AN: Hello readers! I'm back after my unintended vacation.
Sorry, I didn't mean to drop off the face of the Earth for a whole month. I kind of blanked out on what I wanted to write for all of my stories so I took a break. I was finally able to type up this chapter last week, so I hopefully won't hit the writing wall for a while, again.
That's all I have to say 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 45: A Small Win
August 1st, 12:30PM
Tokiwadai Dormitory
The door behind Saten shut closed as Asher guided her into her room. She looked around and saw that it was clean, especially on the side of the room where the extra bed resided if someone happened to become Asher's roommate in the future. There was a bookshelf filled to the brim with countless volumes of books, but other than that and her desk that had a picture frame and random items like pencils and pens on top of it, the room was fairly bare.
Now that Saten thought about it, this was the first time she had ever been inside of the gravity esper's room. She hadn't gone inside the first time she had been invited to come to the dorms with Uiharu since Asher had gotten sick and she like Misaka and Shirai had gotten in trouble with their Head Resident.
But she didn't have much time or motivation to take in the moment more, due to the strange feeling that started to creep into her chest ever since she had entered.
There was this odd amount of distance that was between her and Asher that she had honestly never felt before.
When she turned around and looked at the esper's face for the second time, again, it just seemed blank and empty even with the smile that she knew was being forced on her face. There was a bandage on the side of her head that she assumed covered the injuries from what happened last evening. She could see large bruises trying to peek from its edges, though if it hurt, Asher made no indication that was the case.
After taking in her appearance, she knew that this feeling wasn't because of her usual attempts at seeming both stoic and passive for most things that happened around her. She could always at least feel something from the esper no matter how much she tried to hide something like her timid nature.
It was as if Asher either wasn't fully there or just an entirely different person, to where it only took a few moments for her to realize that it was most likely the former than the latter even if hardly any words had been exchanged between them.
Is she…? She thought as she narrowed her eyes slightly before Asher's voice came in her ears.
"Is there something wrong, Saten?" Asher asked almost hesitantly from Saten's prolonged stare.
"Maybe…" Saten said under her breath as she moved closer to Asher and began to walk slowly around her. "But I'm not too sure just yet."
Asher let out a small sigh. "It's not all that logical to answer a question with an open-ended statement." She remarked as she raised a hand up to the back of her neck. "Or stare at others for a prolonged period of time without a good reason."
Saten only let out a hum as she stopped and stood behind her friend with a narrowed look, before she let out a small laugh when her mind came up with an idea.
"Well, I think it's a matter of perspective. When there's something to look at, I'd say staring can be nearly unavoidable at times. Especially for someone as adorable as you tend to be."
Silence fell in the room as Saten looked at Asher, seeing her form almost glitch out for a few seconds. It seemingly went unnoticed by the gravity esper herself as she only let out a small breath in response.
"That statement is highly illogical. Even I know staring makes people uncomfortable no matter its intention. And there's not really anything that stands out enough for someone to stare at me in the first place. Well other than the odd colored streaks in my hair I guess. But still– "
Before she went on, she felt arms wrap around her from behind, with Saten pressing her face up against her back.
"Asher, stop this." Saten quietly pleaded as she tightened her grip.
"Stop what?" Asher questioned in confusion. "What's wrong with you today? You come here to check on me but here you are acting the most illogical out of the both of us. Was it something I said or…whatever is wrong with MK?"
Saten stayed silent for a while before she let out a small breath, loosening her grip around the girl that she knew was some sort of projection no matter how real it looked and felt to be. She could tell that Asher was still in the room after that last comment, which did leave her relieved to some extent.
Though, barely 3 minutes had even passed, and Asher was already trying to run away or hide just to stop people from being worried or concerned about her.
"I may be a Level 0 and someone who has only known you for almost an entire month…but I've been around you long enough to pick up on a few things that other people who don't know you wouldn't see." She remarked as Asher stayed silent. "For one thing, the Asher I know wouldn't use her ability to hide her true self from her friend like this unless she's worried about how I'll react or believes the truth behind it is too much of a burden than I can handle."
"And what if that's theoretically the case?" Asher questioned, neither rejecting nor accepting her statement. "You've seen me use this part of my ability before and there weren't any issues. So logically there shouldn't be any problems talking to me like that if whatever you assume is happening is true. You're still talking to me– "
"It isn't the same and you know it," Saten mumbled sternly as she tightened her hold around the girl who had stopped all attempts of even trying to look her in the eye. "You're hiding more than just your clothes this time. You're trying to project a face that you want me and probably everyone else around you to see and believe it's yours when it isn't. And that worries me, because it means that whatever is weighing you down is so great that even you can't hide it behind a stoic face."
Silence fell in the room before Saten heard Asher let out a shuddering breath as her head lowered slightly.
"D-Damn it. I knew that this was a mistake. I thought I made all the right calculations, but it seems I messed up at one point or another." Asher said under her breath as she walked out of Saten's grip. She went over and leaned herself over her desk. "Kuroko's right, I am starting to get sloppy or lose my edge."
"Or you could say that you've always have been a bad actor. And since you've been trusting people more, it's becoming more apparent and known." Saten said lightheartedly.
Even though it was suppose to lighten Asher's mood, she could tell that it didn't when the girl opted to remain silent for a few moments.
"You know I didn't mean to offend you or anything with what I said, Asher, right?" Saten quickly asked. "It was just a joke."
"I know. I wasn't offended at all. But you're right. It's logical that since you've gotten to know me a little better than most, you would be able to pick up on certain things I try my best to keep hidden or guarded, I guess." Asher explained before she let out a long sigh, with her form glitching out again for much longer this time before she turned around to hesitantly look Saten directly in her eyes. "Even with that being the case, though, I don't think it's wise or logical at any capacity to see my 'real face' as you said. I don't think I'm in the mood to carry on a conversation with anyone right now. And you wouldn't want to deal with my illogical behavior."
"That's for me to decide and see for myself." Saten lightly pressed with a smile as she went over to sit on Asher's bed, seeing something flash inside of the projection's eyes. "And this is so you can see that letting more people inside to see your problems and struggles isn't a bad thing. The walls that you've had up for nearly your entire life are slowly falling and that terrifies you, I get it. You put them there probably to protect yourself from the outside world while also keeping those on the outside safe from a past you believe is too much for others to know about..."
"You're feeling vulnerable now not because you're getting sloppy or losing your edge at keeping your emotions suppressed. It's because now you have more people around you can trust and help you carry the weight of it if you'd just let them. So please, Asher," Saten continued. "Let me see you."
The projection of Asher stood there looking at her for a time before a sigh came from under her breath as she turned around and leaned back down on the desk. "Are you sure about this Saten?" She asked. "Kuroko must've already told you what happened this morning when she came in here."
"She did sort of." Saten answered. "Though, I have a feeling I know how it ended."
"Then, aren't you worried or afraid that I'll…" Asher started before she paused, unable to bring herself to finish her sentence.
Saten had a feeling that she knew what she was going to say as she let out a small breath of her own. "No, I'm not. It's going to take a lot for me to leave, anyway. If at some point you truly want me to go, I will. But other than that, I'll be here, however long you need me to."
The projection looked at her for a few moments before it was dispelled completely. She smiled and let out a breath of relief before she turned herself around towards the sigh that sounded behind her, seeing the real Asher sitting there with her back turned towards her as she laid her head on the wall. She turned her gaze over to the box of medical supplies that was sitting right next to her that hadn't been opened yet.
"It's not every day that a Level 0 can see through my illusions that easily. Even Mikoto and Kuroko have trouble at times." Asher mumbled. "So, how'd you do it? Or more accurately, where did I mess up?"
"It was just a feeling." Saten responded as she scooted herself back to the wall to be closer to Asher.
"A feeling?"
"Yeah, it felt like you were there but not at the same time." Saten explained further. "It was weird but also kind of cool how realistic it was when it was only one of your light projections, right?"
Saten could see Asher nod from behind before she saw her turn herself around as a couple winces came from under her breath.
"Saying it's a feeling and explaining said feeling does nothing to raise the logic in you seeing through the 5th Ranked Level 5's ability almost immediately after seeing it, but I honestly don't have much energy to go more into it than that." Asher stated.
Before she went any further, she felt Saten gently grab her chin, allowing her to turn her head towards her.
Saten had to do all that she could to hide her cringe when she saw the side of the gravity esper's face, seeing a massive bruise coating her brow that almost reached her right eye. It was a mix between purples and blues which faded in overall intensity away from where Saten could conclude was the point of impact by her brow. Thankfully, it was far enough from her eye lid that it wasn't too swollen to seal that eye shut.
The other side of her face had some bruises and cuts, but they weren't as apparent or severe at first glance.
As Saten was completely focused on taking note of all her friend's facial injuries, she missed the small blush creeping on Asher face as she looked away from her.
"It looks worse than it really is." Asher said after a while in some effort to relieve her friend's worry. That was before she let out a massive wince when she moved either her eye or eyebrow too much, though.
"Mmmhmm, right." Saten hummed, unconvinced. "Even I can tell just by looking at it that it hurts a lot. You should probably keep it covered for a couple days to give it some more time to heal over."
"Yeah, I know." Asher sighed. "My Doctor told me the same thing last night, along with changing out the bandages around my midsection after applying healing cream in both areas every 12-24 hours. I was actually in the process of doing that just now."
She saw Saten's face fall into a deadpan out of the corner of her eye which made her somewhat confused at seeing such a reaction.
"What?"
"Were you seriously about to sit here and redress your injuries by yourself? Even though I was coming up here?" Saten asked. When she saw her friend nod, she only facepalmed in response. "You must've hit your head harder than I thought."
Before Asher could respond, she saw Saten grab the medicine box next to her, open it, and ruffle through its contents, setting aside healing cream and some band-aids and bandages after a few seconds.
"Hey um, Saten?" Asher began as she saw Saten bring out some more items. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing, silly?" Saten joked, though still maintained some seriousness in her tone.
Asher took some time to think through Saten's response before she let out a sigh and raised a hand up to the back of her neck. "You don't have to do this, you know."
"Uh-huh, I know."
"You also still have time to leave and just forget about getting me to talk as well."
"True, but that doesn't sound like any fun at all."
Asher went silent for a while until she saw Saten bring a disinfectant wipe up to the side of her face, instinctively moving away.
"You really don't have– "
"Asher Zierdan," Saten called out, prompting Asher to instantly go silent especially when she brought a finger up to her lips. "Be quiet and sit still while I do this. It's the least I can do for you right now. And the next word that comes out of your mouth better be related to something other than you being illogical in wanting to do everything by yourself."
And with that, Asher took the warning seriously and quietly conceded.
A little while later...
Saten took her time to go through Asher's injuries, starting off with her face and going from there. She tried her best to be gentle to prevent the esper from feeling any unnecessary pain.
Even with that, though, Asher couldn't stop herself from wincing when Saten touched areas that were still pretty tender to the touch, and she immediately apologized for it.
For a while, these were the only times that Asher ever made a sound. It made the room quiet since Saten also didn't say anything, only humming a tune to fill the void that was around them.
Asher found it somewhat odd that she wasn't trying to pry or goad her into speaking. Now that she thought of it, Saten had not once even attempted to bring up the subject of Big Spider or Misaka ever since she came into the room. It left her sort of relieved but also nervous or tense for a reason she couldn't really understand.
There was a part of her that wanted to keep it this way and knew that Saten would allow it for her sake.
But then the other half of her felt this strange urge to talk and vent everything that was currently on her mind. For as long as she could remember, Misaka had been one of the few people in her life that she felt fully comfortable talking through complex emotions like the ones that she was feeling now.
But since the esper had been so distant for the past several hours, she had to go through this situation alone.
At least that's what she had felt like before Saten had come here. Something about her just made her feel at ease to almost an unnatural degree, which she had just realized earlier when she indirectly calmed her down through the intercom.
Even someone like Misaka or Yomikawa struggled to do that at times. And Saten had somehow done it without realizing within not even a month of knowing her in comparison to the years she had known them.
What should I do? I didn't plan that letting her in here would end up like this. She thought as her eyes narrowed slightly. She absentmindedly raised up one of her hands to the back of her neck.
It didn't take long for Saten to notice that it was there. She stayed quiet until she put the last band-aid over one of Asher's bruises. She let out a small breath and leaned back on her hands, knowing that Asher wasn't even aware of this or much of anything for how long she had zoned out.
"Is something wrong Asher?" She asked as she raised a hand up to her shoulder, feeling the esper jump under her fingertips. "It wasn't my intention to make you this nervous."
"Huh, what?" Asher asked in confusion as she raised her blue eyes to look at her. "What are you talking about? I'm alright."
"Sure you are." Saten said lightly with a small laugh. "So that's why you've been in your head for so long that you didn't even realized I finished bandaging your face about a few minutes ago. Or, why you have a tight grip on the back of your neck. Which is a certain spot we all know that you love to use when you're actually not alright."
Asher's eyes widened. After a few moments, she slowly but surely pulled her hand down to rest on the bed below her, trying her best to push back the compulsive urge to put it right back where it was from how anxious she was starting to feel.
"I didn't even notice." Asher mumbled before she let out a long sigh. "It's honestly something I've done for as long as I can remember, where it's almost second nature for my body to just do it when it feels like it, I guess. I wasn't nervous. I was just thinking, and my body illogically reacted to it."
Even though Saten was still unconvinced, she didn't press for anything else. Asher was left surprised by how fast she had just moved on from one thing to another.
However, she did snap herself out of her shock as soon as she heard a few words come out of Saten's mouth that were even more shocking to say the least.
"Alright, Asher. Go ahead and take your shirt off." Saten said, casually.
It took a moment for that statement to completely register with Asher's brain. And when it did, she still couldn't fully comprehend it. She didn't move for a while and just stared at Saten's back when she turned back around to grab something out of the medical kit.
"You want me to do what?" Asher asked.
"I need you to take off your shirt so I can rebind your midsection." Saten repeated as she put a pile of bandages beside her.
When Asher didn't move and remained silent, Saten looked up in surprise before she saw the gravity esper's face lit about as red as a tomato. She couldn't stop herself from laughing a little under her breath as she gave Asher a cunning glance.
"There's no reason for you to be embarrassed. We're both girls here." She stated before she covered her mouth to stifle more of her laughs. "Though, if you don't have anything on under there, I can leave so you can put on something."
The blush seemed to only grow impossibly brighter as Asher stiffened from Saten's words. "What!? Of course I'm wearing something under here, Saten! What piece of logic even went through your head to even ask something as illogical as that!?"
Saten could only laugh aloud for what seemed like forever as Asher sat there in disbelief. It was almost like she had fun embarrassing or making her flustered whenever she could.
"Why did I decide to let you of all people in my room?" Asher groaned, sighing long and hard when Saten's laughs only continued.
"I'm sorry," Saten said in between laughs before she was able to calm them down. "I just couldn't help myself…"
It took some time, but Asher begrudgingly took off her shirt under the condition she would keep her back facing Saten's direction. She didn't mind it, especially when she saw what was located underneath Asher's wrappings that was probably making the girl even more self-conscious. There was bruising probably 3-5x's worse than the one on the side of her face and covered a lot more surface area. She only hesitated for a moment before she went on and did the same as she had to the injuries that were located on her face.
It was silent just as last time until a sigh went through the room when Asher shifted in the bed slightly.
Finally allowing herself to concede and confide to her friend.
"I think Mikoto is either upset or disappointed in me after what happened with Big Spider yesterday." She mumbled, hearing Saten stop in her tracks.
She set down whatever was in her hand. "And why is that?" She asked.
Asher hesitated before she went on. "It's just…." She paused, stumbling with her words. "I was careless. I should've found more information on that Capacity Down System for us before we stormed Big Spider's base by ourselves. I already knew they had an advantage in numbers, but….I overestimated how much our power would be able to influence the outcome of the situation with that device in mind. I also shouldn't have kept MK from hiding who she was from them. If they had known, maybe they wouldn't have attacked us like they did."
"I'm still having a hard time seeing how all of that is your fault." Saten responded. "You're the most careful and analytical person I know. I know that you did the best you could, but we all make mistakes every now and then. Though, I don't think Misaka and even Shirai blame you for what happened. Even you wouldn't have been able to predict that they had a device that affects high-leveled espers like you three as much as it had."
"Then Why? Why did she decide to take me off the case then if that isn't true? Why is she avoiding me as if I'm either no good or too much of a burden to deal with right now?" Asher asked as she lowered her head in defeat. "I know she isn't angry and if she was really worried about my condition, then she would be here draining my energy at an illogical rate faster than you. So, she must be upset or disappointed in me enough that she doesn't want to even look at me to spare me from knowing. That's why she forced herself to smile when I agreed to not help them even though she most likely knew I was anything but okay with it. She kn-knew I was completely against the idea of it…and struggling with everything else so mu-much that she st-still…"
Asher was finding it harder and harder to form the words that she wanted to say, feeling herself becoming more emotional every passing moment as if the dam she had been keeping shut was trying to open.
Damn i-it. Why is this bothering me so much? She thought as she gritted her teeth slightly.
There's no reason for me to be like this right now, right? It's my fault that she isn't talking to me because of what I did. I'm logically responsible for everything that occurred.
It was almost like in that one moment, everything that had happened to her yesterday finally settled in on her mind, which was something that Saten noticed almost immediately as her eyes lowered slightly. She had been repressing her feelings over and over just to keep her herself from acknowledging they had existed. Some of them had probably already gotten through the cracks, while the rest managed to be suppressed as much as they could be.
But when she finally said them aloud, she must have not noticed until then how much Misaka's actions had truly hurt her. She felt distrust from the one person she believed she would have never felt it from, something that pushed her over the edge from realizing how much she needed her there when she had been alone all this time before.
She didn't allow Asher to wrestle with her feelings alone for too long as she gently laid a hand on the girl's shoulder to remind her that she was here when she brought a hand up to her face.
"You're okay, Asher. I'm right here." She softly stated. "This is why you shouldn't keep doing this. Not even someone like you or Misaka can continuously handle the weight you both put on your shoulders."
Asher stiffened slightly before she looked over in confusion.
What does she mean by that? She thought as wetness collected in her eyes.
Saten looked at her for a few moments before she looked down and grabbed the bandages beside her, going on and returning to what she was doing before.
"I think, I understand why you believe that this is your fault. But Asher, please just try and do this one thing for me, " Saten remarked. "Can you take at least some of the blame off you for once and look at it from that perspective? Maybe it'll be easier to think about why Misaka did this. I may not fully understand it myself, but I know from knowing the both of you for nearly a month now that she wouldn't blame you or be disappointed in you for something like this. I really think it's something else and that some part of you is thinking the same thing. So please, just think about it a little more. Maybe then you'll find the answers you're looking for."
Asher quietly listened to those words but didn't say anything for the longest while. The last two phrases that Saten heard before she left was "I'll try" and "thank you," which gave Saten some hope she had helped.
A smile was able to come over her face as she waved goodbye and walked through the doors to leave the Tokiwadai dorm.
Several Hours later…
It was late before Misaka and Shirai came back to the dorms, with the Electromaster walking down the hall with an annoyed look on her face as the teleporter kept her distance behind her.
They had just gotten back from Konori's dorm, where they were surprised with her roommate instead. Their hopes were nearly dashed at the sight due to the realization that the girl they were looking for wasn't at her dorm either. But were then surprised by the openness of the girl who let them in from noticing the looks of concern on their faces.
Her name was Yanagisako Aomi and she had known Konori for a fair amount of time. When the question of Big Spider was brought up, she revealed that Konori, the upstanding Judgment officer they all know and love, was a former member of the faction of Skill-out herself. She had joined back then due to how she felt like she didn't belong within the esper society of Academy City when she ran into a wall with developing her ability.
As Yanagisako went along, all Misaka found was more confusion and questions than answers as to why Konori was still drawn to that ruthless group. She just couldn't see the appeal of going back to something that you might have been a part of in the past when circumstances were different here and now.
Even when Saten tried her best to explain what everyone around her most likely knew, Misaka still found herself at a loss at even getting close to bring herself to see it as sensible.
"I don't think it's as cut and dry as you believe it is Misaka." She remembered Saten say. "Like everybody, what makes Konori who she is today is the result of who she was. The past that you think she's hanging on to irrationally, has a special meaning to her and is hard to fully let go no matter how long ago it was a part of her life before."
Those words had been running back in her head repeatedly and she still couldn't make sense of it no matter what angle she saw it from. And what made her even more annoyed and irritated at herself was that it seemed like she was the only one struggling or adamant at not accepting it.
Damn it! Why can't I make sense of this? She thought as she tightened the fists at her sides.
Who you were back then shouldn't matter when compared to the person you are now.
But if that truly is the case then….
Her thoughts trailed off when her steps slowed to a halt in front of a door she recognized even without looking at its number.
Then.
Some images began to flash both in her mind and in front of her own eyes. The walls of the dorm slowly faded into the ones at a hospital. She saw herself sitting beside a bed and holding the limp hand of a girl who seemed empty and unable to wake up from the deep slumber she blamed herself for indirectly putting her in. She was hooked up to multiple machines and had a large tube going into her mouth to help her breath since she could hardly breath on her own.
If I had done something back then to stop her or did everything I could to make more of a difference earlier in her life….
Would that have stopped people from seeing her as the monster they believe her to be?
Would people see Zierdan like I or Kuroko do and wouldn't resent her so much that they would've did what those guys did to her yesterday?
["Stop messing with her!" Misaka yelled, seeing Kenji look over at her. "You don't know what you're doing!"
"Oh, I don't? I definitely do. Are you even aware of who this girl is!?" He asked as he threw Asher back to the ground, seeing her go back into a fetal position as she mumbled incoherently to herself. "This right here is the girl known as the Calamity of Tokiwadai…No! The Calamity of Academy City! I bet they're tons of people who would line up to see her get the punishment she deserves for what she nearly did to all of us!"]
She stood there silently before she sighed and closed her eyes. She forced back all her unwanted thoughts and opened her eyes to narrow her gaze towards the floor and then to Asher's door.
You shouldn't be thinking about that right now. It's over and you've already moved passed it. She internally told herself.
Like Konori, you need to get a grip with yourself. It has been nearly two years since that day.
Everything that happened during that project has nothing to do with what's happening now.
It happened in the past. Make it stay that way and stop thinking about it.
Misaka stood there for what seemed like an eternity from her perspective as she reached out towards Asher's door. Her fingertips nearly touched its surface before she quickly turned away and promptly walked into her room.
Shirai had saw all of this from afar, with her eyes falling from seeing how much inner turmoil was inside her roommate. She couldn't figure out why Misaka was being so stubborn and hardheaded by either refusing to admit or acknowledge that she was too hasty in keeping Asher away from helping with the Big Spider case.
All she was doing was everything she could to avoid the issue instead of facing it head-on.
Oh Sissy, what's wrong with you? She thought in worry.
She stood in the same spot before she let out a breath and took a couple steps forward, where she stood in front of Asher's door. After a few moments of hesitation, she automatically teleported into the room to prevent Asher from making any attempts to deny her entry.
She was prepared to be yelled at for entering like this due to the mood she had left her in this morning.
Though, she was surprised to see Asher sitting on her bed and staring as if she had expected her presence. A small sigh escaped her breath as a look of indifference came over her expression.
"About time," She sighed. "You usually don't hesitate to come here any ordinary day, Kuroko. What makes tonight so different?"
Shirai's eyebrow twitched before she let out a huff under her breath and crossed her arms. She turned away from the esper to aid in her efforts at keeping her irritation and anger in check.
"Well excuse me for hesitating in coming into the room that I was basically yelled at to leave this morning." She huffed. "Something like that is such a great way for someone to feel welcomed enough to just come in like normal, Zierdan."
Asher stiffened at the coarseness of her words before she let out a small breath and brought a hand up to her neck. Shirai saw this out of the corner of her eye. Even though she was sort of annoyed, the sight of seeing Asher nervously squirm did cause her to lower her guard just a bit.
"Guess I deserve that. I thought that maybe attempting to lighten the mood would have helped but I wasn't very great when it came with the delivery of my joke." Asher remarked as she looked off to the side. "Though, logically, I should've probably started this off with an apology of some sort."
Shirai couldn't keep a laugh from escaping her breath. "There's no reason for you to apologize for a joke." She said as she brought down her hand at her sides.
Before she could continue, Asher gently cut her off.
"No, I do, at least for what happened this morning. Because you're right. I wouldn't feel all that up to coming in here either after how I acted illogically when you just came in here to check to see if I was okay." Asher explained. "You came in at time where I was just having a hard time managing everything going through my head. I've never been the best when it comes to managing feelings when they just become too much for me. So, when you entered the bathroom this morning, I guess a part of me saw you either as someone against me or someone I could vent my unwanted emotions at to make them go away. And didn't realize that it only made me feel worse for taking all my anger and frustration with myself illogically at you. So, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to deal with me like that. You were being thoughtful, and I was just being a jerk just to be one."
Silence fell into the room before Asher felt a hand lightly rest on her shoulder. She looked over and saw Shirai sitting there with a smile on her face.
"It's okay," Shirai stated. "It may not have been at the time, but I did understand where it was coming from. I'm glad to see that you're in better spirits. I'm guessing talking to Saten helped a lot with that?"
"Yeah, you could say so." Asher remarked before she let out a sigh and laid her back on her bed. "She just gave me another perspective that I hadn't considered regarding what happened last night. She also called me about an hour ago about what happened when you all went to Konori's dorm. Even I could tell something was off about her, though, I don't think I would have ever predicted that she used to be a part of Big Spider."
"Yeah, me either." Shirai responded as her eyes fell slightly. "Konori has always been a responsible and upstanding member of Judgment. To think that she used to be a part of Big Spider just seems so unreal."
"Speaking of that, how's Mikoto?" Asher asked. "We haven't even seen each other face to face since yesterday, and I already can tell from how much her EM waves are spiking how bothered she is by something. With that something being what you all believe I'll be able to find out even though she gets illogically unpredictable when she gets into the mood I think she's currently in."
"Bothered is an understatement. She looked like she was going to railgun the first person who even thought about annoying or crossing her on our way back here." Shirai sighed. She gave Asher the side eye as she saw the esper passively stare up at the ceiling. "Have you come up with a plan yet?"
"Sort of." Asher stated. Shirai went to speak before she was stopped in her tracks when she continued. "If you're trying to convince me to talk to her tonight, then I'll tell you now that I'm not going to."
"But why not?" Shirai asked in disbelief, only seeing Asher's eyes narrow slightly as she remained silent. "We both know that Sissy is being torn up by something and that you're the person who has the highest chances at getting it out of her. So why wait when this distance that is between you both is hurting you just as much?"
"Because it won't do me any good if I illogically rush things, Kuroko." Asher stated with an edge of seriousness in her voice. It was enough for Shirai to flinch from how much stoicness had left her voice in that split second. "I've known her the longest out of anyone who lives in this city, while the same can be said about her when it comes to me. If I go now without any sort of logical evidence that would compel her to say whatever is on her mind, all she's going to do is use my words against me. I don't have as much confidence as she does when it comes to things like this. Pressing into someone personal matters is something I tend to avoid considering I don't like it when others do it to me and she knows that…"
She paused for a few moments before she let out a sigh and relaxed the hard expression on her face. "I'm taking this seriously, so don't worry. I may have rushed to conclusions before but now I'm in the mindset to not be as illogical. I know she's not disappointed or tired of me. I understand that her keeping me away from the Big Spider case is her being the worrywart that she is. I just need to narrow the reason behind it. And after thinking through it for some hours and with those parameters in mind, there's only one thing that I know of that pushes her to keep me away like this."
"Oh, and what would that be?" Shirai questioned.
Asher opened her mouth to speak before she stopped herself, hesitating for a couple seconds before she raised one of her hands back up to her neck.
WaveInflux…
She kept quiet longer than seemed normal before she slowly raised up into a sitting position. "Sorry, but I don't think it's really my place to say." Asher responded. "It would be better if it came from her than from me. I'll just say this though, if you all think I internalize an unhealthy amount of things regarding my past, she isn't any better. She's just better at hiding it."
Shirai's eyes widened before they fell just as quickly, more or less picking up on the underlying message of Asher's words.
They conversed with each other for some time before Shirai rose to leave the room. Before she did though, Asher asked her to keep a close eye on Misaka for her tomorrow. And that she would take care of everything hopefully by the end of the day. The request didn't cause any sort of alarm to run through Shirai's head, but the look on her face did make her somewhat tense.
"What are you planning, Zierdan?" Shirai asked as she raised one of her eyebrows.
Asher only gave her a passive glance. "Nothing for you to be concerned about. There's just a couple things I need to do tomorrow, so I'm going to be out of here most of the day."
Shirai stared at her for a time before she let out a small breath. She knew that Asher was hiding something, but she trusted that she knew what she was doing.
She may be illogical and reckless some of the time. But for the most part, Asher tended to not cause as much trouble as the Electromaster did any given day. She was very careful in her approaches and choose the one that used the least amount of "energy" as she puts it.
So, she decided to just take it in stride and concede in her questioning, only saying "goodnight" and going off to her own room to get some rest.
Asher sat there for a while staring at the door before she let out a sigh of her own and rose to her feet.
She could feel something rise in her chest that she could only narrow down as some kind of guilt. She didn't want to hide anything from Shirai, but she didn't want to put the teleporter in a situation where she felt like she needed to lie to Misaka if she divulged it.
She needed to find the last piece of the puzzle concerning Misaka's current behavior, where she believed Konori was involved in some way. Or at least was the spark.
Since no one had been able to find her since yesterday, Asher decided to go and find her herself. She may not have known the girl as well as she had as the rest of her friends, but that didn't prevent her from finding her somewhere in the city. She had been around her enough to memorize her gravity to be able to pinpoint or at least narrow down where she was.
It was going to take a lot of energy, sure…
But it was the best and most logical course of action that she believed she needed to take to help her find answers.
August 2nd, 5:00PM
Rooftop in Strange District
The sun was setting on another day in Academy City as rich yellows and reds radiated in the vast glow of the last rays of the sun. And there stood Konori Mii herself, alone, wearing casual wear and no indication of her allegiance with Judgment or that of Big Spider.
It had been some time since she had come up here, looking down and seeing the etchings of her name and of the man that she had fully admired and was believed to be dead up until a few days ago on a railing. She absentmindedly ran her hand over it, ignoring all the grime and rust.
She had believed that the rumors surrounding Kurozuma's return as the head of Big Spider were lies, which were partly true. He hadn't returned to lead the group on a kick to tear down the espers of Academy city. Instead, it almost seemed like he returned from the grave to defend those espers from the very group he had been with and cared for years when she had been there.
The only questions that came to her was just why?
Why had he waited all this time to tell her that he was alive, even though she had witnessed the explosion she had believed had taken his life?
She had tried her best to keep Kurozuma and Big Spider out of her thoughts and continue on like nothing was wrong. But once she finally acknowledged that wasn't going to happen, she decided to basically hide from the outside world and go through these influxes of past and present emotions alone to better collect herself.
She decided to come here, though, after she had found a report regarding an Anti-Skill assault into the Strange District tomorrow that only made more and more worry consume her. She knew without even having to talk to Kurozuma that he was planning go in and take down Big Spider, alone.
But if he was caught during tomorrow's raid…
She couldn't even bring herself to think about the repercussions that it may have on him.
She was here to warn him while also trying to keep him out of the fight entirely. However, she knew it was probably useless.
He always goes into these kinds of things by himself without any regard on how that makes me feel, she thought as her tired eyes fell.
If something happens tomorrow and I didn't do everything I could to stop it or him, though, I honestly don't know what I would do if he actually died for real this time.
Before she could become even more engrained in her thoughts, she found that they were instantly broken when her ears picked up on some movement coming from behind her.
When she turned around, though, she didn't see anyone there. The tenseness in her limbs only seemed to climb as she stood there from knowing that her ears hadn't deceived her.
"Who's there?" Konori asked. As she continued to look around, she activated her esper ability, Clairvoyance, to lower her chances of missing anything hidden. She was surprised to see a shrouded form of someone standing a few feet away. It was almost like her ability was having a hard time piecing together what could even be standing there.
"Whoever you are, I can see you." Konori stated, sternly. She readied herself just in case whatever it was tried to fight or rush her from having the advantage of cover.
When she saw the shape deform and uncover itself right before her eyes, she stopped using her ability. She was shocked to see and recognize the person standing before her, only knowing one girl that had such striking blue streaks within the layers of her blonde hair.
"Asher?" She questioned.
"Hey there, Konori." Asher lightly greeted as she brought a hand up to her neck. "Seems like I finally found you."
Some surprise flashed in the older girl's blue eyes. "Found me?" She said more to herself until she looked into Asher's lighter blue orbs. "You've been looking for me all this time?"
"Since this afternoon specifically. Though, I had to swing by the hospital some time before to see if my new Amps had come in."
"But how did you find me? I didn't even tell anyone where I was going?" Konori asked in shock.
"It wasn't easy mind you, considering I'm still recovering from a concussion which did cut the amount of time I can concentrate by about half. But after I finally got an accurate reading of your gravity, I was able to find you fairly easily." Asher responded.
"Gravity?" Konori said aloud. She knew from the Level 5's nickname alone that she was the top ranked gravity user in the city. But it did nothing to clear the confusion she had when it came to figuring out how she used it find her. Even if she somehow sensed her gravity field, it would have been one out of thousands, or more accurately millions within this city alone.
It seemed almost impossible even for someone of her caliber to be able to narrow the list down enough to find her in this manner, especially if she said that she couldn't use her ability at its fullest capacity.
"I don't know if Kuroko or Uiharu have told you this, but my AIM diffusion field creates essentially a gravity field which allows me to be connected to any space I'm in. It allows me to sense how gravity affects others especially espers due to the fluctuations they naturally give off. I tend to memorize those that are worth the energy to if some sort of danger arises, with that group mostly just comprising my friends like you and a select few others worth the trouble." Asher explained. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare or surprise you earlier by the way. My curiosity of your ability got the better of me since I've only heard about it in passing conversations. Not many espers are really able to see through my illusions as quickly as you were able to, so it was somewhat of a surprise for me as well."
Normally Konori would blush at the praise she had just received for her ability from a Level 5 esper. Her emotions, however, did their best to not make her inclined to do so as she just stared at Asher with a solemn gaze.
Even though they hadn't known each other that long and she knew the girl tended to be very guarded around people she didn't know all too well, to hear her say that she saw her as a friend honestly warmed her heart.
But that did nothing but fuel the burning the question that had been inside of her throat the minute Asher had stepped foot here.
"Is there a particular reason why you're here?" Konori asked. "If it's Judgment related, I should be back in the office either the tomorrow or the day after – "
"It's nothing related to Judgment." Asher inserted quickly before she could continue. "From what I've heard from the others, it's the complete opposite. You and Kurozuma have a history with Big Spider, which seemed impossible to me at first with you being an esper and all. But after seeing your ability, it makes sense that you would've been able to hide it from them since it involves sensory information with your eyes, not emitting something like gravity when it comes to my ability."
Konori's gaze widened before they fell from hearing Asher words. It didn't surprise her that someone known for her analytical skills would be able to figure that out even without much information.
"Well then if you're just here to check on me than you've done it. I'm okay, really. You can go back to the others now or rest and recover from your injuries." Konori said sternly. She remembered when she had found Kurozuma the first time that Asher had been unconscious and covered with scrapes and bruises as Misaka and Shirai waited for her to wake up. And Shirai had texted her the other morning about her injuries probably as a way to get her to respond. "Not even someone like you can bounce back from a concussion and nearly broken ribs in two days."
As Konori turned back around to the railing and hoped Asher would listen to her, all she heard was a long breath as a low sigh came from her mouth.
"The last time I did that, you were everything but okay that even someone as inexperienced with people as I am could see through it instantly." Asher stated, which caused Konori to pause. "It would be illogical for me to listen to you now when you're just going to disappear and cause the others more worry and confusion on why you're purposefully avoiding and ignoring the people that are in your life presently. Kurozuma much mean some importance to you for you to reverse so quickly and connect with a past that you don't seem too proud of."
"I am proud of it! I would go back to that time and life in a heartbeat, if I could change what happened." Konori exasperated, before her shoulders sunk. "But I can't. You just don't understand what it's like to hit a wall and feel useless or not cut out to be an esper. And then find others who feel the same way and welcome you with open arms…even if it was under the guise of a lie."
"Is that assumption forged from the logic of me being a Level 5 esper?" Asher asked, seeing Konori stiffen before she nodded mutely. Silence fell between them for a time before steps echoed through the rooftop as Asher walked passed and stood at the railing in front of her. "You're right, I wouldn't understand your struggle back then as a low-leveled esper trying to progress and upgrade your level. An esper's level seems to mean a lot to the power dynamic in this city. I was already a Level 4 when I hit elementary school, so my advancement already had me nearly within reach to being in the top level only 8 have reached so far."
"Exactly, that means you can't – "
"You didn't let me finish." Asher pressed before Konori could say another word. "If you had, you would've heard me say that you're also wrong that I can't understand or relate to your circumstances at least to some degree."
Asher's mind flashed to the conversation that she had with Yomikawa a day prior, pausing for a moment to reminisce and think carefully through what she was going to say next since she wasn't always the best at explaining things in this manner.
And the last time she was in a situation like this, it ended with her being an illogical emotional mess and she didn't want that to happen again.
"I was reminded a couple days ago, both from that beating and from someone close to me, that even I, the 5th ranked Level 5, is human just like everyone else in this city. I have weaknesses both in my ability and character, emotional struggles no matter how illogical they are, and things that are important enough to me that I want to protect." Asher explained as she turned around, to look Konori directly in her eyes.
"Just because my advancement as an esper was faster than most, it doesn't automatically mean that someone like me hasn't struggled. I'm not perfect. I'm innately flawed probably in every way imaginable, though people tend to pick and choose the ones that they believe matter. Which from the years I've gathered from other people, logical and illogical alike, the same can be said for them."
"I know this may sound illogical and hypocritical coming from a girl who'd rather hide than express herself, but you shouldn't keep hiding away from your friends like this." Asher continued as she raised a hand to her neck and looked off to the side. "We're all concerned about you. Your history with Big Spider may have been surprising sure, but you should know that it wouldn't cause any of them to avoid or hate you. None of them are like that and I have no right to in the same sense."
Silence fell on the rooftop as Konori looked over at Asher, stunned. From everything that she had heard about her from the others and seen from her own eyes, she knew that the esper was a fairly closed off person who rarely if ever expressed anything close to what she was doing right now.
She knew that in these last couple weeks the others had been starting to change that, but still. It was almost like she was speaking from an experience that almost sounded like it eclipsed hers entirely, giving her hope and relief in some part of her heart that her relationship with her friends would remain unchanged after all this.
But…
It didn't fully stop the amount of dread that had only grown every passing moment that he wasn't here, enough that all this influx of emotion made her unable to control or hold back those feelings of fear and worry from reaching the surface any longer.
Asher didn't notice until she saw something out of the corner of her eyes, looking over in surprise when she saw something glistening on Konori's face before she immediately wiped it away. It wasn't fast enough to keep up with all her tears as they began coming down from both eyes, seeing her give up at some point and just cover her eyes with her hands in defeat.
"Konori," Asher mumbled with wide eyes. "What's…"
"I'm sorry," Konori said within her hands. "I didn't mean to cause anyone to be worried about me. But I just…couldn't face them or anyone like this. And if he saw me now, all he would s-see is that same naïve little girl still trying to hide herself from the world he believes she belongs in. All I want is to keep him from making the same mistake as he did back then. If he goes off alone, he could not make it out alive for real this time. A-And…"
A weird but oddly familiar pang rose inside of Asher's chest. Even if she didn't know what event Konori was referring to, she could only assume that it was related to Kurozuma in some way.
It took only a few moments for something to click inside of her head, with her eyes narrowing somewhat in defeat when almost a mirage of a memory in the past appeared before her eyes.
Of course, I should've thought of it sooner, she thought before she took a couple steps forward towards the crying girl who had already fallen to her knees.
When she looked down, it was almost like the present world faded in the background as a hollowed image of Misaka took Konori's place, seeing her hands planted on the ground as tears cascaded down her own face.
I'm probably wrong that Konori was trigger. It was most likely whatever happened during that span and time I blacked out during or after that altercation with Big Spider, but…
Konori's circumstances…They must have reminded you of yourself back then on that day, didn't they Mikoto?
That's why you're avoiding me and keeping me out of the Big Spider case.
You're scared.
Scared I might push myself or get hurt severely while you're powerless to stop it.
Or scared I won't listen to you again and leave you behind like I did that day.
She stood there for what almost seemed like forever before she crouched down to Konori's level. She sat there and hesitated for a few moments, reaching out her hand towards the girl before recoiling back a couple times.
She finally found the courage to fully extend her arm to cradle the back of Konori's head so it could lightly fall into her chest as she wrapped her other arm around her back. She felt the older girl stiffen in her grasp, though she didn't reject the contact outright.
Close contact was something Asher tended to avoid giving or receiving from others. She hadn't been given much of anything after her father had died and before she had met Misaka, so she never truly understood its value and why people were compelled to do it.
Or at least she used to.
Lately she had grown used to getting it from her friends and others like Yomikawa, though rarely ever had the courage to initiate herself. Since she wasn't the best talker or relied on normal ways to express herself, she never believed she was the best at comforting others.
Recently, though, she found that she was motivated more and more to do things like this, even if it was hard for her. Because it just felt like it was the most logical thing to do.
As she kept Konori in her arms, she thought back to what Saten had said before to her yesterday, echoing some of her friend's words into Konori's ear as she quietly cried within her embrace.
"Everything's going to be okay, Konori. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself." Asher said, trying her best to restrain the natural stoic nature of her voice to sound more sincere in her words.
"I know you'll figure it out like you always do. You may have not been one in the past, but I know personally how stubborn and smart you Judgment officers can be."
She decided to go quiet as she felt Konori return her embrace, seeing it as small win.
She looked up into the sky as the rays of the sun continued to shine so warmly. It pulled some of her attention, but not all of it to distract her from sensing one person seemingly on route to this location.
Even though she estimated that the girl was only 10-15 minutes away, her eyes only fell as she didn't move one inch from where she was.
You're always telling me to talk to you or the others when I'm struggling with something…
But why is it whenever it comes to your own problems, that you never take your own advice, Mikoto?
After it seemed like Konori was able to pull herself together, Asher decided to make her exit before the Electromaster got there. She was walking by herself inside of Strange, using her ability to shroud herself until she made it into a safe part of the 7th District.
She needed to take some time to allow all that she learned and figured out to simmer down inside of head, not wanting any distractions for when she finally talks to Misaka one on one.
Though as she went along, her head started to pound. It was sort of annoying, but it was logical that it occurred. Concussions and calculations never tended to mix well, even for a Level 5 esper like her.
She was able to push through the pain, smartly limiting herself enough that the minimum amount of space she both needed to cover and soundproof was the only amount of area she was using her ability for.
As she neared where the Strange District finally became the 7th district, she stopped in her tracks when she heard a familiar voice come through her ears. Her eyes looked over and saw a man with slicked black hair, torn up jeans, and a blood red jacket walking over to someone else she could hardly see from where she was.
Asher hardly ever remembered faces of people who weren't worth the energy, though there were some that made a big enough impression, good or bad, that she couldn't forget them immediately.
And that guy, she knew even though he wasn't worth the space or effort to reside in her mind which only served to irritate her from that fact alone. She hesitated for a few seconds before she brought up a hand to both of her ears and turned up the dial to the next fixed setting in her amps.
Sound painfully erupted in her ears for a few seconds before she was able to focus and listen in on whatever was being said from a safe distance away.
"Wait, you really helped take down a Level 5 esper a couple days ago?" The guy she assumed was the black-haired teen's friend. "That's amazing! That device really does level the playing field."
"Yeah well," The black-haired man laughed smugly. "Even without it, we would've still won if it wasn't for that guy blindsiding us out of nowhere. Thankfully, I was still able to get some good hits in on that bastard. Serves her right thinking she could slide by us without some consequences."
"Wow, and you weren't scared at all, Kenji, for going up against her? If I remember correctly, GravShift was the level 5 that nearly destroyed the city a couple years back."
"No way in hell I would ever fear a piece of trash like that. Not when she was already terrified senseless of only getting a minute of what was already coming to her for even attempting to disrespect me and everyone else. Almost felt sorry for that other girl who was begging us to stop." Asher heard the guy she already knew to be Kenji respond.
A massive shadow had started to creep over her eyes, with her hands beginning to clench harder and harder every passing moment he was talking.
Asher was too far away for Kenji to even notice the looming threat that was only a couple dozen feet away from him. Something that was going to only grow as he treaded into dangerous territory without realizing it when he smirked almost happily for what he had done.
With her knowing that he was taking in enjoyment for offhandedly causing Misaka and even Shirai to suffer from seeing her be beaten into the ground by him...
"She thought we didn't know what we were doing. Such an idiot." He said aloud before he turned to the guy standing right next to him. "Almost makes me feel guilty knowing someone like her is so weak and pathetic to have befriend the Calamity of all people. Really goes to show you that trash will just attract other trash just to feel needed in that damn mess of a city."
Red seared into Asher's vision. She turned around and raised her hand towards Kenji within seconds as rage nearly consumed her.
She was able to quell it just as quickly, however, before she made a critical mistake. She grabbed her left arm with a trembling right hand and forcefully brought it back to her side as she stiffly turned around and walked away in the direction she had been going in before.
He isn't' worth it, Zierdan. Illogical people like that will just say anything to inflate their already overinflated egos. She thought as she bit the side of her cheek, hard. The pain was enough for her to break through the angered haze that had come over her mind from what seemed like nowhere.
Focus and calm down. You can't be angry during this talk with Mikoto. Don't let his idiocy and ignorance get to you.
He doesn't truly know you or her. Meaning what he says does not matter.
As she did her best to center her thoughts on her talk with Misaka, she didn't notice that there was something still brewing inside of her. It had been since Kenji had made an appearance, almost pushing Asher's anger over the edge before it decided to stop and keep the girl from doing something it knew she would have regretted instantly.
Whatever it was, instead, decided to bid its time for now.
Knowing that Kenji was going to get what was coming to him at some point…
One way or another.
Word Count of Chapter: 11208 |Page Count: 19 pages |Reviews: 218 | Followers: 124 |Favorites: 108
AN: With this chapter, the end of Big Spider is finally in sight. Everything will be mostly wrapped up in the next chapter, and if you're interested to know, here are my plans for the next couple chapters:
Chapter 46: Big Spider Ends
Chapter 47: Original Chapter
Chapter 48: Midsummer Festival
Chapter *49 or 50: Poltergeist Arc begins
*I may use Chapter 49 to setup the next arc*
Before I go, here's is my usual update for the poll: "Sora" still remains in 1st while "Rehsa" and "Sky" are still just a vote or two behind it. "Ame" remains in last behind "Sky."
As always, if you're interested in voting or waiting for the results, the poll should end some time during the next arc.
Thanks for reading!
Review Replies
Blankow: Just came back only to unfortunately not upload anything for over a month. I'm going to try to stay longer this time around, hopefully.
I would say that this could qualify as a shipping chapter (or a tease to one lol). Mostly testing the waters for Saten and Asher, though, Misaka was unintended to be in that mix.
The emotion "that she still didn't want to acknowledge" is fear, which Asher figured out during this chapter. Misaka tends to be too prideful for her own good and tries to be strong in the face of anything, so I think it would be hard for her admit that she fears something.
Out of the three, Saten was definitely the best choice for getting Asher to talk. Uiharu would have been next. I almost made it to where they went together since there haven't been as many scenes with Uiharu interacting with Asher, but a one on one talk seemed to be the greater option of the two.
I think it's understandable that Shirai is the third/last choice. They may be closer, but they tend to argue the most out of everyone….
Saten did sort of win here. There could be stronger feelings involved though neither of them have acknowledged said feelings just yet.
I'd say pacing is probably the one thing I struggle with in CSG and my other stories. A chapter always seems well paced to me most of the time, but chapters in an arc collectively tend to be slow-going. I'm happy that you're alright with the current pace at the moment. With Big Spider set to end in the next chapter, it'll be the shortest arc that I've done so far.
You never know. If I go and drop off the face of the Earth for another month again, you may get your first chapter out before I make it to the end of Big Spider, lol.
Can't wait to see what you have planned for your story!
Ghost of Los Angeles: Thanks! It started to get pretty rocky, but I was able to come out with a decent grade for all of my classes.
Yeah, I thought the pacing was starting to feel a little slow. I had an idea in mind that I was going to add into this arc, but I've decided to push it back for later so that Big Spider can hopefully finish in Chapter 46.
As a fellow Toaru fan, I understand wanting CSG to be at the top of my list in terms of uploads. I'm going to try upping the speed of my uploads for this, though, spreading the love with my other stories helps me avoid the wall known as writer's block.
As for your ideas for the others in the Railgang to get involved with Sisters' and other changes:
I find a lot of these pretty interesting, especially the ones that also have Misaki somehow get involved with Sisters'. That's something I've also been thinking about adding to the arc. I still haven't decided just yet if I want Saten, Uiharu, and Shirai to find out during Sisters'. Asher will find out about it fairly early on, so her dealing with the question of if she should or shouldn't tell them would be something interesting and new to bring to CSG's version of the Sisters' Arc.
Last Order is also a good way to introduce the Sisters to the Railgang. I'm still sort of confused and surprised that Uiharu didn't really question how much she resembles Misaka even with her being a younger version of her. So that's another possible way to do it as well.
I'll think more about it. And since I adapted Big Spider, I'm planning to adapt Silent Party as well unless something changes. I agree that since Asher has Yomikawa basically in her custody, STUDY would definitely leave her alone to keep Asher off their radar. So, I will also keep that in mind when this story reaches there.
Yeah, it should be easier for Misaka and even Asher to pick up on Touma's memory loss. The clock will start in a couple chapters when the Midsummer Festival comes around.
LostNeko120: Luckily, Saten was successful in helping Asher. Next chapter will have Asher finally talking to Misaka and also bring an end to the Big Spider Arc.
INEEDPRAISE: Um…
I honestly don't know what to really write for this review. I'm always open to read and review stories that my readers have either done or recommend.
But being unnecessarily threatened to do it is another story.
Since it has been about a month since this review was posted and nothing has happened, the threat could just be a joke. Though, I still don't think I want to review something someone tried to threaten/force me to.
They're better ways to ask and that definitely isn't one of them…
Thanks for your reviews!
-PurpleClover99
