Arc: Flames of Eternal Despair
Chapter 21: Fight in the Park
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Uiharu was standing in the office of Dr. Romanov. She was with Aka Hana, facing two other students. Since Kigatazu Academy allowed for both male and female students, Uiharu wasn't surprised by the two boys in front of her.
One had black hair, blue eyes, and was fairly tall. He wore the male school uniform, something that reminded her of an old military uniform, with a black/red scheme. He filled the uniform nicely, and he was smiling, something the others weren't doing. The other was much shorter than the first, with blonde hair and green eyes. He was a bit more built, his muscles showing through his uniform. He was fidgeting, growing tired of waiting; Romanov had yet to arrive.
Uiharu glanced back at the first boy, who stood at rigid attention. She sized him up, but without knowing his ability, she knew that any assumptions she made about him could easily be wrong. She decided to know who she was dealing with. She approached him with her hand out for a shake.
"My name is Uiharu Kazari," she said. "What is your name?" The boy shook her hand firmly.
"I merely go by my ability name Radar," he said. "I was a child error, and I grew up in various labs and schools." Uiharu nodded. Sometimes child errors were used for experiments, but others, if they showed potential, were given special scholarships to go to various academies.
"So what is your ability, Radar?" Uiharu asked. Radar smirked.
"I am able to pin point the location of any object relative to me using my AIM field to notice slight changes in my field, like radio waves are used to detect the range and speed of aircraft. But I am only Level 3, so my range is quite short, about three hundred meters." Uiharu turned to the other boy.
"And what about you?" she asked, looking at the shorter boy. He shrugged.
"The name's Kazuki and my ability is to manipulate the mass of objects that I can touch," Kazuki said. Uiharu frowned, wondering what he could only affect objects that he touched. She brought this up, but Kazuki laughed.
"Because that is the way I trained," he explained. "I would rather be able to affect the mass of my hands when I throw a punch to give it more force than affect objects out of my reach. Think of it this way; with my fighting skills and my ability, I could put most professional fighters into the hospital."
Uiharu nodded respectfully, understanding his stance. She then began to wonder if one's ability could change into something else depending on the training, but at that moment Romanov entered. He came in briskly, wasting no time.
"I will assume you have greeted yourselves," he said. "In which case I shall begin. You four will be a part of the squad program. From now on, you four will train together, and take classes together. You are now officially Squad Alpha." Romanov went over to his desk and sat down. By now, Radar and Kazuki stood next to Aka and Uiharu respectively.
"If your training is successful, you will take on situations that are deemed nessacry by the board of directors of this city. Thus, your training will be rigorous and harsh, to make you discipline and able to follow orders. Are there any questions?" Radar raised his hand.
"Sir, who will be leading squad Alpha?' he asked, being courteous. Romanov sighed.
"You will follow Uiharu's orders when on missions, but at the school, you will follow me, as I will be the instructor for your squad." Radar shot a glance at Uiharu, wondering why she was in command. "As of now, you will refer to me as either Dr. Romanov or sir. Now, go to your dorms, school begins tomorrow."
With that, Uiharu, Aka, Kazuki, and Radar left Romanov's office. When they started down the hall to their dorms, Radar and Kazuki blocked Uiharu's path.
"Why are you leading our squad?" Radar asked, with Kazuki nodding. Uiharu sighed, annoyed that Romanov didn't fill them in on her ability. But then again, she had to find out about theirs.
"Very well," she began. "The reason is because I, unlike you two, am a Level 4, and if I wanted, I could make the corridor as hot as I like, until I reach the upper limits of my ability, which I think sits around one billion kelvin, but that is for a short period of time for an area this big. And that is me only being a very weak Level 4, I am not peak level 4."
Radar and Kazuki stepped aside, realizing that their assumptions of Uiharu were misplaced. Uiharu opened the door to her and Aka's dorm, with Radar and Kazuki following. She sat down at her chair, and Aka sat on her bed. The boys leaned against the wall.
"So what do you think the training will focus on?" Radar asked. Aka shrugged.
"Probably group exercises designed to exploit our abilities together, maybe some physical training, on top of the usual esper development training." The others nodded. Kazuki yawned.
"So, what about you?" he said, pointing at Aka. "We haven't been introduced yet." Aka blushed a little.
"I am Aka Hana, Level 3 Meltdowner," she said quickly. "Not much else to talk about." Radar nodded.
"Right, well since we have nothing to do until tomorrow, you guys want to head out to relax before we enter the fray?" Both Aka and Kazuki nodded, but Uiharu was still debating in her head. On one hand, they were going to be her squadmates, and they probably would be with each other a lot, but on the other, she had been cooped up at the school for a while.
"Sure," she said after a while. "Why the hell not? I have had enough of this room for a while, I could use the fresh air."
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Uiharu and her 'squad mates' ended up in the park, after spending most of the day in the underground mall. The evening glow was refreshing to Uiharu, and she was resting on a tree. She looked over to Radar, who was talking with Aka while Kazuki was practicing throwing well aimed punches at a tree.
She sighed when she felt her ability kick in and she saw a pile of ash fall a couple of feet in front of her. She got up, and the others took noticed.
"What's wrong Uiharu?" Radar asked, and Uiharu noticed he was scanning the area for possible threats. Kazuki and Aka got closer to Uiharu, not wanting to be in the open if possible. She looked at Radar.
"I believe someone took a shot at me," Uiharu stated calmly. "By my guess, it is probably Skill-Out." The others would've been shocked had Uiharu not explain her situation while they ate lunch earlier. As it was, they nodded.
"Well, who ever it was, they are outside of my ability's reach," Radar explained. "That means they are in excess of three hundred meters." Uiharu took it in, which sent a chill down her spine.
"That would mean they are using high-caliber weapons," she noted. "We need to get out of here." The others nodded; Kazuki was useless in a long range fight, and Aka, while her ability had range, was limited by the fact she could only produce one plasma beam.
They began to run when Radar spoke up.
"We have multiple people incoming from in front of us," he stated calmly. "Uiharu, any ideas?" Uiharu glared. They had shooters behind them, and now more people coming from in front. The park lacked much cover, so they couldn't hide, and running would leave them open.
"We are going to have to fight them," Uiharu stated. "Aka, work with Radar to knock out the closest threat, and Kazuki, stay near me, I will keep bullets from touching you." They all nodded, with Kazuki cracking his knuckles.
"Fine by me," he said, and they split off. Uiharu saw red lasers pointed at her, but while bullets came towards her, she burnt them long before they became a threat. Kazuki kept up with Uiharu, wanting to stay in her 'bubble'.
"So what am I going to do?" he said, noting that Uiharu, despite her power, was growing tired of keeping her ability active. Uiharu got behind a tree, reducing her ability spread.
"I think that you are going to have to deal with them if they get close. If you feel able, exit my bubble and take out the guys closest to you." Kazuki smiled at that.
"Alright then, let's get this over with." When two members of Skill-Out came into sight, Kazuki rushed them, his fists ready to deal damage.
The skill-out soldiers, not knowing there were other espers in the park other than Uiharu, didn't expect Kazuki to come at them like a bull, but they thought he wasn't much of a threat, not with them having PP-2000s. But they were in for a rude shock when Kazuki, from one punch, completely crushed one of the soldier's ribcage. He collapsed onto the ground, knocked out. The other panicked, running away.
"Good job Kazuki," complimented Uiharu. She was about to get up when she saw four other Skill-Out soldiers come into sight, aiming right at Kazuki.
"Get down Kazuki!" she yelled, rushing forward, trying to burn the bullets before they got near him. She managed to stop most of the bullets, but one knick Kazuki in the shoulder. He gasped in pain, and Uiharu formed a heat wave to keep her and Kazuki safe. The Skill-Out soldiers fired on them , but stopped when they realized that their bullets weren't doing anything. One of them step forward.
"Now, I only want Uiharu boy," he said, addressing Kazuki. "If you give her up, I promise you, we won't hurt you." He smirked, but Kazuki glared at him.
"Like hell I will," he said. "And anyway, you see what she is doing to your bullets, and I am right next to her, imagine what she will do to me if I try to give her up." The Skill-Out soldier glared at him, but ended up smiling.
"Well, since we believe we figured out Uiharu's ability's reach, we can keep back, always forcing you to keep your ability up, just in case, and wait until she tires. Then we kill her and you. But if you change your mind, we will spare you."
Uiharu and Kazuki both glared, but not at the man's statement, but rather the harsh truth of his statement. Uiharu would eventually tire, and be forced to rest. They knew also that Kazuki's lack of reach was now a pain in the ass right now.
"Why didn't you train to extend your ability's reach?" Uiharu groaned. "Did you have to make it well suited for close range fighting?" Kazuki sighed.
"Because I thought that I could easily close the distance with anyone I was fighting and take them out before they could do any serious damage. But I hadn't considered a situation where I would be staring down the barrel of several sub machine guns." Uiharu groaned, wishing that Radar and Aka were having better luck.
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Aka and Radar were just finishing their fight with three Skill-Out soldiers. Aka had handled them easily by using the trees as cover and using Radar's ability to allow her to take them out one by one. She didn't try and kill the men, instead focusing on their hands and preventing them from using their guns. She looked over at Radar when they could heard a number of guns firing.
"You think Uiharu and Kazuki are doing fine?" she asked. Radar shook his head.
"No, they are pinned down, by about ten Skill-Out members," he stated. "And I don't think anyone has called from Anti-Skill yet, so we have to do something, and fast." They knew that while Uiharu had a lot of power, her range was currently limited and she would grow more tired the longer she was forced to keep her ability up.
"But how do you propose we take them out?" Aka asked. "I can't make multiple beams, and even If I could, the most I would be able to make would be four beams, that is how many the number four of this city can make." Radar sighed. He pulled out some silver cards to Aka's amusement.
"I got access to these cards when we were in the mall earlier,' he began. "They are silicon cards. I read that the number four uses these cards to reflect her ability into multiple beams from a single beam. I figure that you could use them to attack multiple targets. So I think that is how we can take them out."
Aka smiled at Radar, and considered the cards. They were light weight and portable, but she wondered how she would be able to aim them. But she knew Uiharu didn't have much time left.
"Alright, then help me get into the best position to take them out," Aka said to radar. He nodded, and led her to a bush where they saw Uiharu and Kazuki facing ten Skill Out soldiers. Aka cursed in her head, wondering if Uiharu had a plan.
But she pulled out the silicon card, and thought of something; if she had three cards, with the first directing its beams into the second, and the second into the third, could she produce as many beams as she could if she had three beams and three silicon cards.
She threw the three silicon cards in front of her, and produced her beam of plasma. As predicted, the beam entered the first card, and began to reflect into multiple beams. These waves hit the second and then the third, producing a massive wall of plasma at the Skill-Out soldiers. They saw this and did the only thing they could've done; split up to avoid getting hit.
Aka saw Uiharu yelling at Kazuki, and the two of them entered the chaos. Radar tapped Aka on the shoulder.
"Aka, take out those farthest from Uiharu and Kazuki," he said. "I suggest the Skill-out leader, one o'clock." Aka found him, readying a grenade. She produced a green beam, and shot it at him. He didn't have time to react, as the beam destroyed the grenade in his hand.
Meanwhile, Uiharu had taken to setting the ground beneath many of the Skill-Out members into lava, but most were able to scramble out of the way and run for their lives. Kazuki was destroying other members, crushing their rib cages with punches to their chest and breaking their arms when he got ahold of them. Soon, only the Skill-Out leader remained the others on the ground broken or running in terror.
He glared at Uiharu and the three other espers. He looked at them with disgust.
"So we were the ones walking into hell then," he spat out. "It doesn't matter. You will die Uiharu, whether it is in three days or 3 years, Skill-Out will make you pay for what you did!" Uiharu brushed her hair out of her faced.
"Really now, I wasn't the one who burnt the lab down, nor was I the one responsible for killing your men in there," she stated calmly. "But this is getting ridiculous, you sent your men to their deaths today, and it was only due to them running or being knocked out that they didn't die."
She looked over to Kazuki, who was nursing his wound, and then to Aka and Radar, both of whom were sweating from using their ability a bit much. But she felt her heart racing, she was very tired from having to keep the bullets at bay. She looked at the vending machine, and got a bottle of water. The Skill-Out leader followed her.
She soon dumped the water on him. The Skill-Out leader laughed.
"Oh, what is this, some petty taunt?" he said. Uiharu shook her head. She then froze the water, encasing his entire body in a hardened case of ice. The leader try to struggled, but the ice has everywhere, and his clothing only made it that much harder to break.
"I don't need to deal with being a killer," Uiharu said. "So while you are encased in ice, I believe Anti-Skill will arrive and take you in. You go to prison, and I don't have to deal with you anymore." She turned to leave, but paused. "Oh, when you get your one call, please tell your bosses to stop coming after me, or your men will die."
As the Skill-Out kept cursing her, Uiharu looked over to Kazuki.
"Hey, do you need to go to the hospital?" she asked. Kazuki shook his head.
"Nah, I will be fine. By the way, thanks Aka for causing those idiots to break up." Aka blushed, nodding.
"No problem, though it was Radar's idea to use the silicon cards to enhance my ability." Uiharu nodded.
"Well, thanks to you two, you spared us a trip to the morgue," Uiharu said. "But lets get back to the dorm, I don't want to be out here any longer than needed tonight." The others nodded, and they headed back to their dorms, tired from the fight in the park.
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Yomikawa arrived at the park, after hearing that a cell of Skill-Out soldiers attempted to make a move in the park. While it was unclear who they were after, Yomikawa had a few people that Skill-Out would be after.
She got out of her car, and saw both Anti-Skill and Judgment officers quarantining the park, and trying to gather evidence. She saw several Skill-Out memebers, some with their hands burnt off, others in body supports, and one who was being unthawed due to being cocooned in ice.
She saw Kuroko, who was merely handling the flow of traffic near the park. Kuroko's place in Judgment was nearly taken, but due to her service record, and that her iron lung was sufficient most of the time, she remained. Yomikawa approached Kuroko.
"So Kuroko, what happened here?" Yomikawa asked. "I heard that the park turned into a battleground." Kuroko nodded.
"Our guess is that Skill-Out tried to take out someone, but they were surprised and lost control of the situation," Kuroko rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to ease some pressure. "That said, currently everyone thinks they were after Uiharu, because of that." Kuroko pointed behind her.
Yomikawa turned and saw to her surprise a patch of lava that was beginning to harden. Yomikawa sighed, noting that Uiharu could easily have created the lava. But she saw that based on the injuries of some of the Skill-Out members and other damages to the park that Uiharu wasn't alone.
"So who else was here?" Yomikawa asked. Kuroko shrugged.
"I wouldn't know for now, I am merely directing traffic, you would have to asked Konori." Yomikawa left Kuroko, trying to find Konori. She found Konori interrogating the one Skill-Out soldier who just had been unthawed.
"Who were you after?" Konori asked. The Skill-Out soldier smirked.
"Does it matter, esper? We could be after anyone, and it wouldn't make a damn difference!" Yomikawa glanced at some of the weapons that were picked up from the scene. She saw they were similar to the ones used in the ambush, and Yomikawa figured she could use this as leverage.
"Alright punk, listen up," Yomikawa addressed the Skill-Out soldier. "I see that you have weapons similar to ones used in an ambush that killed several Judgment officers. Now, if you cooperate, you might avoid getting a life sentence for the ambush."
The Skill-Out soldier blanched a bit. He was considering if it was worth going to prison for the rest of his days over the actions of others in Skill-Out. He sighed, bowing his head in defeat.
"Fine, I will talk," he said. "We were after Uiharu, however, we didn't expect her to have friends." Konori looked at him.
"What friends?" she asked, glancing at Kuroko suspiciously. The Skill-Out soldier saw Konori's face and laughed.
"Looking at the pink hair officer? Well I will tell you that she wasn't in on it," he shuddered, a wind breeze blowing on him. "Nah, it was two guys and one girl. The girl had red hair and could project plasma from her hand. That is how those guys lost their hands. Then we had some lad who didn't do much but aid the girl. Then we had Mr. fist-of-god break those poor bastards' rib cage with a single hit."
Konori and Yomikawa sighed; at least Kuroko, Misaka, Saten, nor Aki were responsible. But this left them wondering who the three other espers were. Konori looked at Yomikawa, back turned to the Skill-Out soldier.
"Thanks for getting him talking," Konori said. Yomikawa nodded.
"No problem. But about the others with Uiharu, any idea on how you are going to identify them?" Konori nodded.
"Since we now know who Skill-Out was after, we can follow Uiharu from the park and once we get an ID on the other espers, we can piece together what happened." Yomikawa nodded.
"So what is going to happen to Uiharu?" she asked. "If Skill-Out was trying to kill her, then it would be self-defense, right?" Konori nodded.
"I doubt Judgment is going to fuss over what Uiharu or her 'friends' did, but we need to talk to them and confirm what happened anyway." Yomikawa nodded, and went back to her car. She sighed, hearing her phone ring. She picked it up, to hear Accelerator on the other end of the line.
"Oi, Yomikawa, when are you getting back?" he asked, rather irritated. "The two brats won't leave me alone!" Yomikawa chuckled, amused that the number one of the city was unable to deal with Worst and Last Order.
"Probably within a hour, thought that isn't important at the moment." Yomikawa could hear Accelerator plopping into a chair.
"Oh, what is more important than keeping the brats in line?" he mocked.
"It appears that Skill-Out, in their infinite wisdom, thought to go after Uiharu again." She heard Accelerator laugh.
"How did that go?" he asked, and Yomikawa could feel him smirking.
"Not too well for them, most ended up losing their hands, having a broken rib cage, or in the case of one idiot being frozen in a block of ice. It turned out Uiharu had three friends with her." She heard Accelerator sigh.
"Reminds me of GROUP, though I don't think Uiharu is that far into the darkness of this city. Though any idea of whom the others were?" Yomikawa shook her head, even though Accelerator couldn't notice.
"No, all we have is one red head girl, and two guys. But I will be getting more information once we back trace Uiharu's day and see who she was with."
"Alright, need me to do anything?" Accelerator offered. Yomikawa paused, debating getting Accelerator involved. She could use the help, but how to use him? She finally got an idea.
"Yeah, maybe. I need you to keep tabs on Uiharu the best you can." She heard Accelerator sigh.
"And how, might I ask, am I to do that? I am not easily hidden you know." Yomikawa laughed.
"True, but with Last order and Worst, along with the other sisters in the city, you could form one impressive net to observe Uiharu." She then felt Accerlator getting excited.
"Oh, I get to spy without having to leave my room then? Fine, consider me in, though I will talk with the brats and get them on board." Yomikawa was about to respond when the line went dead. She smiled, glad to see Accelerator actually helping out.
She got into her car, pondering what Uiharu was up to. She debated going to see Uiharu herself, but decided against it. She didn't need to bother her, at least not after tonight. She drove off, her mind thinking a thousand possibilities.
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Author's note: Another chapter, another fight scene! Hopefully the fight scene was interesting. I am not good with describing a fight, though I intend to become proficient at it. That said, we see Uiharu's squad in action, and we see Yomikawa planning to do something about Uiharu.
I welcome the flow of reviews and suggestions, though I must ask; if you have a suggestion, please send it to me in a private message. If you don't have an account, then it's alright to leave it in the review, but I prefer PM to quickly respond to suggestions.
With that said, one question for you guys; do you want to see a pairing, and if so, between whom? Please send in your suggestions.
And as always, please favorite, follow, and review!