Chapter 5: Pathway of Change
Shadows in the Dark
The next days were something entirely new and curious for Misaka.
Experimentation with the constructs she could create went well, even when she was alone. There were a number of interesting things that she discovered.
First, she could create around 3 cat constructs with the energy she gained from the White stream before she had to wait for it to refill in whatever way it did. That took around an hour if she had to guess, maybe a little less.
And second, Misaka could keep around twelve of the cats materialized without side-problems. If she tried to go over this soft limit, a headache would develop, grow over time and become exponentially worse with each further construct.
At first, Misaka had worried that people would soon notice if she kept the cats around and that she would have to dismiss them every time after experimentation. Fortunately, it appeared like she had quite the great range and they could move through the city without her having to micro-manage everything.
Of course there were some things that could only really be tested with someone's help.
"Okay, how many fingers am I holding up."
A moment of silence before the answer came.
"Three."
There was the sound of movement before the first voice asked again.
"And how many am I holding up now?"
"Seven..." A short pause followed before the voice continued: ",and now you are sticking your tongue out at me, exclaims Misaka in mock anger." A short giggle sounded behind the brunette and she turned to the other person present. Sonea only winked at her, amusement shining in her eyes.
Both were in an empty space hidden behind a few houses. Sonea had shown her the small field which was a hidden spot in the less problematic parts of the slums. It was surprising just how sturdy some of the buildings in this place were, some wouldn't have been out of place in the city proper.
On the other hand there was an old warehouse which had apparently formerly belonged to a somewhat successful merchant, but the same had gone bankrupt years ago due to some business problem. There had been whispering that it involved the thieves, the organized crime of the city, back when the whole thing took place. Well, at least that was what Sonea had told her. It was suitable to hide anything they didn't want to show and nobody seemed to use it since it was leaky and air easily blew through the thin walls.
"Okay, you can notice anything they see, but you say you don't really share their sight, right?" She asked finally.
"Yes, explains Misaka. I seem capable of noticing whatever happens around them, but unless Misaka actively searches for it or it is somehow important, she doesn't notice it. And I cannot actually see what they see in the literal sense." Just yesterday evening, she had noticed that one of the cats had been attacked by a dog and she had been forced to dismiss it. She hadn't wanted anyone to find the construct after it got hurt after all. Her guess was that her sub consciousness kept the knowledge back so as to not distract her unless necessary.
"Good, then the next test, if you would get ready." Sonea grabbed a stone from the ground and waited while Misaka held out one hand and made another chocolate coloured cat form from white light. With a sharp movement, the older girl threw the stone at the cat. It seemed to try moving, but it was slow and sluggish and the stone hit easily. The feline hissed before it was silenced by its controller's will.
"Okay, you are right; they are slow right after you make them. Does that happen every time?" At this question, Misaka nodded.
"Yes, Misaka's observation say that they reach full mobility after around a minute, says Misaka while making the poor kitty vanish again." As she spoke, the cat turned into a multitude of white sparks which then floated for a few seconds before vanishing too.
The esper nodded in satisfaction before yawning and wondering.
This was more or less how the training went, Misaka would mention something she had noticed and which she wanted to test or Sonea would have an idea. There was more though. The younger girl had mentioned to her host that she had also gotten a plan for a construct when she had touched her much earlier. Although the older girl was somewhat hesitant at the idea of creating a humanoid construct, they still decided to try it. Sadly, attempts to materialize anything from that particular pattern didn't show any success.
"It is just not right, like I am trying to use water to put something on fire." That was the closest thing Misaka could think of. Unless she somehow managed to turn the "Water" into the equivalent of hydrogen, she didn't think it would work.
Sonea's construct gave of a feeling of
Blue and
Red, both of which felt equally important. The white energy from the stream dissipated shortly after trying to use it on them.
Trying to feel out the area around the city, the slums that formed the outer city met with limited success. It felt... off and dark and bright at the same time. Maybe she would need more time, or there was something just not right with it. There was also a strange feeling that sometimes appeared on the edge of her mind again. Still, it didn't seem important and there were more important things to do.
While they experimented, there was also another event. Sonea suggested that Misaka could go and try to get more construct blueprints and that she should test what she could use. For that they went through the city and tested various things. Most items were barely of any worth and although they didn't feel white, Misaka could easily create copies of them.
It was curious to note that items didn't seem to have the same feel to them as most animals. Where animals were filled with... life, they were cold things that felt like they could be filled with anything.
Another notable thing that happened was a certain assignment that they got, which Sonea used to their advantage.
"It is beautiful, says Misaka in awe of the bird." The brown haired girl looked inside a cage that held a brown hawk. It sat on a wooden stick that placed inside the cage. Its head was covered by a leather cap and it looked all in all like it was sleeping if not for the sporadic movements of its heads that betrayed such a thought.
"Yeah, let us get the birdie back home; I am sure the nobles want to have their hunting aid as soon as possible. By the way, how many of the animals in that shop were useful?" The older girl looked down the dirty streets, avoiding groups of people with habitual ease. The close one came to the town gates, the more people would fill up the street.
Misaka frowned and tilted her head in thought.
"The owl is unusable, though it was very pretty to see, says Misaka. But the fox feels like it is correct and I think I can also use the Hawk. Maybe we can test them tomorrow?"
Of course there were other animals, but for the most part, mice and similar small creatures weren't really interesting or useful for that matter. And the fox and owl were the only bigger animals that Misaka had gotten the chance to touch since they were out in the open. The biggest animal she had found other than them was a small hedgehog, which felt Green and thus was likely unusable. It wasn't like a modern animal shop sadly and there were many animals that were dead and of which only pelts, bones and similar things remained. These unfortunately didn't have any use except giving out another random item to copy for her.
When they came close to the outer walls Sonea murmured and then smiled.
"Hey, I have an idea."
"Oh, what is it asks Misaka in curiosity?"
"Try it on the wall. I wonder if you can make a copy of the outer city walls."
Misaka didn't think that she could make something that big, at least not without a big open space. Still, she let herself be pulled by the other girl. When they were somewhat away from the main road, Misaka went and touched the wall.
She grasped for a plan, the pattern which she had gathered from many other items in the last days. Surprisingly, the wall was mostly White, not the strange absence of colour that most man-made things seemed to emit. As she took the pattern into herself, Misaka understood more and more of it. This wall had been built generations ago, it was big and old and made with the intent to protect these inside. Although it was much simpler than many animals, the sheer size made it hard for her to take everything in. It took Misaka a few moments to collect herself after stepping back.
The wall was also felt costly, far more costly than anything she had tried to make until now. Misaka didn't think that the amount of energy she had access to, would be enough to make anything this big anytime soon.
This was how the days went by, experimentation with the creatures she could make, trying to find new things to test and so on. It was rather peaceful if one had to say.
It was Friday, the last weekday of Kyralia when the two were going to start with another round of experiments. Since it was the day after they had gotten the hunting hawk and Friday was a free day in Kyralia, this was a good chance.
Time had flown by surprisingly fast, Misaka couldn't help but wonder what her sisters were doing, was the experiment still continuing? She didn't think her sudden disappearance would be enough to stop it, but it was quite possible that it was being put on hold right now. They may very well investigate the events pertain her disappearance. But for how long would that last if it even happened?
The esper looked up at the horizon, where mountains still were snow tipped. Winter was very close to an end and spring was going to start soon. Normally, she wouldn't have cared about the time, but she had heard people talking about some kind of event that would take place soon, something called 'Purge'.
Misaka sighed, stepping into an alley between two houses. Sonea had gone ahead and only said that she had planned some kind of surprise. The girl from Academy City moved closer to the empty warehouse, shadows filling its open door and wondering whether she should ask the other girl about this purge.
Strange.... the broken windows of the warehouse should let enough light inside that one can see the inside. Maybe that was a part of Sonea's surprise? Had she covered the windows for some reason?
As she stepped into the shadows, hands suddenly grabbed her from the left, covering her mouth and then pushing her forward roughly.
That was certainly not Sonea trying to surprise her.
"Misaka should have sent a cat with her." The thought shot through the mind of the girl at the same time as she was pushed forward further by an unknown force.
