.065 N. Air currents further from the user's body can be indirectly influenced by manipulating air currents with ability range.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Hachimori Elementary School.
ID Photo:
[Error: Data Corrupted]
Age: 11
Esper Ability: Aero Hand
Level: 2
Description: User is able to psychokinetically manipulate air currents with high precision within 1 foot of their body up to a maximum force of 5.065 N. Air currents further from the user's body can be indirectly influenced by manipulating air currents with ability range.
Companion Organisation: Lifeline Technologies LLC.
Current Employment: None.
Previous Employment: None.
Educational History: Hachimori Elementary School.
================================================================================================
AN: It is unfairly hard to find images of the characters before canon starts given I know they exist.
Next Dolly sidestory like, 80% done so expect that in the next couple of days. Then on to arc 3 of the main story following Tina.
Tina's interference changing the lives of Mikoto's canon friend circle and unintentionally saving Shirai from a future of hopeless simping in exchange for a one-sided rivalry was a fun reveal.
Sidestory 1: A Certain Dolly's School Life - Chapter 2
New
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Friday, 9th of May 2003, One Year and 1 month before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
"Man, It's hot today huh guys?" Big Sis says as she wipes sweat from her forehead on our walk back to School Garden.
Since our kidnapping we've taken to meeting up before school early in the morning everyday to exit School Garden in a group and running around one of the parks in District 7. Misaki's month of grounding from Mama ended yesterday so we are going to swap dorm rooms back over the weekend but we still intend to keep up the morning runs, over Misaki's strenuous objections. The four of us probably look quite intimidating to the other girls on our route back into School Garden, the three newest Level 5s all in one clique together. We've already set ourselves up as enemies to the established cliques just by existing. Not that Big Sis or Dolly have really noticed.
[Hey! I caught on before Big Sis at least!]
Only after I pointed it out to you while talking about it with Tatsuki and Misaki, Dolly. If you weren't sharing a head with me you'd be as lost as Big Sis is with Tokiwadai politics.
[Mou… You're so mean Minori…]
I didn't say it was a bad thing big sister. You and Big Sis are just focused on other things that's all.
"Waaaay too hot." Michan agrees. "I know we aren't supposed to switch to our summer uniforms for another couple of weeks but do you and Misaki think you could hide us switching early?"
Big Sis looks like she is seriously considering it but Misaki shakes her head.
"✧ Sorry ✧. Even if I was willing to risk mother using her grounding ability~ on me again for breaking our promise to only do that outside of school. Which I am not by the way~. I don't feel confident that Mikokun and I could keep that up for all 4 of us through the whole school day all across campus."
"5 of us." Dolly interjects, we've agreed that since today is a swimming class day Dolly will front unless I'm needed, "We won't leave Mirei to suffer while the 4 of us switch."
"Fair enough~. That just makes it more impractical though because we would need to swing by her dorm before Miss Tatsuki leaves for school in the morning."
Big Sis slowly nods.
"Yeah. Misa's right. I wish we could but it's just not practical."
Michan groans but nods her head in understanding, causing her twin tails to swing around. She recently swapped to that hairstyle, we aren't sure if that is going to be a lasting change or just for the summer to keep her hair off her neck. Misaki also tied her hair back into braided pigtails today, probably for the same reason. Thankfully our normal high ponytail keeps our neck free anyway. Big Sis' hair is short enough to not need styling to keep it off her neck, something she had been unreasonably smug about on Monday when the five of us first complained about this May heat wave.
"Why don't we get something from that vending machine? We have plenty of time before the first bell." Dolly says to the others, pointing to an old beat up drinks vending machine.
"Heck yeah. Hydration time." Big Sis mumbles to herself as we all walk over to inspect the machine. "Wait, it doesn't take cards? Just how old is this thing?"
Misaki sighs, "Please tell me it takes large denominations Mikokun? I don't think any of us carry smaller notes than 10,000 yen."
"Yeah it does. I'll cover today and we can set up a rotation. What does everyone want? I'm going to get one of the energy drinks."
"Black Bean Soda." Michan says.
"Green Tea." Misaki adds.
"You know those fad soda's are terrible for you right Michan? Plain black tea for me please Big Sis." Dolly says.
Everyone rolls their eyes at Dolly and Misaki's obsession with healthy eating.
If I could roll our eyes right now I would be too.
[Shush you~.]
We wait a moment but the machine isn't doing anything. Big Sis starts pressing buttons frantically.
"Did you break it with your bad luck ability Mikokun?"
"No! I don't think so? Even the change return button isn't working!"
"Hey freshies!" an unfamiliar voice pipes up before we can suggest just hacking the machine. We turn to look at her and…
Wow
Her skin is a dark tan, her hair is a bright dyed blonde styled into twin tails with little buns with decorations that make them look like frog eyes! Her legs go on forever and the short Tokiqadai skirt fits her really well. Her shirt only has a single button done so her midriff and her cleavage is out in the open for everyone to see. She's obviously not wearing a bra but he-
[Awww. Does my little sister have her first crush?]
Sh-shut up! I do not. She's. She's just very distracting. Dressing like a gyaru despite going to Tokiadai. I knew Shin'enkouji Rurikakesu dressed outlandishly but I didn't realise it was this improper!
[Uh huh? Right. By the way she's about to flash you.]
Wait wha-
Miss Shin'enkouji does a high kick to the vending machine for some reason. Oh. She's wearing hotpants under her skirt.
[And why are you so disappointed by that hmm?]
Sh-shush you! It. It's because that is against uniform regulations!
[Sure it is.]
"Hey~. Hey Freshie~. Your friends said you were the one who wanted black tea." Ruri-senpai says while poking our check.
"Thanks Miss Shin'enkouji." Dolly says with a grin as she takes the can. "So I know that Big Sis Mikoto asked the machine for Big Sis Michan's drink first. Does that mean the results of the kick are random?"
"You catch on quick freshie. Yeah." She turns back to our sisters, "You three okay with whatever I can kick out?"
"No need." Dolly says with a smirk on our lips as she gently rests our hand on the vending machine. Small arcs of electricity flow between us and the machine as we start hacking it.
[Test what signals activate which cans… There we go… pick out the Black Bean Soda, Green Tea,]
"Hey Big Sis! What can did you want again?"
"Oh! Um. I'll have the Lime and Liquorice energy drink."
"Gross but okay."
[Lime and Liquorice… and deduct that from the note that Big Sis put in… have it eject her change… Finished.]
The three cans tumble down into the dispenser and Big Sis' changes pops out as Dolly opens our ice tea can and takes a long sip.
"Argh! Why didn't I think of that." says Big Sis as she collects her change and the three cans to hand out.
"We can't all be geniuses." Dolly brags.
"Isn't your big sister literally a Level 5, Freshie?"
"All three of them are ya-What are you doing Michan!" Dolly shouts as Michan starts unbuttoning her top to match Miss Shin'enkouji's.
"Well, I figure if our upperclassman here can wear her top like this when it's hot I can too. Think you can keep the teachers off my back about this Misaki?"
"Sure. Sure." Misaki sighs and waves her hands.
Michan bows shallowly to Miss Shin'enkouji.
"My apologies for my sisters' antics, upperclassman. Allow me to introduce us. I am Kihara Lifeline Mitori, in my 2nd year. These are my younger sisters Shokuhou Misaki, Lifeline Misaka Dolly and Lifeline Misaka Minori. Our friend is Dolly and Minori's twin sister Misaka Mikoto. All in their first year."
Surprisingly Miss Shin'enkouji doesn't look confused by our tangled family web or by our unconventional plurality.
"Charmed~! My name is Shin'enkouji Rurikakesu but you cute freshies can just call me Ruri-senpai." she says with a wink. "Now. We've wasted a lot of time here so we should probably get going if we want to make the bell."
Suiting actions to words Ruri-senpai takes off at a jog towards school. After checking our watches and realising how long we had paused, the rest of us rush to catch up with her.
================================================================
Later that day
"-nd then she was like 'Again!'. Uwah. I think I really upset Miss Hasekura." Big Sis says from her position flopped forward onto what has become 'our table' at lunch. "But. I don't know. I couldn't just reject the challenge or try less than my best right?"
"✧ Absolutely ✧! You did nothing wrong Mikokun~! If this Miss Hasekura couldn't handle losing she shouldn't have challenged a Level 5. Hmmph. The nerve ability of that woman." Misaki says as she rubs circles on Big Sis' back. She has a dangerous glint in her eyes.
[I think Misaki might be planning a murder.]
Not over something like this but we should probably step in before she starts a fight with the Hasekura Clique we aren't ready for yet.
"Sorry you got ambushed like that, Big Sis. She sounds like a jerk."
"I'm just glad that my Railgun was such a good fit for the challenge she picked. If I hadn't spent months practising it with Auntie I'd have probably had to invent it on the spot. Who knows how badly that could have gone." she sighs, "I don't get all this 'clique' posturing stuff. A girl in swim class tried to explain it all and recruit me in the powder room but most of it flew over my head. If,"
"When." all 5 of us interject as one.
"If I get into Judgement there are rules against me interfering in clique conflicts anyway right?" Big Sis asks with a sigh, "I just hope I didn't make trouble for us. At least if they are trying to recruit me they probably don't think anything silly like all of us being a new clique trying to muscle in right?" Big Sis says with a laugh.
The four of us just glance at each other awkwardly.
Big Sis' laughter slowly trails off.
"Guys? Please don't say you take that seriously? It was just a joke! Guys?"
Eventually Tatsuki loses the silent argument and steps up to explain things to Big Sis.
"Mikotan. All three Level 5s attending Tokiwadai sit at this table. By the standards that Tokiwadai measures influence and power just by doing that we are an equal clique to any of the established big 3 cliques with their dozens of Level 3s and 4s each. Honestly combined with Dr. Lifeline you are one of the top 5 concentrations of power in all of Academy City."
"Well. Can't we just explain their misunderstanding to them? We don't want to do some kind of power grab or make waves. So they don't need to worry about us."
"Mikoto." Michan says, "Even if that was true, and to be clear Mirei and I do in fact want to run a clique, they wouldn't believe us. Even if we were totally uninterested, our mere existence is a threat to their power." she slams her fist on the table, "Which is why we need to gather power of our own! The connections we make here at school could last us for our entire lives. Working together, there is no one that will be able to hurt us!"
[We aren't talking about school cliques anymore are we…] Dolly and I think in stereo.
We are pretty sure that everyone else at the table has the same thought judging from their expressions.
Michan coughs and adjusts her single fastened button. She still hasn't covered up decently since this morning. We complained when we all met up for lunch but she just brushed us off with the excuse about copying Ruri-senpai again.
"Ah. That is. This kind of social networking is good practice for later in life and is a normal part of the school experience." she says with a sheepish blush.
Big Sis slumps in her chair again.
"So there is really no way to avoid all these insane school politics? I just want a normal school life with my friends."
Misaki reaches out and pats Big Sis' hand.
"Don't worry about all this Mikokun~. I understand exactly how you feel about this silly schoolyard drama. Let the rest of us worry about social networking while you just have fun. Between Tatsuki, Mitori, Minori and ✧ myself ✧ we have all the social standing ability we need. You and Dolly can just ignore this stuff."
Big Sis draws Misaki into a hug. Misaki is a bit stiff about it at first, she's still not used to hugs, but she softens into it and uses her shortness to nestle her head into Big Sis' neck pretty quickly. It would be even cuter if they weren't so dense about how obvious they are.
"Thank you Misa but I don't want to push all the work onto you guys. I caught how you don't want to bother with this either. How can I leave you to suffer while I just coast along unbothered? I'd be a terrible friend if I did that. Since the only way to avoid this would be to stop being friends, and I would never do that, what can I do to help?" Big Sis says with a new fire in her eyes. Ah. Her competitive spirit has been unlocked or maybe it is just her protective ability for her crush~.
[I love you, Minori, and I love Misaki, but if you start thinking and talking like her I will give you the worst headache.]
We spend the rest of lunch strategising and assigning each of us targets to befriend and assess if we should bring them into our new clique. All of us agree we want a core of close and reliable friends rather than just a large mass of social climbing sycophants. All our candidates are independents right now, Tatsuki and Michan would rather go straight to poaching from the established cliques but Misaki, Big Sis and ourselves manage to convince them that we need more numbers before we try that.
================================================================
After School That Day
"So which one of those two dorks do you think will ask the other out first?" Michan asks us as we walk back to our dorms from school.
"Minori doesn't think they will ask each other out at all. They will just realise they are already dating one day and quietly pretend that they knew all along. I think that Big Sis will realise first but won't work up the courage to ask before Misaki does. So my money is on Misaki being the first to formally ask Big Sis out." Dolly says.
"Speaking of romance~. How are your plans with Mirei for Monday going?"
"Great! We are going to the aquarium for a special dissection presentation. They have a surplus of starfish and some of them have been infected by parasites so Dr Oshimi Yuumu is going to be doing public dissections on both infected and uninfected starfish to show the differences! Mirei is a huge fan of her work on auditory signals on the human brain so I hope she likes the surprise." Dolly says with an enormous grin on our face.
I still say that is gross.
[Yeah but you will be asleep for the whole date anyway so stop whining.]
Michan drags us into a hug and gives us a noogie as she says,
"Yeah that sounds like something you'll both enjoy. Oh! My little sister is planning her first date. I'm so proud."
We make sounds of protest but we don't try to escape, we just hug Michan back. This is nice. Unfortunately it ends too soon, Michan pulls back and puts her serious face on.
"Someone up ahead. He has a strange device on his head. Can you tell what it is?"
Oh. Yes now we are closer we can sense him too. Hmm. I've never seen anything like his headgear before.
"It is some kind of circlet with wires trailing down to the ground. I've never seen anything like it." Dolly replies.
We palm the panic button Mama has given us but we don't activate it yet. This might still be nothing. As we turn the corner we can see the boy with our own eyes. He doesn't look impressive. Aggressively average if anything.
"Ah." he says, "There you are, 7th Ranked Level 5, Liquid Shadow. Kihara Lifeline Mitori"
[Wait. He isn't here for us?] Dolly and I think in stereo.
"What's it to you?" Michan says, crossing her arms under her breasts.
"Rumour has it you were only given your rank as a bribe towards your mother. I want to test that theory."
[Do these idiots not understand that you don't get a level up just for beating the level above you in a fight?]
Apparently not. I guess this is like Miss Hasekura at school.
"Sure we can test that. Shall I beat you to a pulp here in public or would you rather your humiliation be in private instead?" Michan boasts as she steps to the side away from us.
The boy with the headgear just chuckles.
"Neither Miss Kihara. I am a professional." He gives an insultingly shallow bow, "Yobou Banka of SCHOOL. Level 4. For now. I am issuing a formal challenge from my organisation to yours. A fight at midnight tomorrow, between yourself and I, in the empty fields near the District 10 nuclear power station to see who is truly worthy of being the 7th Ranked. With a mutually agreed upon neutral arbitrator. Your mother knows my employer's number, she and they can work out the details."
Michan tilts her head in thought and we prepare to fight if we have to, our hair folding into coilguns ready to be loaded with needles. Mr Yobou stays completely calm and at ease. He is completely dismissing us as a threat.
[How dare he.] We think in stereo.
"Sure. Alright. I 'formally' accept your challenge. I'll see you there Mr Yobou Banka." Michan eventually says with a bored tone.
Once the boy has left we let our hair fall back into place and rush over to hold Michan's hand.
"Are you okay? Why did you accept? If a fight is going to happen wouldn't we have been better served taking him on together and using our panic buttons?" Dolly asks.
Michan hugs us and strokes our hair.
"It will be okay, Dolly. You too, Minori. You remember how he said he was with SCHOOL? That is the 2nd Ranked's personal team. I'm sure we could have taken him here but all that would do is piss off Dark Matter." she ruffles our hair, "Besides, remember that Mum is on thin ice right now. Causing another public disturbance in School Garden would be bad for her. SCHOOL will have the backing of at least 1 Director for a stunt like this. They probably want to see if I sandbagged on my System Scan like Mum used to is all. It's not like this will be a fight to the death. Things will be fine."
"We guess. We still don't like it though." We just say and squeeze Michan tighter.
=================================================================
Midnight, Saturday 10th/Morning, Sunday 11th of May 2003, One Year and 1 month before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
We worry our lower lip as we look over the empty field in District 10. In the distance we can see the nuclear power plant and on the other side the freeway encircling the city. Michan must have been right about a Director backing up SCHOOL's challenge. Even Mama couldn't get all the nearby roads cleared and blocked off on such short notice. Not legally anyway. Anti-Skill and MAR vans along with unmarked vehicles allied to SCHOOL fill the freeway. Floodlights mounted on vans and hanging off the roads illuminate the gladiatorial field, while AIM field detectors, directional microphones and clairvoyant espers in the employ of various research companies stand in between them.
Michan and Mr Youbo are already out in the field, standing about 50 metres apart. Both of them look like they are in casual clothing but we know for a fact that Michan's clothes are all disguised Liquid Shadow this time while the way that Mr Youbo's clothes hang on his body makes clear he is wearing some form of body armour underneath them. Michan is still refusing to button up, we wish she would. If not for decency then at least for protection. Mama took our side but not even her disappointed look was enough to get Michan to cover herself.
We are standing with Misaki and Big Sis in the southwest corner of the field while the rest of SCHOOL is standing across from us in the northwest, the two girls don't look much older than us. We're not sure if they are in early high school or late middle school though. Mama is standing with SCHOOL's leader, Mr Kakine Teitoku, along with the neutral arbitrator, Director Oyafune in between our two groups. We expected their conversation to look tense and uncomfortable, Mama hasn't been shy about calling Mrs Oyafune a naive idealist and from his group sending this challenge we assumed that Dark Matter would be more annoyed about new Level 5s like Mama. Instead the three of them look relaxed, almost as if they were here for afternoon tea rather than bloodsport.
[Come on, Minori. That isn't a fair description. Mama was terrified when we first told her about this. If she looks calm now either Mr Kakine has made a convincing case that Michan won't get hurt or she's playing them both.]
I know! I'm not judging Mama for keeping a professional face. I'm angry at Mr Kakine for setting this up and the Directors for allowing it.
[Maybe they are just keeping up a professional face too?]
They don't get the benefit of the doubt after the way they've hurt Michan! How many times have we had to help her after a nightmare this past month? She can't even get to sleep unless the window is open so she doesn't feel trapped!
[... Yeah that's fair. That only goes for Mrs Oyafune though. We don't know anything about Mr Kakine. We shouldn't assume his motives or actions without more data. Which this fight will give us.]
I guess…
Misaki reaches out to take our hand. We accept and give her a squeeze. She is holding Big Sis' hand on her other side as well. She turns to us with a smile.
✧ It will be okay ✧, Dolly, Minori. Trust in Mitori's amazonian fighting ability~.
☇ Yeah. Mitori might not be able to beat Misa or I in an esper fight but she's way tougher than the Lensman over there. ☇
We tilt our head.
[Lensman?] we ask in stereo.
☇ It's an old English book. Miss Hinata recommended it to help me understand the roots of some American English idioms. It's a pre-esper development curriculum book speculating about what esper powers might look like. They used headgear like Mr Youbo's to enhance their esper abilities. I could lend it to you if you like? ☇
[No thanks. If he's being allowed external gear shouldn't Michan be allowed it as well?]
✧ She is. ✧ Mitori is choosing not to use her knives or the combat armour mother made because of her showing off ability~
Ah. So she wants to use as little outside assistance as possible to make her ranking more secure? I don't want the book either by the way, Big Sis.
✧ Exactly! ✧
Before we can continue our mental conversation, Director Oyafune's voice rings out from the speakers surrounding the impromptu arena.
"By the authority of the Board of Directors, and with the support of the commanders of SCHOOL and MAR, this special System Scan test of Miss Kihara Lifeline Mitori of MAR and Mr Youbo Banka of SCHOOL will begin on my mark. As proctor I retain the right to call a halt to this experiment at any time, for any reason without explanation. Attempts by either party to kill or maim the other will be grounds for immediate disqualification. Do both parties consent to this test?"
"I do." Mr Youbo's voice calls out. However, he didn't move his lips, instead the sound seemed to come from multiple spots among the observers. According to his Bank details he was a general psychokinesist with a specialism in precise manipulation, similar to Misaki being a fine manipulation hydrokinesist, so that must have been him directly vibrating the air near us to produce the sounds. Well he wasn't the only one that could show off! Kick his ass Michan!
Our esp picks up some of Michan's Liquid Shadow rising up through the ground near us, our eyes tell us that the same is happening near all the other groups as well. 50 Liquid Shadows in all spring up nearly silently and within the second since Director Oyafune finished her question. Only a moment after Mr Youbo gives his answer Michan gives hers.
"I consent." Her voice comes through the puppets perfectly. After a month of practice with Tatsuki, Michan has completely perfected her mimicry of the human voice box. She can even mimic voices other than her own.
Her 50 Liquid Shadows leap from their positions at the perimeter to surround Michan. Despite looking like perfect replicas of her they move faster than any human and can leap over 10 metres in a single bound. Thanks to her practice with Tatsuki and Mama, Michan's Liquid Shadows only look like the liquid metal they really are if she doesn't feel like trying.
"3, 2" Director Oyafune's voice begins the countdown, "1, Mark."
Despite neither Michan or Mr Youbo actually moving their own bodies the centre of the field still explodes into violence as the Director starts the match. 20 of Michan's Liquid Shadows burst forward, their hands transforming into large mallets. Those look scary but their surface area will actually reduce the damage they do compared to Michan's normal blades. Before they can clobber Mr Youbo into the ground though, blocks of compacted dirt rise up to shield him from their attacks and attempt to crush Michan's Liquid Shadows in retaliation. His lips move and he smirks as their respective constructs continue to fight. We can't make out what he says from this distance.
✧ Not to worry! ✧ Misaki to the rescue~. I'm using my eavesdropping ability to spy on the directional microphone users. He said 'As expected, your psychokinetic hold on your preferred medium is too strong for me to just steal them. Good, this would have been boring otherwise'. His arrogance ability is impressive right?
Right! Michan will kick his ass!
[I hope you're right Minori. I worry that Michan might be too arrogant herself by not bringing any equipment. What if he can change the molecular properties of her medium like Big Sis, Misaki and ourselves can? That would deprive her of her main weapon. Even if she still beat him, that could make them take away her Level. That would be a huge public embarrassment for Mama. Which is probably what the Directors backing this are hoping for now that I think about it.]
☇ Don't worry Dolly. Mitori had the same thought months ago while sparring with us all. Supposedly she's been workshopping it with Auntie for a while. She asked for Misaki and I's help yesterday to test if her countermeasures would work. Mitori will be fine. ☇
[... Why didn't she ask us for help too?] we think in stereo and don't manage to keep it from Big Sis or Misaki. Misaki gives Big Sis a glare and squeezes our hand in comfort.
She needed to know if her counter ability would stand up to ✧ Level 5 ✧ AIM strength. Sorry we didn't say anything earlier you two~.
[Yeah. Sigh. Yeah that makes sense.]
I guess. Still feels shitty though.
We should keep our attention ability~ on the fight. ✧ I'll ✧ just use my autotranslate ability for you three from now on~.
While we have been having our psychic conversation Mr Youbo has been testing the properties of Michan's Liquid Shadow. His uses of air pressure or objects to bludgeon or cut them have failed to make any meaningful damage. The liquid metal Michan likes to use was designed as an industrial impact absorber so most of his attacks can't even damage it. Even the occasional cut he does make doesn't accomplish anything because Michan is amazing and doesn't have a limit on the number of distinct volumes she can control at once like lower level Hydokinesists. Any Liquid Shadows damaged simply flow back together or split into smaller puppets to keep attacking.
"Is this all you have Mr Youbo? Because it's boring. You're boring me." Michan's chorus of Liquid Shadow puppets say with exaggerated fake yawns while her main body stays perfectly still. Picked up by the directional microphone and then beamed from the operator's head to ours by Misaki.
Her 20 Liquid Shadows that are in combat start moving quicker and with more force, quickly overpowering Mr Youbo's defensive debris. As they close in to restrain him he clicks his tongue in irritation and spins in place with an arm outstretched. Michan's Liquid Shadows are blown back and apart by what looks like a thermobaric explosion.
☇[He must have used his ability to excite the air molecules mixed with the dust from the fight.]☇ Big Sis, Dolly and I think at the same time.
✧ All my sisters ✧ are battle manics~.
The smoke and dust from the explosions suddenly gathers in a vortex and shoots like a pressure cutter towards Michan! 10 of her guarding Liquid Shadows jump in front of it and use their chests like bellows to create a gust powerful enough to disperse it. Revealing Mr Youbo unharmed, unsurprising that he could shield himself from his own attack but still disappointing. Michan's entourage of Shadows is smirking.
"Made you move first." the 20 Liquid Shadows still guarding her say. Mr Youbo just glares in response.
The ten Liquid Shadows that just blocked his vortex attack form into pairs before combining and changing shape into 5… gorillas? They look a lot cruder than Michan's puppets based on herself but I am pretty sure they are meant to be gorillas. They quickly show that they can exert more force than her own bodyform though, moving quicker than Mr Youbo can get a guard up and forcing him to use his ability to pull himself into dodges. Any shields he does manage to form they break through with ease. Still. This doesn't make much sense as a tactic. Even if she wants to show off, why would Michan keep so many Liquid Shadows back? The gorilla shadows might be quicker and stronger but their lower numbers are also leaving more openings for Mr Youbo to escape. Is she trying to herd him somewhere?
Whatever her plan was, it doesn't seem to work. After only a short chase the gorilla shadows pursuing Mr Youbo pause before melting into puddles on the ground.
"Ha! Fina-Finally! You- gasp You've improved your range of control Miss Kihara. It took me a few tries to work my way down the periodic table to find something with a low enough specific gravity." Mr Youbo pants out. I'd insult him by calling him unathletic but honestly an olympic runner would probably be exhausted after running from Michan's superhuman Shadows as well. Michan just gives him a slow clap from her entourage of Liquid Shadows, still refusing to move herself.
"Congratulations. You found my most obvious weakness that anyone who can read Bank data would know. Did you really think I wouldn't have countermeasures for that? It's so obvious my kid sisters figured it out months ago." her Shadow chorus says for her.
Suddenly the puddles of Liquid Shadow spring back up into their gorilla forms and leap towards Mr Youbo, though they look even cruder this time with droplets falling off them. Mr Youbo goes to dodge again but the earth around his feet has formed into hands and is holding his ankles tightly. He falls backwards, thankfully Michan's earth hands move with him so he doesn't break anything and disqualify Michan. Before his head hits the ground one of the gorilla shadows catches him and removes his circlet, tossing it to Michan who has one of her guardian shadows casually catch it. The other four gorilla shadows lose their form and form a solid mound of metal over Mr Youbo, preventing him from moving anything but his head. Which is still held in the super strong grip of the last gorilla shadow. The threat Michan is making is clear. The Director sees it too. After a second to give Mr Youbo time to make a counter attack, with none coming, she nods to herself and announces the end of the match. Michan hasn't moved once since the fight started, not even to speak, but now she visibly untenses in relief and starts speed walking over to Big Sis, Misaki and ourselves.
Looking over at Mama, Mr Kakine and the Director, Mama and Mr Kakine are shaking hands. He looks smug as hell so he must have gotten something out of this anyway. Director Oyafune looks like she has bitten a lemon, so at least someone isn't walking home happy today. Their group breaks up, Mama heading back towards us while Director Oyafune joins her Anti-Skill escort which is packing up. Mr Kakine heads over to collect Mr Youbo, Michan having released him and recollected her Liquid Shadows, along with the rest of his team. Mr Youbo looks despondent but Mr Kakine gives him a pat on the shoulder and a smile. Huh. Maybe he isn't as bad as he seems?
While that is happening Michan is running towards us. She glomps Misaki and ourselves in a hug first.
"Sorry about indirectly shit talking you three. I needed to keep him distracted for a second longer to set up my trap. I didn't mean to call you stupid by association."
We just hug her back harder.
"We don't care about that idiot! We're just glad you're not hurt." We feel Misaki nodding along with us into the hug.
Michan eventually lets us go, far too early in our opinion, and gives Big Sis a hug too before finally hugging Mama as she reaches us.
"I'm so proud of you Mitori. You're already overtaking me. Pretty sure eventually I'll be the only level 4 in the family." Eh? Mama thinks we might reach level 5 like Big Sis?
[I guess it makes sense. We are clones… Though our Personal realities are pretty different.]
"Thanks Mum! I'm a bit disappointed I didn't end up using my aerial bombardment or ability armour but with the no maiming rule those would have been risky to attack Mr Youbo with unless I had to."
"What was your counter measure anyway Michan? We can't figure it out. We thought maybe you made a pseudomycelial network underground and used that to control the earth but that doesn't explain retaking control of the Liquid Shadows that Mr Youbo changed the specific gravity of."
Michan looks at Mama who nods.
"Just like we thought Mr Kakine already figured it out. He was just flattered at the similarity, thankfully."
"I've turned the directional microphones off too~." Misaki adds, "Though with the number of AIM scanners and clairvoyants nearby I wouldn't be surprised if they figure it out anyway."
We cross our arms and pout, "Does everyone know but us? We might start to actually feel hurt, Michan."
Michan pulls us into another hug.
"Sorry Dolly. Sorry Minori. I wasn't trying to keep it a secret from you in particular. I wanted to surprise all of you with it at once. Well, other than Mum. She's the one who's been helping me with it. When Mr Youbo blasted apart my initial wave of Shadows did you pay attention to what happened to them?"
[Damn.]
Oops.
"Not really?" We admit bashfully.
Michan ruffles our hair with a grin.
"No need to feel bad! That just means I did a good job of distracting everyone. I let the blast do most of the work but while everyone was looking elsewhere I separated those Shadows into microscopic molecules. Well, to make the calculations easier I actually based them on animalcules." She giggles as if she has just made an excellent joke. "Ah. Sorry, it's an old name for microbes." Ah! That makes sense. "Then I can use them like tiny nanomachines to control other materials or to change their molecular makeup to match my Specific Gravity needs."
[Oh shit.] we think in stereo. [That would give Michan incredible power and versatility. Wait but wouldn't?]
"Couldn't Mr Youbo still have changed their Specific Gravity to render them useless?" We ask.
Michan shrugs with affected carelessness.
"If he had time to figure out what I was doing, yeah. That is why I got rid of his headgear so fast, it boosts his esp. Their size makes them somewhat resistant to that kind of thing, he'd still have to overpower my own psychokinesis as well as focus on billions of tiny objects at once, but Misaki and Mikoto can both do that to them. That's why I had to distract him and herd him to a place where his thermobaric blast had blown a large number of them. I can theoretically move them about with psychokinesis but the calculations to make and control them still give me a headache. I'm not quite a real Level 5 yet but I will be!" Michan says with a proud smile. Michan is amazing!
"Indeed. I think tonight is as close to a complete success as we could ask for. Since I doubt any of you will be able to sleep anyway, who wants a late night takeaway to celebrate? I've already negotiated with Unabara to get you all Monday out of school for you to sleep the adrenaline off."
The 5 of us instantly crowd Mama and start arguing about what unhealthy food to get as a treat. This is the happy life we always wanted. With Michan and Misaki. Even better than we ever dreamed of. We have a Mama and a Big Sister too. We want things to stay like this forever.
=================================================================
Wednesday, 14th of May 2003, One Year and 1 month before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
"Did you hear? Did you hear? The Hasekura and Mikagami Cliques almost got into a fight yesterday morning at the gate and then the same girls had a fight outside of school!" Tatsuki says as she and ourselves sit down at our lunch table with everyone else. Everyone except Big Sis nods. Big Sis just sighs. Honestly Tatsuki could seem less excited, I get that 2 of the big 3 cliques fighting each other is good for us but Miss Kazan'in was apparently really hurt.
{You don't need to worry, Minori. Mirei 's just being a battle maniac like Big Sis and Michan. She just shows it a bit differently that's all. If Miss Kazan'in had suffered anything the City couldn't fix she'd be much more serious about this. As it is she is probably just disappointed she didn't get to see Miss Enjou's ribbon control in action.]
If you say so Dolly. She's your girlfriend after all.
[Eeeee! I'm still so happy she said yes on Monday! We even held hands on the way back to our dorms!]
We have an extra person with us at our group of tables today, Michan has brought one of her second year friends. Presumably to give her a covert interview about joining our, newly official since Monday, clique. She has even lighter natural platinum blonde hair than Misaki or Mikagami and has it done up in the same twin pigtail style as Misaki. Unlike Misaki however, she is tall, taller than everyone else at the table actually, and even more muscled than Tatsuki or Michan. The static charge clinging to her makes it clear she is some form of Electromaster, though her field expression is unlike any we have felt before.
"Well before you all fill me in on the latest middle school drama. Dolly, Minori, Tatsuki. Meet Miss Hokaze Junko. She is Mitori's friend from her class. Miss Hokaze. Meet our sisters Lifeline Misaka Dolly and Lifeline Misaka Minori along with our mutual friend Miss Tatsuki Mirei."
Tatsuki is already examining Miss Hokaze's body for weak points. Unlike usual though, Miss Hokaze is returning the favour. Though Miss Hokaze seems significantly less murderous about it. Once she is finished Tatsuki looks very impressed and excited. I hope Dolly doesn't have a love rival.
[It isn't like that. Mirei just realised that Miss Hokaze is a regenerator. She is probably trying to work up the nerve to ask her-]
"Can I vivisect you please!" Tatsuki blurts out with sparkles in her eyes. Metaphorical sparkles not Misaki sparkles.
Miss Hokaze is taken aback obviously. Our three sisters are all facepalming. I would be too but Dolly took control for a second to sigh fondly and pat Tatsuki's head instead.
Hey! It's my turn at the front!
[I'll give control right back I promise.]
"You're getting better, Mirei. Well done for remembering to say please. Maybe lead with the fact you realised she is a regenerator next time before explaining that you would of course use anaesthetic and avoid doing any permanent damage."
Tatsuki just pouts and blushes, "I was getting to those Dorrin. I hadn't forgotten…"
Miss Hokaze clears her throat, "I'm afraid I would rather not be vivisected Miss Tatsuki, even with anaesthetic." Her eyes flick around the space surrounding our body, "My apologies if this question is insensitive but I can only see one Miss Lifeline Misaka. Is your final sister invisible or here by telepresence? I can sense some electrical signals that could explain either of those."
Dolly gives Tatsuki a final pat on the head before withdrawing her hand and giving me control back.
"Not quite. Our body is Minori's, mine, but Dolly's consciousness persists in my electromaster AIM field after her death." I say
"Would it be possible for any electromaster to learn that technique!" Miss Hokaze asks, looking extremely excited at the idea.
"I'm sorry," I say with a shake of my head, giving our prepared cover story, "We are a rare case of identical siblings who also were lucky enough to have compatible personal realities. After testing we still aren't sure we could replicate this with Big Sis Mikoto despite her being our third triplet."
Miss Hokaze looks like we personally kicked her dog.
[She must have lost someone close to her.]
"I see. Thank you for your honesty."
"I speak for all of us when I say we are sorry for your loss, Miss Hokaze." Michan breaks the awkward silence, "You don't need to say anything else if you don't want to."
Miss Hokaze just nods. That brings the mood down for the rest of lunch as Tatsuki and Michan fill Big Sis in on the argument at the gate between Miss Enjou of the Hasekura Clique and Miss Kazan'in of the Mikagami Clique. Along with the supposed attack after school yesterday and the posturing that was already happening between the two cliques. Which was being made particularly bad because Miss Mikagami was being even more passive than usual and refusing to reign her girls in, while Miss Hasekura was away in Paris giving a presentation on her original research making her unavailable to intervene to keep things calm on her side.
"So this Miss Enjou claims that she didn't commit the attack but Miss Kazan'in has marks that match her power? All while the best peacemaker is out of the city so she can't put a stop to things? What a mess." Big Sis says, resting her hand on her forehead.
"There is a way for both girls to be telling the truth, Mikotan. There isn't enough evidence to say for sure but you have to admit that if someone wanted to do a false flag attack now would be the time." Tatsuki says.
Big Sis frowns and nods her head slowly.
"Hey Misa? I know this is more work for you but would you be willing to come with me to the Judgement office? I'm only a trainee and we are a new clique but if your Mental Out could prove that one, both or neither of them is lying that would narrow down the possibilities a lot. Tokiwadai's Judgement might be banned from clique business but if this really was a murderous attack outside of school hours and school grounds then it would come under broader Judgement jurisdiction. Enough for us to do some purely investigatory work anyway."
"I could. I wouldn't even need to see the girls in question necessarily, I could use my psychometry on the location of the attack." Big Sis doesn't get excited, she knows what's coming next, "I don't want to though. Miss Kazan'in wasn't seriously hurt in the end and Miss Enjou isn't being charged with anything. Stepping in feels like activating my timewasting ability. It isn't as if the other cliques would trust me anyway. Mental Out isn't photogenic like Railgun or Liquid Shadow."
"I'll buy you an entire crate of Jin Xuan tea."
"What are we waiting for, let's ✧ go ✧ already! Use that great running ability of yours Mikokun!" Misaki has jumped into a princess' carry in Big Sis' arms before she has even finished her own sentence, "Onward noble steed! To justice!" Big Sis just sighs and starts carrying Misaki off towards the Judgement offices at a jog. The rest of us wave at them as their forms vanish into the distance.
"Oh my. They seem like really close friends." Miss Hokaze says once they have left. If we didn't know better we would have thought she was earnest rather than sarcastic.
[Understatement of the year.]
Yep.
Tatsuki, Michan and ourselves all can't help giggling at Miss Hokaze's excellent use of sarcasm.
"Totes Beasties"
"Busom Buddies you could say."
"The closest of friends." I say at the same time Michan and Tatsuki make their own jokes.
"I couldn't help noticing. Miss Misaka's four hairpins. Aren't they all characters from the Gekota franchise?"
She better not be about to call Gekota or Big Sis childish.
[It is childish Minori but there isn't a problem with that. However, if Miss Hokaze is about to make fun of Big Sis for that then I'll have a problem with her.]
"Yes." I say with with narrowed eyes, "Those were birthday presents from all of us so you had better not b-"
"I knew it! It's so nice to finally meet fellow Gekoers at Tokiwadai! All the other girls call it childish but really, it's a very complex sh-"
[Oh wow. She's the first person I've seen match Big Sis in Gekota nerddom.]
She's perfect.
[Minori?]
A goddess.
[Minori you're scaring me!]
She Must Join Our Clique!
[Minori no! Mirei! Michan! Save me! Don't just look away and giggle! Help! They are going to talk about this for hours! I'll miss class! Guys!]
===========================================================
AN: damn this one was hard to get out. Balancing focus and getting character voices/motivations right for this many canon characters with such big butterflies at this point is hard. At least it pushed me to finally read the manga rather than just relying on the anime. There are still a few future important Tokiwadai students to introduce for Dolly's sidestory like Kobayashi and Iori but this is enough for now.
Also the fight with Banka was so hard to choreograph thanks to his limited displays in canon.
This is probably obvious from context but Dolly' sidestory is going to be focused on the first year arc of the railgun manga and other smaller scale Tokiwadai school stuff, potentially as far as Astral Buddy and Mental Out manga if the fic lasts that long, while Tina deals with wider city stuff in the same timeframe. Meanwhile the Kuroko sidestory is going to focus on the street level judgement point of view of events when it is relevant.
"Man, It's hot today huh guys?" Big Sis says as she wipes sweat from her forehead on our walk back to School Garden.
Since our kidnapping we've taken to meeting up before school early in the morning everyday to exit School Garden in a group and running around one of the parks in District 7. Misaki's month of grounding from Mama ended yesterday so we are going to swap dorm rooms back over the weekend but we still intend to keep up the morning runs, over Misaki's strenuous objections. The four of us probably look quite intimidating to the other girls on our route back into School Garden, the three newest Level 5s all in one clique together. We've already set ourselves up as enemies to the established cliques just by existing. Not that Big Sis or Dolly have really noticed.
[Hey! I caught on before Big Sis at least!]
Only after I pointed it out to you while talking about it with Tatsuki and Misaki, Dolly. If you weren't sharing a head with me you'd be as lost as Big Sis is with Tokiwadai politics.
[Mou… You're so mean Minori…]
I didn't say it was a bad thing big sister. You and Big Sis are just focused on other things that's all.
"Waaaay too hot." Michan agrees. "I know we aren't supposed to switch to our summer uniforms for another couple of weeks but do you and Misaki think you could hide us switching early?"
Big Sis looks like she is seriously considering it but Misaki shakes her head.
"✧ Sorry ✧. Even if I was willing to risk mother using her grounding ability~ on me again for breaking our promise to only do that outside of school. Which I am not by the way~. I don't feel confident that Mikokun and I could keep that up for all 4 of us through the whole school day all across campus."
"5 of us." Dolly interjects, we've agreed that since today is a swimming class day Dolly will front unless I'm needed, "We won't leave Mirei to suffer while the 4 of us switch."
"Fair enough~. That just makes it more impractical though because we would need to swing by her dorm before Miss Tatsuki leaves for school in the morning."
Big Sis slowly nods.
"Yeah. Misa's right. I wish we could but it's just not practical."
Michan groans but nods her head in understanding, causing her twin tails to swing around. She recently swapped to that hairstyle, we aren't sure if that is going to be a lasting change or just for the summer to keep her hair off her neck. Misaki also tied her hair back into braided pigtails today, probably for the same reason. Thankfully our normal high ponytail keeps our neck free anyway. Big Sis' hair is short enough to not need styling to keep it off her neck, something she had been unreasonably smug about on Monday when the five of us first complained about this May heat wave.
"Why don't we get something from that vending machine? We have plenty of time before the first bell." Dolly says to the others, pointing to an old beat up drinks vending machine.
"Heck yeah. Hydration time." Big Sis mumbles to herself as we all walk over to inspect the machine. "Wait, it doesn't take cards? Just how old is this thing?"
Misaki sighs, "Please tell me it takes large denominations Mikokun? I don't think any of us carry smaller notes than 10,000 yen."
"Yeah it does. I'll cover today and we can set up a rotation. What does everyone want? I'm going to get one of the energy drinks."
"Black Bean Soda." Michan says.
"Green Tea." Misaki adds.
"You know those fad soda's are terrible for you right Michan? Plain black tea for me please Big Sis." Dolly says.
Everyone rolls their eyes at Dolly and Misaki's obsession with healthy eating.
If I could roll our eyes right now I would be too.
[Shush you~.]
We wait a moment but the machine isn't doing anything. Big Sis starts pressing buttons frantically.
"Did you break it with your bad luck ability Mikokun?"
"No! I don't think so? Even the change return button isn't working!"
"Hey freshies!" an unfamiliar voice pipes up before we can suggest just hacking the machine. We turn to look at her and…
Wow
Her skin is a dark tan, her hair is a bright dyed blonde styled into twin tails with little buns with decorations that make them look like frog eyes! Her legs go on forever and the short Tokiqadai skirt fits her really well. Her shirt only has a single button done so her midriff and her cleavage is out in the open for everyone to see. She's obviously not wearing a bra but he-
[Awww. Does my little sister have her first crush?]
Sh-shut up! I do not. She's. She's just very distracting. Dressing like a gyaru despite going to Tokiadai. I knew Shin'enkouji Rurikakesu dressed outlandishly but I didn't realise it was this improper!
[Uh huh? Right. By the way she's about to flash you.]
Wait wha-
Miss Shin'enkouji does a high kick to the vending machine for some reason. Oh. She's wearing hotpants under her skirt.
[And why are you so disappointed by that hmm?]
Sh-shush you! It. It's because that is against uniform regulations!
[Sure it is.]
"Hey~. Hey Freshie~. Your friends said you were the one who wanted black tea." Ruri-senpai says while poking our check.
"Thanks Miss Shin'enkouji." Dolly says with a grin as she takes the can. "So I know that Big Sis Mikoto asked the machine for Big Sis Michan's drink first. Does that mean the results of the kick are random?"
"You catch on quick freshie. Yeah." She turns back to our sisters, "You three okay with whatever I can kick out?"
"No need." Dolly says with a smirk on our lips as she gently rests our hand on the vending machine. Small arcs of electricity flow between us and the machine as we start hacking it.
[Test what signals activate which cans… There we go… pick out the Black Bean Soda, Green Tea,]
"Hey Big Sis! What can did you want again?"
"Oh! Um. I'll have the Lime and Liquorice energy drink."
"Gross but okay."
[Lime and Liquorice… and deduct that from the note that Big Sis put in… have it eject her change… Finished.]
The three cans tumble down into the dispenser and Big Sis' changes pops out as Dolly opens our ice tea can and takes a long sip.
"Argh! Why didn't I think of that." says Big Sis as she collects her change and the three cans to hand out.
"We can't all be geniuses." Dolly brags.
"Isn't your big sister literally a Level 5, Freshie?"
"All three of them are ya-What are you doing Michan!" Dolly shouts as Michan starts unbuttoning her top to match Miss Shin'enkouji's.
"Well, I figure if our upperclassman here can wear her top like this when it's hot I can too. Think you can keep the teachers off my back about this Misaki?"
"Sure. Sure." Misaki sighs and waves her hands.
Michan bows shallowly to Miss Shin'enkouji.
"My apologies for my sisters' antics, upperclassman. Allow me to introduce us. I am Kihara Lifeline Mitori, in my 2nd year. These are my younger sisters Shokuhou Misaki, Lifeline Misaka Dolly and Lifeline Misaka Minori. Our friend is Dolly and Minori's twin sister Misaka Mikoto. All in their first year."
Surprisingly Miss Shin'enkouji doesn't look confused by our tangled family web or by our unconventional plurality.
"Charmed~! My name is Shin'enkouji Rurikakesu but you cute freshies can just call me Ruri-senpai." she says with a wink. "Now. We've wasted a lot of time here so we should probably get going if we want to make the bell."
Suiting actions to words Ruri-senpai takes off at a jog towards school. After checking our watches and realising how long we had paused, the rest of us rush to catch up with her.
================================================================
Later that day
"-nd then she was like 'Again!'. Uwah. I think I really upset Miss Hasekura." Big Sis says from her position flopped forward onto what has become 'our table' at lunch. "But. I don't know. I couldn't just reject the challenge or try less than my best right?"
"✧ Absolutely ✧! You did nothing wrong Mikokun~! If this Miss Hasekura couldn't handle losing she shouldn't have challenged a Level 5. Hmmph. The nerve ability of that woman." Misaki says as she rubs circles on Big Sis' back. She has a dangerous glint in her eyes.
[I think Misaki might be planning a murder.]
Not over something like this but we should probably step in before she starts a fight with the Hasekura Clique we aren't ready for yet.
"Sorry you got ambushed like that, Big Sis. She sounds like a jerk."
"I'm just glad that my Railgun was such a good fit for the challenge she picked. If I hadn't spent months practising it with Auntie I'd have probably had to invent it on the spot. Who knows how badly that could have gone." she sighs, "I don't get all this 'clique' posturing stuff. A girl in swim class tried to explain it all and recruit me in the powder room but most of it flew over my head. If,"
"When." all 5 of us interject as one.
"If I get into Judgement there are rules against me interfering in clique conflicts anyway right?" Big Sis asks with a sigh, "I just hope I didn't make trouble for us. At least if they are trying to recruit me they probably don't think anything silly like all of us being a new clique trying to muscle in right?" Big Sis says with a laugh.
The four of us just glance at each other awkwardly.
Big Sis' laughter slowly trails off.
"Guys? Please don't say you take that seriously? It was just a joke! Guys?"
Eventually Tatsuki loses the silent argument and steps up to explain things to Big Sis.
"Mikotan. All three Level 5s attending Tokiwadai sit at this table. By the standards that Tokiwadai measures influence and power just by doing that we are an equal clique to any of the established big 3 cliques with their dozens of Level 3s and 4s each. Honestly combined with Dr. Lifeline you are one of the top 5 concentrations of power in all of Academy City."
"Well. Can't we just explain their misunderstanding to them? We don't want to do some kind of power grab or make waves. So they don't need to worry about us."
"Mikoto." Michan says, "Even if that was true, and to be clear Mirei and I do in fact want to run a clique, they wouldn't believe us. Even if we were totally uninterested, our mere existence is a threat to their power." she slams her fist on the table, "Which is why we need to gather power of our own! The connections we make here at school could last us for our entire lives. Working together, there is no one that will be able to hurt us!"
[We aren't talking about school cliques anymore are we…] Dolly and I think in stereo.
We are pretty sure that everyone else at the table has the same thought judging from their expressions.
Michan coughs and adjusts her single fastened button. She still hasn't covered up decently since this morning. We complained when we all met up for lunch but she just brushed us off with the excuse about copying Ruri-senpai again.
"Ah. That is. This kind of social networking is good practice for later in life and is a normal part of the school experience." she says with a sheepish blush.
Big Sis slumps in her chair again.
"So there is really no way to avoid all these insane school politics? I just want a normal school life with my friends."
Misaki reaches out and pats Big Sis' hand.
"Don't worry about all this Mikokun~. I understand exactly how you feel about this silly schoolyard drama. Let the rest of us worry about social networking while you just have fun. Between Tatsuki, Mitori, Minori and ✧ myself ✧ we have all the social standing ability we need. You and Dolly can just ignore this stuff."
Big Sis draws Misaki into a hug. Misaki is a bit stiff about it at first, she's still not used to hugs, but she softens into it and uses her shortness to nestle her head into Big Sis' neck pretty quickly. It would be even cuter if they weren't so dense about how obvious they are.
"Thank you Misa but I don't want to push all the work onto you guys. I caught how you don't want to bother with this either. How can I leave you to suffer while I just coast along unbothered? I'd be a terrible friend if I did that. Since the only way to avoid this would be to stop being friends, and I would never do that, what can I do to help?" Big Sis says with a new fire in her eyes. Ah. Her competitive spirit has been unlocked or maybe it is just her protective ability for her crush~.
[I love you, Minori, and I love Misaki, but if you start thinking and talking like her I will give you the worst headache.]
We spend the rest of lunch strategising and assigning each of us targets to befriend and assess if we should bring them into our new clique. All of us agree we want a core of close and reliable friends rather than just a large mass of social climbing sycophants. All our candidates are independents right now, Tatsuki and Michan would rather go straight to poaching from the established cliques but Misaki, Big Sis and ourselves manage to convince them that we need more numbers before we try that.
================================================================
After School That Day
"So which one of those two dorks do you think will ask the other out first?" Michan asks us as we walk back to our dorms from school.
"Minori doesn't think they will ask each other out at all. They will just realise they are already dating one day and quietly pretend that they knew all along. I think that Big Sis will realise first but won't work up the courage to ask before Misaki does. So my money is on Misaki being the first to formally ask Big Sis out." Dolly says.
"Speaking of romance~. How are your plans with Mirei for Monday going?"
"Great! We are going to the aquarium for a special dissection presentation. They have a surplus of starfish and some of them have been infected by parasites so Dr Oshimi Yuumu is going to be doing public dissections on both infected and uninfected starfish to show the differences! Mirei is a huge fan of her work on auditory signals on the human brain so I hope she likes the surprise." Dolly says with an enormous grin on our face.
I still say that is gross.
[Yeah but you will be asleep for the whole date anyway so stop whining.]
Michan drags us into a hug and gives us a noogie as she says,
"Yeah that sounds like something you'll both enjoy. Oh! My little sister is planning her first date. I'm so proud."
We make sounds of protest but we don't try to escape, we just hug Michan back. This is nice. Unfortunately it ends too soon, Michan pulls back and puts her serious face on.
"Someone up ahead. He has a strange device on his head. Can you tell what it is?"
Oh. Yes now we are closer we can sense him too. Hmm. I've never seen anything like his headgear before.
"It is some kind of circlet with wires trailing down to the ground. I've never seen anything like it." Dolly replies.
We palm the panic button Mama has given us but we don't activate it yet. This might still be nothing. As we turn the corner we can see the boy with our own eyes. He doesn't look impressive. Aggressively average if anything.
"Ah." he says, "There you are, 7th Ranked Level 5, Liquid Shadow. Kihara Lifeline Mitori"
[Wait. He isn't here for us?] Dolly and I think in stereo.
"What's it to you?" Michan says, crossing her arms under her breasts.
"Rumour has it you were only given your rank as a bribe towards your mother. I want to test that theory."
[Do these idiots not understand that you don't get a level up just for beating the level above you in a fight?]
Apparently not. I guess this is like Miss Hasekura at school.
"Sure we can test that. Shall I beat you to a pulp here in public or would you rather your humiliation be in private instead?" Michan boasts as she steps to the side away from us.
The boy with the headgear just chuckles.
"Neither Miss Kihara. I am a professional." He gives an insultingly shallow bow, "Yobou Banka of SCHOOL. Level 4. For now. I am issuing a formal challenge from my organisation to yours. A fight at midnight tomorrow, between yourself and I, in the empty fields near the District 10 nuclear power station to see who is truly worthy of being the 7th Ranked. With a mutually agreed upon neutral arbitrator. Your mother knows my employer's number, she and they can work out the details."
Michan tilts her head in thought and we prepare to fight if we have to, our hair folding into coilguns ready to be loaded with needles. Mr Yobou stays completely calm and at ease. He is completely dismissing us as a threat.
[How dare he.] We think in stereo.
"Sure. Alright. I 'formally' accept your challenge. I'll see you there Mr Yobou Banka." Michan eventually says with a bored tone.
Once the boy has left we let our hair fall back into place and rush over to hold Michan's hand.
"Are you okay? Why did you accept? If a fight is going to happen wouldn't we have been better served taking him on together and using our panic buttons?" Dolly asks.
Michan hugs us and strokes our hair.
"It will be okay, Dolly. You too, Minori. You remember how he said he was with SCHOOL? That is the 2nd Ranked's personal team. I'm sure we could have taken him here but all that would do is piss off Dark Matter." she ruffles our hair, "Besides, remember that Mum is on thin ice right now. Causing another public disturbance in School Garden would be bad for her. SCHOOL will have the backing of at least 1 Director for a stunt like this. They probably want to see if I sandbagged on my System Scan like Mum used to is all. It's not like this will be a fight to the death. Things will be fine."
"We guess. We still don't like it though." We just say and squeeze Michan tighter.
=================================================================
Midnight, Saturday 10th/Morning, Sunday 11th of May 2003, One Year and 1 month before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
We worry our lower lip as we look over the empty field in District 10. In the distance we can see the nuclear power plant and on the other side the freeway encircling the city. Michan must have been right about a Director backing up SCHOOL's challenge. Even Mama couldn't get all the nearby roads cleared and blocked off on such short notice. Not legally anyway. Anti-Skill and MAR vans along with unmarked vehicles allied to SCHOOL fill the freeway. Floodlights mounted on vans and hanging off the roads illuminate the gladiatorial field, while AIM field detectors, directional microphones and clairvoyant espers in the employ of various research companies stand in between them.
Michan and Mr Youbo are already out in the field, standing about 50 metres apart. Both of them look like they are in casual clothing but we know for a fact that Michan's clothes are all disguised Liquid Shadow this time while the way that Mr Youbo's clothes hang on his body makes clear he is wearing some form of body armour underneath them. Michan is still refusing to button up, we wish she would. If not for decency then at least for protection. Mama took our side but not even her disappointed look was enough to get Michan to cover herself.
We are standing with Misaki and Big Sis in the southwest corner of the field while the rest of SCHOOL is standing across from us in the northwest, the two girls don't look much older than us. We're not sure if they are in early high school or late middle school though. Mama is standing with SCHOOL's leader, Mr Kakine Teitoku, along with the neutral arbitrator, Director Oyafune in between our two groups. We expected their conversation to look tense and uncomfortable, Mama hasn't been shy about calling Mrs Oyafune a naive idealist and from his group sending this challenge we assumed that Dark Matter would be more annoyed about new Level 5s like Mama. Instead the three of them look relaxed, almost as if they were here for afternoon tea rather than bloodsport.
[Come on, Minori. That isn't a fair description. Mama was terrified when we first told her about this. If she looks calm now either Mr Kakine has made a convincing case that Michan won't get hurt or she's playing them both.]
I know! I'm not judging Mama for keeping a professional face. I'm angry at Mr Kakine for setting this up and the Directors for allowing it.
[Maybe they are just keeping up a professional face too?]
They don't get the benefit of the doubt after the way they've hurt Michan! How many times have we had to help her after a nightmare this past month? She can't even get to sleep unless the window is open so she doesn't feel trapped!
[... Yeah that's fair. That only goes for Mrs Oyafune though. We don't know anything about Mr Kakine. We shouldn't assume his motives or actions without more data. Which this fight will give us.]
I guess…
Misaki reaches out to take our hand. We accept and give her a squeeze. She is holding Big Sis' hand on her other side as well. She turns to us with a smile.
✧ It will be okay ✧, Dolly, Minori. Trust in Mitori's amazonian fighting ability~.
☇ Yeah. Mitori might not be able to beat Misa or I in an esper fight but she's way tougher than the Lensman over there. ☇
We tilt our head.
[Lensman?] we ask in stereo.
☇ It's an old English book. Miss Hinata recommended it to help me understand the roots of some American English idioms. It's a pre-esper development curriculum book speculating about what esper powers might look like. They used headgear like Mr Youbo's to enhance their esper abilities. I could lend it to you if you like? ☇
[No thanks. If he's being allowed external gear shouldn't Michan be allowed it as well?]
✧ She is. ✧ Mitori is choosing not to use her knives or the combat armour mother made because of her showing off ability~
Ah. So she wants to use as little outside assistance as possible to make her ranking more secure? I don't want the book either by the way, Big Sis.
✧ Exactly! ✧
Before we can continue our mental conversation, Director Oyafune's voice rings out from the speakers surrounding the impromptu arena.
"By the authority of the Board of Directors, and with the support of the commanders of SCHOOL and MAR, this special System Scan test of Miss Kihara Lifeline Mitori of MAR and Mr Youbo Banka of SCHOOL will begin on my mark. As proctor I retain the right to call a halt to this experiment at any time, for any reason without explanation. Attempts by either party to kill or maim the other will be grounds for immediate disqualification. Do both parties consent to this test?"
"I do." Mr Youbo's voice calls out. However, he didn't move his lips, instead the sound seemed to come from multiple spots among the observers. According to his Bank details he was a general psychokinesist with a specialism in precise manipulation, similar to Misaki being a fine manipulation hydrokinesist, so that must have been him directly vibrating the air near us to produce the sounds. Well he wasn't the only one that could show off! Kick his ass Michan!
Our esp picks up some of Michan's Liquid Shadow rising up through the ground near us, our eyes tell us that the same is happening near all the other groups as well. 50 Liquid Shadows in all spring up nearly silently and within the second since Director Oyafune finished her question. Only a moment after Mr Youbo gives his answer Michan gives hers.
"I consent." Her voice comes through the puppets perfectly. After a month of practice with Tatsuki, Michan has completely perfected her mimicry of the human voice box. She can even mimic voices other than her own.
Her 50 Liquid Shadows leap from their positions at the perimeter to surround Michan. Despite looking like perfect replicas of her they move faster than any human and can leap over 10 metres in a single bound. Thanks to her practice with Tatsuki and Mama, Michan's Liquid Shadows only look like the liquid metal they really are if she doesn't feel like trying.
"3, 2" Director Oyafune's voice begins the countdown, "1, Mark."
Despite neither Michan or Mr Youbo actually moving their own bodies the centre of the field still explodes into violence as the Director starts the match. 20 of Michan's Liquid Shadows burst forward, their hands transforming into large mallets. Those look scary but their surface area will actually reduce the damage they do compared to Michan's normal blades. Before they can clobber Mr Youbo into the ground though, blocks of compacted dirt rise up to shield him from their attacks and attempt to crush Michan's Liquid Shadows in retaliation. His lips move and he smirks as their respective constructs continue to fight. We can't make out what he says from this distance.
✧ Not to worry! ✧ Misaki to the rescue~. I'm using my eavesdropping ability to spy on the directional microphone users. He said 'As expected, your psychokinetic hold on your preferred medium is too strong for me to just steal them. Good, this would have been boring otherwise'. His arrogance ability is impressive right?
Right! Michan will kick his ass!
[I hope you're right Minori. I worry that Michan might be too arrogant herself by not bringing any equipment. What if he can change the molecular properties of her medium like Big Sis, Misaki and ourselves can? That would deprive her of her main weapon. Even if she still beat him, that could make them take away her Level. That would be a huge public embarrassment for Mama. Which is probably what the Directors backing this are hoping for now that I think about it.]
☇ Don't worry Dolly. Mitori had the same thought months ago while sparring with us all. Supposedly she's been workshopping it with Auntie for a while. She asked for Misaki and I's help yesterday to test if her countermeasures would work. Mitori will be fine. ☇
[... Why didn't she ask us for help too?] we think in stereo and don't manage to keep it from Big Sis or Misaki. Misaki gives Big Sis a glare and squeezes our hand in comfort.
She needed to know if her counter ability would stand up to ✧ Level 5 ✧ AIM strength. Sorry we didn't say anything earlier you two~.
[Yeah. Sigh. Yeah that makes sense.]
I guess. Still feels shitty though.
We should keep our attention ability~ on the fight. ✧ I'll ✧ just use my autotranslate ability for you three from now on~.
While we have been having our psychic conversation Mr Youbo has been testing the properties of Michan's Liquid Shadow. His uses of air pressure or objects to bludgeon or cut them have failed to make any meaningful damage. The liquid metal Michan likes to use was designed as an industrial impact absorber so most of his attacks can't even damage it. Even the occasional cut he does make doesn't accomplish anything because Michan is amazing and doesn't have a limit on the number of distinct volumes she can control at once like lower level Hydokinesists. Any Liquid Shadows damaged simply flow back together or split into smaller puppets to keep attacking.
"Is this all you have Mr Youbo? Because it's boring. You're boring me." Michan's chorus of Liquid Shadow puppets say with exaggerated fake yawns while her main body stays perfectly still. Picked up by the directional microphone and then beamed from the operator's head to ours by Misaki.
Her 20 Liquid Shadows that are in combat start moving quicker and with more force, quickly overpowering Mr Youbo's defensive debris. As they close in to restrain him he clicks his tongue in irritation and spins in place with an arm outstretched. Michan's Liquid Shadows are blown back and apart by what looks like a thermobaric explosion.
☇[He must have used his ability to excite the air molecules mixed with the dust from the fight.]☇ Big Sis, Dolly and I think at the same time.
✧ All my sisters ✧ are battle manics~.
The smoke and dust from the explosions suddenly gathers in a vortex and shoots like a pressure cutter towards Michan! 10 of her guarding Liquid Shadows jump in front of it and use their chests like bellows to create a gust powerful enough to disperse it. Revealing Mr Youbo unharmed, unsurprising that he could shield himself from his own attack but still disappointing. Michan's entourage of Shadows is smirking.
"Made you move first." the 20 Liquid Shadows still guarding her say. Mr Youbo just glares in response.
The ten Liquid Shadows that just blocked his vortex attack form into pairs before combining and changing shape into 5… gorillas? They look a lot cruder than Michan's puppets based on herself but I am pretty sure they are meant to be gorillas. They quickly show that they can exert more force than her own bodyform though, moving quicker than Mr Youbo can get a guard up and forcing him to use his ability to pull himself into dodges. Any shields he does manage to form they break through with ease. Still. This doesn't make much sense as a tactic. Even if she wants to show off, why would Michan keep so many Liquid Shadows back? The gorilla shadows might be quicker and stronger but their lower numbers are also leaving more openings for Mr Youbo to escape. Is she trying to herd him somewhere?
Whatever her plan was, it doesn't seem to work. After only a short chase the gorilla shadows pursuing Mr Youbo pause before melting into puddles on the ground.
"Ha! Fina-Finally! You- gasp You've improved your range of control Miss Kihara. It took me a few tries to work my way down the periodic table to find something with a low enough specific gravity." Mr Youbo pants out. I'd insult him by calling him unathletic but honestly an olympic runner would probably be exhausted after running from Michan's superhuman Shadows as well. Michan just gives him a slow clap from her entourage of Liquid Shadows, still refusing to move herself.
"Congratulations. You found my most obvious weakness that anyone who can read Bank data would know. Did you really think I wouldn't have countermeasures for that? It's so obvious my kid sisters figured it out months ago." her Shadow chorus says for her.
Suddenly the puddles of Liquid Shadow spring back up into their gorilla forms and leap towards Mr Youbo, though they look even cruder this time with droplets falling off them. Mr Youbo goes to dodge again but the earth around his feet has formed into hands and is holding his ankles tightly. He falls backwards, thankfully Michan's earth hands move with him so he doesn't break anything and disqualify Michan. Before his head hits the ground one of the gorilla shadows catches him and removes his circlet, tossing it to Michan who has one of her guardian shadows casually catch it. The other four gorilla shadows lose their form and form a solid mound of metal over Mr Youbo, preventing him from moving anything but his head. Which is still held in the super strong grip of the last gorilla shadow. The threat Michan is making is clear. The Director sees it too. After a second to give Mr Youbo time to make a counter attack, with none coming, she nods to herself and announces the end of the match. Michan hasn't moved once since the fight started, not even to speak, but now she visibly untenses in relief and starts speed walking over to Big Sis, Misaki and ourselves.
Looking over at Mama, Mr Kakine and the Director, Mama and Mr Kakine are shaking hands. He looks smug as hell so he must have gotten something out of this anyway. Director Oyafune looks like she has bitten a lemon, so at least someone isn't walking home happy today. Their group breaks up, Mama heading back towards us while Director Oyafune joins her Anti-Skill escort which is packing up. Mr Kakine heads over to collect Mr Youbo, Michan having released him and recollected her Liquid Shadows, along with the rest of his team. Mr Youbo looks despondent but Mr Kakine gives him a pat on the shoulder and a smile. Huh. Maybe he isn't as bad as he seems?
While that is happening Michan is running towards us. She glomps Misaki and ourselves in a hug first.
"Sorry about indirectly shit talking you three. I needed to keep him distracted for a second longer to set up my trap. I didn't mean to call you stupid by association."
We just hug her back harder.
"We don't care about that idiot! We're just glad you're not hurt." We feel Misaki nodding along with us into the hug.
Michan eventually lets us go, far too early in our opinion, and gives Big Sis a hug too before finally hugging Mama as she reaches us.
"I'm so proud of you Mitori. You're already overtaking me. Pretty sure eventually I'll be the only level 4 in the family." Eh? Mama thinks we might reach level 5 like Big Sis?
[I guess it makes sense. We are clones… Though our Personal realities are pretty different.]
"Thanks Mum! I'm a bit disappointed I didn't end up using my aerial bombardment or ability armour but with the no maiming rule those would have been risky to attack Mr Youbo with unless I had to."
"What was your counter measure anyway Michan? We can't figure it out. We thought maybe you made a pseudomycelial network underground and used that to control the earth but that doesn't explain retaking control of the Liquid Shadows that Mr Youbo changed the specific gravity of."
Michan looks at Mama who nods.
"Just like we thought Mr Kakine already figured it out. He was just flattered at the similarity, thankfully."
"I've turned the directional microphones off too~." Misaki adds, "Though with the number of AIM scanners and clairvoyants nearby I wouldn't be surprised if they figure it out anyway."
We cross our arms and pout, "Does everyone know but us? We might start to actually feel hurt, Michan."
Michan pulls us into another hug.
"Sorry Dolly. Sorry Minori. I wasn't trying to keep it a secret from you in particular. I wanted to surprise all of you with it at once. Well, other than Mum. She's the one who's been helping me with it. When Mr Youbo blasted apart my initial wave of Shadows did you pay attention to what happened to them?"
[Damn.]
Oops.
"Not really?" We admit bashfully.
Michan ruffles our hair with a grin.
"No need to feel bad! That just means I did a good job of distracting everyone. I let the blast do most of the work but while everyone was looking elsewhere I separated those Shadows into microscopic molecules. Well, to make the calculations easier I actually based them on animalcules." She giggles as if she has just made an excellent joke. "Ah. Sorry, it's an old name for microbes." Ah! That makes sense. "Then I can use them like tiny nanomachines to control other materials or to change their molecular makeup to match my Specific Gravity needs."
[Oh shit.] we think in stereo. [That would give Michan incredible power and versatility. Wait but wouldn't?]
"Couldn't Mr Youbo still have changed their Specific Gravity to render them useless?" We ask.
Michan shrugs with affected carelessness.
"If he had time to figure out what I was doing, yeah. That is why I got rid of his headgear so fast, it boosts his esp. Their size makes them somewhat resistant to that kind of thing, he'd still have to overpower my own psychokinesis as well as focus on billions of tiny objects at once, but Misaki and Mikoto can both do that to them. That's why I had to distract him and herd him to a place where his thermobaric blast had blown a large number of them. I can theoretically move them about with psychokinesis but the calculations to make and control them still give me a headache. I'm not quite a real Level 5 yet but I will be!" Michan says with a proud smile. Michan is amazing!
"Indeed. I think tonight is as close to a complete success as we could ask for. Since I doubt any of you will be able to sleep anyway, who wants a late night takeaway to celebrate? I've already negotiated with Unabara to get you all Monday out of school for you to sleep the adrenaline off."
The 5 of us instantly crowd Mama and start arguing about what unhealthy food to get as a treat. This is the happy life we always wanted. With Michan and Misaki. Even better than we ever dreamed of. We have a Mama and a Big Sister too. We want things to stay like this forever.
=================================================================
Wednesday, 14th of May 2003, One Year and 1 month before the start of Canon A Certain Magical Index
"Did you hear? Did you hear? The Hasekura and Mikagami Cliques almost got into a fight yesterday morning at the gate and then the same girls had a fight outside of school!" Tatsuki says as she and ourselves sit down at our lunch table with everyone else. Everyone except Big Sis nods. Big Sis just sighs. Honestly Tatsuki could seem less excited, I get that 2 of the big 3 cliques fighting each other is good for us but Miss Kazan'in was apparently really hurt.
{You don't need to worry, Minori. Mirei 's just being a battle maniac like Big Sis and Michan. She just shows it a bit differently that's all. If Miss Kazan'in had suffered anything the City couldn't fix she'd be much more serious about this. As it is she is probably just disappointed she didn't get to see Miss Enjou's ribbon control in action.]
If you say so Dolly. She's your girlfriend after all.
[Eeeee! I'm still so happy she said yes on Monday! We even held hands on the way back to our dorms!]
We have an extra person with us at our group of tables today, Michan has brought one of her second year friends. Presumably to give her a covert interview about joining our, newly official since Monday, clique. She has even lighter natural platinum blonde hair than Misaki or Mikagami and has it done up in the same twin pigtail style as Misaki. Unlike Misaki however, she is tall, taller than everyone else at the table actually, and even more muscled than Tatsuki or Michan. The static charge clinging to her makes it clear she is some form of Electromaster, though her field expression is unlike any we have felt before.
"Well before you all fill me in on the latest middle school drama. Dolly, Minori, Tatsuki. Meet Miss Hokaze Junko. She is Mitori's friend from her class. Miss Hokaze. Meet our sisters Lifeline Misaka Dolly and Lifeline Misaka Minori along with our mutual friend Miss Tatsuki Mirei."
Tatsuki is already examining Miss Hokaze's body for weak points. Unlike usual though, Miss Hokaze is returning the favour. Though Miss Hokaze seems significantly less murderous about it. Once she is finished Tatsuki looks very impressed and excited. I hope Dolly doesn't have a love rival.
[It isn't like that. Mirei just realised that Miss Hokaze is a regenerator. She is probably trying to work up the nerve to ask her-]
"Can I vivisect you please!" Tatsuki blurts out with sparkles in her eyes. Metaphorical sparkles not Misaki sparkles.
Miss Hokaze is taken aback obviously. Our three sisters are all facepalming. I would be too but Dolly took control for a second to sigh fondly and pat Tatsuki's head instead.
Hey! It's my turn at the front!
[I'll give control right back I promise.]
"You're getting better, Mirei. Well done for remembering to say please. Maybe lead with the fact you realised she is a regenerator next time before explaining that you would of course use anaesthetic and avoid doing any permanent damage."
Tatsuki just pouts and blushes, "I was getting to those Dorrin. I hadn't forgotten…"
Miss Hokaze clears her throat, "I'm afraid I would rather not be vivisected Miss Tatsuki, even with anaesthetic." Her eyes flick around the space surrounding our body, "My apologies if this question is insensitive but I can only see one Miss Lifeline Misaka. Is your final sister invisible or here by telepresence? I can sense some electrical signals that could explain either of those."
Dolly gives Tatsuki a final pat on the head before withdrawing her hand and giving me control back.
"Not quite. Our body is Minori's, mine, but Dolly's consciousness persists in my electromaster AIM field after her death." I say
"Would it be possible for any electromaster to learn that technique!" Miss Hokaze asks, looking extremely excited at the idea.
"I'm sorry," I say with a shake of my head, giving our prepared cover story, "We are a rare case of identical siblings who also were lucky enough to have compatible personal realities. After testing we still aren't sure we could replicate this with Big Sis Mikoto despite her being our third triplet."
Miss Hokaze looks like we personally kicked her dog.
[She must have lost someone close to her.]
"I see. Thank you for your honesty."
"I speak for all of us when I say we are sorry for your loss, Miss Hokaze." Michan breaks the awkward silence, "You don't need to say anything else if you don't want to."
Miss Hokaze just nods. That brings the mood down for the rest of lunch as Tatsuki and Michan fill Big Sis in on the argument at the gate between Miss Enjou of the Hasekura Clique and Miss Kazan'in of the Mikagami Clique. Along with the supposed attack after school yesterday and the posturing that was already happening between the two cliques. Which was being made particularly bad because Miss Mikagami was being even more passive than usual and refusing to reign her girls in, while Miss Hasekura was away in Paris giving a presentation on her original research making her unavailable to intervene to keep things calm on her side.
"So this Miss Enjou claims that she didn't commit the attack but Miss Kazan'in has marks that match her power? All while the best peacemaker is out of the city so she can't put a stop to things? What a mess." Big Sis says, resting her hand on her forehead.
"There is a way for both girls to be telling the truth, Mikotan. There isn't enough evidence to say for sure but you have to admit that if someone wanted to do a false flag attack now would be the time." Tatsuki says.
Big Sis frowns and nods her head slowly.
"Hey Misa? I know this is more work for you but would you be willing to come with me to the Judgement office? I'm only a trainee and we are a new clique but if your Mental Out could prove that one, both or neither of them is lying that would narrow down the possibilities a lot. Tokiwadai's Judgement might be banned from clique business but if this really was a murderous attack outside of school hours and school grounds then it would come under broader Judgement jurisdiction. Enough for us to do some purely investigatory work anyway."
"I could. I wouldn't even need to see the girls in question necessarily, I could use my psychometry on the location of the attack." Big Sis doesn't get excited, she knows what's coming next, "I don't want to though. Miss Kazan'in wasn't seriously hurt in the end and Miss Enjou isn't being charged with anything. Stepping in feels like activating my timewasting ability. It isn't as if the other cliques would trust me anyway. Mental Out isn't photogenic like Railgun or Liquid Shadow."
"I'll buy you an entire crate of Jin Xuan tea."
"What are we waiting for, let's ✧ go ✧ already! Use that great running ability of yours Mikokun!" Misaki has jumped into a princess' carry in Big Sis' arms before she has even finished her own sentence, "Onward noble steed! To justice!" Big Sis just sighs and starts carrying Misaki off towards the Judgement offices at a jog. The rest of us wave at them as their forms vanish into the distance.
"Oh my. They seem like really close friends." Miss Hokaze says once they have left. If we didn't know better we would have thought she was earnest rather than sarcastic.
[Understatement of the year.]
Yep.
Tatsuki, Michan and ourselves all can't help giggling at Miss Hokaze's excellent use of sarcasm.
"Totes Beasties"
"Busom Buddies you could say."
"The closest of friends." I say at the same time Michan and Tatsuki make their own jokes.
"I couldn't help noticing. Miss Misaka's four hairpins. Aren't they all characters from the Gekota franchise?"
She better not be about to call Gekota or Big Sis childish.
[It is childish Minori but there isn't a problem with that. However, if Miss Hokaze is about to make fun of Big Sis for that then I'll have a problem with her.]
"Yes." I say with with narrowed eyes, "Those were birthday presents from all of us so you had better not b-"
"I knew it! It's so nice to finally meet fellow Gekoers at Tokiwadai! All the other girls call it childish but really, it's a very complex sh-"
[Oh wow. She's the first person I've seen match Big Sis in Gekota nerddom.]
She's perfect.
[Minori?]
A goddess.
[Minori you're scaring me!]
She Must Join Our Clique!
[Minori no! Mirei! Michan! Save me! Don't just look away and giggle! Help! They are going to talk about this for hours! I'll miss class! Guys!]
===========================================================
AN: damn this one was hard to get out. Balancing focus and getting character voices/motivations right for this many canon characters with such big butterflies at this point is hard. At least it pushed me to finally read the manga rather than just relying on the anime. There are still a few future important Tokiwadai students to introduce for Dolly's sidestory like Kobayashi and Iori but this is enough for now.
Also the fight with Banka was so hard to choreograph thanks to his limited displays in canon.
This is probably obvious from context but Dolly' sidestory is going to be focused on the first year arc of the railgun manga and other smaller scale Tokiwadai school stuff, potentially as far as Astral Buddy and Mental Out manga if the fic lasts that long, while Tina deals with wider city stuff in the same timeframe. Meanwhile the Kuroko sidestory is going to focus on the street level judgement point of view of events when it is relevant.
Huh ya that would be an excellent jump off for actually Reaching Level 5 for Mitori wouldn't it and also part of why it wouldn't end up happening officially in Canon
This bit is super cute and answers something I was wondering about Misaki.
Part of the whole deal with Shokuhou not getting into Judgement and so forth in canon is that, well, going through official channels doesn't actually work very well to actually dole out justice or prevent injustice in Academy City. A lot of it really is a waste of time, especially when lives aren't in the balance. So while the rest of the family are in on the Judgement kick, and Mitori is just ready to jump at any chance to correct injustice, I was wondering where Shokuhou would fall on the spectrum in this new dynamic.
But yeah, her being reluctant to do so and dragged in by Mikoto via bribery and so forth makes perfect sense.