AN: Hello readers! I hope you've all had a great week so far. I'm going into my last few weeks of university before winter break, meaning it's both refreshing and bittersweet as finals are just around the corner. Though since my major is more art based, I have more final projects than final exams, which I have found to be a little bit better in comparison, even if they come at the expense of more work.

For those waiting on Chapter 8 of my MHA story "Forging Your Own Path," it will hopefully be ready to come out tomorrow or Monday if I can set aside time to finish what I already have. Sorry for the wait, but it was almost like all of my professors had a meeting to make every assignment due at the same time these last few weeks:`)

Well, that's all I have today, so I hope you enjoy this chapter!

As always, 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:)


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 35: They're Multiple Sides to Every Story

2 years ago…

October 29th, 12:00PM

Tokiwadai Dormitory

Misaka ran up the stairs of her own dormitory with a frantic look on her face. During school that day, she had received a call from the hospital telling her that Asher had awakened but was currently missing, making her both happy and stressed at the same time from not being to find her anywhere. She had looked in every spot that she could possibly be, and this was her last idea before she would be pushed into full-on panic mode.

As she got to Asher's door, she reached down to open it before stopping in her tracks. For some reason, she could sense someone currently in her room, hesitantly walking over there and grasping the knob to that door instead. She went inside and immediately froze at the sight in front of her as she saw someone laying on her stuffed bear sound asleep.

'Is that….Could that really be?' she thought as she slowly moved forward.

She had already known from the beginning that it was her, but there was probably nothing that could describe the amount of relief that flooded her chest when she moved some of her light blonde hair out of her face, seeing her hands trembling as tears began to cascade from her eyes.

"For someone who's so lazy an-and…says she has hardly any energy to do anything. You su-sure are such a handful, Zierdan." Misaka said tearfully with a smile as she reached down and cupped the side of her face with her hand wrapped in a cast.

After a while she moved back and wiped her eyes, bringing a hand up to her chin to figure out what to do. Normally she could just carry her to the hospital by herself, but she was under strict orders by both the hospital and even the Head Resident to not use her ability to any degree, even outside of the dorm. During the fight they had a few weeks prior, she had overexerted herself unknowingly since she typically doesn't go all out as she had that day. She was still feeling the effects of it, with her saying she wouldn't use her ability as a compromise to not be forced to go on bedrest.

She picked up her phone and dialed someone's number she surprisingly had in her contacts as she sat back down on her bed, using her other hand to drag her fingers softly through Asher's hair.

It didn't take long for the line to pick up, hearing a voice that normally annoyed and irritated her to no end, no matter the situation.

"Oh well, if it isn't Misaka. Why do I have such an honor to hear your voice at such a time as this one?"

Misaka let out a long sigh, sweatdropping at the fact that her name was the first to pop into her head to call.

"I don't have much time for our usual banter right now, Shokuhou" Misaka said before her face softened, looking back at Asher laying behind her after she moaned softly in her sleep. "But, it's Zierdan. I was able to find her back at my dorm. I was going to take her back to the hospital myself but just realized I can't do all that much with my ability and broken arm right now. Is there any way you could help me out?"

The phone went silent for a few moments, before Shokuhou hummed in agreement.

"Hmmm, even with all these favors you've been wanting me to do for you relating to her, I guess I can send someone over there to help. They should be there shortly."

"Alright, thanks."

As soon as she closed the phone, she felt some movement from behind her, looking down and seeing Asher's face scrunched up in some sort of discomfort as she began to shiver considerably. She brought her hand out to lay lightly on her forehead, feeling a massive wave of heat that was only getting worse as time passed.

She had caught some type of infection a few days before, most likely being a contributing factor in bringing her out of her coma. Her doctor said it probably stemmed from her low red blood cell count lowering the strength of her immune system, which was something rarely seen from espers who had overexerted themselves for an extended period of time.

She must be overdue for some more of that medicine they've been giving her, she thought as her face fell slightly. She was a little upset that she couldn't really do anything but sit here and watch her go through some type of pain, setting a comforting hand on her shoulder to let her know that she wasn't alone. Asher's discomfort seemed to fade on her face slightly, as Misaka smiled solemnly back down at her.

I promise, Zierdan, she thought as she rested the back of her hand on her cheek.

No matter what happens, I'll always be there whenever you need me.


One hour later…

School District 7 Hospital

As Shokuhou said, it didn't take long for help to arrive, taking her and Asher into an ambulance with the latter sleeping all the way to the Hospital in Misaka's lap.

She was currently sitting in Asher's hospital room reading a Manga that she had bought at the Green Mart she usually goes to, using her hand in a cast to turn the pages while the other softly held Asher's limp hand as she continued to sleep soundly.

She could tell that her state of rest had changed considerably in comparison to yesterday, seeing her actually stir at times and feel her hand grasp hers ever so slightly before going loose again. She was hooked up to a couple things: the heart monitor which beeped incessantly within the room, an IV to put fluids into her system, and medicinal drip that had a few medicines for her infection. An experimental drug was also given to her in hopes it would be able to limit the effects of her brain damage for now so that her Doctor could have time to develop one that would be more effective and last longer in place of it.

One of the only things that was not running in her system, though, was the light sedative they had been giving her off and on, keeping her off of it at the moment, so she could naturally wake up on her own with Misaka there to make sure she wouldn't leave again.

It was quiet for a long while before Asher began to stir into awakeness as a long groan came from under her breath, with Misaka feeling her hand leave hers as it went to rub the front of her face.

Misaka immediately set down the book in her hand. "Hey there Z. It's about time you decided to wake up when the sun is still out." She said warmly when she saw Asher's blue eyes look in her direction.

Before she could go any further, however, she paused when she saw Asher's eyes widen as she scooted her back into the back of the bed, trembling in a matter of moments as she curled into herself.

Misaka looked over at her in shock from seeing no recognition in her eyes, hesitantly reaching out with her eyebrows turned up in concern.

"Hey, what's wrong Zierdan?' Misaka asked as she laid a hand on her knee, hearing the beating on the heart monitor skyrocket over such a small amount of time.

She had a small idea of what was wrong with a part of her wanting so much that it wasn't the case, hoping that it was wrong and that her friend was just startled with finding herself where she was after about 2 weeks of being in a coma.

But…

A part of her knew it was naïve for her to try and force herself to believe that, with the very fact that Asher had yet to answer or look over at her when she called out her name beginning to prove it. Her lips ran a thin line after a while as she watched Asher huddle further in on herself, hearing her mumble words softly under her breath that were full of pure unbridled fear that was enough to make her heart drop in her chest.

"Pl-Please….pleasepleasePLEASE don't hurt me!" Asher softly pleaded as her voice cracked slightly. "I-I'm sorry! I-I'm very sorry so please, make it stop. Please make them go away! I didn't do anything they said! I promise! I-I PROMISE THAT I DIDN'T TRY TO KILL ANYONE!"

Without even a thought, Misaka hurried forward to put Asher into an embrace. She could feel her flinch from the contact at first before she dug her face even further between her knees, feeling her automatically relax when she rubbed her comfort spot though was still very tense.

"They wouldn't leave me alone! And they wouldn't believe me that I didn't do what they said I did!" She whimpered. "Th-They…I-I...I-I!"

"Hey hey hey, calm down. You're safe and I swear that no one is going to even try to hurt you when I'm right here." Misaka soothed as she felt her chest beginning to get wet. "Everything is going to be fine. I promise you can trust me, and I believe you."

"Bu-But they said….th-they said I-I." Asher struggled to say before letting out a wince under her breath as she cradled her head into her hands. "Th-They wouldn't stop shouting things that didn't make sense to m-me. ShoutingshoutingSHOUTING! An-And I co-couldn't make them st-stop or ru-run away from th-them because I was trapped. Trapped by the noise…Th-the NOISE and…And!"

Before she could say anything else, she broke into harsh coughs mostly due to her dry throat, unable to fully stop them after a while from how erratic her breathing was becoming. Misaka tried her best to not let on any inkling of a feeling that would result in her also breaking down, forcing her eyes close to stop the tears that were threatening to fall down her face.

She wanted to ask who "they" were, but at the same time she knew it was wrong for her to do right at this moment from how distressed she was because of "them," letting out a soft sigh as she put on a brave face. She pushed Asher away from her just enough to look her in the eye, taking a minute to coax her into doing so. She put her index finger softly into her head, smiling back at her in an effort to reassure her that she was safe.

"I know that you're confused and may not even know where or who you are. Or even I am, but…" she began as she went to tilt Asher's head forward to meet with her own. "But just know that you can trust me. I'm not here to hurt or antagonize you in any way. All I'm here for is to make sure someone who means the world to me is safe. Which is you by the way considering not anyone can just come in and sleep on my teddy bear as casually as you did."

Asher's eyes widened at that as the skepticism and fear on her face slowly went away, nearly jumping on the esper in front of her as she went to hug her for comfort. She repeatedly thanked her for promising to protect her from something that Misaka still had yet to figure out, though still wouldn't ask as she tried her best gain some more of her trust.

She had finally started to calm down enough to make Misaka relieved that she did before it was all broken when multiple nurses, doctors, and even some Anti-Skill members ran into the room. Since they were on a rotation, Yomikawa was not a part of the squad that was currently here since she usually opted for the night shift to stay the night with Asher almost every day.

So, when the Electromaster turned and saw this, she tried her best to calm the room as Asher fearfully hid behind her.

"Hey now," Misaka said with a strained smile when she looked back and saw the members of Anti-Skill draw their tasers and point them at the girl sitting right behind her. "There's no need for that and you're scaring her."

"Step aside, Railgun." One of them commanded as they edged closer. "We need to contain that menace before she gets out of hand."

Misaka's eyes narrowed at that as a dark look fell on her face. "Well I just told you that I have the situation under control. I was just able to calm her down before you idiots decided to come in here to ruin it in the worse way possible." She said sternly as electricity sparked from her hair for a few seconds. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only reason you're even here is for Zierdan's own protection. Not to subdue her when you feel threatened by a 12 or rather now 13-year-old girl who isn't even in the right mind to defend herself. So, leave before you end up making a mistake that you're going to regret since those toys of yours will not be able to defend you from me."

The amount of vigor in her voice was enough to make them hesitate before all of them stiffened around the same time, lowering their weapons in unison as they left the room almost in some type of trance.

Misaka recognized this instantly, almost calling out the esper's name before she felt the weight on her back grow heavy all of the sudden. When she looked back, she saw Asher fall into some type of daze briefly as she began to relax from the sedative that a nurse who somehow had slipped behind her had engaged.

She didn't even get a word out before Asher's breathing deepened as she closed her eyes, setting her back on her bed in a comfortable position as she heard steps come to a stop from behind her.

"Barely two hours have even passed since that girl woke up, and you both are already finding yourselves in some type of trouble." Shokuhou sighed.

"When did you get here?" Misaka asked. "You made it sound like you were busy doing something when I called earlier."

"Oh, believe me I was. I didn't even expect to come here so early." Shokuhou said in amusement before her face turned serious when she looked over at the sleeping girl. "But let's just say that I had some kind of hunch that it would probably be best for me to come now. Didn't think it would be partly to stop you from getting arrested, though. How is she by the way if you don't mind me asking?"

Misaka looked over at her skeptically before her face softened just a bit, looking over at Asher with a solemn look in her eyes. "I honestly don't know. All I can tell you is that her memories are definitely messed up, while there may also be something wrong psychologically in some way. She was freaking out about something that she didn't explain all that much to me, only saying that 'they' wouldn't believe her or leave her alone as if she was being chased or escaping from them."

Shokuhou took note of that as she walked up to be next to Asher's side as she brought up one of her remotes with Misaka going in some type alarm from the act itself.

"Hey! Do you really think it's a good idea to use your ability on her right now with how weak she probably is!? You may be able to use your ability on her more so than on me, but we both know that usually comes at a cost for the both of you due to her gravity barrier."

"Hmmmm, well I see your point, though some of what you said is the very reason why I'm doing it now." Shokuhou replied. "With barely any type of blue in that hair of hers, this is a perfect and most likely one of the only times I can safely go into her head without much difficulty or interference with her ability basically down for the count at the moment. I'm Mental Out after all, meaning I'm the best one capable to see if there's something wrong and how hard or easy it'll be to fix."

Misaka couldn't press her position any further before she pressed the button on her remote, seeing her close her eyes in some form of concentration as she let out an annoyed sigh.

Always doing whatever she was wants with that annoying ability, she thought, holding onto Asher's hand tighter when a slight look of discomfort came onto her face for a few moments before it gradually faded away.

It was a while before Shokuhou's eyes opened again, with Misaka already taken aback and somewhat scared from seeing the unnatural look of sadness and even some semblance of sympathy within her eyes.

"So…" Misaka said aloud when Shokuhou hadn't said anything for a while.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news right now?" Shokuhou asked as her expression became more downcast over time.

"Good news."

"Well, it seems that there is a pretty high chance that I'll be able to reconstruct her memories to the point of near completion since there's a possibility that some of them may be lost to her no matter what I do." Shokuhou said as sat down in a chair, crossing her legs as she saw some form of hope light up in Misaka's eyes. "But to say she'll be able to return to the same person she used to be is another story in itself as there are some things that even I can't fix with my power so easily."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Misaka asked in surprise, looking back at Asher in concern. "What did you see in there to make you believe that?"

Shokuhou fell uncharacteristically silent as she looked down in her lap, hiding the conflicted expression on her face with her hair. "Do you really want to know that, Misaka?" She asked. "Even if I can't crack that mind you have, I know that something like this could break even you if I told you what was really happening when she was in a coma that I had somehow overlooked."

Misaka found herself hesitating for a few moments, unable to fully bring herself to answer her question immediately from how she said it. She already knew that Asher's memory was damaged since it almost looked like she saw her as a complete stranger. Even though she wasn't letting this on, Shokuhou could probably tell that very fact was crushing her soul. She was hurt indirectly by Asher's fear of her, somewhat upset that she could even reduce Asher to such a state of unrest by just her presence.

She had nearly declined knowing to save it for another day when she would be mentally prepared until something popped into her head that told her it wasn't right to.

["No it's not okay…nothing is okay about this, Mikoto! I don't understand why you sound so calm about this, when I'm proposing a plan that would force you to be the cause of this happening!" Asher shouted as she leaned a little bit off of her, showing her blue eyes that were ringed with red, with tears continuously cascading down her face. "What kind of person…what kind of friend would I be to allow you to do something, knowing that I would forget that you even did it in the process!? Knowing that it would hurt you immensely while I would be oblivious to that very fact alone!?"

"You would probably try to stay and help even if it hurt you to do so but knowing me I would probably end up pushing you away. Everyone away…" She continued as she clutched the sides of her head. "I would isolate myself like I always do to the point no one would be there….I would be alone again…just like I was for such a long time before I met you…Silas would end up taking the last thing that I've valued having in my life…and I….I…"]

After thinking that, she let out a small sigh, raising up from her seat as she leaned onto Shokuhou's chair and knelt to the ground.

"No matter how much we dislike each other, I can tell that we at least share some level of care for Zierdan. It took a while for me to even notice it, but…I can't ignore that anymore even if it's weird to think it's possible. Something about her must interest or benefit you in some way but it doesn't matter right now because you're at least willing to help her because of it. I promised to do the same for her, so please tell me what you saw so I can do that very thing for her as well." Misaka commented.

Shokuhou stayed quiet before she let out a long breath, looking up at Misaka with a wavering expression as she uncrossed her legs. "It's her psyche. It has been critically damaged nearly to the point of shattering completely. I don't think I've seen such ruin in a mindscape before to the point that Zierdan shouldn't have even been able to wake up at all, let alone be able to know how to talk. The things that work together to make her who she is as a person, I don't even think it's there anymore, which is maybe adding to why all of her memories are there but scattered somewhere too far out of her reach because she doesn't even know what to make of them…"

"And then, there's what was happening in her head during those last few weeks that her doctors nearly diagnosed her as brain dead due to her barely having any sort of brain activity. I almost believed it myself, since when I looked in her mind, there was basically nothing, but…that is because she was locked so far inside of her own mind that I wouldn't have been able to sense her presence on the surface of where I was. She was trapped inside of an intense loop that only ceased when she woke up in which forced her to go through a nightmare of all of her fears, regrets, and inner demons that she herself couldn't even remember. Which seems to be happening even now, no matter how it may not look from how peaceful she currently is."

Misaka's eyes widened at that as her body shook, feeling a sense of helplessness overcome her in that moment. "Are you saying that Zierdan was…internally suffering these last 2 weeks that no one even knew about? And still is?" She asked as she saw her nod her head. She reached up and grabbed Shokuhou's arms tightly as she bowed her head downwards. "I know I've been asking you to do so much for her without giving you anything back in return, bu-but…can you please do something that would be able to help? An-Anything at all?"

"I potentially could, but…you probably wouldn't want me to do that." Shokuhou remarked.

"N-No you're wrong! No matter what happens, anything that will help Zierdan is something I wouldn't reject!" Misaka said shakily, before stopping in her tracks when she saw something falling down the sides of Shokuhou's face.

"Even if it means her never being able to remember you at all? That's a fate that even I couldn't willfully allow someone to bear without a very good reason to." Shokuhou replied. "If you want me to fix her in such a way, that would come at the cost of me having to erase her memories and practically turn her into a blank slate, so she doesn't have to endure something she doesn't even know how to fix as she doesn't know yet that she actually lived it."

She looked up with a hard look in her sparkled eyes as she saw Misaka's conflicted ones looking back at her, raising her gloved hands to grasp Misaka's shoulders.

"Do you realize the total extent of what you're asking me to do? Because as I said, if you want me to do this for you Misaka versus piecing her memories back together, I would need to rewrite the source that is causing it which is connected to the very thing you want to remain intact." She explained as she saw realization fall into Misaka's eyes. "If I do this, yes she may not be tormented any longer, but…"

"It would mean at the same time that you would ask me to erase you completely from her life as well, in which I would never be able to undo."


Present…

July 25th, 1:45pm

School District 7 Hospital

"Misaka…Hey Misaka." Saten called out as she shook the Electromaster's shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She looked around in some sort of confusion before she realized where they were, letting out a small sigh as she stretched out her neck and looked towards the ground. She remembered that a small while ago they had split off into two groups to look for Asher in the places that Misaka believed she could be.

Shirai and Uiharu were together to search both the dorm and Yomikawa's residence considering how close she was to her, while Misaka and Saten had searched the park to no avail and had just made it to the place that Misaka was 99.9% sure she would be.

She had been talking to Saten for a while by answering the questions she was interested in knowing. It seems that with this, along with Asher running off yet again after an argument relating to Project WaveInflux, it dragged up some memories enough for her to get somewhat lost in them for a short time.

When she looked over at Saten beside her, she saw concern burning through her eyes as she laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I kind of lost you for a second there. Are you alright?" Saten asked.

Misaka tried to play it off as nothing but a minor disturbance, letting out a small laugh as she sent a smile in her direction.

"Yeah I'm good. Just got caught up in the past for a moment there, so no worries." Misaka said with a wave as she stepped through the doors of the hospital with Saten hesitantly following behind her.

She knew just from how much Misaka's skin was staring to pale that she was the exact opposite of what she was letting on, knowing this situation most likely stressed her out immensely. She could see the confidence she seemed to embody day in and day out starting to falter, seeing the smile that she herself had worn during these last few weeks to hide behind a mask so that no one could worry about her.

She never thought it was possible to see the esper depressed until she explained the full extent of Asher's injuries back at the Judgment office, seeing and hearing so much underlying pain in her voice that it almost felt wrong for them to convince her into telling them about Asher's severe bout of amnesia.

She had avoided most of that issue when they had been walking together, only asking about other things relating to Asher's experience that she hoped wouldn't be as hard. But there were still times where she saw a lost look in Misaka's eyes as they walked together, hearing her fall silent with her expression fading into what she was truly feeling before she put back up her walls to hide them.

She had held herself back from pressing the issue until that very moment, running up and firmly grasping her shoulder as Misaka looked back at her in surprise.

"Misaka, please tell me truth. Are you really okay? Because you're starting to look like you're going to keel over due to stress if you don't sit down and rest for a moment." Saten stated. "I know that you're about as worried about Asher as I am, probably even more so but please don't resort in hiding it from me. You may think it's working in your favor for me to not worry about it, but it isn't. It's only making me more worried about Asher along with you as well."

Misaka went on to say the words that automatically came to mind before she stopped herself, flashing back to an instance that had occurred just this morning.

["You know, you can confide to me with stuff like this right?" Asher asked as a small blush lit up her face. "I get what you're doing but pushing your issues to the side to spare me from getting upset or remembering something isn't all that fair for you to have to do for me at all. I know I probably have the most issues out of the both of us but…I don't like how one sided this always feels. You always try to convince me to tell you what's bothering me and help me probably each and every time but…every time when I try to do the same for you, it's almost like you don't want me to or…think I can even do it because it may stress me out somehow, which is disheartening I guess is the word to some extent if that's actually the case."]

Her lips ran a thin line for a moment before she let out a small laugh from how well her friends could pick her apart, looking back at Saten with a solemn expression.

"All things considered, I'm mostly okay from knowing that Z's most likely here. If I hadn't, I'd probably be an emotional wreck right about now, considering she has done stuff like this before. One in particular was after most likely the first actual argument we've had since we've known each other. She ran off and for one of the first times in my life, I decided not to follow. Which…is something I regret to this day since…."

Saten's eyes widened in realization after she trailed off, letting go of her shoulder as her gaze went to the floor.

"So that's how it happened." She said mostly to herself as Misaka looked over at her in confusion. "In the research notes of the last day, he went over how he was able to capture Asher because of her being alone. I had been wondering how he was able to defeat two Level 5s so easily, but I guess it makes sense now since she ran away from you." She looked over at the Electromaster with a look of sympathy in her eyes. "You shouldn't blame yourself for that by the way if you are. You just wanted to help, and she wasn't fully cognizant or fully in control of her own actions. As much as Asher shouldn't, you shouldn't either, okay?"

Misaka's eyes widened in surprise before she looked away, not responding to that as silence fell between them. They walked over to the elevator where she pressed to go to the roof, with some confusion falling onto Saten's face after a while of realizing something.

"Wait a second, if you knew that Asher was going to be here or the park, how come you didn't get Shirai and Uiharu to tag along with us? And why would Asher be here in the first place?" Saten asked.

"Well, for the first question, I mostly sent them off there so Kuroko and even Z could have some time to cool off to clear some of the tension between them." Misaka explained as she crossed her arms. "I know her intentions were to get Z to talk, but whenever she's angered like that, it doesn't click with her until the last moment that she's only making Z annoyed by pushing her into a corner. Yes, I may do that myself at times, but it doesn't always work especially during times like this. The only way to be successful is by anticipating her sense of logic for the situation. No matter how it turned out, though, it would've most likely still ended in her leaving the way she did even if I had tried to convince her not to."

"And second," She continued as she looked towards the ceiling, leaning her back on the wall behind her. "Even if this isn't one of her favorite places to be at, the roof seems to be an exception. She always had a hard time sleeping in the bed in her hospital room during the couple months she was here, so there would be some days she hardly or didn't even sleep for long spans of time. There was a point where she decided to go up there to clear her head and was actually able to sleep peaceably without any type of sedation or someone coaxing her to try. So, after that, the medical staff began to to find her there if she wasn't in her room and decided that it was probably for the best to leave her there. It's also a place she most likely thinks I wouldn't look in because of how much she dislikes it here. But she tends to forget that I know better."

Saten nodded her head as silence fell between them again, waiting patiently as the elevator climbed the floors towards the top of the building.


Yomikawa's Residence

Yomikawa was prepping some tea on the stove in her kitchen, pouring it into two cups and walked over to the couch. She handed them over to the girls that were sitting there, going over and getting a comfortable chair so that she could sit in front of them.

She was in her usual casual wear, a green track jacket with matching green jogging pants on her legs. She luckily happened to be off duty from her job for the day in preparation for tonight when she would escort Yoshikawa to go in to see Silas Wright to finish the terms of the agreement relating to the adoption form he signed to hand custody of Asher over to her.

She had been warned by a certain Electromaster that she was going to have some visitors, being asked to stall them for the time being to cool off the tensions between what she predicted to be Asher and Shirai as she saw the angered expression on the teleporter's face.

She already had guessed what this was probably about from reading the text that Misaka had sent her, letting out a small sigh that got Uiharu's and Shirai's attention.

"Soooo, you both found out have you?" She casually said as she took a sip of the bottle of milk in front of her. "About Project WaveInflux."

Shirai didn't respond as her hold tightened slightly onto the cup in her hands, with Uiharu looking over at her in concern before she nodded in the woman's direction.

"Yeah, I was the first one to find out about it due to going through some files that Dr. Kiyama had in her office. She allowed me to keep it after I saw that Asher was involved in some way. So, me, Shirai, and our other friend, Saten, went through the entire research notes together last night. We confronted Asher and Misaka about it today, but…"

"She ran off like she usually does when it comes to avoiding confrontations she has no 'energy' to partake in." Shirai finished in annoyance as she closed her eyes.

She was sort of at a loss for some reason or another, not able to figure out why she was just so angry or frustrated at this moment. She didn't know if it was because of her argument with Asher, upset that she hadn't thought of pressing for the matter before this, angry with herself for how much she escalated the situation, or a mixture of everything. Even though she didn't let it on, she knew that Misaka was either upset or disappointed in her behavior to decide to bring Saten along with her instead of her, making her feel even worse that she was probably the main reason that Asher had left.

She tried so hard to keep her anger in check, barely able to restrain her comments that displayed it and allowed only a few to slip through the cracks at the help of Saten calming her down for a time. But as soon as Asher wouldn't admit that she was wrong for not telling them when she basically swept everything under the rug from her viewpoint at the time, it pushed her over the edge.

She didn't understand Asher's logic for this situation, saying that her own problems were basically insignificant and tried to trivialize either that or what they were trying to get her to say to them. She wasn't looking for some sort of apology per say, all she wanted here was how they could help or rather if she would now allow herself to tell them when they were needed to relieve some of her burden that Misaka always seemed to bear the brunt of.

[…Social interactions may be above me, but I know at least something like that wouldn't keep you around as it had with others who knew about the document or heard about the event you believe you understand."] This memory ran through Shirai's head over and over again, not knowing why Asher believed that they or more specifically, she couldn't understand the situation.

She understood it was hard for her…

She understood that this very event nearly turned everyone against her…

So, with that and so much more in mind, why does she believe that she wouldn't understand what happened to her during those experiments? She read through every disgusting and reviling word that her stepfather wrote of her project in which it was pretty apparent several times when she began to deteriorate.

So why?

Why was she underestimating them on whether or not they could understand everything?

[ "I know that's what all of you are trying to do, but I've been through this enough times before to know how nearly impossible it is." Asher remarked as her face went downcast. "I'm envied, hated, reviled, and dangerous in the eyes of most of this city because of what happened that day. Barely anyone actually wants to know the reasons behind why it happened, only digging through what happened and already discrediting whatever I want to say. Yes, those words on those research notes may be true, and…I really did want to destroy everything and everyone in this city…but there is more to it than that and it's always hard for me to recount or explain that being the case for so many reasons."]

Come on think for once Kuroko, you've gotten so much better at reading her and you fail when it was critical not to!? Shirai thought as she bit the side of her cheek.

What does she mean that we're only seeing what's on the surface when we did in fact look deeper inside with the research notes? Is there something other than Project WaveInflux that we don't know about?

"Hey."

Shirai jumped when she heard that so close to her, looking up at Yomikawa's concerned expression that was somewhat clouded with the smile on her face. She pointed down at the mug that she unknowingly had a death grip on.

"I don't want you to end up crushing that and cutting yourself. So, use your voice and tell me what's bothering you. I may not know you all that well, but I have a feeling I can help in some way." Yomikawa stated.

Shirai's eyes widened in surprise before she let out a small breath to calm herself down, automatically handing her cup over for Yomikawa to get away from her.

She went and sat on the couch beside her, patiently waiting for her to begin and leaned her head into her hand as her elbow was propped up on the back of the couch.

"It's Zierdan. I don't know why but I just…I don't know." Shirai said as she gripped the side of her face. "This entire thing is just so confusing, irritating, upsetting, and probably every word imaginable."

She explained what happened earlier during the confrontation they had with both Asher and Misaka. Uiharu added anything that the teleporter missed as Yomikawa intently listened to every word they said.

When they were finished, Yomikawa let out a sigh of her own. "That sounds about how I imagined it." She remarked after a while. "She's not very forthcoming with any of that to anyone, me included. So, you shouldn't feel left out if you do."

"How long have you've known Asher?" Uiharu asked.

Yomikawa put a hand up to her chin. "Hmmmm, let's see…." She contemplated. "I would say around 3-4 years at this point."

"You've known her longer than we have, and she still doesn't trust you enough to say anything about it?" Shirai questioned.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." Yomikawa said. "It's more along the lines of it being a sensitive topic. She went through a lot, enough that she still hasn't been able to move past it."

"Ughhhhh, I still don't know what to make of this." Shirai groaned. "You probably know more about it than we do, and she still decides to just go to Sissy about it."

"From that, I'm guessing you're talking about Misaka. For one, she has known her longer than I have. And we have different approaches with how we go about things. We may do what the other does at times, but she's a lot more assertive in her attempts, while I opt for her to come to me for things. She may think she hides stuff from me, but I tend to know a lot more than she thinks."

"Well, please explain this to us if you can. Like I explained earlier, she told us that we 'believe' we understand what happened and only know what happened on the surface. Do you know what she was talking about when she said that?" Shirai questioned.

The look on Yomikawa's face told her and Uiharu that she did, seeing it fall as the smile on her lips wavered slightly.

"She was most likely meaning that most try to figure out what happened during the experiment versus wanting to understand what led her to do it. At least that's my guess on the matter. You have to remember or realize that there are always multiple sides to every story." Yomikawa explained. "That man who was her Stepfather and basically at the center of all of this, Silas Wright, verbally abused her ever since he married her late mother. I still question if he truly loved Himari, though to say he had any to spare for his stepdaughter was unfortunately not true by any means. He did it so much for years that it didn't take long for her to start believing it, causing her to build walls around her emotions most likely in an attempt of self-preservation. He made her feel insignificant and a danger to everyone who was around her. It crippled her view of the world to only see it in Silas's eyes, gradually causing her to resent the very thing that she innately knew she wanted to be accepted by. She had nearly caved to go into a dark place she couldn't return from. But that gradually began to come to an end when she met a certain someone that finally accepted her for her with open arms."

A name instantly popped into Uiharu's and Shirai's head around the same time as their eyes widened in some form of realization.

"Sissy?/ Misaka?" They asked as Yomikawa nodded her head.

"That's probably why she goes to Misaka so much versus others she knows that she can trust. As hard as it may be to hear or know, their bond probably will always be different in comparison to others in her eyes. She was the first person that made her feel wanted and actually valued her humanity. If that hadn't happened when it did, I know for a fact that what happened during the experiment would have been a lot worse." Yomikawa said as her eyes narrowed.

Shirai's eyes fell as well as she looked down at her shaking hands, biting the side of her cheek from feeling angry of her own ignorance of looking over the possibility of something like that.

She may have known it was hard for Asher to go through, but she didn't know all of the reasons why it was.

As Asher said, she wanted to destroy the city and the people within it, but that was most likely because she was in a state of duress and had officially snapped from everyone ignoring her worth. If they didn't see the value that she had in this world, why should she herself return the favor?

It may have been wrong from someone else's perspective, but from knowing Asher's logic somewhat did rationalize that position if that was the case.

Even from the little that she and Uiharu had heard, she knew that this is what Asher feared them knowing. She was scared that knowing something like this would end up changing their relationship, maybe even resort to them abandoning or leaving her because of it.

Misaka had let her know before that one of her fears was being alone someday, a reason before as to why she hid something from them that caused her to fall into some type of deep sleep to recover from her severe anxiety attack at the hospital.

Her own irritation, rage, and depression that stemmed from what she had learned happened to her during the experiment led to her looking over anything beyond that which was the very thing that Asher was probably trying to relay, but just like her was unable to clearly say it.

[Misaka turned to Shirai and without any warning, slammed a hard first into her head as she fell down to the ground with steam rising up from it.

"Owwww…" She said in a daze. "What did I do to even deserve that?"

"That is for you and Zierdan's stubbornness to never try to actually communicate with each other before resorting to an argument." Misaka said as her eyebrow twitched. "Don't worry, I won't leave Zierdan out even though you were the one who put the most gasoline and oil to the fire first."]

"So that was what Sissy meant when she said that." Shirai said under her breath before she rose up to her feet, she brought out a hand towards Yomikawa for her to shake. "Thank you, Miss Yomikawa. You were right in the fact of being helpful since this was able to clear up a lot of things for me. I can see why Zierdan trusts your judgment and likes your company."

"I would also like to thank you as well. As Shirai said, it was pretty enlightening." Uiharu said with a small bow.

Yomikawa let out a small laugh as she clasped Shirai's hand softly. "You're welcome you two. Any friends of Asher's are always welcome in my book."

As they turned to leave, Yomikawa spoke up again, wearing some form of amusement in her eyes as they looked back at her.

"Before you go, do you want to hear about something that even Asher herself doesn't know about?" Yomikawa said with a quirked eyebrow. "I may be young to society standards, but you two may have a greater idea of what I could potentially do for this. You have to just promise me not to say anything to her about it. It shouldn't take long."

Uiharu and Shirai smiled at that, nodding in unison as they sat down to converse once more with the woman that they've grown to like over the small time they had gotten to know her.


School District 7 Hospital

Asher was sitting on the edge of the roof, wrapping her arms around her legs as she looked out at the city with a shadow on her face. There was an empty bottle sitting next to her. Before she had come up here, her Doctor had caught sight of her, forcing her in for some type of checkup as he rewrapped the bandages around her knuckles along with handing her something that would help manage her anxiety.

He didn't ask any questions of why she was even there, something she was thankful for as he somehow always knew what she needed at that time. He knew that she needed some time alone even if he wanted to provide her some company. She wanted some sure, but she didn't feel like she deserved any for what she did towards her friends…or most likely former friends at this point after what she had said to them.

[So just do like everyone else does and just try to forget that I exist. Don't allow yourselves to be hurt for my sake." She continued, looking over her shoulder with a stoic expression on her face. "All I am to most people is an emotionless person who has little regard for anyone's feelings which must actually be accurate to some extent from how many times I hear it. Logically meaning that someone like me should have…no one that trusts them and wants them in their lives."]

Even if it was hard for her to say, she had meant every single word.

They should just forget about her and go about their lives like they had never met, just like how it was a couple months ago before Shirai had even come into her and Misaka's lives. It's not like her presence mattered or would change anything for whatever they did, so there's no point for her to continue to hang around them as she would just destroy everything at some point like she always seemed to do.

Some part of her had directed it towards Misaka as well, though, she knew at the same time that she was too stubborn to listen to such words, so there was no point to see the logic in why she should press for that as well.

But the others were an exception as they hadn't gone too deep into who she was yet and what she went through in her life, meaning Silas wouldn't end up indirectly tainting them too. She knew that Misaka was still affected by what had happened to her. She could always see whenever she was struggling because of it no matter how rare she says it happens. It hurt and upset her this morning to see her best friend that she had always admired and looked up to tremble and whimper because of some type of nightmare that most likely stemmed from her nearly dying during the experiment after she had struck her with her electricity.

Neither of them had factored it in with all the strain that she had endured that would even make something like that happen. But even with that, she wanted her to blame her, not herself because she was the one who asked her to do it.

No matter how much she had endured these last years with Silas, or her parents' deaths at the hands of him, she would always regret getting Misaka to do that for her as she felt that she had endured more pain in comparison.

Maybe if she had just asked her to let her go or maybe even stay with her until her final moments before she could just launch herself into space or somewhere in the sky, would she have gone unscathed by this whole thing?

Would she have just endured the loss of her life versus feeling like she had ruined it forever to some extent?

It had been a while for these questions to be inside of her head. During those many months after the experiment, she had fell into sort of a depression where these thoughts would always cross her mind no matter how much she didn't want them to.

Maybe if she just hadn't existed in the first place or had ever allowed the Electromaster in her life, she would have never been able to logically harm her in a way that probably nothing would be able to fix.

Why is it that my existence seems to ruin everything it comes into contact with? She thought to herself as her lips trembled.

I bring so much pain to others no matter what I do or didn't do, making it almost illogical for me to keep trying to do otherwise.

I'm not worth that much and I'm dangerous were two things that Silas wanted me to believe.

For some years now I've been told that it isn't true and that I'm worth enough to actually mean something to people but…

What if that very thought is what brings danger into their lives because I'm with them.

Is that what he meant?

Because if it is…

I'm starting to believe it because all I seem to do is hurt the very things that are precious to me.

I argued and ran from Mikoto two years ago and it ended with her alone to deal with her burden of nearly killing her best friend..

I purposefully angered Kuroko so many times a couple months back just under the assumption that she wouldn't understand me and I wouldn't understand her, even though she was the very thing that Mikoto needed in her life.

I've ran from both Uiharu and Saten literally and emotionally so many times by not expressing myself that they end up being concerned about me days on end while I wallow in my damn illogical self-pity for no reason at all.

All I do…is hurt all of them with my words and actions….

Something that I guess Silas indirectly taught me to do when he did that to me that I still haven't lost.

Meaning that I might….m-might…

Grow up to be just like him someday.

This was another one of her fears other than being alone or losing control over herself…

Whether what Silas did to her would mold her into the very thing that she despised.

It almost seemed like he knew this too, which scared her even more as he may know how to drive her to that point of no return.

She had nearly crossed the line three times now because of him, always stopped by some level of restraint inside of herself or because of others convincing her not to do what she so desperately wanted to do at times.

Will there be a day, however, that comes that it won't be enough?

That someone does something that causes her to fully snap and cross that line without any remorse?

That's probably the last thing she would need to do to be exactly like him.

To kill someone, just like he did with her own parents.

These thoughts had been buzzing inside of her head ever since she had left the Judgment office, so much so that the only reason she was somewhat calm was the drug that her Doctor gave her. It worked to some extent, but it just wouldn't make all of these thoughts that she tried her best to just dub as illogical noise to go away.

After a while, she looked upwards at the sky in hopes it would derail her from what she was thinking, raising her hand up to the clouds to amuse some of the child within her to imagine her holding them in the palm of her hand.

Even with how old she was, she always had this innate fascination with the clouds. She had grown to understand her ability enough now that they were just within her reach whenever she just wanted to go up there. Though, even if she was hundreds of meters below them at this moment, it was still enough to reach up and pretend to touch them that somehow provided her some peace of mind.

"Clouds, they're so simple and unique at the same time. Always flowing in a number of directions that I see a new one every day." She said to herself before a small laugh escaped from her mouth. "I don't think I'll ever narrow down the logic of why I'm so interested in them. It's illogical and honestly…so childish for me to like them as much as I do but…"

"It's the only thing that brings you some level of peace when you need to calm down?"

"Yeah I guess you can say-"

Asher paused as her eyes widened in shock, just now realizing that someone else was up here with her. She had been too attached to her own thoughts to notice someone standing right next to her, looking over and seeing Saten standing there as she looked up at the very clouds she had been looking at for a long while now.

"Saten," Asher said still in some form of shock. "Why are you here? I told you and the others that you shouldn't…"

"And I told you yesterday that I want to keep trying to understand you until I find every side that makes up Asher Zierdan." Saten said as she looked over and smiled at her. "No one said such a thing would be easy, since everything about you is pretty complex. But that very thing is the one thing I honestly love most about you. Everyone is unique in their own way, with your logic and personality being the most fascinating out of everything I know about you. I haven't had much time to get to know enough of it though, so can you at least do me this one favor and entertain me a little longer? Because I know for a fact…"

"That being around you is something I want, since it makes me happy as well."

Asher's face immediately heated up at that before she bit the side of her cheek to keep her emotions under control from the potential waterfall threatening to fall from her eyes as Saten had just echoed the very thing she had made as a promise to both her and herself the other day.

[But like with MK or even Kuroko, I know for a fact that being around you is something that I want because you make me happy. No matter how nervous or how illogical my face gets whenever I'm alone with you, I'll allow it just so I can be able to say that you're my friend…"]

"You heard that?" Asher asked, letting out a sigh when she was answered with Saten's smile growing bigger, hearing her laugh as it caused her face to heat up even more. "It was illogical to think that I could say something like that out loud and it get under your nose. I'll probably never be able to live it down now, will I?"

"Nope, it was the beginnings of 'Sappy Asher' after all. Why would I want to forget such a thing that happened on my behalf?" Saten giggled before her expression grew to be unnaturally serious. She walked over to Asher's back and brought her arms forward to cradle the esper's neck.

Asher had already seen this coming and didn't even flinch, welcoming it with open arms as she leaned into it, with silence falling between them for a few moments.

"Again, I'm sorry that we did something like this to both you and Misaka. If we had known better to think that it would hurt less if we just came to you guys about it first versus doing it basically behind your backs, we would've. That's probably what made you felt like we wouldn't understand you because we were looking in a place too early. Before that, you wanted us to get to know your past but at the same time wanted to hide it form us as you didn't want our view to change of you by seeing how you were back then versus how you are right now, correct?"

Asher did a simple nod from Saten's statement surprisingly summing up all of her fears in something as short as that, feeing her hold tighten as wetness began to fall into her lap.

"As hard as it may be for us to hear, you shouldn't underestimate us like that." Saten pressed lightly. "We may not have known you as long as Misaka has but to say we would abandon you for something that wasn't even your fault to begin with is another story. We want to be with you, about as close as me and you are right now. We want to embrace you, laugh with you, and even cry with you if that means we get to know you better. You can take all the time in the world before you feel it is right to say what happened to you back then, but please don't let it be at the expense of you feeling that you'll lose us right after or if you never do..."

"You won't ever lose us. Your existence means the world to us so please don't take something like that away by breaking our friendship in an attempt to spare us from your burdens. We know that you're not heartless and don't want to hurt anyone you care bout. Based on your own logic, how could you be either of those things when we do trust you and want you in our lives?"

Asher didn't answer as her head bent forward even further, feeling her lips shaking too much to form any words as she silently cried within her friend's arms and felt Saten's head press into the back of her neck. She wasn't too caught up in her thoughts this time, though, to not notice or hear a couple steps come from behind her, not having to look over to see Misaka sit next to her on the edge of the roof.

She had known she was there the entire time, only realizing now why she hadn't come out until then. She had gotten the hang of knowing what Misaka was thinking at times, guessing that Saten had probably wanted to be the one to say this to her as it would provide more of an impact versus her saying something that she had already anticipated. Asher was the one to grab her hand first, so quick in fact that it caused Misaka to jump when she did.

The look of shock on Misaka's face slowly turned into a smile as she returned it, sending a reassuring squeeze. She turned away to give Asher some privacy as she cried, knowing that it was just one of those times for her to do so.


About 15 minutes later…

It took a while, but Asher was able to collect herself, silently thanking both Misaka and Saten just for the fact that they were there with her.

As she got up, she was blindsided by a random hard flick to her nose, looking over at Misaka in shock as she covered it for its own protection just in case she wanted to do it again.

"Ow, MK. What was that for?" Asher asked as blood threatened to fall from the point of impact.

"Just being a girl of her word." Misaka said as she put her hands on her hips. "I understand that tensions were high earlier, but that doesn't mean it should be impossible for you and Kuroko to at least try to communicate with each other from time to time."

Asher's eyes widened at that before she looked away, nearly had forgotten about how heated it had gotten between her and the teleporter. Her expression fell slightly, sort of feeling bad that she had come at her as hard as she had.

Words were never her strong suit when it came to expressing how she felt towards something. It always seemed really hard at times to connect with Shirai when they were going at it like that too, making it even harder for her to fully express what she wanted her to know versus how the situation was making her feel.

It may sound confusing, but that always seemed to happen between them so many times that she had already lost count from day 1 of meeting her.

She let out a sigh, bringing one of her hands to rest on the back of her neck. "Yeah, I understand." She commented.

They were about to head back to the Judgment office in which she mentally prepared herself for her meeting with Shirai again before something fell at the pit of her stomach from sensing something familiar incoming fast, popping right in front of them as she nearly took a small step back.

It was both Uiharu and Shirai standing there, with Uiharu herself already running up to Asher and hugging her, where she was too startled to do it back at first as she made eye contact with the girl that was probably still mad at her.

"Oh, I'm so so sorry Asher!" Uiharu said with tears in her eyes. "Please don't be mad at the others for what we did as I am the one who convinced them it was the best to do it this way! I didn't want to make you, Misaka, or anyone upset and I'm just so sorry about that!"

"It's alright, Uiharu." Asher remarked genuinely as she hugged her back. "I honestly wasn't angry or upset with you or any of you personally. I was…more or less upset with the situation mainly."

After allowing the extended contact for a while, Asher unwrapped her arms as Uiharu moved over to the side. The others stood behind her in some level of suspense as she walked up to Shirai. She let out a sigh as she incessantly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Kuroko I'm-"

"I'm sorry Zierdan, for what I said to you earlier." Shirai remarked, cutting her off from going any further as she bowed her head. "You had no fault in what happened before. I was the main one who caused the situation to escalate the way it did."

"But it wasn't all your fault either, Kuroko." Asher said in some semblance of surprise. "If I had just stayed and hadn't ran away, maybe…"

She trailed off when she felt Shirai press against her with her arms around her midsection, feeling her cheeks heat up immediately from not expecting this sort of contact from her.

"Honestly, can you for once just accept that you're not always to blame for situations like these? Yes, you may not have backed down from what I said, but that does not change the fact that I came way too hard on you. It didn't click until a small while after we talked to Miss Yomikawa but…did you develop PTSD after what happened during the experiment?"

Asher stiffened from hearing that question, hearing small gasps from behind her from both Uiharu and Saten. It hadn't occurred to them that could've been the case, only taken more aback by the fact when they saw Asher answer with a nod.

"Unfortunately." Asher stated. "When I started gaining my memories back, it didn't take too long for my doctor, MK, and others to notice that something was off about me. I already had problems sleeping the time before that. It went from a span of days, to nearly 2-3 weeks of only getting 2-3 hours of sleep. It was so bad that, not even the sedatives they used to try and help fully kept me asleep. It was a draining experience that only got better overtime when I finally learned how to manage my triggers which are mostly connected with the experiment and my stepfather. There are minor ones that stem from that but those two are the main ones."

Shirai's face fell at that, kicking herself internally. Both as a Judgment officer and a friend to the esper in her grasp, she should've either realized the signs or had been more understanding of why Asher hadn't said anything of what had happened to her. It was so traumatic and scarring to the extent that it even changed her psychologically.

Asher felt wetness gathering on the middle of her uniform, letting out a small sigh after a while as she finally brought her hands around Shirai as she trembled ever so slightly.

"I'm better now and I forgive you Kuroko." Asher said before allowing a small laugh under her breath. "Well this is rare. To think you would admit that you were being illogical, would be logically sound with whatever goes on in that head of yours."

"Oh hush." Shirai said with no weight behind it, letting out a small laugh of her own.

After that, Asher walked away towards the edge of the roof, letting out a small sigh as she sat down to the floor.

"So," She began, gaining the attention of everyone around her. "What is it that you want to know about me?"

Surprise flashed on the faces of Saten, Uiharu, and Shirai, with all of them looking at each other nervously for what the esper was offering to do for them.

"Zierdan, you don't –"

"Yes I do, Kuroko." Asher said as she cut her off, looking up at them with a small smile on her face. "It isn't logical for me to keep hiding my life from all of you. You've all told me about yourselves, but I've hardly allowed you to get to know anything about me."

"But we understand why you haven't though." Uiharu pressed.

"It doesn't bother us at all, Asher. You can come to us when you're ready." Saten added.

Misaka stood quietly over to the side next to Asher, already knowing her decision from the rare look of determination on her normally stoic features.

"I know, but if I don't do this when I have the energy and motivation to, I may end up never doing it." Asher rationalized. "I took something earlier that naturally lowers my anxiety. It lasts for a while, so this is the best time as any for you three to ask me anything. If it's too hard for me to think about a response, I promise that I won't push myself to answer."

They all looked nervous to accept something like this, though the Electromaster tried her best to reassure them as she took a seat down right next to Asher.

"After 6 years, you could say I've become sort of an expert of figuring out what's going on in that logical head of hers." Misaka said with a smile. "I'll be sure to make sure Z keeps her promise, so don't worry."

Even if they were still skeptical, they nodded their heads in Misaka's direction as they took a seat in front of the Level 5s, internally preparing themselves for the moment to see Asher open up to them completely for the first time.


Word Count of Chapter: 11915 |Page Count: 20 pages |Reviews: 153 | Followers: 91 |Favorites: 75

With friendships being mended and Asher finally letting go to talk of her past to her friends, the next chapter will be centered around Yoshikawa's meeting with Silas, where even more answers will be given behind what drove him to do what he has done thus far.


Review Replies

Blankow: Yeah, someone brought it to my attention that I had been neglecting Mikoto to some extent when it came to how WaveInflux had affected her. You're right that she pushes her problems to the side about as much as Touma does. Zierdan is one of the few that she can't fully convince that what she's saying is true from how long they've known each other.

I actually had no clue that Mikoto had "nightmares of being buried beneath a giant pile of lifeless mannequins" after the Sisters' Arc. Just thinking about it kinda makes me sad since it goes to show how scarring that experience was for her and wonder how things will go this time around with Asher in the picture.

Thanks, even if it ended pretty poorly with Asher leaving, the confrontation was probably the part of the chapter I was looking forward to writing up the most.

With Yomikawa becoming Asher's guardian, it is only a matter of time before she and Accelerator interact with each other. Thanks also by the way for telling me where I could read the Railgun Manga. I'll try to look into it to see how Kongou's introduction within their unfolds in comparison to the original.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, with the conversation between Yoshikawa and Silas getting an entire chapter to themselves to close out the events of this day.


Bornkiller9: Thanks! The Kuroko X Asher ship is actually something I didn't expect to happen but has popped up from others a few times now. They sometimes argue for the fun of it, but at the same time as seen during the last chapter and earlier in their friendship, they can get pretty brutal that even Misaka has to raise the white flag at times when trying to stop them. I wonder if Kuroko's respect for Asher could potentially grow into something more that Asher could bring herself to actually accept someday though.

The bikini episode will most likely come after the next chapter, so the wait for it will hopefully not be too long:)


Ho4qin: I expected that Kuroko's actions would be seen more in the wrong in comparison to Asher's disappearance. I hope that with this chapter it clears up why she reacted the way she did. You were right that some part of it did come from the fact that Asher and Misaka were keeping a secret from her while most of it just came from some miscommunication from both her and Asher's end. They may have gotten closer, but their personalities still clash to the point that they don't listen or acknowledge what the other is trying to say, giving some inspiration as to why this chapter is titled the way it is.


LostNeko120: Sorry T.T. I didn't mean to leave you all on a cliff hanger, but I wanted to stop there to save for the events that happen within this chapter. As I said in another reply, I hope that this chapter clears up some of the reason why Kuroko reacted the way she did. Even if the end result may have ended up being the same with Asher leaving, Misaka is right that communication would have gone a long way to stop it from getting as heated as it had.


Ghost of Los Angeles: You're welcome and thanks! I enjoy responding to you guys, as well as seeing any feedback you all have in regards to this story as it is a big help in making it better over time:)

*Takes notes over Misaka's mental state potentially growing to be worse than Asher's at some point*

All joking aside, I can see this actually happening to her as you are right in that repressing her emotions the way she does is not very great for her to do, especially as a Level 5 esper. She has had a few years to build up her walls to keep most of what happened during WaveInflux out, wanting to be the rock that Asher needed during the time of her recovery from her amnesia. This is probably why she hasn't had a flashback yet, though is a reason why it could lead her to one someday.


AnonK:Misaka Worst is definitely someone I've been wondering on how Asher would go about interacting with. She would probably find her cackling about as illogical as Misaka's teasing. I wonder if her logic would be able to withstand such a girl, who would probably rub her the wrong way purposefully for her own amusement.


Jintolin:

Chapter 31

I already knew the title of this chapter during the chapter before, as it was the set-up of the inevitable of Asher finding out about Saten using the Level Upper.

Even if she didn't like him, Silas was still the first person that Asher called when it came to how she found her mother at their house. It goes to show you that even if he didn't express any sort of love for her, some part of her still trusted him to at least come due to knowing that he actually had some level of love for her mother. Yoshikawa and Yomikawa were the next in line, as you are right in that she looks up to the both of them as motherly figures.

Seeing Asher with a "cheery overabundance of energy" would probably end up killing Misaka from prolonged exposure as that would probably be reminiscent to how Asher had acted when Shokuhou was in control of her. If they exist, it would be sort of interesting to see how Asher's clones would interact with Misaka's clones as their personalities would be reversed in comparison to the originals.

Chapter 32

I agree that it's really hard to hate Kiyama, especially after seeing all of what she went through from her memories of the experiment with the children she was in charge of teaching. Even if it may be hard for Asher to commit to the promise she made to Saten, she will try her best to put all of her energy into those efforts.

It would be possible for Asher to remove the gravity around a stationary object since she can more or less dictate what she wants to do with the gravity in the space she sets out for herself. In terms of her limits of the range, you could technically say she doesn't have any. All she really needs is to know the dimensions of the space that she is trying to work with. During the last day of WaveInflux, Shokuhou even speculated that she had her dimensions on the entire city. At the present, the widest amount of area that she has used is over an entire school district when trying to find the Graviton Bomber. She wasn't at her best when she did that, meaning she could possibly have even a wider range that she can do without surpassing her limits.

"Sappy Asher" has been fully introduced to all members of the Railgang, something that may or may not put her at more risk at dealing with more of their illogical behavior because of it.


supboyyyyy93:

Chapter 19

Alright, so sorry that the events of that chapter disappointed you, though I'm pretty dead set on seeing this as probably one of the best ways for something like this to go about.

First, even if it was a brief nod to it, Uiharu had left just before Asher was revealed to even be there as she had took the little girl there, Kana, to safety. Since she didn't know Asher was there, she had no reason to return back to the scene where Misaka and Kamijou were confronting Asher about her behavior.

You're right that if these events had gone differently with her and Saten there, their bond would have strengthened. But my main focus was on Asher struggling with the new memories she had gained from Shokuhou's headscan. She needed someone other than Misaka to both comfort her and stop her from spiraling due to her meltdown, which Kamijou seemed like the better candidate over Saten, Uiharu, and Kuroko even though all of them could have most likely measured up to being successful. Even though their relationship has not been shown as much, Kamijou has technically known Asher longer than at least Saten and Uiharu due to her tutoring at his school for around 2-3 weeks at the present of this story. There will be other opportunities for both Saten and Uiharu to see the darker side of Asher's personality as that side of her will probably never go away even with the help of her friends.

Now, I won't say much on what I have planned for this story in regards to the Sisters' arc. In terms with the canon story, however, I can agree on some points regarding why it was sort of off for Saten, Kuroko, and Uiharu standing idly by when they knew Misaka was in trouble. If they had known about the truth behind the Sisters' clones, I know they would have probably done everything they could have done to help. But that would indirectly lead to them being in danger due to Accelerator, which is something that Misaka took into account as to why she didn't tell them. I think that they knew something was wrong, but since they didn't know the full extent, they didn't have any reason to pry as they trusted Misaka to know that they would help whenever she would come to them, which is what they were waiting for her to do.

Sisters' is probably my favorite arc within Railgun, with the Dahasei festival coming a close second, meaning I'm probably biased as to why I liked the bridge scene with Kamijou and not Saten, Uiharu, and Kuroko. I won't say that it'll go the same in CSG as it did there, but Kamijou again was probably better in comparison, due to already have seen the dark side of Academy City at that point. Which, Asher already has experience in as well.


-Thanks for your reviews!

-PurpleClover99