So a quick response to the two guest reviewers (who I just saw… sorry about that…): no, there is no relation to what happened to Touma (or throughout Index as a whole) to this story. This story is set in the Railgun universe (which, I know, is kind of weird to say seeing as Railgun is set in the same place and time as Index, but… again, I am effectively ignoring everything that happened in Toaru Majutsu no Index that did not happen in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun in this story). Also, there's not going to be any Imagine Breaker Deus Ex Machina shenanigans; so if you've come for that then I am afraid this story is not for you.
…You guys can probably already guess my opinion on the Imagine Breaker by now, huh? Oh well… I have nothing against Touma himself, let me make that clear. I just don't want him to appear in this story. Anyways, this response has gone on long enough, only one more thing left before we start today's chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Kagaku no Railgun.
The next couple of days came and went without anything out of the ordinary happening. Nobody was able to find out anything about Himura that was worth sharing with the others, Himura had not confronted any other esper since her little fight with Mikoto and her friends, and the news that espers were losing their abilities had yet to fully hit the civilians in Academy City.
Knowing that they managed to avoid a commotion did ease the worries of the members of Judgment, fearing for the worse if that did happen. At the same time, however, they were all relatively stressed out at their lack of success in finding answers. Despite them having all these resources to try and dig up the necessary information, none of them have made much progress.
"'And that is all there is to it, Onee-sama,' Misaka says as Misaka recounts what she had found," Misaka 10032 said nonchalantly, taking a sip of her milk tea while giving Mikoto some time to truly process what she had just said.
Misaka 10032 was met with a pleasant surprise when she opened her door that morning and saw Mikoto and Ruiko on the other side. If she were to believe Mikoto's story, the two of them were in the area and decided to come visit them. Ruiko's story, on the other hand, involved her dragging Mikoto here against her will.
Misaka 10032 was still unsure as to which story was factually correct but did not let this bother her. What mattered to her was that Mikoto finally came around to visit her and the other three sisters in the hospital and, Misaka 10032 noted as she looked at the others, she wasn't the only one who felt that way. She didn't even need to check the Misaka Network to be sure of that.
"So we really don't know?" Ruiko asked the sisters as a group. They knew that it wasn't because she wasn't paying attention earlier; she wanted to make sure that she had understood it correctly.
"'That is half correct,' Misaka says as Misaka silently chastises Misaka 10032 for not telling the complete story," Misaka 19090 said, glaring at Misaka 10032 who was conveniently off to get a new cup of milk tea for herself. With a sigh, Misaka 19090 turned to Ruiko and tried to answer her question, "It is not that we have not found anything yet, it is that we are still unsure of how accurate this is. We do not know how you all will react to this if we share something that may not be true."
Mikoto and Ruiko took a moment to share a look, and they both knew that the other was thinking the exact same thing. Mikoto especially, since she had used the Misaka Network on numerous occasions in the past as well, knew that her sisters were to be trusted.
"Please tell us," Mikoto said, Ruiko nodding along silently to show that she was on the same page as Mikoto. As the words left Mikoto's mouth, she couldn't help but remember how big of a help her sisters were for her in the past. She smiled, knowing that they wouldn't start letting her down now.
Now it was the sisters' turn to take a moment and think things over. Unlike with Mikoto and Ruiko, however, they had a way to silently communicate with one another thanks to the Misaka Network, keeping the visitors on their toes for what they were deciding on.
Finally, Misaka 13577 took a deep breath before looking Mikoto straight in the eyes.
"'When Onee-sama and Misaka 10032 were fighting this Himura, Misaka 10032 noticed something peculiar about her,' Misaka says as Misaka starts to tell the story, even though Misaka is still not completely sure whether this is a good idea," Misaka 13577 started, just in time for Misaka 10032 to sit down at their table again and listen along with a new cup of warm milk tea. Seeing the return of the fourth sister, Misaka 13577 turned to her, "Since it was Misaka 10032 who noticed this, why does Misaka not pick up from here and continue the story?"
"'All right, thank you for starting, Misaka 13577,' Misaka says before Misaka turns to Onee-sama to continue the story," Misaka 10032 said, surprisingly calmly before lowering her cup back on to the table, "This may sound crazy, Onee-sama, but there might be a chance that Himura's ability is not what we thought it was."
This revelation was left in the air for several seconds to allow the words to truly sink in. It didn't take long for the sisters to realize that that was a good decision on the sisters' part, as neither Mikoto nor Ruiko managed to fully process what had just been told to them in less than a handful of seconds.
And then it finally did…
"But how is that possible?! Isn't her ability the ability to take away other people's abilities?" Ruiko exclaimed in shock, being the first of the two to recover as she directed her questions to the sisters. Mikoto, while still being unable to say anything, was silently nodding along to show that she agreed with what Ruiko had just said, "Didn't Awatsuki-san and Wannai-san run into that Himura girl and lost their abilities as a result?"
"'We all know that it is an absurd idea,' Misaka continues as she tries to think of the right words to say this," Misaka 10039 replied, almost melancholically so, as she stared at the swirling surface of the liquid in her cup. Nodding, more so to herself than to anyone, Misaka 10039 looked up to look Ruiko straight in the eyes, "But she managed to avoid most of the attacks that were used against her. All of the sisters as are thinking of the possibility that her ability is something along the lines of sensory or motor enhancement to allow her to do all that."
"Because if not, she would be defying the most basic law of espers: no esper can have more than one ability…" Mikoto mused, receiving nods from all four sisters to show her that they agreed with her. Even so, this was also creating a different problem in the sister's logic, something that Mikoto was quick to voice, "But if her ability is not one that allows her to take away the esper's abilities, then how can she do that?"
"'That is exactly why we were not sure whether or not we should share this information with Onee-sama yet,' Misaka says whilst putting on an apologetic smile to try and appease Onee-sama's upcoming rage," Misaka 10032 did exactly that, only to be followed by a similar reaction from the other three sisters in the room.
Hearing this, Mikoto flinched visibly. Not because of the sisters apologizing to her, but that they felt it was necessary to do so. Because she would be…
"What do you mean 'to appease Onee-sama's upcoming rage'?!" Mikoto yelled indignantly, pounding both of her hands on the table. Fortunately for Mikoto, none of the glasses were on it at that moment, so no damage was done.
Until Mikoto heard a snicker from her left, a voice that sounded awfully familiar to…
"Saten-san? What's so funny?" Mikoto asked, turning on her friend who was covering her mouth to stifle her giggles. Ruiko held up one of her hands to indicate that she needed some time, and she only responded half a minute later.
"N-Nothing at all, Misaka-san," Ruiko said, still trembling slightly from the silent laughter before her eyes locked with Misaka 10032. The two knew instantly what the other was thinking and they nodded appreciatively while Mikoto was not looking.
"So to sum up, there are three possibilities about her ability, right?" Mikoto asked, turning back to the sisters and trying to bring the conversation back on track, "She has an ability to take away all other abilities and trained herself physically to survive in a fight. She has an ability that allows her to heighten her senses and body movements and has found another way to take away esper abilities. Or she somehow has the legendary Dual Skill ability, giving her both."
"'As far as we can tell right now, Onee-sama, that is indeed correct,' Misaka says as Misaka nods along to show that Misaka agrees with Onee-sama's train of thoughts," Misaka 19090 said, being the only one to have returned back to the conversation in full focus, "And if Misaka may be honest with Onee-sama here, Misaka does not know which option Misaka would prefer here."
The other girls in the room let the results of this conversation linger slightly to allow everybody to think more about it. Any option would be bad for them, and none of them are actually helping them out in the long run. They didn't even have any leads as to how to tip the favor of the battle against Himura in their favor.
Finally, after what could very well have been hours but was only a handful of minutes, Mikoto thought of something. And the strongest electromaster was quick to share it with her friends.
"But how would Himura be able to take away the abilities of espers if it is not her ability?" Mikoto asked, looking around her to see if anyone could give a valid answer to her question, "I mean, it would really be impossible right? So maybe Awatsuki-san and Wannai-san and all the other espers that—"
"I'm afraid that it isn't, Misaka-san."
"May not even— Wait, what was that, Saten-san?" Mikoto continued, not having caught what Ruiko was saying until she had said a couple more words. To Mikoto's credit, however, Ruiko had said what she said in a rather soft voice.
"I said that it isn't impossible, Misaka-san, even if it isn't her ability," Ruiko repeated, trying to avoid eye contact at first but knowing full well that she could not do that for long. Ruiko knew that, now more than ever, she needed to look Mikoto straight in the eyes. So she made sure that she was before she continued talking, "On the day when Misaka-san fought that Himura girl, I talked with Uiharu and Shirai-san. Uiharu found an old article that talked about a group of scientists who had perfected a drug to neutralize abilities."
"Now that Saten-san mentions that, I think Kuroko had said something like that to me as well…" Mikoto thought out loud, trying to remember what the teleporter had told her. A task that proved harder than she thought it would with how much that had already happened lately, "But didn't she say that the drug's effects were only temporary? So how is it that Awatsuki-san and Wannai-san are still unable to use any of their abilities even after days have already passed?"
"I… don't know, sorry…" Ruiko said meekly as she looked away again, causing Mikoto to feel slightly guilty. But before Mikoto could do or say anything to try and apologize to Ruiko, somebody had broken the short period of silence that had followed.
"'If Misaka may, we do not know anything about Himura's background, do we?' Misaka asks as Misaka brings up this little bit of information that Misaka has not heard of yet," Misaka 10039 said, looking straight at Mikoto as the words left her mouth. Waiting for a sign that allowed her to continue, Misaka 10039 finally did, "Because knowing more about her past would help us in trying to find a way around her ability, whatever ability it might be."
"Uiharu-san said that she and the other members in Judgment would try and look into that, right?" Mikoto asked as she turned to Ruiko, who nodded in confirmation. Turning back to the sisters across the table, Mikoto added, "We haven't heard anything from anyone else yet, though, so they might have already found something by now. Saten-san, want to go and see if they have after this?"
"I can try and see if I can reach Uiharu right now, actually," Ruiko said, picking up her phone and standing up, "Sorry, this won't take long."
Ruiko then excused herself before she left the room, leaving the five Misakas alone to try and make do with what they had. What Ruiko's exit actually did, however, was to create tension between Mikoto and her sisters as none of them knew how to break the silence.
'If her ability isn't what is causing us to lose ours, then that might even be better for us. I'm sure that there will be a logical explanation for that then, and one that Uiharu-san will find quickly.' Mikoto thought to herself as she went over the possibilities once again. Somehow, this was still a better option in Mikoto's opinion, but how did she manage—
"Onee-sama, you do understand that even if her ability is not what we think it is, she will still be a dangerous threat, right?" Misaka 10032 said calmly, but still in such a way that made it clear that she was being serious. Seemingly indifferent about interrupting Mikoto's train of thoughts, Misaka 10032 continued, "Himura is still a formidable opponent and one that we cannot take lightly. Especially with how two of the people who fought her last time are still not fully recovered, and therefore may not be able to participate in the next one."
Mikoto was about to retort Misaka 10032's claims, but that was when she realized that she couldn't. Misaka 10032 was telling the truth, and as painful as it was to admit Mikoto knew that as well.
"Both Kuroko and Kongou-san are recovering quickly," Mikoto said, recalling how her friends were feeling earlier that day when she had run into them. Then, a bit more optimistically, she added, "And Kuroko is even beginning to get to that point where she can teleport almost freely again. I'm sure that we don't have to worry about them, Kuroko is tough and Kongou-san isn't a push-over either."
"Talking about Shirai-san…" Ruiko's voice caught the group of Misakas' attention when Ruiko came walking back. The expression on her face was hard to read for Mikoto, but Mikoto knew that something happened by the way that Ruiko picked up her stuff, "Uiharu and Shirai-san are asking us to get to the Judgment office as soon as we can. Uiharu sounded pretty ecstatic, much more than I usually know her for, so this could mean something good."
Mikoto nodded as she, too, stood up to join Ruiko. They were about to say their goodbyes when Misaka 10032 stood up and answered the unasked question of Mikoto and Ruiko.
"'Misaka is coming with you, Onee-sama,' Misaka says as Misaka makes a selfish request, wanting nothing more than to be of some use to Onee-sama," Misaka 10032 said quickly, giving her cup to Misaka 13577 who went around and put them all away to be washed later. With a determined look on her face, Misaka 10032 added, "Even if Misaka cannot be very helpful, if at least one of us is going then we can help process the information faster through the Misaka Network."
Ruiko nodded silently, both impressed at that option and to cover up her feelings of guilt about forgetting that before turning to Mikoto, "What do you think, Misaka-san?"
Mikoto stood there, silently, as she tried to make up her mind of what she should be doing. Looking first at Ruiko at her side before her eyes moved around the room to look at the other Misakas. And then, finally, at Misaka 10032 who was still waiting for an answer.
It didn't take them very long after that to reach the Judgment office, but the air that lingered around them was still uncomfortably heavy. Which was also a motivating force for them to walk faster and, as a result, make the usually fifteen-minute walk in only eight.
Ruiko, being the first to arrive at the door of the Judgment office, was pounding on it as if her life depended on it. Mikoto and Misaka 10032 were silently watching her, knowing that they should probably jump in and intervene but not wanting to face the wrath that is Saten Ruiko's fist.
"Thank you for coming," Mikoto muttered, loud enough to make sure that the girl beside her heard her, but not loud enough for Ruiko to hear, "You've all really been an amazing help for us all, and I'm sorry that I haven't been a good sister for you or any of the others so far."
"'We are only trying to pay Onee-sama back for giving us our lives and a future, Onee-sama' Misaka says, expressing Misaka's gratitude for what Onee-sama has done for us several weeks ago," Misaka 10032 said calmly and without looking up in Mikoto's eyes in favor of watching Ruiko trying to get Judgment's attention, "And Misaka is talking in the name of every one of Onee-sama's sisters as we all feel the same way."
Mikoto, feeling overrun by emotions after hearing Misaka 10032's words, wanted to respond. Unfortunately for her, she never got the chance to do so as it was at that exact moment that the door flew open and a livid Mii stood there.
"What… do you think you are doing?!" Mii's voice sounding terrifyingly soft, making even Misaka 10032 take a step away from the usually calm and bright Mii. Mikoto, for her part, couldn't help but see the resemblance between the Mii that she was seeing right now and the dormitory supervisor back in Tokiwadai.
But that was when Mikoto could see the state that Mii was in. Mikoto knew that everybody was pushing themselves to gather more information, but she hadn't quite realized just how far some of them were willing to go.
Mii's hair was disheveled and there were big black bags under her eyes, reminiscent of those under Kiyama Harumi's eyes. Mii's clothes weren't in much better shape than she was, which led Mikoto to believe that Mii may have been working continuously for days on end.
'If Konori-senpai is like this, then how are Kuroko and Uiharu-san…?' Mikoto couldn't help but think to herself in worry, only now realizing that she had barely seen Kuroko lately ever since the teleporter had convinced Mii that she was all right.
"I'm sorry, senpai, I'm sorry. You see, the thing is that Uiharu called us over, but since we got here I wasn't able to reach her," Ruiko apologized quickly, clasping both her hands together in an effort to appease her senior before almost timidly adding, "I thought that you three might be too engrossed in your work to notice that we were standing outside, so I—"
"Pounded on the door mercilessly…" Mii finished Ruiko's sentence with an unamused expression on her face. When Ruiko nodded quickly, Mii let out a big sigh before motioning the three waiting girls to come in, "Don't do that again, you know where the key is if the door was locked. Which it wasn't, by the way."
"Oops. My bad?" Ruiko's words fell on deaf ears as the other three girls silently walked past her and inside. Once there, Ruiko wasn't the only one to be surprised at the state that the room was in.
"What happened here, Konori-senpai?" Mikoto asked, eyeing all the rubbish just lying around in what used to be a very neat place. She turned to look at Ruiko, who shared her surprise at this revelation, before turning to Mii, "Is everything all right here?"
"Oh yeah, everything is all right," Mii said, trying to reassure the worries of her juniors, but knowing well that she had to give a somewhat decent explanation. With a deep breath, she added, "We just may have been pushing our work a little bit, so everything else was kind of neglected as a result. Sorry for letting you see this side of us."
"'This one is from last week,' Misaka notes as Misaka analyzes this pack of instant noodles," Misaka 10032 mused, having bent down to pick up and look at one of the many strewn about items on the floor. Ignoring the looks that she was getting, Misaka 10032 stood back up and turned to Mii, "If it still takes some time until we can discuss what you have found here, Misaka can start and clean this room up a bit for you."
"That would be very helpful, thank you so much," Mii smiled gratefully, walking off to the back to try and find a broom and a trash bag to put everything in. She returned sometime later with the items in her hands and offered them to Misaka 10032, "Again, thank you very much."
"'It is no problem, it is the least that Misaka can do to try and help,' Misaka says as she accepts the cleaning tools and starts looking around for a place to start," Misaka 10032 replied before she started work, surprising the other girls in the room at how fast and efficient she was able to clean the room. In less than five minutes, they could already see the floor; and, after it had been covered with the empty takeaway boxes and instant noodle cups, that was a very big feat.
Mii took this opportunity to guide Mikoto and Ruiko to the back of the room where Kazari and Kuroko were still busy working on the computers. What shocked the visitors the most was the state that Kuroko and Kazari were in; it was clear that neither of them had gotten a lot of rest lately, if at all.
"Just give me another minute or two, Konori-senpai, I think I may have found something!" Kazari said, her eyes not moving away from the monitor of the computer as her fingers typed away at blinding speeds. Kuroko waved her hand in the air as well to show that she was asking the same thing. Mii nodded, despite knowing that she wouldn't be seen but not wanting to distract her juniors too much, before turning back to Mikoto and Ruiko.
"While we wait for Uiharu-san and Shirai-san to finish, did you find out anything yet?" Mii asked seriously, motioning to the couch in a way to invite Mikoto and Ruiko to sit there. As Misaka 10032 came by them to ask where to throw the trash bag away, Mii pointed at the door and Misaka 10032 returned to sit beside Ruiko after putting it where Mii wanted.
"Why don't you tell them? You were the ones to find it, after all?" Ruiko asked as she looked at the recently joined Misaka 10032 beside her. Both Mikoto and Mii turned to look at Misaka 10032 too in anticipation, effectively forcing Misaka 10032 to speak.
"'Misaka has discussed this through the Misaka Network over the past few days, and some of us are thinking that Himura's ability is not actually what allows her to take away espers' abilities,' Misaka says as Misaka recounts what Misaka has been doing since the last time Misaka was here," Misaka 10032 said while keeping a straight face, ignoring the look that she was getting from Mii. Feeling like she had said enough, Misaka 10032 took a sip of the can of juice that she was offered earlier.
"What I understood from her explanation when Saten-san and I visited her earlier today, they are basing it around the fact that Himura was able to almost effortlessly dodge all of our attacks. Even my Railgun…" Mikoto added, slightly disturbed at the memory of how she had missed all of her attacks. Trying to shake this feeling off of her, Mikoto continued, "What do you think, Konori-senpai?"
"I do think it is understandable why they think that; I'm assuming the ability in question is similar to my Clairvoyance?" Mii asked Misaka 10032, the brunette only nodding silently to show her response. Mii smiled, however, having received enough confirmation to understand before turning back to Mikoto, "The problem then, however, is what Himura uses to prevent espers from using their abilities."
"That was what we were thinking as well, but maybe we already found the answer to that," Ruiko said hopefully, turning to look at Kuroko who had, at one point, joined them without anyone noticing, "Shirai-san, didn't we find that drug that could suppress espers' abilities on the day when you fought Himura?"
Kuroko, having not expected that she would be addressed so quickly, took a moment to take in Ruiko's question. When she finally had enough time to do so, Kuroko slowly shook her head, "That is not enough. It is only able to cut off the esper's abilities for a handful of hours at most. Awatsuki-san and Wannai-san are still unable to use their abilities, even though almost a week has passed since."
"Um… Shirai-san? Can you come over here for a bit?" Kazari called out, sounding slightly hesitant as she knew that Kuroko was in a conversation right now. Kuroko, on the other hand, shrugged before quickly teleporting by Kazari's side.
As Kazari was showing several things on the computer to Kuroko, Ruiko tried her hardest to peek and see what was going on. Unfortunately for her, not only was the computer out of sight for the rest of the people in the room, but Kazari and Kuroko were speaking in such a voice that they were able to prevent Ruiko from eavesdropping.
"I wonder what Uiharu has found that is so special it has to be a secret from all of us…" Ruiko mused, her chin in her palm as she was brooding. Mii wanted to remind Ruiko that Kazari and Kuroko were currently working hard when somebody else had stopped her.
"Great work, Uiharu!"
Kuroko's voice rang through the room, almost making Ruiko fall out of her seat from the sheer volume alone. The next thing that the girls knew was Kuroko suddenly appearing right beside them.
"I need you all to see this, let's go!" Kuroko said in a hurry, grabbing both Mikoto and Misaka 10032 by the wrists and teleporting the two electromasters along with her. Ruiko and Mii, having been left behind, looked at each other, shrugged, and followed their friends the old-fashioned way to where Kazari was sitting.
"Uiharu, could you please rewind from the beginning?" Kuroko asked as she reached Kazari, making room so that the others could see the screen clearly and sitting down on the chair beside Kazari.
"All right!" Kazari nodded before doing what she was asked. Taking a moment to look at everybody around her, Kazari added, "It took me a while, but I finally managed to extract this video footage from the fight with Himura last week. Please pay close attention."
"Uiharu, don't you think that if anyone would know how Himura fights it is the ones who have already fought against her before?" Ruiko asked skeptically, but was surprised when she received disbelieving looks from everyone else, "Did I say something weird?"
"'When an esper is put in a fight of life and death, they will focus more on trying to survive than to watch the person that they are fighting against,' Misaka says as Misaka tries to explain this in as simple terms as possible," Misaka 10032 was the first to answer Ruiko's question. The brunette smiled when she saw that Ruiko was piecing everything together, "Even if it was not technically a life and death situation, it was close enough to one to feel like it."
"With that said…" Mii trailed off as she stepped up and leaned forward to be by Kazari's side, "Uiharu-san, could you please show it to us now? And everyone else, pay close attention!"
Mikoto and Misaka 10032 both nodded simultaneously, waiting in anticipation for Kazari to show them what she had found. From how serious the three members of Judgment were, they knew that it was something important.
What was on the monitor for all to see were very dark but still somewhat visible footages of the fight between them and Himura from last week. From the way the clips showed different scenes, Mikoto silently assumed that they were either from different cameras or from different angles.
She did not have a lot of time to think about which one it was, however, as Kazari turned back to the computer in front of her with a determined expression on her face.
"Please pay close attention to this," Kazari said as she typed in a few commands on her computer and all video footages on the monitor started playing in slow motion.
The footages, at first glance, didn't seem like they were very special. All that they depicted was a segment of their fight with Himura, so why would Kazari go to such lengths to show them?
But that was when Mikoto saw it; and, judging from the way that her face distorted in focus, Misaka 10032 had noticed it as well. The two other members of Judgment, evidently having seen it before, were only nodding grimly as they were reminded of it.
The only one who didn't seem like she was getting what was so special about these footages was Ruiko.
"So… am I supposed to see anything special in there?" Ruiko asked, almost bored as she looked around to see if anyone else were having the same problem as she was. When she quickly found out that that was not the case, she groaned, "Am I really the only one who can't see it?"
"Sorry, Saten-san, I'll explain—what's this?" Kazari tried to be nice to her friend but then she noticed something in the corner of the monitor. Now having caught Kuroko's and Mii's attention as well, Kazari opened the window and took a closer look at what was happening.
It wasn't from a pre-recorded footage of the fight. It was from a present-day surveillance camera.
"Is that what I think it is?" Mii trailed off as Kazari muttered something about not knowing the answer to that.
Kazari didn't need to be asked to enlarge the image, she was already in the process of doing that herself. It didn't take long for her to make the picture clear enough for everyone to see what was in the picture. Or, rather, who was in the picture.
Nobody needed to say anything; they would've recognized that face anywhere.
This will be said again on my fanfiction Tumblr when I post the update schedule for March 2018, but next chapter won't be on the usual Tuesday (13th of March) but on the following day (Wednesday, 14th of March). The reason being that I will be away on the 13th and won't be able to post this chapter up on that day. Thank you for your understanding.
I hope you enjoyed today's chapter, please leave a review telling me what you thought, and until two weeks and a day for the next chapter! Take care!
