"Ah… What a mess… How the hell did someone manage to take a picture of that? It's basically impossible for technology to work in the hellish environment Railgun created."

Tap. Tap tap. Tap.

Incessant tapping on a desk, a repeated mantra of the same beat.

He let out a sigh, "Well… no matter. Rumors will marginally affect Level 6 Shift and won't affect Collapse at all. After all, Anti-Skill can't do anything."

A deranged chuckle echoed in the room, "Anti-Skill can't do anything at all…"

A crease formed between Saten's eyebrows, "Anti-Skill really won't investigate this? This photo is too damn realistic, even for Academy City's standards! And even if it were a prank, shouldn't they at least investigate it?!" The table shook as she slammed her hands down.

Yomikawa couldn't meet the girl's damning stare. "Listen, the higher-ups already dismissed the case and Anti-Skill can't move without their permission."

"That seems odd though. Why would they dismiss it so quickly? Unless… they're directly involved in this… revolting act." Shirai looked at the older woman, "Which would be highly unlikely, right?" The tone of her voice made it clear that she didn't even believe herself, much less expect Yomikawa to agree with her.

She let out a sigh, "Well, the way the higher-ups reacted makes it impossible for me to vouch for them. If this wasn't a prank… well, the victim was killed by a high level Esper, no doubt. The higher-up's probably want to cover for the Esper, if they're valuable enough."

"Espers are still bound by the laws of Academy City, no matter how high of a level they are! They can't just ignore a case this… brutal, right?!" A childish and slightly naïve outlook has been voiced by Uiharu, who has faith in Academy City's legal system. Well, the legal system itself has no problems, it's just the matter how much corruption there is.

And as you grow up, you are exposed to more and more corruption. Which is why Yomikawa, the only adult in the room, found that statement to be incredibly humorous, as sad as that may sound. "Hahhhh… Sure, the vast majority of Level 3s and 4s aren't gonna be valuable enough for Academy City to go out of its way to cover up something. But the elites amongst the Level 4s and all the Level 5s are definitely valuable enough in terms of assets alone that Academy City will go out of their way to protect them. There's nothing you can really do about the situation, since the corruption runs far deeper than you think."

Saten and Uiharu remained silent as they were confronted with this reality, and Shirai's chest constricted, and the last remnants of childhood dreams of justice and adults shattered. Her throat felt dry, but she forced herself to speak, "Still, isn't there something we could do? Something you could do?"

Yomikawa looked at her before letting out another sigh, "Well, I could give you the list of suspects I created bu- "

"If you could, please do so!" Uiharu's resolve fired up again after hearing those words, only to be crushed by the next.

"-t I will not be handing such information to minors, especially given that all the suspects on the list are highly dangerous Espers that could kill you on a moment's notice." Yomikawa glared at everyone, "So, don't even think about doing anything dangerous."

Of course they could kill me on a moment's notice… just look at what they did to the victim… but… Shirai bit her lip, "I would like to remind you that I am a Level 4 that specializes in combat. At the very least, I would be able to run away."

Saten's gaze turned hopeful, "Yeah! Shirai-san is a Level 4 Teleporter. She can kick anyone's ass!" She smiled encouragingly towards Shirai, who felt a bit off from the sudden familiarity, but it wasn't a bad feeling.

"No. There are 2 suspects on the list that can instantly pulverize you before you can begin on the complex calculations you require for teleportation. Both are Level 5s. Do no-"

Her pupils dilated upon hearing the term and instantly interrupted Yomikawa, "Level 5s?! Is… are one of the Level 5s Misaka Mikoto?" The moment Shirai heard 'Level 5', it was hard not to make the connection. Increased thunderstorms, singe marks and a powerful electromaster? In fact, she couldn't believe she didn't make the connection before.

The other girls seemed to have realized too as their eyebrows shot up.

Yomikawa's eyes flashed for a second, "Ah, she does go to your school, doesn't she? Well, since you've already made the connection, yes, yes, she is. Regardless of her personality, the power, the photo, the thunderstorms, all match up too perfectly."

She opened her mouth to speak but found her lips dry and throat parched. She couldn't find words to describe her feelings. Sure, the older girl was brash and sure, she was rude. But, she wouldn't mutilate someone in such a cruel manner, regardless of her feelings… right?

Lightning flashed before her and if she had been a second too slow, she would simply be a pile of steaming, melting flesh, one with the cement.

"Level 5s sure are crazy, aren't they? I heard all of them were psychopaths who would kill someone who talked the wrong way." A giggle in passing.

Shirai looked the other way, uncaring of rumors and gossip but this couldn't help but worm itself into her head. What are the mysterious Level 5s like? Were they arrogant elites, who couldn't see down their own noses? Were they psychopathic murderers who bathed in the blood of enemies? Were they normal folks, trying to live their lives?

One couldn't help but wonder.

How could she forget? Countless rumors and then, her own deadly encounter with her delinquent upperclassman, who had almost smote her to death. She had brushed it away, but one couldn't ignore the way the cement melted under the sheer heat of the electromaster's power.

"Didn't you have a run in with her, one time? Isn't she also tutoring you now? Not only is it nigh impossible for someone who got into Tokiwaidai to be doing something like that, you're also acquaintances with her!" Uiharu broke Shirai out of her frozen state.

Yomikawa opened her mouth to speak but Shirai beat her to it, "A-ah. Yes, I suppose that it would be nigh impossible for her to be the culprit. I guess that's one suspect off the list… Now, if I may excuse myself…" She bleeped out of existence in the next second, evidently in a hurry.

"Is she going to be okay?" Saten gazed at Uiharu, but she stared at the empty space that Shirai left.

"…Probably."

"Lighting up the night sky… huh." Sparks danced from finger to finger as she sat alone in her desolate bedroom. It was early in the morning, or more so at night. 1 AM. She had just gotten back from another… session and she couldn't bring herself to fall asleep to another barrage of relentless nightmares.

She watched as the sparks lit up the room, revealing the deep scars within the walls that she's made over the past years.

"What a stupid dream."

AN Note:

I'm back! Not really. Sorry for the wait, I'm currently writing this at 12 AM as I regret my life decisions. Yeah, it's a surprise. This is an actual chapter and not a notice that this will be completely dropped. I'm surprised this isn't completely dropped.

You might notice my writing has improved (I think? I damn hope so, it's been two years). My creative outlet has been more in art now, though. Which I think I've gotten decent at too. Still need more help with coloring and lighting but I've been getting better. This is where I do the shameless twitter acc plugin that me and my friend shares and posts art on but I'm not that shameless. I'll have it on the account bio though.

As for the writing itself, it's pretty self-explanatory? I wrote all of this in like 2 hours, riding on bad life decisions and I don't really remember the plot that well. Tbh, I've already stated that this was basically a wing-it plot situation. I might rewrite this entirely but I don't think it was that incoherent. This probably wasn't as good as you were expecting from like a 2 year hiatus but at least it's continued?

I had a hard time incorporating Saten and Uiharu into the conversation since it was mostly centered around Kuroko. Also, as for ships, I definitely won't be doing any romance. Maybe some references but I don't think I can fit it in. As for "Collapse", I think I've been online too much but that's what society is doing right now. So I'm going to write it into the story.

Sorry for the long AN note