Chapter 3: Re:Planning
Part 1
Roppongi, Tokyo 4:47 PM
It was the usual busy day inside the tall crystal-like tower that sits in the middle of Tokyo.
Two years ago, it was nothing but rubble—nothing but the remnants of the old GHQ. However, like a phoenix rising from its ashes, a new GHQ was formed; now much hospitable and peace-loving than its predecessor.
Inside the highest floor sat the newly appointed Prime Minister—Watanabe Shinosuke, grinning like an idiot as if he has won some jackpot prize in an arcade game. And in front of Watanabe Shinosuke was a young man in his late teens, presuming that he is a college senior who came from the United States who seem to be in a very foul mood as of this hour.
"Mr. Daryl Yan, the son of the former GHQ commander-in-chief, am I right?" the man in his early forties smiled at his blond-haired visitor.
And as usual, Daryl scowled despite talking to a high-ranking politician.
"You're definitely correct. Now, is there something you want from me that is so urgent that I have to leave my thesis halfway unfinished?" Daryl growled and squinted his light mauve eyes. The deadline should be an hour ago and he could only grit his teeth thinking that he has to beg for his professor to let him pass. However, now's not the time for that.
"Now, now, Mr. Yan. You don't have to be so furious! I even asked Mr. Roberto Katze to find where you've been hiding!" the Prime Minister answered while laughing yet Daryl immediately shot him a few angry glances and Minister Watanabe decided to cut the jokes. "Anyway, last night, a meteorite crashed in Okinawa—"
"So? I have nothing to do with it. Goodbye," Daryl turned around immediately with no further ado. He doesn't want to have anything to do with that shit anymore. He can't just destroy the peaceful life he has built for two years. But then, there was still this strong urge to pilot an Endlave which he seems to be trying so hard to resist. After all, he is nothing when you take away the Endlave.
"Daryl Yan. Kill 'Em All Daryl. Charged with several counts of mass murder and genocide. It'll be interesting if I'm going to surrender you to the FBI," the Prime Minister made a smug smile as Daryl halted midway.
"Are you blackmailing me?" Daryl turned around and hissed at the person he was talking to.
"Not even the slightest! As you can see Mr. Yan, I'd like you to go to Okinawa and retrieve that meteorite before other institutions or countries take hold of it. I suppose you have a vague idea of why it is so important. You once worked for the GHQ after all," Minister Watanabe replied smiled at Daryl who was more or less too conflicted to decide.
"In exchange for that is...? So you know, I'm not interested in monetary rewards," Daryl said and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well, after this, you can have your peaceful life back! Go marry some girl or whatever. I'll guarantee you that we'll never bother you again. Is that enough?"
"I guess it's fine. When is the operation?"
"Tomorrow morning. 4:00 AM. You'll lead the operation plus I'll have you pilot our latest Endlave model. Better oil those rusty skills you have there, Mr. Yan even though you were GHQ's finest soldier," Minister Watanabe joked around however it only made Daryl more irritated that he really was.
"Fine, fine. Now, can I take my leave?"
"You can go now. Oh before that, Mr. Yan, I'll have you do something for me," the Prime Minister added and Daryl narrowed his eyes. This guy...what does he really want from me?
Part 2
District 23, Academy City 4:50 PM
Obliterate. Destroy. Annihilate.
"Damn shitheads," A white haired, red-eyed boy stood midst the guards of the aeronautics facility he was in. There were more than fifty around him yet the boy merely considered this as one stupid game. It was Academy City's #1 esper and only known as—Accelerator.
"I don't have the luxury to waste my time on pieces of shit like you people, so I'll finish up quickly," he muttered and yet his eyes simply spelled boredom. To him who has killed 10,000 clones of the Railgun, this was not a challenge.
Accelerator pressed a button on his electric choker and as he took one step forward, everything became a huge mess of blood pools and corpses. He smashed heads, broke rib cages, and even if the enemy was armed with rifles and machine guns, the bullets were all deflected the second they touch Accelerator. He kicked and punched and all of them were knocked 15 feet away.
All of these he had done in less that a minute.
That was the monstrosity Academy City had created.
Accelerator pressed the switch off and walked towards the last remaining guard with his mechanical cane.
The man was terrified, no, beyond terrified that he had to pee in his pants. With that, the albino smirked evilly and pressed the man down with his cane. It has been a while since Accelerator felt this kind of rush and excitement however, despite having the desire to torment the guard, he continued to move forward to his goal and that was Last Order.
"Six hours ago, was there a plane which departed from here?" Accelerator asked—determined to find Last Order as soon as possible.
I don't have any time to waste.
In the shadow of the late afternoon sunset, two figures were running across the deserted airplane runway in District 23.
"It's been a while since we've worked together, Misaka-san~! Daihaisesai was so long ago~! " a blonde girl clad in a Tokiwadai Middle School uniform dashed across a deserted tarmac. She was Academy City's #5 Level 5 esper—Shokohou Misaki.
"Shut up. It's not like I want you to come!" another Tokiwadai student replied as she angrily smashed the robotic guards using her electrical abilities. It was the #3 Level 5—Misaka Mikoto.
"Misaka-san, could it possibly be that you're a tsundere~?" Tokiwadai's Queen smirked as she teased the girl who was in front of her, earning a pretty much expected glare.
"What the hell are you even talking about?!" Mikoto blushed intensely, somehow knowledgable that she is what Misaki had described her—a tsundere. "Now, would you just shut up? We're almost at the—!"
Mikoto stopped at the middle of her sentence as she saw the wreckage which was supposed to be the district's control tower and aeronautics facility. This Accelerator...his abilities sure are scary...
"Looks like someone was already here~ " Misaki remarked with a grin as she prepared herself for anything that might come.
"Let's go. I have to help Accelerator," Mikoto began to walk across the tarmac filled with burning debris and twisted metal.
Misaki followed behind her with a bright smile on her face as she observed her surroundings.
"Hey, Misaka-san~ I met this girl just this noon, you know! Her name was Tsugumi or something~" Misaki began to talk to ward off her boredom however, it seemed like Mikoto was not interested at the very least.
"I'd rather not strike a conversation with you," she replied as she moved a huge piece of metal which was on her way using her electrical abilities.
"Well, would I catch your attention if I say that my interface power doesn't work on her despite her being a level 0?" the blonde girl smirked slyly as her companion turned her head around.
Her ability doesn't work...? Could it be that...?
Mikoto could not voice out her thoughts and simply looked at Shokohou Misaki with a bewildered expression on her face.
"You were thinking that she must be similar to that person, right~?" Misaki asked, quite amused that Mikoto had the same thoughts as she predicted.
That person is...Kamijou Touma.
Was there another being like him?
"Well, I'm not sure myself but what I'm sure of is that, our host finally appeared to greet us~! " Misaki grinned cunningly as she took out a remote control from her purse.
Mikoto turned around and saw a man in black attire at the middle of the wide empty airport. He had light blond hair which reached past his shoulders and silvery yet blunt grey eyes that glanced directly towards the two girls with seriousness,
"Nee~ Misaka-san~! Would you like to attack first?" Misaki continued to talk as Mikoto readied her stance.
There were a lot of metal debris around, courtesy of Accelerator and Mikoto was slightly glad that she has a lot of weapons to use around. However, Misaki was not as joyful as Mikoto was. Her power would be useless if there were not as many people around but still, if the enemy counts as a person, then it should be more than enough.
The man in front of them then suddenly took a step forward while another girl appeared behind him. Her face and body was hidden underneath several long pieces of cloth yet her pale pink hair were exposed just below her bare collar bones.
Mikoto knitted her eyebrows and waited for the enemy to take any further actions. However, as the man and the girl remained motionless, Mikoto dared to shout at them.
"Who are you?! And where is Last Order?!"
The man did not answer for at least a minute or so and Mikoto was about to attack when Misaki stopped her and pointed out to the man.
The #3 and the #5 saw the man raise his right arm which was unusually glowing and a band of metallic bands or strings were emitted from his right hand.
"I am Tsutsugami Gai, the one who wields the Power of Kings," the man spoke as the metallic bands reach out to the girl beside him. "The one who will become Adam."
Both Level 5s were bemused by Tsutsugami Gai's speech and even much more bewildered as the metal bands formed a long metallic black sword as if he had taken it from the girl who was now unconscious on the ground.
"P-Power of kings...?" Mikoto muttered—totally confused on what she just saw before her. It looked like some sort of sorcery Kamijou Touma would normally encounter but for her to battle it one-on-one, it seemed to be hard to believe.
"I've never seen that ability before. But I guess Misaka-san is quite aware the we have to face it," Misaki told her and Mikoto silently nodded.
In order to find Last Order...in order to bring back that idiot Level 0...
It is definitely not the #3 Misaka Mikoto's style to coward away in a fight.
Part 3
Nagatenjouki Academy, District 18, Academy City 5:04 PM
There were a lot of students flocking around the crowded hallways, most of them rushing to get home.
Nagatenjouki Academy is one of the elite learning facilities gathered in Academy City to educate the young who are undergoing the Power Curriculum Program. However, unlike the famed Tokiwadai Middle School which requires enrolees to be at least at Level 3, Nagatenjouki Academy also accepts non-esper students, however only under the pretext that they are equally intelligent and capable to catch up with espers. For short, it is one of the schools that produces future researchers for Academy City.
"Ahh~ And my first day ended just like that!" Tsugumi Shibata exclaimed as she stretched her arms high up into the air inside the almost deserted classroom.
Tsugumi's last subject for the day—the study of Personal Realities of Espers became such a headache for Tsugumi not only because it was new to her ears but it also involves a lot of complex principles and theories unknown to her.
"Aye! I better go home and call Ayanee later~" she joyfully muttered to herself while humming a playful tune.
Yet as she was about to leave the room, Tsugumi bumped into an unknown boy—making the portable terminal he was holding fall to the floor along with several folders and documents.
"Oh sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you—!" Tsugumi suddenly froze in the middle of picking up the boy's belongings. She simply stared at him in surprise.
That familiar blond hair...that face...
Is it...that blond boy from before?
"Is there some problem, Miss?" the boy spoke and Tsugumi instantly left her trance.
"Huh...? Ahh! Sorry! I don't mean to stare...you just looked like the person I met a long time ago!" Tsugumi made a muffled laugh as she scratched the back of her head.
Nay, it's definitely not that sprout...this guy has blue eyes and...
Knowing him, he would probably be really angry right now and push me away in a jiffy...!
But...but...
Argghhh! Tsugumi stop thinking about that guy already!
"I've never seen you before, are you new?" the boy asked after Tsugumi helped him collect his things which fell on the floor earlier.
"Aye~! The name's Shibata Tsugumi! I just transferred here this afternoon!" she happily introduced herself along with a nice handshake.
"I'm Kakeru! Kihara Kakeru! It's a pleasure to meet you, Shibata-san!" he replied with a bright genuine smile on his face.
"It's a pleasure too, Kihara-san! Oh you can call me Tsugumi instead!" the girl with dark purple hair said gladly. "Well, I have to leave now, Kihara-san! See you around!"
Tsugumi then turned around and hopped down the hallway in a very elated mood. Academy City sure is full of nice people~ I wonder how's that blonde girl...Misaki-san is doing right now?
Making sure that Tsugumi has disappeared along the blind curve, Kihara Kakeru continued to walk with a smirk on his face.
"Shibata Tsugumi-san, huh? She sure is cute!" playing with his portable terminal, Kakeru giggled and opened a tab in his terminal. "Enough of that though, let's see how Gai-kun and the prototype is handling the situation~ Could they beat two Level 5s?"
Kihara Kakeru made a smile that could not be discerned between an innocent show of excitement and a cunning grin. "Well, time to buy some popcorn!"
Tsugumi was walking down the busy streets of District 7 where her dormitory was; with a mini phone at hand, the girl sporting metallic cat ears was calling a friend of hers outside of Academy City.
"Hmm? I wonder why Ayanee isn't answering?" she tapped a few buttons and rang up again, but still to no avail. "I already made 5 missed calls...maybe I'll try later, Ayanee must be really busy."
With that, Tsugumi continued to walk down the sidewalk while sightseeing the few attractions District 7 has to offer.
Part 4
Roppongi, Tokyo ︎4:53 PM
Outside Academy City, the situation was the same in every school and university. Students were going in and out of their classrooms as classes were already dismissed for the day. There were laughter and noise reverberating around the hallways and Ouma Shu could hear them perfectly.
"C'mon, Shu! Let's go home!" Ayase Shinomiya called out from outside the classroom as Shu was tidying up his things that were cluttered on top of his table.
"Ah, just wait for a bit Ayase! I'll just put everything in my bag!" Shu replied and placed a few notebooks inside his backpack.
However, Ayase noticed that the students suddenly became dead silent. Shu, too, could hear the difference. There were low muttering and whispering filling up the hallway and Ayase noticed that the students were moving from the center of the corridor as if to clear the way for someone. And Ayase was not wrong, there really was someone, however, she was not mentally prepared to see that person again after two years.
"Move away. I'm looking for Ouma Shu," a low voice echoed beside the girl in the wheelchair. Ayase looked up and her eyes widened as if seeing a ghost. Actually, she really had thought that he was a ghost.
His blond hair was still the same yet his amethyst eyes did not contain the same ferociousness it once had but instead, it gave off an aura that there was something urgent. He was sporting the new white GHQ uniform and behind him were other GHQ soldiers all lined up neatly in a row.
"YOU...!" Ayase shouted angrily and gritted her teeth. It's him. It's Daryl Yan. He's alive...!
"I said, move away," this time, Daryl exerted some strength in his voice. No matter how much he wished to have a rematch against the girl who was in front of him, he had no time to spare, the subject at hand was much more important.
"Like hell would I! What are you going to do with—"
Daryl did not let her finish her speech any longer. He forcefully wheeled Ayase away from the door and proceeded inside. The other GHQ officers blocked the door and did not let Ayase enter the room.
"Ouma Shu," Daryl muttered as he approached the blind boy who was calmly standing beside his desk.
"I don't recognise you but you're voice seems awfully familiar," Shu replied, laughing aside his mistake.
"We've never met officially. However, I was once an enemy of yours. My name is Daryl Yan," he told him his name and the other boy looked as if something had struck him.
Daryl Yan...
Ah, Kaleidoscope.
Shu recalled what Gai had told him when he first acquired the Power of Kings. It was in his first mission that he had indirectly met Daryl. It was him who owned the void Kaleidoscope.
"However, my reason for coming here is not to have a chit-chat with you, but something else," Daryl spoke first and Shu suddenly became a tad confused.
"What do you mean?" Shu asked nervously and Daryl took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes.
"You have to come with me. This concerns about the meteorite that fell last night," Daryl replied in a low voice and Shu could only hold his breath.
His intuition was right.
It was not just any meteorite, so if Daryl Yan, who is the sole living GHQ officer to have experienced the four apocalypses, comes to talk to the person who ended it all, then it really has something to do with the Apocalypse Virus.
I have to come with him.
Shu decided in his mind that it is his sole responsibility to end everything even if it begins all over again.
Ayase waited impatiently outside the classroom for more than five minutes. She was concerned about what would Daryl Yan do to one of her remaining friends since he was once an enemy she could not trust even after the battle had ended.
However, the door suddenly opened with Daryl going out first followed by Shu who had the same expression of urgency as Daryl had. With that, she felt as if she had been missing something.
"Shu! What happened? Where are you going?" Ayase called out to her friend yet, he only gave her a meek smile and a few words.
"I'll see you tomorrow after classes! Don't worry about me!" Shu replied and proceeded on walking behind Daryl, leaving behind Ayase who seemed to have been left out.
I don't like this. He's treating me as if I'm some stupid incapable paraplegic!
Ayase shouted on her mind and went to follow Shu—wheeling herself faster than before. She kicked his leg gently but strong enough to make him understand that she was there behind him.
"Ayase..?!" Shu vocalised his suprise and Ayase could only smile at his reaction.
"I'm coming with you. After all, I don't trust that guy," Ayase replied and Daryl Yan simply click his tongue in irritation that this woman has to come with Ouma Shu.
The three of them marched outside the school and rode a government issued car towards their destination which was just a quaint yet extravagant coffee shop somewhere in Ginza.
Ayase was very sure this was Daryl's choice of place and was silently hoping that Shu and herself aren't required to order anything.
They settled on a seat near the window which was far from any other customers. Daryl Yan was facing Shu, and Ayase was seated on her own wheel chair just beside the two men. A waitress immediately approached them and asked for their orders.
"Order anything you like. You don't have to pay," Daryl spoke to them and Ayase could not help herself to become even more suspicious. This was not the psychopath killer she and Tsugumi once faced. Far more than that, he had some eerie matureness in his attitude that greatly contrasts with his old brattish and cruel personality from before.
"Hey, woman. If you're thinking that I've become nice to you, then you're wrong. I still resent you for stealing my Steiner that time but I have an urgent mission right now, so I'll wait for it patiently to end before I kill you," Daryl informed her after noticing that Ayase was eyeing him suspiciously for a while.
Ayase could only hold herself back from tearing his guts out, considering that Shu has some business with the former GHQ Lieutenant. This bastard...! I'll make sure that he suffers after all of this.
"Ahem. I'd like a latte, please," Shu cleared his throat to stop the two from literally killing each other before him.
Fortunately, he caught their attention and Ayase immediately ordered a frappe in a rather forced manner. As the waitress scampered away, Daryl began to speak about what his main business with Shu was.
"As you two know, there was a meteorite that crashed in Okinawa last night. However, in a confidential government document, it is reported that it's not just an ordinary meteorite but something similar to what had fell on Oshima several years ago," Daryl started and glanced at Shu who was listening intently. "And so, the Japanese Government wishes to recover the meteorite and they want Ouma Shu to directly retrieve it since he's the only one well exposed of the virus inside."
Ayase frowned instantly and spoke, "We're leaving. We don't want to get involved in that sort of thing anymo—!"
Yet, Shu held her arm and refused to leave. Ayase felt that it was unbelievable; too unbelievable that Shu would sacrifice his life again just to save everyone. Can't he be a little bit more selfish...?
"Mr. Daryl Yan, I'll retrieve the meteorite. However, does it guarantee that the Japanese Government will destroy it once they got hold of the meteorite?" Shu asked and Daryl sighed and closed his eyes.
"Honestly, I'm not sure what they really are planning and the Prime Minister is somewhat very suspicious," Daryl remarked as the waitress returned with the drinks and placed the frappe and latte on the table.
"What do you mean?" Shu asked, taking a sip from his ice cold latte.
"I just arrived from the US this morning under the US President's and the Prime Minister's orders. I even left my thesis unfinished because of this idiotic shit, and they also asked me to talk to you to get the goddamn piece of space rock tomorrow morning," Daryl unconsciously confessed as he click his tongue in annoyance.
Ayase and Shu glanced at each other as if understanding Daryl's situation. He, too was living a rather peaceful life until some meteorite comes crashing in and made their life a scrambled mess again.
"Alright. I'll help too," Ayase declared. Just to end this, I guess I'll lend a hand.
"No need. You can just stay here, woman," Daryl immediately answered, earning an audible growl from Ayase.
"You don't have to come Ayase. I'll settle this once and for all," Shu smiled at her and having no other choice, the brunette immediately gave in and hoped that Shu would come back alive and well.
"The operation is tomorrow morning. I think you better stay at the Headquarters tonight," the blond officer informed him as he stood up from seat.
"Got it," Shu replied as he stood up too. It has been a long time since he had felt this pressure of an operation. And now he will make sure that this would be the last and final time he would feel this sort of intense excitement.
I'll end this once and for all.
Part 5
District 23, Academy City ︎5:10 PM
There were dust everywhere.
Debris and shattered glass were scattered on the empty tarmac of an airport in District 23.
The area was silent except for the sound of electricity cracking on the ground.
The cloud of dust gradually cleared and behind it were two girls, both sporting the same uniform of Tokiwadai Middle School; both were members of the elite 7 Level 5s of Academy City.
"Misaka-san~ don't tell me you're already exhausted~!" the blond haired girl with an exceptionally huge chest giggled as she mocked the one she was with.
"Shut up. You didn't even do a single thing," Mikoto replied as she wiped the sweat dripping down her forehead.
"You don't have to be so blunt, Misaka-san~! I would've helped you if that guy didn't have some special device mounted on his head that can disrupt my mind controlling abilities~!" Misaki replied with a smile.
Their enemy, a tall man with long silver who calls himself Tsutsugami Gai and the nameless cloaked girl who was now lying unconscious on the ground, was on the other side. Tsutsugami Gai held on a long sword that he had taken out from the unconscious girl a few minutes ago.
At the beginning of the fight; when Mikoto first touched the weapon her enemy was using with her own iron whip sword, she had concluded that it was not made from any organic material or even metal. It was something unworldly and alien yet somehow, all she can do was to exchange a few blows.
"Nee~ Misaka-san! It's time to be serious here~!" Misaki warned her already and the Railgun was left with no other choice but to throw away all her fears and speculations and end the fight right here and right now.
In mach speed, Mikoto swung her arm and hurled a giant piece of iron towards the enemy using magnetism. The man then sliced the metal which flew in his direction at 200 kilometres per hour into two pieces. Yet that was not the end of Mikoto's attack.
She fired a series of railguns towards the man while he was too busy cutting the metal. Knowing that the railguns would be deflected by some invisible shield around the enemy, Mikoto shot another one, now using a huge chunk of metal instead of an arcade coin as a projectile. The railgun crackled through the dry air and the man named Tsutsugami Gai was hit directly in the stomach.
However, though Mikoto had thought it was over, Tsutsugami Gai suddenly dashed towards the #3 with his long sword. Reflexively, Mikoto formed an iron sword in less than half a second and sliced the enemy's sword in half which almost pierced through her chest if it wasn't for Misaki's help.
Mikoto noticed that the cloaked girl who was with Tsutsugami Gai earlier, was the one who ended his life. A piece of sharp glass was embedded inside the man's chest from his back where the girl was still standing.
"You two were busy fighting so I got bored and decided to control this girl~! " Misaki suddenly interrupted cheerfully, however, Mikoto was still in a state of shock. Not because of how she was nearly killed by the now deceased Tsutsugami Gai, but because she suddenly had noticed that the girl was developing purplish crystals around her arms and body.
Misaki could not help but notice it too and decided to stop controlling the girl. The crystals instantly enveloped her whole body in less than ten seconds and when it finally surrounded her whole body, the brittle crystals immediately fractured and broke away into tiny bits of pieces.
Mikoto then glanced at where the long sword was and saw that it met the same fate as the girl who just died. Eventually, an idea struck her. That sword...it was taken from her by that man...that sword must be a part of her...that sword...that sword...I destroyed it.
I killed her. I killed that girl.
Misaki had realised that Mikoto was not in the right state of mind. She tried to approach her but that foreboding aura had stopped her from touching Mikoto.
"Nee...Misaka-san...?" Misaki nervously spoke to Mikoto and kneeled beside her.
"I killed her right...? I'm a murderer..." Mikoto mumbled over and over as if in a trance.
The sight of Mikoto breaking down was very similar to the time when a dear friend of her died and it was not a very pleasant memory to recall. Misaki then glanced over at the remote control she was holding and bit her lip.
"I'm sorry, Misaka-san."
A/N:
It's finally MisakaNetwork here!
Wow! It's been like 5 months since I updated~! xD
Okay I'm very sorry about that! It seems like I finally got some free time in my rather hectic schedule! lol
Somehow, I'd like to be active even if it's just for this week!
Thank you so much for your reviews and all!
(Oh and it's seems like the ending is kind of...well lol)
