AN: Hello readers! I have returned with the last chapter of what transpired on July 15th...
*collectively sighs by the fact that it's been the same day for literally 7 chapters now including the chapters taking place in the past*
I know the series of events of this day were long, but I hope it was enjoyable to read even with how long it was:`)
After this chapter I can definitely say that the main arc will start progressing again and that the day will finally change.
Funny side note (or at least to me) is that I didn't notice until the last minute that it was also July 15th yesterday, which nearly prompted me to release this chapter yesterday for that coincidence alone. But I sadly wasn't ready to do so and fell asleep before I was able to get done.
But other than that, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Please leave a review on anything you liked, think I should work on, or just any questions in general! I enjoy reading them and I will answer them at the end of the next chapter:D
Disclaimer: I do not own A Certain Scientific Railgun/Magical Index or any of its characters...the only things I own are:
1. My characters and
2. my ideas
Chapter 14: A Nice Chat
July 15th, 9:00pm
Misaka was staring back at 'Asher' in anger, seeing nothing in the eyes in front of her that indicated that she was even there, only seeing the presence of someone who didn't belong there whatsoever.
She knew Shokuhou to be someone to use her ability on anyone without caring if they wanted her to or not, something that caused her to be even more irritated from now witnessing this dynamic happening to someone very close to her.
"Shokuhou explain yourself! Why are you messing around with Zierdan's head!?" Misaka shouted as she tightened her hold on her collar, seeing the smile grow on Asher's face as the sparkles in her eyes shined even brighter from the reflection of the light hitting her face.
"Aw come on 'MK', I don't understand why you're getting so angry with me. I haven't even done anything wrong but say hello to you. It's starting to hurt my feelings." Asher (Shokuhou) stated, seeing the girl in front of her fuming as electricity arced more and more around her due to her anger.
"GRRRGH! I am not going to play your mind games today! Tch, I swear if you hurt her in any way I'll-"
"You'll what: Attack me? Shock and electrocute the mess out of me, right? Well as I warned you before Misaka, I would advise you to think against it." She warned as her gaze narrowed slightly, loosening her grip on her collar and knocking her hand out of the away as Misaka's eyes widened. "It may not look like it now, but Asher was most definitely in the exhausted state you saw her in. And shocking her body may not affect me in any way, but it will most definitely harm her to some extent. So just keep that in mind if you just so happen to let that anger of yours get the best of you."
Misaka's body trembled at that thought as she tried to keep her anger underwraps, closing her eyes in an effort to do so as she decreased the amount of electricity arcing off her body.
"Have you finally cooled off to actually hear what I wanted to say to you?" Asher (Shokuhou) asked as she quirked one of her eyebrows, hearing Misaka scoff under breath as she opened her eyes and sent her a scathing glare.
"Talk. Go on and say whatever so we can get this over with and you can bring Zierdan back." Misaka said darkly as Asher (Shokuhou) laughed under her breath.
"Is that the thanks I get for helping you out?" She asked as she shrugged her shoulders. "If I hadn't done this, you would've had to carry this girl all by your lonesome all the way back to her room."
"What do you want me to say? Because it sure as hell isn't going to be that. You know full well how much Zierdan hates anyone going in her head without permission and you go and take full control of it. So excuse me for being momentously pissed and annoyed for what you're doing to her at this moment." Misaka stated as the light posts flickered around them, hearing the girl release a small sigh in front of her.
"But the thing is, I actually did get permission to do this. We made a bet and she lost spectacularly, and this is what it resulted in." Asher (Shokuhou) stated as she took the Amps out of her ears and put them in her pockets. "You should blame her stubbornness for our current situation, since she could've at least stayed the night at the hospital. But chose to be irrational and push her body to the limit just so she could crash in her own bed instead and unable to even make it there herself."
"A bet? At the hospital? But why would you have been…" Misaka said in confusion before her eyes widened in realization as her electricity began to arc around her again.
"You didn't….Tell me you didn't do what I think you did." She said under her breath as she clenched her hands into fists with her face darkening under the bangs of her hair, remembering the odd moment that she and Asher just had a little while before.
["Hey, like for real Zierdan…what's wrong with you? Can you please tell me so we can talk about it? It seems to be eating you up whatever it is… enough so that it made you have an anxiety attack." Misaka asked as she felt Asher clutch her tighter before she let out a shaky sigh.
"So you heard about that…fr-from the reception….lady I guess?" Asher stated mostly to herself before rubbing her eyes. "I'm not surprised…I-I would tell…you but….I j-just can't….as of this moment….It would make it t-too real for me…if I did…so I'll just settle for this…for now."]
"And that would be?" Asher (Shokuhou) asked, though Misaka already had a guess to her answer, feeling her anger increasing to even greater heights.
"Tch, that's why she had a freaking anxiety attack. You went and headscanned her didn't you!? Without even telling her a damn thing that you were going to do it in the first place!" Misaka shouted angrily as Asher (Shokuhou) stared back at her, completely unfazed at the sight since she more or less knew it was going to happen.
"Oh that's what you were referring to. But yes I did do both of those things as that was the best and more specifically the only course of action for that to happen. What I find shocking is why you're so wound up about this, considering you were the one to convince me to piece her memories back together in the first place. And that's just what I did today." Asher (Shokuhou) replied nonchalantly as Misaka slowly trudged towards her.
"Don't you even dare turn this on me as if I gave you permission to do this!" She shouted. "I thought we agreed…I thought we ALL AGREED, including Zierdan herself, that she would choose when those were supposed to happen and that I would be there when you do or did you forget that!?"
"No, I didn't forget. But due to some circumstances, I decided it was best to ignore such parameters. More for her sake and not for your own or my own, surprisingly." She responded as Misaka stopped in front of her. "I decided that this had to be done today with or without her compliance to do so. Or with you even around to lessen the stress of it all."
"That doesn't give you the right to do something like that to her! To stress her out to an extent that she has a full-on anxiety attack because of it!" Misaka yelled, not noticing when Asher (Shokuhou) began to bite down on her cheek as she looked towards the ground. "No wonder she didn't want to tell me what happened that caused it, since you made her relive the very day that frightens and scares her each and every time she thinks about it! Wouldn't it have been right to allow her to decide when to face that herself!? Not forced her to because you got too impatient from waiting for her to do so!?"
"No I didn-"
"Then why did you do it!" Misaka asked as she cut her off and got right in her face. "Please at least answer that question without any crap attached! Is it because you wanted her to see what she had done!? Wanted her to feel sorry for herself that she did it in the first place!? Wanted her to resent herself because of it!? To resort to such tactics into getting whatever you want out of this situation is something I thought would be below you, Shokuhou Misaki! But I guess I'm not surprised that a heartless person like you would stoop so low to do something like this! To do something you know has haunted her for-"
Before she could go any further, her eyes widened in shock when her face was turned to the side, feeling a stinging pain on the right side of her face.
Did she just…
"Are you done getting whatever frustrations you have about me off your chest? Because it honestly will not change the fact of anything, meaning you would just waste your time in continuing it." Asher (Shokuhou) asked without carrying any of the lightness in her tone that was in it before as Misaka looked back at her in shock, seeing her left hand extended towards her before it fell to her side.
"Maybe if you would have taken a moment to allow me to explain what I did and not allow that temper of yours to get the best of you, then you would understand the current situation of this matter. And not spout what Asher would most likely call 'illogical assumptions' about what I did to keep her best interests in mind, not what she's thinking she's doing to do as described. Because to be brutally honest with you, Misaka, what she has been doing to herself is either going to or has already detrimentally affected her already damaged mentality, and if you're angry at me for doing this then that goes to show me that you're just allowing that to happen."
"What is that supposed to even mean? Why would you assume I would do or allow that to happen to her of all people!?" Misaka asked defensively.
"Well excuse me for assuming such things, considering you have held no regard in holding back in what you presume I'm doing to this complicated and untalkative friend of yours. So if you hold those back, then I will do the same and get to the matter at hand here." Asher (Shokuhou) stated as she crossed her arms.
"To be honest with you, I didn't even have to do this, but she would've ended up hiding it from you if I hadn't, so excuse me for not wanting that to happen in order to at least give her someone she can talk to about this to gain some type of relief for her mind. Since, as you may be well aware, it is still pretty messed up emotionally and mentally if I don't say so myself from being in it as much as I have these past 2 years. So I should be the last person you should question when it comes to knowing what state it's in and how I should go about it to fix it. Which, as I'll remind you again, you gave me the task of doing and this is me doing it. Or do I need to repeat myself again to get it through that thick skull of yours?"
As Misaka's face fell in shock of that statement, Asher (Shokuhou) turned around and walked down the sidewalk before she could even give her an answer.
"I'm going to give you some time to think on that. When you're ready and have some semblance of a level head, come find me. I won't be that far at all and with these hearing devices of hers on her person, it shouldn't even be a challenge for you to find me." She said without turning to look at her.
"And with her most likely being out for at most a day or two from today's events, I can do this however long I need to, since that gravity field she has is not as strong as it usually is to cause interference and stop me from doing so. But don't think I'll wait for you the whole night, so don't keep me waiting for too long or you will have to carry her without any answers of what happened today."
As she went out of view, Misaka sat there in complete disbelief as she brought her hand to the area on her cheek that had been hit, clenching down on her teeth slightly as she felt her fingers trembling.
Yes, she knew that Asher hadn't done that to her and it was all Shokuhou's doing.
But at the same time, it didn't change the fact that she was looking in the eyes of her best friend when she did it, which had her feeling an array of emotions at that moment because of it.
For one, she knew that she was angry…
Annoyed…
Frustrated…
Upset…
And everything in between from what was happening, knowing how jarring headscans could be for the girl in question due to how much damage and trauma she had been inflicted with in relation to the memories of that time.
But at the same time, she was both surprised and shocked for the behavior exhibited by the Mental Out esper, never have really seen this serious side of her as she had moments before that could almost be comparable to how her friend could get in certain instances.
["To be honest with you, I didn't even have to do this, but she would've ended up hiding it from you if I hadn't, so excuse me for not wanting that to happen in order to at least give her someone she can talk to about this to gain some type of relief for her mind. Since, as you may be well aware, it is still pretty messed up emotionally and mentally if I don't say so myself from being in it as much as I have these past 2 years…]
Is she really doing this for her and not just for herself? she thought to herself as she bit down on the side of her cheek, pinching the bridge of her nose to regain some level of her composure as she let out a shaky sigh.
"Damn it….this night just keeps getting even more stressful as I go along. And it looks like it's just beginning." She said under her breath as she opened her eyes and looked at the direction that Asher (Shokuhou) had walked off to.
Yes, I may not like her at all or what she does with that ability of hers, but…. she thought as she began to make her way down the sidewalk.
If this is in any way for Zierdan, then I have to deal with whatever she does and listen to whatever she has to say….
Whether I like it or not.
A little after Misaka proceeded down the sidewalk, she saw the familiar light blonde hair of the esper she was looking for out of the corner of her eye.
She was sitting on a bench not too far off from where she was, bent over as her elbows stayed on her legs and with her hands clasped together as she looked down towards the ground.
Well there she is…. Misaka thought to herself as her eyes narrowed slightly, pushing herself to walk over there and took a seat next to her.
After a few moments of silence falling between them, Misaka let out a sigh as she leaned herself into the bench and closed her eyes.
"I'm…sorry for how I acted towards you. I shouldn't have exploded and snapped at you like that. I was just being an overprotective friend, I guess. I have been incredibly worried about her basically this entire day so seeing how she was before and to what you're doing now just pushed me over the edge in terms of my stress level." She stated as she reopened her eyes, seeing no indication if she was being acknowledged by the girl next to her.
"We may have our differences and I may not like how you're going about this, but…I'm ready to hear whatever you have to say. Because you're right, this matter isn't about either of us. This is about Zierdan and getting her to a point where she's in a good place in terms of her headspace and stays that way for the foreseeable future."
Silence fell in the air around them again until Misaka heard shifting from next to her, looking over and seeing Asher (Shokuhou) rest her back on the bench, letting out a sigh as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders.
"Glad to hear it, though…" She replied, giving her a sideways glance. "I guess….I should apologize for slapping you, since that was about as uncalled for. Tension and stress were running high for the both of us it seems due to this girl today."
"Now that we've got that out of the way, can you go ahead and explain what this is about?" Misaka asked as she watched the girl next to her cross her legs and look at the night sky above her.
"Where to even start with this tiring day? I guess the beginning should suffice to give you a picture as to why I'm here in the first place." She stated, beginning the story of the events that led up to where they were now.
A little while later…
After hearing about most of everything that had transpired during the hospital visit, Misaka sat there rubbing the side of her temple to relieve some of the tension in her body, feeling her stress level increasing as time progressed.
This girl is going to send me into an early grave. I can't believe this is what she's been doing to herself and trying to keep it from me to not burden me with something that she needs to get off her chest, Misaka thought to herself as she heard Asher (Shokuhou) beginning to talk again.
"Is there anything you need me to run over again?" She asked, seeing Misaka shake her head.
"No, I think I got the gist of it." Misaka stated as her expression fell slightly. "You did that headscan today because it couldn't be delayed anymore than it already has, which…now is something I can fully understand from what you explained to me. I may have known her for as long as I have, but there are still times I can't ever tell what's she's really thinking. And this gave me some more context that I wished I had noticed completely before."
"What do you mean by that?" Asher (Shokuhou) replied seeing Misaka's shoulders deflate.
"I've always known that she has held a massive amount of guilt and remorse from what happened, which is something I've been trying to help ease her out of since that is a big thing involving the anxiety she gets because of it." Misaka stated as she ruffled through her hair.
"She used to have a lot of nightmares during that time, along with several anxiety attacks by causing herself to panic more than anything by overthinking the parts she knew or heard about the situation itself. You probably saw it today, but she has a very hard time calming herself down when she gets like that and usually needs someone there to help her out. Since she's gotten better and has come more out of her shell than I've ever seen her do in a long time, I thought that was working and that she's been in a better place than she has been in a long while…"
"You could say that is still the case but…she still slips into those moments like this one that she ends up doing something that isn't good for her to do in any way, shape, or form. Constantly tormenting herself by feeling like she deserves to never fully remember what happened is troubling and unhealthy at the same time, but it's still something Zierdan has always done one way or another that usually leads to her trying to hide it from me…"
"I'll push her to tell me what's wrong, and she will at times. But other times if I push too far, she'll isolate herself from the situation entirely to sort of cope in a way by herself. Which as it turns out, she still doesn't know how to do all that well and a habit that I've tried to get her to break but she still does it anyway unfortunately." She finished as she looked towards the ground.
Asher (Shokuhou) sat there silently and tried to digest that whole piece of information for a couple moments before looking over and seeing Misaka bent over with head in her hands as her whole body trembled slightly.
"Tch damn it, I'm such an idiot… Why didn't I notice that this was happening sooner? " She said angrily to herself as her hands clenched tighter. "I'm supposed to be her best friend, but …whenever I think I'm helping her, I'm just taken 10 steps back by finding out that's not true at all. She's still hurting inside and I still don't know how to help her fix it at times….so she ends up trying to do it all by herself or thinking she deserves it when she never does."
"It may seem that way from what I told you, though I think some of what you said isn't true." Asher (Shokuhou) stated letting out a sigh, as Misaka's attention was pulled to her in surprise from hearing that. "Me and you may have our differences in that this may not mean much coming from me, but I think you've helped her well enough by just being there when most people would have just left her on her own at this point….."
"I mean from what I've gathered family wise, she literally has no one but herself, in which she could more or less be seen as a child error from that standpoint. Both her parents are dead, while that stepfather of hers is probably never going to see the light of day for what he did, especially to her. Even someone with the strongest mentality can receive a considerable amount of damage to their psyche, with hers stemming from being verbally abused for practically 12 years of her life and physically abused by that man for at least 2 years of that time. But like some with that kind of damage, she tends to be able to hide it well with that stoicness of hers and keeping her emotions at a suppressed level. Both of which may help but almost indirectly are harming her in way, like this situation."
"I guess that's one way to put it." Misaka stated as she sat up straighter. "I don't know if it was because of that or something else entirely, but she has never been the best when it comes to understanding people and emotions to the extent that she has a hard time understanding her own, which usually leads to her questioning the judgement of others and her own in some cases that she can't fully explain logically. She has gotten better over the years, but she still struggles at times with it sometimes leading to her struggling to figure out what she should do for herself or for those around her, keeping most people at arm's reach until she knows at some capacity that she can trust them."
"This girl is so complicated that I honestly think there's not a single way to describe her as a person. Her personality is mixed bag that anyone would get lost in if one is not careful." Asher (Shokuhou) stated with a huff as she began to count off on her fingers. "She's lazy but then becomes so annoyingly stubborn at the wrong times. She's one of the bluntest people I've ever met while also being the one with the most infuriating when it comes to that sense of humor she has. She's quiet but can out lecture or out yell anyone if she needs to or if you get under her skin. That logic of hers is sound enough to make her one of the smartest people in Tokiwadai, maybe the city even but then somehow it makes her completely irrational in certain situations…."
"I think I could go on and on with this list and still not wrap my head around whatever her personality type is."
"Ahahaha, that's Zierdan for you." Misaka said amusedly as she rose up from the bench. "She may not express herself emotionally as much as most people, but she has found other ways to show off how she is as a person. I've gotten used to the unique quirks of her personality that still haven't really changed even after her memory loss, which due to your efforts has more or less gotten fixed to some extent which is…ummm…something I…."
Misaka's face started to heat up from what she was wanting to say as she nervously stumbled on her words before hearing Asher (Shokuhou) let out a small laugh.
"Well that's my cue that it's time to head back if you're trying to get all sappy on me, Misaka. You're going to bust that nearly bustless body you have over there, so at least give yourself a chance to get somewhere close to be seen as competition to my feminine figure." She stated as she rose up from her seat and left, as Misaka went red in shock before getting even hotter in irritation.
"TCH, Stop making Zierdan say stuff like that! It's weird enough as it is hearing her talk like you with her under your control, so stop making it worse!" Misaka shouted angrily.
"Aw, sorry 'MK'! I didn't mean to get you so flustered and embarrassed by comparing your lackluster figure to that of Shokuhou's prime feminine form that I so desperately wished I had as well. So I'll be more careful next time." Asher (Shokuhou) teased, causing a vein to pop on Misaka's forehead.
"Shokuhou, I swear! STOP SAYING STUFF LIKE THAT THIS INSTANT!" Misaka yelled, hearing the girl in question laugh at her in amusement as they made their way towards the dormitory.
20 minutes later….
Tokiwadai Exterior Dormitory
After what felt like a long trip back to the dorm from Misaka's standpoint, they finally made it there without too much trouble.
"Ahhhh, so this is the dorm outside the Garden of Learning." Asher (Shokuhou) said in amusement as Misaka let out a few grumbles of frustration behind her.
"Okay, we've made it back here. Can you please bring Zierdan back now?" Misaka said in annoyance as she crossed her arms. "Watching her act like you is really starting to weird me out…."
"Really? I would've thought you would like to see her in a different light. You must like seeing this level of expressiveness instead of that stoicness she holds practically 24/7." She replied. "And since I'm already on this, is there anything about that you want me to change? There's not really many opportunities that I get to use my ability on Asher at this capacity, so this may be the only chance you'll get."
"First off, if I saw Zierdan acting this way, I would take her right back to the hospital no questions asked. Seeing and hearing her this bubbly for this long is starting to tank my own energy, so I can't even imagine how much it would take out of the little she says she has." Misaka said without any hesitation. "And second, no I don't want anything changed about her, since there's nothing about her that needs to be changed in that way or any way period."
"Well, okay. If you say so, Misaka, though I honestly think you're missing a prime opportunity for Asher to get a social life." Asher (Shokuhou) replied, hearing Misaka let out a sigh.
"I don't think I can take much more of you, so just tell me how this is going to work. If I remember correctly, you said that Zierdan is going to be out for a while, right?" Misaka asked as she nodded her head.
"Yeah. If I had to gauge how long, I would say at least a day but at most 2-3 days." She replied. "Her mind and body need to rest. I've instructed her to sleep as long as she needs so that can happen and allow her some time to digest the new memories she has. So…do you want me to keep control until we get up to her room or release her in a more semi-conscious state that will make it a little easier to take her there than her being just completely out like how she was earlier?"
"I'll take the second option, though, what do you mean in terms of semi-conscious?" Misaka asked.
"I'll just give her instructions to partially come out of her slumber. She'll be mostly out of it but also pretty suggestible in that state, meaning you can have her do whatever she needs to do before she goes back to sleep. And before you ask, my hold on her and the instructions I've given her will disappear when she wakes up or when her gravity field increases back to its usual power." She replied as she put the Amps back in her ears and walked over to be next to Misaka's side.
"Alright." Misaka said as she wrapped Asher's arm around her neck. "And, even though we had a minor disagreement before, thanks for doing this and letting me know about Zierdan overall today."
"Don't mention it. As compensation for my efforts, just tell Asher when she wakes up fully that she lost if she wonders what happened tonight." Asher (Shokuhou) stated as she closed her eyes.
Misaka didn't have really any time to answer that when she felt Asher's weight increase out of nowhere when her legs buckled, wincing slightly from not being prepared for it at all.
Thanks for the warning, Shokuhou…I nearly dropped her, she thought to herself with a sweatdrop as she heard Asher let out a small groan from beneath her after a few moments, seeing her hand come up slowly to rub the side of her face.
"Da…ng it…Wh-Where….am…I? What's…h-happening…here?" Asher mumbled to herself. "Tch…M-my head's a complete…mess and…is….kil…ling me….and I'm…so…tir…ed…"
"Hey Zierdan, I know you're not feeling all that up to doing anything right now, but do you think you can walk a little by yourself with me helping you out? And to answer your question, we're at the dorms and I'm just taking you up to your room. You passed out a little while ago." Misaka explained as Asher slowly brought up her tired eyes to look up at her, showing the sparkles that had faded slightly but still hadn't gone away.
"Oh I-I did?...I c-can't….really remember anything…Mikoto….Everything is just…really fuzzy for…some reason….but if you…say that's the case…then alright." She muttered as she straightened herself up. "I should….um be able to… walk with your help…."
As they walked to the doors slowly, Misaka looked over in slight concern as she saw the faraway look in Asher's eyes, not really seeing anything within her gaze as if a part of her wasn't there at all.
Something that technically was the case at this moment, but was still something that she didn't like seeing from the normally stoic girl in question…
As they walked into the doors of the dorm, they were immediately met with the presence of the Head Resident, causing Misaka to immediately stiffen up nervously as Asher's head dipped down tiredly.
She would be waiting on us…. Misaka thought to herself as a nervous smile came on her face.
"Oh, Good e-evening Miss Head Resident!" She stated as sweat fell down her brow. "I know it's past curfew, but I have a great explanation as to why we're late tonight."
"If it's about Asher's appointment at the hospital, then don't even bother. Her doctor already informed me that it was held over and that she contacted you to get her here safely." The Head Resident stated as she pushed up her glasses on her face, seeing Misaka visibly relax after that admission. "Though to say you took your time is an understatement. Make sure not to dawdle if this happens another time."
"Yes Ma'am!" Misaka said quickly as the Head Resident left them to go about their business.
As soon as she was out of sight, Misaka released a heavy sigh of relief from knowing that getting punished was not a worry anymore.
When she looked over at Asher, she could tell that she was very close to falling asleep, seeing the arm that was cradling her head before hanging limply by her side. Her body weight had seemed to have shift over towards her as well, feeling her leaning on to her further and further as time progressed.
"Hey are you still awake over there? I thought you said that you could walk with my help. Not fall back asleep from just walking a couple steps inside." Misaka said amusedly as Asher let out a low groan.
"B…are…ly….sor….ry…..I was just hit by….a wave….of dizziness all of the sudden…" Asher stated weakly without attempting to raise her head to look at her and instead brought her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose as her face scrunched up in discomfort. "I'm having…a hard….time focusing f-for some…..r-reason…..I also have…th-this…overwhelming….urge to ….sl-sleep r-right now….that I'm having…a hard time….ig-ignoring…Why can't….I sleep….again? Isn't it….Isn't it late?"
"You don't have to say sorry for that. I know that you're pretty tired." Misaka said reassuringly as they began walking again. "And unless you want to sleep on the floor of the reception area instead of your own bed, you can't go to sleep yet since we haven't even made it to your room."
"W-We haven't?" Asher asked in confusion as she opened her eyes in slits, somewhat recognizing the floor below her as she let out a sigh. "I thought….we were already there…..not that we were…going there…which m-makes no logical sense as to why…I…th-thought that...Why did I…think that?...It doesn't…m-make any…sense..."
Misaka's face fell slightly at that statement, knowing that comment was most likely not directed towards her and more to herself, looking down and seeing the look of confusion and doubt on Asher's face, which contrasted with how blank she seemed just moments prior.
She must be a little more awake than she was before, she thought to herself as she looked forward and guided them towards the stairs.
"I know you don't fully understand what's happening right now, Z, but it's okay." Misaka said as Asher sent her a sideways glance. "I promise it will all come back to you after you get some rest, alright? So just relax for right now and focus on keeping yourself up on your feet."
It took a couple moments for that to register in her mind as it still seemed to be lagging at the slowest speed than it ever had, prompting her to release a small sigh to keep some of her nerves in check because of it.
"Yeah, okay….I…u-understand." Asher mumbled as she tried to keep her thoughts together enough to walk in somewhat of a straight line. "J-Just lead the way….and I'll….try to follow the best….I can…"
Misaka hummed at that answer, feeling the girl in question trying her best to make their trek towards her a room a little faster.
When they made it into Asher's room, Misaka immediately went over to her bed and gently sat her down.
She had gone fairly quiet as they made their way here, with Misaka speculating that it was due to her gradually slipping back into that state that she had been in before, seeing her now blankly staring at the ground below her.
After stretching out her tired limbs, Misaka walked over to where Asher kept her clothes and dug through them to get her something more comfortable to go to bed in.
It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for, prompting her to fold it up and go into her bathroom in an effort to hopefully get the girl to take a shower before she goes to sleep for however long her body needed her to.
She went directly in front of Asher after that, bending down onto her knees to get into her line of vision as she gently took hold of her arms and shook them.
"Hey Z? Are you still there?" She asked aloud, seeing some light return into the girl's eyes as she brought them to look at her tiredly.
"Y-Yeah….wh-what is it?" She heard her ask almost too low for her to hear.
"I know this may delay your sleep a little longer, but I think you should go ahead and take a shower and change into something comfortable. Do you think you can do that real quick?" Misaka asked, seeing the girl in question slowly nod her head as she slowly went to the bathroom to do what was asked of her without even questioning it.
It only took about 20 minutes for Misaka to hear the bathroom door reopen again, looking over from the desk she was sitting at and seeing Asher leaning tiredly on the doorframe and wearing the clothes she had picked out for her to wear earlier.
"Is…there anything…else I need to do?" She mumbled as Misaka shook her head and rose up to her feet, helping her over to her bed.
"No, there isn't." Misaka stated amusedly with a smile as she brought the covers up to Asher's chest, seeing her eyes starting to close all the way. "You can go ahead and go to sleep now."
"A-Alright….G-Goodnight….Mi…ko…to," Asher mumbled as her eyes closed completely with her breathing deepening almost immediately after she did.
Misaka sat there for a couple moment before she made her way out of the room, stopping when she reached the doorknob as she let out a small sigh.
"I know you can't hear me or will remember when I say this but….we need to have a serious talk about what Shokuhou said to me tonight at some point. You need this discussion more than you possibly know, because you need to get what you're feeling and thinking off your chest, or you're just going to continuously keep yourself from moving forward in your life, Zierdan. Which is something I won't allow you to keep doing to yourself for as long as you already have." Misaka said in a low voice as she looked over her shoulder, wearing a smile on her face that contrasted with the tone of her voice seconds before.
"I honestly probably need this as well, so we'll both hopefully benefit from this. But for now, just get some well-deserved rest."
After saying her goodnight to Asher from afar, Misaka finally left and closed the door behind her as Asher herself remained still on her bed, falling into a deep slumber with no indication on when she would wake up.
Somewhere in the 7th District…
Somewhere within a facility within Academy city, there was a woman sitting within the darkness of her room as the only light source within there at that moment was her computer screen reflecting off of her face.
The woman known as Kiyama Harumi was scrolling down pages upon pages of espers in front of her as she gazed at it with tired bags under her eyes and seemingly no interest for the task she was doing.
Even though she knew she could be spending her time on something else already on her plate, she had felt more inclined at some point to direct her time into doing this, wanting to see if her hunch about two certain espers she had acquainted herself with today were correct.
After a while of doing so, she had finally narrowed her parameters down to what she was wanting, seeing the two espers in question sitting in their respective photos.
The only similarities exhibited by the two girls were their school uniform, their year, and their respective levels, both of which being 2 of only 8 level fives within the city.
When she clicked on the one ranked the highest out of the both of them, she already knew her to be the same girl who had helped her find her car earlier in the day, while also now confirming the fact that she was the famous 3rd ranked Railgun of Tokiwadai Middle School.
"Hmmmm, so she's the Level 5 Railgun, someone also considered to be the top Electromaster in the city." Kiyama said flatly as she laid her head onto her hand with interest shining in her eyes. "I've heard so much about her. I'm surprised I didn't connect the dots of who she was sooner from how fascinating she is overall."
As she clicked off to see the other level 5, she concluded that the both of them were well-acquainted with one another after seeing their brief interactions from before and how the Railgun herself had talked about her during the time that they were together.
After clicking through her file for a while, she came to something that caused her to stop, as her eyes widened slightly before returning back to her neutral expression, prompting a small sigh to come out of her mouth.
"Zierdan Asher, or better known as the 5th Ranked GravShift. In the same respects to her other Level 5 counterpart, she's considered to be the top Gravity user in the city from her various applications that stems from that ability of hers." She said aloud as she crossed her legs.
I'm surprised that I also didn't connect the dots of who she was either upon first laying my eyes on her, since she's almost an exact replica of Himari herself, she thought to herself before she got up from her chair to walk to where she organized her files.
It's also apparent that she's distanced herself from Silas to the best of her abilities, completely dropping Wright from her last name within these last few years after that experiment….
After retrieving the two files folders she was looking for, she made her way out of her office to call it for the night, going over and over in her head whether or not she should go through with her plans.
Even though he didn't have the skill to execute his plan which led to that unfortunate circumstance of that girl's ability going out of control for a time, any type of research relating to brainwaves and sound is a benefit and not a detriment for me….
I swore to myself that I would see this through to the end, no matter the cost.
Meaning, I can't always try to keep in mind what's morally right in this situation or how I will be affected if any of this gets out sooner than planned….
Or if this could harm or destroy the city in any way….
All I need to have in mind is only what's best and beneficial for my children…
And to finally get them to wake up and see their lively faces once more by any means necessary.
Word Count of Chapter: 7164 |Page Count: 12 pages |Reviews: 43 | Followers: 37 |Favorites: 31
Review Replies
Blankow: I wish lol…I've actually had I'd say about 40%-60% of the parts of Project WaveInflux already done (part 3 and 4 especially), so that's probably how I've been pumping out these chapters specifically pretty quickly since they have been planned and written to some extent with additions and edits here and there.
Though in terms of the other chapters, I've just got nothing but time on my hands right now and have found that writing for my current stories I have is one good way at passing the time.
I did take some inspiration from the bridge scene with Touma and Misaka (probably one of my favorite scenes in Railgun). Even though they don't seem to notice it that much, they are fairly similar with Misaka taking Touma's position of talking Z down. Even though it's going to be a while before she finds out, Misaka will have a better understanding of Touma's memory loss from having to experience Z's memory loss for a time beforehand.
Asher sadly doesn't have Touma's apparent taste of hospitals, to the extent that she delayed herself from doing one of her favorite pass times ('sleeping the day away') just because she didn't want to even try to stay there.
During the entire time I was writing chapter 13, I had in the back of my mind that the MikotoxAsher shippers would probably love the chapter too, since this is probably the most within any chapter of Asher actually being either emotional or affectionate to some extent and having awareness of it.
Still don't know if I love writing blunt/teasing Asher or annoyed/angry Asher yet as they both can be funny within any situation. The latter doesn't come out that often since not many know the hidden secrets of pressing her buttons. Misaka and Shokuhou (surprisingly enough) know and will press them if they are inclined to while Kuroko is just a special case since she tends to just stumble upon all of them without even really trying to.
I know this arc was long. It was long for me as I didn't even plan for it to be this long (with the parts of Project WaveInflux coming to a total of 41,167 words in itself and not even including the few chapters leading up to it). But, yeah I thought it seemed right to do it sooner rather than later to allow for some context for Z's overall character and how it will affect her and the coming events of the story. While also introducing the first original mini story arc to the story.
And yes, we have finally started progressing forward with the Level upper arc:`)
drak3n: Thanks! Even though she still has some more work to do, she has grown considerably after those events even if she still struggles with it. Though her sense of humor can be unfavorable to those on the other end of receiving it or if the joke ends with a lecture from her, she has gotten closer to some form of her own normal with Misaka and the others:)
Addie101: Yep! Hope you enjoyed their interactions within this chapter:)
emiya unlimited blade works:Thanks! I know it was long but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've planned doing this mini arc from the beginning but I never knew when I was going to place it into the story or to what capacity I was going to do it in. But it's nice to see a plan come together and execute it well enough that people enjoyed it to some extent.
Even though she may not be seen again in a while, I'm glad that you liked Shokuhou's role in this mini-arc. After seeing the events of the Daihasei festival for this season of Railgun, I've actually grown to like her character more in comparison to when she was first introduced.
Thanks for your reviews!
-PurpleClover99
