AN: Hello readers! I have finally come back from my unplanned hiatus. Sorry for the long wait for updating with some stories not even having a single one since April of last year T.T. I've honestly been trying to come back since probably December or November of last year. But I stubbornly made it my goal to update all of my stories at the same time. Which I was surprisingly able to, but school, writers' block, and amidst other things delayed it for a while as you can see.
I haven't abandoned any of my stories and ever thought of doing that. I thought about posting a story wide chapter AN regarding the lack of updates. But I didn't want anyone to get false hope that it was an actual chapter update.
Though if you want me to do that in the future I possibly can (I need to check back and see if the fanfiction rules allow it).
Now in terms of future updates, the following stories have 1-2 more chapters written out that will be posted in the next week or two (well hopefully since finals are also in a week or two lol):
A Certain Scientific GravShift (Chapters 49 and 50) and Forging Your Own Path (Chapter 15 and maybe 16 since it's partially written out).
Child of the Forsaken and Asher only have single updates for right now. I'll try to get back and focus in on them when I get to Summer Break.
I'm happy to finally get back into the swing of writing and posting chapters again. I've even had a couple ideas for future series that I may post for a poll later today.
Well that's all I really have as of this moment. Welcome to all the new readers who found this story and the old readers who have returned to it! 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 48: The Midsummer Festival
August 3rd, 10:00PM
District 7 Hospital
Heaven Canceller extended his hand to grab his coffee mug sitting next to his computer. He took a sip and set it down, keeping his eyes glued to his computer screen. It was late, so much so that he was one of the few doctors left on the floor that had been there since this morning.
He could have left along with his other colleagues before the night shift had started. But there was a pressing matter that required his full attention.
It happened late last night. There was a hooded figure who mysteriously came through the doors of the hospital dragging in an unconscious man behind them. Before the front desk attendant could question them or get a clear view of their face, the individual vanished without a single trace.
Since the teen had remained unresponsive since then, he decided to try and find anything that he could use to possibly piece together what happened. Over time, his concerns and suspicions gradually grew. What esper could do something like this so covertly that not a single camera within the city had witnessed it? Or even witnessed their route to the hospital?
After being stumped for hours, he called in a favor, hoping they could get a clearer picture of the assault that had taken place. A certain person he assumed had finally arrived in his office when he heard a door creak open.
"Ah, great. I finally found you." A voice sighed behind him. "You could've at least told me which office you would be in out of the 5-10 that are down here."
"Oh sorry." Heaven Canceller chuckled as he rose up from his chair. He smiled when his eyes met with the girl's sparkled gaze. "In any case, thank you for getting here as quickly as you did, Miss Shokuhou. I'll try my best to not take up too much of your time tonight."
The Mental Out esper hummed, somewhat unconvinced. She crossed her gloved hands over her chest. Her eyes narrowed when she didn't catch sight of a person she had expected to be here as well.
"I thought you said this matter involved Asher in some way." She stated, following behind him as he left the room. "Even for a girl as lazy as she tends to be, she usually isn't this late getting here."
"You're partially right. I believe this may involve Miss Asher, but I'm not fully aware of how much so." The Doctor admitted. "I want to keep this between us for now. She has had a rough couple of days from what I've been told, so I don't want to needlessly give her more stress."
Shokuhou didn't respond and only looked off to the side. She had heard about the same from some members within her clique and around the school garden. Rumors tend to spread fast within Tokiwadai and from what she had been told, the gravity esper had a run in with Big Spider the other day that didn't end too well.
She had meant to go and see it for herself, but she had been very busy lately, which prevented her to find time to make the trip over to the Exterior dorm.
She knew that was something she was somewhat telling herself, though. She had been distant from the girl ever since that headscan she basically botched. She never liked hurting anyone with her ability, finding the feeling even deeper when it came to Asher.
She reminded her of someone she knew she wouldn't ever be able to fix, not wanting the same fate to befall someone else she considered close to her.
"That girl is always getting herself into trouble." Shokuhou said under her breath. "I wonder what that brute ended up dragging her into this time…"
It wasn't long before Heaven Canceller stopped in front of a hospital room labeled with the name "JOHN DOE." When they entered, Shokuhou saw a man covered in so many bandages he almost looked like a mummy, hardly even seeing any skin among the white bindings. And the pieces of skin she did see alluded to a gruesome sight from the number of cuts that could seen from the few open slits alone.
"Now who do we have here?" Shokuhou mused in interest. "Looks like someone walked into a one-sided affair."
"From my research and through some tests I was able to successively do on him in this fragile state, I learned that his name is Tanaka Kenji." Heaven Canceler explained. He handed her his personal file which had a picture of what he looked like before whatever had happened to him. "He's a Level 0 that dropped out early on during his first year in High school to join a faction of Skill-out in area of District 10 nicknamed "Strange." He oddly showed up at the hospital late last night in an unconscious heap and hasn't woken up since."
"Any ideas on how he got here?"
"Someone at the front desk saw someone drop him off. But whoever it was vanished before she could get a good look at their face."
"I'm guessing you want me to try and bridge some of the details you're missing?" Shokuhou asked. When he nodded, her gaze grew even more tense. "And why is this matter so urgent right now? Why can't you just wait for him to wake up or whatever investigation those goons in Anti-Skill could do without me digging into a random guy's head?"
"I think we both know the answer to that." Heaven Canceller surmised. "You've probably already noticed the cuts all over his body. It almost looks like each of them were done with the upmost precision from an esper ability, not from something like a knife."
"Yeah, it honestly looks he went through some kind of shredder." Shokuhou said. She lifted one of the bandages to get a better look at the marred skin beneath them. "And I agree, each of the wounds seem to be done efficiently but also with purpose. They're shallow enough to not leave much of a mark but are focused in areas that would deliver a great deal of pain. Probably to extend some kind of torture?"
"I made parameters on the esper database to narrow down an esper power that could be responsible. Common esper powers that are known to control wind like Aero Hand mostly came up. It may explain why the cuts seem as fine they are, but it doesn't account for how whoever did this went completely undetected from any camera that would and should have spotted them."
"So, another dead-end." Shokuhou sighed.
"Yes, but not for too long." Heaven Canceller stated as seriousness fell in his tone. He pulled out another stack of papers that showed some more results of his findings. "I ran some more tests and found traces of something all over his person. I missed it before since regular tests the lab does in cases like these wouldn't have accounted for this particular reading. Meaning if wind was used to injure him, it was being manipulated with calculations to drive it. Not calculations that only drive the wind itself. "
Shokuhou looked down and read through the results, stopping on just one singular word. "Gravitons?" She said aloud, though more to herself. It didn't take long for something to click in her mind that caused her eyes to widen. "You don't think…"
"It would make sense for someone of her caliber to be able to do this without anyone knowing. She has one of the most diverse uses when it comes to her ability. There are not that many people who have abilities related to gravity that can cloak themselves or manipulate it with such precision, much less both of them at the same time." He stated, seeing Shokuhou shake her head slightly.
"But Zierdan isn't someone who would go out of her way to do this even if she lost her temper." Shokuhou argued. "She would put an end to something in an instant, not prolong someone's pain."
"True. From the years I've gotten to know her, she would need to be pushed to great lengths to injure someone like this. But what about the other girl presumably asleep inside of her?" He asked.
Shokuhou paused as she nervously bit down on one of her gloved fingers. "No that can't be either." She mumbled. "It hasn't even been two years yet since…No, she couldn't possibly be awake so soon."
"We all knew this was going to happen sooner or later. You putting her under and placing a mental block on Miss Asher's head was only temporary due to how her mind and ability works. She has most likely been unconsciously breaking it down from day one."
Shokuhou remained silent and didn't confirm or deny that being true. Just like Misaka, Asher's ability didn't mesh well with hers. The only reason she had been able to use her ability on Asher to such a great extent at the time was because her natural gravity barrier was hardly a challenge to break through in her weakened, amnesiac state.
She looked back at the nearly lifeless body of Tanaka Kenji with a hesitant expression on her face.
There's no point in thinking up possibilities when the proof may be quite literally in front of me.
"Fine, I guess I'm convinced to take a quick peek." She said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She took a seat at Kenji's bedside and grabbed one of her many remotes out of her purse.
Heaven Canceller nodded and went on the other side to check Kenji's vitals. When everything seemed to be in order, he turned to look at Shokuhou. "Okay, you can do it whenever you're ready."
She hesitated for a few moments before she closed her eyes and pressed a button, connecting her head to Kenji's instantly.
A scene opened up in her mind, almost like a movie from Kenji's perspective. She was able to fast forward through the day's events, trying her best to get close to the last memories he had since he had been reduced to this coma-like state.
She stopped as soon as she felt an overwhelming sense of fear and paranoia come from the man very late that night, about an hour before he had arrived at the hospital.
He was being chased, though she couldn't tell by what for the longest time. The intensity of his fear made it difficult for her to discern what was really happening versus the paranoia he was experiencing from being chased by someone out of view.
If it really was Asher they were dealing with and her personality nonetheless, she knew she would go to great lengths at taking down her target as secretly and efficiently as possible. Her ability allowed her to cloak herself for an indefinite amount of time while also allowing her to form mirages. She was able to do this seamlessly with her Blueshift abilities in tandem with her Redshift ones, where wind was most certainly used as she felt the boy get tossed to the side almost like a ragdoll when he tried to run down another alley corridor.
"I guess it was illogical to think that you would've been good to use as a warmup." She heard a voice say behind Kenji as they slowly walked in his direction. "I'm barely breaking a sweat over here. At least get me to use a fifth of my power."
Shokuhou felt herself already dreading for the man to turn around to see his attacker, recognizing the voice instantly even if she didn't see the girl's face.
"Tch, go to hell!" She heard Kenji grunt as he quickly climbed to his feet to run away again.
"I already know that was probably a mistake." Shokuhou said to herself.
She found her answer when she heard a dismissive sigh, seeing Kenji's perspective instantly shift when a wind gust more intense than the first hit him directly in the side and into a brick wall.
"You must not be the best listener, are you?" The person asked as they came into the light of a streetlight. "Or just too ignorant of your own apparent weakness to see how insignificant your actions have been so far."
Even with her in the light, it was hard for Shokuhou to distinguish who it was standing there. But that didn't stop her from seeing the red eyes the girl couldn't hide even with her disguise.
There she is. Shokuhou thought as her lips ran a firm line. There's no questioning now that's her.
She cut off her connection. She had already seen enough and knew what probably happened next. It was clear that the gravity esper had been there, but some questions did arise if whether or not she had any kind of control over her actions.
It was pretty easy for her see that her other persona was mainly in control, but she couldn't tell if Asher had been shut out of the experience or was there in some capacity.
In any case, it was still a matter that she needed to bring to her attention if whatever the case pushed her to do something so drastic.
She kept her head bowed when she opened her eyes and released a long sigh under breath.
"Is it just as we thought?" Heaven Canceler asked.
"Unfortunately…" Shokuhou stated in a low voice as she twirled her hair. "Something must have happened to quicken her return. I know for certain that there were no signs of it during the last headscan I did on Asher." She paused before she turned her sparkled eyes over to Heaven Canceler's direction. "Do you know if she has been acting weird lately? Any memory issues, sudden migraines, or any kind of dissociation with her surroundings?"
"I don't know about the first, but I'd have to say yes to everything else." He stated. "I believe, however, she may be trying to keep her existence a secret from her. Miss Asher doesn't seem aware or alarmed."
"Classic Zierdan being about as oblivious as she normally is." Shokuhou remarked as she rose from her chair.
"What are you going to do?" the Doctor asked. "You probably need to wait for her mental state to improve before you approach her with something like this. I know you remember what happened the last time– "
"Yes I do, quite well in fact. So, I don't need you reminding me, old man." Shokuhou said sternly, stopping him in his tracks. "I understand there's a 50/50 chance that things can go south, but there's an even greater risk if we do nothing. So, Asher either needs to know so she can keep her in check, or I need to set that girl some definite boundaries until she's ready to reveal herself…"
"If we just leave her to her own devices when she's already capable of taking control with Asher none the wiser to it, the question just becomes when she'll use it to her advantage again for Asher's sake. Or in retaliation against someone like Misaka"
When Heaven Canceller didn't say a word to agree or refute her idea, Shokuhou took that as her answer to leave.
He knows just as much as I do how dangerous this situation can get. No matter what, we're almost damned if we do and damned if we don't. She thought as she proceeded to leave to go to her dorm. One if not the closest person in her clique, Hokaze Junko, was standing there waiting for her.
"Are you finished here, my Queen?" Hokaze asked with a smile as Shokuhou nodded to confirm.
"Yeah, thanks for waiting on me."
"Oh no, it was no problem at all." Hokaze waved off as they began walking back to their dorm. "Did you find that your suspicions were correct?"
"You could say so." Shokuhou replied as her sparkled eyes fell to the ground. "Asher may have not been there, but she was the main topic of discussion. As always, I have to clean up a mess she unknowingly left behind. Speaking of which, on a scale from 1-5 how much do you think that girl likes you?"
"Hmmm well, we don't see each other all that often. But she seems at least content with me when we talk or see each other in passing." Hokaze commented. "So probably a 3.5-4?"
"That's good." Shokuhou remarked as she looked over her shoulder with a mix or amuse and seriousness in her gaze.
"Because I have a favor to ask of you."
August 4th, 10:00AM
Tokiwadai Dorm
Misaka let out a long sigh as she walked down a long hallway, alone, with a rare look of nervousness on her face. Today was the day of the Midsummer Festival, an event at the Exterior Tokiwadai dorm which allowed the public to come inside and participate in various activities.
She was currently wearing a maid outfit as a way to dress for the "hospitable environment" the school wanted to create for the visitors coming here. The dorm was open to everyone, so they wanted their girls to look their best and also probably remind them to be on their best behavior.
Misaka hardly minded this festival even if it took away a great portion of her day. What bothered her the most was what was supposed to be happening late in the afternoon that everyone in the dorm seemed to be looking forward to.
Everyone except for her.
Now I'm starting to wish I convinced Zierdan to do a duet with me. She probably would have said yes if I had just asked. She thought as her form almost wilted in on herself. Her stomach was beginning to tie up in more and more knots the longer she thought about the violin solo she would have to perform for dozens of people.
For that very reason, though, it still would have been unfair of me to take advantage of that.
There's nothing I should even be worried about! It's just the same old violin solo I've done time and time again this year to prepare for today.
As she came around a corner, someone roughly crashed into her. She nearly lost her balance as she tried to steady both herself and the shorter girl in her grasp.
"Ow…" Misaka winced before she looked down and recognized who was below her. "Are you in some kind of hurry, Maika?"
The maid in training promptly moved out of Misaka's personal space. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Misaka." She said almost frantically. "And yes I am. I've run into a slight issue. I put Asher in charge of setting up the food in the dining room. But when I went to go see her progress a little while ago, the tables were about as bare as I had left them. I've looked everywhere for her, and I still can't seem to find her! I only have about 30 minutes before that area needs to be ready."
"Oh really?" Misaka asked, surprised. "That doesn't sound like Zierdan at all. Last time I saw her, she was taking a nap at my desk, but that was early this morning during one of her breaks."
"Do you have any ideas where she could have gone?"
"Hmmm, I have some. But it may be faster for me to try and track her down for you." Misaka suggested as a small spark flew from her hair. "Follow me. It feels like she's close by."
"Wow, that was quick." Maika commented. "It's good to hear that she's most likely not hiding from me."
"Yeah, though it's a little weird how fast I was able to find her." Misaka stated as she led them to Asher's location.
"Why is that?" Maika asked.
"Well, due to her esper ability, her body naturally produces gravitons that I can track with my radar. She usually limits it to some degree, but right now it's a little higher than she tends to allow. She's probably being lazy and not focusing on doing it as much today, though, with this festival going on here."
Maika nodded and followed Misaka for another 5 minutes until they arrived at the kitchen. She looked at it in confusion, both due to it being one of the places she checked and seeing it still relatively empty.
She gazed over at Misaka and saw the same amount of confusion on her face before realization appeared in her gaze.
"She's definitely here." Misaka said confidently as she walked further inside.
"Are you sure?" Maika asked, skeptical. "This room is completely empty."
"Yeah, it is now. But watch." Misaka said.
She looked around to make sure the Head Resident was nowhere in sight and extended her hand out towards the center of the kitchen. It wasn't too long before her sparks revealed a shallow barrier, leaving Maika shocked that she hadn't seen it before now, considering it was a large dome that almost took over the entire kitchen.
Due to how weak it was, Misaka was able to dispel it with ease, revealing a kitchen that looked about the same.
Well, except for the tuft of blonde hair peaking around the island in the center of the room.
Concerned, they rushed over and found the gravity esper unconscious on the ground. They nearly went into a panic before they stopped and deadpanned, realizing she was actually just asleep.
"Ah, of course." Maika said with a facepalm. "I should have guessed this was going to happen at some point with how out of it she was acting this morning."
Misaka let out a nervous laugh before she paused. "Out of it?" She asked.
"Uh-huh. She was having a hard time operating for a while until she got a little caffeine and sugar in her system. It perked her up a bit, but I was afraid that was going to end sooner rather than later.
Misaka hummed as she bent down and shook Asher's shoulder. "Come on, wake up Z." She insisted after shaking the girl for a while to no avail. "You still have work to do."
After nearly a minute passed by, a low groan sounded in the room as Asher shifted slightly.
"Ughh, pl-please quit shaking me so hard, Mikoto." Asher said in a weary voice, tired enough that it made Misaka stop in her tracks.
The girl sounded so exhausted that she was nearly slurring every other word. She hadn't noticed it until now, but she also seemed to be paler than she normally was.
"Sorry, you weren't waking up. Are you okay?" She asked after a while as Asher slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position.
"I've b-been better…." Asher groaned as she raised a hand to the side of her head. "Just kind of groggy and a little nauseous. Probably from me taking those illogical sleeping pills later than usual."
"That explains it." Misaka said with some sympathy in her voice. She knew that sleeping pills and Asher tended to not mix well from time to time. Due to all the drugs Silas had forced into her body during WaveInflux, her body tended to react badly or hit harder with side effects from high dosages of most medications. If the reaction was bad enough, she could be put out of commission an entire day at times.
This reaction seemed mild, though, most likely due to Asher's doctor lowering the strength of her pills during her last hospital visit. It was still unfortunate that she didn't feel the best. But Misaka was thankful she was at least able to get some sleep last night.
It took a few moments for Asher to notice that Misaka wasn't alone, seeing Maika also looking down at her with either concern or irritation on her face.
"O-Oh Maika." Asher began as she brought a hand up to the back of her neck. "What are you…". Her eyes widened when the fog in her head broke slightly. "C-Crap what time is it? I almost forgot. You told me to set up the dining room and-"
"Here you are slacking on the job as usual." Maika joked as she crossed her arms. She bent down and strongly flicked Asher's forehead, hearing the girl let out a wince before she laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You should have told me earlier that you were feeling like this. It's not like you to push yourself to this degree on anything. Much less to the point you black out."
"Sorry." Asher muttered as she let out a small yawn from under her breath. "I thought I could ignore the fog for a while, but I think I got hit by a huge wave of exhaustion and had to sit down. As you can see, it must've gone downhill from there."
"Well, at least," Maika started as she looked off to the side, seeing rows of food on multiple carts. "You prepped most of the food like I asked you to. All that has to be done is to cart it off to its destination." She turned to look at the Electromaster. "Misaka, if you don't have to go anywhere at the moment, can you help me roll these carts to the dining room?"
"Sure." Misaka nodded. "I have about 10-15 minutes left before I have to be in my spot. And it should be close to it anyway."
"Wait. Neither of you have to do th-that. I can do it by myself." Asher quickly said as she tried to rise to her feet.
But before she could, Misaka stopped her.
"Z, it's alright. You need to sit here and rest a second, so it's the least we can do for you." Misaka remarked with a smile.
Asher stared at her for a while before she sighed and begrudgingly sat back down on the ground. "Okay I'll sit here until Maika comes back. It should be enough time for my brain to wake up a little bit more. Thanks."
When the girls went out of sight with the food cart, Asher allowed herself to relax. She leaned heavily into the cabinet behind her.
Damn it, she thought as she grasped the side of her head and closed her eyes.
It has been several hours now, and that annoying feeling hasn't gone away. It's almost like what I've been sensing lately is getting stronger. Closer to being more of an issue than an illogical annoyance.
It's times like this I wish my senses were more like Mikoto's. She can't control what her radar picks up, so whatever is happening must be getting lost with everything else on the electromagnetic spectrum. While my awareness of the limits I placed to filter my senses being constantly broken, is keeping my body constantly on edge.
Honestly, if I didn't have any medication for my anxiety, I would've probably had some kind of heart attack or mental breakdown from how much stress I've been under almost 24/7.
It's getting to be quite illogical and a constant drain on the little energy I already have….
When Maika got back to the kitchen, she was surprised to see that Asher was on her feet prepping more food. She was clad in her white uniform that resembled a chef outfit, currently wearing an apron to protect her shirt from getting dirty. Her hair was also pulled up into a loose ponytail to prevent any loose strands from getting into the food.
Maika found herself a little relieved. She seemed to be a little bit more awake than when her and Misaka had found her earlier, even with the tired bags under her eyes.
"I thought you were told to rest until I got back." She said as she put her hands on her hips and walked to be at Asher's side.
"You know I'm older than the both of you right? And I did. I didn't need to rest too long considering I took an unplanned nap." Asher stated, sending her a sideways glance as she continued to cut some vegetables. "I waited until I felt better like you asked. I would've done it longer, but I don't really want someone like the Head Resident finding me like that. She'd probably end up giving me a job she knows I would greatly dislike."
Maika looked at her skeptically before she conceded. She looked down at the counter and was surprised at how much food the girl had prepped in such a short amount of time.
Even though she was used to the gravity esper having an excellent talent with food, her skill and speed still impressed her from time to time nonetheless.
"Do you think we're going to need all of this extra food?" Maika asked. "We already filled up each of the carts with the stuff you made earlier. Wouldn't this just go to waste?"
"Potentially." Asher sighed as she removed her apron. "Though there's a higher chance for a buffet advertising free food to attract some people who will come and believe it's logical to eat everything in illogical amounts. I would rather take the free time I have now to make some excess then rushing later to feed people with bottomless stomachs…."
"Anyway, I'm mostly just prepping dishes that I feel are difficult and time consuming to start from scratch under a time crunch." She continued. "The leftovers can be easily eaten by the others in this dorm later. My cooking seems to be one of the few things they actually like about me here."
"Aw, I'm sure that isn't true." Maika lightly comforted.
Asher paused in what she was doing before she let out a small sigh. "Maybe."
Before she could say anything else, she heard a monotone beep behind her ears, a usual a sign that her Amps were about to die.
"Great, just my luck. My Amps would decide to randomly die now of all times." She groaned as she walked to the doorway. "I'll be back."
She heard Maika hum from behind her as she walked into the hall. She pulled the band holding up her blonde hair to allow it to fall down to her shoulders. She also took her Amps out of her ears after a while due to the annoying static beginning to come through them.
She passed a couple of Tokiwadai girls on her way to her room, seeing the usual stares and glimpses of fear light their expressions. She tried her best to ignore them by keeping her glance mostly to the ground.
That was until a few girls surprisingly approached her. She stopped and sent them a stoic look as two girls she presumed to be 1st years wilted under her gaze.
"Yes?" Asher asked when she had only been answered in silence for so long. "I don't have much time to waste. If you didn't know, I'm in charge of helping with the buffet today, so I need to get back there in a logical amount of time. If there's nothing either of you need, then excuse me."
As she brushed passed them, one of the girls seemed to find the courage inside of her to speak.
"H-Hey wait, Asher!" She called out, prompting Asher to stop and glance over her shoulder. "We u-um were wondering..."
She looked over to her friend, who was just as nervous as she was. "Wondering i-if you knew where Miss Misaka was?" She finished.
Asher raised an eyebrow. "Why would either of you assume I knew where she was?" she asked. "And if I did, what makes me obligated to give you that information?"
"W-Well…we know or assumed that you two were close from how much we see you two together." One girl answered. "We tried to ask Shirai, but it seemed like she was busy."
"And I'm not?" Asher stoically retorted, seeing both of them flinch.
"W-We just want to wish her luck on her performance today." The other rushed out. "We're sorry i-if we're keeping you from something important. Bu-But please tell us!"
Asher's look narrowed slightly which unintentionally served to terrify both of the girls even more.
Should've known, she thought as she sighed aloud.
There are only a couple groups of people here that would approach me like this. Either annoying 2nd years who want to insult and pick a fight with me. Or more popular, Mikoto's oh so annoying fans.
Asher stared at the girls for a few moments before letting out another long breath. "The dining room is the last place I heard she was going to." She conceded as she turned to leave. "If you can't find her there, she's probably where she's supposed to be stationed, which should be close to the lobby I think."
"O-Oh thank you!" Both of the girls stated as they bowed their heads, Asher only sending them a wave behind her back.
Those fans of hers may be illogical at times, but I guess it makes sense why Mikoto is going to be popular today with her violin solo and all.
I just wish that didn't make them feel the need to always use me to find her.
It didn't take her too much longer to get back to her room. She went to her desk and opened the top left drawer, where two small batteries rested at its bottom. She sat them on the desk's surface and took her Amps out of her pockets. She carefully removed the dead battery packs from both devices and put the replacements inside of her Amps.
She latched her Amps on her ears and turned them on, keeping them down at a low volume before gradually turning the sound higher to make sure they were working.
When she was satisfied, she let out a low breath and placed the dead batteries into a charger.
"For a city that praises itself for how advanced they are when it comes to research and technology, you would think someone would have figured out how to get these off battery power by now." She sighed.
She was about to leave for the kitchen before she heard her phone ring in her pocket, looking down and seeing "Uiharu" appear on its display. She transferred the call into her Amps and walked out the door.
"Yes?"
"Hey Asher!" Both Uiharu and Saten greeted over the phone.
"Oh hey." Asher said, surprised slightly from hearing two voices. "Are you two on your way here?"
"We're about to be." Saten sighed. "Uiharu was taking forever trying to choose what she was going to wear. She kept saying she looked ridiculous. And that nearly her entire wardrobe isn't fit to be around the prestigious girls of Tokiwadai."
"Not true!" Uiharu argued. "I just wanted to look nice is all!"
Asher let out a small laugh, something that seemed to catch the attention of the other Tokiwadai students around her. It was rare for them to see a smile, let out alone hear a genuine laugh. But she didn't pay any attention to it.
"I'm sure what you're wearing now is fine. Most of the girls here have to wear maid outfits anyway to follow the festivals usual theme of hospitality for the guests. So, you won't be completely outshined by anyone here, most likely."
"Most of the girls?" Uiharu asked confused.
"Hehe, let me guess: you figured out another way to safely bend the rules by not having to wear one." Saten hypothesized.
"Not purposefully." Asher stoically remarked. "I just decided to pick a job that wouldn't drain my energy too fast. Since my social skills are quite lacking for things like this, they usually have me help behind the scenes. I'm mostly going to be helping out in the kitchen with the food."
"Oooh, I didn't know you were good at cooking Asher!" Uiharu almost squealed in surprise. "Why didn't you say anything about your culinary talents before this!? I – No we could have been your taste-testers for this event!"
"It honestly never crossed my mind as a logical talking point." Asher sighed as she rubbed her neck softly. "I'd say my skills are average, but other people surprisingly say otherwise. The girls of my dorm valued my skills enough to unfortunately vote me to be somewhat of an impromptu leader for food prep when the person who was going to do it called out sick."
"Wow!/Cool!" Uiharu and Saten said respectively.
"Does that mean we won't really see you all that much today?" Saten asked, with an emotion Asher couldn't really detect in her voice.
"I should be able to see you guys around lunch time when you come to the dining room. I'll be there either on my lunch break or making sure that our stock of food isn't running too low. Later, I'll be outside around 2-3 to help prep the stage for a performance this afternoon."
"Who's performing today?" Uiharu asked.
Before Asher could answer, she stopped at the doors of the dining room and found herself completely shocked by how low the food already was when so few people had arrived for the festival that began just 5-10 minutes ago.
She let out a long sigh. "I'll have to tell you later because I have to go. There has been an illogical development that I unfortunately have to take care of."
"Oh, that's okay!" Uiharu said.
"See you later at the festival, Asher!" Saten said.
"See you." Asher remarked before she hung up the phone. She looked at the nearly empty table for a couple moments before she groaned and turned towards the kitchen.
Already knowing that this was going to be an illogically long day.
A few hours later….
Misaka was walking down the hall with both Saten and Uiharu in toe. When the Sakugawa girls had arrived at the entrance, they met up with Misaka, who had been greeting everyone who entered the dorm. Since her role wasn't very restrictive, she decided to guide them to various activities within the building.
Once lunch time arrived, they were all surprised to see that Asher was nowhere near that area, even as the food stock gradually diminished at an accelerated rate. It was so bad that Maika had to enlist people like Shirai to help out, even though the girl in question had somehow escaped her duties.
Misaka had asked the maid where Asher would probably be, finding herself growing nervous when she sent her a laugh just as worrisome. She told them she was probably still in the kitchen.
When they had arrived, they were all shocked to see the kitchen in such disarray. Pots, pans, and random food scraps and sauces littered the area. Asher was at the center of all, groaning as she laid her head onto the table in front of her.
"Woah!" Uiharu and Saten shouted in surprise.
"What the heck happen in here!?" Misaka questioned, just as shocked.
Asher just groaned again as she brought her hands up to both of her ears and turned down the volume on her Amps just a bit.
"Everything…" Asher sighed as she raised her head to send them a tired expression. "Everything illogical happened. I made about 50-70% more food than we originally thought we needed just in case someone got overzealous out there. But that disappeared about 10-15 minutes after the lunch rush started. From what I heard, there's an individual in there with an almost endless appetite, eating everything at such a fast rate I could barely keep up with restocking. It was so bad, the Head Resident gave me permission to use my esper ability, but that hardly even did anything to help. "
"Aw poor thing." Uiharu said.
"Do you need any help cleaning up?" Misaka asked.
"Thankfully no." Asher sighed before she sent them a tired smile. "After I restocked the food for hopefully the last time, Maika told me that I can go ahead and get off this shift. A couple of her friends volunteered to clean up this area, so I was just about to go to my room and change into something else."
"That's good to hear." Saten said, relieved.
Asher slowly rose from her seat and walked to the doorway. She stopped and turned her attention to Saten and Uiharu. "I'll meet you guys on the bottom floor after I prep the stage. And you," Asher looked over at Misaka. "Need to get ready before you end up convincing yourself to plan an illogical escape attempt."
"N-Not true!" Misaka argued with a nervous flush appearing on her face. "I-I was just about to go do that af-after I showed Saten and Uiharu around a little more!"
"Uh-huh sure you were." Asher deadpanned. "Well, whenever you get ready, I'll see you down there."
She turned around to make her way towards her room. As she turned one of the many corners to go to the elevator, someone ran into her, hard, enough that it made her and the person in question fall to the floor.
Asher had to bite back a yelp when the impact rattled her tender ribs, still letting out a couple winces instead as she patiently waited for the waves of pain to go back down to an incessant throb.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I should have been looking where I was going!" The girl quickly apologized.
"Ngh, it's alright." Asher winced as she looked over at the girl in question. "I've been hurt by much worse."
It didn't take Asher long to take in the girl's appearance, finding herself a little shocked by her attire. She was wearing a white nun robe with a matching white head cover with golden accented strips. What was more surprising than that was this weird feeling she was sensing coming from the robes. She couldn't tell what its purpose was or its composition, almost like it existed near the edge or outside usual mathematical calculations that she could do.
It left Asher somewhat stunned, so much so that the younger girl had to call out to her to break her daze. Asher looked down and saw her hand extended out to her, taking it in stride as she assisted her to her feet.
"Sorry about that again." The girl said with a bow.
"It's completely fine." Asher said. "There's no need to apologize, um."
"Index." She said with a smile. "My full name is Index Librorium Prohibitorium, but you can just call me Index."
It was almost like some kind of click went off in Asher's mind as soon as she heard that name. She recognized it but wasn't able to narrow down any reason as to why.
Index? Why does that sound so familiar?
"And your name?" Index asked, breaking Asher's thoughts for a second time.
"Oh, Asher Zierdan. Though, most just call me Asher."
"Cool!" Index stated before she started to walk past. "It was nice meeting you Asher, but I have to go and find my friend! Sorry again and I hope you have a nice rest of your day."
"Likewise."
As Asher turned to walk down her respective hall, racking her brain to figure out why the girl's name was so familiar, she heard Index's voice call out once more.
"Touma! Where are you Touma!?" Index shouted.
Asher's steps halted. The missing piece of the puzzle seemed to be filled in that instant as Touma's face and Index's unconscious form appeared in her head.
Right, that was the girl I helped Kamijou save a couple weeks ago, Asher thought.
After standing there for a few moments, she allowed a smile to come across her face as she let out a relieved sigh.
It's good to see that she made it out okay in the end. And even though I haven't seen that illogical boy in a while, it's great to hear that he seems to be doing okay.
Her eyes narrowed slightly when another memory came from her mind.
[She looked outside her window to see a beam of light pierce through the night, sensing that it was tall and powerful enough to leave the Earth's atmosphere for a few moments before shrinking down to some sort of beacon lighting up the sky.]
I guess I shouldn't have been worried that day. He may be illogical and have "Rotten luck."
But even so, he usually comes back relatively unharmed.
A little while later…
Asher, now in her Tokiwadai uniform, went down to the bottom floor to make sure everything was in order for Misaka's performance.
As she ran through her last checks on the audio mixer, she heard some commotion from inside the stage.
"What are you doing here!?" She heard Misaka shout. "Come here to laugh? Make fun of my stupid dress!?"
"No," She heard a familiar male voice respond. "I would never. I think it's actually great on-"
"Grgh, Idiot! Get out of here!" Misaka yelled again.
Asher let out a sigh and left the audio mixer, knowing the settings were probably okay considering she had checked them 1 or 2 times before. As she made it to the steps, someone brushed passed her. She was somewhat surprised to see Kamijou right there.
"Oh! Excuse me, sorry!" He said quickly in passing.
He went by so fast that Asher hadn't been able to even say a word to him.
"Kamijou?" Asher muttered in confusion. "What's he doing back here?"
After taking some time to think on it, she shook her head and directed her energy to check on her friend. When she made it to the top of the stairs, she looked inside and saw Misaka's side towards her.
She was wearing a beautiful white dress and had flowers in hair to compliment her outfit. Her hand gripped at the cloth above her heart as she took a few deep breaths almost in an effort to calm herself down.
When it seemed like she had, Asher took a few more steps forward. "Is everything okay, Mikoto?" She asked.
She was answered by silence for some time before Misaka turned towards her, with a bright smile on her face. "I would be lying if I didn't say I was really nervous when I got in here. Still am, but for some reason now, I feel calm. I think I'm ready to do this."
"Good." Asher said as she smiled before she looked off to the side, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's logical to be nervous for something like this. Though, I know you're going to do great out there."
"Aw thanks." Misaka said as she opened her case to reveal a violin and bow string.
As the Electromaster prepared to go onstage, she saw Asher unfold a chair out of the corner of her eye.
"Aren't you going to sit in the audience?" Misaka asked.
"I could. But this is a nice spot as well." Asher sighed as she sat down. "For however long we've been friends, you've taught me a lot over the years. One being it's better to go through something you're either scared or nervous about together, not alone. And since I'm not performing with you, I figured this could be the closest to it."
Misaka's eyes widened before she looked away with a mild blush on her face. "You know you don't have to do that…"
"I know." Asher sighed again. "The main question, though, is if you'd rather want me back here or out there in the audience? Either way, I'll get to listen to your performance."
Misaka thought on it for a while before she sighed and smiled. "Here is great." She stated. "Thanks, as always you're the best Z."
Asher let out a small chuckle. "Now, go on out there before you start stalling again."
Misaka hummed and then turned to walk towards her audience, instantly hearing an uprise in applause. Her attention was drawn to the first row where her friends, Shirai, Saten, Uiharu, Kongou, Wannai, Awatsuki, and Konori were sitting, all of which were loudly cheering her name.
When the claps and cheers fell into silence, she brought her stringed instrument below her chin and began to strum an elegant piece she had been practicing throughout her 2nd year. The farther along she went, the more her nerves seemed to fade. Her confidence grew and built up the melody to its climax and gracefully down to its ending.
Asher sat backstage with her eyes closed and an amused expression on her face, absentmindedly tapping to a beat she had basically memorized from listening to the many times the esper had practiced for this occasion months prior.
Misaka's violin captured the hearts of everyone who heard its beautiful melody, even a mysterious girl who had just arrived at the Exterior Dorms.
The girl stood towards the back out of sight, tapping along just as much as the rest in attendance. Even though she had been interested to see Misaka perform, she was here for another reason entirely.
Asher followed Misaka down the stairs after her performance, where the latter was greeted by a crowd waiting to personally congratulate her.
The gravity esper could see her friend's cheeks heating up from behind, which prompted a small smile to come across her face as she slipped out to avoid the crowd of people.
"Eh!? Zierdan!" Misaka called out when she saw the esper leave. "Where are you going!?"
"You know I'm not great when it comes to crowds," she said as she waved over her shoulder. "I'm tired, so I'm going to lay down for a bit."
Misaka was about to shout for her again before her route was immediately cut off by other people, where she was ultimately left powerless and had to face the horde on her own.
As Asher walked down a hall, she sensed that someone was trying to follow her, though at a distance. She could tell they didn't seem hostile and allowed it to continue on for a while until she made it to a hallway that was deserted.
"You can come out now." Asher sighed as she turned around, looking over at a side hallway a dozen feet in front of her. "There isn't anyone around, so this is the best place as any to stop illogically stalking me and tell me what you want."
Silence followed, but only for a few seconds. She heard someone let out a soft chuckle as they walked out into the open.
"Your senses are as sharp as always." The girl said as she came into view.
Asher's eyes widened, instantly recognizing the distinct violet ringlet curls in her hair.
"Wait, you're a part of Shokuhou's clique." Asher stated. "I think you're….Hokaze, right?"
"Correct!" Hokaze said cheerfully with a smile. "It has been some time since we've last seen each other. I'm glad that you seem to be doing well, Asher."
"Thanks," Asher said as she raised a hand up to the back of her neck.
Even though both Shokuhou and the group of girls that follow their "Queen" annoyed her to illogical levels, Hokaze was one of the few or probably the only one out of the group other than Shokuhou herself hat she found tolerable.
No matter what she had seen of her behavior during those last few weeks of WaveInflux, the 3rd year never gave her any hostility. She had even come to the hospital with Shokuhou at times to check on her.
She trusted her to some degree, something she found herself wondering then if that's the reason she was here alone, in the first place.
"I wouldn't be opposed to catching up with what you're doing nowadays, but I think we both know that isn't why you came all the way from the Garden of Learning to get me alone like this." Asher said as her eyes narrowed slightly. "What does Shokuhou want with me now?"
Hokaze's smile fell slightly to reflect the underlying seriousness of the situation. "My Queen has something urgent she needs to speak with you today."
"Kind of figured as much." Asher sighed. "I guess the more logical question to ask is why isn't she here telling me that herself? Or not using illogically underhanded tactics into tricking me to do what she wants? She doesn't usually go this much out of her way and ask someone else to do it for her without using that ability of hers."
"Well…" Hokaze trailed off. "She didn't think you would listen or trust her after what happened a few weeks ago with that whole Graviton bomber incident."
Asher stood there silent before she let out a low breath, thinking back to her last interaction with Mental Out.
[Shokuhou's face softened ever so slightly before she hesitated for a small while, bringing her own hand and clasping one of Asher's. She didn't look over at her when some sort of surprise fell on her face. "Stop. We've both done things in our lives we're not proud of." She said aloud. "As the strongest mental esper in the city, I've done things with the human mind than you can probably think imaginable, both for good and for bad. For instance, the only reason Silas Wright even has the ability to think for himself and hasn't had his mind turned into mush is because of you. If you had died or never wanted to regain your memories back, he would have met a fate to which he would've wished he had died that day and I would've done it to him without any kind of remorse."
"And that," She continued. "Is the one thing that separates the both of us. You may be the bluntest, laziest, and short-termly stubbornest person I've ever interacted with. But I know you're actually backed by some form of morals versus just circumstances like I am."
She unclasped her hand from Asher's and began to walk away from her before she stopped and looked at the esper over her shoulder. "I'm…sorry for what happened to you after that headscan, by the way. It was definitely something I hadn't thought would occur. Which was the main reason why I wanted to meet up with you today."]
"She's still on that?" Asher sighed as she raised a hand up to the back of her neck. "I didn't think it was going to bother her that much. I guess I should have realized that was the case from how she has been avoiding me lately."
Hokaze was surprised to see Asher tighten her grip on her neck even more so until she dropped it limply to her side.
"What time and place?" Asher muttered.
Hokaze's surprise grew even more. "You're going?"
"Seems like the most logical course of action. Whether she does it in person or not, Misaki tends to have a good reason for wanting to see me at least 75% of the time. I trust that this is one of them." Asher answered before her eyes went to the ground. "And honestly, she's actually one of the few people in this city I trust, even with her illogical antics. I owe her a great deal for giving me my memories back no matter how much she brushes it off and tells me I don't. She basically rebuilt me, when hardly anyone trusted me or believed that I wouldn't turn on this city again. I feel indebted to her, and she knows that and surprisingly doesn't ever use it to her advantage. The least I can do is trust that whatever she needs to say to me tonight is important."
Hokaze stood there in complete shock. Those words sounded both genuine and sincere, something rarely heard from a girl who locked her emotions inside a box that she herself probably didn't know how to open at times. During her 1st year and the beginning of the 2nd, she had always kept to herself or remained glued at Misaka's side. Most people found her unapproachable and imposing, but she and her Queen had always been able to see passed it.
She had always been quiet and valued using her energy to listen over talking on most occasions. It was rare for anyone from Tokiwadai, outside of Misaka, to naturally have a conversation with her. Or at least that's how it had been in the past. Asher never really talked this much about her own feelings, let alone about how she felt about someone else to this degree.
It honestly made Hokaze a bit happy, hoping it was a sign she was starting to change for the better.
"She wants you to meet her on the roof of the Hospital in the 7th district. Does some time around 9 work for you?"
"Should be." Asher said. "My Head resident will hopefully be done with rounds by that time, so I should be able sneak out and come back without her noticing my absence."
"Wonderful! Well, that's all. Thanks for hearing me out." Hokaze said with a bow before she raised back up and began to leave. "I'll be seeing you."
"See you." Asher stated with a wave before she stopped. "Hey, I know you'll tell her or she'll she see it in your memories, but please let her know that I'm alright. And that I don't resent her for what happened and know it was an accident. I may have…gotten a little carried away with my lecture the other day."
"I will." Hokaze gently responded. "Have a nice rest of your afternoon."
Asher nodded as Hokaze walked out of sight. She stood there for almost 5 minutes, wondering if she should tell her friends about this or just keep it to herself.
It was just a normal conversation. And it wasn't like her life was going to be in danger or anything.
But…
The last time something similar like this happened, Misaka was left alone to worry and watch over her when she was in a coma-like state for a couple days. And even though they didn't know as much about her past as they do now, the others still got very worried about her. So much so that Saten and Uiharu were so relieved to see she was okay that they cried in her arms.
I know I need to be more open with the others when it comes to things like this, but I think this situation is personal enough that logically allows me to keep it to myself until I'm ready to share, she thought as she turned to walk towards the stairs to get up to her room on the 2nd floor.
I don't have the time or patience to explain Shokuhou's role when it comes to everything revolving my past. It would lead to too many hard and personal questions.
If I tell anyone about this, it'll just have to be Mikoto, for now. She knows just as much I do. The others may be left in the dark with what I'm doing, but at least if something goes wrong, Mikoto won't feel as inclined to go through it by herself.
The only problem I can think of now is that she'll probably want to come with me….
And that's another issue entirely.
Several hours later…
It was utterly silent inside of Asher's dark room. Moonlight filled the area through the window as she sat on her bed with Misaka sitting on the bed across from hers.
After the Head Resident had checked their rooms and Shirai went into the shower, Misaka snuck inside. Asher had sent her a text asking her to come over. She had just explained what had happened with Hokaze earlier, prompting an intense level of unease to fall on both of their shoulders.
"Are you sure about this?" Misaka asked after a while, gripping the mattress to ground herself and her conflicted emotions.
"Yes." Asher said, seeing Misaka's mouth run thin. "It sounds important. And even though she didn't say it, I think it's logical to assume she wants me to come by myself. I know you're worried and want to go with me, but…"
"I may complicate things if I come along." Misaka begrudgingly said. "She may be an annoying, manipulative, and deceptive person I could never find myself trusting. But she has always had a weird soft spot for you for as long as I've known her. So, I get it. You going alone means that there's a higher chance she'll be genuine with whatever she says. Me coming there would just ruin it with this rivalry we annoyingly have but still…"
She sent a worried glance over to Asher who she knew was trying her best to hide her own nervousness for the situation.
"Are you okay, mentally, to go?" She asked. "You may think I can't tell how much you're insomnia and that beating from Big Spider has affected you even now, but I do. I've seen you run yourself ragged enough times before to know that things don't usually end well if you just keep pushing yourself to your limit. I don't want whatever Shokuhou tells you or has you do be the last thing your mind or body needs to completely break, again."
"I share your concerns. And normally I would agree with you, Mikoto. To say I'm tired and stressed is an understatement. I'm utterly exhausted and this incessant feeling of being on edge almost every night isn't helping." Asher said before she paused to look up at Misaka with a rare glimmer of confidence in her eyes. "However, I think knowing you and people like Kuroko, Uiharu, and Saten are behind me, is enough to keep me sane. I'm probably long overdue to see her from how much I've been forgetting things lately anyway."
Asher walked towards the window with her skateboard in hand. "Don't worry. I'll be back here before you know it."
Misaka still looked at her, skeptically. She then let out a small breath to calm her nerves. "Just be careful, alright? And text me immediately whenever you need some help."
"I will. Promise."
When Asher left through the window, Misaka stared at its opening for a while before she got up to shut it.
Her phone, however, started to vibrate. Believing it was probably Shirai asking where she was, she took it out and nearly accepted the call.
She paused, however, when she read the name.
"Shokuhou?" She asked aloud in utter confusion.
What's going on? Why is she calling me right now when she's supposed to be meeting Zierdan in 15-20 minutes?
20 minutes later…
District 7 Hospital
Asher arrived at the top floor of the hospital, setting her skateboard by the elevator door as she walked towards its edge. She saw Shokuhou standing there with her back facing her, overhearing what she assumed to be the end of a conversation.
"Mmmhmm yeah, that should be fine." Shokuhou said to whoever was on the phone. She paused, probably to listen to whatever the person was saying. "I will, just keep up your end of the bargain, too."
No more words were exchanged as Shokuhou closed her phone and turned around to look at Asher with a wide smile on her face. "Oh, there you are. It's about time that you…"
She trailed off and took note of the bandages and bruises on the side of the Asher's head since she hadn't felt like hiding them anymore today. A serious look fell in her sparkled eyes for a second before it reverted back into her usual amused mask.
"You seem worse for wear." Shokuhou said.
"That's obvious." Asher sighed. "Hello to you too, Shokuhou."
Shokuhou only hummed as she wasn't able to speak for a few moments, finding herself a little taken aback from seeing how worn the esper was. It was almost impossible to miss the tiredness radiating from her eyes, seeing them harboring some sort of stress or anxiety that was probably screaming to come out from her stoic shell.
It was enough for her legs to start moving towards the esper, where she stopped and automatically had her hand extended towards Asher's face without fully realizing it until she did.
Asher didn't seem to be surprised or shocked by the motion and only turned to look away. "It looks worse than it really is." She softly muttered. "It just aches now from time to time."
Shokuhou didn't respond and kept up with the extended contact.
This is what probably motivated her to come back, she thought, secretly going through the surface of Asher's memories without her noticing.
The images were fragmented, but enough for her to make somewhat of a complete picture of what happened, seeing a few images of Asher barely conscious on the ground as the currently injured man, Kenji, basically tried to curb stomp her.
After a while, Asher noticed what Shokuhou was doing, though didn't take it too personally. She gently grabbed Shokuhou's gloved hand as she let out a small sigh. "Why did you need to see me, tonight, Misaki? As you vocalized before, I am tired. So, I would like to make it back to my dorm at a logical time tonight."
"Impatient, are we?" Shokuhou said before she let out a laugh and took her arm out of Asher's loose grip. "Nervous might be a better word for it. I called you here to warn you about something. But first a simple question: do you remember what you did on the night of August 2nd, the day before yesterday?"
Asher looked at her somewhat confused before she realized that night was the one she weirdly couldn't remember.
"No, I don't. " Asher admitted. "That was actually something I was going to talk to you about. I've been having a hard time remembering certain things since what happened with that device Big Spider had at their base. It was able to disrupt the arithmetic capacity of an esper's brain, and I think it messed with something or worsened my brain damage."
"Hmm how peculiar…" Shokuhou stated. "Are you forgetting nearly everything given to you or just certain events?"
"I'd say the latter. Like the day you asked about, it honestly feels like I blacked out and lost all sense of what happened that night. And every time I try to think about it, it's like my mind tries to reject the information. There's always this intense pain in the center of my skull."
Shokuhou's eyes narrowed. "Do you remember anything like that happening to you before?"
Asher automatically shook her head. "No, I don't."
"Think harder." Shokuhou pressed. "You're not going to figure anything out by quitting so easily."
Asher looked at her in confusion before she concentrated even more. She stopped after a while, about to give up for a second time before a distressing realization washed over her.
"W-Wait, actually yes." Asher stuttered, as a few flashes of hazy WaveInflux trials came across her mind. "It did when…."
When Asher didn't say anything else, Shokuhou decided to finish for her. "When that certain someone took over?" She asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Asher said with narrowed eyes. "There were times I hardly had any clue of what I did. Or I did but couldn't do anything to stop it. The blackouts usually occurred when she took complete control."
Some more realization appeared in Asher's eyes before she looked over at Shokuhou nervously. "You don't think what's happening now is the same, do you? You sealed her off, so her taking over again shouldn't be possible, right?"
Shokuhou didn't immediately answer which caused Asher's worry to grow even more.
"We both know what I did was a short-term fix." Shokuhou sighed, feeling her heart sink from seeing a flash of fear appear in Asher's blue eyes.
"What happened?" Asher randomly asked. "What happened for you to believe that I, she…or we were involved?"
Shokuhou hesitated even more so this time, which caused Asher to lose some level of her patience from the worry beginning to consume her.
"Misaki!" Asher yelled, snapping Shokuhou out of whatever daze she seemed to be in. "T-Tell me…please. "
When she heard Asher's voice break with that last word, it gave Shokuhou some kind of resolve. "There was a teenage boy who was found a few days ago, completely covered in various injuries. Half-dead and beaten so badly, that he hasn't even regained consciousness since that day. Your Doctor asked me to come in and scan his memories to see what happened and long story short…"
"I saw that you, Zierdan, were there."
Asher's whole world almost stopped right there as her eyes widened as far they could. "I w-was?" She asked. When Shokuhou hesitantly nodded, her heart fell even further when she saw Asher take a fearful step back.
"Bu-But I couldn't." Asher looked down at her hands, feeling them trembling just as much as her body was beginning to. "I c-can't remember. I th-think…No. I know I was in my dorm that night. I couldn't of….wouldn't of went out and nearly killed someone. I would remember th-that. But wh-why can't I if I-"
"Hey." Shokuhou said as she strongly grabbed Asher's shoulders, seeing absolute panic threatening to take hold of her. The air was already getting heavier, and Asher didn't even seem to notice that the gravity was starting to respond to her emotions. "Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. I don't think it was you, technically. That's why you're here. I want to make sure that if your little friend is back and did this, why she did what she did. We need to know if it's dangerous to allow to move freely, alright? You didn't do this, so there's nothing that you need to freak out about."
Asher nodded her head after a while as she took in a deep breath to calm herself. "O-Okay. Y-You're right." Asher said, more in some attempt to convince herself. "What do we do then?"
Shokuhou walked over to an area close by and picked up a closed flask off the ground that had some clear liquid inside.
"I need you to take this. It's similar to the sedative you took last time, though a little more refined. It should allow me to safely enter your head, so I can help you remember what happened that day." Shokuhou explained.
Asher looked at it hesitantly when Shokuhou tried to hand it to her, pausing for a while before she accepted it. She opened the flask and instantly poured the medicine down her throat.
Some part of her hoped she didn't end up regretting this.
It didn't take too long for her to feel the effects, feeling both her body and mind grow heavy. She felt off-balanced, her thoughts feeling so loose they could float away if she wasn't too careful.
Shokuhou could tell just the same when she noticed a change in her demeanor, also seeing the blues in her hair fade almost into nothingness.
"Alright now think back to that night." Shokuhou suggested as she ruffled through her purse to grab one of her remotes. "That medicine should weaken whatever is keeping you from remembering that day."
"O-Okay…." Asher slowly remarked as she narrowed her blue eyes, only to wince after a while when the pain nearly became too much for her. "I-I think I was getting ready fo-for bed. And then for some reason before I could N-NGH!"
Asher gripped the side of her head in pain as she nearly slumped forward, prompting Shokuhou to stop finding a remote to steady to her.
"Before?" Shokuhou asked, alarmed.
"Before I…" Asher continued as memories suddenly started to flash one after the other, almost like a picture book. "I started feeling sick. I thought it was a migraine…Bu-But…"
Asher's body shook even more as her head was beginning to feel like it was about to explode.
"D-Damn m-my head." Asher winced. "I c-can't think. T-Too much…S-So much…"
"Oh no you don't, Zierdan! Focus!" Shokuhou exclaimed as she saw a lost look threatening to fall in Asher's eyes. "Come on you can do it."
It was a struggle, but Asher was able to focus back on Shokuhou, with sweat running down her face. "I-It was her. That personality…sh-she stopped me fr-from getting M-Mikoto. She didn't want her to fi-find out ab-about her. And forced me out be-before w-we...s-she left through th-the window."
Asher slumped even more into herself and lost nearly all of the feeling in her legs, forcing Shokuhou to fall down to the ground with her as she tried her best to cushion Asher's fall.
"Zierdan?" Shokuhou called out, looking over and seeing Asher was barely conscious. "Zierdan, wake up!"
Damn it, I should've known it wasn't going to be that easy dragging that girl out. Shokuhou thought as she gritted her teeth.
Zierdan wasn't ever able to control her personality shifts in the past. Calling up that girl's memories and the memories she's blocking her from seeing is nearly impossible, especially with that seal currently in her head.
I could…no. Breaking it completely with how she is now could possibly do more harm than good. A partial, temporary one is safer.
She started to bring her hands up to Asher's temples before she stopped, feeling her gloved hands beginning to shake.
No, I can't do that either. It would still be too much of a strain on her mind.
It will still hurt her.
I don't know…if there's anything I can…
"Mi-Mis…a-aki." Asher strained, feeling Shokuhou stiffen underneath her. "I-It isn't like you to hesitate th-this much. D-Do it now, wh-whatever it is. I give you permission."
Shokuhou paused before she looked at Asher with worry in her eyes. "Are you sure? You may not feel so great after."
"I figured, but ye-yes." Asher said, gathering up enough energy to allow a smile to come across her face. "I-If you don't, we may n-not have another chance l-like this again. She m-may close herself off from me for go-good an-and…I don't want that, I think. I wa-want to understand wh-what happened, both the other day and during WaveInflux. I w-want…to understand her s-someday. So please, d-do whatever you have to do t-to get her to come out."
"I trust you."
Shokuhou bit down on her lip before she quickly put both hands on Asher's temples.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled before she exerted everything she had to connect to Asher's brain.
Asher's eyes immediately widened as she let out a shout, screaming in pain. Shokuhou tried her best to block out her screams, but that was only intensified when she was able to hear similar screams inside of her mind. This nearly forced her to stop when guilt weighed in her heart from knowing her actions were currently inflicting pain on technically two people.
But Asher's earlier words came into the forefront of her mind and gave her some resolve to continue partially breaking the seal that prevented both personas from easily interacting with each other.
When she broke it far enough, she found and forced the memories from the night of August 2nd to surface.
Asher's shouts seemed to fade into nothingness, as both her and Shokuhou witnessed the playback of her lost memory.
August 2nd, 10:00PM
Somewhere in Academy City
It was nearly pitch black within the alleys of Academy City, the only sources of light coming from street lamps sporadically scattered around.
There was hardly anyone walking outside during this time as the night reached its peak. It was quiet and calm until hurried footsteps echoed somewhere within the winding walkways.
A guy in his teenage years sprinted down a straight path before he quickly rounded corners left and right. To most, the back alleys were endless mazes that were easy to get lost in. To him, however, he was able to navigate them swiftly due to his street knowledge, which usually gave him the edge in situations like the one he was currently in.
He was being chased by someone who seemed to only stay in the shadows, only showing themselves to either block his path or let him know that they were still in pursuit.
He didn't know who they were or what they wanted with him.
Though, he could tell they were dangerous and would probably end him if he even made one slip up. It was kind of frustrating, since some part of him knew that this person was purposefully toying with him. The esper could have just ended it now if they had wanted to, but here he was still running for almost 20 minutes straight.
His fear was enough to keep fueling his run as he tried his best to maintain his speed, hoping it was enough to keep himself ahead and get his pursuer to lose interest in him.
His hopes were dashed, however, when he turned a corner and saw a hooded figure standing there. It forced him to immediately skid to a stop as he tried his best to turn around and go the opposite direction.
"Damn it," he said under his breath.
Before he was able to round another corner, he felt his entire body launched into the air. He shouted and then grunted in pain when he fell down hard. As he tried his best to recover, he began hearing someone laugh behind him.
"I guess it was illogical to think that you would've been good to use as a warmup." He heard an amused voice say as they slowly walked in his direction. "I'm barely breaking a sweat over here. At least get me to use a fifth of my power."
"Tch, go tell hell!" He grunted as he quickly climbed to his feet to run away again.
A dismissive sigh sounded aloud as the hooded figure raised their hand. "I'm starting to get bored of this. You just keep running and running without a single idea how you're actually going to get away."
The person swiped their left hand to the right as he made it to an intersection. He was swept up into a strong current of wind and slammed into a brick wall seconds after.
"Ack!" He gasped before he crashed onto the ground.
He shakily pushed himself up and turned around to run again before he noticed that his back was against a dead-end. The only way out was from where he came, which seemed almost impossible since his pursuer was already there, still slowly walking towards him.
"You must not be the best listener, are you?" The person asked, annoyed, as they came into the light of a streetlight. "Or just too ignorant of your own apparent weakness to see how insignificant your actions have been so far."
The man brought his scowl upwards and tried his best to do whatever he could to figure out the identity of the person standing before him. He could tell she was female from the voice alone, which paired well with the girl's average height and lean figure in comparison to his bulkier build. Other than that, though, he couldn't see much of her face due to how covered it was from the intense shadows made from her hood, only seeing a few pieces of hair that were either light brown or blonde in color.
"Who the hell are you and what do you want with me!?" He yelled angrily before a wide smirk came on his face. "You don't know who you're dealing with, girl. I know some people who can take out an esper like you in a heartbeat!"
"Oh, really now?" the girl asked before she let out a chuckle. "Hahaha, that would make things more interesting. But I honestly only have the energy for you, Kenji. Anyone else may be left worse off if I end up losing my patience."
The teen, Kenji, froze for a few moments before he let out a laugh of his own, trying his best to stave off any fear trying to come up to the surface. "So, you know me." He surmised as he rose up to his feet. "Then, you must know I have connections with Big Spider and numerous other factions of Skill Out. If anything happens to me, that's close to a death sentence for someone like you. Especially with what we have in our arsenal now that will even the playing field with you damn espers."
Thinking that would at least cause the stranger to hesitate, he was surprised when he heard another amused laugh come from her lips as she stopped in her tracks.
"What is it?" He asked as her laughs grew even louder. "Tell me what's so funny about your death being around the corner!?"
"Is that all you can do? Threaten me? Foresee my death like some delusional prophet?" She asked darkly as she gripped her face. Glints of red started to glow from the cracks between her fingers, steadily growing in intensity to pierce their shadows. "I've faced the death reaper himself countless times to know I won't see him again because of a weakling like you. And how could I, when you'll actually be the closest you've ever been to probably wishing you were dead?"
Kenji flinched. Even though the person in front of him almost seemed unhinged to some degree, he could hear the overall seriousness in her voice. He didn't hesitate to draw his holstered gun at his side, already having the safety off before the girl could even think about stepping towards him again.
"S-Stay back!" He shouted, cursing himself for how much he allowed his voice to shake. "I'll kill you where you stand here and now!"
"Then do it." She insisted, causing him to widen his eyes in disbelief as she stood there and extended her arms outward. "Shoot me. You should have enough braincells to not miss a target right in front of you, correct? Heh, prove to me that you were actually worth the time and effort to corner like this."
Kenji hesitated for a few moments before he gave the girl exactly what she wanted after she took another step towards him. He shouted as he pulled the trigger 3-4 times. His eyes were glued shut until he stopped himself, opening them as the smoke from his firearm filled the air.
He was horrified to see that the girl didn't have a single drop of blood on her, seeing the shell casings gently drop one by one on the floor.
"One, two, three…." He heard her count before her hands dropped at her sides. "I remember 4 shots. I wonder where it could have….Ah there it is."
He saw her point towards something on the ground lower than him, which brought his own eyes there as well. They instantly widened when they caught sight of blood streaming towards the concrete from the hole in his leg. The pain finally connected with his brain, where he shouted in agony and crouched to the ground.
"AH! My leg!" He cried out before he raised his agonized gaze towards the girl just standing there. "You crazy sadistic son of a – "
He wasn't able to finish his statement before he felt a hard kick into his stomach. He was sent into the wall behind him for a second time, crashing into it so hard that it nearly shattered through to the other side.
"You should be thanking me that I sent it to a spot that won't leave permanent damage." The girl remarked. "You're the last person who would have any right to call me a sadist when you take pleasure in watching espers grovel at your feet to make up for how much of a loser you are."
"GRGGH, Shut up!" Kenji yelled as he raised up to send a weak punch, watching the stranger easily dodge as she simultaneously kneed him in the gut.
He let out a sharp gasp before he was sent into another wall.
"It would be so easy just to kill you." The girl said, as she pinned Kenji to the wall with her foot. She used her esper ability to gradually make it heavy, to a point he could barely breath from how much it was closing off his windpipe. "It would just take a second to crush your bones to dust. One simple calculation to force pressure on your body for your internal organs to burst." She continued, paying no attention to the teen gasping for air below her. "But even if she would let me, that honestly would be too easy for some scum like you."
She lifted her foot from Kenji's chest and walked away. He automatically gasped and sputtered to catch his breath.
"You deserve to suffer for what you did to her. If only that stupid device wasn't disrupting our ability, I would have been able to destroy you and those other Skill Out annoyances even in my weakened state before that Kurozuma guy ever could!"
Kenji got up another time and tried to quickly punch out the girl's lights due to her mistake in turning her back on him. But he instantly stopped when his hand split through a column of wind that seemed to come out of nowhere.
He looked at it in shock before he screamed in pain, grasping his gravely cut arm as blood trickled from multiple slits and gashes. When he was able to control himself to some extent, he bent his head towards the ground and whimpered under his breath.
"Pl-Please. I'm sorry for whatever I did to you…Bu-But please le-let me go." He begged, missing the shadow growing on the girl's face.
After a long few seconds, the girl stepped closer to Kenji and extended her hand to him. He looked up in relief and extended his own, only to be surprised when hers kept going and grabbed his collar.
"Do you really think I'd let you go that easily, when you have no clue why I'm even here in the first place?" She asked as she raised him in the air without much difficulty. "You're even stupider than I thought. You probably don't even feel any remorse for what you did to her. What you made her suffer through just because you think she's a monster when you've never seen anything like it before now!"
When she let go of his collar, he stayed suspended in the air by a column of wind that was steadily closing in on him from all sides.
His eyes widened in horror as he begged and pleaded with her again, not realizing he was begging to the wrong person.
"St-Stop! Please Stop!" He pleaded as the wind got closer and closer, already feeling the stings from some pieces of wind nipping at his skin. "I'm sorry! Please, have mercy on me!"
He only saw the girl frown even more as her red eyes looked up at him, filled with a blinding hatred he hadn't ever seen from a single person so intensely.
"You should have figured out by now that your empty apologies and illogical pleas for mercy mean absolutely nothing to me. Especially since you're the last one to be even asking for them." she remarked before she darkly chuckled. "Don't worry though. Unfortunately, you'll be unconscious by the time I'm finished with you. But that just depends on when your body finally gives out which I promise I'll do my best to avoid that threshold for now, so you can feel every single last thing I've got planned for you."
"I may not be able to kill you. But I sure as hell can get you close and make you wish I did."
She closed her hand into a fist and passively watched as her wind tore the man's body into shreds, turning down the devices in her ears to drown out his agonizing screams.
Present…
When she felt that Asher's mind was reaching its limit, Shokuhou immediately cut the connection.
She fell onto her hands as Asher's head slumped forward, both espers panting under their breaths for a couple moments. Shokuhou was able to gather herself first and look over at Asher, narrowing her eyes when she caught sight of the red spreading among the faded blues in her blonde hair.
"You idiot. Of all the damn reckless things you've done, Asher…" She heard the girl mumble to herself. "You n-nearly hospitalized us."
"You okay over there?" Shokuhou asked, not surprised when she heard a low snarl under the girl's breath.
"An-And you…." The girl said as she sent her a dark look. She got up and came at Shokuhou at record speeds, lifting her in the air and pressed her against the wall.
"Ow!" Shokuhou grunted as she looked down at the angered girl, amused. "This position is starting to get too familiar to my taste."
"Tch, damn you. Don't you even dare not take this seriously and change the subject!" The gravity esper shouted. "What the absolute hell did you say to convince her to do something so dangerous!? You knew all the risks more than she did and still did it without a single care about what it could have done to her. To us! Explain yourself now, Shokuhou!"
Most would have probably been terrified senseless from seeing the dark, venomous look located in the girl's now red eyes. But Shokuhou could only laugh a little under her breath as she smiled down at the angered esper below her.
"Really, is this the first thing you say to me after nearly 2 years?" Shokuhou playfully asked, her question only being met with more hostility. Even with her amused tone, her serious expression was able to compete Asher's glare as she raised her gloved hand and gripped the one on her collar, tightly. "You can look at me with that scowl however much you want to…"
"It's not my fault that we had to go to great lengths to bring you out like this."
Word Count of Chapter: 15040 |Page Count: 29 pages |Reviews: 237 | Followers: 159 |Favorites: 139
AN: After 34 or so chapters, I've finally broke another word count record, which was previously held by Chapter 13 at 13,480 words. Think of it as a small gift after I've been gone for so long. If you like these long chapters, cool. If not, I usually try to get the chapters at or a few thousand under 10,000 words at most (well I attempt to, due to how little my self-restraint is when it comes to writing out these chapters lol).
As I said in the long AN in the beginning and if you didn't read it, Chapter 49 and 50 have been written out and just need to be proofread and edited. I should hopefully have Chapter 49 out some time next week.
Now before I go, here's a recent update for the name poll regarding Asher's other persona:
"Sora" and "Rehsa" are now tied for first. "Sky" moves up to 2nd place while "Ame" is a couple votes behind it in 3rd. "Asora" has also just made it onto the board with a single vote.
As always, if you're interested in voting or waiting for the results, the poll should end some time during the Poltergeist Arc. (I promise we'll get there eventually T.T)
Poltergeist will fully begin in Chapter 50.
Review Replies
Misaka Phenex:
Chapter 46 and 47
I can't remember if I watched clips of Honkai before or after I started CSG, but I would say that Seele's and Veliona's dynamic has given me some inspiration when it comes to Asher's relationship with Sky.
feiajnchrhhhrrr: You're welcome and thanks for the compliment T.T!
Sky does make it one of her goals to screw with Misaka whenever she can. She could be a great factor by making her even feel more guilty about the Misaka sisters and WaveInflux. More pushing from Touma's end would probably be needed to keep her from going through with her first plan of saving the sisters.
Asher may be pretty smart, but she can be kind of dense and oblivious to things that others would see as normal like "dating." She has gotten better since she met Misaka, but those mix-ups will still happen in the future lol.
Sounds like we're both biased lol. I still think either Asher or Misaka can win over the other depending on the circumstances, so we're both right. And technically in what has been shown in the story so far, Misaka has won over Asher one time at the end of WaveInflux.
I'm happy that you're liking this story and I'm sorry for the long wait for this update. I have a few more chapters written up after this one, so my updates will be a bit steadier for a while that I hope (crosses fingers) to continue.
LostNeko120: You're welcome! Love writing moments for Kongou and Asher lol. Aw, Saten x Frenda, seeing them together in Railgun T was both heartwarming and heart wrenching after remembering her fate in Index T.T.
Asher's poor brain is wired too much on logic to know the meaning of the kind of "date" Kongou was talking about lol.
Sky/Sora is getting closer and closer to fully returning. Asher may know that it's happening now, but will she able to remember this experience finally? Only time will tell.
I can't wait to write more moments for Yoshikawa, Yomikawa, and Asher all together. It's still a little far off (with my current writing speed at least) until we get to Sisters.
You were right that Asher met Touma. Even though it's brief, it does start the clock on how long it will take for Asher to realize that he does have amnesia. It has been speculated by others before that she would figure out faster than Misaka due to her own struggle with amnesia. But we'll see:)
CaramelDragon: :D
Bornkiller9:Thanks! I wondered if that chapter would end up converting others to Asher x Saten lol. I wonder if the same could be said for this chapter for Shokuhou x Asher XD.
Still don't know what's going to be end game. At the moment I'm leaning a little more towards Saten x Asher though, but we'll see.
Thanks for the reviews!
-Purpleclover99
